Conner Burks never imagined he'd get to this point.
From 2018-21, he sleepwalked through a miserable existence working overnight shifts at ESPN while living in dreary central Connecticut one thousand miles away from his beloved Atlanta. Frustration with his life's course was exacerbated by the pandemic, as ESPN demanded he produce radio shows in the office every day while the rest of the world waited out the dangers of COVID-19 from the comforts of their homes.
But in August 2021, the trajectory of Conner's life completely changed.
On today's episode, one of my best friends and I discuss the following from the Financial District of Manhattan:
- Cold open (00:00)
- Advice to his depressed younger self (01:45)
- Career ascension and getting recognized in public (05:55)
- Falling in love with mixed martial arts during COVID (12:22)
- Love/hate relationship with social media (25:30)
- What if we were always honest with each other? (34:38)
- Love/hate relationship with living in New York City (41:52)
- The city he dreams of living in (50:32)
- His recent work trip to Manchester, England (52:05)
- Why he gave up alcohol for one year (59:45)
- Movember (01:10:13)
Conner Burks is the producer of the very popular YouTube show, The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. With 25K followers on X, he has quickly become one of the most beloved characters in combat sports entertainment. Before joining Vox Media, he worked at ESPN Radio from 2018-21.
To support Conner, consider donating to his Movember link here.
To purchase my new book, "Surrender: A Guide to Living Your Best Life in Your Twenties," visit this Amazon link.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.