Hey y'all!

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Greg here. Typically, you'll find a page on every website that is all about... what the thing is about... You know what I mean! The "About Us" page. All that spiel on who a company is. Why they do what they do. Why they are the best. Why they aren’t evil. Yadda yadda yadda. Realistically, there isn’t a lot I can say on us as a “company”. To be honest it’s hard to think we are one! We are just a bunch a pals who love to jibba jabba and wanted to throw our hats into the already bulging podcast circle. We aren’t really in this for anything other than the reason we just love it and wanted to share our thoughts and b******t chatter with the world. So instead, I thought I would just share my personal journey into this medium and maybe give some one else the influence for following their podcast passion as well.

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My want to do a podcast goes back a couple of years ago. At the time I was living in London having moved there to go to university. After three of the best years of my life, living it up as a student, everything came crashing down when I stayed another year to try and live there. Needless to say, it was goddamn miserable. Uni life was over. Most of the friends I made had left. And I was working all the hours I could in a retail job just to be able to pay rent and buy food. Our nations capital is stupidly expensive! Throw all that together and all the year amounted to was me either working or sat in a cupboard of a room eating pizza, watching wrestling and playing videogames. If that last part sounds like heaven (in a way it is), you try doing that in what feels like a messed up Groundhog Day. Except I ain’t Bill F’n Murray and I didn’t become some kind of piano playing prodigy. So why did I stay?

 

Well ultimately, I was trying to follow my career aspirations. I studied Film & Media Studies at uni and the hope was to eventually become a writer in film or TV. At the time it was just about getting my foot in the door to just work in the industry. I had my degree and I was itching to get going. I thought it would be easy! But reality kicked in fairly quickly. To get into these industries mostly involves doing a lot of unpaid work just to get experience and network. Being a runner, an intern and the like. The issue with that was I needed to hold down a full-time job just to survive and as a result that took up nearly all my time. On top of that it was a lot of applying for positions and hearing nothing back. Needless to say, having the qualifications wasn’t a guarantee I was going to waltz into a role. I bet a lot of fellow degree holders will be nodding along to that. So I decided to try a different route.

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Having been there when YouTube started and watched it go from a small video hosting platform to an absolute juggernaut engrained in everyone’s life, I figured I’d have a shot at that. I’d always liked to give it a go by following in the footsteps of my favourite personalities like James Rolfe, Doug Walker (not so much a favourite anymore) and the original WhatCulture crew. So I bought a crappy camera and got to work. Over the course of a week I basically went to my job and then on a night recorded and edited a video. I was aiming to start by doing a review of my favourite comedy series Red Dwarf and I poured everything into it. I literally did nothing but go to my job and then YouTube work for that solid week. When it was done it was a little rough around the edges but I was super proud of it. I eagerly awaited it uploading to YouTube, incredibly excited to see a video I made playing on a platform I knew and loved. And… It got copyright striked. Like. Within seconds. Needless to say I was deflated and that’s when I stopped much creative stuff for a long while.

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I was totally burned out creatively. YouTube hadn’t been my only attempt to stay creative. I worked on writing scripts but could never stay committed to one idea. I keep getting so many that I just get too eager for a new idea before seeing an old one all the way through. I also was back to writing blogs which I had done on and off for years but I wasn’t as prolific as I could have been. Eventually I just got too worked up and stressed over trying to follow my creative dreams into a career that I burned myself out. I essentially gave up.

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It was during that time when things got worse at my job. I was trying to move up into a Team Leader position at the store I worked which gave me some focus and I gave it my all. But deep down I hated working retail and it hated me back. I spent the summer being sent to a factory outside of London to help set up new stock for the store when it went through a refit. I wasn’t even supposed to be the one doing it, I was sent to fill in for the guy who originally went while he was on holiday, then he suspiciously went on the sick so I had to do the whole stint there. I had to get up at 4am, take a bus, a train and a taxi to get to a factory in Hatfield, then I usually wouldn’t get home till around 5-6pm. I practically gave myself energy drink poisoning that whole time because I barely got sleep due to living with some absolute d*******s in the flat share I lived. They would play music incredibly loud at stupid o’clock and would argue with each other constantly. Plus I can be a restless sleeper regardless of what is going on around me.

