I am Salt Lake broadcast its first episode, Sorry Clementine, in August 2012. Five years later, Episode 300 is newly out the door. Its creator, Utah podcast coach, producer and host, Chris Holifield says, “That side hustle became a way to connect with people all over the world.”
A Little History
“I liked the idea of a talk radio show, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do a podcast about,” said Chris, who’s always enjoyed talk-radio, and dreamed of being a radio DJ as a kid. “I enjoy writing, but the problem with writing is, I feel like everybody is out to get you. With grammar and spelling and this and that. You post on Facebook, and if you put an apostrophe in the wrong place, everybody’s tearing you apart,” Chris said. “It takes the fun out of it.”
His wife at the time made women’s clothing to sell at downtown farmers markets, street fairs and events, where Chris met lots of local vendors.
“The people making soap, granola and screen-printed shirts. I always like those types of people,” Chris said. “I’m not the normal nine to fiver, like people who become a slave to their job and their creativity. You gotta still keep that creative going.”
“It hit me at a downtown farmers market: why don’t I do a podcast interviewing all the awesome people in Salt Lake, whether they’re making women’s clothing or a bar of soap? Even the coffee people or food trucks basically represent that each person plays a role in making Salt Lake City what it is,” Chris said. “Each person is Salt Lake, thus the name, I am Salt Lake. Everybody’s Salt Lake.”
Podcasting is Great for Discovering Salt Lake
“You watch video with friends, but there’s something about audio, just that voice direct to your brain. It lets a creative side come out,” Chris said. “Podcasting is my passion. It’s my heart.”
Describing listeners who’ve visited Salt Lake from New Zealand after listening to I am Salt Lake, he says, “Podcasting is a great resource for discovering Salt Lake.”
How Do You Put the Podcast on the Table for People to Consume?
Wanting to be “portable,” Chris “just did it” using an iPhone and a microphone attachment to record the first three episodes of I am Salt Lake. “I just kept adding pieces to pieces to pieces. I Googled it,” Chris said with a laugh. Podcast coaching and editing now help Chris pay the bills.
After divorce, time off, and dating for a while, two weekly episodes became one. Chris later met and married Krissie who “started co-hosting, and came out with a media package to bring on sponsors. She comes from a comedy background, and I tend to be a bit more serious,” Chris said. “She brings the humor into it.”
They use a Zoom H6, and ATR 2100 microphones to record I am Salt Lake from their Sugar House studio. For podcasting advice, connect with Chris on his website.
The Journey Continues
Stay tuned for what’s next in Chris’s lineup: Mom and The New Dad, a blended family story. “I have a lot of big dreams with podcasting. It’s all I think about since this journey started,” said Chris, who left his day job selling concrete slabs for countertops in July. “To be able to do all of this full-time has been awesome.”
