We recently connected with Jay Holloway and have shared our conversation below.

Jay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I’m a portrait photographer turned sports photographer who decided to start women’s basketball show without any real connections in women’s basketball. I jumped head first into the women’s basketball community without any friend there. I met Lo and Nick Andre on twitter and I decided to reach out to them to by co host. I didn’t know if they wanted to do that or not and I got yes within days from them. I didn’t know how to feel but I knew it was time to get to work for real. We exchanged phone numbers and been attached to he hip ever since like brothers & sister. Then The Best DAMN W Show was formed. Had our first show aired August 1st, 2024 and the rest is history. Since then I’ve added Wiley as our lead producer and he is like a brother now. Now I’ve turned this into an outlet with journalist and photographers to cover women’s college basketball, WNBA, Unrivaled and other leagues. When you think about women’s basketball I want The Best DAMN W to be the show and outlet you think about. I have the team do it and I can’t thank them enough to believing in my vision cause it scared me and still does but they help me keep going. The one person I can’t enough and allow me to work on this vison of mine is my beautiful wife Raina. That’s my sugar there.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a sports photographer who love the art of podcasting. I used to have a NBA podcast and I really had no idea what I was doing when I started it but i learned a lot and that help start my women’s basketball podcast and publication outlet. This is a grind that I love and I know this will be something. I go to bed thinking about The Best Damn W and I wake up thinking about. What I need or what my team needs, how can I make this better or how can I can make that better. Me and my team work hard having true basketball conversations and telling real stories about the game and the athletes that make it so special. I’m proud the name we’ve built in just a little bit over a year in this space. You may not like or agree with every opinion we have but you can never say we aren’t true ourselves and authentic. That’s what sets apart and why we keep seeing the growth we have. I’m also just proud of people believing in my vision.

How did you build your audience on social media?

ALWAYS SHOW UP. Being active and showing up is the most important thing. Sometimes will need that mental break but you have to be seen. There’s never a perfect time to start but just do it. Our show is every Tuesday at 8:30 pm central and our supporters expect us to be there now. We don’t miss a week unless its a planned break. So again, just show up and be consistent. It definitely sound easy but it will test you.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Not getting paid for you hard work. The podcasting and journalism world as a independent show/outlet is not easy cause you will be doing a lot of this work for the love of the game. I’ve want to just stop or ask myself “What the hell am I doing?” Then I set back and think about everyone I would let down and even myself. Your dreams and goals will scare you but never stop cause the money is coming and will. That creative life comes with a lot of free labor but that’s what make the journey and stories even better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thebestdamnwshow.substack.com/
• Instagram: @bestwshow
• Facebook: The Best W Show
• Twitter: @blkmanjoy_ / @bestwshow
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebestdamnwshow
• Other: tiktok: @blkmanjoy_ /@bestwshow

Image Credits

1. nick andre, Lo, me, Cindy Brunson

2. Brenden Glasheen, me, nick andre, Lo

3. Jay Holloway at center court at Notre Dame arena

4. Basketball rim at Indiana University

5. Lo taking a photo of Jonquel Jones of the New York Liberty at the WNBA FINALS

6. Jay Holloway & JuJu Watkins at Wisconsin University

7. The Best DAMN W LOGO