# Ian's Farwell! I am leaving the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast!

**Source:** Poor Man's Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2021-08-17  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://poormanspinballpodcast.libsyn.com/ians-farwell-i-am-leaving-the-poor-mans-pinball-podcast

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## Analysis

Jon announces his departure from the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast after approximately 1.5–2 years as co-host. He cites time constraints from career changes, family obligations (wife Laura and daughter Vera), and loss of creative satisfaction as reasons for leaving. He emphasizes his friendship with co-host Drew and expresses confidence in Drew's ability to continue the show in some form.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jon switched career positions at the beginning of the year, making his schedule much busier and reducing time for podcast prep and creative segments. — _Jon's personal account of his career change and its impact on his availability_
- [HIGH] When the podcast started, there were fewer pinball podcasts in the market; now the market is saturated with shows including This Week in Pinball, Slam Tilt, Kaneda's, Head to Head, Free Play Pinball, and others. — _Jon's comparison of the podcast landscape then vs. now_
- [HIGH] Poor Man's Pinball Podcast originally differentiated itself with creative segments like 'love letters' and a 'goofy silly' format, but as the show evolved it shifted toward news coverage, which Jon felt other podcasts did better. — _Jon's description of the show's creative identity and evolution_
- [HIGH] Jon informed Drew at the beginning of the year that he would leave by end of year, but made it only until August before departing due to exhaustion and dissatisfaction with the show's direction. — _Jon's timeline: 'I gave Drew until the end of the year... I made it to August and I'm spent.'_
- [MEDIUM] Drew has taken on a new career role and is also swamped with work, limiting his ability to produce the creative content the show was originally known for. — _Jon mentions 'Drew started a new career and he's super busy'_
- [HIGH] Jon does not plan to be a regular co-host going forward but may make occasional guest appearances on the show. — _Jon's explicit statement: 'I'm not going to be a part of it moving forward... I'm not saying I'll never be on the show. Maybe I'll be a guest appearance every once in a while.'_
- [HIGH] The future format and structure of Poor Man's Pinball Podcast is unknown; Jon does not know if Drew will continue solo, seek a new co-host, or remain on the same platform (Twitch). — _Jon's repeated statements about uncertainty regarding the show's future_

### Notable Quotes

> "No, Drew and I are still best friends. We're still hetero life partners. I love you, Drew, if you're listening."
> — **Jon**, Early in episode
> _Establishes the personal relationship is intact despite the professional departure; sets emotional tone_

> "I stayed on longer because of Drew. I love the man to death, and I feel like I'm really letting him down here. But at the end of the day, I got to do what's right for me and my family."
> — **Jon**, Early segment
> _Core tension: personal affection vs. need to prioritize life commitments; explains departure rationale_

> "When we started this podcast, I was in a car. I was driving all the time and in the world to listen to other podcasts. In between my customer visits, I was able to jot down cool little ideas that I had for the show."
> — **Jon**, Mid-episode
> _Explains original conditions that enabled creative contribution; contrasts with new career constraints_

> "I'm a big softie when it comes to those two [wife and daughter]. I don't think about pinball as much as I think about playing with my daughter and her Barbie dream house and playing Paw Patrol with her."
> — **Jon**, Mid-episode
> _Personal priority shift; explains reduced engagement with pinball hobby itself_

> "I would only do it if there was something that we could do a little differently... I found a little sliver, a little sliver that I thought would be a killer show and it was gonna be kind of a goofy silly show where we drink, we swear, we talk shit, we have a good time."
> — **Jon**, Mid-episode
> _Describes the original creative vision and differentiation strategy for the show_

> "Fucking nobody had love letters, right? And... we became kind of a podcast for the people and I loved it. I loved it man."
> — **Jon**, Mid-episode
> _Identifies the signature segment that defined the show's identity and Jon's personal investment_

> "I'm only interested in it if we can be as outrageous and silly as possible... I just wasn't happy with our product. Not to say it was bad, but I just, I wasn't happy with our product."
> — **Jon**, Late mid-episode
> _Core reason for departure: creative dissatisfaction despite acknowledging the show is not bad_

