← 🎙️ Interesting Humans Podcast
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- [00:01]
A
All right, folks, welcome back to another episode. Today I have with me Cameron Road. Cameron, this is going to be just such a special episode. Thanks for joining us, folks. 22 half siblings. And when I first, when I first heard that, I tried to figure out the calculation and I couldn't.
- [00:19]
B
I think the count is actually higher. Oh, it is just, Just that we know of.
- [00:23]
A
Yeah, I think 22 that you know of.
- [00:25]
B
24 or 25. Just that we know of. Yeah. I forget the count, but it's, yeah, it's something around there which is even cooler.
- [00:34]
A
Right. Which makes the story even. Just that much more incredible. But I went home and I asked my wife how could that be? And I, of course I knew the answer. I asked her and she couldn't necessarily wrap her brain around it. That's what we're going to do today. But there's a whole nother side of this, right? That's an incredible story. That's a unicorn story in and of itself. But man, when Jack introduced the two of us on a text and told me what you're up to in your professional life, you talk about a unicorn story. Oh, my goodness. Women's football, first off, I really didn't even know was a thing. And then you own a team and I'm like, oh, my goodness, I hope he commits to coming onto an episode.
- [01:18]
B
Thank you. Thank you for inviting me.
- [01:20]
A
The only trouble we're gonna have today is cutting this down to a reasonable amount of time because I have about a thousand question questions for you. So let's, let's get right into it. Tell us one of 24. Tell me this story.
- [01:35]
B
Yeah, so my mom had me on her own and I was an only child or thought I was an only child. And so she, she always shared with me that my father was an anonymous sperm donor. That was never a secret. I don't even remember. I don't have a memory of her telling me because I just like, for as long as I can remember, I've, I've known that. So she always shared that with me and we had like a 10 page packet of information about him, but, but not his name. Not his name, obviously. So he liked sport X, he played instrument Y. His grandfather on his father's side passed away at this age of that and his grandfather on his mother's side. You just so like all kinds of details. And then my mom passed away in 2021. And then in 2024, it was a gift from my, from my Uncle Andy, the ancestry DNA test kit thing. And, and so I Did that. And then this past Christmas Day, somebody sent me a message on the Ancestry platform saying, hey, I think I'm your half sister. And then next thing I know, I'm in a Facebook group chat with, like, a dozen of us, and then there's more of us who are not in the Facebook group chat. So it's. Yeah, it just. When it started happening, it happened kind of fast. But I'm. I'm really excited. I'm. I'm grateful. And so. And now I always forget start to. When I tell this story, I. Takes me a little while to remember to tell the part about now I know who our father is, because they know. So I found out through them. It's like a big puzzle. Some of us are on Ancestry. Some of us are in 23andMe. I only did Ancestry, I guess, so far, but, yeah, one of our. One of us. One of us half siblings matched with his sister on. On 23andMe, from what I remember. And that's Hollywood, they figured out who was. So I haven't reached down to him. I haven't. I haven't talked to him.
- [03:51]
A
Is there. Do you know if there's, like, a mathematical cap? Can this end at, like, 25 to 27? Or can it be. I don't even know. I'm asking. I have no idea. I mean, can it be a hundred.
- [04:03]
B
Who knows? People keep recommending to me this movie that I have not seen yet. People keep recommending to me this movie. They're like, oh, there's this movie with Vince Vaughn, and he has, like, a million kids, so I haven't seen it yet. I'll probably get around seeing that at some point. But it's kind of like this, right?
- [04:21]
A
So incredible. Do you look sound. Feel any of that? Do you see similarities in anybody?
- [04:30]
B
Yeah, I'm Facebook friends with, like, a small handful of them, and I haven't, like, Facebook stalked all of them. But there's. There's one picture that I saw, like, a childhood picture where I was like, oh, my gosh, that looks just like me. But like, a lot of them, I don't see the resemblance. And especially I think the girls, like, it's. It's harder. The girls don't even really look like the father, which I guess you could say kind of makes sense. But then I feel like a lot of times, like, parents look like their kids regardless of gender.
- [05:06]
A
But.
- [05:08]
B
But yeah, there's. Yeah, the one I've talked to by phone, she was talking about how I think it was one of her parents, one of her? Yeah, one of her was saying like that our, that our closed mouth smiles are similar. And I was like, yeah, I can, I can kind of see that. So. But, but yeah, I think, I think some of us guys look like our father. Well now I think me especially, like it's really weird now when I look in the mirror I see his face like you do.
