The Road to ESPN (ESPN Director, Adam Bryant III)

ESPN Director, Adam Bryant, joins me this week on the call, as we talk what it takes to work in sports broadcasting, being an African-American in the tv industry, and you'll hear my old nickname with the worldwide leader. 

Adam has directed some of the biggest events in sports, from the NBA Playoffs to the WNBA Finals, bowl games, and all kinds of other events. 

You can hear him talk about his start in tv from cold calling tv stations in the yellow pages to today. 

A great director, but an even better person. Take a listen to this week's call. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

I would see the Sports Center ads and articles in sports illustrated, but as far as like watching sports, that was it. So it there was no like, oh, I'm going to be at ESPN one day. So I didn't, I know, I couldn't fathom it. Like I said, I knew I wanted to be in television. My original goal growing up is I wanted to direct world news tonight with Peter Jennings. Wow. Like that was like I would sit and watch, you know, like, and that was when, you know, news was actually news. Like they looked in the camera and they just told you what was happening. Like, no opinions, nobody screaming and fussing. I miss those days, AB. You know, like just dry ass Walter Cronkite. And this is the dude. Like, it's just it's what it was. But I don't know what it was about about Peter Jennings or ABC News or whatever. I don't know if it's just because it was always on at 6 30 or whatever the case, but that was that was my original things. Like I want to work on that someday.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

I'm Brandon Davis Wells. Let's dig into what we're really doing here.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Today's guest is somebody I shared long days and some long nights in a production truck covering college football for ESPN and some professional basketball as well. Adam Bryant III. What stood out wasn't really just the grind, but the steady presence that AB brought to uh what is generally considered organized chaos. His journey goes from South Carolina to directing at ESPN, and even deeper he's living today because of an organ donor. I want to ask him about that at some point as well. Uh this conversation isn't necessarily just about calling, but perspective and what you do with the life that you have made. Welcome into Color ID, Mr. Bryant. What's up, Donkey? Are you still going by Donkey? Hey, you know what? When I talk to ESPN folks, they still call me Donkey. And I it's it's funny because in you know it's just like being on a team. Everybody has a nickname when you're in a production truck. So you know, you get A B, you get probably Trey, you get a little bit of everything, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:20

Yeah, mostly A B these days, which is it's funny because nobody ever really called me me that like a few times, like when I was in uh at Nesson, some people just call me three, which was funny, but yeah, no, yeah, it's it's good to talk to you, man. Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Uh you are the first of my ESPN uh former colleagues to bring on the show. And when you work in a production truck on the road with people, you get to know them pretty well, but it also is very transient, right? Like, you know, you spend time with somebody really uh concentrated time for a year, and then all of a sudden you don't see them for a couple years or six months. Um it's odd, right? Right.

SPEAKER_04 3:01

It is, it it is, and the good thing, like obviously that part sucks, especially now with the way that we do, you know, television with all the different production models. Because I always tell people the best part of this job is the people that you meet along the way and getting to see people on the road, like that you would not see like every day. Like, I mean, you know, I look forward to you know, our dinners or whatever, or you know, set day, or just randomly in a game, like asking you for something, and you bust out with a John Gruden or Morgan Freeman like impression. Like, I still think about that and laugh to this day. Like every time I see John Gruden, I chuckle because I gotta tell you, man. That's the stuff that I remember. I think that people don't understand, like, you know, like the the events are cool, and you know, as you get to do some of the bigger events, obviously, you know, that's cool. But what you really remember is like the people and the memories and the stories that you collect like over the times. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Yeah, there's very few games that I remember doing, right? When you think about growing up in South Carolina, and I and I assume rural South Carolina because of you know some of the things that we've talked about. Did you ever imagine you'd be directing for ESPN and doing what you're doing now?

