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NEXT DOR

A

fter leaving a clinical 
psychology gradu-
ate program at the 
University of Michigan in 2017, 
podcast studio engineer and 
meditation coach Brandon 
Klein decided to embark on his 
own path that stepped outside 
the one he originally pursued.
He launched a meditation 
business where he taught med-
itative programs to schools, 
universities and various temples 
and synagogues throughout 
Metro Detroit.
Working alongside rabbis and 
congregations, Klein, 29, was 
able to merge meditation and 
spirituality around the High 
Holidays for members and staff 
interested in participating.
From 2017-2020, Klein could 
be found teaching meditation at 
Shir Shalom, Temple Israel and 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 
among others. He also worked 
as a program coordinator for 
The Well for a year.
Now based in Los Angeles 
and working as a studio engi-
neer for Kast Media, a podcast 
network and publisher, Klein 
pivoted 180 degrees to embark 
on a life-changing journey to 
build a career based on his 
many passions.
“I always had a love for 
entertainment,
” says Klein, who 
grew up in West Bloomfield 
and began hosting podcasts 
and shows just prior to the 

beginning of the COVID-19 
pandemic. Yet, as the pandemic 
kept people home, Klein saw a 
unique opportunity.

HITTING THE ROAD
He packed up his audio and 
video gear and left Metro 
Detroit to pursue life on the 
road. 
Living out of his van for 
two months, Klein traveled to 
national parks throughout the 
country where he taught medi-
tation virtually and also started 
a show called Humanize the 
Human Eyes.
Through the show, he inter-
viewed different creatives on the 
road while filming concerts and 
conversations in national parks. 
His favorite park, Klein says, 
was Badlands National Park in 
South Dakota.
Stopped by fires in San 
Francisco, Klein couldn’t con-
tinue to drive west, so instead 
he drove to Nashville, Tenn., 
where he rented an apartment 
for nine months.
Although he was still teach-
ing meditation virtually from 
Nashville, he spent every day 
learning how to use his audio 
and video gear at a more profes-
sional level.
“I became obsessed,
” Klein 
recalls. “I was testing and exper-
imenting.
”
Ready to get serious about 
audio and video, Klein moved 

Life on the road with podcast producer 
and meditation coach 

Brandon Klein

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“IT BLOWS MY MIND THAT I WENT 
FROM HOSTING MY OWN SHOWS, 
TO FILMING ON THE ROAD, TO 
BUILDING MY OWN PODCAST 
STUDIO AND THEN GETTING HIRED 

BY A PODCAST NETWORK IN L.A.”

— BRANDON KLEIN

VOICE OF A 
NEW GENERATION

