Steve Clair Interview | Respect the Artist
I'm Steve Clair... an NYC based entrepreneur, storyteller, children’s author, podcast host and real estate broker whose career has been built around one idea: greatness is created, not given. I founded of The GOAT Academy, a children’s media brand that transforms the lives of legendary athletes into inspiring stories about resilience, discipline, confidence, and character. Whether I'm building a brand, telling a story, or raising his two children, my mission is to help people recognize and pursue the greatness within themselves.
How did you get your Artist name?
My mom loved it 40+ years ago, and if it was good for her it's great for me
How did you get into creating?
Funny how at 40 I try to think back to my pre-teen days making mashups on a tape deck and then making monthly mixed CDs to sell in school. Then, I'm here over half a decade ago reading books on writing children's books. The original idea for The GOAT Series came to me nearly a decade ago. At first, I imagined creating children’s books about the greatest sporting events of all time (think Pats/Falcons Superbowl, but Brady is a goat in a world of humans). The idea stayed with me, but it fully clicked after my son, Seymour, was born. I bought him a ton of children’s biography books I could find, and most of them felt uninspired, more like quick money grabs than books created with real care. That was the light-bulb moment... I could take my original concept and build something bigger - a series that introduces children to the greatest athletes of all time through beautiful storytelling, memorable artwork, and meaningful lessons about greatness - as goats in a world of humans. And that's when the GOAT Series was born.
Where are you from?
I’m a New Yorker through and through. I was born and raised in Queens, growing up in Little Neck, and I now live in Brooklyn with my wife, Jules, and our children, Seymour and Delilah. New York has shaped nearly every part of who I am: my energy, my ambition, my creativity, and my belief that you can build something meaningful from the ground up.
How did growing up in your neighborhood/city affect you?
Living in New York, you're exposed to every walk of life and you have access to see everything that's possible. 25 minutes in one direction and you're in Manhattan, bright lights, shows overflow of people and options to do nearly whatever you want. 25 minutes the other way you're in the burbs where people seem to soak in what's in front of them. Growing up in Queens was as diverse as it gets and I also dabbled in everything, from music, theatre and sports. You name it, I did it, because I could.
What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?
ALWAYS BE LEARNING. I became a student of every part of the process. I studied children’s books to understand what worked, and just as importantly, what felt lazy or inauthentic. I joined multiple community groups to see how others were failing and succeeding, I researched the lives of legendary athletes far beyond their stats, looking for the setbacks, habits, defining moments, and personal qualities that made their stories meaningful.
Because I don't come from traditional publishing, I had to learn everything from the ground up... writing for children, working with illustrators, art direction, printing, distribution, licensing, retail, and brand building. I sought out experienced collaborators, listened to honest feedback, and kept refining the books until they felt worthy of the athletes being featured.
What does your current setup look like?
My current setup is a small office in Brooklyn that functions as my creative studio and HQ. It is filled with thousands of books, product samples, packaging, and pieces from every stage of building The GOAT Academy.
Who inspires you?
My son, Seymour & my friend Dave, who passed away 4 years ago. Dave was also creating and growing. He was my sounding board for ideas and growth. I used to go down to Miami and stay with Dave, and on this one trip each day we'd open a new gallon of water jug and write affirmations and manifestations on it to start the day. We each had to finish our water and we had our visions staring at us while we did it. Dave was the one I used to spitball music with when creating mix tapes when we were kids. Dave was the one who got me into self education and the power of thinking bigger and always be learning. Seymour, that's my little man. He's now 4 years old. He was born a month before Dave passed. Seymour's curiousity and love for live sports fills me up with pride to keep creating more for him (and his little sister), and to build something he can creatively be a part of.
What is your goal when you create?
To create a legacy. It's near impossible to create your own IP and while everyone steals from artists who came before them, to create original work that's never been done is awesome. THAT is what I want from The GOAT Academy.
Why do you create?
I create because I saw something missing and believed I could make it better.
How has choosing your creative path affected your life?