SPEAKER_04 4:21

I didn't I like when I talked to students and stuff, one of the things that I think that helped me is that I pretty much knew that I wanted to be in television. And I pretty much knew like I wanted to work in television. And after my first job in television in college, I knew I wanted to be a director. But like growing up, like on a dirt road in South Carolina, like directing for ESPN or directing games or whatever, like that was far fred, like far fetched. Like I couldn't fathom it, didn't know how to do it, how it would happen. Because the other thing too, you got to remember, like growing up, you know, we didn't have cable. Like I didn't get cable until I got to South Carolina, until I got to college at Carolina. So it was ABC, CBS, NBC, and then later, like as a teenager, like Fox. Right. So like I would see the Sports Center ads and articles in sports illustrated, but as far as like watching sports, that was it. So it there was no like, oh, I'm gonna be at ESPN one day. So I didn't I know I couldn't fathom it. Like I said, I knew I wanted to be in television. My original goal growing up is I wanted to direct world news tonight with Peter Jennings. Wow, like that was like I would sit and watch, you know, like, and that was when you know, news was actually news, like they looked in the camera and they just told you what was happening. Like, no opinions, nobody screaming and fussing. I miss those days, you know, like just dry ass Walter Cronkite, and this is the new like it's just it's what it was, but I don't know what it was about Peter Jennings or ABC News or whatever. I don't know if it's just because it was always on at 6:30 or whatever the case, but that was that was my original things. Like I want to work on that someday. And then, like I said, when I got got to college and just started, you know, talking to people, actually out of college and started talking to more people, that was when the whole sports thing kind of started becoming a reality.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

So at the University of South Carolina, you majored in African-American studies and black studies, but so how did you do TV? How did that work out?

SPEAKER_04 6:37

So my when I got to Carolina in fall of '95, I was a journalism major. And by spring of 96, I was working full-time at the CBS affiliate in Columbia. Like I literally just went through the yellow pages and called all the TV stations in Columbia to see if they were hiring.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

Um, and so they were it's funny because they were still showing Andy Griffin reruns, or no, San Francisco. They were showing San Francisco reruns at 11 o'clock. Like this was in 1996. So they didn't have like an 11 o'clock news, so it would be like a five-minute update and then San Francisco reruns. And then when they were starting, I just so happened, like there was no advertising or anything, at least not to my knowledge. I just so happened when I got down to the list of stations that I called Channel 19, WLTX in Columbia, and they actually were looking to hire people because they were starting at 11 o'clock news.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 7:35

To answer your long-winded way to answer your question. I was working in television since my second semester in college. I got tired of J school, actually was about to flunk out of J School, quite frankly. Um, because you know, like going getting dressed up and going to the state house to try to talk to people after they talked to the real reporters wasn't like my bag, especially in Columbia in September when it's 98 degrees after the sun goes down. And then I went to Media Arts was the program. So I went to Media Arts. Our 6 p.m. director was actually my professor. Um, so I did that for a couple of years, and I was just like, why am I going to get a degree in this when I'm already like working in it? So I had took a class as an elective, I took an African American studies class as an elective. And the professor who's also the head of the department, Dr. Cleveland Sellers, you might people might be familiar with his son, Bakari Sellers.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

He's like, I just saw Bakari on CNN, I think yesterday when I was watching the news.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So his dad was over the African American Studies Department at South Carolina, and I took uh one of his classes, and just the authenticity, because you know, he was there, like he was president of the student nonviolent coordinating committee, the Orange Burg massacre, which was a big racial situation in South Carolina in the 60s. He was one of the main people in that. So, like, just being in his class, the authenticity really struck me. So I was like, okay, the TV thing, I'm working full-time in that, I'm doing that. Let me have something to fall back on just in case the TV thing doesn't work out. So I ended up graduating with a liberal arts degree with a concentration at African American studies with my plan. If the TV thing didn't work out, I would teach.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

It's worked out pretty well, and that's that's a wild story that I think is unique, right? Like, not many people are gonna say are gonna have your story. I called the re I called these TV stations.

SPEAKER_04 9:39

I mean, that's yeah, yellow pages, thick ass phone book in my dorm. Just kids don't even know what that is anyway. Yeah, like going through and just like, all right, WIS, no, WLTX, or no, W. I think LTX was the last, the CVS affiliate was the last one I called. So because I called the ABC affiliate, I called the NBC affiliate, the Fox affiliate, and it was just no bueno independent stations, like all the whole nine.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

I remember getting it and getting my first internship in broadcasting was because I had assembled, my dad helped me, assembled this long list of all the TV and radio stations in Cleveland. And I did a similar thing where like I sent email, uh, it wasn't emails back then, I sent actual mail uh to all of them, or tried to call them or both. Finally got one to bite and ended up interning at uh what was 3WE turned into WTAM in Cleveland. And you know, that was unpaid. Sometimes, you know, back then you could do an unpaid internship. Now it's like no, they have to pay you something. Right, you gotta do something. You know, your story is fascinating. What about the African American studies? I'm really I'm really fascinated with that. How did that help shape your identity and when you went into broad when you got out of school? What happened and how did that kind of influence that?

