Faces Magazine May/June 2021

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Issue no. 67

JESSE LUKETA

Meghan Chayka

Ottawa’s Funny Guy

JON DORE

+

Gord Wilson

OFF ICE

Alex Mateas

ONMARC AIR METHOT

TALKS CAREER HIGHLIGHTS + NEW PODCAST WITH

Brent Wallace The Wally & Methot Show

S P O R T S + E N T E R TA I N M E N T + L I F E S T Y L E FACES MAGAZINE | 1

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In This Issue

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SPORTS

MARC METHOT & BRENT WALLACE

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A former NHL defenseman and a former TSN reporter team up to deliver a unique perspective to the world of sports. We caught up with Marc Methot and Brent Wallace to discuss their transitions from the professional world to their new show, including their biggest challenges and their best advice.

Drake Batherson by Claus Andersen/Getty Images

GORD WILSON On his early years at Bell Media, his favourite career moments, and some of his greatest lessons during the changes of 2020.

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On growing up in Ontario, her biggest challenges when scaling Stathletes in the early 2000s, and some of her best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

ALEX MATEAS Though Football has been off the field for the year, Redblacks offensive lineman Alex Mateas remains competitive in the world of commercial real-estate. Though it’s a shift for Mateas, he enjoys the ability to continue to learn and grow, and connect with the Ottawa community that has supported him his entire life. We caught up with Mateas to discuss his journey to the CFL, his thoughts on the XFL/ CFL merger, and what skills he brought with him from the field to the board room.

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In This Issue

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ENTERTAINMENT

Christina Succi by Koko King

JESSE LUKETA On his childhood in South Ottawa, his journey to NCAA Football, and his best advice for aspiring athletes in the Capital.

JON DORE

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OTTAWA’S MOVE 100

We caught up with the Ottawa-born comedian to discuss his new show and his favourite memories from The Capital that led him to comedy.

34 A FATHER & DAUGHTER DUO

Stuntman Stu, Angie Poirier, and Janel Steeper are the face of Ottawa’s new MOVE 100. They share what’s new at MOVE + the inside scoop on working with eachother.

10 | FACES MAGAZINE

In 2020, Jon Dore’s character on Humour Resources was the perfect answer to Hollywood’s need for remote entertainment.

What started as a fun way to bond has become more than a hobby for an Ottawa musician and his daughter Ella, who have found notoriety making and sharing music as a Father Daughter Duo.

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Faces Readers Name The Top 3 Worst Intersections in Ottawa

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After a social media survey with over 800 responses, we’ve identified the 3 worst intersections in Ottawa, as voted by Faces Ottawa followers and readers.

CONTENTS Summer Style

2 Top Looks For Warmer Weather

5 Common Interview Questions and How To Answer Them The best way to approach an interview is, and always will be, as ready. Here are some of the most common interview questions that, although predictable, can trip you up if you don’t have some talking points prepared.

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Guide: Health & Happiness

Every issue, we find five lifestyle changes that are so simple, so surprising, and so successful that they are sure to spark a massive difference in your health and happiness.

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March/April Volume 67 FIND FACES Faces Magazine is distributed bi-monthly and offered free at select locations across Ottawa and in cities across Eastern Ontario. Full issues are also available online. Faces Magazine is a non-traditional print medium with a strong brand presence on social media.

www.facesmag.ca

Editor In Chief Evan Childerhose Publisher Justin MacKinnon Hank’s Paw Publishing (A Division of 8624771 Canada Inc.) Art Director Sonia Mehour Operations Manager Courtney Wheeler Accounting/Finance Linda Zhang

@facesottawa @facesott @facesottawa

Contact info@facesmag.ca (613) 591 - 6093

Event Info

www.facesmag.ca/awards To request our event sponsorship packages, please email info@facesmag.ca. For all other information regarding our events, please call or visit our event website.

Suite 101-105 Schneider Road Kanata, ON K2K 1Y3 Sales advertising@facesmag.ca Submissions echilderhose@facesmag.ca 14 | FACES MAGAZINE

Contributors Alex Feeney Catheryn Risto Morris Miller Corey Stone Christopher Lord Tayna Gautier Meaghan Vincent Steve Warne Max Polizi Kate Wright Todd Hamilton Stewart Clarke Liam Fox Ryan Bova Trevor McIssac Kenzie Harrison Connor Khonick Shiyao Liu Jordan Palleck Gary Cassidy Jennifer Marwick Guillaume Dubois Allison Dupuis Trever MacIsaac Ryan Bova Kenzie Harrison Dave Rock

Contributing Photographers Cover Photo: Sean Sisk John E. Sokolowski Jana Chytilova Andre Ringuette Connor Armstrong Taylor Condon Peter Wright Yana Klaiz Lucas Short

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WHERE ROOMS BECOME AMAZING

CADIEUX INTERIORS 1280 OLD INNES RD. - 613.745.1230 - CADIEUXINTERIORS.CA FACES MAGAZINE | 15

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MAY MAY MOVIE RELEASES FAST & FURIOUS 9 In the final F&F trilogy, Domenic and his crew join forces to battle a final villain: his brother.

May 19th

Here’s How to Make the Most of the Month of May

2

nd

Watch Your Favourite Harry Potter Movie on May 2nd

To Celebrate

National Harry Potter Day

DID YOU KNOW The Highest Grossing Harry Potter Movie Was Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

It grossed 1.34 billion at box offices.

A QUIET PLACE 2 The Abbott family continues to navigate a silent world with danger at every sound.

May 27th

The lowest grossing was The Prisoner of Azkaban.

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THE CONJURING III The third installment in the conjuring series explores another famous haunting.

May 28th

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Cinco De Mayo The word Fiesta translates into many things in the english language, including party, feast and festival, leaving celebrators with a big hat to fill on May 5th.

Here’s our hottest tip for a household celebration:

Jalapeno Guacamole.

Recipe: - 3 avocados - 1 medium tomato, seeded - 1/2 white onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup of cilantro - 2 serano or jalapeno peppers, finely chopped - 2 cloves garlic, pressed - 3 tbsp lime juice - 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste - 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste - 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Dice ingredients, combine in a bowl, stir, and enjoy.

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Celebrate

Mother’s Day

th Change Your Passwords on May 6th

for National

Pa**word Day

Changing your password isn’t to celebrate, but rather to boost your security online. Over 59% of people use the same passwords for everything, which poses a big risk to your cyber security.

Fun Fact: Humans are creatures of habit, and this applies to the world of passwords, too. In the 1990’s the most popular password on the web was ‘12345’. Today, it’s ‘123456’.

Most women use a password that includes a meaningful name, and most men use a hobby in their password.

Grab A Local Burger On May 28th

For National Hamburger Day

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On May 9th

The Top 3 Mother’s Day Lockdown Gifts

1. A Card + Flowers

Delivered flowers with a custom note are traditional, but a top choice on Mother’s Day.

2.

th

Gift Cards To Their Favourite Local Restaurants

Or, do the ordering for her, and have her favourite meals show up on Mother’s Day.

3. A Album Digital Photo

Digital video messages, photo albums, and recordings are a thoughtful way to surprise your mom on May 9th. Share a memory, a lesson learned, or something you look forward to doing together.

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th Raise A Glass To

National Wine Day

On May 25th

Did You Know?: Every second, McDonalds sells 75 hamburgers.

28 th

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JUNE JUNE MOVIE RELEASES THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD

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Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson join forces with an Interpol agent, Salma Hayek, to fight a European cyber attack.

June 16th

Celebrate

National Cheese Day On June 6th

The average North American eats

38

pounds of cheese

per year.

THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE CHEESES

PULE FATHERHOOD Kevin Hart plays a single father who learns to raise his daughter alone after the untimely death of his wife.

June 18th

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Pule is a rare cheese made from the milk of a Balkan donkey in Siberia. It takes over 25 liters of donkey milk to make just one kilogram. One pound of the rare cheese weighs in at $600.

WHITE STILTON GOLD As the name suggests, this cheese is made with real flakes of gold. It was created by the Long Clawson Dairy in Leicestershire, England, and costs $400 per pound. The cheese is a distant cousin of blue cheese.

WYKE FARMS CHEDDAR Wyke Farms produces the most expensive cheddar cheese in the world. Its described as ‘tangy and full-flavoured’, and takes 12 months to age. It’s an incredibly popular cheese in Britan (and has been since the 1860’s) despite its $200 per pound price tag.

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Give A Hug For

National Hug Day On June 29th

ACCORDING TO STUDIES, A 10-SECOND HUG CAN:

Lower risk of heart disease Reduce Stress Boost your immune system Fight infections Ease depression

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Take a Break From

Social Media On June 30th

MILLENNIALS WILL SPEND A DECADE ON THEIR PHONES Most people spend almost an hour a day on their phone, either texting, surfing, or scrolling.

A new report by mobile consumer reporting site WhistleOut has actually presented the amount of time that this will translate to in our lifetime.

The report highlights that millennials, who spend the most time of all generations on their phones, will end up spending over 9 years on their phones.

Most millennials spend about 3.5 hours a day on their phones, says the report.

Gen X spends about 3, and boomers spend the least, about 2.5.

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Photography by Sean Sisk

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MARC METHOT

& Brent Wallace Take us behind the scenes of their new podcast and the lifestyle changes that created it.

M

arc Methot knows a thing or two about making a lifestyle change. Just two years ago, at the age of 34 and with 13 seasons as a pro defenseman in the NHL under his belt, Marc hung up his skates in a somewhat forced retirement. Forced, because he spent the last year trying to get back on the ice after a knee injury. Even when he no longer could play or practice with the team, Methot was renting private ice at Minto to try and regain his ability and get back in the game. In the end, Marc chose to not put further strain on his knee and start a long process with many pain meds to get in another season.

He focused instead on his family, and two young sons.

Transitioning from high-speed hockey to home life came with some challenges for Methot who, as he says, ‘lacks patience’. The same mental energy that made him a force on the ice seemed like that it had nowhere to go. Exercise became his outlet.

But when former TSN Reporter Brent Wallace, who has been a long time friend of Methot from his days with the Ottawa Senators, called him with a new opportunity to get back into the world of sports, he couldn’t refuse.

Brent Wallace, who is undergoing his own transition after 23 years with TSN, called Methot to discuss an idea for a podcast. Taking a former NHLer and a former sports reporter, and having them interview some great names in hockey? It was a unique idea that made sense for both.

In March, the two launched the ‘Wally and Methot Show’, a twice-weekly podcast series taking viewers behind the scenes of hockey, the players, and some Ottawa Senators highlights from years past.

We caught up with Marc and Brent to discuss their transitions from the professional world to their new show, including their biggest challenges and their best advice.

Photography by Sean Sisk

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When we last spoke to you in 2013, you were just starting your second season with the Senators. A lot has changed over the last 7 ½ years. Most importantly, you are married and a father of two. How has becoming a father and a husband changed you? What is the best thing about being a Dad? It’s made me incredibly patient, because I’m not a naturally patient person (laughs).

I’m very busy mentally. I’m always working out and doing stuff because I’ve got to stay busy. So, having kids definitely made me a bit more grounded. I went from a very fastpaced lifestyle with hockey into retirement with very young kids, it’s been an adjustment.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s been amazing. But, I can understand now what a lot of people go through by being at home during a pandemic. It’s not easy at times.

Tell us about the role that your parents played in your success. What do you admire most about them? Is there anything that you want to make sure to reflect in your own parenting?

My dad was an Ottawa Police Officer, and my mom was an emergency nurse for 40 years. You don’t realize it as a kid, but I can see now the sacrifices they made, between their full time shift work and me playing hockey.

My dad was always a big believer that you need to keep your kids busy, because there’s a lot of distractions out there. He saw that first-hand as a police officer. It kept us out of trouble. We were two boys in the family, and it was easy to just go out there and cause trouble. But, we were so busy and so focused on our sport that it kept us structured.

I’ll forever be grateful to my parents for making those sacrifices to get us to practice early and to those games during the week.

Looking back on your time with the Senators, you were a big part of two of the most memorable seasons in franchise history, 2014-2015 and 2016-2017. Tell us about that wild 2015 run, where the team went 21-3-3 down the stretch to make the playoffs. It was a wild, unforgettable ride for the fans and city. What was it like for the players? What are some of your favourite memories from that season?

Like any playoff run that I had with the Sens, the most memorable thing was the fan support. We’d get off the airplane after flying in from a game, and all of the fans would be there at the airport waiting for us. Elgin Street was always popping off with tons of parties, and everyone was celebrating. Being an Ottawa native, I really enjoyed seeing the fan reception. It’s always great during the year, but it’s another animal in 22 | FACES MAGAZINE

the postseason and in the playoffs. That was always a lot of fun to experience.

Your last game with the Senators was Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. You played 33:20 in that game, the 2nd most of any player on either team (after Erik Karlsson). Tell us about that 2017 playoff run. Is there a particular game or moment that stands out to you the most when you look back at it?

Beating Boston and New York in the first two rounds was huge. The feeling of winning out that series and moving on, but then playing game seven against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins was awesome.

No one had us pegged to win that series, and we were right there in game seven with them. It was up for grabs.

We lost, obviously, but being on the big stage like that was a really cool experience.

I’d never been that far before, and I’m always going to remember it.

You were left unprotected in the Expansion Draft in an apparent attempt for the team to make a trade with Vegas to keep you here, while also being able to protect other players like Dion Phaneuf. No trade was made in the end, and you were taken

by Vegas in the Expansion Draft, but then traded to Dallas shortly thereafter. How did all that unfold from your perspective?

Looking back on it a few years later, did you have any idea that you had played your last game in Ottawa after Game Seven?

Initially, I was a bit resentful about the whole process, because I’m a local guy, my family is here, and I was having kids.

My parents and my brother are all able to watch me play in Ottawa and we’d just come off a really good year, and all of a sudden I’m getting poached from another team. Only to get moved as bait to another team. Vegas picks me up and they trade me immediately to Dallas.

I wasn’t very happy about it. But in the end it worked out great, because I had such a great experience living down in Texas. I know people have mixed opinions on the idea of what that looks like, but handsdown it’s the best place I’ve ever lived.

It was incredible. When I actually got down there, and got to see the place, it was just a first-class organization, and I’m forever grateful for how they took care of me despite me being injured almost the entire time I was down there. It was a good experience.

You were forced into retirement due to injury. When did you officially make up your mind to retire? Was it an easy or difficult transition for you?

Oh, I was stubborn. The idea that at 34 I wasn’t going to do anything, was really difficult for me. So the transition was hard. And

I was trying to come back, I was hoping my knee would slowly get better. I was renting ice on my own at Minto Arena here in Ottawa just to skate and see if it got better. And to no avail it never did. So I hung em up.

I never officially made an announcement, but I knew I was done. I would try to skate and then the following day my knee would swell up and I felt awful.

So I’m still working out like a wild man, I’m still on the Peloton everyday and in the gym everyday in my basement doing exercises and weights stuff. But skating I can’t do. So I had to gracefully retire.

Looking back on your NHL Career, what is the accomplishment that you’re most proud of and why?

Oh, man. I think signing that first extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. I’d played a couple years under my entry level deal and then I’d signed my first deal, it was a two year deal, and then my third NHL contract was a four year deal. Finally I had job security. Most players like to avoid it and say they’re all about winning, but let’s face it... in any line of work, you want job security. You want to know that you’re going to be comfortable for the rest of your life. So, I think achieving that for me was probably up there with getting traded to the Ottawa Senators.

You and Brent Wallace recently started the podcast, “The Wally + Methot Show”. How did your friendship with Brent begin?

We always had this really good comradery between us during interviews. He was always interviewing me throughout my career and we always got along really well and would chat between interviews. I’d gotten to know his family a bit because I had gone over to visit his kids. I was his daughter’s favourite player at the time.

So we knew each other very well. And then when he unfortunately was let go from Bell Media with TSN, he reached out to me within a week to do a podcast. His wife Lisa had suggested it, and the rest was history.

