Testaments to Midlife Excitement
New Santa Barbara Podcast Celebrates
Middle-Agers’ Passions and Adventures
By Callie Fausey | August 22, 2024
Read the rest of our 2024 Active Aging cover story here.
Mike joined a men’s cooking club and found new skills and new friends in the kitchen. Lori went back to school and started a therapy practice. Sharon took up Pilates and went from “weak AF” to strong as heck. And Andrew turned a childhood hobby of collecting toy soldiers into a grown-up passion.
These are just a few stories of people in their midlife who have embarked on new journeys, proving that you can, in fact, teach a middle-aged dog new tricks. Each of them, all in their forties, fifties, and sixties, were recently featured on a Santa Barbara–based husband-and-wife team’s new podcast, The Midlife Happiness Project.
“From starting rock bands to coaching mountain biking, our guests’ stories are a testament to the exciting possibilities that midlife can bring,” said Scott Reynolds, 55, who started the podcast with his wife, Sarah, 52.
The couple was inspired by their newfound freedom after moving to Santa Barbara from the Bay Area two years ago, following their kids’ departure to college. Sarah described themselves as an adventurous couple who like to travel and try new things. She said they met like-minded people in town who still want to seek excitement in their lives, but many are uncertain where to start.
“Our intention behind this podcast is to inspire people to pursue their own adventures,” she said. “We do it in a way that is not prescriptive; we have no interest in telling people what to do. All we are doing is providing a platform for really interesting people who are thinking outside the box.”
In each weekly episode, Sarah interviews a guest — the majority of whom are part of Santa Barbara’s growing pre-retirement and retirement communities — and discusses an activity or pursuit that brings them joy and fulfillment.
One recent episode highlights Charlie, a husband, father of three, and tech company CEO, who rediscovered his passion for karate after 25 years away from a dojo. In the interview, Charlie recounts how his dormant training kicked in during a scary confrontation on a secluded Santa Barbara beach. The incident reignited his love for the age-old martial art.
“It was a path I was supposed to be on, and I took a 25-year detour, and that’s okay,” he tells Sarah. “And now, coming back to karate, I feel like I’m back on the path.”
In the three months since they launched the podcast, the Reynoldses have racked up thousands of listens and views and “continue to grow week after week,” Scott said. “The takeaway is that when people listen to or watch our podcast, they think, ‘If these people can do that, what is standing in the way of me pursuing my own personal passion?’ ”
The podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.
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