11 - The Story Behind Sunny TV: Inspiring a Community Through Connection

Inspired by the vibrant spirit of St. Augustine, Sunny TV was born from an unexpected turning point. After losing his broadcasting job, Davey had just 30 days to figure out what came next. Instead of walking away from the career he loved, he took a leap of faith on an idea that had been living in his heart—a positive, community-driven variety show. Drawing on a lifetime of experiences in broadcasting, the art world, luxury retail, and even competitive athletics, he turned uncertainty into opportunity with the support of a tight-knit team that believed in the vision from day one and helped bring it to life.

Today, Sunny TV shines a light on the people who make the nation's oldest city so special. More than just a variety show, it's a platform where local businesses, community leaders, and nonprofits can share their stories, expand their reach, and receive professional content to continue promoting their organizations long after filming wraps. Built on friendship, collaboration, and a genuine love for the community, Sunny TV proves that when passionate people come together around a shared purpose, they can create something that truly makes a difference.

Check out SunnyTV on Instagram: @SunnyTV

Chapters

00:00 The Birth of Sunny TV
02:54 Creating a Positive Community
06:12 Empowering Nonprofits
09:14 The Art of Interviewing
12:00 Building a Supportive Team
15:00 The Power of Resilience
17:59 Connecting History and Culture
20:54 The Journey of a Dream
24:06 Lessons from Life Experiences
30:33 Navigating Grief and Growth
32:14 The Artistic Journey
34:49 Words as Art: The Power of Affirmations
36:28 Building Community Through Shared Experiences
38:25 Documentary Aspirations and Storytelling
41:32 The Importance of Connection and Compliments
46:02 Living the Dream in St. Augustine
51:02 Sustaining Joy Through Sponsorships and Community Support

Connect with Host Leandra Sweet: @TheSoulLedSessions

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:01

I moved here to St. Augustine, Florida to live my dream life. It didn't take long to realize, but other people did too. People who took a leap, followed what they loved, and built something of their own in this magical little town. The Soul-led sessions is about those people, the stories behind the businesses you see, visit, and fall in love with. Not just what they've created, but what it really took to get there. The risks, the pivots, the moments that changed everything, and what it actually looks like to build a life that feels aligned. These conversations are here to connect you to the heart of entrepreneurship and maybe even to what's possible for your own life. I am here in this beautiful Sunny TV studio with Mel, Addy, Davey, and Ashim. Yay! Invited me here, and I'm so grateful to be here. But this time we're flipping things around a little bit, and I will do the interviewing, and you will be the interviewees. That's gonna be so fun. Tell us a little bit about the story of how Sunny TV became Sunny TV.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Well, Sunny TV kind of just it's it's a beast unto itself. It just kind of we noticed that there was a lack of joy and there was a lack of inspiration. There was a lack of just really good positive energy. We are clouded uh every single day with political things or negative uh energies and stories that really just kind of was I just saw a weight on people. And I was a spin coach for many, many years, and that's how I know Ashim. And it just kind of just I needed to plant the seed of inspiration for people. I needed people to remember that they have a purpose in life, and and when it all boils down to it, you know, we are divided in so many different ways, and and within your religion or politics or whatever, but at the common core at the end of it is love, and that's what people really need to focus on. And so that's basically the catharsis of Sunny TV. And I kind of put this together at my at my previous position. It's it was it's no secret. I had 30 days to figure out what I was gonna do for the rest of my life. And I put this together and just turned to Mel and I said, Hey, you want to go on this crazy journey? She used to help be a sub-co-host for me at my last position, and she was like, you know, I got my mornings clear, I think I could do this. And and then I was looking for um a different space to be able to go and do this. Found this incredible technical director that is only for the stars to use, and ran into Addy and kind of pitched her the idea, and she goes, God, I I wanted to do a community project, and this would be so special. So honestly, the universe just kind of lined us up because we all have the good grace of the word love, and it just keeps sowing this beautiful mosaic, uh, this quilt of love that we have for this community and our beautiful ancient city.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

And I have to say though, so so Davey, we've known each other for years and we got to know each other much more over the last few years, right? He sent me his business plan when he was thinking about this, when it was like a germ of an idea. Yeah. And he said, What do you think? And from the moment I read it, I instantly sent him a message back. I'm like, Yes, all the yes, and whatever you're doing, I want to be part in some way, I just want to help. Because his vision was so clear about creating a positive environment, a positive community, uplifting the stories, like it all was in here and here, and he put it on paper, and now he's brought it out here to the world.

SPEAKER_04 3:46

So beautiful, so beautiful. And I love that that term that you use, a germ of an idea. Because going from a germ of an idea to a full-blown podcast slash TV show, it's really a variety show, I would say. It's absolutely a variety show. I'm really glad.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

I'm glad you said that because we truly are a variety show, and we get compared to other news organizations out there, and that's not who we are. I'm not trying to be a journalist, I'm not trying to do hard setting news. That's just not my vibe. My vibe is really truly. I love the Sonny and Cher show. And I love, you know, the magicians like David Copperfield growing up and like all these specials that we would we would grow up with. Why didn't why can't I create that every day, twice a day?

SPEAKER_04 4:30

Craziest schedule imaginable. So, how did you come up with that schedule? Like you went from this great idea, found the right people, the right place, the right time, the right studio, everything came into place, it sounds like. Then what made you decide two shows a day? I mean, that's a good idea.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

First formula that I knew, and that that I knew that was going to be successful. We had so many ideas. I mean, Addie, you were there in the think tank moments there too. We had so many ideas on all these different segments, and we're like, we can't cram them in all into one. And they were so amazing. I mean, we used to do Smash Mary Ghosts. I mean, we had we had so many really cool brain child moments, and we were like, we have to divide this up. And honestly, it's all different parking spots for different advertisements so that we could spread this out across the board and make it a successful endeavor.

SPEAKER_04 5:18

Yes, and include the community. Yeah, yeah, which is a huge part of what you do here. Literally every single show, there's a new member of the community being interviewed and sharing with you. So tell us a little bit about that, about how you well, how you came to include everyone and really, really share that love.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

So I was in the trenches for nonprofits for many, many years here in town. And I've worked for, gosh, I did St. John's County Welfare Federation, making sure senior citizens got subsidized healthcare benefits. I worked for Inc. and Vessian Kids, helping teachers get enrichment resources in their classroom, helping students succeed, scholarships, and I and I loved all that. I was a president of my rotary clubs. Shout out to St. Augustine Beach Rotary Club. And then I became the assistant governor of this area, and I just really got to learn all of the different nonprofits. And they don't have what I can build. And I want to give that to them as a gift, and I want them to have a spotlight to be able to tell their stories, talk about their events. I don't care what it is, we will definitely shine a light for these nonprofits to shine because they are the pulse of the people. I have never seen a community have as much resources. I mean, I'm sure they are, but we talk about them here on Sunday TV.

