Anthony Anthony Unfiltered

In the first episode of Connecticut Unfiltered, we talk with Anthony Anthony, former Chief Marketing Officer for the State of Connecticut, about the strategy behind positioning Connecticut as the Pizza Capital of the Nation, what it takes to shift a state’s reputation, and why authentic storytelling drives real impact.
Anthony also shares why he stepped away from public office to launch Running Club Consulting — a firm focused on helping organizations, leaders, and brands build movements through clarity, identity, and connection.
Learn how marketing, culture, and community intersect to shape how people experience Connecticut today.Learn more & get involved:
Support Connecticut Foodshare
https://www.ctfoodshare.org
Support Feeding Families Foundation
https://www.feedingfamilies.org

Transcript

Welcome to Connecticut Unfiltered

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This season of Connecticut Unfiltered is proudly supported by our seasoned partner, the Happy Confection.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

And this is the voice behind the reheated coffee club, the Instagram page with 50 plus thousand followers, sharing our state's hidden treasures in a little moment that can make life magical.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

If Connecticut's been showing up on your feed lately, that's not an accident. The Virginia's grandparents, remember, is long gone. This isn't a drive-through state anymore. It's destination. And on this podcast, we talk to people making that happen. This is Connecticut Unfiltered. Hi, I'm your host, Ellie

Meet Anthony Anthony: The Pizza CMO

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Doyle of Reheated Coffee Club, and my first guest is a man so nice. They named him twice, Anthony Anthony, former CMO of the state of Connecticut, and now founder and principal of Running Club, one of the biggest slices of the marketing pie that made Connecticut the nation's pizza capital, which we will get into deeply on this podcast. Promise. I promise. Winning awards like 40 under 40 by Hartford Business Journal in 2024 and the Friend of the Industry Award by The Crazies in 2025. He helped turn food into a tourism engine. The pizza campaign pulled in 17 billion impressions, 4,000 plus global stories, a 68% spike in Connecticut pizza searches, and nearly 18% more visitors from New York City, which big that's a big ask. He's a dad, he's a husband, he's a friend, and he's just an overall really good person. So we're here to talk about it all. Welcome Anthony Anthony to Connecticut Unfiltered.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Love it. Thank you. I uh I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm so excited you're here. I didn't know half of that stuff was true. You didn't know you were a dad? I mean, those are the things I knew that I, you know, that was half that I was well aware of.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Before we get started, I have a gift.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

A gift?

SPEAKER_02 1:49

A gift. A gift. I have a gift.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

I love Hartford Prince, and Rory does amazing things. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

There is a card in there, but you don't have to read it. I hate when people read cards in front of me. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

Is this one of those things I should open in front of you? But you can open it.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

You can open it in front of me. Um but you could save the card for And gifts is my love language. Okay. Like gift giving, which gives it's a bad rep. Okay. Do you know your love language?

SPEAKER_03 2:11

Uh acts of service.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Okay. Before your wife loves that.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

So when I uh when I wake up in the morning and I get her a cup of coffee in bed, like that's my love language.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Did she receive that as her?

SPEAKER_03 2:24

She's it's it's a yes and no. We've it's taken years for us to figure these things out. She loves she loves gift, gift giving. Gift giving. So yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

It gets a bad rep, but it's more about the thought that goes behind thinking of someone.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

Oh, this is fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Okay, so for those who are listening to the podcast, um, he's opening up a shirt that says gay for hockey. And this is because uh we had been we had just finished watching the uh Stranger Things finale, and we were texting about it, and um it was the Will Byers scene where he was taught giving his big coming out scene, and we were texting about that, and then you know, with Heated Rivalry coming out, I think Anthony had sent me a text basically being like, is everything everything is gay right now?

SPEAKER_03 3:14

We're in a moment. It's fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

And I that was the first time I had ever heard of heated rivalry.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

So it's a hell of a show. I mean, I'll give credit where credit's due, and I'll also criticize where it's due. It's such a good story, but my gosh, it took me forever to get into it. I almost abandoned it after the second episode. I finally said to my wife, I said, if I wanted to watch softcore porn, I'd watch softcore porn. Where is the story?

SPEAKER_02 3:39

And it got a story. It got a great story. And do you know what? It's the closest I've ever gotten to understanding sports.

SPEAKER_03 3:45

So are you a huge hockey fan though? I love hockey. Aaron Ross Powell Did you watch the uh USA men's and women's team win gold? Yes, totally. You totally did.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Yeah, and and I was rooting for them to all kiss at the end.

SPEAKER_03 4:01

They didn't?

SPEAKER_02 4:02

They didn't. So let's get a little bit into you and uh let's start with some family life and and upbringing.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

All right. Um tell me. You ask

Family Life and Upbringing

SPEAKER_03 4:13

away.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

I will. I will. I hate to ask this because I'm sure that this is the probably most asked question in your life.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

Let's get the let's get the 800-pound gorilla.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

The name.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

The name.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

The Anthony Anthony. Uh what's the story behind it? Is there anyone else in your family that has the double Anthony name? Do your parents do they just love that name so much? What's the story?

SPEAKER_03 4:36

So much. So much. Um, the real story on it, and you probably tell throughout this conversation, it's a big Greek family. They're all storytellers. So the story that was told to me, which at this point in time I don't believe at all, was my grandfather immigrated here from Cyprus in the early 1950s, and his name was Anthony Speos, and somehow it got changed to Anthony Anthony. And so you know the Greek Greek family tradition always gets handed down. You name your son after your father. And so I was named after my grandfather. Um and I also got his last name, too.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

So Spiros turned into Anthony.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

Yeah, and that's what I don't think I'll ever get a real story as to why. We're gonna hire a PI.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

Yeah, we're gonna do some deep diving.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Was he fleeing the Greek mafia? Was he trying to change his identity? I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, here we are. You know, they told me it was it got changed in immigration. Okay. Which is it's possible that that's a pretty common story, but Anthony Anthony, like that?

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Was there ever a thought in your head that you wanted to pass down the Anthony Anthony to your son?

SPEAKER_03 5:46

Fuck no. I had to break that dam with the F-word. I'm sure more will come. Yeah. No, absolutely not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

If it makes you feel better, we could do a communal fuck on three if you feel that, okay. Let's just get it out there. One, two, three, five. Fuck. Okay. Okay, good. Great. We feel good? Okay, we feel good about it. That was like that trend where you leave your kid in the bathroom and let them say every swear word. Oh my god. You saw the video of my six-year-old doing it. When she was four, she went crazy. We let, I think she was four when we did it. We let her stay in the bathroom. We're like, you can let everything out, but once we leave this once you come out of this bathroom, you can't say it anymore. We thought we would maybe get like a shit or something. Our four-year-old looked in the mirror and she was like, fuck. What's the best? Fuck. Toothbrush. I was like, what? What is this? Words that you would never ever expect coming together. I do know. All right. I digress. Anyway, okay. Well, there you have it. For people who are wondering, Greek tradition passed down, fleeing from the mafia, Anthony Anthony. That's what we're gonna roll with. That's what we're gonna roll with. And there might be more to the story, but that'll be for another that'll be for another podcast. Yep. All right, siblings. Big family.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

Big family. Big Greek family.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

That's what must be fun for holidays.

