Los Angeles based radio host Tony Sweet has a lot of things to be proud of, but most recently the 200th episode of his show On Air With Tony Sweet. His audience recently reached over 600,000 listeners, well surpassing the population size of the humble town in Kansas where he grew up. Sweet has been a pioneer of online radio, which was barely in existence when he started his show just three short years ago. The focus of his show is celebrity news stories and Hollywood buzz, which would explain why Sweet’s guests range from Academy Award winners, to Emmy actresses, to stand up comedians.

TheCelebrityCafe: Although your show has been very successful and you’ve had great feedback, I’m sure you started out with a small audience. It seems like doing strictly online radio would make it harder to quickly expand your fan base. Why online radio, why not just stick with the usual?

Tony Sweet: In the beginning, online radio just happened. An opportunity fell into my lap and I decided to grab onto the reigns and ride it. It was definitely more difficult to start with and people didn’t take online radio as “Sirius,” no pun intended. I was truly the only one starting out online, so that was pretty scary. I have always loved a challenge so I went and looked in every avenue and explored every option for ways to promote myself. I was a one-man team and became my own agent and publicist. Everything was moving so fast, I just had to take it all in and ended up teaching myself the entertainment industry in three years.

TCC: Do you like the way that online is going?

TS: Things could always be better and I’m always tweaking and wanting to expand, but my show has progressed at such a rapid rate. I’m just really pleased with how everything is going right now.

TCC: Your bio says that you were always shy growing up, although you dreamed of being a singer. What about radio made it more approachable to you and less intimidating than a singing career?

TS: With radio I can still make that connection with the listeners that I would have gotten with singing, but radio is just a different avenue that seemed more fitting for me. I wanted to know what other ways I could use to reach all people, whether you’re gay, straight, brown or white. I wanted to be able to build bridges and used the show as more of a ministry. In the beginning the show was more Christian based and then changed to more of an entertainment focus. The main thing I wanted was for everything to be positive and for the show to accept everyone.

TCC: Would you still want to pursue singing or are you content with the radio career for now?

TS: Singing is still a passion and a goal for me, so I’m keeping my options open. My goal for the year is to at least start a CD just because that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. Even if it was just one CD I would love to put something together, something that included my favorite music or something that my family could be included in.

TCC: Not only are you the radio voice, but you’re the Chief Operating Officer as well. Is that something that just worked itself out or did you actually want to hold that title? Do you think it will stay that way?

TS: It definitely just came with the territory. I’m a control freak so when it comes to business I want my hand in everything. I am also realistic and know when I get to a certain place that I can’t run everything and will have to delegate it to someone else. Even then, I’m sure I will still be involved in as much as possible and will be closely informed with everything that goes on.

TCC: Your radio show is now broadcasted to over 80 different countries with 600,000 viewers. Did you ever think it would get that big?

TS: Wished it would be that big, yes. But I never realistically thought it would, especially after a time span of just a few years. Celebrities would come back after being on air and say they had a great time and it was one of their favorite interviews that they’ve ever done. That type of positive feedback was just motivation that I was going in the right direction and it helped me to keep pressing forward. Even so, it’s still hard to grasp that so many people are listening to the show and that the show is able to influence so many people.

TCC: What’s the ultimate goal for the show? You?

TS: The ultimate goal for the show is to keep expanding and to keep our audience growing. I would like to add even more shows to the company and to be heard in more countries, and I really feel like that will happen. I already have some celebrity’s lined up who are interested in doing their own shows, so it’s an exciting time. I like to be very open and let them talk about whatever they want on their show, just no hate. There’s no place for hate. For myself, I’d like to step in front of the camera and do more hosting and explore more of my passions. At a certain age, a lot of people stop dreaming and imagining and fantasizing and give up on living their dreams. Not me, though. I’m from the Bible Belt so I have a strong faith and feel that God puts things in my path for a reason. Planet Earth is listening so you might as well just enjoy what you’re doing .

To learn more about Tony, visit him at OnAirWithTonySweet.com.