I agreed right away on the phone, because I was bored out of my mind at home.

‘‘Oh, I was stubborn.

The idea that at 34 I wasn’t going to do anything, was really difficult for me. So the transition was hard. And I was trying to come back, I was hoping my knee would slowly get better.’’

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Tell us about the podcast. You had a great start with interviewing Daniel Alfredsson and then Bobby Ryan on your first two shows.

How did you like being the one on the other side of the microphone?

It was hard, and I have a new respect for what reporters do. One of the hardest parts is just flagging down athletes. Trying to get a hold of one to do an interview is a nightmare (laughs). Because you have to respect their busy schedules, and sometimes their not in the best of moods… so I’m starting to see first hand what that’s like. Oh man, it was tough.

But you know what, I’m enjoying it, because I’m not worried about taking a hard hit in the corner anymore, and not worried about getting terrible sleep from travel... it’s a nice change of pace for me.

I’m learning a lot from Wally, too, so it’s kind of been like a trial and error - education - crash course... it’s been good.

What can fans expect from the show?

Candid interviews, and getting a behind the scenes look at what these players are like. Getting a little more personality out of them, less hockey stuff.

It’s going to be hockey oriented, but you’ll find out quirky facts about these guys, see the lighter side of their everyday lives, and you’ll get an interesting and unique perspective because Wally’s a broadcaster and I’m a retired hockey player. And I toss in some stories, so it’s fun.

When you look back at your career, who are some of your teammates in Ottawa that grew into great friendships? What do you respect most about them as people?

Derrick Brassard, Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Craig Anderson, Dion Phaneuf, I’m missing some… (laughs). But that 2017 run we had really cemented some bonds for a lot of guys. It’s weird what that does. They say you develop these bonds with players when you go through a lot of hardships and it’s true. I’ve been through it a couple times and you never

lose touch with them. And when you do pick up with them, even if it’s been a year and a half, you’re right where you left off.

Who was the toughest coach you ever played for?

Probably Ken Hitchcock. He would have been the most intimidating, because I was a rookie when I joined the league and he was my coach in Columbus. And he’s a hall of famer.

Who is the funniest guy you ever played with in Ottawa?

Probably Chris Neil. He was unintentionally funny sometimes… (laughs). But a character in the room and a prankster. If you pranked him, he would always take it to the next level and ruin your day in some way, shape, or form.

Who is the greatest leader you ever played with, and why?

Daniel Alfredsson. For me he was the epitome of what a leader should be. He knew how to talk to the players, he was very approachable, but also very smart.

And when he spoke, we listened.

Because he was straightforward and he wouldn’t waste his breath.

The classic Swede. Very stern, doesn’t speak very much but when he does, everyone pays attention. I admired him the whole time I played for him.

When fans look back at your career, what would you hope they think of when they think of Marc Methot?

I know a lot of them are going to think of me as Erik Karlsson’s team partner, and I do take pride in that. I don’t like the idea of being someone’s sidekick, but he was a special player to play with and I can own that one. I think just a good, reliable, stay-at-home defenseman that could move well and always played very hard. I think those are attributes that I’ve always taken pride in.

What is the best thing about your wife?

Patience. My wife deserves a medal, because I am a high maintenance guy. Whether it was me

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not being able to miss a workout on any given day, so she’d have to watch the kids, or when she’s travelled or moved with me, like when I’ve lifted her from her roots in Ottawa and taken her to Dallas Texas. To some people, that may not seem like a big deal... but when you’re on your own somewhere with young children, it’s not always easy and you don’t have a support system around you. So hats off to her, she’s been fantastic to me.

You were born and raised in this city and got to play 5 seasons with the Ottawa Senators as part of your 624 NHL game career. How special is it for you to have lived out a dream that so many kids in Ottawa share? To those kids and young players reading this, who want to one day skate for the Senators like you did, what is the best piece of advice you could give them?

Good question. For me, it was incredible. I can’t really put it into words… I still remember the day that Bryan Murray phoned me.

It was on Canada Day, and I was having a party in my backyard.

And just before the party started, he called me to let me know that he had traded for me.

I still remember that feeling and the goosebumps from that. It just goes to show you how significant it is to be able to play for your home city. I grew up watching the Senators. So needless to say that was special.

If there’s advice that I could give any kid out there, I think it would be: you have to have fun obviously, but you need to make sure that you’re not just putting all of your marbles into hockey. Try to get a good education, because I’ve seen a lot of players sacrifice a lot of things only to not really have much to fall back on after their careers and it can be sad at times. So, I was lucky, but I know a lot of players out there weren’t, or aren’t.

So focus on your school, and you know what, have fun with it. Because hockey is not the all and all in life, there’s a lot more important stuff out there. @MarcMethot3

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BRENT BRENT WALLACE WALLACE A lot has changed since we last spoke. Tell me about the moment you got the call that said you had been laid off from your job of 22 years. What did that feel like?

Terrifying. Tuesday at 7pm on February 2nd was when I got the email. It just said we have a conference call… business update tomorrow. I knew right then.

I didn’t see that coming. I worked until 5:00 on Tuesday and got an email at 7pm. No idea. God, it was terrifying. The stress level of being told at 47 that you don’t have a job after 22 years was hard.

There was a long couple of days after. I couldn’t get off the phone, though. Everybody kept calling or texting, and I was trying to reply to people. I remember Ian Mendes called me pretty soon after.

It was the hardest call I’ve ever had. The two of us were in tears. There were a lot of people that reached out, even people I didn’t know from certain other areas in the world. So that was really nice, but it’s all a blur.

During those first three days, I just remember that I would sit in my bedroom and probably cry about 10 times a day, and then try to respond to people and figure out what I was supposed to do. Everyone was reaching out and saying “do you want to sell real estate? or do this?” and my wife said, “why don’t you do a podcast with Marc?”

So I called him, and as soon as I called he said “Wally, I’ve been waiting for your call. Let’s do this.

I’m all in.”

We talked for 45 minutes. I still don’t understand how it all happened. Then I called Craig Medaglia who had reached out before to say, “if you ever want to do a podcast, let me know.”. And I knew his work, so the three of us got together and started to figure it out.

Were you an avid listener of sports podcasts before this?

No, I’m not exactly a podcast guy per say… and that’s why our show is a Youtube show. Because I’m a TV guy, right? Look at me! I still have lots of makeup leftover. I thought that it would be a better product if you could see it. Because people love to see facial expressions. And we love to put in some fun graphics and do stuff like that. We want it to eventually be a TV show.

How did your friendship with Marc begin?

What’s the best part about working with him?

Ever since he joined the Sens, he was always one of those guys you gravitated towards because he was awesome to talk to. So we’d always chat. But I never liked to get close to players, because we both have a job to do and it’s just awkward sometimes. But, we were always cordial and hung out in the locker room and always talked.

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But they’ve done it because either I wasn’t a jerk for the 22 years I knew them, or because Marc has been a good friend.

So, we like that, and we think we can keep that going. Our goal is to eventually have the biggest names and stories on our show. We’re going to try.

What’s a long term goal you have for the show?

So in 2014, I’m covering the World Championships in Zurich. I take sleeping pills because I can’t sleep, and I’d forgotten them. So my wife called Meth, because she knew he was coming a few days later. So he comes over to the house to get them.

If I can do one thing, it’s to get Sidney Crosby to come on so that we can talk about Meth’s missing finger. This is the goal of the show (laughs).

At the time, my daughter was about 9. And she says ‘do you want to come see my room?’. She has a Methot poster, the only Sens poster she ever had. And my son is like ‘can you come see mine’?

He was super nice about it. And he brought over my sleeping pills, too.

God, we haven’t stopped. I will say that… we’re 5 weeks into getting this started, and I have not stopped for even a day. There’s so much that we need to fix and do and make better, that I don’t know what’s next. This is next. I hope it works.

People seem to like it, I hope they continue to.

Tell me about the first couple of episodes. Did you have to really coach Marc?

We’ve been really fortunate to have a good reaction from people, and we just want to keep building it.

We would do test shows and get our friends to come on, like Ian Mendes. But Meth is not an interviewer. He likes to talk, he’s just not very good at asking questions. So we’re trying to figure out how to properly have me stop talking for him to ask questions. Because I get into interview mode and I can just go. So he’s trying to figure out a way to join the conversation. He thinks he should raise his hand…

We did Alfie and Bobby, who were great, but just trying to get our chemistry down has been the hardest thing. While I’m trying to be the guy without the suit on anymore, Meth is trying to be the guy who asks questions as opposed to answers them. So, we need to somehow meet in the middle.

It’s been interesting, just the dialogue between us and the outtakes afterwards, but the guest list has been great.

Here’s the thing about the guestlist. None of these people have to come on… they don’t owe us anything, they don’t have anything to sell. So they’ve all done it out of the goodness of their heart and mostly because of Meth.

What’s next for you?

The two of us have a lot of fun together, and I would like us to continue to have that fun on our show and for people to see that.

Marc is so easy to work with. He has made that adjustment. He’s now ready to talk about players and criticize them if need be. So that part is what makes him entertaining. He’s great at breaking the game down in simple terms. @Freeagentwally

“While I’m trying to be the guy without the suit on anymore, Meth is trying to be the guy who asks questions as opposed to answers them. So, we need to somehow meet in the middle.”

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NOW THIS Surprising finds from the world of research.

come into play. Instead of lowering your risk, drinking this much or more coffee regularly will significantly increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Music Can Be As Addicting As Fast Food, Money, Or Alcohol, Says New MontrealBased Study A new study from the University of McGill has shown that the brain responds to music in the same way that it responds to other facets of our lives that are considered to be addictive.

We all know that blasting our favourite music can boost our mood, motivation, or energy.

But the study found that the way in which this happens follows the same pattern as addictive items like fast food, money, and alcohol.

The study showed that when we listen to good music (whatever we consider that to be) our reward centers, located in the Nucleus Accumbens, are triggered. In response, the brain releases dopamine. This same brain area and its response is responsible for what behavioural scientists call our addictive urges.

So, for better or for worse, we can be addicted to music and the rush it gives us. In today’s current lockdown, it’s certainly not a bad way to help boost our mood and motivation.

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Here’s How Much Is Too Much Coffee In One Day, Study Says Coffee lovers around the world know that regularly drinking coffee can be beneficial to your long-term health. It’s proven to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, boost your longterm memory, and even lower your risk of certain cancers. But, how much coffee is too much coffee?

A new study has pinpointed the amount of coffee that exceeds these benefits.

When we drink too much coffee, adverse health effects

What is the magic number, you say? The study, done by Australian Centre for Precision Health at the University of South Australia, found that drinking 6 cups of coffee per day or more was associated with negative longterm health risks. The study noted that espresso ranked worse than regular brews or instant coffee in containing a cholesterolrising component called Cafestol, but that that alone isn’t cause to switch.

Instead, the key is to make sure you’re not drinking that much coffee. While 6 seems like a high number, consider this: a large Tim Hortons coffee is about 2.5 regular cups (an extra large is 3 cups). And a grande at Starbucks is 2 regular cups.

You can see how this could add up a bit faster than you thought. But, the key is moderation. As long as you play within the limits of this study, experts say that the host of benefits coffee has is well worth the second cup.

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Study Finds The Most Popular New Skill Learned In Lockdown (And It Wasn’t Cooking, Or Learning A New Language) A survey of over 300,000 people, carried out by UK organization YouGov, found that the most popular skill learned at home this year wasn’t cooking, a new language, or something crafty, it was tech-based skills, including coding and software development.

Here Are The Most Popular Baby Names Of 2021 In Canada (So Far) Every year comes with a list of new commonly used names, usually following trends, celebrities, and movies. In the first 3 months of 2021, online Canadian baby name source BabyCenter has already named its top male and female names for the year so far.

The study found that over 1 in 20 adults learned to code over the last year, and over 43% of those who did were learning from scratch: they had no previous experience in tech or computers.

Tech-based skills reflect the growing shift to digital-based services, and the jobs that come with them.

Topping the list for females is the name Olivia. Olivia is originally a Latin name, meaning ‘Olive Tree’. It is the feminine form of the name Oliver. The first popular writing of the name was in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Famous Olivias include Olivia Wilde, Olivia Rodrigo, and Olivia Jade.

Close behind Olivia in the ranks is Emma, Amelia, and Ava. For male names, the most popular name in North America so far is Noah. Noah, which is a biblical name, derives from the Hebrew meaning ‘to comfort’.

There are many famous and prominent Noah’s in pop culture today, including Stranger Things star Noach Schnapp, and a slew of famous Tiktokkers named Noah.

Close behind Noah in the ranks is Liam, Oliver, and Elijah.

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5 OF THE MOST COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM

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he best way to approach an interview is, and always will be prepared. Here are some of the most common interview questions that, although predictable, can trip you up if you don’t have some talking points prepared.

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Why Are You A Good Fit For This Position?

It’s easy to rhyme off some good qualities that have yet to be seen, but to truly impress your prospective employer, make sure your answer is specific to the company. This question is a great opportunity to show that you’ve done some research. Identify some of the company’s values, its mission, specific outcomes (events, products, services) and strategic priorities, and reference those in your answer.

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Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job? Is there ever a perfect answer for this? The most important thing to remember is to always keep it positive. No matter what the real reason is you are looking to leave your current job, don’t bash anyone or anything. Instead, focus on the specifics that this job offers that you don’t do at your current place of work, and discuss how this opportunity aligns more with your long-term career goals.

Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

Speaking of those long-term career goals, what are they?

Be careful with this question.

Employers want to know that you are driven, but not unrealistic when it comes to your expectations. If your goals are all

about you becoming rich, or if you start to pitch your next great business idea you want to work on, an employer will be wary to invest any time in training you, for fear you might switch jobs quickly. Instead, focus on outcomes - for example, you want to work in a position where you have autonomy, or you make a difference in people’s lives. And reference some emerging trends or realities that the industry you’re in faces.

What Are Your Weaknesses?

The answer to this question can never be ‘I have none’. It’s a question that is designed to make you think, and to show if you can be self-aware and selfaccountable (nobody likes to work with someone who can’t admit when they are wrong).

Don’t go right away to ‘I’m a perfectionist’ either.

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Instead, reference something specific from the job description, but nothing critical. It could be something like your ability to ask for feedback.

What Are Your Salary Expectations?

It’s important to have an answer to this question, because if you don’t have one, you may be low-balled. Do your research, and come with a reasonable ask that is based on your experience. And, reference that experience when you make your ask. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you deserve, but don’t be unreasonable. Hiring managers are used to these discussions, and whether you come with honest expectations, you both will gain better insight on if the job and its compensation is a good fit for you.

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Ottawa’s

JON DORE on creating a pandemic-approved comedy hit + the defining moments of his career that happened in The Capital.

Jon Dore is an accomplished comedian and actor who has spent years contributing to Canadian Comedy.

Many will recognize him from his self-titled show, The Jon Dore Television Show, which ran on Comedy Central for 2 years. Since then, he’s gone on to grace the stages of Comedy Festivals and TV Shows across Canada, including a stint as a main cast member alongside Sarah Chalke and Brad Garrett on How To Live With Your Parents in 2013.

The following year, he appeared in two episodes of Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer.

In 2020, amid pandemic shutdowns across the world and for Hollywood studios, Ottawaborn Dore pitched a concept to CBC for a show called Humour Resources. The show parodies a modern-day HR manager (played by Dore) who is caught up in today’s workplace culture norms and buzzwords, while interviewing notable comedians. The contrast between his rigid corporate approach and the comedians’ unstructured creativity makes for some hilarious moments that play on real world experiences within our new remote-work landscape.

We caught up with Dore to discuss the inspiration behind his Humour Resources and his best memories from Ottawa, where he launched his career.

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What was your childhood in Ottawa like? Do you have any special memories of the city?

My memories of Ottawa are really great. No matter who you are or where you grow up, there are always some defining moments. I grew up in the lower to middle class suburbs. Dad made sure I got out and played football and baseball. I remember sunny, humid summers and skiing in the winter. I have nothing but fond memories of growing up in Ottawa.

