Mitch Leschinski, Voice Actor, Podcaster, Artist

Mitch 0:00

My petals are finally showing.

Robb 0:10

Welcome to another episode of Chewing the Fat. I'm your host, Big Robb. Thank you so much for tuning in, downloading the podcast. To the folks that have liked and shared episodes, I really do appreciate that. And to the folks that have bought me a coffee at ChewingtheFatBR.com, thank you so much for helping to support this podcast so that we can tell those beautiful, messy human stories. Right now, another great story coming in from outside of Detroit. Please welcome Mitch Leschinski. Mitch, how are you doing, buddy?

Mitch 0:38

I'm doing great today.

Robb 0:40

That's awesome. I'm good, man. It's so good to see you. Mitch is a voice actor, and uh we've met uh I think we were on some common projects uh that we've worked on together uh in the uh shoestring TV universe.

Mitch 0:56

Yes, indeed.

Robb 0:58

And then you're also a podcaster. You have uh podcast about your VO journey, correct?

Mitch 1:05

Yes, about mine and Mike Pelletier's VO journey as well as some other folks' journey, uh VO or not. It's starting to expand a lot. Turns out you can only know so many voice actors, and you can only talk about yourself so long that it gets a little boring to me, really.

Robb 1:25

That's a great way to set up your episode today. Thank you so much.

Mitch 1:31

Well, luckily this expands beyond voiceover. I think everyone's kind of heard it if they've listened to my last episode.

Robb 1:40

But Mitch, you're you're outside of uh Detroit. Is that home base for you? Born and raised that area?

Mitch 1:46

Yes. Born and raised in or around Detroit. Moved to South Carolina for a year. Um couldn't hack it. No, it it it's definitely not um I I don't think the Bible belt's really my jam. Um The South is pretty cool, a little hot.

Robb 2:06

Yeah.

Mitch 2:06

Uh but also like all my friends and family are up here, and the girl uh who's now my wife I was dating, she was up here, so it's like time to get back home.

Robb 2:15

That's awesome. Well, I mean, so so what brought you to South Carolina?

Mitch 2:20

Uh my buddy moved down there, and he's like, if your girlfriend breaks up with you, you're coming to live with me. I'm like, sure, that's not gonna happen. Uh it happened. And uh so I took him up on it. It was a fun little adventure.

Robb 2:36

Oh. Yeah. Well, it's a good friend to offer you a place of rest, but it's such a hard time for your, you know, a lot of time for, you know, your mental and emotional state when you go through a breakup and stuff like that.

Mitch 2:49

So Yeah, it was especially tough. Like to then isolate after breaking up with my seemingly my person was you know, uh he worked opposite schedule, so I didn't really see him either, so I was just kind of sitting by myself. It was odd. Odd time.

Robb 3:07

Well, we'll we'll we'll get more into that, I'm sure then. Uh but for you growing up in, you know, in or around Detroit as a child, were you always interested in uh, you know, performing? Were you into acting? Would you just sit at Saturday morning cartoons and go, I want to do that, or what?

Mitch 3:29

I think it was like I started to notice that the best way as an only child I could get the attention of adults was to act goofy, do weird stuff, mm-hmm, impressions. Eventually it was like Jim Carrey impressions were my jam. Um, some k adults are like, you're this kid's weird. But other times you get like really good laughs by doing, you know, pretty good the mask impression. Okay. But um Yeah. And then like, you know, um after school stuff, they would just have like costumes. So you just put on costumes, dresses, act like whatever however you like. Uh and then I got put in like a little play in elementary school, and this is that was a blast. And then I landed in high school not knowing what the heck's going on. And kind of like without friends. And I got conned into going to an audition with a friend. He didn't show up. Whoa. But but everybody else welcomed me.

Robb 4:29

Yeah.

Mitch 4:29

Like immediately. Why is this kid sitting sitting by himself? And I found that community everywhere since. Yeah. You know, the artistic community is generally pretty welcoming. Yeah. Especially if you're not, you know, buying for their s spot.

Robb 4:47

Well, yeah. Yeah.

Mitch 4:48

Yeah. Yeah.

Robb 4:49

Yeah. I mean, yeah, and everywhere in and everywhere, every group there's going to be somebody that looks at someone else's competition per se. But yeah, I would agree. Um the arts community um for the most part is is very welcoming, very like let's let's bring you in to the fold type of stuff. Um that that's great. Uh were you so is that how you kind of you're in high school, don't know a direction. Did you say, like, hey, this this might be something I want to do? Or did you like, nope, I'm joining the military or whatever?

Mitch 5:27

I thought um when I was in high school plays, I'm like, this is going to turn into an on-screen acting. You know, I'm gonna go to Wayne State here in the area, and I'm gonna learn about acting, and I'm gonna do this and that. And then um I kind of heard behind the scenes that my director thought I was like kind of a difficult cast. Oh, wow. So I was so unpredictable. And um I don't know if that's true. I never asked her. And now she's passed away. I can't ask her if that actually happened. But it doesn't really matter. It was just me getting in my own way, I think. And when when you get a little older, you're like, I need to just have a job and get money. Like, I need to go get the money. Right. Um and once you have the m you know, once you found something sort of stable, maybe you can have a stable girlfriend or whatever the heck. You know, the rules that you think you have. Right. Right. But um voiceover came later and was more of like a oh, I can do this. And then like immediate, like, I can do this. Holy crap. So I started buying up gear and stuff so I wouldn't quit. Call it my anchor.

Robb 6:37

Yeah, you're your financial investment. It's like, you know, I paid this money, so I might as well use it.

Mitch 6:43

Yeah. It's easier for me to like be financially invested and not walk away from something. So uh yeah, here I am. Um I don't remember how many six years later from starting training. Um I'm still blown away that I'm cracking at it. You know?

