The Radcast vs Food: A Recipe for Success with the Best of Our Favorite Culinary Legends

 You're listening to The Radcast, a Top 25 Worldwide Business Podcast.
 If it's radical, we cover it.
 Here's your host, Ryan Alford.
 Hey guys, what's up?
 Ryan Alford here, host of The Radcast.
 Really excited for today's best of episode, The Radcast versus food.
 That's right, some of the best chefs, cooks, entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry,
 the food industry, talking about Casey Webb from Man versus Food.
 We got Jonathan Sinto, one of the best chefs in America, Spike Mendelsson, Plant Berger.
 You know who that is?
 Noah Sins, my brother from another great guy from MasterChef, season 10, and of course,
 last, but absolutely not least Cosmo from Cosmo's Q, some of the best steak barbecue seasonings
 in America and Cosmo's a hell of a cook himself.
 Really pumped about this episode, lots of business advice, tactical marketing advice, in and
 out of the restaurant business.
 This is applicable to anyone running a business.
 Really excited to bring another best of The Radcast versus food.
 We'll see you soon.
 Hey guys, what's up?
 Welcome to the least edition of The Radcast.
 I'm Ryan Alford, your host.
 Today, we're bringing the heat.
 We're bringing all that barbecue heat with my friend Cosmo from Cosmo's Q, what's up,
 Cosmo?
 What's going on, Ryan, man?
 Thanks for having me, brother.
 Yeah, man, my pleasure.
 I'm a vinegar based barbecue guy.
 I don't know if that was North Carolina, South Carolina or somewhere in between, but I guess
 my mom was from Fayetteville, North Carolina, so maybe that's where I got it from.
 Yeah, yeah, I think what I made that in my house probably 15 years ago, straight vinegar
 based.
 I made it test batch and I've never been able to make it in my house again.
 My wife will not allow that.
 I'm here with Spike Middelsen, ex top shelf contestant, author, badass dude.
 What else can I call you, Spike?
 All the acronyms.
 This washer.
 I know.
 True entrepreneur.
 It's great to be here, man.
 Great to be here.
 So are you?
 So wait, are you are you plant based?
 Are you?
 Are you?
 No, I like it.
 But I eat everything, brother.
 I haven't figured out the perfect balance.
 I'm sure there's a lot of people out there.
 I'm going to get DMs now, like, hey, you could totally be plant based and get, get all
 your protein.
 Oh, yeah.
 But I.
 People are going to tell you to watch game changes.
 I know.
 Man versus food.
 I've got actor comedian host of man versus food, Casey Webb.
 What's up, Casey?
 Woo.
 How are we doing, brother?
 Great, man.
 I get depressed watching many things on TV, which is why I don't watch much TV, but I
 have like three go to's and man versus food is like at the top of the list.
 So.
 Thank you for saying so.
 I, you know, I, I do appreciate hearing that because like I, um, in the beginning, I had
 no idea who was watching.
 I was, I just figured it was just dudes like me that ate food all the time, you know, but
 I couldn't have been more wrong because it's, you know, it's kids, it's parents, it's,
 it's dudes like me.
 It's, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a, it's a vast group of people that
 watch a show.
 And that was really humbling.
 Cooking hot today with chef Jonathan Sinto.
 What's up, Jonathan?
 Welcome to the show.
 How's it going?
 And thanks.
 Pleasure to have being on.
 You know, professional chef, content creator, host, you know, you got your hands in a lot,
 brother.
 Yeah.
 You got to stay busy.
 You know, you got three.
 I got three girls right now.
 So if you're sitting back and relaxing and you're sleeping, you're in trouble.
 I know, man, I can relate and I'm joined by, I'm just going to call you a brother from
 another and it's no offense.
 Hey, man, it is such a pleasure being here.
 You said it so elegantly, I, I agree 100% every single person that I've met that has
 involved associated with you is top to your professional, great, ju-ju, good energy.
