"Punk is total freedom"

The radio laid the foundation for her deep love of working with her voice, since it was always on in the Mackay household. And even in her father’s saddlery workshop—where young Cheyenne spent a lot of time—SRF 3 (then still called DRS 3) was constantly playing from the radio. At just nine years old, she responded to a call for entries to draw a picture, send it in, and possibly be selected in a drawing to spend a day at the radio station. Boom. That was the starting signal. «Luckily, the winners were chosen by lottery, because drawing,» she grins, «isn’t exactly my strong suit.» That day at the station turned into something more. At 12, she started as a young reporter. After graduating from high school, she worked for various radio stations until she rejoined SRF in 2016. Armed with a Swiss Federal Diploma in Adult Education (FH) and a CAS in Media Education, she had already launched the radio/podcast festival «Sonohr,» taught at the Klipp und Klang radio school, and produced radio plays and programs as an audio producer. From 2012 to 2015, Cheyenne worked, among other things, as part of the European Union’s Erasmus funding program.

Cheyenne has a daughter and, together with her husband, launches the podcast «Pipifax,» which is aimed at new parents and offers an unvarnished look at everyday life with a child. «I was so sick of the endless feel-good drivel and those parenting guides that had absolutely nothing to do with our reality,» says Mackay. And so the two of them build a community around «Pipifax,» with which they also interact regularly; the podcast is a hit and strikes a chord with the times. When Cheyenne’s time at the station ends in early 2021, «Pipifax» is also history. «Now my husband and I do this in our free time… did I say free time? You don’t really have any of that with a kid,» she smiles. It’s important to Cheyenne Mackay to be understood correctly. Her daughter is absolutely wonderful, and life with her is an adventure. But anyway, the next podcast episode is coming out, and it’s called: “Rotzphase.” Parents probably don’t need much of an explanation for that term…

A Love of Punk

Music plays an important role in Cheyenne Mackay’s life. But here, too, it is her voice that gives expression to her creative engagement with music. When asked about her genre, Cheyenne doesn’t hesitate for a second. Punk. Why? «Punk is total freedom,» she sums up. Pushing boundaries and breaking them down. She toured the stages for years with her band Copy&Paste. Music still plays an important role. Her latest project, Homesessions, took place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. «Different musicians recorded their parts from their own homes, and in the end, I belted out the vocals from my daughter’s bedroom,» she says enthusiastically. Without even knowing who else had actually participated. An adventurous experience—but that’s just what music can do.

The Podcast-Schmiede Agency

Cheyenne isn’t surprised that podcasts have been on everyone’s lips for a few years now. She’s more surprised that it took so long for them to catch on with the mainstream. In her view, podcasts are a direct medium and far more streamlined and flexible than radio. Since January 2021, she has been the deputy managing director of the Podcast-Schmiede agency in Winterthur. There, she oversees projects for clients. This is a new role for her, as she previously trained journalists and led her own projects. In her work at Podcast-Schmiede, she’s part of a team that, like herself, has years of experience in the podcasting field. Nico Leuenberger, the founder, is expanding his team because demand for podcasts has skyrocketed in recent times. After all, there’s hardly a company that wouldn’t rely on this channel for internal and external communication. Does the radio at the Mackay household actually play as constantly as it did during her own childhood? She doesn’t have to think twice: «We always have something on.»

To write this profile, Anna Kohler, editor-in-chief of m&k, met with Cheyenne Mackay for a video podcast interview at Studio 57 on Müllerstrasse in Zurich. For once, Cheyenne was the guest.