My First Season

Erin Phillips

Hello everyone, this is part 5 in the MFS series “Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things”. I came across my guest today by reading an article of hers published in “Outside” magazine in November 2022, entitled, “Let Me Tell You the Truth About Being an Adventure Guide”. From that article, I learned about a course that she had taken called “National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)”. The course lasted 89 days, and of course, I had to ask her all about it. She is a backpacker, rock climber, experienced wilderness guide, writer, photographer, trail runner, certified Yoga instructor, and watercolor artist (she makes me wonder what I’ve done with my life!). She is also a seasoned wilderness-therapy guide and very passionate about supporting mental health. Please help me give a very warm welcome to an amazing person, Erin Phillips! We cover a lot in this interview, from her early life in Maryland to her website-Erin Marie Design, where you can see her beautiful photos, paintings, and her personal writings. We also cover how Erin pitched her idea for an article to “Outside” magazine and how much she loved the entire process from conception to publication. Erin is also doing an editorial internship with Jaunt Media Collective, based out of Vail, Colorado, interviewing people and writing about their life experiences. She is also interested in creating a book as a tribute to the Guiding community, about why they love it and the challenges that come with the lifestyle. So, if you are a wilderness guide or know someone who is and might be interested in sharing their story, please reach out to Erin via her website (see below). **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out Erin’s website to find her published articles, photography, paintings and to submit your adventure guide story:

Share Your Story | Erin Marie Designs

And her Instagram:

Erin Phillips (@erinmp93) • Instagram photos and videos

Her article in Outside magazine:

https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/adventure-guide-seasonal-job-testimonial/

 

 

 

Chris “Hammer” Keeley

In two years of this podcast, today’s guest’s name has come up so often when I ask them which Chief of Village they liked working with, that I had to reach out and ask if he would like to come on. He has done 39 seasons in Club Med and 14 years in the Miami office where he currently holds the position of Senior Director UDT (University des Talents). In Club Med, he is known by only one name and in fact, he is the only Club Med employee around the world that has a nickname in their Outlook address. I can only be talking about one man, from Vancouver, it’s the one and only, the legend himself, Chris Keeley, AKA "Hammer"!! Hammer first learned about Club Med from his friend and EXGO, Sparrow, who had visited Club Med with his parents. Hammer actually had two first seasons, one short-team season in Moorea and one full season in 1989 in Club Med Turks and Caicos. He held many different G.O. positions over the years such as Waterski, Beach, Golf, Animator, Sports & Animation Coordinator, Chief of Sports and of course, Chief of Village. This interview covers his career from his first season as a Sports G.O. up until his last season as Chief of Sports. Hopefully, he will return at a later date for another interview, and there we will cover his first season as a Chief of Village. Before he became one of the most respected Chief of Villages ever, Hammer worked in villages such as Turks and Caicos, Playa Blanca, Cancun, Martinique, Sonora Bay, Phuket and Lindeman Island. In this interview, Hammer mentions a lot of names from the past you will recognize, people that mentored and inspired him. We also get into the origins of his famous nickname, and I’ll bet that you didn’t know it was given to him by a former NFL player! Not only does Hammer have a ton of great Club Med stories, but I also asked him about competing in Iron Man competitions and what that was like (he did his first one in 2015 in Mont Tremblant!). We also talk a little about what he is currently doing in Miami and how Club Med established itself as a premium brand and now offers a luxury range with the Exclusive Collection. We end the interview with the three things he misses the most about working in the villages. Please enjoy this interview with an amazing person!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

James “Joker” Cradle

My guest today is the first guest invited back to the podcast. Why is that, you ask? Well, he was the first guest ever on My First Season just over two years ago, but back then, I stuck to the script. Meaning, we only talked about his first season and none of the other 10 seasons or more that he did. He was kind enough to be a test subject of sorts for my podcast, and like all things, My First Season has only evolved from that very first interview with him. He has agreed to come back to the podcast and talk about his other seasons and make you laugh your butts off! From Boston, Massachusetts, now living in Montreal, please help me welcome back to My First Season, James “Joker” Cradle!! I have known Joker for 23 years now and counting and we met on the dock in beautiful Lindeman Island, Australia in 2000 for the very first time. Joker worked for Club Med from 1997 to 2005. He worked in villages such as Cancun, Huatulco, Cefalu, Moorea, Foca, Paradise Island, Punta Cana, and Ixtapa. You want funny stories?! Joker has them!! From getting a nasty head injury during a show in Moorea to the famous “Singles Mingles” cruise in Lindeman Island (The CDV sent me on the cruise to control Joker's enthusiasm). How did that turn out? Like you’d expect! From the Kusadasi (Greg) versus Foca (Joker) G.O. volleyball game during the summer of 2001 to a Razor scooter wipe-out at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island to an interesting choice of dress (or lack thereof) for the Christmas party at Hendel’s place in Cancun in December 2004, it’s all here!! Joker mentions a lot of people from the past that he enjoyed working with, his three favorite Crazy Signs of all time (Tiffany?!), and the three things he misses most about working at Club Med. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with Joker!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

