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Schmooze with Suze
Hi, I’m Suze. Here with your dose of culture, values and global citizenship- and where we tackle those topics others may consider off-limits.
A little about me, I’m a busy GenX mom who, quite frankly, wanted to grow up like the Brady Bunch… But ended up being raised in the shadow of Schindler’s List. So this means I’ve spent a lifetime navigating these mixed messages we get hit with daily. You know those conversations- where we wonder if it’s safe to speak our minds? Can we share our experiences? Voice our fears and concerns, or should we just keep our mouths shut?
Well, too bad. I need to know! But I’m no expert. So, I’m going to schmooze the experts and get their thoughts. Why? So when we engage with our kids, colleagues, or the countless committees we interact with, we can do it with competence, kindness, confidence, and maybe a bit of humor.
If this sounds like your cup of coffee- welcome to Schmooze with Suze!
Schmooze with Suze
What If Your Phone Could Build A City? My Guest: Eric Dunn
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
As a Gen X mom born in 1976, I've had a front-row seat to one of the greatest transformations in human history: a technological revolution. I grew up in a world where advertising was something that happened to me. Companies bought television commercials, radio spots, billboards, and full-page newspaper ads, planning for us to know what was coming. Today, anyone can create a video in their kitchen, wearing sweatpants, and reach millions before dinner. This isn't just evolution; it's a complete rewriting of the rules. My generation remembers both worlds—rotary phones, encyclopedias, and film that had to be developed. We became digital natives, learning technology well enough to teach our boomer parents.
But then, our kids arrived, and suddenly we weren't the experts anymore. They navigate apps I've never heard of and communicate through platforms that seem to appear and disappear overnight. I've watched social media evolve from a digital yearbook into one of the most powerful communication tools ever created. Every generation thinks they're living through unprecedented change, but Gen X actually did. We are the bridge generation, old enough to remember life before technology ran everything.
Today, I'm excited to discuss the difference between those who use social media to get attention and those who use it to direct attention. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Eric Dunn, who has spent over a decade defining communication in this new era, not through traditional advertisements but through storytelling and authenticity. Eric amassed over 3 million followers on Vine, where he learned a critical lesson: attention is easy to earn, but trust is much harder.
Eric's story is fascinating because he could have remained in the world of viral moments but chose to evolve. He became a marketer, a strategist, a nonprofit co-founder, and importantly, a storyteller. Today, we're diving deep into the themes of influence, authenticity, community, and the future of media, exploring what happens when someone uses a camera for something bigger than themselves.
Eric currently sits at the intersection of creativity, entrepreneurship, and community pride in Jacksonville. He's navigated multiple iterations of digital media, from Vine to today's creator economy, while also elevating Jacksonville's parks and businesses.
Join us as we unpack Eric's journey, his thoughts on the evolving digital landscape, and how he harnesses his platform for meaningful impact. We'll explore the importance of taking risks, the value of community, and how to build authenticity in a digital age. This conversation is not just for content creators; it's for anyone looking to understand the nuances of communication in our rapidly changing world.
Whether you're a content creator, entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, marketer, or simply someone wondering how to use your voice for good, this episode is packed with practical wisdom and honest perspective.
Connect with Eric Dunn
🌐 Website: EricVDunn.com
Instagram: @ericvdunn_
Facebook: Eric Dunn
LinkedIn: Eric V. Dunn
Learn More About Jax Parks
🌳 Website: Jax Parks
Instagram: @jaxparks
Facebook: Jax Parks
Whether you're looking for hiking trails, community centers, summer camps, fitness programs, family events, or hidden gems throughout Jacksonville, Jax Parks has something for everyone.
Learn More About H.E.A.D. On Youth Impact
Visit Eric's website to learn more about the nonprofit and ways to support its mission of serving children and families throughout Northeast Florida.
Because at the end of the day...Your platform isn't defined by how many people are watching. It's defined by where you lead them.
#SchmoozeWithSuze #Jacksonville #JaxParks #EricDunn #CreatorEconomy #DigitalMarketing #Community #PersonalBranding #Leadership #DigitalAmbassador #SocialMediaStrategy #JacksonvilleFlorida #PurposeDriven #Marketing #Storytelling
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From Analog Ads To Algorithms
SPEAKER_02As a Gen X mom born in 1976, I sometimes feel like I've had a front row seat to one of the greatest transformations in human history. Not a war, not a political movement, a technological revolution. I grew up in a world where advertising was something that happened to you. Companies bought television commercials, they bought radio spots, they bought billboards, they bought full-page newspaper ads. They had to plan for you to know what was coming. If you wanted to influence people's opinion, you needed a marketing budget. Today, someone can create a video in their kitchen wearing sweatpants and reach millions of people before dinner. That's not evolution. That's a complete rewriting of the rules. My generation is uniquely positioned because we remember both worlds. We remember rotary phones, busy signals, encyclopedias, disposable cameras, film that had to be developed, maps made out of paper, calling a movie theater to hear Showtimes. Hello, and welcome to movie phone. Writing phone numbers down because there was no cloud to save them. We didn't grow up digital. We became digital. Somewhere along the way, many of us became the unofficial IT department for our boomer parents. Mom, did you try turning it off and back on? No, Dad, that's not a virus. You don't have to click on that link. We learned technology well enough to teach the generation before us. And then something unexpected happened. Our kids arrived. And suddenly we weren't the experts anymore. My kids can navigate apps I've never heard of. They communicate through platforms that seem to appear and disappear overnight, literally disappearing platforms like Snapchat. I missed my space entirely, but I joined Facebook in 2009. And I've had the fascinating privilege of watching social media evolve from a digital yearbook into one of the most powerful communication tools ever created. I've watched people build businesses, I've watched communities form, I've watched movements grow. I've watched strangers become friends. And yes, I've watched more animal videos than I care to admit. What fascinates me most is that we are still figuring it out. Every generation thinks they're living through unprecedented change. Gen X, my gen, actually did. We live through analog and digital, landlines and smartphones, encyclopedias and Google, newspapers and algorithms, and now artificial intelligence. We are the bridge generation, old enough to remember life before technology ran everything and before you could tell people who you are in real time. Which is why I'm especially excited about today's conversation. As someone who has spent 50 years watching communication evolve, I wonder what's the difference between people who use social media to get attention and people who use social media to direct attention. And that's what we're going to tackle
