10 Questions with ... Big Mike Sangiamo

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I’ve had a lot of false start careers and even some not-so-false-start careers before landing here. The first job I had of any substance was at the Walt Disney World Resort. I was an on-stage attractions host in EPCOT. That is where I learned how to talk in front of people and it’s also where I learned everything I would ever need to know about customer service. After returning home after Disney, my next job had one crucial requirement – it had to be on my bus route to school… That is how I ended up applying at the funeral home, yes, the funeral home. I worked in that industry while I was going to school for environmental sciences and I liked it enough to decide to switch my focus in school to… Mortuary Science. At that point, being a funeral director appeared to be my path. I was working in the industry, getting trained at the academy and it seemed like a natural progression. But there was this other thing that I was doing as a “hobby” dating back to high school.

For reasons no one could fathom, my friends and I became enamored with SUBWAY Restaurants. We loved the sandwiches and the people to the point where we started the unofficial SUBWAY Fan Club. Long story short, upon graduating, I apply for jobs at funeral homes and at SUBWAY Corporate and let fate decide. The first offer I got was from SUBWAY. Which led to creating the first SUBWAY Street Team that did radio station type appearances at store openings. That led to voicing SUBWAY Commercials, which led to an interest in broadcast, which led to applying for a job in radio. The tale is much, much longer, but even that brief version, was probably not as brief as you would have hoped.

1. How did you get your start at Connoisseur Media/Long Island?

I started actively looking for roles in broadcast at some point in 2013/14. I would go on All Access and apply for every on air job or entertainment job that I saw. I thought, ‘If anyone can walk off the street and get on air, it’s me!’ Boy, was I wrong. One day I saw a job offering at 94.3 The Shark. The specific language led me to believe that they were looking for someone to “START THE SHARK STREET TEAM.” Even though it didn’t look like there would be an on-air portion component to that job, I thought my experience in creating the SUBWAY Street team all those years ago, made me a perfect candidate for that job. Besides, I have always felt that if I got in the building, I could make things happen. It turns out that they weren’t looking for someone to start The Shark street team, they were just looking for people to work on the promotional crew. But who knows if I would have applied, had it not been worded that way. It got me into an interview, where I was told that this was the foot in the door – and while I was way overqualified for the role, I was told ‘If you want to get in the door, this is it.’

2. What led you to a career in radio?

I’ve always had a passion for entertaining, and after doing voice overs for some commercials, I realized that broadcast might be a good fit. Thankfully, I’ve been able to find a role that allows me to combine many aspects of my passions into a product in which clients see value.

3. What was your world like when the pandemic first hit?

Like almost everyone, my world was filled with uncertainty and a little fear. When I thought about how 60 percent of my job took place out in the community, I quickly went into survival mode. At the beginning of the “shutdown,” the idea that companies would pay people to sit home was bizarre, but a little understandable. No one knew how long it would last, so there was a sense of just chalking the whole thing up to a global catastrophe – which we might have if everything went back to normal after two weeks. But two weeks in, it was evident that this was going to last much longer, and I thought to myself that there was a finite amount of time that any employer was going to be able to pay people to do nothing. So if I wanted to save my job, I knew I was going to have to do SOMETHING.

4. Explain how you were able to keep the stations on the street during the worst of COVID era?

It all started with a phone call from one of our clients, New York Cancer and Blood Specialists. They asked us to participate in a “thank you” parade for their nursing staff. They said that it would involve nothing more than the station vehicles driving passed the building, along with some others and honking the horns in appreciation. We, of course, attended--but I thought we could do more. I said to my partner in all this, Liana Neidig (Promotional Field Manager and my Number One) that we could do much more, if another similar event should take place.

Little did we know at that time, but one of the organizers of the “Thank You” parade was also starting up BIRTHDAY parades… and that was it. Within a matter of 2 weeks, we were participating in every birthday parade we heard about, six and sometimes seven days a week…usually 3 or 4 each day! Most were set up on Facebook, in chat groups, set up by parents of kids whose birthdays were fast approaching. The birthday parades and thank you parades led to graduation parades. And each time we joined it, we blasted music from speakers mounted on the tailgate of our WALK 97.5 Truck!

The parades got us through the spring and as the weather got nicer, DRIVE IN MOVIES made a comeback, but not just movies, DRIVE IN CONCERTS were also a thing. It was evident that anyone organizing such an event was going to be doing so at very slim profit margins, if any at all. So we decided to help them in the only ways we thought we could. We helped spread the word with some on-air contesting, and when they offered us the opportunity to host the preshow entertainment, I jumped on it. Typically, hosting events like these would involve a talent fee, but I decided to waive it for a majority of the events. It was more important for us to stay busy and ultimately, we were all trying to pull together to get through a crisis. The result was a 2-hour commercial for the radio station with trivia and other games hosted by the guy doing all those birthday parade shout outs, the carnival barking local radio personality, Big Mike Sangiamo

