Apollo Media: Genesis Launch

It is 1 AM, and I have been staring at my screen on how I should even start this blog. Travis Scott “Goosebumps” plays in my Airpods, and my Blantons bourbon is going down very smooth, too smooth. How do you explain this exact moment launching a digital media company; when there were events that took place behind the scenes that do not make sense even to me? How did we get here? How do I pull back the curtains to you the audience when I am lost in the curtains? 

How did we get here? 

I sat in a cube overlooking the Galleria five years ago; under the fluorescent lights, I stared out the window, and like every young professional fresh out of college, I said: “This can’t be it.” The last twenty-two years of my life were all but entirely laid out for me. You are going to play baseball, you are going to make good grades, and you are going to be a genuine person. And that is what I did. I played baseball and was lucky to earn a scholarship. I went to class and memorized things so I can pass so I could play and tried to be a decent human being along the way. But as I stared out that window, that same thought sat there in my brain getting louder and louder. This can’t be it. Just a few months prior, I was staring out a bus window traveling in between every small town in Texas burnt out from college baseball.

I COULD NOT WAIT TO GRADUATE. Boy, was I a dumbass. Around this time, Barstool Sports began its push to the top of the mountain, man that is what I want to do I told myself, but I want it to be about Houston. Right there in my cube, little did I know Apollo Media was beginning to form, but it was not Apollo Media at first it was  Millenial Sports Network. I hit the ground running I fired up the word document, I hired a graphic designer to create a logo that is somewhere on an old iPhone, I thought I just discovered fire for the first time. Still, as time passed and the professional world consumed my life, Millenial Sports Network slid off the back burners and into the abyss. I moved on to my next career and looking out a new window that same thought was there. 

This time it is going to be different. I created a twitter account; I bought a website from WordPress; I am ALL IN. Freshly motivated from the Astros winning the World Series, I created my first blog and put myself out there because there is no turning back now. All ten followers on Flags Fly Forever and probably my mother and grandparents were all 20 views on that first blog post. Doesn’t matter, I was hooked. This was it; this was my lotto ticket. Wrong again well partially. The organic grassroots route to create a brand and following began then, and I am so thankful for everyone along the way, the friends I made along the way, the engagement with everyone who is as passionate as myself about Houston sports. By nature, I am competitive, and I wouldn’t say I like help from others. Some would say I despise help, and they might be right; even a narcissist like myself can admit that. BUT I knew I could not conquer this by myself if I wanted to make this a legit thing. So I set my pride aside and started to try to find like minds around me. Have you ever seen I Love You, Man? Minus The Hulk and the speed dating, I was Peter Klaven trying to find some dudes to be my friends and create some content. Flags Fly Forever started to grow, and I brought on two very talented writers. [One that is still on the Apollo team], and we began to grind out the 2019 season.

I was once again slipping into the professional world vacuum, and Flags began to slip into that abyss that Millenial Sports Network inhabited. Then BOOM. A viral video came across my desktop of a Family Matters Astros parody. I quickly found Joshstros on twitter, and at that time, he maybe had thirty-something followers, but just from that one video, I knew I had to get him a part of the team. Couple DM’s later, after a few more viral videos, Josh agreed to join the team as a contributor, and right there is when Apollo started to form. This was late August, and as the season and playoffs went on, we began to make some merch, and we began to talk about 2020 and what we wanted to create. Finding individuals that think along the same wavelength is rare finding those same people who are also more creative than you, well, that is how you start building a team. 

Apollo Media; All Houston. All Original.  

Today has been circled on the calendar now for five months. Josh (JoshStros) and I have spent a lot of time and a lot of effort into making today possible. Because we believe in Apollo Media, we believe in our team, and we believe in you. Our vision is straightforward, and that is to provide original, creative, diverse content that engages you, the fans, in a way you have never seen before. Collectively we believe that Houston sports have been missing a voice in the media for too long. A voice that understands the day in and day out of the dedicated Houstonians; from the traffic jams you sit in on 610 to the Slim Thug or George Strait in your speakers. During these turbulent times, you can rest easy knowing you now have a website that not only represents you but is in the trenches fighting right next to you. We understand that Houston is a state of mind, and it stretches far past the lanes of 99. We represent everyone that shares the passion of Houston sports no matter where you call home. 

Today at Apollo Media, we make one small step on this journey that will change the landscape of sports media forever, and we hope that by the end, you will take the giant leap with us.