This is the video (part 1) where France’s Woman’s Olympic Beach Volleyball team handed our butts to me and Joker in Lindeman Island, Australia on September 3, 2000:

CM Lindeman Island-Sept 3 2000-Beach VB Part 1 - YouTube

And, if you want to listen to the first ever "My First Season" interview with Joker, see below:

My First Season-Joker | My First Season

 

 

Terry Drummey

My guest today and I have never met but his name has come up quite a few times on this podcast. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia during the winter of 1989 as a Bar G.O. Originally from Seattle, now living in Florida, please help me welcome, Terry Drummey!! Before Club Med, Terry was getting a Commercial Tourism and Business Management degree from Washington State. He was working in a bar and a customer who went to Club Med on vacation told him he’d be a perfect fit for Club Med. Terry applied and during his interview and he was asked by Ye, the CDV, if he knew the difference between a Pina Colada and a Chi Chi. He did, and the rest is history. Terry worked for Club Med from 1989 to 1995. He went from Bar. G.O. to Chief of Bar to Regional Manager for all the bars in the North American Zone. He worked in such villages as Huatulco (summer ’89), Copper Mountain (winter ‘90), Eleuthera (summer ’90), Playa Blanca (winter ’91) and Turks and Caicos (summer ’91). Terry might just be the only EXGO that I know of that showed up to his first season with money (and a whole lot of it!) and even forgot that money at the bank when he left! Terry shook hands with Prince Charles and got to hang out with him for a bit in St. Lucia and met Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley while jogging in Playa Blanca! Oh, and that bar customer that told Terry about Club Med? They later became roommates in Huatulco, I-kid-you-not! Terry has owned “Hemmingway’s”, a restaurant right down the beach from Club Med Turks and Caicos on Grace Bay Beach, for the last twenty-five years. Not only that, it was just named by USA Today Reader’s Choice poll as the BEST restaurant in the Caribbean (2023)!! Terry is also Chairman of the Ed Gartland Youth Centre in downtown Providenciales, which is all about empowering local youth by cultivating life skills through a holistic youth-focused approach that enhances the developmental needs of our youth (please see the link below). **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please click on the link below to see Terry’s restaurant and stop in and say hi the next time you are in Turks and Caicos!

Hemingways (hemingwaystci.com)

The Ed Gartland Youth Centre:

The Edward C. Gartland Youth Centre – Empowering teenagers with information and skills (ecgyouthcentre.com)

 

Nadine Reynaud

Bonjour à tous, et bienvenue à nouveau dans le podcast sur le voyage et le tourisme, My First Season. J'ai rencontré mon invitée aujourd'hui sur le groupe Facebook «Club Med Le groupe des G.O.'s». Elle a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1981 à 1988. Sa première saison a eu lieu en 1981 à Cefalu, en Sicile, et elle a travaillé dans des villages tels que Pompadour, Agadir, Vittel, les Boucaniers, Santa Teresa, les Bermudes, Cap Skirring, la Caravelle et Sainte-Lucie. Elle a occupé plusieurs postes au Club Med dont ceux de tir à l'arc, de yoga, de snorkeling, de fitness, Repsonsable du restaurant typique et des relations publiques. Joignez-vous à moi pour souhaiter la bienvenue à Nadine Reynaud de Paris! Avant son passage au Club Med, Nadine travaillait à l'Opéra national de Paris comme caissière ou sa mère y était costumière. Nadine a travaillé pour des chefs de villages tells que Yanis Giourgas, Pierre Simaeys, Mery Beillili, Ricardo Gonzales, Josanne «Jojo Desmartes» et André Lentini. Nadine partage avec nous tant d'histoires étonnantes, j'espère donc que vous apprécierez cet épisode avec une personne très amusante!  Le podcast Ma première Saison a toujours été sans publicité et gratuit à écouter et est disponible sur Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. Et si vous aimez ce que vous entendez, veuillez laisser un commentaire sur les podcasts Apple.