SPEAKER_04 6:32

Yeah, you bring them to light. Yeah. And they need that light sometimes. Sometimes they're doing things in the background that nobody knows they're doing. And so having them here and showcasing that is spectacular. I think it's really great.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

I would say, like, also like your idea is amazing to have this and to build the commun to give that gift, like we're saying. But it it's grown so much too, because not only do you give that gift, you've taken it and made it something they can share on social media, which is a whole other level to it. You've given them the ability to cut up their their interviews and go bring it onto their pages and to collaborate on Sunny TV. And like we all know social media is really important, but it's really hard.

SPEAKER_05 7:12

It's really hard.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

And nonprofits don't always have the resources to have a studio interview once a month.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Or a person at all, or a person like Addy and David that can create these amazing reels and interviews for them with all the bells and the whistles and the things and the do's. You know, so it definitely keep them on the phone. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Yeah, so it's a platform, but it's also resources that you're providing back.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Yeah, like I don't I just don't think a lot of people think about the part where that's an asset too. Yeah, like it's definitely a takeaway. Like Davy can and will all and does email you your interview. You have it, it's something you know that you can use and use over and over. So I just think that's something that you can you can easily forget because it's such a live show and that's the fun of it all, but that's really valuable.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Yeah, it's definitely like feeding the resources and feeding these nonprofits their story and getting them confident in telling the stories too. Because so many times these people have these beautiful, bold ideas, but don't know really how to vocalize it. But these interviews, you know, I I write all the interview questions ahead of time, we practice behind the scenes, maybe some questions need to be tweaked or whatever, but we get that right narrative that you feel confident in so that your nonprofit can shine, your local business can shine, and we can really hold that up in the light of the ancient city.

SPEAKER_03 8:23

I will say, David has said from day one, like the interview, that is his favorite part of the show. He loves writing shows, and he is like the master of words, let's be honest with it.

SPEAKER_05 8:31

For real.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

But his interviews, every guest when they come in this deal, they're like, I'm so nervous, I'm so nervous. He's like, Oh, it's just coffee talk with friends, you know, look at us. The end of it, they're like, oh my god, that was so amazing. And I'll tell you, he doesn't always stick to the questions, he goes with what the guest like initiates, but his ability to get people to open up and tell those things, and it's very, I've never seen anything like it. You know, I grew up in the Ricky Lake era and I'll tell you, he's able to make every guest shine and highlight what they do well and make them tell those really important details like nobody else in town. Yeah, yeah. And that's not, you know, that's not an easy thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

I 1000% agree. Davey is a fantastic interviewer because he the way he makes our guests feel comfortable and he finds a way to pull the story out of people to tell the story. Yeah, and no one sees the the work that he does behind the scenes, but he does so much research about every organization, every guest, that when he's asking questions, they're thoughtful questions. He knows about their background and their history and what they're bringing to the table. Like, it blows my mind. Every time I'm watching an interview, I'm like, How did he know that? How did he know that? And like my husband even says he's like, Davey is amazing at his interviews. He really is, and he puts so much effort into it because he cares. Yeah, like this. I think about this often. I think that this is like Davy, Davy's an artist, you know, all these paintings. We have to talk about this art. This is this is a version of his art, and this is like a love song to our community that he is writing every single day. It's just it's it's Davy. It's Davy.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

I'll never forget when everything started to kind of go south with the other organization, and he calls me and he's like, Mel, I don't know. I'm thinking of doing my own thing. I've had this name in my brain for a long time, and I'm like, do it. You can do anything. And he's like, So, would would you want to help me? And I'm like, Um, sure, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. And I originally came on, I was supposed to be like a producer, so I was learning from Addy. There's actually a picture of one of the first days I can't, and I had this jacket on actually, and I'm standing there, and RJ's standing next to me, showing me how to like watch the screens and count down, and then I'm learning from Addy, and then all of a sudden it changed, and it's like you got to get in the co-host scene. I'm like, oh, what the heck do I do? But you know, David and I have been friends for almost 20 years, you know, and we actually first met in one of the worst situations you anyone can meet in. And that's a story. David's partner, who was my best friend, my man of honor at my wedding, getting life flighted, and you know, eventually he passed away. But that's how David and I's friendship began. And like, listen, if we can get through anything like that together, battle buddies for life. So I said, I'll help you. And he goes, Well, I don't know how things, and I said, I'm not asking for any of that. Like, you need me, I'll help you. And I think that's true, Mel.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

You really jumped in, but not knowing, not I mean, you subbed for me a couple times, you know, on my on my last job, but this this really was throwing you into the fire. And the hard part about all of this, and I'm sorry I cut you off, but the hard part about all of this is consistency. You can do it for a week and it's fun, but can you hold that same cadence in the next six months? I mean, we just surpassed one year, yeah, and that's been amazing. We just cleared 500 shows. I mean, incredible. All of them are unique unto themselves, they're all works of art. And I think that's really important to kind of share because Mel, you really did take a giant risk on this, and you never let that seat go.

SPEAKER_03 11:52

And that's but I learned I learned from all of you. Like, I've learned from you, like, and I still have a lot to learn, and I'm learning from Addy and Ashim. But the beauty of Sunny TV, yes, the name is wonderful and all of that, but the beauty is the brain and the heart of this guy right here. Because he's been in this community for so long, and he's he's like the unsaid mayor of this town. I say it all the time.

SPEAKER_04 12:15

But I don't want that job.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

But it's because he really truly loves and cares about this community. And I'll tell you, every day, like Addy floats sometimes she's in the studio, sometimes she's not, but she floats in the background and can help us. When David and I are here by ourselves and we have to do something with it, we're like, text Addie, is she is she is she can help us? We don't know. Like things can go wrong, but I'll tell you, it's part of it. And that's why I didn't hesitate when he asked, Will you help me? I said yes, because one, I'm not gonna let my best friend drown. I'm gonna be there to pull him out, even though he's a way better swimmer than I am. That's another one of his talents, many of you may not know. Anyway, but I believe in him no matter what, and I believe in what he's doing in this community. And I will tell you this, I say it all the time. This is my favorite phase of life. Yeah. I would have never, probably never met Addy. I remember, but here's what's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 13:11

I know.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

We were so many times we we were in pictures together at events, David and I, and then he's doing a picture with a sheen, and I'm in the background. Yes, and you didn't even know yet. No, but the thing is, he put together this team, and it has been my favorite phase of life, and these are some of my favorite people.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

And if you would if you anyone had a chance to see our group chat, oh you might have funny table books, you know. It's hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 13:34

So funny TV is very special, and and you know, there's always gonna be people who don't understand it and don't care to understand. That's okay, you don't have to, you can keep it moving, but that's it.

