What Could Be Bad

Mental Health Storytelling

What Could Be Bad is an educational and informational podcast designed to elevate and de-stigmatize mental health conversations. Talks and storytelling between host Benj Gershman and guest will focus on unique life experiences, human connection, personal resilience and positivity.

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The Podcast

What if it wasn't so taboo to talk about your most personal issues? What can we learn from being more open? What can we share that may help someone else?

We are here to tell our stories, to learn from one another, and share the tools we use when needed. Be inspired and break the cycle of private trauma.

What Could Be Bad® will discuss personal journeys. We all face unique challenges. We all benefit from having a safe place to share, learn from each other, and create a cultural shift in the process.

The Host

While touring with O.A.R. in February 2020, Benj Gershman was hit with Covid-19, recovered temporarily, then developed a resulting auto-immune disease and what is now known as Long Covid - rendering him disabled for the better part of two years. Unable to walk, unable to hold a music instrument, unable to pick up his one year old son. Healing through physical and occupational therapy, followed by personal training, Benj's mental health was left unaddressed and negatively manifested in forms of anxiety, anger, loneliness and depression. After crisis was reached; private support, therapy and medication were helpful in allowing him to weather the storm. Rebalancing, Benj began to share about his experience. The response from family, friends and social network connections was strong, constructive and inspiring. This was the genesis for What Could Be Bad®.

The Name

The podcast name honors and commemorates Louise Chesler, Benj's maternal grandmother - always a teacher, who while in hospice battling Lyme Disease, Alzheimers and dementia had a moment of clarity upon Benj's final visit. Holding hands, he began amidst tears, "It's Benj, I'm here, Granny. I love you. How are you feeling today?" Their eyes locked, her hand squeezed his, she smiled and said, "what could be bad?" Then drifted off to rest. At her end, deeply and truly, she passed on a gracious acknowledgement of submission, acceptance, gratitude and joy. These conversations will center around these words.

Episodes

October 26, 2026

What Could Be Bad – Episode 403:Put Your Good Where it Does the Most with Hilary Gleason

What happens when the people who make the music need support of their own? On this episode of What Could Be Bad, Benj sits down with Hilary Gleason, Executive Director of Backline, the nonprofit dedicated to mental health and wellness for the music industry. Backline has reached a milestone it has been working toward from the very beginning: every artist and spouse in the music industry now has free access to mental health care by phone or text 24/7. Hilary shares the unexpected path that led her to lead the organization, a series of meaningful moments that put her at the helm. She talks about the team effort behind expanding access, the pressures unique to life in music, and why removing barriers to care can change everything for artists, touring professionals, and their families. Whether you work in music, love someone who does, or simply care about building healthier communities, this conversation shows what’s possible when an industry decides to take care of its own.

October 26, 2026

What Could Be Bad – Episode 402:Oklahomies with Max Rainer

Max Rainer, singer of Wilderado, sat down with Benj on a show day while the band was opening for The Head and the Heart, and the conversation started before the cameras were officially rolling. Twelve years into touring, Max talks about the days he spends away from his wife and daughters, why forgetting lyrics on stage taught him to break the fourth wall, and the night a grieving fan in the front row made it clear the show was never about him. He opens up about how the pandemic's forced pause became one of the best stretches of his life, how an overbooked 2022 cost more than it gave, and why he now puts less pressure on being happy and more attention on the condition of the soil he's planted in. An honest conversation about fatherhood, faith, and letting the people around you tell you when you're not okay.

October 26, 2026

What Could Be Bad – Episode 401:More Good Days with Justin C. Lipford

What happens when people get together with a common goal? According to Justin C. Lipford, that’s where the medicine happens. In this Season 4 premiere, Benj sits down in San Diego with Justin, a community leader at the YMCA of San Diego County. Justin leads community bike rides and works with young people who are experiencing homelessness. He grew up in Chula Vista and started doing street outreach at 21. Justin shares how his father’s recovery, and the 12-step meetings he sat in on as a kid, planted the seeds for a life of service. He talks about breaking the ice with a hacky sack in National City parks, the “two San Diegos” and why access matters, why feeling seen can change the direction of a young person’s life, how bike rides turn into the real conversations, parenting in a world of iPads and virtual school, why his goal for his kids is a “rich life,” not just making it to 18, and keeping it simple with a mission to have more good days. If you’ve ever struggled to ask for help, or wondered how one person can change a life, this one’s for you.

June 26, 2026

What Could Be Bad – Episode 310:Give Yourself to the Music with Scott Rednor

Benj sits down live at the Shakedown Bar in Vail with musician and venue owner Scott Rednor, whose lifelong relationship with music began on the Suzuki violin and wound through clarinet, cello, and guitar before a seventh-grade dance gig hooked him for good. Scott opens up about the gut-punch moment his band Dear Liza imploded mid-tour — the van’s engine and the group blowing up in the same instant — and how that collapse sent him into a period of carpentry, creative drought, and crying in a closet before vulnerability finally cracked open a flood of his best songwriting. His path back to music led him to the Vail Valley, where he took a cover-gig he didn’t want as a stepping stone, built a loyal following at the Red Lion, and eventually created the Shakedown Bar — a community anchor now collecting a decade of memories for a coffee table book. The conversation goes deep on the mental health challenges unique to seasonal mountain towns, the dangers of screens for kids, and what it really means to give yourself to the music and trust it will give back.

June 26, 2026

What Could Be Bad – Episode 309:You Can’t Screw This Up with Adam Bornstein

What does it actually take to rebuild your health, your mind, and your life when the odds are stacked against you? In this powerful episode, Benj sits down with bestselling author, elite performance coach, and co-founder of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club, Adam Bornstein — a man who survived a mysterious recurring 104-degree fever, broke his back twice as a teenager, and turned every setback into a blueprint for resilience, longevity, and mental strength. They go deep on the psychology of health optimization, why pain is a signal not a sentence, how grief can become fuel, and what it really means to build communities that save lives. If you’ve ever been told what you can’t do — this episode is your permission slip to prove them wrong.

June 12, 2026

What Could Be Bad – Episode 308:Much Much Love Always & Forever with Demetri Manabat

Benj sits down in Las Vegas with spoken word poet Demetri Manabat, whose viral poem "Barbie" first caught Benj's attention during a difficult personal period — and sparked a real friendship. Demetri traces his origin story: a spontaneous creative writing class in his final college semester, a poetry slam on his 21st birthday, and a slow pivot away from the career path his Filipino and Mexican parents expected toward one he found cathartic and world-changing. The conversation goes deep on grief. Demetri opens up about losing his father, the two years it took him to even speak about the loss, and how his fiancée — a childhood sweetheart since age 12 — became his anchor through the pain. By the end, the two land on something simple and true: grief is just love with nowhere to go. And choosing to keep loving anyway is the most honest way through it.

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Support the Podcast!

We are now set up to accept 501(c)3 donations. You can support the pod and receive a tax benefit in the process. Help us elevate and de-stigmatize mental health conversations now!

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