Eager to be Healthy – Jay Cowal from Correction Officer to Connector of Conversations

Jay: Hey everybody, my name is Jay Cowell from Podstars and I am eager to be happy.

Michael Eger: Today on this show we have Jay Cowell. He is the operator of a podcaster booking site called Podstars. Best way to describe it is like the cameo for podcasters. ⁓ But he had come on the show and he’s agreed to talk about health and happiness first. And so ⁓ let’s get into brass tacks. Have you always been healthy?

Jay: Today on this show we have Jay Cowell. He is… to describe it is like the cameo But he had come on the show and he agreed to talk about health and happiness first. Absolutely. let’s get into the brass patch. Have you always been healthy? There was a part of my life when I was super healthy when I was playing football in high school. And then once I got into college, I kind of started slipping. And then I got back into health and I lost a boatload of weight, got super, super strong again. And then, know, becoming a father, you know, dogs working, the gym got pushed back and then the gym got canceled altogether. And now, you know, I’m 47 years old and I’d like to say I’m healthy. ⁓ I could be healthier. I think we all could be healthier. ⁓ But my goal at this point in my life is to be healthy enough to see my daughters get married and all that good stuff. the… What I’m trying to say is happiness is more important to me at this point than supreme healthiness. So you’re on the right show because I’m not sure if our listeners can have seen photos of me. I could be skinnier. And the thing is ⁓ I could have bigger muscles. But the point is health and happiness should be aspirational.

Michael Eger: So you’re on the right show because I’m not sure if our listeners have seen photos of me. I could be skinnier. And the thing is I could have bigger muscles. But the point is health and happiness should be an aspirational journey. And you should always balance it with the stresses of daily life.

Jay: journey. And you should always balance it with the stresses of daily life and basically doing stuff that’s sustainable. Because nothing works than ⁓ doing something and then backtracking ⁓ and then doing it again. It’s like when you drive on a highway and you only use a brake and a gas pedal. Yeah, there’s more to it.

Michael Eger: ⁓ Basically doing stuff to sustainable because nothing’s worse than ⁓ Doing something and then backtracking ⁓ And then doing again. It’s like when you drive in there on a highway and you only use a brake in the gas pedal Yeah, so anyway, you said something worked ⁓ before the kids and the dogs what worked for you?

Jay: So anyway, you said something worked before the kids and the dog. What worked for you? So ⁓ I know from experience, ⁓ a lot of people are either morning workout people afternoon or evening. It’s basically like eating a meal. Everyone has their like I can only work out at night. So I am like that. I am a morning workout guy. So I was a correctional officer for over 12 years and my shift started at nine o’clock in the morning. So I was great at going to the gym at seven o’clock, doing an hour, ⁓ a lot of cardio, but some slight weights, and then grabbing a shower at the gym, stopping off getting an oatmeal at Tim Hortons, at a coffee, and going right to work. So that was working for me, and I slimmed down from 240 all the way down to basically 210. And that was when I was in my late 20s. So that was my healthiest time of year. ⁓ Now I’m not a correctional officer anymore. I do have another 9 to 5 job, but it’s not 9 to 5. It’s 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. So going to the gym pre-work is not going to happen. And then when I get home, I have dad responsibilities and stuff like that. And I just don’t have the energy to go to the gym at night. So it’s just I know I could. Anyone could. But I find it very difficult to work out at night.

Michael Eger: Okay, so are you focusing more on diet now?

Jay: Yeah, the diet is definitely 100%. That’s that’s where it’s at. And you know, I’m at the age now where, you know, I can’t just eat, you know, chicken wings here, pizza here, you know, macaroni and cheese here. It’s got to be it’s got to be balanced with, you know, some salad and some vegetables and cut up the salt and, you know, lay off the carbs. That’s a big one.

Michael Eger: Yeah, keto has been the trendy thing right now. ⁓ anyone with a metal about a med. Anyone suffers with blood sugar issues. I should get that word learned how to say the word correctly. But anyone that suffers from ⁓ blood sugar issues tends ⁓

Jay: Yeah. ⁓ metabolism. Anyone suffers with blood sugar issues. I should get that word learned how to say that word correctly but anyone that suffers blood sugar issues tends to have some success with a little bit less carbs, a little bit more fat, bit more ⁓ good protein use. ⁓

Michael Eger: have some success with a little bit less carbs, a little bit more fat, a little bit more ⁓ good protein use. it sounds like happiness is more important to you. Can we talk about, have you always been happy?

