The Spin Chicks are back for their fourth season. Early spoiler alert: this season is shaping up to be all about the career turns nobody maps out in advance.
In 2023, Michelle Schmitt Young teamed up with Erika Amstadt Hirschfield to launch The Spin Chicks Podcast. As seasoned pros in the sports, public relations and multimedia business – The Spin Chicks are the perfect combination of savory and sweet. A witty duo, we share our experiences working in sports, tackling the work-life balance and how to thrive in an ever-changing industry. We also share our behind the scenes experiences in locker rooms, competition arenas and in dealing with situations head-on.
Michelle and Erika wouldn’t be The Spin Chicks if it wasn’t for Jack Helig. Jack is a man of many hats with The Spin Chicks: part coach, producer and audio editor! He’s the glue that holds this duo together.
Our guests the last four years range from Olympic gold medalists to authors, an international journalist, the former President of a NASCAR track, PR professionals in collegiate and professional sports and so much more. A few of our favorites include:
EPISODE ONE
Michelle and Erika kick things off with Bella Black, a junior at Ohio State University who gives an honest, behind-the-scenes look at what it actually takes to work in college athletics. From game day chaos to the parts of the job that would surprise even the biggest sports fan. It’s the industry through the eyes of someone just getting started. This podcast is a good reminder of why so many of us fell for this business in the first place.
EPISODE TWO
Then comes Gary Wheat, President and CEO of Visit Macon. Gary spent a decade in sports information at Southern Miss and Virginia Tech before pivoting into the Convention and Visitors Bureau world. Gary’s road ran through Iowa, Indiana and Colorado before landing him in the “Song and Soul of the South”. He’s living proof that the skills you build in an athletics department travel a lot further than the press box.
EPISODE THREE
Kim Hardcastle, founder of Twelve12 Travel, who spent more than 30 years in PR and marketing before reinventing herself as a luxury travel advisor. Thirty-five countries, six continents, and one very good piece of advice for anyone eyeing a second act: life is short, just do it.
Three guests, three completely different paths, one through-line – the story you tell about your career matters as much as the résumé behind it. That’s the whole point of The Spin Chicks Podcast.
And there’s more coming on The Spin Chicks Podcast.
Dan Coonan — our very first guest ever — returns to talk about his third book, Second to None, the story of the El Segundo Little League World Series champions.
Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia joins us to talk football, his battle with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer and why he created the Quarterback Your Health Foundation.
Kris DeBlasio brings a decade in SEC athletics and 10 years of stand-up comedy and time in the classroom. He also brings a strong opinion about Doritos and fills us in on how the 1 Minute Movie Review Podcast came about.
And we are just getting started!
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