Lee Feinswog and Ed Chan: 'And that's how we became publishing magnates'

Lee Feinswog and Ed Chan: 'And that's how we became publishing magnates'

It took a matter of weeks for Lee Feinswog to rebound from being laid off. Not a month had gone by from the moment he received a call from the higher-ups at Turner, for whom he freelanced to write college volleyball stories on NCAA.com, when he began scrolling through his phone, idea and contact in hand.

His passion for writing about the sport came as a surprise, even to him. Here was a guy who had covered LSU basketball in the Shaq days, who had written about the highest levels of the NBA, MLB, who ran in circles with some of the best writers in the country – and he was smitten by college volleyball. It’s possible that it was the novelty of it, at the time. He had watched his first men’s match only a year before, a semifinal of the NCAA Championship where, as fate would have it, he sat next to Hugh McCutcheon, then the head coach of the women’s national team and one of the most brilliant minds in the game.

“I learned more that day than you could possibly imagine,” Feinswog said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. A few days later, he found himself in Anaheim, watching the women’s team practice at the invitation of McCutcheon.

But Turner, which owned NCAA.com, was bleeding money, and the first to go were the freelancers, including Feinswog. McCutcheon, though, wasn’t the only contact Feinswog had made at that semifinal. He had also exchanged contact information with the editor at Volleyball Magazine, Aubrey Everett.

“All of a sudden, I was like, ‘Wait, I sat next to the editor of Volleyball Magazine,’” Feinswog recalled. “I sent her a note and said ‘I’m a free agent, can you use me?’

“You guys have never seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but it’s kinda like where he goes, ‘Well, considering I’m desperate and you’re exactly what I need…’ so I picked up with the magazine and wrote for them for four, five six years as a freelance writer.”

Despite holding what was basically a monopoly over volleyball coverage, the magazine wasn’t immune to the downsizing of the journalism industry as a whole. The print edition was shrinking, circulation was down, the website was limited.

Simply put: It wasn’t going to last long.

Feinswog knew this, as did Ed Chan, who had subscribed to the magazine for more than 40 years and had been one of its most reliable freelance photographers. They agreed that, when the magazine hit a certain threshold of pain, it would be willing to sell.

They’d be the ones to buy it.

“It got to that point,” Chan said. “So I asked if they were interested in selling, and they said yes.”

It was the simplest of business negotiations, almost to comical levels. Feinswog was driving down I-10 in Houston. Chan called and said “We can buy volleyball magazine, you want to buy it?”

“Ok, sure.”

“That was it,” Feinswog said, laughing. “That was our business negotiation. And that’s how we became publishing magnates.”

He says this jokingly, but on a relative scale, Volleyball Magazine – since renamed VolleyballMag.com in Feinswog’s and Chan’s ownership of the publication – is without a doubt the most reliable and regular source of news coverage on all things volleyball, be it beach, indoors or otherwise.

Their goal was to become the daily digital news source of volleyball, which is exactly what has happened. They cover college women. They cover college men. They cover the pros, to the point that Feinswog watched every single match during the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Not just every American match.

Every match.

“And then I was like, ‘Wait, now college is about to start?’” he said.

They have covered the AVP and the NVL and the World Series of Beach Volleyball and p1440 and CBVA and every other iteration of professional volleyball there has been on the beach. They have covered the college game.

And while competitor sites such as Volleymob and FloVolley have either shrunk or folded, VolleyballMag has grown and expanded at an impressive, if not staggering, clip. The number of stories that are read through organic Google searches has exploded by 800 percent in the four years they’ve owned it. They’ve hired freelancers to cover whatever the two of them cannot, expanding to juniors and even to Brazil. It was Feinswog who named the very podcast on which he told this story.

Yes, SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter was as much Feinswog’s creation as it was Bourne’s and Mewhirter’s.

