That Was Awesome Steven Little

Today’s guest is Synjyn Days. Synjyn played football for Georgia Tech from 2010-2014. He started his career as a quarterback, then moved to A-Back in Paul Johnson’s triple option offense for two years, and then finally to B-Back his senior year, where he averaged 119 yards per game over the last 7 games after getting some starts at the position. He signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys after college and is now a financial advisor in Atlanta.
Before our interview, I talked about my new licensed college apparel brand, Section 103, and how I started it. Synjyn and I discussed his recruiting, switching positions twice at Georgia Tech, his breakout senior year and the wins against Georgia and Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl, his free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys, and what he’s been up to since.
Mentions include:
Section 103@section103 on Twittter and @section_103 on Instagram2014 Georgia Tech vs. Georgia highlights2014 Orange Bowl vs. Mississippi State highlights@sdays10 on Twitter and InstagramPlease subscribe to the show and rate it on Apple Podcasts, and follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @TWAwesomePod. And you can follow me on Twitter at @steven_little.

Today’s guest is Connor Hitchcock, founder and CEO of Homefield Apparel. In college at Indiana, Connor started an apparel company called Hoosier Proud that eventually became Homefield, which The Athletic recently featured in an article and called it the “hottest apparel company in college sports.” Homefield now produces premium licensed vintage apparel for over 100 colleges.
Connor and I discussed the formation of Homefield Apparel, how they started adding schools, the process of licensing colleges, the rapid growth they’ve had over the last year, how they’ve use Twitter to gain popularity, and some future plans for the company.
Mentions include:
Homefield ApparelThe Athletic article about Homefield (requires subscription)@HomefieldApparl on Twitter@homefieldapparel on InstagramPlease subscribe to the show and rate it on Apple Podcasts, and follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @TWAwesomePod. And you can follow me on Twitter at @steven_little.

Today’s guest is Santino Stancato. Santino, aka Morpheus, was until very recently the Brand Manager for Georgia Tech football, where he spent 21 months creating a ton of photo, video, and design content. Before that, he was with Coach Geoff Collins at Temple and before that spent time with the Brooklyn Cyclones, Marshall University, and his alma mater, Bloomsburg. He just left Georgia Tech to become the Head of Creative and Brand Strategy at J1S Creative, who works with Georgia Tech.
Santino and I discussed how designing little league posters for his little brother’s team got him started in sports design, how he cleaned a gym for extra money while working for the Brooklyn Cyclones and living in the team hotel, working for Geoff Collins and following him to Georgia Tech, how Coach Collins gave him the nickname Morpheus, how he brought in agencies and an author to help Georgia Tech and its student-athletes’ brands, Georgia Tech football’s culture, and how I got to design the football field for Georgia Tech.
Mentions include:
thesportsdesignblog.comMy 2012 Open Letter to the Georgia Tech athletic departmentThe Sports Design Blog post about designing the Georgia Tech football fieldBrooklyn Cyclones logo designed by Todd RadomESPN article about Santino and Coach CollinsJ1SJeremy Darlow and his booksGeorgia Tech football’s business cardsPlease subscribe to the show and rate it on Apple Podcasts, and follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @TWAwesomePod. And you can follow me on Twitter at @steven_little.

Today’s guest is Adam Martin, a graphic designer and creative director from the Eastern Kentucky focused on providing design, content creation and brand strategy to clients in the sports & entertainment business. After graduating with a BFA in Graphic Design at Eastern Kentucky University in 2005, Adam began his career as a graphic and interactive designer at a renowned college sports marketing firm known today as Learfield IMG College.
In 2006, he launched his own design firm. T/A Martin Studio's clients have included the PGA Tour, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans and more. His design work has been honored by the Clio Awards, Print Magazine's Regional Design Awards, Graphic Design USA magazine and the ADDYS.
He's perhaps mostly known for a podcast he started in 2014 called Makers of Sport, a digital media brand elevating the discussion of design, advertising, brands and startups in the sports business. Makers of Sport's content has been featured on the adidas corporate blog, Uni-Watch, Adweek and more.
Most importantly, he's the husband of a Georgia girl, father of 3 kids, an avid University of Kentucky Athletics supporter and youth sports coach.
Adam and I discussed how he decided to start his own business and eventually focus on sports and entertainment clients, how he got to design the logo for his cousin, Matt Carpenter, his Makers of Sport podcast and community, the sports design industry, and his dream design project and interviewees.
Mentions include:
Adam’s StudioLearfield IMG CollegeMakers of Sport podcastMakers of Sport communityThe Torus on Instagram@MakersofSport on Twitter@makersofsport on Instagram@TAdamMartin on Twitter@tamartin.studio on InstagramPlease subscribe to the show and rate it on Apple Podcasts, and follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @TWAwesomePod. And you can follow me on Twitter at @steven_little.

Today’s guest is Roddy Jones, who was actually drafted in the 39th round of the MLB Draft out of high school but went to Georgia Tech to play football. He did play one year of baseball at Georgia Tech in addition to being a 4-year starter at A-Back in Paul Johnson’s triple option scheme, and he holds the record for most career starts at Georgia Tech with 52. He’s also the Georgia Tech career leader in yards per carry at 7.6 and was a 3-time member of the All-ACC Academic Team. Since graduating, he has had a successful broadcasting career, working for the Georgia Tech radio network, Raycom, ESPN, and he’s currently a Game Analyst for college football on ACC Network. He’s also a fellow podcast newbie with his new podcast, ACCAF.

Roddy and I discussed how he almost didn’t start playing football, the decision to go to college after getting selected in the MLB Draft, current Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins’ role in recruiting him to Georgia Tech, the differences between playing for Chan Gailey and Paul Johnson, his career game against Georgia in 2008, playing baseball and football in college, his Georgia Tech career records, how he got into broadcasting and onto TV, his new podcast, and whether or not we’ll have a college football season this year.

Mentions include:
Roddy’s radio call of the end of the 2014 Georgia Tech vs. Georgia gameACCAF Podcast on Apple Podcasts@RoddyJones20 on Twitter@roddyjones20 on Instagram@accafpodcast on Instagram
Please subscribe to the show and rate it on Apple Podcasts, and follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @TWAwesomePod. And you can follow me on Twitter at @steven_little.

Today’s guest is Tommy Siegel, who is the guitar and bass player and one of two vocalists and songwriters for my favorite band, Jukebox the Ghost. Tommy is also a prolific cartoonist who takes doodle requests while in the band’s tour van and turned a comic a day for a year project into 500 comics in 500 days. Now he has a book of his comics being published.

Tommy and I discussed the formation and naming of Jukebox the Ghost, how they’ve achieved their unique sound, their Queen influence, their in-progress album, his favorite Jukebox the Ghost songs, and Tommy says I can play the drums with them next time they’re in Atlanta (kind of?). We also talked about his comics hobby turning leading to a publishing deal.

Mentions include:
Spotify playlist of my favorite Jukebox the Ghost songsTommy’s Van DoodlesPre-order Tommy’s book, I Hope This Helps@tommysiegel on Twitter@tommysiegel on Instagram@jukeboxtheghost on Twitter@jukeboxtheghost on InstagramPlease subscribe to the show and rate it on Apple Podcasts, and follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @TWAwesomePod. And you can follow me on Twitter at @steven_little.