Earning Attention Versus Directing It
SPEAKER_02today. Hi, I'm Suze here with your dose of culture, values, and global citizenship with just enough chutzbah to tackle the topics others may avoid. My guest today has spent more than a decade helping define what communication looks like in this new era, not through television commercials or newspaper ads, but through storytelling, authenticity, and connection. Long before content creator was a career path, Eric Dunn was building an audience. At the height of Vine, he amassed more than 3 million followers and learned something that many people never do. Attention is easy to earn, and trust is much harder. What fascinates me about Eric's story is that he could have stayed in the world of viral moments. Instead, he evolved. He became a marketer, a model, a strategist, a nonprofit co-founder, and perhaps most importantly, a storyteller. Telling other people's stories and helping them share their values. So today we're talking about influence, authenticity, community, the future of media, and what happens when someone with a camera decides to use it for something bigger than themselves. Eric sits at the intersection of creativity, entrepreneurship, community, personal branding, and Jacksonville pride. He has lived through multiple iterations of digital media, from Vine to today's creator economy, while also building a nonprofit and helping elevate Jacksonville's parks, businesses, and people. Eric Dunn, welcome to Schmooze with Seuss.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me. What an intro that was.
The Six-Second Vine That Blew Up
SPEAKER_02So take us back to the Vine video that changed everything. Okay. What was it and what did success feel like when it first arrived?
SPEAKER_00So I started with Vine back in 2013 in April. And I was just making funny videos with my friends in college. And it was towards the end of the spring semester. So it was at the tail end, and then went back home in Daytona Beach for summer and just kept making those videos. And one of them went viral overnight. I remember waking up the next morning and it was on the front page of Reddit, which is still a very popular website today. And I didn't really know what Reddit was at the time, but someone that used it reached out to me and said, Hey, your video's at the top page of Reddit. And I'm like, What does that mean? And um the the rest was history. But it was Vine was six seconds. So the attention that we know today, people always say you have to grab people's attention in those first three seconds. So I was already doing that, you know, way before we had to grab people that quickly with only six-second videos, which was great, you know, having that experience to what I do today. But the video specifically was just really something stupid where I was just running down my hometown neighborhood sidewalk with my shirt off and just saying I like running around uh neighborhoods with my shirt off. And I said, I'm stealing all your stuff.
SPEAKER_02And that's 3.1 million hits for a six-second.
SPEAKER_00That's how many followers I had, but I don't remember how many views that had specifically on Vine on the Vine platform, but on YouTube it had over two million views at its peak.
SPEAKER_02And a six-second video got you 3.1 million followers. People are now interested in what you have to share. So what do you do once you have that platform and that many eyes that are captivated by you running shirtless?
SPEAKER_00Well, it was back when I was young, 20 years old, so I really had no idea what to do with a platform like that. It's we have a blueprint nowadays because so many people have repeated it and done it and turned it into personal brands and businesses. But back then, because I was pretty sheltered growing up in Daytona Beach, when I went to college in South Florida, mind you, and amassed all these followers kind of a shock and really started to open my world up to life itself. So I didn't really know what to do with it. I just kept having fun making videos and enjoying my college life as a personality, I guess, at Florida Atlantic University.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, my cousin actually graduated from FAU.
SPEAKER_00The wows.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
Debt, Reset, And Taking Social Seriously
SPEAKER_02Was there a moment when you realized that social media wasn't just a hobby anymore? It wasn't just for kicks.
SPEAKER_00A moment. I I really learned it after I graduated college because I don't really think during the period from 2013 to my graduation in 2016, I don't think I really took it seriously as I do now. I I'd say I took it for granted, honestly, because there were so many opportunities that were missed back then uh with the platform that I had. So the moment really didn't hit me until I got some other experiences and learned more about business. Uh so that really took some time because I was in debt, uh, even though I had all those followers, I had over 30,000 in credit card debt at one point in 20, I think 2016, 2017. So moving back home with my parents, uh, COVID happened. It allowed me to, you know, make more money through digital because that's when it really boomed. Um, so I really focused on paying off my debt and really trying to reshape my life going forward and seeing how I could use my knowledge of what I learned from that having that platform back in college and now really focusing on turning this into a career and a business. But it took me some some time to to figure that out because there was an era. There was the college era, then it was moving back home where I didn't really have structure. It was kind of just that reset period.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then moved to Jacksonville. And now from 2021, when I moved to Jacksonville, to now 2026, it's that second era that we're
Moving To Jacksonville And Taking The Shot
SPEAKER_00in now.
SPEAKER_02So tell me a little bit about what brought you to Jacksonville in the first place.
SPEAKER_00So we were talking beforehand where you said, why the heck do people want to move to Jacksonville? Well, I never had that sentiment. I just was kind of doing wherever the universe you know took me and shook me. So my friend actually moved here from Tampa. He had lived in Jacksonville previously, but he got a job here in Jacksonville in 2021, hit me up to be his roommate. We were doing a podcast together at the time. So uh we had been doing it remotely. So this would have been the first opportunity for us to actually do it in person, set up a studio in the apartment. So I said yes, and I joined him as a roommate in 2021 here in Jacksonville. That's ultimately what brought me here to the city, not for any other reason like me enjoying Jacksonville or being a Jags fan, because I've always been one, but none of that brought me up here. It was the fact that my buddy and I were doing a podcast. He moved back to Jacksonville and we wanted to start doing it together. So that's how I ended up in Duval.