SPEAKER_04 13:44

It's not for everybody.

SPEAKER_03 13:44

If you're lucky enough to be a part of our there's always a seat at our table, and if you're lucky enough to come and hang out with us, you'll understand the magic. We're a little bit crazy, we're unhinged, but we're definitely very fun. Yeah, it is massive weekend.

SPEAKER_04 13:56

The first time I had the blessing of meeting you was on that tasting tour. Oh yeah. And we got to hang out a little bit after, and I got to know each of you just a little bit. And it was like, these people are phenomenal. Like your energy together is total magic, whether it's here on the show or out in the streets doing your thing, you know, everything and anything, all the launches and all the celebrations and all the events going on in town, you're all there for, and you do it so well together. It's just beautiful. It's a beautiful thing to witness. And to be able to share that with the community and have your guests on and include them in that magic, it's just awesome. It's really an amazing combination of energy.

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Yeah, I think one thing Mel said too was about us being a team. We are 1,000% a team, not just here in the studio, but outside in life. Like our group chat doesn't just focus on the show, our group chat is life. And we are a team and we are a family. And even like I'm only in the studio one day a week, right? But we are all connected every single part of the day. We're all looking out for each other, we're listening for sound cues. Like, even when we're not in the studio, Addie will drop in and I'll drop in. Like, we're paying attention still because we're all we all want this to work so well, like we all have so much heart in this, and we're with a team of people we love, respect, and care about. And like we are truly a family, and that's all thanks to our beautiful leader who who found us all together and found a way. Like, we all wanted we all believe in the sunshine project, the sunny team, you know.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

It's just interesting because in this day and age, and I'm sure ladies, you will all agree, women can be very mean, especially women like in our age bracket, they can be very mean. And I find it so refreshing that David's built this team of all women basically that mesh so well and we lift each other up, we support each other, and we're all a different age demographic.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

We're all different, but every single Sonny is different.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

But we are we are each other's biggest cheerleaders. If Addy's having a bad day, like we're all what's going on? What do you need?

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Ashim's having a bad day or something really and I couldn't get out of bed for five days. Davy and Mel showed up every day and didn't say we're I didn't have to talk. They just sat there with me and let me cry and brought me food and snacks that I couldn't eat, but they were just they just they just showed up. And that is what this team really is. Like Sunny is that. Sunny is showing up for people, showing, showing like you care, showing your heart without expectation, just showing up. And that's like the epitome of what sunny is.

SPEAKER_02 16:24

And I think there's a um an independence there too. I mean, I always say the sun rises in her glory every single day with no apologies, and she gives so much benefit to life. And that's really what this network is about to rise up every day and shine the beautiful bold light. Absolutely. I mean, we forget about it. Yes, we owe I mean we get into these trenches of negativity or just mundane, you know, distractions. Yeah, and it feels heavy. This feels light and it feels absolutely right.

SPEAKER_04 16:54

Yeah, isn't that great? And you do it so well with your writing. When I was here for the first time and you gave me the most beautiful intro I've ever been I've ever been given. I mean, just it just gave me goosebumps from head to toe, and you make everybody feel so special on this show. And I know your your co-workers, they feel special too. And that's a gift. That's a gift that you are so boldly sharing, and I think that is so honorable as well. You're not you're not keeping it to yourself, which I think a lot of people do. You're like, hey, I have this light, and I'm gonna shed it on everybody I meet in this beautiful sunny town. I mean, it's already sunny, but how much more sun do we need? As much as we'll get. I put a lot of makeup on today because I got a little too much sun yesterday.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

Vitamin D.

SPEAKER_04 17:39

It makes me feel good. And that's how you are. You make everybody feel good around you, and it just you're you're like the sun. Do you remember Captain Planet? Remember?

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Wind, water, earth, fire. And that's kind of how we are. That's I'm not sure. Which one are you, Addie? You're I would which one would Addie be water? I would say water.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

Add it'd be water because she flows in and out of the background.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

Perfect, yes. I love that.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

And you're the earth that crowns them, right?

SPEAKER_03 18:11

As she would be wind because she runs so fast. Oh she's like the window. She's always on the go. Yes, you're wind fluttering around and clearly on fire. Clearly. Clearly.

SPEAKER_04 18:22

Doesn't that work? Perfectly. It's it's all four elements. And especially.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

And she is our arts and culture correspondent and really kind of dives into these incredible conversations of celebrations or um cultures around the world and how it ties back with us. I mean, we've had some fantastic um chats. Uh it was civil rights we've covered, we've covered pride, we've covered God. The Women's History Month in March was so much fun. Don't forget eating grapes in New Year's. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 18:55

That kind of great DVD and I love how you always seem to find a way to tie it into St. Augustine. Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. And you're you're it's like you're a historical guru, local specialty. I mean, you really do shine a light on all of the things that have happened here in this amazing town.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

I I think we're really fortunate. We live in a town that's steeped in history. And you know what's funny? When I when I was growing up, I hated history. It was like my least favorite class in school. And I don't know why, but maybe my teachers just didn't make it interesting. But that's why I think I like to share the history that we have here in ways that feel relatable to people because there's so much beauty in knowing our history. And we talk about this all the time on the show is looking at the world with curious eyes. So, like, just you know, when we when we plan out these segments, we think about like what what is something in the world that people might want to learn more about. And so we look at everything with this very curious perspective and curious eyes, and there's so much beauty in this world, and I think that's our goal is to shine light on those things that maybe we overlook because we're so busy in our day-to-day. But there really is beauty and sunshine and happiness and joy all around us if we just have curious eyes about the world. That's true.

SPEAKER_04 20:02

That is true. And I think as a kid, when you're in high school or college even and you're taking history, it's the most boring thing to just look at a book and read and memorize it. But when you're here and you're immersed in it, you're living in it, it's so much easier to love and appreciate, you know. I think I think we all tend to maybe have a value for history as we get older. When we're younger, not so much. There's that one kid, maybe, but the rest of us are like, that ain't daddy.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

She's like, I majored in medieval philosophy. That's right. You did.

SPEAKER_04 20:34

Oh my god, did you really? You actually did. Minor, not a major. No. I was gonna say, tell us a little bit about your major because you bring some incredible knowledge to the table here.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

I studied multimedia production at UNF. Um, so it was really cool. I most of what I got to learn would be just, you know, I got to take a lot of ph photography classes and lighting classes and all of that. And I really mostly learned how to sit there behind, you know, in the green room and switch cameras and understood that stuff. But I will say what was interesting is like you learn a lot about the basics and a lot about even more than just the basics. Right. But then doing it in real life is completely like it almost makes you feel like what was the what was the what did I do? Why did I do it? What was my dream actually about? No, I haven't. But you know, I mean, like I'm grateful all the time to know that. Like, okay, I know where the bar is technically. Like, that is great. But it but I I I just have to say, like, this project in itself has taught me so much, and also just every day, everything about technology and social media and lighting and cameras, it's it's just changes.

