10 Questions with ... Mav3rick

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

DEMO:

I have been a geeky radio DJ since I was a little fella! I was once LA's youngest DJ while attending Torrance High, working at 93.5 KFOX. And I've worked as an air personality and PD in Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, Sacramento, Stockton, Vegas, Monterey, Reno, Ventura/Santa Barbara, Eugene, blah blah blah.

1) What do you do to maintain a positive mental attitude and stay motivated?

I still network with great brand managers and air personalities, as well as market managers throughout the country. Just because I'm not sitting in front of a desk or a control board doesn't mean I'm not still in radio.

And I work just as hard looking for a job, coming up with creative ideas to get noticed. Making "You Need to Hire Mav3rick Tour" T-shirts (and driving around the country giving out these T-shirts to radio stations), producing videos, consulting and coaching air personalities, and analyzing markets.

2) How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?

One of the things I've been doing for years, is helping out-of-work radio people with their resumes, airchecks, and creative ideas for them to get noticed as well. When I was hiring, I saw a lot of sloppy resumes and poorly produced mp3s. And often, they were not doing their homework or showing off their off air talents (videos, social media, etc...)

3) Do you plan on sticking with radio?

Oh yes! I see a great future for radio. And I'm going to be a major player. I could write a whole article just about how listeners are going to be tuning into radio stations, both local and out of town, via connected cars, smartphones, and homes. Yes, we're seeing the beginning stages of this ... but it's going to be much bigger. Ratings are going to look a whole lot different in the future. And we're going to have to learn how to sell differently. Market/brand our stations differently. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

4) What's the best way to get your foot in the door?

Network, network, network. And go beyond sending an mp3 and resume. Show off your creative talents. And surround yourself with great minds.

5) What's the craziest thing you've ever done to get a job?

I don't know if anything I've done is considered crazy, per se, but stopping by radio stations on my "You Need to Hire Mav3rick Tour" and actually having tour T-shirts with my logo on the front, and my resume on the back, is something no one has done before, and the comments I get are great.

6) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?

Well, Brand Manager/PD/afternoons, of course. But I want to move up in the company. I want to move up to OM, then VP/Programming for a company. I want to do what I can to do great radio, encourage great radio, and get others I work with to spread the gospel of great radio.

7) How are you finding the "courtesy level" at places you've applied? (Callbacks, e-mails, rejection letters, etc.)

Okay ... this has been a big beef with many out-of-work radio people. We used to say, "how rude" that the PD, OM, GM, et doesn't call or reply back with an e-mail. There are people who do. I am one of those guys.

BUT! I have found in this new PC world, companies do not want their PDs replying back, saying the wrong thing that could get the company sued. And often, you'll notice in many ads now, you're sending it to someone in HR. It doesn't get to the PD right away.

8) What's the most unbelievable question you've ever been asked in an interview?

"If you were to work for me, and I asked you to stand on your head in the corner of a room completely naked, would you do it?"

9) What's the most unbelievable on air bit you were allowed to do?

I had a competing DJ call my show all the time, trying to harass me. So I would put him on the air with produced imaging saying, "Why does (name)'s show suck? Because he's too busy calling us."

10) Are you able to slow down and enjoy free time doing things with your family and friends that you probably did not have time to do while you were working?

Yes! Thank God I live close to my family in SoCal. And I have an AP for Disneyland, so I'm there often. And I love visiting friends in other cities while out on my "You Need to Hire Mav3rick Tour."

Any books you can recommend to people who need something inspirational to read?

YES! Get the biography of Walt Disney by Bob Thomas. Any book about an old school radio personality like Don Sherwood, Jim Ladd, Jack Benny, etc, And of course, the Bible.