This month’s professional spotlight features Mez Kidane, the creator, producer, and host of the podcast Mez Drinks and Chill. Read this month’s spotlight to learn more about Mez and his work!

Could you briefly explain some of your responsibilities in your current career ? 

I am the creator, producer, and host of the podcast Mez Drinks and Chill. I oversee the creative vision, coordination of interviews, and management of distribution and marketing

The recording process begins with finding a guest, deciding on a topic, and then creating a play-by-play of the episode’s structure to avoid free styling during the recording. I then provide the choice of alcohol the guest prefers and record the episode. Once the recording is complete, I work with my producer SiFi to edit. After I’ve recorded enough episodes for the season I load them up for my distributor to post on the platforms on my desired release date. I then wait for marketing and the release! 

What drove you to create the podcast and how do you want to use the platform? 

I started MDC because I love healthy conversations on any of societies norms and taboos. Being that I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced many different journeys, I have friends of all walks of life to converse on the podcast with. 

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way as you’ve built the podcast? 

Always do a sound check!!! We once did a whole episode and realized we weren’t recording. It was such a great episode but nobody will ever hear it. We thought about re-recording it with all the same questions but you can’t recreate that magic. The natural reactions are gone and the answers to the questions sound dry.

What role has your community played in helping grow the podcast? 

My community has helped grow the podcast in so many ways. I used to go to every DC Eritrean festival and Eritrean Soccer tournament, which gathered thousands of ppl from around the world. Through the years, I played ball and threw parties at these events which helped me meet ppl from around the world. So when I launched my podcast, I already had a viable network to share it with.  A few other influencers like EriDiaspora, Gergish, BigBoyComedy, HabeshaKing, and LostLyrics also helped me spread my podcast.

Is there a philosophy that drives your career?

I don’t want a piece of the pie, I want the recipe….. and also, Your Network Is Your Net Worth 

What do you consider to be your greatest professional accomplishment?

Taking the first step.. because that’s the most important and hardest step.

What’s one piece of advice you would give someone looking to transition into your line of work or wanting to start a podcast?

Map it out!! If you don’t have a plan it’s usually not going to work. In any goal you wish to accomplish ask yourself – What do you want out of this? Are you willing to put money into something that doesn’t have an immediate ROI? And make sure you understand the business side of it. 

What are some of your goals for yourself in 2020? 

To gain more listeners.

Outside of all of your hard work and efforts- what do you do for fun? Hobbies?

Traveling is my favorite thing to do.. but due to Covid I’m unable to do so. Other than that, I enjoy spending time with my loved ones and playing 2k, madden or fifa. 

Tune in to Mez Drinks and Chill on Spotify, Apple, and audioboom.