SPEAKER_04 21:41

Every day I don't know how you keep up with it, honestly. She keeps up with I mean I was 20 something brings that part. But you're young, you're young still, you can do that.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

You can't do that. But that was a big that was a big part of this, was the technical aspect of it. I mean, we had this great dream and this great vision. Right. Uh what are we gonna do? Are we gonna show up with an iPhone and a and a tripod?

SPEAKER_03 22:00

We did that stuff. We did that. They work great. When they did power here in the building, remember that when we were pivoting because we the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

We missed three times. Three times. And we've done shows on buses. I was shouting out. I mean, uh Caleb took us around on Black Diamond limousine. I mean, it was awesome. And we were just trying to learn the ropes. But I I would be remiss if I didn't talk about one of the most incredible friends of my life, which is RJ with Maritime Creative. And uh I sat down with him and Addie, and I believe your dad was there too in this meeting. And I'm just pitching this idea. And he's, you know, RJ is he's a very internal uh person and he loves to like think it through. But I know that he's going through this whole gamut of like how to make this happen. What's the consistent? Very like eccentric. And he stood up in this meeting and said, We're doing this, we're plugging this in on Monday. You're gonna be ready? Wow. Literally, it just came together in one weekend. We had a skeleton idea and it just kind of morphed and grew. But if I didn't have that resource, if I didn't have that one super centurion friend, which was RJ, to say, yeah, let's green light this project. This town needs this project, and we can grow with this project with this incredible technology that Maritime has out in Hastings. No kidding. Incredible. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

But you know, that's actually something really important. Like you had this dream and you had this idea, and then pieces started falling into place. But imagine if you had never vocalized that dream. How many people do that? They have this idea and they keep it inside, and you chose to do something different. You didn't keep the idea here, you put the idea out there, and like the universe heard, and it put all of these. You sound like my mother right now as she got very Maria all of a sudden today. But seriously, think about that. Imagine if you had never said anything.

SPEAKER_05 23:46

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

Like the fact that you vocalized it, people heard, and like the call went out, like the bath signal went out, and the sunny signal went out.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

I will I just have to before we move on from RJ, do you want to say, like, he it would like it was truly crazy to be in that meeting? Like walking around, watching him stare off, saying nothing.

SPEAKER_04 24:02

Right. Oh, he was really in the zone figuring things out.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Like Davy's like, you know, giving saying some some of the pitch and then waiting to get some feedback.

SPEAKER_05 24:13

No feedback.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

And then series for April, so like it's all and so yeah, the moment when he did just ran like it went from zero to a hundred, basically. And he had a date and he had a reason for the date and he had a strategy, and then also like he taught me, like I said about my uh multimedia production degree. Yes, he's really the one who taught me everything about this equipment, not necessarily UNF. Sorry. But I just had to say he does, he deserves all the credit in the world for that part.

SPEAKER_04 24:40

Real world stuff and coming together, man, does that happen when you follow a dream? And I was interviewing Nils over at Creme de la Coco yesterday, and he mentioned sometimes the dream chases you. Sometimes if you just follow what's in your heart or what you are good at, then maybe the dream will come after. And it's like, that's an interesting thing.

SPEAKER_02 25:00

That sounds all nice and whimsical, but I was literally losing my broadcasting job. And I had to do something. I was under duress. So for me, the fire was like, what are you gonna do?

SPEAKER_03 25:10

Are you gonna go a mortgage to pay?

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Are you gonna go back to jewelry? Because I mean I'm a dramologist. Are you gonna go? Are you gonna go um back into the art world? I mean, like, what are you gonna do? You have 30 days to figure it out. And I just had to keep going into the fire and saying, I'm not done yet. I love telling these stories, I love the local businesses. And as much as we complain about the parking and nights and lights, and all I love all that. Fantastic. It was an actual awake community. Like we are alive and we are thriving in paradise. So why am I done with this journey? I'm not, and I refuse to be done. If I had to get a tripod and a phone and a wing and a prayer, I'd be doing it. Because you know why that's crazy. Because you know why? You know who else was an inspiration? Is Jessica Clark. And I don't know if you guys know who she is, she's the anchor of First Coast News. And I have driven in this town for years and years and years, and I saw this lady, beautiful blonde lady with a with a tripod and her own microphone, and she's doing her own reporting on St. Augustine. And she's, you know, obviously an anchor up there. So I'm like, if she can do that and still come across as being so passionate about this, I'm gonna do this too, and I'm gonna make this even a bigger thing. So shout out to Jessica too, because she's a big inspiration, a sweet lady, and that absolutely believes in our town. And she's she's doing it on the big screen. So it's amazing.

SPEAKER_04 26:28

And that that's such a great depiction of who you are, DV at the bottom. I mean, you could have just gotten into bed, crawled up with a bunch of snacks, tequila, movies, and whatever else, right? And just crash because that's that's a good reason to say, nah, I give up. I don't want to do this anymore. But no, you pivoted and you just went with it and created something probably more beautiful than you imagined.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Well, life has thrown me away a lot of times. And I love it though, because it's like you bet on the wrong horse. And every single time I am resilient enough. I'm gonna I'm just gonna go there to rise up every single time and give my absolute best. I've been a world champion swimmer, I was 1999 and got the gold medal for the 800.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

That Michael Phelps has ever been able to break. We made him wear it last fourth of July. It's coming up. I don't know this. And he gets the jacket when he dies.

SPEAKER_04 27:24

Come on. Watch your back, Davy.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