 It's really, it's an honor to be up here and for while we're up here because I think
 people have fascinated, you know, like, you know, to kind of hear your journey a bit.
 We all think mistakenly that, oh, it just all, you know, comes perfect.
 Like I'm sure it was just this easy path.
 It's something tells me and I don't even know your full story.
 It's never as easy as it seems to kind of get to, you know, where you are with a show
 like this.
 But let's talk about a little bit of that journey.
 I, so with acting, I started late in life.
 I, I went to playing football, I was playing football in high school, went off the college
 and I decided to stop playing, which was the hardest thing for me to do, you know, went
 away to this division three school.
 I thought I was going to be like six, six, you know, my brother's pretty tall and big.
 I thought I was going to be at least his height, but I wasn't, but I was good.
 I just, you know, I didn't, I didn't make it.
 I wasn't, it wasn't what I thought I was going to be.
 I wound up doing theater, like at 18 in the community college where I had friends going
 to and two really close buddies.
 One was going to conservatory in New York City.
 One was getting his undergrad at a school, but he was minoring in theater.
 And like my three closest friends somehow wind up doing theater and acting, right?
 So I, I wound up auditioning for this play, cold read is basically you read off a piece
 of paper.
 You don't know really what it says, you don't have time to rehearse it in front of an audience
 of other actors and people and, and I fail.
 I couldn't do it.
 I just was so poor at it.
 And I, that's not when I realized like this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.
 Like I, in that moment, I was like, this is so, this is such a challenge that I, I,
 I want to, I want to take this thing on.
 So I stopped playing sports, I stopped running into people with my helmet and I started
 doing theater and that was at 18.
 And that's kind of where it all started, right?
 So, you know, cut to, you know, I've spent a life pursuing it, but I've left it a lot.
 But what kept me busy in the pursuit of acting, I long before I was an actor or at least pursuing
 it, I, I started working in a, in the restaurant business.
 So I think it was my father that first handed me this spatula at age 10 and told me how
 to make eggs.
 And probably for two reasons, one, not to burn myself in two because he's tired of me
 asking to make a mix for him to make the eggs.
 There we go.
 So, yeah.
 So that's kind of, you know, like, being in the workforce at a young age gave me, gave
 me the work ethic, you know, a thousand percent.
 I decided to have 39 years of age to shift years and change career.
 I worked in admissions for many years.
 I was college admissions for a profit education, the work for career education, cooperation
 for a long time, and culinary school.
 I decided it was time for a change, you know, I was unhappy with what I was doing.
 I felt like I wasn't being able to be creative and using my entrepreneurial mind and my wife
 said to me one day, it's time to quit your job.
 Flat out.
 I was like, what the hell are you talking about?
 Quit your job.
 You realize we live on Long Island, one of the most expensive places to live in the country.
 I'm just going to quit like that.
 And she fly out of the border.
 She said, just do it.
 I don't want to hear you talking about this nonsense anymore.
 You know, every single day, we hear you complaining about how you're not happy.
 So she saw an article the day she said that to me for a massive chef.
 They had an audition in New York City.
 And one thing led to another and fast-forward, it's been the hell of a ride since then.
 Well, yeah, no.
 So yeah, so let's talk to you after this.
 I mean, listen, I am cut from very deep roots in the restaurant industry.
 I'm from Montreal, raised in a big Greek family and Jewish family.
 All my family members, my Greek family members in some way are involved in the restaurant
 business and still are in Montreal, you know, the connection runs deep over there.
 I don't know if you've ever got a Montreal, but I don't know if they're in Montreal.
 What an amazing eating, you know, food city.
 You got to go check it out.
 Well, my story started way back in 1971 when I was born.
 And I'll give you the brief version right now.
 I was burned as a child at 17 months old.
 And I spent the majority of my adolescents growing up in the Schreiner's Bern Institute
 in Galveston, Texas.
 I ended up leaving school.