> "He's so passionate about pinball. And his free time is dedicated to pinball. And he loves playing pinball. And he tries to play pinball every single day. And you just can't beat that kind of energy that Drew brings to the table."
> — **Jon**, Near end
> _Endorsement of Drew's capabilities and passion to lead the show forward_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jon | person | Co-host of Poor Man's Pinball Podcast, departing the show after ~1.5-2 years due to time constraints and family priorities |
| Drew | person | Co-host/founder of Poor Man's Pinball Podcast, remaining with the show; described as passionate, heavily involved in pinball community, plays daily |
| Laura | person | Jon's wife; supporter of the podcast and Jon's creative endeavors |
| Vera | person | Jon's three-year-old daughter; primary family commitment affecting Jon's time availability |
| Poor Man's Pinball Podcast | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Jon and Drew; known for creative, irreverent segments like 'love letters'; future direction uncertain |
| Tee'd Off Pinball Pursuit | organization | Show branding used for this episode; appears to be same show as Poor Man's Pinball Podcast |
| Zach Sharpe Meny | person | Host of This Week in Pinball; praised by Jon for excellent news coverage |
| Slam Tilt | organization | Pinball podcast noted for having 'really really strong opinions'; hosts Bruce Nightingale and Ron |
| Jason Fowler | person | Pinball personality on Slam Tilt; described by Jon as someone he respects immensely |
| Kaneda's Pinball Podcast | organization | Pinball podcast covering rumors and business side of pinball; host maintains strong fan/detractor split; host is Chris |
| Head to Head | organization | Pinball podcast known for weekly interviews with pinball personalities; hosts include Ryan Kuiper |
| Ryan Kuiper | person | Co-host of Head to Head Pinball podcast; met Jon and Drew early in their podcast journey |
| Free Play Pinball Podcast | organization | Polished pinball podcast; hosts Amanda Hamilton and John Craig; praised for tight, concise format and professional production |
| Amanda Hamilton | person | Co-host of Free Play Pinball Podcast; praised by Jon for professional, polished show quality |
| John Craig | person | Co-host of Free Play Pinball Podcast; praised by Jon for professional, polished show quality |
| Orby | person | Prolific podcaster and content creator; released almost daily content; described by Jon as lovable, theatrical (compared to Theater of Magic), influential in the community |
| Nate Shivers | person | Pinball podcaster who was winding down when Poor Man's Pinball started |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Podcast departure and reasons, Work-life balance and time management in content creation, Creative vision and show format evolution
- **Secondary:** Pinball podcast landscape and market saturation, Family priorities and personal growth, Community and listener relationships, Future of Poor Man's Pinball Podcast

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Bittersweet tone: Jon expresses genuine love for the show, Drew, and the community, but also clear frustration with time constraints and creative direction. The departure is amicable but emotionally taxing. Jon is reflective and grateful, not angry or dismissive. However, underlying dissatisfaction with the show's recent direction and his own inability to contribute creatively pulls the sentiment negative.

