The Waltwins - Youtube BBQ'ers
This podcast episode features a compelling discussion with Adam and Brett Walton, the Wall twins, who have garnered significant attention for their innovative cooking and grilling techniques on YouTube. With a focus on their journey into the culinary realm, the twins share how their passion for cooking blossomed, especially during the pandemic, leading them to engage a wider audience through their captivating content. Their approach emphasizes the importance of simplicity in cooking, which resonates with viewers and encourages a more accessible culinary experience. Throughout our conversation, we delve into the nuances of creating engaging content, the evolving landscape of digital media, and the significance of connecting with one's roots in culinary traditions. As we explore their insights, we invite listeners to reflect on their own culinary journeys and the joys of experimentation in the kitchen.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painter Hills Natural Beef
- paintedhillsnaturalbeef.com
- Heritage Steel
- Hammerstahl
- Oregon Crab Commission
- Amazon
- Walt Twins
Mentioned in this episode:
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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
It's time for Barbecue Nation with jt so fire up your grill, light the charcoal, and get your smoker cooking.
Speaker A:Now from the Turn It, Don't Burn it studios in Portland, here's jt.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to the nation.
Speaker A:That's Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm jt, along with my co host and hall of fame barbecue Leanne.
Speaker A:Women.
Speaker A:Leanne.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm going to go iron my tongue here in a minute.
Speaker A:We're coming to you from our respective Turn It, Don't Burn it studios, mine in Portland and Leanne's permanent one is in Tampa, but she may be in Daytona.
Speaker B:I'm in, like, Lauderdale and then headed to Daytona.
Speaker A:Well, there you go.
Speaker A:We'd like to thank the folks at Painter Hills Natural Beef Beef the way nature intended.
Speaker A:You can check them out online@painted hillsnaturalbeef.com.
Speaker A:well, if you're a YouTuber and you like YouTube, which I happen to do, there's lots of stuff out there.
Speaker A:There's nothing I don't think you can find on YouTube.
Speaker A:But one of the things that Leanne brought to my attention a while back were our guest today, Adam and Brett Walton, the Wall twins, which is quite clever.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:Weekend warriors with a huge following on the tube, and they do some great recipes and barbecue on there and grilling, and they kind of COVID it all.
Speaker A:So it's a real pleasure to welcome them to the show today.
Speaker A:Hey, guys.
Speaker C:Hey.
Speaker C:Thanks so much for having us.
Speaker C:We're excited to be here.
Speaker A:No problem.
Speaker A:So the first question, other than your parentage, because that's obvious, okay.
Speaker A:You guys are like looking in a mirror, but how did you get into first, like grilling and cooking and then what.
Speaker A:Then what made you take the step to putting it on film, so to speak?
Speaker C:That's a great question.
Speaker C:Brett, you want to start?
Speaker C:You kind of got me going into cooking back when you would do some grilling.
Speaker C:Yeah, my grilling.
Speaker C:We always love cooking growing up, you know, watch mom dabble and things like that.
Speaker C:But when I was in the army and got a grill and just became a thing, I was married with kids.
Speaker C:So all the single soldiers like to come over and we just throw meat, throw some groceries down and kind of cook whatever.
Speaker C:And that's when I kind of started Lear out.
Speaker C:Just whatever.
Speaker C:You throw, whatever you want to eat, throw down, season it up, and you're going to enjoy it.
Speaker C:So that's.
Speaker C:That's pretty much when it started on a regular basis.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Sorry, go ahead.
Speaker A:No, I was just going to say, were your folks Big, you know, backyard cookers or anything.
Speaker C:Funnily enough, not a whole lot.
Speaker C:We grew up actually in Utah, and so we did have a grill out on our patio, and my dad would make some good burgers, you know, AKA hockey pucks.
Speaker C:Some make some barbecue chicken from time to time.
Speaker C:But we loved our mom's cooking, probably like most everybody does.
Speaker C:And oddly enough, we come from a family of seven.
Speaker C:There's seven kids, and we've got an older brother and a sister who are just phenomenal cooks.
Speaker C:Our brother was a chef for several years, and our sister is probably the best cook that we knew.
Speaker C:Anytime we taste her food, we just, like, pick her brain.
Speaker C:How did you do this?
Speaker C:And so taking on.
Speaker C:Brett and I would just phone call and start talking and talking about different cooks, things we were doing.
Speaker C:And then one year, I just want to take on Thanksgiving turkey and reach out to my mom, and she would walk me through the process that became.
Speaker C:Every year I'd call her, and she walked me through making the turkey and that I just really, really loved it.
Speaker C:And then it.
Speaker C:After she passed, we were really, really just talking more recipes with our sister, and we just realized we had a passion.
Speaker C:I tell people all the time, like, I went to school for education.
Speaker C:I'm a teacher now.
Speaker C:If I could go back and do it again, I love my students.
Speaker C:I love teaching, but I'd probably go to culinary school.
Speaker C:There's just something.
Speaker C:We have a drive for it.
Speaker C:We talk about it.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:Anytime Brett and I are talking, we're almost always either talking YouTube, what's going on there, or just food and recipes and what we're going to do and what we can learn.
Speaker C:So we love it.
Speaker A:You know, Leanne, I think, again, I was just going to say, I think these guys did something really smart.
Speaker A:They kept talking to their mom.
Speaker A:You know, so many people that we.
Speaker A:That we talk to, whether it's on the show or not, they'll.
Speaker A:They'll be, you know, conversing about food and barbecue stuff, obviously.
Speaker A:And I know Leanne did this, too, with her dad.
Speaker A:I did what they say.
Speaker A:A lot of people said, gosh, I wish I, you know, I didn't get that pecan pie recipe from my mom or whatever.
Speaker A:And I think that's really smart to get that traditional stuff.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's true.
Speaker C:It laid the foundation and the basis.
Speaker C:And I still do the turkey the same way.
Speaker C:The same way.