As the summer came to an end, so did DRIVE IN everything. But that’s when we innovated some other attractions. The two biggest successes were our participation in “The Forgotten Road,” the Gateway Playhouse’s drive thru Halloween Hunt attraction – where our jocks voiced part of the soundtrack (including a 9 minute exit track featuring me, being chased through the woods by a maniac) and the “Drive Thru Chat with Santa.” This event allowed parents to provide some inside information upon signing up. When they arrived with a car load of kids, they would pull up to Santa’s Sleigh (A Red Pick-Up Truck) and call him on the “T-Mobile Christmas Wish Hotline.” Much to the amazement of the kids, Santa already knew their names, what grade they were in, their teacher’s name, what toy they wanted and the name of their pet! A lot of work went into that attraction, but the looks of astonishment on the faces of the kids made it all worth it. (I am very good friends with Santa Claus, so I know he enjoyed it, if you know what I mean.)

5. SUBWAY Restaurants have played a major role in your career. What’s the back story there?

I could fill up an entire book with the back story of my connection to SUBWAY Restaurants. (Maybe I will one day…hint hint) But it essentially comes down to the fact that it gave my friends and I something with which to identify. That passion turned into a career and I was lucky enough to work with people that gave me the latitude to create a role with that company that allowed me to explore my passion and flourish. I created sandwiches that were added to the national menu, developed wonderful relationships with great people and got to travel to some really great places. But perhaps the best thing that came out of my time with SUBWAY was “The Speech.” (This is another one of those things that could fill another book) Long story short, over the years, I have been asked to speak at many conferences and corporate retreats. I’ve been asked to cover a wide range of topics, but they all come back to Customer Service, Leadership and Local Marketing. As you read this, I’m sure it sounds like a gigantic stew of passions and abilities, but I like to think that everyone has many different skills – a list of things that they can do. But only the luckiest people can find the thing that they were “born to do.” For me, the corporate speeches and presentations; being in front of a crowd sharing my passions and insight from a career in customer service – that is what I was born to do. It’s my first best destiny, the rest is all just stuff that I “can” do. I’m not sure if that makes much sense to everyone else, but it makes a lot of sense to me.

6. What made you want to write your book “The Fattest Guy in the Room-10 Reasons Why Being Fat Sucks! (And 3 Reasons Why It’s Not So Bad)?”

This one is actually quite simple – I had something to say. I’ve been fat all my life and I was always the guy that didn’t take his shirt off at the beach. In 2010, I had the opportunity to make a film for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I knew if we won the contest, we would be flown out to LA and our short would be televised. I knew if we were going to win, we had to stand out and if we wanted to stand out, I knew I was going to have to be in the movie taking a bath in my underwear. I realize that that sounds strange without context…I can explain more if anyone has questions…), but we won the contest and were on the Tonight Show – now that millions of people had seen me in my underwear, I figured – why not write down every thought I’ve ever had about being fat and put myself on the cover with no shirt on? So, I did! I wrote it ten years ago, so a lot of my opinions and humor might be antiquated, but the book still sells and planning a 10th anniversary celebration for early next year. I’ll send a free copy to the first 10 people that DM Me on IG @ TheFeastman and say the word “LOST.”

7. You’ve been able to make some extra-special magic happen around the holiday season. How did that happen for you?

Another long story, but it dates back to the great Christmas Eve celebrations I had as a child with my family. They knew how to do Christmas RIGHT. The magic they created has had a tremendous impact on my life. I love recreating that magic for the next generations and my love of Christmas inspired a short story that I have been performing on multiple dates at multiple locations each Christmas season since 2015. The story is call “Santa’s Lonely Helper,” and it is quite simply the thing that I have written, of which I am most proud.

8. What does the rest of the year look like in your opinion as far as live events, etc. go?

Things are going back to normal here. Concert proposals are coming in very fast, as well as event booking. We continue to follow the CDC recommendations, but they appear to be loosening as we approach the summer.

9. What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?

I grew up in Queens, NY and I love football (NY GIANTS) so it was WFAN for the most part.

10. Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?

That’s easy, Patrick Shea. Great leaders are very hard to come by as you navigate through your career. Sometimes you will report to a person that has a lot of knowledge and experience, but lacks the ability to be efficient in communicating a direction and motivating his or her team. Other times, you may find yourself working for a great communicator; someone with a charismatic touch but very little actual ability. Then there are times, if you’re lucky, that you end up working for someone that can only be described as a great leader. A great leader has knowledge; more often than not, they have the answer before you ask the question. But if they don’t already know the answer, they always know where to look to find it. A great leader has experience; even if they haven’t seen it all and done it all, you wouldn’t know it. They may not have dealt with every specific challenge imaginable, but they rely on the collective experiences of their past to give them confidence in their ability to handle whatever comes next. A great leader communicates efficiently, takes action quickly and inspires you to do the best you can, which is usually better than you thought you could do. Patrick Shea, Director of Operations Connoisseur Media Long Island and Program Director of WALK 97.5 is a great leader.

Are you excited for the new arena on Long Island to be completed?

Absolutely. Lots of big shows coming and we are excited to be a part of it!

Is this the Islanders year? LET’S GO RANGERS!