Who Is ‘Chris Reynolds?’

I was born and raised in Abbeville, LA. In high school, I participated in three USL Speech Rallies in the "Radio Speaking" category and placed first each time. I briefly worked at 105.1 KROF in Abbeville, but "broke" the station and quit out of fear. I ended up graduating from UL in 1999 with a degree in English.  For nine years, I taught in Catholic high schools in Acadiana.  While I absolutely adore teenagers (they are amazing people!) I knew in my heart that I wasn't doing what I really wanted to be doing.

All I knew was that I loved entertaining people, making them laugh, hopefully making their cares seem a little more distant, even if only for a short time. I'd dabbled with video shows in the form of Acadiana Open Channel and YouTube (check out "The Big Show with Chris Meaux") but it wasn't until I returned to radio--this time, in Internet radio form--that I realized I knew what I wanted to do. I began hosting "The Big Radio Show with Chris Meaux" on BlogTalkRadio.com in July of 2012, and loved entertaining listeners and interacting with callers and chat users. After leaving full-time teaching last year, I attended the LEDA Job Fair at the Cajun Dome Convention Center, never dreaming there would be anything there related to my passion for radio. As I entered the main hall, my eyes fell upon The Townsquare Media booth. I practically ran there and came close to begging for a job. After my first interview with Bruce Mikels, I knew  I wanted to work at Townsquare Media.

Soon after that meeting, I began training with KTDY Afternoon Host and excellent teacher, John "Jaycee" Falcon. After a few months of learning the ropes, I was asked to fill in for Steve Wiley. After struggling for a little over a decade to find a "job" that I would do for free, something that fills me with joy and doesn't feel like work, I have finally found it. I absolutely love being on air, and it's not just because I'm in love with the sound of my own voice. I love bringing you the "best variety of the 80s, 90s, and today" as well as up-to-the minute updates on weather, news, and information about this great place called Acadiana. And I'm honored to be working with broadcasting legends and all-around great people like JayCee, Steve, CJ, Debbie Rae, and the other folks here. I hope to continue filling in here at KTDY. You will also "hear" from me in the form of the posting that I do, not only on 999KTDY.com, but also on the sites of our sister stations. You'll also find me on Facebook, of course!

To close, a few brief random things about me:
1) I'm from Abbeville, but I hate eating crawfish (especially boiled)
2) I'm a proud nerd/geek/whatever. I have loved superheroes, comic books, and related movies, cartoons, and toys my whole life. I have a large comic book and related memorabilia collection that grows by the week.
3) I like to read and write for fun. My wife used this exact set of words to describe me once.
4) I love pizza so much, I ate nothing but the delicious pies thrice daily over an eight-day period after giving them up for Lent one year. While I'm pretty sure it shortened my lifespan, it was glorious!
5) As a child, I played for hours with my tape recorder, "interviewing" anyone I could.
6) My wife, Ali, and my daughters, Ava (7) and Camille (4) are saints for putting up with me.
7) I believe young people/teenagers are the greatest kind of people I've ever met. They are the opposite of what the stereotypes say they are: generous, caring, compassionate, giving, brilliant, hilarious, responsible, positive, creative, selfless, and joyful. We "old folks" can learn so much from them.