Our Story
This publication was built by someone who spent decades learning that the best answers usually start as better questions.
By Erik Chambers · 6 min read · Updated July 2026
2ND CITY STANDARD did not begin as a media company. It began as a habit — a lifelong habit of asking why a team won, why a coach’s decision worked, why a business succeeded, why a fight was lost, why a child learned one lesson and not another. The subjects were different. The instinct was the same.
Construction
Construction teaches you that quality is not an opinion. A wall is either plumb or it is not. A joint is either tight or it fails. Standards are not slogans on the wall — they are the only reason the building stands. Publishing has more in common with framing a house than most people admit.
Martial arts and competition
Combat sports teach humility fast. You can prepare for months and still be wrong about what actually happens when the round starts. That kind of humility rewires how you read every contest. You stop confusing confidence with knowledge. You start looking for evidence.
Business, coaching, teaching
Running a business teaches you that outcomes come from systems. Coaching teaches you that talent without teaching is wasted. Teaching teaches you that clarity is a kindness and a craft.
Raising children teaches you that curiosity is fragile and worth protecting.
Every article begins with a question, because that is the only honest way to begin.
Why this publication exists
Modern sports media increasingly rewards certainty over understanding. The loudest voice wins. The fastest opinion wins. The take that generates conflict wins. Readers who want something more thoughtful have fewer places to go every year.
2ND CITY STANDARD exists to restore thoughtful analysis. Not slow for its own sake — careful for the reader’s sake. Evidence before opinion. Questions before conclusions. Context before reaction.
Why Chicago
Chicago is a city that respects craft. It respects builders, coaches, teachers, and people who show up early and stay late. It is honest about what works and what does not. It rewards standards. That is the temperament we want the publication to have — no matter what subject we are covering, or where in the world the reader is sitting.
Chicago is our foundation, not our identity. We write globally and illustrate locally.