July 26, 2024 • 28 mins
In this episode of “Inside the Oval” presented by Dignity Health, Toby Mak spoke about his path to the 49ers, shared insights to the logistics behind the team's training camp events, shared his favorite memories working for the team and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You gotta stop the Shenanigan.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'll be the busy guy. Oh yeah, he's busy.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Training camp is like tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Nigel, don't turn them up.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Welcome to the Inside the obl Podcast presented by Dignity Health.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
I'm Brianna McDonald, I'm Noah Hammerman, and I am Nigel
mc williams.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Today we are so excited to introduce you to Toby Mack.
He is a producer for the forty nine Ers Entertainment
and live events. He also brings forty nine Ers Training
Camp to life, which I'm sure we'll talk about later
in this episode. Toby, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Yeah, thank you guys for having me. I've been here,
this is going on my fourth season now, really really excited.
I've never been asked to be a part of Inside
the Oval, so this is truly a you know, blessing
for me to be here, to be able to talk
to you guys, to share a little bit insight about
not just my life, my career, but all the work
that really goes inside everything that we do here.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Beautiful Now, Toby, to start, what does it mean to
be a producer for the forty nine ers Entertainment and
Live Events.
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Yeah, So entertainment and live events two completely different parts.
So during the forty nine er season, the entertainment part,
I manage all of the entertainment. So if you're a
fan and you come in here, you see anthems, you
see halftimes, there's a flower that's happening pregame, there is
a color guard on stage. There are a bunch of
(01:25):
entertainment elements that are adjacent to the game that's happening
on the field. So my part is to really book
all that entertainment, to make sure that all of the
logistics surrounding it, whether that is you know, getting these
artists here and fulfilling their contracts and their agreements and
getting them parking, making sure they're taken care of and
(01:45):
hospitality wise. That's really the entertainment side of things.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
There is the.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
Live events side. Now that is a whole completely different world.
Sometimes I feel like I'm honestly working two jobs here.
So during the off season, there are live events that
we do, such as training camp like re mentioned to
start us off, but then there's also things like our
Gold Dorsh auditions. So there's a lot of other entertainment
events that I would say or even training camp is
(02:11):
really more just a football event that I oversee and
I put on for this organization.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
That's great. Yeah, I just wanted to Now that we've
set what you do, I just want to go backwards
in time and kind of learn more about you and
where you grew up.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
So I actually grew up here in the Bay Area.
I was born in Daily City. I went to school
in the outer sunset of San Francisco, so it was
absolutely beautiful. I had a view of the ocean every
single day, even though it was gloomy here. Carl's always
in the way. But yeah, I grew up there. I
went to high school, I moved back to Daily City,
(02:50):
and then I basically left this area for a little
went to college in Socau and I somehow finded my
way back here.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You grew up an or faithful, I did?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yup, yup there.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
There is a picture of baby me in Candlestick. I
had no idea what was going on at the time,
but I did have a Niners hat on.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Nice there you go, there you go, og Og fan.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Man, I'm a Barrier fan all around.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
I mean, I grew up a Niners fan, grew up
a Warriors fan, huge Giants fan.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
As well, so basically wanted to know more about what
you wanted to do in college. I know you have
a background in psychology, human resources, and social.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Actions, so we did a little LinkedIn stocking.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
I can tell people don't usually ask me about my
psychology days or anything now. To be quite honest, I
played sports my entire life. I actually thought I wanted
to be a sports psychologist. So I wanted to help
athletes get over injuries or help them retire, because it's
always an adjustment for players as they really come out
(03:53):
of their careers, and that's what I wanted to do.
And if I'm being quite honest with you, I got
to some clinical classes in college and I was like,
this is.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Not for me.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
But at the end of the day, I knew I
still wanted to be in sports. So I really explored
a bunch of different careers and fields in the industry
and I kind of figured out from there just where
I can kind of go into and what would interest me.
And at that point, I'm sure there's a lot of
people out there. They're still just trying to figure out
what they want to do. And it's not until you
really start to do it and see it and start
(04:23):
to really network and talk to people where you can
kind of figure out, hey, this is where I want
to be and this is what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Tell us about the human resources stuff.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
So I actually started off as a human resources intern.
That was actually a very interesting experience just to see
just to start off my career, I would say, being
able to be a part of interviews at a young
age and really kind of seeing what other people are
looking for which would really help me in the long run.
Just interviewing in general across a bunch of different organizations
(04:53):
over the years. And it's actually where I started off
in the sports world. I would actually call that probably
my first, you know, real job where I was I
felt like I was going into a stadium or an
office every single day. I did have a couple of
internships before that, but they weren't really anything even close.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
That was with AEG.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
They own and operate a bunch of different teams and
venues all across the world. So it was also really
cool being able to work with people in other countries
and kind of learn different work cultures and how.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Different we are.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
And I feel like that was really critical for me
in my career at being at such a young age
being able to do that as well.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
And I'm sure a lot of our listeners would really
appreciate me asking this question right now, But how do
you jump from one area of an industry to a
completely different other space? So you went from that human
resource as side to now game day presentation. How did
you make that jump and what did you learn from it?
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Yeah, so a lot of it is really what I said,
it's realizing what you want to do and what you
don't want to do, and what you like and don't like.
