The Mike Show Ep 2 – Coltyn Seifert (Scifi & Friends Podcast)

Coltyn Seifert is a podcaster, filmmaker, and entertainment enthusiast. His podcast Scifi and Friends focuses on authentic conversation with compelling guests with topics that run the gamut from martial arts to psychedelics to spirituality.

On this episode, Mike and Coltyn discuss how he started and grew his podcast as well as how Coltyn sees the next step in its evolution. They dive into how new media is changing the landscape of entertainment and how those changes can make creative storytelling more accessible to all. Finally, they wrap up their conversation with how discipline and collaboration are cornerstones of how they see the creative process and how prioritizing placing yourself in uncomfortable situations can lead to growth.

“Editing it yourself, you’re exposed to all your flaws and all your strengths. You can either repulse from that and not accept what’s there, or you can accept it and take it as a place on a map to where you are and say okay, I’m here but I want to be here. And if you take that truth and do that you can make yourself better.”

“I think with any project, new media or old media, personal or professional, a lot of times we get married to the idea of thinking that we know what it is or what it’s about or what it should be. And really, it’s the process of finding out and discovering what it is about, what the theme is, what the structure is, what the meaning is towards the end.”

“If all you have is a podcast, or if all you have are the tools and the technology to do a podcast, by doing that podcast even though you want to make movies, I’m talking to myself, you are building the mindset and the network and the resources to one day be able to do other things. It’s mastering something… Musashi said it. Once you know the way in one thing, you see it broadly in all things. It’s kind of the same thing. If you can do one thing well, I bet you I can do it over here too.”

Highlights This Week:

Coltyn Seifert and Mike talk about the evolution of Coltyn’s podcast journey, from the BODcast (Bag of Dicks Podcast) with Coltyn and his brother sitting around in their childhood bedroom with shotgun mics influenced by Joe Rogan’s show to the Scifi and Friends Podcast with a professional studio setup with editors, a compelling rotation of friends, and 75 episodes.
Coltyn and Mike talk about how editing his podcast episodes in the early days helped him to review his performance as a podcaster and improve his podcast skills every episode, like an athlete rewatching film to correct their form.
Coltyn and Mike discuss how new media allows for trial and error in a way that traditional media doesn’t because it’s more cost effective and how that directly provides opportunities for creatives to try new things, grow their skills, and explore new technology and tools.
Coltyn talks about where he sees his podcast still growing. He talks about how it’s fundamental to set goals to improve projects whether it’s to simply make it more consistent and higher quality or it’s to work towards making your passion project your career.
Coltyn talks about how he’s made honing his crafts a priority and how that pursuit led him to moving back to Joplin, Missouri.
Coltyn and Mike talk about their goals including big dreams on showrunning, filmmaking, and the power of quality sound.
Coltyn and Mike talk about how getting started on creative projects is always the hardest step but writing down ideas is essential because a concrete bad first draft is better than an unwritten draft stuck in your head.
Coltyn and Mike talk about how creative collaboration and flexibility sometimes lead to the best work and rewarding surprises like Steve surviving on Stranger Things!
Coltyn and Mike discuss how new media has changed the landscape of entertainment and consumption habits from podcasts to social media apps like TikTok to series on platforms like YouTube to Twitch and VR. How projects across platforms can feed off of, stack on top of each other, and cross-pollinate across projects to push originality to another level and build creative ecosystems.
Coltyn and Mike talk about how all new and old media still lead back to the principles of storytelling. Coltyn and Mike talk about how suffering is necessary to growing your skills and working toward your passions.
Coltyn discusses how he’s learned that asking for help and weeding out internal competitiveness with other artists and filmmakers has helped him become a better creative.
Coltyn talks about his goal of surrounding himself with more experienced creatives so that even if it’s humbling, it pushes you to become better and better.