Jason Bryant (https://twitter.com/jasonmbryant) is a Hall of Fame Sportswriter, Broadcaster & NCAA/NAIA/Olympic PA Announcer. He has many podcasts, including the Mat Talk Podcast Network, wrestling’s home for podcasting & more, distributing nearly 3,000 podcast episodes since 2008. Historian. Archivist. Wrestling nerd. Budding sneakerhead and craft beer snob.
He is also a VA Native.
Connect with Jason online!
Say hello to our co-host Ms. Christine on Twitter or Instagram. She loves that.
Jason Bryant (https://twitter.com/jasonmbryant) is a Hall of Fame Sportswriter, Broadcaster & NCAA/NAIA/Olympic PA Announcer. He has many podcasts, including the Mat Talk Podcast Network, wrestling’s home for podcasting & more, distributing nearly 3,000 podcast episodes since 2008. Historian. Archivist. Wrestling nerd. Budding sneakerhead and craft beer snob.
He is also a VA Native.
Connect with Jason online!
Say hello to our co-host Ms. Christine on Twitter or Instagram. She loves that.
I'm your one of your hosts Jared easily and of course, joining me is Miss. Christine Christine. How are you? I'm great. How you doing? I'm doing good now. Christine is like the queen of twitch, all of a sudden I've got to say I'm proud and nervous about that maybe we dive into that at some point. But today is all about Jason Bryant, Jason Brian, of course is a hall-of-fame sports writer broadcaster and NCAA NAIA Olympic PA announcer. His many podcasts including the matte top podcast Network, which is rustlings home for podcasting. And basically, you've distributed nearly 3,000 podcast, episode since 2008, probably more. Since then, when you wrote that, you are a wrestling historian. You're an archivist. You're a nerd. And you claim that? Yeah. Buddy. Lee buddy, Sneakerhead and craft beer snob and your Virginia. Native somehow ended up in Minnesota Jason. Thank you for being here. I don't know how I ended up here sometimes because I really hate cold weather and I live in one of the coldest states in the Union's. If not the coldest. I mean, they call International Falls that icebox the nation. I think like, Leadville Colorado is the only one that's going to argue with them about what? Who's colder, please take that title. I don't care. Well Minnesota is a very beautiful state though. I think people who don't visit their. Don't quite appreciate or know that. Yeah, I've been here I moved out here first time 2008 and And left about a year and a half later, and then, move back three years after that. So, I've been here a combined about 10 years, but you go to Lake Country. So, basically an hour ago, a start going an hour, north of the Twin Cities into basically what most people think is, is Canada. But now there's a lot of space between cities and, and the Canadian border, and there's a lot of beautiful country. It's not just like, you know, yeah, it's 10,000 lakes. Actually we have more than that, but the lakes in Minnesota are actually to be classified a lake. It has to be. Bigger than a certain amount, whereas Wisconsin likes to say, they've got more lakes in Minnesota but they count like Retention Ponds as lake. So you got to have. I think it's gonna be like, five acres or something to be at least considered a lake in Minnesota. So, yeah, yeah. It's it's been, it's, it's real pretty country out here where I live on the North side of the Twin Cities, I can be fishing in 20 minutes. I can be, if I'm, you know, I've done a little bit of hunting up here. I was not a he, I'm still not an avid Hunter. By any means. I've done some pheasant hunting or something like that, but you can be outdoors in an hour. In every direction, you can be doing a bunch of different things and it's it's a great place to live. And one of the things that you do is, I guess you take out your aggression on your old freezer. Can you tell us a little bit about that? I don't, I don't, I don't know why you do that, but I'm curious. No, actually, that was my sister-in-law lives up north of Duluth and Silver Bay. So, when we talk about South Canada, they've actually got a pretty good argument to be South Canada. But we were out riding some four-wheelers out off of their Property. And there was a there, there was a freezer out there, with some bullet holes in it. So I'm just channeling my inner Jimmy Buffett and I shot. Six holes in my freezer. I think I got cabin fever. So, no, that's not actually. That wasn't that Instagram post was not actually my freezer. I am, I take my aggression out now on. Now that I'm a proud owner of a Nintendo switch for about four days. My daughter is stoked. Yeah, I told you I was going to be a gamer, but yeah. So my nine-year-old now has a switch which means I To download like I had to find something to play besides Mario Kart so glad your daughter's taste. That's good. That's rather as you can see has been making the little switch controllers out of like cardboard and making him for her Barbie dolls and stuff like oh I made a swift. I made a switch for whatever this doll's name is and wow. And then she's been into Pokemon go and it's just like, oh, that's a Charmander. I don't know any of these things. I feel like what our parents of our when we were that At age like what our parents felt like? What the hell are you talking about? Yeah, so, well confession time when I was a kid, I had GI Joes. I didn't use them for GI Joe purposes. I use them for rustling. Yeah, that's absolutely don't. I had the wrestling ring shake that. Yeah, I had the WWF rang and, you know I still have some of my I'm not. I think I have my Jesse Ventura and my Randy Savage. Those are collectible ones. Yeah, you know they don't I look them up on eBay when they got sent to me. I'm like you know what? Yeah, 12 bucks. So especially Mine are all the paint and only 12. Yeah, they're not mint condition or anything. I actually use them like toys were supposed as you should. Yeah, okay. Well, we'll Dive Right In. We're gonna start with finish this sentence, the beginning of a sentence and you complete