It kind of was a path for me. So again,
starting human resources, I realized that it wasn't what I
wanted to do, and because of that, I got into
a more adjacent field. So after that, I started working
in employee engagement and that was putting on a lot
of other events, doing a lot of work with sports
(06:11):
teams and mascots and certain artists for all these events
that were an overall part of these Lakers, Clippers, Kings,
Galaxy game days and stuff like that. And that's where
I kind of realized, like, hey, I really really like
events and having it tied to sport was something that
I thought was really cool because I played.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Sports all my life.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
And what I decided to do after that was I
took an event coordinator role here. I moved back up
here to the Samitel County Event Center and I became
an event coordinator. But as I kind of went about
that job, I realized that something was missing. And for
the longest time, and I bought myself on the head
(06:55):
for this all the time, but I couldn't figure out
what it was. And I finally realized when I was
parent jobs, like, oh, it's because I used to work
in events in sports, and here are these random events
I'm talking hot tub trade shows and these random county
fairs right that I was now doing.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
And I was like, this isn't it. But I thought
this was what I wanted to do.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
And I finally came to that realization that I needed
to tie into sports in some way. So I started
doing the volleyball tournaments there, I started doing the wrestling matches,
and I finally realized, like, Okay, I want to do
this for sports.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, and that's awesome that you kind of took that
realization and applied it and now you came to the Niners.
So like, how was that process from having this realization
to finally getting in the door.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
So, I mean, I'm sure everybody's answer out there is
COVID hit. When COVID hit, a lot of us kind
of just had a moment to kind of think and
reflect where we were going. And that moment for me
was realizing that I was kind of sitting on my
butt at home and I wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Something even during COVID. So what I did was I
decided to go to grad school.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
So I pursued my masters in sport management at the
University of San Francisco, and over there they really kind
of preach networking and the connections that you built, and
that's where I kind of leaned into all the people
that I met and really started connecting with everybody inside
and outside the forty nine ers and just across a
bunch of different.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Sports teams here.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
And even if it wasn't someone that was able to
help me get a role, it was someone who knew
someone or just a network a connection that I really
wanted to keep with people. And that's how I kind
of made my way here because in the first year
of grad school was when this job opened up. It
started off as a game presentation assistant, and I had applied,
and my TA at the time was actually the one
(08:47):
who was working here full time for the forty nine
ers that put in a recommendation for me.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Nice Speaking of game day presentation, how do you keep
your cool in high pressure environments?
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Yeah, so, I think a bit big part of it,
and people in the industry know this is that as
much as you can plan a show, a sports game
a certain script a certain way, things are going to change.
And I was always a perfectionist and it always affected
me when I was younger in my career of when
that happened and it was super chaotic and flames were everywhere,
(09:22):
and I was running around my head cut off, And
it really wasn't until I came to.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Terms with that and agreeing that it's just.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
Something that happens and being okay with it being okay,
with the chaos being okay, with things changing, being okay,
with you know, players getting injured on the field that
affects our entertainment, being okay, with people not showing up
and knowing and having a backup plan to be able
to kind of adjust and pivot. So, yes, it is
definitely a high pressure environment here in what we do.
(09:49):
But I think a lot of it has to do
with experience of how you kind of keep cool and
calm and collected.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
You've had a lot of experience during your time here
working at the Niners. I could tell justice that answer,
But do you remember your first ever project when you
came on to work here in the bank.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
I was actually kind of thrown into the fire when
I first started here, so I did not join at
an ideal time. Some people get to join in the
off season and really kind of ramp up, but I
joined in the middle of training camp, also on our
entertainment rehearsal day, So I was just kind of trying
to take it all in. And it wasn't just all
(10:25):
these people like you guys that I was kind of
going around the office chrying to meet. It was all
these game day employees too, that all of a sudden
were a part of the equation that usually aren't here.
So I was really really overwhelmed.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
No, I just wanted to ask about the typical planning
process for a game day. What it seems like, is
a former person on the podcast, Cody Oscevedo has said,
is that you guys take months to plan minutes. And
I think that's a that's a great quote that kind
(10:57):
of explains this whole thing. But I was going to ask, basically,
this planning process from now until kickoff, what is that like?
Speaker 5 (11:04):
Yeah, So, like you said, Cody, one of my coworkers
on our team, has previously said it takes months to
plan minutes, but I'd probably argue that it's seconds every
single detail we are planning literally from March up until
our very first preseason game. We are starting to look
(11:26):
at entertainment. We are starting to look at our staging.
We are starting to look at artists who have been
here before, new artists who are relevant. We are watching
these talent shows, whether that's America's Got Talent or American
Idol just kind of year round, or even The Voice,
and just kind of keeping track with culture and who's relevant.
(11:48):
And that work really starts in March, and we do
a lot of planning. As the schedule comes out, we
start putting in paperwork and permits, and we start coordinating
our flyovers. We start reaching out to man and artists
and talent, and all of that happens months before the first.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Game even happens.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
There's all of these different events that I would say
that really help us lead up to that first game too, Right,
whether that's training camp, it's really the first time that
all these fans are really coming in ever since last season.
I know there's other offseason events that other people have
put on in our organization, but that really marks and
(12:27):
turns the page for all these fans coming in as well.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
So you talked earlier about entertainment, My question would be
how do you decide on entertainment for game days?
Speaker 2 (12:36):
There's a lot that goes into that too.
Speaker 5 (12:38):
I mean, like I said, we are trying to keep
up with who's relevant, So whether that's viral trends on
certain social media or just even some random kid who
went famous for dancing and these talent shows, right like
who has a good barrier tigh that we can bring
in or the other big, big, big part that I
(12:58):
would say is you guys are aware of all the
themes that the NFL has, right, So, whether that's Salute
to Service, Crucier Catch, inspired change, we are doing our
best to get certain talent and entertainment and program that
around the theme.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
So if it's a cancer survivor for Crucier Catch or.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
For salute service. We definitely want to focus in on
military right. We bring in over two hundred people to
hold the field flag that day, We plan flyovers a
certain way, we have salutors on stage, and a lot
of it does hinge on the theme that the NFL.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Kind of provides.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
What's been your favorite entertainment you've booked since working here
at the Niners.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Journey Journey for the NFC Championship. We Journey for the
NFC Championship. I mean, not only.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Were they probably the biggest act that I've ever gotten
to work with in terms of just their logistics and
getting them here, their travel party, the size of the
whole group, but I think it was an actual halftime
performance where I got to witness the effect that it
had on the game itself. And I'm sure you guys
remember that game. I don't remember what the score was
(14:04):
where we were down, but I think after Journey came on,
fans really kind of something clicked for them. The energy
level in here in the third quarter once the team
got back out there was off the charts. So it's
those kind of acts that I'm not just really proud of,
but you know, as a fan myself sometimes like, I'd
love to work with these artists that I never would
(14:24):
have envisioned I would be working with when I was
a kid, and really seeing that the impact of how
entertainment really has on the football game itself.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yeah, that halftime entertainment show is in the story of
that NFC Championship game. You can't tell the story of
the NFC Championship game without Journey being the halftime show.
