Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanon Murphy.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Let’s see. I had my dream job working with the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show before I was even 21 years old. I knew that I wanted to be a part of such a fantastic and highly rated show, but I didn’t really think it would happen the way that it did. I started my career at 106.1 KISS FM in the promotions department when I was a senior in high school. I went to a career development center that required an internship the second semester of my senior year. I called the promotions director and literally begged for an interview. I wasn’t an ideal candidate because I was only 17 years old. That’s not old enough to do club gigs at night and, honestly, how dependable could a 17-year-old really be?
In the end, though, my pleas worked and I got the internship! I spent many days cleaning out the prize closet, rearranging boxes of t-shirts, and sharpening golf pencils. I loved every second of it, though, and I got hired part-time when I graduated from Skyline High School. We did a Halloween party at a fancy hotel that year and, while we were there (I was dressed as an M&M), the producer for the morning show at that time approached me about interning as a phone screener. I did many internship extensions and eventually got my Associates Degree at Brookhaven College. When it was no longer possible to keep me as an intern, I got hired for the show.
I wanted to produce for as long as I could remember and, with Kidd, I got the chance to do that. When people would ask me what I do for the show I would say that I’m Kidd’s 3rd and 4th hands. When he would hit the wrong button, I would reach around him to hit the right one. I would book guests and write bits and liners and parody songs and so much more. I did an interview with New Kids on the Block one time and I got to kiss Donny Wahlberg. My job in radio has been a fascinating one that no one else has ever known.
Kidd created a position for me with the show, so literally, no one else on earth has done the job that I did. Through all my years on the show, I learned one thing. The listeners become family. They feel like they know me even if we’ve never met before. The cool thing about that is that they actually do know me. We share the highs and the lows in life and, in 2011, my family endured a life-changing tragedy. My nephew, Ethan, was 2.5 years old at the time. My sister and her husband were living with his parents at their home in Northwest Dallas. That house had a pool in the backyard. The pool had a gate around all sides. There was no way into the backyard except going through a couple sets of doors. It seemed like it was a safe situation, even with a toddler in the house.
On the night of July 13, 2011, I got a phone call from my sister saying that Ethan was dead. She was hysterical and I was half asleep and the whole thing was horrific. She told me that both Ethan and his grandfather, Rolando, had been out in the backyard and somehow fallen into the pool. My sister and her husband pulled them out of the water and did CPR, but it was unsuccessful. We lost both Ethan and Rolando .that day. Ethan was under the supervision of his grandpa, yet somehow he’s still gone. To say that Ethan was my reason for living is an understatement. Losing him was hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with. My heart was broken and I had no idea what I was supposed to do from there. I knew that I wanted to eventually do something to honor his memory, but I had no clue where to start. My sister and her husband moved to Maui to start over after the accident. They were there for 3.5 years and, during that time, my sister got pregnant with my nephew, Jake.
They moved back to Dallas on November 2, 2016, and I fell in love with that child. He was such a light in my life and I wanted to do my part to make sure that he would grow up feeling happy, loved, and safe. In June 2017 my sister enrolled Jake in ISR Self-Rescue lessons in Lake Highlands. I took him to his lesson every day and I got to witness his skills and confidence in the water grow. I was in awe of the things he learned and, at that point, I decided that I, too, wanted to teach aquatic survival skills. I applied to become a Student Instructor and posted about it on Facebook. A member of Kiddnation then set up a GoFundMe account to help cover the cost of my certification. We really do have the best, most supportive listeners ever. They donated several thousand dollars to help with my tuition and in August 2017 I started my journey as an ISR Instructor.
The people at ISR take this stuff seriously. They aren’t willing to just give someone a certificate of certification just because they showed up every day. The training is intense. It’s at least 60 hours in the water with your Instructor doing lessons. It’s video reviews, academics, assessments, and hours of studying. It’s truly like a full-time job at times. My Master Instructor, Tanya Carew, was honestly the best in this business. I feel like she is the reason that I am now confident taking on kids between 6 months and 6 years of age and teaching them how to save themselves in the water.
Now I’m lucky enough to continue working with the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show early in the day and I teach at the Burleson BRiCk in the evening. I’m passionate about both and it’s so nice to feel like I’ve done something with my life when I lay down for bed at night.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’m very lucky as far as my radio career goes. I’ve worked for one show and lived in DFW my whole life. Most people start in a small market and then get hired and fired while they move around the country. I’ve worked hard to achieve this, though. Morning radio makes living an adult life pretty hard at times, but it’s worth it.
I can’t help but think back to July 2013 when Kidd suddenly passed away at a Kidd’s Kids fundraiser in New Orleans. The tournament was the weekend before my sister was moving to Maui, so I opted to stay back so I could hang out with her. My birthday is a few days before that, so I remember celebrating my birthday when I got a call from Kellie and a text from Big Al. They both told me to call Kellie back, so I did. She asked me where I was and if I was sitting down. Then she told me that Kidd died earlier in the day. She told me that he had no pain in his passing and tried to console me as I lost it on the phone. In one phone call, my life was again turned upside down.
