Royal Atlanta Pivot

“In Athens, I often was sitting in my journalism class thinking, this will be a fun occupation, getting to interview all the cool athletes.”

A University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication alum and Atlantan, Steve Carse is an anomaly.

“I was working for the Athens Banner-Herald and the Atlanta Journal Constitution covering Georgia football and high school games, when two full-time job offers came my way.”

The young UGA writer entertained strong options: a sports reporting gig in Lagrange, Ga., or uproot, joining a newspaper staff in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Atlanta and Twin Falls are separated by 2,051 miles, with an immeasurable cultural divide.

“It was on to the intermountain west, a couple of hours from Salt Lake, on the backside of the Tetons, Jackson Hole,” laughed Mr. Carse.

He was rolling, hopeful of a triumphant return home one day, perhaps, evolving into a “King of Atlanta Sports Media.”

Steve Carse would become an Atlanta king but through an unexpected trajectory, not emulating media kingpins Mark Bradley or Chuck Dowdle, but something entirely different — something much sweeter. 

“I loved to ⛷️ ski, but quickly discovered my $16,000 salary didn’t go very far in posh Jackson Hole,” offered Mr. Carse earlier this week.

After nine months of Twin Falls starving, the prodigal son returned South; his brother helped line up a job with insurance giant AIG.

Two years and eight months of Atlanta work. Good money, too. Then: professional disaster.

“I was laid off, and began sleeping on my brother’s (Nick Carse) couch, thinking, planning, plotting my next move.”

It was on the couch that an Atlanta fiefdom, a kingdom, was conceptualized, born.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. 👑 

Along with his brother, the Carse boys would become rulers of a new Atlanta world: “The King of Pops.”

Brilliant Latin American-style paletas on a stick, extraordinary flavors culled from the Georgia red clay, and sold via a North Highland push cart across from Manuel’s Tavern.

“The key to success for us: one-on-one relationships, shaking hands, being real people in our communities, the power of one.”

King of Pops is an entrepreneurial success, multi-million dollar enterprise, expansion into Washington D.C. and Miami. Opportunities for franchises abound. The product can be found in Whole Foods, Bonnaroo concerts, and many Atlanta restaurants offering creative menus. 

Next month, a new book releases, written by the former scribe turned entrepreneur: Work Is Fun.

“You have to have fun at all levels; be patient, enjoy all parts of the (work) experience, start entrepreneurial ventures small and grow.”

He admits the birth of his child has been life-changing.

“Finding balance in life across changing business cycles is important.”

For a man with a journalism degree, Mr. Carse does not speak a language familiar to sports writers or sports broadcasters. 

He is esoteric, free-flowing, a dreamer — hopefully optimistic about people and circumstances.

Mr. Curse with his journalism career pivot is the antithesis of his once-chosen occupation, writing and speaking in prose, a rare business person who communicates with the same effectiveness as his business acumen.

The former sportswriter turned “King of Pops” penned the following on his blog this week: “In writing, the greats, (William Faulkner, Oscar Wilde, Stephen King) advise you to kill your darlings which means to ruthlessly remove all that does not serve the overall story regardless of how much you love it."

In the words of the great Mel Brooks, “It’s good to be King (of Pops).”