And it's so funny thinking in the future how that
story is going to be in forty nine Ers lore.
It's going to be in the forty nine Ers Museum,
about how Journey's saying, don't stop believing.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
We'll frame the guitar pick or something.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Yeah, exactly, No, I will say, yeah, I chose a
big artist, But there are some really really cool shows
and artists that we work with that aren't for an
NFC Championship too. Write a lot of people's favorites, including
one of mine. If you had to make me choose
a second, Corky Races. Oh, they're just the cutest dogs
in the world who take the field and really just
(15:19):
take people away from the game. It's really like a
second show and it's so entertaining it's fun. It's something
that a lot of other teams have really started picking
up on and doing as well, and it's just kind
of great to see the impact of what we have
done here kind of go out and go beyond our
(15:39):
reach across other teams.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
As Wall those always go Miral. No.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I was just going to ask about the most challenging
thing about this role. You mentioned booking journey like it
was a piece of cake. But really, I know, these things,
like you said, take a ton of time and a
lot of thoughtfulness to really craft you know, people to
come and the show and the whole situation. So curious
(16:04):
about some of the challenges that you face.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Yeah, so, I would say the biggest challenge is trying
to cater to the large amount of fans that we
have here at the forty nine ers, And our organization
is just one that is so rich in history, and
we have such a unique demographic here in the Bay Area.
There are so many different cultures heih Fie movement, and
(16:29):
even down to the very foods that are around in
the area that are just so drastically different. It's really
trying to take all that into.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Account when we're doing our programming.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
And It's really challenging because you can never appease everybody.
You can't appease all seventy thousand fans, you know. I'm
sure for the NFC Championship, there were probably ten fans
in here who had no idea who Journey was just
because they are super young, or they just aren't into
that type of music. And it just really become a
(17:00):
challenge because you want to make everybody happy and that's
just who I am, and to know that that's never
possible is something that I had to come to terms with,
like what I said earlier, But there are certain times
too where you have to take into account. It's not
just the seventy thousand fans in the stadium. We are
reaching people on social we have such a large market,
(17:23):
especially if we're on primetime and they're taking our anthems live,
We're reaching tens of millions of people at home as well.
So I think that's probably one of the most challenging things.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
What is training camp and how is putting on training
camp different from game days?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
What is training camp? What is training camp?
Speaker 5 (17:39):
So I kind of mentioned it, but for me, training
camp is really the first event for fans that kicks
off this new season. It turns the page from last season.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
The players are back.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
It's the moment in time where everybody kind of realizes,
oh my gosh, football season is here.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Football is around the corner.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
And that's what I kind of see training camp as,
in a more specific way of kind of stating it.
Training camp really is an opportunity for fans to kind
of get a behind the scenes look, get practice. So
the teams out there, they're practicing, And my favorite part
about it is that it is a much more intimate
setting than game days. So game days, you are sitting
(18:21):
in your seat with seventy thousand other fans and you
are watching the game and cheering. But at training camp,
it is anywhere from one to two thousand people that
you are sitting close to that you actually get to
know pretty well.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Because it's much more quiet than a game.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
You are kind of burning hot together in the sun,
and you're building those relationships with other fans, and I
think it's a really cool experience, just also because you
have players that like to engage in a more intimate
setting after practice, whether that's signing autographs for all these fans.
Players really like to take advantage of the opportunity of
training camp with there being a lot less fans coming
(18:57):
out to sign autographs, to meet all these fans, and
it's a great opportunity, especially in the summer, for all
of the kids to come out on a random weekday
when they don't have school, and it's nice to see
all the families out there really kind of enjoying it
and taking it in, using these random Mondays or Tuesdays
and kind of turning it into a whole activity for
the kids.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
It's great.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Training camp sounds great when you explain it, but I
know it's also crazy. I imagine it almost as like
a mini game day every single day and back to
back to back. So tell me about some things you
love about training camp and what are some things that
you're anticipating are going to be tough in the coming weeks.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
So my answer is actually going to be the same
for both the things that I love and I hate.
And what I love about it is that it is
a project that requires me to work with every single
team in this organization, and I cannot say that about
a lot of things that I do during the regular season,
because training camp, we are working with stadium operations, we
(19:59):
are working with ticketing, we are working with marketing and
graphic design. We are working with partnerships and membership services
on all of their activations and community relations on all
the groups that they're bringing in. And I can really
go on and on and on, but it's my favorite
part because it's very very interesting to see how all
(20:20):
of these different departments can really come together for one
single event. What makes it challenging is that when you
have so many people working on the same thing, it
is quite a lot to try to appease everybody.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It's trying to.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Plan certain activations when we don't have enough space to
accommodate everybody. It is trying to make sure we are
taking care of all of our internal initiatives with tickets
without having to say no to anybody, which is really
really hard because everybody wants a part in training Camp.
It's not just the fans who are excited to come
back here, it is all of our.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Teams as well.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
It's everybody trying to host their partners, host their clients,
and host fan groups even in here for Training Camp.