Robb 7:03

Yeah. No, I love that. I love that. Um so when you did like you're talking about trying to find a job and stuff, you know, there's there's always if you had said at that time, no, I'm gonna I'm gonna be an actor, I'm gonna be that on-screen however, you know. It is one of the few careers that people want to pursue that then other people are like, well, how's that acting thing going? You know, you know, nobody says, well, how's that doctor thing going for you? What's your real job? You know, what are you what are you doing to pay the bills? But when you ever want to do something artistic, it's always like it's a hobby and not a true possibility of a career. And I have never understood that. It's just as difficult as as anything else. If not more so because of that kind of that stigma around like, oh, this isn't a real thing.

Mitch 8:01

Did you have that same thing happen? Oh yeah. Absolutely.

Robb 8:04

Absolutely.

Mitch 8:05

How early did it start for you?

Robb 8:07

Um Yeah, I mean for me, I kind of did the, you know, the you know, did the get a job, but I did my I'm my first job was in radio. I worked in radio and television for 30 years because I made the promise to myself is like I would not have a job that I didn't enjoy. So I didn't I never worked any fast food restaurants, I never did anything. I mean, I there were times I had like four or five jobs at a time. Whoa. But it was, you know, I worked at a radio station, I worked at a production house, I worked, you know, as a as a uh uh audio engineer for bands. I worked, you know what I mean? So it was stuff I enjoyed. I was around music, I was around entertainment, I was around creative people. Um, but it was a lot of it was stitched. It was stitching, you know, it was stitching enough money together to try and pay the bills, you know, for myself and my kids and my family and stuff like that. But um, but yeah, that was the that was the one promise I made to myself. I wasn't gonna do a job that I did not enjoy, partly because of my ADD, and I will give it up real quick. You know what I mean? So Yeah. So yeah.

Mitch 9:25

Um I've always said I've had the my foot out the door of every job I've ever had until now.

Robb 9:31

Yeah. And you know, it there's some freedom in that, though, if you're like because I have a friend who's an a who's an on-screen actor. Um uh shout out Jake Jay Stark. He's uh he's in Atlanta, he's making a go of it. And every side gig that he gets. The side gigs are the the nine to five jobs, you know, the the whatever. And he tells them, like, I'm gonna let you know if I have to have an audition, it's gonna take priority over whatever else that you've got coming here, just so you know. You know, and then some people are like, well, we can't do that. It's like this is my career, this is what I want to do, and if I have the opportunity to do that, it is gonna win every time. And that's a hard mindset to come to, though. You know what I mean?

Mitch 10:21

You have to give up paid work to audition.

Robb 10:24

Yeah. But that's the thing, though. Again, as a creative industry, you have to make- I think you have to make that commitment to it. Uh or else you will absolutely fail. If you treat it like a hobby, you'll have fun every so often, but then it is going to be more unfun because you can't weather the downtimes when the checks aren't coming in. When you're doing the auditions and you're getting shortlisted, but you're not getting booked. You know?

Mitch 10:53

Absolutely. Yeah, I I have a similar job right now that um pays the bills, but they understand that if I call off it's because I I have a job or I have something. Or if I come in late, you know, I'm gonna tell them, of course, but they're so flexible with me. It's like everything every actor could ever want from a job like um it will pivot. Maybe I work this day and I don't work this day. And they ask me, like, when are you working? And it's so nice. And it's at a greenhouse.

Robb 11:23

Oh wow.

Mitch 11:23

So um it's just I love plants and nature and stuff. So I get to win on both sides. And I get to work a physical job and I get to chill in my booth.

Robb 11:33

So that's awesome.

Mitch 11:35

Yeah. I got lucky.

Robb 11:36

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah. No, I I I love that for you, man. Um you work you you working at a greenhouse. Were you always into like uh botany and things of such like that in school and all?

Mitch 11:47

Aaron Ross Powell That's what I actually went to college for was horticulture. Wow. Um and then the more I looked into it, even during college, I was like, you're not gonna make a lot of money at that. Like no matter what unless you own your own landscaping business and work like 70-hour, 80-hour work weeks, you're probably not gonna do much. And I was like, oh no. I've gone down the wrong path. So yeah. I mean, granted, you know, I'm not making 80K right now either.

Robb 12:16

Aaron Ross Powell Right. But like you said, it's it's giving you that work-life balance to allow you to have something that you can count on that's coming in, but still allow you to pursue your your career of being an actor.

Mitch 12:33

Aaron Powell Yeah. And I was just telling um somebody to work with, he this booth is a reprieve from the hot sun. And the like uh my body, almost 40, is like, dude, chill. Chill with the greenhouse, like all the labor. Um so this is a reprieve from that. And then I go there and it's a reprieve from like standing alone and like um, you know, putting a lot of pressure on myself to uh land jobs and things like that, which I try not to do. I try to have just fun and do the work, you know, put the work in, but it's still, you know, this is a career. It's not just fun.

Robb 13:11

Yeah.

Mitch 13:12

Yeah like you said.

Robb 13:13

Yeah, it's it's uh definitely something that you and you have to worry. And like you said, you you started six years ago with your training. That's part of it too, is getting good coaching. Uh, you know, we talked before we started recording about you know going to VO Atlanta, doing your networking, doing doing your marketing, do it, you know, you become the CEO of your own company. And that for me has been the hardest part. That the the acting is is the is the fun, is the you know, the script interpretation, the that type of stuff. But all of the business side of it for me is the is the hard part. You know.

Mitch 13:52

It's gnarly. Yeah. It's yeah. You know, they tell you be on the lookout, you know, when you get in. Um you're not just gonna be an actor. Like it'll be worth it's worth it. It is worth it, but it's also like Jesus. Yeah.

