For someone who hasn’t yet turned 30, Mike Gunz has made more of himself than one might think. He’s a regular on ESPN New York, “Imus in the Morning,” Fox News, MTV and Fuse, as well as a smattering of other radio station productions. Most impressively, he’s the host of his own radio show, The Gunz Show, which airs out of Madison Square Garden twice a week. Gunz started the show way back when he was attending Fordham University as a double major in broadcast journalism and political science. WSN spoke with Gunz about his radio persona and how his college experience prepared him for this profession.

WSN:  What experiences at Fordham do you think most prepared you for your career after graduating?

Mike Gunz: A lot of my friends now are in pretty big bands, and I’m not trying to sound like an asshole or cocky or whatever, but a lot of people are in like, big time bands like All Time Low or Cobra Starship or Fall Out Boy. Like, those are the bands that I grew up being friends with. So if anything, what I’ve learned about after college is that – I don’t want to use the word “mature,” but it’s like, you can always party, but I want to make this into a career. So I guess that’s what I learned the most. I went through my mistakes in high school and college. Not mistakes, but I was always — I learned the ropes younger rather than older, I guess.

WSN: What’s it like being one of the youngest correspondents at idobi and Fox?

MG: Awesome. I use the word “ballin’” a lot on my show. I love going to work every day. The Gunz Show started at Fordham. I wrote the idobi program director and I go, “Hey. My name’s Gunz, I’d love to be in your stream, I’m really close to my own broadcast, can I help out in any way?” Tom Cheny, the idobi program director and my boss, he goes, “Oh Gunz, of course I know who you are!” He goes, “I’ll give you a chance. This Sunday, 8 – 9 p.m., we’ll test you out…” The beginning was definitely rough, like, it was bad. But it went from one hour on Sundays, to getting better equipment, to two hours, and then three hours, and now doing twice a week… So it’s unbelievable. It’s literally a dream come true and I’ve worked my butt off for it, and I think that’s the greatest thing.

WSN: So you’ve got a really distinct character on air — you’ve got the whole “baller” thing going. Do you think you had to earn the right to be that “baller,” or was it your persona that helped you get this far?

MG: I think my persona separates me from anybody else out there, but it’s my drive and passion and perseverance… My big thing has always been credibility. Like, I read four newspapers a day. I try to learn as much as I can, all different viewpoints and everything. Someone can be like “Oh, he’s the funny one, he’s awesome,” but guess what, I play great music, and for the people that actually know me, it’s one of the best feelings in the world to have them say, “Wow, dude, you’re actually really driven.”

WSN: What role do you think the fans have in the [music] industry right now?

MG: The fans will ultimately win in the end. It’s so fickle, and people can change their opinions so much. They’ll turn on you in a second. That’s why I tell my friends that are in bands, “Don’t get too comfortable with anything.” You can sell out a huge venue and then in three months come back and you’ll have 250 people there.  

The Gunz Show broadcasts live every Sunday and Wednesday evening from 9 p.m. to midnight at http://ido.bi/player.

Email Hailey Nuthals at [email protected].