Lea: Johnston County native Shane Helms the first guest on 'Culture State'

By Chris Lea, WRAL-TV sports anchor/reporter

One of the many reasons I was attracted to taking this job at WRAL was the company's desire to grow their podcasting network. As a former independent podcaster and someone who worked professionally in radio for over 12 years, I'd been itching to raise my hand and contribute content.

A few weeks after I started working at WRAL on March 4th, 2020, Dennis Cox went from a part-time to a full-time position at 99.9 The Fan. Because of COVID-19, we never met each other in person until 2021, but we quickly formed a relationship based on our mutual admiration for professional wrestling. We both wanted to do a podcast, but not necessarily one surrounding only pro wrestling, but we didn't want to ignore wrestling.

Then we got it.

We decided to celebrate the state of North Carolina. Over the summer of 2020, while only being able to talk on the phone or text, Dennis and I came up with the concept of "Culture State", our new podcast that just debuted on the Capitol Broadcasting Company Podcast Network. We realized that this state had deep influences in sports, pop culture and in pro wrestling and we both wanted to create a platform to explore those influences and allow those key contributors to tell their stories.

As we made a list of people we wanted to interview, Shane Helms came to mind immediately. He's someone I watched and admired growing up because, like me, he's from North Carolina. His innovative, fast-paced style was attractive to me at a young age. The icing on the cake was that we often shared a locker room when I was a pro wrestler from 2012-16. Being able to share a locker room and get sage advice from a former WWE Superstar was invaluable to me. Helms was the perfect person to interview for the debut of the podcast.

The tough part about this process was the wait for Dennis and I. We started recording full episodes in September, but with the 2020 election coming, it was put off for months, all while we continued to book guests and record episodes because Dennis and I believe in this show so much.

Now that the podcast is live, you will hear from platinum rapper Petey Pablo (Greenville, NC native), former NBA All-Star Josh Howard (Winston-Salem, NC native), radio host & comedian B-Daht (Greensboro, NC native), Capital City Go-Go General Manager Amber Nichols (Raleigh, NC native) and so many more. These are all success stories in sports and pop culture that all have their beginnings here in this state.

Whether you're from North Carolina or just call it home, superstars are being made everyday in our neighborhoods, schools, gyms and studios. These success stories will instill pride in being from or in this state. In a time where so many are divided, North Carolina can be an example of community and togetherness. That's what "Culture State" is all about. I hope you'll listen, subscribe and give us 5-stars!