Against The Norm

At age 20, Ken Kunken broke his neck making a routine tackle during a Cornell football game. Doctors told his family he probably wouldn’t survive the week — and if he did, he would spend the rest of his life in a nursing home.They even said: “If he were my son, I’d let him go.”But Ken refused to let that prediction define him. In this deeply moving episode of Against the Norm, Ken shares how he returned to Cornell University just months after becoming paralyzed, eventually became a successfu...

What would you do if your entire life collapsed all at once? When Ray Martin’s marriage ended, his business unraveled, and his father died within the same period of time, he found himself emotionally shattered and completely lost. What was supposed to be a six-month sabbatical turned into a 14-year journey across Asia, Europe, and deep into himself. In this fascinating conversation, Ray shares how a successful CEO with all the “right” badges of success slowly realized he was living a life bui...

In this episode of Against the Norm, Norman Calvo sits down with fellow Princeton grad Andrew “Andy” Oser—a man who’s lived an unmistakably “against the norm” life. After founding a nonprofit that served over 50,000 inner-city youth in Washington, D.C. through tennis and wellness programs, Andy has spent the last two decades guiding spiritual retreats at sacred sites on Mount Shasta. This conversation is for anyone—especially men in their 60s and 70s—who has spent a lifetime playing the “oute...

In this first full episode of Against the Norm, host Norman Calvo sits down with Ron Drotos—acclaimed pianist, musical director, and Norman’s collaborator on his one-man cabaret show—to talk about something most adults struggle with: starting something new without letting fear, perfectionism, or past mistakes stop us. Ron shares powerful insights from decades of teaching musicians, singers, and performers of all levels—including stories from Carnegie Hall, Broadway, and his long-running cabar...