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Some artists spend years trying to figure out who they are creatively. Alivia Clark seems to have always known. From the moment she was a little girl watching Hannah Montana, Alivia wasn’t imagining a fantasy life. She was planning her future. Acting, singing, performing, storytelling, entertaining audiences. To her, it was never a hobby or distant dream. It was simply who she was meant to become. In Episode 214 of The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, Alivia Clark opens up about her journey from child actress and classically trained vocalist to emerging pop artist, songwriter, and performer entering a bold new chapter with her latest single, Breathless. The conversation reveals an artist balancing confidence and vulnerability, discipline and spontaneity, while navigating an entertainment industry that has been part of her life since childhood. “It’s all me,” Alivia says when reflecting on how young she was when she first became drawn to performing. “When I was super young, like not even kidding, four years old, I started begging my parents to sing and act professionally.” While many children cycle through hobbies and interests, Alivia’s passion remained consistent from the very beginning. Inspired by performers she admired growing up, she developed a strong certainty about what she wanted her future to look like. Her parents, however, were understandably cautious. The entertainment industry can be demanding even for adults, let alone children. Alivia explains that her parents initially hesitated not because they doubted her talent, but because they wanted to protect her childhood. “I think it’s a little bit of both. Like, they don’t want me to lose out on a childhood,” she says. Fortunately, according to Alivia, her family found a healthy balance. Despite auditioning and working professionally from a young age, she still played travel soccer for years, attended school activities, and maintained a relatively grounded upbringing. “They gave me such a balanced childhood, truly,” she says. That support system became essential as her career quickly accelerated. By the age of eight, she had already landed representation and was traveling to New York City for auditions. “I have not stopped since,” she says with a laugh. Over the years, Alivia built an impressive résumé across film, television, theater, and voice acting. She appeared in projects including Buttons: A New Musical Film, 18 to Party, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and The Late Show with David Letterman. Perhaps most recognizable to younger audiences, she also voiced Skye in Paw Patrol interactive media and Coco in the U.S. version of Bing. At the same time, she continued developing musically, performing as a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall for seven years and appearing at high-profile events including the Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg NYC Gala. Despite all those accomplishments, Alivia remains surprisingly grounded when discussing her career. Rather than presenting herself as a polished celebrity, she speaks like someone genuinely excited by creativity itself. That becomes especially clear when discussing acting. For Alivia, memorizing lines is not about repetition or technical recall. It is emotional. “You have to understand the emotions or almost the internal monologue behind the character,” she explains. Once she understands why a character says something, the lines begin to feel natural rather than memorized. “It’s less about memorizing and more about feeling and understanding,” she says. That emotional approach carries directly into her songwriting as well. Although she has experience in classical music and musical theater, Alivia’s newest artistic chapter moves heavily into EDM, dance-pop, electropop, and R&B-inspired territory. Her single Breathless marks a significant shift toward a more modern, confident, and sensual sound. Yet according to Alivia, the transition feels completely natural. “One thing about me… I literally listen to everything,” she says. Growing up exposed to multiple genres allowed her to develop broad creative instincts rather than limiting herself to one style. She loves classical music, musical theater, dance music, R&B, and pop equally. That openness is what ultimately shaped Breathless. The song itself blends dance-pop energy with sultry vocals and emotional vulnerability, creating a track that feels both playful and powerful. During the interview, Alivia discusses the deeper themes behind the lyrics, particularly the balance between feminine softness and confidence. “It’s that balance of kind of coming into your power,” she explains. For Alivia, the song explores emotional tension, attraction, desire, and self-awareness all at once. “The song is fun and flirty,” she says. “You can’t give it all away in one moment. You have to leave them wanting more.” What makes her songwriting particularly interesting is how naturally inspiration arrives. Like many artists, Alivia constantly records ideas in voice memos and notes throughout the day. Creativity often strikes unexpectedly, sometimes during class, random conversations, or ordinary moments. “My mind never shuts off,” she says. “The wheels are always turning to create.” Remarkably, Breathless itself came together extremely quickly. “I was sitting on the campus of UMiami… the sun was beating down, the palm trees were blowing… and that’s kind of how Breathless came,” she explains. That spontaneous