We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jon Francois. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jon below.

Jon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I had worked in commercial radio for eight years. Creatively, I had great moments as a commentator on pop culture and personal life stories to my listening audience. At the end of the day, I had my limits because I was working for someone else. I was representing their brand instead of my authentic own. My stories had to be 30-45 seconds going into a commercial break or 5-10 seconds under an instrumental song intro. Yes, I became talented at doing that, but after a while, the fulfillment in representing my true self just wasn’t there anymore. I wasn’t getting paid what I was worth, despite having to give up some of my weekends in addition to the weekday schedule. Basic holiday or summer vacation time off was a challenge to get. I was making a lot of compromises for the sake of the radio business norms, and after eight years, I was done with it.

Within my work for commercial radio, I was always tuned in to other avenues of exploration like community radio and podcasting. Podcasting espiacelly caught my eye during the pandemic because it had all the right ingredients: a trending medium, unlimited creative expression, and an opportunity for the entire world to hear what you have to say. So after eight years of playing the commercial radio game, I decided to take a chance on my worth and focus on podcasting. Initially, I borrowed from my commercial radio pop culture commentary roots with “The Anything Show with Jon Francois”. Currently, I co-host a TV rewatch podcast focusing on the 90’s sitcom “Family Matters” with my good friend Andrew Vandertunt. We call it “The Delicious Recap”.

Yes, building a successful podcast in 2024 is very challenging. It’s a very saturated medium now. But Andrew and I get to do what we love as entertainers and communicators and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. You may be wondering if I’m making a full time living for this. Not at the moment. Andrew and I have both left the W2, 9-5ish job world and are now full time DoorDash drivers on the side. It can be long hours and it’s not the most financially predictable line of work, but we’ve been lucky enough to make enough to pay our bills AND it compliments the independence we’re looking for in our lives. We can work whenever we want and take time off whenever we want without having to answer to or ask for approval from anybody. That’s sweet. That schedule flexibility allows me to dedicate at least one full day a week to podcast production. In a normal W2 job situation, I’d have to carve out time in the evenings after an exhausting workday or weekends. And that would be very difficult as I have a wife in a normal w2 job environment who has weekends off and time with her is important. So that’s where I am and that’s where Andrew and I are. Passionate, hustling podcasters in 2024. It can be exhausting, overwhelming, all the things. But we wouldn’t change anything for the world. Better to be stressed living the life you want to live rather than be stressed living someone else’s.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Along with my co-host Andrew Vanderunt, we host and produce “The Delicious Recap” podcast. “The Delicious Recap” is a weekly deep dive into the 90’s sitcom “Family Matters”. We discuss each episode over the course of the show’s 9 season run, chat with its cast members and crew, and connect with like-minded podcasters! Speaking for myself, I entered the podcasting space in 2020 originally as “The Anything Show with Jon Francois” podcast. Given my work in commercial radio at the time, that podcast was an extension of that with commentary on pop culture and interviews with actors, musicians, authors, and podcasters. I met Andrew Vandertunt as he was hosting the “Lifestyle of A Gay Black Boy” podcast, a riveting work that opened up vulnerabilities about day to day existence as a man of color in the queer community.

Andrew and I have layers. As a straight man and as a gay man, we have unique experiences and a balanced dynamic to provide to our audience. At the same time, we are bonded by our quirky sense of humor and experiences as men of color in America. We give all that into our revisit of “Family Matters”, a 90’s black sitcom we grew up with and loved and can also criticize because of societal tropes in the 90’s that certainly wouldn’t work in 2024. For example, Steve Urkel’s romantic obsession with Laura Winslow was seen as both comedic and at times adorable back in the day. Nowadays, it comes across as non-consensual and concerning. What would it be like for two men of color to analyze a 90’s sitcom in 2024 eyes in a way that goes against the “we support each other no matter what” mentality that often can be the norm in the black community when it comes to the few examples of content that represent us? That’s something worth bringing up through “The Delicious Recap” podcast and something we are proud to follow through on.

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

The most rewarding aspect as an artist is that there is unlimited opportunity to express yourself. Yes, you may struggle in getting paid for it, but the avenues in which you can express yourself are endless. You want to draw, dance, act, or host a podcast? All you need is the drive and to take advantage of the modern era tools at your disposal. There’s classes both online and in person waiting for you if you need that education. There’s networking through social media and in-person conventions of sorts if you want to find other like-minded creatives. If you simply want to just do your talent and find a way for the world to see it, all you need is a phone or a computer with internet access and the opportunity is yours to share your gift however you’d like and wherever you’d like. There’s so much unlimited potential as an artist in 2024. Take advantage.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I really knew the value of being social and networking with others earlier on. There is an introvert aspect to me that really got dialed up in my younger years. I had this self-centered belief that if I just merely showed my talent on stage as an actor or on the internet as a broadcaster and podcaster, the advancement opportunities would just come to me. I learned the hard way that its all about building relationships with like-minded artists in your field and building relationships with folks with similar interests who could become your loyal audience. I wasn’t doing that early on and I am trying my best to achieve that goal now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deliciousrecap/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familymattersrewatchpod/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedeliciousrecap