I met up with local businessman Jeremy Chapman for a coffee recently to chat to him about radio, podcasting and his current top 11 status in the global radio competition, RadioStar ‘22.
The Radio
Jeremy has always had a love for radio; growing up he listened to anything and everything. He classes the radio as a friend and isn’t happy around the home without it playing in the background.
Near the beginning of lockdown he was offered the opportunity to get involved with a local community radio station – an offer he could not refuse! Although he’d never done it before Jeremy took the ‘let’s give it a go’ approach and found his love of listening was matched by his love of presenting & producing. He spent around 6 months at the local station, presenting his own show and also producing for others. Following this, he spent a few months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio.
“I love people and like the thought of being able to reach strangers and put a smile on their face. Radio offers a personal way to connect with others, without ever knowing them.”
The ultimate dream for Jeremy would be to have his very own radio station. A space for people to have fun, connect with their communities and embrace being themselves.
Oh and if BBC Radio 2 ever need a drivetime host he’d be more than happy to step into those shoes!
The Competition
Jeremy is now down to the final 11 in the global RadioStar competition. The competition consists of 5 stages and 4 challenges before a winner is announced. Challenges consist of demonstrating the skills needed to become a radio presenter.
Jeremy didn’t really expect to get through the first stage; when he was announced in the Top 25 he almost went through the roof with excitement! “The competition has a touch of Pop Idol/ X-Factor about it. Starting with over 500 entries from people around the globe, then narrowing that down to a Top 25 must have been a mammoth task for the judges as the talent on show this year is exceptionally high. I still feel incredibly lucky to have even got this far”
“All the feedback I received from the judges in the previous round was positive so that has given me a huge confidence boost. I try to be as original and as imaginative as possible with my entries in an attempt to grab the attention of the judges. In the last round, we were required to share a video on our social media channels that would show me as a person – my video was titled Procastination and the judges loved it.”
Currently in Challenge 3, Jeremy is hopeful to get through to the final stage and ultimately win the competition, which is a prize of a job with a commercial radio station along with radio presenter coaching and lots of other radio related goodies.
Jeremy is embracing just being himself for the competition and trying not to overthink it. All his submissions are recorded in his shed, with his natural friendly tone.
Passion turned Project
His love of all things audio has now turned into a career and thriving business. After leaving the motor trade business after 25 years, Jeremy spent some time trying out different things and “started playing around” with podcasting. He has gone on to produce many different shows including UK Podcast chart topping 4 Calling Birds and Two Lit Chicks and is keen to continue to work with local organisations to help promote, share & celebrate all the wonderful people we have in our local community.
If you need convincing that podcasting is the way to go then you only need to speak to Jeremy for a few minutes; his passion comes through instantly and is infectious.
Watch out for future details for a Buzz Hub Co event where Jeremy will be sharing more about podcasting for business. But if you can’t wait then check out the podcasts Jeremy is currently producing and contact him here.