So I came from an incredible swim program uh uh called Fox Sketcher, and I there's a there's a very famous movie out there. I swam, Mr. DuPont, very eccentric man, had this manor where all of these incredible athletes from all over the world would come and train. And it just so happened that I was with this swim team at 13, 14, 15 years old, and just became the national distance team swimmer. And I moved out in my summers and did Colorado Springs, the Olympic Training Center for years, went to world championships in 99. But all of that taught me that resiliency is what I'm getting at. It taught me that you've got to be able, I mean, I stared at a black line for 20 years of my life, and I had it all coming out here, and it was all beautiful music, everything was all collagen together. But I think that taught me something. Detroit also taught me something. Detroit taught me how to believe. I was an associate at Tiffany and Company that just so happened I uh before Tiffany's, I worked at Kenneth Cole and I sold a pair of shoes to a VP at Tiffany, and she loved the Davy experience. She was like, oh, this was so great. She's like, We need you. She did. Yeah. Have you ever thought about jewelry? And I'm like, oh my gosh, I could never. So I had to go through the regimen of getting into Tiffany and company, and it is like getting hired for the CIA. It was very, very psychological exam. I had to go for, I mean, obviously drug testing, which I was fine because I was like, what, whatever back then. Back then. I got the card. Um, so I got into Tiffany's, and here I was this eccentric artist from Detroit, and I had to like learn corporate culture. Oh, okay. This was my first real corporate experience. I couldn't dye my hair, my hand mannerisms were too much, and I was really put into a box. And it was the I always say this don't ever, you know, don't ever fit your reality in somebody else's smaller box. And I had to do that because I had to learn that. But gosh, did I learn so many incredible lessons and incredible things. I have nothing bad to say about my Tiffany experience because it really did teach me the radical side of being an artist, but how to hone that into a business sense and create something that, you know, is culturally in the Tiffany culture, is what they kept saying, which was appropriate for them. So long story short from that, Tiffany's then uh moved over to Saxfifth Avenue and I started focusing with another artist called John Hardy. And he handmakes a lot of his jewelry over in Bali. It's a beautiful, beautiful company. And there it got me back into the art world again because I saw this guy that like he randomly made a pair of earrings, these giant gong earrings, you would love them. And I'm like, already go. And what? And he was poor as a pauper living in Bali with his wife Cynthia, and he was on the beach selling the jewelry, right? We've all we've all been on those vacations and they sell the jewelries and things. And he walked up to this lady who was sitting on a chair, and speaking about circumstance, and he showed her the gongs, she goes, I love them. And they're called palo, and that means hammered in um Indonesian. So she goes, I love them. If you can split them in half, I'll buy a thousand of them on the spot.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 30:32

Can you imagine? And that just kickstarted his entire career.

SPEAKER_03 30:35

That's life-changing.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

And now he's, you know, a rival of David Yeerman, which is another huge company name. So that was such an inspiring journey for me to see somebody take something with their hands, take something with they believe in, and somebody believed in him. Right. And then it got to the next level. And that's kind of what life is. So every time life knocked me down, I remember these kind of stories that got me to where I am. And I I'm grateful. Uh I really truly am because it it's they're all yes, it's horrible to lose a job, or it's horrible that you know that my my boyfriend passed away at such a young age, but I learned so many incredible things. I mean, that was a dark time losing Brian. I can't imagine. But this town, oh my god, I've never seen that. I had no idea how to bury a person. I had no idea. My mom went with David to get his ashes. How to go um to ha hospice and and the morphine drip, and I'm crying to Mel that I'm killing him. And then uh his punched the button, I couldn't do it. His friend was a nurse uh who was just visiting. She turned to me, she goes, You are giving him a freedom that he can't give himself. And see, these are these poetic moments in life that just kind of shaped me as a human being. So, yeah, I mean Sunny TV, yeah, we look like it's a lot of fun and it's great on camera, but behind the scenes, it has not been an easy project. And if it was easy, it wouldn't be worth bragging about, honey.

SPEAKER_04 32:00

That is true. What a beautiful story, Davey. And thank you for sharing that because you have so many words of wisdom in all of that. And like you said, everything has been done for you, not being done to you. I think that that mentality, you know, you could go a lot of ways with that. But if you know that everything is being done for you, whether it's a death or a loss of a job or a loss of a pet, or you know, they're all shaping us into who we are and allowing us to be this person who runs this amazing variety show and this amazing town and with these amazing people. I mean, you would never be here if it wasn't for all of those little experiences along the way, right? Right.

SPEAKER_05 32:39

Beautiful every time we love it.

SPEAKER_04 32:43

Right, I think that tell us a little bit about your artwork and the creative side of you because yes, this is very creative, but you're doing a lot of the tech and the background, you know, all of the science behind it, but the art behind you, this is all Davies art. Yeah. Um, it's beautiful and so unique and diverse. Tell us a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

Color, color, color, color. Beige is never in my house, nothing in my life. No, this was actually to subsidize rent, basically. And these are just these wild nights that I would have with my friends, and I would be in a corner painting while they're, you know, being their shenanigans. And I just I I had a I I still do. I have a great group of friends, and at that time we lived in a convent in Hoboken, New Jersey. And I would take the path train. And in this condo, you have to write a book. You have to write the book, I know. And there's five different condos that we had, you know, in this giant complex that we lived in, and then there was common areas so our dogs could intermingle and it was a beautiful living environment. And it just, it just the art for me was I loved punk rock at the time. I had my hair was dyed black, I was angsty, I know it was horrible. And yeah, I would make these incredible uh paintings and I would make them super thin. I would paint them on like plastic panels. So, because as New Yorkers, we would always be moving, and I wanted it to be something easy that you could slap on a wall like a poster, and then you could keep move, keep it, keep it moving. And then I got into like translucent art, so then it was almost like an affordable way to have a little stained glass because so many people didn't have good views, um, especially like the the lower middle class, which were my people, not New York, right? And so you could put this in a window of a bad view, still the light would come in and you'd have a beautiful painting at the same time. So it just kind of morphed. I had an art manager and we toured around the country. We went down to High Point, North Carolina and started showing in furniture showrooms, and we went down to Miami and did the things, and it was it was awesome, but it's still just there was something more, and my art just kind of kept evolving. After Brian died, I felt like the voice of painting left me, and I and it was it was an empty feeling, but it I also had to understand that art definitely morphs into something else, and this is the next level of of my artwork. You know, cooking was before this, and then that evolved. And you know, I just I think that the evolution of the human is very, very powerful, and I think that we have to really embrace our stories because that's how you got to where you are today.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

And Davy's words are definitely a part of his art. Have you ever been blessed to receive a handwritten card from Davy? No, the handwriting's beautiful. Not only is his penmanship like unreal, but the messages in there, the messages he includes are so beautiful and thoughtful and heartfelt and poetic. And then his birthday poems, if you get one of those too, like that's a whole nother thing. Like Davy's art now is his words. It's a more it's like this was a visual expression of his art, and like his words are almost like an emotional expression of his art.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

Like when David was a spin coach, right? Yeah, he was good, um, he would do these affirmations, right? So when Sunny TV a few months ago, like you know, he does his affirmations over. So I said, and our outros, he started writing them again, and people are comedy. I said, David, you gotta like make those into reels. People really love them. Yeah, so he did it into reels, and people truly love it because he would say, I miss doing spin, I miss my affirmations. I used to give it Sunday school spin because he taught on Sunday. Uh-huh. And he's like, I really miss doing that. I said, Well, why don't you do that on the show? So our outro are his affirmations that he would give while he was like riding the you know, the bike doing the thing. It's true.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

So I used to try to film during spin class just to capture his affirmations because every single time I would share one of his affirmations from class on social media, the number of comments I would get would be like, oh my gosh, I need to go to a class like this.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

And this was not just a little slouchy, this was a 90-minute spin class. 90-minute spin class.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

We were hustling zero. We were hustling. You forget all about it. You forget all about it. Your Heinie's a little sore, so you forget about it. It was like the most joyful 90 minutes. And like that was when Davey and I got even closer because we've known each other for I guess seven years now. But um, I had this like near-death experience in 2024. I had a medical emergency completely like out of the blue.

