Abnormally Open is a podcast that was recently founded by Jackson Prep coach TJay Busin and class of 2020 Alumni, JC Polk and Preston Oden. It’s main purpose is to talk about topics that interest the older generations as well as the youth in order to bring them together like never before. They have released eight episodes so far, including “3 Beings at a Table”, “Meeting a Stranger (Dating Pt 1)”, “Dating Part 2- Bobby Breaks It Down”, and “Youth Sports”. A new video premieres on YouTube every Tuesday at 5:30 CST.

Coach Busin is the proud father of his 14 year old daughter, Emerson, who is a student at Prep. He is an entrepreneur, investor and former Rankin County deputy as well as having experience as a college coach. He attended Mississippi College on an athletic soccer scholarship and then continued professionally for a short amount of time. He became COO of Barbour International, Inc (Bayou Classic), only then to found the investment and management firm, The Buzini Group, LLC. 

JC Polk is a freshman and business major at the University of Mississippi. He grew up in the small town of Terry, Ms. In high school, he played football, soccer, and track and field. JC also wrote on their website, “I met Tjay my junior soccer season, when he signed as my high school’s assistant soccer coach. He was tough at first, but I soon figured out as I got to know him that he was just a bachelor teddy bear looking for a woman to love.”

Preston “Bobby” Oden is a freshman at University of Mississippi, and he is JC’s roommate. He is Pre-med and studying business. Preston was raised in Jackson, MS where, at an early age, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Jokingly, he said, “It has not affected anything other than limiting how many Pop Tarts I can eat in one sitting.” He is the middle child in his family of three boys named Gregory and Josh. Preston continued by saying, “High school was a great time for me; I took the classes seriously, but never missed an opportunity to have a bit of fun with JC and my other friends. I played soccer and baseball, where I met Tjay and JC. This podcast is a great opportunity for that, JC, and myself to relive some good times and really dive into the big topics of interest in our world today.” 

Preston and JC have been best friends since junior high, even winning “Best Bromance” at Prep. Together they frequently visited TJay over the summer before college and began to have conversations about life and more specifically college. JC said they soon found that there was a bit of lack of understanding between the younger generation and TJay’s, but through discussion, he said they almost always found common ground. Then one day he said that they all three decided that people need to hear their conversations. They began working on the show soon after. JC said, “I wouldn’t say there was another podcast that inspired us. We wanted to create something that no one had ever seen before, and do it well.” 

The entire process took a good amount of work for the trio. They came up with lists of topics, ordered the proper equipment, and then spent “endless hours” practicing being in front of the mic. There was a great deal of work done in creating the behind the scenes beauty of Abnormally Open, too (sound checks, graphics, websites, social media ect…). JC said, “ I never realized how much work it was to produce a podcast until I was a part of one.” 

When asked about where he sees Abnormally Open in 5 years, JC said,  “It is my nature to dream big in these kinds of situations. I hope to see the relationship with TJay, Preston, and myself grow stronger over the years. I hope in five years we will also have a stronger reach to people about the gap between the generations. TJay and I currently are working with several social media platforms and sponsors to create ads and get them out on people’s feeds.”