Now a new chapter of VolleyballMag.com begins, as the magazine – “magazine” used loosely here, since there is no longer a print edition – has been acquired by p1440, equipping them with the resources they’ve long needed but haven’t possessed.

“It’s amazing really,” Chan said. “It’s kind of like making the transformation from being a garage band to getting a recording contract. We had all these ideas. We wanted to expand to juniors. We wanted to expand to Brazil. Normally we would be ‘OK, how are we going to pay for this? Who are we going to get to buy into this? How are we going to promote it?’ With p1440, if they see it as a viable idea, they greenlight it and we go with it.”

“There is a vision,” Feinswog added. “There is an expectation of greatness on a tremendous scale. All I can tell you is you’re going to see more amazing things not just on VolleyballMag.com but from p1440.”

Episoder(500)

LIVE Mailbag Episode: Why Did Tri Switch Partners? Beach Volleyball in...Montana??

LIVE Mailbag Episode: Why Did Tri Switch Partners? Beach Volleyball in...Montana??

This is our first-ever LIVE and in-person fan question episode, a feature of our SANDCAST Tour stops, this one being in Missoula, Montana. Because who doesn't put beach volleyball and Montana together? We answer questions about: - Why did Tri Bourne switch partners, dropping Chaim Schalk for Ryan Wilcox? And for that matter...who is Ryan Wilcox? - What advice does Travis Mewhirter have for someone who didn't grow up in a beach volleyball state to get better at beach volleyball? - Travis' hilarious story on why he doesn't drive a stick shift, featuring Eric Zaun, Italy, and stalling out in parking lots. - How non-coastal areas can become beach volleyball hubs, like Montana And a whole lot more. LOVED THIS EXPERIENCE!!! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

21 Aug 20241h 4min

Manhattan Beach Open Recap: The Redemption of Trevor and Theo

Manhattan Beach Open Recap: The Redemption of Trevor and Theo

Welcome back to Beach Access, where Kyle Friend and Travis Mewhirter break down all things AVP Manhattan Beach Open 2024. On this episode, the boys are chatting about: The redemption of Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner, who didn’t make the Olympic Games, but just won the biggest tournament on the AVP calendar The Hawaiian dominance in Manhattan Beach, where either Tri Bourne, Trevor Crabb, or Taylor Crabb have won the last five, and been in every final since 2015 Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, winning their biggest tournament to date while riding on the fumes of the post-Olympic comedown Betsi Flint, SUPERMOM, with her fourth straight Manhattan Beach Open final, and second straight with Julia Scoles And a whole lot more! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

19 Aug 202427min

Manhattan Beach Open Preview: The Return of The Olympians

Manhattan Beach Open Preview: The Return of The Olympians

Welcome back to Beach Access, where Travis Mewhirter and Kyle Friend break down, preview, and chat about all things AVP Beach Volleyball and the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Today, we're previewing the Manhattan Beach Open, which begins with Thursday's qualifier and ends on Sunday with someone getting their name on the Pier. The big question: Who?   We chat about that and a whole lot more, including: How will Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, and Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, rebound from a disappointing finish at the Paris Olympic Games? Will Miles Partain and Andy Benesh resume their dominance on the AVP Tour? Why Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft are sneakily a contender to win their first Manhattan Beach Open A look at Tri Bourne and Ryan Wilcox as they make their AVP Heritage Series debut Why Evan Cory and Alison Cerutti are a dangerous, dangerous 10 seed And a whole lot more! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

15 Aug 202444min

Deahna Kraft: Embracing the Suck to "Make a Little Bit of Magic"

Deahna Kraft: Embracing the Suck to "Make a Little Bit of Magic"

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Deahna Kraft, one of the top up-and-coming prospects in USA Volleyball and on the AVP Tour. A 25-year-old from Seattle, Kraft went from walk-on to court one at Pepperdine, and is now winning gold medals on the Beach Pro Tour, as she did in Belgium with Lexy Denaburg. On this episode, we chat about: Kraft switching from blocker to defender, and embracing the suck that inevitably comes with such a big change Why letting go of results inevitably, and counterintuitively, leads to getting better results, as evidenced by Kraft’s first two international top five finishes Why this long off-season has been the best she has ever had Her wild ride at the Volleyball World Stare Jablonki Challenge, where, on three hours’ notice, she bought a flight and promptly qualified And, as always, much, much more. SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