I’m sure you were a funny kid growing up, but how would you describe yourself? Were you the class clown? Or were you quieter, and only found your voice after high school?

I think it was a little bit of both. I was definitely shy at times, but I think once I got comfortable, my true colours came out. I was definitely always fooling around the house.

I think my parents hooked me on praise at an early age, they rewarded me for being silly. My dad would show me CTV episodes of SETV that I didn’t really understand as a kid, but knew that it made my dad laugh, so I would try and impress my parents by trying to imitate those characters.

At school, I definitely wasn’t a class clown. I think I feared authority, I didn’t want to get into trouble. I would definitely try and make jokes with my friends, especially getting into early high school. But yeah, definitely not like a class clown.

Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

Then you went on to study broadcasting at Algonquin College. At one point, did you want to go into media? When did that change to wanting to pursue a career in comedy?

Towards the end of high school, I had no interest in doing anything. I was failing out of school. I was not a happy kid. I was running with a strange crowd of human beings and I had a terrible relationship

with my parents. Felt the weight of the world. That type of thing.

I ended up dropping out of the high school I was at and going to another high school. I started hanging out with a new group of friends, eventually graduated through summer school and night school. With my last few credits I could just graduate high school.

After that, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I was working in restaurants in the summer. I went out to Banff and worked there for a summer as a bartender. When I came back, my dad was working with editing equipment at home. And a friend of mine was studying TV broadcasting. And I thought, oh, that’s interesting. So I enrolled. The second I got to that class and was exposed to editing equipment, film equipment, and a screenwriting course, I was instantly in love with producing television. It was everything that I really loved to do. For the first time in my life, I loved going to school.

I couldn’t wait to get to school. I’d stay late and play around with the nonlinear editing equipment, the Avids.

How supportive were your parents when you started to get into comedy?

They’ve always been very supportive, and I think they were just happy that I had found something I loved. My father is extremely supportive. Both my parents are extremely supportive, but I mention my father because he was an art history graduate and then went on to a short career in radio broadcasting before he became a teacher. I think that was a much more stable job for someone raising kids. So he had a window into the arts and production world.

I think they both understood it.

But most of all, they just knew that I loved it. And I think they liked the idea of a happy kid versus a miserable, successful kid.

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Tell me about your first stand up comedy show. Do you remember it? How did it go?

This is a weird one. So around 2000, maybe ‘99, There was basically one comedy club in Ottawa.

And then a second comedy club opened up on Bank Street.

Back then, getting a spot and doing comedy wasn’t something that existed in the way it exists in culture now. Today there are open mics everywhere. People are performing and being creative online, so people are exposed to comedy at a very young age. Back then, it was still kind of a secret underground activity.

I hadn’t been exposed to standup comedians, really. I knew Bill Cosby, Jim Carrey, you know, Ellen DeGeneres. I’d heard of the bigname comedians. But that’s all I really knew. And I knew that you got up on stage and you’re supposed to try and be funny. That’s all I knew about it. And yet I was fascinated by it.

So, I’m in my first year of television broadcasting and this comedy club opens up by my neighbourhood in Centretown on Bank Street as the old Blue Moon Cafe.

It became a comedy club called Goodfellas. I would drop by the comedy club every single weekend asking about amateur night, and I got to know the owner. I still hadn’t done any stand-up comedy, but I’d watched lots of it. And then one Thursday, I went by to only inquire about new talent night. But the emcee had cancelled, and the owner needed someone to fill in.

Now, the owner didn’t know a lot about comedy either, he just had a club. I also didn’t know a thing about it. But I think he mistook my passion and excitement to try comedy for knowledge.

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I thought, well, this is probably how it happens, you know? You see these stories on TV about people who just hop on stage and the next thing you know, they are on a TV show. So I said I’d do it. For the next two hours before showtime, I was just a nervous wreck.

Then the show begins. I walk up on stage and it’s busy. I mean, it’s a small place, but it’s packed, there’s 80 people. I think I welcomed everyone to the show, and I was extremely nervous. I did an impression of Jerry Lundegaard, the car salesman from the movie Fargo, William H. Macy. And it’s a dumb reference because not everyone had seen Fargo. And it was a poorly constructed joke. It made no sense.

I had no idea what it was to warm up the crowd. So that fails. And I felt so awful.

And so I just jumped into asking the audience if anyone was celebrating anything.

Someone said ‘ya, a birthday over here’.

And I said Happy Birthday. And then I just brought up the first act. It was the worst experience. I was terrified to go back up on stage and bring another act up. Even the other acts realized how green I was.

They said, “just bring me right up!”.

So that was my initiation into performance. After that, I took a good six to eight months off before I called in to Yuk Yuk’s to do a set there.

How did the show Humour Resources come to be?

I really saw a major cultural shift with social media and the current attitudes towards harmful language and acceptable behaviour in the workplace. We thought it would be fun to play with that. I think myself, Adam Brodie, and Dave Derewlany, the co-creators of the show, thought it would be interesting to take stand-up comedians and make them report to a human resources manager. We wanted to take these people, who are creative and are in a career where they’re supposed to make mistakes before they succeed, and expect them to be perfect before they even get out on stage. Put them in the corporate world.

We had pitched that show to Quibi like a year prior to the pandemic. They passed on the show. Comedy Central was interested to some degree to do it as a digital short form, which is what we were initially pitching it as. But we passed on that offer because it was low, so it just kind of sat around.

And then we’re in the middle of this pandemic, in March of last year, and we were approached by Just for Laughs. The production company had called my manager to ask about any ideas that any of his clients had that could be produced independently. Because at this point in the

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pandemic, Hollywood had completely shut down, and Toronto was shut down. So they called and said, can you expand it into a 22 minute format? And we had this idea of shooting the show safely by using the devices that we use in our everyday lives: your laptop cameras, your nest cameras in your house, your cell phones, your Alexa cams.

What if we shot a show that existed on those cameras? So that it felt like we were being spied on, and we could tell the story safely that way. It was a nice way of putting in a storyline that reflected the theme that I was preaching to the stand-up comedians in their interviews.

We were approached by Just for Laughs, we rewrote our pitch, and then we pitched it to the CBC. All of this happened virtually through Zoom and telephone calls, and they agreed to do it. I think they were a little unsure as to what it would look like, but I think they’re pretty happy with the end product.

How did your character, the HR Manager, come to be?

I’m so lucky to know Adam Brodie and Dave Derewlany and to be friends with them.

They’re so smart and they always know about story and tone and they love incorporating ‘sad’ qualities into characters. So in developing my HR guy, we took stories from my real life: my relationship with my girlfriend who I moved to Alaska with, my relationship with her child as a bonus parent, and me trying to manage my time so I can do my work well remotely. The show takes place in Squamish, B.C. We were trying to explore a lot of these themes that exist in real life that people can relate to. But we also wanted to make sure the character is a little bit sad, a little bit corporate, and doesn’t quite get it. It’s like this character has fallen in love with HR speak. Words like onboarding and other HR buzzwords… he loves them, but missuses them. A lot of these are pretty simple words, but we imagine that probably a lot of people in my age group are out in the world really trying to adopt them. Words like heteronormativity… so we try to make it funny but keep to these real-world experiences.

Do you ever get a chance to come back to Ottawa? And if so, what are some of your favourite spots to eat or visit?

I miss Ottawa and I want to go back so badly. I want this pandemic to lift, I want to get into Ottawa, and I want to do anything and everything. I want to be at an outdoor concert. I want to be at Bluesfest. I want to be around 50,000 people sweltering with the sun setting, listening to music. I want to go to Tooth and Nail Brewery on Urban Street in Ottawa.

I want to go to the Gatineau Hills and walk around Pink Lake. I want to drive around my high school. I want to live a John Hughes movie in my head.

I want to order Milano’s Pizza. I want it to arrive at three a.m. at my parents’ house while they’re asleep so I can go up and answer the door quietly. Yeah, I want to sit in my parents’ backyard and smoke a cigarette, listening to the crickets at nighttime.

I want to do anything and everything and not take it for granted.

How does it feel to know that your work has resonated with so many viewers?

I think I’m very lucky to have been born and raised in Canada. I got to make a television show for the Comedy Network that developed a very small, but unique group of audience members that continually come out to see live performances. I feel fortunate that I was able to, you know, create television shows with my friends that resonated with a group of people. So that feels good. The only reason I get to do this, is because they seem to want more of it. It feels great to have that connection. When you do a live show and someone in the audience references something you’ve done in the past, it’s undeniable that that feeling is great. It feels like you’ve affected someone in the world. Like a pleasant cult. You’re not trapped, you’re free to roam. @TVsJonDore

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”

The second I got to that class and was exposed to editing equipment, film equipment, and a screenwriting course, I was instantly in love with producing television. It was everything that I really love to do. For the first time in my life, I loved going to school.

”

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Faces Readers Name The Top 3 Worst Intersections in Ottawa After a social media survey with over 800 responses, we’ve identified the 3 worst intersections in Ottawa, as voted by Faces Ottawa followers and readers.

Ottawa is a city known for its one-way streets and potholes. But, another well-known experience offered by city driving in The Capital is its intersections, which can be anything but straightforward. Which rank the highest in level of frustration? We asked our readers and followers to name the worst intersections in Ottawa, based on their experiences.

The results declared three definite winners. And, interestingly enough, the results of the reader survey were extremely similar to the City of Ottawa’s Road Safety Report, showing that the near-misses at these intersections really have caused accidents for a lot of other drivers at these junctions.

Here are the top three worst intersections in Ottawa, according to a survey of our readership.

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RIVERSIDE & INDUSTRIAL Riverside and Industrial is a large, signalized intersection with a ton of turning lanes.

Most people using this intersection are turning, because a main road turns into a bus-only access route.

This means that all traffic heading west (and most heading south) are waiting on advanced green lights to head into Alta Vista or Trainyards area. Tons of turning, turning lanes, and buses make this intersection a bit messy. Combined with an interesting merging lane for westbound traffic turning right (which has two lanes but only one for cars), it’s no wonder that the intersection saw 39 collisions in 2019, and was also named the 3rd worst interaction in Ottawa by the City of Ottawa’s Road Safety Report. Luckily, none of the collisions resulted in fatalities or major injuries, though a total of 4 minimal and minor injuries were reported.

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RIVERSIDE & HUNT CLUB These two streets appeared in a lot of votes (honourable mentions include Bank & Riverside, Hunt Club & Merivale, and Hunt Club & Bronson). So, it’s not surprising that when these major roads come together near the airport, they see a lot of collisions, near-misses, and overall confusion. Both Bank and Riverside are normally congested by 5 pm on normal workdays, and each direction has people merging when turning right. Combined with double turning lanes, a bike lane right in the middle of four lanes going north, and maybe some late-tothe-airport traffic, it’s not surprising that Riverside & Hunt Club was found to be the worst intersection for collisions in the 2019 Safety Report. It saw a whopping total of 60 collisions in 2019, and thankfully none of those resulted in fatalities or major injuries (but, 19 minimal/minor injuries were reported).

BANK & LEITRIM This intersection is a people’s choice winner: it isn’t mentioned in the City of Ottawa’s Safety report.

So, thankfully, it seems to cause more frustration than accidents. Just a few blocks over from Riverside & Heron, Bank and Leitrim is ironically right outside of the Leitrim police station.

With the road turning into more of a highway just outside the city, many people push their luck in running red lights and misjudging the speed of traffic when pulling out in front of cars. The intersection for the busy, 80KM road is also just after a turn in the road, leaving some people surprised and unprepared for the stop. There is also an unexpected merging lane for south-bound traffic, and a construction company to the right that has slowmoving trucks pulling out frequently.

It’s no surprise that the intersection may cause a few too many near-misses and frustrations, naming it the worst intersection in Ottawa by Faces followers and readers.

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NICE TO SEE YOU celebrates four decades and three generations of being the best destination for Italian fine dining in the Nation’s Capital.

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he charming ambiance and elegant interior of Giovanni’s are like none other in Ottawa.

When you drive through Ottawa’s Little Italy, one’s eye is naturally drawn to this unmistakable and towering corner building. With its elegant black window awnings, the building has stood as a landmark of the neighbourhood for almost four decades.

Photography by Sean Sisk

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iovanni’s opened in 1983, when founder Lisa Cocco Pollastrini and her late husband Giuseppe Pollastrini moved to Canada from their native Italian regions of Pescana and Tuscany.

Lisa had a dream to bring the flavours and recipes from their homelands to the Ottawa area, with an uncompromising commitment to quality and creativity that Giovanni’s still exhibits to this day.

Now run by secondgeneration owner Nino Cocco Pollastrini, with the help of his two children Nino and Lisa (pictured at right and left), Giovanni’s is Ottawa’s most prominent fine-dining restaurant that has welcomed hundreds of celebrities, professional athletes, and business owners from around the world during their time in The Capital. It remains a bustling spot for business lunches, dinners, and gatherings, with a robust selection of fresh seafood, meats, pasta, wine, and authentic Italian desserts.

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It isn’t just the food or incomparable dining experience that has made Giovanni’s the destination it is today.

Owner Nino Cocco knows first-hand that the key to building a successful business lies in its people.

“My favourite part of my work is making people happy.”

Says the restaurateur.

“Customer service is the most important aspect of running a restaurant. You must aim for quality and consistency.”

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Giovannis’ best asset has been, and always will be, the way it brings people together, says Nino.

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As for his best menu recommendation? A rack of lamb with a Super Tuscan wine.

Service is what lies at the heart of an incredible dining experience.

“

AT GIOVANNIS, WE WILL DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU LEAVE HAPPY AND SATISFIED, AND THAT YOU’VE HAD THE BEST DINING EXPERIENCE.

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@giovannisrestaurantottawa

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3 Cocktails Made For

SPRING These 3 recipes top our list for fresh, flavourful, and easy to make cocktails that are perfect for the warm weather ahead.

PINEAPPLE GINGER MOJITO MAKES ONE For garnish: Mint Sprig Pineapple Slice Lime Wedge For ginger simple syrup: ½ cups granulated sugar ½ cups water ¼ thinly sliced, peeled ginger For pineapple purée: 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and chopped

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OTHER INGREDIENTS: 5-8 Mint Leaves 2 ounces light rum Club Soda ½ ounce fresh lime juice

DIRECTIONS: Step 1:

Add water and ginger into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add sugar, and stir until it’s completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes, or until room temperature is reached. Strain into a container, cover, and refrigerate.

Step 2: Blend Pineapple chunks until pureed.

Step 3: In a cocktail shaker, muddle mint leaves and lime juice. Add rum, simple syrup, and pineapple puree over ice, and shake. Pour over ice a cocktail glass and top with a splash of soda. Add garnish as desired.

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STRAWBERRY GIN SMASH Makes One Ingredients ½ teaspoon sugar 2 large strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/3 ounce lime juice 3 ounces gin Club Soda Strawberry Slice and Fresh Mint Sprig for Garnish Directions Step 1: In a cocktail glass, add and muddle sugar and lime juice until sugar is dissolved.

Add strawberries and muddle.

Step 2: Add gin over ice. Top with soda and garnish as desired.

THE BOURBINI Makes One Ingredients: 1 oz. Bourbon 2 Dashes Peach Bitters ½ Ounce Peach Schnapps 3 oz. Prosecco Directions: In a cocktail shaker, combine ingredients over ice and shake. Strain into a champagne flute and top up with champagne as desired.

Garnish with a slice of peach.

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MEGHAN Meghan

CHAYKA Chayka Tech entrepreneur Meghan Chayka is one of the most influential women in Canadian sports.

The co-founder of Stathletes, a sports analytics company that harnesses the power of data to provide powerful insights to athletes across the NHL, NWHL, MBA, and MLB, Meghan has spent the last decade growing her company and team to become an organization with over 50 employees.

We caught up with Meghan to discuss growing up in Ontario, the biggest challenges when scaling Stathletes in the early 2000s, and some of her best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Photo by Caleb & Gladys

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If there is not a risk of failure, you’re not dreaming big enough.