 

 

 

“Kanoon”

Mon invité d'aujourd'hui et moi avons travaillé ensemble au Club Med Lindeman Island en Australie en 2000/2001. Sa première saison se déroule au Club Med d'Avoriaz durant l'hiver 1993 ou il occupe le poste d’animateur. Il a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1993 à 2015 dans des villages tels que Chamonix, Djerba La Douce, Cargèse, Valmeinier-Valloire, Phuket, Kamarina, Pompadour, La Plagne et Agadir. Mesdames et messieurs, aidez-moi s'il vous plaît à accueillir à My First Season (Ma Première Saison), le seule et unique, de Lyon, Franck "Kanoon" Asciac!! Nous parlerons de ce que Kanoon a fait avant le Club Med, de son entrevue d’embauche en Club Med et bien sûr nous parlerons du temps incroyable que nous avons passé à Lindeman Island avec l'incroyable chef de village, Gibus. En plus de Pierre Letellier Gagnon, Kanoon a travaillé avec d'autres chefs de villages tels qu'Arlette Gilles, Bernard Giampaolo, Gérard Parachou, Gilbert "Gibus" Burgio, Yves Mongis et Greg Levy. Vous pouvez imaginer que Kanoon a beaucoup d'histoires drôles et il a la gentillesse de nous en partager quelques-unes. Des histoires comme tomber sur des fourmis rouges à Phuket, nager avec des dauphins à Djerba (seulement il pensait que c’était des requins) ou tomber d'un catamaran en Australie en essayant de pêcher! On parle un peu de sa vie après le Club Med et un fait intéressant à propos de Kanoon, c'est que dès l'âge de 7 ans, il est le plus grand fan de l'émission télévisée La Petite Maison dans la Prairie. Il s'est même rendu dans le Minnesota pour visiter Walnut Grove et il est le fondateur de la plus grande page de fans sur Facebook de La Petite Maison dans la Prairie avec plus de 27 000 fans! Le podcast Ma première Saison a toujours été sans publicité et gratuit à écouter et est disponible sur Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. Et si vous aimez ce que vous entendez, veuillez laisser un commentaire sur les podcasts Apple.

Page Facebook de La Petite Maison dans la Prairie:

Facebook

Instagram:

Kanoon Franck (@kanoonfranck) | Instagram

 

 

 

 

Anthony Salerno

My guest today was not a village G.O., but he was a Club Med New York office G.O. and was a HUGE part of why my first season in Club Med Turks and Caicos during the summer of 1994 was so amazing. He worked for Club Med from September 1987 to 1995 at the Club Med corporate offices in New York City. He was the Director of Advertising and Sales Promotion in the Marketing Department. Everyone, please help me welcome, Anthony Salerno!! A cousin of Anthony’s went to Club Med Paradise Island and raved about it so much that Anthony booked a vacation there in 1983, where he vividly remembers the very funny animator E.T.! After Paradise Island, he went on vacation at Club Med Martinique twice (1984 & 86) and Cancun (1985). Not wanting to leave his advertising job, but still enjoy a Club Med vacation, he applied and accepted Club Med’s offer of employment. He had four weeks of vacation a year and was allowed to visit any Club Med he wanted. We talk about his start working for Club Med in 1987 and where we wound up crossing paths in Turks in ’94. Anthony helped organize the INCREDIBLE “70s Celebration” in Turk and Caicos my first season and it was SO awesome!! Only the G.O.s, G.M.s and G.E.s that were there those 3 glorious weeks from September 2 to September 23, 1994, will understand how much fun it was to do the “YMCA” Crazy Sign with the actual Village People!! Anthony also brought in Ron Palillo (RIP), who played Horshack on “Welcome Back, Kotter”, Lyle Waggoner (RIP) from “Wonder Woman” and Barry Williams who played Greg Brady on “The Brady Bunch”, and many more. We talk about what it took to plan this massive event, but we also talk about what it was like filming a Club Med TV commercial in the various Club Med villages. Anthony also worked with French fashion photographer and former International Creative Director of Elle magazine, Gilles Bensimon. There were plenty of Club Med radio spots as well in the late 80s and Anthony worked with actors Frank Langella (Dracula/Frost/Nixon), Frances Sternhagen (Cliff Clavin’s mom!), and Joe Sirola (Hang ‘Em High), the long-time voice of Club Med. Anthony also approached Archie Comics for them to feature Club Med in one of their issues and we talk about that as well. Anthony discusses the evolution of Club Med’s famous taglines and the ad agencies that created them “The Antidote for Civilization” (Ammirati & Puris) and “Take Home A Club Med Vacation” (TBWA) and why these were replaced with, “Life as it should be” (Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer). Anthony also met his future wife at Turks that week, who was a G.M., and in March 2023, they will celebrate their 28^th year anniversary! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out his LinkedIn below:

(1) Anthony Salerno | LinkedIn

 