SPEAKER_03 7:08

Uh fun and unnerving. It's a lot of trauma there. A lot of trauma.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

We love family trauma.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

Oh, yes. Yes, very much so. I'm the oldest of four. I have three younger sisters.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

I I knew you had sisters. Yes. I knew you had sisters.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

So I have two twin sisters who are younger, Alex and Sophia. Love that. And Shelby is ten years younger. She is my stepsister, but at this point, never see her anything other than sister. Raised by a single father. And so uh, you know, I had aunts and grandmothers and raised by a lot of women. So when I have a a daughter, Isabel, who's seven, and my son Julian, who's four.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

And they're amazing. I got to meet them at a play place. They're the nicest kids ever. Well, I mean, back at you. Back at you.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

Um when we found out that we Julian was gonna be a boy, I was super disappointed. I wanted another little girl. I was like, I don't know how to raise a boy. Like Kara was like, You're you're a guy, how do you not know? I was like, I'm I'm a male raised by women. Like I just don't know.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Which is interesting because you were raised by a single dad.

SPEAKER_03 8:19

Yeah. Well, I'd say he he had to work and then got there was a lot of other women around.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

Sure. So may I ask why the single dad?

SPEAKER_03 8:28

Yeah, so this is um this is an interesting story, and a lot of people are pretty surprised by it. So when I was well, how old was I? I almost I was almost eleven. It was a week before my 11th birthday. My mom got up and just dipped in the middle of the night.

SPEAKER_02 8:44

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 8:45

Never came back.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

No no.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

Uh she left a note to the dad, not not to us. You know, we kind of like casually saw her over the course of the next year. Uh and without getting too much into a sob story, she was with a guy who was made us all very uncomfortable, my sisters and I. And so I've had to say to her, I said, We want to see you, we don't want to see this guy. And she was like, Okay, well, then you're not gonna see me, and have not seen or spoken to her since. It was it was a you know what it it was terrible. I mean, you talk about trauma, there's trauma there, but what I will say is that it has most certainly set me up for the rest of my life. Sometimes you gotta do the hard thing, and also though, you know, you have to look out for the the people around you that you love. And my dad has very much so shaped the the person I am today.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

It's amazing that your dad like really stepped up and was like I I have to be mom and dad right now.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

Very, very much so. He um and he didn't have to do it that way, and he did it, and like I give him huge, huge kudos for it. And he did the best that he absolutely could, you know, but like you know it, being a parent, like you're not perfect. No, but you also recognize that you have these little people that look at you in a way, and you gotta make sure that they uh you live up to it as much as you can, and you also show vulnerability that you aren't perfect.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Is it and isn't it crazy that as we grow up, we then look at our parents as like real people and not as these like invincible superheroes, and we're like, wow, what they were going through when we were young, and like you see it in a different light. Like I even look at my parents now and I'm like totally different perspective than when I was younger.

SPEAKER_03 10:34

Yeah. You know? It's a lot of forgiveness. Sure. It's like, oh my gosh, I understand.

SPEAKER_02 10:39

Yes. Have you gotten in touch with her as an adult? No. Do you have any relationships? No, no, no. Nothing. Nothing.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

I think uh I there was the closest that anything had ever happened. She had messaged me through Facebook after about 15 years of not being around. Um And then we went a little back and forth, like very surface level. Hello, how are you? What are you up to? Uh and she was off her fucking rocker. And so I was like, okay, I don't need to broach this. I'm good.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:09

I'm good. I mean, that doesn't mean that my sisters might not want to pursue that at some point. Sure. Um, but for me, like that is a door I don't need opened. Sure.

The Journey to Connecticut

SPEAKER_02 11:19

It's shaped you into be being an incredible dad and an incredible person.

SPEAKER_03 11:23

Well, thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

So let's talk about growing up a little bit. So you weren't born in Connecticut.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

I am not from Connecticut. I'm originally from Northern Virginia. Okay. Spent a lot of my time going between there and suburban um Maryland, right outside of D.C., just the other side of the Beltway. Yeah. Any DC folks out there, you know the Beltway? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

I have family there.

SPEAKER_03 11:43

Yeah. You know the Beltway there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um so my uh my grandparents were in Maryland, so we kind of like went back and forth a lot. But uh yeah, I tell you what, if you'd have told me about five and a half years ago, I'd be here sitting with you today in Connecticut, talking about all things Connecticut, in addition to my own.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Having running a business in Connecticut.

SPEAKER_03 12:05

I would have I would tell you you're crazy.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

I know. So how did you did you vacation in Connecticut? How did you start coming to Connecticut?

SPEAKER_03 12:11

I had never stopped in Connecticut prior to living here. I had only driven through like everybody else. Drive-thru state.

SPEAKER_02 12:19

Well, here you are. How did you first come here?

SPEAKER_03 12:23

Um so the drive-throughs were always I was living in New York. My wife, then girlfriend, she grew up in Massachusetts, so we'd go back and forth and visit her parents and go up to Maine where they uh they live in the summer. So we'd just drive right through. And I always thought that this entire state was all Fairfield County. And it is anything but I mean it's such an incredible place.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Right, right. Yeah. And then so you would drive through with your wife, and then what was the first thing that made you like kind of stop and look around and then be like, oh wait, oh sh shit. Maybe we go to a restaurant here, maybe we're a job offer. A job offer. And were you seeking it or did they seek you?

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Uh it was a little bit of both, I will say. So longest possible story short. Okay. And this is how we get to today. Okay. 2016 rolls around. Um current president Trump got elected. Sh shh. Yeah. Utterly, uh utterly just disappointed and shook by it. Yeah. My background at the time I was living in New York working as a creative director at a brand comms agency. And it's like, you know what, my background's in government. I want to take my skills that I've developed here and apply it back to government because I don't like what's happening. And President Obama in his uh farewell address said, if you don't like what's happening, go out there, lace up your shoes, go organize, and go make it happen. That's the point of democracy. So I took it to heart and I left my job, got you know, slowly but surely got into uh politics. So we ended up in DC. I worked in uh worked on the Hill for about six months. It's the worst job I've ever had in my life. Awful. Left, um, was doing consulting and doing a documentary series, pr writing, producing, and directing. And the pandemic hit all the consulting, all the documentary just went away. So I jump on this DC council campaign. Um we got uh the young the young person I was working with, she got elected, made history first woman to ever hold that seat, and the youngest person ever to be on the DC council is really cool. And the next thing you know, um I'm talking to the first lady of Connecticut because the young woman that I worked with, uh, who is now a council member running for Congress, she grew up in Connecticut and went to school with Governor Lamont's daughters. So it's just you just never know the world. It's true.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

It's it's just so crazy how those things happen. It's like you And that's what I've noticed about being in Connecticut too. I've never experienced experienced networking like how it is here that you almost like don't ever want to really say no to opportunities to be in the room.

SPEAKER_03 15:17

Trevor Burrus You do not. I mean, and I would give that to anybody anywhere they're at.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

It's advice for anyone.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yes. You say yes to every conversation doesn't mean you actually have to say yes to the opportunity. Right. But it's you just never know. Yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

The amount of people I have met, I mean the pizza trail alone, that's where we met. And that it's and you know where we first really got to start talking was that um the first night.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

Oh yeah, we were I forgot we were at the upstairs. Oh, oh yes, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

There was like eight people there. Yeah, we were all just sitting around the table. Yeah. No. I c I could have very easily just like stayed in that night. And I wanted to. Three kids, multiple jobs.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

I was like, I don't feel like, you know what?