And to try to navigate all of that to try
to pick out and figure out what's most important and
what we can accommodate, and what is feasible is also
probably the most challenging part, even though I love working.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
With everybody here.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah, training camp as much as it is of a
really cool opportunity, it takes a lot of work, like
Toby said, but all that work is so worth it
when you come upon the season. So I wanted to
ask about what you're excited for this upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I'm really excited for a lot of things.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
I mean, everybody's going to answer the same thing about
how we're super excited about the team on the field,
but I'll kind of go into, you know, just how
differently we're trying to program or entertainment this year is
something that I'm really looking forward to, right whether that's
a different stage to kind of give it a different look,
or whether that's new artists that are now relevant compared
(22:06):
to last year.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah, So Toby, I gotta ask you.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
I've got to ask you this. He's got to ask.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
The most memorable moment with the forty nine ers.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Most memorable moment, To be honest with you, I have
two moments that come to mind, and the first one
was my very first year we were playing the Rams,
November fifteenth. It was a primetime game on ESPN. Good
moment at the date, and it was my first salute
to service game and probably the most amount of work
that I've ever put into a game, especially in my
(22:36):
first year, and I did not realize how much we
were doing until I saw it with my very own eyes.
I just remember vividly standing down on the field and
taking off my headset and just really taking a moment
to soak it all in, like, holy cow, I'm here,
it's primetime.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
We were playing the Rams.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
Who I would are you were probably one of our
biggest rivals that year.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
In twenty twenty one, and I just soaked it all in.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
I looked around, and I looked at all the fans,
and I was like, Wow, to see your work come
to life is something that is truly amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
To see all the.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
Hours that you put in, the countless nights of no sleep,
of being here in the office, and really seeing fans
enjoy all of that as well was probably my most
one of my most memorable moments here now. The other
one is obviously the super Bowl from this past year.
I know we didn't go all the way, but the
experience that I got from being there is something that
(23:41):
I don't think I'd be able to find at any
other time in my life. It's not every day that
your team gets to go to the super Bowl. It's
not every day that I get to plan operations to
get all of our marketing and entertainment there. And the
other best part about it was that it was also
a game where it actually got to sit down in
a seat. And before or that I could not remember
(24:01):
the last time I sat down in a seat to
watch an actual football game.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I always think about that too. It's once you start
working in the sports industry, I haven't like, I can't
remember the last time I sat in a seat as
a fan, or even when I am say if I'm
at a baseball or say a soccer match, I'm always
thinking about what the staff is doing rather than what's
happening on the field, because I can imagine what they're
going through.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
So it's hard for me too, because I'm always going
to basketball and baseball games, and it's hard to just
turn your work sports mind off and not look at
the boards a certain way, and not look at the
graphics or the entertainment and want to steal some creative
ideas from time to time. It's weird just being in
a seat sometimes, but at the same time, it's nice
sitting there and enjoying the game. Like for once, I'm
(24:46):
just a fan. For once, I don't have anything.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
To worry about.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
I don't need to make sure a certain artist is singing.
I don't need to make sure I'm at a certain
place for a hit or moving a stage.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Or anything like that. So it really.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Is one of the best parts that are super duper
rare in this job.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Beautiful, Now, what advice would you give to someone who
wants to do what you do.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
I've had a weird journey to get to where I am,
and for me, it was a lot of.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Exploring different careers. Like you guys mentioned, you know, I've
had my.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Sense in human resources and employee engagement and something that
you know I did not even mention before was I've
been in sales.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
I've gone door to door.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
But you really need to do all that to figure
out this is what you want to do. And if
this is what you want to do, you have to
be consistent with it. You have to be willing to
get your hands dirty, you have to be willing to
go through the tough times, in the hard days and
long work hours to be able to get there, and
you have to network, You have to get your name
(25:49):
out there. You have to show people who you are,
who you're about, what you stand for, and kind of
really use all of that to your advantage.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
So as is customer on the inside the Oval Podcast,
it's become, you know, an ongoing tradition.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
We must ask, I'm a little bit nervous your other.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Duties as assigned. So obviously on every job description it
mentions that they're additional things that may come up. What
are some of your other duties as assigned?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Having to live with the guy who works in graphic.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Designer, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, No.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
There's one thing that really comes to mind for other
duties as assigned. And I have been doing this since
literally my first day, and now it's become a running
joke for anybody new on our team that if they
don't do this in their first or last day, then
they are not really a part of the team. And
that is moving our stages and tunnels across the whole stadium.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Wow, So our.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Stages and tunnels that we use on game day, the
tunnel we use for player runouts to stage we use
for performances and anthems and halftime those actually get stored
here in the stadium, But across my years here they
have had a different storage location, whether that is at
the top of the stadium or in the back, or
in some random room that majority of people have not
(27:08):
even seen before. The amount of times that I have
moved that stage or those tunnels, and one time I
literally almost chopped the finger off doing so as.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Well, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
It's something that they should really just build into the
job description.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yeah, that's dangerous.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
It's very funny too because and it just happens so coincidentally,
but everybody who starts on our team, it happens to
be during a week when we are trying to.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Move that stage.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
It's not just contingent on forty nine ers games, but
there are other events here in the stadium. There's soccer
matches and all of these things where we need to
get that stage out of the way for concerts to
come in here to be able to operate. So other
duties is assigned probably that.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
How do you stay safe when you're moving those stages.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Because you've done it now for a while, you have
to dress comfortable. For one, the shoes that you wear
matter quite a lot because you never know when you're
gonna be running down a ramp trying to catch a stage.
You never know where you're gonna be trying to slow
down a stage or make a wide turn. You need
to be flexible the pants, you wear.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
The shirt.