Parker Burke

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005 with Hendel. His first season was in Club Med Sandpiper in 2004 as a Waterski G.O. Originally from Chicago and now living in Austin, Texas, please help me welcome, Parker Burke! Before Club Med, Parker obtained a degree in Business Management with a Minor in French. He even did a semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France in 2002 (and we never talked about this during our season in Cancun!). After Club Med, he got a Master’s degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management. You could say hospitality is in his blood because his maternal grandfather owned and operated the historic and opulent Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. Parker had his first meeting with Club Med in New Jersey and when it came to the talent portion of the audition, he did something so weird and wild at that interview, that people requested he do it at each different village he worked at (if you don’t know, then please listen!). Parker worked for Club Med from 2004 to 2007 and worked in the resorts of Sandpiper, Cancun and Ixtapa. It wouldn’t be a My First Season interview if we didn’t talk about hurricanes and Parker had quite his share of them. Ever the optimist, he acknowledges that if it were not for Hurricane Wilma, he never would have met his future wife in Sandpiper in 2005! Parker has always had an extreme personality so lately, he has gravitated towards trail and ultra running. I ask Parker why anyone would run a 50k for “fun” and he is kind enough to answer my many questions on that subject. We talk a lot about Parker being a Waterski G.O. and how rewarding it was for him to teach disabled water skiers, moments he will cherish and never forget. We end the interview with Parker telling us the three things he misses the most about Club Med. **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out his Instagram:

Parker Burke (@jparkerburke) | Instagram

And NatureQuant which we talk about in the interview:

NatureQuant

 

Jen Simonds

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Columbus Isle during the 1997/1998 season. Her first season was in Club Med Cancun in April of 1997 as a Sailing and Windsurfing G.O. A family trip to Club Med St. Lucia when she was 16 years old lit the spark and she wanted to be a G.O. from that moment on. She has a degree in Journalism, dance and Secondary Education and she hails from the Lone Star State. Please help me welcome the amazing and funny, Jennifer "Jen" Simonds!! Jen may have started out as a Sailing G.O., but she quickly became a Choreographer in November of 1998 at Club Med Ixtapa. The genesis of why Jen wanted to become a Choreographer actually had to do with laundry and not her extensive dance background. Wait, what? Yes, laundry! (you’ll just have to listen and find out why!). Jen also worked in the villages of Sandpiper, Eleuthera, Turks and Caicos, Crested Butte, Paradise Island, Sahoro, Phuket and Lindeman Island. You want stories? Jen has you covered! From breaking bones in her foot not once but TWICE during her first season (how did she not get sent home the first time? Listen and find out!), to a champagne pyramid gone awry in Ixtapa, to making the transition from Sailing to Choreographer, to seeing snow for the very first time in Crested Butte, to meeting Brad Paisley and working out with former President Jimmy Carter (what?!), to some mild culture shock in Sahoro, Japan, to not licking cane toads in Lindeman Island, Australia, to working at Turks and Caicos a whopping five times, to putting on a “Godzilla-themed” show in Paradise Island as part of her choreographer stage (please people, send me photos of this Godzilla show if you have them!), we cover it all in this episode! We also talk about her current job being a middle school dance teacher and maybe or maybe not teaching her students some Crazy Signs as a warm-up (Toma Que Toma and Chocolaté anyone?)! Jen lists the three things she misses most about Club Med and if she would have done anything differently. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I loved talking to her again! **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and ad-free and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check her out on Instagram:

Jennifer Simonds (@jenn.diamondz) • Instagram photos and videos

And please check out her YouTube Channel:

Jenn.choreographer - YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Cowboy” 100th Episode!

Welcome to a very special 100^th episode of My First Season! My Guest today and I met during my 1^st season in Turks and Caicos during the summer of 1994. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia in 1991/1992 as a Scuba G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, the man, the myth, the legend…in his own mind, from the city that never sleeps, Cowboy!! Before Club Med, Cowboy worked for Associated Marine Institutes and taught juvenile offenders how to sail and scuba. A guy he worked with named Buff Miller, told Cowboy all about Club Med. Buff Miller then told Cowboy to call "BooBoo" at the Club Med office in NYC to set up an interview (I could not make this story up if I tried). Cowboy worked in the villages of St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, Sonora Bay and Cadaques, Spain. You would be right in thinking that a guy named Cowboy from New York City must have some wild stories and he does not disappoint!! From getting his nickname on the flight to his first season in St. Lucia (and giving Hollywood his nickname on the same flight!), from getting lost on the open seas from St. Lucia to Turks and Caicos (that is a hilarious story!, it’s all here, look no further! Cowboy was a big reason why my 1^st season was so special, so it was nice to go down memory lane with him and also talk about a G.O. we miss the most, Yannie Nielsen. So as Cowboy would put it, “let’s kick the tires and light the fires and get at it, son!” I hope you laugh as much as we did recording it! Enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and ad-free and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.