SPEAKER_02 16:05

I was invited to this, and I should go and show face for a little bit, and that's how we met. And because there was so little people, we had the opportunity to talk and like really meet and have a conversation and an opportunity that like there was so many people the rest of the weekend, so much going on, we probably wouldn't have had that time to really like talk and connect.

SPEAKER_03 16:25

It's true. I you know what I totally forgot about that, just to be very honest. Yeah. Because I remember I thought you were gonna say the second night when we were at NOLO, we were talking about.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

Oh my god, I was so drunk. Yeah, it happens. I was so drunk, I barely remember I just remember being like, I love Connecticut. I remember you being like, Do you need my job? I was like, I don't know. I just love it here. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

But I don't remember you being that that uh under the influence because you were talking pretty short. It was you, me, and Arda. We were talking specifically about our love of Connecticut.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

No, I wasn't I wasn't that hammered, but I I was the first night I was like very just like business. The second night we had been like eating, drinking all day at that point. It was like the after party, and I was just like, I was honestly more tired than under the influence. But I we were like ripping shots at that point, like we were taking like tequila shots, and I was just like, I just remember looking at you and being like, I just love it here. And I remember telling you too, I was like I loved that I was surrounded by men who are not intimidated by women with a strong voice because in the field that I had been working in in Florida, that you almost felt like you had to be smaller to be accepted in the marketing world and that it was like embraced and accepted, and then you were just like, hell yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Like we love strange to me. It's like it's just it's foreign, but yeah. Then again, Connecticut and Florida almost different countries. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

So now fast forward, you are CMO of the state of Connecticut. Um, did you ever feel like you were responsible for like convincing people that Connecticut was like very cool?

SPEAKER_03 17:55

No, no, I never felt like I was responsible for making the world see Connecticut as cool. I said, really, I let's flip it on its head. Okay. I always wanted to make sure that Connecticut knew it was cool. It's a culture shift. That's all we really needed to do. And it's been there, it's always existed. It's just a matter of how do we raise that bar a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Aaron Powell Exactly, exactly. So then here comes in the pizza, New York, food war era. Are you so sick of talking about pizza yet?

SPEAKER_03 18:23

Yes. And I'm I I wish I could say I was tired of eating it, but it I don't think I'll ever get it.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

I don't know if anyone will ever get sick of eating pizza. No. Um what does Julian say? Like you work for pizza? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

Both of my kids think I work for pizza. I mean, you you kind of do.

Marketing Connecticut: The Pizza Campaign

SPEAKER_03 18:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Um so a pizza's been around since the 1920s. Why is Connecticut just now becoming the nation's pizza capital?

SPEAKER_03 18:46

Aaron Ross Powell Because Connecticut has um I guess the nicest way to say it is it's just part of the New England personality is you don't beat your chest. And I uh I it's kind of the opposite. It's not that I beat my chest, but if you don't tell your story, nobody else will. So we started to tell our story.

SPEAKER_02 19:07

It's funny that you said that because I was actually having a conversation with my publicist recently that like the way she was r raised was like be modest, be like keep it to yourself, like be humble. And like, you know, the way that I was raised in Miami was like be loud, be flashy, be showy. It's such a different culture shock. And like so that that's very makes sense to me. Like Connecticut is like, don't beat your chest, or like another way of saying it is but it's like, how else will people know about you?

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Yeah, well, it's funny. So when the the first thing that really started to get people's attention was September of 24. We put highway signs up on the border of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and those signs were intentionally provocative.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:50

New York border said Connecticut's the pizza capital, the Massachusetts border says that Connecticut is the basketball capital, and Rhode Island said two different things, submarine capital and foodie capital. When we did the press conference, the governor said that I was the most modest man in Connecticut, and he was gonna put a sign up on my front lawn that I am the most modest person in Connecticut. Um very you know you could sense that uh maybe maybe not super happy. Uh and then one of the headlines of the story says um big signs for an immodest state. Thank you, Mark Pasniokis. Um it's true, it was, you know, there was nothing modest about it, but uh we you you just we needed to shake the system. It was just like, come on, guys, let's if we're gonna be part of the national conversation, we have to lead it. We can't just be people driving through, we have to capture their attention to get them to stop.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Do you almost feel like it worked so well because it was such a loud statement for such a modest state?

SPEAKER_03 20:53

I think it was part of it. I also think that part of it, it wasn't just the signs, it wasn't just you know uh pizza capital trails and billboards in New York. We were in on the joke. It's like it's usually you know, some uh a self-effacing sense of humor, I think, goes a long way. Sure. And it was never like we're better than you, it was always like we're better than you, like elbow, like a cheeky type. So we have we had fun with it.

SPEAKER_02 21:23

Are you worried that now that you're not at this state uh that there won't be voices in power like loud enough and risky enough to keep that kind of momentum going?

SPEAKER_03 21:32

I think the team who has taken over, Morgan Nyrik is the um she's leading the team. Yeah. The reason Morgan is leading the team is because she has that talent, she has that excitement, she has that level of care and strategic thinking. Yeah. Like the success that we had, uh it was less about me, and I think it was more about the fact that we had a bunch of brilliant people, and I was willing to push it really hard.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Do you feel like they'll still keep pushing things like that?

SPEAKER_03 22:02

Yeah, I have v all the confidence that that Morgan is going to lead that charge.

SPEAKER_02 22:06

Aaron Powell Amazing. Yeah, I was just at a conference where her and Rachel were both speaking on Friday, and they seem very passionate about keeping tourism and marketing and all the things alive and well. And they seem to have some big ideas, so really excited for the Ross Power.

SPEAKER_03 22:20

Yeah. Yeah, I have no doubt that. I think Morgan sees the big picture. It's not it's not about tourism and the like, hey, let's get families from across the country to come visit Connecticut. Sure, that's part of it. Right. It's also part of showing people that this is a fantastic place to raise a family and live. And it's a wonderful place to set up a business to grow your career, to be part of something much bigger than yourself. And I think that's firmly understood in that office. It's just a matter of how do they say that and show the world in a way that's not typical.

SPEAKER_02 22:58

One thing I really want my page to focus on, one thing I've been astounded with recently is the arts community here, how many plays there are and how it's like Broadway style. I mean, you and I both were a guest in that Gutenberg play. And there is no reason that play should have been anything but packed. Those actors, their vocal, their vocals, the play itself was Broadway. It was on Broadway, it was yeah, well yes, the play itself was, but those they were incredible. And I think that Connecticut needs to be a destination where people are driving to to see their plays. I mean The Counter at Theater Works in Hartford, if you have a chance to go see it.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Really good. Really good. Yeah. Have you been to The Good Speed yet? No. You have to go to the Good Speed. So The Good Speed is this beautiful old opera house right on the Connecticut River. And not only is it just a stunning place and they do fantastic, originally produced shows, it's a whole campus. Most people don't know this. I think it's like 35, 40 buildings within this town, all part of their campus. Actors live there. They have all of their costumes designed. They actually have one of the biggest warehouses of costumes. So like when a big Broadway show doesn't need their costumes anymore, they ship them there. And people and they loan them out to other productions. They'd loan them out to Hollywood. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

It's like the Olympic Village, but for acting.

