It’s called the Big Sex Show, but UMR student Adam “Brooklyn” Blinzler will be the first to tell you that names can be deceiving and "It’s not me. It’s you." Blinzler, chief engineer for student radio station KMNR, not only handles technical matters for KMNR but hosts the aforementioned show every Thursday morning on 89.7 FM.

“There’s a lot of musical diversity at KMNR,” Blinzler explains. “The station is constantly evolving. When I first became a disk jockey, I started out with a two-hour morning show. I would get up at 6 a.m., play techno music for an hour, and then talk news for the second hour. I would talk for about 50 minutes with no breaks, all by myself. I wasn’t that polished, but I loved ranting.”

At the last station meeting that year, Josh Boyce, now a UMR alumnus, approached Blinzler and told him he liked the way he ran his show, asking if they could team up for a longer show the next semester. The rest, as they say, is history.

“We just chatted about things that happened to us the previous week,” Blinzler says. “We talked about our hopes and dreams, relationships, rejections, annoyances, observations, what we saw on TV…whatever came to mind! We were constantly improving as our on-air chemistry got better every week. Boyce graduated, and I wanted to keep doing the show, so UMR student Kristin Imm became my new co-host.”

Now Blinzler has three to five co-hosts on the Big Sex Show, depending on the subject matter and news of that particular week. Not your typical morning zoo production, there’s no formal planning or agenda for each show. Instead, Blinzler says that every minute of every day is preparation.

"Since the show is essentially the world through my eyes, I keep a Sharpie on me at all times to take notes," says Blinzler, who creates a list of topics each week.

“Since the show is essentially the world through my eyes, I keep a Sharpie on me at all times to take notes,” says Blinzler, a native of Kansas City, Mo. “I create a topic list each week. Filling the hours is a maddening thought that hits me every Wednesday.”

Although the show is random by nature, Blinzler says there are many reoccurring themes in his show.

“I routinely use the show as a therapy session for my current relationship,” Blinzler says. “I find it incredible that my girlfriend even answers my phone calls after listening to the show.”

The show also features weekly rebuttals to the sex column in The Missouri Miner, UMR’s student newspaper. The sex column discusses everything from sexual misconceptions and fantasies to where to find love in Rolla, and Blinzler is always quick to respond.

“It’s not that their articles are necessarily bad,” Blinzler says. “I just have a much better opinion.”

While the creative side of KMNR is something he is passionate about, Blinzler also loves the engineering aspect.

“As chief engineer, I’m basically in charge of anything with a wire,” Blinzler says. “I have to make sure the station is operational every second of every day. If everything isn’t operating perfectly, there’s the danger of potential fines from the Federal Communications Commission.”

A senior in computer engineering and physics, Blinzler says working at the station has given him the confidence to tackle anything, regardless of his knowledge of the subject.

“In September 2005, the KMNR studio moved, and former station manager Pat Turley said ‘Brooklyn, you’re in charge of moving all the equipment.’ I had just finished training to be a DJ, so I didn’t know anything about radio equipment, but UMR alumnus Jon Witte walked me through the basics. The two of us dismantled the entire station and reassembled it in the new place. From then on, I was hooked. I loved the challenge of fixing things I didn’t know anything about. I rely on a great deal of research and talks with tech support.”

Despite an unquenchable passion for radio, Blinzler has no plans for a career in radio broadcasting. “I remember telling my mom that I applied to be a DJ,” Blinzler recalls. “Her initial response was, ‘You are not getting two degrees only to become a shock jock! I will not allow it.’”

But anyone who knows Blinzler knows that KMNR holds a special place in this UMR student’s heart.

“I’m a purist,” he explains. “KMNR is free format and non-commercial. That means we get to play what we want, when we want, and don’t have to have breaks at the top of the hour to acknowledge any sponsors. We are one of only a handful of these types of stations left in the country. I feel this element is the heart and soul of KMNR. Someone can play industrial rock before my show, I can come in and just talk, and then the person after me can play anything from blues to opera. I love that about KMNR.”

Operated by UMR students, KMNR is a 450-watt non-commercial and educational FM-stereo broadcast station licensed to the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri. KMNR is located on the radio dial at 89.7 FM, and more information on the station is available online at www.kmnr.org.