Podcast Announcer (2:13)

Yeah.

Les (2:14)

I can relate to that so much. It's that tendency to move the goalpost.

Taylor Wicks (2:17)

Yeah.

Les (2:18)

Which is so tempting.

Taylor Wicks (2:19)

Yeah. And also thinking that like whatever is the goal is in the Next thing. And you think it for every single next thing. But it's also difficult because you feel like that is one of the reasons that you've gotten to where you've gotten. But maybe it isn't so good for you, you know, mentally, or how you see yourself or how you see the world, but it's just hard trying to parse out the parts of yourself that are necessary for your success but are detrimental to you as an individual and wellbeing. Yeah, for sure.

Les (2:50)

So one of the themes that I really love to explore on this show is the idea that luck is not something that just happens, but that it's often something that we consciously create.

Taylor Wicks (2:58)

Oh, my gosh. Am I gonna get the question? Yes, I've seen the up. I know what you're gonna ask.

Les (3:04)

So first, I would love to know, when was the last time you felt lucky, and that could have been something that you created for yourself or maybe a moment where it did feel like things were aligned for you?

Taylor Wicks (3:13)

I'll give two. I'll give, like, at a macro level and a micro level. Macro. I mean, I feel like I'm living in just, like, the luckiest year of my life. I feel good individually. I just got married. I'm starting what is quite literally my dream job. And I think that there is an element of luck in the fact that that is happening for me as well. So I would say that I just. I feel lucky. I'd say on a micro level, like, professionally, something lucky that just happened. I'll try to, like, convince it. I would say the luck started when I was 19. So when I was 19 years old, I was in college, and I had been emailing the NBA like, a hundred times a day because I wanted them to credential me to be able to go to All Star Weekend to get interviews and get a media pass, whatever the case may be. When I was 19, I got lucky, and they said yes. So I ended up driving from Champaign, Illinois, to Orlando for All Star Weekend. And when I was there, I, like, wasn't getting any interviews. It's like, the best of the best was there is the one and only time I got to meet Kobe Bryant. Like, Dwyane Wade was an All Star then. You had, like, the international stars like Sergi Baca and things like that. But it was so many people there, and it was just, like, hard to get an interview, and they were rushing people in and out. But Kevin Durant was there, and he could tell I was, like, a student reporter. So when I asked him if I Could ask him a question. He said yes. Everyone was saying no, but he said yes. And I ended up asking him, like, three questions that I got to put on my reel, Whatever. But that was the beginning of a really great friendship for Kevin and I. So fast forward to this year. Kevin asked me to interview him on stage at this event called Fanatics Fest. And he was in the middle of trade rumors. Everybody knew that eventually he was going to leave the Suns, which is where he was at. But the trade news broke while we were on stage. So I'm interviewing him, and the crowd is going crazy because they find out that Kevin Durant is going to the Rockets. It was a huge moment for me, just because that never happens, getting a live reaction to somebody being traded. But the reason I say the luck is come to find out, obviously, a. That Kevin and I are friends. But come to find out, the reason it even broke while we were on stage was because the insider was on a plane where he had bad WI fi, so he had to wait to break the news until he landed. So if he had good WI fi, I wouldn't have had that lucky moment of, like, having this time where Katie got traded. And it was just. It was everywhere. So. So I think the luck that I created with the relationship with kd, but then the real luck of Shams not having WI fi on his flight and the timing, aligning. Timing. Yeah. We were on there for an hour. So, like, the fact that it happened, it happened at the very end. So it was just a really cool moment.

Les (5:44)

That is so cool. And I do love that example of that mix of you putting yourself out there, like, as a student, emailing the MBA until you got the credential. Like, that's action that you took to create the luck, getting yourself in the space and then also the timing.

Taylor Wicks (5:57)

Totally. Yeah. And it was a lot of unanswered emails. I was like, I just kept emailing until I could get to someone, and they're like, okay, this annoying student is, say, is, you know, badgering us every day. And they said, yes. Different time. I don't know if that would happen now.

Les (6:11)

Yeah, yeah. But that persistence is also really important. Yeah, yeah, for sure. In addition to persistence, do you feel like there's other qualities that you've had or that you've grown into that have helped you get to where you are?

Taylor Wicks (6:24)

That's a really great question. Things that I've grown into. I think you have to definitely learn that your opinion is the opinion, not that you shouldn't ask other people. You Absolutely should. You should understand, you know, your blind spots and. And things that you're missing. And you for sure, ask people that are smarter than you or experts in the space of the thing that you don't know. Something that I have seen as people maybe get more successful, they stop judging themselves by their expectations, and they judge themselves by what other people want from them. And when you do that, you're kind of inherently taking away what your magic is. Cause, like, it's your expectations that got you to that place. And I would find myself doing that sometimes. And so I just think I had to learn to lean into trusting what my thought is and my way, because it hasn't really led me wrong yet. And so I would say that, which I think is just another way to describe confidence. I would say being confident in just what you believe and what you think. But, you know, what is really important is caring about the work that you're doing, dedicating to the work that you're doing that day. So that when you step into the work, you are elite and you can excel. And that only comes from making a very conscious decision. Decision to prepare for it. And that's something else that has helped me.

