After months of planning, and what has been virtually a lifetime of preparation, I was finally able to marry my love of being behind a microphone with my love of plant-based eating. I am now a podcaster.
After a fellow on-air personality left radio to become a podcaster, a former boss of mine from my radio days once famously exclaimed in a multi-station meeting that, "podcasting is where you go if you don't want an audience." Up until a certain point in our history he was correct. Radio had an audience that didn't have much competition.
As a child of the 70's and coming of age in the 80's, there was a time that you were defined by the radio station you listened to. In Chicago, my hometown, rock was a battle between WLUP, WCKG, and WXRT. Each had their own niche, with WLUP being the active rock station, WCKG holding down classic rock, and WXRT going with alternative and progressive. Who you listened to was how you were measured and judged. Those were the times.
Then came the internet and everything changed. Now, instead of relying on a DJ for your playlist, you were the disc jockey. You could listen to what you wanted, when you wanted, and everything else be damned. Radio was already losing its way, and because it didn't adapt (radio fought being online for the longest time,) radio had become Sears Roebuck. In business it is adapt or die, and radio chose death.
So, as a person who always had a calling to be on the radio, I had to choose between going down with the ship or adapting. Begrudgingly, I chose the latter. It's hard to say goodbye to your first love.
Now, I have said hello to the Real Men Eat Plants Podcast, and I get to work with an incredibly talented team. We have more broadcasting experience in our podcast than almost anyone else doing this. We have been able to secure some amazing celebrity guests, ranging from athletes to doctors, actors to business owners. None are probably more interesting than our Episode 1 guest, Austin Aries.
Austin has lived a pretty incredible life, a lot of which has been under the bright lights of TV and sold out arenas as a multi-time world champion professional wrestler. He has worked alongside Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, he has written a book detailing it all, and he has done it all as a plant-based athlete. Austin talks the talk and he walks the walk...that second part is not easy to do.
Austin has had to deal with the propaganda that "real men eat meat" in a supercharged, testosterone crucible that is professional wrestling. Despite that, he stayed the path. He was challenged and he stood up to it. Recently, I have not.
Oh, I have not wavered from being plant-based. I made that decision on November 1, 2019, and there have been no reasons presented to me that would make me think twice about that. However, there is a difference between being plant-based for health, which is why I switched, and being a junk food vegan, which is where I am at. The junk food vegans are still helping animals and the environment, which is great, but I chose plant-based so I can be strong for my family. I want to be able to be active with my kids and grandkids, whenever I get them. Lately, I have been gobbling up vegan chips and cookies and I have veered from my intent.
Austin has inspired me to get back to walking the walk, which I started doing yesterday. It's a whole-foods plant-based diet and lots of exercise for this podcaster. If I'm going to be talking about the plant-based lifestyle, and Lord can I do a lot of talking, it is time to back that up. It is a lesson for all of us, isn't it?