SPEAKER_04 11:02

I think more so just with it not being like so much a label, but just understanding and honestly, I didn't really understand it until like later down the line. I mean like way later down the line, just the responsibility that you have being in the position that I've been in as a director, a lot of times as the only black director or only black face that somebody, only other black face, I should say, that somebody may see like on a crew or whatnot. And just the responsibility of, you know, how you carry yourself, if you can help somebody else out, like paying it for all those things just in general. And then just knowing that, you know, no matter what anybody says, that, you know, there are, even when you think that there's not, there's always eyes on you from anybody. Like it could be anybody down to the janitor, like at the arena, to like the highest executive or the most random person, you know, the runner, you know, somebody that picks you up at the at the hotel or whatever. Like you just don't know who's watching you, who may be inspired, who may, I mean, no, I'm no saint. I'm sure there's people that have been turned off, like, you know, by by me or something or caught me at a bad day, or I didn't do something that they wanted me to do, or whatever. But I think just all of that, just having that pres, that presence of mind and that and that knowledge of just knowing and having that presence.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

What did you do after SC? And you you said you you had a job there locally, but you ended up at Nesson and at ESPN. What did that journey look like?

SPEAKER_04 12:52

I graduated from Carolina in May of 2000. I moved to Charleston. I worked at an ABC affiliate there for a few years. One of our reporters was at the um Hispanic Journalism Commit Convention, Hispanic Broadcast Journalism Convention, and he happened to meet a recruiter from ESPN, and he passed his card or passed her card to me and was just like, hey, I don't know if you can use this or not. But I met this person, and I was just like, whoa, okay, because it's still at that point, there's so this was 2003 or so. Like there was no like log on to ESPN.com or go to the website and see the jobs listed and stuff. Like, I'm still at this point thinking like you got to know the Pope or like somebody that knows something. Right, you know, right, right, yeah, like one of the four mafia families or something like that. Like you like, you just don't know. Made a call, got the interview, started at ESPN as a tech, but by the time, like I said, by the time I got there, I was already directing local news, so I knew I still wanted to be a director. I thought studio director at the time, and then the first time that I walked in and saw like a game going on, like from the studio side, I was like, that's what I want to do. Like, this is cool, this is okay, like talking heads, yada yada yada, people sitting at a desk, but if it's not for that, then none of this happens. Yeah, so I want to be on that.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

That live element is a lot of juice. I've tried to explain to folks that haven't been in a TV truck what it's like, and it is for somebody who's like a dopamine addict myself and grew up as an athlete, loved sports. Yep, there's nothing quite like live television and doing it from the truck, right?

SPEAKER_04 14:44

Yeah, the event like I tell people when I have to just sum it up like in a nutshell, just like I'm responsible for what you see on television. Like my job is to make sure my pictures match the words of the person that's talking, and it is, it's a rush, and it as you know, when it goes well, it's great, and when it goes bad, it it sucks. But but it it's uh most more days than not, I enjoy it. What was your first job? Very, very first job.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

I love asking people this because I get all kinds of answers, right?

SPEAKER_04 15:19

I worked at Snappy's car wash.

unknown 15:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 15:23

So the funny thing about that, the reason why I chuckle so hard, because I think I was either 15 or 16, 15 or 16-year-old naive me, did not realize that basically outside of myself as a teenager, maybe one other person who was a little bit, oh, he was still a teenager, but he was, I think he's like 18 or so. Everybody else worked there lived in a halfway house. Okay, okay. So, like, just some of the conversations that I would hear, some of the stuff that people would do, like, and I'm not gonna go into details, but it was just like at 16, it really didn't hit me until later. It's just like, oh I'm working with a bunch of grown second chance adults. Like that done seen some stuff. Yeah, so yeah, that, but I mean, it was fine. I eventually got fired, which that was funny in itself. Um yeah, it was just random. It's like somebody came through with like a super, super dirty car. Yeah, and I, you know, I did the best I could vacuuming it, and then the guy was just like, You've been here too long to let cars go through like that. And I'm just like, so what does that mean? Again, yeah, right, yeah, dude. Yeah, so but yeah, so that that was my first job.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

My first job was doing uh stats for arena football. How about that? Leisha was in sports, like sports, yeah. And it was big money back in 1993, right? I just turned 16. It was 50 bucks a game to do stats for doing man. So see that that's great.

