Podcast Episode 13 -- Dominic Latkovski of Zooperstars!

Dominic Latkovski has seen the world through huge inflatable animal characters based on famous professional athletes. He's the founder of the Zooperstars!, one of the most enduring touring acts that is approaching its fourth decade entertaining fans at sporting events.

In Episode 13 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we learn how Dominic got his start with triple-A Louisville in the early 1990s, recruiting younger brother Brennan to join his act, creating BirdZerk! to start touring outside of Louisville, and then creating legendary characters like Harry Canary, Cow Ripken, Jr. and Roger Clamens.

Dominic scalped tickets to a Garth Brooks concert to raise money to attend his first Trade Show at the 1992 Baseball Winter Meetings. He hasn't missed one since. After the 2018 Trade Show ended, we chatted about injuries, appearing on America's Got Talent, which athletes love their alter egos most, and why the Zooperstars! have stood the test of time. 

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Podcast Episode 12 -- Houston Astros president Reid Ryan

Reid Ryan wanted to be a pitcher in the major leagues, just like his Hall of Fame father Nolan Ryan. But when his career stalled in the minors, Reid forged his own path as a baseball executive, first bringing minor league baseball in Texas to Round Rock and Corpus Christi. He's currently the president of the Houston Astros.

In Episode 12 of the "Life Around the Seams" podcast, we trace Reid's life growing up around baseball, in the clubhouse when his father played, the heckles he received playing youth baseball, a famous exhibition game when he pitched against his father, running two of the most successful minor league teams in the country, and then getting his own "callup" to the majors.

Reid tells us when he realized his father was kind of a big deal, where he was during the legendary fight between his dad and Robin Ventura, when his kids realized their grandfather was a big deal, and how he uses his children to learn how to reach the next generation of baseball fans.

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