Speaker 5 (28:10):
And that's the advice that I give to our interns
and assistants all the time who are coming in here
to help move our stage.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
That's great. Well, thank you so much Toby for joining
us on Inside the Oval. Thank you for listening, and
be sure to subscribe to Inside the Oval for more
Bye bye, thanks guys,
You gotta stop the Shenanigan.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'll be the busy guy. Oh yeah, he's busy.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Training camp is like tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Nigel, don't turn them up.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Welcome to the Inside the obl Podcast presented by Dignity Health.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
I'm Brianna McDonald, I'm Noah Hammerman, and I am Nigel
mc williams.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Today we are so excited to introduce you to Toby Mack.
He is a producer for the forty nine Ers Entertainment
and live events. He also brings forty nine Ers Training
Camp to life, which I'm sure we'll talk about later
in this episode. Toby, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Yeah, thank you guys for having me. I've been here,
this is going on my fourth season now, really really excited.
I've never been asked to be a part of Inside
the Oval, so this is truly a you know, blessing
for me to be here, to be able to talk
to you guys, to share a little bit insight about
not just my life, my career, but all the work
that really goes inside everything that we do here.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Beautiful Now, Toby, to start, what does it mean to
be a producer for the forty nine ers Entertainment and
Live Events.
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Yeah, So entertainment and live events two completely different parts.
So during the forty nine er season, the entertainment part,
I manage all of the entertainment. So if you're a
fan and you come in here, you see anthems, you
see halftimes, there's a flower that's happening pregame, there is
a color guard on stage. There are a bunch of
(01:25):
entertainment elements that are adjacent to the game that's happening
on the field. So my part is to really book
all that entertainment, to make sure that all of the
logistics surrounding it, whether that is you know, getting these
artists here and fulfilling their contracts and their agreements and
getting them parking, making sure they're taken care of and
(01:45):
hospitality wise. That's really the entertainment side of things.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
There is the.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
Live events side. Now that is a whole completely different world.
Sometimes I feel like I'm honestly working two jobs here.
So during the off season, there are live events that
we do, such as training camp like re mentioned to
start us off, but then there's also things like our
Gold Dorsh auditions. So there's a lot of other entertainment
events that I would say or even training camp is
(02:11):
really more just a football event that I oversee and
I put on for this organization.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
That's great. Yeah, I just wanted to Now that we've
set what you do, I just want to go backwards
in time and kind of learn more about you and
where you grew up.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
So I actually grew up here in the Bay Area.
I was born in Daily City. I went to school
in the outer sunset of San Francisco, so it was
absolutely beautiful. I had a view of the ocean every
single day, even though it was gloomy here. Carl's always
in the way. But yeah, I grew up there. I
went to high school, I moved back to Daily City,
(02:50):
and then I basically left this area for a little
went to college in Socau and I somehow finded my
way back here.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You grew up an or faithful, I did?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yup, yup there.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
There is a picture of baby me in Candlestick. I
had no idea what was going on at the time,
but I did have a Niners hat on.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Nice there you go, there you go, og Og fan.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Man, I'm a Barrier fan all around.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
I mean, I grew up a Niners fan, grew up
a Warriors fan, huge Giants fan.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
As well, so basically wanted to know more about what
you wanted to do in college. I know you have
a background in psychology, human resources, and social.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Actions, so we did a little LinkedIn stocking.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
I can tell people don't usually ask me about my
psychology days or anything now. To be quite honest, I
played sports my entire life. I actually thought I wanted
to be a sports psychologist. So I wanted to help
athletes get over injuries or help them retire, because it's
always an adjustment for players as they really come out
(03:53):
of their careers, and that's what I wanted to do.
And if I'm being quite honest with you, I got
to some clinical classes in college and I was like,
this is.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Not for me.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
But at the end of the day, I knew I
still wanted to be in sports. So I really explored
a bunch of different careers and fields in the industry
and I kind of figured out from there just where
I can kind of go into and what would interest me.
And at that point, I'm sure there's a lot of
people out there. They're still just trying to figure out
what they want to do. And it's not until you
really start to do it and see it and start
(04:23):
to really network and talk to people where you can
kind of figure out, hey, this is where I want
to be and this is what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Tell us about the human resources stuff.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
So I actually started off as a human resources intern.
That was actually a very interesting experience just to see
just to start off my career, I would say, being
able to be a part of interviews at a young
age and really kind of seeing what other people are
looking for which would really help me in the long run.
Just interviewing in general across a bunch of different organizations
(04:53):
over the years. And it's actually where I started off
in the sports world. I would actually call that probably
my first, you know, real job where I was I
felt like I was going into a stadium or an
office every single day. I did have a couple of
internships before that, but they weren't really anything even close.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
That was with AEG.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
They own and operate a bunch of different teams and
venues all across the world. So it was also really
cool being able to work with people in other countries
and kind of learn different work cultures and how.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Different we are.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
And I feel like that was really critical for me
in my career at being at such a young age
being able to do that as well.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
And I'm sure a lot of our listeners would really
appreciate me asking this question right now, But how do
you jump from one area of an industry to a
completely different other space? So you went from that human
resource as side to now game day presentation. How did
you make that jump and what did you learn from it?
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Yeah, so a lot of it is really what I said,
it's realizing what you want to do and what you
don't want to do, and what you like and don't like.
It kind of was a path for me. So again,
starting human resources, I realized that it wasn't what I
wanted to do, and because of that, I got into
a more adjacent field. So after that, I started working
in employee engagement and that was putting on a lot
of other events, doing a lot of work with sports
(06:11):
teams and mascots and certain artists for all these events
that were an overall part of these Lakers, Clippers, Kings,
Galaxy game days and stuff like that. And that's where
I kind of realized, like, hey, I really really like
events and having it tied to sport was something that
I thought was really cool because I played.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Sports all my life.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
And what I decided to do after that was I
took an event coordinator role here. I moved back up
here to the Samitel County Event Center and I became
an event coordinator. But as I kind of went about
that job, I realized that something was missing. And for
the longest time, and I bought myself on the head
(06:55):
for this all the time, but I couldn't figure out
what it was. And I finally realized when I was
parent jobs, like, oh, it's because I used to work
in events in sports, and here are these random events
I'm talking hot tub trade shows and these random county
fairs right that I was now doing.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
And I was like, this isn't it. But I thought
this was what I wanted to do.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
And I finally came to that realization that I needed
to tie into sports in some way. So I started
doing the volleyball tournaments there, I started doing the wrestling matches,
and I finally realized, like, Okay, I want to do
this for sports.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, and that's awesome that you kind of took that
realization and applied it and now you came to the Niners.