it. The first one is the key to being in the background of a Sports Illustrated. Pick is know, where the cameras are that is, its twofold because in the center of a Sports Illustrated, were Henry cejudo who's now in a UFC champion or champ champ champ. The triple champ is he likes to call himself. He was making his comeback towards the, the 2012 games and we did a an event in Times Square outside. It was a wrestling dual meet USA vs. I believe is USA Russia. And I was doing the broadcast with rulon Gardner and who, you know, the legendary Russian Alexander karelin back in 2000. So, there's this big. It's just looks so cool to see. Just thousands of people surrounding a wrestling mat. It like, - I think it was Duffy Park was the name of the spot in Times Square and then Illustrated had some photographers there and they're shooting right across and I'm right there and I'm like I am in Sports Illustrated. Secondly secondarily in Rio in 2016 knowing what I know about how television production in such works. If you can read the teleprompter that like in this case, Ryan Seacrest was reading, you are on television, or you will have the ability to be in the background of that shot. So, in Rio at Olympic Night Live or whatever it was called, when Seacrest, is, is out there doing his thing at Copacabana beach. Beach. I'm okay, we can read the prompter. We're on screen and we we photo bomb the crap out of Ryan Seacrest, so you can photo bomb, Ryan Seacrest and getting the background of Sports, Illustrated by simply, knowing where the camera Wells are. That's the right thing to do. So, Oh my God. So Brian. What is one movie that you would like to see remade? And why is it Vision Quest? Because the wrestling sequences, the scoring is a little off, and I think that is one thing that if you're a wrestling person, you watch the movie, you're like, wait, wait, wait, why is he down? The referee said, no take down. Now, I know the author of the book in which the movie was based on. So if from a wrestling perspective, read the book because it's much better than the movie. Although I say that having the lp the actual LP, Of the Vision Quest soundtrack on my wall framed right now. So when it comes to wrestling movies and such I would like to see, maybe it updated, that would be cool and maybe get the scoring, right? But I was recently in a movie called the last champion that had a lot of wrestling sequences in the scoring, right? And I was the soundtrack. So I wouldn't be against a revision Quest remake although that might be kind of like Blasphemous in the sport of wrestling. I think there's some things they could clean up and do and do better to make it more like the book. But I mean it's 80s, coming-of-age, teen film when to fiorentino. No, Matthew Modine and they would have to play Crazy For You by Madonna. Incessantly to make sure it does play to those who love the original or you can make remake. That's all. Yeah, I don't know. You don't mess with perfection. Well, people do but you're right. Vision Quest is like this. Yeah, it's almost Untouchable but it's a good movie. Even if you're not a wrestling fan, I think. Yeah, I my wife had not seen it until we were like, I think two or three years into our marriage. Actually probably a little longer than that. I'm gonna wait, we got married and you had never seen Vision Quest. This was like, should have been like date to material. I made her watch slap shot before I met her once leaving Quest. Good choice. That's when you can't remake either. Know, you can Charlie another finish this sentence. If you ever visit North plate blank, it's actually North Platte and I have visited there. It's gonna be North Platte Hey guys are so, you are so in tune with what's going on in current events. I tweeted that last night, Christine's and West Philly, girl. So yeah, those boys on the playgrounds where I spent most of my days. That's, that's her. Yeah. And we don't hate on her pronunciations, but go ahead. Yeah. We're not. Yeah, I would not be going back to the Applebee's because I've been to that Applebee's in. It's not so great. So the North Platte Applebee's is one to avoid. Yeah, and what's interesting is the commercial I was watching it was Applebee's. It was during the College World Series is where that? Where I saw the commercial Virginia's, playing Texas. And I saw a commercial, it's like a guy in overalls and like this big metal tub, like ever floating down the river and I was like a commercial for North Platte Nebraska tourism. Now, I challenge any of the listeners who have never heard or seen North Platte. Look it up on Google Maps or something and tell me. Yeah there's yeah. Okay. I mean when Kearney Nebraska sits and be like man nobody wants to go to North Platte, you're in trouble. Plus I don't think there's any wrestling, you know? No. Addressing in North Platte either. So there's nice. People is just not, not a place. I'm going to stop for Applebee's anymore. Sounds pretty desolate. Okay, we'll continue on with the finish this sentence and you're doing such a great job, the best. I like yes, the best place to get a custom flight paddle is wrestling Community wrestling Twitter as we call it. So there was a wrestling fan gutwrench. Wrestler gutwrench. WC name is escaping me right now because I, you just refer to him as his Twitter handle. We're starting to do some, like wood. Stuff for people within the sport, whether it be podcast and such and he said, hey you know, I saw your bar would you be interested in like some flight paddles? And I'm like, absolutely yeah, he said he has like four or five different ones of his own from basically trial and error it, starting this out. So yeah, they're nice little backdrops. You know, when we don't have video here, but when we opened up the scene and saw the Speakeasy that I'm sitting and they were right over my back shoulders, so I've had a chance to test them out a little bit and waiting waiting for some more people to come over and get get things sampled. Once