Vulnerable story time here.
The show started back in October 2017, but if it could have a second birthday, it’d be in April.
We struggled in our earliest days of existing, and that’s putting it lightly. I was figuring out the technical logistics of podcasting while trying to build a brand, a voice, and a team. We boldly dived in head first, confident we’d figure it out along the way…and we simply didn’t figure it out.
We only lasted about three months before it became clear that it wasn’t something everyone wanted to be part of. Scheduling became difficult, and energy seemed lower and lower each week. I wasn’t sure how to carry on alone, so with a heavy heart, we stopped producing episodes.
In February 2018 I deactivated the website and our episodes were no longer hosted. At that point in time we had reached a modest audience of — at most — 1,000 folks who checked out at least one episode.
By March, we were back to zero...as if the show never existed.
In the time away, I refocused on the “why” behind the desire to start a show in the first place. I considered my own experience listening to horror podcasts, and how often shows were produced by folks of the same socio-demographic variables, familiarity with the genre, or even preference of subgenre within horror.
I wanted to build something that reflected the way I connected with my own family. I considered the way we bonded in our living rooms as people of different political ideations, education levels, professional trades, and life experiences. I recalled the ways in which we, despite our vast differences, were always able to share a love for the genre.
In many ways, horror brought us together, because horror movies were where the differences of our lives intersected.
What was once simply a creative outlet — a way to challenge my weaker skills in media production — began taking shape as something far more intentional. Something focused on the intersectionality horror movies can provide for groups of people.
In April 2018, the lights turned back on for Hack or Slash. While I didn’t have all the answers, I knew our why — and that’s arguably the most important answer to have.
I began to save money for equipment to improve our audio quality, and in July 2017 we returned with new episodes and a renewed sense of purpose. In the time since, we’ve expanded our team three times, restructured our show, and grown our audience at a rate that has far exceeded our expectations.
April has continued to be a season of change for our show since our re-birth in 2018. In April 2019 we switched to a weekly release schedule and committed to launching Patreon, and in 2020 we formally expanded our team once more.
Now, in 2021, we’re refocusing on the experience of our patrons, and making changes to improve the quality of your benefits. Your support has helped us continuously improve the show, and your belief in us has taught me to dream bigger than I thought was possible.
I simply can’t thank you enough for that.
