Welcome to the website launch of Motionblur Media - Canada's newest podcast network! Motionblur Media is the realization of my long time dream to create a network of podcasts that go beyond simple discussion and aims to help people improve their lives. My goal with this network is to, as they say, pay it forward, with an emphasis on positive and optimistic content.

I was originally inspired to create a podcast network by the king of podcasting, Leo Laporte. I've watched and listened to Leo's shows since the very first episode of This Week in Tech (TWiT) in April 2005. His ability to talk about a variety of technology subjects and connect with his loyal fans has always struck a chord with me.

For as long as I can remember, I've had an interest in teaching. From teaching guitar lessons back in high school to leading a photography club for the past few years, I've always enjoyed sharing any knowledge I may have on a particular topic to help people improve their own experiences. I've often found sharing knowledge is the best way to gain knowledge as well. These concepts are the basis for Motionblur Media. If even just one second of one episode on the network can improve somebody's life or bring a smile to their face in any way, it will all have been worth it!

I want to give a few shout outs to the people that have helped to make this dream a reality.

From May 2010 to August 2011, I was a co-host on Full Frame, a photography podcast on Perpetual Radio Networks (PRN). Nile Livesey invited me to be a host on the show (along with Ren Bostelaar and Mark Shannon) and I had a lot of fun getting together each week to talk about photography gear and more, as well as helping them to build up the social media profile of the show. I also co-hosted their Mac Dose show for a few months. Alex Flint, a co-founder of PRN, deserves a shout out as well. Despite having done some podcasting prior to joining Full Frame, my time on the show helped me to hone my skills and realize I was ready to pursue my podcast network dream. Kudos also to Eric Portelance and Sean Howard, my podcasting friends over at Attention Surplus. Some of the concepts and content of Attention Surplus have certainly inspired my own thoughts and ideas behind creating the Motionblur Media network.

Thanks to Arlene for becoming a co-host of Inside Out, a podcast about the journey of living with Crohn's Disease. Her experiences with living with Crohn's Disease and her wealth of knowledge about the disease will hopefully help others living with it as well.

I also want to thank Carol Levesque for becoming a co-host of Step Ahead. Over the years I've watched Carol progress from being a couch potato to having recently completed her second marathon. Without a doubt, she's a real inspiration and one of the smartest women I know. Her expertise in the art and practice of running is tremendous and it shows; through dedicated training refinements, Carol was able to run her second marathon nearly an hour faster than her first marathon! Despite being shy about public speaking, I think listeners will come to appreciate the knowledge and experience Carol is going to share about running!

A final shout out goes to my father, Jim Luckhardt. October 25th will mark the 10th anniversary of his passing, but he is still with me every day, guiding my choices with the wisdom, friendliness and no nonsense approach he instilled in me. He often said he was proud of me and I can only hope that this project and everything else I do now would still make him proud.

Technically speaking, this is a soft launch - the full website will continue to be built and refined during the remainder of this month. A couple of other shows are in the works as well, which will hopefully launch in November. Stay tuned for further updates and news!

Cheers,
Chris Luckhardt
October 20, 2011