We sit down with Fighting Conch head coach Johnny Hughes to talk about what it takes to build a winning football identity in Key West, even with long travel, limited numbers, and constant adversity. We dig into recruiting from the “bottom of the map,” why our toughness travels, and what Conch Pride looks like when the whole community shows up on Friday night.
• Johnny’s path from Key West to Miami and back to the Conchs
• Shout outs to the coaching staff and former players who return to coach
• Key West football history and legends who put the island on the map
• Getting players recruited with academics, weight room work, and film that does not lie
Questions from the Sidelines
• Why wrestling and multi sport athletes make better football players
• What Conch Pride means athletically and community wide

If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share, and subscribe because there’s a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram, or check my website at joynulisch.com. Now go bring joy to the people in your world.

Photo Cred: Rocky Gonet Media, Ron Cooke Keys Citizen

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We sit down with Key West leader Jimmy Weekly to trace how Fausto’s grew from a 1926 neighborhood bodega into a 100-year island landmark. Along the way, we get the real stories behind quality meat, community trust, “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and the public spaces that make Key West feel like home.
• Fausto’s origin story, early locations, and the family legacy behind the name
• What it takes to survive the Depression, hurricanes, and a major store fire
• Why we pivot toward organic and natural products to compete with chain stores
• How we protect consistency in-house with measured recipes and craft butchery
• The true Jimmy Buffett burger blend story and why it stayed special
• What to expect at the 100-year celebration, tastings, music, and employee recognition
• Growing up in old Key West, shrimp docks, neighborhood games, and how the island changed
• Jimmy’s Washington, DC years, FBI ambitions, and lessons from Watergate-era government
• The civic wins we’re proud of, including the Key West Bight and Truman Waterfront Park
• What brings Jimmy joy, from customers to family to watching grandkids grow

If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share, and subscribe because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram, or check my website at joynulisch.com. Now go bring joy to the people in your world.

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We sit down with Coach Lori Bosco to celebrate 30 years leading Key West High School swimming and the culture she has built on the pool deck. We talk milestones, traditions, funding realities, and the simple habits that turn student athletes into stronger swimmers and better people.

•How Lori steps into the head coach role and grows with the program
• First state qualifier memories and what they changed
• Adding the boys team and why equity matters
• The state champion moment and the details that decide races
• What a Key West swim season looks like and why travel is hard
• Building the “ideal” student athlete with sleep, nutrition, and hydration
• Fundraising through snow cones, donations, and community support
• Coach Wise influence, leadership lessons, and travel discipline
• The wild tiger story and effort as a team standard
• The team National Anthem tradition and inviting other schools in
• Senior day, where the team swims, and how to show up locally
•Multi-generation impact through lessons, lifeguarding, and coaching
• College of the Florida Keys athletics, recruiting limits, and growth plans
• Bone Island Swim Club as the pipeline for future Conchs
• Aqua Fit and why the water “resets” your brain

Photo Cred: Jen Searcy and Ron Cooke Keys Citizen

If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share, and subscribe because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram, or check my website at joynulisch.com

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Joy Nulisch sits down with Rob Smith-Martin a lifelong Conch storyteller, musician, and entrepreneur to trace the version of the island many people only hear about in rumors: the 1970s and early 1980s, when storefronts were boarded up, rent was cheap, and artists, writers, and unforgettable characters filled the gaps. We talk about why that era felt like a “golden age,” how the Navy pullout and a shaky economy reshaped downtown, and what it meant to live in a place that still felt small enough for everyone to know your name.

We take the conversation across the water to Cuba, with Rob's firsthand experience visiting the island and working with Cuban artists. Rob shares what headlines miss, the warmth, generosity, music, family loyalty, and daily resilience that persist through shortages, outages, and political strain. We also revisit the Mariel boatlift and how it changed Key West schools almost overnight, pushing local kids to see a much bigger world. If you care about Cuban culture, Key West Cuban roots, and what real community looks like under pressure, this part hits hard.

Then we come back home for stories that feel like snapshots learning to swim at the Pier House pool, the nerves of swimming out to the harbor dock, and the way old Key West blurred the line between ordinary life and legend. We dig into the Key West Picture Show as a true time-capsule film, and we share a rare, personal look at Jimmy Buffett’s Key West connections, including how Sunshine, Rob's mom helped launch Margaritaville as a real mom and pop shop at the seaport before it became a global brand.

