The Academy Insider Podcast - Your Guide to The Naval Academy Experience
The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families. Through the perspective of a community of former graduates and Naval Academy insiders, this podcast will help you learn about life at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Through our shared experiences, Academy Insider guides families through the anxiety and frustration caused by lack of understanding, misinformation, and confusion. This platform is designed to better relationships between midshipmen and their loved ones. This podcast is not affiliated with the United States Naval Academy, the United States Navy or Department of Defense. The thoughts and opinions are exclusively those of your host and his guests.
The Academy Insider Podcast - Your Guide to The Naval Academy Experience
#059 Creating Naval Academy Spirit: Rylan Tuohy's Journey to being King of the Spirit Spot
What if you could turn a simple idea into a beloved tradition that unites an entire community? Join us as we chat with Rylan Tuohy, the creative genius behind the Naval Academy's iconic Spirit Spots. Raised in rural Kentucky with dreams of film school, Rylan's journey from midshipman to viral video creator is nothing short of inspiring. He shares the origins of his first hit, "Game for the Real Players," and reflects on how that led to the creation of multiple videos that have become a staple of Naval Academy culture.
Ever wondered what it takes to make a video resonate with thousands? Rylan dives into the challenges of getting his projects approved and the unexpected triumphs, like the wildly successful "We Give a Ship" video. Learn about the strategic release tactics, the humor that strikes the perfect chord with Navy fans, and even the amusing story behind designing and buying his own merchandise. It's a fascinating peek into the creative and logistical hurdles of producing content that not only entertains but also builds a unique sense of camaraderie.
The magic of filmmaking lies in collaboration, and Rylan's stories capture this beautifully. From the intense coordination needed for "Star Wars at Navy" to the thrill of seeing the finished product bring joy to the Naval Academy community, this episode is a testament to passion and teamwork. Listen as Rylan recounts the stress, excitement, and ultimate reward of creating something that boosts morale and brings people together, especially during football season. It's a heartfelt and entertaining look at the artistry and effort behind these cherished Spirit Spots.
The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.
Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.
He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.
We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.
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Welcome to Season 2 of the Academy Insider Podcast. Academy Insider is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that serves midshipmen, future midshipmen and their families. At its core, this podcast is designed to bring together a community of Naval Academy graduates and those affiliated with the United States Naval Academy in order to tell stories and provide a little bit of insight into what life at the Naval Academy is really like. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for listening and reach out if you ever have any questions. Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Academy Insider Podcast. If you've heard of Naptown Funk we Give a Ship Helm, yeah or any other incredible spirit spots at the Naval Academy, then you need to check out this episode. Today I'm joined by Rylan Tuohy, who I'll just dub as the King of Spirit Spots, and in this episode we dive into one what even brought him to the Naval Academy, his knowledge of Spirit Spots from beforehand, and what inspired him to really want to get into video making and specifically Spirit Spots at the Academy. We follow his journey and get to hear all of the behind the scenes of all of the making of the incredible Spirit Spots that you know and love. So if you're interested in hearing about that please tune into this episode, please share it with someone who you think may love this episode as well and, as always, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this episode. It's extremely fun, just gives an insight into something that provides a ton of joy to the Naval Academy community, so really appreciate it. Let me know if you ever need anything from me or Academy Insider. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy.
Speaker 1:The Academy Insider podcast is sponsored by the Vermeer Group, a residential real estate company that serves the United States Naval Academy community and other select clientele in both California and Texas. If I can ever answer a real estate related question for you or connect you with a trusted Academy affiliated agent in the market which you're in, please reach out to me directly at grant at the Vermeer groupcom. You can also reach out to me on my LinkedIn page, grant Vermeer, and I'd be happy to respond to you there. Thank you so much, and now let's get back to the episode. All right? Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Academy Insider Podcast. Rylan, my guy. Thank you so much for taking the time. Oh, boy, off to a good start here, taking the time to join us today, if you don't mind just giving people a little bit of a background about you where you're from, how you ended up at the Naval Academy and what you're doing now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hey, grant, thanks for having me Grew up in rural Kentucky, went to the Naval Academy class of 16. When I was there I sailed on the offshore team, was in the Glee Club and in my spare time I created these little things called Spirit Spots. Had no idea they would have such a draw and audience, which is amazing. I commissioned as a civil engineer for officer and served five and a half years, did two deployments got out two and a half years ago and now I work as a commercial writer and director.
