Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Bradford.
Hi Justin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve spent much of my career in the nonprofit sector. I began in higher education, working in Development at my alma mater, Cumberland University. After a brief stint in the corporate world, I spent seven years in digital media at the Nashville Symphony. I’ve now been with Special Olympics Tennessee for nearly four years.
From 2012 to 2022, I also served as the host and editor of Penalty Box Radio, an independent hockey media outlet I co-founded with Ben Butzbach. The show was—and still is—broadcast on 102.5 The Game. During that time, I developed a strong passion for storytelling, focusing not only on professional hockey but also on prospects, junior leagues, and high school hockey. That work led to the publication of the first-ever book on the history of the Nashville Predators, Nashville Predators: The Making of Smashville.
In my free time, I’m a member of the Music City Film Critics Association and am one of the hosts of the Untitled Film Project Podcast. Since I stopped doing sports radio, talking about movies on a mic with two of my best friends filled that void, and it’s been a blast working on that project with them.
I’ve drawn on my experiences across nonprofits and sports media to shape my career today. I’m deeply passionate about telling the stories of Special Olympics athletes and raising awareness of their incredible accomplishments.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Along the way, I faced challenges that ultimately helped me grow. There were periods when I wasn’t certain what direction I wanted to take. For a long time, I knew I wanted to work in sports, but I struggled to find a path that also supported my cost of living.
The pandemic was a turning point. Like many in the entertainment industry, I was furloughed from the Nashville Symphony. During that time, I took on some paid work in hockey, and later returned to the Symphony once operations resumed. When the opportunity to join Special Olympics Tennessee arose, I jumped at it as it uniquely combined my two passions: nonprofit work and sports. After 10 years in hockey media, finding a role that fulfilled both allowed me to sell Penalty Box Radio and fully commit to the next chapter of my career.
We’ve been impressed with Special Olympics Tennessee, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I serve as Vice President of Brand Strategy and Communications for Special Olympics Tennessee, an organization that provides more than 18,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the state with opportunities to train and compete in sports, access health screenings, and participate in leadership development.
A significant part of my role is educating the public about our mission and the impact we have in communities across Tennessee. When I joined the organization in 2022, our objective was to significantly raise our visibility statewide. Since then, we have added more than 15,000 followers across our social media platforms, launched a blog featuring over 120 athlete-centered stories, and introduced an athlete-hosted podcast, Champions Among Us.
In the fall, we also announced that Nashville will host the 2034 Special Olympics USA Games. This quadrennial event will bring more than 4,000 athletes from across the country to Tennessee for a week of competition across multiple sports. The Games are projected to generate $100 million in economic impact and will be broadcast nationally on ABC and ESPN. This announcement marked the culmination of years of work by our organization, partners, and the broader community, including the development of a comprehensive bid package, multiple site visits from Special Olympics North America, and an extensive evaluation process. We are incredibly proud to help deliver a life-changing and memorable experience for thousands of Special Olympics athletes.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memories are the snow days where I stayed home from school, got my dad’s 8-millimeter camera out, and recorded my own news broadcasts. I’d set up a table in front of a wall, write out weather and traffic reports and conduct my own news broadcasts. For the traffic report, I would set up a Micro Machines city and have the camera act as the helicopter, and this is where things would take a turn…I would use a yardstick that would make it seem as if an alien attack were happening during the report. I think I watched a little too much Independence Day when I was a kid.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://flow.page/justinbbradford
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinbbradford
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinbbradford/
- Other: https://www.threads.com/@justinbbradford
