We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steve Frontroth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Steve, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
As an avid MMA fan and former amateur fighter myself, I am constantly watching fights whether it be UFC, Bellator or any organization that has televised fights and even going out to local promotions to watch them live in person. As a spectator, I was always giving a little bit of my own commentary to the room as they didn’t know fights as well as I do. Most everything I would say, the broadcast team on the TV would echo exactly what I had just said or something to the effect of what I said. My wife always told me, that should be you doing commentary. Well, I already hosted an MMA podcast that I was really just using that to stay connected to the sport since my aspirations to compete were crippled by an injury. I sought out local promotions to see if I could cover the during their live shows as content for my podcast and eventually developed a pretty good relationship with RUF MMA matchmaker Jason Martinez. He asked if he could come on the show to help promote his upcoming cards and we always had fun and had great results. I was interviewing him to boost his next card which at the time was RUF 38 and in the middle of the interview, he totally through me for a loop asking me if I wanted to commentate for that particular show! I was absolutely dumbfounded that I would get asked to do something so important within the organization I couldn’t help but feel like he was yanking my chain. Turns out he was dead serious and I have been doing shows with them ever since. We are over 50 shows deep as and organization and it also probably helped net me (and my broadcast partner) another commentary gig with another organization Rise of the Prospects Cage Series here in my hometown. The coolest thing about this story, is I get to commentate with the fighter who is the one who inspired me to compete in the first place, Ed “Wild” West. He is also from the same town as me and back when I first started watching MMA religiously, he was in the Bellator tournaments and even fought for a title! That got the thought going for me that if a guy from a small unknown gym in Tucson could accomplish so much, why can’t I? Of course, I never reached the same heights but its a crucial part of the story. And now I get to do what I am extremely passionate about with the person who essentially got me started in this game in the first place.
Steve, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Well I was inspired to participate in the sport I commentate for by my broadcast partner Ed West. Through working with RUF MMA matchmaker Jason Martinez, I landed the role of Commentator within the organization but I don’t believe this was by accident. I got started with RUF MMA by putting in many shows as “Media”. Now, local shows didn’t get a lot of media attention at the time so they probably figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a small podcast in the building to help them get the word out on results as well as a small circulation of mediocre photos. I think after working with me, Jason and the RUF MMA owners new that I had the gift of gab. I can talk MMA, I know how to interview athletes that are not known for great interviews and I was always early, giving them a hand whenever they asked and just really showed them that I wasn’t just there for a free ticket to see live fights, but to help them as much as possible. Landing this position took work but it is also tremendous work itself! I have 3 responsibilities: entertain, educate and promote. Commentators have to maintain a high energy and provide quick quips to keep the audience lively, explain tricky situations and sequences that the casual spectator may not understand with their own eyes all while shouting out sponsors and hyping the fighters up from the time they make the walk to the end of the fight. But promoting doesn’t stop there. It is also our job to promote the next/upcoming card. Hosting an MMA Podcast makes this a breeze because I can post on social media on my own and also conduct prefight interviews. It’s very taxing but rewarding work. I can’t really single out one single thing that makes the job so great except that more and more fighters are now getting the opportunity to compete on a stage that can help catapult them to the bigger stages like UFC and Bellator
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of this job is the fact that fighters as well as the audience really seem to enjoy on how Ed West and I go about commentary. It’s just as an important tool for the athletes as well as the promotion. You see, we have to commentate unbiased. So we call fights without prejudice and are able to see things that their corners may not have picked up on so when they go watch the fight for themselves, they are able to go back to the gym and work on those things that we may have pointed out during the show. I have already had several fighters tell me “thanks for pointing that out, I fixed that during this last camp” it’s just reassuring to know that we provide feedback to these fighters and they actually use what we say and fix whatever it may have been at the gym. We also get high praise for how funny but professional we are. I think Ed and I have great chemistry and balance each other out nicely.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
The best way to support any live show is to buy tickets and show up! Fight nights are usually packed with UFC stars and stars from bigger organizations so it’s very easy to get a chance meet someone who has high level experience within the sport. Any support is helpful even if you are just regurgitating their posts on social media. But, definitely live shows is the #1 way to support any creative/sports organization.
Contact Info:
- Website: headkickaudio.com
- Instagram: @headkick.audio
- Facebook: @headkickaudio
- Twitter: @headkickaudio
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCcEG8bjdScwOgnpCMotOuhA
Image Credits
@mmastalker