Speaker 1:I love it and you use the term Spirit Spot, and that's what this episode is going to be all about today. For someone who's completely unaware of the Naval Academy or what a Spirit Spot is, do you mind giving them a quick rundown and a brief explanation of a spirit spot?
Speaker 2:spirit spot is a short comedic video to rally support for navy yeah, was that short enough.
Speaker 1:That was perfect and that's exactly what it is, and again, I think what's really interesting about spirit spots is you'll see them in so many different formats. Right, like a lot of them again, the big ones you see are about the army navy gameavy game or about the Air Force-Navy game or whatever the case is, but they're random spirit spots and you've made some in the past that are just about beating the Dark Ages or just a general video, some kind of thing to kind of raise morale regarding the Naval Academy experience, and so I want to turn it to you of how much did you know about quote, unquote, unquote spirit spots before you started making your first one, and was there anyone who kind of instigated or inspired you to be like, oh, I think these would be cool and I would really enjoy getting to make some videos supporting the Academy.
Speaker 2:Oh for sure, I think I settled on the idea of wanting to go to the Academy. It was later in my time, as a senior in high school. It was like August, september and I was like, yeah, I think I want to go to the Naval Academy. At the same time, I was considering film school, so once I settled on the Naval Academy, spear Spots were already on my radar Back. Shaft Productions was one of the ones that I would watch over and over and over again, and I do remember actually, like before going to the Academy, thinking about if I were to go and like what would I do and what would I want to make. And for me, though, my brother is an 08 grad, so Spear Spots came on my radar much earlier than that time frame, and at that point, though, I was so much younger, and my top two favorites one favorites are the matrix one yeah because I just think it's so creative and goofy and wild, which is what a spirit spot should be.
Speaker 2:And then the, the call on me one. It was just hilarious, and so I remember seeing them and I had no intention ever to like, I just wanted to make something. I knew I had this hobby, this talent, and so never, I just wanted to like, add mine to the pile, so to speak.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, absolutely. Which leads to your first one, which is the game for the real players when you're making that. First of all, are you a plebe as you're making this or did you wait until you were like a youngster seg class to start making videos? You were like a youngster seg class to start making videos. And then the second thing was how was it received? Because I think some of the funny things that we'll discuss and it's probably one of my favorite parts about one of your spirit spots is kind of roasting people who make horrible spirit spots, like potentially one of the ones from west point where you you put the the clip of the video, but like how was your first one received? Were you nervous about you know, putting it out? Were you feeling confident and kind of what was the process of actually creating your? How was your first one received? Were you nervous about you know, putting it out? Were you feeling confident and kind of what was the process of actually creating your first spirit spot?
Speaker 2:Music video was the easiest way to go because you don't have to have the equipment to record on-screen dialogue. I was in the Glee Club and became friends with Midshipman at the time, who was actually a second class. I was a plebe, his name was Nate Brown. By the way, nate brown is taking over the world right now. Him and his brother have like billions of streams on spotify and he was on america's got talent and he's he's the alumni that you haven't heard about. That you should, because he's like just tearing up the world in the music industry. But I was like, hey, I have this idea and I'm pretty sure I wrote the lyrics with khalifi israel, who's also the guy who's raps in in the project, and he's. They were both second classes. I was a plebe, I was in second reg and I remember they were like hey, we need to film this, come over to my company in first reg, yeah. So I was like a slimy plebe.
Speaker 2:I put on some spirit gear, I went over and everybody was like calling me sir, all the plebes yeah and I was, like you know, I was like kind of squaring my corners, kind of like scooting around because I just needed to make the video and and nobody knew who I was. I was, you know, I was just like second reg and first reg like you, just like another face right, so filmed it, edited it, and I remember doing that, editing in Nimitz in that media center and getting the help from the civilians there. And when I released it, I think in the first little bit it was like 10, 20, 30,000 views and I was just really proud of it. It was the first project I'd ever released. It was kind of like a test case for hey, can I make a spear spot? What does this all entail? And it was cool that it was.
Speaker 2:I think it was received so well. I got to incorporate a lot of the like very popular but but low viz staff employees at the naval academy, and that was just a really cool project to do as my first. But I mean, I look at it now and, not gonna lie, it's, it's pretty cringe. I can't really watch it but it's out there and I had to.