energy can be felt throughout the record. The track feels alive, carefree, and emotionally immediate. Production also played a major role in bringing the vision to life. Alivia collaborated remotely with producers David Mason, Harry Nelnick, and Maxim Laskavy, who helped shape the song’s polished dance-pop sound. “They understand me,” she says of the production team. Even more impressive, the entire process happened remotely before she had ever met them in person. The chemistry clearly worked. As Breathless began gaining attention online and through DJs playing the track publicly, Alivia experienced the surreal realization that strangers were connecting emotionally to something that once only existed inside her head. “The positive feedback… it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it,” she says. For someone who has spent most of her life performing, those moments of audience connection still carry enormous meaning. “You do it to make your audience and listeners feel something,” she explains. One especially interesting moment in the interview comes when the conversation shifts toward artificial intelligence and music creation. As someone entering the music industry during a time of rapid AI advancement, Alivia offers a thoughtful perspective. “I think the creation of art… it’s just never going to compare to the human mind,” she says. While acknowledging that technology will continue evolving, she believes authentic human emotion remains irreplaceable in songwriting and performance. “When you’re writing and you haven’t experienced it… there’s a hollowness to it,” she explains. That commitment to emotional authenticity may ultimately become one of Alivia’s greatest strengths as an artist. In a music landscape increasingly driven by algorithms, trends, and artificial content generation, Alivia Clark still approaches music from a deeply human place. Her songs are rooted in feeling, vulnerability, excitement, desire, confusion, confidence, and connection. And perhaps that is exactly why audiences are beginning to respond so strongly. At just the beginning of what appears to be a major musical chapter, Alivia already possesses something many artists spend years trying to develop: a clear artistic identity grounded in authenticity. Whether through acting, songwriting, or live performance, Alivia Clark is not simply chasing fame. She is building connection. And with Breathless serving as the first glimpse into this new era, it feels very likely that audiences are only beginning to see what she is capable of. 🎧 To hear the full conversation with Alivia Clark, tune in to her episode on The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, streaming now.

Some people spend their lives mastering one identity. Athlete. Executive. Entertainer. Entrepreneur. Don Kurz somehow became all of them. In Episode 213 of The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, Don Kurz shares the remarkable story behind his new book Do the Hustle: Life Lessons from the Championship Lacrosse Field, the Dance Floor, and the Boardroom, a memoir and business reflection that traces a life filled with reinvention, resilience, unexpected pivots, and extraordinary experiences. At first glance, Don’s life almost sounds fictional. A championship lacrosse player at Johns Hopkins University. A dance instructor during the disco era and regular at New York’s legendary Studio 54. A Wall Street consultant who later took a company public on NASDAQ. A hedge fund founder. The executive board chair and principal shareholder of creative agency Omelet. Yet somehow, every chapter connects naturally into one larger story about adapting when life forces you to change direction. Born in Bayside, Queens, and later raised in Elmont, Long Island, Don’s early years revolved around sports. He attended public schools and quickly established himself as a standout athlete, becoming captain of championship football and lacrosse teams while also competing in wrestling. “I had a great overall experience,” Don says of his childhood and school years. Athletics became central to his identity. That drive eventually led him to Johns Hopkins University, one of the most respected lacrosse programs in the country. “Hopkins tends to be known for two things: doctors, which I definitely am not, as well as lacrosse players, which I am,” Don jokes during the interview. At Johns Hopkins, Don became part of history, playing on the university’s first NCAA lacrosse championship team in 1974 after the NCAA playoff era officially began. The experience remains one of the defining moments of his life. “That camaraderie and that brotherhood of winning a championship and all the grind that goes into it really forges bonds for life,” he says. Even today, decades later, members of those championship teams still reunite annually, evidence of the lifelong relationships forged through competition and teamwork. But Don’s athletic career came to an abrupt and painful end after devastating knee injuries during his junior year. “I got hit by the injury bug,” he explains. At the time, sports medicine was nowhere near what it is today. Arthroscopic surgery did not yet exist, and after tearing his ACL and MCL, Don was placed in a cast. Attempting to return too quickly only worsened the damage. “My sports career was over quite abruptly,” he recalls. For someone whose identity had revolved around athletics, the emotional impact was enormous. “That had kind of defined who I was in my life up to that point,” he says. But what could have become a