SPEAKER_02What was the topic of the podcast?
SPEAKER_00We do sports. So we were talking about the Jags, college football, NBA, and then we had a bunch of little silly segments as well that we don't do much of anymore.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so you lived through all of those emerging platforms, whether it's Vine, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. We touched a little bit on how LinkedIn has become the new Facebook, because in my opinion, people's professional selves are starting to become really more of an evolution of their personal brand. Tell me about what you think has changed from the early Eric college years who didn't know that he could manipulate that space to the evolved, the recalibrated 2.0 version that is amassing views and shaping identity.
SPEAKER_00So when I moved here in 2021, obviously all we had was the podcast. But I did have a goal behind the scenes for myself to get more involved in the community. Whatever that looked like, I didn't know at the time. But I eventually wanted to use my platform and get it, maybe not on the same level as three million followers, but you know, get towards that feeling of doing something impactful and being a a face or a personal brand. So it took me some time to do that, obviously, but I s I had to start somewhere. So I reached out to the Jumbo Shrimp in 2022, which is where I really started to take that uh route of going, you know, turning it into a business as opposed to the college days of just you know doing it for fun. So I went to the Jumbo Shrimp and I said, hey, I DM them on Instagram.
SPEAKER_02Okay. This is, you know, you slid into their DMs.
SPEAKER_00Yes, the new media, you know, not sending in resumes.
SPEAKER_02That's what I did to you. Yeah. Right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, just running into the company's DMs and putting yourself out there. So I DM the shrimp and I said, Hey, do you guys have any opportunities in entertainment? I wanted to be an MC for the Jumbo Shrimp, basically.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00Which, you know, would have put me, you know, right in the heart.
SPEAKER_02The voice of the shrimp?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. Well, there's two voices because there's a PA guy who does the system, and then there's an MC on the field who kind of, you know, hypes up the crowd during the in between the innings and things like that.
SPEAKER_02And is that what you wanted to aspire to be?
SPEAKER_00Not really. It was just what was your vision?
SPEAKER_02What was your idea?
SPEAKER_00It was just one way that I could start getting in the community. But I do like being on the mic and on camera. And I never envisioned myself as like this giant MC, you know, in in bigger sports sporting events like the NBA file. I've never envisioned that. It was really just an opportunity that I saw to be in that entertainment business. So I DMed them and they said that they didn't have the MC position because somebody had already been doing it for over a decade. So they put me on the promo team, which works with the MC and goes on the field, but it doesn't necessarily put you on camera. So I did that for a couple seasons, and then an opportunity came up where I got to fill in as an MC a couple years later, and it was my first time doing it, and I was like, all right, this feels good because this is what I DMed them about. And I eventually got to do that. And now currently I am one of the rotational MCs for the Jumbo Shrimp currently. So that is really where it started here in Jacksonville, you know, just finding opportunities and taking them by the horn and going at them full force. And that's really where that started for Jacksonville for me.
SPEAKER_02Would you tell people that it's worth taking your shot and sliding into a DM to see if there's any opportunities available? Or do you think that you were just lightning strikes?
SPEAKER_00I think you should always take your opportunity because the worst thing anybody can say is no. And you uh if you have any sort of interest in doing something, you should find where that person is or that in the not industry, but organization is to to lead you there. And, you know, just put yourself out there. Obviously, be professional about it and make sure you give them a little backstory so they know what you've done and what you're capable of. Because like I said, I didn't attach any resume. I just said, hey, I have experience, you know, being on camera and this and that, being on set, you know, just give them that context so they know they're not just working with some random person who's, you know, in their messages. But, you know, people say it all the time the worst you can get is a no. So if you don't put yourself out there and, you know, take the the risk for yourself, then you'll never move forward.
SPEAKER_02I agree. That's what my husband says. The worst that he could have gotten was a no when he slid into my match.com profile. Wow. And here we are, 15 years, two kids, multiple houses later. And I have to go back for a second because you mentioned something that was interesting. You didn't exactly attach a resume. So if we were to look at your resume today, what do you think is the most surprising thing that people would find that lives on your resume?
SPEAKER_00Probably that I was a statistician for ESPN for like one game back in 2016, because my dad has always worked in TV production for ESPN, CBS, ABC, all those major networks. And he always tried to get me to go into that profession. He would always ask me if I wanted to tag along and come to the game and get a check for ESPN to be, you know, a stage manager or a statistician. But I'd always I would always say no, because I was like, Dad, I don't want to.
SPEAKER_02I don't want to hang out with you?
SPEAKER_00I don't want to do what you do.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_00It was fun because I got to go to games for free. But he was trying to get me to work. And I was like, I don't, I don't want to do that, Dad. I don't really enjoy that. I don't want to be a grip. I don't want to I don't want to move cables, no wires. But when I moved back home, there was a period of time, like I said, when I had that credit card debt, and I was like, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_02Put me to work.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'll do one job. So there is a post on my not a post, but a section on my career history on LinkedIn, which is also on my resume, that just says statistician ESPN 2016, April to April.
SPEAKER_02That is so interesting. We're gonna have to talk about that a little bit off camera.
SPEAKER_00Uh but you would have never thought that I worked for ESPN at one point.
SPEAKER_02It's funny that you say that you didn't want to do what your dad did. My husband is always telling my son, you know, did you ever consider what he does in media? My son's like, absolutely not. However, his high school that he's starting, they have those academies and they have TV production now as one of the academies, and he signed up right away. And I thought that's so interesting. I wonder if he's gonna be in front of the camera or behind the camera. What's his passion? But I remember all those years, he thought to himself, I don't want to do it, my dad does. And yet here you are doing something that is telling a story because sports is a narrative. For a lot of people, they're talking about the score and the points. I came to discover that if uh one of the football players was dating a Kardashian and they were having struggles on Us Weekly, that game was not gonna go as well as my husband thought it would.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02So talk to me a little bit about being one of the biggest digital ambassadors here in Jacksonville.
