Digital Social Hour - The Hidden Power of Creating a Media Persona | The Schmo DSH #761

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

Step into the fascinating world of media personas with Sean Kelly on the Digital Social Hour! 🎙️ In this captivating episode, discover the hidden power of creating a media persona with our guest, the Schmo. Tune in now to uncover how he transforms his laid-back personality into an unforgettable character with just a pair of glasses. 😎 Don't miss out on this engaging conversation packed with valuable insights into the evolving landscape of sports media and content creation. Join the conversation as we explore the intersection of traditional media and modern content creation, and how athletes are becoming their own media powerhouses. From the competitive intensity of UFC press conferences to personal anecdotes that humanize your favorite athletes, this episode is a must-watch. Watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🚀 Join us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more for your weekly dose of inspiration and entertainment. CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Mayweather Celebrity Basketball Game 02:00 - The Schmo's Rise to Fame 04:00 - The Schmo’s Viral Moment 05:40 - Building The Schmo’s Brand 07:20 - The Schmo’s Breaking News 08:00 - The Schmo’s Unique Personality 08:50 - The Schmo's Future Plans 12:19 - Best Major Leagues for Media Integrations 13:58 - Will Any Sport Overtake the Big 4? 15:04 - Favorite Sports Commissioners 18:13 - Interviewing Sean 19:34 - The Schmo's Favorite Sport 24:40 - Upcoming Events 25:28 - The Schmo's Views on Pro Wrestling 30:54 - Where to Find The Schmo APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail] GUEST: The Schmo https://www.instagram.com/theschmo312 www.youtube.com/@UC-muTcRmDEEBTV8F8Fm82pA https://www.theschmo312.com/ https://x.com/theschmo312 https://www.tiktok.com/@theschmo312 SPONSORS: Deposyt Payment Processing: https://www.deposyt.com/seankelly LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm a relaxed, easygoing dude, but when I put the glasses on and I'm in character, it takes a life of its own. Yeah, that's the part that surprised me, actually. When we met today without you with the glasses, you were totally normal. Yeah, I appreciate that. So you're really putting on a total 180 on your actual personality when you're in that. All right, this is the Schmo. He's the pro. It's the digital social hour.

We're wrapping this thing up. Clearly, this is a completely different guy speaking than the one you were just listening to. All right, guys. Got the Schmo here today thanks for coming on man hey thanks for making it happen yeah it's rare not to see you in uh in your uniform i appreciate that well actually i had a basketball uniform the first couple of times we met yeah we played it in the mayweather celebrity basketball game you came out to the fight Hoops game, I believe, too. So I've actually seen you in a basketball environment on the gym court. Yeah, this is the first time

we're not in a basketball environment. Yeah. You could hoop, though, bro. Not like you. You're scoring points. I wish I had your height. Yeah, the height comes in handy, man. That was a fun game.

You organized that every year, the one with the UFC fighters? I don't think that's happening ever again. Really? Well, Jamal Hill tore his Achilles. I that and uh dana was dana called you up didn't he actually no they did not but you know everyone wanted to play yeah so it was a blast so much fun dude i would do it every year i can't believe he still played on it too he came in just take the last shot he's a hooper. That dude's mental toughness.

He's good. But Phil Rowe, how good is Phil Rowe at basketball? He was good. I was upset we lost that game, man. DC was too. DC blocked me. He blocked me. And how tall is that man?

5'10". Yeah, I never told anyone that, to be honest. I was pretty embarrassed. No, yeah, DC was on our team. That's right. DC was on the other team. I was on Jamal's team. You were on DC's team, right? I was on DC other team i was on jamal's team you were on dc's team right i was on dc's team yeah you guys got us yeah man i can't believe he blocked me dude he was so pumped he's a competitive guy right yes um what you've been

up to lately though i'm just chilling i'm diversifying i saw him on espn radio here in vegas every tuesday so not as much in the podcast scene as live radio i do a lot of professional sports outside of just doing combat sports we just had boxing we just had gervonta tank davis oh you were commentating that i was not commentating that i was still covering it as media um i do commentate fights though for up next fighting unf they're an independent organization in Southern California. They're next to Venture July 6th, so I'm their Schmo Rogan. I'm their post-fight interviewer, and I do commentaries,

like the third man in the booth for them. It's a mix of both professional and amateur fighters, so it's fun. It's at the Commerce Casino Hotel, and it's like 15 to 17 fights usually. Holy crap. And, you know, Southern California is a hotbed. A lot of good talent comes out of those gyms in that region. So it's a fun event. And some of those guys, they end up going into the UFC and fighting the UFC.