Les (7:48)

Okay, I want to come back to both of those things that you just said.

Taylor Wicks (7:50)

Yeah.

Les (7:50)

Because I really appreciated your point about kind of trusting your intuition and trusting the vision that you have for yourself. Because I do agree that when we rely too much on outside opinions, even with people that we love, even with people that we trust, even with people that may have good intentions, sometimes other people's either limiting beliefs or limitations or things that they think are or are not possible, or when we rely too much on outside opinions can start to seep in.

Taylor Wicks (8:17)

Yeah.

Les (8:18)

And it's really hard to unhear some of that once you hear it.

Taylor Wicks (8:22)

Yeah. And it's also. It's just, so I say, like, all the time, it's very easy to become other people's projections. If you, when you were hearing something so much, you're starting to think, are they right? Do I do that? Like, is that me? And as much as you, like, try to resist it. There are just things that I think happen because of osmosis. You're just hearing something over and over and over again. Which is why what you tell yourself, like, you have to say that as often as you might hear its counterpart. But I also think I'm trying to think of the right way to say this. Like, when we sometimes don't even realize when something is a limit. And sometimes when you're Trying to ask somebody else about yourself. They only know what they know, but you know everything about you. And some people don't understand your ability or even your mobility that you can do X, Y and Z, because maybe they've only seen you do X. So like when I was just doing the NBA, I don't think people thought I was an NFL girl because they had only seen me do the NBA. But I knew that I could do anything or even with hosting. I think most people made me think that I'm an interviewer. But I know that I started out hosting, that I will be a really good host because I know what I think about myself. I even think about Amazon. For example, Amazon started out just selling books and to most people Amazon was just a bookseller. Now Amazon is obviously the biggest company in the world and now they stream NFL and NBA and they started selling books. But everyone at Amazon likely knew what Amazon could be. Did the outside? Probably not. Who knows? So when you are looking for the other opinions, they genuinely, in all actuality don't mean anything because they are hindered by their knowledge and they don't have the knowledge of you like you have. And so it's just, it's always important to me to say, like, does this person actually even know what I can do? Because if I listened to just what everybody thought I could do, I would be doing the same thing I was doing right when I graduated college because they were convinced that that was all I could do when I was doing it. And now I do this. So it's silly to think that somebody else knows you more than you know yourself.

Les (10:46)

So true. And then on the flip side, have you felt like you've also had expanders who have helped you expand what you believe is possible? And what has that looked like for you?

Taylor Wicks (10:55)

Oh my God, absolutely. I would say, like, I owe my career to just the expanders, the people that said, okay, I see something in her and I believe in her. When I was in college, I covered every Illinois basketball and football game and there was a cameraman that was always at the basketball games and me and him had like a friendship. I would always go say hi. He would like watch my standup and say, oh, that was good, you should do this more. We just kind of had this like, it was like in the movie up, you know, he was just like this older, seasoned guy that was just great. His name was Clem and he worked the games at U of I. But he would always say, I think you're really good. Like you're natural Talent, whatever. And for one of the big Illinois games, the executive producer of the Big Ten Network had come on site, and Clem was like, you should meet the student Taylor. Because Klim just, like, believed in the work I was doing. And my dear friend and cameraman Clem introduced me to Quentin, and that led to my first job out of school. And it was just because Quentin believed in what I was doing. In turn, Quentin believed in what I was doing and gave me that job. And then I think about Aminah, who has hired me at Amazon. She saw what I was doing with the NBA and said, okay, we can bring this to the NFL. There have just been so many people that saw, like, a little thing and felt like they could expand it at every single turn in my career. You know, you. Everyone, you know, owes it to someone that believed in them. So that has absolutely, absolutely happened. Who's that for you?

Les (12:31)

I love that.

Guest Speaker (12:32)

Ooh, that's a good question.

Les (12:33)

I think some of my biggest expanders have honestly been peers who were, like, a step or two ahead of where I was and helped me see that more things were possible. Even earlier this summer, I went on a brand trip with some other creators, and a lot of them have bigger platforms than me. And I almost had this mindset of.

Podcast Announcer (12:51)

Like, ooh, I'm, like, happy to be here.

Les (12:53)

Which I think it's good to be happy, to be somewhere and to have gratitude. But for them, it was, like, very regular what we were doing. Very regular. And then I was like, oh, if I'm around people who this is regular for, this is going to start to become regular for me, too. And I can still be grateful, but, like, it has shifted my perspective in a lot of ways. Just spending time around people who have higher expectations of themselves and their experiences has, like, helped me have higher expectations.

