My First Season

Nick Margellos

My guest today and I had the pleasure of working together in Club Med Columbus Isle in 1999/2000. He became a Scuba instructor at age 18 and to date, has logged between 3500-400 dives all around the world. His first time in Club Med was as an au pair in Club Med Sonora Bay in 1993 and then he went back to Club Med as a Scuba G.O. in Club Med Cancun in January of 1998. Originally from Vancouver and now living in Las Vegas, please help me welcome Nick Margellos!! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Nick is now a commercial pilot and he came on MFS to talk about the process to becoming a pilot:

https://www.myfirstseason.com/e/my-first-season-nick-commerical-pilot-and-first-officer/

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

Tannis Goulet

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Paradise Island, Bahamas in 2002/2003, which happened to be her first season as a Tennis G.O. Before Club Med, She attended Arizona State University on a tennis scholarship. Everyone, from Winnipeg, Canada please help me welcome Tannis Goulet! Tannis tells us what it was like her first season and shares an amusing story about a day trip to Exuma, $10.00 all-you-can-eat-and-drink-rum punch and an evening visit to the Atlantis resort (all in the same day), I do not want to spoil at all, so you’ll just have to listen. And yes, I ask Tannis how many times a day in Club Med someone brought up her name and the fact that she teaches tennis.

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

 

Brian David Bruns-Author of Cruise Confidential

My guest today did not work for Club Med, but he did spend a year working for Carnival Cruise Lines and was the only American in Carnival Cruise Lines’ thirty-year history to work a full contract in the ships’ restaurants without quitting or transferring. We’ll get into why that is such a huge deal and his first season in the travel and tourism industry and everything he experienced on the high seas. He is author of the books Cruise Confidential, Ship for Brains, Unsinkable Mister Brown, High Seas Drifter, Cruise a la Carte and many, many more. He has adventured in over 60 countries to gather material for his bestselling books and won dozens of literary awards, including the USA REBA Grand Prize. He has been featured on ABC's 20/20 and was anointed Sir Brian by Prince Michael, Regent of the Principality of Sealand (yes, really). Everyone, please help me welcome author, Brian David Bruns!

If you worked for Club Med and ever wondered like I did, what the heck goes on aboard a cruise ship, well then you’ll love these books. We only covered a small fraction of his story in the first book on the podcast, so if you want the whole story and you’re looking for that good summer read, look no further. You can find Brian’s first book, Cruise Confidential, at the link below as well as his other books. Brian will be back at a future date to discuss his time as an Art Auctioneer aboard the cruise ships, which is covered in his second book, Ship for Brains.

Please see the link below where to find Brian’s books:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cruise+confidential&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

 

 

Luke ”Casper” Murphy

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Lindeman Island, Australia in 2000/2001. His first season was at Club Med Chateau Royal-Noumea, New Caledonia in April of 1999 as a Circus G.O. Everyone, please help me give a big Aussie welcome to Luke “Casper” Murphy! Casper is originally from Maitland, New South Wales Australia and now lives in Sydney. Casper recounts a very funny story about his first night in Noumea involving him dressing in drag as Celine Dion and a trip to a local bar. He also tells us what it was like being a high-level gymnast before Club Med. We of course talk about our time in Lindeman Island and all the fun we had there. Casper even recounts a conversation he had with Liev Schrieber and Hugh Jackman on the set of 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which was filmed in Australia), where he was a WW1 extra. There is a Club Med, full-circle moment with this story, so you will just have to listen all the way to the end to find out. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

**You will hear a lot of talk of “VB” in this episode, and that is an Australian beer called VB, or, Victoria Bitter. We also mention the word, “Bush Chook” which is a bird native to Australia (or as Casper likes to call them, a purple-breasted swamp fowl or Australasian swamphen), which is like a bigger, uglier version of a pigeon. I issued a challenge to the Circus Team involving said Bush Chook and an obscene amount of beer.

Dana Winess

My guest today and I worked together in what was her first season in Club Med Playa Blanca in 1996/1997. She was a Scuba G.O. and I was Landsports. Funny story…she didn’t like me! (I can respect that). I was a huge fan of hers though and we’ll get into that and more on this episode of “My First Season”. Listen as Dana tells us what it was like going from working as a Commercial Diver and Scuba Instructor in Key West, Florida to working in a big singles resort in Playa Blanca, Mexico. She also shares a hilarious horseback-riding story with us! Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Dana Winess!! 

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

 

Reggie Martin

My guest today and I worked together in Ria Bintan, Indonesia from 2001-2002. Everyone, Mr. Reggie Martin! Reggie’s first season was in the Mini-Club in Club Med Sandpiper during the Summer of 1997. Reggie takes us back to his first season where he thought he was going to be sent somewhere exotic, only to find out he was being sent to Florida! Reggie is originally from Chicago and now living in Macau, with 5.7 million followers on Instagram (check him out @reggiemartin10). Reggie truly believed he was living a millionaire lifestyle while at Club Med and he’ll tell you why. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.instagram.com/reggiemartin10/

 

Rick Ross

My guest today and I have never worked together before, but we did meet at the EXGO Reunion in Cancun in 2008. Originally from Newport Beach, California but now lives in Atlanta, my guest had his first season in Club Med Sandpiper in 1990 as a Waterski G.O. and even drove down from Atlanta for his interview in the resort of Sandpiper itself. He tells a great story about teaching a blind woman named Kitty how to waterski and lets us know what it was like going to Club Med on vacation in the 70s as a teenager. Everyone, the one, the only, Rick Ross! (no, not the Mississippi rapper, the other one!) Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

.**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, Podchaser, 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.

Joel Kirby

My guest today and I have never worked together, but I did meet him a few years back and was on guest on his radio show, the EXGO Radio Show. He was sent to Club Med Sandpiper for the 88-89 season as DJ and tells a very funny story about the guy in charge of Lighting & Sound Engineers for the North American Zone trying to tank the Cats show being put on one night to test him, but I’ll let him tell it. Everyone, give it up for Hiio “Joel” Kirby! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Laurent ”Jova” Minnitti

My guest this week and I worked together in Otranto, Italy in the summer of 1997. I was Landsports and he was the Chief of Animation. His first season, however, was in Club Med Sant’Ambroggio-Corsica in the summer of 1995 as Animator. Originally from Marseille, France but now resides in California, Laurent “Jova” Minnitti didn’t actually feel that he went to some exotic location for his first season, as Corsica is an island off the coast of France. Not only that, when he arrived in the village, he soon found out that the village was rented for two months by an elderly group called “50 and More”. But I’ll let Laurent tell that story and more. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

LP Leblanc-Boucher

My guest today and I had never worked together before, but I heard his name constantly bombarded at me (in a very good way) by a very good friend in Columbus Isle, Bahamas (we’ll get to that funny story later) Everyone, please help me give a warm welcome to, LP! LP LeBlanc-Boucher shares his story of going to Club Med Playa Blanca as an au pair Animator in January of 1992. On his arrival to the village, he happened to be on the same bus as the "Atlantis"group that had bought out the village that week, but I’ll let him tell that funny story. He brings up a lot of names from the past that had a positive influence on him and some names you will recognize. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Please check out LP's website. You can find an article there he wrote called "11 Reasons Why Being a Club Med G.O. Made Me a Better Person!"

http://blog.lplb.com/2016/02/22/11-reasons-why-being-a-club-med-gos-made-me-a-better-person/