The following piece serves as both my personal journey in the creation of Pwns Media, as well as a look at how we've built our website and overall network. There are about a million things that I could write about to detail how I got to this point, as well as highlight the many people who have helped me along the way and the friendships I've been able to forge in the process. I’ve always loved engaging with people about sports, whether it's simply general discussion or a heated debate. I knew early on that I didn’t have the looks or the voice to be on TV or radio, but I still sought an outlet to talk about the things I love. That's not limited to just sports though, as I'm passionate about movies, pop culture, music, etc. - basically anything that could ignite some form of debate.
This passion is the main reason why I joined Twitter in the first place. I would have never imagined that a little blue bird app would play such a big factor in what I was able to accomplish, as well as how I've been able to find a medium to reach such a wide audience. Podcasting was the new wave a few years back, growing in popularity by the day, and as such, I decided to view some tutorials and videos to learn more. Soon, I was podcasting solo, dropping episodes with maybe 15 listeners total. It was fun and therapeutic, almost like my own form of therapy, but never did I think it would be anything more than that.
Enter Twitter.
I originally downloaded the app back in 2013, but I really didn’t become active until late 2017. One day, I noticed a fellow Patriots fan known as LB, who had recently lost his father; he had been a long time hardcore Pats fan in his own right and I noticed that Robert Kraft had actually reached out to extend his condolences. I thought that this was such a great gesture on the part of Mr. Kraft to reach out, which compelled me to speak to LB and express condolences myself. From there on, we wound up becoming friends. Gradually, thanks largely to LB, I was able to meet more Patriots and Boston sports fans alike. I could honestly spend hours talking about the many friends I've made along the way, but that would likely require me to write about 14 articles. (Note from Editor-in-Chief: this wouldn't be a bad thing, Brian - keep 'em coming. After all, we need content!)
I soon also met Brycen, known throughout NFL Twitter as BrycenNFL. The two of us had an opportunity to take a trip to Tennessee to watch joint practices between the Patriots and Titans. I can genuinely say that Brycen is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. I also became acquainted with our resident wild child, Ashleigh, on that trip. This is honestly what makes this whole journey so wild; through some silly little blue bird app, I was able to meet some amazing people who I genuinely call friends. Brycen and LB opened my eyes to a whole new medium where I could talk, debate and explore the world through podcasting. A big, big thanks to them both, as it’s truly because of them that I took the dive, became driven to form Pwns Media and learned different ways to obtain resources and develop content.
During this period, I met several other wonderful people who then helped me build this media platform, such as Sara, our first female podcast host who ran our One For The Girls program. Sara was instrumental in helping us reach more female listeners; she is truly an incredible person and we wouldn't have had much of our early successes without her. Nikki, my right hand person in our early days, always had my back and helped in making many tough decisions. Austin and Jake, who helped start Pwns from its infancy, have been with me since day 1. Ashleigh, our longest tenured female Pwns member, is brave, bold and caring. It was an honor to have both met her in person and to call her a friend. I was able to meet all these wonderful people through this simple app, and each and every one of them influenced me to continue to build our network of podcast programs. So, as much as this is the journey of Pwns, this is also a thank you to all of the people along the way who helped build it.
Finally, I couldn’t finish this piece without mentioning Mark and Haley, who have become my partners and co-runners of Pwns. Their dedication, intelligence, willing nature and their big hearts are just a FEW of the reasons why Pwns continues to work; I’m proud to call them both my partners and my friends. A big thank you as well to the ever-growing crew of our shows. You are all amazing individuals and I can’t wait until we can all meet up for drinks at PwnsCon in Miami. I have massive plans in the works to help continue to both grow our existing programming and develop more new content. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish next.
- Brian