Sam Gore is a television announcer/host for ESPN and a Nonahood resident. Read our interview with him below!

NHN: What is your job?

SG: I am a television announcer/host for ESPN. I started with ESPN in 2004.

NHN: What does your day-to-day schedule look like?

SG: It depends. The way my job works, I fly to work. When I have an assignment, I’m traveling there. When I’m home, I’m preparing for my next assignment. At home, I’m an early riser. I’m up by 5 a.m. I immediately spend time with God. I pray, read through a couple of devotionals, and go through Scripture. After, I take the dogs out, then I head to the Lake Nona Performance Club on my bike. I lift weights, then I come home and get on my Peloton. I do about an hour on the Peloton and then dive into the day. I try to work out and run errands before lunchtime so that, for the remainder of the afternoon, I can focus on my next assignment. 

NHN: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

SG: I guess most people would call it “pressure,” but it’s a reality that I live in. When you’re an announcer on television, especially in today’s world, every word you say is scrutinized. Having filters to know what to say, when to say, how to say it, is the most challenging part of the job. The other challenging aspect would be memorization. It’s like I study for 200 final exams a year. Every day I’m working, I am remembering what I’ve studied about the event I’m announcing or hosting. 

NHN: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

SG: The relationships. I’ve met and befriended people I never dreamed I’d meet because of the nature of what I do. Typically, as an announcer I’m the play-by-play person or the host. The person I’m working with is always a former great champion in their sport, a coach, or someone I followed while they were playing or coaching. Suddenly, they need me to help them become good at television. It’s been so rewarding to have these relationships all over the world. There’s basically nowhere I can go that I wouldn’t know someone.

NHN: What got you interested in doing your current job?

SG: I was that kid that not only played sports but also described what was happening. If I was playing pickup basketball, for example, and I wasn’t in the game, I would be on the sideline, analyzing what was happening. Documenting sports history is something I’ve been fascinated with ever since. 

NHN: Do you have any hobbies, collections or interests?

SG: I’m the kind of fitness fanatic that enjoys it. I don’t ever have to get motivated to go to the gym or work out. I wake up every morning excited to go work out. I’ve always liked the way it feels. I’m always going to the gym, riding a Peloton or going for walks in the neighborhood. 

NHN: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

SG: I’m so comfortable with God being in control of my life that I passionately focus on the current day and let Him unfold my future. I let Him know things I’d like to accomplish and experience, but I don’t sit around worrying whether they will happen because I know who controls my future and His plans for me are ultimately good and more fulfilling than a lot of what I could think of.

NHN: What brought you to Lake Nona?

SG: In 2019, I announced the NCAA Tennis Championships, which were being held at the USTA National Campus. I was living in North Carolina at the time. Part of the job when you’re on the air is to read promos for events or sponsors of shows. One of the promos we had that week was about Lake Nona. They described Lake Nona as “a place based on health, wellness and innovation.” At first, I read the card and didn’t think about it. By day five, I started looking around and I fell in love with the area.

NHN: What is your favorite thing about Lake Nona?

SG: It’s hard to pick one. I love that I can be outside every day, I’m surrounded by nature, and I love how easy it is to go places from here. 

NHN: What would you say to anyone who is considering a move to Lake Nona?

SG: You won’t regret it. Once you get here, you’ll discover why it made sense for you to be here. Everyone has a different criterion for what they look for in a place to live. This is the only place I’ve ever lived where I’ve felt like at any stage of life, you could thrive here.