Pros vs. Joes No. 14: From board opp to clone to talk-show host, Chad Doing is getting it done

Chad Doing and son Isaac, 19, a freshman at Bellevue (Wash.) Community College (courtesy Chad Doing)

Purveyors of sports talk radio like Chad “The Body” Doing for several reasons.

One, he’s likable. But it goes far beyond that.

Doing lives and breathes his job. There are other things he cherishes — his kids, an Eagles concert, a tender ribeye at the Ringside, a weight room, a round of golf — but Chad embraces his radio duties as if it were the second coming of Margot Robbie.

Doing grew up on both sports and talk radio. The Prairie High and Washington State grad was working at a health club in Vancouver one day in 1998 when a woman who worked as a broadcaster at KVAN (1550 AM) visited for a tour of the club. Chad engaged her in a discussion about broadcasting. Before she left, she invited him to the KVAN studios to do a segment on home exercise. That led to a couple of more such shows — Doing the interviewee, not the interviewer — and then a meeting with John Phillips, who had a cable television show and also oversaw a network of broadcasters for high school sporting events.

“John asked if I wanted to be part of his broadcasting team,” Doing says. “I started out keeping stats for his broadcasts, then advanced into doing some play-by-play. The rest is history.”

Today, Doing is co-host (with Travis Demers) of an afternoon drive-time show on KPOJ (Rip City Drive, 620 AM). Chad also handles the pre-game and Fifth Quarter shows for Trail Blazers games on the station.

Chad Doing and Travis DeMers

He got his first full-time on-air position when he paired with Gavin Dawson for a show on KFXX (The Fan, 1080 AM) in 2005. Three years later, he re-joined Dawson, who had landed at KBFF (Rose City Radio, 95.5 FM). After a year and a half, Dawson left for Dallas and Doing did the show with Dwight Jaynes and Antonio Harvey for awhile. Then for two years, Doing did it by himself as the show transitioned to KXTG (Rip City Radio, 750 AM).

All the while, Doing was learning more about his craft from listening to others in the business he admired.

“John Phillips was the first guy to teach me the ropes,” says Doing, 46. “On a national level, my biggest influences in my formative years in sports-talk radio was Jim Rome. He was one of the pioneers. Bob Kemp is one of my all-time favorites. And on the political side, Michael Savage.”

Bob Kemp

Portland-area sports talk aficionados recall Doing as “Chad in Portland” on Rome’s national show, beginning with his time working at KFXX, which carried Rome.

“I was on the board doing sports updates during the time the Rome show was on,” Doing recalls. “One day, there was a caller making fun of Oklahoma — I was born there — so I decided to send in an email.”

Rome wound up reading it on the air. An emboldened Doing sent in another email. Then another. And another.

“Eventually, I became a prominent emailer on the show,” Doing says. “One day, I decided to make the transition to a phone call. The first time, I got the ‘Huge Call of the Day.’ ”

Doing became one of Rome’s “clones,” a regular caller to the show. It continued for “a good seven years.” Doing got a prized invitation to compete in Rome’s annual “Smack-Off” competition. When Rome performed a remote broadcast from Portland, Doing was brought on to the show as a guest. Eventually, Rome invited him to guest host during a vacation day.

Jim Rome

“That’s something I have that the clones resent me for,” Doing says with a chuckle. “I’m the only emailer turned caller turned Smack-Off participant turned show guest turned guest host of his show. I’m the only clone to pull off all of those.”

Not one to rest on his laurels, Doing took a gamble in 2014, accepting a sports radio talk show hosting job in San Francisco, working alongside Joe Fortenbaugh (now an ESPN sports betting analyst) and former NFL fullback Lorenzo Neal. Suddenly, Doing was working in a mid-sized market to one of the biggest, with every professional and college sports team imaginable to know and discuss.

“I learned a lot,” Doing says. “One, you think you know how to work and how to prepare until you’re around guys more talented, more experienced. I refined my work ethic and got better at perfecting the craft. I also learned if you’re going to work on a three-man show, you have to be selfless and shine the light on the people around you.”

Doing enjoyed the Bay Area, but missed his children (Isaac and Kaylie), parents and friends, all still in Portland. Being away firmed up his realization that he is deep down a Portland guy. When a position at KPOJ opened, Doing applied and got the job, with the radio show also being simulcast on NBC Sports Northwest. Six years later, Chad continues to host what many believe is the best sports talk show in the area.

Doing isn’t looking to argue with callers, but he stands up for his beliefs. He’s an expert at his job, but not necessarily on every sport or subject that is brought to his attention.

“The way I approach it is, you’re going to focus on the hits — the topics you’re going to spend the most time  on,” Doing says. “I try to know everything about the NFL, college football and the NBA and have a working knowledge of anything else that’s going on.

Another thing I learned listening to a Larry King interview with Billy Graham. Larry asked him, ‘What is the biggest thing you’ve learned over a career of preaching? He said, ‘I’ve become comfortable with the realization that I don’t have the answer to everything.’

