In this episode, I sit down with Carter Dorsch, Co-Owner at 98 Real Estate Group, to talk about real estate on Florida’s Forgotten Coast. We get into Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas, Hurricane Michael, what makes the area so unique, and how Carter went from sitting in empty open houses with a chair and flyers to helping build one of the top real estate brands in the market.

We also talk about branding, newsletters, handwritten letters, AI listing descriptions that sound like a robot had too much coffee, Ed Ball, the St. Joe Company, college football, local food spots, and why “don’t half-ass it” is solid life advice. Carter is sharp, honest, and easy to talk to, and this was a really fun one for anyone interested in real estate, marketing, or coastal towns.

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Chapters:

00:00 Intro
02:24 Carter Dorsch Joins the Show
02:54 Running 98 Real Estate Group
03:43 Florida’s Forgotten Coast
04:45 COVID and Coastal Demand
06:09 Hurricane Michael and Mexico Beach
08:30 Building Codes and Stronger Homes
12:15 Rebuilding After the Storm
14:36 Getting Started at 98
17:31 Early Pressure and Eating What You Kill
21:43 Buying Into the Business
23:34 Lessons From Ownership
25:03 Branding and Visibility
26:52 Newsletters and Referrals
28:40 AI in Real Estate
31:34 Smarter Direct Mail
34:51 Fastest-Growing Coastal Markets
37:27 Recruiting Agents and Protecting the Brand
40:59 Ed Ball, DuPont, and George Washington
43:25 The St. Joe Company
53:17 The Future of the Forgotten Coast
59:45 Carter’s Long-Term Vision
1:02:34 College Football
1:05:52 Rapid Fire
1:10:29 Handwritten Letters Still Work
1:14:08 Famous Clients
1:15:32 Don’t Half-Ass It
1:17:35 The Myrtle Beach Closing Story
1:19:53 Where to Find Carter

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Cermele to talk about his career in fishing media, from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life to MeatEater and now building Cut & Retie as an independent show. We get into writing, storytelling, creative freedom, audience trust, sponsors, and what it actually looks like to build a media business around your own voice.

Joe shares what he learned from nearly 20 years inside outdoor media, why personality-driven content has changed the industry, how hard it is to start from zero today, and why being independent gives you freedom but rarely gives you safety. We also get into AI, old fishing stories, why he hates dolphins, and why looking for Bigfoot is a respectable career path.

Check us out on Podmonitor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G1q77ZGcc4iwO87rj0tC88WJQh7YaiMB/view?usp=sharing

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00:01 Intro and why Joe appreciated a conversation outside the fishing world
00:55 Joe’s current life as an independent media creator
02:16 Creative work vs. building a business
04:36 How 20 years in media shaped his current path
07:40 Creating your own luck in outdoor media
11:51 Early adoption, blogs, video, and Hook Shots
17:34 Field & Stream archives and what old fishing media can teach us
19:07 Amazon trip, media trips, and international fishing logistics
22:36 Moving to MeatEater and learning the business side of media
25:42 Joining MeatEater right before COVID
27:39 Why hunting content can be more lucrative than fishing content
29:52 Why he started Cut & Retie
34:21 Building community and the platform he wishes he owned
38:14 Family, privacy, and being personal without filming everything
41:33 What Joe’s community actually looks like
44:38 Authenticity, over-sharing, and not forcing a persona
47:32 Why starting from zero today would be so difficult
49:59 Independent podcast economics and sponsor volatility
52:43 Protecting audience trust with brand partnerships
54:55 Where fishing media is heading
58:10 AI, search, and the future of outdoor writing
01:03:15 The ghost striper story
01:07:56 Finding Bigfoot, River Monsters, and burnout in dream jobs
01:09:51 Rapid fire round
01:10:25 Writer recommendation: Riverhorse Nakadate
01:11:46 Best place Joe has ever fished
01:12:42 How playing in bands helped his media career
01:14:47 Why Joe hates dolphins
01:16:39 Final wisdom: originality over competition
01:17:57 Where to find Joe and Cut & Retie

In this episode, I sit down with Zak Herbstreit, former Ohio State player and now host of Off Script at On3, to talk about his transition from football into sports media, why On3 felt like the right fit, and what he is learning as he builds his voice in the college football world.

We get into how he approaches content, what it is like being behind the scenes at major games, why staying unbiased matters in this job, and his honest take on NIL, the transfer portal, and whether the sport can keep what makes it special.

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00:02 Intro and Zak’s background
01:32 Why On3 felt like the right fit
02:26 Why he moved away from coaching
12:44 Relationships and access in sports media
13:51 Getting reps and growing the platform
18:15 How he plans and films game-day content
21:15 Ohio State-Michigan tunnel story
22:43 Staying unbiased in media
27:52 NIL, transfer portal, and commitment
49:30 Five-year vision
50:47 Rapid fire round
57:15 Final wisdom and where to find Zak