I we're pretty much through the worst of it. I hope with the social distancing pandemic and get some people to come over and you know, try the stuff that's in my fridge and have him served up on these nice, Matt talk online, white paddles. Yeah. They are beautiful. I've seen them in your Instagram and what's the name of you? Call it the Speakeasy. What is the Speakeasy? The Speakeasy is my studio, in my bar. So I live with my wife. My two daughters and now my newly-acquired dog Hazel. So there is nothing, but females in this house, I work in the sport of wrestling. I've been in sports my entire life. So all of my sports man stuff like very cliche needs to go somewhere and it is in my office will. My office is we did a custom renovation two years ago and gutted the entire basement. And it's not like your mom's basement kind of thing where a lot of us streamers tend to live. It is. Hey, I don't know what if I want to see Christine screaming area? Yeah, well thank you. No. But in the We love our basements. In this case, this is a walk out so it's like it's actually kind of space. It's not like you know you know the creepy Place underneath the stairs or something like that. But true. What it is is we'd custom Cabinetry made for one how one side is like shells and DVDs and whatnot. Then the TV and then on the left side, you opened up the cabinet doors. Well, there's a room there, it's a hidden room. So it is a speakeasy. And I built my bar in here and then it's also where I record. So I've got Sound Treatment here and I've got all my crap all over the wall. So you know you get your selfie huh. Bragg stuff the awards and such but like cool memorabilia. Such as said Vision Quest, LP, I've got posters long wall. I got old Sports illustrated's up. I got some just like a wall of penance from like this random teams and sports leagues from both Virginia and Minnesota old home, a new home. And it's pretty much my little. It is my little Haven. So it is a bar and it's a hidden room, so it is a speakeasy. So I, I call this my Speakeasy Studio. Nice, nice. All right, going back to another finish his sentence and And taken to the travel theme. Guatemala blank. Not as bad. As you might think it is. I don't know that Christine judged it. So harshly Jason. Well, the thing is, it's one of those places that when you look at it, you hear about you. Look at your like that can't. What's in Guatemala? Nice, people and pretty good food. So I didn't have a chance to really jet around Guatemala City that much because there are still doing the social distancing and things of that nature. Everything still Metro wearing masks everywhere, it's not as opened up as it is here but it was one of Places where you go to, you don't know what you're going to get into and you're like, hey yeah, I'd come back here. So we've brought up rustling a little bit but for those that might be confused. We're not talking about actually WWE or professional, what would some call professional wrestling? We're talking about the other wrestling so maybe you can break that down for us and then I'm curious. What's the best wrestling match that you've ever witnessed? Well, there's definitely moments because I've seen thousands and thousands of Mac. Yeah, I usually see a thousands of matches a year. So it's mainly the memory. Ruiz of what happened with those matches but real quick to get the first part, your question, I've been a journalist since I was 15 years old. I started writing for a weekly paper when I was in high school and wrestling kind of got in my way when I discovered what the sport was. When I was in high school where I'm from in Virginia Poquoson, which is a little you might have heard of it. If you've watched any Allen Iverson documentaries, it's not doesn't know they say, yeah, Chris thing knows about Allen Iverson. Is that is not, I'm so glad you brought that up. It's so it's so bad because the only time you ever hear Poquoson on, Evie. It's either like wrestling's on TV or there's an Allen Iverson documentary and they are there other ends of the spectrum. One makes us look great. The other one doesn't make it look very good at all, but that's I moved there in seventh grade from bad news from Newport News. And then discover wrestling was and as a sophomore in high school and then I was into sports, I was doing announcing, I was doing writing for the school paper writing for the local paper. I knew I wanted to be a sports broadcaster, very early in my life and then wrestling took a hold and started announcing that along with eight other sports. Well, going to be Game time that actually came out for the team, my last year and a half in high school and was terrible. We were nationally ranked, so we were good. I was terrible. And that's not a really good combination for actually getting a whole lot of matte time. And for other sports you'd say playing time. You don't play wrestling though but we get into that and then I started a website on like Microsoft Publisher and like 1997 on my dorm room at Old Dominion in Norfolk Virginia and started announcing doing PA for high school tournaments on the weekends too. I would say pay tuition but Really, it was kind of like to to fill up the fridge with the Natty light and Milwaukee's best back. And when I was nine, oh yeah, you do Friday night back in the day when your you have twenty dollars in your pocket and that's gotta last. You like a month? Yeah. And you got a sec, how much beer can I get? Can let it go $5.99 cases? Schaefer that you have to use the stolen fire extinguisher to go to freeze and be cold. But yeah, I got into that and it's pretty much just taken off from there. I announced a bunch of sports in college and high school. A lot of Radio with ODU, and it's men's women's basketball teams in baseball teams and then, but wrestling kind of started, taking hold. And then ultimately, that's, that's kind of carved out my career path and working for various wrestling organizations. Now, on my own serving as a broadcaster