SPEAKER_04 17:10

You good decent wage, and then like doing something that you knew that you wanted to be a part of.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

Yeah, it was pretty cool. I got I I I remember Major Harris playing quarterback for the Thunderbolts back in the day. Oh wow, West Virginia. Right, yeah, that's right. Um, you know, what so you get an ESPN, you you you know, how did you make you said you you saw some live production and what that was like, and you're like, yeah, that's for me, um, which kind of calls to you. And I always tell people that like, you know, you you want to find something that you love and and that you can do and make money and that they need, and there's all those things work, right? How did you go from being in the studio to uh working your way into a truck?

SPEAKER_04 17:51

Once I kind of figured out, all right, like how is this done, like where they do this? Like, I went and I watched it was Wednesday night baseball, Yankees and somebody wasn't Red Sox, it was somebody.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Um shocker that the Yankees were on ESPN, right? Um exactly.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

So I I drove down to New York on my own, you know, uh, and I think that's side tangent. I think that's like the most important thing that I think a lot of people, the more people that I talk to now, they want to be like, well, how do I do this? How do I get in it? Yada yada yada. Like a lot of stuff you have to do on your own. Nobody's gonna schedule you, you know, like time to go, like they're not gonna put it on a schedule, like observe such and such and such, unless it's going to benefit the company or benefit, you know, your department. Sorry. That I've gotten that a little bit. It's I don't like being the old guy, even though now both of my kids are well, one is 21 and the other one's knocking on their 20s. Like, I don't like being the old guy, but it's just so many people that it's just like, you know, well, they didn't let me or they didn't show me or they didn't schedule me. And it's just like, you got all the time in the world, go do it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

So I went to New York. We all we all have the same approach. It's just some of us don't always say it.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Yeah, like just if you want to do it.

SPEAKER_04 19:19

So I went down to New York, watched the, you know, watched the broadcast and stuff. And as soon as I saw it, I was just like, yeah, this is it. This is what I want to do. So I observed probably like three or four different productions over the next year or so. Like I watched a college football game, watched a couple of college football games, some more baseball, just kind of, you know, just being around the truck, trying to understand, you know, like what was going on. And then eventually at that time, it just came to a point where I knew that I was gonna have to leave. And that's another thing, too. Like, this is my third stint with ESPN. Like, I've left twice and have now come back three times. So the first time I left because I wasn't gonna get a chance to direct games. Once I realized that that's what I wanted to do, I knew that I would have to leave. And so it happened that Neston in Boston, New England Sports Network, had an opportunity for studio director, but their studio director also directed at that time some of their lesser games. So not like Red Sox or Bruins games, but like college hockey, like hockey east. Like, you know, a couple of one-off college basketball games. They had Potucket Red Sox baseball, the minor league team. So they they had some stuff that you could really learn on. So I went there, stayed there for like two years, really wanted to move back down south. I had had enough of the Northeast life. So I literally put in like a month's notice and saved up my money and then moved down south and started freelancing without a job, without a guarantee, no place to live. I lived with my best friend, I think, for like six months before I got my own apartment. Didn't get my first paying gig until around that time, somewhere in there. I know it was a long time because I think I moved Thanksgiving weekend and I did not work until the end of March. I didn't get paid because you know, as a freelancer, that 30-day whatever, I didn't get paid until the end of April. So I went from November to April without, yeah. So freelanced, did that for a few years. That was pretty cool when it was good.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Make it some calculated gambles.

SPEAKER_04 21:34

It's one of those things where it's like I look at it now, because sometimes now there are days where I'm just like, if I want to start over, like exactly what would I do? At that point, it was like the kids were young, they were really young. That was also my motivated, another motivated factor is I wanted to be back down south and be closer to them because they were down south at the time. And it was just one of those things where it was just like the stars and the moon. A line and I also tell people too you gotta have just the right amount of effort. Like just effort. Like that's what what you're gonna do. And at that point in my life, it was just like that's what I wanted to do. Like I wanted to be down south, I wanted to do direct games, and I was tired of living in the Northeast. And then after that, it's just you've worked your way up.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

I mean, I you've that I've been fortunate. I'm not gonna lie. Unfortunate, but you're still you're look look the truth is you may be fortunate, but you you don't you don't move to where you're at without being good at it. Tell folks what games you're doing now and where you're at right now, what kind of uh stuff that you're you're directing now.

