We were lucky to catch up with Manny Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Manny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Starting The Run with Manny Wilson Podcast, I had aspirations of creating a platform for myself and to give sports fans a voice. Far too often in the Sports world, inaccurate analysis is overvalued due to the large platform it’s presented on. When watching a large network with sports personalities and journalists, we typically assume “This person MUST know what they’re talking about if they’re on ESPN” when in reality, that’s not always the case.
Starting in 2017, I couldn’t help but think of all of the great sports takes from small platforms I’ve read, listened to, said myself, or heard from a friend. And as someone who learned the ins and outs of multiple sports from current and former professional athletes, championship coaches, and a small amount of intermediate playing experience, I’ve always felt as if my breakdown of games and situations were just as good as any common sports journalist or sports personality.
However, a key factor of “who gives a good breakdown of the game” in the sports world is heavily based on work history and experience, much like any job. Yes, I have a great basketball mind but not many corporations on the level of ESPN and Fox Sports are going to allow someone on their platform without 10+ years of work experience.
Understanding this early on, I disagreed with the process of how networks value what opinion is valuable. I’ve always been a firm believer in right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of someone having 10 days in a career field or 10 years in a career field. Experience is certainly important but why not consider all aspects of numerous unique perspectives?
Many sports fans are former/current athletes, stat heads, coaches, superfans, managers, betting gurus, trainers, therapists, or simply intelligent individuals. Considering each individual perspective only expands the horizon of all parties involved because everyone watches the game from a different seat. Seeing a 6’9 athlete dunk a basketball in person is different from watching on television, similar to how hearing your favorite song at a concert is different from listening to the same song while driving.
After coming to this realization, I figured, why not use my own platform to allow sports fans to amplify their voice? If the analysis is good, listeners and I can learn something. If the analysis is bad, the caller will hear why with a chance for listeners to agree or disagree. I also wanted to make sure I’m held accountable for any takes that can be perceived as flawed regardless of how large my platform grows. Ultimately, those who love the game can ensure they will be heard by an interactive community of sports fans.
Manny, 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’m a six year podcast host and radio personality. I’ve always had a curiosity for sports journalism growing up. Once my intermediate sports career came to an end in high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a career that would keep me around the element of sports. Connecting with friends, meeting new people and the community sense of sports was an environment I enjoyed. Playing sports is fun, but it wasn’t necessarily something I intended on doing after high school. Growing up gaining experience in sports since age 6, I knew sports journalism was the lane I wanted to pursue. More specifically sports radio because of my ability to genuinely connect with others.
Starting the Podcast was originally just a way to gain experience in a field I had not yet learned much about. As I continued in this lane of sports journalism, I knew the approach at which I’d host a show had to be different in order to grow. I didn’t have a ton of experience outside of a few YouTube videos and casual conversations, therefore, I had to find something that would give me an edge. Eventually, I realized the answer was to build an interactive community that would ensure me and my listeners could have our voices heard. A platform that welcomes all sports fans to indulge in the breakdown of the game or situation. The Run is a space to feel accepted regardless of how much you know about sports or even if you’re just trying to learn.
Not only can listeners hear my solo takes, sports news, and interesting segments, but listeners are allowed to join the show and share quick takes, questions, and comments pertaining to any topic in the sports world. Growing up, I always wanted to point out the one aspect that was overlooked in a quick take or simply acknowledge the host for being right in a segment, but there were no platforms allowing people to do that. In situations when the obvious answer was overlooked, it killed me inside that a “professional analyst” missed something so clear or overexaggerated a false narrative. Having a large portion of the show dedicated to listeners asking questions, sharing analysis, or leaving a quick comment, eliminates one-dimensional thinking and causes all of us to be open-minded to alternative perspectives when discussing sports.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The one thing that has helped my reputation within the area of Podcasting is the consistency at which content is produced. Being one man band on the production side of podcasting with occasional help is a tough task but most people never know that’s the case until I tell them personally. Consistency has been the main factor to credit for growth, partnerships and connecting with others. When working with another podcast, guest or even voicemail callers, they all can confidently expect episodes to air on time and with top tier audio quality.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The most effective strategies I’ve used for growth has been to build relationships and a community within our network. Connecting with new friends in the podcast industry and following up with previous guest and devoted listeners are all free methods I continuously practice to accumulate growth. It should read: Building relationships with others have allowed me to expand my network by joining other Podcast as a featured guest. This helps spread the word of who I am as a person, along with information about my own Podcast platform. In addition, I’ve been able to have previous guest recommend new guest to join my show. Developing a solid foundation of genuine relationships has not failed me in the wrong direction throughout my journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: TheRunUSA.com
- Instagram: @TheRunPodcast
- Twitter: @ImMannyWilson
- Youtube: The Run with Manny Wilson Podcast
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/07ml82ekkgWalwV5yKUSS0?si=c5a36fecc3f54035 iPodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-run-with-manny-wilson/id1418184885?i=1000615756152
Image Credits
Personal Photo: @Rod.col