Books & Biceps

The world's #1 sophisticated meathead community for dudes and dads who want to read more, lift more and live awesome. Includes weekly book recommendations, workout motivation, original columns on fitness, fatherhood, writing and more. Also regular updates, giveaways and sneak peaks at Jon Finkel's new books.

Recently profiled in The New Yorker.

Founder

Slow Grind Media

Slow Grind Media was established by 2x NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas to focus on bringing important cultural and sports topics to the literary world.

- Oversee creation of the publishing budget for a slate of Slow Grind Media books
- Manage the publishing process for all books, from idea stage to printing, layout, design, editorial, distribution, marketing and publicity
- Author of the first Slow Grind Media book: Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics and How a Stolen Team's Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA's Secret Empire
- Hoops Heist was endorsed by Kevin Durant, Gary Payton, Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry and other NBA icons and Hall of Famers
- Oversaw the entire editorial, production and social media team for launch
- Collaborate with current and former star athletes for upcoming books with the Slow Grind Media imprint

Author, Publisher and Content Strategist: Slow Grind Media

Meathead Media

1996: A Biography - Reliving the Legend-Stacked, Dynasty-Packed, Most Iconic Sports Year Ever 

"From Griffey and Prime Time to Jordan and Jeter, 1996 serves as a Vegas-style buffet of sports legend. Years come, years go. But Jon Finkel's masterpiece proves that, on rare occasion, some 365-day spans are worth bronzing in gold." ―Jeff Pearlman, author of Three-Ring Circus: Shaq, Kobe, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty

"Part time machine, part fax machine, this book brings the '90s vividly back to life, with all the insight and hindsight of the athletes who made the era so memorable. Finkel makes a strong case that 1996, like 1776, was revolutionary." ―Steve Rushin, Special Contributor to Sports Illustrated and author of Sting-Ray Afternoons and Nights in White Castle

Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics and How a Stolen Team's Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA's Secret Empire

"The basketball brotherhood in Seattle is just different. There's such a deep connection with each other and their city. I really enjoyed that feeling and I was happy to be apart of it. This story of the culture of basketball in Seattle is so pure." - Kevin Durant, 10x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA Champion

The Life of Dad: Reflections on Fatherhood from Today's Leaders, Icons and Legendary Dads

“When I found out I was going to be a dad I thought, ‘Can I handle it? Would I hopefully be like my dad? What would my kids be like?’ Then I felt pride and love. It was terrifying and amazing. Just like it is for every new dad. Reading The Life of Dad will help you relax and know that it’s worked out for all these amazing dads, and it’ll work out for you.” 

—Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks owner, Shark Tank star

Author

Ballast Books

Ballast Books is a leading, full-service, hybrid publishing company, innovating the way authors bring and market their books and ideas to the world.

Director of Publishing

Brown Books Publishing Group

Brown Books is home to New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, international bestsellers and has been named a 2x 2nd Fastest Growing Independent Publisher by Publishers Weekly.

- Joined Brown Books to build their entire Author Platform Playbook, which included developing, writing and presenting the Content Strategy to new authors
- Took the entirely new concept within the company and generated over $100,000 of new revenue in Year One
- Established a blueprint for incoming authors to brand, market and establish themselves within their niche in advance of their publishing date
- Generated individual social media strategies, branding playbooks, editorial calendars and content plans for every client
- Oversaw total revamping of parent company's social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
- Increased Twitter follows by 50% and engagement by 300% in first six months

Director of Content

Life of Dad, LLC

•	Co-Host the Life of Dad podcast (600k downloads) and Lunch Break Facebook Live Show (400k viewers in 2018)
•	Responsible for revamping Life of Dad e-mail list (5x open rate improvement), marketing and sales decks, as well as original branded content ideas
•	Work with founders to update site for 2019, write content for the site to drive traffic, maximize their 2M Facebook fans and develop clear content verticals for the audience and advertisers.
•	Develop monthly, quarterly and yearly editorial calendars to coincide with revenue and revenue opportunities.
•	Introduce several month-over-month new revenue streams: newsletter sponsorship, new FB Live shows with sponsors, branded content series 
        Secured a national book deal with Simon & Schuster.


The Life of Dad Show is the multimedia flagship property of the world’s largest network for fathers. With 600,000 downloads of its popular podcast and 300,000+ viewers of the Facebook Live show since 2017, the Life of Dad Show has gathered advice, stories and strategies from an unparalleled list of household names, from Shaq to Jim Gaffigan, to Michael Strahan and Mark Hamill, each offering a glimpse into their personal life as a dad. The show airs Mondays and Wednesdays on Facebook Live, YouTube and Instagram TV. The podcast comes out weekly. Visit: https://www.lifeofdad.com/life-of-dad-show/

Life of Dad is home to the largest network of dad influencers in the world, including 350+ bloggers, YouTube stars, Instagram influencers and Facebook groups. Winner of a Cannes Silver Lion Award, Iris Award and Wommy Award, LifeofDad.com generates 12 million monthly video views, 100+ million monthly impressions, has 2 million Facebook fans.

Life of Dad - Writer, Podcaster & Live Stream Host | Creative Advisor

Beckett Media

I am extremely proud of what we accomplished at Beckett, including:

Developed a Major Source of New Revenue: Created and launched a nationwide, season-long, branded-content partnership with Topps, counting down the all-time most legendary baseball card line-up in every Major League City. Rolled over the same sponsorship deal and revenue for the basketball season with Panini for a $100k increase in sponsorship dollars.

Created the Beckett Podcast Network: Brought in the first revenue for the existing podcast while developing two others and landing sponsorships for both, taking the brand from one unsponsored podcast to three sponsored podcasts in less than a year.

