Samantha Merz: Vancouver’s Poet Warrior Turns Chaos into Gold on Kinetic PE MIXX
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By: Marcus Hart (DJ Potential)
Yo, Kinetic Fam—Faith Meets Fire!
What’s good? It’s Marcus Hart, aka DJ Potential, droppin’ faith, fire, and funky truth on the Kinetic PE MIXX Show. On March 17, 2025, we’re hittin’ YouTube (watch here) with Vancouver’s poet warrior, Samantha Merz—chasin’ 10K views. Life got you feelin’ like a busted rhyme? This one’s your reset. Subscribe, grab my free Renewal Toolkit at marcus-hart.com, sip Transform U Coffee at transformumedia.com, and vibe with us. From napkins thrown at me to Samantha’s stanzas, we’re flippin’ burnout into gold—let’s roll!
Samantha’s Spark: Poetry from Pain
Samantha Merz, callin’ in from Vancouver, British Columbia, turned high school struggles into art. “I couldn’t focus—poetry became my solace,” she says. Her books Kazoo and Meadowlight—born from learning differences and life’s curveballs—built her confidence. “Words were tough to connect with people, but poems let ‘em feel me,” she explains. A truck driver standoff sparked Kazoo’s verses; pandemic isolation bloomed Meadowlight. “It’s embarrassing, stressful stuff turned beautiful,” she adds.
Search Tip: Diggin’ “poetry for burnout” or “Vancouver poets”? Samantha’s your muse.
Faith Flips the Grind
From PR gigs to UBC’s geriatric medicine, Samantha’s ride wasn’t smooth. “Faith kept me goin’ through dark times,” she shares. No big crew—just her mom and brother cheerin’ her on. “They pushed me to journal, write poems,” she says. A hospital desk moment—hooking a family friend with a doc—flipped stress into juice. “It’s about perseverance,” she notes. Her formula? Faith plus creativity. “Prayer’s my trick—find strength inside,” she advises.
Napkins hit me onstage; Samantha’s chaos hit harder—yet she’s droppin’ truth. “Start small—journal your mess,” she tells Sarahs and Steves out there. “Don’t overthink—just release.” Her first pen hit at 13, shared at 19—now she’s published, with Kazoo in Vancouver’s downtown library.
Grab Kazoo and Meadowlight via samanthamerz.wordpress.com—hit my Toolkit at marcus-hart.com.
Chaos to Creative Comeback
Samantha’s muse thrives on angst and sadness—caught midair with voice notes. “I record it fast if I’m not at my desk,” she says. Publishing clicked in 2019: “I had poems out there—why not collect ‘em?” Now, she’s wrestlin’ writer’s block for book three. “My muse’ll come back,” she trusts. Her tip for flipping flops? “Channel frustration into somethin’ positive—grow confident, hone it.”
From my napkin flop to this podcast, Samantha’s poetry flips hurdles into hooks. “I’m reachin’ more, sparkin’ others,” she says—friends confirm it. Legacy’s next, and Canada-US tariff talks might just ignite her pen. “It’s therapy—shiftin’ negativity,” she nods.
What’s your burnout flip? Drop it below—Samantha’s watchin’.
Own It, Flip It, Drop It
Samantha’s a poet warrior—ownin’ mess, flippin’ it with faith, droppin’ gold. Hit her blog samanthamerz.wordpress.com and Instagram @MarbleMessages for the vibes. “Thanks to my fam and friends—stay strong out there,” she signs off. Sarah, Steve—your grind’s a warm-up. Start today: coffee, prayer, one spark.
This is Kinetic PE MIXX—share with your burned-out crew, smash subscribe, catch replays on podcast apps. Fuel up at marcus-hart.com and transformumedia.com. Samantha’s lit the mic—drop it loud, fam! Peace!
Episode links:
Transcript
Marcus Hart (00:01.046)
Yo, my Kinetic PE mix fans out there, I wanna welcome you back to the Kinetic PE show with your host Marcus Hart, aka DJ Finchel. This is where we drop the faith, fire, and a little funky truth. We here to shake things up when it comes to your burnout blues. If life's got you feeling like a busted rhyme, off beat, out of sync, this one is for you. Today, I got Samantha Merce. Vancouver is on.
Poet warrior slinging verses in kazoo and metal light. Turning leaning to your struggles and to learning about your struggles and to create gold. I have bomb gigs hired in a drunk DJ. So I'm hyped to chop it up with her faith and creativity. Sarah, whoever you are out there, that's your reset ticket. Let's roll.
