All Episodes - Almost Cool

Hold Yourself Accountable

The hardest thing to do sometimes is listen and process when someone is telling you "you messed up". Usually the ones that are the hardest on us, love us the most. This week Martin and Hooter discuss ways they hold each other accountable and what it means to take this critique to heart.

Lying to Everyone

I'm Overwhelmed

Sometimes when you are comfortable opening up and helping your close friends, we gain a sense of confidence that we can help everyone. Sometimes, that expectation we put on ourselves can get a little overwhelming and leaves us feeling shameful.

It's Not Always About You

"It's my birthday month!" bruh, come on. Let some other people shine for a while, you'll get your turn and your cake. This week on Almost Cool, Martin and Hooter discuss those who try to hog the spotlight, steal the show and hog the attention.. as nicely as we can anyway.

Humility Kinda

This week, Martin and hooter discuss thoughts of being inadequate and find ways they can humble themselves. Simple note: You are good at a lot things you don't know you're good at.

Nonchalant or Apathetic?

We just don't have a care in the world and sometimes it's a double edged sword. This week on Almost Cool, Martin and Hooter discuss having the "go with the flow" attitudes that sometimes makes people think we don't care at all.

Common Sense Isn't So Common

Common sense, common knowledge, and common courtesy are becoming not so uncommon anymore. is that why Hooter had his car stolen??

Patience Is A Virtue

Thank you so much for having the patience to hear our thoughts come together. We may not be gurus in mental health, but at least we are doing our best. After four failed attempts at making this episode, we finally were able to put this out for you guys! Join us this week as we dive into the practice of patience!

The Worst Players In The Game

Hey loser, do you have game? No? WELL WE DON'T EITHER! This week on Almost Cool, Marty and Hooter try to navigate their awkwardness and uncomfort with "Pick Up" culture. We both may have significant others, but man oh man, we're not too sure how that even happened.

Transitions with Chris Piper

The age old question, "What's next?" -- yeah, we're there. This week on Almost Cool, our good friend Chris Piper finally joins the studio after months of interest and dang, the man's voice was made for radio.. his face too!

Cops & Robbers

Oink Oink! Cops are here to ruin our good time. Hooter's Mom worries about us boning?? What the hell is plasma? We don't know, but you can get paid for it!

Code Red Insecurity

Do I talk to fast? Will everything crumble at the last minute? We try and rationalize our irrational insecurities.

The Secret Sauce

What are the critical character traits that draw you to someone the most? Did you know Hooter was my college lord and savior? Martin needs to take a deep breath and chill out. Why is he talking so fast?

Happy Anniversary

Almost Cool is ONE YEARS OLD! Happy Anniversary to everyone who has shown love and supported us throughout this year. We hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season and much love from us to you!

Visiting

This week we talk about Martin's trip back his college hometown and recap on some events. Not much of a juicy topic this week but its nice to just unwind.

Quarter Life Crisis

Quarter life crisis? Thats probably why i bought motorcycle.........This week we discuss the thought patterns of feeling directionless in hopes to discover the stepping stones that lead us to joy and fulfillment.

Shifting Your Priorities

Somethings come up in life and you may have to start prioritizing things a little better. This week we discuss how changing your priorities can lead to a healthier life, but it may also cause you to make changes you may not want to make. Is it possible to prioritize different aspects of your life without changing your lifestyle?

OH WE BACK!

Welcome back to Almost Cool! We've been gone for a month because of the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, but she's Idahere so Martin and Hooter are BACK in the studio! This week, Hooter shares some big news, Marty learns to love again and some other stories are shared as we hop behind the mics once again!

Hurricane Relief

Hurricane Ida has destroyed numerous cities along the east coast and Hooter and I are directly being impacted. If you can help, please donate money or your time in effort to help out our fellow friends in need. I love you Hooter and so happy you are alive and well!

The Facade of Nostalgia

Remember when jokes weren't just about nostalgia? Those were the days. This week when break down critical moments that we find nostalgic to see how healthy those experiences actually were.

Am I Who I Say I Am?

Do you ever look in the mirror, squint at yourself and say "Dude, you are full of it." Am I really who I say I am? This has been the question on my mind in recent weeks. Do I let others' perceptions of me define who I am and just roll with it? Or am I really confident in how I personally see myself? This week, Martin and Hooter dive into who they are and get down to the nitty gritty of how they actually see themselves.

Casual Friends

Why is it so hard to meet people who you believe to be as chill as you? Let's foster friendships where we can eliminate the pressures of extreme attachment.

Family Anxiety

Before heading to a family event, lets pre-game with an anxiety attack about how we are going to handle the drama as soon as we enter the family function.

Managing Expectations

Here lies Squidward's dreams and expectations...........Don't get them confused, standards are different than expectations.

Codependency

When friends become leeches, you end up being drained and exhausted from the relationship. "These conversations are hard to have because they're not easy"

Self Love

Do not fall in love with the self you think others want. Be yourself and embrace your flaws. This week we discuss topics that show the many differences of how we love ourselves. Unapologetically be yourself.

Healthy Isolation

How do you release your emotions? Is it a way that flows naturally or does it always feel forced? Isolating yourself can leave a lot of room for you to process the events in your life, but can also leave you feeling alone when surrounded by loved ones.

Good For You, Not For Me

“I mean, whatever works for you.” This week, Martin and Hooter explore a few different topics that, in a nutshell, they can agree to disagree on. A light hearted episode to talk about the more day to day things in life.