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Photo by Carlos & Alyse

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Tell us about your childhood.

Was hockey a big part of your life growing up?

I grew up in the Niagara region, about an hour south of Toronto.

I was always very involved in sports and had a lot of exposure to hockey throughout my childhood. My main sports were basketball, baseball and volleyball as I’m very tall (over 6 foot). I still take a lot of ideas from other sports and try to apply them to hockey. So, I’m also a very big fan of many leagues/teams outside of the NHL. Do you remember how you knew that you wanted to pursue economics/finance in school? Or was it a decision that was already made for you, and you found a passion for after?

I was always interested in more technical subjects. I took a wide variety of courses in university, spanning math/stats, business and the economics department.

To this day, I try to read and learn a lot outside of my daily business focuses. I think having a “lifetime student” mentality goes a long way in your career.

You founded Stathletes in the late 2000s. What was the hardest part about turning your idea into a reality?

Every entrepreneurship story is different, but I think there are general themes.

With Stathletes, we were already successfully working in hockey with a few clients in the late 2000s so we had to figure out how to scale and become a

true “startup” company. There are always people who will not get what you are trying to accomplish, but I focused on the people that did. There is a lot of business work that’s not as glamorous, but it certainly is important and the foundation for being successful.

In previous interviews, you’ve talked about failure and rejection. How did you overcome that initial fear of failure when launching your business?

I think it’s important to acknowledge failure as part of the process of building a business and innovating.

“There are always people who will not get what you are trying to accomplish, but I focused on the people that did.”

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I think if there is not a risk of failure, you’re not dreaming big enough.

I don’t have a fear of failure. I just see it as feedback for what doesn’t work. Every road bump or block is a lesson. Also, my work is not an indication of my worth as an individual. So, I get over any rejection pretty easily and am onto the next challenge.

Stathletes is now a company with over 50 employees. What is the hardest part, or the part that you’ve found most surprising/challenging, about managing people?

I’m not sure there’s one area that’s the hardest part. There are always new challenges and needs. We have scaled well past 50 employees and have a wide variety of departments.

In COVID times, making sure we are all still connected and communicating effectively has been challenging.

In your opinion, what makes a good leader?

Leadership is a much-studied topic and is a crucial skill to succeed in business. For me personally, I admire leaders that are inspiring and bring out the best in others. I think being able to have direct reports that are also great leaders is really important for any “boss”. You can’t manage everyone but you can put in the processes, resources, and people to succeed at every level.

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How did it feel to be on the cover of The Hockey News, as one of the 100 ‘People of Power’? You’ve also been named among the most influential women in Canadian sports. What does that mean to you?

I am always humbled to be included on lists. The Hockey News was a big cover for me and I am very grateful to be on it. I think, especially as an entrepreneur, that you are only as good as the people you recruit and the company you build. So, I attribute these covers and recognitions to my team, not just myself as an individual.

They have all helped immensely in building Stathletes.

You’re fairly active on social media. What’s your best advice for others to keep in mind about social media?

I have a couple purposes for social media. 1) Connect with people that have similar interests and learn. 2) Communicate who you are and what you do. I try to post about what I do in my day to day life. Some of it is fun but a lot of it would be considered the daily grind. I think being authentic and interested in learning from others goes a long way in building a social network.

Tell us about this year’s partnership with the NWHL? Every year for the last 8 years, I have set goals on working in women’s hockey. My first major breakthrough was working at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics for the same dollar amount as the men’s tournament.

Providing these elite level women’s athletes with the same data and products as the men,

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I believe is crucial in moving the game ahead. The NWHL just completed their tournament with the final games aired on NBC. Stathletes was able to be the official data partner and worked with them every step of the way. It is very meaningful to me as a woman in sports to support women athletes when I can.

You’ve recently been working on a virtual conference, HANIC. How did this idea come to be and how is it going?

I took COVID as a period to try new remote ideas and HANIC was one of them. It is an entirely free series of workshops on various sports analytics topics. We even had the NFL and MLB host different events. It’s important to me to have low costs and barriers to entry when learning and I hope the participants got a lot out of them.

I was also lucky to speak at the Women’s Leadership conference for the NBA and at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference.

This year has been challenging, so it’s nice to still connect with peers virtually.

After achieving so much success at such an early age, what’s next for you?

I truly believe Stathletes will continue to grow exponentially.

We are now an international company and work within 22 leagues worldwide. I am excited about continuing this growth and designing new products to bring to market.

What’s your best advice to any young women looking to achieve the size of success you have?

My advice is always: find what you’re passionate about, learn as much, both formally and informally, as you can, and don’t limit yourself to what you can accomplish. Incremental gains every day add up to huge goals being accomplished.

Keep going! @MeghanChayka

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FISH

4 FOODS THAT BOOST YOUR EYE HEALTH These foods help to promote eye health, and may reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

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Fish is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to protect against macular degeneration while improving eye health and functioning at a cellular level. Eating cold-water fish like Salmon and Mackerel is a great way to get regular Omega-3.

But, if you don’t often eat fish, an Omega-3 supplement (all-natural is best) is another great way to boost your eye health.

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PISTACHIOS Also high in Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E, regularly snacking on pistachios is a great way to promote eye health. Vitamin E also plays a protective role for your eyes, and has been shown to lower your risk of Macular Degeneration and Cataracts.

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LEAFY GREENS

SUNFLOWER SEEDS

Dark, leafy greens are packed with Lutein and Zeaxanthin, two powerful antioxidants that are found in the macula of the eye and believed to help block blue light from damaging the structures of the retina below. Incorporating these nutrients into your diet can help boost eye health both short-term and longterm.

Snacking on sunflower seeds may come with some impressive benefits for your eyes due to their high Zinc and Vitamin E content.

Zinc deficiency has been shown to increase your risk of night blindness, as zinc is an antioxidant that helps your eye to form visual pigments in the retina.

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Rich in Tradition Cabotto’s Italian Restaurant stays true to its commitment to authentic Italian cuisine after 45 years.

Anyone familiar with Ottawa’s west end will know the distinctive, stone heritage house that has been home to the Pucci family’s authentic Italian restaurant for 20 years.

Through two generations, four decades, and two locations, the family’s passion and expertise in authentic Italian cuisine have made them a staple in Ottawa’s west end.

Today, owner Perry Pucci continues to bring the same authentic dining experience to The Capital that his father started in 1976 “My father, Vince Pucci, was the man who built it all. Everything we are today and everything we know now is because of him.”

“One thing we continue to stay true to is our food.”

Says Perry. “The original goodness of homemade Italian cooking and quality ingredients. That’s what keeps our customers coming back.”

Photography by Sean Sisk

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“We don’t follow trends, create fusion dishes or have food gimmicks. We honour timeless authentic Italian cuisine.”

It’s something that Perry and his family learned from long ago: that dining is a way to gather, and that gathering is at the heart of family and friends.

“Our Sunday dinners and family meals are so important in our family. Preparing meals is one of the main parts of our day, and that’s how I learned to cook in the traditional ways of previous generations. We have so much pride for our traditions, that if you don’t do it right, it’s a big deal. You have to make it the way nonna made it, otherwise it’s no good (laughs).”

Cabotto’s Veal Mignonette, the house special & owner Perry’s top recommendation.

From Left to Right: Owner Perry Pucci and wife Nora Pucci with Perry’s sister Carmen Narsete and her husband Marco Narsete.

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Perry and his family have crafted in Cabotto’s just that: a place to gather and enjoy authentic, good food.

They’ve brought the stone 1800s heritage house into the 21st century, preserving its charming aesthetic while adding elegant, modern touches, to make it one of the most sought-after fine dining destinations in Ottawa’s west end.

And while the elegance of the restaurant’s interior is unlike any other in Ottawa, it is still the food that drives the success and popularity of Cabotto’s, something that was underlined during the challenges of 2020 and 2021.

“We have been humbled by the support of our customers and community. Our takeout business has been thriving.

COVID has been difficult on our industry and on our clients, too. Cabotto’s was the place where our customers came for birthdays, anniversaries, and company Christ-

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Cabotto’s Linguine Pescatore.

“I love cooking and I love good food, it’s really that simple. When you are passionate about something, you enjoy making it happen.

And managing the right staff that help carry your vision.

The reward is our happy customers.”

mas parties. This year we had to pivot to be a part of these special occasions at home, instead. We were amazed by some of the pictures that were sent to us, to see how our customers tried to recreate our dine-in experience at home. We do miss our patrons and hope to welcome them back into our building soon.”

Cabotto’s remains open for takeout and, as restrictions permit, open their patio and restaurant for dinner with a full menu and wine list, including weekly specials.

As for Perry’s favourite dish on the menu?

“My favourite dish and a must-try is our mignonette, veal stuffed with prosciutto cotto and provolone cheese covered in peppercorn mushroom veal jus with a side of fettuccine alfredo or our seasonal grilled vegetables and potatoes. It has been our house special for many years.”

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WHY

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Pizza Edition

Here’s some of the science behind that hot slab of sauce and cheese you love so much.

Why is Pizza always on your mind?

T

he answer has to do with one small chemical reaction.

When pizza is baked, an effect called the Maillard Reaction gives it the distinct flavour of being cooked, something that your taste buds respond to.

Combine this with cheese and tomato’s naturally occurring levels of glutamates (which help to activate flavour receptors on your tongue in the same way that salt and sugar do) and you and pizza suddenly have the perfect chemistry.

Here Are The Most Popular Pizza Toppings In Ottawa, According to a Survey of 3 Different Pizza Locations The most popular pizza toppings to order together are Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Green pepper.

Or a ‘Canadian’ pizza: Pepperoni, Mushroom, Bacon.

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Are You Spontaneous?

It Depends on How You Eat Your Pizza.

Based on a theory developed by William Moulton Marston, and first seen in Cosmopolitan, here’s what your pizza-eating style says about your personality: If you start at the bottom and eat it with small bites, you like things to go according to plan. You don’t venture too far from the norm, and will stick to what you know best.

If you start by eating the crust, you are more spontaneous, and are more likely to try new things and strive to stand out.

If you use a fork and knife, you are an easy-going and friendly person who likes to be helpful and supportive.

If you fold your pizza, you’re an ambitious person who tends to be impatient. You like the challenge of multi-tasking, and are results-driven.

Pizza By The Numbers Over 25% of boys between the ages of 6-19 eat pizza almost every day, according to the USDA. The chances of you eating pizza tomorrow are 1:8. $1,268 is the biggest reported tip ever received by a pizza delivery man.

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#56

ALEX MATEAS R

edblacks offensive lineman Alex Mateas has lived out a dream that many young football players aim for: after a full-ride scholarship to an NCAA division one school, he was drafted #1 overall in the CFL to his hometown team in 2015.

Mateas, born to Eastern European parents who immigrated to Canada before he was born, attended Merivale Highschool and played for the Cumberland Panthers before playing for Penn State and the University of Connecticut.

Alex’s football career has been one of dreams, but some may be surprised to know that football wasn’t always in his sights. As a kid, Alex played soccer and basketball, and practiced judo, a sport that trained him to avoid violence. Succeeding in a violent sport has been something of an accomplishment for the 6’4 Mateas, who only saw his first football game at the age of 11.

But, even when he was training in judo, basketball, or soccer, Alex had the support and guidance of many great mentors, friends, and leaders. To him, these people helped to shape him into the athlete and man he is today.

Though Football has been off the field for the year, Redblacks’ offensive lineman Alex Mateas remains competitive in the world of commercial real estate.

Though it’s a shift for Mateas, he enjoys the ability to continue to learn and grow, and connect with the Ottawa community that has supported him his entire life.

We caught up with Alex to discuss his journey to the CFL, his greatest accomplishments, and his thoughts on the rumoured XFL/CFL merger.

Photography by Sean Sisk

You were born and raised in Ottawa. Did you go to any Rough Riders or Renegades games as a kid?

My first exposure to a Renegades game was when I was 11 years old. One of my friends had a birthday party, they brought us to the Renegades game and the only thing I remember from that is the cheerleaders (laughs).

At 11 years old I was a soccer player through and through.

My family owned a soccer club, both of my sisters played, and my dad coached. So I grew up playing soccer, and we actually weren’t big fans of football.

My dad, being an immigrant, called them ‘headbangers’.

And now, I’m a headbanger.

Tell us a bit about your time at Merivale High School. Did you have any teachers or coaches that really helped to shape you into the player and man you are today?

I think highschool is an important time for everyone, and Merivale Highschool played a huge role in my growth growing up. There were three coaches that I spent a lot of time around throughout my four years there: Mr. Elliot, Mr. Mellow, and Mr. Graham. They were the football and rugby coaches, and they helped me, and others like me, who struggled in school feel a

little more comfortable with academics.

Mr. Elliot was one of my football coaches, and I actually had him as a teacher for one of my classes. I remember in my senior year, a coach from Buffalo University came out to interview me and scout me.

When I came back from that interview to Mr. Elliot’s class, he took me aside and spoke to me very honestly, and pretty much said that if I did’t get my act together then I wouldn’t become eligible academically.

I was a C student at best, and I was failing his course at the time. So right after that interview, he just pleaded with me to hit a C. He helped me to see the value of just getting it done. That was extremely helpful, and I still think about that to this day. So thank you, Mr. Elliot.

What was it like playing in the NCAA for a program like UConn in front of 40,000 fans? Was it intimidating at first?

It was incredibly intimidating.

The background that I had with football was pretty limited, even though I had a scholarship. When you make a mistake in that environment, in front of 40,000 people, you have to learn from it very quickly.

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It was my first year as a starter and third in University. It was the second game. We were at home, so 45,000 people were watching us play against Rutgers. I can’t remember where in the game it was but we were walking down the field towards the jumbotron and the camera zoomed in on the offensive line. For the first time I saw the back of my jersey, with the Mateas name on it, in front of 45,000 people. I remember it so clearly, but I also remember the two false snaps directly after that (laughs). Because I had taken my mind out of the game for that split second I made two very big mistakes in the next three plays.

The whole team was mad, I screwed up our drive, the offense was off the field. At that level, your teammates openly express how much you negatively impacted the game. It was a quick learning experience for me.

When I came up to Canada to play in the CFL, I was starting the game in Hamilton and I was really excited. In my mind, I thought that because I had played in front of 45,000 to 100,000 people in college, that 25,000 people in Hamilton would be a piece of cake, but the same thing went wrong. As soon as I got on, I had three false snaps and two drives...it’s just the way it goes.

Did you have trouble adapting from Canadian rules to American rules?

There was almost too much that I was struggling with to focus on the actual rules. When I was in high school, I was playing tackle, so I was able to get away with just my athleticism and moving my feet and getting in front of the person. But when I went down to the NCAA to play American ball, they had put me at guard and center, which is a lot more physical. It’s different footwork, a little bit of a different animal. So going from the Canadian rules to the American, I was just struggling in general with the intensity and all of the impact. The whole thing was a struggle.

You were drafted #1 overall by your hometown REDBLACKS in 2015. How special was that for you to not only be coming home, but to be selected #1 overall in the Draft?

It meant everything to me. It still means a lot.

Although I had family members and mentors explain the importance of getting drafted to my hometown, I think through the years I’ve really begun to understand the value of it.

After winning the 2016 Grey Cup, I really had the chance to listen to the community and have them share their stories and their experiences with football in Ottawa and the Renegades and Rough Riders in the past. Because I didn’t grow up in the football community, I didn’t have a strong connection to it before then. The 2016 Grey Cup is a conversation that I continue to have with new fans and old fans. It’s really been eye opening to show me just how much of a football city Ottawa is. People are engaged, people understand the rules, they love it and they support it.

Getting drafted to Ottawa has been incredible, and the Grey Cup has really helped me to understand where football fits in Ottawa. I love this city.

Who was the first person you called when you got drafted? Why was it important to you that you called that person first?