Speaker C:You know, last couple years I talked to her, it was more just the tradition because she'd walked me through it, and I'm So, yeah, that down to our basic gravy that I make is very simple, basic, but it's the way that mom did it, so.
Speaker C:Still enjoy it?
Speaker B:So you were in Utah, so, Yeah.
Speaker B:I see you're in two different locations now.
Speaker B:Are you at least in the same state?
Speaker C:We are.
Speaker C:So I'm in.
Speaker C:I'm actually in Orlando.
Speaker C:I'm just outside Orlando in Apopka, and Brett is up there in Gainesville, right outside the Gainesville area.
Speaker C:So we're about two hours away.
Speaker B:So you're able to get together to shoot these videos, or do you kind of try to snip it together?
Speaker C:No, Brett, I know I'm doing all the talking, Brett.
Speaker C:I just want to feel it.
Speaker C:I'm.
Speaker C:I'm doing babysitting duty with my granddaughter.
Speaker C:My girlfriend's trying to get here to take over, but three o' clock starts.
Speaker C:The show must go on, so.
Speaker C:Hi, sweetie.
Speaker C:Why can't you talk?
Speaker C:This is Sienna.
Speaker C:We finished her homework in time.
Speaker C:So she did her reading and her homework.
Speaker B:So she's glad to harass you now.
Speaker C:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker C:Now she's got Mickey Mouse out there to hopefully hold her over.
Speaker C:But she's.
Speaker C:This more interesting.
Speaker C:Yes, Today's office.
Speaker C:Today, I promise.
Speaker C:Okay, but, yeah, so.
Speaker C:Yeah, but so as far as that goes.
Speaker C:So what we do is.
Speaker C:And we've done this for the past several years.
Speaker C:When we started YouTube, we didn't start out as a cooking channel.
Speaker C:It started from a silly face swap app that we had.
Speaker C:We did face swap with each other, and because we're identical twins, we were giggling like crazy at it because to us, we don't look the same.
Speaker C:So we.
Speaker C:I saw my face on his body, and he saw his face on my body, and we uploaded it, and viral hog reached out to us and said, hey, we think this is good.
Speaker C:We think this will go viral.
Speaker C:We didn't know anything about it, so we signed the rights over to it, and sure enough, it went viral.
Speaker C:Went 4 million views overnight or something like that.
Speaker C:We thought, man, people like looking at freakishly identical twins.
Speaker C:Maybe we've got something here.
Speaker C:So we spent the first about four years doing everything from carpool karaoke to challenges, to just vlogging in general.
Speaker C:And then we started doing fast food reviews because I was doing all the editing.
Speaker C:I'd spent countless hours researching YouTube, how to get in the algorithm and all that.
Speaker C:So we're doing fast food reviews.
Speaker C:It was okay.
Speaker C:And then Covid hit, and there was no way people were watching dudes go out and eat burgers.
Speaker C:You know, it's like, you should be staying home.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it just so happened that I decided, you know what?
Speaker C:Let's get a griddle.
Speaker C:And had no idea we were striking while the iron was hot.
Speaker C:We went live on YouTube and we asked our audience of, I think 12 people, Brett were there on our life, and we said, hey, how many of you would like to watch us cook?
Speaker C:Because we've been talking about doing it for years.
Speaker C:I just thought.
Speaker C:I couldn't imagine how I was going to film it.
Speaker C:That was my whole issue.
Speaker C:But we started.
Speaker C:We started doing it and it took off, but.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So we get together every three weeks to.
Speaker C:About.
Speaker C:About three weeks, and we'll meet on a weekend, and if we can get a cook at Friday night, great.
Speaker C:But, like, right now, where the sun goes down early, lighting's always an issue.
Speaker C:We like to day cook, so we'll usually do, you know, six or seven cooks in a Saturday, and then Sunday we'll get up and try to get three more.
Speaker C:We try to get nine videos done, so that gets us three weeks out.
Speaker C:Every once in a while, we'll throw in solo cook.
Speaker C:So you've been there.
Speaker C:It's a ton.
Speaker A:I like the way you say day cook.
Speaker A:Most of my friends are day drinkers, and so they're not much help, you know?
Speaker A:You know, and I'm.
Speaker A:And I'm.
Speaker A:I'm glad we met you guys, because you were talking about swapping faces.
Speaker A:If you put my face on Leanne, that would not be a hit.
Speaker A:Trust me.
Speaker C:You never know.
Speaker A:You never know, though.
Speaker A:But, you know, barbecue is one of those safe havens where big guys.
Speaker A:Because I'm a big guy like you are, Leanne.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker A:Not that chief.
Speaker A:Very petite, you know, and.
Speaker A:But I feel very comfortable.
Speaker A:When I was walking around the Jack this year, looking at everybody, I thought, God, I feel small.
Speaker C:Right in, right?
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:Who's Slim Shady over here?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So what's the.
Speaker A:Either one of you, Adam or Brett, which.
Speaker A:What do you think is the biggest thing you've learned so far about this whole experience?
Speaker C:I'll say trust, trust, trust the process.
Speaker C:And if you're following a recipe or maybe you think you know something and you're just going through it, just know the end result is what you're going for.
Speaker C:You might.
Speaker C:And we get comments all the time of like, oh, we clicked this too soon, or did that or whatever.
Speaker C:There's always going to be haters that are going to be there, but trusting the process and especially the more you do it the more conf.
Speaker C:Comfortable you get with your palate and your skill and ability to.
Speaker C:To cook, and not just cook, but cook good food that more.
Speaker C:A lot of people want to eat.
Speaker C:And so that's my biggest.
Speaker C:My biggest thing would be trust the process, Adam.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, that's probably the biggest thing, but I mean, there's so many things.
Speaker C:But also for me, and I just, as I had time to kind of think of that is my biggest thing.
Speaker C:I remember very distinctly several years ago wishing I could make a good biscuits and gravy recipe.
