Breyden Marcus, left, and Cody Barnett co-host Unspoken Truth,
which they describe as gay man’s lifestyle vlog
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Dallasite Breyden Marcus is one of the competitors in the running to be Top Host — the grand champion of a nationwide online broadcasting and podcasting contest sponsored by Ryan Seacrest, iHeartRadio and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.
He’s already made it past thousands of other podcasters, but he still has several more levels to climb before making it to the finals.
Prizes include a six-episode podcast produced by the radio conglomerate, $25,000 in cash and a guest appearance on an episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, presumably to promote the six-episode podcast they’ll be producing.
The Top Host competition benefits the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, but you can vote without making a donation. Go to the TopHost.org website to look for links to use in voting for specific competitors. You vote once a day for free — but be on the lookout for special double vote days — and you can donate to the Ryan Seacrest Foundation to purchase additional votes.
(The Ryan Seacrest Foundation is “dedicated to inspiring today’s youth through entertainment- and education-focused initiatives, specifically by building and operating interactive broadcast media centers inside pediatric hospitals.)
Marcus already hosts two podcasts. Unspoken Truth is the show that’s in the competition that he co-hosts with Cody Barnett. He describes it as a gay man’s lifestyle vlog.
Unspoken Truth is in its third season, and, in its current run, Marcus has added video to what was originally an audio podcast.
As Marcus and Barnett have gained listeners, they’ve added more guests.
Earlier shows focused on lifestyle topics, Marcus said, including raising kids as a single parent, mental health, HIV prevention, death, drag queens, Pride, tops and bottoms and open relationships. Guests have included country singer Ty Herndon, singer Jennifer Pena and Texas-based Instagram comedian Chona E. Upcoming guests include Tejano singer Shelley Laras.
Shows are recorded at MZ Studios on Mockingbird Lane where they have a choice of three studios and an audio engineer. After recording, the studio sends Marcus the raw file.
“We do post production,” Marcus said. “And then post” the shows online.
He said the software they use makes post production easy to do.
Marcus does a second podcast, related to his day job, that is called Behind the Portfolio. It tells the stories of leaders of multifamily management companies.
He described it as “real conversations with the people shaping the future of multifamily housing.”
Marcus said he heard about the Top Host competition on social media. “Are you a good podcast host?” one post asked. He clicked on the link.
“It was quite awhile before I heard back,” he said.
The podcasters who were chosen were divided into groups. If he’s first in his current group, he automatically moves into the next round. If he ranks second, he has a wild card opportunity.
Voting began Oct. 5. The current round is the wild card round, and it will be followed by quarter finals, then semifinals and, finally, on Dec. 10, the finals.
The winner will be announced on Jan. 15.
Win or lose, Marcus said, he thinks he’s found his true calling. He and Barnett have formed a company they call Breyco Media Group.
For the first time, their next episode is using their software to insert an ad. In addition, they’ve begun teaching other podcasters how to use the editing and post-production software to make their finished product more professional.
“I would love for this to become my full-time job,” Marcus said. Winning Top Host would go a long way toward making that dream a reality.
To vote for Marcus and Barnett’s Unspoken Truth podcast, visit https://tinyurl.com/2vwxafhc