The first person I called after I got drafted was Matt McDonald. He is one of my best friends, a brother. Before I had ever signed up for a football team or put on any football pads, I had told him I was going to get a full ride scholarship to a division one NCAA school. He always understood and supported me. He had no doubts.

Tell us about your long standing friendship with Ottawa entrepreneur Nik Topolovec. How did your friendship begin?

I owe everything outside of football and in the last five years to Nik Topolovec. I’ve known him since I was 16, my second year playing football. Coming from Nepean, the team in the West End that I would play for had folded in my age group that year, so I played for the Cumberland Panthers.

And that is the best thing that could have happened to me, because I got the chance to meet Nik. At that point with the Cumberland Panthers I was an offensive tackle, and Nik was a defensive end, and we would go up against each other one on one during practice. His dad’s from an Eastern European background and so is mine, both are immigrants. We just kind of meshed and got along well together. So throughout that season with the panthers, Nik and I would practice by going one on one against each other and just kept on working on our craft.

We stayed in touch after. Every year in uni whenever I’d come back to Ottawa, we’d have our annual poutine hangout, which you always need when you come back to Canada.

Since I’ve come back to Ottawa he’s really embraced helping me to the fullest. He’s introduced me to a lot of people in this city. And since then those connections have grown. It’s definitely a little-big city, the degree of separation is like two to three people, max.

And so Nik really showed me that and introduced me to a lot of community leaders, in both business and the city’s charitable organizations. Getting a chance to follow his lead and meet as many people as possible was extremely helpful for me.

He helped me to see that football is limited, the time that I’ll be playing football is limited, and that I need to make the most of the time that I’ll be playing. Throughout all of that he’s really helped me to find some direction in a career post football and just learn how I can be me, still be competitive and still be a people person and try to find direction once football ends.

Is there a specific lesson that he taught you about transitioning from football into your professional career?

He always told me to provide as much value as possible to everyone and to try and learn as much as you can from those people. If I focus my time on those two efforts while I’m networking, that something will come together in the future organically and in a positive way.

What have you and Nik worked on this past year, amid (and despite) COVID-19?

A few different things. For myself, I’ve been able to spend a lot of my time in commercial real estate and really push that avenue. It’s been unfortunate that we haven’t had a football season, but to have a team with Cushman and Wakefield that I can put my time and effort into has been incredible, and I feel like I’ve seen a lot of growth.

Nik has a couple of businesses he’s working on as well. But one of the big things is that through-

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out the last few years and the networking that Nik has encouraged me to do, we had the chance to meet some really incredible Ottawa companies and build some relationships there. It feels really good to understand what the private sector in Ottawa really has to offer on a local and global scale.

What is the most important skill you’ve learned from football that you’ve taken to the world of commercial real estate?

I’d say accountability. As an offensive lineman, I usually have 70 plays on average. For each play, the individual players get graded on 3 different criteria for each play. So after the game, you watch all of the film with the whole team. And if I made a mistake on play number five, and the quarterback ends up getting hit, then we watch that play number five and the mistake that I made infront of 100 people, and I have to be able to justify it or learn from it. However that unfolds, whether the mistake was small or big, at the end of the day, I have to be able to put my name on it and take accountability for the good and bad. I have to be able to understand that there’s a job that I have, and I have to execute that to the fullest, and I shouldn’t worry about what other people are doing, but I can put as much effort in my position as I can. And that goes for my professional career, too.

“I grew up playing soccer, and we actually weren’t big fans of football. My dad, being an immigrant, called them ‘headbangers’.

And now, I’m a headbanger.”

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“The 2016 Grey

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What are your thoughts on the rumoured XFL and CFL merger?

Do you believe it will be a good thing for the league?

It’s interesting. On one hand, if the two leagues ended up combining, I would assume that some of the details about the Canadian ratio would have to change or adjust. I feel like that’s very unfortunate for Canadian players, because there’s a lot of really good ones.

To see how Canada actually embraces the sport really makes me want to keep a large portion of Canadian players active in the league.

But on the other hand, after spending my time in the NCAA, and learning how many good football players there are that graduate from the NCAA and don’t have anything but the NFL to try to pursue, I’ve had a hard time understanding. All of us on the team come from different places and areas around the country and different social settings, but regardless of where someone comes from they can be a good football player, teammate, and person, and can really contribute to any team their on. It becomes a tragedy that that contribution and the skill that they have is limited by the age of 22, 23 … because of the limited spots on NFL teams. So if this merger can help provide players in general with an opportunity to feed their families post-university, I feel like that alone is something that is a really big positive, and an important factor for the growth of football in North America.

To new teammates coming to Ottawa for the first time, what places do you recommend to them to go eat or visit in town?

What are some of your favourite local restaurants?

Number one, Cozmos Souvlaki on Greenbank. It’s a greek restaurant.

They’re a good local company, super friendly. The customer service is top notch, the owners remember people’s names and their orders, and the food is fantastic. The greek poutine? Try that out.

Number two is Shawarma Palace.

Third is Mongolian Village East. It’s a nice local spot and a very interactive and family-friendly environment and welcoming to everyone.

What is the best movie, best Netflix series, and best album you would recommend?

I would say the best movie is Goodfellas. It’s just a classic and everytime I watch it I enjoy it for different reasons.

Best Netflix series is blown away. It’s a documentary series about glassblowing competitions. One of my wife’s family members owns a glass blowing studio, so to get an understanding of the details and the difficulties of the trade has been really fun to watch.

It’s a very interesting craft that has

become super popular in the last few years.

My favourite album is Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ by 50 Cent. When I was in grade 6, my older sister Keara bought me the album right before I had a basketball tournament in Toronto. The other two players that I traveled with also had the CD, and we all sat in the car listening to our own, listening to the same songs (laughs), it’s a really good memory.

Who is the funniest teammate or teammates you’ve ever had on the Redblacks?

I would say the funniest teammate was Sir Vincent Rogers. At first glance, if you came into the locker room, you wouldn’t say that he’s the loudest or the funniest. But he makes everybody laugh. He’s actively involved with every different group in the locker room, whether it’s the french guys or the Canadian kids or the guys from down south. Wherever he is, everyone is laughing and having a good time. On top of being an absolute dog on the field and beating everyone up, he can play the humility card to make others laugh which really shows what kind of a teammate he is.

Who is the greatest leader you’ve ever played with and why?

Henry Burris. What made him such a great leader was the time that he put into the team outside of football.

He took the time off the field, so that when it was a tough day or tough drive, you didn’t need to have a conversation with Henry to understand where his head was at. I feel like that comes from all of the effort he puts in before the season and after practice. He just really takes advantage of spreading that learning culture and humility and teaching all of us that we’re all on the same team.

For example, when we’re on the bus.

He’ll stand up and play cashbus. He’ll pick 5 difficult questions with increasing difficulty, a lot of them are Ottawa or Canada related for the US guys.

That’s just one example of him taking time outside of football to bring people together. It’s crazy the difference that that makes on the football field.

What role has your family played in your success? What sacrifices did they make to help you along the way?

I’m so glad you asked this question, because their role in my success is everything. I am where I am today because of my family. Both my sisters are incredible. We’ve gone through everything together, good times and bad times.

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You won’t find anyone on the planet who has been exposed to more environments and more coaches then my parents have. My dad was a soccer coach, and we grew up around incredible coaches. When we travelled to Europe, he brought me around some great organizations there. My mom is an ESL teacher and she grew up doing a lot of different activities. So she made sure that we experienced those as well. Whether it was a weekday or weekend, my mom would either be driving us to soccer practice, or from soccer practice to judo, or from judo to basketball.

She really put effort into finding quality coaches and mentors. So it wasn’t just driving to judo. It was driving to judo for the Takahashi Dojo. I think there are 7 or 8 olympians within a few generations. Or she wasn’t just driving me to play basketball...it was to play basketball for Rob Smart, the coach of the Carleton Ravens. So that was a common theme everywhere.

I owe everything to my parents, and I hope that my mom gets excited when I give her shoutouts. I can’t say thank you enough.

What is one accomplishment in your life or career that you’re most proud of and why?

Succeeding in a violent sport. That’s probably the furthest thing from how I was brought up, because my family is very gentle and empathetic. Growing up in judo, you learn to avoid conflict.

It’s not about trying to put yourself out there and be better than anyone or physically dominate anyone. In judo you aim to grow the self awareness to be able to walk away. Which is a real contrast from football, where you have to embrace the violence and the conflict. You really are either the hammer or the nail. Unless you look forward to being the hammer, you aren’t going to have a good time in football.

Making that shift and succeeding in football is something I am really proud of. It means a lot to me.

To all the kids reading this, that hope to one day follow in your footsteps, what is the best piece of advice you could give them to help them along the way?

Learn as much as you can from other people. Connect with as many people as possible. Ask them genuine, honest questions, and become really involved in their experience, and through that you can learn a lot about yourself.

That’s probably the best way to grow and find your way into something that’s useful. @AlexMateas

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GUIDE: Health & Happiness Every issue, we find five lifestyle changes that are so simple, so surprising, and so successful that they are sure to spark a massive difference in your health and happiness.

Your Ultimate Sun Protection Hack Experts recommend always wearing some sort of SPF protection.

Like, daily. But most of us don’t want to slather sticky sunscreen on our face and head out to a business meeting or date, right? Try Raspberry Seed Oil. It has a natural SPF of anywhere from 28 - 50, depending on the quality and age of the oil. Unlike other natural oils touting SPF properties, Raspberry Seed Oil also protects against UVA, not just UVB rays. It also carries a ton of antioxidant properties that are great for your skin, and won’t leave any sticky residue.

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Stressed and Unfocused? Try Reading Feeling too stressed to work? Instead of listening to music, going for a walk, or taking a break, try reading. One study, published in Mercola, showed that reading is more effective than any of the former activities at reducing cortisol levels. The study found that the participants who read, particularly fiction, lowered their stress levels by approximately 68%.

Always Sit Down To Eat Eating on the go is a modern-day reality for most, but experts say you shouldn’t make it a habit.

Eating fast is associated with a larger body mass index, on average, and over time.

Sitting down to eat helps you to chew more, which aids digestion.

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Stressed? Grab A Cup Of This Hot Drink When we’re stressed out, our heart rate and blood pressure increases, and we ‘enjoy’ a dose of stress hormones. Stress (especially prolonged) isn’t good for the body.

But you knew that.

A new study has seen that drinking hot cacao, which is rich in flavonoids, can actually help to improve the functioning of blood vessels while the body is experiencing a stress response.

The study found that having a cup of hot chocolate (rich in cocoa, not simply chocolate flavoured) was shown to lower blood pressure and counteract the physical symptoms of stress.

While prolonged stress requires a bit more than a cup of hot chocolate to resolve, it’s an interesting and well-noted idea that hot chocolate is the best thing to serve you or your stressed out friends and family during a stress response.

Want A Boost In Motivation?

Try The Seinfeld Method Jerry Seinfeld shared this practice that helped him stay on track with his daily workouts. Everyday, he’d finish his workout by marking a big red X on his calendar. The act of crossing off the day gave him lots of satisfaction, and after a while, seeing continuous lines of red x’s made him extra motivated not to break the cycle. Research has supported this. One study, commissioned

by Febreze, found that people were using their product not just for the odor-fighting effects, but because spraying febreeze marked the completion of a task.

They looked forward to spraying the febreeze as a sign that the room was clean, and their work was done.

6081 HAZELDEAN RD, STITTSVILLE SUN-MON 12 - 6 TUES - THURS 12 - 8 FRI - SAT 11 - 9 84 | FACES MAGAZINE

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GORD GORD WILSON WILSON TSN’s

2020 was a very different year for Gord Wilson. Before 2020, the TSN 1200 reporter known for calling Ottawa Senators games had missed only 5 games in his entire 28 year career with Bell Media. But after suffering a minor heart attack in February and working through the changes to sports media that came with COVID lockdowns (and contracting COVID himself), things certainly shifted, and Gord has been delivering hockey news and calling games in a completely different way ever since.

Among the changes, what remains is Gord’s passion and commitment to the world of sports broadcasting, and the Ottawa Senators. Gord was with CFRA during the early 90’s and covered the bid process for the Senators when they came to town. He has been the familiar voice for Bell Media calling Senators games ever since.

We sat down with Gord to discuss his early years at Bell Media, his favourite career moments, and some of his greatest lessons during the changes of 2020.

Photography by Sean Sisk

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You were born in Montreal. Did you grow up there? Did you have dreams of playing professional hockey as a kid?

I was born in Montreal, but lived there only 2 months. My father was in the military so we bounced around a bit. I lived in Winnipeg, Toronto for a year, then settled here in Ottawa when I was 6. Hockey was in my blood from an early age, starting out on the outdoor rinks. I wanted to be a goalie because the equipment looked great. But looks aren’t everything. The puck hurt a lot more in -20 degree temperatures, so I knew at an early age that pro hockey would not be in cards.

You studied Radio Broadcasting at Algonquin College. When did you first start to think of a career in broadcasting?

I started thinking about a broadcasting career as early as grade 6, when I was about 12. I just loved listening to hockey on the radio. I’d lie awake at night trying to get WBZ AM 1000 out of Boston, to listen to Bruins games. When I finished high school, I had a choice to become a full time employee with the City of Nepean, Ice Maintenance at the Nepean Sportsplex, or go to broadcasting school. I chose the Algonquin route.

How did you get the job calling the Senators games (originally with CFRA) and then onto TSN 1200?

My sports broadcasting career took a turn for the better when I got hired by 580 CFRA in 1988. I was pretty much doing full time sports for the station, reporting, anchoring and covering the Ottawa Rough Riders, when the plan to bid for an NHL team for the city was unveiled. I was in the right place at the right time. I was fortunate to have been sent to West Palm Beach to cover the bid process. CFRA would have the rights to broadcast the games, so Dean Brown and I would travel to Montreal several times to call Montreal Canadiens games into a tape recorder. We’d bring the tape back and let station manager Don Holtby listen to the demos. Dean was very strong at PXP, and was announced as the Senators PXP Voice.

The colour position was still up for grabs, but Dean really went to bat for me, because of the chemistry we had shown together. I’ll always be grateful for his behind the scenes work to get me the gig.

Take us back to that first (and historic) game against the Canadiens at the Civic Centre. What were you feeling before you went live? Were you too nervous to enjoy the moment?

I’m a fairly emotional person, so getting the chance to broadcast the first Senators game was quite simply a dream come true.

The energy in the old Civic Center was unbelievable. Dean and I had done some exhibition games prior to the season opener, but nothing compared to that excitement.

It’s safe to say that not many anticipated the Senators to pull off an upset of the Canadiens, so when they did, it was tough to control emotions. I still get goosebumps thinking about that night.

What is an average game day like for you?

Any pre-game rituals? How much preparation has to go into every game?

My game day routine got established very quickly. Depth charts had to be built on a game by game basis, player interviews transcribed for broadcast purposes. Coaches’ comments would be written down. I wanted to make sure I would be as prepared as possible. I pretty much have the same routine today, as I had 29 years ago. That thing called the internet has helped game day prep quite a bit as well (laughs).

Your co-host, Dean Brown, has been by your side since the beginning. How did you guys meet? What was your first impression of him?

Dean and I first met back in the mid 80’s, working for rival radio stations. We’d cover the same press conferences. My first impressions of him are quite interesting.

I had always enjoyed his style on the air.

But the first time I met him I was amazed at how wide he was. He was in great shape and had massive shoulders. (Laughs) Kinda weird, eh?

Dean is both extremely intelligent and highly tolerant. He’s put up with my dumbness for a long time… thank goodness. He’s very caring and extremely generous. Also very loyal to his family and friends. He’s an extremely natural broadcaster. A fantastic talent.

What has been your favourite moment to call in Senators history?

I have a few favourite calls in Sens history, including the first ever game. But I would have to say the Stanley Cup run of 2007 was pretty cool. Alfie’s overtime winner in Buffalo that sent the team to the Cup final is one goal I’ll never forget. Being in the locker room and watching the likes of Daniel, Wade Redden, Chris Phillips, Mike Fisher and Jason Spezza, who I had watched from the start of their careers, celebrate that moment was pretty special.

