I'm here too
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I'm Here Too Podcast

I’m Here Too Podcast

A podcast, hosted by Ara Tucker that explores the intersections of art, culture, creativity, family, identity and all that fills the spaces in between.

We all have a chance to make our own mark, our own impression. Big or small as it ends up being. What a freeing realization that has been for me. Don’t get me wrong. It’s been a long and circuitous road getting to the place where “I” feels authentic and where I don’t apologize for the way I walk through the world.

It took me a long time to get to here, a place where I will be seen and heard. But now that I’m here, I’m eager for some company. I look forward to sharing my journey with you, learning from others, and creating a space where we can feel more connected, inspired and safe to be ourselves.

Off we go!

Building a Creative Life from the Inside Out, a conversation with Everest Hall and Mike Russnak

You can also find this podcast on YouTube (transcript available), Spotify (video and audio versions), Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts (transcript available) and other fun places where podcasts live so subscribe, follow and tell your friends and your cat to listen and let me know what you think.

In this episode, artists and producers, Everest Hall and Mike Russnak take us inside a shared life built, literally, from the ground up. We talk about art school, self-education, reinvention, homelessness, humor, moral courage, astrology, and the unexpected power of moving across the country with nothing but each other.

Together they describe what partnership looks like when it’s deeply creative: the way one person steadies the other, the way listening becomes a practice, and the surprising places where joy and possibility still break through.

About Everest and Mike

Everest Hall (born 1974, Auburn, New York) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, performance, architecture, and sculpture. He developed an early interest in the arts and attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where he received formal training in visual art. Hall went on to earn a BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by an MFA from the Yale University School of Art in 1998.

Hall has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally, with his work held in museum and private collections. In addition to his studio practice, he is an active producer of digital content, creating several YouTube channels including EverestDIY and, most recently, Big Apple Mountain Tarot, which he co-produces with his partner, Mike Russnak. 

Born in 1978 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Michael Russnak is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersections of tradition, superstition and human connection. Raised in a working-class Catholic family, Russnak’s early education in parochial schools instilled in him a lifelong fascination with the moral and symbolic framework that shape belief and behavior - an interest that continues to inform his creative practice today. 

Originally awarded a scholarship to study architecture at Pratt Institute, Russnak also attended NYIT before departing to pursue broader creative and experimental paths. This pursuit led him to the William Esper Studio where he honed his craft as an actor studying the Meisner technique. 

Michael’s eclectic career has included work as a decorative painter, wood finisher, actor, escort, surrogate partner and astrologer - roles that together form a living study of intimacy, labor and identity.

Since relocating from New York City to the southwest in 2020 with his partner Everest, Russnak has continued to expand his artistic and metaphysical endeavors through Big Apple Mountain Tarot, an astrology-based community that blends spiritual exploration with humor and cultural commentary. He is currently developing a news-comedy segment rooted in the same empathy and wit that defines his body of work.

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