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In truth, the work was actually fine and not too bad. The people who worked there were lovely and the gaffer was an absolute diamond of a guy. But the lack of sleep and travel was just a killer. Not to mention I felt underappreciated by my store whom I was doing the work for. I don’t want to make that seem like sour grapes but I firmly believe that a simple thank you goes along way to make staff feel valued and I sure as hell did not get that enough. The manager at the time was a total d****e as well. I completely lost respect for him when he and one of the deputy managers made me feel incredibly uncomfortable when during a chat they basically wanted me to undermine the gaffer and team at the factory just to suit our stores needs. I won’t go into the details of that too much but the phrase “we pay you, they don’t” was thrown at me. So it was a miserable summer. But a few things got me through it…

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Idles dropped their sensational album Joy As An Act Of Resistance while I was in the midst of my time in Hatfield and it was a life saver. I would psych myself up every long journey by blasting I’m Scum and Never Fight A Man With A Perm. The lyrics just resonated with me on a ridiculous level. And not to sound like the wasted girl in the club but I felt nearly every song was a about me. It’s been a few years now since that album dropped and it’s still on rotation. It really does feel like it saved my life. But, as I said, that album came out midway through that summer. What was keeping me together before that were podcasts. Most mornings I would be listening to the likes of the Cultaholic Podcast or Podiots to see me through. Podcasts are just an ultimate comforting tool. It’s like engaging in chatter with people you know about things you love without you needing to utter a word. It put me in a good place when I was feeling tired and miserable about facing another gruelling day.

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After Hatfield I was placed on nightshifts at the store. I want to take this time to thank the team at Hatfield for everything while I was there. They were an awesome team that never got the thanks they deserved for doing such important work for all the stores in London. The gaffer, Andrew, is such a nice guy and basically runs that group with no budget, he would get them much needed supplies either by asking stores for hand outs or paying for it out of his own pocket. He really made me feel welcome and like I was part of the crew. Plus he was never too busy to say thank you and give praise. He would also take the time to talk to me when he could tell I was having a rough time and facing issues from my store. The nightshifts actually suited me better as it meant I didn’t need to speak to customers. If I had to get asked if we had any bath mats (we never did) one more time I was going to slit my wrists. Customers are dumb. You would be surprised how often I would be asked where the exit was. There was only one way in and out… A better question to ask is how the f**k did you get in?

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But yeah! Nightshift was alright. The only downside is it royally f****d my sleeping pattern. There would be solid gaps when I didn’t really see the sun. Even on days off. I would try to reset to enjoy days off but would just pass out and end up being a true night owl. On top of that I still had that d****e canoe of a manager to report to. The best part was I could just listen to podcasts the whole night while I worked. This is where I properly indulged in my love of podcasts. This is where I discovered some of my all-time favourites like Tuesday Night Jaw. I would always make sure I had new episodes lined up for every shift. And even then some favourite episodes got constant repeats. If you are a fan of wrestling I urge you to check out the two Zack Gibson interviews on Tuesday Night Jaw where he talks about wrestling in China. I’ve listened to both episodes well into the double digits and I still belly laugh at them. I would also like to thank the nightshift crew as they were some of the funniest times I had working in retail. A real bunch of characters who worked hard, but could have a little fun and I loved them all.

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Eventually, my time in London finally came to end. I managed to blag a transfer to a store closer to home so I finally moved back to where I came from. This is when I drastically became more happier in life. I realised that was all I wanted was to just be happy in life and that became my goal. I moved back home. I got a new job and finally left retail behind. And I just focused on enjoying myself. Everything was finally feeling right with the world again, regardless if I never got to follow my career goals. But there was a little sensation at the back of my mind that I still wanted to do something creative. All the time indulging in podcasts I always had the ambition of one day starting one. And that remained at the back of my mind for some time. I never fully felt I would be great at it. I feel like I am not a skilled talker and have had a lot of belittling comments on my speech before so it was a little off putting. But I still had the hope I could give it a shot someday. As I was getting my life more in order, very slowly my creative side started to come back. I was doing little projects for myself revolving around painting and writing. Just doing it because I enjoyed it, not really for any goal. That’s when Harry and Liam started their journey into podcasting.