Speaker C:For whatever reason, I was like, man, if I could ever nail that.
Speaker C:And so I learned to look for good recipes and follow good recipes.
Speaker C:And they'll get you to what?
Speaker C:To breast point.
Speaker C:You trust that process, you end up with good food, and then eventually you can start playing with it, tweaking things that you want.
Speaker C:But I feel like I make a very basic biscuits and gravy.
Speaker C:That's my favorite because I finally learned I could do this.
Speaker C:And we do a lot of Asian cooks on the griddle, and those have become some of our favorites because they taste just like they do in the restaurant.
Speaker C:Just by following the recipe, you have.
Speaker A:The right amount of grease.
Speaker A:That's what I always say about it.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:Don't be afraid of it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:No, no, no, no.
Speaker A:Do you think it's important that you guys not just do brisket?
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:I mean, it's name of this show is Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:And, you know, all those people.
Speaker A:We love all those people.
Speaker A:And that's where Leanne has really excelled, you know, in that world.
Speaker A:But I. I like to.
Speaker A:And I know she does, too.
Speaker A:She can speak to this.
Speaker A:But I think it's when you bring other forms and other dishes to the grill, to the.
Speaker A:You know, it doesn't matter what they do.
Speaker B:I like what they do because I feel like they're integrating favorite things, but doing.
Speaker B:Integrating into, like, another recipe where it combines things, and people love that.
Speaker B:But you're still keeping it simple.
Speaker B:Simple is so important.
Speaker C:It absolutely is.
Speaker C:And that's such a good point.
Speaker C:And we've loved, like, we're.
Speaker C:We still consider ourselves new with barbecue, and we are loving using the smokers and really learning the processes.
Speaker C:You know, we feel like we're smoker lights.
Speaker C:L I T E S because, you know, we didn't.
Speaker C:We didn't do the stick burning and all that.
Speaker C:We got right into pellet smoking.
Speaker C:But it is.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:I remember same thing to that point when I wanted to cook a Big brisket with the whole intent of taking some of that cut down brisket and putting it on a smash burger.
Speaker C:So that way we were combining this amazing cut of meat and making one of our favorite burgers even better.
Speaker C:A little barbecue.
Speaker C:And it was, it still is one of the most memorable.
Speaker C:But, yeah, we love combining it.
Speaker C:We've.
Speaker C:We've done a tomahawk, smoking it on the grill and then finishing it off on the, on the griddle.
Speaker C:And we just love mixing the different cooking process.
Speaker C:But it's not, it's not a rocket surgery, as I would say.
Speaker B:You know, a lot of people, really simple, have added those flat tops to their backyards.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it works.
Speaker B:It isn't like you can do it because they don't have the equipment and it's affordable, too.
Speaker B:And I think people enjoy the journey with you all because you are kind of novices.
Speaker B:I hate to use that word because you're really not.
Speaker B:But in smoking, it makes it more achievable and people don't get intimidated and they're more apt to take the leap and do it at home, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:We got to, we got to take a break for time before David yells at me.
Speaker A:But we'll be back with Adam and Brett Walton, the wall twins.
Speaker A:You've seen them on YouTube and Leanne and I.
Speaker A:And stay with us.
Speaker A:We're coming right back, everybody.
Speaker A:It's Jeff here.
Speaker A:I want to tell you about something really cool.
Speaker A:Heritage steel cookware.
Speaker A:I just got mine.
Speaker A:I do a lot of cooking and it's got five ply construction, Stay cool handles.
Speaker A:It's titanium strengthened.
Speaker A:It's got all the great stuff.
Speaker A:Just go to heritagesteel us and find out more.
Speaker A:You'll love it.
Speaker A:I guarantee it.
Speaker A:Welcome back to Barbecue nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with Ms. Leanne Whippen, barbecue champion extraordinaire, hall of fame member.
Speaker A:And she can make the prettiest vase out of a toilet paper roll that you've ever seen in your life.
Speaker A:I will explain that later.
Speaker B:But the on the road centerpiece.
Speaker A:The on the road centerpiece with a bath towel as a tablecloth and all that.
Speaker A:If you want to follow us, we'd love that.
Speaker A:You just go to.
Speaker A:Or email us too.
Speaker A:You can go to barbecuenation jt.com There's a link there.
Speaker A:You can send it to us.
Speaker A:And we're on all the platforms X formerly known as Twitter and Facebook and Insta and not Insta and Sankey or whatever they are.
Speaker A:But we're out there.
Speaker A:So give us A listen.
Speaker A:But like I said, we're talking with Adam and Brett Walton the Day of the Wall twins.
Speaker A:Did you think when you started that it would turn out like this?
Speaker A:I mean, you're not anywhere near done, but, you know, it's like, right, what the hell is going on?
Speaker A:You know?
Speaker C:Yeah, it was.
Speaker C:It's been a tremendous journey.
Speaker C:We are blown away that we have such a following.
Speaker C:That we do.
Speaker C:And, you know, sometimes it's the following, and sometimes people point out how many.
Speaker C:How many views we have on different platforms, and it blows our minds.
Speaker C:No, when we first started, we really did because the one little viral video went viral, and I think Everybody that starts YouTube kind of has that vision like, oh, I can put this on YouTube.
Speaker C:Everyone's gonna watch it.
Speaker C:And you put a video up and you're like, okay, this video has 47 views.
Speaker C:And I think I've watched it 37 times.
Speaker C:So, you know, you start to realize people aren't watching, you're watching.
Speaker C:And was.
Speaker C:It was when we cooked.
Speaker C:And I was so grateful that I had spent the time, the years of learning the algorithm and learning how a good thumbnail along with title and description and those things to help drive the algorithm.
Speaker C:So when we started Griddle Cookie, at that time when everybody was staying home, we had no idea it was going to blow up.
Speaker C:And we got very fortunate.
