After talking with Marty Lenz for about an hour, I don’t know if Halloween is his favorite holiday. I’m not even sure if Halloween is his favorite movie.
“I interviewed Jamie Lee Curtis when she was promoting her podcast, Letters from Camp,” Lenz said.
“You would think the daughter of Hollywood royalty Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh would be talking about Hollywood things. I liked her because she was willing to show her insecurities.”
Lenz said Curtis is still lovely.
“People only see the star. We were talking about Letters from Camp, and I asked her about things that matter to her and she answered candidly. I was blown away.”
Lenz said in his experience, there are times in an interview when the conversation goes places he never imagined.
“I have a great producer. We’ll have some questions in preparation in case I get stuck. I do like to approach my interviews generically, see where they go.”
He said smart people know the questions that are coming. Curtis knew the Halloween questions were coming. But Lenz said he likes to disarm his guests by asking them questions they may not have been expecting. Something apart from what they do for a living. He eventually got around to what Curtis is best known for.
“Turns out she was glad I asked about the movie. I had to know how she felt about the iconic character.”
Lenz said his all-time favorite interview was with Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, among other musical incarnations.
“We were having a lovely conversation about his background in Missouri, the art of music, the Doobie Brothers, working with Kenny Loggins. He got caught up in it and enjoyed the conversation. His PR person interrupted on the phone and told him it was time to stop. McDonald told the PR person ‘no’, he was having a good time.”
His father was a pharmaceutical salesman and taught Lenz an appreciation for many things, including respecting women.
“He empowered my sisters,” Lenz explained. “This is what was great about my late father. He told his girls they could do anything a guy can do. I learned from my sisters how to treat women. My sisters would say, ‘don’t ever treat a girl this way, or that way.’ We talked about sexual harassment in the workplace. I knew at an early age what is and is not appropriate and respectful in the workplace, and beyond.”
Born in Pennsylvania, his family were die-hard Steeler fans.
“My dad was friends with Art Rooney Jr. They went to school together at St. Vincent’s, a small college. When the Steelers had training camp, we’d always head out there. When St. Vincent had reunions, we’d go down there too. Those are the days with Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swan.” Lenz said whenever the Steelers came to Denver, they’d get tickets to old Mile High Stadium and cheer on the Steelers.
Lenz was also a Pirate fan as the Rockies hadn’t been formed yet.
“When I was a freshman at Colorado State, I was a long-suffering Boston Red Sox fan. We were watching the 1986 World Series game in our football dorm. I was literally crying when the ball went through Buckner’s legs in 1986 for the Mets and Red Sox World Series game.”
He should know “there’s no crying in baseball”.
In his job, Lenz uses his charm and personality as co-anchor and co-host of Colorado’s Morning News on KOA Radio 850AM/94.1FM in Denver. He has been with KOA Since 2018.
Lenz is a 1986 graduate of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and received his B.A. in 1990 from the Speech Communication/Broadcasting department at Colorado State University where he played wide receiver for the Rams from 1986-1990.
Few of us know what it feels like to get hit over the middle when catching a pass. My body hurts just to think about it.
“Surprisingly, it has little to do with the size of the defensive back,” Lenz explained. “It’s more of the angle they get on you, where they’re coming from.”
Ron Cortell was a free safety at Colorado State, and Lenz said you’d never see him coming.
“He’d be looking at the sky on his way in and hit your right in the middle of your chest. He was a great tactical hitter and could elevate his body.”
When you’re in that position, you have to gauge where the pressure is coming from. When you get extended, your arms up in the air, that’s when you’re most vulnerable.
Fortunately for Lenz, he has a high threshold for pain.
“I could take a certain amount of punishment. Toughness is being able to take abuse and get it up. I did have a high level of tolerance.”
He grew up appreciating some of the old-time players, those that played for the love of the game rather than for huge dollars. Not that they had a choice. Players like Mike Curtis with the Baltimore Colts, or Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dick Butkus of the Bears.
“They didn’t know the threats and risks the game posed, as we do today. Players earned peanuts and the game was all they know. It was physical for them and that was part of the appeal, the machismo thing to show they were meaner than you were.”
We’ve evolved. The game has evolved. “I have a real reverence for a lot of those guys,” Lenz said.
