At the beginning of 2019, my partner Chrysta and I decided to venture into the podcasting space. She performs improv and sketch comedy regularly, has a great sense of dark humor and is a great counter-balance to my overtly hermetic energy. =)
From the earliest days of our relationship, the ability to have very complex, in-depth conversations, even when on opposite ends of a topic, has come easy to us. When we began concepting projects to work on together, a podcast was a natural choice.
The initial podcast idea was a weekly review show focused on breaking down True Detective season 3. Halfway through our research... which involved binge-watching the first two seasons, we realized the amount of time and writing this would require. In addition, we would be learning in real-time. Neither of us are trained broadcasters, and I took on the added responsibility of learning everything on the tech side of the project; audio editing, setup, software, etc. We felt something that gave us more room to make mistakes and grow would better suit our goals for a podcast project. Plus, when a show is over... so is the podcast.
After a second brainstorm session that dug deeper into things we are passionate about, the strongest idea was around mental health and how people shouldn't be concerned about being "normal", because well, none of us are really normal. More importantly, it's our unique quirks that make us who we are and they should be celebrated.
We are both unapologetically... awkward. We have our individual anxieties and insecurities and we thought, what better way to normalize talking about these things, what better way for others to feel comfortable within their own anxieties and insecurities than by openly talking about them. If Chrysta and I can learn to be vulnerable and open about our experiences in life with others, then we could help in normalizing these kinds of conversations. We had a new direction that we quickly fell in love with.
I distinctly remember my teenage years and how I was constantly told what my normal should be and that I wasn't falling in line with it. And I think the feeling of not belonging or not fitting in is something almost everyone experiences at some point in their life. If we could help in some way, shape or form for someone to find that comfort in who they are, to see that we are all figuring this life out in real-time and making it up as we go; that quickly became the driving force behind the podcast.
Casually Awkward quickly became a positive endeavor for us. As a couple, we are able to continue to learn more about each other and evolve our bond together. it naturally helps with speaking and critical thinking skills. Chrysta is refining her marketing skills, and I am expanding my knowledge base to include audio software and production. Additionally, as we learn to be more vulnerable with our audience, it's providing an expanded bandwidth of patience and understanding and a growth in empathy within us.
Casually Awkward can be found wherever you get your podcasts. We currently have 10 episodes with a new one dropping very soon!
You can access everything podcast related over at casuallyawkward.com