Wow. Taco Badia just fought a couple weeks ago, UFC fight night. He's an alum from Up Next Fighting. So I do that. This week, I'm in Salt Lake City. I'm going to do some stuff with the PFL. So that's more MMA. I was just at Stanford because Helen, my fiance's younger brother, just graduated Stanford Business School. So I went up to that campus. That's a big deal. Stay busy, man. I do NFL, NBA, baseball, MMA, boxing. You got no time off, my guy. Stay entertained. Combat sports, how you made do NFL, NBA, baseball, MMA, boxing. You got no time off, my guy.

Stay entertained. Combat sports, how you made it at first, though, right? That's how I blew up. That's how I got my social media following. Got it. From interviewing fighters, right? I would say, yes, of course, interviewing fighters. But my first viral shmoment was finally asking a question at a press conference. It's back in April of 2019 that they were doing a seasonal press conference in Atlanta. And I got the mic and I asked Dana White a question

in a very schmo way and garnered a lot of attention. And I've kind of been on a rocket ship going forward since then. Nice. Yeah. It took some balls to ask that question, right? It did. I planned it for three weeks you know yeah i just i knew it was going to go one or two ways exceptionally well or exceptionally bad it was either going to be my last like ufc event or it was going to catapult me into doing more and more yeah he's polarizing depends what day you catch him too that's true i've been on both sides yeah yeah he's got those days right that nina girl really blew up recently yeah she's like the female version of you a lot of people tell me that a lot of people say that yeah uh she's

she's doing it yeah and it seems like she's doing that she's she's got it seems like out of nowhere too like a past year i don't know how long she's been there but yeah she's she's blowing up in that space for sure yeah i think it's a really unique way and a personal way of connecting with the athletes absolutely you gotta find ways to showcase their personalities that's exactly why i created my character and she's found a great way to to do things in her style too so and that's what people want to see people want to see that side of their favorite athletes yeah no it's cool to see you do that because a lot of athletes are kind of kick off an exciting football season with bet mgm an official sportsbook partner of the national football league yard after yard down after down

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Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. The word. I don't know if they like reporters, you know what I mean? There's a very bad stigma with the media, and I don't even know if it necessarily derived from sports media as a general media,

but look, when I started doing Schmo stuff and I was working in corporate America back in 2015, we're talking nearly a decade ago, I noticed back then there was a disconnect between athletes and media. I just felt like media were getting so lazy with how they're asking questions and going about their day. It's like, oh, you just won. How does it feel? Or you just like just basic generic things that they're not even really putting effort into their jobs. And I think a lot of what you see today is in re uh, as that's a repercussion of people not doing their jobs the way they should have been doing them. Facts. You saw the Mavericks go out,

the media heavy this playoff run. Oh yeah, just stupid questions. But that's why I think there's so much more athletes now that have become their own media, start their own podcasts, send their own message. I see it in all sports, not just MMA, but NBA, NFL, baseball, everyone's getting their own podcast now.

So it's kind of forced in the hand of traditional media hey how are you going to respond to this how are you going to stay afloat right because right now it's not looking good yeah it's a new era they're going to lose viewership with all these podcasts lebron started one shack so many people right they've already been losing it and that means they're losing sponsors and just there's just been this whole shift in the whole media industry the past few years and it's still shifting right now it's interesting to see how it all unfolds yeah i know nba especially though even the reporters a lot of them are former players now reggie miller yeah and i even think

like like nba and tnt they started doing a couple years ago um i'm not as familiar with it this year i don't know if i watched as much as here, but I feel like they do like Tuesday nights. They do like players only nights or something like that. So the broadcasters are only guys that played in the league at some point, which I think was a unique spin. Yeah. Yeah.

You found a great niche because the players respect you and like you, right? Because there's certain reporters that get a lot of heat. I'm not there for clickbait or just to like a got you type of moment. I'm there to entertain and have fun. Yeah. Because a lot of guys. I'm not there for clickbait or just to like a got you type of moment. I'm there to entertain and have fun. Yeah, because a lot of guys go out skip. Yes.