Speaker 2:I have to leave it yeah, so well, that's again.
Speaker 1:That's the reality of the world is again as a successful entrepreneur that was, that was what, no, 12 years ago and again.
Speaker 1:That's what it is. You got to execute and then iterate, execute, iterate, execute and iterate again and just keep making it better, which then leads to again. You mentioned that again a music video is kind of the initial easy or first step from an actual production side. What made you realize you could wanted to and like, had the ability to then transition more almost to like skit comedy in some of your spirit spots? And what were some of the original ideas there in some of your spirit spots and what were some of the original ideas there.
Speaker 2:It boiled down to Nate Brown graduated, left the Academy and so I no longer had my, my huge collaborator, who is the music producer. So I have to make something, and I think I had just bought a microphone and the first project I made was that September against Western Kentucky University Yep, I'm from Kentucky, so it was like I need to make something. It was okay, it was fun. I can't I honestly can't remember what the, the. I remember just the shtick which is like you touch him and then he can't touch us. I think, thank you, you know my special than me, me. But what really set me off and what I consider as like, uh, the, the rocket launch, which was the siri parody for air force.
Speaker 2:That was the first project where I, I, we filmed it in under two hours. I edited that night and released the next day, so the entire process took less than like four or five hours. It was so quick. It was me and my friends we were youngsters and, I think, confined to the Academy on a Friday, so we couldn't leave. So I was like, let's make this. We started filming at 11pm, like went until like 1230. I edited until like 2am or something. And then it was like up the next day it just came so naturally and like quickly, and I remember I think Ken Yamatololo retweeted it or shared it, and then it picked up and before I knew it it was like in the hundreds of thousands, which was not new to me in terms of the viewership, but new to me because this was like purely, purely creative. You know, no prior production. It was just like I have this idea, let's make it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so, like you're saying, a lot of these were just pure ideas. Like having fun is midshipmen on a Friday night, because you're stuck in Bancroft Hall and have nothing else to do. At what point, like when that started to gain popularity, at what point did you realize like, oh snap, like I may actually have something here. And at that point do you go to the academy and ask for resources, whether that be people, time, space access, money. Like time, space access money.
Speaker 2:How's that process that leads you then to producing something like Naptown Funk? I think my first project that I approached the public affairs officer at the time, which was John Schofield, who's now at the Alumni Association First project, I think I approached him, I came onto the radar, basically my youngster year or youngster early junior year, I think, and I approached them because I had the idea for we Give a Ship, and so I had written the script. I'd sent it to them and I was like, hey, I want to make this happen, but I wanted their prior approval, because there have been a number of projects that I have either not been able to release or released and then had to pull or just you name it. So I went to them and was like, hey, can you, what do you think of the script? I want to shoot it, let's make it happen. And that's that's really we.
Speaker 2:You know the, the Siri video straight into we give a ship. That's when I was like, okay, okay, I'm tapping into something new here. It feels creative, it feels very like quick, fun, people are proud of it, and the catchphrase came along with it. So, you know, when you go to the football games and everyone's like they don't know your name, but they're like I give a shit, or like, or what they always do is they say we don't, we don't give up the we, I, I don't give a shit and I'm like, hey, 50 there close enough, I appreciate it close enough and I did a high five and let them go.
Speaker 2:Um, no, it's, it's, it's truly is flattering. And I I was just happy, I think, to to create something that that the nail academy and fans were proud of. Fun story. I thought the project was going to be like pretty big. I was like this is a catchy phrase, let's you know. So I made t-shirt designs, gave it to the mid store and I was like hey, I'm releasing this video. Do you think you guys could? And they're like okay, we'll make some. So they made some t-shirts. I released a video see the shirts. And they're like show them up. They're like, oh, cool. And I was like, okay, uh, can I, can I have one? And then they're like, yeah, you can go check out up front. So they made me buy my own damn t-shirt.
Speaker 2:I told I shared that story. I shared that story with someone down in the mwr at the academy and she was like oh my god, I'm so sorry. And she opens her drawers, pulls out a stack of yard cards and just hands it to me. She's like I have no idea what money is on there. But please just take space, you know, because here they are, just like off of my back, they're making all of this money. So, anyway, also lesson learned, you know.