You’ve interviewed many players over the years. Is there any particular player or interview that stands out in your memory, good or bad?

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Interestingly enough, this will be the first season I won’t actually come face to face with players, pre or post game, or during practice. The COVID world we live in, in my business, can be summed up with one four-letter word.... ZOOM! (laughs). Over the years, there have been some wonderful characters and always very respectful interview subjects. I can count on one hand the number of players I never really enjoyed talking to. Chris Phillips always had a signature ending to my interviews with him...”always a pleasure Gord”. Alfredsson was always brutally honest. Andre Roy kept me on my toes with his comedic answers. What stands out the most is how players are unchanged in how they’ve dealt with me, or most other long timers. The young players being interviewed today are as respectful as those 29 years ago. Hockey players are just wonderful people.

Tell us about the day you met your wife, CTV Ottawa’s Patricia Boal. Was it love at first sight for you, for her? Or did you have some work to do to win her over?

I met Trish at CFRA, and yes, for me it was love at first sight. For her, I highly doubt the feeling was mutual. It’s why I scheduled several of our first dates, at dimly lit establishments (laughs).

Where did you go on your first date? What is something that you admire about her?

She probably has a different answer to this than mine, and likely the correct answer, but I consider our first date to be at the Prescott! I remember it like it was yesterday.

She is one of the most intelligent women I know. Well versed in so many things. A huge benefit to our kids.

Tell us about your children. What do you enjoy most about being a father? And now a grandfather?

My kids are everything to me...along with our two golden retrievers. I love just being myself around them...they’re like Dean, very tolerant. It would be nice to think I’ve had some sort of influence on them, but they’re all very well balanced and caring people. My family is very close. And what’s nice is we truly enjoy each other’s company. At least I do, theirs. They make me laugh every day. And as far as being a grandfather is concerned... what a circle of life I’ve experienced. I lost my mom about two weeks before Kenton was born. I can’t wait for him to get older so I can teach him things, good and bad…

What do you think of the current Ottawa Senators team? Are you optimistic that the playoffs are a realistic possibility either this year or next?

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“Getting the chance to broadcast the first Senators game was quite simply a dream come true.

The energy in the old Civic Center was unbelievable.”

The current Senators team is made up of some very talented young players. I can’t help but think the future looks very bright. The nice thing about this rebuild is, it’s begun before a lot of other teams are going to have to go through their own. Senators are ahead of the pack in that regard. A playoff appearance is a long shot at best this year, but the learning curve has been a good one and this team is headed in the right direction. Next year they should challenge for a spot.

What do you think Eugene Melnyk and the Senators need to do in order to win back the Ottawa fanbase and go back to big crowds (when we’re allowed, hopefully, next season)?

Winning can cure a lot and the Senators and their fans are no different. Mr. Melnyk’s commitment to staying the course will be huge. But in my humble opinion, Brady Tkachuk needs to get signed long term. He holds the key.

When you look back at your career, what accomplishment are you most proud of and why?

My 29 years in the broadcast booth have been an honour and absolute blast. What am I most proud of? I think the answer is simple. My longevity. Not even I expected to be doing this for as long as I have. Prior to a minor heart attack last February, I had missed only 5 games over 28 years. I have clearly been blessed, and am hoping to squeeze out another 15 years or so.

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What are some of your favourite restaurants in Ottawa that you would recommend to our readers?

The silver lining for me during the pandemic was the time spent with my kids. I’ve travelled for my job for the past 29 years.

I honestly consider myself a Foodie but regretfully, don’t get to enough restaurants here in Ottawa. I do love the quaintness of some local establishments in nearby Manotick, and love Babbos Cucina. I highly recommend the Peperonata.

This past year I’ve been home. I’ve probably driven them nuts, but with school schedules out of whack, it’s been a blast. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

You’ve had a few health scares recently, including a minor heart attack and contracting COVID-19. What has going through, and surviving, health scares taught you about life? Is there any advice you would give to someone reading this about life in general based on your experiences?

My 2020 health scares were just that, scary.

You can cruise along feeling good every day and then one day something happens. Heart disease is hereditary in my family, so at least I was prepared to let my kids know what to expect. Then, a month later, the great unknown, COVID came along. The whole family shared in the anxiety that came with it. Trish and the kids were rocks. Leaning on family was huge.

What is something positive that has come out of the last year for you? If you had to find a silver lining from the pandemic, what would you say it was?

When you one day choose to retire and call your final game, what do you see yourself doing in retirement?

Sorry, retirement is not in my vocabulary. But when I’m not behind the mic anymore, there will be lots more hockey to watch. Likely from the cottage or somewhere close to my kids. A glass of red, the BBQ, and plenty of family time will be enough for me.

Finally, for anyone reading this who wants to follow in your footsteps and get into broadcasting, what is the best piece of advice you could give them?

The best piece of advice I could offer to anyone wanting to get into broadcasting is don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone. If the job takes you to a different city, take it. If the boss says cover something you’re not used to covering, say sure. In the end, we regret the chances we didn’t take. Don’t be afraid to take chances.

@gordwilson

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MEN’S ESSENTIAL GROOMING TIP’S With Ottawa’s award-winning barber Christopher Lord Christopher Lord is the owner and founder of the Ottawa-born brand King’s Own, a barbershop and line of all-Canadian, premium grooming products.

GROOMING ISN’T JUST HAIRCUTS We live in an age where we have the luxury to look and feel our best.

Grooming isn’t just getting haircuts and beard trims (although both are integral to overall style). You also need to make sure to keep your nose hairs trimmed too. Make sure to have a trimmer in your grooming arsenal to easily manage nose, ear, and eyebrow hair. I prefer the Ear, Nose and Eyebrow Trimmer from WAHL. This is a great tool to keep unwanted hair trimmed and tidy.

CONDITIONER IS BETTER A tip that not many men know: you likely don’t need to shampoo your hair as often as you do, but you should condition your hair daily. Shampoo is an important step in removing buildup, dirt, grime and even excess oils. Giving your hair a good rinse under water is sufficient to keep your hair looking and feeling fresh. Overusing shampoo is a common mistake, and can even strip your hair of its natural oils, leaving your hair feeling frizzy and dry.

A good wash and rinse with only water is usually enough to keep your hair feeling fresh and clean.

Overdoing the shampoo will strip your hair of all of its natural oils and leave it feeling dry and frizzy.

ARE YOU MAKING THIS GROOMING MISTAKE? Life is busy, and it only gets busier. But one thing we can’t give up on, is our grooming regime. One of the most common grooming mistakes men make is forgetting to swap out their blades frequently. Using the same blade over an extended period of time leads to a build up dead skin and bacteria. Dull razors can be a direct cause of things like razor burn, ingrown hairs and even cuts! There are great subscription models out there, which come in handy to ensure you always get the best shave and regularly change your blade.

ABOUT Christopher Lord Christopher Lord is an award-winning Barber, and the owner and founder of the Ottawa-born brand King’s Own, a barbershop and line of all-Canadian, premium grooming products. (Kings Own Reserve Premium Grooming Goods) that includes three beard balms, and a beard wash on the way. Chris has recently expanded to include a new managing partner, Jeremy DeMerchant.

Kings Own Barbershop, opened in 2019, offers an authentic barbershop experience with premium products and an elevated grooming experience.

Chris was voted Ottawa’s

Christopher Lord - Photo by Sean Sisk

Best Barber in the 2019 Ottawa Awards by Faces Magazine, as well as named among Narcity’s Top 15 Barbers.

Kings Own Reserve is a 100% Canadian, locally-owned business that strives to help its community. For every product sold, Kings Own Reserve donates $1.00 to We Live in the Shadows (Shadow Ottawa), a collective consciousness group that focuses on helping the homeless, less fortunate and marginalized in The Capital. Chris is also a dedicated member of Hair Donation Ottawa, a cancer research fundraiser, and volunteers his time to cut hair for the homeless.

@capcitychris @kingsownreserve @kingsownbarbershop Www.Kingsownreserve.com Www.kingsownbarbershop.com

Be sure to give your blades a good rinse after every shave, and store upright. You should switch out your blade every 1-2 weeks if you shave daily (if you shave every other day, or a few times per week, aim to switch out your blade every 2-3 weeks).

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Lighten up with florals, patterns, and pops of colour.

The Row + Oliver Peoples Casse Aviator-Style Gold-Tone Titanium Sunglasses $473

Thom Browne Slim-Fit Unstructured Checked Cotton-Blend Bouclé Blazer $2,213 & Checked Cotton-Blend Bouclé Chinos $1,091

Saint Laurent Camp-Collar FloralPrint Lyocell Shirt $889 Hugo Boss Commissioner Bracelet Watch, 42mm $295

Anderson & Sheppard

Tom Ford

Linen Pocket Square

Black and Midnight-Blue Reversible Full-Grain Leather Belt

$45

$807

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A refreshing linen suit with carefully picked accessories is an easy summer look.

Bottega Veneta Aviator-Style Gold-Tone Optical Glasses $435

BRUNELLO CUCINELLI Unstructured Mélange Linen, Wool and Silk-Blend Suit $4,484

Orlebar Brown Loro Piana Summer Walk Suede Loafers $883

OB-T Slim-Fit Cotton-Jersey T-Shirt $107

Gucci G-Timeless Bee Bracelet Watch, 38mm $1,360

Mikia Sterling Silver and Glass Beaded Bracelet $265

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Ottawa’s

JESSE LUKETA On Fighting To Follow His Dream

J

esse Luketa, a fourstar recruit and top-10 player in Pennsylvania in the NCAA, keeps his Ottawa roots close to him.

Luketa grew up in South Ottawa as the youngest of 7 siblings. By grade 5, he’d discovered his passion for football. With his mother’s constant support of his dreams and ambitions, Jesse sought to make the needed change: he began emailing every US high school in the country with a competitive football program. At just 15, and with the help of former CFL Redblack Jovon Johnson, Jesse was accepted and left home to attend Mercyhurst Preparatory School in Pennsylvania with a promise to work hard to earn his spot.

He graduated as one of the top 20 linebackers in the country, and accepted an offer to Penn State, where he currently plays. The now 6 foot 3, 238-pound Luketa is a force on the field known for his playmaking ability. He is seen as a leader among his teammates, and an inspiration to this community back home.

We caught up with Jesse to discuss his childhood in South Ottawa, his journey to NCAA Football, and his best advice for aspiring athletes in the Capital.

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You grew up here in Ottawa and were the youngest of seven children. What are some of your favourite childhood memories?

I grew up in South Ottawa. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Ottawa and I go hard for South Ottawa. It’s a lower income area that doesn’t really get the same amount of attention as everywhere else in the city. My fondest memories are of being a kid running around the neighbourhood. Even now, some of my best friends and still the most dependable people in my life are the people I grew up with in South Ottawa.

Some did get caught up in things they shouldn’t have been doing, but that’s just the nature of the streets in our community. You have a choice of avenues: academics, athletics, or those things you shouldn’t be doing. Despite that, growing up in South Ottawa has made me who I am and I go hard for South Ottawa.

I want to be able to give back to that community one day.

Tell us about the sacrifices that your mother made for you and your siblings as a single mother. What has she meant to your life and success to date?

She’s my rock. When I was younger, I would go to sleep with a football in my hand. She saw how passionate I was about it. She’d always say to my cousins and my family, “you laugh about it now, but Jesse’s really passionate about this and he’s going to take that somewhere”. She made sure that I was able to pursue that. She worked extra shifts and extra jobs, just so that she would be able to provide for me and my ambitions. I’m the youngest of seven, I’m the baby. She never played favourites but, let’s be honest, I’m her favourite (laughs).

She instilled the values in me that prepared me to leave home by myself at 15 to pursue my dreams.

She showed me what it really was to sacrifice and put things that truly matter before anything else. She taught me what it is to be diligent, to be selfless, how to take care of those you care about. She showed me how to be a good friend, brother, and leader. How to be someone that people can depend on.

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When did you first start playing football? Were you always a linebacker?

I first started playing football in grade 5. That’s when I was attending McMaster Catholic School. I started playing for the South Ottawa Mustangs, and that’s where I met all of my best friends. We were outside almost every day until the street lights came on, and that’s all we did. We’d stay all day at the field and watch the older guys play. That was our home on Saturdays, from morning to sunset. We’d just watch the whole organization play and all the other teams.

Tell us about the big decision you made to leave at age 15 to pursue your dream. It’s been written that former RedBlacks Defensive Back, Jovon Johnson, was the one who introduced you to Mercyhurst Preparatory in Erie? How hard of a decision was it for you?

The decision itself wasn’t hard at all, honestly. My mom knew how passionate I was about football, but she didn’t realize how invested I was in it until I started telling her what I was doing to take it to the next level. Every day I would send out 150 emails to prestigious preparatory schools across the country. I’d explain my situation and express my dream of playing at the highest level of football, the collegiate level, NCAA. South Ottawa isn’t a rich area, and I don’t come from much. My family was able to make sure I had clothes on my back and food to eat. So for my mom to hear that these schools were expecting 18,000 US dollars for me to just attend the school was preposterous. We didn’t have that at our access. So I took it into my own hands to get there. I became obsessed with it. One of the schools I emailed was Mercyhurst Prep. Jeff Root, the head coach, bought into my dream. He said “if you’re really as hungry as you say you are, I’m willing to give you an opportunity”.

Mercyhurst wasn’t a powerhouse institution that was winning games here and there at the time. They had actually just come off their third losing season. But I didn’t care. All I needed was an opportunity, and I knew I was going to make the best out of it. Although it wasn’t glamorous, and it wasn’t something that everyone would jump on, I knew it was my opportunity.

Jesse Lu k ”She instilled the values in me that prepared me to leave home by myself at 15 to pursue my dreams.

She showed me what it really was to sacrifice and put things that truly matter before anything else.”

How hard was the transition for you from 3-down football to 4-downs in the U.S.?

What would you say is the biggest thing to learn as a player transitioning to the American rules?

It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it was definitely a transition.

I played safety, but when I first started playing football I started as a running back initially. And as you can imagine, I kept growing and eating and working out, and I went from a running back to a corner, and I was playing corner up until the time I left Ottawa. When I first arrived in Erie Pennsylvania, I

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began playing safety. So when I got there, I’d always be lined up a little too deep. In Canadian football, you want to be at about 15-20 yards. So when I came to America, those were the same landmarks I had. I’d be lined up at 20 yards and my coaches would be laughing saying ‘you’re not in Canada anymore, move up!’.

Once I got comfortable, you know, you could see a huge difference. You could see that I was playing more confidently, and my teammates were playing more confidently. It made me a better leader and made everyone around me better.

As you head into the 2021 NCAA season, you are looked upon as one

of your team’s leaders and captains.

What are you most excited about this year?

Just being able to enjoy this year and being able to interact with our fans and have a full stadium. To show the culture we’re cultivating.

To work hard and bring the Big Ten Championship back to Penn State. We’re hungry, we’re grittier.

Last season didn’t go how we wanted. But at the same time it was humbling. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.

So it’s made us work that much harder. Be that much more diligent with our preparation.

We’ve left our ego at the door.

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Penn State has been like a factory for churning out elite linebackers, like Sean Lee, LaVar Arrington and most recently Micah Parsons, who could be a top 10 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

Do you find there is extra pressure to following in such big footsteps?

I don’t believe in pressure. I believe in my preparation. What I do on a daily basis will allow me to achieve what I want to do. There have been some great notable names that have passed through here and that’s exactly why I wanted to come to Penn State.

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O T T A W A We grew up together. He’s from South Ottawa as well.

When I say we go hard for South Ottawa I mean we go hard. There are people who have come out of Ottawa for basketball, music, acting, but there are very few people who come out of South Ottawa specifically. Especially the St. Patrick’s culture, guys like Neville Gallimore and Marial Shayock... we’re few, but we’re mighty.

Neville’s been super supportive. I mean we’ve been talking about this since we were playing at Millennium Field or Canterbury High School for the South Ottawa Mustangs.