 I think it was 11th grade.
 I think I showed up for my 12th grade year in state about 45 minutes and I was like,
 nah, I'm out of here.
 So I ended up just working, you know, working the factories and, you know, partying and hanging
 out and having a good time and then started pacing the family and then I was like, well,
 all this has got to end.
 I remember I bought my very first mokr and I went down to Walmart and bought a chicken
 and I bought a beef chuck for some reason.
 I don't even know what I think, you know, beef chuck, some echoing sausage and I put
 all this stuff in there and I just bought this thing all day at all and we sat down
 and I have been, or is my wife and I are three kids and it was absolute garbage.
 It was unedible.
 It was bad.
 But that's, I'll never forget that, but what really stuck with me is I had to throw it away
 and I'll never forget to look in my wife's eyes like this is, I said, this is funny,
 but I just rocked my soul as she lifted the dumpster open and I was stolen it away and
 I just, I just felt like I can't even, like I can't provide for my family, like I will
 never in my life experience that feeling again and that's when it all started.
 What did you do in the restaurants?
 You say, you know, I always, what were your, were you in the kitchen a lot or were you
 bartending?
 They're like, what, what were your positions like?
 Well, the first kitchen was the home kitchen and the spatula that my dad handed me in the
 bacon fat in a Campbell soup can, you know, that's what, that's what New Yorkers did.
 That's what my parents did.
 I didn't know what that was for the longest time.
 I was like, this is gross.
 Why is there bacon fat in the freezer and a little that I know, it's like the greatest
 thing ever.
 If you don't keep bacon fat in your freezer in the soup can then you're missing out.
 But I started washing dishes at 14 in a pizza place that was in my hometown.
 You know, 14 is a little young to be on the work in the workforce.
 Not in my opinion, but, you know, legally, but I still got the washed dishes.
 So it was washing dishes and then that led to, you know, being a bus boy, you know, being
 then eventually a food runner and then eventually, you know, back to be a dishwasher because
 you get demoted pretty quickly.
 And then, you know, in the kitchen, like prepping, so cutting all the veggies, right, prepping.
 And then that led to line cook.
 So I was able to learn along the way and like that's, you know, and a lot of businesses
 that's gone away.
 Like my father was able to do that in his business.
 He learned from starting from say and then he went up into management and his career.
 So like the restaurant world, if you want it, it's there for you.
 You know, and, you know, I always spent my life in an around restaurant, basically, you
 know, I make it, I always make a joke.
 I'm just a dishwasher that knows some things because I wash only dishes in my life at multiple
 restaurants.
 So, you know, I have to say that I got to stop you right there because my first job, I
 worked at a meat and three restaurant.
 I was 15 years old and I washed dishes for eight months.
 I think it made me who I am today, like until you scrub macaroni trays and meat and
 three dishes with gravy, you haven't, you haven't worked.
 You have not worked.
 You know what, there should be a program for young adults that requires them to go work
 in the restaurant industry, like literally requires them whether I don't care if it's
 dish washing, cooking or waitressing or whatever.
 But there's some grit that it engraves in you.
 There's some humility that it puts on you that I think you can't teach that.
 You can't ball up and teach that in the school.
 I highly agree, I mean, I have to say it made me who I am.
 For me, like going to culinary school, the definition used to be of a chef was someone
 that was formally educated that was, you know, got their stripes in multiple different
 ways.
 And then you'd get paperwork, executive stuff, you know, chef's look was seen, all these
 things, your levels, your tears or whatever.
 But now in the way that we're living, every person just throws the term chef around.
 So how this is such an epic answer is, can you tell me another profession or you're just
 like, oh, look, it's radio, dude, Ryan, oh, look, it's Cameron Manlary.
 So look, it's, it's Mike the bartender, like it's like, oh, look, it's basketball player
 Michael Jordan.
 It's like, what is it that I need to throw the chef term out or it then, you know, I have
 thousands of chefs into each of their own.