Speaker C: We went from: Speaker C:And then we were.
Speaker C:YouTube reached out to us, and we've become their YouTube creators on the rise for a day, meaning we were featured on their homepage for 24 hours.
Speaker C:So we were two.
Speaker C:Two video.
Speaker C:Two videos below, Mr.
Speaker C:Beast stuff for a full 24 hours.
Speaker C:And we got, you know, another 10,000 subscribers overnight.
Speaker C:And that just really stunned us.
Speaker C:And that got the things going there.
Speaker C:But no, we never expected it to take off the way it did, but it just.
Speaker C:It.
Speaker C:I think what it helped us is really hone our skills and realize we can't fake it anymore.
Speaker C:This isn't like a fake it till you make it time deal, because somehow we made it in this weird, bizarre.
Speaker C:We're not ready for this, and we better start doing something here.
Speaker C:So, yeah, it took us by surprise.
Speaker B:Do you find sponsors reaching out to you wanting to use their products, or do you have to reach out to the sponsors?
Speaker C:We do get a lot of.
Speaker C:A lot of sponsors reaching out.
Speaker C:Of course, when we were first starting, we're like, holy cow, Brad, we got this meat grinder for free.
Speaker C:Are you kidding?
Speaker C:This is crazy.
Speaker C:You know, of course this is the small little one you can get on Amazon, but we still love it, you know, but it got to a point where, like, we got to stop just taking free stuff, like maybe get paid for some of this.
Speaker C:But no, we've, we've only ever tried to reach out that.
Speaker C:I remember one time and it didn't really work out, but we were still early on.
Speaker C:But we've had sponsors reach out to us and we still do and we appreciate it, you know, with time, you know, we both have full time jobs, so we can't.
Speaker C:If we could do this full time and work on full sponsorships, man, that would be incredible.
Speaker C:But we're just not at that level, level yet.
Speaker C:And so we're grateful for the partnerships that we do have.
Speaker C:But yeah, it's, it makes it a lot of fun when you realize people are willing to, you know, use your likeness and your image.
Speaker C:And we always try to make sure we're, we're, we honor our brand and our goals and our values and anything that we do.
Speaker C:So, you know, we sometimes try to match up.
Speaker C:Like, we've had brands reach out.
Speaker C:That would be great.
Speaker C:And they've offered us, you know, paid gigs and things, but it's just like, it's just, you know, we're family friendly, so there's things that we just wouldn't add to our, our repertoire for sponsorships or brands.
Speaker B:Do you find that when you get really big views, does it surprise you or did you try, Was that your goal on that particular video?
Speaker C:That's interesting because I, I do, I watch the algorithm like crazy.
Speaker C:And Brett knows, like, it's like, I can never be satisfied with where we're at because I'm like, well, that video is really good.
Speaker C:As expected.
Speaker C:Sometimes we have videos that disappoint because I feel like, hey, I did this right?
Speaker C:The thumbnail looks great.
Speaker C:They don't.
Speaker C:But yeah, there are some that really surprised us and what we're finding now, it used to be like a video could take off and we'd have a whole bunch of views within the first 48 hours.
Speaker C:I'm like, wow, this one's really taking off.
Speaker C:What I'm finding now is they'll kind of be middle of the pack.
Speaker C:Then all of a sudden, two, three weeks, a month later, I'll look and I'm like, oh, wow, that is a lot more views than I thought.
Speaker C:So it's, they're rolling in different now, so I don't know if it's a YouTube thing, but yeah, there are some that still really surprise me.
Speaker C:I think I will say probably the most discouraging.
Speaker C:I say discouraging half heartedly because it's really not discouraging.
Speaker C:It's all amazing.
Speaker C:Our most viewed videos, though, have nothing to do with cooking.
Speaker C:It's about how to clean and take care of the griddle.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Some of our unboxing videos, which are fun, but it's like, did you not see our new Smash Burger video?
Speaker C:It's crazy.
Speaker A:So I gotta, I gotta ask you this because.
Speaker A:And Leanne touched on this and you.
Speaker A:And you covered it.
Speaker A:Adam, how many times have you gotten a package in the mail, so to speak?
Speaker A:And it's spices, rubs, whatever, and I happen to have a whole closet full of them.
Speaker A:And I, and I, I tend to give them away.
Speaker A:Not that they're bad products.
Speaker A:And that's not what I'm saying.
Speaker A:It's just too many.
Speaker A:You can't possibly use them in what you're doing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:There are.
Speaker C:I like to go to Brad's house.
Speaker C:He keeps us so nice and organized on this huge spice rack.
Speaker C:And I just look at them.
Speaker C:They're so amazing.
Speaker C:I'm like, we will never use all these.
Speaker C:And then I remember all that.
Speaker C:I'm looking at his place.
Speaker C:I have just as many at mine.
Speaker C:Yeah, we do get stuff all the time.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So, folks, if you're listening to this, it doesn't mean we.
Speaker A:We wouldn't like to try your products.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But that's where we'll kind of.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker B:And to be fair, I'm sure you look at the product and how many followers they have and that kind of thing, because it's more promising for you all to use a product that has a bigger following.
Speaker B:I mean, that's the goal, right?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And I think that's kind of, you know, Leanne, that's a great point.
Speaker C:I think it's kind of the hidden part of content creation that a lot of people who don't do it don quite understand.
Speaker C:And it does become discouraging.
Speaker C:You know, people think we sell out because we're using one product or another.
Speaker C:And it's not.
Speaker C:We're just.
Speaker C:We're really trying to support ourselves and our families.
Speaker C:But also the flip side to that is, is that we're not going to be able to use everything or do everything.
Speaker C:But it is so our vision and use of them.
Speaker C:Obviously, we will never promote anything that we don't think is a great product.
Speaker C:We've never been like, oh, sure, they want us to do, you know, some weird product or spice that we would just never use.
Speaker C:So we try to be honest and.