### Signals

- **[personnel_signal]** Jon departs Poor Man's Pinball Podcast after ~1.5-2 years as co-host, citing time constraints from career change and family obligations. (confidence: high) — Jon's explicit announcement and detailed explanation of reasons for leaving
- **[content_signal]** Poor Man's Pinball Podcast transitioned from creative, irreverent format (love letters, goofy segments) toward news-focused show, losing creative differentiation Jon valued. (confidence: high) — Jon's detailed account of format shift and creative dissatisfaction: 'as the show progressed... we just kind of ditched that format... I wasn't happy with our product'
- **[market_signal]** Pinball podcast market has expanded significantly since Poor Man's Pinball launch; now includes This Week in Pinball, Slam Tilt, Kaneda's, Head to Head, Free Play, and others, each with distinct niches. (confidence: high) — Jon's comparison: 'when we started this, there wasn't a ton of pinball podcasts. Not like there is now' followed by detailed list of competing shows
- **[community_signal]** Pinball podcast community is interconnected and collaborative; shows have distinct identities (news, interviews, entertainment, business analysis); mutual respect among creators. (confidence: high) — Jon's detailed praise and recognition of other podcasts' strengths and niches; personal relationships with hosts (Ryan Kuiper, etc.)
- **[operational_signal]** Producing a pinball podcast with regular creative segments requires significant time and effort; creative segments like 'love letters' became unsustainable even for dedicated co-hosts. (confidence: high) — Jon: 'it's a bitch of a time suck... I'm not one to... do things half-assed... the podcast like I said, was a great creative outlet for Drew and I... but the timing and everything... it's just too much guys'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Despite amicable departure, Jon's dissatisfaction with recent show direction reflects tension between creative ambition and sustainable production; his departure signals potential challenges for volunteer-run community shows. (confidence: medium) — Jon's repeated emphasis on creative dissatisfaction despite acknowledging the show is not bad: 'I'm only interested in it if we can be as outrageous and silly as possible'
- **[industry_signal]** Pinball podcast field has matured; newer shows face difficulty differentiating; established shows (This Week in Pinball, Kaneda's) dominate news/commentary; niche shows (Head to Head interviews) establish strong identities. (confidence: medium) — Jon's analysis: 'almost all the other podcasts do news better... Orby and Kaneda's Pinball Podcast were on it the day of... This Week in Pinball usually gets it just before... we're almost like a week behind'
- **[business_signal]** Both Jon and Drew experienced career changes/new roles increasing work demands, reducing available time and energy for podcast production; signals broader sustainability challenges for volunteer-run media. (confidence: high) — Jon: 'I switched a couple positions with my career and it's a lot more hectic... Drew started a new career and he's super busy and it's just, it's just too much guys'

