Pieces of Impact

#29: Joe Cermele on Fishing Media, Audience Trust, and Staying Original

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Cermele to talk about his career in fishing media, from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life to MeatEater and now building Cut & Retie as an independent show. We get into writing, storytelling, creative freedom, audience trust, sponsors, and what it actually looks like to build a media business around your own voice. Joe shares what he learned from nearly 20 years inside outdoor media, why personality-driven content has changed the industry, how hard it is to start from zero today, and why being independent gives you freedom but rarely gives you safety. We also get into AI, old fishing stories, why he hates dolphins, and why looking for Bigfoot is a respectable career path. Check us out on Podmonitor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G1q77ZGcc4iwO87rj0tC88WJQh7YaiMB/view?usp=sharing [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G1q77ZGcc4iwO87rj0tC88WJQh7YaiMB/view?usp=sharing] Join the Pieces of Impact community and subscribe for more conversations like this.  00:01 Intro and why Joe appreciated a conversation outside the fishing world 00:55 Joe’s current life as an independent media creator 02:16 Creative work vs. building a business 04:36 How 20 years in media shaped his current path 07:40 Creating your own luck in outdoor media 11:51 Early adoption, blogs, video, and Hook Shots 17:34 Field & Stream archives and what old fishing media can teach us 19:07 Amazon trip, media trips, and international fishing logistics 22:36 Moving to MeatEater and learning the business side of media 25:42 Joining MeatEater right before COVID 27:39 Why hunting content can be more lucrative than fishing content 29:52 Why he started Cut & Retie 34:21 Building community and the platform he wishes he owned 38:14 Family, privacy, and being personal without filming everything 41:33 What Joe’s community actually looks like 44:38 Authenticity, over-sharing, and not forcing a persona 47:32 Why starting from zero today would be so difficult 49:59 Independent podcast economics and sponsor volatility 52:43 Protecting audience trust with brand partnerships 54:55 Where fishing media is heading 58:10 AI, search, and the future of outdoor writing 01:03:15 The ghost striper story 01:07:56 Finding Bigfoot, River Monsters, and burnout in dream jobs 01:09:51 Rapid fire round 01:10:25 Writer recommendation: Riverhorse Nakadate 01:11:46 Best place Joe has ever fished 01:12:42 How playing in bands helped his media career 01:14:47 Why Joe hates dolphins 01:16:39 Final wisdom: originality over competition 01:17:57 Where to find Joe and Cut & Retie

#28: Zak Herbstreit: Media, NIL, and What Makes College Football Special

In this episode, I sit down with Zak Herbstreit, former Ohio State player and now host of Off Script at On3, to talk about his transition from football into sports media, why On3 felt like the right fit, and what he is learning as he builds his voice in the college football world. We get into how he approaches content, what it is like being behind the scenes at major games, why staying unbiased matters in this job, and his honest take on NIL, the transfer portal, and whether the sport can keep what makes it special. Subscribe for more conversations like this on Pieces of Impact. 00:02 Intro and Zak’s background 01:32 Why On3 felt like the right fit 02:26 Why he moved away from coaching 12:44 Relationships and access in sports media 13:51 Getting reps and growing the platform 18:15 How he plans and films game-day content 21:15 Ohio State-Michigan tunnel story 22:43 Staying unbiased in media 27:52 NIL, transfer portal, and commitment 49:30 Five-year vision 50:47 Rapid fire round 57:15 Final wisdom and where to find Zak

#27: World Record Bucks, The Masters, Florida Land, and Pyramid Theories

In this solo episode, I walk through four rabbit holes I went down this week: the Mitch Rompola world-record buck controversy, the behind-the-scenes world of the Masters from my own time there, the St. Joe Company and the Northwest Florida land empire built by a descendant of George Washington, and the theory that the Great Pyramid may have been built from the inside out. None of these really connect, and that is kind of the point. They are just four rabbit holes I spent entirely too much time watching YouTube videos on this week. If you like episodes that mix sports, business history, the outdoors, and old-world theories, this one should be a fun listen. 00:00 Intro and the four topics 01:19 Mitch Rompola buck controversy 05:11 The Masters and Augusta’s behind-the-scenes rules 11:01 The St. Joe Company and the Green Empire 15:21 The Great Pyramid inside-out theory 19:21 Recap and outro

#26: AI Star Wars, Blue Zones, a Farm Business Idea, and a Powerful Parable

In this solo episode, I walk through four topics I’ve been thinking about lately: AI-generated Star Wars videos on YouTube, the Blue Zones documentary on longevity, a farm and community business model that really caught my attention, and an old parable about aging parents. I get into where AI fan content might be heading, what the Blue Zones get right about health, why Sweet Honey Farm feels like such a smart product, and the reminder to stay humble and grateful for the people who dropped branches on the trail before us. 00:00 Intro and the four topics 01:56 AI Star Wars on YouTube and how fast it’s improving 06:12 Blue Zones and why environment matters more than biohacks 09:19 Sweet Honey Farm and the business of selling an environment 11:16 Why people would actually pay for a place like this 14:02 The aged mother parable 16:02 The branches someone else dropped before you 17:12 Recap and closing takeaways Subscribe if you enjoy solo episodes like this alongside the longer conversations on Pieces of Impact. If you want 2-3 minute recaps of my episodes in a weekly email, subscribe to my Substack: https://substack.com/@steveseger?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page [https://substack.com/@steveseger?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page]

#25: Mike Truitt - What It Really Takes to Buy, Grow, and Sell a Business

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Truitt to talk about his path from inside sales to business ownership, what it looked like to buy Disney McLane with his business partner, Craig, in 2007, and how they grew and eventually sold the company. We also get into what the business actually does, how they expanded across multiple states, and what it means to lead a company through a recession. Mike shares lessons on choosing the right business partner, retaining employees, reinvesting in people, and planning an exit years before you take it. We also talk about the discipline he took from his military family, what real pressure looks like, and the advice from his dad that still guides him today: sharpen your pencil. Subscribe for more conversations like this on Pieces of Impact. 00:01 Intro and why Mike’s story matters 01:42 Early jobs and how he got into Disney McLane 03:41 Buying the business in 2007 and selling in 2020 04:34 What Disney McLane actually does 08:12 Taking over right before the 2008 recession 10:55 Growing territory, lines, and offices 13:47 Choosing the right business partner 17:09 Retention, rewards, and taking care of employees 23:06 What he would and wouldn’t do differently 24:35 Exit strategy and grooming the next owners 29:22 Reinvesting in the business and standing out 33:00 Investing, side ventures, and the gas station 37:23 Military background and lessons on discipline 40:47 What real pressure looks like 44:45 Family history and tracing the Truitt tree 51:12 Rapid fire round 56:05 Final wisdom