An Interview with Hits 97.3’s Bryan Carstensen
By Gregg Shapiro
If you listen to Hits 97.3 (and who doesn’t?), especially the morning show, you’ve likely heard on-air host Miss Bryan. He’s the good-natured, funny, friendly guy who brings the music and the gay every day. In addition to hearing him on the radio, perhaps you’ve bumped into him at one of South Florida’s Pride events or maybe at a movie screening where he was giving away prizes to lucky winners. On the air or in person, Miss Bryan’s a sweetheart who was kind enough to sit down for a chat with me in his office at the radio station.
Gregg Shapiro: Being a Wisconsin native, do you think that being a Midwesterner works to your advantage?
Bryan Carstensen: In South Florida? I think so. I guess it’s double-edged. Being in South Florida, especially Miami, it’s very much a bubble. It’s hard to break that bubble. I feel blessed to have grown up in the Midwest. I feel like we have a humbler mentality. It’s a different kind of hustle, too. I wouldn’t want to be anything but.
GS: Did you study Broadcast Journalism when you attended UWM?
BC: No. I studied psychology in school. I started in social work. I was doing case studies and I realized that it might be too much, so I started to work in the psychology field. I had a friend in Milwaukee who worked in radio and he started doing some internet stuff. He got a job for a college radio station in New Jersey and had to move. I thought, “I have nothing going on right now,” so I moved with him. I worked in New Jersey for a bit and then he got a job offer in New York City and relocated. I relocated to New York, too. I wasn’t finding what I was fitting into, and then I got a job in radio. I fell into it in a way I never thought I would. I ended up working for Nick Cannon.
GS: Mariah Carey’s ex-husband?
BC: Yes! He was looking for someone to work on an upcoming syndicated countdown show. I sent a demo of a script. I remember walking into the studio not knowing anything and there’s Nick Cannon sitting at a mic with his team. I gave him the script [laughs], and I was like this Wisconsin guy going, “Hi Nick” [laughs]! He read the script and recorded it. They left the room. I was nervous because they were going to let me know. They came back and said, “We would love to have you work with us.”
GS: Right then and there?
BC: Yes, right then and there. That’s how I got my start.
GS: Did you attend Milwaukee Pridefest when you were in the area, and if so, would you agree that it’s one of the best Pride festivals in the country?
BC: It’s a model that a lot of Prides should emulate. The friend that I mentioned was a volunteer and was on the board for Milwaukee Pridefest. I got my foot in the door and handled some of the VIP events for Kathy Griffin and Joan Rivers.
GS: My husband and I moved to Fort Lauderdale almost six years ago from Chicago and we don’t miss winter at all. Do you miss winter?
BC: Not at all! I don’t. I’ve been here for a little over five years. I moved here in August and it was scorching hot. I was like, “What am I doing here?” Then it was a cold winter that year. I spent 24, 25 years of my life in frigid winters. Then it gets to 40 one night. I wake up early, around three in the morning, and I go outside and I’m like, “This is so cold!” What is going on with my body? I was wearing a hoodie and long sleeves and long johns and five different coats on! I don’t miss the snow and scraping ice off windows. That feeling where the cold hits your bones.
GS: You mentioned getting up for work at 3AM because you are on Hits 97.3’s in the morning. Is being an early riser something that comes naturally to you?
BC: No. Not at all. I don’t think it’s natural for anyone to wake up at that time [laughs]. It’s just not. I get in early. I produce and the morning show. I come in and sit at my desk. All the lights are off except my little light on my desk. I have my coffee and I sit and take it all in. It’s a slow wake-up.
GS: You’re ready in an hour?
BC: I’m ready to go [laughs]!
GS: How did the Miss Bryan moniker come to be?
BC: When I first started working here, we were trying to figure that out. There’s usually an (on-air) name that people have. My boss used to have this office before it was remodeled. We were sitting on the couch – me and my former co-hosts DJ Laz and Kimmy. We had to make a phone call and we were talking to someone on speaker phone. I was talking to this person and, this happens to me wherever I go, they said, “Okay, Miss. Please hold.” So, it turned into an inside joke. It happens all the time on the air, too. That’s how it happened. Nothing more, nothing less.
GS: How much of Bryan Carstensen is in Miss Bryan?
BC: 100%. Being on morning radio, it’s hard to be anything but who you are. I’m talking to people every day about personal situations, my relationships, my friends, my personal life. If I’m anything but who I am, it’s not real. I need to be fully who I am. Otherwise people see through that.
GS: How important is it for you to be active and visible in the LGBTQ+ community?
BC: That’s a good question. What I love about my company is that we’re very community focused. It’s a blessing to be a part of Cox Media. When I first started working here, I didn’t know how they were going to embrace me as being gay, being visible, out and doing things in the community. But they haven’t told me not to. They said, “Do you. Have fun.” I feel like that’s important. Here in South Florida there is a huge amount of people in this community that are either gay or allies. It’s interesting to go to events and see that; all the different LGBTQ organizations. If I had the time, I could probably do things once a week at a different place with all the different events going on. It’s important for me to be who I am, someone who is gay, on the air; to let people know all the different things we can do and we can be. I didn’t come here thinking that I could make a difference, but if I can help one person in any way, even if it’s a straight person with understanding, I’m all about that.
GS: As its name suggests, Hits 97.3 plays the hits of today. Is there a style of music that you listen to on your own time that might surprise listeners?
BC: Hits 97.3 plays the current hits, as you know. It’s a lot of Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes. I love that music and I listen to it on my off time. But, I’ll be honest, because we hear the same songs over and over, after awhile I listen to chill music. I have Alexa play downtempo chill music. I do listen to so many kinds of music. It just depends on the day.
GS: On the morning of this interview, there was a story about a guy being arrested for not showing up for jury duty. If you got called to jury duty, would you be the kind of juror who wants to be the foreman or would you prefer to stay in the background?
BC: It’s funny. A couple of months ago I was summoned for jury duty. I was so excited because I want to experience it. I don’t even know what it’s like to be in a courtroom. I would want to be the foreman!
GS: I first encountered you at movie screenings sponsored by Hits 97.3. Do you have a favorite recent movie?
BC: I always like the Disney ones. We do a lot of different kinds of screenings – scary, funny, family. I feel like the audience that comes to the Disney ones have a different vibe, a different feeling. I’m a movie person and I love doing the screenings.
GS: Finally, how long have you and your partner Eric been together and how did you meet?
BC: When I lived in New York, I wasn’t in a relationship. I was a serial dater kind of guy. Five years ago, when I moved down here, literally the first week, I was with some co-workers. They invited me to go to Rumors (in Wilton Manors) with them. They said it would be fun. I thought, “I’m new here. I don’t know anyone. I’ll go.” We’re out that night having fun. This guy who is friends with them walks in. He sits down at the table and introduces himself, “Hi, I’m Eric. Sorry I’m late, I just got in from work.” We started talking and that was it. I met him the first week I moved here. I never intended that, and now we’ve been together for five years.