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## Transcript

 Hey everybody, welcome to the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast. Little mini episode here. If you clicked on the title, you already know what I'm going to talk about today. And that is, I am leaving the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast. I know, I know, it's sad, it's sad. I get it man, I get it. I just want everyone to kind of know that there's probably going to be a lot of questions out there. Maybe I can answer a few of those here in this little mini podcast. but no, Drew and I are still best friends. We're still hetero life partners. I love you, Drew, if you're listening. And Eric, I love you too, buddy. But it's time for me to move on. Now, I didn't leave because of Drew. In fact, I stayed on longer because of Drew. I love the man to death, and I feel like I'm really letting him down here. But at the end of the day, I got to do what's right for me and my family. family. And yes, if you create media content, you know that it is a bitch of a time suck. And I'm not one to, oh, I don't know, do things half-assed. And even though it's a sloppy show, we kind of pride ourselves on at least coming up with a really, really strong game plan every single week. Now, personally, I switched a couple positions with my career and it's a lot more hectic. It's a lot more fast paced. Before when we started this podcast, I was in a car. I got all the time in the world to listen to other podcasts. In between my customer visits, I was able to jot down cool little ideas that I had for the show. It was very exciting. It was a great way for me to express myself creatively creativity creatively creatively anyway so excuse me um so yeah that's kind of what happened was you know i i got this new gig and i am swamped real life settling in kids it's not fun if you are trying to go and be an adult don't do it adulting's tough It's tough. And then I have my three-year-old daughter and my wife, two of the most precious women in my life right now. I adore them so much that it's hard to think about anything other than those two. Believe it or not, I'm a big softie when it comes to those two. I don't think about pinball as much as I think about playing with my daughter in her Barbie dream house and playing Paw Patrol with her. And we got dance classes now. And we have swim classes, hopefully, in the near future here. So there's a lot going on in my life. And then when I'm done playing with my daughter and I put her to sleep, I want to hang out with my wife. I do. I love her. I love her to death. And she's been such a big supporter of this channel and of me personally. And, you know, I'm just happy. I'm happy to have two wonderful women in my life. And when we go to bed, we go to bed. I don't play as much pinball as I used to. I just don't have the time. And that all comes down and boils down to this problem I have doing the podcast. Now, the podcast, like I said, was a great creative outlet for Drew and I. We loved it. I loved having fun with it. Now, you've got to remember, when we started this, there wasn't a ton of pinball podcasts. Not like there is now. You know Nate Shivers was actually kind of winding down a bit there You had Zach over at This Week in Pinball doing the news and doing a fucking killer job doing the news You had Slapsave guys that had really really strong opinions Jason Fowler, someone I respect immensely, and I loved all of his takes usually. And you had Kaneda, and Kaneda was the same old Kaneda. So if you love him, you love him. You hate him, you hate him. But he's doing his rumors, and the business side of things. It's always super entertaining and interesting. And Chris and I are friends, and I really, really like what he does there on his channel. And then we had other ones. Head to Head was killing it with interviews. You guys remember that year where they had an interview every week with a pinball personality? Like, it was insane. So that was insane just to see how many people they got on. And it was such a feat for a couple of guys doing this for fun. It was always impressive. And then Special Win Lit and Orby and all these other wonderful shows. They all had these really great little niches in our market. Special Win Lit, they did a very polished show. It was kind of like they did a little bit of everything. They had some fun games. They had some news. But it was a very tight, concise, amazing package. And I was always so jealous of Ken and Bill for being able to put out such an amazing product. So polished. And like their first episode was not like, it wasn't awkward at all. It was perfect. And I was like, you guys, I got so jealous of those two. Man, they did a great job. Anyway, and then, you know, Orby, right? There's so much to say about Orby. Orby was kicking ass. He was doing a podcast almost every day. And it was like a stream of consciousness. but it was like, he's kind of like Tom Jim Hanks where he's just lovable and you can't, you can't hate that guy at all. It's impossible. And you just, I hung on every word that Orby was saying. I loved listening to Orby. So when Drew approached me and said, Hey man, you want to do a podcast? I said, yeah, I guess so. But you know, I had, I had problems, you know, one, I didn't know where we would fit in, in that, in that mold. I felt like everybody had a really, really good, strong show. I would only do it if there was something that we could do a little differently. And the second thing is we were new to pinball. We didn't know fucking anybody. So, you know, when we met Ryan Kuiper over at TurboGrafx-7, that was a big thing. So, Ryan, we appreciate you. I appreciate you. Thank you so much, sir. But at the end of the day, you know, I did find a little sliver a little sliver that i thought would be a killer show and it was gonna be kind of a goofy silly show where we drink we swear we talk shit we have a good time we come up with the most ridiculous things and you know i just thought it would be funny you know and drew and i do have a really weird sense of humor more so me than drew but drew appreciates my weirdness and um you know and drew's funny on his own too so it's it's just one of those things where um i found a little opening and i was like let's fucking go for it you know um so and that's kind of how the show started it was great we had all this creativity flowing through our fingers and i was having so much fucking fun coming up with dumb shit like love letters you know not everything hit you know some things, um, some things we tried once didn't, didn't really feel good. And we, we just didn't, we dropped it But um as we went on though as the show progressed you know and I was feeling