Well, Skip's got a very specific brand where he knows he's pissing people off. He knows he's marginalizing a certain audience just to get a reaction out of you. Yeah, I see a lot of players go after Shams. Yes. I actually, Shams, Chicago guy, right? Yeah, the Indian guy reports on NBA news. Yeah, I think I know who he is. I've, Shams, Chicago guy, right? Yeah, the Indian guy, reports on NBA news.

Yeah. I think I know who he is. I've met him before. Are they going after him? Sometimes he'll report something, and then the players don't think it's true. So that's the problem with breaking news. Sometimes it's a bad source.

Yeah. So with the whole breaking news bit, like sometimes I get breaking news. There's been occasions where I've done it, but it's not my brand. I don't really care to be the one to break news. Right. Yeah occasions where I've done it, but I don't, it's not my brand. I don't really care to be the one to break news. Yeah, you never cover the drama, I noticed. I'm just in it to have fun and entertain.

Like I don't, I'm not a drama type person. Like this is my personality that we're talking to now. Like I'm a relaxed, easygoing dude, but when I put the glasses on and I'm in character, it takes a life of its own. Yeah, that's the part that surprised me actually. When we met today without you with the glasses, you were totally normal. Yeah. I appreciate that. So you're really putting on a total 180 on your actual personality when you're in that. Completely. It's like, well, I come from Chicago, right? So I

have a lot of influences and the second city Chicago legends. And there's been so many characters, even in broadcasting, Harry Carey had crazy big glasses. That's an influence. But I always say Craig Sager, remember long-time NBA reporter, with the clothing meets Rodney Dangerfield, sports first, comedy second. But a lot of influences, John Belushi, Chris Farley, rest in peace, Mike Myers, like both those guys, all three of those guys, huge influences throughout my childhood and just humor and being a weird, goofy guy. I love that. And so you want to do this for a while then? I've been the schmo for nine years already. Holy crap. Holy crap, right? It's been a full-time gig for nine years. I mean, look, I love waking up, talking sports and making people

laugh. That's the premise. So however I can can do that when i created the character no i didn't expect to be a schmo full-time or for life or whatever it is but like i could easily create another character like i did with the schmo and make it completely different wow but um you know i'm having fun and that's what it's about and And I'm evolving. Like what I'm doing today is looks a lot different than last year. And even two, three years ago, even the media games different because I'm a credentialed media member and I've just noticed a lot of things shifting.

And I'm just even looking at ways to just evolve my content now and just expand. Cause I'm doing so many things. Like I'm doing a lot of local things. I work with Ford country here, um, locally in Nevada at that dealership. And I'm kind of like their spokesperson. So I'm doing more local Ford vehicle content. And then, um, I've been doing a lot of stuff with better media and Jake Paul's company. So that's always important for the fight content. And I just find ways to stay involved

and grow that's what's important to me yeah you said you've seen a lot of shifting what did you mean by that yeah to kind of going back to what we said a couple minutes ago about kind of athletes empowering themselves to be their own voice like i feel like guys creating more content being content created there's content creators themselves outside of competing inside a ring or a cage, starting their own YouTube channels, creating content. So the interview-like content that's always been my bread and butter, I don't know if the demand's the same for it as it once was. The access is different now because a lot more, I think, creators are trying to get into the media space. And there's a blend between what's media, what's a content creator. Because when I started this, I was the only one who these traditional media would be like, how do I classify this guy? Because

I take the best of the influencer content creator world, and I take the best of the media world, which is what I come from. And I find a balance and I find what works between them. But everyone wants to classify you and put you in a bubble for something. And I've always blurred those lines. But now I feel like traditional media is at this point where they're just taking so much from the content creator world and blending it to the media world. It's like I kind of was ahead of my time. Yeah, you were nine years ago. Super. That was before influencers even like came out. Yeah. And I always took offense to being an influencer, like I'm not an influencer, yeah you were nine years ago super that was before influencers even like came out yeah and i i always took offense to being an influencer like i'm not an influencer but it wasn't until

like two years ago i'm like all right call me an influence or whatever it is as long as my bank account's going yeah facts yeah it did have a negative stigma though being labeled one it did it did yeah so i guess you're moving into a new new vertical then if these interviews are dying out uh well yeah i mean i'm just doing i'm doing everything like my whole vision when i create the character is this over zealous like over the top character that's not just limited to one specific thing like when i blew up an mma i doubled down to that the audience wants to see it i'm going to listen to what people started following me that were fight fans and i'm like i'm a big fight fan and if fight fans want to see that more of those interviews and that content, I'll give you more fight related content. But for me, sports is entertainment.