- [05:47]
A
Yeah.
- [05:48]
B
So my mom always said that she thought that I looked like her. And I think that may have been maybe partly like she wanted to believe that. Like, oh, this is my kid. It was just the two of us growing up. It was like me, her and the cat. So I think that might have been part of it. Now in her defense, to be fair, if you look at childhood pictures of me and childhood pictures of her, it's a dead ringer. Like, look just alike. But as an adult I never really saw it. But, but yeah, now that I know what he looks like, it's weird. Like I look in reflections, I'm like, yeah, that's, that's his face.
- [06:29]
A
Is that, is that a positive thing?
- [06:32]
B
Yeah, no, it's not. It's, it's weird, but it doesn't, it's not like bad weird. It's just, it's just different. I mean, you know, you live 30 years without knowing what he looks like and. Yeah, it's just interesting.
- [06:48]
A
Yeah. Did like, what was the story that you knew growing up or was it just never talked about at all?
- [06:54]
B
What do you mean?
- [06:55]
A
Like, what did your mom tell you the first time you ever.
- [07:00]
B
He was anonymous. Like, like it's part of the system. Like she didn't know, she didn't know who he was either. Oh yeah, that's what I'm saying is like. Yeah, so, so we had like, wow, a packet of information. It's done through like a sperm bank and she was, you know, so I was born in 94, so conceived in 93. So this was like a time when maybe it wasn't as popular as it is now. I don't have data on that, but like when she had a kid on her own. Apparently now I have to think of Murphy Brown. Is that the name of the character or the show or both. Is Candice Bergen. But she, but she, she told me that she had people saying to her, oh, you're doing the whole Murphy Brown thing. So I guess just like having a kid on your own. I don't know if that involved this from donor, but yeah, so it's probably, it's probably gotten more popular over the last few decades or at the very least, less. Less socially weird or, you know, more. More socially acceptable or kind of like more normalized, I guess. But. But yeah, no, it's like, it's like a. From what I understand, it's like a catalog. You know, you pick out, you know, who you want. And again, it's totally anonymous. You know, it's not like she knew who we had information. Information about hair color and, you know, like family's medical history, but not. She wouldn't have known the identity of the, of the person.
- [08:32]
A
Yeah. Well, when you, when you first found out, the very moment you first found out, what was you say is your.
- [08:39]
B
First reaction first found out that I had the half siblings or found out who my dad was.
- [08:46]
A
Let's look at both, actually.
- [08:47]
B
Yeah. And they're really. I mean, they're basically the same point in time when you think. I mean. Yeah, I. I got that message Christmas Day. I was just excited just to have one. I was just excited. Oh my gosh, to have like one.
- [09:03]
A
Right.
- [09:04]
B
One half sibling and then to have 20 something. Yeah. So then I was added to that group chat, I guess, a few days later. And then looking through those messages because I'm just the latest to find out. It's not like we all found each other all at the same time. The one who found me was the second most recent to find out. So. The one right before. Yeah. So it's kind of. It's like a chain. But. But yeah, when I, When I, like, found out his identity, saw his face, I was like, yeah, I can, I can see the resemblance. It didn't, it was, it was weird. It was cool, but it didn't, it didn't freak me out. None of this ever gave me like, you know, anxiety or. Yeah, it was. Yeah, I just.
- [09:54]
A
It's a cool thing and. Yeah, it's a bad thing at all. It's. It's right, it's. It's cool. It's just that.
- [10:00]
B
But I can also. I can also understand where people are coming from if it does like, weird them out, like, if it does give them a little anxiety or, you know, because people, People have different stories, you know, and I'm not gonna. I'm being careful to tell as much about me as I want. That's fine. But. But keeping kind of their stuff private. But not everybody necessarily knew all their lives, like I did, right. That their biological father was an anonymous sperm donor. So. Yeah, we just have different, different experiences, different kind of paths that we took to, to get here.
- [10:49]
A
I'll say that did you have anybody in your life that was a father figure or close to a father figure?
