What happens when a creative spirit grows up surrounded by competition, comparison, and expectations—yet refuses to follow the status quo? In this deeply reflective episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with accomplished author, educator, and resilience advocate Sharon Neiss Arbess for an honest conversation about creativity, perseverance, and the long road to trusting your own voice. Sharon shares her journey growing up in Montreal within a high-pressure, achievement-driven environment—where excelling academically and athletically was the norm, and creativity often lived on the margins. From feeling like she never quite “measured up,” to discovering that not fitting in became her greatest strength, Sharon reveals how early experiences with competition, rejection, and self-doubt quietly shaped her resilience as a writer.

Together, Rich and Sharon explore:

• Why rejection becomes easier when you grow up learning how to get back up

• How creativity often develops outside traditional education systems

• The courage it takes to release your first book after years of self-doubt

• Why comparison is the thief of joy—especially for artists and writers

• The hidden resilience behind “failed” projects and long creative timelines

Sharon opens up about her books—including Me and My So-Called Friends, Get Up, and The Most Amazing Department Store—and how her storytelling centers emotional honesty, youth resilience, and navigating life’s uncomfortable moments with compassion. She also shares how her teacher’s manual Brave the Waves was developed to help middle-school students, parents, and educators build emotional awareness, resilience, and open dialogue around difficult topics. This episode is a powerful reminder that:

~Creativity doesn’t follow a straight line.

~Success doesn’t arrive on a perfect schedule.

~And resilience is built through showing up—again and again—even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

If you’re an artist, writer, educator, or creative who has ever questioned your path, struggled with comparison, or wondered if your voice truly matters—this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.

Connect with Sharon: https://sharonneissarbess.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonneissarbess

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-neiss-arbess-99315921

FB: https://www.facebook.com/SharonNeissArbessWriter

#SharonNeissArbess #ArtistRecoveryPodcast #CreativeResilience #WritingThroughRejection #AuthorMentalHealth #CreativityAndComparison #WomenAuthorsPodcast #YouthResilience #EmotionalWellbeing #CreativeVoice #PersistenceInArt #CreativeCourage #ArtistMindset #ResilienceThroughFailure #richwrightartist #richwrightunlimited #richwrightunltd #artist #creativeidentity #richwrightart

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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In this deeply human episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with Steve Boehm, aka Steve Sxaks—a multi-hyphenate creator whose journey spans punk rock stages, underground hip-hop culture, military service, homelessness, education, and authorship. This is not a highlight reel conversation. It’s a grounded, honest exploration of how identity is forged through adversity, failure, and relentless self-inquiry.
From growing up drawn to attention and performance, to being shaped by punk ethics and DIY culture, Steve opens up about what it means to learn everything the hard way. No shortcuts. No safety net. Just lived experience as the teacher.
As a former touring punk musician turned respected audio engineer, Steve is the co-founder of Marston House Recording, one of Philadelphia’s most influential studios. He is also the creator of Marston House Ciphers, a platform dedicated to preserving authentic underground hip-hop voices. But behind those accomplishments lies a quieter truth—periods of instability, couch surfing, shelters, and rebuilding from the ground up while becoming a husband, father, and mentor.
This episode dives into:
• Growing up between chaos and creativity
• Punk rock as philosophy, not fashion
• Learning through failure—and why Steve lets his students fail on purpose
• Integrity in music, education, and collaboration
• Teaching young artists how to earn trust, not just credits
• Navigating homelessness, grief, and responsibility
• Why creativity often chooses us before we’re ready

Steve also reflects on his role as an educator and nonprofit leader, sharing how his own unteachable tendencies shaped the way he mentors emerging creatives today. His approach is simple but radical: experience it, own it, fix it, and never repeat it.
Beyond music, Steve is also a published author. His debut novel, Invasion of the Punkcrackers Who Drink Blood, blends rebellion, horror, and coming-of-age themes—mirroring the same raw energy that defines his life and work.
This conversation isn’t about success in the traditional sense. It’s about integrity, resilience, and what it takes to stay creative when life keeps testing you.

Connect with Steve Sxaks:
https://letsgoguy.com
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/steve_sxaks
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@stevesxaks⁩

#SteveSxaksInterview, #ArtistRecoveryPodcast, #PunkRockPhilosophy, #UndergroundHipHopCulture, #MarstonHouseRecording, #MusicIndustryIntegrity, #CreativeResilience, #RebuildingThroughArt, #HomelessnessAndCreativity, #PunkRockMindset, #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited #podmatchguest #AudioEngineerJourney, #TeachingThroughFailure, #veteran #militarylife #militarymentalhealth #MusicEducationMentorship, #DIYMusicCulture, #ArtistIdentityRecovery, #CreativeSurvivalStories, #VeteranArtist, #IndependentMusicPodcast, #AuthenticStorytelling ⁨@PodMatch_com⁩

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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In this deeply human and expansive conversation, Rich Wright sits down with Alexandra Beller—award-winning choreographer, educator, and former principal dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company—to explore what it truly means to live, create, and lead from the body when the world keeps asking you to conform.
Alexandra’s story is not one of neat triumph or easy confidence. It’s a story of contradiction—of being celebrated and unseen, powerful and insecure, grounded and exposed—all at the same time. From growing up as a highly sensitive, imaginative only child in New York, to navigating elite dance institutions that didn’t know how to see her, Alexandra shares what it took to stay connected to her embodied truth when external validation failed.

This episode dives into:
~What it means to belong to your body before the world approves of it
~How artistic feedback can create lifelong wounds—and how to survive them
~The pressure placed on artists to become symbols, role models, or “exceptions”
~Why confidence is often a projection—and contradiction is the real source of power
~Neurodivergence, intuition, and pattern recognition as creative intelligence
~Letting go of external legitimacy (institutions, titles, citations) to reclaim authorship
~The difference between success that looks impressive and work that feels true
~How dance, grief, joy, shame, and magic can all coexist in one body

Alexandra speaks candidly about imposter syndrome, body politics in dance, and the quiet violence of being forced into narratives that erase complexity. She challenges the idea that healing, success, or confidence must be linear—and offers a more embodied, compassionate way of understanding creative resilience.

This is a conversation for:
Artists who’ve been told they “don’t fit”
Highly sensitive creatives navigating systems not built for them
Dancers, writers, educators, and performers questioning external validation

Connect with Alexandra:
https://www.alexandrabellerdances.org
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrabellerdances
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-beller-0a56a57
FB: https://www.facebook.com/alexandrabellerdances

#AlexandraBellerInterview, #ArtistRecoveryPodcast, #BodyImageInDance, #ImposterSyndromeArtists, #HighlySensitiveCreatives, #NeurodivergentArtists, #EmbodiedIntelligence, #SomaticCreativity, #CreativeResilience, #ArtisticIdentity, #BreakingTheMoldInArt, #DanceIndustryPressure, #BodyPoliticsInDance, #ArtistsAndShame, #ConfidenceMyth, #CreativeAuthenticity, #EmotionalTruthInArt, #FeedbackTraumaArtists, #WomenChoreographers, #HealingThroughMovement, #ContradictionInCreativity, #IntuitiveIntelligence, #ArtistsMentalHealth, #NonconformingBodies, #CreativeBelonging, #ResilienceInTheArts, #ArtisticVulnerability, #RejectionAndCreativity, #RedefiningSuccessInArt #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited #podmatchguest @PodMatch_com ​

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

Follow us here: https://www.theartistrecovery.com
Join the Community: https://www,artrecroom.com

Listen Weekly at: https://www.artistrecoverypodcast.com

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