Entertainment is everything. It's food. It's travel. It's fashion and sports, among other things. I want to do it all. Yeah. Which major league sports do you think does the best job at media integrations? Well, I think in this country in particular, NFL is king.

I think when I look at the NFL, if you look at their metrics, if you look at how they're able to own the calendar, not just in football season but outside of football season, because if you really break it down, 17-week regular season schedule. But they do such a good job of owning the calendar year in and year out. Because look, I'm doing a sport, mixed martial arts, so there's no off season. So of course there's a fight or an event going on every single week, as there should be, in combat sports and boxing, whether it's that or MMA. There's got to be something going on.

But if you look at what the NFL does in a team, team sports with their popularity, nfl and the nba dominate popularity in this country from the sports world everyone talks about the big four hockey baseball being the three and four but if you go and you look at what the nfl is doing just like the nfl draft how people celebrate the nfl draft and these otas and these off seasons like right now at this particular time we're doing the show this is the most dead time they say in professional sports at this midway through the summer with like you know basketball coming to an end with the nba finals potentially could end tonight could end tonight um hockey coming to an end you know you're in the thick of baseball season some people don't really start paying attention to the pennant race in the fall yeah so like it could be the most

boring time but the nfl they do such a good job. If you talk about those pundits in TV, the ESPNs, the Foxes, they, they talk about the NFL every single morning. They have you talking about them. That's the conversation. That's why I think they do the best. Yeah. I could see that. Do you think any sport will ever take over the big four in America? I think, I think MMA, I think UFC, what they've done with the brand has the closest thing to butting in into the big four in America? I think MMA. I think UFC, what they've done with the brand, has the closest thing to butting in into the big four, whether you want to call it the fourth one being hockey, which probably is.

I think baseball's ahead of hockey in a lot of metrics, just mainly because baseball's like 162-game season. They're just there the most time of the year, and there's so many players, so many moving things. Contracts are moving things contracts are bigger too contracts are bigger and there's no salary cap and and they're all global sports but i think baseball is even more global than a sport like hockey right um just in terms of just where popularity is region wise and whatnot but i think if there's ever a chance for a sport to penetrate um or sports league it would be the ufc i agree i think it might eclipse hockey in our lifetime.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, think about it too. Like 30 years, this sport. Where was the NFL 30 years into their sport? Were they still wearing leather helmets? If not, they may have just graduated from leather helmets. Right. But it looked completely different.

The evolution you've seen in this sport in 30 years has been astronomical. I can only imagine what it would look like 30 years from now. Yeah. Who's your favorite sports commissioner? Well, I'm biased, though, but that would be Dana White. I knew you were going to say that. But it has to be. Why?

Because what other sports commissioner will you get access to like you would for Dana White? You're not going to get the same with Adam Silver or Roger Goodell and stuff. Go to Roger Goodell. Look at him during the NFL draft. He gets booed when he's going into the other cities. Wow, I didn't know that. He gets booed. Why?

Not as much now as it was like five, ten years ago because when he first came into the league, like early mid-2000s, took over for Paul Tagliabue, he was just like this iron fist commissioner, like giving out fines and suspending players for all these crazy things like obviously marijuana the leniency now versus back then completely different but like people would be suspended for longer periods of time back then and what really i think disconnected him and fans is

there would just be no continuity in the punishments someone like ray rice you know on camera with beating his wife that punishment is so much different than someone else with domestic violence and whatnot. There was just no consistency, and I think the fans pointed that out. But I would say over the past couple of years, he's really relaxed in a lot of those ways and changed things. At the end of the day, who's paying his salaries? It's the NFL owners.

The NFL owners love the guys. I'd agree. Dana, the access is crazy. Yeah, but Dana's got to be it. Yeah, I don't see other interviewers interviewing commissioners of other leagues just pulling up to them and asking them questions like that. Yeah, absolutely.

UFC press conferences are goaded too. I swear I made my bread and butter initially, yeah. What were some of your favorite press conferences? Well, it's got to go back to UFC forc for me clearly ufc 236 because of my moment my viral shmoman asking dana the 165 pound question but literally you could throw any conor mcgregor press conference in there um because he always makes an entertaining you're never going to get like you know him and nate diaz you know iconic throwing of the water bottle any any of that type of stuff.