- [10:55]
B
Um, when I was maybe like seven or nine or so, we did this for a couple years. There was like, a program where they would kind of like, match you with like a. Almost like a pretend father just to, like, hang out with and. Yeah, and so this was when I was living in Georgia. There was a guy who, you know, we. We, like, play tennis or whatever. You know, we just. Just occasionally, like, not necessarily every weekend. But they matched you based on, like, a questionnaire or I vaguely remember, you know, something like that. So, yeah, I stuck with that for maybe. Maybe a couple years. So there was. There was something like that, but I don't know. I mean, that was a male adult who I hung out with, but I don't know if he's necessarily counted as a, you know, as a. As a father figure. Not. Not really. I don't. Yeah, I don't think so.
- [12:09]
A
Yeah, totally fine.
- [12:12]
B
If.
- [12:13]
A
Okay, so you've got plenty of friends, and those friends have mixed home lives. Some may be divorced, some may have mother, father, some biological, some not biological. Do you notice any kind of difference in. In, like, let's just use men. Like, men your age. Do you see any difference with somebody who's had a dad versus not had a dad versus any of the other?
- [12:38]
B
I don't. I don't know if I would notice. Well. And something that my mom asked me once or twice, she said, if you would. Would you rather have had a father or a sibling? And I said, sibling, because not having a dad, you don't really know what you're missing. Like, I didn't. I didn't crave that presence. Like, it's just kind of normal. Like you if you only ever have one parent, it's like, okay, but, like, a sibling would have been cool. So, I mean, I guess you could kind of say the same thing. You don't really know you're missing, but. But yeah, I. She asked me that once or twice. Like, would you rather have had a father or a sibling? And I said, sibling.
- [13:34]
A
Wow.
- [13:35]
B
Yeah. Now what I really wanted was a twin. I'm always jealous of people, people who are twins. Now, there's no guarantee that the person would be just like me, but I'm an extrovert, so I'm really jealous of people who. Especially identical twins. I'm just. Yeah. Yeah, I'm jealous. And sometimes they're like, it's okay. You can have mine. I know. That's like, you know, you can take My sibling. I know it's a common response, but. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [14:02]
A
So you didn't ever have to get into a narrative. Like, at sleepovers, did anybody ever say, where's your dad?
- [14:10]
B
Think so. I mean, a little bit when I was. When I was a young kid. Like, other. You know, I feel like I have vague memories of one or two kids asking, like, like, how are you born if you don't have a dad? You know? But it's not. It wasn't anything that I was made fun of for or wasn't really anything negative that persisted. Yeah.
- [14:32]
A
Yeah.
- [14:33]
B
I don't. I don't. I don't. Yeah, I don't remember a lot of that.
- [14:39]
A
Yeah, that makes sense. If I say the word father right now, what is that gives off such a different feeling depending on who you asked. What feeling does it give off for you?
- [14:54]
B
I don't know. It doesn't. Doesn't really. Doesn't really give me a feeling.
- [14:59]
A
Right. Because you don't. You don't know the other side. Right. You only know what you.
- [15:03]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [15:06]
A
Plenty of people would be better off had they not had a father than the father that they did have.
- [15:11]
B
That's.
- [15:12]
A
That's so much more damage and wreckage and all the other stuff, so.
- [15:16]
B
That's true.
- [15:17]
A
Yeah. It's cool. Is the. Is the mission going forward for you to continue to reconnect with siblings?
- [15:26]
B
Yeah, I. I would like to. I've talked to one of them by phone. She and I were kind of trying to get a zoom together earlier this year, so nothing's really come of that. And, of course, I don't feel a need for it to be, like. It doesn't have to be, like, everybody on the zoom, you know, it's not like to find a time where everybody can get on, But. But yeah, even if it's just like, you know, three or four of us, I feel like that would be cool. Cool. But no, nothing's. Nothing's come of that yet. But. But, yeah, no, I'm definitely. I'm definitely interested in that. Yeah.
- [16:02]
A
What about with. What about with the dad? You.
- [16:06]
B
Yeah.
- [16:07]
A
You know, so you know him. You know him by name?
- [16:09]
B
I. I know who he is. Haven't reached out. So from what we understand, it was this. So this was before I joined the party, so to speak. One of us apparently matched with his sister on 23andMe, and the sister was like, don't reach out. Like, he was really young when he donated, and so I don't. I don't really know what I Don't know how much he knows. He has a couple kids of his own, like, regular kids, so to speak. So we don't. I don't know if we know how much he knows or how much he wants to know. Like, does his wife know or how much does his. So, yeah, we just. We kind of coordinate in the. In the group chat. Like, we. We kind of. Yeah. So I'm not in a hurry to, like, go room, so to speak. Like, I'm not in a hurry to go off script.