Jay: It sounds like happiness is more important to you. Yeah, I mean, have you always been happy? ⁓ yeah. Yeah, I I’ve never never classed myself as ⁓ unhappy. So, yeah, I would definitely say I’m happy. ⁓ I am looking forward to watching walking my daughters down the aisles and all that good stuff. And my oldest daughter is turning 27. My youngest is turning 19 or sorry, he’s turning 20. So ⁓ it could be happening any day. So. Now you said you were a correction officer. Now I know a little bit about how to work and I’ve done jobs in prisons. So how did you manage your mental health there?

Michael Eger: Now you said you were a correction officer. Now I know a little bit about that field of work and I’ve done jobs in prisons. So how did you manage your mental health there?

Jay: I knew I was going to see things, but it’s different when you actually have them happen directly in front of you, as opposed to hearing stories about them having been done. So 12 years, I saw a lot of things. was involved in lot of things that I, you know, they’re, they’re in my, my brain forever for the most part. So there’s nothing, there’s no amount of alcohol that can go make these go away. There’s no amount of exercise. I mean, I’ve seen some things that are with me for the rest of my life and I’m actually pretty glad that I’ve moved off from that phase. I realized that it’s one of those fields you can’t go into great detail, but how did you have any tricks to keep your humanity? Because when I worked in mental health, I found that I had to compartmentalize a little bit. And then when I got home, I wasn’t always the most…

Michael Eger: ⁓ realized ⁓ it’s of those fields you can’t go into great detail. But how did it, did you have any tricks to keep your ⁓ humanity? Because when worked in mental health, I found that ⁓ I to compartmentalize a little bit. And then when I got home, I wasn’t always emotionally available to my family. So.

Jay: available to my career. So did you have any strategies for that? So when I first got in, when I was, geez, I think I was like 23 when I got into Corrections, I had a really good mentor who told me the one thing you can never do is bring this place home because that will impact your family in several different ways. And for the first few years, I would say for the first half of my career,

Michael Eger: Did you have any strategies for that?

Jay: I tried really hard not to do that and it worked. But with the changing of the political atmosphere inside the prisons and with some of the things that were going on and some of the things I was involved in, I found it more and more difficult to leave all that stuff at work. And I would start bringing it home, whether it be anger from an incident that could have been dealt with differently or depression because of some of the things that I witnessed or, you know, seeing some of these people, you know, At the end of the day, they’re in there for a very long time for a lot of these guys. And you can see it on their face that they realize they made a bad decision. And that affects your mental health because not every person there is a horrible person. There are some really bad people, of course, but there are some really good people who just made bad choices. And when you have a one on one conversation with some of these people and they come to realize that one mistake is going to cost them, you know, their marriage, their career, their their everything, you know, it’s it. it starts to weigh on you and you wish you could do more. ⁓ But unfortunately, that’s not what we’re there to do. We’re there to protect. ⁓ And unfortunately, that’s where that went.

Michael Eger: Yeah. So, ⁓ are you comfortable talking about any of the strategies you you or? ⁓ Techniques or, ⁓ Let’s say treatments that you did went to before you decided to change careers.

Jay: how any of the strategies you’ve ⁓ So I’ve never been a huge advocate of going to therapy or any of that stuff. I’ve tried it a few times in between corrections and my new career when mental health was was basically something that I was dealing with. I was having issues ⁓ from moving on from from something I dedicated my entire life to to moving on to something new because at one point I wasn’t sure where I was going to land. ⁓ So I did try to sit down and talk, but I found it very difficult to really express everything that I was feeling. I’m not great at opening up my emotions and all that stuff. So therapy didn’t really work for me. So when I was in corrections and I did have days where I either had to find a way to rid the demons out of my body, basically, you just get out of my head. ⁓ I’m not gonna lie, a lot of the times I did turn to alcohol and they made my nights go by and then you then you wake up the next day and you realize I shouldn’t have done that. That’s not the way to deal with these sort of issues because now you feel rough the next day and the problems are still there at the end of the day. So I’ve never been great at figuring that stuff out. So I’m a suppressor. I’ve always been a suppressor. So I keep it all inside and then I find a way to let it out. So ⁓ I did some MMA training back in the day. So that was an outlet for me was to go and you know roll around ⁓ Hit the heavy bag That that’s kind of the way I dealt with it. So ⁓ As far as dealing with emotions, I’m definitely not the guy to to write a tell-all book. That’s for sure ⁓

Michael Eger: Alright, but the MMA or the getting physically out through structured battles is therapeutic.

Jay: Yep. Is there a music? It did work. I’m not gonna lie. It did work, but it doesn’t work for everybody, right? I think everyone is different and everyone’s got to find out what works for them.