SPEAKER_03 24:24

It totally is. They make all of their own set pieces there. They have a huge manufacturing.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

Like how is the art scene not part of like the Connecticut's pillars?

SPEAKER_03 24:36

It's we just don't tell our story.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Aaron Ross Powell It's gonna be told here.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Yes. It really does need to be told.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

Going back to like the pizza uh marketing plan, did you get pushback from the state of Connecticut? Did or was the whole team, were they all for it? Did you did you really have to like try for it or were they like this isn't gonna work?

SPEAKER_03 24:57

So I'll let the cat out of the bag. No, we didn't get pushback because I never once asked for permission.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

Yes, absolutely. So two things happened. One, I think the highway signs showed people that they can trust me. Yeah. Uh even though like that was basically three of us who just did it without asking for permission.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Which like not asking for permission with something in a government office is like you gotta have some cojones.

SPEAKER_03 25:26

Yes. Yes, we definitely definitely uh You almost ended up on like a no-fly list. Oh yeah, we definitely took a huge chance, huge risk there. Um but then afterwards, so like with the signs, for example, my boss, Dan O'Keeffe, commissioner of DECD. When he saw that we were putting up these signs, he was like, Do you have any data to back up these claims? I was like, no, why why do we need data? We just claim it. It's not like Data.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

I'm not

Transitioning to Running Club

SPEAKER_02 25:52

a scientist.

SPEAKER_03 25:52

Yeah, exactly. I was like, just just say it and just keep saying it and give meaning to it and show people and let them experience it, and then it'll become its own thing. Yeah. And that's what we did. That's why we did a whole pizza trail, which you were part of. That's why It was so fun.

SPEAKER_02 26:07

It was like summer camp. We were all like That's exactly what it was. It was summer camp for adults.

SPEAKER_03 26:13

When it was over, I was so disappointed. I felt like like a part of me.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

The only thing we needed, the only thing we needed was we needed to all rent a house and stay in it together.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

Yes, that would be ridiculous.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

We would have never slept. It was nice. It was kind of nice that we all went back to our hotel rooms.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Yeah, also I don't think any of us, like, after two days of eating pizza, like we all just wanted to just lay in bed and just sleep. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

Oh my gosh, yeah. It was awful in that way.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

I mean, t yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:37

I didn't eat pizza for weeks after that. No, same. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

I mean, to be fair, it was all different types of pizza with all different types of toppings, so it wasn't like the same thing all the time.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

No, it was all different. And it was just I'm I'm pretty certain after the last year and a half, my body has become gluten intolerant. I just cannot cannot eat copious amounts of pizza anymore.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

Yeah. Um yeah, that was a really fun press tour. And that kind of like kicked off my like career too. So I had like a big thing.

SPEAKER_03 27:08

I don't know. I th you I had known who you were well before the pizza tour.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: But like as you're talking about.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

You were on the news, like you had done work with Ellen in our office. Like, sure.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

I had done like a little bit of stuff, but like as far as like career moves, like it opened a lot of doors for me, and it also like kind of gave me the confidence to be like, I can make a career out of this, I can do this. Like I kind of know the path I want to go, where it's not just like reviews, it's more like storytelling, and like I'm good at this kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 27:38

You are. I I, you know, it's like you can sense that when you have a conversation with you. And I'm glad that that type of experience not only did you get that sense of community, but you also were like, oh, okay, I I we can do this. Yeah. This is this is this is it.

SPEAKER_02 27:52

Yeah, it was very much like we can do this. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break and we're going to fill up our coffees instead of reheating them, and we will be right back. If you're someone who cares about supporting local farms, you should check out Pink Tractor Crew. They're passionate about connecting people with Connecticut agriculture, whether that's finding fresh dairy delivered right to your door or tracking down maple syrup straight from the tap. It's all about supporting local farmers and making fresh food more accessible. You can explore their resources at StantonsBM.com. You know how edibles can feel a little intimidating if you're not exactly sure where to start? That's actually why I love the Happy Confection. A Connecticut brand based in Westbrook, they've made edibles really approachable by creating ratio-based cannabis gummies. So instead of everything hitting the same way, the experience is dialed in depending on what you're looking for. Whether that's relaxing or feeling creative or just unwinding at the end of a day. There's even options for medical card patients looking for higher potencies. Everything is chef crafted with organic ingredients, vegan, gluten-free, and made with strain-specific terpenes, so you get a consistent experience without that bitter aftertaste that a lot of gummies can have. They're also queer-owned, women-owned, and family-run, and you can find them in over 60 dispensaries across Connecticut. You can find the closest one nearest to you at thehappyconfection.com, and don't forget to sign up for their email lists where you can find out about product launches and deals going on near you. They're called the Happy Confection, and it's cannabis crafted for joy. Looking for insurance is honestly so stressful. Every year when I have to deal with it, I feel like I need a spot after. And that's why I love keating agency insurance in West Hartford. They're a third-generation family business with a real people-first mantra. They do the hard part for you, shopping multiple companies to find the best coverage. They handle home, auto, business, life, and even umbrella policies and can bundle things to save you money. So instead of spiraling online, comparing policies, just call Keating and let them handle it. Well, welcome back. We have a nice new hot cup of coffee. Yes, we do. He likes it black like his soul.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

It is icy and black.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

So when we left, we were talking a bit about Pizza Nation Capital. Um so with that being such a success, and now that you are branching out to your own company, and which we will get into that in a moment, but are you worried that now kind of like how actors get typecasted into a role, are you a little bit worried that you will now get kind of typecasted into that kind of pizza role with future clients?

SPEAKER_03 30:26

No, no. In fact, the last month since I have been out of my uh my role as a public servant, there has not been a single offer from the pizza world, which is fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 30:40

That surprises me immensely because I feel like you are so tied to this nation's pizza capital title.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

I'm I'm I'm I'm glad. So don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore pizza. I'm glad we were able to accomplish

The Future of Running Club

SPEAKER_03 30:53

what we were able to accomplish. I'm glad that this industry of of restaurateurs and pizza makers, which is 97% small businesses, I'm glad we were able to elevate them. Yeah. Um, but it was never about pizza. Right. It was never about pizza. Pizza was the vehicle to elevate Connecticut.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Right. It's almost like a metaphor.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

Yes. Oh, tell me. All right. Give me give me more.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Well, it's almost like the pizza is the community. You know, pizza is so much more than just bread, dough, sauce, cheese.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

It's a vehicle for delivery. Sure. It's a vehicle for community.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Yeah, exactly. Yes. It's story, it's history.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

But one big butt here. I like big butts, and I get no. You will not lie. Um the big butt here is that any pizza can be a personal pizza if you're hungry enough.

SPEAKER_02 31:45

Mike Drop. Is that the alright podcast? Over. That was the final line. Yep. He can market anything, running club. So now we're at this point where you've made your decision to leave, and this this title, everybody knows you as the CMO of Connecticut, and you're so good at this role, and you're it's kind of like your identity with the state. I mean, not your personal identity, but it all merges.

SPEAKER_03 32:11

It all merges together. It's like it's like an actor whose method acting and they end up becoming Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

And it's it's hard to picture Connecticut without like Anthony Anthony. Was there a moment that you knew that you were done before you left?