Taylor Wicks (13:21)

Oh, that's really great. Yeah. And just also experiencing it and seeing that, like, this community, I'm sure all the people that you were looking at maybe at one point felt exactly how you felt, and now they're like, oh, yeah, this is. This is regular. And I think you should expect that for yourself, you know? And I'm sure now you do. You're like, this is. This is the norm. This is what I have built, and this is what I deserve, and all those things.

Podcast Announcer (13:46)

Yeah.

Les (13:46)

And it's exciting to see that happen or things that maybe previously were like, a dream day. Right. This is, like, one day a dream that's now a regular day.

Taylor Wicks (13:55)

Yeah.

Les (13:56)

Do you ever feel like that as well?

Taylor Wicks (13:58)

Yeah, I mean, I feel like every day is a dream, you know, Like, I enjoy going to work, I enjoy everybody that I work with. You know, I get to do the thing that I have wanted to do since literally as long as I can remember. And I'm thankful for that every single day because it's, it always never feels real. It's like, what is the downside of this thing that I'm doing? Because I, I only feel like it's all good, which is also another thing that I am working through. Always feeling like bad is around the corner because there's so much good. But no, I feel like a dream every single day.

Podcast Announcer (14:40)

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Guest Speaker (17:45)

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Les (18:11)

But here's the thing.

Guest Speaker (18:12)

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Taylor Wicks (18:28)

Good luck.

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Les (19:33)

That feeling of feeling like the other shoe is going to drop is so persistent. Why do you think that is?

Taylor Wicks (19:41)

I don't know. And I used to hate saying it until I realized everyone feels that way. Until I would just have conversations with particularly women and we would all have this similar, like, anxiety about feeling joy, like there's maybe too much of it. And so now I really start to think about just having a large capacity for goodness. Because why is it that I'm always thinking I don't deserve this, like, good, happy joy that I'm feeling right now? And I don't know why it is so persistent. I just know that it is. And I think it's really important to just name it and recognize it when it is happening. Because I sort of used to just have the feeling and then keep going. But now I say, why? Why am I thinking bad? Why do I feel like this? Things are good, Life is good. I am operating in a space that isn't reality. I am mad about a thing or sad about a thing, or anxious about a thing that literally hasn't happened and just reminding myself of that. But I don't know why every person has this, has this experience. Why do you think?

Les (20:48)

Yeah, I mean, I think it's to keep ourselves safe from disappointment. Because sometimes if bad things inevitably happen, like life, life's for everybody. And I think that if it happens abruptly or if it feels very jarring, that can feel not worse. But if you feel caught off guard, it's like, oh, I was not prepared for this thing. And so I think sometimes we tend to skew towards over preparation for bad things happening out of fear of disappointment or not wanting to get too excited when good things happen out of either fear of it going away or not wanting to be disappointed if it doesn't work out. Something that I've tried to do is be just as prepared for, like, good as bad. So something I've talked about on the podcast a lot is I have a journaling practice called Best Case Scenario journaling.

Taylor Wicks (21:35)

Oh, nice.

Les (21:36)

So in the morning, I'll write how I want the day to go, assuming best case scenarios, but to try to also prepare for the best, be just as prepared for the best as I.

Podcast Announcer (21:44)

Am for the worst.

Les (21:45)

And it's something I've done for a few years that's been really helpful, but I think it's just a protection mechanism.

Taylor Wicks (21:51)

Does that, does that help you?

Les (21:53)

And it's helped me so much yeah.

Podcast Announcer (21:55)

Oh, my gosh.

Les (21:55)

So much. I feel like my life has completely changed in the past two years that I've been doing it.

Taylor Wicks (22:01)

Really? What is preparing for the worst?

Les (22:04)

I think it's just kind of always being ready for that other shoe to drop or trying to be ready to catch it, or for me, it's looked like not letting myself get too excited. Maybe if I hear good news, but it's not final yet, or if I don't know if, like, the ink is dry, like, not letting myself get too excited because, you know. Yeah, the rug may be pulled out.

Taylor Wicks (22:23)

Yeah. No, that makes sense. I think it's great to have sort of this kind of rubric for yourself and like, regulating your emotions and things like that. I think for me, I think it might be hard for me to do best case scenario, worst case scenario, because I don't know, I think I would be, I don't know, still planning. I think for the bad would be bad for me as opposed to, like, letting the day be what it is. Because I feel like I do that. I feel like I'm. Oh, I am preparing for what that worst case scenario is. But just subconsciously preparing for the worst means I am unable to experience the best. Just me personally, I don't know. I gotta think about that. How if I think that work because I want to adopt something new to try to be. To try to be better at this. But it's the same way, like with the Internet. It's like I try not to care about when someone is saying something good about me because then you'd care about the bad. And I feel like, I don't know, I'd be thinking okay about the best case and then worried about the worst case, you know?

Guest Speaker (23:23)

Yeah.

Les (23:23)

Like that neutral space. Yeah.

Taylor Wicks (23:25)

Yeah.

