Morning Rock Ride with The Milkman

Our Milkman grew up on Top 40 radio, and, when his grade 6 teacher invited everyone to bring in some of their favourite music to play for a graduation party, he showed up with The Bay City Rollers and Shawn Cassidy.

That’s when the intervention happened.   His classmates were mortified and introduced him to Max Webster, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd.
In an instant, his entire world changed!

Not long after he was gifted the entire record collection his aunt and uncle had owned!  It included early albums from The Beatles, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Grand Funk, The Doors and countless other legends from the 60s and early 70s.

At just 13 years old, he hosted his first radio show, heard weekends, on the University Of Ottawa’s campus station.

In college, he hosted the weekend morning show at an easy listening radio station.  His internship, however, was with a rock station!  His first full-time radio job was as a sales executive for a soft rock station, which he left in order to pursue an on air opportunity at, you guessed it, a classic rock station!

It seems only fitting that he’d find his way here to The Region’s Classic Rock, FM 985!

Beyond radio, John runs several online business ventures, is a passionate photographer, and, in the warmer months, spends a lot of time traveling in his RV.

An outspoken champion of mental health, which affected him personally, John has raised thousands for mental health organizations through various initiatives.

Born and raised in Ottawa, he has extended family in Waterloo and is excited at the possibility of actually meeting someone else with the last name Mielke!  (Yes, KW… Mielke is German!)

John is also an animal lover!  He and his wife have a cat named Moo, and John can often be found at the dog park with his beloved rescue dog Keltie.

That’s him, with the headphones on, likely listening to classic rock… But more than likely also sneaking in the occasional Bay City Rollers hit for old time’s sake!