SPEAKER_03 32:27

It's a really good question. I don't think it was ever a single moment. I think there were several small moments that just added up. The one that I was like, okay, yeah, this is this is it. We started, we we put out a survey into the field. It was a nationwide brand survey. Hadn't done it quite like this since 2021. And when we uh were starting to get preliminary data back, it was all looking very positive. And then we got the final data back and we realized that it was night and day difference. So like some of the top words in 2021 that people were using to describe Connecticut small, cold, boring, and expensive. And now the when the words were cultural, food, welcoming, progressive. I mean, it's it's night and day. I love that. Night and day. And don't get me wrong, are we a small state? Yes. Is is the cost of living higher than some places? Some, but not all. Um you know, I grew up in DC and then lived in New York for a decade, so Connecticut is the cheapest place I've ever lived. Yeah. Um is it cold here? Yeah, but these n that's not gonna change. Yeah. So instead of focusing on the negative, we changed the narrative by getting the positive out there. Yeah. And so that was the moment. I mean, really, when I took over this role in 2023, my mission was to change perceptions of Connecticut. It's not my mission. That was what was bestowed upon me as my job.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

So it's like you felt like my work here is done. Yes. Like there was nothing else to do for you.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

I think that was the cherry on top of the Sunday. It was like, okay, it go out on top.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

Gotcha. So were you interviewing for other positions, or did you always know that you wanted to work for yourself?

SPEAKER_03 34:22

It took me a little bit of time to get to that point of realizing, okay, I'm gonna go do this for myself.

SPEAKER_02 34:27

Yeah. It's scary. Oh, yeah. Especially when you have other like little mouths to feed.

SPEAKER_03 34:33

Mm-hmm. Yeah, very much so.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

You must have the world's most supportive wife, I have to say that.

SPEAKER_03 34:38

Aaron Powell She is. She is wildly supportive. Um, she puts up with a lot of shit, and she can give it too.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

And I know that you guys have a good relationship. You know how I know that? Um one of the first times that we hung out or I met you, um I was in a rush and I had like my makeup was not like well blended, and you came up to me and you were just like, You're you're highlighter, you have to like blend it a bit. And I was like, no man, no straight man who does not have a good relationship with his wife, like his wife has trained him so well that like they get ready in the same bathroom together. Like he knows enough about like her makeup routine, and like they are so such good partners that he knows when like her makeup's not blended. And I was like, they have a good partnership.

SPEAKER_03 35:29

Yes. Yes, that thank you. Well, thank you for for saying this. And and I th I'd like to think so. Yeah. So sorry, go on.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

So you guys going off on your own is scary.

SPEAKER_03 35:38

Yeah, she's super supportive. Um, the people who I think are most surprised are the kids. They're like, Daddy, you're not working for the governor anymore.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

You're not working for pizza anymore?

SPEAKER_03 35:49

Yeah, you're not working for pizza anymore. They're like, are we not going to go to that big castle anymore, the Capitol? Oh. And I'm like, I don't think so, sweetie. I'm sorry. And she's like, Well, I have to ask the governor if he'll vote for me for president. So I took her with me one day to the Capitol. We went uh Also, sweetie, like you don't want to be president.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

Trevor Burrus, Jr. She does. She so badly she wants to be president. Aaron Powell Sh she would do a better job than our current president. Like as if she was president right now. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

Well, she's gonna have a l uh a supportive group of people behind her to help her get there. I will say that 100%. She um so I take her to the office. She wanted to to see the governor. Uh so I took her with me, and he was actually outside of his office walking around. And she walks up to him and she goes, Governor, will you vote for me for president?

SPEAKER_02 36:39

I love her. And he I love a queen who knows what she wants.

SPEAKER_03 36:42

Yes. I I mean I'm so proud as a parent to to see my daughter vocalizing what it is she wants and asking for it, because nobody's gonna give you. My my stepmom always said this, and I think it explains everything. If you you you're not gonna G-E-T if you don't A S K. It's true.

SPEAKER_02 37:00

Creature It's true, it's so true.

SPEAKER_03 37:03

So she wants she goes up and she asks him, and he had a great answer. He said to her, You asked for the vote. Of course I'm gonna vote for you.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Amazing. I was like, great answer, Gov.

SPEAKER_03 37:15

Great answer. I think I think that's probably the hardest part for the family. But so far it's been it's been really interesting. I'm learning a ton. There is a lot of energy. I've gotten a bunch of calls. I have been on a lot of calls and had a lot of meetings, but I'm also learning quickly that all that energy doesn't necessarily mean movement. There's a lot to use a metaphor here, there's a lot of wheel spinning, but not necessarily forward motion. And the fact that I'm spending a lot of time and energy having conversations, putting out proposals, giving people a sense of what it is I offer and how we're gonna do it. And so what I'm learning quickly is that A, some people just don't f realize how much these things cost. Sure. And so that's part of the lack of focus.

SPEAKER_02 38:07

And money to make money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:08

And then there's also like I'm learning a new skill of I've gotta close the deal. Yeah. And so like there are some people who see these things in front of them and they're just like taking their time and it's just like, okay, I need to figure out how to literally why I hired a publicist.

SPEAKER_02 38:22

Yeah. I realized that I was absolute shit at it.

SPEAKER_03 38:25

Like I And you have a great publicist, by the way. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

I give away the house, my bleeding heart. I realize that I would just work for free.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

And I'll tell a quick story for everybody. I made a connection between um between you and your publicists, who shall not be named for the sake of anonymity to somebody very important so that way they could come onto the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:49

And your publicist wrote the most badass email back. Of course. She's too good. Jumped in, took over, was like basically just like led this conversation. I'm like, oh, be still, my heart.

SPEAKER_02 39:01

I know. No, it's so awesome to see. And she's so the opposite of me. She's so the opposite of me. We were sharing a story. We were talking here that like we were at like a networking event, and I'm such like an inappropriate person. Like, I don't know why my my brain works that way. And my first thing would have been when somebody came to introduce me. Me and my publicist, they came, they came in and they were like, Oh, how do you guys know each other? And and this is not like like a networking event. I just go, what is it? The the gangbang? And my publicist face just goes beat red. And this is literally like You texted me.

SPEAKER_03 39:36

You're like, Did I I said this?

SPEAKER_02 39:38

I was like, I was like, yeah, maybe maybe we can say that next time. I was like, why am I the way that I am?

SPEAKER_03 39:44

You clearly have a love of pop culture. And so like those pop culture things.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

You know what? I I think that you're right. I think that you're right. I think it's like like you know those like uh vocal stims or like ticks, like those things. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:59

I I mean I ha I so I told you the story earlier, grew up with a single dad, but also when my mom was around, she was not overly present. I basically was raised with television and movies. So my response mentally would also be you know, the the answer to that question, the gangbang, because it's like I'm thinking of of uh super bad or old school. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 40:24

But also like at this point, I I've also trained myself to know.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

I need, I need like I feel like if I get bigger, if we end up like on like a TV show or something, I'm gonna need like a PR T or like media training. Need like media training. This is Connecticut Unfiltered, though. We don't do media training. I want the unfiltered here. That was a fantastic moment, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

That was a mean for TV moment.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Um the other one, I was at a I was at like a nonprofit event like for kids, like for underfunded like school children.

SPEAKER_03 40:52

Where is this going? This is this is getting oh where is this going? I'm just gonna pause and listen.

