Dino Tripodis is a creator always aspiring to do and be more. Born in Gary, Indiana and growing up in a suburb of Chicago and then a small island of Greece, Dino has seen and done it all. In his professional life, he hasn’t so much chosen any of his numerous careers as much as they have chosen him. What ties all the facets of his creative endeavors together is how he strives to connect with the humanity of others. The most valuable asset he’s developed over his many years of being a voice and radio personality is the ability to listen, which has in turn elevated his success as a speaker, performer, and host. He’s particularly proud of his award-winning podcast, Whiskey Business, which is soon to celebrate its fourth successful year of sharing a variety of unlikely stories between friends…over whiskey, of course.
Dino prides himself on being a creator and following his many passions. Back in the day, his job as a private investigator led him to seek out the comedy club scene as a much-needed distraction from the grueling demands of his profession. Eventually, he decided to try his own hand as a stand-up comedian, and in his words, “failed miserably.” Equally perseverant and impassioned, Dino tried again only two weeks later and won big. From there, he went on to win the Johnnie Walker comedy competition in Columbus, giving Dino his start as a professional comedian. Next thing he knew, he was snatched up by the Sunny 95 air waves, even though he never expected himself to become a “radio guy.” He spent 24 years as a morning radio host. It appears that the jobs Dino accepted on a whim have been what’s lent his name the most recognition, but he says it’s his projects of passion that have saved him creatively. He is currently busy working on a novel, conducting Whiskey Business from home, and writing his way through a four-part memoir that will be published in Ikapia Magazine, an online publication of the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood of America on their website, Pan-Icarian.com.
A conversation with Dino…
Q: You’ve proven yourself to be a real jack-of-all-trades. How did you get involved in so many facets of media production?
A: I started with comedy. I was doing open mics between ’89 and ’90. Eventually, things took off and I started traveling to do shows. That’s when I began doing short comedy bits from the road—“Where’s Dino?”—for Sunny 95. They’d ask me to come on the show in person when I was in town from L.A. and after a few times doing that, the said to just, ya know, come and hang out if I was ever in the neighborhood. In…had to be…1994 there was an opening at the station to be a co-host and I was invited to fill the position. I was hesitant at first, but it was a chance to be closer to my daughter. Looking into her big doe-eyes, I just couldn’t say no. From there—I just love to create. I followed my passions and that’s how I came to produce two feature-length films and my own podcasts.
Q: What are some of them most challenging projects you’ve worked on?
A: “The Street Where We Live” was by far the most challenging, but still one of the most rewarding. It was a feature length film, but we were working with a fraction of the budget. We shot one weekend a month for eight months with no money. Eight months is a long time, especially on that budget—trying to get everyone to keep the same look, same haircuts and everything—it was a lot. Never again. It was grueling! The entire cast and crew worked for next to nothing. There must have been 13 or 14 drafts of script before we settled on one. It was a hugely challenging story; it was set in the 2008 recession and it was focused on a widowed mother who lost her job at a factory. But that’s what made it all worth it—how much that story resonated with people. I had mothers telling me that the movie was their story. It was really touching.
Q: What does an average day look like for you from beginning to end?
A: Well, these days I get up between 6:30 or 7, have my coffee and read my papers—New York Times, USA Today, Columbus Dispatch…then I check the email and social media, address all of the correspondences that came in overnight. And from about 9 to 11 or 12, I’ll sit down and force myself to write. Something. Anything. Then I’ll take a break and do whatever else needs to be done. And then again around 9 p.m. I sit down and write again. I’ll keep on writing until 1 or 2 a.m.—that’s when things really flow. The other night I was writing until almost 3. At night has always been the best time for me to write.
Q: You don’t get very much sleep, do you?
A: No, but at some point, I have to because I’ll wake up and do it all again.
Q: What do you do with your free time?
A: Not nearly enough. I should be in the best shape of my life with all the free time I’ve found myself with lately. But I do read quite a bit. I’m of the opinion that if you want to write well, you have to read well. And I do a good bit of both.
Q: Out of all of your creative pursuits, which is your favorite?
A: I’m proud of almost everything I’ve created. But what I think I might be the most proud of is Whiskey Business; it’s my baby. We’ve had some dramatic turns, fun turns. It’s really taken off, too. It’s even won some awards—two from the Columbus Podcast Awards. Feedback has been really great. I also surprised myself with how much I enjoyed radio and having that platform. Both platforms were really amazing and challenging. I felt a lot of responsibility being on air. Not to toot my own horn, but I was surprised to learn how much of an impact I was having. All this time I’ve been really lucky to have a job I love.
Q: Are there any upcoming projects you’d like people to know about?
A: Mostly, I’d like to finish this damn book. I’ve been working on a collection of one-page essays that I’ve been hacking away at since 2018. I’m my own worst critic. I wrote a page a day for a year and now I’m in the weeds of editing it. I’ll get it published eventually, one way or another. And then there’s my memoir. I’m writing it in four parts for the Pan-Icarian magazine, Ikapia. The deadlines have been a struggle but this is a story that I need to tell, so I’m up for the challenge. The first part has been published and there will be more to come soon. There’s always more to come.