Why Jacksonville Feels Like A Blank Canvas
SPEAKER_02What makes this city so special, in your opinion? You've now been here for a few years. You came here as a fluke because someone had a spare room and wanted to shoot a podcast, and you were a Jags fan. That was the criteria, basically. Now you're here, and I'm one of those people that follows you very intentionally to see where, who, how, when things are popping. Tell me a little bit about what that means. Do you consider yourself a content creator? Do you consider yourself a brand ambassador? Now people are finding you and they're leveraging your talent, your voice, your authenticity to tell their story.
SPEAKER_00That's one thing I've been going back and forth with over the last few years is what that title even is, because so many of the titles I don't even like. Like I don't like influencer, I don't like content creator. Same. I don't like any of those. So sometimes it depends how I feel that day when I'm replying to people or businesses, and I'll just be like, I'm a brand partner or I'm a media professional. I change it all the time, like because I haven't nailed down what that title is. So, but I will say on on record, I do not like the title content creator or influencer.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Even though it literally is influencing people, it's just gotten so saturated and watered down that I just don't like to associate myself with those titles. So if we can collectively come up with something more professional, then I'm all ears to sit at a round table and discuss that. But uh going back to Jacksonville, I've had a lot of conversations off camera about what Jacksonville is and how I view the city now that I've been in this position, which we'll get to eventually for uh the city. But Jacksonville is basically a blank canvas, is what I've been telling people for investors, entrepreneurs, influencers. If you want to build something here in Jacksonville, now is really your time to do it. Because I've talked to people who have lived here their whole life over the past 20 years, and they're saying right now is the most, the best time that they've ever seen in Jacksonville, the most motion that they've ever seen in the city. Things are actually happening moving forward. The city councils and the governments are actually agreeing to push projects forward, and we're seeing them happen in real time, and we've seen so many things happen just in the downtown area, which has had a bad reputation. In the last, you know, two years. I've been a part of so many park openings and all of that. So I see it. I've been in the community. I've talked to people that have lived here 20 years, I've talked to people that have just moved here that have been here from four days to two years. So they've all, you know, told me the same thing and that Jacksonville is on the rise, and we all see it that are living here. And the people that don't understand it, that just are looking outside in, they can be left behind. But at this point, if you aren't starting or trying to build something here in Jacksonville, you're gonna get left behind in the next five, ten years when Jacksonville is this city that it's been longing to become, because we're in the midst of that now and it's heading in that direction, finally, for the first time. So Jacksonville is, you know, one of the most unique, if not the most unique city in America because of its size and how underdeveloped it is. It's got so much potential, and we're in that potential right now. So now is the time right now to get on that trajectory forward because you'll rise right with the city. And I can say that because I'm experiencing it myself. I have all the data and the backings to prove exactly what I'm saying. Um, and it kind of is very exciting to talk about because even over the past year, it's been surprising to me how fast and how you know much it's grown this quickly.
SPEAKER_02So I like to say that it's the 30-year overnight success story.
SPEAKER_00Basically.
SPEAKER_02And we're at the tipping point.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_02And I also find that Jacksonville is a fantastic pilot city to try almost anything. You've got such an amalgamation of different backgrounds, demographics, and people, personalities in one city. Yes, it's the largest city by landmass with the suckiest transportation I've ever seen in my life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02However, it also gives you a finger on the pulse of really what's happening out in the rest of America. They say that Jacksonville is the pulse of Florida, and Florida is the pulse of this country. If you check your pulse, you'll know how you feel. And so I have come to discover the same thing. When I got here, my husband got a job offer here uh and I was pregnant. Um, and I looked at him and I said, I don't do Vills and I don't do burghs. So I don't know if this is gonna work out. And we were living in Delaware Beach in South Florida. I was looking at a place in Boca because I had a toddler, and yeah, that's what I thought we were gonna be doing. Little did I know that I would come up here, and I have been so thrilled by the quality of life, the cost of living, but being on the front row of expansion. And opportunity. And as someone who was a developer in the 1900s, 90s in New York City, I was integral to that development of downtown Brooklyn when it used to be warehouses in emptiness. And so when I got here, I stood at the foot of the Acosta Bridge and could clearly see out three bridges over a river. And I'm looking at you, Reese, because you know exactly what I was seeing the Brooklyn, the Williamsburg, the Manhattan. And I was like, this is possibility potential. You just don't know what you don't know yet, guys. And no matter who I spoke to, they would tell me this is where renderings come to die. And so I met with some people here and I said, listen, throw a park up. I was a 9-11 person who worked on Wall Street. And after 9-11 and all of the financial district was decimated, it was empty. The first thing they built was a park. And once they built a park, people would come with their kids. And once people were strolling with their strollers, life grew back slowly but surely.
Parks Content That Proved There’s Plenty
SPEAKER_02And so let's pivot a little bit to parks because when I got here, I had no place to take my kids. You talk about downtown. I sometimes will talk to people who tell me about the head in Hemink Park. And I will have to tell them, because they haven't been there, that it's no longer in existence there. It's called James Weldon Johnson Park, and there is festivals and action and activity happening all the time. How did you get involved in the outdoors? Because you don't look like a very outdoorsy guy.
SPEAKER_00I'm not. I do like to hike. Not in Florida because there's bugs, but I went to Seattle once and it was the best hike ever. But um one other point that I wanted to mention about Jack's specialty is the community. It's one of the most kind community forward cities that I've ever been a part of. And I'm not just saying that because I'm in it now.
SPEAKER_01No, I agree with you.