So like, how was that process from having this realization
to finally getting in the door.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
So, I mean, I'm sure everybody's answer out there is
COVID hit. When COVID hit, a lot of us kind
of just had a moment to kind of think and
reflect where we were going. And that moment for me
was realizing that I was kind of sitting on my
butt at home and I wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Something even during COVID. So what I did was I
decided to go to grad school.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
So I pursued my masters in sport management at the
University of San Francisco, and over there they really kind
of preach networking and the connections that you built, and
that's where I kind of leaned into all the people
that I met and really started connecting with everybody inside
and outside the forty nine ers and just across a
bunch of different.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Sports teams here.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
And even if it wasn't someone that was able to
help me get a role, it was someone who knew
someone or just a network a connection that I really
wanted to keep with people. And that's how I kind
of made my way here because in the first year
of grad school was when this job opened up. It
started off as a game presentation assistant, and I had applied,
and my TA at the time was actually the one
(08:47):
who was working here full time for the forty nine
ers that put in a recommendation for me.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Nice Speaking of game day presentation, how do you keep
your cool in high pressure environments?
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Yeah, so, I think a bit big part of it,
and people in the industry know this is that as
much as you can plan a show, a sports game
a certain script a certain way, things are going to change.
And I was always a perfectionist and it always affected
me when I was younger in my career of when
that happened and it was super chaotic and flames were everywhere,
(09:22):
and I was running around my head cut off, And
it really wasn't until I came to.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Terms with that and agreeing that it's just.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
Something that happens and being okay with it being okay,
with the chaos being okay, with things changing, being okay,
with you know, players getting injured on the field that
affects our entertainment, being okay, with people not showing up
and knowing and having a backup plan to be able
to kind of adjust and pivot. So, yes, it is
definitely a high pressure environment here in what we do.
(09:49):
But I think a lot of it has to do
with experience of how you kind of keep cool and
calm and collected.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
You've had a lot of experience during your time here
working at the Niners. I could tell justice that answer,
But do you remember your first ever project when you
came on to work here in the bank.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
I was actually kind of thrown into the fire when
I first started here, so I did not join at
an ideal time. Some people get to join in the
off season and really kind of ramp up, but I
joined in the middle of training camp, also on our
entertainment rehearsal day, So I was just kind of trying
to take it all in. And it wasn't just all
(10:25):
these people like you guys that I was kind of
going around the office chrying to meet. It was all
these game day employees too, that all of a sudden
were a part of the equation that usually aren't here.
So I was really really overwhelmed.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
No, I just wanted to ask about the typical planning
process for a game day. What it seems like, is
a former person on the podcast, Cody Oscevedo has said,
is that you guys take months to plan minutes. And
I think that's a that's a great quote that kind
(10:57):
of explains this whole thing. But I was going to ask, basically,
this planning process from now until kickoff, what is that like?
Speaker 5 (11:04):
Yeah, So, like you said, Cody, one of my coworkers
on our team, has previously said it takes months to
plan minutes, but I'd probably argue that it's seconds every
single detail we are planning literally from March up until
our very first preseason game. We are starting to look
(11:26):
at entertainment. We are starting to look at our staging.
We are starting to look at artists who have been
here before, new artists who are relevant. We are watching
these talent shows, whether that's America's Got Talent or American
Idol just kind of year round, or even The Voice,
and just kind of keeping track with culture and who's relevant.
(11:48):
And that work really starts in March, and we do
a lot of planning. As the schedule comes out, we
start putting in paperwork and permits, and we start coordinating
our flyovers. We start reaching out to man and artists
and talent, and all of that happens months before the first.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Game even happens.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
There's all of these different events that I would say
that really help us lead up to that first game too, Right,
whether that's training camp, it's really the first time that
all these fans are really coming in ever since last season.
I know there's other offseason events that other people have
put on in our organization, but that really marks and
(12:27):
turns the page for all these fans coming in as well.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
So you talked earlier about entertainment, My question would be
how do you decide on entertainment for game days?
Speaker 2 (12:36):
There's a lot that goes into that too.
Speaker 5 (12:38):
I mean, like I said, we are trying to keep
up with who's relevant, So whether that's viral trends on
certain social media or just even some random kid who
went famous for dancing and these talent shows, right like
who has a good barrier tigh that we can bring
in or the other big, big, big part that I
(12:58):
would say is you guys are aware of all the
themes that the NFL has, right, So, whether that's Salute
to Service, Crucier Catch, inspired change, we are doing our
best to get certain talent and entertainment and program that
around the theme.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
So if it's a cancer survivor for Crucier Catch or.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
For salute service. We definitely want to focus in on
military right. We bring in over two hundred people to
hold the field flag that day, We plan flyovers a
certain way, we have salutors on stage, and a lot
of it does hinge on the theme that the NFL.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Kind of provides.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
What's been your favorite entertainment you've booked since working here
at the Niners.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Journey Journey for the NFC Championship. We Journey for the
NFC Championship. I mean, not only.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Were they probably the biggest act that I've ever gotten
to work with in terms of just their logistics and
getting them here, their travel party, the size of the
whole group, but I think it was an actual halftime
performance where I got to witness the effect that it
had on the game itself. And I'm sure you guys
remember that game. I don't remember what the score was
(14:04):
where we were down, but I think after Journey came on,
fans really kind of something clicked for them. The energy
level in here in the third quarter once the team
got back out there was off the charts. So it's
those kind of acts that I'm not just really proud of,
but you know, as a fan myself sometimes like, I'd
love to work with these artists that I never would
(14:24):
have envisioned I would be working with when I was
a kid, and really seeing that the impact of how
entertainment really has on the football game itself.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yeah, that halftime entertainment show is in the story of
that NFC Championship game. You can't tell the story of
the NFC Championship game without Journey being the halftime show.
