We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jackson Heaton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jackson thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Life in the entertainment industry is nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. It has it’s ups and downs. There are days where you wake up feeling confident about your life decision and there are others where you question everything. Do I ever think about what a regular job? Hell yes haha. Most men in my family have been physicians, my brother is in finance, and my wife is in insurance. Stable careers for all! But would I ever trade for any of those? Never in a million years. My job as a radio and podcast host brings me so much joy. I get to create my show and my content daily and connect with the people of Atlanta. My title as “Atlanta’s Rock Ambassador” is one of my most important titles, behind being a husband and father.

Life is about risks. How bad do you want to do something? If you want it bad enough, you must find a way to make it happen. Is there one specific time where the thought of a “regular” job seemed intriguing? No, because it pops up in my head a lot, especially when I became a father. Whatever you choose to do in life, you will question it at some point. If I had decided to take a “regular” job early in life, I would constantly wonder what would’ve happened if I had “chased my dreams?” Grass is always greener on the other side, so it may seem.

Are you happy in your job? Do you get up in the morning excited for your work? Are you doing it just for the paycheck? Answering these three questions will reveal a lot about your decisions. I am in the entertainment industry because it makes me happy and I get the chance to make other people happy with my content and the music I play. I get to have fun on a daily basis and create things with my vision. That’s an empowering feeling that many unfortunately never experience.

In conclusion, if you are going to think about what another career would be like, do it. If not, put your head down and work like hell in the career you have chosen. Life is short, so decide. Make a decision and own it.

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

I am “Atlanta’s Rock Ambassador.”

I host 7pm-12a M-F on Rock 100.5 and am the host of “The Scoped Podcast,” one of Atlanta’s premier rock podcasts. Being Atlanta’s Rock Ambassador, I am supportive of the Atlanta rock scene being going to and emceeing local concerts and playing their music on my “Home Brew” segment on my radio show.

When I got my own show on Rock 100.5 back in 2017, I saw that nobody was really talking about the Atlanta rock scene. That blew my mind that there was such a strong scene and it was getting little attention. I saw an opportunity and it’s been amazing. Many of these bands I get to call friends. Having my podcast and my Home Brew segment is a huge win for the scene. It brings their music and hard work to the masses. Big props to The Future Babes for giving me my title of “Atlanta’s Rock Ambassador.”

I got into radio at 19 years old, after realizing medical school would never be an option. After my first semester in college, I had three D’s and a C and thought it best to re-evaluate. Entertaining had always been my dream. I thought I needed to be a Doctor since my father and grandfather took that path. Little did I know, my future would be much for fulfilling through my dream. I walked into a radio station at 19 years old and told them I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. Within the month, I was doing college baseball play-by-play, and I was horrible at it. It took me a while to get the hang of it. After a season of that, I followed a then girlfriend to Athens to continue college and starting working for a radio station there, doing high school football play-by-play and reporting for UGA football/basketball. That was a truly fun time, to be in college and sitting in the press box at Sanford Stadium with all the big wigs of broadcasting, faking it until I made it. Long story short, came to Atlanta, graduated from Georgia State University (go Panthers!) and started for Cumulus Media. I had stints with 680 the Fan and worked in promotions as a remote tech for then Kicks 101.5. Being a street team member was a wealth of knowledge I will always have with me. I would give that advice to anyone looking for a career as an on-air personality. Get to know your listeners first as a remote tech. You learn the ins and outs of radio and once you get your foot in the door, you can start working on demos and honing your craft. I spent a lot of time learning from on air people at the stations in the Cumulus Atlanta cluster. I asked how they show prepped, what was important for a listener, anything I could to get a leg up. Be a sponge, Take in every piece of advice given and through trial and error, you will find what works for you and what is unique to you.

I guess what people should know about me is that I care. I care about the Atlanta rock scene, I care about anyone listening to my radio show or my podcast, and I hope everyone leaves with the impression that they were listening to and interacting with a friend. When it comes to being “Atlanta’s Rock Ambassador,” I truly care about the bands in this city and want them to succeed. Several bands that have been on my Home Brew segment have seen success through more followers, social media engagement and one band even just got singed to a label. That isn’t just a huge win for these bands, but also for me. I want to make an impact and leave of legacy one day that I helped the Atlanta rock scene.

My podcast, The Scoped Podcast, began in 2017 as a way to go in-depth with local bands, actors, comedians and even big bands that came through Atlanta. My favorite part of what I do is getting to sit with other entertainers in a studio, have a beer and lots of laughs. That’s what the podcast is all about. I wanted there to be a place where you could really get to know these people and their personalities. It’s a big passion of mine and I’m so excited that we are over 100 episodes with hundreds more to come. There are big things about to happen with the podcast on lots of platforms with plenty of content on the way. I can’t wait for people to see it. We’ll have a YouTube channel, live episodes from breweries and venues, concert and festival content and so much more. Stay tuned!

Finding your brand may be one of the hardest things in this business. I always just wanted mine to be the guy that you listen to or interact with and think, “wow, I could totally have a beer with that dude.”

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Haha this question is hilarious. I always joke with my brother and my wife about this. The saying that “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life” is absolutely true. They will joke with me that “All you do is talk into a microphone.”

It’s so much more than that. Creatives have that constant to be just that…creative. We are constantly thinking about ways we can engage people and entertain. People not in the business have a hard time understanding why we are always on Instagram doing videos or posting. The constant engagement can be hard for some; it certainly was for a lot of women I dated. My wife is extremely supportive and I’m very lucky for that. Maybe the most difficult part lately has been learning to navigate all that with a newborn….quite a challenge lol.

Just because a job is really fun doesn’t mean it isn’t work. Being in the business is exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So to all those who have significant others that are creatives and you don’t understand why the hell they do what they do. Maybe it’s ego, maybe we weren’t hugged enough as children…but create we must.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For sure! Before I got married and had a kid, I was single, sponsored by a brewery, going on way too many dates, drinking free beer and emceeing concerts until three in the morning. I thought life couldn’t get any better. I had always heard that a lot of radio people were either single or divorced. I went on dates for radio content, and I definitely had lots of content lol. It’s exhausting just thinking about that phase of life.

Then, life changed. I married my best friend, we had a beautiful baby boy and now I have a family. Life is not as carefree as before and that scared me at first. I asked myself if I could still be cool and fun as a family man. It probably sounds ridiculous to anyone reading this, but it was something I struggled with. Quickly, this went away because I realized how much better my life and career is now. Being a husband and father is relatable to so many and opens up so many more avenues for me to connect with listeners. Also, if you are in the entertainment industry just for the party, that will quickly catch up to you. My son has been dubbed “Atlanta’s Little Rock Ambassador” and with any luck, he will one day carry the torch. He’s a metalhead in the making.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @redeyerocker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackson.heaton/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-heaton-91b7a854/