announcer, you know, I say, I might my podcast intro, my short time, resting podcast, rustling writer broadcaster in announcer, because those are all those are the three main things that I do. Because I've done all three of those things pretty consistently. So when it comes to that, that's the the NCAA Championship. So if you're flipping on Wrestling in March and you see like, well what the heck, you know, the college Wrestling Championships were on. I'm the voice you hear in the background, I'm not the voice you see on ESPN or here on ESPN. I'm the one in the area. One of me and me and I Mico announcer Brian Hazard who I've known since I was in high school and then you know, I did Rio, I've done the World Championships, I will be doing Tokyo, they have some stipulations that you can't really talk about working for the Olympic Committee or the organizing committee or the production company or the game's itself. It's it. I believe it's called Guerrilla marketing. So you know I can't really do a whole lot in terms of what's coming up for me other than yes, I'm doing Tokyo. That's pretty, I mean, yeah, that's all I can really say about it right now, once we're done I can talk about it but between like I got the card in the mail a day. This is I can go to Japan that was pretty impressive to they overnighted that
thing to DHL it was the left Japan on the 2030 got here today at 10:30 my wow we faster my flight over there. Yeah, I announce wrestling. That's pretty much what I'm known for. Yes. Okay. And at what point did you realize Is that you wanted to create a career in a business around wrestling. It was kind of dumb luck. I had been started my you know you start your own website back in 1997 on dial-up out of a dorm room. You're not really thinking money money, money money, you know, and you're in wrestling. So you're not really thinking money money, money money, it's just not happening. No, I'm not trying to do the O'Jays there. I'm trying to do something else to be. Now, I'm trying to do the OJs. I just need, I just need you to do some beatboxing. Yeah, we were so re-question or na Fix It. Jesus. Yeah, these are all Throwbacks to me and Christine how we met through Jared on blab, May rest in peace. Six years ago anyway, so I just started a website. Site and, you know, I was announced in tournaments on the weekends to make some money. And then I had worked at a daily newspaper and I went full time. And then when I was, I've been there about two months, I had actually worked there eight years. And then I went full time finally after I graduated and then they pulled me off a wrestling and I'm like that's not going to work. This is so basically I was miserable as a full timer for two months did the website freelance for another National Organization for for a year and then they ultimately hired me to run their website. It's called inner mat. It's still in business right now but I haven't run it since 2008. I ran from o 5 2008, got me to move from Virginia to Pennsylvania in the Amish country and to Lancaster and that was pretty much. Okay, I work for here and then I worked for the company that first brought me a Minneapolis. And it's like, okay, I'm working in wrestling there and then USA Wrestling hired me after that start up tanked and all of a sudden ex, you know, I'm working in wrestling. But when it came to starting my own company, I really didn't start until like, 2013 people like why don't you do your own thing? And I'm like, well I've why do I want to compete against three other websites that have either built or rebuilt? And then I I looked at it the entire wrong way. So podcasting was was jumping in and I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna do something nobody else is doing and that pretty much that was the trigger, the light bulb that went off. And since then I've been, you know, I did a podcast starting in 2008 with the first show. Oh EST 1809. I mean it's been 13 years be coming up on 13 years. So when I saw the note, he was doing it and I had the knowledge and you know, the technical ability to learn a new skill set. It was like alright well let's see if I can make some money at this because by this by this time, my name was Reputable in terms of the wrestling Community. I was like, all right, let's give it a shot and so far, it's been it's been turn along for about six years and all my own and it's nice to Be Your Own Boss and it's nice to set your own hours and it's nice to pick your own events and like my daughter's not feeling so great right now. So it's nice for me to be able to take work and just put it away for a second and go spend time with my kids in case they need me. When my wife is being a rock star at her job so it does afford me a lot. A lot of flexibility that the brick-and-mortar office building doesn't And working for yourself is great. Sometimes the boss is a jerk, but hey, you know, the staff of 10 fingers is is all you need. I'm glad you brought up your daughter. You are a dad. Does your daughter Ruby like wrestling? I would you ever want to see her get into the sport? Well, both girls have the ability to wrestle because women's wrestling is Olympics board. It's I think we're approaching 40 States now that it's sanctioned the high school level amid. Didn't actually have a world championship, I think until 1989. So they're going to grow up in an era where they're not going to be you know limited by oh that's that's just for girls. That's just for boys you know that's they've got the opportunity, I don't know. I mean I think my oldest Lucy I don't think she's a Combat Sports type. I think she likes. She likes art, she likes Pokemon. She like singing. I just don't think that sports are going to be her thing. Whereas Ruby, my youngest who's turning five next week, she could absolutely just run through a wall. I think if you gave her enough time to do it, so she might be the one that that I'd have to worry about. Trying to try not to be the crazy wrestling dad, because if you've