SPEAKER_02 40:58

I had a I had a purse on and it had a bag chain with like cherries on it. Like so it had like the cherries, and this like sweet old lady was like, I love your bag chain. I love the cherries. And I'm like, are they cherries or are they bagballs? And she just was like, oh. And I just walked away.

SPEAKER_03 41:17

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 41:18

And it was just like very quiet, and I was just like so running club.

SPEAKER_03 41:25

But is the is this the first time you've gone off on your own as like a this is the first time I've ever established anything formal like this. So when I left my previous private sector job, the agency I was at in 2016, and w ended up in politics and public service, I freelanced. But that was like I was just gonna go do the occasional gig for these, you know, the small network of agencies that I knew. It wasn't quite at this level.

SPEAKER_02 41:53

Okay. So now today you've started running club. So talk to me about the name, what it means, how you came to it.

SPEAKER_03 42:03

So running club is reputation management, brand development, and growth strategy. Really, you know, like I I don't want to get into the day-to-day graphic design and video making and things like that. Can I do that? Yeah, we can I can do that, and I'll bring in partners who can absolutely do that. Okay. Really, what I do well is that big picture thinking. It's not just ideas coming out of nowhere, it's it's the why. I think so much that question doesn't get answered. And it's just pretty pictures and cool stories for the sake of beauty and coolness. Yeah. And it has to have a purpose. Sure. And that's really what brand is. I think people think of brands as just logos and fonts and whatnot. It's strategy, it's identity. And if you're not living your identity, there's this disconnect, and people understand that and it creates a huge problem for whatever it is you're selling, whether it's product or service. Absolutely. So creating that type of alignment, I hate business jargon, but alignment. Um and living those values.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

Yeah, I mean when I was at Reputation Main and I went to your breakout session, your whole thing with archetypes, it was so yeah, it was super impactful. It seems like that's very similar to what you're doing on a big level.

SPEAKER_03 43:29

Yes, exactly. So what what uh Ellie is referencing here are the 12 brand archetypes. Yeah. And we use those 12 brand archetypes to help figure out what the brand of identity of the state of Connecticut was. So I came in when I came in in 2023, the first big project we did was a rebrand of the state and wanted to make sure that the state wasn't just, you know, like we we weren't just about geography or places in the state. It was an identity, it was a characteristic, like it was a person. And So people could see themselves in it and identify with it and also appreciate it. Yeah. So that's part of the thinking behind Running Club, the name itself. Am I a runner? Yes, I am a runner. But it's not really about that. It's about the moves that become momentum, which can transform into a movement. Very similar to what we did with the state. Yeah. It's like, yes, we rebranded. That's just a move. Yes, we went out and put up highway signs. That's a move. That turned into momentum. It turned into a movement over time because people started to get involved. This became the publics. It wasn't about us, it was about everybody else entering the conversation and taking ownership over it.

SPEAKER_01 44:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:44

And so that sense of um movement, but then also the club piece, it's that sense of togetherness. You can't create yes, you cannot create movements without community. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

It's about having You're running towards something too. Like you're trying to get somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 45:00

And that's why, as you see here, our logo, our logo mark, it's the delta symbol, which represents change, and a circle, which is the community.

SPEAKER_02 45:10

Yeah. Anthony brought me some stickers, forward or nothing.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

This is my first, my first thing.

SPEAKER_02 45:14

Did you design the logo?

SPEAKER_03 45:16

I designed the logo. I'm a very bad graphic designer because it's simple. That's true. And our tagline is forward or nothing.

SPEAKER_02 45:27

I love it. And I love uh your LinkedIn bio. What is it? Like um something for kick-ass brands or okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:33

Yeah, I thought I figured it was I should do something a little that's a little different than that.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Yeah, like stands out. Um yeah, check them out on LinkedIn. Um what are some dream clients that you would love to work with that you would love to it's not necessarily that you think that they need like a rebranding, but just people that you are like I would love to be in a room with them.

SPEAKER_03 45:51

Aaron Powell There's a few different that I can think of, and it's mainly because of uh there's different aspects. And this goes back to my principles, not just personal, but mm for the for the for the business. One, I think there are some brands out there that are not afraid to take big swings. Yeah. And so, like, for example, Nike. Um I would love to work with Nike because they're not afraid to be courageous and stand behind it. So, like a few years back, I think it was pre-pandemic, you know, Colin Kaepernick was already out of football for a couple of years, basically been blackballed by the league. They made him the face of their campaign. And they did it in a way that reinforced why he was doing what he was doing. And then they changed their entire campaigns, multiple campaigns that are already planned for ages. They integrated it with that one. I don't know what their market share did after that, but they believed in it and they took the swing and they stood behind it. I thought that was fantastic. Some of the other ones, I mean, they like also just where there's alignment with my own beliefs. Yeah. Uh you know, I consider running club to be growth focused. Because if you're not, in my opinion, you're not growing, you're dying. And growing doesn't necessarily mean like your bottom line. It means evolving, changing, learning. Um what's the uh it's the app on your phone that can teach you different languages. Duolingo. Yes. Yes. I think it's fascinating. I think learning language is fascinating. Because you're not only learning the the words that a different culture can use, you ultimately learn about cultural values through it.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:42

Linguistics is fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 47:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:44

So I think that's another brand that I would love to work with at some point. That would be fun. Yeah, that would be really fun. Really fun. Um And then just because uh I'm a huge nerd, I would love to work for Marvel.

SPEAKER_02 47:58

Oh my gosh. The dream, right? Oh my god, imagine your kids in uh California, Anaheim at the then then Julian can say, Daddy works for Iron Man.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

Yes. That's true.

SPEAKER_02 48:13

And then he would get over the pizza or Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_03 48:15

Daddy works for Spider-Man. In fact, uh Isabel Ritt made me this bracelet. It says Spider Dad.

SPEAKER_02 48:19

Oh, that's cute.

SPEAKER_03 48:20

Yes. So Daddy works for Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

Oh, that's cool. I think that then they would get over the pizza thing. Yes. And that would be definitely cooler, probably. What are some exciting things we can expect from running club in 2026?

SPEAKER_03 48:34

Is there any uh spoilers we can I don't think there are I wish I could give you something just for the sake of having news. I don't I I hopefully it's just steady as she goes.

SPEAKER_02 48:43

You're such a good like public speaker and you you do such good like events. And when I like, for example, that breakout session that I was in where you had kind of that presentation about the archetypes. Um do you feel like there's a possibility in the future where a running club could do kind of a day event where you're teaching about branding?

SPEAKER_03 49:00

Aaron Powell Yeah. I don't see that as out of the cards. I'm actually having coffee with a friend who um is very much in the space of mental health and wellness, but also professional health and wellness. So I think something like that could very well be done and merged. And you know, I I I really do enjoy supporting people. And part of one of the I think the hardest part of leaving the state was the fact that I was leaving supporting so many of these businesses, most of which are small.

SPEAKER_01 49:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:33

Uh and so I think there are gonna be like I have a cup that spiritually needs to be filled, you know, financially needs to be filled as well, but spiritually. So there's certain things that I'm gonna do that um that fill my cup, but may not make as much money just because I, you know, of course, I'm a human, I have needs.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

100%. As a business owner now, and as a business owner myself, how are you finding it with like the the balance? Because especially with the podcast launch and you know, Reheated Coffee Club and everything, I'm like working crazy hours seven days a week, you know. I I'm hoping that it'll a little bit level off and I'll have some balance, but are you finding it where you're able to have some balance in your life and and a home presence as well?

