When I (Rick Strom) arrived at The Young Turks network three years ago I was a young, ambitious college graduate from Indiana University. Through networking I had the pleasure of flying out to Los Angeles, California to meet my future co-host, mentor, and good friend, Ben Mankiewicz. We met for six hours, constantly discussing sports, from the office, to the car rides, to our lunch. He told me then that the job was mine if I wanted it. Thus, just a few weeks later, I left Chicago, my home, and arrived ready for work!
I took the producer, content creator, editor and titler/tagger of TYTSports, taking a backseat. However, at one point the channel was on the verge of being canceled. How could we possibly run a sports media outlet WITHOUT the use of copyrighted video content? Quite honestly, this sparked a fire in my gut. I wanted to prove those wrong that doubted the success I envisioned. While taking other roles (i.e. producing and editing TYTUniversity, producing and editing the WMB Show, editing Cenk’s MSNBC clips and TYT clips, producing and editing Reality Bytes Back) I made it my duty (ha, duty) to put in the time and make TYTSports a show that put up clips from once to three times a week. The days were long, the nights of sleep were short, the blood sweat and tears I personally put in were at times unfathomable, but I never wanted to let Cenk, Steve Oh, Ben and the entire TYT Army down.
When I was first on-air I sucked. Seriously. I am no Vin Scully, Bob Costas, Jim McKay or Howard Cosell. The one thing I stood for and will always stand for is something I learned from the CEO of this great company, Cenk Uygur: do not be afraid to tell the truth. Speak your mind. This forward thinking kept me going through the trials and tribulations of developing myself on-air.
Once we moved to Current TV and studio time was scarce, TYTSports “Locked Out” was founded. This supported the model of shooting everyday, giving you, the viewers, our uncensored and unfiltered opinions on sports news.
Our time at Current was a blessing, though the days turned into longer nights. I had a blast producing and chiming in from the Peanut Gallery on “Common Room,” producing double shows on “The Point” which is now hosted by the brilliant Ana Kasparian, and overall just lounging with my co-workers. The camaraderie we developed as a whole may never be replicated, but is something I will always treasure.
When we left Current and were put up at YouTube Space, nothing changed except scheduling. We were constantly on the grind in a smaller space. Even with a cramped studio and roughly 30 bodies cranking away at their desks, we all got along. It was a great experience that showed another side of online media.
Now we have our own new studio thanks to all of you, the audience. Our IndoeGoGo campaign was (Borat voice) great success! We really could not have asked for a better space.
Which brings me to this video. It has been a very, very hard time for me personally on deciding whether to stay with The Young Turks network or leave for a new adventure that came calling. At the end of the day, the regret of not letting my wings spread and experiencing a new task would hinder my thoughts for my entire life. This does not mean I am leaving TYTSports FOREVER. I will still be contributing with a few clips per week, including Soccer content. It is hard to give up a product that started as a laughingstock and overlooked channel to a success that I had a large imprint on.
I would like to thank Cenk Uygur, Steve Oh, Ben Mankiewicz, Ana Kasparian, Jayar Jackson, Jesus Godoy, Dave Koller, Aaron Wyoscki, Tom Hanc, John Iadarola, Michael Shure, Hasan Piker, Mark Register, Amir Nikoui, Irina Nichita, Tim Frisch, Mike Scheckles, Lucas Lilieholm, Dave Rubin, Laurence Cohen, Lisa Ferguson, Malcolm Fleschner, Praveen Singh, Tim Collins, Elle Kuan, Hank Thompson, Andrew Fogel, Kim Horcher, Ben Tannen and Bart Kyle. You have all helped me greatly in my 3+ years of TYT and I could not have asked for better co-workers. You guys are family to me.
I will forever and always be TYT. Too Strong.
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