We were lucky to catch up with Greg Wolf recently and have shared our conversation below.
Greg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
There are thousands of cliche’s when it comes to what people think it takes to be successful. We have all seen the memes, inspirational quotes, people’s daily affirmations on social media, etc. But, it simply comes down to YOU. You have to have the drive, determination and the will power to do anything in your means to make things work. It’s surely not going to be an easy road. There are no manuals to the path to success as everyone’s path is different. However, I do believe that EVERYONE has the ability to create success, no matter what the task is, the mission or the end goal. But, you have to want it.
You have to set a goal, otherwise what are you fighting for?
And, you also have to realize it’s a process.
It is not going to happen overnight.
Focusing your time and energy into things that are going to help you in your quest, while eliminating distractions or time-consuming tasks that are not a to benefit the goal, is a major key to in success.
The word discipline is used a lot when referring to success and it’s because you have to be able to focus and stay focused!
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?
My name is Greg Wolf, co-owner of Street Laced Marketing & Promotions, Inc. based out of Tampa, Florida. I am a graduate of the University of South Florida. having received my B.A in Mass Communications in 1998.
As a student at USF, I managed to get my foot in the door in the radio industry through an internship for my major. I was a part of a legendary AM radio program in the market at that time (Hooters on the Radio) and took that opportunity to LEARN everything I could about the business, from on-air to production to promotions.
That internship eventually led to a full-time position at an FM brand in the market (WLLD-FM, WiLD 94.1) where I worked my way up from the Promotions Team to Promotions Director to eventually On-Air, having the #1 rated night show in Tampa from 1999-2005.
When my contract expired at the end of ’05, I moved into a new realm, taking a position as Marketing Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2006. It was during my time at that position that allowed me to expand my horizons, utilizing my on-air experience and ability to engage with crowds, I was selected to be the team’s In-Game Host, curating a more engaging fan experience for Lightning hockey games.
During this same time (2006), a colleague of mine, Blaise Potts, whom I had known from the radio/music business, approached me with an opportunity to assist him with some record label promotions in Tampa Bay. It happened to be during my transition from radio DJ to marketing coordinator, so timing worked out great at the time. Me being from radio, he worked for numerous record labels for the Tampa market (as a liaison), we worked together on many projects over the years. However, the more we spoke about things, I quickly realized that this was not a full-time position, but more a “side hustle”, which allowed me to continue to work my job with the Lightning. This was when “Street Laced Marketing & Promotions” was born, as we were literally “lacing the streets” with music from the artists & record labels we were working with. We continued for a few years just handling music promotions, before diverting the company into new arenas, which we’ll get to in a few.
During my time with the Lightning, I built some amazing working relationships in the market, one of which was iHeartRadio. Having a radio background and working closely with various radio brands while in the marketing department, I was immediately contacted when my time with the team came to an end (2009), as they had a position open that they felt I was perfect fit for: Promotions Director for 95.3 WDAE, a heritage sports radio station in the Tampa market.
I took the gig in 2009 and ending up overseeing three iHeartRadio Tampa properties: 95.3 WDAE, NewsRadio 970 WFLA and 95.7 The Beat. This continued from 2009 until 2016.
In 2010, the Lightning ownership sold the team to Jeffrey Vinik (current owner, Vinik Sports Group) whose executive staff did an extensive deep dive into fan feedback & surveys, where they found fans were frequently asking “What happened to Wolf? He was a great Host!” It seemed that the old regime’s choices didn’t sit well with fans. Being that I was currently working with the broadcast rights holder for the Lightning (970WFLA airs the Tampa Bay Lightning games), the new ownership group asked me to come back and be their Host again. This is surely a rarity in the sports industry, but I was ecstatic to return!
Two Stanley Cup rings later, I am now coming up on my 16th season as In-Game Host for the Bolts. In 2014, I was approached by my alma mater, University of South Florida and asked if I’d be interested in being the school’s first ever Host for Football and Basketball. I surely accepted that offer and have been the official In-Game Host for USF Football, as well as both the Mens & Womens Basketball programs. To say I feel blessed would be an understatement.
Fast forward to 2016, my business partner Blaise & decided it was time to take a leap of faith and take Street Laced FULL TIME. We had both worked hard to grow and develop the business over the years, but couldn’t give it our full attention if we both were working full time jobs for other companies. So, in February of 2016, we did just that.
Street Laced, which is now in it’s 16th year, has become so much more than a music promotions company. The company has migrated over the years from a simple grassroots marketing company to a full-fledged promotions and entertainment imprint, with a roster of over 42 DJs, a full array of entertainment services (everything from bouncy houses to balloon artists, virtual reality to carnivals, we can do it all), social media & digital marketing campaigns, grassroots marketing, event creation & execution and more. We handle entertainment activations weekly for many of the beach bars, restaurants, nightclubs and hotspots, seasonal activations with major brands & organizations like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, National Football League, The Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Lightning, National Hockey League, Tampa Bay Rays, Major League Baseball, Tampa Bay Sports Commission, IMG Academy, NCAA, Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park and so much more.
