MONDAY-FRIDAY:  5:30-10:00 AM
I grew up throughout the entire south because my dad was an engineer and got transferred a lot with his job. I was born in Mississippi but I've lived in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, back to Texas, South Carolina and finally North Carolina. I was one of those people who had no idea what I wanted to do for a career. I played soccer in college and for the first 2 to 3 years just took basic courses hoping to find my so called calling. The one thing I knew was there was no way I could work a standard desk job; I've always had a creative vibe and I knew I had to follow that somewhere. I finally figured out what my purpose in life was! I was going to write funny Super Bowl commercials and get paid for it! So I went after it and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from the University of South Carolina. (GO GAMECOCKS!)

 

Turns out the big man upstairs likes to laugh at what we think we're going to do with our lives sometimes. I ended up landing a job in Charlotte at a soccer company right out of college. After about a year and half there, the company was bought out by another soccer company and I was sent packing. I moved to Raleigh and it was back to bartending and waiting tables while I searched for another job. There is no doubt in my mind that fate led me to where I am at QDR today. I landed a part-time job with Curtis Media Group as Assistant Webmaster. I bartended at night til 2am and then would work here from 7am-noon. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I got to see every aspect of the radio business from the sales and business side to the on-air side. I learned by watching and observing what to do in this business and especially what not to do!

 

After nine months in the web department, I was promoted to Promotions Coordinator for 94.7 QDR. I worked there for over a year and started doing stunts for the morning show. This led to an oppurtunity to work some on-air shifts on the weekends and that's when I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life. I eventually landed the night show from 7pm to midnight Monday thru Friday. And after close to two years of nights, I was asked to fill in on the morning show while we searched for a new co-host and I never left.

 

On the personal side, I was a guy who had no intention on ever getting married or having kids. It was something that had never really crossed my mind but once again I was wrong. I had that moment -like in the movies- where you walk in and time stops and all you see is that one person in the room. I met Jessica on July 3rd, 2006 and we got married on May 20th, 2007. I've always laughed at the saying "you'll know when you find the one" but I knew the minute I saw her. I was also wrong on that whole not having kids thing. My son Ryder Nash Young was born on March 27th, 2009 and I wouldn't trade him for the world. It's crazy to look at someone and know that you helped make that little dude!  My daughter Paisley was born December 8th, 2011 so now I've got the best of both worlds, one of each!

 

This job comes with a lot of perks like meeting movie stars and obviously all the top country stars but when someone asks me what's my favorite part of the job, it's easy. I love music, but more than anything I love being part of a moment. I love feeling the energy of the crowd, not because I'm on stage introducing a band and people are cheering but because you can tell that it's about to get loud and crazy because people came to see a particular artist and the energy is contagious! There's been times I've been at a show, especially at a club like City Limits Saloon where somebody's performing and the place is so loud and every single person in the building is singing every word and the artist steps back from the mic and you can see the shock on their face of what's going on right now. That's why I love my job! If you listen to the station, you know my favorites are this new breed of what I call outlaw that's out right now; Eric Church, Josh Thompson and Justin Moore are what you can mainly find me listening to but I also like Gary Allan, Darius Rucker. Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and some others but I can relate so well to Eric, Josh, and Justin because what they talk about is how I grew up and what I'm going through now.