Riley and Madison McKibbin: Filling the storytelling void in beach volleyball

Riley and Madison McKibbin: Filling the storytelling void in beach volleyball

Madison and Riley McKibbin can still remember -- with much amusement, as memories go – one of their first disasters as producers of beach volleyball videos on their eponymous YouTube channel. Not that it seemed like a disaster at the time – they rarely do. Riley probably thought it was a stroke of genius when the wind had muffled up the sound of one of those early videos, and rather than redo it, he simply recorded a voiceover, trying to match his cadence on screen.

“You can really tell,” Madison said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “It’s like an old, bad movie, like they’re speaking English words and it’s Japanese.”

“There were some bad decisions that were made for sure,” Riley added, laughing.

That’s the beautiful thing about being first in an industry with a large fanbase and what was at the time, and still sort of it, an almost entirely untouched gold mine of digital media: Even when bad decisions were made, they didn’t seem bad at the time. They seemed innovative, because the crux of their content was innovative, something that had never really been done before.

When the McKibbins were initially tinkering with the notion of retiring from indoor volleyball, which they played professionally overseas – Madison finished in Greece, Riley in Italy – and switching to beach, they did what anybody in this current generation would do: They searched YouTube.

They found what nobody in any future generation will now find: Little to nothing. Nothing that was great, anyway. There were some out there. But Riley, now 31 and coming off a career-best AVP season, knew he had found a hole. Why he knew that he and Madison thought they could be the answers to that problem is still a mystery to them. Riley had no prior experience editing film. Madison had little, though he did have a camera. An early issue there was that Riley couldn’t even turn the thing on.

In spite of that, Riley said, “we somehow thought we could fill that void.”

They have. And they have done it to such a spectacular degree because the foundation of virtually every video posted on The McKibbin Brothers YouTube channel has remained the same, whether it’s a hilarious voiceover edit, a tutorial on jumpserving, or a supremely well-done vlog: They’re telling stories that ought to be told.

“The thing is,” Madison says in their video following filming the 2020 AVP Media Day, “all these people aren’t just beach volleyball players. They have these passions outside of beach volleyball, which are so differentiating, so spread out all over the place, which makes them them, sometimes these volleyball questions – they get asked every single Media Day.”

They do things different. They don’t ask Alix Klineman what it’s like to transition from indoor to beach. They get her rolling on cooking, and food, to the point that Klineman, one of the more reticent individuals on Tour, actually asked the McKibbins to let her talk more.

“Actually, I have one more,” she said. “I can really just keep going.”

Nobody had ever gotten that story, because nobody had ever bothered. The McKibbins saw the void there. They were unqualified to fill that void. They didn’t care. They filled it anyway.

“It’s been a long learning process and during that learning process we’ve discovered different avenues we could take it,” Riley said. “So it moved just from doing beach volleyball tutorials to workout videos to some blogs to some mini documentary kind of videos. It’s been a pretty crazy, great learning experience.”

They’ve discovered the videos that are most fulfilling to them. The slow-motion replays of matches throughout the season are entertaining, and there is some benefit there, but there isn’t character building. No storytelling. There isn’t the reward of stringing together a narrative, drawing new fans into this sport, as a Formula One docuseries called “Drive to Survive” did for them.

“That’s something me and Riley realized about our content recently,” Madison said. “The ones we’ve been super excited for, you can see it. The ones where we’re like ‘meh’ you can tell as a viewer.”

“It’s almost like YouTube knows how much energy and how excited we are about the videos that we’re making,” Riley said. “When we’re super excited about a project, the views show it. When we’re throwing up filler content to hit that Wednesday quota, YouTube knows: ‘Nope, we’re punishing you. You only put in 75 percent effort’ and we’re like ‘Dammit!’”

They’re back to their metaphorical drawing boards. They couldn’t elaborate on the specificity of future projects, because they don't know the exact direction of them just yet. There are vague ideas, visions – something big out there. They just don’t know precisely what it is.

“Our main goal is to start innovating again,” Riley said. “I think one of the reasons we had such great success in the very beginning was because we spent a lot of time writing and trying to make the content at least somewhat entertaining.”

They’ve accomplished that much. They’ve filled one void, and they’ll surely find more as their abilities evolve and the perimeters of their limits as storytellers and creators expand.

There isn’t a team in beach volleyball better suited to do it.