SPEAKER_02 37:09

AKA freaked us all out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

But Davy would send these messages like every couple days, not realize like he I told him after that his words are often the thing that got me through that day because it was really, really hard. It was very difficult, it was a very emotional time. And my first foray back into physical activity, because I like I wasn't allowed to do any activities for quite some time, was going back to spin with Davey. And it was like the most amazing thing to like come back to your own self, to come back into strength, and to have Davy's words like in my ear and him in front of me. I would leave spin, not just like emotionally, I would be like crying during spin, but tears of joy, and like it's it was like David sounds like a great release.

SPEAKER_03 37:50

My husband was getting ready for his surf trip, and he's like, I gotta get in shape. I'm gonna do David's spin class. My husband went like he never missed, he never missed, and he was like, Babe, I'm gonna stand up the whole time. He'd love to see one time. They would call him He-Man. My husband at the time had this long blonde hair, he still has blonde hair, it's just short now. But David created his whole playlist built around my husband, Jim. And it was like eat hard rush. So that's it. You can, yes.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

He's got a list or like follow him on Spotify, and that's on Spotify.

SPEAKER_03 38:24

That's the other beauty about like what David has created with Sunny TV. It's like it really has something for everybody, and everybody is welcome.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

And everyone's seen. I think people just want to be seen. They want to have their stories. I mean, I'm thinking uh Addy is an incredible documentarist, and she did this wiki watchy mermaid.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

Oh, she was a mermaid. I loved it.

SPEAKER_02 38:47

So we all have these different talents. Yeah, talk about you and documentary, because I think that's an important piece there.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Yeah. Well, one of the reasons that I do love this project is that it gives me an opportunity to work on some of the things that I just want to do. Like I do really want to be able to tell the story and really deep dive into specific stories, like making documentaries. One of my ultimate goals and why I went and studied what I studied would be to be able to make, you know, long-formed documentaries one day that can teach people things that usually potentially cost money to access. So I really would like to, you know, provide access to information.

SPEAKER_04 39:22

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

And you know, some of that, like, you know, we even talked about like the part of why that's amazing is you introduce me to people all the time, and I'm like, oh my gosh, like we could like there's so many people that totally deserve a deep dive, a long-form story, their story told. And the first one that comes to mind is you know, you have to remind me her name, but the woman who talks about the brothels in St. Augustine.

SPEAKER_03 39:46

No, Blanche, Blanche Alta Vida is the woman who ran the who ran the brothels, but the woman herself. Oh, the author, the author of the book.

SPEAKER_02 39:55

Yeah, Ann Colby.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Ann Colby, yeah. She was like the first person where I'm just like, oh my gosh, we have to do this. And she was like, Yeah, why not? You know, she's down for anything. So, but things like that. Like, thanks for mentioning that. But yeah, like I love that aspect of being part of this. Like, you know, it's really, really amazing to meet these people that I would have never ever met. I don't like what you said.

SPEAKER_03 40:17

Addie, I'll tell you this much, you guys. Addie is, and I tell her all the time, I probably, you know, if you look in the messages, like there's so many. Addie is so extremely talented, and the way her brain functions, yeah. But not only talented, listen, so I'm terrible with technology. When I get nervous or something doesn't go right, my mom pushes buttons and start clicking buttons. I don't know what happens.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

But so much of the fact that even our fans that watch the show know that Mel is on the buttons. They're like, oh, and she's at it again.

SPEAKER_03 40:46

The funny thing is, Addy had the patience to sit with me over there. I had a notebook because I wrote down every step, and she taught me how like I don't go beyond my realm. I can hit the switcher buttons and I can do that, and I can load an interview. But she, if she has the like the patience to teach me how to do that, and she's always so compliment. She's like, You're doing great, Mel, but yeah, you deserve a lot of credit.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

You I was saying today, like you deserve an award for like quickest learner or most progress in the shortest time or like something like that. Because like the things that you like the things that you used to ask me versus today, you being like, Well, that's not gonna work with the roadcaster. She knows exactly why. Like, I'm like, yeah, Mel's right, but we'll tell you, we'll show Davy.

SPEAKER_03 41:31

I only know these things because of you. You showed me how to do all this, so you're amazing with the whole technology and how your brain works. And anybody that's lucky enough to get to work with Addy, it's a whole nother, you have no idea. Well, thank you for saying that. The love here is so palpable.

SPEAKER_04 41:49

I'm just feeling it among you, and you all just give each other compliments so beautifully, and it's just a pleasure to be around. The world needs more of that.

SPEAKER_02 41:56

It's a lost art. People forget how to love people without it being sexualized. You know what I mean? People forget the capital L word is love, and that's have compassion, curiosity, compassion. I mean, all of that goes into it and a little bit of sarcasm. That's the truth.

SPEAKER_04 42:12

All of humanity and animals and every every living thing on this earth.

SPEAKER_00 42:16

I mean, we tell each other we love each other every single time.

SPEAKER_04 42:18

Oh my god, every single time. Yeah, oh that's the best. Yeah, yeah. It can never you can never be said too much. No, no, to say it as much as we can.

SPEAKER_03 42:25

We don't know, you know, we don't. It's true. We don't know when our time is gonna come. Yeah, we're not promised tomorrow. I'll tell you this much. When my time comes, these people right here are gonna know how much I love them. Yeah, they're never gonna have to question. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

But we are supposed to be questioning people that do go to your funeral. And did they provide you resources?

SPEAKER_03 42:43

Remember, yes, you're gonna have it and are there snacks. David's got a whole I I gave him the list for my husband won't remember any of it, so I gave David my list. Maybe he's in charge. Yes. But it's true, I don't ever want anyone that's in my life to question, you know, my how did Mel really feel about it? Because I will tell you how it really feels about it. Oh, she will. Good, bad, or indifferent. But I want my my people to know like how much they mean to me and how much being around them, like all of you guys, has like totally enriched my life. And I say it all the time. The best way to sum up my time here at Sunny TV. Oh my god, that sounds like I'm dying. Yeah, is this my favorite phase of life? It's all the fun phases you've had.

SPEAKER_04 43:24

You've had some fun phases in your life. Hot mess. Yeah, lived in Japan. Yeah, yeah, and uh wow and all the things. Yeah, so all of that has led to this for you as well. That a gift. I never thought I would all experienced these crazy lives, and here we all are.

