By: Maya Perry
Even though Mo started as a massage therapist, she always knew she wanted to do some form of entertainment, whether it be tv, radio or rodeo clown. Mo was destined to entertain people. After conversing with this hilarious woman in radio, I see why she was made for this industry.
Mo began our conversation by telling me her radio journey. “I literally LIED to my first radio gig with Riviera Broadcasting that I was in college so I could become an intern and work my way up the ladder and that’s EXACTLY what I did. Within a year, I was promoted from intern to promo assistant, to weekend on air to morning show producer which was really a glorified coffee getter. It was the absolute best decision, I’ve ever made. From there I moved over to 98KUPD and had to start ALL OVER AGAIN as a promo kid. It was always a small dream of mine to at least be one of the few female voices to grace the VERY male dominated rock station and to spend some time interning with their #1 morning show: Holmberg’s morning sickness. After the old company, Sandusky, was bought out by Hubbard Radio, our fearless leader, Trip Reeb, decided to pull me from KUPD to start a whole new Alt station called ALT AZ 93.3. I started off at nights for about a year and half, then had a short stint in Middays, only to be moved a few months later to become the first geeky, Hispanic, LGBTQ female morning show host for Phoenix Hubbard in 2017, the rest is HERstory”
Mo explains that she wasn’t clever enough to make some fake name to go by on the air. She further describes how she came up with on air name. “I really don’t like lying to people about who I am and what I stand for. Not to knock anyone that are using different names for their on air persona, that’s just not my style. My real name is Monique, everyone called me Mo growing up, I just added the exclamation point at the end because my mom was always yelling for and at me.”
Mo’s personality shines through not only in her appearance with her bright teal hair but always showcasing her infectious personality through her commentary as well. When I asked what she would tell herself and other women in radio during their journey, she responds…“To not put tin foil in the microwave, also… don’t eat bacon raw and I guess invest in Facebook? Wait… but seriously, PUT IN THE WORK and MAKE YOURSELF SEEN! Get out there with your audience. Focus more on checking out the local activities in your market. If you’re trying to grow your show and your brand, you need to be kissing hands and shaking babies! When you give them face time, they’ll appreciate it and will be dedicated to you all because you gave them your time. Unfortunately, we live in a world where we have access to everything with instant gratification being at an all-time high, all the audience wants is to have access to you. If you’re not diving deeper into social media and sharing your life stories, I highly suggest doing so. Not only will it strengthen your brand, it’ll show people why you’re the one they should be hanging out with. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, please exit out of the gift shop.”