 I'm just telling you my perspective on it.
 For me, it's like, well, I am so much better at a lot of other things than chef, why do
 you want to call me like, I'm much better at conversations or it could be conversationist
 Noah, you know, wordsmith sims over here, you know?
 Like whatever it is.
 So for me, I consider myself level of professionalism, upper echelon chef, I tried, do I have the
 skill?
 No.
 But do I act?
 Do I represent myself?
 Do I carry myself as the best I possibly can?
 Absolutely.
 Am I humble enough to know what I know, what I don't know and try to learn every day?
 Yes.
 So for me, the chef term is like, you can call me a chef and I do it back and forth
 these.
 I know you're just like, just let's say that.
 But for a lot of people, they just want to like box me and it's like, oh, that's a
 chef.
 Noah, what is your style?
 I mean, what is your approach to cooking?
 I like to keep it simple, I don't like to overdo it, I like to highlight the ingredients
 so people can actually taste what's in the folk and the food.
 I like to be able to build many layers of flavor so you can enjoy yourself.
 It's more about putting you like in Nirvana, right?
 We want you to go out into a different place and not have something that you've normally
 tasted.
 And I might take like a classic chicken palm dish and just flip it upside down and maybe
 add some hoisin sauce to the marinara, just to give you that smokey, sweet flavor.
 And that's what I do with it Asian.
 It's really more giving different flavors than just saying, here you go, it's a whole
 new cuisine.
 I didn't recreate or create a cuisine.
 I just made a fusion that most people weren't used to eating and trying to give them something
 that they can say, wow, this is different, I like it, I enjoy it.
 So that's really what I focus on is that rusticness, comfort food.
 I've always been a guy to preach balance in our food system, to be honest with you.
 And not only our food system but in our own diets, it just felt like that's always the
 healthiest option, you know, too much of anything can't be great for you, I feel.
 Yep.
 So to me, it's always been about like, just figure out the right balance for yourself
 because our body all reacts differently, we all need different things, right?
 So we can't control that.
 Well, the great Abe Lincoln said everything in moderation, including moderation.
 So I started making my own, I started competing a little bit more.
 I started to win around with grubs because I just, I realized that the grub, it makes
 the meat, the sauce is like the whipped cream on top.
 But the grubs I was giving in the store were just, they just weren't good.
 And I wouldn't be like, if I wanted ribs to taste a little bit sweet, I wanted to add
 some brown sugar to my rub.
 I couldn't get that in the store, it was, it was salt and, you know, that was pretty much
 all that was in it was salt.
 Yep.
 But then there's, you know, I wanted like a smoked paprika with a cumin or something
 like that.
 So I started making my own and I started competing and, you know, and I would win here and
 there and, and people would ask me, Hey, man, what, like your brisket really tastes good.
 It's like, what was that rub?
 I was like, Oh, it says rub on my, maybe, maybe like, you mind if I get some?
 I said, well, yeah, I'll sell you a pound or two pounds or five pounds.
 Sure.
 So I, I would just, you know, just sell them rub and ship it out on paper or just have
 them pay me.
 Yeah.
 It's like I tell people about unifying through food, one of my favorite things about food
 is I can unify people and it's like, you could get two warlords that hate each other
 and give me them and some guards and we literally can have a meal and just talk about things
 and settle things down.
 So many people, so many people just get over what, like they just get over the smallest
 little thing and everything gets blown out of proportion, it goes back to like the focusing
 of things.
 I believe food focuses things.
 You're right here, like this is it at right here, great food, they're not talking.
 People are just fricking going to town because they're focused on it.
 And it's like having, having communication with you, having communication with your team,
 there's something that's a very similar thing.
 Everyone's real here.
 They've got great people around you and it's like, well, if we got great people around
 here, real people, do you think we're going to be able to kick a real good product out?
 It's very simple.
