Daily Inspiration: Meet Sam Carter

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Sam Carter.

Hi Sam, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well… my story has lots of previous “jobs,” including backcountry guiding and teaching public high school. Those all contribute to the skills needed today for what I do. In previous iterations, I hosted talk shows on public radio. Teaching school was rad, and after 11 years, I quit teaching school in 2014 and began teaching professional development training for businesses, schools, gov’t agencies, etc.

Simultaneously, I was building up this podcast.

2020 comes along, and all teaching changes and stops. No one is investing in professional development, so work crashes. But people sure were listening to podcasts, so that work took off. For a few years, I worked on the podcast in the early mornings and weekends and had other jobs to pay the bills. Eventually, the podcast got big enough to have revenue, and now I am full-time podcasting and having a blast.

I come from rivers and river life, and so the podcast is about rivers. As I say, “the cultural nexus of rivers, people, and boats’ in each episode, and now, after five years and 90 episodes, I see that the nexus is huge.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Yes and no. I am here doing the podcast and having a blast so that part is smooth. But getting here had rough parts. Long days, really late nights. Crashing computers. Losing interviews. I forgot to press record twice and had to whimper back to that guest and ask to do the interview again. Learning how to truly edit audio and make things sound good.

Running on tiny budgets. Waiting months for ad clients to give approval for a new year of collaboration. Competing with all the media that is present for people to choose from and staying on top of the game. Staying relevant. Also, doing social media is not really that fun to be on the creation side of SM.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Podcasts are listened to by people as they do something else they like doing in their life or that they have to do. Chores, projects, workouts, drives, working. And so, the audio story and line of conversation that each episode delivers must be compelling in a way that keeps the listener distracted from the chore, like dishes, and done in a way that lets that chore be easy.

Knowing that all I have is audio and a person’s ears is fun and means it all needs to sound nice, smooth, engaging, exciting, informing. And all in a way that respects who the listener is and fulfills their role in the river world and the world at large.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Ohhhh… playing in the backyard of the house we had in the hills of Southern Illinois.

We had a creek at the bottom of the property and I would spend all day there, making dams and bridges, trying to catch water spiders. Being with flowing water. I loved it. Today, I see it as a connection to who I am. I still go to moving water.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theriverradius.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riverradiuspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theriverradius
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-river-radius-podcast/id1463337469