Hail Media: The Inside Story Of Launching A New Brand!
I haven’t done everything right in my life - far from it. But me as a kid would be thrilled with the boxes I’ve checked as an adult, and I’m proud and grateful for it. This includes my latest endeavor, Hail Media.
I just turned 55 and I’m pretty satisfied with my bucket list already. I sing in a rock band. I’m an entrepreneur. I played football at Michigan. I’ve traveled to some amazing places like Israel, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, 43 U.S. States, 2 U.S. territories, 70+ Battlefields, the homes of 19 presidents, and I’ve been married for almost 30 years with two awesome kids.
When my brother played at Michigan starting in 1979, I was 9 years old and I became the biggest fan in the world. I would cut out the headshots of the players in the home programs and paste them on a big poster board with glue. I knew all the songs the band played, I met Bob Ufer and he let me honk that horn he used to honk after Michigan scored. Being around Michigan Football on that level, knowing all the players, being at all the bowl games—that was a dream for a kid, and it was a dream to wear the winged helmet myself.
I still have that same passion for Michigan Football. It’s still magical to see and hear the baaaaaaand take the field and to see The Team run out of the tunnel and touch the banner like I did, along with the many Michigan Men before me and since. So now that I’ve launched Hail Media with my partner Chris Howard, I’m creating content about one of my favorite subjects in much the same way I was doing four decades ago in my parents’ basement.
Hail Media: The Inside Story Of Launching A New Brand!
Let’s go back to how this chapter started.
I’ve always been involved with the program as much as I can be—I’ve shown up and helped out with various alumni groups and functions, and at the beginning of 2024 Andy Borowski called me to ask if I would help out with the social media for FAM (Football Alumni Of Michigan). My answer was of course; I’ll always answer the call to help, especially with FAM. FAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to mental health and helping out former players in need. And believe me, there are plenty of those guys.
Playing at Michigan is HARD. Really hard. Yes we chose to do it, and we were privileged to do it. There is glamour and glory, fame and now with NIL, even fortune involved. But we’re still made of flesh and bone. And our bodies, our mental health, our brains—they all take a BEATING playing at that level. It’s fact. Undisputed. And the long term effects for many are severe. I was just talking to a former player at a recent FAM tailgate and he had his son with him. This guy was one of the all time great players at Michigan, a mauler, a physical wrecking machine. He also played in the NFL. His son isn’t really interested in playing football; his dad is in pain, his son sees it, and doesn’t want that. And this guy is still one of the lucky ones. He is still himself, can still function. Some guys with CTE barely can. Take my teammate Corwin Brown for example: His story is well documented. He’s had it rough and so has his family. Corwin isn’t really Corwin anymore, at least not the Corwin I knew.
I’m lucky—I managed to come out of it in one piece even though I took a heck of a beating myself. So it’s my duty to make sure I help the ones who didn’t. Frankly that falls on every one of us who has cheered for the maize and blue. If you identify with Michigan Football as a fan, you wear the gear around town, benefit from the good mood you walk around in for days—even months—after we kick Ohio’s ass, then you have a duty to give back to these gladiators who have given so much to you. You do. If you haven’t thought about this before now, that’s okay. Start now.
So meanwhile, we started thinking about ways we could continue to grow the message and the brand of FAM, and we’ve done it really well so far. We’ve used social media to get the message out and tell stories about our history, to celebrate our guys and remind everyone why we’re doing this. It’s working. We have an amazing service called Wolverine Hope that is a 24/7 mental health hotline that any former team member or their families can call for help at no cost. The service has been completely paid for with fundraising efforts, and we hope to expand this service to other sports someday to further our mission. We have a teammate assistance program (TAP) that helps in specific cases where a former player has fallen on hard times. We help our struggling teammates. The Team, The Team, The Team. You can learn about all of this at the FAM website and donate here.
We had grand visions for what was to be “FAM Media”—tons of content, fun shows and podcasts, sponsorships, investors, all of it. But after lots of discussion and legal advice, we realized that you….can’t quite do that as a nonprofit. If you start to monetize content that isn’t all tightly focused on the nonprofit mission, you can put the nonprofit status at risk and that revenue can be considered taxable income. I’m not the expert here, so do not use what I’m saying as perfectly worded legal advice, but if you are indeed starting a nonprofit just be aware. We want to make sure we are doing things the right way.
So that’s where the pivot happened to where we are now—with Hail Media! Andy Borowski, who is the chair of the board of directors (a great leader and friend by the way) for FAM, had initially asked Chris Howard if he had any interest in the project. Chris was the starting tailback for the 1997 National Championship team, spent some time in the NFL and has had a production company developing content and shows for years out of Atlanta. He and I got on the phone and were on the same page from the very first conversation—like we’d known each other for years with the same vision for what would become Hail Media—independent of FAM but still with an eye towards giving back. This isn’t uncommon when you meet other guys who played at Michigan; it’s like we’ve all been teammates. So while we’re a completely separate entity from FAM, we can still collaborate with FAM. We’re actually working on a podcast / show for FAM as we speak that will be on Hail Media, where FAM can focus tightly on FAM’s mission and furthering it.
Chris and I rolled up our sleeves and went to work. Developing ideas for shows, contacting other creatives who played, creating graphics, setting up social media profiles…. this is pretty much us every day:
We’ve had a ton of laughs along the way too… Many episodes and shorts/reels/TikToks are up on the socials—here’s the “podcast” tab at the YouTube channel that shows you the long form shows we’ve already launched, and there are more to come! Some of it is serious, like Chris’s conversation with Dr. Billy Taylor and how Billy hit rock bottom before he got his life back on track, and some of it is hilarious, like The Brent Sparling Mysteries—the dude’s investigation had him CONVINCED that New Mexico was bringing UFOs to Michigan Stadium to gain an advantage in the opening game of the 2025 season… Some of the content is animated, some of it will feature former players, some of it will feature fans. And by the way, we have indeed been talking to potential sponsors, so if you own a company or know someone who does who is looking for a great place to get their brand messaging or products in front of an already engaged and rabid Michigan Football fan base, let us know. You can email me at the email I still check the most at doug@frameablefaces.com, or my mobile is 248-346-4121 and we can set up a call.
Other shows in development include my own music show, “The Maize and Blue Mixtape,” “Key Body and Fitness: The David Key Show,” “The Grub Gladiator’s Campus Taste Tour,” the aforementioned FAM show and more…
Lots of variety—a fully developed entertainment network!!! We also have a Facebook Group, a community that been around for a couple years that has now joined the Hail Media Group family called “The BiG House Presented by Hail Media,” and you can join that if you like as well. There are some great people there and the group is moderated so the vibes are good. There’s also The Player & The Fan which can get a little more….edgy. Chris is the player, and Glenn is the fan; he gets a little…unhinged shall we say, and Chris has to reign him in—ha.
So that’s the deal, and yes, I’m really excited. PLEASE make sure you are following us and spreading the word, and of course, GO BLUE! Here are the links:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@HailMediaGroup
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hailmediagroup
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hailmediagroup/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hailmediagroup
X / Twitter: www.x.com/hailmediagroup
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com. You can follow Doug’s band Vintage Playboy at their Facebook page here. You can also visit our other business Detroit Jerky at the website www.DetroitJerkyLLC.com!