Speaker C:And keep it real, so to speak.
Speaker C:But at the same time, it's like we do have an audience, and our end goal is to build our audience.
Speaker C:And, you know, we want to keep being able to entertain, but also share.
Speaker C:But we also realize that our whole brand is built in and who we are.
Speaker C:So if we.
Speaker C:If we have products that people can't trust, then eventually we lose all credibility, and it's not worth it, so.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I heard your numbers.
Speaker B:You say you shoot, you know, nine videos on a weekend for the next three weeks.
Speaker B:So it sounds like your frequency is important, too.
Speaker B:So you're doing probably three a week, and that's important.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:We're going to take another break.
Speaker A:We're going to be back with Adam and Brett Walton, the wall twins and Ms. Whippen and myself right after this.
Speaker A:You're listening to Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's JT And I have eaten.
Speaker A:If you've ever looked at me, you know that.
Speaker A:But I have eaten seafood all over the world, and I can tell you there's no place better than here in Oregon and our Dungeness crab.
Speaker A:If you want to learn more about Oregon Dungeness crab, just go to oregondungeness.org find out how to cook it, how to catch it, where to buy it, and the sustainability of what they're doing there in the Oregon Crab Commission.
Speaker A:Check it out.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with Leanne, and, whoops, I got my script in the wrong spot.
Speaker A:How about that?
Speaker A:We'd like to thank the folks at Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Beef the way nature intended.
Speaker A:Excuse me.
Speaker A:They still have.
Speaker A:I talked to them yesterday.
Speaker A:If you go in, if you go to their online store@painner hillsbeef.com and you order something from the store, if you type in the code BBQ Nation, you get 15% off.
Speaker A:So you can buy everything from a couple of pieces of jerky to New York's or whatever you want, so go there.
Speaker A:Also, pig powder, best rub on the planet award.
Speaker A:Leanne, you want to take it from here?
Speaker B:Yeah, it is.
Speaker B:And competition teams use it all the time, and we're looking at actually getting some ambassadors at this point that use it frequently that have won a lot of awards.
Speaker B:So use it on home.
Speaker B:Pork, chicken.
Speaker B:It's great on everything.
Speaker A:It's great on green beans.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker A:It is.
Speaker B:French fries.
Speaker C:It's great.
Speaker A:And French.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, so here's a dry rub.
Speaker B:It's a seasoning.
Speaker A:Yeah, it is a seasoning.
Speaker A:So here's a question for you.
Speaker A:When you guys are eating French fries, and I've never asked Leanne this question either.
Speaker A:I, if I put, I like a little salt on stuff besides the seasoning, I put the salt on my ketchup, and then I, I, I do it that way.
Speaker A:Is that weird, or is that okay with you guys?
Speaker B:I think that's very weird.
Speaker C:We've actually been doing that for quite some time.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:True story.
Speaker C:My older brother taught me that when we were younger, going to Wendy's, because Wendy's notoriously didn't salt their fries.
Speaker C:So he would crack open their little salt, and they have really fine salt there.
Speaker C:That was really good.
Speaker C:Mix it in that.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:Yes, I, I to your I, I.
Speaker C:Okay, okay.
Speaker C:Depends on the.
Speaker C:We're the only people we know that knew it, so.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, now you met another one.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker A:Because I know when I'm eating with my wife or we're out or something, I.
Speaker A:If I get fries or something, I'll.
Speaker A:I'll take a little sauce or something.
Speaker A:Depends on the plate.
Speaker A:And I'll put the ketchup on there.
Speaker A:And I put, I say, you want some ketchup?
Speaker A:She's like, no, you put salt in it.
Speaker A:You know, that's a bad thing.
Speaker A:You've never done that, Leanne?
Speaker B:No, I have never.
Speaker B:I guess I have to try it now.
Speaker B:But I don't like ketchup.
Speaker A:Well, if you got.
Speaker C:If you start there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you've got secret fry sauce, you could do it in your secret fry sauce too, you know, straight up.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:She probably drinks her bourbon neat or something.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Yeah, everything less is more, as they say.
Speaker A:Okay, okay.
Speaker C:When.
Speaker A:When you guys really start getting into the YouTube.
Speaker A:And, and Adam, you talked a little bit about studying the algorithm and stuff, and Leanne brought this up right at the end of the last segment.
Speaker A:The frequency.
Speaker A:If you're gonna do this, I think you have to be pretty dedicated.
Speaker A:You can't just drop one video if you're gonna try to make something out of it.
Speaker A:You know, you can't drop one video every six months and then say, look at me, you know, unless you're a Martian or something, and then that's that.
Speaker A:All bets are off.
Speaker A:But the point is that frequency.
Speaker A:Do you think that is what kind of inhibits some people from really being successful on.
Speaker A:On social media and especially YouTube?
Speaker C:It does.
Speaker C:Dwayne.
Speaker C:The Rock Johnson can do that.
Speaker C:He could probably drop a video every one month or two and you know, get millions of views.
Speaker C:No, it is there.
Speaker C:And that's the biggest thing learned and I feel really fortunate and that that first of all, my wife supported me just doing this when this was a habit, we weren't making any money doing this at all.
Speaker C:That she just let me do the research because sometimes it was.
Speaker C:I remember being up 1, 2 in the morning reading, doing some research, watching YouTubers who teach how to YouTube, so to speak.
Speaker C:And that's where I learned about the algorithm and really getting the ear of a really good friend who we were small channels at one time and then he started doing gaming and then he blew up and you know, was gracious enough to meet to, to talk with a good hour or two and he just said learn Al.
Speaker C:And he said al is what I call the algorithm.
Speaker C:And it really came down to what do I need to do?
Speaker C:And he gave the advice to upload three times a week.
Speaker C:It wasn't like specific, like this is everybody's number is going to be different.
Speaker C:There's some people who do every day, some people twice a week, works once a week.
Speaker C:If you're dedicated and you've got that following for us we find three is a good number.
