NOTE: As of October 2021, this podcast is no longer publishing new episodes; however, you can download mp3 files of all existing episodes at these show notes posts on the blog.
You know that feeling when you first interact with someone and you just go, “oh yeah, we’re gonna be friends”? That’s exactly how I felt when I met Brandon Blake.
I’m dubbing Brandon the vegan Mr. Rogers— which to me (and thankfully Brandon agrees) is a HIGH compliment. He’s one of those people whose light shines so brightly that you think to yourself, “Is this dude seriously like this all the time?” But then the really cool thing is learning that there’s a lot more to his story than meets the eye... and a lot more going on than a huge smile. Brandon’s joy is real, but it was also born out of almost dying in a horrific bike accident.
When he came through the other side of “carmageddon,” he knew that he wanted to make the most of the “bonus time” he’d been given. One of the things he did was unexpectedly befriend a turkey named Ziggy, who would change his life forever.
Meeting Ziggy and the other animals at Pasado’s Safe Haven opened Brandon’s eyes to the precious individuals living inside the animals that we are conditioned to believe are objects to be used. Thanks to Ziggy’s heart and impact, Brandon and his wife Sabrina transitioned to a vegan lifestyle and became passionate advocates for the animals… and now, Brandon even works as Pasado’s Humane Education Coordinator!
I am so excited to share this episode with you and know y’all will feel Brandon’s heart come through in this conversation. Get ready to be inspired to live in YOUR bonus time!
To listen to this episode, download the mp3 file HERE.
About Brandon Blake
Brandon Blake is the Humane Education Coordinator at Pasado’s Safe Haven animal sanctuary in Sultan, Washington. He works on youth engagement with classrooms to help connect kids with farmed animals in order to help the kids see the animals as their friends.
Brandon also leads “Sanctuary Circle Time”, which is his Saturday morning kid’s show learning about our animal friends, promoting kindness, compassion and vegan living to kid’s far and wide. After 14 years in the preschool classroom, Brandon is happy to be able to talk about veganism openly and honestly with kids for the first time, through his work with Pasado’s Safe Haven!
Brandon (or as he’s known in the teaching world, Teacher Bando) lives in Seattle with his wife Sabrina, their two kitties PeeWee and Lois, and their recently adopted toy yorkie named Fabio (rescued by Pasado’s Safe Haven from a horrific puppy mill). He finds additional joy playing music and doing multi lingual calligraphy, as well as cooking delicious food, made from plants with Sabrina in quarantine.
🐷Follow Brandon on social media @bonustimemusic or email him to set up a classroom presentation for kids at brandonb@pasadosafehaven.org
🐷Learn more about Pasado’s Safe Haven
🐷See the newest episode of Circle Time (and all previous episodes recorded!) on the Pasado’s Safe Haven Facebook event page
Additional Resources + Stuff Mentioned in the Episode
Sliding Doors (movie)
Seattle Bike Blog post about Brandon’s accident and recovery