SPEAKER_03 43:40

If somebody would have said, like even five years ago, Mel, one day David's gonna ask you to do this project within this podcast, and then you're this girl Addy's gonna teach you how to push these buttons to make it run, and you're gonna be able to do all this, and you're gonna be able to read a script and go off the cuff and still make it work, I would have laughed in your face. I would have Been like there's no way I'm gonna be able to do all of that. Like, I'm a cheer coach, you know. Like, I know how to do that, but it's like, okay, well, David thinks I can do this, I'm gonna do this. Addie thinks I can learn all this crap. All right, Ashim, you got me right, you know.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

Well, what's funny too is you know, it's I know that you know this now, it's low-key like learning a routine or a choreography. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like today, where we all were talking and stuff, and we had a light that situation, but the person who was like, Oh, something in my checklist isn't done, hell knows she's got it. She's the lights are on. We're like, I think you get you know that that all goes hand in hand.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

That's a great point. That is a good point. That's a great point. You know, it's funny, everyone on this team brings their own talents and their own eyes and their own, like their own way of seeing it. I feel like honestly, Davey, you had some magical foresight of how you connected all of us because as we've like can gotten even closer over the last year plus, we've all found like other connections that are just wild. Like like Mel's middle name is Joy, which is like my favorite word. I I write it in every journal. Davey's nickname as a boy uh was Sunny Boy, yeah, and my nickname as a child is was Sunshine and still is like my parents still call me that. And it was all these then like Addie and I were spending time talking, and we're like, Me too, me too. So we call each other twin flame. Yeah, yeah. That's our names. Like it's all these things, like say Davy had this like magical view that somehow knew that all these souls were somehow needing to be connected, and we all learn from each other, we all help each other, we all push each other, we all, you know, we're all there to support one another. And I think you're right, I think um complimenting is a dying art. Like people no, people don't know how to take a they compare. There's more comparison nowadays than than compliment. And I think that's one thing we're gonna I think we all are in the same place. We're like in this abundance mentality where we think there's enough joy to share with others, and so we're doing our best to share that joy because so many people out there are just like mean mean and keeping the joy and and the the comparison and the competition you said it in your speech the other day.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

Oh which part?

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Um the rising to the tide. The rising tide lifts all ships. And yeah, yeah, and we are the rising tide. Oh, and you know, we're elevating this community together. We're not doing it alone, but we all know that we will rise together, and that's like this team in a in a like when one of us is having an off day, we're all there, the rest of us saying, Hey, you got this. What can we do? Yeah, it's just it's a beautiful thing, and I'm I'm so grateful to Davy and to to Addie and to Mel to this is like my family now.

SPEAKER_04 46:24

Absolutely. And you can't get rid of us. Family, and let's talk a little bit about the community here in St. Augustine, not only supporting you, you supporting it, but what an amazing community here. This is why I started the podcast is that there's so many people with an amazing story. Yeah, you just can't believe it sometimes. You're like, I can't believe that these people are all living together in this magical town. I mean, it's magical, let's be real. They all came here to fulfill their dreams. So that leads me to my question: do you all feel like you're living your dream life here in St. Augustine? Yes.

SPEAKER_05 46:56

Yeah. A resounding.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

Yes. I yes.

SPEAKER_02 47:02

You know, I talked to my uncle before moving to St. Augustine, and he's a a big real estate agent in uh Lewis, Delaware. And I asked him, I was leaving New York at that same time, so I was sort of like uh in limbo, and I asked him, and I was like, Uncle Bill, how come you never went to a big city and you know, because you really could have, you know, you have the energy, you have the cadence for it. And he says, you know what? Sometimes being a big fish in a small pond really has its benefits and its perks. And I don't know if that stuck with me because I at the time I was like, I just kind of dismissed it. That's the true New Yorker. I was like, oh please. Um, but uh, but it really kind of made sense because we are small of a of a community, but we're so large in the heart factor. And so many people can feel alone, but not in St. Augustine. I'm over 20 years now, and my sister has now uh moved here too, and you know, obviously I have my beautiful niece and my my brother-in-law, and now hopefully soon mom will be coming soon. That's how you start a community, and you keep and you keep spreading infectious joy, and you can just see and you can connect with the people that that need it and that are starving for it, and you're giving them a resource just like they're giving you something too.

SPEAKER_04 48:14

That's right, and it'll probably come back around for them, for you. That once you spread joy, it's like a ripple effect, right? It's the ocean, it's getting out to everyone, and joy is the purpose of life, in my opinion. I mean, I think that's it. If we're not joyful every day, if we're not living in joy, what's the point? Yeah, right, and you're helping create that for people. Well, because people don't know how to find it, yeah, and that's the issue.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

It's like people find comfort in being miserable, yeah. That's true. Because they just don't know companies and don't know any better until they tune into this wacky little show, and then they're like, oh my gosh, I just have been laughing hysterical for an hour with the city.

SPEAKER_03 48:52

And then it makes it okay, it makes it okay to laugh at yourself and like, oh my god, did I just say that? That's the other thing. We don't take ourselves seriously.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

That is a huge part of it. We don't take ourselves too seriously. We laugh at ourselves, we laugh at one another, we invite people to laugh at the kookiness of their own lives, and I think that's a huge part. To answer your question real fast, though, I think for me, the dream now life is because I got to be part of this. So I grew up doing theater and art, but I was in corporate America, like Davy in the boxy world, you know, smalling that small box. And I always had to play this very focused, professional card. Right, but I'm an artist at heart, I just don't have the talent like this, but I'm an artist at heart. And so getting to be part of this allows that passion of that I didn't get to have in my life, allows that to like come through, and I get to play and I get to be part of something that's creative and fun. So now I like we live in this amazing town, we've got a beautiful beach that I get to walk on or run on in the mornings. I've got amazing friends.

SPEAKER_03 49:46

We get to kick it with our friends every morning and the last seeds of fun.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

I would be remiss too if I didn't talk about Renee.

SPEAKER_04 49:52

Yeah, Bosch.

SPEAKER_02 49:53

Renee from Totally St. Augustine.

SPEAKER_04 49:55

Renee's another mayor.

SPEAKER_02 49:57

From somebody that like believed since day one that I could do this. She literally was fanning my flames this whole time and her connections and and trying to make the stories were right and we're getting the right information because she is an absolute historian of this beautiful community. So it's it's those people, it's the Robinsons, Stephanie and John Robinson from Flashes and Brilliants, our first sponsor. Like I didn't even have to say how much, they said when, and uh, here's a check. Wow. And that to me was like we can do something because there are so many people that absolutely believed in us since day one. Yeah. Um, I I believe when we even started sponsorships, didn't we? We gave everybody like a free month, like we were still setting up and trying to figure it out. Yeah, and that was an incredible time because people were just like, I don't care what it takes, I gotta be a part of this. They were ready to hand it out. I gotta have this. Cindy from the Pirate Museum. My God, I have to be a part of this. I don't know if I can afford it, I don't even care, but like figure it out for me. I'm like, absolutely. And that's how can you say no to Dave? How can you say no to Sunny TV? Recording that one out.