SPEAKER_00I um I was in you know South Florida for five years, and I never felt the community like you feel it here. So um, but I got into parks once again in a fluke way. That's just how my life's been. It's really just been taking opportunities where I see them, and then it just ends up working out. Um there might be some lulls and some dead spots like when I move back home, but you know, you just keep pushing forward and you'll get to where you want to be.
SPEAKER_02So I don't know if it's a fluke. I think it's manifest destiny. You strike me as that kind of guy that opportunity finds you because you have the gift and the talent of being the vehicle to help direct others' vision and values.
SPEAKER_00So the fluke parks because um I saw a job opening on Facebook stories. So, you know, stories only last 24 hours. So I would have if I missed that story, who would I have even been in this position? I I don't think about that sometimes, but I saw the job allocation on Facebook stories of all places. I'm I'm not even a guy who looks at Facebook stories often or even uses it. Now I do, but back then I don't even know why I was on Facebook. But the job hiring was on Facebook stories. I knew the hiring manager because we had connected at one of the events in the park that year. I saw one of the events that happened in the community for free, and I was like, let me go try it out. It was a yoga class at the fountain.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I don't do yoga, but I wanted to go try it, and I live streamed the class of me doing it. And that's where I met Garrett, who is the community programs manager.
SPEAKER_01I knew Garrett is part of the state.
SPEAKER_00That's where I met him, and you know, that was in July of 2024. And then September of 2024, that's when I saw that they were hiring um an assistant. So I applied to the job because I had already been in it. And I was like, this would be a great opportunity to go back to that original goal of getting in the community, but 10 times more impactful because it was just the shrimp at first, but this is all the parks in the community program. So I applied. I was originally told that I was overqualified for it, but he didn't understand that I had a different vision for applying than he thought. Um, so he wasn't he was taken by surprise when he saw my application for sure, because I still had a following, but it wasn't, you know, obviously it's grown since I've had the role, but um he he was shocked because the job was a part-time position to work with Jax Parks and it was sixteen dollars an hour. But I wasn't applying for the money.
SPEAKER_02It wasn't the income, it was the outcome.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it wasn't it wasn't for the it wasn't for the salary, it was to, you know, push things forward. It was bigger than me, you know? Yeah. So and I had I had a different mind than just being a community programs manager. I said I wanted to do marketing. That was really my primary goal was to help get the word out about what they were already doing in the community. Because I felt like obviously there was a disconnect and people really I've always heard that people didn't know what to do in Jacksonville or know where to find it. So when I had when I saw the opportunity, I was like, I want to do marketing so I can help you guys put these programs out there because a lot of people say there's nothing to do here, they don't know where to look, but you guys are the city and you guys do these things already. So put me in a position to where I can help you guys put that word out. So it took six months for me to get an official role to be marketing for Jack Sparks. So I was in the regular, you know, community programs manager position for six months. But while I was doing that before my official marketing title, I was posting these programs on my personal pages on Facebook. So I would be at these weekly fitness classes under the bridges in the parks. I know and taking selfies and being like, hey guys, come to this yoga class every Tuesday. And the thing the cool thing about it was I would document it every week. I would, you know, post that first class that I went to and I'd say how many people were there. And next week I'd do it again and be like, whoa, this class grew to like 75 people, and then next week I'd be like, whoa, this is really working. This class has 117 people. So it was that consistency and showing people that the classes were growing. And that's really where it started was yoga, which is funny because that's the first class I went to before I even was hired, was yoga class. And the first viral video moment that Jax Parks had was also a yoga class because it was another destiny moment when I first got that marketing position in June. That article came out that Jacksonville was the most boring city in America. Yes. So I was like, ch-ching jackpot content. Yeah. So I used that tagline for a lot of my content initially when I first started and got that login password for Jack Sparks, Facebook, and Instagram, and I rolled with it for two weeks. I beat that tagline down, and I had a little content strategy where I would start the video saying there's nothing to do in Jacksonville, just to hook 'em. And then the next frame would be something to do in Jacksonville. So that worked for a a good month. And that's really if you look at the data on the back end of Jax Park's following, you'll see June 2025, a huge spike because that article was the moment where it started because I just took that tagline and shot the followers shot up super quickly. And then it was just a snowball effect for the next year because we kept adding programs. Uh I kept, you know, going to them and making videos about them.
SPEAKER_02And how much they've expanded. I remember the walking club that started the, you know, a niche little group, and then I remember you doing this one time, and there were it looked like hundreds of people behind you. So tell me, how much do you think is talent versus consistency when it comes to spreading the word or being a digital ambassador? Which sounds better than a content creator, by the way. I just coined that phrase. A digital ambassador.
SPEAKER_00I don't credit talent as much as the consistency, but you do need to have some sort of online cadence and, you know, come across as trustworthy. And, you know, people can see BS through a phone, I feel like. So um the fact that I'm, you know, talking about these programs in an authentic way and showing up to them every single week, I think that's really what the formula was for the success of all this. And also I just really wanted to see things grow. So I believe the passion behind the content really showed as well. Um, because with the walk club, I went to the walk club's walk new uh Thanksgiving Eve, and there were maybe six people there, which was probably because it was Thanksgiving Eve. But they had weren't a big group at the time. And the first video I ever made about the walk club reached 400,000 views on Facebook. And they went from under a thousand followers on Facebook to now they have 9,000. And that's just one community in Jacksonville that shows up weekly to walk.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And there's so many more. So how I see it is once I do the once I do a video for somebody and I see like they can handle it now, I just move on to the next thing because everybody needs that love. So now the walk club is so big where I feel like I don't need to talk about it in videos on a weekly basis because they have their core audience so so big now that the word of mouth will just travel and keep growing them by themselves. So that's a repeatable process for the programs here in Jax Parks. But um because there was such a disconnect between what the city offers and the people that the programs are provided for, I think it worked so well because people had no idea that these things existed. So once I came along and started making that digital, you know, super easy to consume content about people's city, that it just, you know, kept working every time I posted.