And it's so funny thinking in the future how that
story is going to be in forty nine Ers lore.
It's going to be in the forty nine Ers Museum,
about how Journey's saying, don't stop believing.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
We'll frame the guitar pick or something.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Yeah, exactly, No, I will say, yeah, I chose a
big artist, But there are some really really cool shows
and artists that we work with that aren't for an
NFC Championship too. Write a lot of people's favorites, including
one of mine. If you had to make me choose
a second, Corky Races. Oh, they're just the cutest dogs
in the world who take the field and really just
(15:19):
take people away from the game. It's really like a
second show and it's so entertaining it's fun. It's something
that a lot of other teams have really started picking
up on and doing as well, and it's just kind
of great to see the impact of what we have
done here kind of go out and go beyond our
(15:39):
reach across other teams.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
As Wall those always go Miral. No.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I was just going to ask about the most challenging
thing about this role. You mentioned booking journey like it
was a piece of cake. But really, I know, these things,
like you said, take a ton of time and a
lot of thoughtfulness to really craft you know, people to
come and the show and the whole situation. So curious
(16:04):
about some of the challenges that you face.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Yeah, so, I would say the biggest challenge is trying
to cater to the large amount of fans that we
have here at the forty nine ers, And our organization
is just one that is so rich in history, and
we have such a unique demographic here in the Bay Area.
There are so many different cultures heih Fie movement, and
(16:29):
even down to the very foods that are around in
the area that are just so drastically different. It's really
trying to take all that into.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Account when we're doing our programming.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
And It's really challenging because you can never appease everybody.
You can't appease all seventy thousand fans, you know. I'm
sure for the NFC Championship, there were probably ten fans
in here who had no idea who Journey was just
because they are super young, or they just aren't into
that type of music. And it just really become a
(17:00):
challenge because you want to make everybody happy and that's
just who I am, and to know that that's never
possible is something that I had to come to terms with,
like what I said earlier, But there are certain times
too where you have to take into account. It's not
just the seventy thousand fans in the stadium. We are
reaching people on social we have such a large market,
(17:23):
especially if we're on primetime and they're taking our anthems live,
We're reaching tens of millions of people at home as well.
So I think that's probably one of the most challenging things.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
What is training camp and how is putting on training
camp different from game days?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
What is training camp? What is training camp?
Speaker 5 (17:39):
So I kind of mentioned it, but for me, training
camp is really the first event for fans that kicks
off this new season. It turns the page from last season.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
The players are back.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
It's the moment in time where everybody kind of realizes,
oh my gosh, football season is here.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Football is around the corner.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
And that's what I kind of see training camp as,
in a more specific way of kind of stating it.
Training camp really is an opportunity for fans to kind
of get a behind the scenes look, get practice. So
the teams out there, they're practicing, And my favorite part
about it is that it is a much more intimate
setting than game days. So game days, you are sitting
(18:21):
in your seat with seventy thousand other fans and you
are watching the game and cheering. But at training camp,
it is anywhere from one to two thousand people that
you are sitting close to that you actually get to
know pretty well.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Because it's much more quiet than a game.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
You are kind of burning hot together in the sun,
and you're building those relationships with other fans, and I
think it's a really cool experience, just also because you
have players that like to engage in a more intimate
setting after practice, whether that's signing autographs for all these fans.
Players really like to take advantage of the opportunity of
training camp with there being a lot less fans coming
(18:57):
out to sign autographs, to meet all these fans, and
it's a great opportunity, especially in the summer, for all
of the kids to come out on a random weekday
when they don't have school, and it's nice to see
all the families out there really kind of enjoying it
and taking it in, using these random Mondays or Tuesdays
and kind of turning it into a whole activity for
the kids.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
It's great.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Training camp sounds great when you explain it, but I
know it's also crazy. I imagine it almost as like
a mini game day every single day and back to
back to back. So tell me about some things you
love about training camp and what are some things that
you're anticipating are going to be tough in the coming weeks.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
So my answer is actually going to be the same
for both the things that I love and I hate.
And what I love about it is that it is
a project that requires me to work with every single
team in this organization, and I cannot say that about
a lot of things that I do during the regular season,
because training camp, we are working with stadium operations, we
(19:59):
are working with ticketing, we are working with marketing and
graphic design. We are working with partnerships and membership services
on all of their activations and community relations on all
the groups that they're bringing in. And I can really
go on and on and on, but it's my favorite
part because it's very very interesting to see how all
(20:20):
of these different departments can really come together for one
single event. What makes it challenging is that when you
have so many people working on the same thing, it
is quite a lot to try to appease everybody.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It's trying to.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Plan certain activations when we don't have enough space to
accommodate everybody. It is trying to make sure we are
taking care of all of our internal initiatives with tickets
without having to say no to anybody, which is really
really hard because everybody wants a part in training Camp.
It's not just the fans who are excited to come
back here, it is all of our.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Teams as well.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
It's everybody trying to host their partners, host their clients,
and host fan groups even in here for Training Camp.
