TIPS023: From Ship to Shape with Walker Vreeland

TIPS022: The Past with Benjamin Tyler
September 5, 2017
TIPS024: You Can Come Back with Jennifer Haussler Garing
September 5, 2017

TIPS023: From Ship to Shape with Walker Vreeland



Walker Vreeland is an award-winning radio personality, writer, actor, singer and voice over artist. As a radio personality, he is best known for having hosted The Afternoon Show on 102.5 WBAZ on Long Island, and the podcast Interview with the Artist. His autobiographical monologue From Ship to Shape will make its New York premiere this Fall at the United Solo Theatre Festival

Click to tweet: Walker Vreeland shares his incredible journey on the i’MpossibleProject #podcast!

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Time Stamped Notes

  • 1.49 Walker knew from age 11 that he wanted to be a professional actor (mostly musical theatre)
  • 2.17 When Walker was age 25 he had a breakdown and changed his work from acting professionally in NYC to hosting a radio show on Long Island
  • 4.15 When Walker began in radio it enabled him to find his voice for the first time in his life, and part of his healing from the breakdown at age 25
  • 5.55 After Walker had been on the radio for 10 years, in May 2016 Walker was diagnosed with bile duct cancer and had to have major surgery and treatment
  • 6.50 As of this airing (Sept. 2017) Walker is cancer free (yay!)
  • 8.50 After surgery Walker felt free—enough to quit his job in radio and restart his career in show business and acting in New York City
  • 13.04 Walker was put in intense (Freudian) psychoanalysis from 11-15 by his parents after coming home one day from school and told his parents he wanted to kill himself
  • 21.33 Walker is actually grateful for his breakdown and his struggles because it helped him find his voice and a way to help himself and others
  • 25.05 Walker analogizes how his mental illness feels in several different ways… and it’s a must-listen
  • 30.12 As a radio host, Walker’s stories on mental illness became part of his backstory and he talked about it a lot and even found the space to laugh and joke about it!
  • 31.30 As an actor and advocate through the arts, Walker wants to “upstage the stigma” in regards to mental illness
  • 39.31 Walker’s favorite word is “essence” and if someone made a movie of his life, either Bruce Willis or Neil Patrick Harris would play him (find out more fun facts about Walker in the Quick Fire Round)
  • 44.03 The New York City premiere of Walker’s one man show From Ship to Shape is: September 30, 2017

Key Points

  1. Any day could be our last and so it’s important that we do the best we can to pursue our dreams and desires every day
  2. A support system is HUGE when trying to pull oneself out of a downward spiral in regards to mental illness, addiction, and more

Resources or Websites Mentioned

Walker’s solo show From Ship to Shape: fromshiptoshape.com
Walker’s email address: Wvreeland@gmail.com