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David Bazzel and PoolBoy

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  • Lou Holtz's couching methods
  • How football taught Bazzel life and business skills
  • How Frank Broyles censored talk of the Razorbacks
  • Why paying collegiate players will hurt the game
  • Bazzel's achievements: The Broyles Award, The Razorback Mascot, and the Battle of the Boot
  • Discuss working in radio
  • Life lived out on the air
  • Children's Protection Service

Scroll down for a transcript of the show

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Former Razorback, David Bazzel may be one of the most recognizable names in Arkansas. He played linebacker for the UofA in 1984 and had a total of 113 tackles. He was sidelined due to shoulder and back injures. “I think all of the football I played taught me a lot of discipline and taught me to grind and work hard,” says Bazzel.

He created the Broyles Award, now going on 25 years, and the Touchdown Club, which brings in big names from all over the country. He is also responsible for the “Battle for the Boot,” and the Tusk Fund. For David, it’s all about giving recognition to those who deserve it, while putting Arkansas in the spotlight.

In the fall of 1998, Bazzel wrote and starred in a one man play titled “Football, Biceps, Biscuits and Gravy: Confessions of a Razorback.” Due to lack of ticket sales, the show closed before opening night. “You win some, you lose some,” Bazzel said, adding he has “no problem eating a little humble pie.”

You can find Bazzel on TV during Razorback football season as a pre-game host and commentator, as well as doing his full-time job at 103.7 The Buzz.

Poolboy is a graduate of Little Rock’s Catholic High and the University of Arkansas. Poolboy has been a part of mornings on Alice 107.7 since 2005.

Poolboy said, “My alarm goes off at 3:20 I get to the radio station at 4:15, then I plan for the day’s show. At 6:00, the ‘Heather and Poolboy’ show begins, and we go from there. Most people listen for about 10 to 15 minutes during their commute. My job is to make you laugh and get listeners into a good mood for work.”

He has been a Little Rock ‘celebrity’ since he was just an intern on Alice 107.7 where he earned the nickname Poolboy. His life has played out on the air since then, going from being a single guy against marriage and children to married with a young son.

Co-host Heather Brown said, “He is a hard worker and a busy bee. He is always running to the next gig. He always has something he is doing on the side, whether it’s a project or fundraiser.”


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Transcript Begins:

EPISODE 219

INTRODUCTION]

00:00:09] GM: Welcome to Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy, a production of flagandbanner.com. Through storytelling and conversational interviews, this weekly radio show and podcast, offers listeners an insider’s view into the commonalities of successful people and the ups and down or risk-taking. Connect with Kerry through her candid, funny, informative and always encouraging weekly. Now, it's time for Kerry McCoy to get all up in your business.

00:00:33] ANNOUNCER: On this week's Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy, this radio show is going to focus on a couple other radio shows. We'll take a look at the lives and careers of two of the most popular radio personalities in Central Arkansas, David Bazzel and PoolBoy. First up, Mr. David Bazzel.

EPISODE]

00:00:51] KM: Before I introduce today's guest, I want to let you know, if you miss any part of today's show, want to hear it again, or share it there's a way and son Gray will tell you how.

00:00:59] GM: All UIYB past and present interviews are available at Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy's YouTube channel, Facebook page, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s digital version, flagandbanner.com’s website, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Just ask your smart speaker to play Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy. By subscribing to our YouTube channel, or flagandbanner.com’s email list, you will receive prior notification of that day's guest. Back to you Kerry.

00:01:25] KM: Thanks, Gray. My guest today is one of the few men I know that really looks good in puka shell necklace.

00:01:32] DB: Wow! Goodness!

00:01:35] KM: The well-known and former Razorback football player, David Bazzell.

00:01:39] DB: Hi, Kerry.

00:01:39] DB: Hi, baby. So let me tell about you.

00:01:42] DB: Come on.

00:01:43] KM: As a linebacker for the University of Arkansas in 1984 football season, David had a total of a 113 tackles before he was sidelined with a shoulder and back injury. This sounds like a lot to me, but his contribution to the sport did not stop there. David is not just a good-looking media personality in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is also a thinker and a doer, being credited with founding the nationally renowned Broyles Award that honors the best assistant coaches in college football. The popular Touchdown Club, that during the football season has a weekly luncheon with celebrity guest speakers. And how about this? The Battle for the Boot, a football rivalry between Louisiana and Arkansas, is the brainchild of David.

These days, you can hear David affectionately called The Buzz. Chatting it up each weekday morning on 103.7 The Buzz. See him on TV during the Razorback football season as a pre-game host and commentator. It is my great pleasure to welcome to the table, my friend, and Little Rock's beloved former Razorback sportscaster, local celeb and activist, Mr. David Bazzel.

00:02:53] DB: Wow! What a lovely introduction. Good to see you, Kerry. Yeah.

00:02:56] KM: Thank you, David, for coming. Let's start at the beginning. Do you come from an athletic family?

00:03:02] DB: I'm an only child. I came from Panama City, Florida. My dad was a pretty good athlete, small, undersized, didn't play football. I was the only one to do that. Left Panama City to come play football in Arkansas for Lou Holtz back in the early 80s.

00:03:14] KM: So you were born in Florida?

00:03:16] DB: Yeah, Panama City. Redneck Riviera.

00:03:19] KM: I did not realize that.

00:03:22] DB: Yeah. For me to come up here, it was pretty unique because where I'm from down there, nobody knew much about Arkansas. But I wanted to go to a place to where once I left, I could make an impact. This was a 16-year-old kid making that decision. I knew, if I went to Arkansas, if I could achieve success with the Razorbacks, it would open up doors, because I couldn't believe how much people love the Razorbacks here. Where I'm from, every block in your neighborhood had Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Auburn. But the loyalties here, there are other schools here, but Arkansas was such a dominant thing to where I thought, “If I came up here, succeeded. Once I got through with school, it would open up a lot of doors,” and it has.

00:04:00] KM: You said you were 16?

00:04:01] DB: I’m a 16-year-old senior making that decision.

00:04:03] KM: Why were you a 16-year-old senior?

00:04:04] DB: I started school early. I was playing football for the Razorbacks when I was 17. How about that? Crazy.

00:04:10] KM: And you're a linebacker.

00:04:10] DB: I was a linebacker. Yes.

00:04:12] KM: That's a big guy's position.

00:04:14] DB: Undersized, but I was quick, I was strong. I had a good football IQ. I had some really good coaches. But I'm still, like today, I had a shoulder replacement. A year ago, it failed. I can't even raise my arm. I think that being undersized and playing that game, overuse – I'm paying for it now, but I will still do the same thing. I love the game.

00:04:36] KM: That's my next question. You were a linebacker and had a 133 tackles in one season, which seems like a lot. Is that a lot?

