Happy Wednesday,
Cullen Honohan (the guy behind All Hail B-Ball) has filmed with future lottery picks, partnered with Reese's and Richard Jefferson, and built a storytelling style that top athletes now seek out on their own.
However, what I find most interesting about Cullen is the fact that he did it the hard way:
Teaching himself Photoshop in high school
Cold-DMing local sports leagues for freelance work
Posting videos at midnight after full days at a sports agency
This week, Jake and I sat down with Cullen to get into all of it. His creative process, how he thinks about series content, what it actually means to escape the algorithm, and where he's taking things in 2026.
Case Study
How He Got Here
Cullen's path wasn't linear. Here's the quick version:
High school: Wanted a commitment edit made during his football recruitment, but he couldn't afford one, so he taught himself Photoshop instead.
College (freshman year): Started cold-DMing local sports leagues, high schools, and small brands for freelance work through Fiverr and Instagram spam and made enough to go out on weekends.
College (junior year): Took a graphic design internship at a startup sports app. Started recording himself making graphics and posting to TikTok, then immediately took the videos down because he hated them.
Senior year: Committed to posting one video per day, but he didn’t know Premiere yet, so each one took hours.
Post-college: Landed a director of content job at a Pittsburgh sports agency. His main client was Damar Hamlin. When Hamlin's cardiac arrest happened on live TV, it was Cullen and one other person handling everything in real time.
Going full-time: After full days at the agency, he'd come home and make his own video from 10 PM to midnight every day until the page was big enough to go out on his own.
The Big Idea: Escape the Algorithm Before It Controls You
This is the thing we kept coming back to after our conversation.
When your rent depends on your TikTok performance, you stop taking risks. You make the same video over and over because you're scared of a bad week. The creativity shuts down completely.
Cullen's definition of escaping the algorithm: Get income from somewhere else:
Brand partnerships
Consulting
Yearly flat-rate deals
So that a bad stretch of views doesn't control your decisions.
He didn't go full-time until he had locked in a few recurring partnerships that paid the same rate no matter how the videos performed. That floor is what freed him up creatively.
I think about this a lot as it relates to my own content. The algorithm is highly addictive, and we talk plenty about how addictive it is from a consumer standpoint. But we don't talk nearly enough about how controlling it is from a creator standpoint.
5 Tactical Takeaways
1. Build a financial floor before you go full-time. Cullen didn't quit until he had recurring brand deals that paid flat rates regardless of performance. The goal isn't to be algorithm-proof; it's to not be algorithm-dependent.
2. Make your story impossible to tell without you. Anyone can show up at Tennessee's campus and shoot a tour. Cullen showed up with a mission: convert his videographer, a die-hard Missouri fan, into a Tennessee Vol. The angle is what makes it his, and every video needs some version of that.
3. People have to know, like, and trust you. I teased this in my latest LinkedIn post, but eliciting each emotion requires a different kind of content.
Want people to know you? → Viral content
Want people to like you? → Authentic content
Want people to trust you? → Lifestyle + value content
Click the links above for great examples of each content type from Cullen.
4. Build a series, not just videos. Cullen's 3-part test for whether a series idea is worth pursuing:
Can I wake up and make a part? (If it's too hard to replicate, it dies)
Is each episode entertaining on its own? (A new viewer should get it immediately)
Is there a big overarching goal that requires multiple steps to reach? (The audience needs something to follow)
If it doesn't pass all three, he doesn't do it.
5. Watch content with intent, especially outside your genre. Cullen's nightly routine:
Save 5 videos from completely different niches (gaming, cooking, fitness, tech — never sports)
The next morning, watch each one and write down 5 things it did well
Pick one thing to apply to your own next video
Walk away with 5 new ideas in the bank
He deliberately avoids studying sports creators. He doesn't want to copy what's already being done in his lane.
If your wellbeing is tied to the algorithm, you're going to be stressed all the time. And then your creativity just goes splat.
Why It Matters
The thing that stood out most to me (I said this to Jake after we wrapped) is that Cullen has a radical self-belief that exists completely outside of what the numbers say.
Here's what that actually looks like in practice:
He's been actively subsidizing his YouTube channel for over a year
He just broke even for the first time last month
His girlfriend isn't thrilled about the spending
He could not care less
I've heard the advice that you have to be willing to make content for years without the promise of money. I always push back on it a little because I think it's hyperbole. But Cullen is the walking proof that it's also just true. After talking to him, I’m convinced he’d be ok not making a single cent from content for a decade.
📩 And don’t forget: Bottom of the Ninth is back this Friday with the top three stories in sports and business from the week.
See you then,
Tyler & Jake