Speaker C:Sometimes it's like some people say, wow, you know, you guys are uploading so much I'm not able to catch up up.
Speaker C:So they watch them all.
Speaker C:For some people they can't get enough.
Speaker C:So it was just learning that I remember dedicating for one year I was going to just do.
Speaker C:We were going to do three videos a week and I knew that meant we were gonna have to film a lot more and get together more and kind of sacrifice.
Speaker C: t the next year was, that was: Speaker C:And then the next year was, you know, Covid year and, and fortunately we started cooking.
Speaker C:So yes, I, I think if you're going to do YouTube, learn how to let YouTube work for you.
Speaker C:They say it's not an algorithm, your algorithm is just your audience.
Speaker C:But it, you got to start somewhere and you've got to build an audience.
Speaker C:You can't build from nothing.
Speaker C:And we have some people who are very successful on other platforms.
Speaker C:We work with tick tockers who have 2 million followers but can't grow on YouTube and they're frustrated because you can make money on YouTube, you can't on TikTok.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:And so we feel fortunate that we kind of started on there and we're trying to do TikTok and all these others, which are now I'm learning a whole new process of filming and doing everything changes everything.
Speaker C:But yeah, so it is.
Speaker C:It's a beast.
Speaker C:And it's hard.
Speaker C:So, you know, it doesn't always translate.
Speaker C:Different audiences prefer different platforms.
Speaker A:How often when you're, when you're creating your nine or over the weekend for the next three weeks like that, how many times do your recipes fail?
Speaker A:I mean, it just, I mean, Leanne and I have had it.
Speaker A:You know, you're.
Speaker A:You're thinking, this is.
Speaker A:Excuse me, gonna be great.
Speaker A:And at the end, you look at it and go, that number.
Speaker A:Good.
Speaker C:Brad.
Speaker C:I still like them all the time.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:Not once, not once have we failed once.
Speaker C:Several times.
Speaker C:Yes, it is.
Speaker C:The griddle.
Speaker C:It seems to be a little more forgiving than a smoke.
Speaker C:Like if you.
Speaker C:We've destroyed a brisket, which I'm sure we all have.
Speaker C:And, and that's a very expensive, frustrating beef jerky that you just made.
Speaker C:You film it and you get it done and you go cut into it like, oh, look, it's dry.
Speaker C:Get the sport model.
Speaker C:We got to sort of something on there to fall off.
Speaker C:It happens more often than we like to.
Speaker A:Yeah, you open it up and it says Reebok on the inside.
Speaker B:When you do your YouTube videos, do you find time is an element also?
Speaker B:You try not to go over a minute or what do you think that's important?
Speaker C:That's great.
Speaker C:We find our sweet spot.
Speaker C:And some of that has to do with advertising.
Speaker C:So YouTube used to be 10 minutes and longer.
Speaker C:They'll do a mid roll ad, which, which they like because that means they're able to show more ads if you're.
Speaker C:If your audience is sticking around for it so you can make a little bit more money.
Speaker C:They went down to eight minutes and longer.
Speaker C:So 10 minutes is still the sweet spot.
Speaker C:But if you're making videos that people aren't sticking around for, you don't want them that long.
Speaker C:So for some people, four minutes is all they do.
Speaker C:We found, for us, a good spot is between 11 and 15 minutes.
Speaker C:Sometimes some of our longer content does really well.
Speaker C:Sometimes we don't get as much watch time, and that's what we look for is watch time and engagement are two of the, two of the data points that I look at.
Speaker B:You're the first ones that we've had on the show that has said that length of time it's, it's.
Speaker B:So you must be.
Speaker B:Well, you are very entertaining.
Speaker C:Well, we get, we get a lot that say, get to the point, just show me what I need.
Speaker C:And, and that's kind of what we, what we look.
Speaker C:And I guess that's probably how we look at it too.
Speaker C:But we also haven't toyed with like, really.
Speaker C:Well, no, I have.
Speaker C:We, we, I mean, this was early on, some shorter videos, three, four minutes.
Speaker C:And we found we literally get the same amount of watch time.
Speaker C:It's about anywhere from 40 to 70% watch time on all the content.
Speaker C:So it's like if it's two minutes, that means people are watching, you know, a little more than a minute of it.
Speaker C:But if it's 15 minutes and they're watching seven or eight minutes, that's gonna, you know, on the YouTube end be way better for us.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But it is, it's part, part because we look at it as a cooking show rather than just a how to.
Speaker C:Here's the step by step hurry and get to this point, which some people have mentioned, man, just try and get to the point.
Speaker C:But they're like, man, you can scrub past it.
Speaker C:So it is about building our audience and working with our audience.
Speaker C:But to that point we are always willing to look and say, if we are going to do a straight how to video, just here's what you need.
Speaker C:Let's get to the point.
Speaker C:You're going to do this for this amount of time and get.
Speaker C:And we could do it, do shorter as well, but we found for us and what YouTube prefers, because they want to roll ads.
Speaker C:They want, they want people on the platform as long as they can, they want to run ads.
Speaker C:And so if we can help generate that, you know, for it, then, then we're here for it.
Speaker C:But yeah, if it helps to do shorter content and then people are watching the networks as well.
Speaker A:Do you think that is kind of indicative of watching that, you know, get to the point quick stuff?
Speaker A:Do you think that's indicative of like TikTok and Instagram and stuff, that they've become kind of anesthetized to that?
Speaker A:I'm not saying that's a bad thing.
Speaker A:I'm just saying that I've noticed that when, when people do that, they want you to hurry, you know, because they'll, when we put these shows up, they'll scroll to the good part, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:And they'll watch it like that.
Speaker A:But do you think that's one of the reasons?
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:I think just in general, people's Our attention span is.
Speaker C:There's a major deficit.
Speaker C:In fact, I use the example I learned seeing a research on.
Speaker C:There's a children's show called Cocomelon.