Robb 14:07

Which when you're like staring down, it's like, all right, now I have to incorporate somehow because really, you know, it it's like do I do I LLC, do I S Corp? Do what do I what do I do? When do I do it? How do you know what I mean? And luckily this industry, at least the the the groups and the circles that I think that are common to us that we run in are very giving of that information, like, hey, this is kind of once you start having this consistently, this is when you need to do this. Or you know what? Even before this happens, you need to have this in line or whatever, you know, and you need to start looking around these corners before they before you get to them.

Mitch 14:45

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah. And they've all been through it. So why not actually take some of that advice especially like people who are just ahead of you. Like it's here's what I'm seeing, you know, just beyond the ridge there. Uh you actually get like a bird's eye view of what's coming immediately. Aaron Ross Powell Because you talk to a guy who's been in the business 30 years, like the way he got in, it's definitely he or she got in. Definitely not the same way I'm doing it. Um there's more avenues now.

Robb 15:18

Yeah. Yeah. And you know, some people look at that as maybe more there's more competition. It's like, okay, well, again, I don't I personally don't try to compare my journey to anybody else's. But you know, we're human sometimes. You're like, ah. You know, I applied to that agency and I I got the rejection letter and that guy got signed. Why? And it's like, you know, you don't you gotta you gotta fight that because you don't know why. You don't know what that reason is.

Mitch 15:46

And I have to like if I A, if I get the rejection letter, yes, I feel that. And then if I get it, but someone I know is super talented doesn't, I'm like, what am I doing here? Like now what? Yeah. Yeah. My really talented friend get in and get didn't get in here. What's going on? So it's interesting.

Robb 16:07

Aaron Powell But I mean, you know, but that's again part of the community, though, that I think is still um supportive, supportive of you for getting in, even though they didn't get in, you know, like I support you, you got this, I didn't get this, or or when you share auditions with people, like, hey, there's this audition, you should audition. It's like if I don't I'm auditioning too, and if I don't get it, I hope you get it, that type of vibe. You know what I mean?

Mitch 16:30

Yeah, because there's room for everybody, and you know I don't know anyone who sounds exactly like me or reads copy exactly the way I do. So if they hear me, they like me. If they I mean there are some times where like I'm the only choice. It happened recently, and I'm like, ooh, I kind of hope it stays that I'm the only choice. Yeah, it makes it easy. Easy job, right? Yeah. Um but yeah. Also helping out's good too.

Robb 16:59

Yeah, for sure. For sure. Well, and that's the thing, too, is I think that prove proves another aspect when you can, you know, help that client solve a problem. Be like, hey, here I'm an option, but also if you want a different type of vibe, here's somebody else that might be an option as well. Exactly. You know? And then that pays off down the road through your friend, but also through whoever that client might have been. They're like, hey, we appreciate you doing this, blah, blah, blah. Do you know anybody that knows blah, blah, blah, speaks Cantonese fluent or something like that. And then you reach out to your network and be like, hey, these people you know. Yeah. Yeah.

Mitch 17:35

It's it's abs and flows and give and take, and it's cool being a a nice guy, too, just in general. It just feels better to not be a prick about things.

Robb 17:47

100%. 100%. I love that. I love that. Um so when you when you s say you went to college and you went for horticulture, what you know, what was that reason that that's what you picked that that particular um subject major question?

Mitch 18:09

I think it was the same thing that happened with voiceover. At the time, someone's like, You like nature, right? Like, I do, I do. You like flowers? Like, I do. Well, you could get a uh, you know, a degree in horticulture. And at the time, I still hardly even know what that means, but uh I was like, okay, how? And then s m uh a friend of the family led me to a degree, a local degree I could get. I didn't have to leave the state or anything. I was like, heck yeah, let's go. Like uh I've already got some ideas um about what I'm gonna do with that. And those got dashed pretty quick. When a for me, when an idea gets dashed, it means that wasn't supposed to be the idea. That wasn't the that wasn't what I was gonna be doing anyway.

Robb 19:03

Yeah.

Mitch 19:04

If you can crash my dreams that quick.

Robb 19:07

Yeah. Now have you found any crossover, but any advantage maybe from because sometimes we do, you know, internal e-learning or industrial and just knowing terminology, maybe knowing a little uh you know, etymology as far as you know, some Latin derivatives on how to actually present type of stuff in any of your work.

Mitch 19:32

Aaron Ross Powell If I wish, yeah. I haven't found any. Latin names I think I'd be pretty solid at, or presenting knowledge about plants. I just I haven't quite found I don't know if plant people are paying for that sort of thing anyway. But uh yeah.

Robb 19:49

Well, but you know, that's the thing, is like you you work at a greenhouse. A lot of places like that have short form content on Instagram or something like that. And hey, as opposed to AI slopping out, you know, uh a 15-second reel, let me let me actually be a human and do some of this for you, and not necessarily for just the one that you work for, but any greenhouse, anywhere or you know I I think um, especially now that I work at this one, I would want to work, you know, be their voice.

Mitch 20:22

But uh the margins for a greenhouse, especially a mom and pop shop. I wonder if it would lend itself to being paid um, you know, fairly as a voice actor. But also like they're your mom and pop shop that I've known for 20 years. Like maybe I want to throw them a bone and this is just part of my hourly wage. I'm not entirely sure exactly how I feel about that. What do you think? I was just thinking about this. What do you think?

Robb 20:48

Well, I mean, I I would think uh they would be they would I I would think they would need to be separate. Be like, okay, hey, I'm your I'm your greenhouse guy, blah, blah, blah. But also be your voice. Seeing as I work for you, I'll give you the the friends and family rate because I'm also here, but I'm gonna invoice you for this. And you know, try to come be like, hey, this is what the G VAA rate card is. Because I I in I teach people about that rate card all the time when I'm talking to new clients, because they don't know. That's the thing, is they don't know. It's like I had a photography business. People don't know why photography costs so much. It's like you're just hitting a button. You're just talking.

Mitch 21:32

It's so you see all the photos your family took.

