5 Reasons I Like Shea Serrano
I’m sitting here listening to Shea Serrano on his new basketball podcast Six Trophies and I’m saying to myself, “I think I like everything he’s ever done, and I don’t see any way that’s going to change.” *1 I mean, maybe this is embarrassing, but while in San Antonio for work last year I spent entirely too much time thinking about what I’d say when I inevitably bumped into Shea on the River Walk or while eating and drinking delicious things at Roadmap Brewing and Pinkerton’s BBQ and The Pearl. (It didn’t happen, but I’m sure it will probably when Kel and I someday go to San Antonio to watch the Celtics play Wembanyama.)
As you can see above, I chose Shea’s book Basketball (And Other Things) when I needed a photo shoot prop. That wasn’t random, because I buy Kel’s approach that branding is done best when it is authentic to you. I think that Shea’s taste is impeccable, his creative talent is astronomical, and the way he goes about his business in public is hugely admirable. If you are not already familiar with Shea, Wikipedia says, “Shea Serrano is an American author, journalist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, The Ringer and Grantland, as well as his books, including The Rap Year Book, Basketball and Movies, all of which were The New York Times #1 best-sellers.” Here are 5 reasons I like him:
1. His writing
Shea’s writing is not just funny, it is uniquely funny. From a technical perspective (surely best way to analyze humor), he often uses innovative chapter concepts and judging criteria that are intricately designed to set up his punchlines, which he delivers in footnotes that display artistry that reminds me of David Foster Wallace (I recognize the pretentiousness of that sentence, but I stand by it). His conversational tone on display in columns like “The Disrespectful Dunk Index” is why I can daydream about what it’s like to actually talk to him. Plus, his creative fiction is wildly inventive, like THE ABDUCTION — An Emilio Graves Story of Violence, which features this log line: “This is a story about an alien abduction, except but the aliens this time accidentally abduct an all-caps TOUGH GUY. And shit falls apart real fast for them.”
2. His reverence
It is so clearly evident that Shea loves the subjects he writes and podcasts about (movies, hip-hop, and basketball mostly), and it is on display in the deep thinking he puts into questions like, “Is this movie better, the same, or worse with The Rock in it?” I found this cool list at www.timothypate.com that catalogs the 714!! movies referenced in the book Movies (And Other Things), which makes Shea the Babe Ruth of writing about movies I guess? *2
3. His positivity / generosity on Twitter/X
As a person who just left an employer I was very grateful to so I could do something on my own, Shea’s path of creating his own publishing company Halfway Books after his start at ESPN’s Grantland is really inspiring. Shea is very public with positivity on social media, and his generosity has even been shouted out by Barack Obama. Here are a few tweets as examples, click the arrows to cycle through:
4. His marketing
I’m not allowed to tell you about the Secret Email Club, but it’s the best.
5. Primo
Shea shares a lot of stories about his family and these stories are warm and engaging and heartfelt and hilarious and his kids are mean to him in ways that never cease to make me laugh, and so it makes sense that the TV show Shea created, Primo, is so fantastic. Plus, it is free for everyone to stream on Amazon Freevee because accessibility was important to Shea. The subject: “A San Antonio teenager balances college aspirations, societal expectations and a hectic home life anchored by his single mum and five uncles.” It’s currently 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it is a great watch across age groups. I think Primo is a perfect point of entry into liking Shea for yourself! *3
*1: Shoutout also to Jason Concepcion, co-host of the podcast and Shea’s frequent collaborator. I like you too Jason!
*2: My favorite movie-related project is his podcast season Villains, which is about great movie villains, or the season The Connect, which talks about two seemingly different movies under one theme, or the season With a Pencil, which is about John Wick. OK, I think With a Pencil is officially my favorite. Maybe.
*3: Primo is so good. Also, Jason Concepcion and Shea wrote the Hulu movie Miguel Wants to Fight, which I very much enjoyed as well.