The last time we mentioned Josh Suggs, the 2021 Staples High School graduate had just been featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Yesterday, the 23-year-old was seen by an even bigger audience: NBC’s “Today” show.
Brian Cheung interviewed him about Street Talk. That’s the company he formed, after dropping out of Syracuse University. It is “disrupting advertising,” Cheung said.
Josh’s route to social entrepreneurship started in Westport, he told “Today.” As a 14-year-old, he got free haircuts for social media posts.
When a Syracuse friend paid Josh $2,000 for 30 street interviews, a light bulb went off. Today, Street Talk earns 8 figures in revenue by conducting authentic, unscripted street interviews that companies large and small can use as brand ads.
“I bet on myself, and the future fo social media,” Josh said.
Click here for the full — and very engaging — interview.
RERUN: Last fall’s story was not the first to feature Josh Suggs. Click here to read this one, from 2016. It features Josh and his great Bedford Middle School friend, Jamie Mann. A fellow SHS grad, Jamie has also made a name for himself in New York: on Broadway.
Screenshot: Josh Suggs and Brian Cheung.
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Congratulations to Russell Greenberg and Gadi Slade!
The Chabad of Westport friends recently participated in the Maccabi Games in Israel (aka “the Jewish Olympics”). Over 5,000 athletes attended, including 900 from the US.
Greenberg swam in the Masters division, and captained his team. He captured gold in the 65-69 age group in the 100 meter freestyle, then added silver medals in the 50 free, 50 butterfly and 200 free. He was also part of 3 silver medal relays. Greenberg called the competition “the highlight of my swimming career.”
Slade’s story starts in 1932. A blonde, blue-eyed Jew from Frankfurt traveled to Tel Aviv where, by chance, the 1st Maccabi Games were being held. She met a doctor from Galilee. They exchanged phone numbers and addresses. But she returned to Germany and did not think about him.
Six months later, Hitler came to power. Nine months after that, the German woman and her parents fled to Haifa, where she knew just one person: the doctor from the Maccabi Games. They got together, fell in love, and were married. Slade is their grandson.
He planned to gain citizenship in Ecuador, make the national basketball team, and play in the Atlanta Olympics — all to get into Harvard Business School.
When that failed, he tried out in 1997 (also unsuccessfully) for the inaugural Maccabi USA field hockey team. Finally, this year he make the Games for masters table tennis. He won a gold medal in the team competition.
94 years after his grandparents met, Gadi marched in the opening ceremony with his son Leo (who also participated in table tennis, for 16 and under).
“The medal was a nice surprise, but for me just being there and wearing the Team USA shirt was my definition of victory,” Slade says.
Gadi Slade (left) and Russell Greenberg, with Maccabi medals.
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Between email, texts and now AI, we’ve forgotten how to have conversations with actual human beings we don’t know.
Help is near.
Staples High School Class of 2012 graduate Tom Karrel has just published “The Lost Art of Random Conversations: How One Conversation with a Stranger Will Change the Way You Connect with Everyone.”
Drawing on over 10,000 hours of group facilitation experience across nearly 50 countries, Karrel offers practical tools and honest stories to help readers break through phone addiction, overcome social anxiety and loneliness, and create real world connections.
It’s available on Amazon, and by clicking here.
Tom Karrel
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Kawa Ni’s “Paint + Sip” events are a smash.
The next 2 are planned for August 5 and 19 (6:30 to 8 p.m.).
Artist Lauren Smith leads guests as they create, sip and enjoy lite bites, on the Bridge Square rooftop overlooking the Saugatuck River.
For $56 you get painting supplies, an 8″x10″ canvas, and Kawa Ni fare. Wine, sake and cocktails are available for purchase. Click here to register.
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Lachat Town Farm offers 3 fall children’s programs:
- Caregiver & Me
- Pre-school drop-off
- K-8 after-school.
Click here for details. Questions? Email childrensprograms@lachattownfarm.org.
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Every Thursday for several years, VFW Post 399 has hosted 2 jazz shows. They kick off at 7:30 and 8:45.
Now, every other Thursday, the Dave Kardas Band plays original jazz, blues and rock, right before (5:30 to 7:15 p.m.). Upcoming dates are tonight (July 31), August 13 and 27, and September 10.
The music is free. There’s happy hour food and drink prices too.
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Westport Police made 2 custodial arrests between July 22 and 28.
A 50-year-old Fairfield man was charged with evading responsibility, traveling too fast for conditions, failure to drive right and reckless endangerment, following 2 notifications on Sturges Highway from iPhone crash detection. Two calls were made, and the man denied being involved in an accident. However, a witness reported a damaged and disabled Tesla unoccupied in the middle of the road, and a man walking away. An investigation determined that the vehicle left the road twice, striking several large rocks. He was released on a $5,000 bond.
A 68-year-old Westport woman was charged with driving the wrong way on a 1-way street, interfering with an officer and failure to appear, following an investigation into an April incident on Franklin Street. The woman approached an officer driving the wrong way. After being signaled to stop, she rolled up her window and attempted to change direction multiple times. When she stopped she was argumentative with officers. She refused to exit the vehicle, and engaged in a physical struggle. She was released on $3,500 bonds.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
- Texting while driving: 21 citations
- Traveling unreasonably fast: 9
- Failure to obey stop sign: 8
- Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations 8
- Failure to renew registration: 4
- Failure to obey traffic control signals: 4
- Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 2
- Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 2
- Failure to insure motor vehicle: 2
- Distracted driving: 2
- Following too closely: 2
- Improper use of markers: 2
- Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 1
- Speeding: 1
- School zone violation: 1
- Disorderly conduct: 1
- Criminal mischief: 1
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A crepe myrtle tree makes its first-ever “Westport … Naturally” appearance today. This beauty is on Compo Road South.
(Photo/Topsy Siderowf)
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And finally … in honor of Tom Karrel, and his book on how to have a conversation (story above):
(Speaking of conversations: Let’s talk! If you appreciate even a small part of this hyper-local blog, please consider clicking here to support our work. We rely on you — our readers — so thank you!)