Speaker 1:Hey, and now I learned as I go along okay, yeah, that was a long answer no, that we love it. We love it. And again, when you, when you create something like we give a ship right and at this point, like you're saying it, you've had small productions and you felt like it was going to be big, did you have any idea it was going to be as big as it got and kind of lead to a little for lack of better term like niche fame, where people are literally seeing you at football games and being like you're the we give a ship guy right, like was that ever in your mind as a possibility?
Speaker 2:No, not at all. I just knew that it was a catchy idea and I think people would like it. To what extent you can never predict right, that's like, yeah, it's. It's like calling the stock market or like, you know, calling the lottery. You, you really can't.
Speaker 2:However, I had done a number of videos by that time to kind of understand, I think, what the direction of the Navy fandom was going like. What do they want? And you know, each video, as you mentioned previously, each video. I was social engineering, the next concept. I was like okay, this didn't work well, people liked this. They didn't like this, the video is too long or it's too short. I need to release on a tuesday night instead of a sunday night. Like, that was the type of. That was the type of like technical logistics and and like administrative things. I was thinking about going into each project was how to design it so that it can get its furthest reach, because I think a misconception from a lot of viewers is that I had a budget and no, all of these projects were made on no money. I had zero, and so my form of stretching the non-existent dollar was figuring out how the hell can I make this go viral and how can I make the reach go further?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you did a phenomenal job.
Speaker 1:And again, it's one of these things when it comes to organic reach, right it becomes. It takes a lot of creativity, a lot of hard work and figuring it out in iterations, right, and it tries and tries and tries until you build it, which is incredible. And I have to ask about how have you found that balance? Because obviously, at that, that point right, like we give a ship, like it's a little, it's a little edgy, especially for, like, again, a Naval Academy entity that, especially with a guy like Ted Carter, who we love dearly, like leading it, who's so polished, so professional, to kind of come on a play of words with, like, again, a little bit of a of an edge, like how was navigating that balance? And how did you find the response from people on, again, a play of words that was edgy, yet again, in my opinion, completely appropriate and really like pride producing. But what's, what's the thought going through your head and creating a video that walks that line you always have to ground the joke in the in the joke.
Speaker 2:it's like a lot of my videos have double entendres and the humor is in the fact that the joke is designed almost like highbrow, like smartly right, so that you can read it and say the joke and it still be grounded in, like we give a ship because we do we. You know the Navy gives ships and you know we take them and everything.
Speaker 2:Or like maybe Helmia was a little bit of a stretch, but I, I mean, I think I think here, okay, we this is what I'm about to say is not controversial at all.
Speaker 2:It's we are like our job in the military is to potentially go to war, right. So the stakes that we dealt with and what current active duty deal with is like heavy stakes, right. So for me to be able to make a joke about, we give a or hell, yeah, I think is plays into the audience like we already operate in a, in a mature adult world, and so all I'm doing is finding a way in disguising it a little bit with some comedy and, honestly, kind of playing on the fact that you would never be able to say that in a public opinion from a public affairs officer or what. But you give a midshipman, a camera crew and a couple of friends and disguise the joke in something else and maybe you can, maybe you can do that. You know, like so many times I've gone through my like spirit spot career and you know you run into public affairs officers that would be like, oh, we can't push that, we can't promote that, but you can. But so I'm, I am all the public affairs officers scapegoat, how's that?
Speaker 1:yeah, no, I look, I, I, I get it. There have been plenty of times again, especially with academy insider early on too, where they're like we can't support it technically, but like like good job, yeah, yeah, like, keep this thing going right, yeah, big wink yeah, big wink yeah, and so you really again come onto the scene with we give a ship an incredible like just film production skit comedy.
Speaker 1:But then you kind of go back to a little bit of the music video side on naptown funk. Naptown funk is massively popular. There are a ton of people who love it. What was the inspiration? You listen to Bruno Mars one day and you're like I got like we might be able to make this work, or kind of what's the process leading up to quite literally your most popular video?
