This column idea came to me from good friend of the brand, Dom. He reached out to me one day and said – “I’ve got an idea for a column. What’s the most random relationship you’ve acquired and what were the circumstances surrounding it?”
Great question. We decided to pose it to anyone willing to answer, as it’s one of those questions that tends to yield a great story no matter who you ask. We all have those odd relationships that make no sense. The type of relationship that if you look back before it happened, you would’ve thought “that’s too crazy to be real life.”
So, I threw it up on social media, got a couple answers, and put it in the SoBros Slack group to get a few responses from the SoBros Network team as well. LFG.
My answer: the first name that popped into my mind on this one was Paul Heggen. I mean, five years ago, if you had told me the summer of 2017 would lead to us hanging out with my favorite meteorologist and the sole reason I watched WSMV in the morning while he was in town, I would’ve laughed. But, we wrote some shit about him, he liked it, and we really got behind him that summer when WSMV pulled him from the morning broadcast. It was crazy – that first article we wrote about him remains the #1 most-read article in SoBros history.
But, we’ve had tons of celebrities and famous athletes share our work on social media before. What was different about Paul was that he actually took the time to come out and meet us. We met at Pour House out in Hermitage twice, slammed some beers (thankful for the services of Lyft, for sure), and got to know the guy.
From there, we exchanged numbers (no, I’m not giving it to you, ladies. Don’t bother asking), Paul’s been in the SoBros fantasy football league, march madness pool, etc. etc. We still text from time to time just to catch up.
That….still….as I’m typing this feels completely insane. Paul is a really solid dude, and I still think it’s a shame that he left Nashville.
I’d definitely give honorable mentions to Brent and Armondo from WKRN. Those dudes are gold. And, Dennis Kelly – even though I got the scoop on what his pro wrestling finishing move would be, ol’ Touchdown has yet to come slam beers with the boys.
You just can’t predict relationships like this popping up. It’s probably my favorite thing about running SoBros Network. I love the grind – trying to figure out how to turn this into a legitimate career. But, creating relationships like this has been one of those ‘unintended consequences’ that’s come with it. Love it.
Other Answers
Dom: I have a number in my phone right now of the lead singer and owner of the band Welt, formed in Sacramento in about 1993 (I was 13). MSN enables me aged about 17 to message Jason Cooper and chat. Been in touch ever since, never met him. He’s a legit hero of mine, I’ve always listened to his music, and I text him every now and then asking about his mammanem…small world even way back then.
Mack: I met this girl named Feather on Craigslist, Stoney you may have been with me when I found a phone in a puddle of puke downtown? (Editor’s note: I was). The phone was fucked, but the sd card had hundreds of photos so I posted on Craigslist “do you know this person?” And she did, got the guy the photos, and became one of my good friends.
Mose: Brett Ison. After finishing school, I started helping out with Resolute Wrestling. I was intrigued, but also kind of scared of Brett but I asked him for an interview. We hit it off talking about MMA, TMNT and just the most random shit. Now he’s one of my best friends that I legit talk to every day.
Poppa Bear: I think my answer is probably Lane – SCI 2 years ago. He got wasted, ripped off his shirt, and puked in a trashcan. Stoney and I carried him back to his room.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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