Michael Eger: So you pivoted for mental health.

Jay: ⁓ So you pivoted from mental health.

Michael Eger: ⁓ and your new career besides the hat.

Jay: new career besides the hat? Yeah, so Podstars is my after work job and ⁓ my regular day job now is I run a museum. I’m a maintenance manager of a museum in one of the most beautiful parks in all of Toronto. So a lot of people say it’s like a retirement home because at my age I shouldn’t have a position like this but don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and here I am.

Michael Eger: Okay. And that explains your Tim Horton’s ⁓ love.

Jay: Well in Toronto they’re everywhere so if you want a coffee that’s there you can throw a stone and hit one no matter where you are pretty much You know what I don’t even know if it’s a love for me They’re at the bottom of the list as far as so I’m even back in the day before corrections. I worked at Starbucks

Michael Eger: We’re still in Duncan land here, but the point is that the one thing I noticed in Canada, you guys love your Tim Hortons.

Jay: And their coffee is fantastic. It’s just super expensive. Tim Hortons is very cheap. And the coffee is not that great. The problem with Tim Hortons is they’re everywhere and they’re convenient. And also I will add McDonald’s coffee. I also find fantastic. The problem with McDonald’s is I’m not strong enough to go there and not add on a Big Mac with a coffee. So I just stay away from McDonald’s altogether even though the coffee is better. The griddle takes some hot poison. Okay. Funny thing is…

Michael Eger: The griddle cakes are my poison. Yeah. Funny thing is, I’ve learned that the griddle cakes have less carbs than the biscuits or their English muffin.

Jay: I’ve learned that the griddle cakes have less carbs than the biscuits or their English muffins. Yeah, the muffins with the butter are dangerous. Delicious. mean, McDonald’s has the best breakfast on earth. Unless you sit down at a restaurant like a Denny’s or something like that. Sorry, McDonald’s can’t be beat. But I’ve been very good. I haven’t been into a McDonald’s. And this counts travel.

Michael Eger: Yeah. But I’ve been very good. haven’t been into a McDonald’s and this counts travel ⁓ for over five years. Yeah, I know. Anyway, ⁓ so you got a nice job in the museum in the beautiful city of Toronto. And this museum showcases what?

Jay: That’s amazing. Way better than me. you got a nice job in the museum in the beautiful city of Pimicanto. That’s correct. And this museum showcases what? So it’s called the John Howard building. So John Howard, and I’m really bad at the history, but it’s not my job to know the history. So John Howard was a ⁓ founding builder of a lot of this park. whether it be buildings and a whole bunch of other stuff. But when him and his wife passed, they left all of their fortune and their buildings and all that stuff to the actual park that I work in. So the buildings that I maintain are from the, know, the 1800s when stables were a thing beside your house. So you’d walk out and feed the horses in the morning and that sort of thing. So I take care of that house. Well, I take care, I just maintain it. I’m not allowed to actually touch anything. because that’s not my job. have museum people for that. Hence why the job is so easy. I just have to do a lot of writing. This needs help, this needs help, this needs help. And then someone comes in and does it all. ⁓ yeah, but it’s, you want to talk about ⁓ stress relief working in a beautiful park and I can go down and feed the ducks and feed the squirrels and sit by the lake on my break. So I won the jackpot there.

Michael Eger: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, you’re not alone. I have pivoted multiple times for mental health. And one of the reasons I podcast is even if I have a less than perfect job, I have an outlet to talk to people like you. And these conversations make me happy. More importantly, I hope it makes other people happy. So, ⁓

Jay: One of the reasons I podcast is even if I have a less than perfect job, I have an outlet to talk to people like you. And these conversations make me happy. More importantly, I hope it makes other people happy. So. ⁓

Michael Eger: ⁓ Let’s get segue into your plug because I think you offer a cool service, basically cameo for podcasters. And you’ve been doing this for how long?