Speaker 2:The song came out and I think almost immediately I connected Uptown Naptown. It would be really, really fun to do. I'm pretty sure I attempted the project right after we Give a Ship. I'm pretty sure I attempted the project at that time and I had the idea. But it was winter, I think it was going into winter in Annapolis, and then springtime and it's just like so gray and ugly there, um, and like so depressing, and I knew I wanted to film it like in a iconic location, and so I sat on the idea for quite some time. I entered my senior year and I think the discussion is so. By senior year I was the brigade public affairs officer, the midshipman public affairs officer, of course.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I remember, like you know, the public affairs team was like okay, rylan, what are we doing? You know, you're like, give us your plan. And I was in 23 credits at the time and I just remember just being like I, like I, you know, I look back at like my productivity at that time like how the hell did I do that? But what happened was I had floated the idea about not ton funk, I believe in september, late september, and john schofield and jenny erickson, who were in the public affairs office, said, hey, we booked you a meeting with the city of annapolis and they want to talk about Naptown Funk or about this new project that you have. And so I go into this meeting. I'm pretty sure it was lunch. I had already done four periods, went to lunch and then the 30 minutes I met up before I had to go back to physics or whatever.
Speaker 2:So I go into this board meeting and they're like well, what do you want to do? It's the city of Annapolis, annapolis. And I was like, well, I want to make this project, but I want to close down a street to film there. And they go, which one? And I go, and I go main street. And they're like, okay, great, when do you want to do it? And I was like like a weekend in october and they're like okay, and what would be your second street if you didn't get it? And I was like Maryland Ave.
Speaker 2:So, they're like okay, so like I walk away, I'm like what the hell? I haven't done anything, anything. And like the next day they're like hey, main Street's already booked for that weekend for a marathon. But you have Maryland Ave and you're filming October 29th and I'm like that's in like two and a half weeks. So I immediately go start writing the script, like listening to the song and like coming up with the lyrics. And then at the same time, I teamed up with Mark Clanton who was helping me build the sound, and then I was like casting whatever that means for us mids, because it was just like asking a bunch of favors, casting a couple dancers, figuring out who was going to be the main lead, and basically in one week we finished not on funk, like the, the, the, the song.
Speaker 2:The second week was all production, like, like, like gearing up to it. I had four hours. They allowed us to start filming at seven and I had to be off the street at 11. So I had four hours and the Naval Academy was like not even the support, where the city of Annapolis was like yeah, you need to go pick up these barricades from the, from you know, the Annapolis, like department of transportation or whatever. And so, like, I sent a mid to go pick them up and then come back and, like, the naval academy was just like how's the project coming? And so I, you know, I remember showing up at five, five am that morning and this, the track we were using, we were just like holding, holding a boom, like a boom box, you know, with the sound playing, and the track wasn't even finished. So it wasn't even finished. We had kind of designed it, I had put these pieces together.
Speaker 2:It was wild, crazy time. Got the last shot at like 10.57. Cleared the street. They were like pulling the barricades as cars were running through and I was like I can't believe we just did that that day. I like then had to like go to the football game and I remember sitting up because I would take photos of the football game and I could sit up in the in the press box and I started editing it together and, and I think by maybe Sunday, so like maybe, like a couple of days later, I was ready to show the project and, like you know, released it. Five days later it hit a million. I was on Fox and friends, I was. It was like all over. Cool story though I one is. I went to Galway Bay, I think last year with my dad's and brother's reunion, and so I went with them. And I went to Galway Bay and, I don't know, nat Town Funk came up and the waiter was like oh yeah, I freaking hate that music video. And I think my mom was like, oh why, why do you?
Speaker 1:hate it and she was like well, cause I live.
Speaker 2:she was like I live right up there and I remember waking up at 5 AM to the damn soundtrack playing over and, over and over again when they filmed it Listening to the same on for four straight hours.
Speaker 2:I just looked at her and I was like I'm so sorry. And then I got to go back and host the CB Ball in DC in March and there was this lady who came up to me and she goes I was the one who helped you close down Maryland Ave from Annapolis. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is incredible, so cool. So, anyway, it was one of those projects. I'm just so grateful that we got to do it. And so, yeah, it continues to be relevant and I'm really, really happy for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and do you have again? It sounds like, as you're telling these stories, a lot of these things just kind of happen and they happen fast and you had to execute. Do you enjoy making those projects or is that point? Is it like so stressful or you're just so locked in, Like what would you say has been your most enjoyable project, and how do you even quantify something like that in filmmaking? Is it, is it a post facto enjoyment or kind of like? How do you, how do you navigate? That of like this is your hobby and you love it, but it's a high stress, like environment with like quick timelines. How do you navigate actually enjoying what you're making?