Choosing a creative path has changed the way I see myself. For most of my career, I was known primarily as a real estate broker. Creating The GOAT Series forced me to step into an entirely different identity, as a writer, storyteller, creative director, and world-builder (GOAT ACADEMY IN THE WORKS!). It has made my life busier and far less predictable, but also more meaningful. I have watched an idea that lived in my head for nearly a decade become books that children hold, read, and connect with. More than anything, it has shown my children, and reminded me that you do not need permission to create something new. You just need enough belief to begin and enough persistence to keep building to start your own winning streak...
Did you have to overcome any obstacles along the way?
The biggest obstacle was building in an industry I had never worked in before. I wasn't an author with a publishing deal, an illustrator, or someone with an established name in children’s media. I also don't really look the part or fit the typical demographic for children's book author (maybe that's in my head, but I definitely have felt it). I was a real estate broker with an idea I could not let go of. That meant learning everything from scratch while continuing to work full-time and raise a family. Writing, illustration, editing, production, printing, distribution, retail, and marketing had been part of my past so molding it into this genre was do-able. I understand that things take time, but when fully diving into this, the slow stretches when nothing seemed to be happening, and expensive lessons along the way definitely made things stressful and fearful. The challenge was trusting the idea before there was evidence that anyone else would. Every new book, retail order, and child who connects with the series has made that persistence worthwhile.
What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?
No go-to song, but more so compilation of Kanye songs from Through the Wire, Can't Tell me nothing, to Roses and All the Lights. Both Dave and I loved Kanye, his genius in every aspect of the culture and his music is goated. It took me a little bit to separate the artists work from his comments, but it just hits and for how his music has been a part of my life for the last 20 years, I feel the growth and the inspiration and pride when I listen.
What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?
My dream is to turn The GOAT Academy into a globally recognized children’s brand that lives far beyond the bookshelf. I want every fan in the world to have at least one GOAT book for their team. Being a GOAT isn't about being the single greatest in that field/sport, but being the greatest in the eyes of that franchise and those fans... so for us Knicks fans, JALEN BRUNSON!
I want to create a world of books, animation, characters, products, educational experiences, and live events that helps children understand what greatness truly looks like. I'm working toward that one deliberate step at a time: expanding the book collection, growing our retail presence, developing the animated series, collaborating with athletes and creators, and building a team capable of bringing the larger vision to life.
And.. To win an Emmy award. The GOAT Academy is an animated series that has been in my head for some time and now we're bringing it to life.
What would you tell someone else with a dream?
It's easy for someone that's done it to tell you JUST DO IT, but truly it's about that, just starting. If your dream is real and it only has to be real to one person (YOU!), start with researching it, sketching it, reading about it, listening to podcast/books about it.
You may never get to where you want to be, but as long as you start and keep moving forward, you'll get to where you're meant to be... and if you don't, you'll regret it!
Tell us about your most recent release
Most recently I finished writing the Jalen Brunson book. At the same time, started working with a new art director which was a big decision for me. Having worked on every bit of the series with one team, transitioning feels like the right move. I don't want the style to change, but just feel elevated. We're hoping to be done with this by the middle to end of September so that we can have them ready for the start of the NBA season.
But my most recent release is Bath Time with the GOAT Legends, a waterproof bath book created for our youngest readers that are newborns to about three. It introduces children to the GOATs through colorful pages and simple name & sport association. I attribute Seymour being able to speak so well at a young age from reading bath books to him nearly every night. So, creating a book like this to me was super important.
The idea was to bring The GOAT Series into one of the earliest stages of childhood. Most sports biographies are designed for older children, but we wanted babies and toddlers to begin recognizing these legendary figures and the qualities they represent. The book is durable, interactive, and made for little hands, turning bath time into an opportunity for connection, learning, and fun. It is more than a smaller version of our hardcover books—it is a child’s first introduction to the world of The GOAT Academy and the idea that greatness can start anywhere, even in the bathtub.
Check out
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRUXwgBEf7G/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/thegoatseries.kids/
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