What inspired the creation of Seasiders Radio, and when did the idea first come about?

I started Seasiders radio back in 2020as Folkestone Invicta radio I always wanted to do a radio broadcast and the former chairman was very supportive and the first game was away to Leatherhead.

Who were the key people behind its founding, and what roles did they play in getting it off the ground?

It was just me to be honest I had the idea and ran with it no one else was really involved.

How did the station establish its relationship with Folkestone Invicta FC?

To be honest when the new chairman took over he wanted the radio station to be independent of the club as he was worried that if we said anything derogatory the club what get into trouble not that it has ever happened. So that’s how the name Seasiders radio came about and has stuck.

What were the biggest early challenges when launching Seasiders Radio?

The challenges that I faced at the beginning was equipment I ran off my iPhone and the supporters club funded the air time on MXLR

How did the funding model start — was it community-funded, supported by the supporters’ club, or something else?

The supporters club have been very supportive and have continued to fund the air time over the last 5 years.

How is Seasiders Radio structured as an organisation?

The structure is quite simple it’s me!!!

My co-commentator is Charlie Prescott who does the broadcasting alongside me. Together we promote each game on Instagram and Facebook we also have our own website and we occasionally do podcasts when we can get players to interview.

Can you walk me through a typical match-day for the radio team, from preparation to live commentary?

A typical day is if we are away I would pick Charlie up and drive to the ground either home or away, I have usually contacted the away club to make sure we can commentate from their ground, we park up and enter the ground we then go to the media part in the stand and set up our equipment ready to start our commentary normally about 10 minutes before kick off, we then continue till about 10-15 minutes after the final whistle then pack up and I drive back.

What technical infrastructure do you use to broadcast?

We use our phone as the app we use is Mixlr we have a mixing desk two microphones and two headphones at the moment it’s going okay but we would like to purchase some proper commentators microphones which are very expensive.

How does Seasiders Radio generate revenue currently, if any?

We unfortunately don’t generate much income, we do have a sponsor sometimes for man of the match we are looking for sponsors to help us with our travel expenses and sponsor the radio station but it’s hard in this climate in financial situation.

Who is your core audience, and how do you reach them?

Our core audience is Folkestone Invicta fans, but as we are independent we can commentate any game we have commentated on the isthmian league play offs and the last two years we have covered the non league finals day at Wembley and the national league play off final also at Wembley

How do you measure success or listener engagement?

Mixlr send us listening figures by email about 10 minutes after we end our commentary which this season is the best we have ever had.

In what ways does Seasiders Radio add value to the Folkestone Invicta community and its supporters?

Well we broadcast for fans who can’t travel away or are working or live abroad we have many listeners from all over the world including India, Malta, Canada, New Zealand, USA, Jamaica, Italy and Spain. We get positive feedback and thanked often for our commentary which.

What are your short-term goals for Seasiders Radio over the next one to two years?

Short term we hope to continue our coverage and branch out to do other games when not covering Folkestone Invicta.

What is your long-term vision for the station’s future?

Long term would be to get paid to do what we do hopefully getting sponsors to help cover the increasing costs and we hopefully will be commentating in the National League South next season.

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