Speaker 2:That's such a tough question. Here's the thing that I love the most. I love the act of sharing the final product, like there is no greater joy. I mean there are, but there is no like the joy of me being able to share the product that we have been working on and and have it realized and have it be something that I'm proud of and want other people to be proud of it and share it too is like a feeling like no other. So the actual act of making it, the production component, is incredibly intense. I leave after those days of production I'm just like exhausted, and then you enter the whole other phase, which is editing it and putting it together and realizing in its full form, and so the experience itself is like.
Speaker 2:I love the collaborative nature of it when you're working with the team, but it is not like. It is like any other job or a project. And, granted, I know people listening to this or watching this may think how is making a video or a movie or a TV show or whatever, just a project? And it is. It is just like any project, except the nature is in something a little bit, perhaps more flashy, right, but it still comes down to decisions are getting made, you're having to execute quickly, keep your cool, and so it probably sounds like I hate the the filmmaking process. I absolutely love it, you know, but I ultimately it boils down to to I think for me, when I have an idea that I think it, it would be so much fun to share, and sharing that and getting to do that is amazing 100%.
Speaker 1:I love it and kind of bringing it to at least kind of one of, in my opinion, is one of the most iconic where you really brought in for lack of a better term military star power. How do you navigate Now you've been on the scene Now you've made a ton of really popular videos and people expect like people are like oh, this is a rylan production, like this thing better be off the charts. How do you approach going into making something like star wars at navy and like do you feel an extra pressure at that point? Or like what's your mindset going into that, now that you've again you've established yourself as again a really high level, really talented producer and filmmaker?
Speaker 2:there is a certain level, I think, of pressure, sure, but it feels somewhat self-induced because I think at the end of the day I'm not gonna, I I know I'm not going to release a project that I'm not proud of, sure. So the you know there's a lot of self-pressure there, just wanting to like execute, and obviously the ideas become larger, bigger and you want to. That I'm not proud of Sure.
Speaker 2:So there's a lot of self-pressure there, just wanting to execute, and obviously the ideas become larger, bigger and you want to keep doing that. The thing with Star Wars at Navy was I was like, okay, I'm gearing up, this is what I want to do. I'm shooting it a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and our first shot was with the CNO, because Ted Carter was like hey, the CNO, the cno. Because ted carter was like hey, the cno is coming to have dinner, you can have him for an hour. And I said, okay, we're gonna go up to the top of the of the dive platform in lejeune and we're gonna I'm gonna have him throw someone off the top. He's like great. So that was the. That was the first shot we ever shot of star wars at navy. And now because I filmed that, I can't like shoot something with the cno and then not make it happen yeah, so I was like now we have to make it happen.
Speaker 2:And I, I, I think, out of all the videos, star wars at navy probably was the most stressful, sure, because it was like so many different shots, so many different things, so many things moving. My family probably hated the thanksgiving time frame because what I would do is I would always shoot the spirit spot before thanksgiving and then go home and edit it, sure, and so my parents would always be like rylan, where we we want, we want to spend time here with us just editing.
Speaker 2:You know. So by the time I leave thanksgiving, they're like angry and they're like we never got to see you and I was like just mom, I love what I'm doing, you know, kind of thing, I don't know. Anyway, yeah, so that was just more self-induced stress. You know, when you tackle those such big, especially that one, because there's like so many moving parts, no, absolutely Well, you've done an absolutely phenomenal job Again.
Speaker 1:I think what I love about Spirit Spots in general is that, you know, when you take a look at Academy Insider and my mission of serving and supporting midshipmen, future midshipmen, their families there's like nothing cooler than during football season when someone produces a really good spirit spot on behalf of the Naval Academy. Right, there is so much fun and pride in sharing those videos and owning that right, like that is it's an incredible service to the community because, like you're saying, the reality of our situation is that life at the Academy is really difficult. Life in the fleet is really difficult. There's a lot of seriousness that surrounds our profession. Right, so, to be able to have that moment of joy right, where there's like a funny joke that plays on everything in you know, the rivalry between West Point and the Naval Academy but that plays to the seriousness of our profession, we just have the ability to have fun and you're able to channel that and bring that Like it's incredible, right, it's incredible.