Robb 21:35

Yeah, it's so much more than that. Yeah. And so being able to educate, it's like, oh well, this is what if you want to you want to present yourself as something that's on par with a national whatever, this is what the rate would be. I'm giving you a break on that. I can even break it down as how much savings you're making with me over what it would have cost you to hire someone else. You know, and you make a package that way and say, hey, well let's make a you know, it's a almost almost like a um almost like you're doing uh imaging for a radio station. It's like, all right, I'm gonna do a a retainer. We've got a monthly retainer for you, it's gonna cost you this much. Yeah. You know, I'll do whatever you got coming up for this amount over the over the month, you know. It's you know, two pages for this amount, blah, blah, blah, whatever. Um but yeah, something like that.

Mitch 22:29

Aaron Ross Powell I like that. And I'll definitely bring it up because they're they just talked to me about it this year. Um I've never reached, no matter how much outreach I do, direct marketing, things like that, I don't often reach that point of the conversation. Like it's either a one-and-done or a we don't advertise. That's generally like the two lanes I fall into.

Robb 22:52

Yeah, I I I had that particular conversation with a a greenhouse in Florida, um, because uh along with the work that I do as Rob and character work and stuff like that. And I love comedy, I love character work. I also have uh the voice of Santa, which so I do a lot of holiday work as Santa, and they wanted Santa. And you know, so we got into that discussion and they were like, oh, well, that's a lot more than we've talked, and then break it down. They're like, oh, well, I didn't realize, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah you know, and they're like eyes open, they're like, oh, okay, well, I could see the value in that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Um and at that time, they were like, Yeah, we don't we don't have anywhere near the budget of that. And I was like, well, let's talk. Let's work it out. And so we worked something out, but it's uh, you know, and like I said, it's an educational thing. You just have to let people know this is what it is, but then also that you're you're willing to work on it, but you're not gonna lowball fiber your rates, you know, because that does bad for everybody.

Mitch 23:55

Yes, I agree.

Robb 23:57

You know?

Mitch 23:58

Yes. Yeah, it's it's I understand the want to do it, and I have friends who do great on that site, you know, lower wages, um, still fighting against AI, things like that, um, made a living off of it, but it does seem like a quantity game. And if you can't get that quantity, it's definitely not worth it. And messing with regular rates for sure.

Robb 24:23

Yeah. Yeah. It's a it's a as it's as I've heard it, the phrase coined, it's a race to the bottom. Yeah. You know, I don't want to race to the bottom. I want to I want to be the alternative to that. You know what I mean? And nothing against folks that are that are working and they're doing that and they're able to now charge you know, industry standard rates and things like that. Um but you're like, yeah, I'll do it for five bucks, blah, blah, blah. You know, it's like, okay, that does no good to anybody. And a lot of times the pot the quality of product you get as the as the person that's wanting to do the advertising doesn't match what you're wanting, what the message you want to send either. Um so yeah, I think being able to be the be the human quality option is always gonna be the thing that allows you to keep us and sustain a career. Uh especially in voiceover and now. Because there's so many people that are tired of hearing AI and hearing the same voice on everything. So you want to stand out, let me be your brand voice.

Mitch 25:34

Yeah. You know, uh I'm an odd duck sometimes, so I think if if AI tried to uh tried to emulate me, it'd it'd sound a little strange. I don't know. No, I don't quite know.

Robb 25:47

Yeah, I think I think it all sounds strange because it just doesn't there's no soul in it. Yeah. You know, you just can't replicate the the human condition.

Mitch 25:58

Yeah. I agree. I've heard some really on the edge, but um definitely still still not quite there.

Robb 26:10

Yeah. So in so in the work that you're doing now, though, do you have uh any favorite projects that are not under an NDA or anything like that that you can talk about that you really enjoy doing?

Mitch 26:22

What's so wild um is last year felt like the year of, ooh, I'm blossoming. Like my petals are finally showing. And um and then the everything's gonna come out this year. So uh there's a video game called Oceanhorn 3 that I did like so many voices for. Um I realize now that they also asked other people to do the same lines to see who got it the best, and then they plug them in wherever, which I find interesting and smart. Um But uh that came out like a week ago, and I get to share that with everybody, and you know, now I I'm playing it, I'm finding myself here and there, I'm talking, you know, I'm the main character's dad and stuff, and it's like this is this is a dream come true.

Robb 27:14

That's awesome.

Mitch 27:15

Yeah. And uh I don't think this is under an NDA, but I got to play a pubic hair. I'm not gonna tell you where yet. But this is a big thing.

Robb 27:23

Well, I would assume in the pubic region. Hopefully not in the you know, edge of a coke or something like that.

Mitch 27:31

But um it's an educational video for kids. Uh so um yeah, I'm I'm Harry Crotcher. And for whatever reason, that is the epitome of everything I want to do as a voice actor. Just that's awesome. Such an odd thing. Um and then shoestring TV, which you're a part of as well. Yeah. Can you attest to the how fun that is and like what a good group that is?

Robb 28:01

Oh god. It's so good. And and I've said it on several occasions. Jason, and you know, I had Jason on the podcast. Uh he was the last episode last season. Uh he is such a great writer, and but more so than than writing, his his world creation is just so good. He just he just crafts these worlds that are just amazing and so vibrant and and just uh just thrilling to be a part of and to be in and to act in and to play in. And of course, the the cast is just stacked with just some of the nicest, most talented people uh that I've just ever, ever had the pleasure to meet and work with.

Mitch 28:49

I'm glad you agree. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's so it's so great. And more people keep getting added on. I'm like, ooh, new like new friends. Yeah, yeah. Pretty great.

Robb 29:01

Yeah. Do you um do you have a favorite character that you've had from from the uh shoestring work that you've done?