And to try to navigate all of that to try
to pick out and figure out what's most important and
what we can accommodate, and what is feasible is also
probably the most challenging part, even though I love working.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
With everybody here.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah, training camp as much as it is of a
really cool opportunity, it takes a lot of work, like
Toby said, but all that work is so worth it
when you come upon the season. So I wanted to
ask about what you're excited for this upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I'm really excited for a lot of things.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
I mean, everybody's going to answer the same thing about
how we're super excited about the team on the field,
but I'll kind of go into, you know, just how
differently we're trying to program or entertainment this year is
something that I'm really looking forward to, right whether that's
a different stage to kind of give it a different look,
or whether that's new artists that are now relevant compared
(22:06):
to last year.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah, So Toby, I gotta ask you.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
I've got to ask you this. He's got to ask.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
The most memorable moment with the forty nine ers.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Most memorable moment, To be honest with you, I have
two moments that come to mind, and the first one
was my very first year we were playing the Rams,
November fifteenth. It was a primetime game on ESPN. Good
moment at the date, and it was my first salute
to service game and probably the most amount of work
that I've ever put into a game, especially in my
(22:36):
first year, and I did not realize how much we
were doing until I saw it with my very own eyes.
I just remember vividly standing down on the field and
taking off my headset and just really taking a moment
to soak it all in, like, holy cow, I'm here,
it's primetime.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
We were playing the Rams.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
Who I would are you were probably one of our
biggest rivals that year.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
In twenty twenty one, and I just soaked it all in.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
I looked around, and I looked at all the fans,
and I was like, Wow, to see your work come
to life is something that is truly amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
To see all the.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
Hours that you put in, the countless nights of no sleep,
of being here in the office, and really seeing fans
enjoy all of that as well was probably my most
one of my most memorable moments here now. The other
one is obviously the super Bowl from this past year.
I know we didn't go all the way, but the
experience that I got from being there is something that
(23:41):
I don't think I'd be able to find at any
other time in my life. It's not every day that
your team gets to go to the super Bowl. It's
not every day that I get to plan operations to
get all of our marketing and entertainment there. And the
other best part about it was that it was also
a game where it actually got to sit down in
a seat. And before or that I could not remember
(24:01):
the last time I sat down in a seat to
watch an actual football game.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I always think about that too. It's once you start
working in the sports industry, I haven't like, I can't
remember the last time I sat in a seat as
a fan, or even when I am say if I'm
at a baseball or say a soccer match, I'm always
thinking about what the staff is doing rather than what's
happening on the field, because I can imagine what they're
going through.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
So it's hard for me too, because I'm always going
to basketball and baseball games, and it's hard to just
turn your work sports mind off and not look at
the boards a certain way, and not look at the
graphics or the entertainment and want to steal some creative
ideas from time to time. It's weird just being in
a seat sometimes, but at the same time, it's nice
sitting there and enjoying the game. Like for once, I'm
(24:46):
just a fan. For once, I don't have anything.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
To worry about.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
I don't need to make sure a certain artist is singing.
I don't need to make sure I'm at a certain
place for a hit or moving a stage.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Or anything like that. So it really.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Is one of the best parts that are super duper
rare in this job.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Beautiful, Now, what advice would you give to someone who
wants to do what you do.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
I've had a weird journey to get to where I am,
and for me, it was a lot of.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Exploring different careers. Like you guys mentioned, you know, I've
had my.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Sense in human resources and employee engagement and something that
you know I did not even mention before was I've
been in sales.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
I've gone door to door.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
But you really need to do all that to figure
out this is what you want to do. And if
this is what you want to do, you have to
be consistent with it. You have to be willing to
get your hands dirty, you have to be willing to
go through the tough times, in the hard days and
long work hours to be able to get there, and
you have to network, You have to get your name
(25:49):
out there. You have to show people who you are,
who you're about, what you stand for, and kind of
really use all of that to your advantage.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
So as is customer on the inside the Oval Podcast,
it's become, you know, an ongoing tradition.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
We must ask, I'm a little bit nervous your other.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Duties as assigned. So obviously on every job description it
mentions that they're additional things that may come up. What
are some of your other duties as assigned?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Having to live with the guy who works in graphic.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Designer, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, No.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
There's one thing that really comes to mind for other
duties as assigned. And I have been doing this since
literally my first day, and now it's become a running
joke for anybody new on our team that if they
don't do this in their first or last day, then
they are not really a part of the team. And
that is moving our stages and tunnels across the whole stadium.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Wow, So our.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Stages and tunnels that we use on game day, the
tunnel we use for player runouts to stage we use
for performances and anthems and halftime those actually get stored
here in the stadium, But across my years here they
have had a different storage location, whether that is at
the top of the stadium or in the back, or
in some random room that majority of people have not
(27:08):
even seen before. The amount of times that I have
moved that stage or those tunnels, and one time I
literally almost chopped the finger off doing so as.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Well, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
It's something that they should really just build into the
job description.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yeah, that's dangerous.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
It's very funny too because and it just happens so coincidentally,
but everybody who starts on our team, it happens to
be during a week when we are trying to.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Move that stage.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
It's not just contingent on forty nine ers games, but
there are other events here in the stadium. There's soccer
matches and all of these things where we need to
get that stage out of the way for concerts to
come in here to be able to operate. So other
duties is assigned probably that.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
How do you stay safe when you're moving those stages.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Because you've done it now for a while, you have
to dress comfortable. For one, the shoes that you wear
matter quite a lot because you never know when you're
gonna be running down a ramp trying to catch a stage.
You never know where you're gonna be trying to slow
down a stage or make a wide turn. You need
to be flexible the pants, you wear.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
The shirt.
Speaker 5 (28:10):
And that's the advice that I give to our interns
and assistants all the time who are coming in here
to help move our stage.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
That's great. Well, thank you so much Toby for joining
us on Inside the Oval. Thank you for listening, and
be sure to subscribe to Inside the Oval for more
Bye bye, thanks guys,
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