seen soccer mom, Alms and cheer moms and wrestling dad's. It is, it is in wrestling, mom's cheese. Yeah, I just it's gonna be kind of weird. I'm really, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but, you know, as somebody who's been in a sport and seeing, you know, there's a lot of pressure on kids when, when somebody whether it be an Olympic champion or somebody that just at, that's a journalist that their kids get into a sport. You know, I think one situations Pat 40 from from Yahoo sports his daughter Brooke made the Olympic team. That's been a topic on his podcast. I mean I can let us also that He's under a lot of scrutiny, first takes on college sports, and now his daughters an athlete at Stanford and makes the Olympic team. I mean, I can't imagine what that's like, so, thankfully, I got a long time before that opportunity or that situation even presents itself. But if either the girl's, father Russell I get I can't a who's not going to be coaching him. It won't be me. Yeah. They should stick to the switch for now is that they know, I know too many Olympians in this area in Minnesota there. A lot better people to teach my kids than me. That's for sure. Yeah, good point and Christine she she I was raised, you know, to have Allen Iverson jerseys. I don't know if we've ever talked about that, but oh my God, I do best. See, I don't say Grooms when I said I had three best man in my wedding and one of them was a Bethel High. What was it Bethel High? Which is the high school. Mr. Iverson went to, they weren't there at the same time, but yeah, I will still say that the the what people don't realize about that, I'm going to go back in time and talk a little high school basketball 1992, 91, or 92. I want to say, I can't remember exactly the year. Year before Iverson got in trouble is junior year him. They won the State title in football and basketball and Irish since backcourt. His high school, backcourt was him and a guy named Tony Rutland who played at Wake Forest. This was a disgusting High School, backcourt. A rotten one end up being like you know, that he was first team all-acc. I don't know how if he played in the league very long or not but that was a disgusting High School backcourt. I mean it's like yeah it's that's just scary how good? The peninsula District was in football and basketball met her where I grew up? So A lot of really good high school sports and and Iverson's not even the best high school athlete I ever saw. That was a guy named. Ronald Curry played at Hampton High a couple years later, but, Christina, ever Iverson jersey. She was a supporter. Yeah, somebody stole my Larson glow. That's the wrong answer. I still have PTSD. I'm just happy like we talked about ask. Well, I'm just happy. I'm 41 years old. I'm finally getting into shoes. I finally got some Air Jordans. Now I actually got my wife, a pair yesterday that came in the mail. Nice pink Air Force One, that's okay. A bit random one knows. Yeah. Hey, we gon basket. We're talking basketball, so I got a sneakerhead. Yeah, yeah. Wife doesn't like the fact that I'm starting to in the pandemic. I discovered shoes. My buddy, my buddy actually bought 14 pairs during the panties. Well, I didn't quite go the bit about his ladies proud. Yeah, that's right, man, well, I'll take a Nels on the sneaker at Sneakers app is is a real thing that hurts, like, I want 146. The last laksa got one yesterday. I Whoa, I got those that means I had to sell another pair that's kind of so funny. I got one in one out with the shoes now. Oh my God. Alright so we're friends on Instagram, how many rustling? T shirts and socks. Do you own? Do we need to have an intervention? My wife would hundred percent agree with you that an intervention is needed. Now the Sox is only about four or five pair. That's not okay. It's just new I, you know, saw them but a coach sent me some socks and then I pick some up off of this company Blue Chip does some and my buddy compound that does my gear doesn't socks. Well, in 2017-18 a bunch of us on Russ and on the wrestling Twitter's tried to do a little competition which we'd started like in 2014 and never really made it past 12 days and then we did it again like hey, see how long we can go wearing a different wrestling t-shirt a day or wrestling shirt, not just a t-shirt because I've got polos in such to, I went 366 days, I want a reason I say 66 is because at some point, I was the only one left. And I'm like, I'm invested in this. I got to see if I can go a whole year. I so one February morning. I'm doing it by. I'm by myself. I wake up the next morning. Oh my goodness. I missed, I missed a Sunday because I came home from church and I will I didn't change my clothes and it was like, oh I so I'll add an extra day to the end. Nobody caught me. I got a Google sheet on this that it's wrestling sure today. And I had some point where I'm like, I was like, all right I have to keep this up and I'm a sucker for a fundraiser anyway. So I see a A fundraiser, a wrestling t-shirt. That's cool. I'm going to support that school like oh that's cool. I can I I'd say I'm a you know to say brand evangelists would be under selling it you know the in the guys at the NCAA like the say I'm a wrestling Enthusiast I don't know brand of and wrestling evangelist might be a good way to do it because everywhere I go I'm wearing wrestling shirt and it's a conversation starter anywhere because I thankfully I don't I don't know if thankfully, some people say cauliflower ear is a badge of honor, I didn't get it because I was too terrible. I mean, I guess, you know, I wore my headgear and and But more time by uniting my head beat into the mat a lot. And it was just they get thrown my back plenty, but the the idea of getting a shirt and representing random school, it's a conversation piece. So it's not just like, Matt talk shirts, but it's like I like wearing the small College. The brand new schools that the schools that have added wrestling that are outside of the big, big