John Gliva Talks The Ride With JMV, Family, Music & More
Photographer: Brian Brosmer
It has been quite the ride for John Gliva.
You may know Gliva by another name, the one his daily listeners know him as — JMV. Believe it or not, The Ride With JMV 107.5/1070 The Fan sports radio host actually started out doing the weather.
Though Gliva eventually graduated from Indiana State in 1993, he started out at Vincennes University in their journalism program. He had a passion for sports, but he got his feet wet with the weather first.
“Vincennes University has a good broadcasting program,” Gliva says. “They threw me right in. My first year there, they thought I was pretty good at geography so they made me do the weather. So, I was on their PBS affiliate doing the weather with magnetic clouds and rain.”
Gliva’s rainy days calling the weather wouldn’t last for long.
He initially wanted to be on the music side of radio. After finishing his college career at Indiana State, Gliva worked several years on the night show at B97, a contemporary hits station in Bloomington.
As he got older, he got a bit burnt out on the night show gig.
“It was great for a while,” Gliva says. “But then you hit 28 years old and you think, ‘Oh man, I need to do something else.’”
After leaving B97 and moving away from Bloomington, Gliva was out of radio for a year working odd jobs in sales including, of all things, mortgage loans. He got his first break doing weekend shows for WNDE in 1999 before starting full time in 2000. Not long after, Gliva got the afternoon show to himself in 2004.
It was during his five years at WNDE that Gliva got the moniker — JMV. As Gliva tells it, he always went by John Michael Gliva. It was colleague and friend, Conrad Brunner — formerly a sports writer with 107.5/1070 The Fan, now owner of a sports collectibles store in Noblesville — who first called Gliva, John Michael Vincent. The name started out as a joke in reference to then-famous actor Jan-Michael Vincent.
Fellow radio host, Mark Patrick, shortened the nickname and tagged Gliva as JMV.
“It is one of those things where you have a choice,” Gliva says. “You either say, ‘Man, I really don’t like you calling me that.’ And you have people call you by your real name and kind of be a chump about it, or you just roll with it. I rolled with it because it was Mark Patrick. Having Mark mentioning you really helped. He is so good and so established.”
Gliva’s career shifted when he made the jump to 107.5/1070 The Fan in May of 2010, and “The Ride With JMV” was born. Today, Gliva hosts The Ride weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. mixing sports with pop culture and music references and enjoying a career that he says is a dream job.
Those who have listened to his show over the years have likely heard the “JMV SUX” mantra. A phrase that started out as a jab to Gliva is just a punch that he has rolled with.
Now, there are JMV SUX t-shirts, and, each year, Gliva hosts the “JMV SUX But His Larceny Bourbon Golf Outing Doesn’t.” This year’s golf outing, October 1 at Foxcliff Golf Course, will benefit Teacher’s Treasures and includes prizes, dinner served by Sullivan’s Steakhouse and a silent auction.
“It is fun. I really don’t take a lot of this seriously,” Gliva says. “I don’t want to be so thin-skinned and get bent out of shape every time somebody says something about me. This was used as kind of a diffuser. I think the shirts are funny. The guys at The Shop in Broad Ripple do a great job at coming up with ideas for those. It is more fun than anything. People have fun with it and so do I. My kids thought it was a little weird at first, especially when we would be at the mall and someone would yell, ‘JMV Sucks!’ But they get it now. My son even has his own shirt, too. People seem to like it, and I’m glad.”
Today, Gliva lives in Bargersville with his wife Christy and children Lainey and Blake. Christy is the assistant principal at Jeremiah Gray-Edison Elementary. Gliva says he’s fortunate to have a career with his work hours because it allows him to take his children to school each day — a role he enjoys as a father.
That simple role has even turned into a small morning show with his 8-year old daughter Lainey. After being nudged to do a bit more digitally and in the realm of social media, Gliva decided to start posting Facebook Live videos while in the car with Lainey before dropping her off to school.
“Last year, we had a buffer of about an hour before she had to be in school after I dropped Blake off,” Gliva says. “So, we sat in the parking lot always listening to music together but were kind of bored. One day I just decided to do some Facebook Live and see what happened. That turned into Drop Off Line Sports. Basically, it is me and my daughter sitting in the cab of my truck. She has fun playing games and talking. We even got a sponsor for it.
“This is really the absolute best job and the best timing ever,” Gliva adds. “As my kids grow, I get the opportunity to be there with them and see them. The only time I’m not with them is when I’m on the air here, and sometimes they even come here. It is pretty awesome. It would be tough if I couldn’t be around them as much.”
Gliva grew up in the small, rural town of Owensburg, south of Bloomington. He has lived in Bargersville since 2004 and enjoys life on the southside.
“We’ve got some acreage, which I like,” Gliva says. “Country wise, it is how I grew up. I love the area.”
As he looks back on his career, Gliva is grateful for where he is today. He is fortunate to be in a career that doesn’t feel like work each day.
“I always wanted to have a job that didn’t feel like a job and is always fun,” he says. “It didn’t happen instantaneously. I’ve been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and be surrounded by great people. This has been perfect. I’m having fun and doing exactly what I wanted to do.”
For more information and to listen to the latest shows, visit 1070thefan.com/theridewithjmv.
