Mike Janela is watching a professional surfer on the Panama Canal request a banana from his wakeboard. It’s a beautiful, sunny day on the water, and upbeat music is playing on the boat occupied by Janela and Red Bull TV crew members. The surfer is attempting to break a Guinness World Record, which Janela, in his sunglasses, is adjudicating.
Three hours and 56 minutes later, Janela stands before cameras broadcasting his congratulatory speech to television and YouTube channels worldwide. He smiles as he presents the surfer with certificates for the longest time and distance ridden on a wave. To some, the cameras would be overwhelming. To Janela, it’s just another Tuesday.
Janela has always been a showman. Growing up in New Jersey, he would take on roles in every school play and give speeches to his family at the dinner table during Thanksgiving, always shining in the spotlight. Between performances, Janela would watch sports on TV and play Little League baseball. Like many kids, he dreamed of playing professional baseball for the New York Mets, but Janela realized at a young age that this was an unachievable goal.
Watching baseball one day, Janela heard a broadcaster talk about how lucky he felt getting paid to watch sports—a comment that kick-started his dream of being a sportscaster.
The knowledge required to be a sportscaster came easily to Janela, as his life revolved around sports. He spent many afternoons and evenings watching Mets and New York Knicks games, looking up to Bob Costas as an idol. The challenge for Janela came from gaining practical experience. During his adolescence, he had no access to media production classes, sportscasting camps, or local news station internships to help him explore the sports media industry.
“I had to kind of start all that from scratch as an adult,” Janela recalls. “A lot of these people [in the industry] already had those kinds of connections, or that kind of experience getting to run a tape recorder, knowing how to edit videos on their computers, all that kind of stuff way before I did.”
Although Janela was unfamiliar with the technological aspect of the media industry, he already had a deep understanding of storytelling. In high school, Janela wrote for the student newspaper, to which he credits his knowledge of constructing stories and doing proper research. Janela also wrote for a local newspaper that was delivered to the central New Jersey area, where he learned how to interview people and get good quotes. Those same storytelling skills helped him gain admission to Syracuse University in 2003 for Broadcast Journalism.
Attending university opened up a whole new world for Janela. With so many ways to get involved in the sports media field, he was sure to indulge in everything he possibly could.
Janela was involved in a wide range of media-related activities, including Syracuse’s student radio station and student newspaper. He would stay late after class to discuss topics with professors and media professionals, join clubs and participate in weekend activities to hone his skills. As time passed, Janela was able to transition into the digital media landscape and increasingly assume more responsibilities.
“I didn’t have to wait for [opportunities] to come to me,” said Janela. “I was on campus. I could just walk in the door at the radio station and say, ‘Hey, I want to do this. How? Tell me.’”
During his freshman year, Janela met Brendan McKeon, the current executive director of in-game operations for the Mets. Back then, McKeon was just another student at Syracuse. McKeon and Janela had similar paths while attending university, sharing mutual friends and interests. McKeon was involved in the sports program at Syracuse’s student TV station, while Janela preferred to participate in the broadcast journalism and communications side of the school. “We both ran in the same circles,” McKeon recalled, smiling. “We would always run into each other…he’s been the man.”
In the blink of an eye, four years had passed. On a Sunday morning in May, Janela crossed the stage in Syracuse, New York, to collect his diploma. That Wednesday, he was in Anderson, South Carolina, plugging in his microphone and preparing to call play-by-play for a Minor League team he had never heard of: the Anderson Joes. It was the only job that Janela got a yes to upon graduation. The team, and the league they played in, had never existed before, and never existed again after 2007 due to underfunding.
“It was an opportunity, and I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’” Janela noted. “Every job after was just like, ‘Where’s the next opportunity? Where’s the next opportunity?”
The following year, Janela relocated to North Carolina to handle media relations and serve as the play-by-play announcer for the Hickory Crawdads.
At the beginning of his career, Janela travelled a lot, which he was no stranger to. Born into a Portuguese immigrant family, Janela was on his first plane at 10 months old. Since he had been travelling his whole life, Janela’s life goal of seeing the world was just as important to him as his professional goals.
Many of Janela’s early jobs were very short; as the seasons changed, so did the sports that were played and the jobs that were available. In the winter of 2009, Janela accepted a job as a sports record manager with Guinness World Records. Within four years, he was promoted to content manager. Janela was one of two primary U.S. media representatives who travelled the world, judging world records and making appearances on national TV and at specialty events, such as the NBA All-Star Weekend, where he judged everything from the largest meatball to the longest marathon surfing. “That was the first time in my career that I felt ‘wow’, that ‘this is cool. And I need more moments like that,” Janela smiled.
In search of more memorable opportunities, Janela departed Guinness World Records in 2014. In February 2016, he traded cold and snowy New Jersey for sunny San Diego to host a talk show covering the San Diego Padres. It was a completely new venture for Janela on the other side of the country, and with support from both his parents and colleagues, he decided to take it on.
“I had very emotionally supportive parents that were like, ‘Yeah, this is your dream. If you want to go for it, go for it. If you ever need help, let us know. We can drive you out to LA if you can’t drive yourself.”
The show ended after Janela’s inaugural season, and he returned to New Jersey, where he spent two more years producing and hosting content for different companies until 2019. Janela and McKeon’s paths crossed again when Janela auditioned to be a gameday host for the Mets. “Knowing Mike, for as long as I did and knowing how much passion he had for the Mets and the passion he had for baseball, I immediately was pushing to bring him on board,” McKeon said.
It’s no surprise that Janela landed the job. He had worked odd jobs at Citi Field before, taking pictures of fans they would have to buy online afterward. But this job was different, and it was far more exciting. On March 28, 2019, Janela stepped onto the field, microphone in hand and his face on the Jumbotron, for the first time.
“I always wanted to grow up and play for the Mets. I couldn’t do that, but I’m on the field. That kind of counts, right?”
Janela has always looked to expand his portfolio. After he accomplished his childhood dream of working for the Mets, Janela took on a new role as an on-air host with the American Kennel Club. “It’s a balancing act between, yeah, make yourself better. How can you improve? What’s the next thing? That’s how ambition works: success comes to those who are never satiated.”
In this role, he worked closely with producer Taylor Curran. Janela was initially brought on to feature different dog breeds, but he transitioned to hosting a biweekly show called Ask the Expert and announcing the prestigious Most Popular Breeds. “[Mike] is the consummate professional,” Curran said. “He’s very talented on-air, and that’s a gift a lot of people want to have. He’s very good at what he does.”
In an industry where it’s easy to get caught up in your own head, Janela often stops to appreciate the little moments in his career, savouring the success he’s had. Every day brings a new set of opportunities and experiences for Janela. Whether it’s in his hometown in New Jersey or across the country in San Diego, Janela rises to the challenge, always pushing to be the best version of himself.
“I still try to remind myself as often as I can. ‘Dude, you’re working in sports. Like, you’re doing your dream.
The 10-year-old you would have killed to be doing this, so never lose sight of that.”
Olivia Byrne's Media Portfolio 
Leave a comment