It’s so crazy because at times I look back and there were kids on my team that may have been more talented than me, but now I’m the one that’s still playing. I’m still passionate about this. It’s a blessing. People can never forget that it’s a privilege to play this game.

Let’s talk about your life away from the field.

What are your favourite places to eat when you’re in Ottawa?

When I’m in Ottawa, I have a coach who has taken me in since I was younger and I always go to lunch with him at The Works. That’s one of my favourite places.

What is on your playlist before games or when you’re working out?

Definitely some Drake, there’s some Lil Baby on there, as of recent some Pooh Sheisty, he’s been going crazy, and of course, Ottawa native my brother AP, AP the Don. If someone were to ask you about Ottawa, what would you tell them about the city?

Having the opportunity to place my name among those names is an honour. And it’s an opportunity for us to do something that hasn’t been done here in a while. I’m beyond excited and ecstatic for us and for our fans, because they deserve it as well.

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Ottawa’s Neville Gallimore was a 3rd round pick of the Cowboys last year, and he went on to have a very good rookie season. How exciting was it for you to see a fellow Ottawa native get drafted and succeed?

I would describe Ottawa as one place you definitely have to visit. It’s great for tourists, there’s so much to do. But I’d only recommend it in the summertime, because in the wintertime… especially for folks who aren’t used to Canada, they’d have a horrible experience (laughs).

Were you a CFL fan growing up? If so, who

are some of your favourite REDBLACKS players?

I was and I still am. I was born in Edmonton but Ottawa raised me. So I always have love for the Eskimos. I grew up watching guys like Gizmo, that’s like one of my all-time favourite CFL players. As far as the Redblacks, that’s tough because I was always conflicted. Once the Redblacks came into the city I had love for them but… I don’t want to say I was rooting for the Eskimos... but you know where my loyalty lies.

My favourite CFL players for the Redblacks were Dave Bachen, Jovon Johnson, especially the connection we have, and I’d have to say Kyran Moore. He is a mentor for me. He was drafted #1 in the CFL draft a couple of years ago and he had a short stint in the NFL and now he’s back in the CFL. He’s had a great career, still healthy and doing what he needs to do.

What is the best piece of advice you could give to a kid in Ottawa that wants to follow in your footsteps?

You can never let someone dictate your future. No dream is unattainable. I’m living proof that if you really want something, you have to be obsessed with it, day in and day out. The tools are there and it’s all accessible, but you can’t have someone want it more for you than you want it for yourself. Everyone has the same 24 hours and what you do with it is on you.

“I don’t believe in pressure.

I believe in my preparation. What I do on a daily basis will allow me to achieve what I want to do.”

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SNAPCHAT Snapchat is a perfect storm for your phone’s battery. The app uses a sneaky amount of photo storage, and is constantly active because of its messaging capabilities. And, because it’s loading a slew of video content every day, while tracking your real-time location, it quickly becomes the biggest burner of battery life on the market. Adjust your settings to help lower this burden on your phone, but ultimately, our best advice is to avoid having Snapchat altogether.

STREAMING APPS It’s not the streaming that kills your battery, it’s the amount of screen-time needed to actually watch what you’re loading on apps like Netflix. While watching shows and movies on your phone, try turning down your brightness, or save binge-watching for your laptop altogether.

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TIKTOK, YOUTUBE, AND OTHER VIDEOS Video is a silent killer of batteries, and since Youtube is wrought with quick, entertaining videos that easily run into the next click, users of this app can get carried away with their use of it and quickly drain their battery. This is another activity we suggest leaving to the laptop.

FACEBOOK The Facebook apps (including Facebook Messenger) are constantly syncing updates and contacts in the background of your phone. If you want to keep this app around, make sure to turn off notifications from inside the app and limit its data usage in settings.

NEWS APPS Any app that delivers news right to your phone is draining your battery by constantly updating and syncing. Avoid this by sending news alerts to your email, or, if you are sold on a news app, make sure you limit its notifications and data usage in settings. Otherwise, your daily dose of content is costing you your battery life.

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About Corey J. Stone Corey is an Ottawa-based

Here’s How to Look

YOUR BEST On Zoom with makeup artist Corey J. Stone

The pandemic has been challenging, and many in-person meetings have been replaced by Zoom. The camera picks up what we might not notice in person— shiny or dry skin, dark circles and puffiness under the eyes.

Zoom may be here to stay.

Would you like to look less shiny, less tired, more hydrated?

HERE ARE BASIC TIPS TO LOOK YOUR BEST ON ZOOM WITHOUT USING MAKE UP: Establish a simple skin care regime consisting of these three easy steps.

1. EXFOLIATE Make your skin look brighter and fresher by using a face scrub or a mask twice a week. Do this before washing your face.

2. WASH For a less shiny look, and to remove any exfoliation residue, use a gentle face wash, morning and night.

3. MOISTURIZE Moisturizer and eye cream keep your skin hydrated and make fine lines less noticeable. For best results moisturize twice daily, morning and night, after face washing. Eye cream, applied once daily, reduces the look of puffiness and dark circles under the eyes.

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How much product to use?

For a face scrub or moisturizer, the size of a pea is more than enough. For eye cream, one short pump is enough for both eyes.

freelance make up artist with over 10 years experience. He holds certificates in make up design from Barret Palmer International, and in hairstyling from Versailles Academy. Corey trained with theatrical make up and special effects artist Lizzie Ciesluk and worked as a beauty advisor specializing in make up and skin care for Clinique, Make Up For Ever, Sephora, MAC and Estee Lauder. He teaches photography and runway make up at Models International Management and has extensive experience in make up for: high definition video and film, including music videos; professional multimedia and promotional photo shoots; weddings; runway modeling and the theatre. Clients have included Bell Media, Dan Rascal Video production, Ontario Tourism, Kingston Tourism, and Prince Edward County. He has worked on TV movies produced in the Ottawa area by Hallmark, Zed Filmworks, Reel One Entertainment and NC Thrilling Films.

Corey has a passion for art and theatre, volunteering for community theatre and mentoring young make up artists. He will soon launch his Corey J. Stone YouTube channel to share his knowledge of make up artistry, beauty and the arts.

Social: Instagram: @coreyjstone Facebook: Corey J Stone

If your skin still looks a bit shiny, brush a translucent loose powder over your face.

Translucent loose powder is colourless and helps control skin oil, making the face look less shiny.

If your skin tone is still uneven, here are two products that look natural like you are make up free:

Concealer and tinted moisturizer Concealer makes you look refreshed by hiding darkness and brightening the eyes. A liquid concealer is easiest to apply and blend.

Apply three dots under each eye and two per eyelid. Use a sponge (beauty blender) in a tapping motion until the area is covered. Then apply loose powder to set the concealer so it doesn’t crease.

A tinted moisturizer has a bit of colour to help even out facial complexion in a shear and natural way that looks make up free. Put a dab of tinted moisturizer on the beauty blender and apply until you’ve covered your face and neck. If you prefer matte look over a dewy look, dust the translucent powder over your face.

Using a tinted moisturizer daily as part of your skin care regimen will provide you extra hydration and give a fresher overall look.

Photo by Sean Sisk

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Find Your Flow It’s been three years since Overflow Brewery’s Mitch Veilleux and Brad Fennell left their professional IT executive jobs in search of something more fulfilling.

Today, they are owners of one of Ontario’s largest taprooms, an award-winning startup, and an expertly crafted destination for craft beer in Ottawa.

15 years ago, over discussions at the hockey rink while watching their sons play on the same team, Brad and Mitch made an interesting discovery. Bonding over beer, their kid’s hockey, and coffee in the morning, they started to realize that like any dad, they were passionate about their kids and supporting their families, but something was missing in their lives.

Both were high-level IT executives who saw a ceiling in their respective careers. They didn’t seem to have a reason to leap out of bed in the morning to go to work: something they both yearned for.

“We connected on the same level, had a lot in common, and knew there was a lot more to life.”

Says Brad. “It’s not every day that you come across someone who is in the exact same place and has the exact same aspirations as you.”

The pair started hobby brewing in Mitch’s garage, and bottling the beer in Brad’s basement. The hobby turned into a passion, and the passion turned into a dream. Both Brad and Mitch decided to follow that dream to launch their own brewery. The name Overflow was chosen for the significance of the word “flow”.

For Mitch and Brad, who have pegged one of the businesses’ core values as ‘Find Your Flow’, the word means to be ‘in the zone’: doing what you love to do. It captures the feeling of being so immersed in something that you cannot focus on anything else. “When someone finds their flow, they are usually being challenged to their highest limits and using 100% of their skills,” says Mitch. “Much like we do when we are downhill skiing, dirt biking or wakeboarding.”

It was the pursuit of this feeling that led Brad and Mitch on the journey to launching Overflow Brewery.

Photography by Sean Sisk.

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An Expertly Crafted Craft Brewery Mitch and Brad were driven by a passion for beer, but armed with the knowledge that the experience of a brewery is equally as valuable.

The two designed what would become one of the largest taprooms in Ontario. They bought and converted a warehouse into an industrial-themed brewery near Bank and Heron. At the back are the taprooms. In the main restaurant, a sprawling 15,000 square foot brewery, is an open-concept eating area with a 50-foot, 270-degree bar at the front. On the right wall, a 25-foot rollup door leads to an outside patio. The two-story walls are adorned with photos of rock concerts while classic rock plays above. Beer is served with a menu from Meatings Barbecue.

And that’s on a normal day, though Overflow was designed for quite the opposite. The brewery converts into a concert hall big enough for 400 people. On the left wall, a 25foot stage, built on high-grade music equipment, hosts live regular concerts with pro sound engineers and lighting technicians that run the shows. In the summer, a separate stage runs outside.

Academy of Country Music Award winner Lindsay Ell performs at Overflow.

“It’s important to us that our customers leave here with the feeling that their visit to Overflow was worth it”. Says Mitch “Tying an amazing musical performance to the experience hopefully helps people remember how great they felt during their time here.”

Since its opening in 2018, Overflow has hosted many live concerts with a packed venue.

In 2019 alone, their first full year of business, over 120 concerts played at the venue. Notable names included Lindsay Ell, The Pursuit of Happiness, and The Northern Pikes.

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Signature tacos by Meating’s BBQ.

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Award Winning Beer Since opening in 2018, Overflow has won over 7 provincial and national awards. In their first year of business, they were voted as Ottawa’s Startup of the Year in the 2019 Ottawa Awards. It was a moment that was not only surprising for the duo, but emotional, says Brad.

“Being recognized in your first year of business is huge. No matter what it is. But to actually stand out and be voted as Ottawa’s Startup of the Year by Faces Magazine readers across Ottawa is one of the most rewarding and proudest moments I’ve had as an owner.

I remember we were laying tile down, and we wanted nothing more than to be at the Gala with everyone. But we had a kitchen that was already three weeks behind. We had our phones on, and we were listening to the play by play while tiling, and when we heard that we had won, we stood up and hugged each other like we were kids. I honestly had tears coming out of my eyes.”

While the recognition was surprising, it wasn’t without cause.

“We interviewed literally dozens of candidates while we were searched for our Head Brewer.” Says Mitch “Many of them were really impressive, but the moment we interviewed Andrew, we knew we had found the right guy. He seemed to know exactly how we wanted our beer to taste and he definitely exceeded our expectations.”

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2-Time Canadian Brewing Awards bronze medal winner, ‘Roger That’ from Overflow.

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Overflow in 2021 For all small business owners, 2020 and 2021 have been unprecedented years. Brad and Mitch have felt this first hand with the numerous lockdowns and restaurant closures. But, the same tenacity that drove them to leave the security of their corporate worlds behind has helped them to push on amid pandemic uncertainty.

“The business is going in a completely different direction than we had intended, but it’s been one of those things where we have to get tough or die. So, we’ve rolled up our sleeves, changed our business, got to work, and we’re making it happen.”

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As a direct seller, Overflow is continuing to serve their beer with in-store purchase, curbside pickup, and online store.

As restrictions permit, their patio and restaurants open accordingly, while their stage awaits a day where live music and large events can be hosted again.

As a supplier, Overflow has taken a different approach to its relations with restaurants and bars across Ottawa, says Brad. “We want to continue to support our licensees and help small businesses. If you have a restaurant that’s close to your house, you HAVE to support these businesses. Or they won’t last. So we won’t ignore that. We’re not sure how, but we’re going to make sure wesupport the same people that

supported us when we were the new guys on the block.”

Long-term, the pair are continuing to expand into LCBOs, beer stores, and private businesses across Ontario. As for their initial goal, set at the hockey rink over three years ago? That’s been achieved, too.

“To be totally honest, our favourite part is that we’re three years in and we’re still realizing daily that we love what we do.”

Says Brad. “We literally look at each other and say ‘man, I love my job’. While we’re cleaning toilets or sweeping floors or cleaning out grain trailers. It’s the best job we’ve ever had.

As for the shows? They will be back, and bigger than ever before.”

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THE 5 MOST

Popular

DOG BREEDS IN CANADA

I

t’s fitting to know that for over 25 years, the Labrador Retriever (a dog whose roots begin in Newfoundland and Labrador from British Settlers) was Canada’s most popular breed of dog. But, according to online dog walking and sitting network Rover, who used their database of over 35,000 Canadian pet owners to create their 2020 list, Lab’s now take second place on the ranking as of 2020.

Here are the top 5 most popular dog breeds in Canada (spoiler alert, Pugs rank 16th in Canada).

1. MIXED BREED Cross Breeds now take the top spot among Canadian dog owners, thanks to a spike in pet adoptions and rescues.

2. LABRADOR RETRIEVER Labs were ranked #1 in Canada for the past 25 years, and only now take the second spot on this list. Labs grew in popularity due to their smart and gentle natures.

They have a history of helping, as aids to medics in the first world war, and of course most recently as a top choice for seeing eye dogs. Labs are smart, caring, loyal, and communicative, which makes them a perfect fit in any family and a popular choice among Canadians.

3. GOLDEN RETRIEVER There are three different types of Golden Retrievers: Canadian, American or English. But, as a breed, their popularity remains high across North America.

Golden Retrievers are also one of the most popular breeds of dogs featured on the big screen.

Like the Lab Retriever, Golden Retrievers are well suited to family lifestyles, both in urban and rural settings.

4. SHIH TZU Shih Tzu’s are energetic and friendly dogs that are great companions for downtown living. They require minimal exercise (though they do enjoy a good run), and don’t shed too much, which makes them perfect for apartment owners.

5. GERMAN SHEPHERD German Shepherds are the poster children of loyal, obedient dogs (as can be seen by their extensive history working with law enforcement and military), and for that reason have been popular in Canada for decades. Their history in Canada goes all the way back to the early 1900’s, and their prevalence grew during WW1.

German Shepherds are smart dogs, and a great choice for people with an active lifestyle, as they need regular walks, runs, and activity.

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A Father & Daughter Duo How did your family discover its passion for music?

J

ason and Ella uniquely share their passion for music As a full-time musician, father Jason has encouraged his daughter Ella to explore singing, music, and creativity since she was three years old. When Ella’s passion grew into a real hobby, the only natural step for him was to join in. Though he remains in a band full-time, Jason helps the now 14 year old Ella to produce the songs she writes. While Jason is primarily a bass guitarist, he also amps up tracks with the acoustic guitar, piano and ukulele. He writes the music and produces videos and songs from a technical perspective, and will occasionally provide backup vocals. All from his home studio in the family’s home in Nepean.

For Ella, creating music with her dad isn’t just a creative outlet, it is a way to bond and ease the stresses of transitioning between two households each week. When she is at her Dad’s, music is a way of spending quality time with him, while being creative and having fun.

The self-titled Father-Daughter duo has created dozens of covers and original songs that Ella writes. Jason sets the stage for Ella to lend her vocal and lyrical talents to the music. When the duo began to share their work with family, friends, and Facebook over two years ago, the reception was amazing, and included a shoutout on CTV Morning Live as they previewed the duo’s original music video.

