A Different Drummer

Dylan Babineaux engineers, Christiaan Mader hosts Out to Lunch at Tsunami Sushi in Downtown Lafayette

People are looking for healing in places they didn’t used to look. Acupuncture, sound baths, energy work — once dismissed as fringe, are now very much moving into the mainstream. That shift shows up in the numbers. Wellness is a trillion dollar industry in the U.S. Americans spend more than $6,000 per person each year on it.

That’s the broader current carrying a lot of what used to be considered alternative medicine into wider use. It’s also taken on a much wider meaning. My guest Peter Bulliard works where physical and mental wellness collide. He’s a healer, more specifically, he calls himself a master shaman.

Peter Bulliard, Drummer Shaman, says people often misunderstand what a shaman does. He says shamans don’t do things to you, they take things away, like the residual effects of past trauma “so you can connect to your authentic self.”

Peter Bulliard was born in St. Martinville. He got a degree in art and later nursing, but spent years working as a touring musician, primarily as a drummer, before either of those careers took hold.

A brain tumor diagnosis in 1998 changed his trajectory. He began studying healing practices, eventually training with shamans and spiritual teachers across the globe, including a stint at The Four Winds Shamanic School, before transitioning into full-time spiritual and healing work.

His services include healing sessions, master classes and workshops, property cleansing, personalized mentoring, energy training, death doula services and spiritual guidance.He’s also the author of the book Heal Anxiety in One Day.

That search for the fabric of reality isn’t just happening in wellness. It’s happening in our closets, too — a pushback against fast fashion, mass production, and clothes that fall apart in a year. People are turning to the essential fabric of American style: Denim. Dark indigo washes and vintage-inspired silhouettes are back in style.

Selvedge mills produce limited runs and the process can produce one-of-a-kind pieces. The fabric has become a natural fit for boutique brands looking to offer exclusivity their bigger competitors can’t. If you’re in Lafayette and want a unique show piece, pop by Son of a Texan in Downtown Lafayette, owned by my guest, Sky King.

Sky King, Co-Owner of Son Of A Texan, a craft denim oasis in Downtown Lafayette. “One thing I like about denim is you can make it your own, depending on what you do in life.”

Sky moved often as a kid — rural Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana — and spent much of his adolescence at a remote church camp, which he says shaped his comfort with rural, small-community life. After high school, he skipped college and went straight into restaurant and food service work, which occupied much of his early adult life.

It was his grandfather who first taught him to iron and shine his shoes, planting an early interest in clothing and textiles. After his father died about six years ago, Sky began reassessing his direction — and found his way, alongside his wife Katrena, who’d been taught to sew and repair clothes by her own grandmother, toward a business built around longevity and repairability.

Son of a Texan opened in 2025. They specialize in selvedge denim and durable, small-batch goods from independent makers — clothing meant to be worn for years, repaired, and passed down.
It’s good for business that people are always wanting more. Sometimes the trick is to convince them to slow down and maybe invest in something deeper and more durable, like spiritual balance or a nice pair of jeans.