00:04:45] DB: Yeah, that's a pretty good year. That's a pretty good year back in the day. We had some good defenses back when I played.

00:04:49] KM: Why did you pick that – If you were small, why did you pick that position?

00:04:52] DB: Well, I was big enough. I just wasn't one of those guys that was 6'4. I was strong enough to where I was fast enough. The linebacker on defense is similar to the quarterback on offense. You need a guy who's a leader, who knows the defense, can make the calls. Listen, I would rather hit somebody than be hit. I love to hit than rather be hit.

00:05:13] KM: I'd be the kicker.

00:05:15] DB: There's nothing that mattered with that.

00:05:17] KM: That way they if they hit you, they get a penalty.

00:05:21] DB: Yes, but you had to make your kicks.

00:05:22] KM: Everything you do is big.

00:05:24] DB: It is big. It is. Listen, you're either the hero or the goat. There is no in between.

00:05:32] KM: You talked about your shoulder injury and you also had a back injury, which forced you to the sideline. Tell us about that play that caused the injury.

00:05:39] DB: Yeah. I think I remember I hurt it in practice, I think my sophomore year, and I dealt with it. The doctor said, I probably would never play again. I remember Dean Webber, the trainer, saying, “Go out one more practice. If you can make it through this practice, you'll keep playing. If not, maybe you need to hang it up.” I went there and had a good day. Fought my way through it.

Again, when you're undersized, you get hurt a lot. My deal was I’m going to figure out a way to stay on the field, and that's what I did. Even though I was injured, I was prone – Because I'm smaller than most guys. That's what the Razorbacks are made up of. The history of Razorbacks are made of – You got to have those all-American types. You got to have Darren McFadden, the Billy Ray Smith, but you got to have guys like Tony Cherico, and Drew Morgan, who are undersized, but they love the game. They play with passion, because they represent the state.

00:06:25] KM: They're a big heart. They've got a big heart. They play with heart.

00:06:26] DB: That’s it. Listen, effort and heart, Kerry, it goes a long way.

00:06:30] KM: That's what Lou Holtz always said. He said, “I don't want the best quarterback in the world. I want the quarterback with the most heart.”

00:06:35] DB: That's exactly right, Kerry. That's exactly what I said. That's exactly what I said.

00:06:40] KM: Who was your coach when you were there?

00:06:42] DB: Lou Holtz was my coach for the first three years and then – Yes. And then Ken Hatfield was my coach for the last two years.

00:06:49] KM: You had great coaches.

00:06:49] DB: Two completely different kind of coaches. Both were really great. One of my favorite stores I always tell is that we were playing number one Texas, 1981. Nobody gave us a chance to win. Coach Holtz came in the locker room, but he was always good at preparing for the big game. Kerry, he got in front of all of us and he said, “When the national media come to this locker room after this game is over, you tell them this was not an upset. Go get them!” And we beat them 42-11. We beat them 42-11, the number one team in the nation. He was always good at preparing a very intense, sometimes bad, could treat you poorly. But he was –

00:07:24] KM: How come you beat them?

00:07:27] DB: Well, we were better prepared. They were probably over-ranked. But we had a good football team and we were better prepared. That’s why he's a hall of famer. No matter where he went, Notre Dame, he always prepared well. A lot of pressure. He put a lot of pressure on you during the week to practice well so you would play well.

00:07:44] KM: All preparation.

00:07:45] DB: Preparation is a huge key. Same kind of thing, when I play for the Razorbacks, I do today. When I get up and do The Buzz every morning, I know I better be prepared, or I'm going to embarrass myself, or I have the potential to – Whatever I do, the Broyles Award, the Touchdown Club, if I don't do a good job – Just like you guys. If you don't come in here and prepare decently, you'll embarrass yourself, or have the potential to. It's the same principles that I was doing back in junior high school football.

00:08:12] ANNOUNCER: That’s David Bazzel. Now, let's get to know Kerry's other guest on this program featuring a couple of Little Rock's biggest radio personalities. This is Poolboy.

00:08:23] KM: Get ready to have some listening fun today, because Poolboy is in the house.

00:08:28] AD: What’s up?

00:08:29] KM: Yes. My guest is local celebrity Poolboy from the Heather –

00:08:33] AD: You’re using the term celebrity real fast and loose there. Celebrity, I am not. Celebrities don’t have two and three and four jobs.

00:08:42] KM: But they have two names, which you have.

00:08:45] AD: Some do, unless you’re Sheree or Madonna.

00:08:47] KM: Don’t start critiquing, because they actually have two names probably. Don’t start critiquing me already. He’s already on me, because you know he’s a radio show host. He’s going to come in here and tell me everything I’m doing right and everything I’m doing wrong.

00:08:59] AD: Absolutely not. You do it the way you want to do it. That’s what I’ve learned.

00:09:03] KM: I’m going to get advice from you today, because this is a business advice show. You are in the business.

00:09:09] AD: I can tell you what not to do. I can definitely do that.

00:09:13] KM: Uh-oh, that's going to be everything I do. You're going to go, “Don't do that. Kerry, don’t do that. Don’t do that.” Anyway, my not celebrity Poolboy from the Heather and Poolboy Radio Show is on today.

00:09:25] AD: Thank you so much for having me.

00:09:26] KM: You’re welcome.

00:09:27] AD: This is fun. It's nice to be able to sit back and not be the guy pressing the buttons and just getting to sit back and talk. This is great.

00:09:34] KM: You are going to have fun. I cannot be as good as Heather though, but I'm going to try. She's awesome. I listen to her, she's just charming.

00:09:41] AD: She's great. She is an amazing co-host. We've been together, working together now for 13 years. She's been there 18 years, so I'm very blessed to get to work with her. We have a really good chemistry and it just – it makes my mornings fun. I mean, I look forward to going to work.

00:09:59] KM: You should.

00:09:59] AD: Yeah, you should. You should look forward to going to work. If you don't, quit.

00:10:04] KM: Oh, that is so true.

00:10:06] AD: Quit once you find another job. There has been multiple times in my life I've wanted to quit a job I was at, but I would not quit that job until I had the other job lined up. Then I would be ready to quit. When I got into radio, I was also bartending at the same time, and I continued to do that for years after I got into radio. Because, I mean, radios – I mean, it can change. I mean, things can happen, or maybe I wouldn't like it or whatever. I was not able to let go of that one job until I felt secure in the next job. I've always had two and three jobs for as long as I can remember.

00:10:42] KM: I think, every great entrepreneur and successful person does.

00:10:45] AD: I like to stay busy. That's a lot of it. Yeah.

00:10:49] KM: Hard worker.

00:10:52] AD: Sure. Yeah, absolutely.

00:10:54] KM: I think successful – the lady was on last week, Robbi Davis from Robbi Davis Insurance agents. She said, there's no great mystery to success. It's just working hard.

