Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex Wood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alex, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I first learned about how the journalism world works when I began my podcasting career in 2020. I was always given advice left and right from people who worked, mostly in NASCAR, and did freelance work and they gave me advice regarding finding stories and reporting. For everyone who’s in this industry, it starts as a fan, but learning to filter that out is what’s important. I feel I could’ve sped my learning up by not being afraid to ask certain questions. Sure, my co-workers told me what not to ask, but I’ve been told to become comfortable asking the hardest of the hard questions, especially when I feel the answer is necessary.

My main skill that’s essential is always delivery. How a writer or commentator comes across is extremely important because it tells the reader or watcher a lot about the person they’re listening to. The one thing that stood in the way of learning more is filtering out the times to be a fan as opposed to the times to be serious. I am very open about what I like and what I don’t like, and I fully understand that not everyone is going to have the same opinion as I do. The problem always was is filtering out what the fan side wants versus analyzing a given story or situation radically and delivering what I have to say professionally.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started off as a motorsports fan in 2003 after I was adopted from Russia. It started with NASCAR, and I became a fan of Jeff Gordon, but I later became an IndyCar fan, and Dan Wheldon was my favorite driver. Around that time I also became a drag racing fan, and my favorite driver was Larry Dixon, Jr. I got into the writing side of the industry after a failed attempt at getting into the competitive side. In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, I was bored at home, so I began podcasting and helped my friend edit his YouTube videos. During my senior year of high school, I took a journalism class, and loved every second of it. I loved the freedom of expression that I had in that class and I thought I had an opportunity to remain in motorsports. I also cover stick and ball sports as well, mainly hockey, football, baseball, and basketball.

I offer article writing, drafting, and proofreading among other writing-related work. I have an associate’s degree in English composition, so I help people who are stuck on a project and occasionally help with research as well. I think my ability to find stories and find different research methods are a couple things that set me apart from other writers and publications because I offer services other than just writing. I feel that at this stage in my career, it’s necessary to help as many people and get my name out there as much as I can.

I’m most proud of being able to talk to people from sports’ past and introduce new fans to who certain drivers or players are. Many fans might know of Johnny Benson the NASCAR driver, but I feel very few know Johnny Benson the person. Some people might know the name Vladimir Konstantinov, but do they know who he was before he was one of the most tenacious defensemen in the NHL, and one of Russia’s greatest NHL players despite his short, yet impactful, hockey career. The main thing I want people to know is I’m passionate about what I believe in and I’m also determined to bring the best stories to anyone possible. When I’m hired by someone to work for them, I promise to only deliver the best work possible.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Anyone can have an opinion, and all was of debating are acceptable. That’s incorrect as some people have opinions that degrade others, and sometimes, people believe something so firmly that they will go to the end of the earth to make someone agree with them. I have come across several NASCAR fans who think they’re journalists simply because they have a smart phone and a Twitter account, one of whom is responsible for attempting to get drivers and NASCAR industry members fired from their jobs simply for having opinions he didn’t agree with, and then he made up his own accounts to claim he was being harassed. Sure, he had his opinions, but he went to some crazy extremes to get people to agree with him.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Living the dream I’ve had since I was in diapers. My earliest memory is watching Elliott Sadler flip in 2003 at Talladega, but the most rewarding part about doing what I do is getting to meet and interview people I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. In the words of Johnny Benson, “I love what I do and I hope I get to keep doing it for years.” I do hope that’s true for people bringing positivity to the world because when you get paid for doing what you love, it doesn’t really feel like a “job.” If anything takes the cake for what I enjoy the most about what I do, it’s the fact that being a journalist doesn’t feel like “work” because I simply enjoy it so much.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alexmwood9247.wordpress.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-wood-9795401a6/