New Video Revenue: Created and launched Beckett Media’s first-ever digital video series with PWCC, a major collectibles brand and new branded-content partner.

Partnered with Panini to create the official Panini Sticker World Cup magazine, examining the history of the Cup, the stickers and Panini. It featured interviews with Fernando Fiore, Kobe Bryant and Andrew Luck. The magazine was printed in Spanish and as an issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly.

Launched the brand’s first-ever, fully sponsored Digital Only Boxing Publication for the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight.

Oversaw 7x improvement in open rates for Beckett’s flagship, ‘Best of Beckett’ weekly newsletter.

Weekly Sponsored Content and Revenue: Created and oversaw the brand’s first online branded-content partnerships, including ‘Local Hobby Shop of the Week’ and ‘Kid Collector of the Week’.

Oversaw the brand’s first daily social media sponsorship via Twitter.

Introduced the brand’s first home page advertising partnership for month-over-month passive revenue from targeted traffic.

Launched an all-new Beckett.com, upgraded and launched a new home for Beckett Grading Services and improved internal project management software.

Publisher

National Football Foundation

Created and executed the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame's Future for Football online publication from concept to fully-functioning platform.

- Oversaw the entire development of the platform and hired the go-to-launch team, including developers, graphic designers, editors, a writing stable and social media division
- Worked alongside NFF Board Members Archie Manning and Roger Staubach to ensure the vision of the site matched the NFF's mission statement
- Presented sponsorship packages and developed original content for sponsors such as Fidelity, Coca-Cola, Delta, Chick-Fil-A and more
- Created a one-of-a-kind partnership/sponsorship with SportsManias for college football bowl season, allowing fans the chance to share emojis from Hall of Famers for every bowl-eligible team
- Launched the 'Built By Football' book series, featuring college football Hall of Famers
- Wrote the autography, "Mean" Joe Greene: Built By Football and the biography: The Athlete: Greatness, Grace and the Unprecedented Life of Charlie Ward
- Covered  the College Football National Championship games, Semi-Final games and important games throughout the year, filing stories, video and interviews on deadline

Editor-in-Chief - College Football Hall of Fame & National Football Foundation

Yahoo! Sports

I wrote athlete profiles and exclusive first-person features for Yahoo! Sports' ThePostGame.com. 

- Created branded content pieces and ideas with national brands and national sponsorships
- Developed and wrote entire 'Share What You Love' basketball series for Frosted Flakes, highlighting NBA players and coaches who share the game with their kids
- Developed and wrote the 'Home Team' series for Hyundai, showcasing the nostalgia and home team stories of eight college football teams

HIGHLIGHTS:

I've spent a game night as the Miami Heat's mascot, Burnice, trained for the 40 at the NFL Combine (didn't get drafted), ridden in a Monster Truck (didn't get killed) and even spent a night as a Duke fan on the road during a pivotal ACC game (again, didn't get killed). I've studied the science of how Nate Robinson can jump so high, created a science for ranking our most athletic Presidents and found the two people who knew Redskins' running back Alfred Morris would be a star.

Feature Writer, Branded Content Specialist

Life Extension

- Hired to increase national presence of LE’s flagship publication. Secured features and wrote cover stories with mainstream celebrities in target demographic (40-65) including Leeza Gibbons, Fran Drescher, Dara Torres, Summer Sanders, Lou Ferrigno, Dorothy Hamill, Dr. Ruth and many more. Stories meant to inspire and uplift readership into taking control of their health.
- Brought in over a dozen New York Times bestselling authors for Q&As and book excerpts for the magazine.
- Was Editor-in-Chief of special LE Fitness editions of Life Extension, featuring a total revamp of the brand, with celebrity covers (Tracy Austin and Joe Theismann). The issues increased sales by 4-6x of several fitness supplements offered by LE.
- Introduced a ‘Member Profile’ department in the magazine, highlighting famous and non-famous members who lived the “LE Lifestyle” to the fullest.
- Spearheaded the effort to put LE on e-publishing platforms to grow readership and raise revenue and saw 30% increase in subs.
- Worked with Social Media department to provide timely updates of features and bonus material for Twitter & Facebook from interviews/articles.
- Responsible for recruiting, training and managing a team of writers to fill departments on a monthly basis.

Senior Editor / Sports Initiatives Editor-in-Chief

Jon Finkel is the award-winning author of 1996: A Biography, Hoops Heist, The Life of Dad, Jocks In Chief, The Athlete, Heart Over Height, “Mean” Joe Greene and more. His books have been endorsed by everyone from Mark Cuban and Tony Dungy to Spike Lee, Kevin Durant and Chef Robert Irvine. He has written for GQ, Men’s Health, Yahoo! Sports, The New York Times and has appeared on CBS: This Morning, Good Morning Texas, and hundreds of radio shows, podcasts and streams. He has also developed content, devised creative strategy and written for the biggest brands in health and fitness.

CREATIVE STRATEGY & BRANDING: Muscle Milk, CYTOSPORT, College Football Hall of Fame, Swee2ooth, Life of Dad, The Post Game, National Football Foundation, SportsManias, Beckett

GHOSTWRITER: Finkel has ghostwritten books and autobiographies with major sports stars, entertainers, CEOs, speakers and military leaders.

UPCOMING: Macho Man biography

MAGAZINES & WEBSITES: Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Parenting, Muscle & Performance, GQ, Details, The New York Times, Men’s Journal, Yahoo! Sports, ThePostGame.com, NFLPlayers.com, HoopsHype.com, ComedyCentral.com, AskMen.com, ArtOfManliness.com, CBSNews.com, Bodybuilding.com

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