The Adversity Advantage with Doug Bopst How To Rebuild Your Life When The Internet Hates You | Kevin Clancy
Mar 2, 2026
Kevin Clancy, longtime Barstool personality known as KFC who rebuilt his public life after a high-profile scandal. He talks about living with a Google-era scandal and handling public shame. He explores therapy, accountability, and daily habits for coping. He recounts Barstool’s rise, changing media dynamics, ending a 15-year show, and plans to relaunch with short-form content.
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Scaling Made Barstool More Corporate And Unified
- As Barstool scaled it became more corporate and aligned around company priorities, changing internal loyalties.
- Kevin noticed staff rooting for the boss's wins and merchandising benefits, a shift from early renegade culture.
Start, Fail, Iterate And Value Longevity
- Persist through failures and iterate; longevity beats short-term virality.
- Kevin urges starting things, failing often, learning what worked, and using durability to weather downturns and rebuild after major setbacks.
Dave Portnoy Kept Loyalty During The Scandal
- Dave Portnoy stood by Kevin professionally during the scandal.
- Kevin says Portnoy didn't fire him, warned he lost moral high ground, but remained supportive and believed firing for personal issues wasn't Portnoy's style.