 What's been the, you know, talking about the business and marketing side of what you
 do, like, what's been your channel of monetization, you know, like, how's this been a business
 for you?
 How have you made it a business, you know, since the show in the last, you know, four
 to five years?
 So the minute I came back from Los Angeles, the day I landed, I had a website up and
 a matter of seconds, right, Power of Wix.
 Went on there, have a background in the design, was able to build something that would get
 me a blueprint, right?
 When people start searching for you, it's not about social media.
 At that time, it wasn't as powerful as it is now when we were going back six years ago
 now, right?
 So things have really picked up speed on social media since then.
 So I built a website, I started doing shows and events and just getting out there, not
 relying on television because that's 15 seconds, right?
 They're going to forget about you very quickly.
 So you have to really monetize that first and build yourself and get the awareness and
 the credibility for people to see who you are and also be searchable, right?
 When people start hearing your name, they're going to go on Google and they're going to
 stop looking you up and saying, oh, wow, so I had to try to get press and never pay for
 press.
 You had to get out there and start getting local newspapers is where you start, contact
 the journalist, give them a pitch, give them an article that is worthy for them to put
 in that and they'll put it to their publishers, they'll push it.
 So I started doing that right away.
 I started crafting up stories and ideas and get rejected on a lot of them, but some of them
 went through and that's what you need.
 You had to be searchable on that.
 Started doing that, started building that, getting the ground work in them, which was really,
 really important.
 And at first, yeah, it was tough, you know, there was no money coming in.
 I was scraping by, making sure that we were building it.
 I had a great support system.
 My wife saw what I was trying to do year two.
 We did over a hundred pay parties.
 We built that foundation, so we built that framework.
 We started getting out there.
 We didn't post any flyers because we were trying to build more of a niche, a luxury type
 of dinner experience.
 At the time, no one was doing it year-on-long out.
 That was one of the first to do in-home dinner parties, and it took off.
 And then we started doing them in other parts of the country.
 So I had to build a plan.
 And then year three, we said, you know, we can't continue to do dinner parties anymore.
 We have to do something else.
 We started doing paid ticket events, deemed pop-ups.
 So we would do different pop-up experiences, taste things, and people would buy tickets
 right through my website, and we would sell tickets.
 We'd do 75 to 100, keep it down, intimate, and we'd make it entertaining.
 We had people who had radio shows come on, and they do the radio shows inside the pop-up.
 We had a really cool thing.
 It's a Long Island Cuban and Burbank experience, and it's a trailer.
 That he has those silver stripes, and he came and people would leave the pop-up,
 and they'd go have a cigar, and bourbon, and the trailer, it was a red carpet.
 So we made an experience.
 It wasn't just food, right?
 So we started doing those, and we did probably about 35 of those, 40 of those events,
 that would pay.
 And we just started building a reputation of just having these amazing fiend dinner experiences.
 And just moved along in each year.
 I tried to do something completely different.
 So now we're in year six, and so I've done Master Chef.
 That's the game, and you start slow, low, and you grow from there once you build a customer base.
 I mean, what's been the marketing and business growth practices?
 I imagine going, it's a very, I don't want to say niche audience,
 but going to the shows and winning the awards, imagine that amplifies within that core audience,
 and then the word of mouth goes from there, I would think.
 The crazy thing was, is I did it for years.
 Years and years ended up winning the World Championship, ended up between myself and the teams
 responsible.
 We have eight or nine World Champions.
 So I mean, I've been to the Jack Daniels, American Rule, Memphis and May, Houston, San
 Antonio, like we've been everywhere, but for me, I remember sitting there on a competition,
 and this is before, this is really before marketing as we know it, was marketing as we know it.
 But Facebook said, we're going to let you run ads, and it was like, they told us that week,
 and then I was sitting at a competition that weekend, and it's back then, it was about $1,000
 a weekend to go to a competition, after you buy your meat, feel all the things, it's about $1,000,
 and I was sitting there and I was just, I didn't go like, I get angry and shit changes in my life.