tan, Big 12. The ACC, the power school, so I can use my kind of my position in the sport to really shine a light on how there's a new program at, you know, why? Life University and Marietta. There's a new program at Texas Wesleyan. There's a new program, you know, at Kaiser in in in West Palm Beach. I mean there's all sorts of different schools that you do you, you put that out there and they're like yeah, I got schools just waiting to send me stuff like Western Wyoming Community College is sending his sure. I think they're like Rock Springs Wyoming or something like that that's on the way so but but to do the shirt thing, a guy named Jim dot rho, kind of took what I did a couple years ago and said, let's do it every day in May. So wrestling sure, today in May is kind of our 200 people. I think 250 people on Twitter, were, we're doing at every day, and there was competitions, I didn't want to win because if I wanted to win, I probably could have, but I don't need to wear five shirts a day sometimes, and when it when I get sweaty, a little bit, I might have to change one. I mean, I'm almost the, you know, I wore Southwest Minnesota state today earlier than I was unloading some stuff, but I know I've donated see when I first got met my wife. I think we donated two or three hundred. Sure. Shirts then and then be Puerto Rico hurricane. I think I donated another two or three hundred because then you figure I've probably acquire a hundred a hundred and fifty a year. Just not even trying and then when I'm trying to like to go a whole year and you're finding those bargain, $5 grab bags. Like okay, what shirt is this okay that's a that's a really ugly shirt but I'm gonna wear it once it's gonna cause it's gonna get donated some kid in Puerto Rico or Guatemala is wearing it right now. The rest of Iraq, I donate a lot of new wrestling organizations. Like there was hurricane hurricane relief in Puerto Rico earthquake relief in Guatemala. That I donate a bunch of these shirts do sometimes I just wear them once and donate them. I'm getting to the point where I'm picky. Like I like that really thin tri-blend like super super soft shirt. So no disrespect to the Hanes beefy t or the Gildan heavy one. Like they're good for winter time but I'm gonna keep that super soft shirt. That's the one I'm definitely going to keep in my rotation. So - I'm also you need a long. So you need a long sleeve, crew neck to your something or sweatshirt, but yes, So, Christine answer question, I probably, I've had thousands probably, I probably had over a thousand of my life. My mom took some of my old high school shirts, and she surprised me and like, like put together a blanket out of these old t-shirts. So maybe that's an idea. You know, I don't need that many blankets because there was a stretcher, you know, shirts Go. I mean, in the podcast World sometimes you're trying to find one year it was like that dry Wick was all the rage or the athletic performance and then sometimes it was. I like the tri-blend. Super thin now, that's kind of the thing. But, you know, these materials don't always hold up to be sewn together very well. So I don't know if I need one, a moisture wicking blanket in the Speakeasy. Never know. So I can find wall space for that. Fair enough. All right, so aside from rustling, what are you looking forward to in Tokyo for the Olympics? How long I can tolerate being in my hotel room for two weeks, because I did the test event in October of Of 2019 go out. So I know the venue, I don't know if that's the same Hotel, I'll be staying at if it is, okay, I can make do with that because there's actually like a restaurant in a, you know, and some TVs in there because if it, if I'm staying in the same place because no public transportation, we can't do that. We can't really go sightsee. So I mean, because there's no foreign Spectators. And those of us that are coming in from overseas, we can use public transportation 14 days after where there after work. We've been bubbled for 14 days. I'll be there for 16 so I might get the last day to go out. You know because I'm leaving day of the the closing ceremonies if they even have those because you know it's been weird. Yeah. So I'm looking forward to maybe seeing how long I can, I can play the whole. Here's Johnny Cabin Fever game is looking have our own little version of The Shining at whatever Hotel were at but wrestling is in Chiba. So it's on the north side of Tokyo bay. So it's obviously Tokyo's a huge City, but it's not smack dab in the middle of I love all the stuff. So it's a little bit, be a little bit of a hike for me to get anything. I did find a Craft brewery out there, hopefully that counts as me being able to go get some food and drink. It was, it's a little bit of a walk, but I know where it is and hopefully I can go out there and in Sample, the the Japanese Fair as you should, okay? So what is the captain's cup, the captain's cup was an all women's wrestling dual meet event where USA Wrestling and flow wrestling, which is one of the flow. Result their parent company. They, it's a live streaming company and they're, they're arresting media brand. They put together. They had, no, I think it was four teams, women, or might have been six. And they had world teamers or high ranking women as team captains, and they pick their teams. And they wrestled dual meets against one another, and it was all women. Officiating crew, all women's dual needs. And it was a, it was a really big thing for women's wrestling and it was one of the cooler events of the year. I didn't get to announce it but I did watch it on Flow wrestling. So it was one of those things is like, yes, women's Has come a long way. And that was one of those cool things that did come out of the pandemic. Yeah. And you may or may not be on the treadmill when you watch it. Yeah, yeah, I did. I was, I was actually keeping up with the treadmill for a while, but then you start, then we actually started traveling again. So when I went on the road for