devastating ending instead became the beginning of an entirely new chapter. As Don recovered, disco culture exploded across America in the late 1970s. Through a chance meeting with a dance instructor from New York Hustle, Inc., he was introduced to the dance world. “She taught me some of the moves,” Don says. Because he had played drums as a child, rhythm came naturally. Soon, he was teaching dance classes himself while returning to Johns Hopkins, eventually becoming an instructor for the legendary Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Then came Studio 54. One of Don’s dance students worked for fashion giant Anne Klein alongside legendary designer Donna Karan. One night, they invited him to Studio 54 shortly after the iconic nightclub opened. “At that time, I had never heard of it,” Don says. Within months, however, Studio 54 became the center of celebrity culture, nightlife, and disco excess. Don quickly became a regular. “It really is true, the stereotypical velvet rope with thousands of people outside waiting to get in,” he recalls. Inside, he found himself surrounded by cultural icons like Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Jackie Onassis, and Truman Capote. “I wasn’t friends with them, but I rubbed shoulders with them,” he says. Though the stories from Studio 54 are entertaining, Don views that era as more than just nightlife nostalgia. For him, dancing represented another lesson in reinvention. “I wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for these terrible knee injuries,” he reflects. “Life has a plan… when you have a setback, it might be just the path you need for your next run.” Eventually, however, Don realized he needed to transition again. “At some point, the coolness wears off,” he says bluntly. Determined to build a more sustainable future, he earned his MBA from Columbia University and entered the consulting world, joining what is now PricewaterhouseCoopers. There, Don learned the discipline and analytical thinking that would shape his business career. “I finally started to buckle down and work hard,” he says. Over the next decade, he rose through consulting ranks, eventually becoming partner of the New York office at a major consulting firm. Yet despite the success, Don found himself restless. “I knew I didn’t want to be a consultant the rest of my life,” he says. That desire led him into entrepreneurship. In 1990, Don joined a tiny promotional marketing company called Equity Marketing, taking a significant pay cut to bet on himself. Alongside one other executive, he eventually bought out the founder and rapidly scaled the company. The business specialized in entertainment marketing, particularly promotional partnerships involving licensed intellectual property from companies like Disney and Warner Bros. “This was a company that did for Burger King what Happy Meals are for McDonald’s,” Don explains. Under Don’s leadership, the company exploded in growth, eventually reaching nearly $250 million in sales and going public on NASDAQ in 1994. “It ain’t easy,” Don says of taking a company public. He details the massive work involved: audits, SEC filings, legal reviews, investor relations, and convincing underwriters that the company’s story was compelling enough for public markets. “Then you’re at the mercy of the public markets,” he says. Following that success, Don later launched a hedge fund before eventually becoming involved with Omelet, the creative marketing agency where he currently serves as executive board chair and principal shareholder. Once again, the opportunity emerged organically rather than through a rigid master plan. “It was serendipitous,” Don says. That theme runs throughout his life story. The ability to pivot. To adapt. To embrace uncertainty instead of resisting it. Those lessons ultimately became the foundation for Do the Hustle. Ironically, Don had never planned to write a book. The idea emerged only after Forbes approached him about creating a traditional business book. But after reviewing the outline, he realized something was missing. “I didn’t find it to be terribly unique or compelling. Just another business book,” he says. Instead, Don began taking notes about the unusual intersections of his life: athletics, dance culture, entrepreneurship, public companies, setbacks, relationships, and reinvention. Eventually, a theme emerged. “There are people excellent in athletics or dance or business, but I wasn’t aware of too many people who had that trifecta,” he explains. What followed became far more personal than he originally expected. Writing the book forced Don to revisit painful moments, including business struggles, the collapse of his hedge fund during the 2008 financial crisis, and his divorce. “It was a really emotional journey,” he admits. Still, he refused to sugarcoat those experiences. “If you’re going to do this, you need to be fully transparent,” he says. That honesty is what ultimately gives Do the Hustle its power. The book is not about perfection or constant success. It is about resilience, self-awareness, and learning to embrace life’s unexpected turns. For Don Kurz, every setback became preparation for the next chapter. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson his story offers. No matter how carefully life is planned, reinvention is inevitable. The key is learning how to keep moving forward when the music changes. 🎧 To hear the full conversation with Don Kurz, tune in to his episode on The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, streaming now.