00:11:03] AD: That's it. Yeah.

00:11:05] KM: It really is. If you're laying on the couch, you're not going to get the job you may want.

00:11:10] AD: That’s right.

00:11:11] KM: It’s pretty simple. All right, let me introduce you a little bit and tell people a little bit about you.

00:11:18] AD: Okay.

00:11:19] KM: You are the person that we all know and love. You’re Poolboy from the Heather and Poolboy morning show on Alice 107.7 in Little Rock, Arkansas for those of you that

aren't in Little Rock. You are so genuinely fun and infectious that both the Arkansas Times and the Arkansas Democrat Gazette has voted you the best personality radio.

00:11:37] AD: That's right. That's awesome. That is amazing. You can read stats and whatever about how your radio station is performing, but it's awards like that that the public, the community votes on that lets you know how you're doing and how well you’re liked. To get those accolades means so much more than getting a rating from a rating book, or something like that, because people took the time to fill out that form to say, “Oh, Heather and Poolboy show is my favorite. I love listening to them. Thriller Thursday's. It's awesome.” Whatever that means, that means a lot. That is really, really, really cool.

00:12:22] KM: You also boast that you can eat four and a half hot dogs in seven minutes that you once drank a half gallon of eggnog in 30 seconds and that you are a two-time winner of the Make-A-Wish Foundation lip-sync battle.

00:12:37] AD: Correct. Yeah. Look, you guys asked for this stuff, so I gave it to you. I just try to come up with things that I have done. Yeah, I entered a hotdog eating contest one year in honor of the 4th of July, Nathan's hotdog eating contest they do in Coney Island. Because I thought that I could do something, but no. I mean, but four and a half I thought was pretty dang good. I mean, that's –

00:12:59] KM: You are not kidding. Can you eat them still? Or you’re sick of hotdogs?

00:13:02] AD: I’m sick of – I very rarely touch eggnog again after that within like – I'm not live within 15 minutes of doing that.

00:13:10] KM: You threw up?

00:13:12] AD: Yes. From both ends. I mean, it was – Not just once. I mean, it was an all-day thing. I mean, I ruined myself.

00:13:21] KM: All night long.

00:13:23] AD: Yeah, Lionel Richie style. All night long. It was awful. It was a rough two days after that.

00:13:29] KM: Ah, there's just some things that aren't worth it. Let's say, you're an Arkansan through and through, having graduated from Catholic High in Little Rock, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, with a BA in communications and then, tell me if I'm right, fresh out of college, you applied for an internship at Alice 107, it was hard?

00:13:46] AD: It was after that. I did KXUA Radio in Fayetteville. Then I didn't really do anything with radio after that. Went into property management and some real estate there for a while, then I figured out that that's not really what I wanted to do. I wasn't loving it. I wasn't happy. I came to a buddy of mine who opened a bar and I was like, “I need a job,” and so I started bartending. The girl I bartended with had a roommate and she sent my application into the radio station.

00:14:19] KM: To 107?

00:14:20] AD: Yeah. She obviously wanted better for me than to be a bartender. No, it was good.

00:14:27] KM: It is good.

00:14:28] AD: That’s good. No, absolutely. It’s really cool. They ended up hiring me and it was or a part-time producer position. That's how I got my start. I worked year after year, I did anything that anybody would ever ask of me. I accepted those jobs here and there around the radio station that weren't necessarily in my wheelhouse, but I learned to do them. I was always willing to learn from somebody else that was around there. Make myself more valuable.

The more skills that I could pick up around the radio station, I felt the better; from running the board, to work in the front desk, to going on a sales call, to whatever it was, I was willing to learn, because I just felt that the more knowledge I had, the more valuable I became to the to the company. Harder for them to fire me if I knew more stuff.

00:15:18] KM: I hate it when someone says, “That's not in my job description.” I'm like, “Well, you're about to not even have a job.”

00:15:24] AD: Exactly. I hung around, I hung around, I hung around.

00:15:29] KM: Made yourself invaluable.

00:15:30] AD: I did and I got – it was probably three years down the road when I got my first real contract. It wasn't much, but it was a contract and I just – I kept at it, I kept at it and here it is 13 years later and I have my name on the morning show with a wonderful co-host and we're having an amazing time.

00:15:53] KM: I remember, actually, when you first went on Alice. I remember when you were just a part-time guy who come on sometimes and they do live remotes with you from places. Frankly, I just thought, “Wow, that guy is such a playboy.” I think you were maybe back then. You're a married man now and we'll talk about that.

00:16:10] AD: Yeah, sure.

00:16:13] KM: DC left. It was the Heather and DC show.

00:16:15] AD: Mm-hmm, originally.

00:16:16] KM: Then you had just made yourself so invaluable that DC left and they were like, “Come on. Move on up the ladder. Keep moving.”

00:16:24] AD: Yeah. I mean, talk about right place, the right time. Me being familiar with the audience, I think helped and of course, played a role in that. It was a real blow, but –

00:16:39] KM: What was a blow?

00:16:41] AD: Just the mix-up, the change up for whatever that was going on and then everything just – it changed and we were in limbo of what was going to happen next. I was able

to jump in and fill the shoes for the time being and luckily, it worked out. Heather and I have a chemistry, and so –

00:17:00] KM: Oh, you just went in to fill the shoes while they looked for somebody else?

00:17:03] AD: Yeah. That was the –

00:17:05] KM: They’re like, “Why are we looking for somebody else? He's so good. Let's just keep him.”

00:17:09] AD: Sure. Yeah. I guess. Yeah. I was willing to do it for peanuts.

00:17:14] KM: Sometimes you have to start there, but you're not willing to do it for peanuts anymore.

00:17:18] AD: That’s right. That’s right.

00:17:19] KM: That's the way you have to start out sometimes though. Sometimes I hear people say, “Well, I'm not taking that job, because I'm a college graduate and I should be making more than that. I'm not going to take that job.” I think, get your foot in the door. Always just get your foot in the door.

Warren Buffett gave this speech to Harvard. I was watching it one time and it was a bunch of MBA students from Harvard and they said, “How should we get jobs after we graduate from Harvard?” He said, “I would recommend finding the company you want to work for, rather than going out and finding the job that pays you that much money, but find the company that fits your personality, go to that company, get a job.” He said, “Even if it means sweeping the floors at that company and start working really, really hard until they find out what a star you are and you will move up the ladder there.”

00:18:10] AD: Agreed.

00:18:11] KM: I thought that was great advice. I don't think that always people do it that way. They come out and they let their ego get in the way and they're like, “I'm not going to take a $8 an hour job. I’m more than that.”

00:18:22] AD: Yeah. I knew that going into the situation. I was not seasoned. I never hosted a full morning show before. I was relatively new to everything. I was willing to do whatever I had to do to do the job. I was willing to prove myself. I knew that I had it in me. I knew that I could do good things with the opportunity, and so I did. I just took it and run with it.