We have taken the contemporary model of a marketing company and thrown it out the window.
We created our own lane, utilizing years of networking/relationship building, creativity, experiences, market knowledge, trends, studying, doing whatever we could to expand our brand and not be pigeonholed into offering just one service.
We have become a “one-stop shop” for many of these entities and they continue to work with us because we make things easy and efficient for them. There really is not another company like Street Laced in our market and the hope is to someday take this concept and expand to other markets using our proven business model.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Having been a kid who came straight out of college to actually landing a job in his respective field of study (Mass Communications) was an amazing start to my career. I landed my first radio contract in 1999, less than two years from graduating college. It was more money than I could have imagined for that age at that time. I was getting bonuses every single quarter too because my ratings were #1 across all demographics. It surely was not something I could have prepared myself for, but I busted my ass to get to that point, so validation was strong for me. I was able to save my money and buy a house. It was definitely a dream come true. However, all good things must come to an end. When my contract expired with the radio company, I wasn’t quite prepared for it. I was hopeful my contract was going to be extended, as my ratings at that time were still at the top of the charts. I’ll never forget the day I was pulled into my bosses office and told I would not be going back into the studio. I handled it like a pro, thanked them for the amazing opportunity and expressed my gratitude.
But when I left that building, it felt like I got gut punched by Mike Tyson.
What was I gonna do now? The entire decade after college was all radio life and was now, no longer.
I had interviews and met with some other radio stations around the country, but nothing felt right to me. Call it intuition. Call it nervousness. I called it “gut instinct”. If it didn’t feel right, I told myself don’t do it.
I waited it out. I had a severance package from the radio company so I could take a few months and figure things out.
And, it was the best decision I could have made.
The gentleman who hired me to be on the promotions team at the radio station back in 1998, left that gig and took the job as Vice President of Marketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1999.
Having been on the radio from 1999-2005, we worked together over the years on many radio promotions, on-air ticket giveaways, etc. and kept a great working relationship.
When my radio gig was up, I reached out to him. Told him I enjoyed our time working together over the years and would love to work together again if he had anything with the organization.
At the time, he had nothing. But a few months passed and sure enough, I got a call.
That call led to me becoming the Marketing Coordinator for the Lightning in 2006.
That in turn led to me taking over the hosting duties.
Which I still am doing to this day.
Not only that, but he knew that I had Street Laced as a side company and respected the hustle.
As long as it didn’t interfere with my day to day duties, he was all for it.
And I utilized relationships within that office to help develop Street Laced, which we STILL have to this day.
It all has worked out better than I could have ever imagined.
Just because I didn’t jump at the first opportunity that presented itself to me when I was down.
Always trust your gut instinct. No one knows YOU better than YOU.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Blaise Potts (my Street Laced business partner) and I have known each other now for 23 years. When I started here in Tampa Bay on the FM radio dial (1998), I was on the promotions team where we would spend most of our days out on the streets, at the beaches, in the clubs and hotspots around the Bay Area.
Blaise was the market representative for a handful of major record label brands at that time, like Interscope Records, Island/Def Jam Records, Virgin Records, Atlantic Records and a few more. These labels all had a lot of the artists we played heavily on our radio station, so he would consistently be at clubs or music stores, concert events, etc. with product promoting those artists. Posters, rally towels, promo CD’s, mixtapes, artist branded giveaways, he had it all. He would also be tasked with making sure all the radio and club DJ’s in the market had his current artists records (vinyl). He was a staple in the clubs and around the scene and had great relationships with industry folks.
We built a great relationship as he helped load me up with product each week to take out to high schools each Friday as part of one of my on-air segments called the “After School Ambush” which was in essence, a school spirit contest. He was vital in me being successful in that promotion as kids LOVED us for getting all the cool things from their favorite artists in their hands.
When my contract had expired at the radio station, Blaise approached me and asked if I could assist him with his label duties. He knew I had a lot of the same great relationships with the DJ’s, business owners, listeners, etc. and with the workload that was coming down from the labels for him to execute in the market, it was becoming overwhelming for him to handle alone. We spoke in great detail about things and the more we talked, the more I felt that I shouldn’t be working for him necessarily, but we should start a legitimate promotions company together. However, he already had the record labels, so what was I bringing to the table besides relationships? I told him I would only feel proper if I went out and got six more record labels to jump aboard with us to handle the marketing of their artists in our city.
My sell to these smaller record labels was simple:
“If we are already out on the streets, in the clubs, at the hotspots promoting the MAJOR artists, why wouldn’t you want to piggyback off that coverage so we can also promote YOUR artists in the same manner? We’re gonna be there regardless, so why miss that train?”
They may have had smaller budgets than the big guys, but they all saw the value in that way of thinking.
And with that, Street Laced was born.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.streetlaced.com
- Instagram: @3rdLegGreg @streetlacedpromo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StreetLacedMarketing
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-wolf-0862405/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/3rdLegGreg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/street-laced-marketing-and-promotions-tampa-2?osq=street+laced
Image Credits
Casey Brooke Photography