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WILL

CREATOR/
HOST

On an unseasonably warm day in 1971, somewhere in Jersey City, NJ, Will was born with a fake mustache and a convincing Australian accent. This may have been the start of his life-long interest in performing. • His fascination with music began with five unforgettable notes from “Close Encounters,” which he plunked out on his Schroeder-sized piano. Years later, he created music and soundscapes for Off-Broadway productions and performances at The Juilliard School. In 2020, Will completed the immersive sound design for an audio production of Macbeth (starring Tamara Tunie of “Law and Order” and Derek Wilson of “Future Man” and “Preacher”).• Stunned in the 1980s that a single actor could portray Superman and star in “Death Trap,” Will later studied acting at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (as a company member alongside Peter Dinklage, future star of “Game of Thrones”), at Bill Esper Studios and with Olympia Dukakis. • Having watched hours of Monty Python on UHF as a child, Will later adapted John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost into a dark comedy, which was produced at HERE (New York). Will also wrote and performed with Those Lazy Bastards (New York) a sketch comedy group that he founded with Yuri Lowenthal (voice of “Ben-10,” PS4’s “Spiderman”). • And while he couldn’t dance a single step to a slow jam, Will learned to break on a piece of cardboard on the streets of his hometown. • With a passion for 1980s pop culture, and amazing enunciation, Will is the perfect host of the weekly podcast that defends the best decade for media.

KAT

CO-HOST

On an eerily quiet day in 1971, Kat pas de chatted her way out from the frigid waters of the Rahway River in Orange, NJ. This may be the reason for her life-long passion for dance. • With salt water in her veins, and quarters in her pockets, Kat lived nearly half her life on the Atlantic Ocean, honing life skills in the local boardwalk arcade 25 cents at a time.• And while Kat never visited NJ’s infamous Action Park, she lived it: riding feloniously in back of her dad’s pickup and racing her ATC protected only by nature’s helmet, her skull. • After consuming (and documenting on VHS) hours of MTV, Kat taught herself to play a likely haunted 100-year-old ukulele that she found buried in an attic. • Having spent her youth jetant (the gerund of jeté) to exhaustion to Frank Stallone’s “Far From Over,” as an adult Kat went full Tony Manero by completing every modern dance class available. • Understanding how The Cabbage Patch enriched her life, Kat then earned her MA in Creative Arts Therapy with focus on dance and movement. • And although she was never possessed by the evil spirit of a fallen warrior, like Lucinda Dickey before her, Kat is a dancer and a ninja with a second-degree black belt in ninjutsu and the shuriken to prove it. • With a passion for 1980s pop culture, and the ability to build smoke bombs, Kat is the perfect co-host of the weekly podcast that examines the best decade for media.

JON

CO-HOST

Jon Reddick is a well-credentialed nerd of the 1980s. At the start of the decade, Jon attempted to fly by running through his yard in his homemade Greatest American Hero suit. As a teen, he wore the magnetic particles clean off three “Licensed to Ill” cassettes in his Pontiac Firebird’s Walmart stereo. Today, Jon leverages his three-decade career in broadcasting to share his expertise in retro video games and vintage toys. In addition to co-hosting 1980s Now, Jon hosts GenXGrownUp, his own nostalgia YouTube channel and companion podcast. Most recently, Jon also began hosting “Celebrating Yesteryear” on RetroDaze’s YouTube channel.