Stephen Bates is a young man who is bringing empty buildings back into use by addressing the personal and financial issues in housing. He stopped by to deliver us our second podcast.
He describes what he does as: “It’s a people’s game. Getting to know the people is the important part… I really do believe that property is secondary”.
More from Empty House Man here: https://www.facebook.com/emptyhouseman/
WoBistDude here:
http://www.wobistdude.com
Show Notes:
0:00 – Intro
3:40 – First time you went to someone’s door
11:00 – Current Project
16:00 – Housing issues in big international cities
18:44 – Addressing personal issues in housing
20:00 – Arguing over measurement systems with Michael
22:00 – The perspective of a landlord + advice for young tenants
27:30 – Fun Little Questions
27:50 – Who do you think is underappreciated in society
30:30 – What annoys you?
35:20 – If money was no longer an issue what would you do first?
39:00 – 200 miles on a skateboard
44:18 – A book, a movie and a musical piece
Here’s what it looks like:
Stephen is a South African / British Engineer, passionate about new ideas and innovations. He enjoys any kind of adventure sports and the outdoors. Since 2016, he has been pursuing the goal to bring empty houses back into use, thus, bringing life back to communities, as the “empty house man”.
Chris Bellizzi is a photographer, filmmaker, and survival-based cocktail craftsman. A perpetual fan of road trips and window seats, he recently embarked on a nine-month journey across thirteen countries capturing an episodic documentary on candid cultural perception. Back now in the great state of New Jersey editing this project, Chris is looking forward to making new connections and finding new perspectives to keep the creative juices flowing.
Stephen is a South African / British Engineer, passionate about new ideas and innovations. He enjoys any kind of adventure sports and the outdoors. Since 2016, he has been pursuing the goal to bring empty houses back into use, thus, bringing life back to communities, as the 
Sean Pollock is a multi-disciplinary writer, director, designer, and artist. Recent credits include: American Juggalo (Porterspace Residency/Vital Joint/The New Ohio) A Very…Scientology Pageant: In Concert (The Green Room 42 & 54Below), Laundryfest, The Bed Show, Super Short Site Specific Festival, Phantom of the Paradise (Secret Loft), Intimate Bar Plays, #serials (The Flea), I’m Smiling Because I’m Uncomfortable (NYC and Touring. Winner: “Outstanding Site-Specific Performance” San Diego Fringe 2018). Off-Broadway: Trump Rally (United Solo/Theatre Row). He currently serves as the Literary Associate for The Dirty Blondes and is a company member of Unattended Baggage. Training: Ithaca College, NTI, Directors Lab North, Directors Lab Chicago, Directors Lab West. 
“Hi. My name is Patrick Higgins and I am the founder and President of 
Anonymous: For our post titled “Caracas in Crisis” we conducted an interview with a young woman who chose to remain anonymous. She is a student living through the political turmoil that has drastically altered everyday life for the people of Venezuela.
Arianna Soldati: is a Volcanologist and Science Communicator. Originally from Italy, she is currently based in Munich, Germany, but will happily go wherever her unusual career may bring her in the future. She only enjoys hiking “mountains” that have a crater on the top, and she will never tire to talk about them.
Alexander Watson: As a forest investment expert and a manager of several sustainable reforestation projects in Latin America and South East Asia, Alexander has a broad experience in implementing and promoting international forestry projects. To his academic merit, he holds a Bachelor in Forestry from the Technical University of Dresden in Germany and a Postgraduate Certificate in Social Banking and Social Finance from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.
Morgan Randall: Morgan is an American data scientist working in a small town outside of Munich. He enjoys learning about the world through drawing the strangers around him with both his hands.
Health Us Nepal:We are a small spanish NGO acting in Nepal. We provide health to Humla, the remotest and poorest region in Nepal. We can do that thanks to the heart of Marc, our doctor. He was adopted by a catalan family, and after he finished medicine studies, he decided to go back to his origins and start the project of his life.
