Growth Mixtape Podcast with Bob Mathers

About Growth Mixtape Podcast with Bob Mathers

Listen to my conversations with the most interesting people you may not have come across yet. These conversations might not seem to have a lot in common at first. But just like songs on a mixtape, they create something memorable and emotional. So, let's press play and see what we learn about ourselves. I'm Bob Mathers, host of the Growth Mixtape podcast. I love chasing my curiosity; the further from my comfort zone, the better. Please join me for stories from leaders in business, the sciences, academia and the arts. I find the most powerful ideas, the ones that compel us to do bold things, happen by accident. It is these unexpected collisions that I’m excited to explore in this new podcast. These conversations always give me new insights I never would have gotten from other experts in my field. Every other week, join your host Bob Mathers, keynote speaker for conversations designed to push you out of your comfort zone. Each episode delivers boundless insights and ideas that matter by inspiring you to get off autopilot and keep chasing curiosity.

Publisher

Chasing Curiosity and Sharing Boundless Insights from Ideas that Matter by Bob Mathers

Category

business · business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Jan 2024

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

108 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   The Sober Creative: Josh Woll on What Opens Up When You Put the Drink Down

   Today I talk to Josh Woll, a documentary filmmaker with more than twenty years behind the camera who, six years into sobriety, built a second practice helping other people stop drinking and reconnect with their creativity. What drew me to this conversation were two things that have consumed my life over the last couple of years that I had never heard anyone put together before. Plenty of people write about sobriety. Plenty write about creativity. Josh is the first person I'd come across who treats them as the same conversation, and it felt like he was speaking to my soul. We get into his story, from a disastrous teenage DUI to the Orange Theory moment that first cracked things open. You don’t have to be sober to need this conversation. Because it’s really about rediscovering yourself, and clearing whatever fog is standing in your way. Key Takeaways Sobriety and creativity are the same conversation. Most people silo them. Josh's whole premise is that putting the drink down doesn't just remove a problem — it clears space, sharpens presence, and reconnects you to the creative self that was there all along. Alcohol is a mirage. It feels like freedom, confidence, and relief from anxiety — and it quietly delivers the opposite. The things it seems to solve, it makes worse. It just takes a long time to see it. Everyone quits eventually — the only question is when. A reframe from the episode: nobody drinks forever. Seen that way, the decision isn't whether, it's how soon you want the life on the other side of it. Nobody can talk you into it — but the right moment and the right people help. Josh didn't do AA; a coach's offhand comment at the gym ("you won't progress if you keep doing that") was the first crack, and going public with a year off gave him accountability. "I'm not creative" is a story, not a fact. Josh's position, which echoes across these retreat-adjacent episodes: everyone is born creative; most people just haven't sat down and tapped back into it. Creativity is less a talent than a recovered childhood default. Two different creative journeys. The contrast between host and guest is the richest thread: We're afraid of our own power. One of Josh's essays-in-progress ("love doesn't need a drink") circles the idea that what really scares us isn't our weakness but our light — and that sobriety is one way of stepping into it. Do the hard things on purpose. From a five-day, 4,500-metre trek to Machu Picchu to a daily practice of meditation and sunrise walks, Josh's throughline is feeling the fear, letting it move through you, and taking the step anyway. The growth is on the other side of the discomfort. Trust the timing of your life. It's tempting to grieve the years you "wasted" before you made the change. More useful: you weren't ready sooner, and the path played out the way it needed to. Be grateful you made the call when you did. Awareness is the real practice. Josh's 30-day Reset isn't about white-knuckling four weekends — it's about getting curious about why you reach for the drink, peeling back the layers in a safe space, and building from there. Connect with Bob Mathers Website (https://bit.ly/3P7xDiJ) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-mixtape) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bob_mathers) The Restless Leader Newsletter on Substack: https://bobmathers.substack.com/ (https://bobmathers.substack.com/) Links & Resources The Sober Creative on Substack: https://substack.com/@thesobercreative (https://substack.com/@thesobercreative) Josh’s website: https://www.joshwoll.com/ (https://www.joshwoll.com/) Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josh.woll/ (https://www.instagram.com/josh.woll/) Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-woll (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-woll) This Naked Mind by Annie Grace — a major influence on Josh's decision to stop. One Year No Beer — the public-accountability approach that shaped his first year. Chef's Life (PBS, dir. Cynthia Hill) — the Emmy- and Peabody-winning series Josh worked on. The Kyle Larson "double" documentary (Amazon) — among Josh's recent film work. Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way — referenced as a dream guest/influence.

2. 

   24 Sept 2026

   From Eyes-Closed to Camden Yards, and the Song She Was Afraid to Write with Rachel Druckenmiller

   Host Bob Mathers interviews keynote speaker Rachel Druckenmiller about embracing authenticity and pursuing dreams, revealing how small 'yeses' led to singing at Camden Yards.

3. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Be Unforgettable in a World of Sameness

   Host Bob Mathers explores how to stand out in a world of sameness, revealing how excavating your unique life story creates unforgettable impact.

Who has been a guest on Growth Mixtape Podcast with Bob Mathers

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Rachel Druckenmiller
• Rob Szabo
• Michelle Grocholsky
• Greg Boyd
• Will Giangrande

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

36,958

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

41 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 78 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

96

Social presence

0

YouTube

72

Engagement

77

Contact Growth Mixtape Podcast with Bob Mathers

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Growth Mixtape Podcast with Bob Mathers