the NAIA, the D3 and the D ones is like, oh crap, I've been home for three days. Tried working out in the, in the hotel rooms, it just doesn't work, what about Hooks? And when I be honest with you, when I'm at a hotel with the, when there's a wrestling tournament, I don't want to be the Fat guy on the treadmill taking time away from the kid that needs to cut weight. So you won't see me at a treadmill in an honor s interesting. Turning because I'm the last guy, I mean I might be the guy that needs it the most but I'm not the guy that needs it right then and there. So, I am, I'm very, very aware of the wrestlers that need to run off those last last half pounder. So the day before to get down to way, so I'm not going to be the one walking reading my book on a treadmill in the, in the hotel Fitness room. What I imagined the Applebee's in North Platte didn't motivate you to get on the treadmill. Oh well, that was gee. I was like 13 years ago, Dude. For our Panasonic day apparel. I don't think it's that definitely wasn't even good in the neighborhood that outside of wrestling or it can be in wrestling who's doing something that interests you every podcaster ever know, I think is, I think we're also breaking Christine's rule about number of podcasters. She still very, very Zealous about that rule and yeah, I don't know how to change that. You know, I look at this sounds really stupid, but my wife and I like cooking shows. So like Top Chef chopped, I look it, people that sample food food, trucks, you know, people that are like those. I don't want to say, influencers, for lack of a better term, but the people that are criticized, sometimes like the food and beer crates, the people that do podcasts about food and drink, that interest me, I always feel like I mean, have this Speakeasy here? I want, I would want to do something about what's great about Minnesota, so I'm paying attention to some of the things like, man, this would be really cool to tell people about, so I'm interested in the local Cuisine, but I'm also interested. I mean, I've got a lot of great chefs out here that yeah, hopefully with the pandemic fraying up and that I can go sample, the places near their people, you see on Top Chef frequently that are coming through the Twin Cities or based here. So we got a great music scene, we got a great food seeing great Sports scene, you know, Great Outdoors seem like hundred different disc golf course. We got a lot of stuff. So those are some of the things I'm interested in is that look, I mean, I want to say Home Improvement to a point because I didn't own a power tool before I got married. Now I built my own workbench. I built my own bar. I mean, I got to, I think I've got a running tab at Home Depot when it comes to what I'm getting every week, whether it be Abby's plants, or whether it be a power tool, or I've been kind of staying off the lumber this year because the price is up. But just different things, I mean, I'm becoming more of an adult. I joke that I didn't become an adult until I became 29 And that was the year I met my wife and now I was like, oh man, I was kind of a nerd. I mean not like a nerd but like I had some like social awareness issues of like, oh, that's not how you act in public, but yeah. But then I was like, okay. Now I can, I can demo stuff, I can build stuff, I can fix stuff. I'm like, okay I replaced my floor in the dining room. I you know I built and you know, like I said I laid the floor in a speakeasy, I can put things together that are not just a little wrench from Ikea. I learned the value of Our tools and tool bits. So when it comes to just kind of, I don't want to say this like stereotypically or like, you know, putting gender roles on things like things that like married men should be able to do interesting. So, you know, being able to be able to smoke some ribs, being able to build stuff and and to like yeah those are the type of thing. Be able to train a dog to pee outside instead of on your carpet. That's the top. These are important things. We're getting listen to subscribe to podcast on the mat Talk network and connect with you online. There is a numerous number of shows if you're into college wrestling Olympic wrestling, high scores, if you're not either, I've also got a couple shows that are wrestling based that you may find interesting, if you're just follow good story, I'm working on some storytelling pieces and such but Matt talk online.com is the website. You can find I think 12 or 13 of my active shows right now then there's about 18 or 19 shows that have come and gone. The the good old pod fade. And not every podcast is meant to be you know, lifetime. Some of them have a shelf life. I mean, some shows that were on my network that I helped produce or distribute, they went six seven episodes which is kind of like that line. Then some of them went a hundred and fifty my first show in a hundred forty five episodes and that was in a year. And then my short time show I'm approaching 670 and I started that in 2013. So Matt talk online.com on Twitter at Matt talk online that's kind of a generic news feed but me Jason M Bryant is where you can find me on social. I'm out there with the Discord servers and I've jumped into a Miss Christine's little bit even though it's that's a little gamer heavy for me. I'm not quite sure what any of these games that you play are and people hanging from, who knows what and screaming and I don't know. There's some, there's some weird weird video game stuff. The passed me by my last game system was a PS2. So that's what I was at college football. Like 2007 was like the last game, I have it, Matt talk online.com. Cam is where you can find me on the social time on Instagram, Twitter, Jason M Bryant and I have a lot of it, you know it's not just wrestling. I like like craft beer, I like food. I like dogs pictures of my kids so those things, tickle your fancy, I'm into it. And part of that one series I was talking about scald rocked up. I chronicled the start