Join Johnny Stanton as he welcomes L.J. Rader, the mastermind behind the viral social media sensation "art but make it sports," to Athletics Check. Creator of the nearly million-follower strong "art but make it sports" accounts, who works in sports statistics by day and is a self-proclaimed nerd, L.J. discusses bridging the gap between historically separate worlds, his unique process of finding artistic parallels, and why passion, in any form, is something to embrace.

What is "Art But Make It Sports?" L.J.'s innovative account takes images of sports and compares them to fine art – primarily paintings and sculptures from across art history. The magic lies in the absence of captions, allowing the art to "speak" and emphasizing the visual comparison and matching of energy or tone between sports moments and timeless artwork.

Whether you're a sports fanatic, art history buff, or someone who appreciates creative passion projects, this episode celebrates how curiosity and enthusiasm can create unexpected connections. 

ArtbutMakeItSports (aka LJ Rader):
Substack: https://www.artbutmakeitsports.com/about
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/artbutmakeitsports/
Twitter - https://x.com/ArtButSports


Producer: Johnny Stanton IV & Anand Shah
Technical Director, Sound Designer & Editor: Frank Janisch 
Executive Producers: Sandeep Parikh & Anand Shah 

Johnny Stanton IV:
https://www.stantoniv.com/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@johnnystantoniv
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnnystantoniv
Twitter - https://x.com/johnnystantoniv

Athletics Check Pod
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Check out our Patreon for bonus content and extra one-shot TTRPG adventures with every podcast guest: https://www.patreon.com/AthleticsCheckPod