Live Now, Leave a Trail: Javier Santana on Coffee, Storytelling, Community, and Trusting Yourself

  Uncle Dave welcomes longtime friend Javier “Javi” Santana, entrepreneur, brand strategist, storyteller, former Division I baseball player, and founder of Vida Brand Lab and Vivir Coffee Company, for a conversation about identity, culture, community, passion, and learning to trust yourself. Javi shares his journey from growing up in Puerto Rico and Northern Virginia to building a successful career in marketing, communications, branding, and storytelling. He explains how his love of coffee evolved into a mission to create more than another coffee company. Through Vivir Coffee, Javi plans to source green coffee beans directly from farmers, roast them himself, share the stories behind the farms, and build a lifestyle brand centered on culture, connection, and living fully in the present. David and Javi also explore the difference between being alone and being lonely, why community requires both giving and receiving, and how men often lose themselves by hiding emotions, staying busy, and putting everyone else first. Javi reflects on rediscovering the passionate and expressive version of himself that had been buried beneath responsibility, expectations, and the pressure to maintain a false sense of strength. They discuss authentic storytelling, creative vision, leadership, Star Wars, baseball, and the importance of allowing yourself to feel both pain and joy. Javi closes with his guiding lesson: before expecting others to trust you, you must learn to trust yourself. You may make mistakes, change your mind, or need help—but when you truly believe in yourself, the fog begins to lift and new possibilities appear. To connect with Javier Santana: Vida Brand Lab: https://vidabrandlab.com/ Vivir Coffee Company: https://vivircoffee.com/ Search for Javier Santana on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. To support us, check out: https://davidchametzky.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@davidchametzkyNOW https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-love-and-bring-a-bat/id1552738547