Everyone needs a hobby; I just wish I didn't suck at golf

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column

Everyone needs a hobby.

Some people golf. Some fish. Some people restore old cars, collect baseball cards, grow tomatoes or spend their Saturdays standing in a garage staring at a lawn mower they have no idea how to fix.

I decided to start a magazine.

Why? Oh, I don't know... Because for starters, if I was good at golf you wouldn't be reading this right now and apparently I don’t have enough to do as the founder, editor, reporter, advertising sales, and social media and complaint department manager for The Shelby Independent.

Most of those are full-time jobs by themselves. Maybe that's why I suck at golf - I just don't have time for it. So, yeah, I started an online magazine.

It’s called THIRTY Magazine, and it’s an online magazine built around something I’ve always enjoyed doing anyway: Talking to interesting people, visiting fascinating places and attending fun events.

That's the whole basis of the magazine: People, places and things.

Now, I realize that “talking to interesting people” doesn’t sound like much of a hobby. It sounds more like something you do when you’re avoiding mowing the grass. But I’ve discovered that there are an awful lot of interesting people out there, and they aren’t all famous. That’s one of the things I like most about this project.

Sure, I’d love to interview actors, musicians, authors / writers, business leaders, political figures, coaches and athletes; people whose names you recognize immediately.

But I’ve also discovered that some of the best stories belong to people whose names you’ve never heard before.

The person who spent 40 years doing an unusual job - or who witnessed something extraordinary. The person who built a major business from nothing. Someone who knows more about some wonderfully obscure subject than any reasonable human being should know.

The person who has lived a life that makes you think, Wait a minute. Why have I never heard this story before?

Those are the people I want to find.

And, hopefully, finding them is pretty easy; you just have to start asking.

THIRTY has already given me an excuse to have some pretty interesting conversations. I’ve even already interviewed an artificial intelligence.

Yes... You read that correctly. I interviewed AI. *Insert long tired sigh here* I’m not entirely sure what that says about the state of journalism, but I’m choosing to believe it says we’re living in interesting times.

And that’s another thing I like about THIRTY - I don’t necessarily know where the next story is coming from.

That's what makes it exciting to me. That is why it's a hobby to me, not work.

Most of my professional life is spent doing what local journalists do: following government, politics, meetings, crime, budgets, elections, controversies, court cases, public events, public records, along with receiving the death threats and insults along with the encouraging words from supportive readers and the occasional person who is extremely upset because somebody didn’t return their email (Sorry! I get A LOT of emails).

It’s important work. I love doing local journalism.

But, every now and then, it’s nice to get out of Cleveland County without actually having to buy a plane ticket.

THIRTY lets me do that.

I can sit down with somebody in another state, or another part of the world, and spend half an hour talking about their life, family, their career, passion projects, their experiences or whatever else happens to come up.

No county commission agenda. No arguments, politics, $3,000 office chairs. No public comment. No one standing at a microphone for three minutes explaining why the entire system has gone completely insane. Just a conversation.

It'll only consist of about one or two features each month. That's all, but it's enough with all I have to do, and I think it'll keep readers interested without being overloaded with articles. It’s a pretty nice escape just thinking about it.

And here’s where I could use your help: If you know somebody who would make a great interview, tell me about them.

They can be famous, almost famous, or they can be completely unknown but meets the "wow" needed for a national interview.

They can be an actor, musician, author, athlete, entrepreneur, artist, scientist, chef, historian, adventurer, inventor or somebody with the most fascinating job you’ve never heard of. They can even be you.

Seriously, if you’re reading this and thinking, "I know somebody Chuck should interview," I’d like to know who that is.

And if you’re quietly thinking, "Chuck should interview me," well … I’m willing to listen to your argument.

You can also just mention to me with someone you’d like to see interviewed.

That’s the beauty of this thing. THIRTY isn’t limited by a geographic boundary. The news pages of the Shelby Independent are primarily concerned with what happens here in Cleveland County. That’s the job: "Local people. Local News." And The Sunday Column has always had a little more room to wander, but THIRTY wanders considerably farther; nationally. Who knows, maybe one day I'll interview some international controversial figure. You never know...

The goal is to create something anybody can enjoy - whether you’re sitting in Shelby, Chicago, somewhere in Florida, or anywhere in California, or somewhere in between.

So if you’ve got a few minutes, check out THIRTY Magazine. Read a couple of interviews, see who I’ve been talking to (but keep in mind, I just started, so there's not much on there, which is why I need your suggestions and help getting me connected to people).

If you know someone who I should interview, let me know. I’m always looking for the next conversation.

After all, everyone needs a hobby.

Some people buy a boat, get a golf course membership, buy an ATV or rock climb, or maybe collect Civil War bullets using a metal detector. I can't afford any of those hobbies, so I started a national online magazine.

Clearly, I need help.

email me: Chuck@ShelbyIndependent.com or the newly minted THIRTY email: Thirty.interviews@gmail.com .

To learn more about THIRTY visit the website.

The Sunday Column is published every week, right here in The Shelby Independent.

The Sunday Column is made possible thanks to:

The Sunday Column.

The Shelby Independent.