Four Red Deerians have created a podcast to put a spotlight on the city they love.
The first episode of Oh, Deer, a comedy podcast hosted by Ted Emmett, Ryan Lund, Dustin Moore and Kevin Walsh, was released this past December.
“We didn’t want to just start a podcast where it was basically us talking like we’re in a bar. We thought we should have a target audience, which is mainly Red Deer and Albertans in general,” Emmett said on Saturday.
“We want to talk about our city.
“We all really like living in Red Deer. There is lots to brag about and lots of things here that people don’t know about.”
According to the podcast’s Facebook page, the four hosts chat about all things Red Deer, life in Alberta and the general grievances that come with being an adult.
Emmett moved to Red Deer five years ago. Through work, he became friends with Moore, who has been friends with Lund and Walsh since junior high school.
They had discussed creating a podcast for the past few months. Emmett, who used to work in the radio industry, had the audio production skills to bring the podcast to life.
“We knew our close friends and family would listen, so we said, ‘Let’s just see where it goes,’” he said.
The first episode was released this past December and already the podcast has some fans, said Emmett.
“I don’t want to say it blew up or anything, but things started happening a little quicker than we thought. We’re already talking about going 20 episodes this year,” he said.
All four are heavily involved in the central Alberta community – all have been board members for the Piper Creek Optimist Club. Emmett said he hopes Oh, Deer can highlight how great Red Deer is.
Starting a podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic has been an interesting experience, Emmett added.
“When we first started talking about the podcast, the restrictions were a lot lighter. Ryan and I live together, I work with Dustin – we’re all kind of in a close cohort anyways, so we figured we could (record) it together.
“But by the time it came to recording, there were basically no indoor gatherings. There were a couple of nice days and we said, ‘Hey, we’re Albertan,’ so we recorded outside for the winter.”
Before the first episode was released, the government introduced heavier social gathering restrictions.
“Now we’re doing it through a Zoom call. It’s been a bit of a challenge in some ways. On the editing side, it’s actually a little easier sometimes.
“It’s been interesting and has given us a distraction and something to do, with us not really being able to do anything else. I know people have faced a lot more challenging things in the last nine months than having to do a podcast though.”
For more information about the podcast, visit www.facebook.com/OhDeerPodcast or linktr.ee/OhDeerPodcast.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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