A opinionated, funny, and highly entertaining take on all the happenings around the world of sports.
"There will never be a perfect time to start. If you want to start a podcast, just do it."
Today Bob Walters and Brett Grosso, the creators of Locked Up Sports share their story of sports podcast.
► Tell us about you and your podcast
I (Bob Walters) and my co-host Brett Grosso have been good friends for about 30 years. We went to high school together, and have been going to Mets games together since before we could drive. When we weren't going to games we were watching them, usually together. We have both chosen careers in the Corrections but in very different capacities. Brett is a RN working in the clinic as a Supervisor at the Riverhead Jail in Suffolk County Long Island. I am a Correction Officer on Rikers Island in NYC.
Our Podcast is called "Locked Up Sports". It's a New York Focused Sports talk weekly Podcast. Our listeners are Sports fans of any age mostly in the Tri-state NYC area
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
Prior to being a Podcast host I never really listened to any podcasts and to be honest not much has changed as I still don't listen to many podcasts, mostly because between our show and my job and a newborn at home I don't have much time to listen to anything. A little over a year ago I was commenting in a NY Mets facebook group when I received a DM asking if I had ever wanted to do a sports talk show about the Mets, seeing as how I've always wanted to be a sports broadcaster and gotten a degree in Broadcasting I answered "yes of course". I was asked to send a five minute recording of what my show would sound like. I immediately set my phone on the coffee table and started talking. Before I knew it I had 10 minutes recorded and sent it off anxiously awaited to see if it was what they were looking for. I received a message the following day that they loved it and would like me to do a show on their internet radio station. I asked If I could bring along a co host to which they agreed and "Locked Up Sports" was born. I Went online and ordered the Rodecaster Pro because I heard it was the best and if nothing else wanted to make sure the show sounded professional. Brett told me his attic would be perfect to use for a studio so I had the equipment delivered to his house and we broadcast our first show about 10 days later. We did the first 30 or so episodes on the internet radio station before they went out of business. At that time our show had gained popularity and a solid fan base so we didn't change a thing and just continued to do it as a traditional podcast.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
Finding the time to work on the show is probably the most difficult part of the podcast for us. Working as a Correction officer on Rikers Island means I regularly work 16-18 hour tours four days a week. On top of all the overtime I also have a beautiful wife and infant daughter that before I started the show already didn't see enough of their father and husband.
As I said earlier I didn't have much, if any knowledge of how podcasts work but I have listened to Sports talk radio nearly everyday for the better part of my 42 years on this earth so I modeled the show after what I knew which was Sports talk radio. We do it almost as if it were a live sports talk radio show. There is very little to no editing involved and it seems to work. We have received very positive feedback, We are ranked the 6th best sports podcast in New York, We are in the top 10 percentile globally, have been featured on Amazon Music and regularly get guests that I could only dream of getting when we started the show about a year and a half ago. I think one of the biggest things is the chemistry that Brett and Myself have with each other. We trust each other, our personalities on air compliment each other perfectly which makes for a highly entertaining fast moving funny, informative podcast.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
As far as money goes, we haven't made much. Between the equipment, monthly subscriptions, gas to drive out to Long Island from the city and hours spent promoting, marketing, and getting the word out about the show we certainly are not raking in money. We do it because we love it. Every time we hit record and I hear our opening play right as the show is about to start I feel like a kid again fulfilling a childhood dream, knowing that there's people out there that look forward to hearing our take on what happened that week with our teams is more than any dollar amount could provide and actually getting to interview some the people we've had on the show makes me pinch myself every time I think about it.
We have had some sponsors, We've taken in less than $1000 total. It's not that we wouldn't want to make money from the show but we don't actively seek out sponsorships but hey if you want to advertise on the show by all means contact me hahaha.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
Our Prep work is not very in-depth, We pay attention to what's going on in sports that week, watch games, which is something the two of us have done for as long as I can remember, we jot down some talking points before we record and away we go. We do a little research on our guests but for the most part we already know everything there is to know about them being lifetime sports junkies and our show is basically the same if we had microphones in front of us or if we were sitting on a couch somewhere and that's another place where our chemistry and being friends forever is a positive for the show.
► How do you market your show?
Getting people to actually tune in and give you an hour of their time each week is not easy and takes time. Podcasters really need to be patient because building an audience and creating a fanbase is not easy. If you have good content you will grow a fanbase but it does not happen overnight. We market on Social Media. We are on Facebook where we have a Facebook Group as well as a Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. I spend a lot of time cutting up the videos and audio to create short 1-2 minute segments to help promote the show via social media. We are available anywhere you find podcasts as well as on youtube.. Most of our listeners listen on Apple Podcasts (ITunes) but quickly it's shifting to youtube.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
There will never be a perfect time to start. If you want to start a podcast, just do it. Make sure you are passionate and know what you are talking about and be patient, it takes a while to gain an audience. Also don't think anyone is out of your league when it comes to the guests you'd love to have on your show but don't think they'd ever come on your podcast. I promise if you ask you will get a "Yes" from at least a few that will make you pinch yourself. Believe in yourself, your show will be great and I can't wait to listen to it!