Some documentaries are built around celebrities, scandals, or headline-making events. Others succeed because they capture something far more relatable: a real life filled with unexpected turns, personal reinvention, humor, tragedy, and humanity. That is exactly what audiences can expect from Iowa Vet: Dogs, Cats, Corn, & Murder, the new documentary from filmmakers Michael Schelp and Bathsheba Monk centered around the life of veterinarian Dr. Alan Younkin. In Episode 212 of The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, Dr. Alan Younkin and producer Michael Schelp sit down to discuss the deeply personal story behind the documentary, how their relationship shaped the film, and why a quiet veterinarian from Iowa became the perfect subject for an emotional, funny, and unexpectedly fascinating documentary. At first glance, the documentary’s title immediately grabs attention: Iowa Vet: Dogs, Cats, Corn, & Murder. It sounds almost too strange to be real. Yet according to Schelp, that unpredictability is exactly what made Alan’s story impossible to ignore. “I have literally over 200 anecdotes,” Michael explains during the interview. “That’s why it’s more… I just took all these anecdotes and interviewed him about them.” Unlike traditional American biographical documentaries, which often focus on celebrities or sensational downfall stories, Michael wanted to create something different. Inspired heavily by Japanese television and storytelling formats from his years working at Fuji Television in Japan, Schelp approached the film almost like a layered collection of stories, memories, and observations. “It’s very fact-based, lots and lots of facts with obviously some introspection and some context,” he says. Michael’s own career is fascinating enough to deserve its own documentary. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., he studied Japanese in college before moving to Japan, where he worked at Fuji Television during a period when Japanese television was dominating ratings and pioneering what Americans would later recognize as reality TV. He would later return to the United States and build a highly successful television career, helping bring Iron Chef to the Food Network while producing and developing shows for networks including ESPN, Spike TV, Discovery, Sci-Fi Channel, and Cooking Channel. Yet despite decades in entertainment, it was Alan’s life that eventually became the story he felt compelled to tell. The origins of the documentary were surprisingly simple. “We met online,” Michael says, laughing as he recalls how their relationship began on Plenty of Fish in 2017. What started as a dating app connection quickly evolved into a relationship and eventually marriage. Over the years, Alan would casually tell stories about his childhood, his veterinary career, and life growing up on a farm in Iowa while Michael quietly absorbed every detail. “After a few years, he said, ‘I’m going to make a documentary about you,’” Alan recalls. “And I was like, ‘No, you’re not.’” Of course, Michael eventually did exactly that. What makes Alan such a compelling subject is not fame, but the sheer variety of experiences contained within his life story. Raised on a family farm in southeast Iowa that dates back to 1863, Alan grew up surrounded by livestock, crops, and the rhythms of rural Midwestern life. His upbringing inspired a lifelong commitment to animal care that eventually led him to become valedictorian of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. From there, he moved to St. Louis with his wife, Dr. Sybil Younkin, where together they built Bogey Hills Animal Hospital and raised four children. For nearly three decades, Alan practiced veterinary medicine while simultaneously witnessing massive shifts in both agriculture and the veterinary profession. “When I went to vet school back in the 1980s, my class was majority men,” Alan explains. “Now the graduating classes are like 80 to 90 percent women.” He also watched the industry shift away from independently owned practices toward large corporate ownership