For two decades, Rex Brewer has been the lead voice on high school sports broadcasts on WZBD. His journey to the microphones of 92.7 FM has taken many twists and turns, but when it comes down to it, there is one truth – Brewer has a true love for broadcasting and the sport is irrelevant, it’s the thrill of being live and calling the action that keeps Brewer coming back.
Brewer became a well-known sports figure in Adams County as a 16-year-old wrestler for the Bellmont Braves, reaching the championship bout of the 119 pound weight class at the IHSAA State Finals in Indianapolis. That success propelled him into a collegiate wrestling career in Michigan and eventually a career in officiating. After many years in stripes, including multiple trips to the IHSAA Individual and Team State Finals, Brewer stepped away from the sport and began working for WZBD.
“My wife says I am a show-off,” chuckles Brewer, “but she’s probably right.”
Now 20 years into his tenure, Brewer says his motivation is quite simple.
“It’s certainly not for fame and fortune,” he says. “I’ve been around this community long enough to know that there are people out there who care, but they can’t be at the game or at the match. That’s why I do it.”
Brewer also works full time during the day, often working his hours around the station’s broadcast schedule. He entered the industrial world directly out of college over 40 years ago as a draftsman. Nowadays, he procures materials and items for the aerospace industry at a company in Fort Wayne.
When he’s not on the air or at work, Brewer is with family. Whether it is being grandpa or still sharing some fatherly wisdom, Brewer is a busy man. He keeps a small garden on the back side of his house and enjoys riding his bike or driving his golf cart through the golf course.
One well-known hobby for Brewer is his love of good food, something his broadcast partner, Dane Fuelling, often jokes about when the pair are on air.
“When we play an ad for a local restaurant, I like to know what I am talking about and what they have to eat,” he says.
Rex hosts the weekly football coaches show and he turned that program into the idea of a wrestling coaches show, which he hosts weekly in the winter with Fuelling.
Brewer says a lot has changed in the 20 years he has spent at the station, but it still comes down to delivering great, original content.
“In the beginning, we were striving to be the only media outlet at these events,” he recalls. “As technology evolved, though, we had to evolve ourselves. I think WZBD has adapted and we have not missed a step. We are broadcasting more events and more sports than ever before.”
One initiative that Brewer is most proud of is the elevation of girls’ sports to a level playing field as the boys’ at the station.
“I have had the opportunity to call some great girls’ games in the last five years and I think we have become a leader across the state in that area.”
The success of High School Wrestling Weekly over the past few years has brought Brewer some added notoriety in the sport where his true passion lies.
“It’s more than I have ever dreamed it could be,” says Brewer. “The only reason that show has been successful was because the station was willing to have an open mind and let us put it out there, knowing there was a need.”
That willingness to step into uncharted waters has led Brewer and Fuelling to break new ground in the state of Indiana in broadcasting, becoming the first broadcasters to call the IHSGW State Finals on the radio a few years ago.
“We have gained the respect of the IHSAA commissioners and that has been a real honor for me through the show and our work with WZBD.”
Brewer, along with Fuelling, were recently announced as the 2023 honorees for the IHSWCA Hall of Fame Distinguished Media Award for their work on High School Wrestling Weekly and in the girls’ state tournaments.
“What I love is the freedom we have on the air,” says Brewer. “Dane and I are there to entertain our listeners. You have to enjoy what you are doing or it is not worth doing.”
Brewer will be awarded the Distinguished Media Award at the next induction ceremony for the IHSWCA Hall of Fame.
You can listen to Rex Brewer this fall in football and volleyball and soccer, when WZBD presents its biggest fall sports schedule ever on 92.7 FM.