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some Pics from Our Key West Magazine

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Re-Release from the BringJoy Vault. Six years later this episode still touches the heart and makes you want to call your grandmother.

This is all about grandmothers, and the love they give. Not just mine, but yours too. I reached out to my friends via social media and asked them to share somethings about their grandmothers. A couple hours later my feed was full of the sweetest memories reaffirming that doing an episode on grandmothers would be a crowd-pleaser. It seems grandmothers are kinda like puppies, and babies everybody loves ‘em. If we set our intent on loving unconditionally, what a world it could be.

Production: Wonderdog
> http://markypierson.com/ <

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Special Segment: From the Conch Pride with Legend Richie Garcia. One call in October can follow you for years, but the part most fans never hear is what it does to the person who made it. We sit down with former MLB umpire Richie Garcia to unpack the human fallout from the Jeffrey Maier play in the 1996 Yankees vs. Orioles postseason, and why he still describes that stretch as the hardest winter of his career. If you’ve ever searched for the truth about MLB umpiring pressure, controversial calls, or what officials endure off the field, this conversation goes straight there.

Garcia shares what it was like to keep working immediately after the storm hit: traveling under security, being escorted into and out of the stadium, and trying to protect his wife and kids from the noise and anger surrounding his name. We also talk about the psychology of officiating, including how he handles conflict after an ejection and why confronting tension directly can be the only way to move forward. It’s a rare look at sports officiating that goes beyond rules and replay angles and into safety, stress, and identity.

Then the story turns. Garcia describes walking into a packed press conference for the first time and using a single joke to steady the room, plus how a decades-long reputation with players and writers can quietly matter when everything is on the line. Finally, we get the perspective shift that makes this episode stick: Orioles players offering grace at spring training, and Garcia’s later conversation with Jeffrey Maier as an adult, which reframes the moment with empathy and maturity. If this changed how you see umpires, subscribe, share the episode with a baseball fan, and leave us a review.

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We trade Key West memories with MLB umpiring legend Richie Garcia, then follow his road from Conch childhood stickball to a career that includes All Star Games and multiple World Series. We also get the inside story on the Jeffrey Maier play, what umpires go through after a spotlight moment, and why today’s rule changes are reshaping the strike zone and the pace of baseball.

• Growing up in old Key West with tight community ties and nonstop baseball
• The Marine Corps years and the pivot from coaching to umpiring behind the plate
• Breaking into pro ball and learning the travel grind of a Major League umpire
• The Jeffrey Maier incident, security pressure and earning respect through reputation
• World Series perspective, full circle moments and the 1989 earthquake experience
• What 109 ejections teach about fairness boundaries and manager psychology
• Thoughts on pitch clock replay and automated balls and strikes and how grading impacts umpires
• Favorite cities, food on the road and lessons from veteran umpires
• What Conch pride means and why knowing Key West history matters

If you enjoyed this episode, drop a like, share, and subscribe because there's a lot of good stuff on chat. You can also follow BringJoy on YouTube and Instagram or check my website at joynulisch.com. And go bring joy to the people in your world.

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Pressure situations don’t create a clutch player, they reveal one. That’s why sitting down with Marina Goins feels like getting a real look at what makes a Key West athlete rise when the moment gets loud. Marina is a Lady Conchs softball standout who took her game from the Backyard to college softball, first through the JUCO route at Pensacola State College and then to NCAA Division II at Lynn University, and she’s honest about what each level demands.

We get into the differences between JUCO and D2 softball, from the “no restraints” grind of junior college practices to the NCAA limited hours that force you to develop discipline on your own. Marina also shares what she tells herself in the batter’s box, how she reads the field, and why her goal is always to “produce,” no matter what that looks like. If you care about leadership, mental toughness, and becoming a better teammate, her definition of a great teammate is simple and strong: communicate, stay humble, bring grit, and ride for your team.

The conversation goes beyond stats. We talk about balancing academics and athletics, building confidence through mentoring younger players, and how girls weightlifting helped her get stronger and hit with real power. Marina closes the loop on what Conch Pride means, why Key West community matters, and what she’s doing next with a biology degree and the start of chiropractic school.

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