The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Podcast celebrates 300 episodes
Self-starter celebrates 300th episode of High Button Podcast
Going back about six or seven years, all Justin Belanger knew was that he had a curious nature, liked talking to people and needed a career.
He was in his early twenties and working as a hotel concierge but couldn't quite put his finger on how to transition into a more meaningful and permanent line of work. He considered going into radio but thought the path to becoming a host or DJ was way too long and uncertain.
He also made a brief foray into acting in Vancouver but found the same road blocks — there were just too many variables he couldn't control to make it work as fast as he'd like. At a certain point, he decided what he needed to do was cut out the middle man and take matters into his own hands. He made up his mind he wanted to start his own podcast. All he needed was to work up the courage to dive in.
"When I was working in Halifax as a concierge, one of my co-workers said that one of the things that he liked about me was the fact that I found the smallest things in the world interesting. And he also thought I could be good at asking questions so that's kind of where the original idea sparked but that was probably three years before I started the podcast," he said.
"It just takes the confidence to come to you but that didn't come to me right away; to speak into a microphone and give my ideas. It took a little bit for me to get comfortable with that and eventually I did."
The Halifax native finally went for it in January of 2017 when he was still living on the west coast. He invited filmmaker Trevor Mack on for a talk "in my little basement apartment" and the High Button Podcast was born.
The most common topics discussed are hockey and sports because Belanger had played junior A in his hometown with the Metro Maraud
ers and also had a pair of brief stints with the Mooseheads.
"I was (in Vancouver) for a year and I did the first 100 podcasts out there," Belanger said. "But then I noticed that all the downloads were from Halifax or this part of the world. So I thought if most of our listeners are back here, it made the most sense to move back and work at this twice as hard and see what happens. So that's what I did. I moved back and I worked twice as hard and we got twice the amount of downloads and we just kept going from there."
After returning to Nova Scotia, Belanger remained mostly a one-man show with a focus on local content. One of his guests was Matthew Doudelet, another ex-junior A player from Halifax and an
old friend, and his appearance turned into a new dimension for the venture.
"He was probably episode 150ish and I remember his download was one of the top ones we ever had," Belanger said. "I thought 'OK, there's something there. He's a wellknown guy around the city so why not keep him on board and get him to help out as much as he can.' He's a connected guy, he's funny and he fits the brand so I thought it was a good partnership. We've been together for three years and I don't regret bringing him on at all."
Doudelet jumps in as a co-host every four or five episodes but Belanger said he does equally important work behind the scenes finding creative ways to generate
resources and new opportunities.
"I remember one time we went to Atlantics in P.E.I. and we had no money to get there, to stay at a hotel or do anything," Belanger said. "But Douds got on his phone with a friend he knew in P.E.I. and we stayed at his place for free. We somehow scrounged together $200 for food and gas. I just saw that as him being extremely resourceful and, to this day, we're still a growing company so we still need to be resourceful. I thought that was a great attribute he brought to the company."
Belanger often jokes about the lean times that go with trying to get a business off the ground, kidding that "I would just lie to myself since the day it started that it was a full-time job."
"Every time I did have to work an odd job to make a little money, I would just say 'Oh no, I'm only here for a week. I actually have a full-time job at High Button Sports, even though I was getting paid nothing,'" he said. "And to this day, I work here full-time but I'm still almost lying to myself because you have to believe in something that's kind of crazy first and then things start to happen."
Belanger has since built a studio in the basement of his home, employs four more people and recently celebrated his 300th episode.
Some of the highlights so far include a candid discussion with former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque and in
depth conversations with ex-NHLER Mike Danton about his time in prison.
High Button's 299th installment also happened to be the biggest one to date — a one-hour talk with Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan
Mackinnon — that demonstrates just how far the company has come.
"When we did episode one, I knew in my head one day we'd get Nate," said Belanger, who recently launched more High Button clothing and
merchandise after an inspirational episode with East Coast Lifestyle founder and CEO Alex Maclean.
"I just want to keep doing what we're doing. Having Nate for episode 299 was a big accomplishment for us.
Who's to say Sid won't be coming on the podcast in the next year? That's another big goal of ours. I think we're on the right track. We just have to keep working, keep our heads down and things will come to us."