- [17:21]
A
What would it be if you got him? If you have one question, ask him. What do you ask him?
- [17:28]
B
I don't. I don't even know, like, because it's not bad.
- [17:32]
A
It's not like he left you, right?
- [17:34]
B
Oh, sure, sure, sure. Yeah.
- [17:36]
A
Like he abandoned you.
- [17:37]
B
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. No, it was never. It's not anything. I don't know what I would ask and I don't know what I would ask. Like, if.
- [17:45]
A
Yeah, this is sort of neutral.
- [17:50]
B
Yeah.
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A
Like, yeah, is there a day I'd.
- [17:55]
B
Stay quiet and let's let him ask the question.
- [17:58]
A
What do you think he'd ask you?
- [18:01]
B
Oh, that's a good question. Oh, my gosh. And thought of that. Yeah. I don't know. Wild. I guess we. I guess what we'd probably do is probably see, like, other than visuals, like, what we. What we have in common.
- [18:24]
A
You know, where. You know, like the state he lives in.
- [18:27]
B
Yeah, you do that holds that. But I do. Yeah. Yep.
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A
Wow.
- [18:30]
B
Yep.
- [18:31]
A
Okay. You still not like, protected information.
- [18:35]
B
You.
- [18:35]
A
You can.
- [18:36]
B
Well, if you find the person on Facebook, it's not.
- [18:39]
A
Okay, so that's how. So how did it happen then? How. How did. What are the nuts and bolts? How did you track it all down?
- [18:46]
B
Well, it wasn't me they. The. The. The group, the siblings found, I guess. Like I said, I think. I think one of them just ended up being a. A genetic match with the father's sister, from what I understand. And then.
- [19:04]
A
Right.
- [19:05]
B
That's how they. They kind of like followed the trail of breadcrumbs. So. Yeah. So really the work was done for me. I just joined. I'm the latest. I'm the latest to. To join the party.
- [19:18]
A
To join.
- [19:19]
B
Right. So it was all steady. It seems like it's over the last few years. Four, six years. Yeah, something like that. That they've kind of been. Been doing this. And a lot of us are all close in age. Some of the ones that we aren't connected to are a little bit younger.
- [19:40]
A
But.
- [19:42]
B
But yeah, a lot of us are late 20s, early 30s.
- [19:46]
A
Yeah. What was your relationship like with mom growing up?
- [19:55]
B
Yeah, I mean, it was just, like I said, just the two of us and the cat. So we were close. And. Yeah, it was. It was tough losing her because that's like your only, like. Like household family.
- [20:18]
A
But.
- [20:20]
B
I mean, she. She raised me on really good music and she. She. She played Elton John for me when she was pregnant with me, so that's probably that. Yeah.
- [20:33]
A
What's your favorite Elton song?
- [20:34]
B
Oh, I don't have a favorite song. It'd be like picking a favorite child. Good try, though. So, yeah, Elton and Yanni were the only two artists that she mentioned specifically, like, as her, like, playlist for me when she was. When she was pregnant. But. And obviously, you know, I've listed all kinds of stuff once I was born. Yeah. Don't have a favorite Elton John song, but my favorite Elton John album is too low for 0. 1983. And, yeah, it sounds like the kind of thing that would be a pandemic project. But I started right before the pandemic. I decided I was like, there's, like, a handful. There's, like 20 or so Elton John songs that I know at the back of my hand. I'm like. But there's so much of his stuff that I haven't heard. So I just decided to just listen to all of the studio albums. I didn't go strictly chronologically, but for a lot of it I did. And I wish I'd done that sooner, but I'm glad I did it. And now I've heard all of his studio albums, including the one that was just released in April with Brandy Carlisle. But. But, yeah, and I made sure not to do it, like, all at once because I wanted to absorb them. I wanted to process so that they wouldn't, like, bleed together, run together. So it's kind of interesting. Like, I can, like, associate, like, a certain album with. Okay, that's kind of where I was in my life, listening to that, because it took me. I did it over the course of maybe, like, four years or so. A little under four years from 2019 to, I think, 2023. So, like, I know where I was in my listening when my mom died and. And just associate different things with different albums. So, yeah, that was a fun project. And I'm. Yeah, I'm glad I. I'm glad I did that because now there's all kinds of. Because, I mean, his hits are great, but there's a lot of stuff. I mean, there's some stuff that's that's not very good. But there's a lot of stuff that's. That's really, really great that that doesn't get played.