00:18:53] KM: You’re one of the few people I know that actually went to school and got a degree in something that they're doing as a career later.

00:18:59] AD: Well, I didn't start out doing it that way. I chose communications, because it was easy.

00:19:05] KM: He’s so honest. I love it.

00:19:07] AD: I went to college to party. I'm not going to lie. I was looking forward – I mean, I'd been a Catholic. I had my hair cut a certain way, wore the khakis and ties for four years, hadn't seen a girl in four years. I was ready to go to college and just live it up. I mean, of course, I was interested in radio and television and acting and things like that and communications seemed like a natural fit for me. I figured, “Hey, this is going to be great. This is going to be a lot of me standing in front of classes and talking at and doing oral presentations and not writing and doing research and stuff like that.” It was. That was perfect for me. I can do that all day long. I could stand up in a class and half hungover and give you an exam where they answer. It worked out. It worked out for me.

00:19:57] KM: All right, let's take a quick break.

00:19:59] ANNOUNCER: We’ll switch back over to David Bazzel’s story as we hop back and forth between two great radio personalities from Little Rock, on today’s show Up In Your Business with Kerry McCoy, David Bazzel and Poolboy. We’ll be right back.

00:20:10] GM: You’re listening to Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy, a production of flagandbanner.com. Over 40 years ago with only $400, Kerry founded Arkansas Flag and Banner. During the last four decades, the business has grown and changed, along with Kerry’s experience and leadership knowledge.

In 1995. She embraced the Internet and rebranded her company as simply, flagandbanner.com. In 2004, she became an early blogger. Since then, she has founded the non-profit Friends of Dreamland Ballroom; began publishing her magazine, Brave. In 2016, branched out into this very radio show, YouTube channel and podcast.

Today, in 2020, Kerry McCoy Enterprises acquired ourcornermarket.com, an online company specializing in American made plaques, signage, and memorials for over 20 years. If you'd like to sponsor this show, or get involved with any of Kerry McCoy's enterprises, send an email to me, Gray. That's gray@flagandbanner.com. Telling American made stories, selling American made flags, the flagandbanner.com. Back to you, Kerry.

00:21:22] KM: You're listening to Up in Your Business with me, Kerry McCoy, and I'm speaking today with former Razorback linebacker, weekday morning host of 103.7 The Buzz, and TV commentator for Razorback football, Mr. David Bazzel, locally and lovingly known as The Baz.

Let's see. I know everyone wants to hear about your relationship with Frank Broyles, because I have watched you and him interact together, and it's charming. But don't talk about it yet. Before we do, let's fill in the gaps and talk about your life after college and what being a former Razorback did for your career and what were some of the jobs leading up to your current position at 103.7 The Buzz. I can't believe you said you've been there for – You haven’t been there 17 years. No.

00:22:04] DB: Yeah. I started doing radio in the mid-90s.

00:22:06] KM: Do you have a degree in communication?

00:22:07] DB: I don't. I don't. If I had to go back and do it again I would, but didn't at the time.

00:22:11] KM: What'd you go to college for?

00:22:13] DB: My parents didn't go to college. I had no idea what I was doing. They started out in general business, got out of it. Ended up in an education degree with a specialty on physical education and recreation.

00:22:25] KM: Well, that fits.

00:22:26] DB: Yeah. And after I got out of school, I went into the health club business, where I ran the first Gold’s Gym franchises in Arkansas.

00:22:31] KM: Really?

00:22:32] DB: Yeah. Remember those?

00:22:33] KM: Yeah.

00:22:33] DB: Competed against Jim Bottins. I had a buddy of mine that was, may he rest in peace, was a cheerleader, and we opened three or four Gold’s Gyms. That was the first thing I did, and then I got into the orthopedic business, Arkansas Sports, orthopedic business, where I helped a doctor, get trainers and high schools have trainers at site. Then all of a sudden, I started getting more media opportunities, because back then they were looking for people to talk about sports and that were well-versed. Wally Hall had the Wally Hall Show, and Wally was a buddy of mine, so Wally had me on.

One day, Wendell Stacy, who was the weekend anchor for Channel 4, left for Memphis and the news director of Channel 4 called and said, “Would you like to do some real TV?” I went down to Channel 4. I had no training. I was horrible. During the weekends, that was embarrassing. The way I look at it, Kerry, is that I like to try. I love trying different things. I love popping into other people's worlds. I've written for the Democrat Gazette, a health and fitness column for seven years. I've done TV. I've done radio. I find it fascinating what everybody does. I've had a chance to work, doing PR for Jennings Osborne. Had a chance to do stuff for Frank Broyles. I find it really intriguing. I like to be challenged. I like to learn different things. I like to

find new and exciting challenges. Yeah, I've really had a really cool experience here in Arkansas.

00:23:54] KM: It doesn't hurt you're awfully nice looking –

00:23:57] DB: Well, back when I was 60 pounds lighter, you could probably see my cheekbones a lot better than you can tonight. But no, the people in Arkansas, Kerry, have been so good. When I came here, one thing – I go around the country because of the Broyles Award and different things. I'm proud to say that I'm an Arkansas, even though I was born in Panama City. People in Arkansas are real. I love to represent them. I'm proud I’m an Arkansas Razorback, and it's a fun thing to be able to represent Coach Broyles in what I do and the other things as well.

00:24:27] KM: Everybody that comes on here talks about – that are transplants to Arkansas talk about how this is just such a well-kept secret.

00:24:34] GM: Diamond in the rough.

00:24:35] KM: Amy Mo was talking about it two weeks ago, the new episcopal preacher from Trinity Episcopal is here. She said, if anybody knew about Little Rock, Arkansas, they'd all be moving here.

00:24:42] DB: That's right. Yeah, both the looks and people.

00:24:46] KM: Yeah. Talk about your early morning anchor on 103 The Buzz. Describe your morning. It's not as easy as it looks.

00:24:53] DB: That's exactly right, Kerry. Everybody goes, “Oh! You just get up and talk for a living.” Well, you think about it. We have to get up every morning at 6 – to start talking at 6 a.m. and be compelling and be interesting for four hours every day, five days a week, 50-plus weeks a year, and we're supposed to talk about sports with our main thing and we have the Razorbacks and we don't have anything – So it’s a tremendous challenge to be interesting. We can't play music. We just can't punch up music and play music and walk outside and smoke a

cigarette smoke. People don't realize. Some days are better than others. We'll admit it. Some days –

00:25:31] KM: Okay. This is going to make you mad.

00:25:33] DB: That won’t make me mad.

00:25:34] KM: Your show reminds me of a male version of The View on TV.

00:25:39] GM: Oh my God!

