Version 1

Taki (Frank Kelly) is a private chef, forager, and artist from Aruba. Renowned for his seafood, vegetarian and vegan specialties, Chef Taki forages food and catches fresh seafood and prepares the freshest dinners with these local ingredients. He also is an artist and a storyteller on the island, and was featured by National Geographic.  Taki shares about his adventures in foraging, how he uses creativity to come up with new dishes and drinks, unexpected flavors, his life on the island of Aruba, his painting and other artistic endeavors, and more.    Follow Taki on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/taki_aruba/  Subscribe to Version 1's substack: version1podcast.substack.com/  Follow Version 1 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/version1podcast/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/waverlycolville 

Armando Goedgedrag is a visual artist, photographer, painter, and multimedia specialist based in Aruba. He’s often inspired by nature, especially Aruba’s nature. One of his goals is to bring awareness of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Armando was born in the Netherlands and grew up on Aruba. After graduating high school on the island, his artistic journey led him to pursue higher education in the Netherlands, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Communication and Multimedia Design and a Master's degree in Animation.   His vibrant murals and artworks adorn various public spaces across Aruba, including the Boardwalk Hotel, Natural Bridge, Aruba Marriott, Hilton and the Renaissance Marketplace in Oranjestad, as well as the southern city of San Nicolas.   Through his art, Goedgedrag aims to raise awareness about the environmental challenges facing Aruba and to inspire a deeper appreciation for its unique ecosystems. His commitment to nature is evident not only in his creations but also in his active involvement in local conservation efforts.   In this episode, we talk about how Aruba’s nature inspires him, his love for different artistic mediums such as photography, painting, and videography, growing up on Aruba, and the techniques he uses in his work.  Follow Armando on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artmando_multimedia/  Subscribe to Version 1's substack: version1podcast.substack.com/  Follow Version 1 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/version1podcast/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/waverlycolville 

Yvette Franken is a Dutch wedding and lifestyle photographer whose work blends a clean, editorial aesthetic with natural documentary moments. She prioritizes genuine connection with her clients and prepares thoroughly so her presence on the day can remain calm, unobtrusive, and focused. Her work has taken her to countries such as Morocco, Canada, France, and Aruba, where she consistently creates images that are true to each couple’s story. In addition to her wedding and lifestyle work, Yvette maintains a long-standing partnership with Boardwalk Boutique Hotel Aruba, a collaboration that is especially close to her heart. As the hotel’s dedicated photographer, she safeguards the brand’s visual identity through her imagery, video content, and their social media presence. Working alongside the hotel’s small, all-women team, she helps share the story of Boardwalk, its heritage, and the island of Aruba, where she lived for several years. In this episode, we discuss her background as a lawyer and how she transitioned to photography, working with the Boardwalk Hotel, her wedding photography work around the world, her creative process, how nature, hiking, and scuba diving influence her work, her favorite spots in Aruba, and more.    Follow Yvette on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvettefrankenphotography/  Subscribe to Version 1's substack: version1podcast.substack.com/  Follow Version 1 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/version1podcast/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/waverlycolville 

Roy Szuper has been an independent filmmaker for over twenty years. His films have screened at major international film festivals throughout the world. A first generation, native New Yorker, Roy Szuper initially started working in live music production where he found the topic for his first documentary. “Concert Joe: A New York Story.” Szuper’s next short titled “Charcoal,” was based on an instance of racial profiling that happened to his own family in the days after 9/11. It screened in Cannes and Buenos Aires.Szuper’s first feature, “Gonzo Music Diaries, NYC” started as a documentary about subway musicians and morphed into the story of a music festival during the Republican National Convention in New York. Szuper’s upcoming feature, “Can’t Let It Go,” will be released in March 2025 by Indican Pictures and 7 Palms Entertainment. It features Sex in the City’s Mario Cantone and is Executive Produced by his longtime mentor, Academy Award winner James Ivory. Szuper’s work at The Metropolitan Opera was his inspiration for “Madhouse,” a farce about an urban opera company. Szuper has recently completed his first novel titled “Love Letters from the Abyss”, loosely based on his experiences balancing life as a single father and an independent filmmaker in New York. He is developing a film culled from the novel. In this episode, we discuss his life as an independent filmmaker, writing his first novel, how screenwriting and novel writing are different, how his experience as a single dad influences his work, working at the Metropolitan Opera, other interesting life experiences he’s had and how he’s translated them into films, his writing process, what he loves about being on set, his editing process and approach, trying acting for the first time, how his experience acting affected his directing, and more.    Follow Roy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royszuper/ Check out Roy’s website: https://szuperfilms.com/  Subscribe to Version 1's substack: version1podcast.substack.com/  Follow Version 1 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/version1podcast/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/waverlycolville 

Jenny Leigh Hodgins is a creative empowerment coach, music educator, performer, composer, poet, author, and longtime Buddhist. For 30+ years, she has helped overwhelmed adults, creatives, and caregivers overcome creative blocks, rebuild trust in their creativity, restore energy, and empower creative flow and inspired living. She integrates burnout recovery, practical strategies, and artistic exploration to support sustainable, authentic creative living. In this episode, we talk about creative empowerment, how to overcome burnout, her RESET program to help tap into your creativity, what creativity is and is not, balancing a helpful Inner Critic and a harmful one, how she incorporates principles from Buddhism into her work, how important boundaries are, why creativity is undervalued and what we can do about it, and more.    Follow Jenny Leigh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourcreativechord/  Check out Jenny Leigh Hodgins’ website: https://www.yourcreativechord.com/  Subscribe to Version 1's substack: version1podcast.substack.com/  Follow Version 1 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/version1podcast/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/waverlycolville