structures. “Veterinary medicine has gone from generally private practice ownership. Now more and more it’s corporate practice ownership,” he says. The same transformation happened in farming. “My dad had small tractors and farmed 160 acres,” Alan explains. “Now my neighbor farms my farm with big equipment, high-tech stuff.” That theme of change became one of the central ideas behind the documentary itself. “At its core, this is a film about change,” Michael explains in the official press materials. “Tracing the many transformations in Alan’s life across agriculture, the veterinary profession, and his own personal journey.” But what truly elevates the documentary are the strange and deeply human stories scattered throughout Alan’s life. One of the film’s funniest moments comes from a wealthy client who brought her itching dog into the animal hospital. “I found fleas,” Alan says. “And she just said with a straight face, ‘Oh, that’s not possible. We live in a gated community.’” Moments like these allowed Michael to build visual humor and warmth into the documentary while still exploring deeper emotional themes. Then there are the darker stories. The “murder” referenced in the documentary title comes from two real-life murder cases that directly intersected with Alan’s veterinary practice. One involved the infamous Interstate 70 serial killer during the early 1990s, whose crimes occurred near Alan’s animal hospital. Another involved a murder-for-hire plot where a husband arranged to have his wife killed while their yappy dog was away at Alan’s clinic for grooming. “The husband had to get the yappy dog out of the house for the hitman to kill the wife,” Alan explains matter-of-factly. The stories are shocking, but Michael is careful not to present them in an exploitative way. “It’s a three-act play,” Michael says, describing how the murders serve as part of Alan’s larger life arc and changing world. Perhaps the strangest aspect of the documentary involves Alan’s Iowa farmland and its connection to Mormon history. According to some members of the Mormon faith, Alan’s property may sit near the ancient city of Zarahemla, referenced in the Book of Mormon as a place visited by Jesus after the crucifixion. “There are a group of Mormons that think that Nauvoo was built there because it was directly across the river from the ancient city of Zarahemla,” Alan explains. Michael became so fascinated by the subject that he began deeply researching Mormon history and theology to ensure every detail in the documentary was accurate. “I really, really, really like to get facts right,” he says. The documentary even incorporates stories about a drone Michael lost in a giant pine tree on Alan’s farm, jokingly referring to it as being “with Jesus,” only for the drone to mysteriously be recovered two years later immediately after Cinema Village agreed to premiere the film. Whether coincidence or not, the story perfectly reflects the documentary’s tone: thoughtful, funny, strange, and surprisingly heartfelt. Beyond all the unusual anecdotes, however, Iowa Vet is ultimately about adaptation, resilience, and family. After the death of his wife, Alan’s life took another unexpected turn when he moved to New York and eventually married Michael, blending together their seven children into what they describe as a “modern family.” That emotional evolution gives the documentary a powerful emotional center. At a time when many documentaries chase controversy or spectacle, Iowa Vet: Dogs, Cats, Corn, & Murder instead finds beauty in ordinary lives shaped by extraordinary circumstances. It is a story about reinvention. About love arriving unexpectedly. About how industries, communities, and people evolve over time. And perhaps most importantly, it is about the idea that every life contains stories worth telling if someone takes the time to truly listen. 🎧 To hear the full conversation with Dr. Alan Younkin and Michael Schelp, tune in to their episode on The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, streaming now.

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