Former rap artist Trey “Playboy Tre” Montgomery III and entertainment manager Brian “B. Rich” Richardson have a growing hit on their hands with The Water Boyz Show.
Since its debut in February 2024, the weekly YouTube program has become a favorite of proud Atlanta sports fans — particularly those who, as T.I. once said, “ain’t never been ashamed, wear Falcons jerseys even if they never win a game.”
On the roughly hourlong show, the longtime friends and music industry veterans offer hyperlocal perspectives on Atlanta’s sports and also elements of history, not only of athletics but also the city’s influential music scene and broader culture, which national outlets often miss or ignore.
“We first envisioned this as a general sports and entertainment show, where I would cover the entertainment and Tre would do the sports part,” B. Rich said.
For those curious if the show’s name is a reference to the young men who sell water to Atlanta drivers at popular street intersections, it’s not. The show was instead inspired by their admission that neither were good enough at sports to actually play.
Many of the show’s conversations came from years of sports debating, when he and Montgomery spent a decade plus touring with Grammy-winning rapper B.o.B. until the late 2010s — Tre as a supporting artist and B. Rich as B.o.B.’s manager. Both view the show as a means of remaining connected to a community and using their networking talents, as they have become less involved with the music in recent years.
“As we talked about Atlanta sports, we noticed people gravitate more toward that. So we said, ‘You know what, this is our niche.’”
Their followers and growing audience appear to appreciate the Atlanta-centric show. One of their most-viewed YouTube episodes celebrates the life of the late music producer and Dungeon Family co-founder Rico Wade. They also discuss an imaginary “Mount Rushmore” of Atlanta sports legends in the 59-minute episode.
Other top videos feature interviews with radio personality Ryan Cameron and former NFL quarterback Quincy Carter, who also led the football teams at Southwest DeKalb High School and the University of Georgia.
There are also episodes discussing the origins of the hate-hate relationship between fans of the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, and the reemergence of Atlanta Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter.
The show is one of the latest arrivals to the realm of sports podcasts doubling as YouTube shows, but Rich and Tre set themselves apart by their focus on Atlanta sports, rather than trendy national stories.
“You’ve got outlets like ESPN sitting there and talking about the New York Giants and Knicks, like they are relevant every year,” says Tre.
“Stephen A. Smith dedicates whole episodes to talking about them Dallas Cowboys whether they’re bad or not. But when Atlanta teams have a winning season people just gloss past it.”
The show also aims to bring more Black voices to the forefront of Atlanta sports conversations. While there have been a number of Black sports hosts on Atlanta radio airwaves over the years, including 92.9 FM’s Carl Dukes, 680 The Fan’s “Home Team” Brandon Leak, and JR “Sportbrief” Jackson’s time on V-103, a void has existed since the 2010s, when the widely popular 2 Live Stews show on 790 The Zone went off air in 2012.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
“You got people that do hot takes and then you got people who do serious sports media. The Water Boyz are right in the middle,” says George Foster, a fan of the show and a former UGA football player who was drafted 20th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Foster enjoys the balanced dynamic between the animated Tre and laid-back B. Rich. “They have a different angle because, as a lot of Atlantans like to say, they were ‘grown here, not flown here.’ It comes through in their brand and you can tell they’re serious about it but have a fun element.”
In addition to filling that gap, The Water Boyz also makes efforts to debunk the notion that Atlantans are not loyal sports fans. The show visits local barbershops, gathering game predictions and joining venting sessions with local fans, highlighting their voices.
“We’re a passionate city, we come out and we show up,” says B. Rich, suggesting that you will see more Black fans at NBA and NFL games in Atlanta than most cities.
To complement the podcast and serve social media followers between episodes, Tre posts comedic sketches and monologues related to Atlanta sports culture. Among them is a viral clip in which Tre delivers a poem dedicated to the “Atlanta sports curse.”
“Braves won a couple of times, but the Hawks and Falcons ain’t won a thing,” Tre says in the poem. “We even had to see the stinking, dirty, filthy Saints win a ring.
It also mentions familiar Atlanta sports myths, ranging from the Falcons being forever-hexed after tearing down two churches to build Mercedes-Benz Stadium, to the Hawks being mired in mediocrity ever since trading hoop hero Dominique Wilkins in 1993.
Clips like that and others, including conversations about UGA seemingly ignoring opportunities to land more Black quarterbacks, and exploring the myth that the infamous Fred Tokars murder and racketeering case had something to do with the Hawks and Falcons parting ways with Hall of Fame athletes Wilkins and Deion Sanders, have struck chords with many listeners in recent months.
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
Their insightful takes on these stories and the sentiment of Atlanta fans — and the city culture that surrounds local sports — serve the show well and capture sentiment of ATLiens perfectly.
“It’s not many sports fans here that’s actually from the city, that’s been through the same pain that all the fans originally from here have,” says Tre, a native of Decatur. “And that’s what we wanted to bring to the table.”
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