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

Hi Jack, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

It was 2020 and the pandemic had just hit and I had no games to broadcast. As a sports broadcaster, the pandemic was very challenging since sports were canceled, so I needed something to fill that void, and that’s where podcasting came into the picture. I started podcasting little mini shows on a voice recording app on my phone, and messed around with a few names before settling on one. I picked Riding The Pine because it’s a phrase that describes someone who doesn’t play much and who basically sits the bench. The premise behind the name for the show is to have conversations with athletes or coaches from teams or sports that aren’t the mainstream sports and are more so after thoughts in many peoples minds. I really wanted to highlight those who were almost forgotten or never covered by media outlets, and also discuss sports topics that no one was paying attention to at the time. So after purchasing a nicer microphone, upgrading my recording software and finding a room to record in, I started to reach out to athletes and coaches that I knew. I then asked them for their own references and other athletes and coaches that they knew to come on the show and discuss their stories as well. I quickly realized how much people enjoyed the conversations, and how they also felt that they were coming away from my show learning something new about an athlete, coach, sport, team, etc. that they never knew before. Over time, the show has changed to an interview-only format, and I reserve my sports talk for other videos and mini-shows that I do on the social media accounts for Riding The Pine. But when you listen to Riding The Pine every Tuesday and Friday, it’s a guarantee that you’ll come away with a better understanding of a coach, player, media personality or sport that you didn’t have before listening,

Jack, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a sports broadcaster in Pittsburgh that focuses on play-by-play broadcasting, public address announcing and podcast/show hosting. I work for a variety of networks and colleges as a broadcaster, and on the side I run a sports podcast called Riding The Pine. It’s an interview-only show where I sit down twice a week on Tuesday’s and Friday’s with a guest from the sports world to share their stories in their respective sport. I have always wanted to be a sports broadcaster since I was a child, and when I was college I decided to pursue the field seriously. Over the years, I have found myself broadcasting at the high school and college levels, including the NCAA Division I, II and III levels. I have released over 200 episodes on Riding The Pine, as well as producing thousands of pieces of video content across the multiple social media platforms that I run for the show. The list of past guests to appear on Riding The Pine include San Antonio Spur power forward (previously the Portland Trail Blazers) Zach Collins, Phoenix Suns small forward Cam Johnson, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer Greg Brown, ESPN Senior MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back (previously the Miami Dolphins) Patrick Laird and former NBA All-Star and current college basketball coach for the Portland Pilots Terry Porter.

I am most proud of not only the reception of the show, but also the consistency and steady growth. I’ve watched as the show started with a small social media following to having thousands of followers across multiple platforms, download numbers in the tens of thousands and a strong and loyal fan following. I have enjoyed every second of growing the show while also growing my personal broadcasting career as a whole. Through the networking I do with the show and finding guests, I have found myself opening the door for myself with other opportunities and continuing to grow as a broadcaster.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Emailing schools and media relations personnel has helped grow the guest list for the show tremendously over the last year. Since deciding to email athletic department employees who are communication specialists or minor league baseball media relations managers I’ve seen a tremendous amount of growth on the show, between followers on the show and the social media platforms but also number of downloads on episodes.

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

I originally would structure the show in two parts: first part solo sports talk with myself, and the second part an interview with a guest. Over time, I realized people were coming to hear the various amounts of guests more so than the sports talk. I noticed for certain episodes that I would only air the interview the download numbers, reception and feedback was exponentially higher than when I would have my sports talk and then a guest. I realized to really narrow my show down even more and to make it stick out more, I needed to air only the interviews, and ever since switching the format it has been very beneficial for the show.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/RidingThePine
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riding_the_pine_/
• Facebook: Riding The Pine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-ridenour-0a2638178/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RideThePine20
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG3dMx_Pv2VNeSQoWpGBE5A

Image Credits
Credits: Jack Ridenour