Speaker C:Very, very popular right now.
Speaker C:And if you watch it, it.
Speaker C:The transitions happen every two or three seconds.
Speaker C:And it's stunning because more of them are two seconds than three.
Speaker C:In old movies, they used to say if you could, you know, every nine seconds, you got to make a transition, then it was every seven seconds.
Speaker C:Then I learned on YouTube, you want between four and eight seconds.
Speaker C:So I do.
Speaker C:I cut my edits.
Speaker C:So we're either zooming in or out, panning out every, you know, several seconds to help with attention.
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:That cocoa melon, that constant every two seconds moving.
Speaker C:But, yeah, we have noticed since TikTok has really taken off the watch, time has dipped substantially.
Speaker C:We're talking about two.
Speaker C:Between one and two minutes per video overall watch time.
Speaker C:And it's.
Speaker C:It.
Speaker C:You can attribute it right to right when TikTok really took off.
Speaker C:It's crazy.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker C:We're.
Speaker A:We're gonna take a break.
Speaker A:We're gonna come back, and we're gonna ask the burning question, is Brett really a shock jock on the radio?
Speaker A:We'll be right back.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's J.T.
Speaker A:you know, I talk about painted hills all the time, and we always say be beef the way nature intended.
Speaker A:But it's more than that, because each bite of painted hills will make your taste buds explode.
Speaker A:Put a big, bright smile on your face, and whoever's at your dinner table will have a big, bright smile on their face.
Speaker A:And you can thank me for that later.
Speaker A:Just go to paintedhillsbeef.com and find out more.
Speaker A:You won't regret it.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, J.T.
Speaker A:here.
Speaker A:I want to tell you about the Hammerstahl knives.
Speaker A:Hammerstahl combines German steel with beautiful and functioning designs.
Speaker A:They're part of the Heritage steel Group group, which also does their pots and pans.
Speaker A:So go to heritagesteel us Check out the hammer Stall knives.
Speaker A:If you're really into cooking, I think you're really gonna like them.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the nation with Ms. Whippen and myself.
Speaker A:We'd like to thank the folks at the Oregon Crab Commission going to be doing some.
Speaker A:I've created a couple new recipes, so we got some new stuff coming up on the shows that I work on TV with the Oregon Crab Commission.
Speaker A:And if you ever get up to the Northwest, you got to eat some Dungeness crab.
Speaker A:I'm just telling you, I've.
Speaker A:I have a Convert on the other end of this line with us today.
Speaker B:I will second that.
Speaker A:Yeah, sure.
Speaker A:I. I'm trying to con them into sending you some, but I got to make sure you're home to get it it.
Speaker A:Because that's not something you want to leave out in the Florida sun very long.
Speaker B:No, no, I agree with you.
Speaker B:Yeah, that was staying home from now on.
Speaker A:Okay, There you go.
Speaker A:So, Brett, you were a morning host at a rock station in Gainesville.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:I would.
Speaker A:Gainesville's not my old stomping grounds, but I started my.
Speaker A:I started my radio career as a morning drive rock jock.
Speaker C:Rock.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:And we're actually not rock.
Speaker C:We're.
Speaker C:We're a top 40 kind of hot AC, adult contemporary.
Speaker C:We do the pop music.
Speaker C:Play a lot of Taylor Swift.
Speaker C:So all of Taylor Swift.
Speaker A:Oh, God, I knew you were gonna say that.
Speaker B:You mean you only play Taylor Swift?
Speaker C:It's pretty much Taylor Swift.
Speaker C:Nordo Five Three here in Gainesville.
Speaker C:Yeah, I've been here for 19 years.
Speaker C:Started out driving.
Speaker C:We have a big giant boombox that we take to events, live broadcasts.
Speaker C:And then a few months in, I got to a chance to do the night show where I go the hottest night show in the universe.
Speaker C:I did that for six years, a couple stints on the morning show, and then finally put me on the back on the morning show.
Speaker C:And I've been there for the last 13, 14 years, loving it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's a long time for a morning host.
Speaker A:Yeah, it really is.
Speaker C:And the fact that I'm still in the same station that I started at is virtually unheard of in this industry.
Speaker C:Radio is a very revolving door type industry where people will come through and use it as a stepping stone or a starting point.
Speaker C:I gave a more middle market market, 83 to 86 out of like 200 some odd markets.
Speaker C:So we're on the larger part of the middle market.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:It's been a great place for me to land.
Speaker C:And you know, I got my granddaughters here and we've got relatives right here.
Speaker C:So I've been fortunate to be able to stay and be at the same same place where it's.
Speaker C:Where it all started.
Speaker A:Well, good for you.
Speaker A:How's what you've learned doing?
Speaker A:And I'm not talking about the process, the.
Speaker A:The videoing it, the filming it, but the actual cooking process.
Speaker A:Has that changed what you.
Speaker A:To a restaurant, what you order?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:You can go first.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:The palette has definitely changed from a simple cheeseburger with just ketchup, mustard and mayo.
Speaker C:I, I, I'm not, like, so picky as far as, like, the way I order things.
Speaker C:I'll just order.
Speaker C:But I definitely, it's definitely expanded my, my palate to the point when four years ago, I hated onions, and now I can't have a burger without it.
Speaker C:You know, it's simple things like that, just things that we found that we're enjoying, that we never would have tried eating out at a restaurant before, and now we're actually seeking them out when we go to a restaurant or going to a restaurant for that specific reason.
Speaker A:Yeah, Adam.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And to that point, I appreciate.
Speaker C:My wife says I've ruined Smash burgers for anywhere five guys, anywhere.
Speaker C:Like, why spend the money when we can do them just as better, just as well or better at home?
Speaker C:Which I appreciate.
Speaker C:But the one that I've learned, actually, one odd thing just through the whole process is, especially with steaks, if I'm gonna go out and pay for a steak, I've learned to ask the server, how would the chef or how would the cook eat it?