SPEAKER_03 50:23

I I have to make that. Um I think the biggest challenge for me, so I have terrible ADHD. And so like my brain is constantly going, which is both a benefit and a curse. So what I have to do, and I've taught myself over the last few years, uh is really to one always have either a pad of paper or my phone around and like just talking notes into it instead of having to do the work. Um also when my kids are pulling me away, there are times when I specifically will stop what I'm doing and walk away. And I like it's hard for me to do that. Like it I like I've my physiological reaction is to get angry. Right. So being able to like stop, not get angry, transit, like get to a good pause point and then m move into family mode. Right.

SPEAKER_02 51:21

Um Do you work from home?

SPEAKER_03 51:23

I do. It's really difficult. It's really difficult. And I don't even have a door on my in the room where my office is, which we are looking at changing.

SPEAKER_02 51:31

Yeah, my door doesn't have a lock, so it's basically like not having a door. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 51:38

So sometimes balances are things that we have to we have to create our boundaries, both professional and personal. Do you make time for date night? Not as much as we'd like.

SPEAKER_02 51:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:50

We get there.

SPEAKER_02 51:51

Prioritize it. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 51:54

What's your favorite date night spot in Connecticut?

SPEAKER_02 51:56

So if there's like an escape room or like a game night, I don't know, just like experiencing things together. So we've done it, we've thankfully with Reheated Coffee Club, we've gotten to do like a lot of really cool things.

SPEAKER_03 52:07

I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 52:07

Um we did a walking tour, a walking clue tour um that took us all around Torrington where we had to figure out clues together.

SPEAKER_03 52:16

I've heard about this. It's is it fun? It was very fun.

SPEAKER_02 52:19

And also I figured it out. So he I was like a little confused like during it, and then when it came down to like grind time, he gave his guess and I gave mine and mine was correct. So like I said before we started recording, I'm like an avid murder mystery reader, and I like get frustrated if I can figure it out before the book's over. I'm like, I want a good twist.

SPEAKER_03 52:43

What did you think of the Knives Out series?

SPEAKER_02 52:45

I liked some of them. I don't I didn't read the books. Are they books? I've only seen the movies, yeah. So I don't even know if they're books, but I liked I didn't see the third one.

SPEAKER_03 52:56

I haven't yet either, but I've heard it's excellent. Really? Yes. My favorite is that uh a character in the second one, the glass onion, is the governor of Connecticut. Catherine Hahn. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 53:09

That's a good little tidbit. Okay, so let's get back to um a couple more questions, and then we're gonna do a little fun speed round, which we're gonna do

Living and Thriving in Connecticut

SPEAKER_02 53:18

like rapid fire, which is great for your ADHD break. Okay, so you now that you're working for yourself, you really could theoretically live anywhere.

SPEAKER_03 53:29

Aaron Ross Powell I'm not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_02 53:31

I well, I would hope not. But but why Connecticut now? You're not working for the State of Connecticut.

SPEAKER_03 53:37

Aaron Ross Powell Because this is our home. We have fallen in love with it. And I will say that one of the reasons why I think we were successful in what we did at the state is because whenever I was going out and saying how great Connecticut is to live, work, and visit, I wasn't bullshitting. Right. I was talking from the heart. If I was BSing and it wouldn't be authentic, people would pick up on that.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 54:00

We adore it. You know, I've lived in New York, lived in the DC area. My wife has lived um, you know, in the Boston area. Like we've you know spent a significant amount of time in Maine. We wouldn't want to call anywhere else home because we have great schools, safe communities. We've built more of a common community here than anywhere else we've lived. We feel like we belong.

SPEAKER_02 54:23

Yeah. It is an extremely welcoming place. Yes, it is. Um I was in a meeting the other day that um the person I was talking to was saying, like I moved here and within a few weeks I was getting invited to like VIP events and like all these things. And you know, he was saying, like, do you feel like that would have happened if you moved to another city? And I was like, I don't think so because I feel like Connecticut has had such a bad reputation for so long that when someone comes in excited about Connecticut, everyone's like, You want to see what we got? Come come to this, come to this, come into this house, come into this event. Like, you like it here? Let me show you. Like they welcome you with open arms because they're so thrilled that you want the perception to be positive. And so it's really easy to be welcomed into the community here.

SPEAKER_03 55:14

I see that. Yeah. It's like the greatest story never told. Right. Just because didn't previously. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:21

So people are excited that people want to tell the story now. Who do you think would thrive here that wouldn't necessarily thrive in New York City or Boston?

SPEAKER_03 55:29

I think people who are working their tails off in one of these other big cities, but they're just struggling to gain traction. You know, there is something to say about being a big fish in a small pond. Um I think it's a really unique place because of how small and tight-knit things are. You get opportunities you wouldn't necessarily get otherwise.

SPEAKER_02 55:50

Aaron Powell, that's true. And maybe people that are feeling like lonely. I I hear that in New York City people feel really lonely there.

SPEAKER_03 55:57

Aaron Powell Yeah. Well, because despite the fact that there are you know eight million other people around, right? Everybody is so in their own world and their own lanes that you it doesn't quite have that same sense of belonging.

SPEAKER_02 56:06

Aaron Powell Right. I think that I think, like I said, I think it's really easy to find your community here. Or easier. I think that anything can be difficult if you're not looking. Yeah. If you're not trying.

SPEAKER_03 56:18

I love New York. I love Boston. Yeah. Yeah. I've been living in New York for 10 plus years. What's that? I said I just love hearing more. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Well, exactly. I just there are certain aspects of Connecticut, I think, that are so much better for our lives now.

SPEAKER_02 56:33

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah. Especially raising a family. I would have loved to live in New York City when I was a young lass. I missed my time.

SPEAKER_03 56:41

Aaron Powell You would have gotten in a lot of trouble.

SPEAKER_02 56:44

I did get in a lot of trouble, and I didn't even live in New York City. I just visited. What kind of businesses do you think actually do better here than in those bigger cities?

SPEAKER_03 56:54

Oh, I don't think that's something I've ever thought of. Probably businesses that require service-based businesses. I think that's the easiest answer. Because service-based businesses are people-oriented as opposed to selling a product or a widget, something that just comes off of a shelf and somebody uses it and you don't think of the humanity behind it because of the connectivity that we've been talking about. Right. Service-based businesses will do well here.

SPEAKER_02 57:24

Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. And maybe stuff with like children too, because I feel like a lot of families are moving to Connecticut because of the school systems.

SPEAKER_03 57:36

We have had population growth over the last five years, which you know, prior decade before that, it just didn't wasn't the case. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:43

So West Hartford, especially where I moved, is like keeps popping up on like all these like listicles for like places for families to move to in London.

SPEAKER_03 57:51

Yeah, the Greater Hartford area, I think, was the fastest either was either fastest growing or um number one volume selling community in the country.

SPEAKER_02 58:02

Yeah. Nuts. Absolutely nuts. So now that you are a business owner off on your own, um, like we've been talking about, you're also a dad, how is your definition of like making it changed? Like is it like monetarily? Is it um necessarily a title?