Les (23:25)

I've found. I think why best case scenario journaling has been so helpful for me is because, honestly, a lot of the things that I'll write about for, like, the best case scenarios don't actually happen. But I think because I start my day off looking for that opportunity of, like, what is the best case that could happen? I still see little good things that I maybe wouldn't have noticed before.

Taylor Wicks (23:45)

Yeah.

Les (23:46)

Because I'd be journaling about all kinds of stuff that has not happened yet. But then I tend to notice, like, the little things of, like, oh, this really nice person, like, said hi to me on my walk, or, you know, like, I hit this new PR at the gym that if I wouldn't have already been kind of thinking that way, I probably would have Just glossed over.

Taylor Wicks (24:06)

Yeah, it's like manifesting. Manifesting just goodness throughout your day. And this is like the North Star of the best case scenario.

Podcast Announcer (24:14)

Yeah.

Les (24:15)

Well, I want you to try it.

Guest Speaker (24:16)

I want you to try.

Les (24:16)

Well, you know, I will, but just.

Taylor Wicks (24:18)

Trying to try new things. So I got you. I'll keep you updated, report back. I will.

Les (24:22)

I would love to talk to you a little bit more about your work.

Taylor Wicks (24:24)

Okay.

Les (24:25)

And I want to talk to you about your experiences being a woman working in a lot of very male dominated space spaces and what that has been like for you. Obviously, covering sports, you predominantly cover men's sports. Have there been challenges that you've experienced as a woman working in predominantly male spaces? If so, what have those been? And do you feel like you've been able to turn some of those challenges into opportunities?

Taylor Wicks (24:54)

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, so first, of course there are 80 billion challenges just being a woman generally. But of course, you know, being a woman in sports, where there are a lot of males that work in it, also male sports fans, you're just. It's your orbit, it's men, men, men, men. But I always really begin this conversation by saying how much I enjoy being a woman and that there are a lot of things that I believe make me good at my job because of my experience as a woman, or at least what comes from being a woman. I believe that people trust us more instantly. I believe that we have like a warmth. There's also just a strength and a get it done mentality that comes from being a woman. And those are all things that I credit a lot of my success in the space to. And I think sometimes when people talk about being a woman in sports, it is framed as an obstacle. And while there are obstacles, I believe them to be external and not just because I am a woman. I think that one trying to reframe the idea that sports is male dominated because yes, of course, there are, like I said, 80 billion trillion men in this arena. But I don't feel like they dominate. I think that the people that are really great at the job dominate. I think a lot of the top sports media members right now are women. So I at least see some of the shift in that. But I also never want to feel like I am being invited into a space that they own because I don't feel that way and I have never felt that way. And so I think that the challenge is a continuing to believe that because I think a lot of them want to feel like you are being invited into their space. Of course there's the challenge of making sure they know that you are capable, that you are talented, that you are smart, that you are there for all of the reasons that they are there. And a lot of the time more because of this constant prove it, prove it, prove it, prove it, that you are going through as a woman. I'd say three. I think women in this space are incredibly over sexualized, all women. I think that there is a different tone to it, though, when it is black women that are overly sexualized. I probably say those are. Those are kind of the top three. But again, I think you. You really always have to lead with, again, the good. Because I do feel like being a woman has put me in infinite positions as well.

Les (27:36)

Can we talk more, more about that kind of the opportunities, that opportunities piece and what that's been like for you?

Taylor Wicks (27:41)

Yeah. You mean the being a woman and the opportunities. Yeah. I think again, when it comes to interviewing, I think people want to open up. And now I don't want to only attribute it to that. I think that also is, you know, listening skills and like I said, it's warmth, it's caring about your guests and caring about your job, all of those things. But I also believe in just those. The leadership skills that some people maybe don't equate to leadership skills that women have, like empathy and understanding. I always try my best to see all sides of something, and I think that's something that women do really well. We have different kinds of intelligence, specifically emotional intelligence. And I think that that really helps in interviews, being able to understand maybe what someone doesn't want to talk about or what could make them safe to feel like they could talk about it, or we just are able to, I think, pick up on some other things. I also approach sports stories differently because I'm a woman. I may be seeing some of the human interests and maybe some of the lifestyle, but also understanding their on court and off field, but really knowing that you can't have one without the other. They're who they are there because of who they are here, and they're who they are here because of who they are there. I just think women have the ability to have a real 360 view and also see individuals as whole people. And largely because I don't know if we're always seen as whole people so we can tell the full story of someone. I think we're great listeners. Yeah. I mean, so. So many things that I think have just opened doors that I directly attribute to my womanhood.

Les (29:23)

What I appreciated about what you said is that it reminded me of other conversations that I've had. Similarly, also about being a black person in America. Being a black woman in America, where it's like, being black is not difficult. Being a black woman is not difficult. These systems outside of us make things difficult because that's what they're designed to do. But inherently, us being who we are, it's not a bad thing. It's not a difficulty. It's not a burden by any means. It's these systems that play and these powers that be that are making things more difficult for us than they should be.

