Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Stoudt.
Hi Mike, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started out in radio in college, and that stuck! I loved it. In January of 2001, I came to Atlanta (from Florida) to continue my radio career at a station that was brand new. I had a great time as a copywriter and then evening DJ and music director. In 2014, however, they decided to go in a different direction and I was let go. As I look back, it was the best thing that could’ve happened. I just wasn’t loving radio anymore.
For a good portion of that time in radio – about the last ten years – I’d been taking voiceover and acting classes/workshops on the side whenever I could. And I was pursuing that type of work on the side when I wasn’t on-air and making some decent money. I already had voiceover agents and an on-camera agent, so when the station let me go, I decided to go full-time in voiceover and acting and I’ve not looked back!
In 2016, my wife (Heidi) and I opened up a 100-square-foot room in a studio space just so that we’d have another recording space. Then, since we were paying rent and actors were coming to the studio we were in, we thought, “why not record talent and their auditions for a small fee to help pay the bills?”. And that’s when Atlanta Voiceover Studio was born! We got the URL and it was soon after that talent began asking if we also taught voiceover or had classes.
At that point, we teamed up with another veteran voiceover talent, Brian Bremer, and he began leading our Intro to Voiceover workshops. Then we started adding other classes and workshops, and people – actors and non-actors alike – started coming to see what this industry was all about.
Now, we’re in a 3200-square-foot space that we share with Get-Taped, one of Atlanta’s original on-camera taping businesses. So we have a good amount of actors and voice-over talent walk through our doors to get taped, recorded or to train!
Our Atlanta Voiceover Studio has 2 arms: training and recording. We have a sound design engineer who works on a bunch of different projects, depending on the week. Projects range from shows on A&E, Netflix, TV One and others to radio commercials and more. The other arm is training and audition recording. And recently, we launched our on-demand voiceover training website: ProVoiceoverTraining.com, where anyone can learn the art of voiceover from wherever they are, connecting via an app on their phone, desktop or laptop.
It’s been a wild ride!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s definitely not been a smooth road, and every day has its unique challenges. We’re, first and foremost, voiceover and on-camera talent who are learning to be business owners.
The challenges have included everything from learning how to guide and manage employees and contractors; how to properly run the day-to-day operations; understanding how to build out classes and programs; figuring out strategies and systems so we have more free time to think “big picture” and create new classes or products; and more…and THEN to be able to ‘communicate all that to our employees, contractors and instructors!
To be honest, it’s taken a toll on our marriage. We are very open that we go to marriage and business counseling. What we loved about each other that made us fall in love did the opposite in a business environment! Heidi doesn’t think, work or communicate the same way I do. And I don’t think, work or communicate the same way she does.
Thankfully, we’re both of the mindset that we have to take ownership of everything. So we knew we needed to work on things – both on our own and with each other. (Side note: one of the best books I’ve ever read is “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink. If you’re tired of making excuses or posing in one or more areas of your life, this will encourage and empower you to take control and quit blaming others or things in your life.)
Fairly quickly on, we knew we needed a guide to help us talk through things. We’re thankful we found some great counselors. It’s amazing how we spend so much money on weddings but never think that the “union” of two individuals wouldn’t need upkeep. We buy a vehicle, and if we didn’t spend money maintaining it, it’d fall apart. Same thing with marriages. And definitely, marriages where the couples also run a business!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a voiceover talent and on-camera actor, I’ve been working in these fields for almost 2 decades. In voiceover, you can go to iSpot.tv and type in my name to see some of my work.
Currently, I’m the voice of Cap’n Crunch in a couple of Quaker’s online campaigns for the cereal. I’m the brand voice for Warby Parker. For years, I’ve been the promo voice for the Talking Dead with Chris Hardwick and a couple of their off-shoot shows on occasion. Other recent work includes Hersey’s Nuggets and Cold-EEZE.
For on-camera, I was just in The Valet on Hulu, and I’m about to shoot a small role in a show that’s coming out on Netflix next year. Most of my professional acting work is on IMDB.com.
I’m very grateful that I can make a living in voiceover and acting. I take both very seriously, yet at the same time, hold them “loosely” as nothing is permanent. I’m thankful for each moment and try to enjoy each audition that comes through. You always hope to book, but you never know when you will!
I’m like any and every other creator out there, though. We try to put forth our best work in whatever field of play.
When you ask what I’m most proud of, I’d have to say choosing Heidi as my wife. I finally did something right. She’s one of the most creative, giving, loving, gracious, smart, kind – I could go on – a woman that I know. Thankfully, she keeps me around.
What makes you happy?
When it comes to the Atlanta Voiceover Studio & ProVoiceovertraining.com, (both Heidi and) I light up when students who have come through email us to let us know how they booked something. Or we get to see how things that we produced (classes, workshops, videos, etc…) helped them reach their goals. Answering talent’s emails when they have questions about anything voiceover related. We don’t know everything, but we try to share as much as we can and create value for others.
Personally, simply being able to wake up every day and create in one way or another – whether that’s in a voiceover or on-camera audition, or write for our Youtube.com/atlantavoiceoverstudio channel. I thank God every day that I can make a full-time living doing what I do. I learned early on that nothing is guaranteed and that each day is a gift. It’s my responsibility to make it what I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.atlantavoiceoverstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlantavoiceoverstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AtlantaVoiceoverStudio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ATLVOStudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/atlantavoiceoverstudio
- Other: ProVoiceoverTraining.com
Image Credits
Donna Permell Photography (donnapermell.com)
