Your Dark Companion Podcast

Mike Rhyner, Grubes, and Big Rob (the last Day-One OG) pull back the curtain on the Dallas Mavericks Maniacs—how a “beefy guys” audition turned into 24 seasons of pure arena joy, a thousand-game milestone, and a community machine logging hundreds of events a year. From lightning-strike cold opens and a nod to the Edmund Fitzgerald anniversary to boy-dazzled shirts, human-bicycle routines, player chants, and even Big Rob’s side quest as a Cowboys “Chow Boy,” this episode is a love letter to game-night hype done right—genuine, goofy, and crafted with real care.
Chapters
00:00:01 - Cold Open: Lightning, Baseball, and “Big Mic” Banter00:00:56 - Welcome to Your Dark Companion00:01:38 - 50 Years Since the Edmund Fitzgerald00:02:30 - Then vs. Now: What Going to a Game Means00:04:18 - The Hype Crews: From DCC to Ice Girls00:05:03 - Meet Big Rob: The Mavericks Maniacs OG00:06:01 - 24 Seasons Deep: Pre-LeBron Origins00:07:29 - The Audition That Changed Everything00:09:48 - “To Dance?!”—From Prank Call to Call-Up00:11:37 - 40 Guys, 13 Spots: The Birth of the Maniacs00:12:54 - First Routine Jitters… and a Crowd Explosion00:15:04 - From One Bit to “Do It Again”00:16:25 - Make Them Miss You: Crystals, Beads & Brand00:18:43 - Staying Late, Hugging Fans: Becoming Ambassadors00:19:28 - Choreography for 300-Pound Athletes00:21:13 - Other Teams Copy the Vibe (Hi, Matadors)00:22:40 - Free Throws & Micro-Routines: Always On00:23:36 - Why It Works: Fun, Craft, and Effort00:27:29 - Mid-Show Read: CBD House of Healing00:31:23 - Maniacs Today: 15 Strong & Evolving00:32:17 - Tricks, Tables, and Human Bicycles00:33:42 - Winning Over the Skeptics00:34:45 - The Section That Chooses Chaos00:35:50 - Smiles Over Follows: In-Arena First00:39:18 - New Tradition: Pre-Game Player Chants00:40:32 - Did We Start a Trend? (Short Answer: Yes)00:41:56 - Double Duty: Cowboys “Chow Boys” & Stadium Fame00:44:29 - Big Elves at Christmas: The Star Shows00:46:02 - Off to the Game We Go (and Tell a Friend!)

Show Notes

Mike Rhyner, Grubes, and Big Rob (the last Day-One OG) pull back the curtain on the Dallas Mavericks Maniacs—how a “beefy guys” audition turned into 24 seasons of pure arena joy, a thousand-game milestone, and a community machine logging hundreds of events a year. From lightning-strike cold opens and a nod to the Edmund Fitzgerald anniversary to boy-dazzled shirts, human-bicycle routines, player chants, and even Big Rob’s side quest as a Cowboys “Chow Boy,” this episode is a love letter to game-night hype done right—genuine, goofy, and crafted with real care.

Chapters

00:00:01 - Cold Open: Lightning, Baseball, and “Big Mic” Banter
00:00:56 - Welcome to Your Dark Companion
00:01:38 - 50 Years Since the Edmund Fitzgerald
00:02:30 - Then vs. Now: What Going to a Game Means
00:04:18 - The Hype Crews: From DCC to Ice Girls
00:05:03 - Meet Big Rob: The Mavericks Maniacs OG
00:06:01 - 24 Seasons Deep: Pre-LeBron Origins
00:07:29 - The Audition That Changed Everything
00:09:48 - “To Dance?!”—From Prank Call to Call-Up
00:11:37 - 40 Guys, 13 Spots: The Birth of the Maniacs
00:12:54 - First Routine Jitters… and a Crowd Explosion
00:15:04 - From One Bit to “Do It Again”
00:16:25 - Make Them Miss You: Crystals, Beads & Brand
00:18:43 - Staying Late, Hugging Fans: Becoming Ambassadors
00:19:28 - Choreography for 300-Pound Athletes
00:21:13 - Other Teams Copy the Vibe (Hi, Matadors)
00:22:40 - Free Throws & Micro-Routines: Always On
00:23:36 - Why It Works: Fun, Craft, and Effort
00:27:29 - Mid-Show Read: CBD House of Healing
00:31:23 - Maniacs Today: 15 Strong & Evolving
00:32:17 - Tricks, Tables, and Human Bicycles
00:33:42 - Winning Over the Skeptics
00:34:45 - The Section That Chooses Chaos
00:35:50 - Smiles Over Follows: In-Arena First
00:39:18 - New Tradition: Pre-Game Player Chants
00:40:32 - Did We Start a Trend? (Short Answer: Yes)
00:41:56 - Double Duty: Cowboys “Chow Boys” & Stadium Fame
00:44:29 - Big Elves at Christmas: The Star Shows
00:46:02 - Off to the Game We Go (and Tell a Friend!)

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Creators and Guests

Host
Mike Rhyner
Mike Rhyner… "a little on the bumpy side, but rather likable"…so stated famously by a grade school teacher in Oak Cliff, where Mike grew up. A complicated guy, yet a guy who can do long division and remember call strike three to A Rod. Probably best left unattended. Don't expect assistance from him if a medical situation arises.

What is Your Dark Companion Podcast?

"Whatever I want it to be about on a given day; is what it is." Your Dark Companion couples your familiar friends from radio, Mike and Grubes! Mike brings his classic interviews that draw you in, and Grubes—The Devil—drops…well the drops, and throws the occasional grenade. Mike likes to draw on his fascinating acquaintances and friends allowing them to tell their stories as you've never heard them. But he also goes outside his network, sharing Grubes' network, and often outside of both, to bring you those they don't know, but believe have a story that will make you laugh, make you think, think differently, or just entertain you…"that's what we are trying to do here."