Taylor Wicks (29:53)

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's just so important to always keep that front of mind because, like, you are not to blame for how you're being seen. You just have to show up as yourself. Like, someone I always think about is, like, Angel Reese, for example. I love Angel Reese. And I think for a while, angel was having to battle with being seen. Like, just being her was too much. And I am so thankful that she never dimmed, like, who she was because of how it was being received by people that were committed to misunderstanding her.

Les (30:34)

Yeah, exactly. I love that you used angel as an example also because she's so young, and the fact that she's been able to stand in her authenticity so firmly at such a young age, I think is really amazing.

Taylor Wicks (30:45)

Absolutely.

Les (30:45)

Yeah.

Taylor Wicks (30:46)

She's the best.

Les (30:46)

One of the other things that you also mentioned was for a lot of women, in of spite, sport being sexualized.

Taylor Wicks (30:52)

Yeah.

Les (30:53)

I would love to talk a little bit more about that piece and kind of what that looks like for women in the space. If you felt like that's happened to you and how you navigate that.

Taylor Wicks (31:03)

Yeah, I mean, it looks like doing an interview and all of the comments or some, like, inappropriate, suggestive thing about you and the person that you're interviewing, it's wearing the most simple outfit, like a turtleneck and pants, and people saying, oh, my God, that is inappropriate for tv just because, you know, your body may curve a different way. You know, what else are you gonna wear? You wanna look good on television? I would say that for sure. I think it is the sort of barrage of, you know, you're here because you're pretty, you just look good. You're eye candy for the fan, whatever the case may be. That inherently then lends itself to you being sexualized because then they're only able to see you as a woman and not even placing the right value on what it means to be a woman. So, yeah, that is something that I think happens Every day. But what I always say to like young women coming up right now, that is why it is important to not feel married to social media because that's the majority of where that sort of discussion happens. And one of the best things I did was like early in my career letting go of social because and I'm not being dramatic when I say this, it's like I think social media will ruin you if you care too much about it. You can't care about the comments of others, you can't read them, you can't make their comments change what you do or don't do. When I very first started I was like what? 21, 22. My first job was at the Big Ten Network. So I'm like a recent graduate but I'm on this show that is like a, you know, it's a national show at five o' clock every day. It's like their flagship program and I'm aimless. Like I graduated school and went right to this show and I would go on air and then the first thing I would do when I get to my desk was like see what people were saying about me. I would like search myself and see do they like what I said? Do they like what I war I changed my hair today. Did they like that? And it was just not a way to live. And you tell yourself, oh well you need the feedback because the viewer is like your audience, you know, whatever the case may be, but you don't. And I know people that now like in their 30s, that is still their practice of going on air and then going to see what someone said about them. And really the only people that you should care about what they have to say are your close friends, your family, most importantly people that are paying you. That's the feedback that you want to get. That is who you are servicing. That person has the same goal of making it great for the viewer. You should care about those people. Social media is a place that you have to get away from especially when it comes to just being a woman and the over sexualization what people say because it's already not a real place but if you are living in it, it feels very real to you all the time.

Les (34:12)

So key it kind of reminds me of what we were talking about at the beginning of the conversation about just external voices and I know we were talking about that, we're talking about people that we know but then when it's thousands of people that you don't know, it's like that times a million.

Taylor Wicks (34:27)

Totally. And it's so Silly to listen to that. Like, why this person that you don't know, that doesn't know you, the only thing you know about them is that they have a Twitter account.

Les (34:36)

Yeah.

Taylor Wicks (34:36)

You know, but what they say is the most important thing ever. And then you're making these decisions. It's just. It's crazy. But that is where the majority, I would say, of the, like, over sexualization happens. But I do still think it is important to bring that up, because despite the fact that it is just social media, it is a thing that happens. Social is a part of everyone's job. You know, you post your clips, your company is posting it on YouTube. It is a part of the job that we do. But you have to just let it be a part of it. Because a lot of the other stuff can be really unhealthy.

Podcast Announcer (35:11)

Yeah.

Les (35:11)

And not all consuming.

Taylor Wicks (35:13)

Yeah.

Les (35:13)

Yeah, for sure.

Taylor Wicks (35:14)

Almost.

Les (35:15)

Seeing social media is another place to obviously share the message, share the story, but not get too tied into the other conversations that people are having about it.

Taylor Wicks (35:25)

For sure. Yeah. Cause I mean, I don't. I mean, I would consider this over sexualization light, but, like, even there's sort of just this running joke about me. This happens in real life and online that when I do these interviews, the men just spill everything about their life because they're like, oh, my goodness, I can't help it. She's so pretty. I have to tell her everything. Which is. Makes no sense. But it's also super demeaning because it makes sense. You're basically saying that the interview is good because you think I'm pretty, as opposed to the interview is good because I asked really great questions and that person felt comfortable and we had a great back and forth. Like, you're attributing the successes that I'm having to things that are incredibly irrelevant. And it has been like this longstanding NBA Twitter joke that I just cannot get away from. And I don't even think people realize that what they are doing in that moment is over sexualizing me. Because you're doing it so much that you're saying it trumps my job like that. That's why she's good. That's why this happened. That's why this interview went viral.