Jay: Let’s get segue into your plug. Okay. I think you offer a cool service, basically cameo for podcasters. you’ve been doing this for how long? So we ⁓ just to go back to how it started really quick, because mental health actually touches with this big time is so during the first wave of the pandemic. Obviously all of us were, it was a different world. No one knew how to navigate what you were doing. So I was sitting in my garage listening to podcasts, Joe Rogan and know, wrestling podcasts and things of that nature. I’ve always been a podcast fan. ⁓ But at that time, you know, there was nothing to do. You were trapped inside your house. So I was sitting in my garage with the door open, you know, the sun was shining and I was enjoying adult beverages, you know, maybe too many because that’s nothing else to do. And my wife came out and just said like enough is enough. You have to figure out some sort of outlet to change up what you’re doing. It’s about the drinking and you know, do something productive. And then I started my own podcast. I was like, you know what? That’s what I’m to do. So ⁓ I set everything up, figured out how to do it. And within three months ⁓ I had it up and going. It was a comedy podcast. I did about 13 episodes and ⁓ an ad read was presented to me. A bigger company. that I’ve heard on other other shows and they wanted to, ⁓ you know, promote on my show. But when I showed them my downloads, which they requested, they said, no, they said, no, not enough downloads. This is not going to work when you get your downloads up. Come find us. We’ll talk again. Being a novice podcaster, I just said, like, how do I get my downloads up? I don’t like I wasn’t doing podcasting for money. It was an outlet for me. And I was having mental health issues because I was in between careers at that time. So There was a whole bunch of stuff going on. And ⁓ the people said the best way we, the best advice we can give you is to get a big name for your show, some big names and then promote it on social media. Like I’m having a guest of, you know, a baseball player, a football player, you know, a singer or whatever. So I started doing that, reaching on social media, Instagramming DMs, Twitter DMs, Facebook DMs. Nobody was responding to me and the ones who were were declining. Until I finally ran into an ex-professional wrestler who said he would do my show for $75. But I had to PayPal him. Next day he would do the interview. Sure, figured out how to do the PayPal situation because I’m in Canada so we don’t use PayPal very much over here. PayPal him the money. He got the money. The next day he didn’t show up for the interview. Reach out to him on social media a couple times. Wouldn’t respond to my DMs. Wouldn’t respond to my messages. Basically, he just took my money and ran. While I was trying to figure all this stuff out, the wheels started to turn. I knew how successful Cameo was and I saw the writing on the wall and that’s why I created Podstars was ⁓ I knew that at some point people were sick and tired of chasing celebrities down. Why not just have them on a website where they could be booked with a click of a button? And what I’ve done is I’ve made every genre available to the podcast community. So almost no matter what your podcast is about, I have somebody on the website that would be able to talk to you and provide that big name for your downloads and such. So we’ve been open for three years. Actually, March was the third year this last March that just passed. So it’s been three years and it’s been very expensive, ⁓ very ⁓ time consuming. I actually just got back from Las Vegas this morning ⁓ trying to get more talent for the website. So I went to a wrestling convention because WrestleMania was in Vegas. So I was just in Vegas. ⁓ So I’m tired, but you know, I’m trying to present as many ⁓ options to the podcast community as possible. I was actually looking in your sci-fi and comedy sections. Those need to be populated more because that those are the people I would hire. Comedians are very, very difficult to get a hold of because they do so much traveling that the last thing they want to do is sit in a hotel room for 30, 45 minutes and do interviews unless they’re

Michael Eger: Yeah, so I was actually looking in your sci fi and comedy section. We got those need to be populated more because that’s those are the people I will hire.

Jay: Joe Rogan or Shannon Sharp or Theo Vaughn. So it’s really hard to nail down some comedians. We just nailed down. His name is ⁓ Rich and he’s huge on TikTok. He dresses up and does dancing at all kinds of weird places and ⁓ he’s a comedian on a cruise ship. So if you’re looking for comedians, I do have a few that I can throw your way. Okay, sounds good. ⁓ Anyway, sounds like an excellent thing. So where did we

Michael Eger: Okay, sounds good. ⁓ Anyway, it sounds like an excellent thing. So where do we steer people?

Jay: So the website is podstars.net. ⁓ We’re the only people in the world doing this. We have over 300 celebrities on the site. Like I said, almost regardless of what your podcast is about, there’s got to be somebody there that can check a box. And one thing I realized very early in this journey, talking to podcasters before we even launched the website, was one of the main problems that podcasters were finding was they’re running out of content because

Michael Eger: Mm-hmm.

Jay: they’re labeling themself as a podcast about ⁓ doors and windows or chefs ⁓ or culinary. But at some point you run out of content that people want to hear because you keep recycling a lot of the same things because there’s only so far you can take it. So if you had a culinary podcast about food, you know, have someone on who wrote a book about keto and all that stuff. Like we have people like that on our website who can help you get those. ⁓ Enlighten your show, basically, inject some new juice into your show and get your listeners more interested in what you bring to the table.

Michael Eger: Okay, well thank you for coming on and with great gratitude and love. Thank you for being part of my network.

Jay: Well, thank you for coming on and with great gratitude and love. Thank you for being part of my network. Absolutely. Anytime. was great. Thank you.