Jaksot(500)

Chris Meade: CROSSNET, the million-dollar (literally) idea beach volleyball didn't know it needed

Chris Meade: CROSSNET, the million-dollar (literally) idea beach volleyball didn't know it needed

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Chris Meade, one of three founders of the four-way volleyball game, CROSSNET, that has exploded since its founding in 2017. In this episode, we discuss: How the idea of CROSSNET was hatched, in a 4 a.m. brainstorming session with the founders Convincing a manufacturer to take a chance on three kids with $15,000 in their savings accounts Taking the leap to leave a six-figure job at Uber to launching your own company How CROSSNET has gotten into thousands of schools and is now being retailed in major stores such as Wal Mart The impact it has had on the sport of volleyball The next steps for CROSSNET, including getting it into Canada, Australia, and, yes, swimming pools Thanks as always for listening to SANDCAST, the No. 1 beach volleyball podcast in the world. This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson Volleyball. They make the best beach volleyballs in the game, hands down, and we’d love it if you could support them. Head over to Wison and use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to receive 20 percent off all purchases! Yes, we do get a kickback, but we see it as a win-win – you get a discount on the best balls in the game, we get a little extra love! We would also love it if you could check out our new YouTube channel! Bourne and Mewhirter are expanding the podcast, adding extra episodes and features on YouTube, so check us out and make sure to subscribe to get the latest updates! If you haven’t seen it yet, our book, Volleyball For Milkshakes, is for sale on Amazon! If you are a fan of the show, you’ll be a fan of this book, as it adds lessons and stories from our guests in a fictional tale based around the Outrigger Canoe Club, where Bourne learned how to play the game! Thank y’all so much for supporting the show. We couldn’t do it without you. SHOOTS!

18 Marras 202042min

Nick Lucena isn't ready for the life of the retired dad just yet

Nick Lucena isn't ready for the life of the retired dad just yet

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Nick Lucena, one of the top defenders on the AVP and FIVB tours of his generation. In this episode, we discuss: What this year has looked like for Lucena, which began in Doha and ended in a wild trip to Australia Playing a fun, no-block tournament with Taylor Crabb Why he and Phil Dalhausser decided to split-block in the AVP Chicago tournament in 2018 What motivates Lucena, who is 41 years old, to continue playing The competitive streak that has kept him at the top of his game since his early 20s The four-week expedited training schedule he and Dalhausser undertook to prepare for the AVP Champions Cup How crazy the U.S. will look without Dalhausser and Jake Gibb in the game after this season This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson volleyball. They make the best balls in the game, and you can get 20 percent off by using our discount code, Sandcast-20.  Be sure to check out our new book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon and, if you're feeling extra magnanimous, drop us a review! It goes a long way.  Thanks as always for listening! SHOOTS!

11 Marras 20201h 19min

Three gold medals of wisdom with Misty May-Treanor

Three gold medals of wisdom with Misty May-Treanor

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest of all time, in Misty May-Treanor.  It was such a blast having May-Treanor on the show, one of the best we've had yet -- no surprise there. On the episode, we discuss: - What her life looks like today, as a retired athlete and current mother of three  - Her even-keel mindset and ability to stay calm on the biggest stages in sport - What her training regimen looked like both in season and during off-season - How she built her brand on immersing herself amid the crowd -- literally -- and being physically present and available  - Her and Kerri Walsh Jennings' partnership, and how they built the most dominant duo in beach volleyball history This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the BEST beach volleyballs in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all Wilson products.  Also be sure to give us a subscribe on our YouTube channel! A follow would go a long way as Tri Bourne and I build our podcast.  SHOOTS!

