A case study in how one story, told with precision, created compound momentum across 30+ major podcasts.
Most founders approach media the wrong way. They try to be everywhere, talk about everything, and hope something sticks. The result? A scattered message that nobody remembers.
Authority doesn’t work like that. Authority is built through one powerful idea, repeated with precision, on the right stages, at the right time. That’s not theory — it’s exactly what happened to me over the past two years. And it started with the Roman Empire.
Phase 1: Positioning — Finding the Message That Was Already There
For years, I had been talking about podcasting as the “new media.” I started podcasting back in 2014 and have since appeared on hundreds of shows. Those conversations were solid — they positioned me as someone who understood the power of podcasting, and they helped me connect with many leaders.
But they weren’t breaking me into the rooms I wanted to be in. I wanted to be where people weren’t just curious about podcasting — they were shaping culture.
Here’s the thing most people miss: I hold a master’s degree in the Roman Empire. My specialty? How the first emperor convinced an entire civilization he was a god. For years, that part of me never seemed to connect with my business. I left it in the background. I thought it was “too niche.”
That was a positioning mistake. I was sitting on a timeless, culturally resonant message and ignoring it because I thought it didn’t “fit.”
Then, in late 2023, the culture handed me an opening.
The Cultural Moment
If you were online in late 2023, you saw it. Videos started popping up of women asking their boyfriends how often they thought about the Roman Empire. The answers were hilarious and revealing. The trend exploded across TikTok and Instagram. Saturday Night Live parodied it. Think pieces followed.
And suddenly, my “niche” expertise wasn’t niche at all. The culture had turned its attention to exactly what I’d been studying for over a decade.
But a cultural moment alone doesn’t build authority. What matters is what you do with it.
Phase 2: Targeted Placements — Starting Where the Message Would Land Hardest
In January 2024, I was invited onto the show of legendary interviewer Cal Fussman — the man who’s interviewed Larry King, Tom Cruise, and Muhammad Ali. He could have asked me about podcasting. Instead, what caught his attention was my background in the Roman Empire.
So we didn’t talk about media strategy. We dove into the fall of the Roman Republic. I prepped like crazy — reread source material, listened to history courses, sharpened my perspective. When the interview went live, everything clicked.
That one conversation planted the seed for what would become my new positioning: not just a business owner who knows podcasting, but a thinker who connects timeless history to our current moment.
Next, I pitched the Roman Empire angle to bestselling author and podcast host James Altucher. He loved it. We recorded an episode that began with Alexander the Great and turned into a deep dive on what I call the Third-Century Hypothesis.
The Third-Century Hypothesis
Most people who talk about Rome focus on the first century (the fall of the Republic) or the fifth century (the fall of the Western Empire). But the third century was Rome’s real crisis — a period of hyperinflation that wrecked the currency, border instability with constant invasions, and weak leadership with emperors rising and falling almost monthly.
Sound familiar?
This wasn’t just a history lesson. It was a lens for understanding the modern world. And that’s what made it resonate on every stage I brought it to — the idea was timeless, the application was immediate, and every audience could feel the connection.
Phase 3: Momentum — Each Appearance Fueling the Next
Then came the turning point. I was listening to Timcast IRL when Tim Pool mentioned he wanted to cover the Roman Empire. I reached out, shared my perspective, and landed an appearance on Tim Pool’s Culture War.
That episode changed everything. From there, we pitched Valuetainment’s Unusual Suspects — and landed a spot on their network. We pitched Cleared Hot. We kept building. The momentum started compounding. Each appearance created credibility that opened the door to the next. I was crisscrossing the country, appearing on shows I had once only listened to as a fan.
Within months, my show list grew from a handful of targeted placements to a wall of major media appearances — not because I was pitching harder, but because the authority I’d built was doing the work for me.
Phase 4: Inbound — The Biggest Stages Came to Me
Here’s where the framework proves itself. After enough targeted placements build enough momentum, the dynamic flips. You stop chasing shows. They start coming to you.
That’s exactly what happened. The Shawn Ryan Show — one of the biggest podcasts in the world — found me through the content all that momentum had created, and reached out. So did producers at shows I’d never even pitched.
Over the past two years, my appearances include:
- The Shawn Ryan Show
- Timcast IRL
- Timcast’s Culture War with Tim Pool
- Cleared Hot
- Unusual Suspects on the Valuetainment Network
- The James Altucher Show
- Next Level Soul
- Big Questions with Cal Fussman
- The Dinesh D’Souza Podcast
- The Michele Tafoya Show
- The Julian Dorey Podcast
- Unsubscribe
- Three of Seven
- Man in America with Seth Holehouse
- The Alex Jones Show
- Drinkin Bros Podcast
- Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly
- Citizen
- Normal World on The Blaze
- Quite Frankly
- Tinfoil Hat with Sam Tripoli
- MARIO ZNA (one of the largest shows in Serbia)
- Wake Up America with Austin Petersen
- Jenna Ellis Tonight on Salem TV
- The Flyover Conservatives
- History Unplugged
- And many more.
The results have been massive. My X (Twitter) following tripled past 20,000. My Instagram engagement skyrocketed. And the same shows that booked me started booking our clients — because the credibility I built transferred directly to Command Your Brand.
Why This Is the Blueprint for Every Founder and CEO
My Roman Empire journey wasn’t luck. It was a system — the same system we now use to build authority for our clients at Command Your Brand:
Positioning: We found the message that was uniquely mine — one that connected a timeless idea to a current cultural moment.
Targeted Placements: We didn’t spray and pray. We started with shows where the message would land hardest — Cal Fussman, James Altucher, Tim Pool, Cleared Hot, Valuetainment.
Momentum: Each appearance compounded the last. Credibility built on credibility. One booking became the proof of concept for the next.
Inbound: Eventually, the biggest stages found us. Shawn Ryan reached out because the content was already everywhere. Shows we never pitched started coming to us.
That’s how authority works. It compounds. Every appearance builds on the last. And once it reaches critical mass, the opportunities come to you.
The Lesson
You don’t need more messages. You need the right message.
The Roman Empire trend faded from TikTok long ago, but the authority it helped me build has only grown stronger. It positioned me as more than a podcasting expert. It gave me credibility on stages I’d dreamed about, opened doors I never thought I’d walk through, and built momentum that continues to benefit both me and our clients.
At Command Your Brand, that’s exactly what we build for founders and executives. We don’t just place you on podcasts — we architect the authority that makes the right stages come to you.
If you’re ready to stop introducing yourself and start being recognized, let’s talk.
