We recently connected with Grant Wiens and have shared our conversation below.

Grant , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I earned my first dollar as a disc jockey working on weekends while attending college weekdays. One of the local stations needed someone to work Sunday from midnight to 6 am and 6pm to midnight. They approached the college to find a student with potential, who might have a financial need and be nutty enough to work 12 hours on the air in a 24 hour period. I fit the bill!

Grant ,we love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I burst onto the airwaves with my own pirate radio station at the age of twelve. One of the first problems I encountered was a staff shortage, which I solved by creating dozens of original characters to fill the time slots. I did not suspect my ability to impersonate everyone—from neighbours, friends, and teachers to television personalities, movie stars, and politicians—would become my career. I have been involved in voiceover work ever since.

Following high school and an encounter with the radio/television authorities, I decided to leave my pirate station behind, take a more traditional approach, and obtain a formal education in broadcasting. I attended Lethbridge College in Alberta, Canada, and worked at 1090 CHEC at the same time, until graduating in Applied Arts and Sciences—Radio Arts. Instead of accepting full time work at CHEC, I headed to the west coast to take on a new challenge—the all-night show on CHQB in Powell River, British Columbia. After two months, I was fortunate to be offered the top announcing spot—morning show host.

I learned about many facets of radio in this small market station including news, sports, music, programming, and most importantly—commercial production. My next stop was CHNL in Kamloops, British Columbia, where I spent six years expanding my experience as a broadcaster. One of my first major successes involved creating a ratings-dominant afternoon drive show. After a one-year stint backpacking around Europe, listening to accents and visiting radio stations, I returned with new ideas and developed an award-winning morning show as the “Breakfast Flake.”

My next on-air career stop was at 630 CHED in Edmonton, in 1981, just as Canada’s first morning crew was being developed. During more than 1500 air shifts, I wove a host of voices—both original and famous characters—into daily features, spoof spots, and songs.

In the mid eighties, demand for my voiceover talent and character voices grew. Leaving behind the security of full-time employment, I opened Voicemaker, a radio and television recording studio. New clients included Super Channel, Family Channel, Teletoon, and Movie Central, as well as numerous ad agencies and television networks.

During this time, I juggled my days, navigating between QCTV television host, airborne traffic announcer, and voicing for 96 K-lite. This encompassed recording thousands of station imaging IDs and radio commercials, as well as comedy bits for the morning shows of Len Theusen, Clay Hagel, and Mike Lynch.

Clients found my ability to perform 100+ character voices served as a unique and effective advertising tool. In addition, my work in documentary film narration and educational/instructional multi-media projects has become a mainstay. I’ve enjoyed narrating projects for clients around the globe including the Microsoft, United Nations, UNESCO, and the World Health Organization.

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

During the first year of my radio career, I made the mistake of entering commercial production studios immediately after on-air shifts, and using the same disc jockey voice on every commercial. This was an accepted practice at the small stations I worked in, but not in major markets.

An opportunity to jump into the Vancouver market presented itself when John Ashbridge, CKNW heard “this kid up the coast could do a myriad of voices and comedy bits.” John flew me to Vancouver for an audition, which I failed because all my commercial reads sounded like an on-air announcer rather than voice actor playing a part. This audition served as a pivotal point in my career. Although he didn’t hire me, John wanted to develop my potential and offer me another chance. He became an influential mentor.

John invited me to send a weekly tape with three commercials, which he returned with critiques and demonstrations on how to properly deliver the reads. After three rounds, I finally understood what he wanted and how to do it. Although I was well established delivering comedy messages in character voices like Richard Nixon, Humphrey Bogart, or John Lennon, I had to learn to leave my disc jockey voice out of the production studio. This opened up many new creative opportunities.

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

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.grantwiens.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwiensvoiceovers/
• Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/grant-wiens-824a886
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@voicemaker

Image Credits
Rob Hislop