Mitch 29:09

Ooh, yes, I do. Um the character's name is Omni, and it's so distortedly not me, uh, but the character is the other being that is pushing Herman the uh the serial killer. Whether he's alive or dead, this being is in his head talking him through, you know, essentially continuing to be a murderer and telling him that everything's gonna be okay. Right. And I don't know why I just love it's it gives me uh the way Jason described it was uh Frank from Donnie Darko. Yeah. If you've ever seen that movie. Yeah. I was like, I love that character. Yeah. So I I definitely put that on. And uh that that character to be gives me chills. So yeah.

Robb 30:06

Yeah. And it's so fun to play something that's so so out there, uh, you know, opposite when you're opposite of you, opposite of your nature, it kind of allows you to play in those dark recesses of your mind that you wouldn't necessarily, you know, as a decent upstanding citizen, be in uh any other time.

Mitch 30:27

Aaron Ross Powell I explore that area more than some, I think. In this in the sense that like looking at it. But uh I know there's a whole darkness section of this podcast, so I'm I'm very interested. Yeah.

Robb 30:42

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um so along with the projects you've got going on, do you have any like uh voiceover bucket list things that you haven't checked off yet?

Mitch 30:53

Pubic hair obviously was at the top of the list, but uh truly it kinda like I can't wait to show that to everybody. But um I'd like to be in a TV spot that like my mom would run across because she just heard me on the radio, and that felt like so gratifying. And you know, I did the video game thing, I could do that a thousand times. What a blast. Uh but if I could be like a series regular on a big adult animation, um like Big Mouth or something, or any anything coming up, uh man, what a that's that's the epitome of winning for me. Um just that type of humor is perfectly on point for you know I'd stand at the top of the mountain, I'd be like, this is everything, and then I'd roll down. Climb back up, I guess. I don't know. That's awesome. That's awesome. What's your thing? What's your I know you're a radio guy. You've been on the radio. People have heard your voice. You've been everywhere. Well, I'm sure.

Robb 32:02

Aaron Ross Powell Well about all that, but yeah, it's for me, I mean, the d the day-to-day right now is just to make sure that the fa my family's taken care of, you know, that have consistent work in whatever it is. Yes, there's stuff I I enjoy doing. I love I love doing character work, I love doing character voices. The Santa Claus thing is amazing. I'll actually I have a video game coming out that I'll be a Santa in.

Mitch 32:26

What?

Robb 32:27

Um, which is gonna be fun. And uh it's it's a it's a pre-apocalyptic game, okay, which is interesting. So but but it's like I'm the guy who plays Santa but lives the Santa lifestyle kind of year-round, you know what I mean? So it's just, you know, which is which is fun. Yeah, strange, but fun. You know what I mean? Uh and uh and you know, doing that, I would love to be on a Hallmark ornament. I love to do a toy voice on like a Hallmark ornament or something like that would be amazing.

Mitch 33:06

What a blast.

Robb 33:07

Um I got a few friends that have done that, and I'm like, how darry we need to talk. You know. Yeah. Um or uh or like uh an animatronic at Halloween or something like that. Yes.

Mitch 33:19

Those are so fun. Have you gotten those auditions?

Robb 33:21

I have.

Mitch 33:23

How fun.

Robb 33:24

Yeah. And so that's those are kind of like I would love to have those kind of things. But but truthfully, storytelling is is where I really love to be longer format, documentary. I'd love to do some documentary work, if it whether it be like a Nat Geo, uh, you know, an HGTV, uh something like that, or um, you know, in-show narration on something would be great, uh, that helps people tell their story, moves the narrat moves the narrative along in between those things. And that's the stuff that I've coached for and working towards. But those are things that also require you to you can't find those gigs often on your own. You've got to have some representation that can be like, okay, cool, here's here's this thing from TLC. Yeah, exactly. Someone else has to die. I don't want anybody to die, but maybe if you get sick, cool. Yeah, yeah.

Mitch 34:21

You're the same. Nothing terminal.

Robb 34:23

Yeah, nothing terminal, but yeah. So that's kind of on my on my VO bucket list. Uh and of course, you know, I as a as a singer and like a animation fan, I would love to originate a character that then other people do my voice of the character. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Mitch 34:42

Oh, that's the tippy top. I'm gonna truly that's the yeah. You're Peter Griffin, and then everyone else is like trying to be Peter Griffin.

Robb 34:50

Peter Griffin.

Mitch 34:50

Exactly.

Robb 34:51

It's like you know, I like Jim Cummings is amazing, you know, and his Winnie the Pooh is amazing, but he's he's still just replicating a previous Winnie the Pooh. I w I wanna I want to be that originator. And nothing against Jim's other original characters. No, I love his original work and things like that. Um, you know, but yeah, I would I would like to be that original character that people are like, oh, I'm gonna do the voice of Schmingy Brother, but you know, whatever it is, you know, in the street. Everyone knows Schmingy Brother. Right. You know. So yeah. So that that's kind of like on my on my on my dream board, on my vision board over here. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Mitch 35:32

Do you have an actual vision board?

Robb 35:34

Uh I do, yeah. Nice. Yeah. Just reminders as I'm here in the studio and little encouraging, you know, sayings and you know, surround yourself with that positivity.

Mitch 35:45

I don't have much in here. I kind of boring. Um I have two characters from the movie Whiplash staring at me. Uh because they mean a lot.

Robb 35:55

Uh not my tempo. Not my tempo. Yeah. Not my fucking top.

Mitch 35:59

Yeah. Pretty great movie. And then I have my grandfather's ring when he decided to be a chiropractor instead of um doing whatever else he was doing. Uh wow. He decided to live his dream, so my my aunt gave me his ring as a reminder of like keep going.

Robb 36:18

I love that. I love that view. Mitch, what's what's bringing you joy right now? Spring.