4 Marras 20201h 16min

Three years of unbelievable growth, change in three years of SANDCAST

Three years of unbelievable growth, change in three years of SANDCAST

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the hosts, Bourne and Mewhirter, as well as a new voice on the show, Savvy Simo, as we celebrate our three year anniversary of doing the podcast.  On this episode, we recap the long and short three-year journey we've been on, and answer a wide variety of fan questions, such as... - How would you rank the top 10 men's teams right now going into the Olympics in 2021? Norway still #1?   - How would you rank Taylor within the group of top 5 defenders and why? - What is the direction that USAV is headed with Tyler Hildebrand going back to Nebraska?  - Seems like the players would love more chances to play and you’ve seen first hand how into beach/sand volleyball places that don’t actually have beaches can be (Cincinnati) plus you’ve seen the indoor sand facilities. So what’s your take on playing sand indoors during the winter months? - You’ve done a great job of interviewing the players and giving a bit more depth to the game from this fan’s perspective. You asked for some questions. You’ll undoubtedly get the most [surprising, best, worst, hilarious, .. etc], but I’m curious if you see the growth and acceptance of the game changing? Are you more or less positive looking forward? And what about existing and potential sponsors - how do you see that world now? Many, many more. Thanks, as always, for listening to the show! If you want to drop us a review in iTunes, we'd appreciate it.  And, as always, thanks to Wilson Volleyball for sponsoring the show! If you want 20 percent off the best balls in the game, check out Wilson using our discount code SANDCAST-20 for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

28 Loka 20201h 11min

Julia Scoles: Finding peace amid life's biggest decisions

Julia Scoles: Finding peace amid life's biggest decisions

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Julia Scoles, a phenomenal indoor player at the University of North Carolina who transferred to Hawai'i to play beach after a series of concussions. After an incredibly successful stint as a Bow, Scoles transferred to USC, where, a year later, she is still waiting to make her debut as a Trojan.  On this episode, we discuss: - Scoles' path from Carolina to Hawai'i to USC - Her steep learning curve on the beach - Winning her first tournament at the Waupaca Boatride with Hailey Harward - How she has found peace amid all these momentous life decisions, and the stress of going from the East Coast to halfway around the world to Hawai'i  - Her five-year plan as a professional volleyball player after she graduates from USC As always, this episode is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the best balls in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20 to get 20 percent off all Wilson products!  We would also LOVE it if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, which can be bought on Amazon. And, if you've already read it, drop us a review! It only helps spread the beach love :) SHOOTS!

21 Loka 202050min

Avery Drost: Becoming beach volleyball's ultimate utility man

Avery Drost: Becoming beach volleyball's ultimate utility man

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is with Avery Drost, a longtime pro who has been competing on the AVP Tour for 10 years.  On this episode, we discuss: - Drost winning the Hyden Beach AVP Next with Miles Partain - Just how good the 18-year-old Partain is becoming - Drost finding the best practice regimen and weight lifting schedule for his body - Finding the right playing weight - His goals when it comes to beach volleyball - Transitioning to a right-side defender with Ryan Doherty - His overall confusion -- in a good way -- over what position to play, given his ability to thrive all over the court This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the best beach volleyballs in the game. Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, for 20 percent off!  We'd love it if you checked out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon, and we'd really love it if you dropped us a review as well! It goes a long way.  SHOOTS!

14 Loka 202057min

Jordan Cheng: Making a career out of "Once in a lifetime opportunities"

Jordan Cheng: Making a career out of "Once in a lifetime opportunities"

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is with Jordan Cheng, the coach of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil, the 10th-ranked team in the world and No. 3 in the American Olympic race.  On this episode, we discuss: - Cheng's career as a coach, how his intentions to play professionally were constantly derailed by "once in a lifetime" coaching opportunities at Pepperdine, under Marv Dunphy, USA Volleyball under John Speraw, UCI, Reid Priddy and, now, Sponcil and Claes - How Cheng, 28 years old at the time, came to be the coach for Priddy, one of the best volleyball players of all time - His coaching philosophy: "I don't want to be a JV version of Jose Loiola. I want to be a varsity version of myself." - How he came to coach Claes and Sponcil - The importance of pursuing something bigger than beach volleyball This episode is, as always, brought to you by Wilson volleyball. They make the best balls in the game, and you can get 20 percent off by using our discount code, Sandcast-20.  Be sure to check out our new book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, on Amazon and, if you're feeling extra magnanimous, drop us a review! It goes a long way.  Thanks as always for listening! SHOOTS!

7 Loka 202050min

Answering beach volleyball's questions in a year with no shortage of them

Answering beach volleyball's questions in a year with no shortage of them

On this episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, we answer fan questions in our "season ending" episode, even if there wasn't much of a season in the first place. Some of those questions include: - What's this secret event Tri has been training for? - Who are some of the younger players, other than Andy Benesh and Eric Beranek, we should be looking out for? - Is Miles Partain the real deal or what? - What beach players are getting out of the game after this year? - If you could change one thing about the Olympic qualifying process, what would it be? - What do you think the 2021 season will look like? We answer a few more as well. Enjoy! SHOOTS!

30 Syys 20201h 2min

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