As a teenager, Rick Lewis set out to be the best version of himself possible and made the commitment to do something daily to improve himself physically, mentally, or spiritually. He continues that commitment today, challenging himself to learn new things, take care of his health, and be open to what tomorrow brings.
Now a familiar voice to Bronco fans and Denver morning radio listeners, Rick’s career began when a college friend invited him to be a guest on a campus radio show. As an athlete aspiring to play professional football, Rick was surprised by how much he enjoyed being on the air.
“I went in there, he put me on the air, and I absolutely loved it to the point that I got my own show and switched my major to radio/TV,” remembers Rick. “It completely changed my trajectory in life.”
At twenty-one, Rick paused his college education and headed to Los Angeles in search of exciting career opportunities. Immediately, he got a job as a club DJ and began getting parts in television shows, movies, and commercials. In between gigs and auditions, Rick worked at a liquor store to make ends meet until the night he was robbed at gunpoint. That was a pivotal moment when Rick realized he needed to return to his roots… radio.
“I enrolled in Long Beach state; they had a great radio/ TV/ film department,” says Rick. “When I graduated, I got a job doing mornings in San Clemente and within a year and a half, I was at the biggest rock station in LA. That reaffirmed to me that I’d made the right choice…this was my destiny.”
While in California, Rick met and married his wife, Dionne. “She’s the love of my life, my heart, and my rock,” shares Rick. “She’s been with me from the beginning and we’ve lived a lot of life on the radio – even the birth of our two daughters, Jordan and Rio. Not many women would put up with this kind of life.”
Rick and Dionne moved to Colorado, where his radio career exploded. “Colorado welcomed us with open arms and hearts and has been so good to us,” he says. “Everywhere I go, people come up to me and say, ‘I've been listening to you since the beginning.’ Sometimes there will be three generations of listeners - dad, son, and grandson - standing there in front of me and I can't believe it because it doesn't seem like I've been doing the show for that long. It just blows me away and I never take it for granted.”
Over the last thirty-five years, Rick has been the voice many listened to as they started their mornings and headed to work. “To me, radio is the best medium because you're painting a picture for your audience with your creativity and words,” he says. “Radio is such a personal medium, especially morning radio, because we become a big part of people’s morning routines.”
Connecting with listeners opened another opportunity for Rick. This time it merged his love of radio broadcasting with one of his favorite sports… football. “Ten years ago, our market president in Denver called me and said, ‘Ed McCaffrey can’t do the game on Sunday in Jacksonville, how would you like to do color Sunday?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me? Yeah, I'll do it!’”
The next year, Rick was asked to be color analyst for the Denver Broncos broadcast, something he has done for the last nine seasons. “Everything I’ve done in radio prepared me for this because this is, I think, the highest-level broadcast that you can do on radio,” shares Rick. “It's so fast-moving with so much information being processed. You have to communicate in a very precise way and in a tight window before it moves on to the next play. That’s why I love it; it’s very challenging.”
Over the years, Rick has branched out and enjoyed success in other areas outside of radio including standup comedy. “Anytime a door opened, I would always say yes,” explains Rick. “I did some standup comedy in LA, and when I moved to Denver and started doing the radio show there, my partner Michael Floorwax, who was a national touring comic, asked if I wanted to do some comedy shows with him. I said yes and we ended up doing ten years of comedy shows together.”
One night on tour the idea of starting a band took root in Rick’s mind. “We were doing shows in really big clubs, and we'd typically have a band who opened. After some time, I started sitting in with the band on drums before we did the comedy show. Playing a couple songs turned into four, five, or six songs. So, I told my partner that we should start our own band,” says Rick. “Due to the popularity of the radio show, we were able to attract the best musicians in Denver. Within the first six months of the band, we opened for the Doobie Brothers at Red Rocks.”
His current band, the Rick Lewis Project, was founded in 2013, and has a fanbase that continues to grow. “We've been blessed to be able to open some big shows with this band - Sammy Hagar, ZZ Top, Def Leppard, and many others,” shares Rick. “It's been a heck of a run, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight right now, thankfully.”
Throughout his life, Rick has made it a point to take chances, live in the moment, and strive to always be better. When he looks back on key moments, he realizes that it all led to where he is today and he is loving every moment. “I remember one night in LA, pulling into a parking lot, looking up, and seeing the Hollywood sign then looking down at Sunset Boulevard. I thought to myself, ‘Man, Rick, you made it. You really made it.’ It was an incredible feeling. But when I look back at it now, I really hadn't made it…. I had a long way to go,” shares Rick. “As it turned out, that wasn't the pinnacle of my career; it was just the beginning. Once I left the LA market and came to Colorado, the bar was raised considerably and the show in Colorado has been incredibly successful for a long time. Now that I’m calling the Broncos games, I'm one of thirty-two guys doing color in the National Football League. I feel like this is the pinnacle, right here. But I always believe there is more and the best is yet to come. My mantra in life is, good things are happening NOW.”
To follow Rick’s adventures, visit ricklewisproject.com and follow @1ricklewis on Instagram.
We've been blessed to be able to open some big shows with this band - Sammy Hagar, ZZ Top, Def Leppard, and many others.
Rick Lewis has built a career in radio, music, and sports broadcasting. From his first college radio experience, he discovered a passion that led him from doing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles to Denver, where he became a radio host and the voice of the Broncos as Broncos color analyst. Along the way, he formed the Rick Lewis Project, a band that has performed at iconic venues like Red Rocks. With the love and support of his family, his mantra remains the same “good things are happening NOW.”
To follow Rick’s adventures, see his band schedule, and more, visit ricklewisproject.com and follow @1ricklewis on Instagram.