Speaker C:Like, how would they want it?
Speaker C:It almost comes back medium.
Speaker C:And I used to be a medium well type person, and then I learned, you know, what, medium to rare is better.
Speaker C:So if I get a medium rare.
Speaker C:But I always ask the chef's opinion, because if they're cooking it, they, you know, I imagine they're cooking it how they would want it.
Speaker C:So I've just learned to ask more and be more specific about some of the.
Speaker C:Yeah, like Brett, the food palates changed in what we, what we used to eat versus what we'll eat now.
Speaker C:It's, it's made it a lot of fun.
Speaker C:It's, it's definitely, you know, piqued our interest in a lot of new foods, trying new food.
Speaker B:People are creatures of habit, as you know.
Speaker B:So even when they go back to a restaurant and for a second time and they were happy with the first go around, they're going to order the same darn thing.
Speaker B:It's just that way.
Speaker B:So it's expanding.
Speaker B:So that's good.
Speaker A:We got a little cafe right down the road from us, and they, for what it is, they have a very expansive menu, and it's all good.
Speaker A:But I either, I order one of two things there.
Speaker A:My wife looks at me like I'm from Mars, but she does that a lot.
Speaker A:Anyway, I either ordered their spaghetti because I happen to like pasta, and I, I really like spaghetti with a meat sauce.
Speaker A:And I mean, I mean, that's truly one of the things I really like.
Speaker A:Or I ordered a chicken fried steak.
Speaker C:Steak.
Speaker A:And that's.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I will do that.
Speaker A:And Shell will look at me because she's trying this scampi.
Speaker A:Or she's, you know, doing this.
Speaker A:And it's one of those places too that has.
Speaker A:You can order breakfast anytime.
Speaker A:And you were talking about biscuits and gravy, Adam.
Speaker A:I mean, she loves biscuits and gravy.
Speaker C:She just.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, so we'll be sitting there, you know, six o' clock having dinner, and she'll order biscuits and gravy and I'm ordering spaghetti.
Speaker A:So it doesn't, you know, there's no cohesion there, I'll tell you that.
Speaker A:You guys did a cookbook real quick.
Speaker A:We've got just a couple minutes left, but.
Speaker A:But we'll get to this in after hours, too.
Speaker A:But you did amazing recipes for griddles and flat tops back in 22.
Speaker A:How did you decide what to put in the book?
Speaker C:Well, okay.
Speaker C:We actually feel forced.
Speaker C:So we just followed it up with the second one based on all Smash Burgers too, which we were blown away.
Speaker C:Actually came about because the, the editor reached out to us.
Speaker C:The, the publishing company reached out to us.
Speaker C:And he's incredible and wanted to do it and just gave us a lot of suggestions and really we went back to our YouTube.
Speaker C:What have we done?
Speaker C:What could we, you know, pull together and how do we want to do it?
Speaker C:And then on his guidance, we decided how many dinner dishes we wanted to do, how many specific for each area.
Speaker C:And it really helped guide us.
Speaker C:And that was.
Speaker C:That was a painstaking process.
Speaker C:I never thought, you know, I thought, oh, man, we've got all these cooks.
Speaker C:It'll be easy.
Speaker C:It's one thing to have the cooks.
Speaker C:It's another when you're realizing other people are going to have to read and look at your exact.
Speaker C:Follow it right along.
Speaker C:It's gonna make it tough.
Speaker A:Yeah, I see Brett there shaking his head back there.
Speaker B:Is your second book out yet?
Speaker C:Yeah, it is.
Speaker C:I had a copy here.
Speaker C:I happen to have the first one.
Speaker C:I do have the other one back there, but that's.
Speaker C:So that's the Epic Outdoor Griddle Cookbook.
Speaker C:This is the first one and I thought I had the second one right here.
Speaker C:They're up on a shelf.
Speaker C:It's called Smash you got right there, dude.
Speaker B:Where can we find it?
Speaker C:Oh, I got it.
Speaker C:There it is.
Speaker C:Amazon.
Speaker C:Anywhere books are sold.
Speaker C:We, we.
Speaker C:Not that we push or promote Amazon, but with Amazon, the publishing company, they seem to track the numbers the best and give them the best overall.
Speaker C:They know exactly what they're selling.
Speaker C:House, so.
Speaker C:But it seems to be anywhere books are sold.
Speaker C:I had a friend at Christmas time last year that took a picture, sent it to me that our book was on the shelf at Barnes and Nobles.
Speaker C:That was an honor.
Speaker C:That was like, oh, that's really great.
Speaker C:So that was a lot of fun.
Speaker A:Okay, Adam and Brett, real quick, because we got to get out of here.
Speaker A:Where can they find your YouTube channel?
Speaker A:Obviously YouTube, but what do they look for when they're trying to find you?
Speaker C:Yeah, so you're just looking for Walt Twins.
Speaker C:That's W, a, l, T, W, I, n, s. All one word.
Speaker C:Walt wins.
Speaker C:On YouTube, you can find the same name.
Speaker C:It's Walt wins on Facebook.
Speaker C:On Instagram, it's Walt wins two.
Speaker C:And same with Twitter if you're.
Speaker C:If you're.
Speaker C:Or X.
Speaker C:Now if it isn't also tick tock.
Speaker C:We're also on there as Walt wins.
Speaker C:But YouTube is our platform, but we try to promote and get everything else out everywhere else.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker A:Adam and Brett Walton, the wall twins, and Leanne, thank you all for your contributions to the show today.
Speaker A:We're gonna get out of here.
Speaker A:The guys are gonna stick around for after hours, and that should be a lot of fun today.
Speaker A:So for everybody here, I want to thank you and remember our motto.
Speaker A:Turn it, don't burn it.
Speaker A:Take care, everybody.
Speaker A:Barbecue Nation is produced by jtsd LLC productions and associates, association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserved.