00:25:39] DB: There's no question. You know what I tell people we are? We're a barber shop show. If you go into a barber shop and that's what you get. We'll talk about sports. We'll talk about relationships. We'll talk about a little bit of politics, not much, pop culture, music, whatever. That's what we do. We’re bigger than sports. We're more than sports.

00:25:56] KM: You know what you won't talk about, because I've been on your show with you a couple of times. When I have been so angry with the athletic director's choice of football coaches and tried to say negative things about it, and y'all will not talk bad about the Razorbacks ever. Is that like a rule?

00:26:17] DB: No. I think that's changed, Kerry, over the years. I think that really has. I think, years ago when Coach Broyles was there, if you did not tow the line, you would be out of favor and probably not have the opportunity to have access like you did. Nowadays, it doesn't matter. I mean, I think everybody's fair game and it's social media, but I think back then it was like that way. You were very, very careful not to criticize, because it would get back. I remember Craig O'Neill, he was doing the PA for

inaudible 00:26:45].

00:26:46] KM: Is that why he got kicked out of doing that?

00:26:48] DB: Well, Dale Nicholson called Frank Broyles and said, “Frank, we’re the TV station of the Razorbacks, not Channel 11.” Don't like what I'm seeing. Frank calls Craig, “Craig, I'm sorry, but we got to let you go.” That was it. But it changed –

00:27:04] KM: Politics.

00:27:05] DB: Yeah, there’s politics.

00:27:06] KM: You talked about this a little bit about how hard it is. When the show is over, do you overthink what you should have said, or you didn't say and how do you mentally handle gaffes when you make them?

00:27:18] DB: Yeah. I think sometimes gaffes are fun. We like to call ourselves the stupidest show, because we're stupid. I want somebody to be screaming at the radio, “You idiot! It's not that! It's not Wizard of Oz!” I mean, I want them to be that engaged to go, “If we've said something wrong, that's what you want.” You want that kind of that visceral reaction. It's okay if we get it wrong.

To me, you've done this long enough, the best things are the things you don't expect and that turn out to be the most shocker. Those are the things like, you look back and laugh at, “Oh, my gosh. Did I really say that? Did that really happen?” We had a call one time where a guy was waiting on hold for an hour. We went to him and – We've got a clip of it. That's the funniest thing ever. I think, people like real radio.

00:28:03] ANNOUNCER: This episode of Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy is very entertaining if you love listening to the radio. We’re getting a good profile of two of Little Rock’s greatest radio personalities, David Bazzel, who you just heard from. And Poolboy. Let’s see what Poolboy’s radio life is like.

00:28:17] AD: Let's get up in my biz.

00:28:19] KM: Okay, here you go. You said, “My alarm goes off at 3:20. I get to the radio station at 4:15, then I plan for the day’s show. At 6:00, the Heather and Poolboy show begins and we go from there. Most people listen for about 10 or 15 minutes during their commute. My job is to make you laugh, get listeners into a good mood for work.” You prep for two hours before the show?

00:28:41] AD: Mm-hmm.

00:28:42] KM: About what?

00:28:43] AD: Well, I mean, all kinds of stuff.

00:28:45] KM: You have a lot of content.

00:28:47] AD: So much goes on between the hours we get off at 10:00 a.m. till the time we go back on at 6:00 a.m. I mean, everything happens. Everything happens in Hollywood, in sports, just in your own community. To try to condense all that into four hours, but you're really not four hours with music and stuff in that. I mean, you've got to condense it down and find the best stuff to talk about for that day.

I get up. First of all, I have to wake up. Getting there – I mean, that's all part of it. It's not like I’d sit down at 4:15 and then I'm just doing nothing but research. It's talking with the other jocks that are there in the stage, because we're a part of – we've got eight other radio stations in our building, and so there's other people that are there. We're talking and we use them as sounding boards for topics, or something that might have happened to them. I'll use anything.

The alarm clock goes off at 3:20. It's really 3:10. I fast forward it 10 minutes, so I really got a built-in 10 minutes. Yeah, so I get there at 4 and then it's just talking, waking up, drinking a Mountain Dew and getting ready for today’s show.

00:30:00] KM: Yeah, can't believe you don't drink coffee.

00:30:03] AD: Heather and I are rare breeds. I think we're the only –

00:30:05] KM: Heather doesn't either?

00:30:05] AD: No. I think we're the only two in the building that do not drink coffee. I mean, there are guys there that crush it all day long. I mean, 3:00, 4:00 in the afternoon, they're still hitting cups of coffee.

00:30:17] KM: It's probably why you don't have bad breath.

00:30:20] AD: Yeah, I can't stand bad breath.

00:30:22] KM: I know. A good plug for Mountain Dew. It's got a lot of caffeine in it.

00:30:27] AD: I allow myself one. That's my one thing I do in the morning and then it's water usually for the rest of the show.

00:30:32] KM: Well, that's really, really good. Some of the things you do, Backstage Betty, I love how you give all these names for everything. Backstage Betty, last day Linda, the Miami Vice drink for cruise ships.

00:30:47] AD: Yeah. Our topics range from –

00:30:50] KM: Heather is a spirit animal, she said.

00:30:53] AD: Our topics can go anywhere and everywhere. That's the fun part about the show is that while I do try to come up with – while the both of us try to come up with things to talk about for the day, it can change at the drop of a hat, from a caller calling in and asking a question to something we – to my text into the show, or e-mails into the show. I mean, a comment can just steer the conversation in a totally different way. That's what’s fun that it's not so scripted and that we can be spontaneous and can have fun with it. I think the audience really appreciates that.

You mentioned there that typically, somebody that's on their morning commute only has about 15 minutes, 10 to 15 minutes to listen to the show, because everybody's busy and everybody's got a different routine and it's getting up and it's getting the kids ready, or maybe it's not. Maybe it's just getting yourself ready, or you and your husband get out the door or something, and so you get in your car and that's your time.

We just want somebody to get to their destination in the morning with a laugh. We very rarely will talk about politics, or religion, or any things like that.

00:31:58] KM: Those three – yeah. Stay off those topics.

00:32:00] AD: Because we're all in it together. We're all on this morning commute together and it's just like we're all friends riding in a car together and we're just trying to make the best of it and just want to laugh and just – Before you have to go to work in your grind. We just want to get you there in a good mood.

00:32:17] KM: That's a great way to say it. We're best friends in the car. We're all in the car together and we're best friends chit-chatting it up. That's a great way to think about it. You talked this morning about the ghost of girlfriend’s past. I thought that was so funny, because my girlfriends and I all got together and we all sat around and said, of all the people that you used to date, who would you go out with still? I’m like, “Nobody.” Most of mine are dead.

00:32:41] AD: That's why they’re exes. You left them for a reason.

00:32:44] KM: I grew up in the 70s. Most of my male boyfriends are all dead. You're going to tell us how you got your name? I got two versions; one from you and one from Heather.