SPEAKER_03 58:21

I think going from public service to now the private sector, yes, money. Money is a huge part of it. Money talks? Well, money talks and most people equate their value to money. I think for me, going the public service where the pay is notoriously s lower than private sector. That's a huge part of it. Um, having two young kids and needing to put them through school, you know, college, uh thinking about retirement. I mean, m money is important. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 58:53

So especially in a state where things are expensive. I mean, in a in a country where things are very expensive right now, it's not just a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 58:59

Yeah, I think it's across it's not just as a country. I think that's across the globe. Right. We've all it's been it's we're in this post-pandemic world, which is the the new order is just entirely different. Yeah. So it's you know, I think there's some shift in that. It's true. The other thing that I'm defining as making it is because I'm not doing as much that is so um focused on the public good. I for me to make it is how much am I contributing in a meaningful way to something bigger? You know, not just my family and not just my business, but am I doing things that are good for other people and other organizations?

SPEAKER_02 59:35

Yeah. Um so we're gonna move into a little round that I'm gonna do every episode called uh Can I get Unfiltered Speed Round. I'm excited. So hold on.

SPEAKER_03 59:46

Let me get into my file.

SPEAKER_02 59:47

All right, yeah. We're gonna try to just do like one or two words. We're not gonna think about it too much. You're just gonna spit out the first thing that comes to you, okay? Um So I'm gonna just throw it out there. A place that you think is overrated here. Sally's Pizza. A place that you think is underrated. Chester. Favorite coastal town. In Connecticut or anywhere? Aaron Ross Powell, Jr. This is all Connecticut based. Okay. Mystic. New Haven or Hartford.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

New Haven for the culture, Hartford for the grit.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:29

All right. Best pizza. It can be a beats, but it doesn't have to be.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:33

In the state? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:35

Just the first one that comes to mind. Doesn't have to be like you're just like in this moment.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:40

Zephyr, West Hartford. I knew you were gonna say that. Why?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:43

Just because I feel like I've seen you with Zephyr a lot.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:46

It's it's delicious.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:47

Yeah, it is. A Connecticut stereotype, that's completely true.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:52

Connecticut cool. Do you know what that is? No. Connecticut cool is kind of like that standoffish aspect that people think is like snobby. Okay. But it's not snobby at all. It's just like it's almost a little bit introspective and quiet.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:08

And it just takes a little bit of like peeling back the layers, and you're like, oh my gosh, this is actually like one of the most warm, welcoming human beings I've ever met.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:15

Okay. Okay. So like Michael Pollock.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:17

Yes. We were standing outside of Sally's. I was doing a TV hit, and he whips around the corner onto Worcester Street, parks his car, double parked in front of a frickin' fire hydrant, grabs this varsity jacket out of the back of his car, runs into Sally's, runs back out, and I'm like, hold on, excuse me, who are you and what are you doing? And what was that jacket? And he starts to explain himself. I'm like, that is incredible. You're doing all this work around pizza. Funny you say that. Showed him this picture on my phone. We're putting up this highway sign next week. And I showed him the Pizza Capital highway sign, and the rest is history.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:54

I met him the same night I met you. I was like, all I wanted to do was make him laugh. If I could make him laugh, my night was complete because he was so stoic. Did you make him laugh? And I made him laugh. And then I was like, okay, the rest was history. A thing that Connecticut has too many of.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:09

Red light cameras.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:11

If Connecticut was a cocktail. Old-fashioned. Best date night spot.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:17

Probably West Hartford Center, just because I'd where we've been a bunch of times.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:21

There's really good spots in West Hartford Center. Blueback. You're going to get to ask me those questions, and I don't get to ask you questions back.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:28

You want to ask me a speed round?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:30

Okay. Before you just got something you're going to rattle off.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:33

Yes. Okay. Yankees or Red Sox?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:35

Red Sox.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:36

Duncan or Starbucks?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:37

Duncan.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:39

Tacos or pizza.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:41

Tacos.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:43

Florida or Connecticut.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:45

Connecticut. Okay. That's enough. All right. I do love pizza, but. I get it. I can eat tacos every day.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:52

No, you're fine. Yeah, well, it's it's fair. That's fair. Taco pizza.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:57

But I will say I was introduced to Zanelli's on the pizza tour, and that changed my life. And those brothers, those three brothers.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:05

Like nicest people.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:06

I visited them on my actual birthday when uh one of my best friends was in town in Florida, and they like took care of me. I didn't even expect anything. I just like we walked in and they were just like singing to me, bringing me pies. They took care of like the bell.

Community and Nonprofit Engagement

SPEAKER_02 1:03:19

They were so sweet. Like they just like made my whole night there like the nicest people.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:24

Love that.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:24

All right. Finish this sentence. Connecticut is the right place for people who are want to make an impact. I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:33

You can define it however you want, whether whether it's social, financial, community.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:40

I agree. People here care. People here care and people here are proud of where they are and proud of what they're doing and want to make a difference. And then with every episode, I want my guests to give a shout-out to a local nonprofit that you care about and then let the listeners know how they can get involved if they want to.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:01

Okay. So there's two. We've been talking an awful lot about food. Okay. So there's two places that I think probably most people know is one of them, and the other one up and coming that folks should get to know. First is Connecticut Food Share. Yep. Connecticut Food Share is a network of food banks around the state that uh whether people are hungry, whether they're on like, for example, when SNAP benefits were um on pause during the government shutdown, Connecticut Food Share did God's work. We actually used our network of content creators around the state to help get the word out. So folks can take a look at their website, ctfoodshare.org, and and help out there, whether it's you know, they actually prefer monetary donations over food because they can leverage their dollars significantly greater financially than anybody else can. I believe it's for every dollar that you contribute at something like three meals that they can give out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:00

Something they they can um your dollar goes a lot farther than if you were to go to a grocery store and just like buy with your own dollar because they can get it in mass quantities.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:09

Exactly. And the other one is um Feeding Families Foundation. Feeding Families Foundation works in uh Connecticut hospitals, so Yale, New Haven Health, uh Children's Hospital, and CCMC, Connecticut Children's Hospital, right here, specifically focus on feeding parents who have children in the hospital. So, you know, you most people don't think of this. When your kid is sick in the hospital for days and days and days, you're not gonna want to leave their side to go get food. And when they bring up food for the child, they don't bring up food for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:43

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:43

So what uh Feeding Families Foundation does is they bring in meals, whether it's pizzas, tacos, whatever it might be, there's local restaurants that contribute, but they also contribute financially so that way the nurses and the parents can buy their own meals.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:58

Yeah, there's so many amazing. Nonprofits in Connecticut. So many people are doing such incredible work. So I think it's important to use our platforms to share and amplify these voices and help get the word out because sometimes people get overwhelmed and don't know how to get involved. So thank you so much, Anthony, for being my first guest on Connecticut Unfiltered.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:22

Thank you for having me. I really appreciate the chance to get to tell my story and hear a little bit about more about yours. And then also, you know, talking about love languages. Acts of service, acts of you know, giving. Yeah. This is fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:35

And um, best of luck with Running Club. I know you're gonna be wildly successful in your a powerhouse.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:40

You're too kind. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:43

This podcast is kept caffeinated by Sola Karaoke, the Happy Confection, Pink Tractor Crew, and Keating Agency Insurance. Thank you for listening to Connecticut Unfiltered. If you like the conversation, please make sure to like, subscribe, follow, and share, and keep the conversation going about how we can make Connecticut more than just the drive thru state.