 That's one, usually for the words, but that's one for the good.
 I sit there and I was like, I'm sitting here by myself, my family's not even with me,
 so I'm not happy, and I'm paying $1,000 to be unhappy.
 What would happen if I took that money and I started running ads to my website, just promoting my website?
 And back then it was like, it was, you know, I'm sure you remember, right?
 It's back then I was like, hey, look at me, go here, there was no funnel, no funnel.
 No, you didn't need a funnel, because it was right, right for the taking.
 You had organic reach on Facebook, you ran ads and, like a bonfire.
 I mean, how, how recognized are you now?
 Like, I mean, your face is very recognizable, you've got the expressions, everything else.
 The show's pretty, I mean, it's your 17th and then coming into seven seasons,
 you know, like, how is that good, bad, you know, like you enjoy it?
 I, so I was in a parking lot of a convenience store with a buddy of mine
 and across the street in another parking lot.
 Some dude yelled out, kitty little, yeah, I love that commercial.
 I was in an arm and ham or kitty little commercial.
 That was like four seasons in demand versus two.
 And I had a hat on sunglasses like, how did this dude even see me?
 Like on the earth that he even seen me in this, you know,
 and he like, he loved the kitty little commercial.
 So for me, I, I think it's the greatest part of my gig.
 And like truthfully, like I, the fact that someone wants to come up and spend time
 and talk and ask about the show, like, you know, it's part of the gig, A.
 And like, I'm usually the one, they're the ones that usually walk away first.
 Like, yeah, we got to go and like, I'm still talking.
 Like, I'm excited to talk to them.
 I mean, I'm like, all right, like, you're nice enough.
 Like, they got to catch a fly or, you know, man, like, like I said,
 the fact that someone would take a moment out of their day and like, say a nice thing.
 Like, there's not enough of that in the world or maybe there is.
 And I just, you know, I appreciate that so much.
 And I would never not want someone to come up, you know, because I'm a,
 I could, I totally fan out too, you know, like, I was in a restaurant L.A.
 and Bill Murray is like two tables next to us.
 And my buddy, I was just talking louder so he could hear us.
 You know, you know, he's just eating his food.
 He could care less, but, you know, like, I, I appreciate it.
 And I think honestly, like, I got the show later in life.
 And I was working as a production assistant.
 I was acting, I was bartending, working restaurants.
 And I had to choose acting or working production.
 I chose acting and, and it just, I had her, I just learned by doing, you know,
 and it gave me the wherewithal, at least the knowledge to know.
 It's like, this is very fleeting, you know, like, take it for what it is.
 Enjoy every moment, you know, and, and it's really simple as that.
 And I do, I do my best.
 And like, sometimes you're, I'm walking through, I'm like, you know,
 I just shot two episodes.
 I'm on my way home and I'm like, just rugged, and somebody comes up to you and wants to talk.
 And like, you know, in that moment, they get me out of my head.
 And they're like, hey, I'm like, hey, and it's a lot of times a TSA.
 TSA folks are like, they love the chat.
 I'm like, I'm there, you know, put my shoes back on, be with them.
 And I love it, man, you know, like, I encourage people, you know, don't go stalking anybody.
 But say hi, at least say hi, you know, let's talk about what you're doing
 and how you're leveraging, you know, social media connections and all of those things.
 Absolutely. Well, I love, I love what you said about like leveraging.
 And it's, it is that it's understanding, again, where you're at.
 Do am I big enough to be able to put this bar on here and lift this thing up?
 If you don't have the confidence, if you don't think you're big enough,
 you're just going to fall flat.
 Like you've got to be able to understand where you're at.
 And if you're not big enough, that's fine.
 Again, you have the self-awareness to know, maybe I should do this and try that.
 What was the biggest thing, like your biggest learning, your biggest takeaway?
 And like, where did that kind of, you know, take you from a trajectory standpoint
 with where you went after the show?
