20 Year Timeout

In first grade, Tommy Jay Dwyer was asked to draw God. While every other kid drew a wizard with a beard and a staff, Tommy drew a red box. The teacher held it up in front of the class, called him to the front, and told him he was wrong.

Tommy asked: "How do you know?"

He got sent to the principal's office. His parents were called in. And he's been getting in trouble for thinking differently eve...

For 15 years, Frank saved every single pill bottle.

He didn't know why. Through his divorce, through the worst years of his addiction to Oxycontin and Methadone, through watching his entire family wilting away — he kept throwing the bottles into a trash bag. Two trash bags. Then one day his doctor was gone, and Frank had to decide what he was going to do.

What he built from those bottles became Pillman — a li...

Is Claude AI actually conscious? Does it have feelings? Would it marry ChatGPT?

This week on 20-Year Timeout, Rich Marks flips the script. Instead of reconnecting with a long-lost friend, he sits down with Claude — the AI from Anthropic — and treats it like any other podcast guest. No filters. No scripted answers. Just a raw, unscripted conversation about consciousness, memory, emotion, quantum computing, and whether Rich ...

Brendan Casey and I went to school together back in Worcester. I knew bits and 
pieces of what happened to him. I wasn't ready for the full story.

In January 2020, Brendan was attacked in his own kitchen by a roommate hiding 
in the bathroom with a metal baseball bat. Hit 12 times. Skull caved in. Ribs 
collapsed. Liver ruptured. He spent seven weeks in the hospital, woke up from 
a coma not knowing wh...

Zach Nehme and I worked together at the Old Pink House in Savannah — the guy who could walk into a private dining room, work the whole table in ten minutes, and be gone before you even noticed he was there. Then life happened. 15 years in commercial insurance, a marriage, two kids, a divorce, and now he's building something completely different.

These days Zach runs Contractor Guy Network — connecting skilled trade wo...

Chad and I used to close shifts together at Via, end up at house parties on Vernon Hill, and somehow make it back in for the next day's lunch service. That was Worcester, circa 2007. Then life happened.

Now he's in Connecticut building custom built-ins, knocking out Barnes & Noble locations with a crew that shows up at 4AM to unload tractor trailers, going viral with 2.5 million views on a carpentry reel, alm...

Jason Restivo was my GM at the Old Pink House in Savannah, Georgia — the guy who would disappear for five minutes and come back to a dining room with a bottle of wine on every single table. He was also the reason I got the job in the first place when someone else in management wasn't so sure.

Now he owns Sobremesa on 40th and Abercorn — a restaurant he built out of a wine bar that used to be a dentist's office, i...

Alan — aka LOA — and I used to close shifts together, order Ming House Chinese at midnight, and record tracks in my apartment with half-broken cords and mics peaking at zero. That was the Via era. Then life happened.

Now he's in Fort Lauderdale teaching Pilates and yoga at 6AM, training an 83-year-old client and a 12-year-old kid, freestyling with his daughter in the living room, and painting Basquiat-inspired portrai...

I finally tracked down Mr. Craig Darrell — my 8th grade Religion teacher from Holy Name in Worcester, MA. We hadn't spoken since 2004. Turns out he's been living in Leavenworth, Kansas, working with special needs kids, and still remembers every single stunt I pulled in his class. Oh — and I still have the detention slip.

We talk about what it was really like teaching in the '90s vs. today, why he walked away...

In this episode, I sit down with DJ Manipulator for a real conversation about beat making, underground hip hop, Worcester music history, old school production gear, and the creative process behind making music that actually means something.

We talk about losing a full podcast episode to tech issues, the heartbreak of losing music files, discovering hip hop through classic albums, making beats on the SP 303 and SP 404, prod...

We suffered a major tech glitch and lost over an hour of our podcast! But don't worry, we managed to salvage the final, most chaotic 16 minutes for your listening (and viewing) pleasure. Join us as we dive back into the conversation right where we left off, discussing everything from West Virginia to who knows what else was lost to the digital ether. 

We appreciate you sticking with us through the tech troubles! Let u...

Zac McKnight went from a party lifestyle in Massachusetts to spiritual transformation in Maui. In Episode 7 of 20-Year Timeout, we reconnect after decades apart to talk about purpose, masculinity, tantra, emotional healing, and serving the unsheltered.

Zac shares his personal awakening, including:

• Moving to Maui and the cultural dynamics of island life
• Feeding the unsheltered community and finding meaning through service
• The evolut...

"I moved to Colorado in 2021 seeking a change..."

In Episode 6 of 20-Year Timeout, I reconnect with Casey Tobin, a longtime friend who left behind his East Coast life for a fresh start in Denver, Colorado.

Casey shares his story of personal growth — from leaving a banking job in Worcester, MA, to finding fulfillment in the trades, snowboarding down Colorado slopes, and exploring hobbies like disc golf an...

In this episode of 20 Year Timeout, I reconnect with Anthony Fuller, an athlete, risk analyst, musician, and the son of a jazz legend whose life and friendships shaped generations of music.

Anthony and I had not truly connected since high school. In this real time reunion, the conversation moves freely across memory, identity, creativity, and personal growth. We talk about growing up in Worcester, elite sports, music legacy, financi...

In this episode of 20 Year Timeout, I reconnect with Billy, my very first best friend from kindergarten.

We had not seen or spoken to each other in over thirty years, yet the conversation picks up as if no time has passed at all. What begins with childhood memories quickly expands into a wide ranging and curious discussion about life, fatherhood, identity, and how our minds work.

We revisit Mortal Kombat battles, Nintendo, prank call...

In this episode of 20 Year Timeout, I reconnect with Michael Harnois, a Worcester native, full time musician, and longtime friend from our Catholic school days.

After decades apart, we sit down to catch up on life, creativity, music, and parenthood. The conversation moves from childhood memories and recess games to forming a Taylor Swift tribute band, playing album tribute shows, and navigating creativity while raising kids in a dig...

In this episode of 20 Year Timeout, I reconnect with Father Jonathan Slavinskas, also known as “The Priest,” for the first time in over twenty years.

We sit down on the porch of St. Bernard’s Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, for an honest, unfiltered conversation about where life has taken us since we last spoke. What starts as a nostalgic reunion quickly turns into a thoughtful discussion about faith, purpose, health, service, a...

This is the very first episode of 20 Year Timeout, a podcast where I reconnect with people I have not seen or spoken to in over twenty years.

Old friends. Old bandmates. Former roommates. People who mattered at one point and quietly drifted out of frame.

In this episode, I sit down with Christopher Parks, also known as The Boss. This is the first time we have talked face to face in more than two decades.

We rewind to our teenage years...

What happened to the people we used to know?

20 Year Timeout is a podcast hosted by Rich Marks the Spot where real conversations begin after time has passed. Each episode is an unscripted reunion with someone from Rich’s past. Sometimes it has been 20 years. Sometimes it has been much less.

Old friends, bandmates, former coworkers, near strangers. No scripts. No agenda. Just honest conversations about life, creativity, culture, and h...