So obviously I have my bias, and then for my moment, but then I would say also anything Conor McGregor related. Can't deny that. I was bummed when the fight got canceled, actually. Yeah, of course. I think his shin is just toast, man. It's, I mean, it was completely shattered.

And a lot of people forget, too, that going into that dustin poirier trilogy fight he had injured that leg that snapped he was contemplating pulling out i remember you know whether it was a documentary i saw or he had somewhere i saw video footage of just like the struggle of him dealing with that injury leading up to the fight. Wow. Damn. If he pulled out, he could have still been fighting now. Should have, could have, would have. You never know.

Yeah. That nerve damage is no joke, though. It's crazy. I think Sean Strickland, someone who's a very colorful personality, posted some sort of x-ray of his leg bones and how all the damage and the wear and tear, it just doesn't look like a traditional human leg. It's a very brutal, unforgiving sport.

But, you know, that's why we love it so much. High risk, high reward. Have you ever gotten interviewed, Sean? Yeah, plenty of times. What'd you ask him? So many different things. Outside of fighting is great stuff. I mean, the thing about Sean is you don't have to really ask him anything.

He'll dictate where the interview is going to go. He will bring in politics. He'll bring in gender. He'll bring in anything. He likes to make fun, and that's great because the character, the schmo, if you Google it, it's stupid person. My whole shtick is being self-deprecating. So if I'm going to have an athlete poking fun at me and what I'm wearing and what I'm doing, it makes my job

that much easier. Yeah. He either hates you or loves you. I noticed with him. Yes. I have a good relationship with him. I know he doesn't hate me. Yeah. You didn't box him like sneaker. I did not box him like sneaker. That takes a lot of balls. I've gone in there and done like Schmoe versus the pro with some guys. Yeah. Uh uh but he's not one of them and the thing with strickland is i don't think he really has an off switch so i know he was legit yeah maybe he's not throwing with 100 power but legit when you watch sean strickland fight he never really throws 100 with power anyways he's just there to touch guys up maybe 60 to 70 and then sure occasionally he'll throw something with power but most of his stuff is high volume just to touch you up anyways but i don't think he really has an off switch or if

he's going up against nico or for he's going up against dracus duplicy yeah that makes sense what is your favorite sport to watch it's probably nfl and ufc wow nfl is too slow for me really yeah well the thing is for me, I watch Red Zone. And I've been playing. I've been in fantasy football since I was 10, 12 years old. And I've been a commissioner with all my frat buddies for a decade. We've been in this league. And it's super competitive.

There's 14 of us. So the stakes are always high. It's a deep league. It's deep. And there's bragging rights on the line every time and we do this in-person draft every year so like i have such like sweat equity in this season that makes sense and i'm from chicago so i've been this diehard bears fan since i was a kid that's a rough one so so i more have just allegiance to my city and i think that's

what associates but if you look at the sheer number of sports time that i watch my eyes are glued to something i don't think it beats mma there's no doubt yeah especially in the past six seven years it's hard to be mma man especially in person especially in person and and helen and i've been so blessed to see so many great fights in person and a bulk of the those blessings came during the pandemic just being on fight island and being there and like like no very limited humans being involved to see what's going on behind the scenes just to get the fights to go off just the crazy things we did like traveling to Abu Dhabi like is a 16, 17 hour flight, but then getting

quarantined into a room and then bringing you three meals a day for 48 hours. Like, like it's just like you're locked in your room. And the only time you leave the room is to get tested to make sure you don't have that, the COVID, which no one talks about anymore. Yeah. No one talks about anymore. It's funny how that is crazy. So you went to the bubble. That's cool. Yes. That was like the first big bubble. Yes. That was like experiences that I'll never forget. Yeah. So you couldn't even interview anyone then?

No, we did. Oh, you did? And I was interviewing people with like a mask on and like a plastic thing. If you look back at some of those old interviews, it's hilarious. People are going to laugh. Like a face shield.

But the thing is too is I didn't do it by choice. I didn't want to wear any of that stuff but we had to i'm sure that the people on the ufc side that were enforcing it were just doing it to cover their ass to save their job they were not necessarily doing because oh my god you're gonna do this or they just want to protect themselves yeah they didn't give a shit yeah they're gonna look future generations are literally gonna laugh i think at what we did during that pandemic. Yeah. I mean, people are still laughing now. Facts.

