Letter From the Editor: Celebrating Pop Break’s 11th Anniversary

Dear Reader,

My name is Bill Bodkin. I am the editor-in-chief, co-founder, and owner of The Pop Break. Today, September 29, marks the Pop Break’s 11th Anniversary.

This year’s anniversary … well it wasn’t exactly how I had planned it a year ago when I penned and recorded some very emotional words for the site’s 10th birthday. I had major plans for the site — from an aggressive interview plan for Wrestlemania weekend to concert and festival sponsorships to an expansive expansive summer concert coverage to a series of anniversary live events. The last 365 days was going to be massive.

Obviously, none of that happened and I don’t think we need to get to in-depth about why and how times are unprecedented. Yet, while I sit at what has become my makeshift office for the past six months (a very crowded kitchen table) I could not be more proud of my team here at Pop Break.

I’ve always said “without the staff this site would be not have made it past year one” and that statement could not be more true in the past year. This family of writers, photographers and podcasters have banded together — during one of the intense, emotional, harrowing and uncertain periods of all our lives — and have produced content that has ranged from staggeringly brilliant to utterly hilarious. The amount of hard work and dedication they’ve put into this site is incredible and inspiration.

I’d like to especially thank the editors who have handled this time in history with utter grace, flawless execution and with an unflagging desire to get the most out of writers. Not to single one person out, but a major shout out has to go to our new television editor Alex Marcus who literally started the job in January and who has had the unenviable task of being responsible for the most content production on the site. Not only has he done that, but he’s also created a whole television podcasting network for the site which has been a joy to watch unfold and be a part of.

I’ve said it a million times, but Pop Break was a site that started out as a creative outlet for me and the co-founder of the site, Brent Johnson (who we got out of retirement to join our flagship podcast this week). Yet, it’s due to the people who’ve joined this site throughout the years that this space has evolved from just a blog to a fully-realized digital pop culture magazine and podcasting network. And it’s become even more than that. It’s a place where we’ve lifted each other up in the darkest of times, a place where we’ve celebrated major personal and professional moments and a place where people have gotten to write and shoot and podcast about the things they love.

And that’s been the greatest joy for me. Seeing the success — no matter the size, no matter if its personal or professional — of the people who contribute and have contributed to this site. It’s the reason I come back everyday for the past 11 years writing, editing, paying bills, podcasting, doing layout, social media, etc. It’s the people. And yeah, I don’t mind writing about stuff I love too (sorry about all the wrestling stuff!)

This staff, in so many ways, has not only made me a better writer, editor, podcast and boss, but they’ve helped me in so many ways I can’t even begin to fully explain. They’ve helped expand my mind — culturally, philosophically, emotionally, critically. They have been there for me in my times of great loss, depression, anxiety, uncertainty, fear and sorrow. They’ve also been a long for the greatest moments of my life (the birth of my daughter and getting married). They’ve always been this wonderfully group of supportive, talented and purely amazing people that have kept me going for 11 years.

Thank you, to my staff, from the bottom of my heart for keeping this site going for 11 years. Thank you for the inspiration to take this site from being a mere vanity project and turning it into a respected digital magazine.

To truly exhibit my thoughts and feelings on the site I have included the podcast I recorded last year about the 10th Anniversary. This podcast focuses on the site’s origins, my dad’s influence on the site, why Asbury Park is so important to the site, the real life impact it’s had on me, my often unspoken love and respect for the staff, the unfathomable accomplishments of the site, how I nearly stopped the site (a few times), and my love for Pop Break.

Thank you.