SPEAKER_04 22:45

So now I do a lot of NBA. Um actually getting ready for NBA playoffs this weekend. I'll have one of the playoff games, I think Sunday as this is being recorded. And then WNBA. I did the last three WNBA finals that I'm really proud of, and WNBA All-Star Games and Skill Challenges. So just like a lot of WNBA the last three years. I hate that we don't have the finals this year, because like I said, that's something that I'm just really proud of. How that project has grown and being a part of the growth for it. And then a lot of college basketball, as you know, ESPN, three billion college basketball games. So yes, I'll do a lot, do a lot of that. Like I said, the last couple of years, I've actually really enjoyed my schedule because it's just been all basketball and it's been like on a loop. So I go from NBA, WNBA like in the summer, and then college basketball in the um fall, and then WMA or NBA picks up, and then it just so it just keeps like in a circle. But I've done some of everything. You know, we did football together. I did the first season of the ACC network when that first launched. I did the very first game, football game on the ACC network, that noon game, that noon Saturday uh game. That was pretty cool. Baseball, college, a lot of college baseball, a lot of college softball. So I've done like a lot over the over the time, just going back and forth.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

What do you think separates people that last in that environment versus those who don't? Because there's a lot of folks that come in, do it for a year or two, and then are like, man, this isn't this they they can't keep up, or it's not that they can't do the job, but what do you think keeps somebody in that racket for that long?

SPEAKER_04 24:31

I think it's a lot of things. I don't think it's one singular thing, like it helps to be good. Yeah, and I say it helps because it's it's definitely not the deciding factor. I can tell you that's for sure. There's a lot there's a lot of people that you just kind of like, huh? Okay. Yeah, all right. That's part of it. It helped, it helps a lot of who you know and who likes you. I think that's probably a huge chunk. And, you know, mixed with the right amount of luck and connections and being in the right place at the right time, you know, maximizing opportunities, whether you have to campaign for them for yourself or whether they're bestowed upon you. Like whenever you get an opportunity, just making the most out of it.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

That's a that's that's a good word because you you have to be good, but you sometimes have to be lucky, but you also have to make your own luck, right? I mean, yeah. Quick pause. If you're enjoying this, make sure you're following or subscribed wherever you listen. It helps more than you think. If it's hitting home, take 10 seconds, five stars, share it with somebody who needs it. Just a quick reminder. What do you think people misunderstand about working in television?

SPEAKER_04 26:00

Probably just because it's on the top of my head. I'm sure there's a lot of things, but the thing is because I literally just had to deal with this. We don't hang out with the players, we don't get tickets. Like, stop asking me. It's just no, it's just not how it works. Like, when I traveled with the Bucks, everybody uh you hang out with Yon. No, that's a whole different tax bracket. Like, I see him, I point a camera at him, I go home, he goes and does whatever people that make whatever he makes does. Like, there's there's like yeah, I think that's one misconception. I think nowadays, too, with how charged everything is, you know, like politically and just yeah, altogether in our country, the sports does not necessarily go hand in hand with the politics. Yes, they cross, but like I remember like when I was doing games for Fox, people would be like, oh, you do games for Fox. Like that. I'm like, news is completely different from this four camera softball game that I'm doing over here. Like, there is there's no hidden agenda over here.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Right, I'm not hanging out with Bill O'Reilly.

SPEAKER_04 27:20

Yeah, yeah. So I think those are like the biggest ones. And then, you know, in my position, like I only have so much to say. So like as far as you know, people always say, like, well, you're the one in charge, and I always shoot back for everybody that thinks I'm in charge, there's two more people to tell me that I'm not. You have somebody to answer to, you know, like whatever the announcers are talking about or whatever the agenda is, like, I rarely have anything to do with that, man. I'm just pointing the camera and just making sure everything and everybody is where they need to be.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

So uh was there a moment in your career where you're like, okay, I I I've I've not I've arrived, but like it clicked, and you're like, yeah, okay, I I feel pretty comfortable and confident in what I'm doing. And the second part of that is, do you ever have imposter syndrome?

SPEAKER_04 28:17

The imposter syndrome, not so much at this point. Because of the reps, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:24

You've done so many, right?

