The events leading up to 25-year-old Foxx’s crazy schedule began in the small town of Chambersburg, just above the Maryland border. “I consider Chambersburg my hometown, and I still live there.” The beginnings of his radio career began practically in his back yard at the young age of 19, when he was a part-time on-air personality in that town. “I spent 2 months at this adult contemporary station. It was a great start in this really cool business.”

Within that 2-month time frame, a spanking new station across town sought out this new talent and offered Foxx a full-time position. “It was a wonderful learning experience and I was able to learn the ropes. I had a daytime shift and was heard everywhere.”

From there, the fair-haired Foxx decided to bask in the sun for a few years and trekked to Delaware where he could work on the radio, catch rays, and make some “serious bucks.” Foxx comments, “I moved to the beach where I did radio in Dover and delivered pizzas to supplement my income. It was a great move for me, and I had a blast. I made a ton of money, first delivering pizza and then managing Grotto pizza.” At the end of the second summer, however, Foxx decided to do the “adult thing” — move back home with his Mom and Dad and start college. He’s currently enrolled at Penn State, Mont Alto Campus on a nearly full-time basis. “It doesn’t leave much room for a social life, that’s for sure,” said Ryan.

Although he had a later start at college than most, he certainly didn’t miss out on fun along the way. Working at various radio stations, he became a laugh a minute. “For instance,” he chuckles, “Way back when I was full-time in Chambersburg, I was working at the more upbeat of the two radio stations in town. Our ratings were really, really bad because we were new, and we wanted to beef things up. So, I parked the station van out in front of our competing radio station and broadcasted from there. I gave away prizes and kept telling people to come see me at the van.” He goes on, “The owner of the station pulled up and screamed her head off and told me that I had to leave and she called the police. The police showed up to make sure that the meter was fed and then they took some cool bumper stickers. It was a really fun morning, and I had material to talk about for the next month!”

The silly antics didn’t stop with harassing the competition, though. Foxx seems to have a blast wherever he’s working. “When I was at Star 92.1 in Chambersburg, I was filling in for the midday girl and she had left her keychain in the studio by mistake. On the end of the chain was pepper spray. Guess what I did?” he laughs. “I pushed it for about a 10th of a second, not realizing how strong the stuff was. It got into the ventilation system and everyone had to be evacuated … except me. I had to keep on broadcasting.” That, he claims, was the hardest day he’s ever spent in radio.

There are times when the tables get turned and Ryan is the brunt of the joke — or should we say “butt” of the joke. “My stations are always involved in parades and public events, so, of course, we participated in a Christmas parade. My assignment was to be in a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer costume that day. I was dressed by other people and no one told me until I had walked through the whole parade — beginning to end — that the costume was on completely backward. The tail of Rudolph was on my head, and you can guess where the head was! I went through the whole parade like that,” he complained with a laugh.

While he’s never locked himself out of a studio (like every other on-air personality this writer has encountered), he’s suffered the physical pain that an old dunk tank offers. Ryan complains, “These tanks have a big old board that rips your entire body to shreds when someone hits a bullseye.” Although these dunk tanks are mostly used for charity’s sake, they aren’t something that Foxx ever intends to volunteer to do again. “I had bruises, cuts, and scrapes from head to toe; and the pain lasted for days.”

There aren’t many loud, screaming moments for the versatile Foxx these days. The folks at The River have a very low key format, and on-air personalities don’t scream at the listener like some other stations. Obviously, his fans love his current style and hope he’ll be around for a long time.

Single and a quarter-of-a-century-old, this boy-faced man and self-professed fast-food junkie said that he wouldn’t mind having a steady significant on his arm and jokes, “If you’re out there … you know where to find me at night. …”

… And his devoted following knows where to find that soothing nighttime voice during the week. You’ll recognize him as the one in the studio with the toothpicks holding his eyes open.