SPEAKER_02So I started off in my monologue by talking about the old age of marketing and advertising, where you would have to do a commercial or you'd have to buy airtime, or you would have to buy a page in the newspaper. In consideration that nobody watches commercials or reads the newspaper, you sort of hit the target viewing audience in the sweet spot where if I'm looking for something to do, I'm gonna go to my phone anyway. And if I'm scrolling, chances are I'm gonna scroll across something of the many, many things that are available to do over here. And so now we're gonna pivot away from the parks.
Brand Strategy Without Losing Trust
SPEAKER_02I want to talk a little bit about brand strategy. What people may not know about you is that you are a very experienced brand strategist. Tell me a little bit about what that means and how you have used that skill and ability to do what you're doing for an entire municipality for a city.
SPEAKER_00Yes, well, I get a lot of inquiries, right, about you know, helping people expand their program or coming into their business to help bring in some traffic or whatever. But the strategy with that is I can't say yes to everybody because my focus, I guess not my focus, but what I've been doing so far has really been uh just the like the community aspect of my content. That's really the core theme of it all. So if a business comes to me and says, Hey, can you come in and do a video? I love what you do and all that, I kind of step back and say, I'd love to, but this is kind of the angle of my content. And if I come in here and just solely focus on this one business, I don't think it aligns with the theme of the content that I'm currently portraying. And I think that's brand strategy where you are aware, self-aware of what you are posting and what you present to the community, and you don't want to lose that trust with the community if they start seeing you. I don't want to say sell out, because it's not really selling out. It's just if you take because you you you're still helping somebody if you know, do something for the business, but it would come across as Captain Save a whatever. And I'm not saying that because I have this platform, I don't want to help people. I just don't think it will reach the same amount of people if I'm going to businesses and doing videos about every single one of them. So um, for instance, there was a business that reached out to me yesterday and they just had a renovation, and it's in a neighborhood in Jacksonville that is still currently developing. And I reach out to them, I said, um, I love that you guys have a renovation. Um, love the business, by the way, because I've been to the business and I've been to the area. But I said, I'd like to not only focus on your business, but the area around it, and you know, talk about how this area is expanding and growing in totality as opposed to just focusing on that you guys have a renovation to bring people in. So uh they loved that idea. I didn't finish the emails, it just got sent back to me today, but I saw the you know, the uh preview of it and they were like, love the idea of that. So it depends on who who comes in, but that's the brand strategy that I'm working with. When I get inquiries, I have to look at them and see, hey, how can I turn this into a story about community and the growth of Jacksonville, which is the the main point of all of this, is Jacksonville's in a renaissance and it's growing. And I want any piece of content that I post to be led with that message, as opposed to this business is here, come enjoy it. So that's the brand strategy that I'm currently leading with.
SPEAKER_02So it's more like this area, this neighborhood, this community is evolving, and here's one of the highlights that you could find if you go beyond what your scope of experience is. Right. Which is sounds to me very aligned with your values, that you have this heart for not just community, but for service and for ensuring that people know where to go, what to do, and how to engage. We're in a very siloed space right now when it's coming to algorithms or politics. You're unifying people by location and experiences so that they can share those moments of laughter, of wonder, of inspiration, not just location and time and place.
SPEAKER_00And the NFL is has been always one of my leading passions.
Downtown Walkability And Stadium Momentum
SPEAKER_00And I've traveled to a lot of other NFL cities and watched games there, and I've seen what their downtown sports complexes look like, and they're completely different.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, tell me about the one in downtown Manhattan. I mean, now the Nets are in downtown Brooklyn, but growing up, we didn't have any sports that was in a downtown in New York City. Our stadiums are where?
SPEAKER_00Jersey.
SPEAKER_02Jersey.
SPEAKER_00MetLife.
SPEAKER_02MetLife.
SPEAKER_00Don't love it. Don't love it. But there's plenty of other cities I do like.
SPEAKER_02But tell me about this walkability that happens here because when we started to build these stadiums, or when I became familiar enough to go to these stadiums, right away I thought of Boston, where you can walk to Femley Park. And that is an experience. You're enjoying your day with your family. And me personally, I have gotten on a scooter from downtown and scootered to the stadium with my kid.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I uh think they got to work on it a little bit. I think the scooter should expand a little bit down into San Marco. So I don't know what's the what's stopping them there. Because I think they need to expand that a little bit. Because if they did, I'd be able to scooter from my place all the way to the stadium, but I have to drop it off 35-minute walk away from where I live. Oh wow. Um, because they the zoning is off. So but if you're a walker, San Marco to downtown to Riverside to even Avondale, you can get around scooter, bike, walk. It may take you some time if you're walking, but I feel like those are the connected neighborhoods right now, including La Villa and you know, parts of downtown. But they're working on that Emerald Trail, which will be nice. And then uh, but I think once phase two of Riverfront Plaza downtown connects to the Main Street Bridge, then we'll have finally have that seamless connection between the South Bank to downtown to Riverside and Avondale area. So it's getting there, and then it will expand more once they continue the developments happening on the riverfront on the north bank side. And then obviously, when they have the four seasons and the new stadium, the there's a lot of work to be done, but it goes back to me saying that the NFL city that Jacksonville is, it's really important that with this new stadium comes more businesses in that area that people can walk to and enjoy and not have to go, you know, 10 blocks to go to like a bar or a restaurant. So pre-gate. Right.
SPEAKER_02So I'm not a tailgator girl.
SPEAKER_00I'm trying to I want to be in the air conditioning. Yeah, it's it takes a toll on your body, let me tell you, especially in this heat. But I'm I'm looking forward to all the developments coming in Jacksonville. But with that new Jag Stadium coming, it's really going to be uh a force for uh tourism economy, and it's gonna be big.
