If you don’t listen to The Buddy Ruski Show, you should! Justin Laidlaw aka Buddy Ruski has a fantastic voice, literally and figuratively.
Justin shares a range of stories about his community, Durham, North Carolina. In addition to the podcast he also writes on his blog. All of his content can be found at Buddyruski.com.
Early Conversations
Justin and I first met online. Justin is an avid cyclist and bicycle advocate, so I first came across some tweets of his about biking in Durham. This led to a fantastic blog post of his, which led to me signing up for his newsletter.
After following and interacting with him online for a bit, I eventually asked him if he’d be interested in meeting up for coffee. At the coffee meeting I learned more about his background and passion for Durham and sharing stories. We kept up over the years and had several more meetings and conversations. His passion for his city inevitably led to many conversations and sharing perspectives about the development industry.
Podcast Guest
A few months ago on twitter, Justin asked when I would be interested in coming on The Buddy Ruski Show.
Talking to folks about development and learning from their perspectives is one of my favorite things in the world, and so a few weeks later we had the date booked!
During our discussion we covered a range of topics including:
- Where I grew up
- What I studied in College and how I got into development
- Other cities I lived in and have traveled to
- How The Wire is really a city development show in many ways
- Barriers to entry to development
- The Development process
- and much more!
Justin is a fantastic host and asks amazing questions. We also had the chance to record on site in the American Underground Studio built by Earfluence, which was very cool. It was my first time being in a dedicated podcasting studio.
The Episode
I’d greatly appreciate it if you gave our conversation a listen and shared it with anyone you know who is interested in development or Raleigh or Durham.
One of the first things we talk about in our chat is The Color of Law. If you have never read the book, I can’t recommend it enough.
Round Two?
Justin and I have talked about doing a round two interview. If we do, what questions should he ask me? Let me know in the comments below.