of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's wrestling program. That was a state that didn't even have high school wrestling, 12, 13 years ago. So I go back in time and kind of outline how this college Started with to tell that story, you had to go back and how it had high school wrestling started. And a lot of it was based around a couple coaches that moved Arkansas, and a guy who was an insurance man, that didn't like to take no for an answer from people. So that one, I think actually transcends wrestling. That's something that's a serialized concept that first thing I had ever done like that. And that's that one's called rocked up at get rocked up.com. That's one that I think has. It's about wrestling, but it has a lot of crossover appeal from those that like serialized Sports bass podcast. Cast or just good stories that you don't hear anywhere else. I'm glad to hear that you're doing that kind of stuff. That's pretty cool. So we're going to close out Jason. This interview has been long overdue man. I really appreciate you doing this two years. We've been to actually, it's been longer than that. We met at nmx. So was it 14 or 15? And then definitely. There are 14 or 13 actually. So, yeah, because I don't think I was trying to think that I moved. I had moved to Minnesota so it was, at least after 13. And then whatever year that Chris Jericho hosted, the podcast awards, that was the Okay. That was there was 14. Yeah yeah. That would have been the year and then so then I went to podcast Midwest in Chicago flew in that day you bought me a beer flew out that night you know hung around some guys like Daniel Day-Lewis Troy heiner it's and you know people that are part of that that group and then there's been like everything's prevented me from from hosting perform. Going to podcast. Movement is been a think it was the Olympics one year ago. We had a kid in there then there was a convention that I work every year which is actually Close to where you were living at the time. Probably still are. Then there was always another child Act of God with the panda. There is quite literally everything in its power is keeping me from coming to podcast moving. I don't I don't I don't understand. Why do the podcasting God's love me? And hate me all at the same time. You know this this year, it's this year. It's Tokyo, right? Yeah, I'm at the Olympics. Oh, darn, I'm announcing the Olympics. Oh, woe is me, you know. Yeah, you know, I'm, you know, that's, that's it. And then usually it falls under an EOB, see a convention, which is a client. So, We do have an event in LA in March, 20 22. So maybe that'll that'll maybe they'll finally. That's my busy season. That's why. I don't guess that's why I can't go to the other podcast because they're addressing season ends in March, like, wrestling hates podcast movement. That's What It Is. Well, we still appreciate you, so we always close out with final thoughts. Jason, it can be on anything. What's your final thoughts? I love the name of this show. That's a thought I've been thinking about for a long time because I'm like, Jared starve the doubts and I've gone through and I've listened to the Back catalogue. And of course adding Miss Christine to The Fray has been something. That's always. Been fun is like oh the pub. The woman who didn't want to talk about podcasting is now. Co-hosting a podcast with a guy. She put the rule about not talking about podcasting she shops. Yeah, yeah. She she gave me. Yeah, he'll about podcasting for years. I said Christine you should be a podcast industry, fire hazard, finally or not. I was just like, okay, fine, I'll co-host on years. I'll lower my standards and I'll co-host yours. And I said, Yes, I accept. No, I just, I just love being a being involved in the community. I mean, you know, I'm not, I don't have anything. There's very few of Me In terms. I mean, there's a niche guy like me, and this girl, like me all through the space of podcasting, but like, I don't cross too many paths. I mean, there's, there's now I think over a hundred wrestling podcasts have come and gone. So there's plenty of people that I could get try to get to go to podcast movement with. It's like, I see you guys all the time at other places anyway. So it's cool to see how the sports taken a out of the medium. And, you know, I appreciate with everything that you guys have done whether or not I've attended or not. I've got virtual tickets. I've done all that type of stuff, so I know that this isn't a podcast movement branded episode or, or show per se. But I appreciate everything that goes into the space and helping people like me, make friends with people that are like me, but, maybe are there Star Trek? He's or there or trekkies? I don't start trekkies ideas, just trekkies, or maybe they're there in the MCU or maybe their Gamers may be their true crime people. We all have something, common, I've gotten met some, some people that I have, really nothing in common with, so I thought through the world of podcasting and then we're friends. I mean, I was like, I've never, I'm friends with Troy Hein Ritz. I've never watched a single episode of The Black List, okay? It's like, yeah, you know, they're those these are people I associate with and talk to and you know, enjoying their discussions when we talk about this industry and it's really cool. So appreciate everything you guys have done. Yes card. Thank you Jason. Well I'm definitely checking out get rocked up. I think that's a fascinating and In for podcast. But yeah, really appreciate your friendship and, and all you're doing in the wrestling community and look forward to seeing how Tokyo goes and hear more from you. Of course, Christine, thank you for being in on this one. I know between you and me and Jason. We got a little bit of History. So I thought this might be a fun episode and Christine kind of help pizzas together and get this going. So, thank you to Christine and I look forward to chatting again, Jason, thanks man. My pleasure.