We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Patrick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Honesty. In sports, fans can sniff a rat. Fans can tell when you have an agenda – whether that’s to shield a player or coach from criticism or to indiscriminately lob criticism at anyone and everyone whether it’s justified or not. We found that being our honest selves was a way in which we gained a foothold, because sometimes it meant we landed on the side of majority public opinion and sometimes not. It allowed us not to be pigeonholed as a certain type of media. But more importantly, it leads to intrigue as to what we might say and how we might analyze a given game or situation. It’s our hope that this makes for an interesting listen to our shows.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sports media is very difficult. The supply of sports media greatly outstrips demand, partly due to our technological age making the barrier to entry into the market as low as it has ever been. But gaining a foothold and traction in that market is incredibly difficult as a result. Our guiding principle has been to follow the 1,000 true fans theory — less so as a business model and moreso as a way to stay true to the kind of content our biggest supporters want.

The other principle is to “keep the main thing the main thing.” We know that when someone fires up a Five Stripe FInal podcast, it’s because they’re interested in hearing about Atlanta United. They are not interested in what we had for dinner last night, some funny thing that happened in our personal lives, our politics, or any of that. We try to be very targeted in the subject matter at hand, and it has served us well. We respect the fact that listeners are giving us their time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man, so many things! As a sports guy, I’d have to take them to a game — Falcons, Atlanta United, Braves, Hawks — whatever is in season. They are all unique experiences and are so much fun. I’d hit up my favorite BBQ spot in the city, Fat Matt’s, above all else. I’d probably want to spend a day getting out of town a bit and visit a state park or Kennesaw Mountain for an outdoor hike. I’m a golfer, and if they are too, we’d definitely play and not be short of choices from which to pick. My cohost Sam would definitely not be golfing, but would definitely hit up some music venues to see any number of artists. There are also some really cool festivals that happen in towns all around that might be available for us… there’s so much the city has to offer.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Everyone’s parents help form who they are as people, and I am no different. I am the product of a loving and caring mother and a father that has always pushed me and provided a model for how to go about a career as a professional. I am very lucky to have these two individuals as those who have shaped me. I’d also credit many teachers and coaches I’ve had in my life – other very important mentors that push us in ways our parents can’t to help us grow. Sometimes that means pushing us to follow through on things that we’d prefer not to. Athletics in particular have so much to teach young people.

Website: patreon.com/fivestripefinal

Twitter: @japatrick200 or @FiveStripeFinal

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