Mitch 36:27

Uh yeah. I don't know. Like I'm kind of out of the winter of funk, so it's everything. It's everything everywhere all at once. So being um like friends are reaching out again. They're like coming out of hibernation. And uh I'm like, oh thank goodness like we're still still friends. Uh um Civio community that keeps me like in voiceover. It's probably the last. They're the last door I'd have to walk through. They'd have to be like, okay, you can quit now. Um but uh that, yeah, spring getting ready to plant stuff is so exciting. Uh my wife um just took a whole year off to like set up our uh ceramics business. And this year she finally like is getting to use her kiln and start getting the business ready and stuff like that. So I'm excited to see her blossom and she's like kind of blowing up on uh some of her videos online are kind of blowing up already, so that's cool. Like she's awesome. It's like happening. Um I'm excited to see her grow as a as a business owner. Uh that's bringing me joy. Um I have a lot of gratitude. I could run through my whole gratitude list. I'm not going to because there's so much to be grateful for. I'm a lucky dude. That's what's bringing me joy. Including this.

Robb 38:00

So, Mitch, this is the second segment of the show. This is where we dive a little bit deeper into your uh mental health journey. I definitely believe the more we talk about it, the easier it gets for us all to realize that we are not alone in this and we are not alone in having these type of thoughts. So for you, how do you keep the darkness at bay?

Mitch 38:20

Well, it's evolved. Uh right. Um I don't know. I have such a long-winded answer for this. I don't really know if I should uh No, please.

Robb 38:30

Please.

Mitch 38:31

Um It seemed impossible at first. I have a form of OCD called unwanted intrusive thoughts, where if I get a fucked-up thought, it sticks for a long time. Um sometimes for years. I'll dwell on that thought, why did I think that thought, things like that. Um so that can get pretty dark, right? Uh and I found out that's like a thing, and then I read a book on how to like manage that, and it like just goes to show once you diagnose something that's bringing you down, you can learn how to like better it or get better at dealing with it. So uh yeah, that's one way. Research. Um actually looking at the problem. Yeah. Uh instead of thinking that it'll just go away. But so when I was a kid, um I started having like insane amounts of nightmares. Uh and that was like its own thing. So I learned to lucid dream. Um uh and that that was its own story, I guess, in itself. So that's one way. Um massive amounts of control over my own mind in the dreams in the dream world. Um and then not drinking. Being sober helps uh helps stay in like uh a place of gratitude. Um I didn't do any like 12-step program or anything, but you can kind of like step back and look at your life a little bit uh if you have a problem. Um like I did, I think. And uh yeah, gratitude is huge. Uh would you have to agree. Please agree with me, Rob.

Robb 40:53

Yeah, no, I no, absolutely. Um, I think especially especially when you have a superactive imagination, you know, you're able to you know b b b build these scenarios and worlds and things like that internally in your in your mind, good good or bad. Yeah. Being able to to focus on the good. To focus through gratitude. Um you know, not the woo-woo manifestation type necessarily, but there is science to back that up, you know, that that the more positive you can speak to yourself and the more positive you can think, the more you see the positive.

Mitch 41:40

Yeah. Being nice to I didn't realize like being nice to yourself was like something you had to practice or whatever. As a kid, you don't think about it. You just think you're you're doing kid stuff, and eventually someone calls you a name and you like think about that for a while. Why did they call me that? And then more people uh I started getting bullied pretty early on. So I had to like I think that helped me become a comedian in a sense, you know. Um at least have a sense of humor. But it also dragged other parts of me through the mud. Uh but uh yeah. Um maybe not everyone like reaches an age where they where they can go like, huh. The world isn't exactly what I thought. That's more nuanced and I can figure this out, and you know, bad stuff's gonna happen, but bad stuff happens to everybody and we can figure it out. I don't know. Being more open-minded. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe uh maybe I don't have a rant about it. I don't think I've fully grasped how I stay. I also, yeah, like I said, looking at it. I love staring into the darkness. I love darkness. It's fascinating to me. Um, the horror side of everything. Not true darkness. I don't really like I'm not a murder mystery guy. But um yeah. So I I think that helps too. Looking at monsters, like monster monsters and going, oh, this is fun. This is a fun place to play. This is uh um it's not real, so I get to play there.

Robb 43:25

Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I think that's the the key when you're you know, when you're looking in the darkness, whether you're sitting in the darkness, you're in a dark spot or whatever, is to not not be consumed by it. Analyze it, sure. Look at it. Yes. But uh, you know, e experience what's going on as an observer as opposed to a participant, maybe. You know what I mean? So that so that you're like, okay, cool, cool, yeah, I can I can look at this and be analytical about it and what's going on and and ask you know those uh you know the scientific method type questions to you know why, why, why, you know, four levels of why, that type of stuff. Yeah. Uh to help you move through it. Because, you know, everybody goes through a a a dark time. And sometimes you do have to sit in it. I went through a very dark time when my mother passed last year. It's it's hard. And it's hard to be have been, you know, on on a uh you know a a chart of unemployed, even though I was doing voiceover full time, but people look at you, they're like, oh you're unemployed. Right. My mother just died. I have all this other stuff going on as well. You know it can be it can be dark and it can feel heavy.

Mitch 44:49

But uh but uh I mean I'm sure having a support supportive partner and people around you.

Robb 45:01

Trevor Burrus Yeah and and and truthfully and I've said this before you know had I not lost that job I would not have had the time to spend with my mother before she passed to be her caregiver and to have that time with her with a regular job I would not have been able to do that because I could not have taken off enough time to take her to her doctor's and do the things that I needed to do. How long was that? I mean it was about a year and a half you know it was it was you know and there was times leading you know prior to that before I got let go so I mean it's been like a three year kind of journey but as you know things got moved along and things and things and things it you know it took more time and took more time.