- [22:44]
A
So he's had a crazy life. Oh, my goodness.
- [22:47]
B
Yeah.
- [22:48]
A
His movie's hard to watch.
- [22:51]
B
Yeah.
- [22:51]
A
There's an example of somebody who was done badly, very badly by a father.
- [22:57]
B
True, true. And. And I. The movie's a little bit. You know, it's. It's a good movie. It's a really good movie. I think I've seen it twice. And it. They. A little bit fictional, of course, just, you know, to make it the movie, I guess. But. But yeah, and I'm most of the way through his autobiography, which is also really, really good and really funny. Um. But, yeah, no, I. I agree.
- [23:26]
A
Yeah. So what. So what happened then? All right, you're. Something happened in your life that you're like, I'm gonna own a team one day.
- [23:37]
B
I want to switch gears.
- [23:39]
A
I mean, that's incredible, the first half of your story. And. And this is equally as incredible. I. I just think it's so, so, so cool. When Jack introduced us, it's like.
- [23:48]
B
Well, it's funny. The football team happened first. It was all. Yeah, so 2024 was a big year because I got the football team and a whole bunch of half siblings. What a year. Yeah, yeah. In the same. In the same calendar year. Because the half siblings snuck in right at the end. It was, like, right before New Year's. But, no, I. I never. I never thought I would. Well, I've been following Women's Sports since 2019. I started with WNBA in 2019, and what I did was when I was deciding which team to support, I looked at the 12 ownership groups at the time and looked at where their money went, like, what kinds of causes they had donated to, what they did in the community. And that's how I chose the Seattle Storm. I've never been to Seattle, but their ownership group impressed me the most. And I still now have, like, all kinds of storm gear. Jerseys, hats, there's a storm flag hanging my apartment. Masks, storm water bottle, T shirts, shorts.
- [24:56]
A
And what was it about their team? What were they doing, the ownership group?
- [25:01]
B
You know, I looked at FEC records, Federal Election Commission. It's all. It's all public information. So, like, what kinds of politicians they donated to. But also just. I saw good, good press about them about, like, you know, maybe they did an event or two with Planned Parenthood and just seemed like our values aligned. So, yeah, I. Like a dork. I made a Spreadsheet of like, you know, the different ownership groups and. Yeah, but I, but I did my homework and came through.
- [25:36]
A
I love it. I'd love to see that spreadsheet one day.
- [25:40]
B
I still have it anymore, but I still have it. Almost. Yes. Actually, yes. Six years old is like around this time, maybe late May or early June. I was like, why does. The 2019 season was starting and the way I got into that was because I didn't really follow sports of any kind growing up. I used to be in the camp of. I watched the super bowl for the commercials.
- [26:04]
A
Yeah.
- [26:05]
B
But somebody I met a couple times. We weren't friends or anything, we weren't close, but somebody who was in grad school at UMBC the same, the same time I was. He made it into the G League to the men's developmental league of the NBA. So I followed his one season in the G League. I didn't even follow the regular men NBA. I followed his G league season really closely. I knew which teams were better and you know, like, you know, playoff picture and. And then after one season of that, I was like, wait, this is silly. I'm following the men's developmental league and there's an entire women's league that, like top level that I'm not following. And so that's how I got into the wnba. So kind of a roundabout way. And then the rest is just snowball. Women's sport, you know, women's soccer, women's hockey. Like, I'm a season ticket holder with the Washington Spirit. I'm not a big soccer fan per se, but I'm a women's sports fan in general, so.
- [26:58]
A
Ah, so that's what, that's driving it. So the women's is what's driving it.
- [27:03]
B
It's just such a healthier culture. It's a lot of fun in terms of like, I feel like the fans are more fun, the owners are more fun, the athletes are more fun. Yeah, yeah. It's just, it's. It's a different culture, but it's, it's like a breath of fresh air.
- [27:20]
A
So. All right, I go to games, I go to basketball, I go to all these different sport games, but I don't sit in the stands and go, huh? I want to own the team.
- [27:29]
B
Right.
- [27:30]
A
So what clicks for you that goes, I want to own a team?
- [27:35]
B
Yeah. I, I wanted to invest. I'd been looking at investing, you know, for a couple of years.
