Today, we’d like to introduce you to Chris Donovan. Chris was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Angela Ross.
Chris, can you walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Hello, and thank you for having me as a part of this.
I was born in Phoenix, AZ and grew up there, New Mexico, Vegas and then ended up in Benton City, Washington when I was 11 years old. I lived there through my high school years. I graduated with 62 people total and my senior year we won the State Baseball Championship. It was and still is a small town, and it meant a lot to the community. After high school and since I was the youngest of 3 siblings, my parents decided they were moving to Idaho so I had to find a place to live and a job quick. I ended up moving in with my friend and his parents for a few months before I moved into an apartment with a buddy. I did end up going to a community college in the same area and that is kind of where it all began. I took a speech class and I really enjoyed it. So I decided to audition for the local theater and I got a few parts but also helped with a lot of the sound design. By this time I had been writing comedy and auditioning for the colleges productions. Grease was the word. While I was doing all of this, I was also working at a hotel in their banquet and catering departments. Before I ended up leaving there, I had worked my way up to Assistant Catering Director after being the Assistant F&B Manager all before the age of 22.
After a couple of years of college and a few more with the theater company in town, I decided that I wanted to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Comedy, TV and Movies. I saved up for 2 years, told everyone I was moving and then ended up taking a few people with me.
Let’s talk about your work and career – what else should we know?
Before I moved to Cali, I visited a couple times and had some work interviews and ended up getting hired at a hotel in Anaheim as their Front Desk Manager. After I moved to Cali, I started performing stand up. I took a course at the Improv in Irvine, CA and that was the first place that I performed Stand Up. I was performing all over So Cal and when I went home to visit WA, I would try and do some rooms up there also. I worked at the hotel for a while and then I was offered the Director of Catering position a the Grove in Anaheim, which is a concert venue that also does special events. The biggest event I catered there was a wedding that cost over $1 Million. While at the Grove I decided to attend a radio school based in Huntington Beach. I loved it and had so much fun there. I met a ton of people and that catapulted my career into the industry a bit. I landed a Board Operator gig at KOLA-FM in Redlands, CA. From there I went to an on air position which evolved into a number of positions at X-1039 FM in San Bernardino. My favorite was the On Air Morning Show Producer. It was such a fun gig. Right before leaving X I met my wife, Evelyn Erives whom is also in radio. She was on 99.1 KGGI’s Morning Show for YEARS before I met her and after I married her. I was working at a few radio stations part time to make ends meet and then I fell back into a catering gig at the House of Blues in Anaheim. While there I was offered a gig at GSN, yes the Game Show Network. I helped build and launch their 24 hour radio game channel. We had one live show and replay’s for 20 other hours. We built a physical studio, catalogue of effects and built a number of shows. It was amazing. When the recession hit GSN decided to eliminate the entire radio department, so I was out of a gig. This landed me back to the hustle and this time with a new baby. My son was born and this allowed me to work from home and start my own social media business. I did this for a while with clients like the Improv and a couple movie companies. After running this business for a while and doing some odd jobs I was called for a special gig to create pilot episode of a podcast, before podcasting was a thing for IMG/William Morris & SiriusXM. We recorded with Ashely Graham, Ashley Judd, Jerry Springer, Joey Fatone and more. This show was eventually shelved and not picked up. However, this opened a door for me to get hired at PodcastOne. I was hired by the infamous Norm Pattiz (Creator of WestwoodOne) as the Director of Production at PC1. Working there was a really fun time. I was able to create and collaborate with some of the biggest and best names in the business, all while learning a ton. After leaving PC1 I decided to start my current company and brand “This Is Funner”. This is my production company that specializes in podcasting but can create anything from logos to highlight reels. We create every type of digital media. A couple of my current clients are SoCal Voices, Driving with Dunne and The CARE Project Inc. With my background I have diverse set of skills. I can lead a team to create an event or I can work alone and create an entire podcast, highlight real or social media campaign. Being able to understand all the logistics of situations gives me a fuller picture of what to expect when creating and producing a show, event or building a staff that enjoys their job and workplace. I do strive to be a good leader to all my employees and clients and I understand that success only comes when you are willing to put yourself aside to help others succeed and grow.
So, as we mentioned to our audience earlier, you were introduced to us by Angela Ross and we really admire them and what they’ve built. For folks who might not be as familiar, can you tell them a bit about your experience with Angela.
My relationship with Angela included my editing of her podcast, website, graphics and social media sites. I do know a lot of people in the industry so I have helped book guests for her show also. During my run with Angela we have rebranded her site and social graphics. I have also set up guest but more importantly, relationships with other podcasters and good people in our industry. Angela is an extremely talented interviewer and has an amazing “radio” voice. Working with Angela is great because we are open to taking each others feedback as straight forward as possible. We both have very different backgrounds but share the same passions for radio and podcasting.
Website: https://thisisfunner.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_donovan/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisfunner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chris_Donovan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisCiscoDonovan
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ9l_0fjKhoXV51g4nM-Zug
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/altmixedup