SPEAKER_04 28:25

Yeah, I think it's more so if anything, like people mostly like hire up people, not not the people that you work with daily or the worry of the people that you work with closely, but it's more of the like the doubt. Like I always like have it in my mind that they doubt or they you know need to hover over or think that you know I don't know, and and whatnot. I think more of that than the imposter syndrome. Yeah, the arrival, I don't know if I've ever had a like feeling of like I've arrived because it's just kind of like there's still stuff that you know I want to do. Um, and I always feel like, you know, especially nowadays, like it can just be taken away from you like without a blink. So I have more moments where it's just kind of like I try to reflect, or I'm just like, huh. Okay, that was pretty cool, or you know, like it puts it more in perspective. Like I can tell you this. So it's more moments like this, where it's you know, talking to like somebody on the crew, like a uh a V3 or somebody in video or like a utility that wants to do more and randomly and just pull them aside and just tell them something that I'm looking at, you know, just one day if you're ever in the position, you know, here's something to put in your tool belt. Like it's it's more moments like that. Or I was doing WNBA finals year before last, and the Liberty were there, and they had the whole series had been stressful, like just personnel dealing with the league, dealing with bosses. Like I was like, I was just over it. And right before the game, Spike Lee was down there and he was talking to somebody, and I was just like, I'm going to the floor, like and took my headset off and going to the floor, like I knew I had time, yeah, or whatever. So I'm talking to Spike Lee. Just like I didn't have that on my bingo card, like at the start of the day, right? And it wasn't even that long of an interaction, but it was so like memorable and it meant so much because it was just like I was talking to him, and it was like, hey, you know, thank you, you know, for everything that you've done, you know, paving the way, like, you know, especially for directors that look like me, even though you're in a completely different genre, like I have absolutely no need to do movies, but just you know, seeing his body of work and whatnot, and his face lit up when he found out that I was directing. I was like, Yeah, I'm directing the game for ABC. And he was just like in that thick New York accent, he's like, You the director? And he just like gave me the biggest like hug, and we took like a great picture. And the rest of the day, like whatever anybody else was talking about, I was just like, All right, fuck yeah, like fuck, I got it. Like, I got it. Let's go. Like, you know, like that was that was like the charge, like the pick-me-up I needed. So it's it's more of kind of like aha, or like just taking it in kind of stuff, than you know, the feeling like, oh wow, all right, we we've arrived, we've made it, you know what I mean? It's like so it's more stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

I had friends when I was in the TV business who said that I worked in the toy store of life, and they were right in many ways. I don't think they always understood the amount of work, but talking about Spike Lee leads me to my next question. How has being an African-American man in this industry shaped the way you approach your job? Has it presented different challenges or opportunities for you? You know, tell me about that so folks can understand a little bit more of that.

SPEAKER_04 32:15

I think I don't know, at least in my opinion. I know there's, you know, everybody's got an opinion about it. I was about to say, people can say what they want, you know, again, you know, especially with the club mate.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Let me let me rephrase it. Do you feel more responsibility? Because I don't mean necessarily that you you've got opportunities because of it. I mean, do you feel more of a responsibility, kind of like that interaction with Spike Lee, because he acknowledged and realized, like, hey, there's not too many guys who look like me in this role.

SPEAKER_04 32:47

Yeah, that definitely. The responsibility, definitely. Like that, it is a and I can I can be honest, sometimes that responsibility wears thin too, because there are a lot of days that I'm just like, you know what? I'm good. I'm good on y'all. Like, I don't like I can go and do, and I never thought I would be this guy, like working my way like up, but it's like I can go do for camera for camera college basketball, and y'all can have all of this, like just because of this, you know, the stress and dealing with people and whatnot. But then I also realized that there are people that wouldn't have gotten the opportunities if it wasn't for somebody like me campaigning for them or like, you know, trying to get them to get this more, get this person an opportunity for whatever that opportunity was. So yeah, the responsibility, absolutely, not so much anymore, but every now and then, like I used to get the, and it would be so funny because the perception of directors, especially television directors, is that you know, we show up, you know, with our $13 latte and our you know, just fancy suit and wingtips and all that other bull. And I will show up in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, sometimes a hoodie on sweat on uh a hoodie on set day. I'll be in sweatpants. Like I'm like, I'm gonna be comfortable regardless. And I've walked up and I'll start, like, especially if people don't know who I am, and I'll walk up and I'll start, you know, saying, like, yeah, we need to do this. No, I need this over here, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they'll be like, and what camera are you running?