Mitch 45:49

But yeah I also would not have had the VO community I would not have had friends that I was coming along and how work was going and you know training and this that and the other and but also how I was doing mentally with everything else that was going on and friends that you know I didn't know a year prior reaching out saying hey you know thinking about you know friends are praying sending positive thoughts sending love that type of stuff you know it's it's having a community definitely helps yeah especially in this community it feels that way uh you can meet someone pretty quick they're like I've been there and I think we're very very in touch with our emotions and understand that need to have that connection as and you see someone who's down even if you just met them it's like I see you I see you as like a big a big thing.

Robb 46:54

Yeah just yeah it's a very empathetic community because like I said we've all been there but also with the nature of what we do interpreting humanity for a performance I think makes us more sensitive to that.

Mitch 47:12

I agree and yeah when you're sitting like you're caretaking you're probably doing it with you and your mom and that's those are the two people there um and you kind of can't it's hard to reach out during those specific moments to have a hand on your shoulder per se. Um I I haven't had to do anything like that yet and it's terrifying to think about uh I don't know you said you had three years but um being prepared for that seems impossible mentally prepared you you'd you're never I don't I don't know that you can mentally totally prepare for that yeah you know and and that's a b a big one yeah like I have I I think I have either seasonal depression or just depression that comes in a specific wave I can mentally prepare for that. It comes to about October I'm like uh oh here it comes like time to like to be extra nice to myself or give myself some leeway for a while. I don't know how long that's gonna last but I pop out of it. But when it comes to death that's like oh I still don't know how to deal with death.

Robb 48:39

Yeah. But you know it it's I I definitely believe that when it's when it's grief you know when you're dealing with grief. You know death I can I understand death it is a part of life. It is I guess that's true it is grief as its own it is the you know the the proof that we're human. It is the proof that you know time as a commodity is important because it is an unrenewable commodity. You cannot make more time. What's these moments that we have together you'll never get them back. Sorry brother You know what I mean but it's so it's where you spend that time and what's important for you to spend that commodity that you cannot make up more of you know what I mean? Um so yeah I think it's it's death is something that you look at separately than grief. Grief is uh i is the thing that is the proof of love that you had for someone. And then you don't have that that outlet to connect that love to that person directly anymore. It's only connected through thoughts and feelings and memories. Yeah um you know and it it never goes away you're that gr that type of grief it never goes away. I saw something the other day they compared it to glitter you'll find a little piece of it. It's like when you've you know when you have that first loss and you know it's the the day that they you are covered in glitter. It is everywhere you can't turn you can't look but you know as time passes some of that glitter falls off some of that glitter falls off but it'd be three years later and then you've taken a pair of socks out and there's you see that glitter wedged into a pair of socks and it reminds you and you're back there again. But you're able to then think of the the sparkle as opposed and the shimmer as opposed to the weight of being covered in it. You know what I mean?

Mitch 50:51

Yeah that's a great analogy. I've never heard that one that's exactly right I I'm lucky in that I don't maybe want to feel I've felt the pain uh of a a lost loved one not a parent or anything yet but um uh I let myself feel that luckily but when you get those waves like you say the glitter you know you see the glitter you you you feel it too. I mean it's um have you gotten to a point where you can have a joyful memory that isn't always tinged with something sad or uh a smell a scent memory or a visual reminder. Okay.

Robb 51:38

Yeah of course like I said those are the th those are the things like I personally feel like I'm a very positive person. So like I don't hold on to negative memories very long. You know my wife will ask me you remember when that tire broke off that car? And I was like I kind of remember you know she's like that was a terrible day for me. I was like okay I'm sorry it was a terrible day. It was 15 years ago it's like I don't really remember that you know so I I guess there's a a blessing in my terrible memory but but yeah so so when I do feel those, you know, I get that scent memory or I see that place where I'm taken back somewhere and it has something to do with like my mother that it is now a yes a tear may fall I will get sad. But it's sadness because I can't pick up the phone and reconnect. And I can't you know what I mean?

Mitch 52:37

There's nowhere for it to go except to tell her you said I mean you are her right? Obviously you're a little piece of everyone you've ever come across but like a mother to son like you are exactly I luckily have um yeah I it's so awesome to see that you have that connection too I'd like to hear more about her maybe not on unrecording that's another thing she was a guest on the podcast.

Robb 53:21

I have a recording of her and talking to her and to hear her stories and her voice. I recommend I recommend anyone that has parents that they've not lost yet get your phone, get a voice recorder, go talk to them and say, just tell me about your favorite memory from high school tell me about you know what I mean or whatever and have that that you can keep heaven forbid that you need to listen to it again anytime soon but that you have it for when those that time comes I kind of wanted to get um my family to find you know physical photos or not but I'd like them to be physical or make them physical and write a story.

Mitch 54:04

Maybe a verbal story would be easier but I'd like to hear you know you go through old photos you have no idea that little kid holding the hose like or why that photo even mattered at the time what time of year it was what that person felt. I'm so interested because I can look at my photos and know exactly how I felt about either the person I took the photo of or that that feel of that day. I'd love to hear other people's versions of those old, you know, faded photos. But it's hard to get, you know, that's a little bit of work. So maybe if maybe if I just recorded them after asking them a question, that's a smart idea.

Robb 54:42

Aaron Ross Powell Yeah I think it's uh definite definite uh because it is one of those things once they're gone you don't have that opportunity anymore. You just don't you know to to have that memory or something or whatever. Yeah. You know I you know you if you got grandparents, talk to your grandparents. It's it's just something that you can have selfishly to have with you for those times of mem remembrance later on in in in life or whatever to really help you. And then you never know what what gems of wisdom or that they may have gone through the same type of thing that you have gone through as a child. You know maybe they had those um you know intrusive thoughts and things like that.