Marcus Hart (00:00.218)
And one. Okay, Connecticut P.E. Mix. We have a very special guest that is calling in all the way from Canada, know, Vancouver, you one of my places that I always want to add to my bucket list. So let me set the stage like this, you know. So once upon a time, I set myself to be before a crowd and they threw napkins at me like I owed them money. And then burnout hit me, faith flickered.
Samantha, you got an amazing story that would make my napkin dodgeball look like a warmup. So take us there.
Samantha Merz (00:38.666)
Yes, so growing up in high school, I really struggled with school, with concentration and paying attention in class. So in my later years, I found solace in poetry. So since then, I have created two books, one called Kazoo and the other called Meadowlight. And they helped me grow in confidence over the years.
Marcus Hart (01:06.66)
That's amazing. And Sam, your learning differences definitely drew curve laws at you. How did poetry turn your stumbles into stanzas?
Samantha Merz (01:17.08)
Yes, so with my learning differences, I found it hard to connect with other people using words. So with writing down the words and poetry and creating beautiful poems, I found it much better to portray my thoughts and get other people to read them and really understand where I'm coming from.
Marcus Hart (01:44.987)
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And, you know, when you start setting yourself out to do what you do and you're using it for empowerment, there's got to be like faith in the mix of that. And you went from PR hustle to UBC, geriatric medicine, and that's got to be a ride for you. know, was there any point that like
You have to use faith to keep going.
Samantha Merz (02:17.742)
Yes, I had to use faith to keep going during some dark times I experienced. Just I think staying strong and knowing that something better and greater is going to happen for me. So I think that really helped get to where I am now.
Marcus Hart (02:36.922)
You're so real. And, you know, I feel that in my soul when people like yourself can give us a peek into that and let us know how you making the move. You you got kazoo and metal like dropping truth. How does these books bloom from your battles or how did they, should I say?
Samantha Merz (03:01.902)
Through embarrassing or stressful situations. So one time, like I was in the middle of a confrontation with a truck driver and that spurred one of my poems in my kazoo book. And with my Meadowlite book, it was all about like pandemic situations. So that kind of, with the isolation and...
Marcus Hart (03:07.289)
Thank
Samantha Merz (03:30.146)
being set in a little squad of three people really put things in perspective.
Marcus Hart (03:39.972)
So let me rewind this back. You got into a standoff with a truck driver?
Samantha Merz (03:45.686)
Yes, I wouldn't go in front of him right away. I was hesitant to cross the road and he got really mad at me.
Marcus Hart (03:47.194)
Yeah.
Marcus Hart (03:53.083)
Talk about road rage, know, don't know what to say about people nowadays. They are not in tune with being compassionate to others. And I can see how that happened. then you mentioned like a squad of three, know, does this include like supportive people around you?
Samantha Merz (04:15.736)
Yes, my mom and my brother.
Marcus Hart (04:19.096)
Yeah, family is important. I come from a family of 10 siblings myself, and I've been blessed to have both parents in my life. And I think it's very encouraging when you can find that support from family. How have they been supportive with these two projects?
Samantha Merz (04:41.654)
They've been really supportive. They encouraged me to write when I can and just express my thoughts through journaling and through poems.
Marcus Hart (04:56.106)
Excellent, excellent. Has there ever been a moment where like a PR gig or a hospital desk or even just another poem that like flipped your challenges into creative juices for you?
Samantha Merz (05:09.326)
I guess at the hospital desk, I connected a family friend with one of the doctors. So that was really good just to do on the spot.
Marcus Hart (05:24.632)
Yeah. So you said, so you're saying that like, you know, you had a family that was, that you were working with. Is that, am I correct on that?
Samantha Merz (05:33.198)
A family friend, yeah, was needing an appointment for her spouse. So I was able to put them in touch together and just make it more convenient for her.
Marcus Hart (05:35.737)
Okay.
Marcus Hart (05:47.323)
Excellent, Life can be a big beat down sometimes, but with your formula of faith and creativity, you seem to remix it and your struggles ain't the end, from what we can see. And they seem like they're a hook way to drop, so let's let's vibe with this a little bit, you know. How was someone else, you know, who
has like, you know, overcome challenges and still like are finding it hard to like kind of express themselves. Like, you know, what would be like some piece of advice you would give them?
Samantha Merz (06:26.688)
I'd probably suggest to start small and really probably start with journaling their thoughts. And then as they grow in confidence, maybe put together larger forms of art for their self-expression.
Marcus Hart (06:47.288)
Yeah, I think starting small is like the best way to go. What I learned is like, when you start with like journaling, it doesn't have to be personal and it doesn't have to necessarily be anything you share with others. A lot of times people start overthinking the process, like, is this too much to put in there or do I sound stupid? So like, so we definitely.
have to be able to free ourselves and release whatever's going on in that moment in our journal. How early did you start journaling?