Les (36:36)

You've been doing this your entire life and so many countless hours into developing these skills and Totally.

Taylor Wicks (36:43)

But they want that to be your story. So, yeah, it rears its ugly head in many ways.

Les (36:49)

Yeah.

Podcast Announcer (36:58)

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I take it first thing in the.

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Les (42:00)

On the flip side of more exciting things, particularly with the NBA season coming up, with NBA coverage, moving to Amazon prime, which is something that you're leading this year, which is incredibly huge. Can we talk about this moment and how exciting this moment is for you.

Taylor Wicks (42:14)

Every time someone says it out loud, I just want to scream. Yeah. I mean, I know I said this, but I mean, it. It is a dream job. It is every single thing that I feel like I have ever worked for, I get to do it with the best team. And I mean the team that will be on the desk with me, the teams that will be producing, the teams behind the camera, the teams that are at the game. We have accumulated so much stellar talent, faces that we know, and a lot of new faces that I'm incredibly, incredibly lucky and excited to work with. But we also get to really build something from the ground up. We can create a show that, like, we want to watch, a show that we feel like the viewers want. Something that is entertaining and informative and fresh and new and shedding light on just like a game we have all loved for our entire lives. And I get the fun, easy job of making all of my co hosts look great. You know, I get to be the point guard for Blake Griffin and Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, and I just get to help them shine and like I said, create something that is fun and appointment viewing, and it's gonna be great. I'm really excited. It's so rare that you get to be a part of the first of something, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the first season of Thursday Night Football. I've been doing that for three years now. And. And that is really when, like, this is the best job I've ever had. Just the culture that Amazon has been able to create, and I get to bring that over to the NBA and create another show that, again, never really feels like work. So I'm super excited.

Les (43:49)

And with that, are there stories that you're excited to tell or different types of stories that you're excited to tell with this new show?

Taylor Wicks (43:56)

Yeah, I mean, something that we've all really talked about is the fact that we'll get to talk about players and teams that don't always get the spotlight, despite the fact that they're really good. Of course, we want to talk about teams like, you know, the Lakers and the Celtics and the warriors, the teams that everybody, you know, really loves and cares about. But there is so much talent and so many incredible stories and a highlight plays happening in all of the markets with all of the teams, and we should be able to spread that wealth as opposed to just focusing on one player or just this conglomerate of teams that have crazy followings. So we're excited to do that, to sort of like democratize the conversations that, that we're having and really highlight these new stars. Like, the NBA is in such a cool space right now where there is emerging talent, new guys winning championships. It was so cool to see Shay get a championship, but it was also really cool to see guys like Ant in the running for a championship, to watch guys like Jalen Brunson in the running for a championship, to watch Tyrese Halliburton before he unfortunately got injured in the running for a championship. This is the new wave and we really get to highlight that and usher that in while also still, you know, giving a nod to nostalgia and so many of the players that have made this league so great. So I'm excited to tell just news stories then. I'm excited to also help my guys educate the viewer. There are, I think when you hear an NBA player talk about basketball, sometimes you're like, what is that? What does that mean? And I think when someone is either a dedicated NBA fan or a casual NBA fan, they want them to explain what they're seeing. I believe there's an educational part of sports coverage that is missing. So I'm excited to be able to do that and I think we're gonna have, you know, some cool things in the studio that will allow us to do that even more effectively. I'm also excited to do more interviews, to do some of the features for our shows. So, yeah, a lot of newness. I'm really excited.

Les (46:06)

Yeah, it is exciting. I wanna come back to something that you said at the beginning when I asked you about the qualities that have helped you get to where you were and you said preparation. I'm curious what preparation now looks like for you with this new show, with this like, really exciting career making moment. What does preparation look like in this season?

Taylor Wicks (46:26)

Yeah, so on an more like, immediate level right now, the preparation is just getting everyone on the same page, having conversations, learning one another, building real relationships and friendships amongst the group. Because one of the most important parts of TV obviously is chemistry, but it's creating something people want to be a part of. And so we all want to be a part of it. We enjoy talking to one another, we enjoy talking basketball. I am just learning about all of the guys and gals to make sure that I have an understanding of how they think, who they are, what they care about. So that's like really the immediate, you know, getting lunches and just having the group chat and making jokes. That is the really fun part of preparation. But I would Say on a more like host individual level. I have been, I feel like I've been preparing for this my entire career, but really preparing for it since I knew that I was going to have this job. So all of last season when I would watch the games, I would essentially create what I felt could be a rundown for our show. Set them up for success as well. It's also a lot of learning, which is fun. I'm watching all of you know, every interview that Candace Parker has done and Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. Like I am enjoying getting to know them because right now that is really the best preparation that you can have. You know, in terms of like reps and being on tv. It's like that's what I've done. But now I have to lead a group of people while, like I said, making it entertaining and compelling and informative. But it's also just supposed to be fun. And fun starts with the relationships that you have with one another. So that's been a lot of the preparation. And of course I already daily in consuming what is going on in the NBA, that part is just second nature. I've been doing that from when I started. So it's a lot more, I would say like interpersonal preparation, you know, creating a culture and a family.