- [27:41]
A
And what, what age were you when this thought you wanted to invest? How old were you?
- [27:46]
B
Just, just within the Last, last couple years. So like late ones. Yeah. Okay.
- [27:49]
A
So late 20s.
- [27:50]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [27:51]
A
A lot of late 20 year olds are thinking about what bar they're going to go to this weekend.
- [27:55]
B
I'm also speaking of spreadsheets. The WNBA ownership spreadsheet has nothing on my spreadsheet of local live music places, which frankly I should have done a lot sooner because what I, what I used to do was I used to have, I used to have a million tabs in my phone browser sorted by location of like. So I live in D.C. area. So like, okay, Maryland, D.C. northern Virginia, where I have family. Family on my mom's side. And then after a while I was like, I should just make a spread because it's not just a matter of having a list of places because you don't really need a spreadsheet for that. Some, you know, obviously you have your common days of Fridays and Saturdays to have a live music, but some places will have like Wednesdays or Thursdays occasionally. And I'm like, you know, I have like fear of missing out, so I'm like, I want so. And there's. I know of like a couple other people locally who make similar lists, but I don't, I don't want to rely on theirs for accuracy, so. Or completeness. You know what I mean? So. Yeah, so I have this even yet wilder spreadsheet of, of local live music places and. Okay, is there information on the website and you know, do they do like Facebook or whatever? So, so what makes. Oh yeah, you were saying what I think about what bar I would be going to. Yeah, so that, that is also something I, you know, track or put effort into. But yeah, in terms of, yeah, the investing, like I said. Yeah, I just, I wanted to, I wanted to invest in. So the, the WNFC Women's National Football Conference was in touch with them for a few months and they kind of helped me out, make sure it was the right fit. And I'm grateful for this opportunity.
- [29:43]
A
Yeah, you. So you move. You were in Georgia at the time?
- [29:49]
B
No, so I, so I was born in D.C. lived in Germantown, Maryland. So like D.C. suburbs for the first 15 months or so of my life. And then my mom got some kind of big promotion. She was working for Honda at the time. Some kind of big thing. They wanted her to go down to, to the Atlanta area.
- [30:07]
A
Alpharetta.
- [30:08]
B
So I lived, Yeah, I lived in Marietta for a couple years as an infant. I don't have memories of that. But then Alpharetta for a few years until I was so from age 1 to age 13, I was in suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
- [30:22]
A
Yeah. How did they, how did they pair you? Like you said you talked to the WFNC or wnfc.
- [30:28]
B
Yep.
- [30:28]
A
Nfc. How did they pair you or how did that process happen to know what team you were going to have or what?
- [30:35]
B
Oh, well, the, the Atlanta was a good fit because I see I'm only 31. See, if you would just interviewed me a few days ago, I would have gotten to say I was 30.
- [30:46]
A
That's awesome.
- [30:47]
B
June 1st. I've been jokingly telling people I was scheduled to. Scheduled to turn 31 June 1, but I was in another state at the time, so it didn't happen. I was in South Carolina for my cousin's wedding. But yeah, so basically where I was going with that was when you're only 31, 12 years is a lot of your life. So if somebody asks me where I'm from, I'll say Gaithersburg, Maryland, because that's where I've been since 2007. But, but, you know, my childhood effectively was in. Was in Atlanta suburbs. So when the opportunity was there for this Atlanta expansion team, like, I'm not just a sole owner, I'm the first owner. So we're one of the three expansion franchises this year. In 2025 of the WNFC, are you the youngest owner? That's a good question. There is one guy. He's the. I think his title is. He's the president of one of the other expansion teams. He's like a year or so younger than me, but he and his mom are the, are the ones in charge of that team. That's Jersey Shore Wave. So another one of the expansion franchises this year. Other than that, I don't know if there's. I don't know if there's anybody other than us.
- [32:04]
A
Yeah. What does that future look like for you? What are you seeing in that store?