00:32:55] AD: Well, I mean, it's no secret that growing up, going to Catholic High, I had a job. Every day after school, I worked in an apartment complex and I did clean pools. When I went off to college, again I cleaned pools and why not? Why would you not clean pools at an apartment complex full of sorority girls? I mean, it was just –

00:33:15] KM: Oh, he’s no stupid guy.

00:33:16] AD: Right. It made sense. That was my job. That was on my resume, because that's all I had at that point. There wasn't much on my resume coming out of college and being a bartender and working some time and property management. When I first got to the station, like I said, I was willing to do anything and everything. I was a gofer. I'd go do this. I'd go do that. Somebody asked me to do something, I'd go. People I think fondly referred to me as station B word.

00:33:46] KM: Station. Oh, which with the B.

00:33:50] AD: It was that for a moment. Then I as Heather and I worked together more and more, she was snapping her fingers, ordering me to do this and that for her. I'd feed her grapes, or fan her with a palm leaf, or something like that. Then it was just – it was just, “Oh, Poolboy. Come in here.” She'd snap her fingers and I'd get up and jump and go do whatever. That's how and it stuck.

00:34:15] KM: I thought she said, one day a lady who used to work with us heard me ask him to get something for me and she yelled, “Oh, Poolboy.”

00:34:21] AD: Yeah, yeah. Someone else started, but she took it on –

00:34:25] KM: Then she just ran with it.

00:34:27] AD: Yeah, yeah. The more and more she would snap her fingers and say, “Oh, Poolboy,” I mean, it just stuck.

00:34:33] KM: I love nicknames. You can tell everybody what your real name is, or is that a secret?

00:34:37] AD: My name is Adam.

00:34:39] KM: That's right. Like the first man.

00:34:41] AD: Yeah, the first man. Yeah.

00:34:43] KM: First man on radio. Because you've been called Poolboy so much, everybody thinks of you as Poolboy.

00:34:52] AD: Yeah. It's really stuck. People call me PB, Pool, Mr. Boy. I mean –

00:35:00] KM: You had to change your checking account.

00:35:01] AD: I did. Checking account has changed, credit cards say Poolboy and –

00:35:06] KM: Because you couldn’t cash checks.

00:35:07] AD: Couldn't cash checks, that's right.

00:35:09] KM: I want you to tell us your on-air contest for your tattoo and how it happened.

00:35:13] AD: Which one?

00:35:14] KM: Which one? How many you’ve got?

00:35:16] AD: There’s 12.

00:35:17] KM: What? You have to run a contest every six months then?

00:35:19] AD: No. They’re all actually results from lost bets.

00:35:25] KM: Every time you get drunk and make a bet with somebody, it's about a tattoo?

00:35:28] AD: Somehow it turns into that. It's been a while since I've gotten one. I mean, it's been probably – it's probably been three years since I lost my last bet.

00:35:37] KM: Oh, you're growing up.

00:35:39] AD: I guess. I mean, I'm always, I guess, willing, I guess.

00:35:44] KM: Okay. Tell us your favorite tattoo story. The Catholic High one?

00:35:50] AD: The Catholic High one, I bet the principal of Catholic High that I would beat him in the Rocket 5K. If I lost that I would get a rocket tattooed on my arm, as drawn by a girl from Mount Saint Mary's. Shown off, the older principal beat me and I ended up having to get a rocket tattoo and it's now on my forearm, or my bicep.

00:36:22] KM: You like it?

00:36:23] AD: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I love Catholic High. It doesn't bother me. The one that bothers my mom is the unicorn in rays of sunshine dancing on a cloud that is on my right butt cheek. That's not her favorite. My favorite, I think, is Little Caesar that I have on the inside of my arm. That's probably my favorite.

00:36:44] KM: How'd you lose that one?

00:36:45] AD: Well, that one was I had a weight loss team and we called ourselves the Hot and Readys. We were losing in this. It’s like a Biggest Loser type of competition and when we weighted ourselves every week and I said, “We got to get it in gear guys.” I said, “Every week, you guys come in underweight, I will get a new piece of the Little Caesar guy tattooed on me.” They came in, they did their work, they put their time in the gym and they showed up and they lost weight, they didn't gain any and I'd go back to my guy at the Nomads Tattoos and he would give me a new piece of the Little Caesar guy.

00:37:20] KM: Little Caesar pizza?

00:37:21] AD: Yeah. Pizza, pizza guy. He’s in a little toga, he's got the spear and with two pizzas on it and every week, he'd come back and fill in a little bit more, draw the arm –

00:37:30] KM: You could be on their commercial.

00:37:33] AD: You think it would give me more free pizzas.

00:37:35] KM: You would think so.

00:37:36] AD: It doesn't. I mean, I've gone into the restaurant wearing tank tops and everything and just flexing, but nothing, nothing. Not even a crazy bread, right?

00:37:48] KM: All right, now we're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to continue our conversation with Poolboy. He's going to tell us some of those favorite stories. One of which is the story of your first date with your wife and how you asked your wife to marry you and then we'll hear a little bit about being a dad and your son and we'll get DJ tips on how to get started in the business.

00:38:11] ANNOUNCER: At flagandbanner.com, we share your anguish at the sites from Ukraine every night. Mothers and children in strollers fleeing their homeland and their brothers, husbands and sons fighting to defend their unjustly attacked country. Displaying the Ukraine flag that lets the world know your heart is with the Ukrainian people. Flagandbanner.com has lots of ways for you to display your allegiance to freedom, celebrate your patriotism, and show your colors. Log on and look through our website, flagandbanner.com Arkansas’ flagandbanner.com is more than just a flag store. Open six days a week.

00:38:47] KM: You are listening to Up in your Business with me, Kerry McCoy. I'm speaking today with radio personality, Poolboy, from the morning show Heather and Poolboy on Alice 107.7 Little Rock, Arkansas.

All right, when I first met you, I called you and asked you if you would be a DJ for Dancing into Dreamland, our fundraiser to try and get an elevator for the Dreamland Ballroom and you said, “Oh, yes. I would just love to. I love dancing.” You told me the story of the first date with your wife.

00:39:14] AD: My wife and I actually met, we were both on a committee for the Children's Protection Center. That's how we met. At first, I thought she had a little RBF.

00:39:29] KM: What’s that mean?

00:39:30] AD: Resting bee face.

00:39:34] KM: I got to get up on the lingo, okay.

00:39:38] AD: I thought she was standoffish. Then I don't know, the more and more we worked together and worked on this committee together, we got to know each other. Then I asked her out and she said no, or had something come up. I asked her out again and she said no and something would come up. I gave it one last ditch effort. There was other powers working against me. I think, she heard stories about who I was and things like that.

