Griffin Donley
168 episodes listed below
Greenville stories, told on the trail.
The Upstate Trail Talks follows conversations on and around Greenville’s Swamp Rabbit Trail. Griffin Donley gives guests room to tell origin stories, explain their work, and connect it back to life in the Upstate.
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The Upstate Trail Talks is a Greenville-centered interview show with a simple frame: a conversation happens while walking, often with the Swamp Rabbit Trail close at hand. The setup gives the show an easy rhythm. Griffin Donley usually begins with a bit of local life, then brings in a guest whose work says something about the Upstate. The conversations are not rushed. They make space for background, family, first steps, odd details, and the practical realities of running something in Greenville. One episode can follow Beau Blackshear into the social side of Kinney’s Golf Club. Another can move through Danielle Johnson’s work with GVL Today and the way local coverage can send real attention toward small businesses. The show treats community impact as concrete, not abstract. It is interested in who shows up, who collaborates, who keeps events alive, and what a growing city makes possible. Reedy Reels Film Festival becomes a story about filmmakers finding one another. Next Chapter Navigator becomes a discussion of families facing aging decisions with more guidance. The South Carolina Barbecue Project brings food culture and publishing into the same local frame. Junior League of Greenville episodes sit beside race recaps, March events, and the busy feel of the calendar turning. Baseline GVL adds pickleball, sports transitions, and a new gathering place. The host’s style is warm and lightly guided. Guests often carry long stretches, which suits the show’s interest in origin stories and real-world detail. It sounds more like a local introduction than a polished panel. That is the appeal. The Upstate Trail Talks is at its best when it makes Greenville feel specific, connected, and still knowable.
Made for: For Greenville locals, Upstate newcomers, small-business supporters, and anyone who likes community stories with names, places, and practical detail. It also suits listeners curious about how local events, restaurants, sports spaces, nonprofits, and creative projects take shape.
What sets it apart: The walking format gives the interviews a relaxed, grounded feel that sets them apart from studio-bound local shows. It captures Greenville through conversations with people actively building, organizing, serving, and sharing work in the city.
Greenville, SC is quickly becoming one of the most popular cities to visit and to call home - from its highly regarded restaurant scene to the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each week, tune in as I walk and talk on Greenville's Swamp Rabbit Trail, that runs 22 miles through the heart of downtown, and ask our guests why they decided to make the Upstate their home and how that has impacted them.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
A walking interview show that reveals how Greenville's film-festival community connects filmmakers, production roles and audiences.
Griffin Donley conducts interviews in motion, letting passing frogs, loose shoelaces and the distance already walked remain part of the conversation.
The Swamp Rabbit Trail becomes the Greenville welcome wagon you wish came with earbuds.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A friendly conversation about self-presentation and a short mantra for speaking about yourself well.
A light sponsor read opens the episode, then the conversation settles into Joel Archieri talking through his background as an author and speaker and the short mantra he uses when introducing himself in networking and interviews.
A local golf startup story that mixes community feel with practice-room ambition.
Griffin Donley keeps the trail-walk structure moving at an even clip, giving Beau Blackshear's shift from yachting to Kinney's Golf Club in Judson Mill room to feel earned.
A warm Greenville conversation about local news, small businesses, and the impact of being featured.
Griffin Donley talks with Danielle Johnson, senior product editor for GVL Today, about the steady, unglamorous work behind local reporting in Greenville.
A relaxed conversation about how the Read Your Wheels Film Festival serves Greenville and its filmmakers.
The episode follows a conversation about the Read Your Wheels Film Festival and its place in downtown Greenville. Griffin and Ken See keep the focus on how the festival has grown over more than 20 years, why it matters to the city, and how it gives filmmakers and audiences a…
Griffin Donley opens with a community shout-out, then brings on Joel Archieri for a conversation that moves from trail-running life into Joel's broader story.
Beau Blackshear, owner of Kinney's Golf Club in Judson Mill, traces his path from Texas, Nashville, and 10 years in the yachting industry to opening an indoor golf facility in Greenville.
Griffin Donley meets Danielle Johnson at Unity Park for an easy walk-and-talk.
Griffin Donley checks in with Ken See, one of the co-founders of the Read Your Wheels Film Festival, ahead of the festival's 11th year in beautiful downtown Greenville.
Sarah Makeda says Next Chapter Navigator is an aging life care service built around eight areas: crisis intervention, health and disability, financial, housing, family dynamics, local resources, advocacy, and legal affairs.
Host Griffin Donley discusses the Greenville Half Marathon and previews an upcoming Junior League event with guest Mary Neal Jackson.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Chandler Benore about her transition from tennis to pickleball and the opening of Baseline GVL, an indoor pickleball facility.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Drea Trummels, owner of Soul Vibration Wellness, about her move to Greenville and how wellness transformed her life.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Stacey Hyde about her move to the Upstate and her work at Pendleton Place.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Kevin Barnes, chairman of the Greenville St.
Host Griffin Donley wraps up 2025 with a year-end recap and interviews co-owners of PNF Construction about their lives and careers in the Upstate.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Zach Hall, co-founder of the Ville De Ville Relay race from Asheville to Greenville, discussing its origin and popularity.
Host Griffin Donley celebrates 10,000 listens and interviews Camber Parker Bowden about her company rebrand and new book on generational leadership.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Lacey Kegley about the Traveler's Rest Farmers Market and the tomato sandwich taste-off event.
Host Griffin Donley interviews real estate CEO Joan Herlong about her journey in the Upstate and her business.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Mario Brown, CEO of Affordable Upstate, about his company's impact on the affordable housing crisis in Greenville, SC.
This episode features an interview with Paul Hinton discussing banjo playing, nunchuck flipping, content creation, and reflections on American history around the Fourth of July.
This episode features an interview with Bishop Scott, CEO of Scout Mechanical, discussing business in the Upstate region.
This episode discusses the upcoming construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Swamp Rabbit Trail at Verde Boulevard in Greenville, following a sponsor segment about a local glamping destination.
In this 100th episode of Upstate Trail Talks, host Griffin Donnelly interviews Mayor Knox White of Greenville while walking through Unity Park, discussing his passion for the city and community.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Dr.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Bryce Smith, co-founder of Pro Mill Music, a new space for Upstate musicians with recording studios and a live music venue.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Marion Crawford, founder of a marketing agency, about her journey and life in Greenville, SC while walking on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Carrie Ann Campbell, CEO of Southern Tide, about her career and the company's new headquarters in Greenville.
Host Griffin Donnelly walks the Swamp Rabbit Trail with Clemson professor Gail DePriest, discussing her teaching and coaching work and her connection to the Upstate.
Host Griffin Donley interviews Teresa Gayvart, co-founder of Encorah Health, about her company's wearable technology for women's health.
This episode celebrates the two-year anniversary of the Upstate Trail Talks podcast, featuring a sponsor segment for Wimp decaf coffee and expressing gratitude to listeners and local community members.