Mentor Buffet
Alexi Pappas
Alexi Pappas's Mentor Buffet is a podcast about mentorship: Who influenced the people who influence us? Who helped them along their journey?Alexi is an Olympian, filmmaker, actress, and bestselling author, and she's leaned on mentors to help her level up faster than she could on her own. After losing her mom to suicide when she was four, she needed to find other people to lean on. Now, it's Alexi's turn to peel back the curtain on mentorship. In each episode of Mentor Buffet Alexi sits down with people who inspire her—athletes, entrepreneurs, creatives, and beyond—to have conversations about chasing dreams and befriending pain, through the lens of those who have shaped them into who they are today.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 27, 2025 • 17min
Help Me Please 6
Alexi answers listeners' questions about how to be high vibrational on command, how to balance striving and being present, and also one about a jealous boyfriend.
Jun 20, 2025 • 1h 1min
ZOEY GROSSMAN: Your Own Power Is In Your Art
Zoey Grossman, the first photographer to ever join host Alexi Pappas on Mentor Buffet, shares about her anxiety, the relationship between her and her subjects, and the times she feels the most magic. Zoey also shares her secrets for confidence and directing advice she got from Francis Ford Coppola.
Jun 5, 2025 • 45min
NICK DURR: Family Matters
Nick Durr, the accomplished Hollywood gaffer, joins Alexi Pappas to talk about mentorship in his family. His dad and brother are also gaffers, and Nick discerns what he’s inherited from each of them from what’s only his. Nick also talks about the start of his career, a consequential family trip to Thailand, and the importance of shittalking on set.
May 29, 2025 • 19min
Help Me Please 5
Alexi answers listeners' questions about accountability, codependence, and when to give up.
May 22, 2025 • 53min
ANGELA TRIMBUR: Bend With The Wind
Angela Trimbur joins host Alexi Pappas on Mentor Buffet the day after Alexi attended one of Angela’s dance classes and cried. Angela and Alexi discuss the motivation behind her dance classes, and recap Alexi’s experience last night at “Balletcore”—Angela’s class where everybody cosplays as professional ballerinas. Angela shares what she’s learned from her icon Twyla Tharp and about how empowering her friendship has been with Miranda July. She also explains her life motto, “Bend With The Wind,” recommends four books, and explains why she cherishes the moment right before a surgery.
May 8, 2025 • 41min
RICH ROLL: The Spirit Of Service
Rich Roll joins Mentor Buffet host Alexi Pappas to discuss his purpose: being of service. It's a truth he's discovered in sobriety: “Your life expands in proportion to the extent to which you’re in service to other people." Orienting himself toward service has led Rich to the mentors and friends that helped him publish his book, Finding Ultra, start his podcast, and eventually launch the network, Voicing Change Media, that has fostered Mentor Buffet to life. Rich also recounts recording the first episode of The Rich Roll Podcast with his wife on a mango farm in Hawaii.
May 1, 2025 • 20min
Help Me Please 4
Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about the difference between good and bad pain, being 23, and procrastination.
Apr 24, 2025 • 46min
MATT WALSH: Improvise Your Life
Matt Walsh, the comedian and actor, joins host Alexi Pappas to share some of the lessons he’s learned along the way—from his high school football coach, his biology teacher, and from his peers in the Second City comedy scene in Chicago. Matt shares about the roots of the Upright Citizens Brigade, the improv comedy group he started with his friends that eventually turned into a full-fledged school. Alexi and Matt also talk about Matt’s anxiety about scheduling trips or putting anything on the calendar, and Alexi teaches him a little trick she learned from a psychologist about our worst fears being ridiculous.
Apr 10, 2025 • 32min
RANDI ZUCKERBERG: Dream Big and Have Wild Ideas
Randi Zuckerberg, an original Facebook team member and tech innovator, shares her journey in a candid conversation with Alexi Pappas. They delve into the importance of creativity in startups and the value of failure as a stepping stone to success. Randi emphasizes quick decision-making, the evolving role of women in tech, and her transition from tech to Broadway. Her anecdotes reveal how embracing risks and personal achievements can empower individuals, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth.
Apr 3, 2025 • 14min
Help Me Please 3
Alexi answers listeners' advice questions.