Les (48:27)

Yeah, I feel like that interpersonal side and like that team building side is really the core of leadership that I don't know if at least I hear people talk about as much as I would like as somebody who's also learning how to do those things. Yeah, we talk a lot about the hard skills which are really, really important. But then also like that culture side and that people side is just as important, if not more in some instances.

Taylor Wicks (48:52)

Oh, totally. I would say it definitely is more. Especially when, you know, it comes to being on air and, and really wanting to make a good product. Charles Barkley once was saying to me about how, you know, a lot of the time when people are watching sports, you know, it's a TV in a bar and so you kind of see what's going on. But like you don't always hear. And his philosophy was just always you have to look like big and like you're having fun. So people stop and they say, I want to be a part of this thing. And one of the only reasons, you know, they're able to accomplish that is because they all enjoy being in that room together and that shows in what they put out and you can't fake that kind of enjoyment. And I think the viewer also knows when you're faking that sort of enjoyment. So the number one priority is creating that culture where you like each other, where you want to talk about basketball together. And I feel really proud that that is what we are cultivating right now.

Les (49:54)

Yeah, that. That space for those big personalities.

Taylor Wicks (49:57)

Yeah, yeah. I'm like, you guys shine.

Podcast Announcer (49:59)

Do it.

Les (50:01)

Which is also really entertaining in and of itself.

Taylor Wicks (50:03)

Yeah, for sure.

Les (50:04)

For sure. You know, even though you do predominantly cover men's sports, I would love to talk to you for a second about women's sports as well, because I do think women's sports are at a really interesting time where there is a lot more visibility than ever, which is really exciting for women in sports, particularly around the wnba. But I'm curious, from your perspective, if you still feel like there's a way to go around how stories surrounding women's sports are told and how we can better tell stories around women's sports.

Taylor Wicks (50:34)

I think, a, it's really important that the media meets the moment with this surge in attention and popularity. You should have people behind the mics and in front of the camera that are educated on the sport, that are equipped to talk about it, that understand the context and the nuance, that have relationships with the players. There are so many amazing W writers and podcasters and media members that have been following this league for years, and those are the kind of people that should have the platform for this moment. They have made their life about it. And it's interesting because sometimes it feels like the W is the only space where people feel like someone who doesn't cover the W should talk about it. We don't normally have someone that doesn't cover the NFL give analysis on the NFL. Yeah. But for whatever reason, people treat the W like this interchangeable thing when it is a league. And the people that are covering it should be experts. So the media should meet the moment also, so that they are armored with the right information when we're talking about either controversial topics, topics that are polarizing, they need to, like, truly understand. And I think that we saw some of that really early last season, people just not meeting the moment there. 2. There's also, I think, a world in the W where we have to shine the light on everyone and not just the stars. I'd say that. And then third, being able to tell stories about women's athletes that are not just about them being women's athletes, you need to be able to tell the stories of what it is to be a woman, because that services women that need to understand, that want to Feel seen, that is important. But you're never really interviewing LeBron James about being a male athlete. I don't wanna say never really. That has never.

Les (52:36)

It's just the default.

Taylor Wicks (52:37)

Yeah, it's just the default. And this is what these women have worked for their entire lives. And I'm sure they would like to talk about their craft and not just their personhood. So I think that's, that's really important too. And I also think the more we do that, the less we will see their actions on the court through their lens of them being women. If a woman commits a hard foul, she didn't do that because she doesn't like a player. She did it because it's basketball and that's what you do and you play basketball. And I don't even know if people realize that it is their like inherent bias about women that is making them see the foul differently. Because you could, you could show those exact kind of fouls, sometimes more aggressive, more physical in the NBA and there's not a whole segment about those fouls on a show. So I think honestly if there was more awareness around the fact that you're seeing them through the lens of being women, I think we could actually start to change that, if that makes sense.

Les (53:38)

Definitely. I really appreciated that last week. Point around, just the perspective shifts around some of the ways that we describe things that women do and adding this meaning to it that is not necessary. Probably doesn't even exist.

Taylor Wicks (53:53)

Yeah, it doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. But everyone is like their hell bent on it. And, but again, and I'm, I am not excusing that thought process because everyone should be, you know, adults and be able to understand like, okay, a woman is a person. But I think that they actually don't realize they're saying it because someone is a woman. They are so convicted in the thought that they are, it is. They are unable to understand how they're perceiving it. And why, what is the difference? Because quite literally the only difference is that these people are women and these people are mentioning. And why is that difference so glaring and so big, so much so that it literally changes what you're seeing. And it's even worse if you're doing it and then you're going and talking about it on television because you are now influencing everyone's thought. And so now this is what this person thinks about X player and then this player is the good player. Like, it's just, you are permeating a belief that you don't even know where it started. And to me, that's really, really dangerous.