It still seems selfish to admit this, but after the shock of losing this man who was like a 2nd father to be set in, I started to panic about the future of the show. What happens to a nationally syndicated radio show when the host… the guy it’s named after… dies?
I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t terrifying over the next few days. There are contracts and so many details that were totally out of our hands. This show was all I had known. What would I do if we got canceled on KISS FM in Dallas? What would we do if our affiliates weren’t willing to give us a shot at doing things without Kidd?
Our CEO, George Laughlin, went to bat for us. He got the show a 30-day extension on a contract that had just become void. We had 30 days to prove that we could continue to carry this show with such a massive audience. I had been at it for 14 years at that point and all of the sudden my future would come down to the next 30 days.
I cannot say enough about the other members of the show. It was hard to grieve such a loss when we also felt an insane amount of pressure to succeed without our leader pressure and sort-of an obligation to somehow comfort the millions of people who listened to the show. We did it, though, and things are still going very well. We are still syndicated in 75 cities, with KHKS in Dallas being our flagship station.
I probably shouldn’t take too much credit for this, though, because in October 2013 I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to have brain surgery to remove it. I lucked out in that it was benign, but the recovery took several months. That time is still such a blur to me, but I’m so grateful that we have so much love for each other and so much love and support from our listeners.
Fast forward to my becoming an ISR Instructor. In all honesty, I probably would not have done my certification had we not lost Ethan and his grandpa. I think I was naive enough to count on the gate, locked doors, and constant supervision around the pool to not even consider anyone drowning. Then it happened and this is truly the only way I know to turn a tragedy into something positive.
I’ll never forget seeing Ethan on that hospital table. I’ll never forget kissing his face and feeling his cold skin against my lips. I’ll never forget that feeling of being completely lost with no clue of what to do or where to go next, but I can hopefully help ensure that other families never know such pain.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m very proud of the things I’ve accomplished in my life. No other show in the history of radio has faced the circumstances we did when Kidd passed. It was literally a day-by-day operation and we somehow made it work. I will always be proud of that and for helping keep this show the best there is.
I’m also proud of my journey in ISR. It truly is a one of a kind program with phenomenal results. We teach children between 6 months and 6 years of age the skills they need to survive in an aquatic emergency. I don’t teach kids how to do a freestyle swim or get them ready for competitions and meets. I simply teach them the skills that they need to become competent and confident in the water. I teach little ones how to roll onto their back and float until help arrives. I teach bigger kids how to swim-float-swim to safety.
The techniques used in ISR lessons are unlike any I’ve seen in other programs. Lessons are five days a week, but they’re only about 10-minutes a day. We keep them short because the temperature of the water is less than a child’s body temperature, so they get cold within that time. Temperature fatigue leads to physical fatigue which isn’t safe in the water.
ISR Instructors are taught to take a student’s skills and build on them. That way we set them up for success in every lesson. We use muscle memory and positive reinforcement to ensure that the skills each student learn in the water stick with them. Retention of skills is incredibly high and the survival rate of students who have had an aquatic emergency after lessons is 100%. I don’t know of too many things in life that have such a high success rate and I’m so proud to be a part of the ISR mission- “Not one more child drowns.”
I guess you could say the results speak for themselves in setting ISR Self-Rescue® apart from the rest.
What were you like growing up?
I’m the middle of three girls. My older sister, Mandy, is 6 years older than me. My younger sister, Samantha, was born 4 years and one day after me. My birthday is July 16 and hers is July 17. I think I always resented her a little bit for stealing my birthday spotlight. And she was cute with her curly hair and olive complexion, so I think I was jealous.
I have always been shy in personal settings. I can dance in a bikini in front of a group of guys at a frat meeting with no problem, but I probably couldn’t carry on a deep, personal conversation with any of them. I love to be the center of attention as long as I can make people laugh. I’ve always been awkward and pretty introverted.
To be honest with you my memory has been pretty awful since I had brain surgery. I used to have an annoyingly great memory, but I don’t anymore. I remember things that I did a lot, like playing football with my boyfriend down the street.
I was an overachiever in high school, but I was also (and still am) a huge nerd. I was on the speech and debate team all 4 years of high school. I would wake up crazy early on weekends to go and do debate tournaments. I tried to do interpretation events, but I sucked. I was too shy for it. I was a member of the NHS, Student Senate, Student Body Secretary, and I even joined the Asian Club. (FYI- I’m not Asian).
I’ve always been passionate about music. I love it. I love finding new artists and songs. I’ve always loved shows about teenagers. Even now that I’m no longer a teenager. Beverly Hills 90210, The O.C., Saved By the Bell, Pretty Little Liars, Everything Sucks- the list could go on for days.
I think overall, though, I’ve been most passionate about stepping outside of my comfort zone to do things that the young me never thought she would achieve.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ISRBaby.com
- Email: Shanon.Murphy@InfantSwim.com
- Instagram: @ISRNTX
- Facebook: @ISRNTX
- Twitter: @PsychoShanon
- Other: www.KiddNation.com
Image Credit:
Randy Peterson
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