Meet Wilson Chaney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wilson Chaney.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Growing up in Austin, Texas, I had a simple lifestyle honestly. I was always involved in sports (mainly basketball) and I also grew up looking up to major sports figures that you may have heard of, Stephen A. Smith, Chris Broussard, the legendary Stuart Scott, Jay Williams, and yes……even Skip Bayless. Even as an avid ball player, I still appreciated the game and the tasks that came with it, but I still had a slight fascination for the stats and analytics of the sport. After high school, I attended Temple College and tried to extend my basketball career there. Long story short, it was a reality check for me; I needed to let the game go. Junior college is just different, it’s a dog eat dog world and most of the guys there came from Division I schools and they were trying to find their way back to the top. I was just an athlete trying to get an opportunity, and I was not cut out for it. My final year there was pretty rough for me mentally, I was unsure of what my future career was. I was so drawn into playing basketball for so long that I began to ignore the other talents God has given to me. Then I started to think back, to when I used to obsess over basketball cards as a kid. All of a sudden, I realized I can let go the physical side of the game and embrace the strategic side of it. I also feel like I have a knack for proving people wrong as well. I eventually I got myself together and graduated with a associates degree in Communication and this past semester I enrolled at Texas Southern University where I am currently a Junior studying Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Radio/TV/Film. When I came to Houston, I felt like the plan for my life started to lay out in front of me.

Please tell us about your art.
Well, when I came to Texas Southern, I learned about the TSU Herald, and real quick I definitely want to acknowledge Brandon, Niya and my man Dave for giving me the opportunity and setting me up for what I’m doing now. From telling me about the group, then teaching me about what it means and what it takes to be a journalist, to putting me in the position to succeed, and for that I’m always grateful to them. Anyone I ended up forgetting, please charge it to the head, not my heart. Anyways, when I transferred here it was in the middle of basketball season so I was basically plugged into everything and had to go with what I knew already off the top of my head. My first interview ever was with Niya Mitchell, one of the best players on the girls’ basketball team at TSU. I remembered being very nervous at first but I just took a deep breath and I went on to asking questions. After the interview was released I received good feedback from it about how well I spoke on camera and how collected I was the whole time, I started thinking to myself “Okay….maybe I can do this”. Soon after this everything started to happen simultaneously; I began to do postgame and halftime interviews, I started to write articles about certain events going on in the NBA, and then I became apart of the student ran sports podcast called “Out of Bounds”. That’s when things started to kick into high gear. My man Darrion AKA “DeeGotti” is the host of the show, and I’m known as “Ill Will”. From our conversations about hot topics in sports to the sudden arguments that we get into midway, it’s been really something to look forward too. Especially the arguments, I always lived for those. Now we can’t forget about the other members Teah “TeahJ”, “Saucy Dave”, and Pedro “Pay the Drones” .From the recording sessions, the jokes we always cracked with each other, the running gag of me being a “Closet Laker Fan”, I truly enjoy it all. Most importantly we helped each other grow, we never let each other slack off and we always worked hard doing research about TSU sports and professional sports so we could provide great content for the podcast. As the school year started to close I tried to think about what I can do to bring extra sports content for the school, then it hit me, I can start my own show. “In My Humble Opinion” was made. It’s a show that covers all of the hot topics in pro sports while bringing people that attends Texas Southern to give their opinions on it as well. When it initially came out I kind of felt proud of myself, during the first week of its release it had about 120 views on YouTube (hopefully over 200 by the time this article comes out) and even though it’s not that impressive to some people I personally feel proud. As I got older, I started to celebrate the smaller victories in life because it could easily inspire me to create an incredible victory in my future. Currently for the summer, I am an Intern at ESPN 97.5 Houston Radio and No Excuses Pro League as a reporter so hopefully my knowledge of the world of journalism and radio can grow so I can become your future favorite sports analyst. My main message I want to relay to everybody is simply don’t question timing. Everything happens the way it should at the exact timing it should. You may get let down, you may shed tears, you may start to question your own abilities, but at the end of the day, God places everything in your life for a reason. To grow, to grow from the mistakes you made and the experiences you went through growing up, to put you in whatever he has planned for you in the future.

We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
Be outgoing and network, don’t be afraid to branch out and contact people interested in the same thing as you are, surround yourself with people that’s on the same mission are you are and learn from each other as much as possible.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
In My Humble Opinion Episode 1:

Out of Bounds Episodes and The TSU Herald’s Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfDcnD3jjrVZ9rI4AD4hElQ 

Niya Mitchell Interview: https://www.instagram.com/p/Btb75amBlsy/?igshid=14h0o3343vuf4 

Make sure to like and subscribe to each of the channels mentioned and make sure to show this to your family, friends or just somebody that appreciates sports in its entirety.

Contact Info:

• Website: TheTSUHeraldOnline.com
• Email: wchaney08@gmail.com
• Instagram: @Truly___Humble
• Twitter: @TrulyHumble21
• Other: https://youtu.be/I8D0g450vbE

Image Credit:
Professional Photos done by:

Caitlin Rounds
Instagram: You_deserve_rounds
Squarespace: https://caitlinrounds.squarespace.com/

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