Samantha Merz (07:25.998)
I think I started journaling when I was 13, but I didn't really share my work until I was about 19.
Marcus Hart (07:35.963)
Yeah, that was the age for me that I started at. I don't know what it is about starting in your teen years. You always get the cliche that my brother stole my diary. Yeah, but I think that's the best time to really start forming that artistic and creative side of yourself to really express those hidden emotions.
Samantha Merz (07:47.576)
Alright, yes.
Marcus Hart (08:05.306)
Is there a particular emotion or mood that like sparks you to write more in?
Samantha Merz (08:13.358)
Probably when I'm feeling angst or maybe a bit of sadness, that's when I start to write more.
Marcus Hart (08:24.058)
And usually when you are like in a mood of sadness or experiencing anxiety, are you able to to able to catch it like in midair before it it lands heavy on you?
Samantha Merz (08:41.23)
Usually I have to do like a voice recording or like tape in a note on my phone to really capture what's going on at the moment if I'm not at my computer.
Marcus Hart (08:53.61)
Yeah, that's that's I think that's a really great rave like strategy to do it that way and the record recorder That is definitely the best way to When you're not able to write You can still get get whatever that is that's triggering that emotion out right there and there and Help you push forward through the day
That's incredible. So you're us some real good gospel insights behind your train of thought and how you get these creative works. So let's talk about the publishing journey. When you knew you finally had something that you were willing to share with an audience, do you recall where you were at? Like, what were you doing?
and like what kind of spark you say, you know what, let me just create a good publication out of this.
Samantha Merz (09:58.888)
Yeah, for my first book, I think I had a lot of poems that were previously published elsewhere. So I thought that it would be good to collect them all into a publication kind of in the order that they were received and approved. And then I thought, why not have a collection and make it available for purchase? And so I thought.
Marcus Hart (10:15.161)
Yeah.
Samantha Merz (10:25.134)
I think in like 2019, I decided to do that and I got a few book sales and one copy is at the downtown branch of the library. So that's great.
Marcus Hart (10:37.21)
Yeah, it's pretty cool when you go walking to the library and say, that's me. Yeah. When it comes to like things that's like happening in Canada, you know, and we talked about this a little bit, you know, with like how Canada in the US conversation has been fused like quite a bit. Have you ever like written journals or anything that like, you know, that kind of get you through like
Samantha Merz (10:42.236)
Yeah.
Marcus Hart (11:06.234)
the whole political doom scrolling and all of the things that come with like the frustrations from the media kind of pierced it into our hearts.
Samantha Merz (11:18.67)
No, I haven't yet, but I think that would be a really good form of kind of therapy. And just because the tariffs are going in, I think next week on the 4th. So I think that will be a really good testament to see how life will really change since that happens.
Marcus Hart (11:36.707)
Yeah, I think it's very important to like to capture this moment in time where we are right now. This is a very interesting moment in time. I don't think we're ever going to like get another opportunity to be be able to like what you call it, put our mark in the conversation and at the same time try to
shift everybody's mindset away from all the negativity.
Yeah, yeah, so, you know, everyone we talking with like Samantha and she's been all of the good, good juicy stuff that we need to spark our faith and creativity to fuel them together and really push through life. So don't go anywhere. We got more hooks waiting to drop. Let's keep this vibe and keep it going. We'll be right, right back.
Marcus Hart (00:00.47)
Okay, everyone, we are rocking with Samantha, who's our friendly neighbor out there in Canada, Vancouver, is, British Columbia, the province of British Columbia. We've been talking about poems and journaling and so much like, know, on the other side. So if you made it this far, do share with someone who can benefit from this conversation as well.
and let us know what you think so far. And by the way, Samantha, I like to plug you right away. Where can we reach out to you and also discover your work?
Samantha Merz (00:42.953)
probably through my blog, samanthammerz.wordpress.com and on Instagram at MarbleMessages.
Marcus Hart (00:51.446)
Okay, great, great. So let's turn our attention to like back to burnout a little bit and, and forgy flow. My flops beat your wins. So, so like, I had to admit that like, you know, I had times where I feel like things sucked in. And I wasn't like, my best. Samantha, like, how do you turn differences into dope lines? Like, you know, that
you maybe reflect like, you know, how we can come out of our own way.
Samantha Merz (01:25.519)
I've just kind of learned to embrace them over the years. And then through writing and other strengths with post-secondary school really helped me kind of grow in confidence and gain new skills and kind of find a way to market myself more.
Marcus Hart (01:30.307)
you
Marcus Hart (01:47.554)
Yeah. Is there a particular trick for owning like the chaos, like something that, you know, maybe our audience can use when they're feeling stuck?