Mitch 55:33

Trevor Burrus No, my I just found out my mom was like what is wrong with this? Because uh it it comes with this sense that you need to tell somebody and she's like God I I don't know what the heck's going on here. Yeah so that was kind of funny. Yeah. My cousin has a similar uh issue so we get to talk about it. Yeah. But uh yeah. I I definitely only recently learned how to learn from other people's mistakes. I don't know what that I don't know what that issue is, but uh that's its own thing. So I definitely feel you there like hearing some of the trials of um my mom being a single mother or my dad being a stepdad. Like that had to be hard as hell. I only recently kind of looked back and went man that must have been tough. It was probably a little pain in the ass. But and then I found out my mom and aunt and uncle all got to hear their mother's voice for the first time in like 40 years because they found these recordings that they did before she passed away. Yeah. And I was like, oh my gosh, I can't imagine I can't imagine forgetting and then getting that back. Especially from back then you know the 80s. That's uh pretty intense. Yeah. Yeah but you have it.

Robb 57:02

Yeah but what but you know like I said what a what a great thing to have for you know whenever you might need something like that.

Mitch 57:12

Right. Never delete a voicemail that's what I've decided.

Robb 57:20

All right Mitch this is the third segment of the show it's time now for the Fast Five the Fast Five is time now for the Fast Five Fast Five. So I'm still working on a theme song for this segment I just I just really need to record something get a drum track or something. I don't know anyway Fast Five is powered by Pod Dex is an app created by my friend Travis Brown. If you go to chewingthefatbr.com slash poddex you can download the app from your favorite app store um but it's five random questions no wrong answers you ready to go don't be scared

Mitch 57:56

I'm not scared at all I was I'm glad you sang because I was like we're just we both almost cried so we're gonna get in a different mindset

Robb 58:09

number one who was your biggest mentor or teacher this year

Mitch 58:18

oh my gosh it's supposed to be fast what name came to mind uh Mike Regan Mike Regan he's uh another a fellow voice actor I don't get to talk to as much lately but um he's a prolific good dude uh yeah just and helpful yeah helpful to to the community

Robb 58:46

that's awesome that's awesome all right question number two what gives you the creeps

Mitch 58:59

mustaches really like just just mustaches no beard just just a mustache it's a particular type there's there's a yeah mustaches on older dudes with those big you know essentially the epitome of the creeper back in the day like the uh little pencil thin mustache type thing like I think it's a normal mustache you know but back in the day the guys would have these really big um you know uh Dahmer son uh regular glasses and they'd have a mustache I think as a kid I saw like America's most wanted photo on the TV of a guy like that and ever since then I'm out just creep out creeps me out. Right. So it's more than just the mustache. There's a whole there's a there's a vi there's a vibe, there's a look, there's a thing but I got you anyone listening should be able to picture this man

Robb 1:00:01

question number three What do you geek out about

Mitch 1:00:08

board games specifically a game called wingspan wingspan tell me about wingspan i in that vein birds but wingspan is a engine building game and anyone who knows board games knows what that means. Otherwise you're collecting birds and every bird in the game is different so no one else is going to be able to play that bird for the rest of the game and you learn about them and you learn where they want to live and all it's just beautiful game. It's one of the top games just look it up wingspan

Robb 1:00:46

I will definitely have to look up wingspan that's awesome. All right cool question number four What kind of shower ideas do you get you know they say you're one of the most creative spaces are in the three Bs, in the bathroom, the bedroom or bar room so if you're in the shower and just had a great idea, what type of shower idea do you have

Mitch 1:01:13

it also depends on how much caffeine I've had before the shower, but um it's usually what kind of garden I'm going to do in the spring and then I can never live up to that. And then it's like movie or writing ideas. So somewhere in the realm of like production another idea that I will forget by the time I get out of the shower. It's a problem with showers no pencils.

Robb 1:01:37

Like you get some of those light little shower crayons that you can just write on the wall

Mitch 1:01:43

that's smart yeah and I also created a piece of art based on the marbling in my shower.

Robb 1:01:49

Ooh that's really cool that's really cool I love that all right question number five where is one place you hope to visit before you die Australia Australia?

Mitch 1:02:04

Yes the entire continent the whole I don't know which part to be honest. I just know that there's like so many other it's a completely different world. Yeah it's like an alien place.

Robb 1:02:17

A Literal alien place with big old spiders and weird animals and things.

Mitch 1:02:23

I love insects and stuff so yeah I'm I'm not scared.

Robb 1:02:28

I love that that's great. Well that's our Fast Five and that's the show. Mitch thank you so much for being here buddy

Mitch 1:02:34

thank you thanks for almost making me cry and it's a full journey here letting me rant

Robb 1:02:42

it's a full journey here when you chew the fat. So if folks want to keep up with you and your journey or whatever you got going on your pottery or all that stuff what's the best way they can do that

Mitch 1:02:53

if you type in Mitch Leschinski M I T C H L E S C H I N S K I on Google I'll be the only person that pops up. So however you want to find me that guy will it's gonna be me like dang look at this guy. Like he's everywhere. And then if you scroll you're only gonna see versions of me including my old MySpace so if you want to look at weird ass old pictures of me on MySpace you can do that too.

Robb 1:03:23

Top song's still on there well

Mitch 1:03:25

I guess I I don't know if I don't think I think it's kind of dismantled but still has photos from people's it's very special

Robb 1:03:33

you and Tom hanging out on Myspace.

Mitch 1:03:35

Oh please don't look at that you guys never mind

Robb 1:03:38

I'll make sure to put the links to all of that in the chat so I can follow you but I thank you so much for being here I I love you and I love everything you got going on and I wish you nothing but success with everything and looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta in a few weeks.

Mitch 1:03:55

Heck yeah I love you too

Robb 1:03:57

or whenever this airs to having had seen you in Atlanta a few weeks mystery of time and if you would like to support this podcast I'd appreciate if you bought me a coffee at chewing the fatbr.com but until next time I look forward to the chance we have to sit a spell at Chew the Fat