BORN TO PERFORM

“…I’m gonna be on the stage… I’m gonna sing and dance and talk in the microphones. (giggles) Then? I’m gonna be on TV.”
– Pete Scalia, age 4

When Pete was just four years old, his dad gave him some headphones, sat him in front of a microphone, and hit record. In that recording, Pete sang, made up stories, and unknowingly laid out what he was going to do with his life. “I’m gonna be a man.” “I’m gonna be on the stage.” “I’m gonna sing and dance and talk in the microphones.” “Then? I’m gonna be on TV.” Everything he said came true (even the part about growing a mustache and a beard).

With an innate ear for music, Pete started playing piano (by ear) at age four. In the sixth grade, he entered a “songwriting” competition for elementary school kids, and wrote a simple melody called “A Song Sparks My Imagination” that he performed live at an assembly for parents and faculty. His first performance with a band was in the eighth grade – playing and singing “Johnny B. Goode” at his middle school talent show

Pete joined the drama club at Oak Hills High School and performed with his band “Spare Change” at the “Best of Oak Hills” talent show, singing Van Halen’s “Panama.” While delivering the morning announcements as “Your Friendly Oak Hills Homecoming Announcement Person,” a school secretary told him “You have a great voice. You should go into broadcasting!” Upon graduation, Pete enrolled at Ohio University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Communications – with an emphasis on audio/video production.

While attending OU, Pete wrote and produced original music for numerous stage, radio and television programs, and hosted a live weekly student-run production called “Fridays Live.”  

Before graduating, Pete landed a job at Audiocraft recording studio in Cincinnati – but before he finished up his studies in Athens, the studio went out of business. After graduating, Pete landed his first television job – working behind the scenes at WLWT-TV as a production assistant.

That job was cut short, however, when Pete had the opportunity to tour with Chicago guitarist T.D. Clark – as the supporting act for classic rock icons Ted Nugent and Bad Company. 

After returning from the road, Pete worked numerous broadcasting jobs in Cincinnati, while also working as an on-camera spokesperson through a local modeling agency. He also did a lot of freelance voiceover and production work before touring with Bootsy Collins protege Freekbass. Pete also played a number of shows in clubs around the Cincinnati area with his dad in their cover band “Snidely Whiplash” (which is still active today!)

It was around this time that Pete was first diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Keeping up with his treatments while also maintaining a rigorous touring schedule proved to be challenging – but aside from random flare-ups (and occasionally having fluid drained from his knees), Pete was just happy he was still able to play.

It was also while he was still a touring musician that Pete met his future wife, Amy.

During a hiatus from the road, Pete auditioned to become the morning traffic reporter at WLWT – where he eventually proposed to Amy on live TV.

In 2008, Pete landed his first morning anchor position at WKEF-TV and WRGT-TV in Dayton, Ohio. After three and a half years of commuting 61 miles (each way) from their first home in Fort Thomas, Kentucky to Dayton, Ohio every day, Pete and Amy moved to Columbus, Ohio – where Pete became morning anchor of the wildly successful Good Day Columbus at WSYX-TV and WTTE-TV.

Pete and Amy would call Central Ohio home for the next ten years. It was also where they decided to start a family – which, for Pete, meant discontinuing his treatments. The process took much longer than they anticipated –  after enduring a miscarriage, fertility treatments, and noticeable changes to Pete’s appearance, they were ultimately blessed with the birth of their daughter, Lola.

Being off of his medications for so long caused irreparable damage to Pete’s body, resulting in bilateral hip and knee replacement surgeries. It also took a couple of years to finally find a new treatment to keep his symptoms under control. As a media personality, Pete felt obligated to share his journey with chronic illness and infertility on air and on social media, and by advocating for his fellow arthritis warriors at Arthritis Foundation events at the local, regional and national level.

Ratings success at GDC led to Pete being lured “across the street” to anchor mornings at WBNS-TV. As they planned for another round of fertility treatments, Amy discovered she was pregnant with their second child, Sofia. Fourteen months after she arrived, the family welcomed their first baby boy: Nico.

After anchoring newscasts from his basement during the “pandemic” of 2020, and an unforeseen change in station ownership, Pete and Amy made the decision to move their family back “home” to the Greater Cincinnati area, where Pete now hosts Cincy Lifestyle on ABC affiliate WCPO 9.

In 2020, Pete launched PSNeverGiveUp – an uplifting lifestyle brand that includes a podcast, online shop, inspirational content and more – encouraging those living with chronic pain to “Never Give Up!” Pete and Amy also founded The PSneverGiveUp Foundation to provide grants and resources for couples who are experiencing infertility while managing chronic illness.

Pete and his family now reside in Greendale, Indiana with their three children and their dog, Pappy.