GratiTuesday: Chad Smart

Positively Cynical

Reviewing my GratiTuesday blog posts, I’ve come to realize I haven’t highlighted one of my best friends in the world, Chad Smart. Chad is one of the first people I met when I moved to southern Illinois and started my job at WSIL. We became fast friends bonding over pro wrestling, the 80s and other pop culture stuff.

I recently wrote a blog that was inspired by Chad and his podcast Positive Cynicism (on the Jittery Monkey Podcasting Network). You can listen to the episode here for all the details. Long story short, that episode has opened my eyes to many things about my friend and I’ve come to understand the struggles has experienced through the years. It has also made me value our friendship even more than I already did. Here are just a few reasons why.

Chad is one of the most kindhearted people I know. He has a cynical exterior but Chad is that guy who would drop anything to help a friend in need. Yeah, we all expect that out of a friend, right? But Chad also goes out of his way to help and support others outside his inner circle too.

Since starting his podcast in 2017, Chad has evolved as a host by exploring more of the positive and less of the cynical. Some of his guests fall into that way of thinking too. Chad is bringing awareness to many issues; including mental health and depression, orphans in Bangladesh and “For Kids’ Sake” and childhood cancer as he prepares to run his first half-marathon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Back to his impact on me, Chad has helped in the building of the My 1-2-3 Cents brand. As I mentioned, we bonded over pro wrestling and that includes nine trips to WrestleMania in various parts of the country. It’s something I never thought I’d experience once, much less nine times. He’s contributed content to both the blog and podcast and has donated countless items to the so-called “My 1-2-3 Cents Prize Vault”, spending his own cash to make that happen.

I could go on and on like I always say with these blogs. Chad is a true friend and he’s making a difference with his work on the podcast. I’m proud to see his evolution (crew the Randy Orton pose) and look forward to seeing him reach his upcoming goals.