And they made a lot of people in your industry get the shot too. You know, it's crazy too. It's like, I only got it because I figured- Oh, you had to get it? I had to get it because that's how we could travel. That's what we could- Oh, shit. And if you didn't get it, they would put you into all these extra things and hurdles just to cover it. Like there was a wristband for people that had the shot versus didn't have the shot.

And again, at least they're putting this on because had they didn't, I'm sure the networks and the investors would have shut it down. Yeah. Did you get all four though? No, no. I think I got the first one and the second one, but I didn't get any boosters. You should be fine. Did you get any boosters? Hell no. Did you get got the first one and the second one, but I didn't get any boosters. You should be fine. Did you get any boosters? Hell no.

Did you get any of the shots? No. But I was lucky I didn't have a job that required it or a setting. It was so crazy, though, too. It's like I feel like the people that kept getting the shots and boosters were the ones who kept ending up getting COVID. Facts. Yeah, some people got all four.

I never got COVID until I got the first shot. Really? Yeah. Wow. It's crazy. I got it at it at dan bazarian's house i thought i was dying i got like the first wave before i hit the news that shit was deadly oh man i felt like it kept getting weaker from there and i think it did because all the strains and it still exists now people think they're getting the flu or the cold it might even be some sort of descendant variation of of the virus but like yeah what really sucks is like all the deaths being labeled as covid deaths but it was just they had other causes of death too and it's like we never really know what the numbers are too because did people all of a sudden start dying of covid now i hear nobody

dying of covid yeah it's like inflated and now i just saw ventilators killed a ton of people they just found out i'm sure they did like when you got put on that you pretty much Yeah, it's like inflated. And now I just saw ventilators killed a ton of people. They just found out. I'm sure they did. Like when you got put on that, you pretty much died. And it's like, too, it's like, what's the number one cause of that death in the world or this country, heart disease and stuff like that? Who are the people dying? What are the numbers? Or were they overweight? Did they have preexisting conditions? Like if you're going to come out with data, at least be transparent with the big full picture rather than just picking what's convenient for your argument. Yeah. It was crazy.

I'm a stickler for that type of stuff. No, I look back and I'm like, wow, they really were good at manipulating people's emotions during that time. They got me for a bit, dude. I almost got it. I almost got the shot. Like I said, we did it because we felt we had to do it. And there's also a lot of family pressure too. Yes. I know my parents were were it was super important same my my parents my fiance's parents and it's like damn am i gonna be a black horse what is it black sheep of the family or something

you know but time will tell truth always reveals itself doesn't it dude it's been uh it's been cool anything uh events you got coming up next where people can find you up i'm gonna be uh doing some pfl um this weekend they're in salt lake city i'm gonna do some content uh around that next week's gonna be the busiest week of the year with uh international fight week i'll be at the ufc expo will you be on powerslap i don't know if i'll be at PowerSlam. Okay. Not sure yet. Because there's also like a sack camp going on with NFL stuff. Max Crosby and some of the big football players. But I will be at UFC 303.

Got it. I do know that. Which all leads up to that. I'll be at UFC 303. Not sure if I'll be at PowerSlam slap yeah just there's so many different yeah people and things pull me in different directions will you be will you be i will be i'd love to see you at one your reactions would be hilarious at power slap oh yeah have you been to one yet uh i've not been to one yet that's surprising i'm surprised because you go to all the usc events

yeah you know is it not your scene or is there a reason i'm just you know i it's it's not i'll have nothing negative to say it's just not my cup of tea really it's just not my cup of tea like you know some people are into cricket i'm not you know or some people are into volleyball or some people are into motocross and some people aren't like people have their sports people have what they like and don't like it just it just not something that I fell in love with. I feel that. So you're a fight enthusiast. I don't see it as a sport.

Well, that's the thing. Yeah. You know what I mean? I would not consider that a sport. What would you say? Just entertainment. Like entertainment? Yeah.

So that's the thing. If I could take myself out of being a sports media world, which is if we're getting rid of labels, which I ultimately want, I could totally see that. So if you want to label as entertainment, absolutely. I could get behind that completely.

