This week Carl interviews the remarkable Renel Brooks-Moon. If you haven't heard of her, you probably know her famous voice. Renel has been a big-time radio personality in the San Francisco/Bay Area for over two decades, one of the major markets in the country. For her second act, she is now the public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants. She has earned a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame as the first woman in history to be the public address announcer for a World Series game and championship game in ANY professional sport. (Note: Carl has a super-fan gush going on in this interview.)

Renel was born and raised in the Bay Area and loved to entertain, even as a young child. She comes from a family of trailblazers—her father was the first black high school principal in San Francisco and her mother was also an educator. She gets her deep sense of community service from her parents, who were long-time community activists. She went to Mills College and after graduation started an entry-level job for a Bay Area radio station, eventually doing every single job there. “I fell in love from Day One,” she tells us. She was finally offered a nightspot on air in 1985, not expecting it to ever become a career. But everything clicked. “Once I turn on that microphone, it’s where I belong!”

Renel went on to have a very successful career in radio, meeting Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, Tina Turner and even singing once with Lionel Richie. Renel was in her element. When she got the call from the San Francisco Giants, she blazed a trail again. She feels a responsibility to be a role model for girls and women in both radio and major league sports. “When I was a little girl, there was no representation for that.” She inspires little girls everywhere to go after their dreams. Renel notes, “For some reason, I ended up in two very male-dominated professions, but I love the work.”

She’s had many highlights in her second act, whether it’s making history, interviewing baseball legends or giving her voice and influence to community service. Now, after 22 seasons with the Giants, Carl asks her what her third act might be. “Who knows? I've always wanted to have my own talk show!” We won't be surprised when that happens.

Renel’s (Un)Retirement Tips:

• Network: “Networking is very important, no matter what your career is or where you are in it. Every job I've had is because of a relationship.”

• Serve your community: "The most rewarding part of any job I've had is to use my voice for community service.”

• Try it now: "If you've had something you've always wanted to do since childhood, and you are still thinking about it, there’s no reason not to try it now.”

• Keep moving: “Stay on top of it. Take care of yourself, listen to your body. Mental health is just as important as physical health.” 

• More about Renel Brooks-Moon

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” weekly blog.

Tags:    interview   blog   baseball   san francisco   world series   san francisco giants   unretirement  

Carl interviews renowned sports journalist Henry Schulman this week. Schulman has covered major league baseball in the San Francisco Bay Area for over three decades. He was the San Francisco Giants beat writer since 1998 for the San Francisco Chronicle. Schulman has been a must-read (and listen!) for many Giants fans over his decades-long career. Prior to the SF Chronicle, Henry worked for the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Examiner.

Regarded as one of the consistently best journalists in the industry, Henry recently stepped away from the Chronicle into (un)retirement. A natural on the air and in writing, plus his sense of humor combined with deep knowledge of baseball makes Carl an ardent fan. Henry shares his next steps with us as he begins his Second Act.

Henry grew in Los Angeles to Jewish immigrant parents who were also Holocaust survivors. Both parents spoke multiple languages and were a little protective of Henry and his sister. A key moment for Henry was when his father took him to see his first baseball game, the LA Dodgers in 1969. “I was hooked from a young age,” Henry says.

As a teen, he told his parents he wanted to play the trombone professionally and they suggested a fall back position. He then became passionate about journalism. Henry said his parents couldn’t believe he would want to devote his life and education to a career that didn’t pay very well! But over time and through the course of his career, they became very proud of him. After college, Henry began working for small-town newspapers throughout California, which wasn’t so easy. “I think it made me a better journalist in the end.”

Now an admired sports celebrity on radio and TV, Henry talks about how different sports journalism is now. It used to be writing one article at a time for one newspaper. The digital age has changed so much of that, often demanding 4-5 pieces of content to be distributed daily. In 2015, Henry was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, took a year off and is now cancer-free. His illness weighed heavily on his decision to step back from the grueling schedule. Of course, Carl gets Henry to share some intel on the best coaches and players he’s dealt with, sending Carl into total fan nirvana.

Carl couldn't help but ask Hank who his least favorite person to work with. It was the Giants former star Barry Bonds who had a reputation for treating the media poorly. Schulman holds nothing back about his feelings about Bonds and the games he would play with writers in the day. It's an interesting segment in the interview for sure.

Finally, Henry shares how his whole life isn’t just about baseball anymore. He is looking forward to an (un)retirement that includes freelancing (maybe a book, we hope), extensive travel with his girlfriend, learning to cook Italian food and taking salsa lessons.  “It [future endeavors] wouldn’t have to be limited to sports. That would intrigue me a little bit.”

Henry Schulman’s insights into a successful (un)retirement:

• “It really does behoove you to set up a financial plan. Do Quicken or ibank for a year, categorize every expense over $20 and then give that information to a financial planner. They will know what you need.”

• Start thinking about a part-time job (maybe a wine-pourer in Napa!) to supplement your income.”

• “It’s really just math. Don’t be afraid. You can even “Google” what your break-even is with Social Security.”

• Don’t procrastinate on a Living Trust! Do it tomorrow before you do anything else.”

• For more about Henry Schulman: https://sanfranballscribe.blogspot.com/

• Henry Schulman Twitter @hankschulman

• This Week's Sponsor is The Monkey Creative: https://themonkeycreative.com/

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” weekly blog.

