You can meet him at the crossroads of witty and insightful. Radio America’s Chad Benson is redefining what it means to be a talk radio host and it all started as a childhood dream.

“I love cartoon voices and radio. I did a lot of pretend radio shows when [I was] a kid,” said Benson. “Now, anybody can do radio stuff but back in our day you had to really hit play and record and pretend like you’re really doing a radio show. I just loved radio. It was awesome.”

Before his radio debut, Benson made a pitstop in the soccer arena. “I went to Europe and tried to play professionally, and I got into the lower divisions. But you know this is way back in the day when Americans weren’t anything. Then I got hurt, and I was like, ‘Where else can I wear shorts and a T-shirt to work?’ And I was like, ‘Radio!”