Titan Sized Interviews Max Strauss, of Pro Interviews
Max Strauss founded his own site, Pro Interviews, in April of 2010 and hasn’t seen anything stop him from interviewing NFL players ever since. I’ve been following Max on twitter for a few months and have found the interviews and his twitter commentary are always worth the while. So, I thought it would be fun to interview the interviewer and find out a little bit more about the site.
So, click ahead and learn about Max and the players that he has interviewed: from Jason McCourty to Michael Vick to Don Carey to Warren Moon.
What made you decide to start the site? and how long have you had it up and running?
My first year actually playing football was in the fall of 2009 of my second sophomore year. I had just switched schools, and repeated my sophomore year. I was adjusting to life in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. But, it was after football season, when the winter came rolling around, I found myself pretty bored, so I made a twitter. I didn’t think much of it. I started reaching out to players on twitter and talking to them to fix the football that I missed. I started up the site April 1st, 2010.
Who was your first interview and how did it go?
My first interview was with Jaguars starting free safety, Don Carey. I did my interview with him through email. It was pretty exciting. He replied to all my questions, and I thought this was awesome. He’s a great guy, we chat on Skype and all occasionally. He’s definitely a really nice guy. Sorry Titans fans, it had to be a Jaguars player (LOL). I’ve also interviewed Jason McCourty, Bobby Sewall, Lorenzo Neal, and former Titans RB coach, Earnest Byner. They were all really cool and genuine guys!
I saw that you recently interviewed NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon. How did you meet him and how was the interview? He always seemed like a great guy.
I actually never met Warren. He is a great guy though from what it seems. I have seen him tweet and decided it couldn’t hurt to reach out to him. Well, after reaching out to him, we committed to a thirty minute “appointment” and we talked on the phone about a whole bunch of stuff. It was a lot of fun to hear his memories. His story is so great and so unique. I really enjoyed talking to him too.
Can you tell me about the Mike Vick interview? I don’t recall the date so I’m not sure how close it was to the do fighting incident, I’m just curious how genuine or disingenuine he came across about all of it. I’m sure most fans of the NFL are.
I really didn’t bring it up. It was a year after he played with the Eagles, and he didn’t have too much playing time. I try to base my site all around positive media, so that’s what I tried to emphasize in the Mike Vick story. It took a while for him to get back to my email, but he did, and so I put the interview online.
Has anyone given you complications during an interview? (you can tell a nameless story here if you want)
Sometimes management doesn’t do their job, but it’s all pretty smooth actually. I don’t give up once I get a phone number and hear someone talking on the other line.
Is there any particular interview that you tried to get and just were not able to?
Nope.
Who would you interview that you haven’t interviewed yet, and why?
I would love to interview the next guy. I don’t know why I call him that, but anyone who wants to commit to talking with me on the phone, I’m willing to talk and listen back. It’s amazing that through all these interviews, I’ve learned there’s really no blueprint to get into the NFL.
Were you ever able to play football yourself, or are you just a HUGE fan of the game?
I played my sophomore and junior year of high school. Next year (for my senior year), I’m planning to take on more of a role with my coach. I’ll hopefully be cutting up film with my coach and learning more about the game. I can’t wait for that. I’m also a HUGE NFL fan to add to that though.
What is your long-term plan for the site?
Last year I had the opportunity to cover Jets Camp for a day and a Sunday Night Redskins game. I’m hoping for more opportunities to meet players face-to-face to set up interviews or just to talk with them. I really enjoy these guys and it’s a lot of fun.
Thanks for your time, Max, and good luck with everything in the future!
No problem. Thank you. Keep up the great work!
The Links
Main Site: http://prointerviews.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ProInterviews
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ProInterviews