Where I have trouble getting behind is the sport thing. Got it. And doing things from a sports perspective. That makes sense. That's my thing because if I could go as a fan and not have to work

and just be an enthusiast of it, sign me up. I'd be right there, front row, reactions to everything. But because I have to work and I'm media and I have to look at it in a different light and more from the sport angle, that's the reason it doesn't do it for me. That makes sense. You just don't respect it as a sport. It comes down to that.

To each their own. For me, for sports, there's offense and there's defense. for me that makes sense you just don't respect it as a sport it comes down to that um to each their own like for me for sports like there's offense and there's defense yeah you can't play defense in that right yeah so for that reason like and for me when i grew up playing sports whether football lacrosse basketball i love playing defense i'm a defensive guy it's it's it's part of the sport. In the greatest basketball player of all time conversation, you got LeBron and Michael Jordan. What Michael Jordan will always have

over LeBron James is, how many defensive player of the year awards does LeBron James have, and how many does Michael Jordan have? Jordan got it. LeBron never got it. He never got one? Never got one. It's an important aspect of the sport. LeBron James is 6'8", 260. Michael Jordan, 6'6", 215.

Considerable size difference between the two. Playing different positions, different eras, and one was a defensive MVP, one wasn't. A lot of respect to defenders because it is tiring, man. I'm in the Lifetime League out here. Whenever I have to guard the best player, I am gassed. You're gassed, right? And that's why even in a sport like football,

you have 11 guys on the field, but you don't have the same guys playing offense as they do play defense. How many guys in the NFL right now are on both sides of the ball? I can't think of one person off the top of my head that's playing both sides. Yeah, not long. Maybe on the punt return and offense. Special teams. But that's a little different, too, because you're coming in for one play,

and that play happens every maybe three to eight times every game, if that. Yeah, no, that's true. You've got to factor in the defense 100%. What about pickleball? You respect that sport? Of course. It's like human tennis. It's human.

I know older people are involved in getting involved in that because they can do that. But yeah, anything where you can build sweat equity, I think, is a sport. Yeah, it gets a lot of heat because I study people's comments on social media. And whenever I see a viral pickleball clip, all the comments are like, this is not a sport. And they hate on it. But I respect it. But some people will then argue, is golf a sport? It is. Yeah. I mean, and people will then argue, is golf a sport? It is.

Yeah. I mean, and some people will say, is NASCAR a sport? Yeah. Yeah. It requires a lot of skill. It requires skill, I mean, to each their own. And that's where you could make an argument, too, that power slap is a sport,

because then the slapping requires a specific skill set. And maybe your chin has to have some sort of uh bone bone structure density but that's the thing too is once your chin goes you can't get your chin back yeah well there's too much luck involved in that sport for me to consider it a sport because you flip a coin the other guy you get knocked out you never got your chance to slap that always bothered me that bothered me too because the guy who goes first 95 chance they're winning or have an edge to win yeah so i wish there was more a way to change that maybe the first stop should be at the same time that okay now i'm on board all right now i'm on board now you got equal chance equal defense maybe there's a way you can you know just like you know you like a boxing you know you throw the jab

and yeah you know oh yeah maybe if you could play some d a little bit like have a hand in there because some of those knockouts are vicious can you imagine like they because because it's a new sport right they're going to change the rules can you imagine they just create some sort of new surface space where you can stand in it's some sort of like box structure that allows you to move your head to a certain degree i don't know how you can make a slap in that but i'm just thinking of ways out loud that you can maybe switch the variations of it to allow something like defense and strategy to really come to play. That'd be cool because this can only go so far with the current format. How big can the arena or the venue be? And then how do you make a real show out of it? Because they're blessed that a lot of the overhead,

a lot of the costs, it's just using what they've already built with the UFC. But how do you grow it beyond that? 100%. Shmoe, it's been cool, man. Where can people find your site and your social media handles? Yeah, so theshmoe312.com is my website. Follow me on all socials at theshmoe312. The YouTube's at theshmo312.com is my website. Follow me on all socials at the schmo312.

The YouTube's at the schmo. T-H-E-S-C-H-M-O. Again, the way I'm talking now is not how I would be a character. You got to get something out of me, right? Yeah, let's do it, man. What do we want to do? Do your closing statement that you normally do. All right, this is the schmo.

He's the pro. It's the digital social hour. We're wrapping this thing up. We appreciate your time. Clearly, this is a completely different guy speaking than the one you were just listening to. Absolutely. It's been an honor, man. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for watching, guys. See you tomorrow.