My First Month at Shadow Lion

Shadow Lion is the absolute perfect place for me to work.

Legit the first meeting I joined at Shadow Lion, they talked about upcoming podcast guests for their shows. They listed off Shaquille O’Neil, Lil Yachty and Tony Hawk. Decent.

As the great Sketch would say, “Special teams, special plays, special players!”, certainly applies to this group of savages.

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A Hot Start!

My second day walking into the office in Boston, one of the company’s main producers was asleep on the couch after spending an all-nighter on content edits for our Celtics postseason documentary (more on that below).

Then just a week ago on a different occasion, our co-founder Jeff Fine was unable to keep his eyes open at 2:33am also working on video edits. Safe to say, this team absolutely GRINDS.

And it fires me the f*** up.

Nothing quite says, “lead from the front”, like your co-founder being in the office exuding every ounce of energy into the business at 2am. I thrive off that energy.

Let’s talk more about what the Shadow Lion team is grinding on. But first, if you want to join our new Shadow Lion Monthly Newsletter to learn more about the biz and all the exciting projects going on, sign-up here. If it makes you feel better about subscribing, I will be writing it each month, so come support the squad!

The Celtics Postseason Documentary

We are producing and editing an all-access docuseries following the Boston Celtics electric 2024 postseason run. Everything from interviews with Jayson Tatum and Paul Pierce to spending time in players’ homes, the access is unreal.

Working directly with the Celtics, this content is being exclusively distributed across their media channels with a premiere exclusively on X (Twitter). The first episode currently has over 17M views on X alone.

FanDuel has come on as the presenting sponsor of the project, organically integrating their brand into the Celtics historic playoff run along with the Boston faithful.

I am not saying it’s the perfect place for me to work just because I am a die-hard Celtics fan, but because even though I joined Shadow Lion right in the thick of this project, they still allowed me to make an impact on the project.

Perfect example…

We had a call with FanDuel where they were requesting content specifically around rowdy Celtics fans outside the Garden, “man on the street”-style interviews. Being new to the company, I remained fairly quiet until the call with FanDuel concluded.

For anyone that knows me well, man on the street interviews is like literally what I was put on this Earth to do. Put a mic in my hands at sporting event with some intoxicated spectators, and I’m in my happy place.

So, after the FanDuel call, I spoke up to the Shadow Lion crew telling them I would absolutely love to be the guy on the streets outside the TD Garden interviewing Celtics fans.

Shadow Lion immediately entrusted me to execute the content, and FanDuel loved the result launching clips across their main accounts on social channels.

I know when I come up with exciting creative concepts in the future, the ideas will be heard from Shadow Lion, and it makes me ecstatic.

The Other Projects

While most hands are on deck for the Celtics project, the company still has priorities with some other majorly cool AF projects. Specifically, podcasts, which is more familiar with my background and an area of media I am super passionate about.

This place rocks.

Legit the first meeting I joined at Shadow Lion, they talked about upcoming podcast guests for their shows. They listed off Shaquille O’Neil, Lil Yachty and Tony Hawk.

Decent line up I’d say…

Here’s our Pound 4 Pound Podcast episode with The Big Diesel.

Ever since my relationship started with Dana White, I’ve been a huge fan of the UFC.

In the beginning of 2024, Shadow Lion launched a podcast hosted by two of the biggest names in the sport, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, called Pound 4 Pound.

In three months, the team has achieved over 136 million impressions and 56 million video views. For you non-media brains out there, that’s truly unbelievable for a new show.

I am beyond impressed with Shadow Lion’s commitment to high-quality content.

The team has hired some incredible new talent to lead podcasting operations that also have top-level Barstool shows under their past experience, and let me tell you, the team is absolutely DIALED.

It’s exciting as a new employee to be attached to a group committed to excellence. I have a front row seat into a masterclass on how be successful in sports media.

I’ve made my contribution to the Pound 4 Pound franchise by launching a newsletter to correspond with the podcast. It will be a weekly newsletter focused on the top storylines in MMA, UFC picks and previews and beyond. If you’re a UFC fan, give it a read.

Another great example of my ideas being heard!

BILLIONS of Eyeballs Already

DeepCut is another Shadow Lion podcast with some insane potential that is already producing NUMBERS.

You don’t need to be a mathematician to understand that 1.5 billion impressions on a single podcast episode is REALLY F******* GOOD. That’s what happened in our episode with the GOAT and our co-founder Tom Brady. Since DeepCut launched with TB12 as the first guest, the show continues to crush.

If you don’t know VicBlends, he’s quite literally the most famous barber in the world with 23+ million followers across his social channels. He welcomes high-profile guests to his chair for a fresh cut, while engaging in conversation about their unique careers and life experiences.

Recent guests include: Tom Brady, Tony Hawk, Lil Yachty

This show is just another example of Shadow Lion’s commitment to high-quality content. The effort that goes into these shoots is immense and it’s been impressive to watch the team execute.

I will be writing a newsletter for this franchise very soon, get on the early email list here!

But Wait, There’s More!!! (insert Shamwow voice)

Closing up this hype session with a few other reasons why Shadow Lion is just the absolute perfect fit for me…

Good lord have I missed the in-person office environment. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the work from home life and freedom that comes with that, BUT there is nothing quite like being in the locker room together with your team that is trying to accomplish greatness.

Ever since Covid, I have missed this type of environment.

Also, the office is in Boston. How perfect is that?

I want to be in The Bean for the long run after a short stint in NYC (that short stint probably took several years off my life). RIP 5am nights at Hair of the Dog d-floor every Friday night. Boston is the best.

There aren’t many Shadow Lions out there, meaning sports media start-ups that work with elite level athletes on creating premium content, and the fact it’s based in my home city is just fantastic.

Last point. I said “start-up”.

I really, really can’t stand corporate culture. Mainly because you can’t get anything done. Your creative ideas go to die in big companies.

With about 25 employees, Shadow Lion is the perfect size. There is enough manpower to execute projects the right way, but not enough people to block great ideas.

Your opinions and work matter here.

This is the perfect landing spot for the next step in my career. Shadow Lion to the god damn moon.

Give Me Feedback

If you have any feedback on these Diary posts, I’d love to hear. The good, the bad, the ugly, let it fly people. I can handle you a-holes.

Just simply reply to this email with your feedback and I’ll get back to you.

SEE NEXT WEEK YOU GOD DAMN SAVAGES!

Oh, one last thing. What should I order for lunch today? I’m kinda hangry rn despite all the positivity above.