Brian Telestai

What was the first audiobook you performed?

"Rock and Roll Children: An 80s Hair Metal Garage Band Story" by Sean Frazier

What title or series are you best known for?

Gerald in "After You've Gone" by Margot Hunt

If a listener wanted to get to know your work, which of your audiobooks would you point them to?

"Dirty 20" by Bill Schweigart
"Paranormal: My Life in the Pursuit of the Afterlife" by Dr. Raymond Moody and Paul Perry
"It Rides a Pale Horse" by Andy Marino
"Into the Cage" and "Into the Dark" by R.D. Brady
"The Hunter's Code" (Books 1-8) by Yuri Vinokuroff and Oleg Sapphire

Where else have we heard your voice?

Levite in Se2 Ep4 of "The Chosen"
Background vocals on "Lovers' Requiem" and "We Are Always Searching" albums by I Am Ghost (Epitaph Records)
All male vocals in "The Denouement" by I Am Ghost (Epitaph Records)
Regional radio and TV commercials

What do you always have in the booth?

Spring/Summer: Monster Zero (Original)
Fall/Winter: Tea or an Oat Milk Mocha

How did you come to performing audiobooks?

The only way I could get through some of my college text books without falling asleep was to pace my room and read it a loud like a performance. This led to recording a few chapters and posting them to YouTube to help other college students. Then I found ACX and started recording non-fiction. In 2021, I branched out to include fiction and started working with publishers and indie authors.

Anything else you’d like a listener to know?

Shortly after starting narration, Brian survived a near-death experience worthy of its own Netflix documentary. While out for a run on a rainy day along the Oregon beach, he fell and shattered his elbow into 6 pieces, then lost consciousness as waves engulfed his body. After a mystical out-of-body experience, he woke up floating in the ocean. With confusion, panic, and terror, he used his three working limbs to swam to the nearest cliff and began to climb.While climbing, he was hit by large waves, lost consciousness again while on a ledge, but was eventually able to reach safety. After a surgery and intensive physical and mental therapy, Brian is back with a renewed passion to create art that will outlive his joint replacement.