Schultz’s Indy Monthly Debut

As most of you know, I’ve been trying to stay active in media while pursuing full-time work outside of media (if that makes any sense). So, besides the Q & S stuff, I’ve been doing the Doyel & Derek podcast with the IndyStar for over a year and just recently agreed to be a semi-regular contributor at Indy Monthly.

For my first article, I wanted to do sort of a catch-up on what I was up to in the “wilderness” time. My professional situation (layoff) was complicated by the COVID-19 shutdown, just like everyone else’s life was, but it got even messier when my wife was on the frontline of the pandemic. Having your professional and personal life crumbling simultaneously isn’t fun. I had actually kept a journal (IT’S NOT A DIARY, OK??) to cope and had originally attempted to thread those entries together into a long-form piece, but it was just way too dark. It felt like it came from a different person. Instead, I junked that idea for this far more casual timeline format. I tried to convey some of those very real feelings of stress, anxiety, and failure, while also not turning it into a depressing sob pieceĀ (thanks to multiple male reproductive system references):

Indy Monthly: A Laid-Off Sports Radio Host’s Guide to Surviving the Pandemic

It’s been cool to get feedback from other dads who went through something similar, either this year or sometime in the past, and hear that they connected with this. It was therapeutic for me to put this article out there, even if I knew my mom and mother-in-law would be reading about my vas deferens. The good news is that everything is fine! My support system remains amazing and the rocket ship is back in orbit. I appreciate you taking the time to read it.