- [32:10]
B
I'm optimistic. I'm excited. It's. It's been a lot of fun. I've been telling people I'm under an NDA, so I can't tell you what I paid for the team, but this new ownership group that's coming, it might be. Might be a pair a couple guys who are coming in. And now 2026, there will be a. Another team in California. So that's our expansion franchise for next year. They paid five times what I had to pay for my team, and they only came in a few months after me. It's not like it's been three years or anything. So. And I tell people it's like that Everywhere in women's 4th, evaluations are spiking. You look at. You look at women's soccer and like, I swear, like, five or six years ago, those teams were worth two, three, maybe $5 million. And now the cheapest ones are, like, 40. And then, yeah, you have one that's sold for 100, 150. 200. Angel City FC, which is women's soccer in Los Angeles, sold for $250 million last. Last calendar year. So it's not just speculative. It's not just somebody sitting on the sidelines saying, oh, I think this team is worth, like, it's. It's put into practice.
- [33:31]
A
Yeah. Deals are happening and sponsors are in there. Not little ones either. Yeah, right.
- [33:37]
B
Who do you.
- [33:38]
A
You guys have some big ones?
- [33:39]
B
Yes. Wnfc. We have a great, huge partnership with Adidas. Huge. I mean, when I. When I went to our owners conference this past year, I mean, you show up and it was like an Adidas store had thrown up on the. On the place. But at least with an Adidas store, you'd have merchandise spread out so you can see it. But somebody would, like, take off an Adidas jacket, and there was an Adidas shirt underneath, but. But, yeah, huge. They're a great partner. And Riddell. So helmets, just like they wear in the NFL. All our helmets are Riddell Dove. So there are. Body confidence. Partner.
- [34:21]
A
Yeah.
- [34:23]
B
That's incredible.
- [34:25]
A
What's it like? Put me in the. Put me in the stands for a game. What's the feeling? How's it different than other sports?
- [34:32]
B
And it's. It's fun. It's a good atmosphere. It's. It'll. It'll vary depending on the team for the crowd size. But. And so a lot of our. A lot of our teams play in high school stadiums. I think maybe a couple are in college. College stadiums. Now, where the Jersey Shore team plays is really cool because they play in Hinchliffe Stadium, which is a historic stadium, was used for Negro league games. And. Yeah, that one's. That one's really cool. So I've been to their. Yeah, I've been to their stadium and.
- [35:10]
A
Where you guys play, where we had.
- [35:13]
B
Our first two games at Southern Crescent Stadium just outside Atlanta, and then our third home game was at Lithia Springs High School. So. Yeah, awesome.
- [35:32]
A
What's. What's next for you? What else? You look. You gotta be looking at other stuff, right?
- [35:37]
B
I. I have a couple things in the works. You mean outside of wnfc? Yeah, a Couple things in the works. I'll wait till it's final to talk about that, but. Yeah, no, I'm, I'm, I'm grateful just for the chance to be. To be looking into this stuff. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's. It's been a lot of fun. I didn't, I didn't ever aspire to be a CEO. I didn't. It wasn't like a dream of mine, but I've been having fun and grateful for our staff, our coaches.
- [36:09]
A
Yeah. Where do you like to get educated now? Are you a podcast guy? You hardcover book?
- [36:17]
B
Ooh. Yeah. I mean, I liked to read all the time. As a kid. Nowadays, honestly, a lot of my reading is academic texts because I'm a tutor. That's my main job. So started there in 2019. Also small tutoring place about 15 or 20 minutes walking from where I live. So I really like that. It's a nice commute and it keeps my brain sharp. Ends up being a lot of math, but a lot of what we do is ACT or SAT prep. So, you know, kids taking college admissions tests to, to get into college, but also just. They want help with their, Their schoolwork.
- [36:54]
A
Yeah.
- [36:55]
B
So math, Spanish, science. Yeah, whatever they want.
- [36:59]
A
See that? So parents that are listening, you never know what your tutor. You never know who your tutor is. Don't just make assumptions your tutor might own a sports team.
- [37:11]
B
Yep. Yep.
- [37:12]
A
Is that your. Like, I'm going to guess that that's your thing, but. What, what's your thing? I think you love that, that tutoring, teaching. Is that your thing? Would you say that Cameron's thing?
- [37:24]
B
Yeah, I'd probably say. I mean, if you, if you made me pick one, I would probably say music. Started playing piano when I was 5 and still do that. Picked up guitar a little bit. My guitar playing is very basic, but piano and guitar are my two. My two instruments. Music? Yeah. No, I love math. My bachelor's is in biology and my master's is in biotech, both from umbc. But no, I'm grateful to have a job, like I said that I can walk to and that I. That I really like. We're just the one location, not a chain. So my boss is really cool. She's down to earth and.
