One Full Year at Shadow Lion

One Big (Annual) Thing

Tomorrow marks one official year of working full-time at Shadow Lion.

When I made the move to join Shadow Lion, I thought it would be a great fit, figured I’d work on some pretty cool projects and would be a good step for my career in the right direction…

But I didn’t expect it to be this great.

It’s cool because it really doesn’t feel like “oh, that year flew by how has it been 365 days already?”.

It more so feels like I’ve been here for years, and I think that’s a great thing. Maybe it’s because I’ve known the founders for 5 years now and have always been a fan of the company.

Regardless, feeling lucky to be a part of this team. Gonna reach back to the emotions of my recent Diary post on “feeling grateful”.

Cheesy, but hey man, it’s the damn truth.

Shadow Lion to the damn moon.

This team is beyond special. A team of about 25 people, all with the same grinder mentality and everyone is creative as all hell.

We’re a media company that very simply gets sh*t done and takes complete pride in the creative work that goes into every project.

Here’s some projects I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of over the last year…

1. The Quick Snap Podcast

I was the lead producer for the first ever podcast hosted by an active New England Patriots player. Long-time Pats captain David Andrews and former QB Brian Hoyer led the charge!

One of my favorite days, which I’ve written about a bunch, was the day we did a live show at Gillette Stadium, and I had an “NFL Tryout” on the field catching passes from Brian Hoyer in front of Pats fan and the GM.

NFL Draft is tomorrow, wouldn’t be surprised if you heard my name called.

Successful first season growing this show. Really excited about what is to come for The Quick Snap.

Becoming besties with David and Brian was one of my biggest joys over the last year.

2. Tom Brady’s YouTube (“Last Week”) & Newsletter (“199”)

Shadow Lion was first founded in 2017 with TB12 as the founding partner and athlete. The famous IG hype videos Tom would post, were some of Shadow Lion’s first creative work.

Little does Shadow Lion know I commented paragraphs on each of those videos hyping up Tom and was more often than not the most liked comment on the video🤫🤫

Well Tom’s personal brand has grown tremendously since 2017.

In the fall of 2024, Tom introduced his YouTube channel.

We partnered to start his vlog series called, “Last Week with Tom”. A follow vlog that gives insight into Tom’s world like never before and allows fans to connect with him on a stronger basis than an IG Reel ever would allow.

During Super Bowl week just a few months ago, we launched Tom’s newsletter called, “199”.

If you know Tom Brady, you know he is one of the most inspirational professional figures that exists not just in sports, but in life.

I’ve looked up to the 7-time champion my entire life. Yes, as a crazy fan, but now even just as a working adult. He knows how to win.

That’s exactly what he communicates in his newsletter. His greatest life lessons and HOW TO WIN.

Given my background in building newsletters, I’ve been lucky enough to help this project come to life.

More to come in the newsletter realm for Shadow Lion 👀👀

3. COACH with Bill Belichick

Producing podcasts have been my jam for the last 5 years, and no show was more exciting to work on than this one.

Yes, I am a Patriots fan and Bill Belichick is an all-time childhood idol.

So, recording an in-person episode of the show with Bill was a pinch me moment.

Former Patriots coach Matt Patricia and Pats VP of Ops Michael Lombardi were part of the show.

Really great group of dudes. Just straight up football guys.

As I am sure you could’ve guessed, “The Patriot Way” that Belichick has lived by for so many years goes beyond the football field and he attached this attitude to this podcast.

He held the highest of standards for the production of this show, and Shadow Lion made sure we lived up to those expectations.

Learned a lot on this show. With Bill going back to UNC for coaching it’ll no longer continue, but what a great experience.

4. Sundae Conversion with Caleb Pressley

On January 1st of 2025, Caleb Pressley’s contract with Barstool Sports was up and his hit social series “Sundae Conversation” became a “free agent”.

Well, he is now partnered with Shadow Lion on the content series with many more projects in the pipeline.

I wrote about this in more detail back when we launched in January.

Getting to know Caleb has been a treat.

One of the funniest dudes around, but also one of the friendliest.

I’ve specifically been focused on social media strategy, audience growth and brand sales for this show.

This episode with Tom was GOLD.

I’ve said before here that shows are only as strong as their hosts, and this show is no exception. Caleb is one of the most talented people in media.

Any consumer brands out there want to get in front of Caleb? Hit me up!

5. Pound 4 Pound & DeepCut with Vic Blends

In much smaller roles, I am working behind the scenes on a few other of Shadow Lion’s original podcast series in the form of social media growth strategy and brand sales.

Pound 4 Pound is hosted by UFC legends Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo.

My ties to Dana White and the UFC are still alive!

DeepCut with Vic Blends is hosted by the most famous barber in the world.

Those are just five projects I am proud to be a part of, but the list goes on and on. I sit more on the original content side of the business, but we work with an incredible roster of brands to develop their always-on content strategy and commercial work.

I’ll be diving into the agency side of the business a bit more in Year 2 here.

Excited to build more projects I can share more on in the near future here at SL.

Big thanks to Gilad Haas and Ben Rawitz not only for believing in me to help them accomplish the Shadow Lion mission, but also just being good people and friends.

This workplace is a dream team, and SL is going to continue to do some damage in the near future.

Happy and grateful to be here, let’s go win!

Favorite Thing(s) I Saw on the Internet This Week

1. Justin Thomas sinking a DEEEEP putt in a playoff hole to win his first PGA Tour event since 2022

JT used to read the Morning Blitz back when I ran it, and he would always reply to newsletters and engage with us. Big JT fan! LFG!

2. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla yelling at Jayson Tatum to get up and holding a training staff member from running on the court to help him out in Game 1 of the playoffs is just so awesome.

I wrote about Joe’s mentality in last week’s Diary, and I actually believe he is the best coach in all of sports at this current moment. He’s only 36 years old, I think Boston has their coach for the next 40 years.

3. What’s the most precious resource in the world?

Your time.

So why would you spend it getting frustrated, confused, or bored by the news? 

It’s slanted (this cuts both ways), dense, and negative – oh, so negative. It’s nearly impossible to read and not think humanity’s doomed.

🍩 That’s where The DONUT comes in...

We turn the time-consuming, anxiety-ridden chore of staying informed into a jargon-free guilty pleasure that ensures you’ll be the most interesting person in the room.

Our goal is to deliver news that's unbiased, quick, engaging, and easy-to-understand – and did we mention it’s all 100% free? (Even though the cost of admission also includes access to our prodigious wit.😉)

Join 83,000+ other less angry and more optimistic readers, for free.

💰 Betting Corner

NFL Draft Betting is actually so fun, but hard.

Lock of the week: Shedeur Sanders drafted by the Steelers (+190)

Tomorrow’s draft will be a fun watch. I hope the Patriots either pick OT Will Campbell at 4 or trade down a bit to pick 10 and get a later OT with some more draft capital.