Toucher & Hardy

Toucher & Hardy

Toucher & Hardy

Nick Gemelli's selfie (credit Nick Gemelli)

If you’re reading this article, I’m sure you know who I am and the show I work for. If you don’t, let me explain.

My name is Nick Gemelli, and I’m a producer for Toucher & Hardy on 98.5 The Sports Hub. This marks my 8th year as a member of 98.5 The Sports Hub, and to say it’s been a blast would be an understatement. The experience of working at the station and the opportunities it has provided have been amazing. I truly love working here.

One of these opportunities presented itself recently in September when BEASLEY MEDIA, the parent company of 98.5 The Sports Hub, made a huge investment in video streaming and production. At that point, the show was streaming on Twitch using tiny webcams, and it looked like complete garbage.

Fast forward to now: The quality of the video stream has greatly improved, and viewership has been consistently growing. It also gave us at The Sports Hub the opportunity to dive headfirst into the world of vertical videos on TikTok and Instagram.

I took this opportunity and ran with it. To give you an idea of how the show works, the easiest way to explain it is this: Dan O’Brien calls the shots, runs the board, books the guests, etc. Lockhart handles all the sound played on the show, creating 30-second promos, recording commercials, etc. My role encompasses anything video-related (YouTube/reels/TikTok, etc.), managing the social media accounts, podcasting the show, writing articles, street audio, and whatever else I may have forgotten.

To be totally honest, I think I’ve carved out a pretty good role for myself at the station, and I’m always looking out for more things to do.

So, why am I explaining all of this? Well, for one, I gotta hit that quota. But also, after a brief conversation with my boss today, it inspired me to highlight some of the videos you may have missed on the Toucher & Hardy Instagram account from the last couple of months.

And with that, enjoy!

  • BALLOON ANIMALS

     

    Fred is a big-timer. He’s an ESPN Insider, which is SUPER exclusive. Only the elite of elites are Insiders. But Fred has a heart and decides to share his status with the masses. To thank him, Hardy decided to make him a balloon animal.

  • MILKSHAKES

     

    Not only am I known as a hard worker around the station, but I’m also known for having a big booty. This baffles my wife how Fred is so obsessed with my butt. What can I say? My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard!

  • ZOLAK'S OOPSIE

     

    It was the Friday before Super Bowl week in Las Vegas. With the return of THE CROSS-OVER, Zolak talked about how he will not be packing for the trip. However, he did reveal a time where he had an accident on a chair Felger usually uses.

  • JULIE OR SOFIA?

     

    Julie Bowen or Sofia Vergara? That was the question presented to Hardy. Fred has criticized him for a taste in women that he finds odd. But the heart knows what the heart wants.

  • EGG SALAD SANDWICH

     

    Hardy shares a story of the time Scott Zolak ate an entire tray of egg salad sandwiches next to a dumpster behind a Star Market. I mean, that sentence speaks for itself. What else do you need to read to convince yourself to watch this video??

  • WHEN BUSTING CHOPS GOES WRONG

     

    We love Kendra. We truly do and believe her time at the station won’t be long. She’ll be off to do bigger and better things for sure. Here’s a clip from one of her appearances where Fred was trying to bust her chops only to have it bite him in the butt.

  • WALLACH BOMBS

     

    Jon Wallach means well, I guess. But not during a recent morning where he tried to make a funny joke only to have it come off RUDE and INSENSITIVE. How dare you make light of Fred’s sobriety, Walldick!

  • WALLACH'S EMAIL

     

    Did you know Wallach didn’t know his work email??? It’s true. This angered Fred, who gets most of the negative feedback about the show. It’s about time Wallach gets a taste!

  • ALSO...

    I want to set the record straight.

    Yes, I did have an accident in my bed… while I was unconscious! I was literally knocking on heaven’s door at that point. If my then-girlfriend (now wife) hadn’t barged in, thinking I was ‘ghosting her,’ I would be dead!

    I ended up having MRSA. It went septic and attacked my aortic valve, which led to me having open-heart surgery performed.

    The doctors replaced it with a mechanical valve. No, it’s not a pacemaker. No, it doesn’t run on batteries. It operates like a check valve for a sump pump.

    And that’s it. I’m fine… besides the stroke in 2022, but since then, I’m okay. To be completely honest, Zolak’s situation was FAR worse than mine!

    Okay, I’m done. Thanks for scrolling! 🙂

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