- [38:03]
A
Yeah, yeah, it's awesome, man. I'm so glad Jack put us together.
- [38:08]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And I can't bring myself to call him Jack because he's Mr. Busco. He's my seventh grade Spanish teacher. He was great. And I'm also grateful I've had A lot of really great teachers over the years.
- [38:20]
A
Yeah.
- [38:21]
B
And he's. He's certainly one of them. Yeah, he would. I've always. And this is something I got from my mom, love of languages. Not just specific languages, but like, kind of how languages work and etymology and. And she. I mean, she had. She had a. Verb conjugations in French. French verb conjugations taped to the wall of her apartment. So. Yeah, I get that from her for sure. But he worked with me. Mr. Busco worked with me outside of Cloud, like, during lunch on little linguistics exercises. Like, he was my Spanish teacher, but we would, you know, he had these little exercises where you try to figure out, like a. Take a completely, like, obscure foreign language and you'd have to kind of decode. Okay, well, based on this context, this means that. So. Yeah.
- [39:08]
A
So, yeah, he's. He's a machine. What is he? I think he's up to like seven languages now. Fully fluming.
- [39:16]
B
I. I believe it. I believe it. I don't even. I don't remember if he told us or if I just forgot, but, yeah, now I would totally believe that.
- [39:24]
A
Yeah. Yeah. So I get to see him all the time. He's a. He's a gift. A gift to be around such a great guy. So, Cameron, thank you for your time today. Absolutely. Leave us one. Leave us one. One gold nugget here. So if there's somebody out there listening who has any kind of inkling but might not know that the next steps. If they think, oh, my goodness, now that I know his story, that might make sense for me. What. What do they do?
- [39:56]
B
No, I don't know if I'm wise enough to have an answer.
- [39:59]
A
Do they go to that site that you mentioned, that 23 site?
- [40:05]
B
Oh, like the genetics? Oh, I didn't do 23 new. I did ancestry, but.
- [40:08]
A
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where should they go? Which. Where should they start?
- [40:14]
B
I mean, it's certainly. You never know. It's. That's something that. I mean, everybody has a different story that can. That can open. Open a door kind of.
- [40:29]
A
Yeah.
- [40:30]
B
But if you're. I wasn't sure if you're just talking about, like, just general advice or.
- [40:38]
A
Sorry. On the. On the genetic side.
- [40:40]
B
Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I. Yeah, it was. It was a great gift. That was. I mean, I. When I was younger, I figured I might have, like, three or four half siblings. It wasn't. I wasn't expecting this many. So. Um, it's. And I know people raise, like, privacy concerns and like. Okay, what that company can do with your information and stuff, but it's like, it's not like I regret doing this, you know, and not everybody's story is the same, but not everybody has the same, you know, situation. But, but yeah, I mean, I just, I wish I'd done this sooner. Figured out, so that's awesome.
- [41:22]
A
Why is your name per. Totally off topic when you. Why is your name purple when you call me? How did you do that in the settings?
- [41:28]
B
Oh, oh, I'm gonna help so many.
- [41:31]
A
People out right now.
- [41:33]
B
Is it through iPhone settings or through the Riverside? Because I didn't change any settings in the. In your podcast app when you call me.
- [41:41]
A
You're the only human being and I have over 3,000 contacts in my phone when you call me.
- [41:46]
B
Yeah, I bet. I'm put it up on a regular phone call. Yeah. Yeah. That was deliberate. Yeah. Yeah. Purple. Yeah. Yeah. What'd you do to do it somewhere in the settings? I don't know.
- [41:57]
A
I love it. I've never seen it once.
- [41:59]
B
I have a really, really good memory. I have a really good memory, but I do not remember the exact combination of menu buttons to press to to make that. But that's, that's easy enough to figure out. I could. Yeah, I could show you that.
- [42:10]
A
I'm gonna post it up here when you do get it because now I, I, I'm dying to change. I want to change mine because it makes you stand out so much.
- [42:17]
B
You wild. Yeah.
- [42:19]
A
So memorable.
- [42:20]
B
You can change. Like, I think they let you change from a few, pick from a few fonts and.
- [42:25]
A
Yeah, never seen it before. All right, thanks for coming on and sharing your story, man. I'm really, really thankful.
- [42:31]
B
Thank you so much, Jeff, to have you.
- [42:33]
A
All right, we'll be in touch.
- [42:34]
B
Sounds good. Thanks.