really good I thought we put out some really solid content When my life started getting pretty busy we just kind of ditched that format I don know if you guys have noticed but you know Drew has always kind of wanted this to be a news show where we drink and then, you know, we shoot the shit, and then the show's over kind of thing, which is nothing wrong with that at all. but I always just kind of fought for fun little segments because the thing is is I just felt like almost all the other podcasts do news better they always like you know do news like a week before we even get it you know it was really um just a pain in the ass to keep up with with all the news stories and you know Orby and Kaneda they were on it the day of you know Twip usually got it just before the news is going to be released so we're almost like a week behind so i knew we couldn't really do a news show we can do an opinion show but some guys already had really really strong takes really strong opinions and it almost felt like we were regurgitating things but fucking nobody had love letters right and uh and then we had the tribe that was really cool too and and how it kind of brought a little bit more of a unique perspective in the hobby we became kind of a podcast for the people and I loved it I loved it man I love coming up with all sorts of crazy stuff but as I was alluding to before things just got too busy and we just didn't have the time to devote to making up fun games and you know we did the live show which is really really fun I really enjoyed it um but at the end of the day it I just I wasn't happy with our product not to say it was bad but i'm only interested in it if we can be as outrageous and silly as possible and i think drew understands where i'm coming from you know over time you know you can't just keep doing love letters drew bless his soul you bless his heart he goes and i don't i don't know what to say anymore with love letters like i think it's done you know i was like what do you mean it's done. It's so much fun. And he's like, dude, it's a struggle ever, you know, forever writing these things. And I can't, I can't do it. And I get it, man. I get it. So nobody, nobody wants to write those things except for me. I love love letters, man. And there's a few other things that we do that I just love, but the timing and everything, and Drew started a new career and he's super busy and it's just, it's just too much guys. So, um, I gave Drew until the end of the year. I knew I was leaving, you know, beginning of this year. I said, you know, Drew, you got me one more year and I'm done. I made it to August and I'm spent. I can't do it anymore. I just, I don't like where the show is going right now. Like I said, nothing bad about it, nothing about Drew or anything. This is all just, I just wish I had more time with it, you know, and I don't. So time's a big factor. My family's a big factor. But, you know, is this the end of the Poor Man's Pinball podcast? You know, I don't know. I don't know. I'm assuming Drew's going to come up with something that's going to fit his style more. And I don't know what that is, but I know that Drew's going to do a fantastic job. I don't know if he's going to get a co-host. I don't know if he's going to go solo. But I trust him, man He's so passionate about pinball And his free time is dedicated to pinball And he loves playing pinball And he tries to play pinball every single day And you just can You can beat that kind of um you know energy um that drew brings to the table and knowledge because he is absorbing this pinball culture like a sponge and from episode one to episode 100 uh you can tell how much he is just dove deep into this stuff so um but no i i really think drew's gonna do a fantastic job i'm not saying i'll never be on the show. Maybe I'll be a guest appearance every once in a while. I don't know if it's going to still be on Twitch. Again, guys, I don't know anything about the future of the show. All I know is I am definitely not going to be a part of it moving forward. So let me ride quietly into the sunset. Okay. Don't message me on Facebook or anything. I'm off of Facebook right now. totally unrelated reasons i need i need a mental health break from facebook um but i just wanted to say thank you very much everybody who listens um there's a lot of people i'd like to thank but i feel like i would forget some and feel awful uh you kind of know who you are if you've helped our show just a little bit if you ever just sent us an email um or did anything to help us with our show. I mean, I really, really appreciate it. It just, it really helped us keep going. Um, you know, those first few episodes, it was really lonely because we weren't getting a ton of listens. Um, and we weren't getting any emails and we thought we were talking to ourselves, but slowly but surely, you know, we got correspondence and it was really cool and it kept us going. Um, I do want to thank my, my partner in crime, Drew. Uh, he's been the rock he is amazing and i know i give him shit for just showing up getting drunk and then leaving but uh he's a lot more to the poor man's pinball podcast than just that uh he really does care about the show and he really really does love all the listeners and the tribe members are like his brothers and sisters he just eats sleeps and dreams tribe and uh you know you know who you are in the tribe um that you know i'm very thankful for all of you as well um let's see i just want to thank also my my wife laura for letting me do this every week and of course my daughter vera who is too young to listen to this crap anyway but if she ever does grow up and finds this podcast um look your daddy was cool for like a solid year and a half two years i don't know that was pretty cool uh but thank you very much everybody and i appreciate you and i love you vera i love you laura i love you drew and thank you everybody who who is nice to me and thank you everybody who is critical of me and thank you for listening to the show guys i really appreciate it i had a ton of fun doing it i hope this rambling made sense and if you uh have any questions contact drew bovere he is the uh he is the poor man's pinball podcast as it is right now if you guys have any ideas where you'd like to see the show go if you want to contribute and help drew out uh i would i would email the poor man's pinball at gmail.com poor man's pinball at gmail.com and see if uh you know if he needs help um but yeah i'd appreciate it guys so thank you very much i hope to uh be on the show in the future, but for right now, I am going to bed. So good night all, and have a great day. Bye-bye.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 83ab96bf-5c4d-4db5-bcf3-f44ac2edd79e*