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Oh, ouch. Ouch.

SPEAKER_02 34:27

That's an assumption right there, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:30

And yeah, so and most of the time the backtrack is more fun. Like, I don't get I don't really get offended by it as much anymore. Yeah, but it's more the backtracking because then it's just like, yeah, now you operating from a deficit. So yeah, here you go. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, like you get, yeah, you I don't need you to kiss my ass now. We're good. Like, just just be careful who you talk to because you never know. Like the guy in the with the the hoodie and the backpack and the and the sweatpants, like, yeah, I'm the person that a lot of these decisions have to go through. Like, don't just assume that I'm just here to build a camera or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

But you you know, I've been in the truck with you plenty, and you stay pretty grounded, you stay pretty even, Keel. That's not the case, not that you can't get excited, but uh but it's a tough environment, man. What what keeps you grounded in that in those moments? Because uh I've worked with some folks that just including some folks you probably know well. Oh, yeah. Most of them are from the Northeast, but I would say uh maybe somebody at Nesson that I didn't get along with super well either. Uh, but I would say, like, what keeps you as level as possible going into those games?

SPEAKER_04 35:47

At first, it was just natural. Like it was just a natural, like I'm naturally a laid back person, like I'm not a super rah-rah person. Right. As my careers progress, now I kind of pay more attention to it. Not saying that I have to like try harder to stay calm. Actually, I think it's the reverse. I think it's my grumpy man era, like it doesn't take much to just piss me off. Because at this point, it's just like, why are y'all this dumb? Like nobody should be dumb.

SPEAKER_01 36:19

Being 48. That's what I'm with you. Right.

SPEAKER_04 36:21

You know, it's just like, why are y'all, why are y'all dumb? Like, I'm not. Why are y'all? Um but I think it's just more so too, because when you're the director and you're in a quote unquote leadership position, like if you're freaking out, then like it's one thing for everybody else to be freaking out, but you can't be freaking out too, because then it's like, no, like, how are you gonna get where you're supposed to go?

SPEAKER_03 36:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:46

And also, too, I've always been the type of person if you yell at me, it's not gonna make me do whatever it is that you want me to do. Like, so it's kind of the golden rule thing, like, treat people how you want to be treated. Like, I don't want you yelling at me and MFing me because it's not gonna make me, you know, any better or make me do any anything. So, like, you know, I try to talk to you like, you know, a human being and and whatnot. Again, nobody's perfect because I've definitely had my moments, and I it was so funny because I kind of got mad at myself because the person really deserved it. And afterwards, I kind of called I well, you know, kind of I called him and I was like, hey, you know, yes, you messed up, but I didn't have to talk to you like that, and I apologize.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

So you owned it, right?

SPEAKER_04 37:37

You owned it, yeah. No, I owned it. He definitely deserved it, don't get me wrong. But I don't like for people to, you know, or let situations or people allow me to come out of my character or whatever, but yeah, I had it in a high stress environment, man.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

I tell people, you know, when I was working, you you walk out of there, you're drained. Um, so it let me ask you a few more. If you if let's say directing went away tomorrow, ESPN closes, they hire a bunch of AI directors. I'm not saying that's ever gonna happen, but like what would you do and how would that impact how you like your identity and how you view yourself?

SPEAKER_04 38:13

What would I do? What would I want to do, or what would I have to do for money? Oh, that's a good question. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Those are two different questions. Like, yeah, what I would have to do, like I would dread going like back into the workforce because no matter how stressful and how aggravating a lot of the people or the way that we do things are, yeah, it's still a great career. Like it's the only real career I've ever known. So, like to your point, you know, about being 48 and starting over and stuff, I don't know what I would do because local news now is basically like I tell local news directors, you guys are glorified computer programmers. Like you're not directors, like you you put in a code for you know the stuff to be where it needs to be. Maybe I would go do that. Hopefully, there would be a spot open at some of the other networks or something, you know, that that I could do. Like, I don't see, I wouldn't see myself. I think I would be upset or just be a miserable person to be around if I had to go do something like completely out of TV, like going to be like a greeter at Walmart or something.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

Well, everybody always goes to that.