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The pair of them started doing the Pick and Mix Podcast to talk about films and that really ignited a fire under my butt to want to start a podcast. Not too mention, it was 2020 and covid-19 was in full grips by then so I had the free time. I approached them originally to ask about just writing for the website which is what I stated doing but then moved over to the team for some episodes. It wasn’t long before I bought my own microphone and decided that I wanted to set up my own.

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Of course, it had to be on wrestling. Wrestling has been the thing I am most passionate about since I was 7. I could easily go into why I love it so much but you can check out the Bearhug Club Podcast to hear why. There was only ever a few dudes I wanted to do it with. Garrod became one of my closest pals in London, especially in that final year. When I did have the free time, I would gather at his to watch wrestling shows and we would even attend some live. I’ve let slip a few times how much his friendship helped me through that difficult time and I could never thank him enough. Jace is one of my oldest friends and he is one of the few people I knew who liked wrestling when growing up. We joke we are life partners in an homage to Bam and Novak. Scott is the newest to the Bearhug team but he fits in perfectly. I actually became close with him first and met Garrod through him. He is a total sweetheart and I dare anyone not to love him. Plus we pop each other with ridiculously stupid in-jokes. All three are like brothers to me and I’d do anything for them.

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I started Young Men Yell At Clouds mainly because I loved the title and it was just a fun idea; complain about shit. It was a no brainer to get Harry and Liam on. I was already doing the various film podcasts with them and they are just great at this kind of thing. It has been great reconnecting with them after losing touch for a while. Me and Liam have known each other since primary school! We have recently discovered we have a stupid amount in common and I regularly ask him where he has been all my life. Harry I got to know better due to our love of comicbooks and comic films. True nerds till the bitter end even if we disagree on a few things. They too are like brothers to me. Nathan who has become a regular I’m still getting to know but he is a great dude. I would also like to take this time to thank William, another old and close pal, for creating the theme to the Bearhug Club. A skilled musician and he really nailed what I wanted. I would also like to thank my original bestest friend in the world Oliver for creating the Young Men theme. He has been a huge supporter in me doing this and his feedback is always honest and appreciated.

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If you have stuck with me this long then well done (this kind of took on a life of it’s own). But I hope it has given you some influence if you ever wanted to try this yourself. All you need is something you are passionate about and a s****y microphone. Grab some pals if you can and then just let it all out. Since starting this, I have learned how to be more confident in what I do. I can edit both audio and video (guess my YouTube career isn’t over!). And I learned how to photo edit. What I’m saying is just get started and the rest will come. If you really are passionate and want to do it then you absolutely should. Don’t worry about what haters will think and if you’ll get an audience. The audience will come. Just do it because you love it. That is pretty much why I do it. My grand scope with this would be to make it a proper career. I’m not even talking about Joe Rogen levels of dollar here. My ambition would be to just earn enough to live off and do this full time. Even if that doesn’t happen I will still do it because I love it. Sometimes episodes will barely pull in any listens but as long as I get just one I consider that a win. And I will continue to do this so long as I love what I do. And that ain’t going away any time soon.

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I hope my tale has given you some influence or just at least gave you a kick out of getting to know me better. In the end I’ll leave you with a few things. Be happy and do what you can to achieve that. Don’t pressure yourself in following your goals and feeling like people are passing you by. Go at your own pace and it’ll come. Do what you love with the people you love and you’ll feel like the world is put to rights. Love pro wrestling. Eat pizza. Listen to Idles. Love yourself.

 

Don’t be a d**k,
Greg

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xxx

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