Choosing Peace or Acting Cowardly

"I am going to choose peace over fighting". Always a great decision but what if you are fighting with yourself? Do we create a false sense of peace to avoid our problems...........?

Say Smart Things

Are you intelligent? Well I don't know, what kind of intelligence are we talking about?

The Feeling Isn't mutual Pt.2

Im disgusted and totally thrown off by the way this person approached me. Am I wrong for being an asshole? This just ain't right..........part 2!

The Feeling Isn't Mutual

That ain't right.....

Babies Who Just Get Bigger

Sometimes I forget how old I really am. Sometimes my anxiety gets the best of me when i'm with people. I'm a kid at heart but I'm a grown ass man! This week we discuss what we think about aging and how it plays roles in our relationships. 

Don't Make It A Habit

Word on the street is that it takes two weeks to form a habit. Well, I’ve been trying for 25 years to think of myself as a stud, so that’s out the window. Join Martin and Hooter this week as we try to figure out what is good/bad about our habitual tendencies!

Don't Judge Me

This week we throw the book at ourselves and talk about judgement (both internally and externally). Just like the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover."

Talk Therapy: Choosing The Right Job

Choosing your career path can be the scariest part of life to navigate and sometimes it feels like there's no right direction to take. This week we discuss some ideas on how and why we want to do the things we love while battling with our mental stability along the way.

Listening & Communicating

“Are you even listening to a word I’m saying?!” Oh yeah, we’ve all been there. This week, Martin and Hooter take the steps needed to actually listen to what the other is saying. We’ll see if it lasts long.

Facing Burnout

Working hard or hardly working? We all need some kind of motivation to keep going when the "high" wears off. Special guest Ben DiMaio joins us this week and dives into his process when facing burnout in his art practices.

You Mad Bro?

Catch me outside, how bout dat. Anger can be one of the most scary emotions but it can also be one of the funniest. This week we do our best to lose our temper with each other as we talk about anger.

Social Anxiety with Hooter

This week Jordan goes deep into the inner mechanisms of his mind and talks about how awkward he was (and still is) when it comes to social interactions with new people. This is our first solo episode but don't worry, Martin's laugh will be back in your earholes soon!

Developing Character

PSA: Martin reads one psychology book and thinks he is Albert Bandura. This is our most scatter-brained episode yet but join us and maybe even help us this week as we try to put together what the hell Martin is explaining. My favorite part about this episode is the discussion on SELF-LOVE.

Relationships with SFTT

Almost Cool collaborates this week with Straight From The Tap Podcast! We discuss everything about how we feel about relationships and the anxieties that go along with it!

I'm Wrong!?

"I'm Wrong!? There is absolutely no way I can be wrong!" Well... that's where you are wrong! This week Martin and Hooter discuss the details of who is right and wrong knowing damn well neither of us are or have ever been right.

You Jelly?

We have all had our moments of experiencing jealousy but honestly, its hard for me to personally relate. I think it feels a little immature to feel jealous but others think different. This week, Hooter and I discuss our experiences with jealousy and how it can "make or break" relationships.

Music Therapy pt.2 w/ Abby Hamilton

We love music so much we had to give you a PART 2 of our music therapy sessions with a new guest singer/songwriter Abby Hamilton! This week we connect with another local Lexington musician who shares her perspective on what music truly means to her and how she is able to covey those emotions through song writing.

Friendships

Why are we friends? This week we dive into the meaning of friendship and why some people seem to be a better fit for us than others, especially if they smell bad.

Music Therapy with John Wise

Introducing our VERY FIRST GUEST John Wise from Sunmates Band joins us in talking about how music can be an outlet for people to express themselves and as a means to to connect to others.

2020 In Retrospect

The year 2020 was like if your neighbor's 120 lb dog took a massive shit on your perfectly manicured lawn, but when you go to remove the shit, you notice the grass underneath is a little bit greener. This week we sum up the what we learned about ourselves through 2020 and what we can look forward too in the upcoming year.

Vulnerability

Opening up the door to vulnerability can be scary, so what are the comforts someone could provide to encourage you to open up? This week we tackle the stigma behind men sharing their discomforts and the considerations one may have to take before opening up.

Laziness

One time... I ate a whole bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and farted spicy cheeto dust into the air... and gave everyone in the room pink eye. Laziness can cause serious damage, so get your eye drops ready while we combat with our laziness.

Coping With Our Vices

Alcohol can go down like water. Cigarettes can taste like candy. Anything can become a crutch, so let's try to enjoy things rather than need them.

Loneliness

Akon made a whole song because he was feeling lonely. We can't sing, so we decided to just talk.

Cutting People Off

Sometime you just need to cut ties with things that you hold close to you. As easy as it can be sometimes, letting go of the things you love can be way more difficult than we think.

Positivity

Why does being positive feel like so much work? Here is our attempt to looking at the world with a "glass half-full" attitude.

Respect Can Vary

How much can your respect for someone change? Treating people with the respect they earned is great, but how do you treat others who don't deserve it? Hopefully we handled it well.......

Rejection

Ouuuuu..... damn, it really really do be like that sometimes.

Welcome to Almost Cool!

Introspective thoughts and daily troubles; we all have them. Join two fun-loving guys as we try and make some of these tough situations just a little bit easier!