SPEAKER_04 39:28

Welcome to Walmart. I'm out. Yeah, like stop. Like I've seen the Walmart people, and trust me, like I don't want to deal with me at Walmart. It's like well, can I see your receipt? You saw me, you literally saw me at the self-checkout. But yeah, so yeah, what I would have to do now if I could walk away from it all, then I could do what I want to do.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

Yeah, what do you do for fun? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:52

Oh, I'd be but I'd be bow hunting all the time. Like I would travel over the world and travel to the country just shooting animals. Like they're like all of this would just be taxidermy and animal hides behind me, like freezer full of meat, just you know, a guy in his bow and a video camera just all over the you know, the country or all over the world.

SPEAKER_01 40:15

Maybe that's your maybe that's your retirement, like, you know, you're gonna you're gonna wear one of those or maybe get the meta glasses and have the bow and just A B like just shooting, shooting animals all day.

SPEAKER_04 40:26

That yeah, that that is definitely like that, that is my I think between that and just being outside, like riding ATVs, like going to sporting events and like going to baseball games and and stuff like that, like that would be the one thing that I could be like, if I could do that now, I would probably just be like, all right, you guys can have it.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

All right, word association. Here you go. You ready? All right, what you got?

SPEAKER_04 40:56

Identity is this like the first word that comes to mind? Or what or my identity?

SPEAKER_01 41:12

Yeah, yeah, I would say that's awesome, but nobody's ever said that, and I love it. Yeah, what like what what does it come from for you?

SPEAKER_04 41:20

Um just my parents, my upbringing. Like, I'm you know, I have my dad's sarcasm and sense of humor. I have my mom's temper, and at the end of the day, I'm still just a kid that grew up on a dirt road in South Carolina.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

That sounds like a country song, by the way. I might have to write those later. That might be the next Davis Wells single. We'll see.

SPEAKER_04 41:44

Uh for as many people that mistake me as hootie, you you're not far off. Well, you're black, you got a beard. It's like really, like literally, this was it's been a while now. This was some years ago. I was at the Carolina Clemson game, and I was walking, just minding my business or whatever, going into the game, and literally I got stopped three times. And the last person was just like, didn't even ask. Like most people were like, Are you? And I was like, No. The last guy was just like, Oh my god, I didn't realize you were doing the anthem tonight. I didn't either.

SPEAKER_00 42:35

That's great.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

All right, that's the last one. Well, two more. Okay, failure.

SPEAKER_04 42:45

Fear. That's one of my biggest like failure. But I don't even think the failure, honestly, that don't even have anything to do with television. Like, I'm television, I'm I'm good. Like, even if I had to quit, like you were saying, like, or it went away, like I'd be upset about some things that I didn't accomplish or things that I didn't get to do, but I'm good with that. My failures, like things I worry about, failures like more so like dad, like raising kids and stuff, and making sure that your, you know, your children do what they're supposed to do. And then especially with the way our jobs are being traveling and gone and and whatnot, it's just like, did you do enough? Were you there enough? Did you build a good foundation? Did you lay, you know, the right foundation? Like all of that stuff. That that when you say failure, that's the first thing I think about. Success. Being able to retire and not have to financially worry about anything.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

I like it. Last question is what would you tell your younger self if you could talk to 16 or 18 year old Adam Bryant.

SPEAKER_04 44:04

Uh what would I tell?

SPEAKER_01 44:06

Other than like buy Apple stock, right? You can't say that.

SPEAKER_04 44:09

Right. Like that that would be more like right, learn, understand, like instead of being a nerd about, although I can't take that away because that's part of my story too. Like I used to draw stadiums, like side note, I used to draw stadiums, and my mom, God rest her soul, hated it. Like I would literally like draw the circles and like the aisles and the whole night. Like basically like the charts that we use.

SPEAKER_03 44:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:38

And it ended up being like, as you know, that stuff that we use. So it's like that's another thing that I'm just always like in awe about. Like 15, 10, 15-year-old me drawing these fake stadiums, and now that's part of what I do for work. What would I tell that kid? Be more financially savvy. Like so while you're learning that the orange bowl seats 78,000, learn how you know finances and stuff works as well.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

Like that would that would probably be 10% away every time you right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:17

Yeah, that that that would probably be the the the biggest thing that that I would tell that kid that. And then you know, life's full of disappointments, and you gotta try to navigate them as best you can.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

That's Adam Bryant.

SPEAKER_04 45:33

That's me.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

Thanks for listening to the Caller ID podcast. Please don't forget to like, share, and subscribe with all of your friends on all of your social media platforms. Thanks again. Signing off, Brandon Davis Wells, I think.