Quarterbacks took a ton of punishment, receivers were pummeled downfield.
“My idols were Lynn Swan and John Stallworth. They played in an era when the ‘chuck rule’ didn’t exist and didn’t get the cushion and rules of today’s wide receivers get.”
Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw didn’t have the best statistics, about 50 percent in completions. Lenz said he accomplished those completions while getting his brains knocked out every other snap. It was difficult to concentrate on accuracy because he had maniacs on the Raiders coming across the line, intent on putting him in a coma.
Lenz said his participation in football has helped him develop a strong work ethic and understanding.
“You learn to work with diverse thought, people of different backgrounds,” Lenz explained. “You realize you have people around you. Colorado State was a great school. I learned as much on the football field as I did in the classroom.”
Lenz said as a player, you learn quickly that every player on the team has immense talent, not just you.
“Then you see kids brought in from Texas and California, some real talent and it gives you some perspective. It’s about earning your spot, not where you’ve been or what you did. All those lessons add up. Some days you have to grind and do the best you can. It’s cliche, but every day you either get worse or better.”
Lenz loved football, and radio. He became interested in radio when he was in the 8th grade.
“I wanted to be one of those crazy FM jocks,” he explained. “I was a music nerd. One of those guys who walked around with a Walkman in the 80s.”
After doing the crazy jock thing for 10 years, the industry started to change. There were fewer jobs.
Lenz began looking for something more intellectual. His approach on the radio has been the philosophy of award-winning talker Christoper Gabriel; discourse, not discord.
“You need good conversation to advance dialogue to evolve. You don’t need to beat people over the head. It’s not a great idea to spend too much time talking to politicians. They’re intractable. I always try to find how I can cover old ground in a new way. I’m naturally curious. I advocate for my listeners. What would they ask, what would they want to know.”
As an example, a recent guest on Lenz’s show was a military guy, a tactical specialist.
“I asked him what it was like killing a terrorist, how you go through with something like that.”
There is no way for us citizens to even comprehend that kind of assignment, and Lenz wasn’t afraid to ask the question.
“He was a Lieutenant Colonel, and I just wanted to get his response on a visceral level. His emotions about something so emotional. Or if emotions even entered the equation.”
Since he attended Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Lenz said people are always interested in his thought on Columbine and the Aurora shooting.
“My coverage on those types of coverage on horrific tragedies is similar to other coverage. At the same time, I try to figure out the mistakes we’ve made in society, figure out what we’ve learned, and whether the gun issue is really mental health issue.”
He’s not trying to win any converts to the way he thinks, it’s not going to happen. Lenz said he’s not an expert on guns or why people go on a rampage.
He leaves that to people who are more knowledgeable.
“When something like Uvalde happens, I bring in Frank DeAngelis, who was the principal at Columbine. He’s my old coach. He has a particular understanding. He’s somebody people seek out. I try to seek out people who bridge for solutions.”
In many situations, Lenz said he avoids bringing in politicians to weigh in on extremely sensitive topics like Uvalde or Columbine.
“They’re only interested in building their brand,” Lenz said. “That permeates a lot of our leadership roles. People have a disconnect with Congress. On the one hand they hate Congress, but love their Congressman.”
He loves his job on KOA, and the people he works with. But there are some fundamental divides.
“Where I work, I’m dealing with residue of having Rush Limbaugh (and some conservative talk) that plays ‘footsie’ with some that deny or refuse to acknowledge ‘easily and readily accessible observational reality’. It makes my job a little harder. ”
Lenz believes if you turn out to be wrong on a topic, own it.
“Many times in interviews, I’m not an expert. I’m asking questions based on what I understand. If I’m wrong, tell me if I’m wrong. I don’t know what I don’t’ know. And I’m okay with that.”
If more people admitted when they were wrong, like Marty Lenz isn’t afraid to do, we’d be in a better place.
Jim Cryns writes features for Barrett News Media. He has spent time in radio as a reporter for WTMJ, and has served as an author and former writer for the Milwaukee Brewers. To touch base or pick up a copy of his new book: Talk To Me – Profiles on News Talkers and Media Leaders From Top 50 Markets, log on to Amazon or shoot Jim an email at jimcryns3_zhd@indeedemail.com.
