A Maverick Mindset

Long before Eric Gray (’04) launched his own content studio, he was already building — on air, on campus and on instinct.

From his earliest days at the University of North Texas to leading teams at global companies and ultimately founding Maverick Content Studio, Gray has spent decades turning ideas into something tangible. He’s spent more than 20 years developing his skills, broadening his capabilities and building a unique space to thrive.

And it all began at the University of North Texas, where he studied radio, television and film — learning from legendary instructors like Broadcasting Hall of Famer and alumnus Bill Mercer (’66 M.A.).

“He’s a legend. He was easily the best teacher I had,” Gray says. “Once I decided what I wanted to do, I became all about sports radio.”

Gray says Mercer ran his courses with an emphasis on experience, sending students out to call high school games with a recorder and a microphone. After they turned in their tapes, Mercer listened and provided feedback in bright ink on his yellow legal pad.

“It was really learning by doing, which is what I wanted to do,” Gray says. “You saw red all over your paper and you knew you didn’t have a good game. He did that with broadcasters that are on ESPN today. Bill was the jam.”

Gray’s tendency to be a self-starter dates back to his time at UNT.

“I was an entrepreneur a long time ago,” he says. “I’ve always liked thinking about building things and coming up with new ideas. My friends and I wanted to start a sports radio show at KNTU, and so in 2003 we filled out a form to have a radio show.”

The Green Guys radio show on KNTU kicked off that same year and ran far beyond Gray and his classmates’ time at UNT.

“Every Sunday night from six to nine was Eric, John, Drew and Sean: The Green Guys on KNTU,” Gray says. “That was so fun — we did some stuff that was interesting, we did some good stuff, some bad stuff, but it was just such a good, rich testing ground for creativity and content development. And I just love that we just got to build it from the ground up.”

Gray says the opportunity to collaborate and create as part of the Green Guys was a major stepping stone in his career trajectory — North Texas providing a platform for hands-on experience in a real radio station.

After graduating, Gray worked a couple stints at radio stations in Texas before taking a job at Electronic Arts (EA) SPORTS — his ticket to the Sunshine State that he’s called home ever since.

“We started the EA SPORTS social channels and launched Madden’s Instagram account, all the YouTube stuff,” Gray says. “We did it all — built the systems, the infrastructure and the process, and had some great leaders that taught me a lot.”

And Gray used what he learned as he stepped into his next big opportunity at Universal Parks and Resorts, where he spent more than 11 years building social and digital marketing teams.

“It was where I got to be an intrapreneur before I was an entrepreneur,” Gray says. “It taught me everything I could ever want on what it means to build a team, build culture, build strategies, pitch ideas, sell ideas, fail, win, get up, keep fighting.”

After nearly a dozen years at Universal, Gray walked away from stability to take a bet on himself — without outside funding and little margin for error. But after two decades spent building for others, he was ready to build something of his own.

And Maverick Content Studio was born. The social media content agency supports brands driving engagement with customers and fans.

“I just love the word Maverick, I love what it represents,” Gray says. “It represents what we do, which is to defy the traditional way marketing is done. We believe there’s a new way to tell stories and create content that’s more engaging and more entertaining, so it just fit.”

Building Maverick wasn’t a solo journey. Eric co-founded the agency alongside his wife, Patricia Gray, who has been a steady partner from the beginning.

“Patricia has been one of my biggest supporters every step of the way,” he says. “She was deeply involved in building the company in the early days, and while she’s no longer in the day-to-day, she still serves on our leadership team and continues to help shape our direction.”

What started with limited runway quickly turned into momentum. In less than three years, Maverick has grown into a 12-person team serving brands like AdventHealth, Travel + Leisure and Winn-Dixie, and has earned over $2 million in revenue.

From building a student radio show at KNTU to leading teams at Universal, Gray had spent years learning how to create, scale and lead. Maverick brought it all together.

“I went to school for radio, I was a marketer and now I’m an entrepreneur,” he says. “Your life takes so many twists and turns, and you just can’t stress about it. Be willing to take big risks and just hold on and have a good ride, because you only get one.”