Samantha Merz (01:57.967)
Honestly, prayer really helps. So just finding the strength within yourself to keep going during hard times you're experiencing or any grief.
Marcus Hart (02:01.486)
Yeah.
Marcus Hart (02:14.222)
That's definitely the heat right there. When I need to get out of something, like I have just ran out of ideas, like I sip some Transform You coffee, I pray the 23rd number some, and then I just own my mess. Sometimes you just gotta own it completely and don't stray away from it. So let's flip it to being creative.
my napkin failure in front of others turned into a podcast now. Samantha, know, Porchley has flipped your grind. So how do we spark a similar flip when we want to go from something that wasn't working out for us into something better or something that is more aligned for us?
Samantha Merz (03:10.255)
I think you just have to channel all the frustration you're feeling from that negative event and pour it into something more positive. once you grow in confidence, then you can find a way to really hone in on your skills and make it stronger and then make it kind of work for you, whether it's through profit or just to get more fame going on.
Marcus Hart (03:39.51)
I was like, the last one worth it. There's a lot of people like begging for that. Thank you. So with the TikTok dances and other ways of appearing on social media. So I like that. know, it's very important to like add that because whatever someone's lane is, you got to respect it and people might want money. People might want to just feel good and make others feel good.
You're a poet now, you're a published poet at that. do you feel like now that you're a published poet that it has flipped your hurdles a little bit and now you're able to like spark someone else's creative?
Marcus Hart (04:29.198)
ability to do more with their lives.
Samantha Merz (04:34.125)
Yeah, I think I'm gaining more reach through going on these podcasts that I'm kind of opening other people's eyes to really explore their creativity and express themselves more. I've gotten that from some friends, so that's great.
Marcus Hart (04:52.544)
And that's inspiring. That's instant validation of your work right there. And you got Kazoo. How do you make your mark stick now, moving on from here? I think sometimes at some point we start thinking about legacy building.
Samantha Merz (05:12.215)
Yeah, I think that's a struggle for me with my third book. I don't have quite enough poems to create a collection yet. So I think I'm experiencing a little bit of writer's block too. So I think I have to wait for my muse to come back to me.
Marcus Hart (05:28.846)
Yeah, indeed. Maybe we sparked some ideas, like, you know, talking about the Canada-US thing. Yeah, that might be one way to turn. So when we talk into my idea audience member out there, I like to call her Sarah because she's always watching, you know, whoever that Sarah might be. You what's one move that Sarah can still to drop her own creative comeback?
Samantha Merz (05:36.683)
Yes.
Samantha Merz (05:59.119)
I think Sarah could kind of take from kind of the perseverance aspect of things and really keep going despite hard times and channeling negative energy into positive work or positive outlook.
Marcus Hart (06:09.614)
Hmm.
Marcus Hart (06:26.722)
Yeah, that's it right there. I like that. That's very good advice. And I think I'm going to adopt more of that perseverance in my life as well. We can never get enough of that. We got to own it. We got to flip it. And then we got to drop it there. So that's the rhythm that I think that's a good rhythm to take away from this.
And I really appreciate you so much for being a poet, a warrior.
Samantha Merz (06:59.343)
Thank you.
Marcus Hart (07:00.942)
Yeah. So, you know, with that said, you know, this is coming to our closing mark right now. You know, is there any particular other words or anything else you'd like to put out there rather be promo related or things you got coming up or just, you know, a good word for us?
Samantha Merz (07:23.791)
I don't have anything promo related, but I just want to say thank you to my friends and family for supporting me throughout the years and especially recently. And to everyone else to stay strong out there for these difficult times.
Marcus Hart (07:41.6)
Excellent. Thank you so much again for dropping great verses and stanzas and truth and all that you do. This is definitely an inspiration to my audience whose grind is just a warm up. We taught them today how to own a mess, flip it to be creative, drop a verse just like you do in your book. And we can start tomorrow. We can start today with coffee, prayer, and one spark.
And I just want to encourage everyone out there to check out Samantha's Kizu in the middle light. Hit her up. Are you on X, by the way?
Samantha Merz (08:19.939)
no I'm not.
Marcus Hart (08:21.614)
Okay, All right, but yeah, definitely hit her up, you know, or drop a comment. We'll make sure we pass along whatever questions that are burning, you know, for you or just supportive things that you want to like, you know, give her, you know, we will definitely send it over to her and continue to lift her up along her journey. So remember, share this with a burned out crew. Marcus and Sam, gotcha.
Smash that subscribe button for more kinetic PE. Show fire on YouTube. Grab more at Marcus-hart.com for my free renewal toolkit PDF on my coaching crew or sip some Transforming You coffee from transformingmedia.com. Face your mic, drop it loud. We out.
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