“If there’s something that comes up on the show that I don’t know anything about, I just admit it. But I will research it and let (the caller) know what I think about that. Don’t try to pretend you’re an expert on everything;  the listener can sniff out a fraud.”

Doing is at his best asking intelligent questions of an interview subject. He is a good listener. Sometimes the subject is able to convince him of the subject’s point of view; others times, not so much. He is not afraid to make judgments if he feels he has the appropriate knowledge to do so.

“The job of a talk show host is to be open, honest and transparent, and to share opinions on what you see,” he says. “My job is to tell you exactly what I think is happening. I’ve been taught to be as critical as you need to be, but to keep it within the white lines. Always have information to back up your criticism, and don’t take personal cheap shots. If you do it that way, people can respect your criticisms.”

Doing is paid by Rip City Radio, but it is also the station contracted with the Blazers to do their games. Does that mean he has to temper any criticisms about the local NBA quintet?

“I get asked that question almost every day,” he says. “We are the flagship station for the Blazers, but there has not been one time when I have been asked not to discuss a particular topic or to share a specific opinion. I’ve had people reach out to try to change my opinion, but I’ve never been censored.”

A few years ago, Doing was openly critical of the play of the Blazers’ Meyers Leonard. He let it be known on Twitter. Called him “garbage” and a “bum.” Several times. Doing complained on Twitter when the Blazers ran a video tribute to Leonard — who was by then with the Miami Heat — on the Jumbotron at Moda Center.

Leonard tweeted a cutting response: “Hey Chad. Maybe it’s time you take a look in the mirror and evaluate your true inner feelings and be happy for someone else. You’ve always been negative as hell. Get a life pal. You’re a loser and your opinions flat out suck.”

Ironically, Leonard was the favorite player of Chad’s then-teenage son, Isaac, who shares a birthday with Meyers. Before he turned 17, Isaac — who is autistic — underwent brain surgery. Someone tipped off Leonard, who tweeted a video wishing Isaac happy birthday and encouraging him during his recovery. He also sent Isaac an autographed Heat jersey.

Doing was astonished by all of this. He tweeted an apology, extending an olive branch with, “Please forgive me for my petty comments Meyers.”

“I was overwhelmed by what Meyers did,” Chad says now. “For him to connect with Isaac like that was extraordinary. Isaac didn’t understand how big a deal it was that an NBA player was reaching out via social media to a teenager until he went to school the next day and got a big reaction from classmates, who couldn’t believe it.”

Doing’s fascination with golf began with an introduction to the game by his father, Jim Doing, at a young age. Chad played the game regularly as a young adult, but stepped it up a few years ago when he met Nick Warren, a rep with Golftec Beaverton. Warren evaluated Doing’s swing and fitted him with clubs.

“I endorsed the product and he became my coach,” says Doing, who takes a lesson from Warren every two weeks. “When COVID hit (in 2020), it presented an opportunity to play even more golf since I was able to work from home. It went from something I enjoyed to a full-on obsession.”

A 10-handicapper, Doing played 150 rounds in 2021.

“I try to play four to five times a week,” he says.

The 6-1, 160-pound was the Northwest body-building champion in the men’s lightweight division at age 22 in 1998. He continues to “strength train” twice a week with Luke Gillock, his workout partner for 30 years. Doing has participated in six body-building competitions — the last one in 2002 — and aspires to add a Masters title to his resume.

“I will do at least one more show before I’m done,” he says. “I’m not sure when. Depends on the timing of everything.

“I’m always searching for new challenges, things that will make me uncomfortable and push my boundaries and help me continue to grow. I can’t control the day I die, but I want to make sure I make the most of my years left on the planet.”

Doing has two children — Isaac, a 19-year-old freshman at Bellevue (Wash.) Community College, and Kaylie, 12.

Chad, teaching gang signs to children Kaylie and Isaac (courtesy Chad Doing)

“I’m very proud of Isaac,” Chad says. “For an autistic young man to be living away from home on his own for the first time is exceeding my expectations, for sure. I know now that there is a pathway for him to have independence and live by myself.

“Kaylie is everything I’m not. She is really smart, does extremely well in school. There is something special about a father-daughter relationship. She amazes me. I’m very thankful for her.”

When I ask about Chad’s current “significant other,” he mentions “Puppy Schotz,” his four-year-old miniature dachshund. “Kaylie named him,” he says. “What a dog.”

Chad Doing’s dog, “Puppy Schotz” (courtesy Chad Doing)

Doing is among the celebrities who will be competing in the “Pros vs. Joes” Bracket Challenge on kerryeggers.com. He is not new to such endeavors.

“I do a bracket every year,” he says. “Started way back when I was in sixth grade. I would get my Sports Illustrated in the mail on the Wednesday prior to the start of the tournament. There would be a pullout bracket. I would fill it out and post it up on the wall. I’ve been filling out a bracket ever since. It’s tradition for a lot of us.”

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