14 Aug 20241h 28min

Paris Pod: Beach Volleyball Enters the Scandinavian Era; Duda and AP put Brazil back on top

Paris Pod: Beach Volleyball Enters the Scandinavian Era; Duda and AP put Brazil back on top

This is the FINAL Paris Pod/Road to Paris/The Road is Here. The Road is done. The Olympic Games are over. And goodness gracious gosh almighty was it one hell of an Olympic Games. We brought out all the stops for this one, bringing in Travis Mewhirter, Kyle Friend and Tri Bourne to break down an unforgettable Olympic Games, in which we chat about: Ana Patricia and Duda putting Brazil back on top of the world with the first Brazilian women’s gold medal since 1996 – before AP and Duda were born Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig bouncing back to win most lopsided gold medal match in history Melissa Humana-Paredes becoming the greatest Canadian beach volleyball player of all-time Why Duda, Nina Brunner, and Brandie Wilkerson all made a case for MVP of these Olympic Games And much, much more. MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of the Road to Paris listeners these last 18 months! It has been an absolute blast, and I appreciate every single one of you! Much love and you know what to say: SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

10 Aug 202443min

PARIS POD BEACH SEMIS PREVIEW: History, the Good and the Bad, being made in Paris

PARIS POD BEACH SEMIS PREVIEW: History, the Good and the Bad, being made in Paris

Welcome back to the Paris Pod! Travis Mewhirter breaks down all of the action from the Paris Olympic Games, in this case the quarterfinals in beach volleyball with a look-ahead to the semifinals to come on Thursday. He chats about: USA making the wrong kind of history, missing the podium for the first time in history Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson making the right kind of history, making the semifinals for the first time in Canadian history Everyone making history, with eight different countries in the semifinals, the first time that has ever happened Why defense is the answer to success in beach volleyball, and why serving is so critical for Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho if they wish to upset Brazil’s Ana Patricia Silva and Duda Lisboa And more! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

8 Aug 202415min

Bert Kreischer: The Machine is Bringing Comedy to Beach Volleyball

Bert Kreischer: The Machine is Bringing Comedy to Beach Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Bert Kreischer. Wait…Bert Kreischer? On a beach volleyball podcast? YUP! Kreischer, one of the highest-grossing comedians of all-time, wanted to get into beach volleyball during the Paris Olympic Games, so he had the SANDCAST crew at his studio to simulcast Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes as they played the Czech Republic’s Bara Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova, then again as Cheng and Hughes played Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli. This episode is the audio of our first sit-down with Bert, where we have maybe one of the funniest chats of all-time about beach volleyball. Grab some popcorn and enjoy this one folks! Here is the link to our second livestream with The Machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxGzNl_-5Sg&t=49s   And here is the link to our first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCPC1nIb5sQ&t=177s   SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

7 Aug 20241h 2min

Paris Pod: Indoor Playoff Preview -- USA's Redemption Time; Italy's Track to Gold

Paris Pod: Indoor Playoff Preview -- USA's Redemption Time; Italy's Track to Gold

Welcome back to the Paris Pod! Travis Mewhirter and indoor expert Matt Prosser break down the Olympic volleyball action from the Paris Olympic Games, recapping pool play and previewing the playoff rounds to come. On this episode, we chat about: Why it’s redemption time for the USA menCan anyone – anyone? – stop the Italian men? The USA women’s likelihood of making the medal rounds And, also, the Italian women rolling and favored to win a medal And much more! Thanks as always to Matt Prosser for joining us, and thanks for watching and listening! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you’re reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

6 Aug 202427min

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