The Business of Being Weird: How Athletico Mince Conquered A Decade of Daftness

In March 2016, a new show popped into feeds: Athletico Mince, originally billed as a football podcast and created by Andy Dawson and Bob Mortimer. A whole ten years later, it’s safe to say it’s become something entirely different - and entirely brilliant.

To celebrate a decade of Mince, we asked Andy…how?

Double Digits

It's hard to believe that this sprawling universe of bizarre alter-egos and surreal comedy started with the intention of talking about football. So, at what exact moment did the realisation hit Andy and Bob that the show was actually just going to be about things like brass hands and Warhammer? "Almost immediately,” shared Andy. “ I’m pretty sure we were bored by regular on-the-field football stuff by episode two - there were always more interesting and funnier avenues to go down. Steve McClaren made his debut in episode three and the whole thing quickly drifted away from the world of actual football and off into the world of Steve, his love of comfort-fit shirts and his pet snake Casper. No going back after that."

Ten years in podcasting is practically a lifetime, bringing with it plenty of wild memories. The standout, surreal moments of the Mince journey so far have been both on stage and on screen: "For me personally, doing live shows was a complete head-twister. The first one we did was a one-off at the London Podcast Festival and was seriously under-planned and unrehearsed, which the later ones definitely weren’t. Terrifying. Oh, and also the time when Gary Lineker dropped a subtle Peter Beardsley ‘he’s a good lad’ reference on an episode of Match of the Day."

With hundreds of episodes recorded, you might expect the creative dynamic between the hosts to shift. But the magic is in the consistency: "I don’t think it’s changed at all really, and maybe that’s why it’s endured - every episode is just the two of us trying to make each other laugh for approximately 40 minutes. No special guests or any kind of deviation from the format - the whole thing just exists in its own self-contained world. I feel so privileged to be the first person to hear Bob’s stuff in each episode - I’ve been a huge Reeves and Mortimer fan since the start and while I might be biased, I think Mince is right up there with the best work he’s ever done."

Creativity & Cracking Characters

Listeners often wonder how much of the show is scripted and how much is just a concentrated effort to make the other person break character. "Probably about two thirds of each episode is scripted or at least pre-prepared, although it feels like it used to be a higher percentage than that,” Andy explained. “Over the last couple of years it’s become a bit more conversational in places, but the original format is still there. It’s definitely become harder to write new stuff and come up with new characters but that’s to be expected after a decade I suppose. Strong new characters or features have always tended to pop up out of nowhere when we’re not expecting them though."

And what an incredible roster of alter-egos it has been. But did any storylines get too weird or dark to continue, even by Mince standards? "Nothing has been retired as far as I’m aware but we don’t hear so much about Bob’s traumatic interactions with various South African characters these days (regular listeners will know exactly what I’m talking about). A few listeners told us that they felt uncomfortable with Bob’s encounters with the Alderman, where Bob is invariably invited to ‘kiss the Alderman’ but that’s their problem I suppose. He’s just an Alderman who likes to kiss and I think Bob doesn’t mind that so maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge."

The Business of Podcasting

Athletico Mince was an incredibly successful early adopter of the subscription model with 'Club Parsnips,' keeping the show unapologetically strange and strictly on its own terms. Andy shared why that dedicated paying community has been crucial. "It worked on a couple of levels. Firstly, it ensured that we were getting paid regularly for the podcast, which of course is lovely. But secondly, it meant that it gave us a space to put out stuff which might not have fitted in on the public feed. There’s loads of exclusive video content and mini episodes available in Club Parsnips that are a bit looser and are the kind of thing that the hardcore fans probably appreciate more than the slightly more casual listeners."

The podcasting landscape looks completely different today than it did in 2016, but Acast has helped the show navigate those industry changes to grow the empire: "Acast have been brilliant all the way through - they’ve always been at the forefront of podding, always looking to introduce new features that have helped us grow our audience and make the whole job of podcast production easier and more professional." (We’re blushing)

Finally, what is Andy’s  ultimate piece of advice for new creators looking to launch something highly niche, weird, and un-categorisable? "Stick to what you believe in and don’t expend too much time or energy worrying about what you think your potential audience might want - pod like no one is listening! Niche and weird won’t get you a massive global audience but if you can stick at it and build up a listenership that is small but devoted, it’s a great feeling."

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