With good reason, I thought she was probably a little standoffish. I wasn't willing to give up quite yet. I knew that if I could – it’s going to sound weird, but I knew if I could get her alone and let her see me, I knew that we might hit it off. I wanted to do, have a fun date for us, for her to get to know me and get to see a different side of me than what she had probably heard on the radio.

I had some friends at Fred Astaire Dance Studio where I had taken some dance lessons in the past for a competition, which resulted in me getting a pink unicorn tattooed on my butt. Lost that competition to Meredith Mitchell from channel 11, and so that's why I've got that one. I found out that Jenny, that's my wife's name, her favorite song at the time was a song called Like a G6, which is – you remember that song. Y'all remember that song, Like a G6.

00:41:14] KM: Everybody is nodding their head.

00:41:16] AD: Yeah, yeah. It was just one of those – it was just at the moment, that’s her song. I go to my friends at Fred Astaire Dance Studio, Chris and Malia and I said, what dance would you do to – because you can ballroom dance to just about anything. These dancers know what beat that is. If you've watched Dancing with the Stars, you know that they dance to anything and everything. They worked up a dance for that song.

I took Jenny to the dance studio for a dance lesson for our first date. We got in there and I think they put some shoes on her, some dance heels or something. Then they put Like a G6 and she was like, “What?” It was just funny. There was a laugh there. I got to touch her, not at a creepy way at all, but you know how it is, like when you went out on that first date and you – or maybe it was a second date and you ushered the lady in with your hand on the small of her back, or it was you held hands or you put your arm. You had that moment. I knew that if I could just – I knew that I wanted to touch her, but again – I know it sounds like a creepy way, but I wanted to dance with her. I wanted to hold her. That's what that – That dance lesson just took down all the walls, I guess between us and we were just able to be Poolboy and Jenny, Adam and Jenny. It was a moment that we had and it was awesome.

00:42:49] KM: The rest is history.

00:42:50] AD: Rest is history. We've been together ever since, ever since that day. We very rarely dance anymore, but –

00:42:59] KM: I was going to say, do you all still take dance lessons?

00:43:00] AD: We don't. Every now and again, we'll try to remember our dance to Like a G6.

00:43:06] KM: You need to do that for your anniversary.

00:43:08] AD: I know. When we got married, we went back to Chris Emily at Fred Astaire and they choreographed our first dance song. It was to John Lennon's Woman. We danced that song to a guy performing it live. Brian Nolan. He does a lot of great music here around Central Arkansas. We never danced to it with him performing it live. We had only done it to a CD. He learned the song. He knew the song, but he did it spot on the day of, and we did it flawlessly at our wedding. It was beautiful. It worked out.

00:43:51] KM: That's your wedding dance. You have two dances; your first date dance and your wedding dance.

00:43:57] AD: Yeah. We have two dances. Neither of which we can remember.

00:44:00] KM: Tell everybody. I read this online. You didn't tell me this personally, but I read online about your proposal.

00:44:10] AD: I knew I wanted to marry her. I was just waiting for the right time and it worked out. We had a trip plan to Florida and my family was going to be down there with us as that's who we were going with. I'd saved up all this money and I'd gone to sissy's and I found the perfect ring and my mom helped me. I took my mom. I took my mom. I knew my four Cs now. I mean, I had researched it. I knew about –

00:44:39] KM: Your what?

00:44:39] AD: Four Cs; cut, clarity, what is the other ones? Come on, dude.

00:44:44] KM: Uh-oh. He used to know his four Cs. I don’t even know one.

00:44:48] AD: At the time, I did my research. I mean, I knew everything. Yeah, look up, look up the four Cs.

00:44:54] TB: Look up the four Cs, make it –

00:44:56] KM: Yeah, everybody’s got their phone out. I’m like, “What are the four Cs?” Cut, clarity, carat.

00:45:04] AD: Carat, good one. It maybe cost, I don't know. Or cloudiness, I don't know. Anyway.

00:45:09] KM: Clarity would be cloudiness.

00:45:11] AD: I did that. I started feeling a little – it shouldn't just be my family that gets to be in on this. I contacted her family and it just worked out that they were able to come down there as well, unbeknownst to my wife. We went out to have dinner and then we had dinner and we came back to the condo and I said, “Hey, let's ditch the rest of the family and let's go walk on the beach and go down to the bar down there and get a drink or something.”

We're walking and I was looking for a place to do it. There was just so many people around, catching sand crabs at night, stuff like that, kids running off. Oh, man. I don't want an audience when I do this. Luckily, there was a house that was being remodeled right there on the beach, and so there was nobody of course at that house at the time. That beach space in front of that house was empty. We walked up there and I was like, “Hey, look at this house. I mean, living this, we need if we owned this, blah, blah, blah.”

Then she looked off in the distance at something at the waves and then when she turned around I was on one knee holding the diamond and thinking, “God. Don't drop this in the sand.” She said yes. Then she said, “Well, let's go back and tell your family. Did they know?” I was like, “No, they don't know anything.” Of course, they knew it all. Then so we get back to the condo and then we come up the stairs and there's her family and my family and it was just – it was awesome. I mean, couldn't have asked for a better turnout. It was great.

00:46:50] KM: Will you marry me?

00:46:52] TB: I got the four C's. It is carat, color, clarity and cut.

00:46:58] AD: Color. Dang.

00:47:00] KM: Cut, not cost. You are such a romantic. See why everybody loves Poolboy. I mean, they love it. You share all this on the radio I'm sure.

00:47:07] AD: Every bit of it. My life is an open book and I share – I probably share too much, but that's – I mean, like I said, we're all in this together. If I'm experiencing it, chances are somebody else out there is experiencing it. I just think it's important to share our stories and to connect with our listeners in that way and share everything. If you want to ask me a question, ask me a question. I'm not going to shy away from it. I feel like, if my story can help you in any way, then that's awesome, then that's what I'm here to do.

00:47:43] KM: That's really what this show is about is paying it forward. I think a lot of people – men are shy about talking about stuff like that. I think, men is as sensitive as women, but I think they're just a little more guarded about showing that sensitivity.

00:47:59] ANNOUNCER: It’s not every day that you get a look at the personal side of people that you listen to on the radio every day, but that’s why this show is great. We’re visiting with two of Little Rock’s biggest radio personalities. You just heard a lot about Poolboy’s personal life. Let’s revisit some time with David Bazzel.

00:48:14] DB: I have one of your big flags. You remember what it was? You don't even remember that, do you? So when 9/11 happened, I used to live in the Tuf Nut building. I was in a corner – And there was no high-rises there. There was nothing. The exit ramp that went down the river market was –

00:48:27] GM: Oh, that was you?