Mandy Ho:Mandy is from Germany, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. A Third Culture Kid, she is currently living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, but who knows how long it'll be until her next adventure. When she's not raising awareness about gender equality, climate crisis, and mental health, she loves to get out of her comfort zone and experience new things such as aerial and bungee dance classes and volunteering at TedX and hopefully the UEFA Euro 2020
Smita and Earthoholics:I am fascinated by the wonders of nature and find myself on this journey exploring beautiful minds, interesting cities, cultures and people.
WeBuilding is a Berlin-based non-profit organization founded by an international group of architects, united by a common purpose: to help deprived communities through sustainable building projects. We serve as the support for the local NGOs, helping them to further develop their own projects. With our architectural background, we believe we can provide valuable technical expertise so that both the construction and the design can be done as efficiently as possible.
gaia-liNc is a german-based organization formed by Latin-American and European members committed with the sustainable development of Latin America’s communities and their territories.
Erin Skoczylas is an American photojournalist and communications specialist living in Berlin Germany. Since her start in photography in 2013, Erin has covered socio-environmental topics and issues in areas such as the Brazilian Pantanal, the Peruvian Amazon, and an immigration crisis in Central America. She is currently in her masters of International Relations and Cultural Diplomacy to explore the role of communications between stakeholders to encourage environmental policy. You can see more of her work at 
Silicon Drinkabout is a free weekly event that brings people from the startup scene in Munich together. News, updates and events around Silicon Drinkabout Munich
Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center is a full-service not-for-profit educational reform organization. Eagle Rock operates a tuition-free, year-round residential high school in Estes Park, Colorado, and provides professional development services at school and community sites around the United States.
Kartiki Gonsalves was born and raised in India, She documents our natural world to better understand the profound connection that we share with it by bringing awareness to the challenges we face, but also focuses on solutions with her projects and shows success stories where conservation is working. Her ultimate goal is to create a lifetime body of beautiful work that has deep meaning and that carries a message of hope for preserving what we have which will make a difference for the generations to come. She is currently working on a nature documentary in southern India on the bond between an orphaned baby elephant and his human caregivers. Kartiki is also deeply in love with Orcas and enjoys kayaking.
Melissa Angel is an environmental communicator working at the Global Landscapes Forum. She is also an avid banjo player and mom to a dog named Morby!
Felipe Guarin is a creative executive living in Tokyo, Japan, with strong branding and marketing experience and a passion for technology, design and applied creativity complemented with a successful start-up experience. He studied Political Science at the Externado University in Bogotaì and later did a Masters in Marketing at the Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and a Master in media design at Keio University in Tokyo. He is a Colombian experiential designer and entrepreneur who started working as a creative for BBDO. His experience at BBDO gave him enough confidence led him to start his design studio called Whatever Works. The studio has quickly become a hub for brands looking for a novel way to connect with their consumers. Some clients include Discovery Chanel, Jack Daniel’s, and Netflix. Felipe has been researching over the last 3 years the relation between games, sports, and technology he started in the field intuitively and ended co-founding Kinix a video game studio based in Japan that aims to dissolve the line between sports and e-sports.
Lakshika Serasinhe is a cinematographer and director from Galway, Ireland.
PowerPlay is an approach to fitness which incorporates a playful and experimental mindset. Fozzy (aka Prof. Dr. Eckehard Moritz) heads the innovation consultancy Innovationsmanufaktur in Munich and Raluca Muntean is a designer and acrobat also living in Munich. View the recent work from Powerplay here: 
Petra is a Global Marketing professional and dance company founder based in Jersey City, NJ. She balances her love of Excel spreadsheets with her passion for contemporary choreography, all while cuddling her two cats, Basil & Poppy.
Sara: “Hi everyone, I’m Sara and I am an American living in Germany. On my youtube channel, 
Poonam is born, raised, and educated in New Jersey, and she currently lives and works in Brooklyn. She is a curriculum development manager at a leading edtech company; outside of her corporate 9am-5pm, Poonam runs a very small business that sells authentic masala chai kits inspired by her mum’s top secret recipe. Check out @
Trevor May is a cinematographer and filmmaker from Atlanta, GA. His focus is primarily on documentary storytelling but has worked in narrative, commerical and music videos as well.