SPEAKER_02I can see what you're painting that vision of uh very clearly. And now I want to pivot again because deeply inrooted, embedded in you is a servant's heart.
Building A Nonprofit Through Sports Fandom
SPEAKER_02And I want to talk a little bit about head-on youth impact. Tell me about that. Why was it created and why is it important to you?
SPEAKER_00So much like the podcast, I was approached to start the charity and it was um a former patient in Brooks Rehab. He would raise money for once he got out of Brooks Rehab, he started raising money for the kids there over Christmas break because he was a patient um at Brooks Rehab one time over Christmas. So he uh felt the empathy after getting out and healing. And uh we connected over Jags football, of course, and um he reached out to me and said, Hey, I raise money for kids in Brooks Rehab. Uh, do you want to use your platform to help me raffle off these tickets to this Jags game in Seattle? This was 2021.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00So we both traveled to a lot of Jags Road games. Uh so he uh asked me if I was going to Seattle and I was like, Yeah, I'm going to Seattle. Uh this was when we first had Trevor Lawrence and we won three games. So um it wasn't a great season, but it was always about the community and the travel as opposed to the Jags winning. But um I said yes because I had never used my platform for you know fundraising or anything like that. And I knew I had a core Jags audience, so I was like, let me give it a try, see how much money we raised. But what came with the ticket was we were gonna pay for the winner's flight hotel, and obviously then to get into the game. So we did the raffle, raised $2,000, and the winner of the raffle was actually the former UF Gators mascot. So we had Albert, he's not he obviously graduated since, but we had former Albert with us over in Seattle for that game. But it went well, and then we did it again for a same game that season for the Patriots game, which happened in January of the next year, towards the end of that season, where we lost 50 to 3.
SPEAKER_02Um I don't remember.
SPEAKER_00Good. But uh we raised 4,000 for that. Okay, and so we raised a total of $6,000 between two small little raffles for Jags game. So after that success, he said, Hey, why don't we make this official and actually build a charity with it? And I said, sure. Um and then by February, the next month after that game, we established the 501c and uh named it Head on Youth Impact, which the head stance is the initials of the three board members. So H is Herrick, E is Ebrio, and A D is and done. So that's where the acronym comes from.
SPEAKER_02I love a good acronym. And I love that you started off without being a nonprofit. It started off with you actually putting your skin in the game or your money where your mouth is and really feeling the passion for community and the impact and backtracked your way. People often ask, like, how can I get involved in charitable giving? That's a very creative strategy. And so where is that today?
SPEAKER_00Uh the charity? Yeah. Yeah. So since it's really run by three people, we've had some uh trouble like figuring out how do we raise money because obviously we just kind of jumped into it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02The best way to learn. You can't learn to drive and park.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So we've had really good events, and we've also had some really slow years. So um it's it's going well. We've impacted a lot of children over the last five years. Every year we do uh give back toy drive, so that's our main organization. Overarching goal is every year we do what we initially set out to do, which is go into the hospitals and deliver Christmas gifts. That's amazing. But now we've expanded to going into communities and neighborhoods that are in need and also raising money to give shoes to kids in schools that are in need and cleats to football camps.
SPEAKER_02I was gonna say, reach out to me. I'm a sports mom. This is something that's really important to me. Um I know a lot of these youth of sports organizations where cleats, kids grow out of those so fast and they're barely even used. I would love to collaborate with you in some way and help you navigate that path forward. So, what has been the most successful outcome that you saw that like literally brought tears to your eyes and joy to your soul?
SPEAKER_00So it was actually the first time we got to go to the hospitals because it was the first year of establishing the nonprofit. And the parents of the kids in the hospitals are the ones who are really like the emotional ones because the kids are, you know, they're kids, like they their eyes light up when they see the gifts, but the parents are the ones that are, you know, dealing with their child in the hospital for all these years recovering from accidents. So um seeing the the parents light up and think it's really is uh when you haven't done something like that your whole life and then you're in that, it's a pretty emotional experience because you're not used to those emotional yanks uh just you know doing fun podcasts and going to Jags game all the time. There's a whole other side of life that happens that you really get to see when you're doing community service work, especially in hospitals, because you know, hospitals a terrible place to be if you're ever in one. I don't wish anybody is, but if your family's going through it, it's tough. If you're in it, it's tough. So to help people that are going through that experience is is very rewarding. So the hardest part about the nonprofit, though, is the fundraising aspect because everybody's trying to get money that's doing nonprofits around the city. So it's a lot of relationship building over the years, and that's what I've learned the most is you know, making sure that I do mention that we have a nonprofit anytime I'm in a situation where, you know, there's money involved and try to make relationships so that, you know, when we do host events, if there's not money that we can get, there's, you know, some in-kind donations that we could get.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Those things are very valuable. That's community impact. You're elevating a message, you're telling someone else a story. You touched on something that's really important. It's not just the child that's in the situation, but the caregivers who are holding so much of that emotional weight that having an outside person come in and give a gift, they're always wondering when the next smile is coming, and you're bringing that smile to their child. It's one less weight for them to hold. So, on behalf of all the moms, thank you for contributing in that meaningful way. I'm not going to call you an influencer, but what responsibility comes with having influence?
