On June 1st, 2019 The Retro Network went live online. Via a collaborative idea of founders Jason Gross (of Rediscover the 80s) and Mickey Yarber (of Retro Ramblings), the Network launched as a place to celebrate the good old days of all forms of pop culture.
It was also launched to provide a space for creators to join us to share their love of retro pop culture through articles, videos, and podcasts. Several of the creators here at TRN and Geekster started at the beginning, and have gone on to launch many fun and successful projects as part of TRN.
In the short five years since the launch, The Retro Network has given a home to 23 different podcasts, which all combined totals over 1600 episodes. On the video front, the TRN Youtube channel boasts over 400 original videos. And our library of written articles now tops 2000 filled with stories featuring everything from Alvin and the Chipmunks to Zero Hour!
Since the launch, we’ve been joined by numerous creators who’ve added tons of nostalgia for us to reflect on, and some have since moved on to other projects. Our biggest loss, however, came when we suddenly lost our co-founder Jason Gross. Jason tragically passed away in October 2023, and The Retro Network still has a massive hole in our hearts left by the absence of his presence. Jason’s always upbeat attitude and love for nostalgia helped fuel everything we do here, and his passing has left us with a vacancy that can never be filled.
On this 5th anniversary of the Network, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has helped make TRN the fun engaging destination it has become. To all of the creators who have been a part of TRN, I say a very heartfelt ‘thank you’. And to our readers, viewers, and listeners as well. Without you, none of this would be much fun, so thank all of you as well.
Also on this 5th anniversary, I wanted to take everyone back to the very beginning, and share the very first episode of our flagship show, The Retro Network Podcast. This episode has been locked in the vault for a couple of years now and was only available to our Patreon subscribers. We’re doing away with the vault and will be re-releasing all of the fantastic episodes for free for everyone to enjoy again as a way to share the love and excitement that Jason had for all things retro.
In this first episode, the “recurrent events” section has now outdated news, but the rest of the show is just as timely now as it was then. So go back in time and experience the ‘big bang’ of The Retro Network universe, as Jason and I fumble our way through the very first episode.
Thank you all for five years, and I hope you stick around for another 105.
– Mickey
happy anniversary, mick!