We were lucky to catch up with Chris Pantier recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?

You would have had such an easier road prior to Covid. LOL

I’ve been on the air now for over 30 years, but about 15 years ago I was working at a radio station and one of the Voice Legends I have always loved listening to (He was the station voice for a ton of stations) passed away. Through some friends of friends, I found out that his widow was selling his equipment so I spent several thousand and bought his stuff. I wanted to get into Voice Acting. It had always been something that I wanted to do and was so closely related to it being on the air and having so much experience with Mic’s. The Family had needs, and I didn’t know what I was doing or where to start, so I shelved it.

That position with that station ended a few years later, and I got pulled back on the air to host and to be Program Director of another station here in the Valley. We had another kiddo so I again took on the primary role of keeping her alive. I have also hosted a weekend show here in Phoenix for the last 6 or 7 years. We knocked out Covid teaching her 2nd Grade here from home. When we went back to school, I went too and was a teachers assistant for a couple years helping kids. I have stayed focused on helping out at the school as PTO President and volunteer. I got the youngest on into double digits, and thought this might finally be my chance to get back some of the momentum to get started that I had so many years before.

Now that I have the time, money and ability to pursue this fully, I have updated my home studio (DAW that’s been with me since Cool Edit Pro). I found some people that pointed me towards some Facebook Groups. That got me to a convention and met some more folks. After a couple conventions now and meeting some amazing talent and many times have talked about how much the industry has changed since Covid. When Covid hit so many people invested into home studio’s as it was the only way they could audition. Something that only a few of us nerds had access too, is now common place. And, the outboard gear that I had spent thousands on, was now available as a plug in. So much for that… So much changed during that 15 years.

I am now in a position where there are so many talented people that have home studio’s and equipment that they have learned to use and are now extremely proficient in their art. The art that I am also very talented and capable in performing.

While it’s never too late to follow one’s dreams, I would make sure to also say to make sure that you don’t “Shelve” your dreams till later. So often there’s a reason that stops us. My kids, my house, my current job, my life… Even if I had only taken small steps towards my goals then, I would be so much further along at this point. There would be so many more people that I could have helped by now. So many that I could have been able to learn from. So many that I am now friends with that I would have known now for so much longer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Funny story about how I got on the air. I was in theater class in high school when a famous Hollywood Head shot guy told me I had a face for Radio. I took it to heart, and started volunteering at a print handicapped radio station. They read the newspaper and stuff for people that couldn’t do it for themselves. From there I went to a crappy little radio school that had a campus here in Phoenix. The Academy of Radio Broadcasting. From there, I was on the air at 21 in Globe AZ. From there to Tucson, to Phoenix, to Cali, to New Mexico, to Texas, back here to Phoenix and I’ve been on the air or run stations here in the Valley since we got back in 2000.

Most proud of being able to help others. It’s funny to sometimes sit back and realize how much you’ve picked up over the years, I still get just as excited helping people no matter their age or inclination. I’ve been blessed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes that matter. Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, Boys and Girls Club, Scouts and Schools. Lucky to help train a ton of people on how to be their best them on the air. Grateful for being in some amazing media facilities and to have learned from so many incredible people.

Main thing I want folks to understand about me is that I really get excited being able to help. Help a client get their message out exactly how they envision it. I love helping talent break though their own roadblocks and how to see the patterns that lead to the outcomes they want.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the hardest things that I had to do was to unlearn my polished style. I have spent so many years learning how to speak in a polished or professional way, that I didn’t sound natural. dumb things like projecting. It’s what they tell you on stage, and behind the mic on air. I had to learn how to sound more like a normal person. In fact, I remember at my first VO Convention, some people told me that I was broken. They said that I was actually starting below those who had zero experience.

The 25 years of experience that I had built up was now being considered a handicap.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

All I ever wanted to do was be in the entertainment industry. To be on the air and in this industry… I remember being 16 and telling people I would be on the air. It was my only goal until we had a kid. I remember this one DJ Mario. He would get off the air and finish his stuff and out the door. I always wondered, why? Why would you leave? A record label could pop in and take us out for food. A stack of CDs could come in and you would get one. Video games for giveaways and the Jock’s would get one. Celebrities would show up. One day Jessica Simpson popped in and spent half the day with us. Wycleff Jean or other rappers… Why would you leave the funnest place on the planet? He had just had a kid.

We got pregnant with our first. My wife was working and had to travel, so it was up to me. I remember being at home alone with my wife in Portland or somewhere up in the Northwest. I was holding her, and she was crying and stuffed up and I was so scared. I realized that this was what I was here to do. I instantly became the worst employee on the planet. All I wanted to do was be home and here with her. It was so important too. There was a life here that someone needed to make their primary focus.

My dreams of fame and fortune would take a backseat to the most amazing opportunity that I had ever been lucky enough to see. Now that our youngest is starting to get to the point where she can do this mostly on her own, I am pivoting again to follow a dream that I have had since childhood. I have met some awesome people that are helping me get to where I want to be and I get to wake up everyday and do the thing that makes me happy. I get to be a husband, father, VO Artist and a Coach. They say that if you choose a job you love, that you will never work a day in your life. Find that love and there’s really never a pivot, you are always doing what you love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chrispantier.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.pantier
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pantier-9500b868/
• Twitter: https://x.com/phxmarino
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chrispantier4902