We sat down with Jason and Ella to discuss their music, their favourite aspects of creating songs together, and what’s next for the duo.

Photography by Sean Sisk

Jason: My dad loves to play the guitar around the house and at family events, so my exposure to music, and love of it, started really young. John Denver, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, The Beatles and Sega music (the native music of Mauritius, where both of my parents were born) were basically the soundtrack for my two siblings and I as we grew up.

Then, when I was 12, my brother Chris encouraged me to start playing an instrument so that I could jam with him. He suggested the bass guitar since he already played the guitar, and together we both aspired to become rock stars during our teenage years, first performing at coffee houses and band wars, and then putting on local events.

Ella: My dad used to always sing songs like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “When The Stars Go Blue” when we went to bed, and sometimes my brother and I would like to join in.

My dad loves to play guitar in any free time he has, so we spent a lot of time listening and singing to-

gether. When I was about 2 or 3 years old, I learned to sing some of my favourite lullabies with my parents like “Baby Beluga”, which we actually have a video of on our Facebook page. Now that I’m older, music has also become something that really helps me with my anxiety and stress. Plus, writing has always been my passion and I’ve been writing little poems and lyrics since I was able to write.

Being able to express my emotions and thoughts in writing, and then creating music, is something I find so special.

When did you two first begin playing together?

Jason: Ella and I have been singing together since she was a toddler. She’s always had a beautiful, angelic voice, and was gifted with a great ear... she’s always on pitch! I love it.

Ella and I created our first cover music video back in March 2018 using a DSLR camera I had gotten that Christmas. It was a live off the floor performance of Meghan Trainor’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” it wasn’t a fancy, well-produced recording by any means.

We just used the camera’s built-in microphone.

The video was very well

received on Facebook, where we post all of our videos. From there, we’ve done almost twenty cover music videos, and two originals, which gave me a chance to hone my skills in the production/recording and videography side of things. This prompted me to build a studio in our den, which is in fact what I called my youtube channel, “Studio in the Den”.

Ella: My dad really influenced music in our household at an early age. He loved to play songs on the guitar we knew the lyrics to and always encouraged us to sing along. Even at the age of 3, I was singing lullabies with my dad and singing along to songs he had to learn for his gigs.

I’ve always loved singing and have had many favorite songs, so I put the two together, sang my favourite song at the time for our first FD, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”.

When did you realize that you wanted to share your music with others?

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creative! It makes it so easy to write music with her. It’s a no-brainer that we wanted the world to hear it!

Ella: In school, I found myself really loving English class, and would spend my free time writing stories and poems, which I’d love to submit into contests and competitions. With my friends, we’d get together and write numerous songs hoping that one day we’d be able to share them with people (and maybe get money from it as well, haha). I’ve always loved writing lyrics and melodies and it was always a dream to be able to hear myself on the radio!

Tell us about your recent song, inspired by the recent global coronavirus situation. How did the song come together?

Jason: Interestingly, the catalyst for ALL of this was a school project. In Ella’s French class, she was assigned to write a song just before the March Break. As a result of the pandemic and school closures that very same week, the project was never submitted but we had already written and recorded the song.

Consequently, I asked my good friend, Tyler Kealey (an amazingly talented Ottawa pianist) and my uber-talented cousin, Rhiannon (violinist from Chelsea, QC) to add some flavour to this song. They emailed their recordings to me and I put the song together - I suppose that’s how things are done during lockdowns!

We will be releasing this song soon.

Moving on, to not let this beautiful work go to waste, we decided that we should start writing an album. So, after the start of the pandemic, we wrote a song about our experience called Okay. I wrote the first few lines to start a lyrical conversation between Ella and I. I then asked Ella to write the following lyrics to add to the convo and it really just flowed from there. We shot the video for this single shortly afterward in our area of Nepean while also using a few stock videos. From emotions that range from fear, love, togetherness and hope, the idea was to create a video that people can relate to. From the moment it was released on Facebook, the video was picked up by CTV news, the Silver Lining Sessions (Shawn Tavenier, Dave Ledoux and Emily Scantlebury) and Ben Cooper Live - they are both great friends of ours doing live streams on Facebook dedicated to music and good vibes.

Ella: I really liked the idea of this conversation as the lyrics because I often see people saying, “everything will be ok” when nobody in this situation really has complete control or knowledge of what will happen next. Of course, we always need to stay positive, but some things in life aren’t always going to be okay. I feel that this song has a good way of explaining how we feel about the pandemic and just life’s struggles in general.

How does working together on music help your father-daughter relationship?

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just down the street from us! Music is something that we can do together at my house while Ella goes between her homes. We write music when she’s around, then for efficiency’s sake, I record the instruments when she’s at Sara’s place. The following week, Ella puts her vocal tracks down, and trust me, this comes super easy for her. No need for autotune for this girl!

Our time together playing music is such a beautiful experience. It’s so wonderful, especially in these times, to have someone here at home to be creative with. I will never take that for granted. I hope that these videos will live forever in our memories and to know that we created something special during these strange and uncertain times. We’ve gone as far as having my son, Jackson, be a special guest bouncing a basketball in two of our cover videos.

Ella: When I was younger, I had a really hard time with the transition of switching back and forth. It was something challenging I had to get used to, and singing and playing music with my dad made it a lot easier. Especially when writing original music, we get to express our ideas and collaborate together. It is something fun I look forward to on “Dad’s Week” and something that I am really happy for.

What are your plans for the summer?

Jason: Being a full time musician, this pandemic has decimated our industry, like a lot of industries. However, things are looking a little brighter as the vaccine gets closer in sight. As a result, I will be looking forward to getting back to gigging and performing at events this summer with my beloved bandmates: Peter Voith, Tony Raybould, Sam Timmins, and Nick Grabousenok.

Ella: Seeing that there is probably a longer time of home isolation to come, it is a very good time to sit down and get inspired to write music. For me, writing songs in summer can come pretty easily because summer is such a happy and relaxing time, making it fun to write about. Not trying to put any pressure on us, but our album will probably be out somewhere in the summer and I am hoping we could even put out a few more songs!

What’s next for your duo?

Jason: I’m leaving the “what’s next?” to Ella and where she wants to take it. I believe that I have the tools and skills to make whatever we wish come to fruition, but I want to go at her own stride and not overwhelm her. So in the meantime, we’ll continue writing music and put it out at a pace that she’s comfortable with.

Ella: The only gigs I’ve done are at the retirement homes and backyard parties. I would love to continue with that. Honestly, at the moment, I am pretty comfortable with just making music videos at home and I don’t think I am quite ready for full out gigs (but certainly in the future). I’m looking forward to collaborating with more of my dad’s very talented friends or even one of my friends! I think collaborating with more artists would be so much fun and is very likely to happen in the future, once this is all over. We will also certainly create more albums, singles and FD videos.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/FDduo Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCVKHOzB8PdrV3zUWgbZl2pQ Find our song here: https://afatherdaughterduo.bandcamp.com/releases

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PZIZZ Pzizz is one of the best psychoacoustic apps that uses ‘dreamscapes’ (or sequences of sounds) with voice narrations on top to to help you fall asleep. You can time your sessions on the app (as well as a built-in alarm for your wake-up time), and the sessions will help improve the quality of your sleep so that you wake up more refreshed.

CALM Calm is one of the most popular apps for sleepers, and it features a host of stories, soundtracks, and ASMR sequences designed to help you relax and fall asleep. Their most known for their celebrityread night time stories. On calm, you can have a bedtime story (both for adults and kids) read to you by Matthew McConaughey or Cillian Murphy in a soothing voice.

4 OF THE BEST APPS TO HELP YOU SLEEP There are a ton of apps that claim to help you fall asleep, but which ones actually work? Here are 4 of the best apps to help lull you into your best sleep yet.

SLUMBER Slumber has a huge collection of sleep meditations, sleep inducing stories, bedtime stories for kids, and ASMR Soundscapes. The app also releases two new stories and soundscapes per week. The app aims to have you asleep in as little as five minutes with its calming audio. The platform is also super easy to use, and you can browse its full library of stories and audioscapes like Netflix.

WHITE NOISE If voices or soundtracks are too detailed for your mind, White Noise is probably your best option. This app features a ton of consistent background sounds, like rain, vacuums, and waves, to help lull you to sleep.

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STUNTMAN STU, ANGIE POIRIER, AND JANEL STEEPER On the MOVE to

Marking the start of 2021, Majic 100 (along with other iHeartRadio stations across Canada) hit refresh on their brand which has been a leader in the Capital for decades.

The move to the new MOVE 100 marks a new chapter for the station, but for hosts Stuntman Stu (who has been with the station for over 10 years), Angie Poirier, and Janel Steeper, the new MOVE 100 will still share the same great music, stories, and people, with some added excitement, content, and prizes.

We caught up with the team to discuss the new MOVE, their favourite parts of working together, and an inside scoop into their lives away from the station.

Recently MAJIC 100 was rebranded to MOVE 100.

What does the move to MOVE 100 mean to you?

Stu: I was with MAJIC for 10 years before the MOVE rebrand – the analogy I give all the time, is you’ve had a 30 year old kitchen and it’s time for some renovations!

Angie: The MAJIC 100 name had a long history in Ottawa, but as with everything in life, evolution and forward momentum are necessary. We redesign our living spaces, our favourite restaurants get makeovers, and our job titles change over the years. Just as those things change in life, we look at the MOVE 100 rebranding as an opportunity for a refresh. It

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shows that we are moving with the times (pardon the pun!) and committed to growing with our audience, while not changing the overall feeling of what brought them to our station in the first place!

Janel: I see it like a new ‘mini makeover’… a refreshed look and feel for the station. We all update our wardrobes and hairstyles over the years because everyone loves a good glow-up!

What is new and different about MOVE 100?

Stu: MOVE 100 means I get a new hoodie to add to my radio “swag” collection.

Angie: MOVE 100 is our wardrobe makeover! Fun

colours, new graphics, a bit of a tweak in the great music we play, but yet not a departure from the music you have loved on our station over the last few years. We have awesome interaction with listeners on all MOVE social media platforms, and the best digital content/ videos on our website for you to binge - from recipes to reviews to DIYs! Listeners tell us the best part about MOVE, though, is that the same personalities you have built relationships with over the years... are all still here!

Janel: It’s a new look and name—with the same personalities and music you love. We’ve had some amazing contests! MOVE 100 launched giving away $1000 EVERY day for a month, and we then rolled into

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awarding around $100,000 through our Birthday Jackpot contest!

Stu, after a year-long absence, what was it like to finally reunite with Angie and Janel?

Stu: Incredible. Don’t tell them I said this… but I love working with Angie and Janel and I never take for granted how much fun I have waking up every morning, and working with the two of them. I missed Angie and Janel, and doing the show during those long hospital days. I was counting down the days until I could go back to work. They are truly the best. I say this all the time… I really do have the best job and work with the best team.

What is one thing people may not know about Stu? Angie: Stu is an open book, so there is not much you don’t see! However, with that said… even though he is wild and crazy and his life is all over social media… he is actually an introvert. He needs his alone time, he sometimes gets overwhelmed in crowds of people making small talk, and will have to escape for a little break in a hallway to regroup.

Janel: Stu is actually really quiet when he entertains at his house. He likes to keep busy behind the grill while his wife Connie does the chit chat! You NEVER leave hungry!

What’s something people may not know about Angie?

Stu: Angie always makes these delicious meals in her weekly ‘Angie’s Favourite Things” videos and she’s yet to share any of it with me… and she calls me her “best friend”.

Janel: She spent a summer in Halifax with her sister when she was younger, and almost never came back to Ottawa!

What about Janel?

Stu: She’s got a really great singing voice.

And she once tried out for Canadian Idol.

Angie: She honks! Janel has this thing where if you really get her laughing, like big uncontrollable laughter, she loses her breath and starts to honk super loud like a Canada Goose! I have never heard anything like it!

What is your favourite part about your job?

Stu: It’s not a job. It’s having fun with your friends and trying to entertain someone and leave them feeling good for a few minutes during their morning. And it’s all about sharing all the amazing things we have in this city – people, businesses, charities…

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M A Y / J U N E Angie: All of it! For real. It is never lost on me that I get to chat and laugh with two co-hosts I genuinely adore every day and call that work! On top of that, it is the relationships with listeners. We are on a first name basis with so many of our listeners and I am not kidding when I say they feel like friends/family, even though in some cases we’ve never met in person! It is the best feeling.

Janel: It’s fun and different every single morning! No two days are alike. The best part is interacting with our listeners each morning — the stories listeners share with us are hilarious!

Who has the best (and worst) style?

Stu: Angie has the best style (that’s the TV host in her – she never looks bad even if she tried), Janel is a close second (she has the coolest collection of rings) and the bald guy from Barrhaven who lives in hoodies and shorts comes in third.

Angie: We are all fairly casual at work, but Janel as the millennial with her overalls and love of funky thrift store finds, probably gets the “best” title. We tease Stu that all he owns is four of the same black zip ups and track pants, so I guess he gets the “worst, or least adventurous” title!

Janel: That’s easy—Angie! She always looks so good and put together even when we wake up so early. Her shoe game is on point! Meanwhile Stu’s wears nothing but tracksuits and hoodies (this is pre pandemic too!)

Who is the funniest person on the team?

Stu: Me. No question. Next. (And cue the rolling of the eyes from Angie & Janel) Angie: Well, Stu lacks what some would call an “edit button”, so, that often results in him saying what others might be thinking, but would never say out loud!

So that is very entertaining. He is also always willing to dance, even though he is not good at it, which is funny.

Janel: Way to put me on the spot! We all laugh all morning, but if I have to pick— I’d say Angie. She’s so quick witted, and we share the same sense of humour.

reply from a listener that makes us snort laugh. Our audience is legit hilarious... would be impossible to choose just one!

Janel: We hear hilarious stories daily, so it is hard to remember them all! A few that stand out to me include: the woman whose daughter thought eating broccoli would make her boobies grow, the woman who went on a first date with a guy who got sick in an alleyway then tried to kiss her, and then the morning we got people to call in using their ‘doggy voices’.

Janel: More fun contests and of course more of Angie and ganging up on Stu (laughs). @StuntmanStu @AngiePoirier @JanelSteeper

What is your favourite thing to do on a day off?

Stu: Sleep. And snacks.

Angie: Sleep in! Make a big breakfast.

Family time.

Janel: SLEEP IN. I am not a morning person, so I like to sleep in and stay up later. In the late spring/summer/fall I love to go hiking with my boyfriend — we are so lucky to have a ton of great trails in the Ottawa-Gatineau region!

Favourite spot to eat in Ottawa?

Stu: Depends who is paying. Or dinner at my in-laws. This is me keeping my mother-in-law on my good side. I have all the happy marriage tips.

Angie: We love NEXT in Stittsville. Chef Blackie’s food is always outstanding!

Janel: All I need is a great patio! I live in the Byward Market, so Tavern on the Hill/Falls are two of my favourites. If we’re talking takeout… I highly recommend Gongfu Bao – it is delicious.

Favourite Artist (currently)?

Stu: I’m an 80s music guy all the way. It’s the best music, and I have the kitchen dance party moves to prove it.

Angie: Really loving the brand new era of music from both Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift!

Janel: Loving ‘The Beaches’ right now!

Finally, what can listeners look forward to this summer with MOVE 100?

What is the craziest or funniest call that you’ve gotten on the show? Anything memorable?

Stu: My bosses don’t tell me anything that’s coming up because I have a big mouth and I can’t keep a secret.

Stu: Milly. I love Milly. She’s a long time listener to the show. She has this amazing Jamaican accent and she always puts a smile on my face when she calls.

And she loves me best. Ask her – it’s true.

Angie: You can bet we will be the ultimate soundtrack to your lazy cottage days, or those days you just need to put the windows down and drive. Plus we always have amazing contests and giveaways up our sleeve... so you’ll just have to tune in and see what’s next!

Angie: Literally everyday on our show we get a call, or text message, or Twitter

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