Les (55:00)

Yeah, it runs deep. Yeah, it runs. That conditioning runs super deep.

Taylor Wicks (55:04)

For sure.

Les (55:05)

Perpetuates.

Taylor Wicks (55:06)

Yeah.

Les (55:06)

Yeah. So I also would love to talk about your foundation. Yeah. That you started earlier this year, which is very exciting.

Taylor Wicks (55:15)

Yeah.

Les (55:15)

So please tell us more about your foundation, who it is you aim to serve, and what you're most looking forward to doing with this work.

Taylor Wicks (55:22)

Yes. So I started the Taylor Wicks foundation, something I had wanted to do for a really long time. And I'm really, really happy that we've gotten off the ground. We've already done some gift bags. Our first one was to the Lower east side Girls Club, which is a club that I would do a lot of work with when I lived in New York City. They help women with the arts and technology. They have after school programs. They really just help the girls feel seen and cared for and established community. So that was the first give back that we did, and then the last one was for teachers. Teachers have had a huge impact on my life, and I'm sure everyone's. But we wanted to supply 30 teachers with the supplies for their classrooms. So we did that, which was really fun. But I wanted to start this because they're just through different. Through lines that I have seen in my life, through different things that I care about and stories that I've heard and people that I've talked to so many times. People just need help with a thing. They help with a thing, Something that is direct and tangible that would either help them in their life, that would create a more equal playing field, that would alleviate stress to allow them to do other things in their life. And I just realized I can help with that one thing. So we really do focus on solving a problem, quote, unquote. For somebody to be able to help them go through their lives.

Les (56:51)

Yeah. Meeting specific needs. Yeah. That can have like a domino effect of goodness. If this need is met, they can then focus on the other things. They can meet other needs. They can expand in other ways.

Taylor Wicks (57:05)

Totally.

Les (57:05)

Yeah.

Taylor Wicks (57:06)

So it's been. It's been really great. It's been really great. And I'm happy that, you know, we just put pen to paper and we got it done. Because in my head, I was always saying, is it time? When will be the right time? But the right time is when you decide to do it. So I feel really, really proud of the Taylor Rex foundation so far.

Les (57:24)

That is so exciting. And so far, for the people that you helped outside of the Lower east side Girls Club, has it Mainly been New York based. Is there other regions?

Taylor Wicks (57:34)

Oh yeah, it's everywhere. The teachers were from all across the country, so that was great. I wouldn't say that it is location based. It's really just need based and who we can reach with whoever needs help.

Podcast Announcer (57:45)

Amazing. Amazing.

Les (57:45)

And is it something that like, if we had listeners, viewers who wanted to like donate, support, volunteer, how can we help?

Taylor Wicks (57:51)

Yes, of course. All information, if you want to go to Taylor foundation, that is the Instagram and the website is Taylororks.com foundation. So yeah, we'd love it. Thank you.

Les (58:01)

Yes, definitely. Taylor, thank you so much for joining me.

Taylor Wicks (58:05)

Thank you.

Les (58:05)

I'm so excited to have gotten to sit down with you at such an exciting time. Yeah, like you said, you've had an amazing year. You have a new show, your foundation. Congratulations on just getting married.

Taylor Wicks (58:15)

Thank you so much.

Les (58:15)

Girl, you broke the Internet with that. It was a time, but it's just, it's such a beautiful, beautiful season for you. So I'm so glad that you were able to come and chat with us about it.

Taylor Wicks (58:25)

No, I am so happy that I came. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and your questions and I just felt so zen and safe in here. So thank you so much and your cute outfit that I'm gonna steal. This was great. This was an amazing start to my morning. So I appreciate your time and your intention. Thank you for having me.

Les (58:43)

Thank you for joining me. And then also please let everybody know where they can watch.

Podcast Announcer (58:47)

Yes.

Taylor Wicks (58:48)

So Thursday Night Football begins on prime video on September 11, but the NBA show debuts October 24, so I'll see you there on Prime Video.

Les (58:57)

Amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you so much and thank y' all so much for tuning in to this week's episode. If you enjoyed it. I love a five star review. We're five star girlies over here, so you can leave your review on Apple, on Spotify and make sure you're subscribed on YouTube. Thank you for tuning in and I'll see you next time week.

Podcast Announcer (59:20)

Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of she's so Lucky. If you're ready to create your own luck, hit that subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube so you don't miss an episode and head to the show. Notes for resources, links and discount codes. And if you are really feeling lucky, we would appreciate your rating and your review.

Les (59:39)

It really helps us be able to.

Podcast Announcer (59:41)

Improve the show to get great guests and to understand what you want to hear more of. Thank you for tuning in, and I'll see you next week.

Les (59:54)

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.