SPEAKER_00I just had this conversation yesterday with somebody and told them that I have a duty now. It's uh I called it a duty because I've put myself in this position where I am a go-to resource for things to do in Jacksonville or free things to do in the city, I have no obligation to stop. I have a duty to keep finding what there is to do in the city and making sure that I'm putting it out there in the continued, uh, easily consumable way that I've been doing and to not change what's working and to make sure that I meet people who are like-minded like me and tell them the same thing that this is what the city needs. And if you're in a position where you ever have information to help the Jacksonville community, that you also have a duty to share it because in the end, you will also build your personal brand because you live in Jacksonville, and like I said, you have a blank canvas in the city, and you will ultimately grow and also become a digital ambassador like myself if you keep doing what you're doing, which consistency has always been the major formula for content. But especially in Jacksonville, if you're consistent with it, you will succeed. And I don't think there's any way you can fail because there's not really anyone else doing it on a scale like me. So if you even just try a little bit, you'll have success at it.
SPEAKER_02You went from being known by millions online to becoming known by your city, which is more meaningful.
SPEAKER_00The city. Because Vine was cool and all, but it never really it was just a bunch of random people from all over the place. You know, it didn't feel as connected as it does here. It's I'm going, I live here, so I'm going out in my community and I'm hearing from people that have lived here 20, 30 years. The demographic is much older with than Vine. Vine, I was entertaining college kids, high schoolers, middle schoolers. And that's not definitely not as impactful as impacting a 63-year-old woman who's raised in Duval and never experienced downtown until she started seeing my videos. And those are the types of conversations I have at these events from people that have lived here their whole life. So being able to be that vine influence in a concentrated area like Jacksonville in a city that's growing and still has so much more room to grow, it's much more impactful because it's not even just about people that are living here now. I'm reaching people that are planning to move here or people that just moved here. So there's there's three different, you know, demographics of people that I'm hitting. Um, so I don't know who's out there in the world right now that's living in another state or another city that's planning to move here in the next you know couple years, that's looking online of Jacksonville, and my videos come up, and they may be influenced to come to Jacksonville because they see all the things that are going on.
SPEAKER_02Because they love yoga at the fountain.
SPEAKER_00That or anything else that they see.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
Lightning Round And What Matters Most
SPEAKER_02All right. Do you mind if we switch to a quick lightning round?
SPEAKER_00Sure.
SPEAKER_02What first comes to mind? Instagram or TikTok? TikTok. Influence or impact?
SPEAKER_00Impact.
SPEAKER_02Early bird or night owl?
SPEAKER_00Early bird.
SPEAKER_02Favorite local hidden gem.
SPEAKER_00Favorite local hidden. That's like I'll take lightning round for that one. Local gem. I think River's Edge is gonna be my new I already love that park, and it's not even close to being developed, but I feel like River's Edge is gonna be that little pocket on the corner of the South Bank that becomes everybody's favorite park. And it's mine currently, and it's not even close to being finished.
SPEAKER_02What's your most used app?
SPEAKER_00Facebook now.
SPEAKER_02What keeps you humble?
SPEAKER_00Um experience. I've been doing this for over 12 years now, and I've already got to be cocky in college. So now I walk with more passion and um humility because the impact we're making in present-day eras is a lot more serious than back then.
SPEAKER_02So one thing people should start doing today.
SPEAKER_00Just in general, or one thing people should start doing today. If we're talking about Jacksonville, I think you should start building that brand here.
SPEAKER_02Dream brand partnership. One word that describes Jacksonville.
SPEAKER_00Underrated.
SPEAKER_02As a Gen Xer, I've spent my entire life adapting. We adapted from analog to digital, from newspapers to newsfeeds, from landlines to smartphones, and from waiting for the six o'clock news to carrying the entire world in our pockets. And one thing I've learned over 50 years is that technology doesn't actually change what matters. It simply changes how we see it. The same is true of cities. Jacksonville has always had beautiful parks. It has always had incredible people. It has always had artists, entrepreneurs, dreamers, volunteers, and visionaries. It has always had a river that cuts through its heart and neighborhoods that each tell their own story. The difference isn't that Jacksonville suddenly became special. The difference is that people like you, Eric, are helping us see it. One of the things I've noticed since moving here is that sometimes the people who have lived here the longest are the hardest people to convince. And maybe it's because they remember what Jacksonville used to be. Maybe it's because they see what still needs fixing. And maybe it's because familiarity can make us overlook what's right in front of us. But sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes like yours to remind us what we have. So, Eric, thank you for not selling Jacksonville. Thank you for showing Jacksonville to itself. And that's a very different thing. And thank you for being here.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you for having me.
Honorable Mensches And Final Sendoff
SPEAKER_02Now it's time for our honorable mention. Mensch is the Yiddish word for someone who shows up with integrity, responsibility, and heart. Today I'm bending the rules a little bit because some people do such a good job of loving Jacksonville out loud that one mensch simply won't do. This week's honorable mensches are the three mics on Mike: Mike Miller, Mike Hightower, and Mike Townsend. What I love about these three gentlemen is that they embody something that Jacksonville desperately needs more of: civic pride. Not blind loyalty, not pretending we don't have challenges, not wearing teal-colored sunglasses and insisting everything is perfect. Real civic pride. The kind that says, I see the challenges and I still believe in the city. The kind that celebrates wins, the kind that champions local businesses, the kind that amplifies community voices, the kind that understands that the future of Jacksonville isn't somebody else's responsibility. It's ours. And like you, Eric, the three mics have become storytellers for this city. They shine a light on the people, places, projects, and conversations shaping Jacksonville. They ask tough questions when necessary, but they never lose sight of the bigger picture. Jacksonville is worth believing in. And that matters because cities don't become great because of buildings. They become great because of people who care enough to invest their time, energy, talent, and voice into making them better. So today we honor three men who continue to use their platform to celebrate, challenge, and champion Jacksonville. The three mics. Thank you for reminding us that Civic Pride isn't something you're born with. It's something you choose. That will do it for us today. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Shmoose with Suze. If this conversation made you think, feel, or see something a little differently, share it because these conversations matter. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for your daily dose of chutzbah. I'm Suze, you're a well informed smartass, reminding you what's an envelope if not for pushing. Stay inspired and inspiring.