Meet Gary Scott, founder of Inside Voices Media in East Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Scott, founder of Inside Voices Media.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Gary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I fell in love with words: Written or uttered — How we talk, tell, sing, and teach; sentences that heal us, hurt us, confuse us, connect us, move us to peace, to pleasure, to madness. Our lives are the words we knit together – the stories we tell to ourselves. And so, smitten with words, I chose to make a living as a wordsmith – though I never use that word.

For 12 years, I wrote and edited newspaper stories, political and investigative mostly. Then I produced radio for three years, both a local and national public affairs show on NPR-affiliate KCRW in Los Angeles. Then, for eight years, I oversaw programming at KCRW. Now I work for myself as CEO of Inside Voices Media, a podcast company.

Sometimes, I feel as if I’m cheating. It’s like getting paid to be a human. Then, when I sit down to tell a story, I don’t feel like I cheated at all. The high-wire act of doing it right, of making shit people want to read or hear, well, there’s nothing easy about that.

For more than 20 years, I have been telling stories and, in a way, my own story. How long, I wonder, will my words remain?

I’m not sure, but I remain fully committed to words.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As unique as any story is, everyone has one. Almost everyone can speak into a microphone and create a podcast. It’s hard to stand out in a crowd of a million. So that’s a constant obstacle. A good one. Your story has to be good, really good.

More generally, I’ve stayed too long in jobs. I’ve failed to jump at opportunities. I’ve told myself I could withstand challenges I should have tackled. I’ve done great work that few people, even close friends, know about. I’ve let people overpower me because I wanted to be recognized. I failed to travel when I should traveled. I failed to tell people what I wanted and lost people because they did not know.

Knowing all of this makes me a better human. It goes without saying that we are made by what we overcome. The key is to know what challenges to focus on, and which ones to let recede in the rearview mirror.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am the founder of Inside Voices Media, which makes original podcasts and offers strategic consulting for audio storytellers. We launched our first podcast, Long Shots, and I’m extremely proud of how good it sounds.

What sets the company apart is the work we do to develop new voices and give them a platform not only to speak but the resources and space to be creative. If podcasts are going to evolve, it’s not going to be because everyone is copying Serial.

What were you like growing up?
I played a lot of sports and was especially good at soccer. I was smart and smart-mouthed and shy at times. I liked to read. I had freckles. I loved to make people laugh. We traveled a lot in the summers, so I got to see a lot of the American West. And we lived in a rural area in the California high desert, where we grew citrus trees and we abutted a hilly region called the Badlands where me and my friends would hike out and play. As I got older, I wanted to be a trauma surgeon, but then I fell in love with writing and acting and, well, I never went to medical school.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1227 1/2 N. New Hampshire Ave., Apt. 2
  Los Angeles, CA 90029
• Website: insidevoicesmedia.com
• Phone: 626-676-1915
• Email: gary@insidevoicesmedia.com
• Instagram: @garyrobertscott @insidevoices
• Facebook: facebook.com/insidevoicesmedia
• Twitter: @garyrobertscott

Image Credit:
Gary Scott

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