We're Doing it Live!

This essay was written for the Makers of Sport® newsletter in February 2016. Monday Musings and Weekend Reads were the written editions of the newsletter that accompanied the podcast; the archived email is on Mailchimp. The newsletter's links and announcements are trimmed here.

Greetings Makers of Sport readers & listeners. It's NBA All-Star Weekend and I'm still a bit in shock from last night's dunk contest. If you missed it, I feel sorry for you. It was a true spectacle and I'm happy to see that the dunk contest is something we talk about again as it is one of the most creative events in sport.

As I write this, I'm watching Ernie and the boys clown as they always do and get ready to see one of the greatest to ever play the game participate in his last All-Star Game, The Black Mamba.

I'm 32 years old, so it feels a little weird to see someone like Kobe retire considering I remember first reading about him in SLAM Magazine as a kid and watching his whole career. Truthfully, I'm more of a LeBron guy myself, but I have nothing but respect for Kobe and what he has done for basketball.

It is perhaps probably one of my biggest regrets in regards to sports to not take the time to see Kobe live and in person. I've seen many stars, but unfortunately Kobe isn't one of them.

There is something special about experiencing events as they happen. We live in the era of the DVR. Most TV is not watched live. Two things transcends that: sports & awards shows.

Podcasting is an interesting medium that falls into the "consume on your own time" category. I love this medium. If you are riding in the car, you can listen & learn from shows you love or just be entertained by a comedy podcast, or even catch up on sports talk by your favorite analysts. It has been called time-shifted radio.

I'm excited to shift this thinking up a bit by adding an even better experience for those that seek it. A week ago, I launched the Makers of Sport Community.

I have mentioned before that this podcast is something I get pleasure making and it has never been about the money. I enjoy making this show not only for myself, but I love helping others, introducing people, and generally doing my part to make the sports design community a better and more professional place.

The podcast has allowed me to be an advocate for those in the sports business or those that want to be in it by being objective, and standing up for designers in sports – even when it means being a bit controversial. I've always done the best I can to provide top-quality guests, high-level conversation, newsletters, articles, sports design & tech news, as well as advocate for entrepreneurship in sports.

Those of you that have asked can finally support the podcast from a fiscal perspective. I believe in supporting content you want to exist. Voting with our dollars so to speak. When I see an artist I admire, I buy their work. Even though we know creators don't make things for money, they need to eat and especially buy supplies.

Through the Makers of Sport Community, you too can support this art by paying for a membership.

There is no secret that with the small niche community, the numbers are never going to be so great to make me wealthy. Nor is that my intent as I've done this for 2 years without asking for a dime. But, *if you* want to support the show, you can now do so by joining the community. And when you join, you'll receive even more exclusive content in exchange for your membership (more below), which will always go to helping keep the podcast sponsor-free.

Self-admittingly, saying no to sponsors has been very tough. Just this past week, I turned down SeatGeek (who happens to sponsor The Bill Simmons Podcast). But, I believe in sticking to your brand's values no matter the dollar amount. This podcast is listener-supported. Not advertising-supported. For as long as it exists.

The value, knowledge and insights that the podcasts have provided are already worth $1000s of dollars; but, I want to deliver even more to supporters. So interested community members: in exchange for your payments, will also receive:

Halftime Episodes: they are going behind the paywall, no longer open to the public.

Halftime Episode Transcriptions: Oftentimes the Halftime episodes are very in-depth and may require note taking. No longer for community members. Halftime transcripts in full will be available to Community members.

Q&A with future, former and special guests: What would you pay to sit with the Creative Director of the NHL for an hour and ask him YOUR questions? You can't put a price on that. Members will get Q&As with select podcast and other guests. In fact, the first Q&A has been scheduled for Friday, February 19 with my trademark/IP attorney, Will Montague of Montague Law PLLC

Monthly Google Hangouts: We've done a few test runs of these in the past and had a lot of fun. They are inspirational, raw and encouraging. Now community members will get this opportunity to participate monthly.

Live Chat: Community members will be invited to join the official Makers of Sport Slack chat. Many of us are already in there engaging as you're reading this. It is a great place to share work, receive feedback, make personal connections, discuss episodes and interact directly with a few guests on a daily basis.

Live-streamed episodes (future benefit): Ever listen to the podcast and feel like you are in the conversation as well or maybe find yourself talking to myself or the guest as if you were there? Well, now you can be. Eventually, episodes will be live-streamed and uncut while you interact in the Slack channel.

Discounts: future products, merchandise, etc. will be discounted for members.

The above are all great benefits that I'm confident you will enjoy by paying to join the community. Your hard-earned dollars will always go to buying better equipment; paying for editing, hosting, pro-level audio software; as well as travel and other items to provide on-site episodes. The money will be directly invested back into the podcast itself making the show an even better experience for you, the listener.

"An investment in your personal development is the best investment you can make." — Jim Rohn, renown business icon and author

If you do not have the financial ability to invest in your career and passion at this time, have no fear, interview episodes will remain free, forever. But I encourage you to consider forgoing one coffee per week and investing that money in yourself by joining the Makers of Sport Community and surrounding yourself with encouraging like-minded people that will aid and inspire you in your creative career in sports.

If you do not want to join the community simply because you get no value from the podcast, then truthfully, I'm not even sure why you are subscribed to this newsletter, hah. :)

To learn more about the community and hear more about the pricing structure, listen to last week's Halftime.

Have a good week. And hope to see you in the Slack chat soon.

*[>> JOIN THE COMMUNITY NOW](http://makersofsport.com/community)*

Cheers,

Adam