SPEAKER_04 50:58

Can we talk a little bit about the sponsorship? Because I think if you didn't have these amazing sponsors, you couldn't be here. You couldn't sustain it, you wouldn't be able to pay that mortgage, that rent, right? So you had those 30 days. How did you manifest an income here, but also enough to? I mean, this is a lot of tech around us here. This cannot be cheap to run. So, how did you manage to do that?

SPEAKER_02 51:21

I think it was all about um time and place. I mean, like I said, it I've been in the trenches with nonprofits, so I I mean I did fundraising for a long time, so I know the movers and shakers, and I know people that would respond to this in a positive way. Mark Bailey Bailey Group. Oh my gosh, like that man is literally the saint in St. Augustine because he just in any single project, that man's got a hand in it, and it's a hand of grace and absolute greatness. Um, we were there for the ribbon cutting of the West King Um hospital, the the health center that just uh that was just A.D. Davis was there a part of the construction. And he's there just as a beacon and an inspiration for all of us. So I I pitched him the idea, and he was just like, absolutely, I love you and I'll support you. I mean, I help him with the the ALS walk every single year, and we have this great connection. And I learned from him. I mean, he he definitely has taught me so much about the West King society that I don't think that people even understand. We haven't even cracked the surface on a lot of these conversations, which is beautiful. Then you've got world-famous legendary Steve Chapman's All-American Heir, rock star. He was like, You guys are the best, and like, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 52:28

These people are Steve Chapman. Love it.

SPEAKER_02 52:31

And we love that. And Christine, and she's a philanthropic queen. And you know, she is somebody that has absolutely paved the way for fundraising and given such a big spotlight to our entire community, All American Air Charitable Foundation. It helps so many different nonprofits out there. So it's people like that. It's people that want to plug the synergy of success into the wall. They want, they love the fact that I am um ruthless with you. Absolutely, old Town Trolley, amazing. And these are all people that are in the top of their field and they want to be a part of the joy and they want to be a part of the success. And we're just, yeah, we're we're providing them a different platform. You know, they can they they can do print ads and all the other stuff, but they'll never be able to walk away from it feeling uh like a print ad, just you know, it it's it's there. But one of our ads, I mean, we have quirky commercials. I mean, it's just like we really put a personality and a spin on it in the way that we translate it, which I think is a beautiful part. And so it's totally new facet, which I gotta give Addie tons of credit because commercials are not easy to shoot. She's so good at it.

SPEAKER_01 53:36

Another time. She makes all the commercials, she makes all of them. You guys are one of my favorite people to shoot because I can yell at you. And we don't take a fans, we're like, oh, we're out of line. And we have a fancy. Okay, they listen very well. Well, stop squirming. Let's do it. And also because they're bold enough to do whatever I say in public. So it's like, listen, okay, I need you to stand here, and you guys are gonna twist around, you're gonna stroke me back this face.

SPEAKER_03 54:01

Yeah, I mean, it's when like he's like, all right, Mel, you're gonna pick up that food, you're gonna eat it. Yes. Now, no, wait, no, come on.

SPEAKER_05 54:09

Fancy dancing.

SPEAKER_01 54:10

Oh, those were fun. I missed the fancy dancing. Fancy dancing was, yeah, it was was because we were like, we need reels. Yeah. I was like, we need reels. We gotta be able to show the world like like a teaser or something. We need to bring people to YouTube, we need to bring people to Facebook, the people that aren't noticing us already, which is crazy. Yeah, I mean but like fine. And it's like, what better way than to pull you know the guests in? I think you came in with making it what it was, right? Like, I just needed reels. Davey made it an amazing.

SPEAKER_00 54:42

I've been studying Gary V, day trading attention. We need snippets, we need little chips.

SPEAKER_01 54:47

Which RJ, thank you for making me read that book in 24 hours.

SPEAKER_03 54:51

Yes, I read it twice. I read it twice. I was like, that was it became okay, what song are we gonna use? All right, ready, go. It became a whole choreographed, and then we did it with the guests, and like they loved it.

SPEAKER_02 55:03

They're still in circulation to this day. Like, I'll go and like I'll be surfing through stories, and somebody just shared one from like you know, six months ago. And I'm like, ah, there's still and there are these silly little videos of us dancing with our sunny fans and across the room to the theme. Like, these are all things that we wanted to reenact too, and you know, growing up dancing with your siblings in a living room, you know. You want that vibe, and that that kind of vulnerability seems to get lost out in the world today, so we're kind of bringing that back up.

SPEAKER_04 55:29

Yeah, we're bringing play back, people forget to play and creativity and movement. Just be so things are still good for the soul.

SPEAKER_01 55:37

I am you know what people are afraid of social media. You did did a really cool thing and made it a tool to warm people up. When we first got there in the morning, it would be like, all right, you're nervous, like we're gonna dance. And we're gonna do it together, and we're gonna, you know, work together with the camera and the timing. So it's a little bit of like a you know, it's a teamwork warm-up. Like that was really brilliant, I think.

SPEAKER_00 55:59

You'd all be like especially in the jail outfits.

SPEAKER_03 56:06

They were thick and heavy. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 56:09

I think uh and I think on that one we did not have a tripod, we had a suitcase and an iPhone. Drop it up wherever you can. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 56:18

It's gotta happen now. Yeah. Well, I would sit here and talk with you all day long, but I think we run out of time. I just want to thank you so much. This was an immense pleasure to sit here with each of you and learn a little bit about your stories and sharing the joy and the love. I'm gonna keep spreading it just by being here today. So thank you all so very much for your time and your energy and your love. Much appreciated.

SPEAKER_02 56:43

And tell us once where everybody can find you Sunny TV on Instagram, we are Sunny TV Network on Instagram, Sunny TV on Facebook, Sunny TV Network on TikTok, Sunny TV Network on YouTube, Sunny TV Network on Spotify, and Sunny TV on Apple Podcasts.

SPEAKER_04 57:01

You're all of us. Thank you all so much. So much love for you all here at Sunny TV.

SPEAKER_02 57:05

Before we go, I do want to say you are an absolute inspiration. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 57:09

Thank you. Thank you. I'm happy to be here anytime. Awesome. Thank you so much, guys. I trust that whatever was meant for you in this conversation will remind you there's a way to build a life you love. Follow where it leads, and I'll see you in the next session. Be sure to like and subscribe to never miss an episode.