GOODBYE MR. WONDERDOG (cue howl....)

I’d like to share some memories of our beloved Wonderdog.


Mr. Wonderdog has hosted our morning show for about a year a half and in that time he has cemented his own branding in the community. Everyone who knows LIFE, knows the Wonderdog. He’s a local high-profile personality.

Many years ago, back in 2000, I was told by the professor of the radio course at Humber College that there was a Christian guy named AJ Martin who would be a great addition to LIFE. I interviewed the skinny blonde Estonian who seemed more interested in talking about baseball than radio. (And we all know how much I love talking about baseball.) Thus, AJ didn’t get the job. I believe he applied to be the host of 3SN. Instead, he played summer ball for the Barrie Baycats.

After Humber, AJ hooked up with JOY 1250 located in Oakville, doing their evening show. He became "AJ the DJ" - possibly the corniest on-air radio name I’ve ever heard, and I vowed to never let that name be heard on LIFE.

Over the next year or so, AJ and I became friends, biking together, hanging out, me visiting him in Mississauga, and listening to his JOY 1250 shows. It was my hope that when LIFE had the next on-air opening, AJ would be our guy.

Slammin’ Christian Hits on LIFE 100.3 was vacated by Jammin’ Jeff, who had hosted it for nearly five years. At last AJ the DJ where he could take on a new identity. But he had big shoes to fill. We got welcome greetings from artists, and mayors of cities and other people. We got him his own jingle, and imaging, a photo shoot, and special graphics for the website, all announcing "the Wonderdog Show is coming!"

AJ said to me, "I can’t live up to all of this!" That made me happy. I had a humble guy, with tons of potential.

"Do I have to bring my own CDs for the show?" he asked me. "No, did you have to do that at JOY", "Yes" he said. "No, we provide the music."

On his first night, he played the new release by Thousand Foot Krutch, over and over, back to back, solid - for an hour. It was the only song he played - 15 times in a row! The phones rang. The Wonderdog is crazy. The Wonderdog is gonna get fired. It was a great prank, and helped to brand his name on LIFE.

Also on his first night he managed to give out the JOY 1250 request line, and identify himself as "AJ the DJ." I phoned him on the Batphone - "You won’t be saying that anymore. That guy is dead." Gotcha.

The Wonderdog Show hit the air and over the years, it transitioned several times with modifications to music selections and listener features, most of which were AJ’s ideas.

AJ spent a weekend or two on a Ferris wheel at the Barrie fair. He’s interviewed almost everyone in Christian music, and since taking over the morning show, he’s interviewed probably every author.

Off the air he worked in fundraising, started the ball rolling in our video development, booked the Street Team, and he was the voice of the nationally syndicated countdown show CT-20 for nearly 400 shows. Through it all, he even managed to marry the boss’s daughter. Maybe, that was the plan all along.

I’d say that’s pretty good 9-year journey.

AJ - thank you for being on the LIFE 100.3 team. I hope many good memories will haunt you over the years. The microphone is always open should you want to visit.

Congratulations and best wishes in your pursuit of firefighting.