Speaker 1:So I just want to say, like, thank you to you for everything you've done in sharing your talents with us, because it brings so much joy to the community. Right, it brings so much joy to the community and like we love that, we love that, and so a genuine thank you to you for that. And I just want to now turn it over to you now and just be like is there, is there a next? Is there a next? And like do you have another one of the works? Is your life now outside of the Navy, as this a full-time profession? Are you just like moving on with it, or do you ever have a vision or a goal or a kind of a plan to ever remake a, a new spirit spot?
Speaker 2:I haven't made one since I got out and I feel like it would be fun to, to, to perhaps do a final one. Sure, not to make one for the sake of making one, but as I shared with you on we give a ship or on napton funk. You know, many of those ideas came years before and it took me a while to execute it. Finally, I think it's, there's something that I I think would be great to finally bring it around and potentially, very soon, the viewers and listeners could see something coming up.
Speaker 2:The tough part is, now that I'm out, I no longer have the access, or there's just a lot, a lot more steps to make something happen. Also, I will say I genuinely feel that me making videos in the Navy a decade ago, compared to now, is a much more difficult process now. Money, locations, budget, asking people to help, asking trained crew to help it just creates you have a lot more resources that you have to have in order to make this happen, and so all I'll share is that there's an idea that I've had for quite some time. I would never be able to do it when I was in. Well, now I'm out and perhaps this might be the year to make this happen. So I'm busy behind the scenes and I really, really hope that viewers and listeners will see something soon and perhaps maybe even support it. So stay tuned.
Speaker 1:Well, that's exciting. It's exciting to hear and I love that and I share that sentiment right, a very similar thing with Academy Insiders Some things that you just can't do while you're in, right, and now that we're out, now we have a little bit more wiggle room to make something awesome, right, make something awesome with our respective platforms. So that's awesome. Thank you so much, and we'll be looking out for it. I'm excited for anything if this is real, so really appreciate it. We'll get ready. To wrap up here. I just want to thank you for your time. The one thing that I do like to ask everyone who comes on, kind of regardless of topic, is I love talking about the Academy being really special because of the investment in people, in the development of midshipmen, personally, professionally, whatever the case is, and so, whether it be in filmmaking, whether it be as a midshipman, do you mind sharing a story of someone who made a really positive impact in your life at the Naval Academy, who is someone that's really special to you and made an impact during your time in Annapolis?
Speaker 2:That's such a great question and I pause because there are so many people who made my time at the Academy so much more special. I think I'd have to go with.
Speaker 2:I think I'd have to go with, since we're on the topic of spheres, but I mean, there are so many people from my, from my, from my capstone professor, to Angela Moran, who ran the STEM program, to my sponsor parents, to friends, to you name it. I think I have to shout out Jenny Erickson, though Jenny Erickson was a civilian, she was the public affairs civilian under the public affairs officer, and she was always, always, always in my corner and sometimes told me the tough news that I needed to hear. She was the confidant, she was the first person I would talk to about new ideas, and she would say that's stupid, or the thing is, I value her feedback so much and it's very rare to have people in your life who are going to give you the feedback that you need, because that's so important. I think, when I look back at all of the times that I grew, the most were through failures, right, and so even making Spirit Bots, since we're talking about that today.
Speaker 2:There were so many times I went through the process and she was like it's not working here, it's not clicking here, and the greatest thing is that, because maybe she doesn't speak the lingo of filmmaking, she has this innate hunch about like it's not working here, we're not working here, or you need to do. You know what if you were to do something here, and I know I'm speaking very, you know, ambiguously, but her notes and her feedback were always pointed smart, and everybody needs someone like that in your life, no matter what it is you're trying to do, you always need to have someone who can be critical and supportive, and so shout out to Jenny Erickson.
Speaker 1:Love it Well, ryland, I appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with the entire Academy Insider audience. Again, spirit Spots are an iconic piece of the Naval Academy experience in the recent history and a big piece of that is because of you. So we're so excited to be able to share your time and have you come on and talk about Spirit Spots at the Academy. So really appreciate it. Thank you so much, and you're the man. Thanks for having me Absolutely All right To the Academy Insider audience.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for listening. If you ever have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the episode and have a great day. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Academy Insider Podcast. I really hope you liked it, enjoyed it and learned something. If you did, please feel free to like and subscribe or leave a comment about the episode. We really appreciate to hear your feedback about everything and continue to make Academy Insider an amazing service that guides, serves and supports midshipmen, future midshipmen and their families. Thank you.