00:48:28] DB: That was me. I bought your like 15-feet tall by 30-feet wide, or maybe it was bigger than that. Maybe it's 50 by 50. I hung it on the side of the building and still have pictures of that. I still have that somewhere, but I hung it there on the side of the Tuf Nut. Now you can’t see anything downtown because of that, but back then there were no high rises.

00:48:46] KM: You were a real early adopter of living downtown.

00:48:48] DB: Yeah. I was the first. I was the first in the Tuf Nut. Really, the first –

00:48:52] KM: Do you I still live downtown?

00:48:53] DB: No. No. I moved back out west. I moved over there by the big dam bridge now.

00:48:58] KM: Before the meeting, before the interview, I asked David if he'd ever been married.

00:49:03] DB: Once.

00:49:04] KM: And I was like, “What?” I can't believe you were ever married, because you get so much grief.

00:49:11] DB: Yeah, listen. Listen, I didn't date in high school. I didn't date – The first girl I dated was the girl I married. I'm not good in relationships.

00:49:21] KM: Are you a confirmed bachelor?

00:49:22] DB: Yeah, I’m seeing somebody now. I have for four years. And so –

00:49:24] KM: Is she listening?

00:49:26] DB: I don't know if she will be. She knows who you are. Great girl. But listen, the girls put up with me. She puts up with me. I'm crazy. I'm busy. I'm doing things all around the clock. My hours are terrible. I'm not a good boyfriend. But yeah, I admit it. But she puts up with me.

00:49:42] KM: I don't know. I don't know about all that. You're modest. Let's talk about your relationship with long-time athletic director, the late, Mr. Frank Broyles. How did you get to know him?

00:49:51] DB: He was the athletic director when I played, but he was always gone. He was always doing the ABC weekend game with Keith Jackson. We didn't see much. Once I graduated, I knew he was a legend, even though I'm not from here. I went to him and said, “Coach, what if I – I saw where you had the most amazing assistant coaches. There's not an assistant coach of the year award. Would you let me start one?” “David, if you will not ask anybody else in the State of Arkansas for money that gives to the Razorback program, you could do that. I'd be honored for you to do that.”

00:50:20] KM: Well, that's –

00:50:22] DB: I know.

00:50:23] KM: Thanks for nothing.

00:50:23] DB: I did the Broyles Award and he said, “David, if you have any other ideas, you did such a good job on the Broyles Award. Bring me other ideas.” That's when I brought Tusk. Starting the live mascot program. That's when I did the Battle For The Boot. He was great. He was such – Kerry, when he would walk in a room, he would light it up. Listen, there are other coaches that maybe won more, but nobody had the charisma that Frank Broyles had, that southern drawl. He was he was impressive.

00:50:50] KM: So how did you get the money if you couldn't go to anybody that was already giving to the Razorback program?

00:50:56] DB: I borrowed a $100,000.

00:50:57] KM: No, you did not.

00:50:57] DB: I did.

00:50:59] KM: How old were you?

00:50:59] DB: There was a banker. I was 25. There was a banker. May he rest in peace. Name was Joe Ford, not the – And he lived in Ohio State, and he lent me money. I borrowed $40,000, $60,000, and it got up to a $100,000, because nobody had enough money. Nobody believed in the award. I said, “The only way I'm going to get this thing done –” It took me seven years to pay it off. Now, the award is one of the most recognizable awards in – matter of fact, the hottest coach in America just got the Texas job, Steve Sarkisian, won the Broyles Award and his contract is 5 million a year. I knew I had to do that to make it work. I wasn't married at the time, didn’t have kids. So I said, “I'm all in. This is the only way I'm going to make it.”

Joe Ford one time. I went to Joe about getting some money and Joe said, “David, I need to cut you a check. The Broyles Award – I cut Coach Broyles a check for the Razorback Foundation.” I said, “Joe, you make sure you take good care of Frank Broyles. I'll deal with the Broyles Award.” That's what I was –

00:51:52] KM: He has enough money to do both?

00:51:53] DB: I know. He should have. But anyway, that's how it started.

00:51:58] KM: Seven years.

00:51:59] DB: It took me seven years to pay that.

00:52:01] KM: You’re not making any money on this?

00:52:02] DB: No. I was paying $700 a month in debt service to the Broyles Award.

00:52:07] KM: Where did this love of recognizing people –

00:52:12] DB: Because it's fun to do. I love to do things that nobody's done. And nobody had created an assistant coach. Nobody had done it. Now, every time you open your paper, somebody's referencing, “He was a Broyles Award finals. He was a Broyles Award nominee.” Now the NFL’s done that. They've done an assistant coach of the year. The Touchdown Club,

thousands of people come to Touchdown Club every fall. They love it. Seniors are coming. That's all I need. I don't need to make any money.

00:52:34] KM: Whatever.

00:52:35] DB: I don't. Listen, that's not why I do it. I do it because it feels good. It's different. It's creates – It's like Jennings Osborne. He used to do things, because he loved the reaction he get from people. I'm the same way.

00:52:48] KM: I want to tell everybody that you can hear David every weekday at 6:00 on the morning to 10. I think I’ll to 10 today.

00:52:53] DB: That’s early. It’s early.

00:52:54] KM: That’s early. But four hours is a lot of work. He makes it look easy, people. It's not easy. You can also see you on Razorback football game days, because you are behind the scenes. I like always what you have to say about what their kids are like in the locker and what the coach is talking about. I really like all that behind the scene stuff that you talk about.

00:53:15] DB: Got a 100 straight games, eight years for channel 7. Hadn’t missed a game in eight years.

00:53:19] KM: Please tell me you get paid for that.

00:53:20] DB: A little bit.

00:53:21] KM: Okay. Good.

00:53:23] ANNOUNCER: Finally, a couple more minutes with Poolboy.

00:53:25] KM: Look what you get. You get an Arkansas razorback. What is that? A floaty.

00:53:31] AD: Floaty.

00:53:31] TB: Because he’s the Poolboy.

00:53:32] KM: A floaty. You’re a Poolboy.

00:53:34] AD: That works out perfect.

00:53:36] KM: Well, you know, Flag and Banner has that huge razorback section and Tim just today said, “We've got to give him one of those razorback floaties.”

I want to tell my listeners, if you have a great entrepreneurial story you would like to share, I'd love to hear from you. Send a brief bio and your contact info to questions@upyourbusiness.org and someone will be in touch.

Finally, thank you for spending time with me. If you think this program has been about you, you're right, but it's also been for me. Thank you for letting me fulfill my destiny. I'm Kerry McCoy and I'll see you next time on Up in your Business. Until then, be brave and keep it up.

END OF EPISODE]

00:54:08] GM: You’ve been listening to Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy. For links to resources you heard discussed on today’s show, go to flagandbanner.com, select radio and choose today’s guest. If you’d like to sponsor this show or any show, contact me, gray@flagandbanner.com. Kerry goal is simple. To help you live the American dream.

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