Tags:    blog   interview   henry schulman   giants   sports   journalism   unretirement  

The one-and-only Mike Krukow was a guest on the podcast this week. Carl is a HUGE San Francisco Giants fan and interviewing one of his personal heroes was a major thrill! Mike was not only a star pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and then the SF Giants, but after his playing days were over, he eventually found his way to broadcasting, becoming one half of one of the most famous sports broadcasting duos in the country.

Growing up in San Gabriel, California, Mike always wanted to be a baseball player. As a kid he was surrounded by baseball, becoming a batboy and playing in baseball games every single day, up and down his neighborhood street. “Kids talked about becoming blue collar or white collar workers when they grew up—I knew I wanted to be a  ”no-collar” worker!” he laughed.

Carl asked Mike where he gets his positive energy. (You can even hear it through his broadcasts, one of the many reasons he’s so loved in SF.) Mike said his mother was a nurse who never had a bad day. “She had the ability to pump people up, to be open and always engaged in the conversation. Our house was always the house where all the kids in the neighborhood hung out. It’s about being either half-full or half-empty—it’s your choice how you want to look at things.”

Mike last played baseball in 1989. That year the SF Giants competed in the World Series with a motley crew of players that weren’t even predicted to make the playoffs. Carl noted that podcast guest Joan Ryan has a new book “Intangibles, Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry” that was partly inspired by that team in 1989. “We loved each other. We all bought into the concept of giving all that we had for each other every day,” Mike agreed.

Mike had 3 surgeries on his shoulder and his pitching arm was shredded. So after that winning season, Manager Roger Craig offered Mike a position as a pitching coach. Traveling with the team, coaches often worked 12-hour days. Mike turned it down. He had 4 kids and his wife was pregnant with the fifth. At each point in his life when he pivoted to something new, Mike made family the priority. Instead of more baseball, he and a college friend opened a restaurant. “Perfect timing—the recession!” Mike joked.

He decided he had to learn about everything, from being a busboy, waiting tables, hosting, prep-cook, finance and more. Mike said it was an invigorating time—failure was on the doorstep every day. “I have an incredible amount of respect for the business owners who are willing to risk everything to run their business and create jobs for other people.”

Mike became a full time broadcaster in 1994. He’s known for his deep knowledge of the game and his tremendous humor, and is a 7-time Emmy Award winner. In 2014, Mike was diagnosed with IBM (inclusion body myositis) and although he does not travel with the team anymore, you can count on Mike and his partner Duane Kuiper broadcasting from the Oracle Park studios during the baseball season.

Mike’s advice will resonate with I Used to be Somebody listeners:

“Don’t EVER retire! What’s so wonderful about life is that there are so many new surprises; you just have to look for them. Go out and do something that is creative and fun. Go someplace where you can do it with other people. Don’t just be content with sitting on the couch. That’s where it all ends. If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’s that there are so many new, wonderful things to explore.”

It’s pretty evident that nothing is going to slow down Mike Krukow. He is living his moment!

For more info about Mike Krukow and how to donate to the Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation, visit this website.

For the full interview, listen to I Used to be Somebody, Episode #9 with Mike Krukow.

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the I Used to Be Somebody weekly blog.

Tags:    blog   podcast   interview   giants   mike krukow   baseball   unretirement  

The best words to describe what Joan Ryan has done throughout her life is………..”Ground breaking.” She is an award-winning journalist and author of five books. Joan has been a pioneer in sports journalism, becoming one of the first female sports columnists in the country. She has covered every major sporting event from the Super Bowl and the World Series to the Olympics. 

Joan overcame the challenges of being a female in a male dominated world. She notes “I was competitive, so the more hassle I got, the more determined I got.” She started her career as a sports reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, then became an editor and eventually the first female sports columnist.

Carl talks with Joan about making the transition from decades in sports journalism to becoming a book author and writing for herself.  It’s no surprise that her first book, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of the Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters (1995, Doubleday), was a controversial, ground-breaking expose that Sports Illustrated named one of the Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. The book and Joan were featured on Oprah, The Today Show, The New Yorker, New York Times and People Magazine among others.

Three successful books later, Joan again tried something new. Realizing that there was no one really “telling the story” of the then (2008) struggling SF Giants team, she set out to create a media consulting position for herself as an “in-house” journalist—a new concept at the time. She had lunch with CEO Larry Baer… and the rest is history.

Joan’s long experience in clubhouses and locker rooms and then with the SF Giants team made her realize that successful teams, in any type of organization, cannot only be driven by analytics, but that culture makes the difference. It's not an either/or question. “Culture is the bedrock of team chemistry and high performance,” she says. So you know what happened next. Joan’s latest book, Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry (Little Brown, 2020), is out now. 

Advice on career changes and life from Joan Ryan:

1. “Ask yourself, how can I apply this skill set that I worked so hard for to something new?”

2. “Anytime you pitch a new idea to someone, you better connect the dots on how it’s going to put money in their pocket.”

3. “It’s essential to find your new tribe, whether it’s a new organization, golf, etc. You have to get out there. Do not isolate. We need connection, we are social beings.”

For the full interview, listen to I Used to be Somebody, Episode #4 with Joan Ryan. For listening details go to our website.

To learn more about Joan's work check out her website. 

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the I Used to Be Somebody weekly blog.

Tags:    blog   interview   podcast   Joan Ryan   Giants   bestselling