 Well, I saw it was an opportunity.
 I told my wife when I went there, no matter what happens on this show,
 if I even if I get kicked off the first time I got there,
 we're going to turn this into an opportunity that's just going to go for years to come
 and build into a business.
 So I saw it as a chance for my food to get on a larger scale
 and to show it into a bigger audience.
 So that was once I took away from it was the opportunity to have a lot of people see what
 I can do on a big platform, which was, you don't get that all the time.
 It's very hard to get that, especially if you don't pay for it, right?
 That was one thing.
 The other takeaway was watching how production is done on these shows.
 And it was in the back of my mind, well, you know what?
 Why don't I stop my own production company?
 I could make shows very similar to this on a smaller scale.
 We don't have to have, you know, the $10, $15 million budgets like these shows have.
 But we can definitely do something very similar.
 And that was something that was in the back of my mind.
 I saw creating concepts in my head for the time I was even down there.
 I have a whole notebook when I was down there for MasterChef.
 I even predicted the winner on the show when I was down there before to show you the
 thing that happened and one of the spiral notebooks that I have.
 So that's what I started really learning and taking stuff away from that show.
 Well, my big learning in the business is, and it serves me right, you know, I'd say
 I'm a pretty successful guy.
 I'm not, you know, in retirement mode or like banking.
 But I've always been able to remain authentically myself throughout the process for the most
 part, you know, on who I am.
 And people always say, hey, Spike, you have a fantastic brand who works on it with you
 or Spike, you this day.
 And it's all, I've always really giggled about it and now that my wife, you know, she
 always likes, she sees it too and she's like, it's so funny.
 You're so right.
 Like, I've never worked or had like a session where I sat at a table and said, what is my
 brand?
 You know, like I've never, you know, and that was just me, you know, I'm not saying that's
 wrong.
 Like people, if you want to do that, go ahead, do that.
 But I've never sat and been like, what's Spike brand?
 Like what are we representing?
 Like what is it to find?
 I've just always been able to get involved in projects that felt right for me at that
 given time.
 You know, it was a stepping stone or a pathway to my next project, but I always remain
 not that inically myself.
 I never really, you know, felt like I, you know, that's kind of what I said.
 That was my biggest learnings, but the most, the other important one is surrounding
 yourself with good people and not being afraid to surround yourself with people that
 may be better, you know, in certain things in your business, right?
 Like no, when to, no, no, when you're not the smartest person in that room on that subject,
 right?
 And don't let your ego chefs tend to have an ego because we're food and we're in kitchens
 and we're badass and we're rock stars and like all of a sudden now we're fucking doctors
 and lawyers and politicians, you know?
 But the truth is, is like, you know, I found that I'm a, you know, my approach has been
 really great because I love propping others up in that support, you know, what we do here.
 Like it's, it's, there's a great team behind me that, that, and I have like two, three
 guys that have been with me for 15, 16 years.
 And I think it's really telling because, you know, we've all had such a good time in
 our lives for the last 15 to years, we've gotten a travel around the world, we've got
 to eat delicious food.
 We've all gotten to come up with really great concepts, yes, I'm the face.
 I get that.
 But I pay, you know, there's a lot of work that goes into being the face and but there's
 also a lot of work that goes into setting up the kitchen and the recipes and the training
 and all that kind of stuff that I don't do, you know?
 So there's a great balance and I feel very fortunate.
 I was able to surround myself by some, some key members as well as my family at a certain
 point to, to help me do what we do, you know, like that's, that's what it is.
 So it's always, don't take it all on yourself or think you're, you know, it's, it's, doesn't
 exist without, you know, without you because it sure can.
 Yeah, I, you know, and that kind of leans into, you know, being recognized because I
 haven't, like the brand itself, man versus food is, it is, it's just, I just happened
 host of show.
 So there's no ownership over that.
 Sure.
 Okay, with that, I mean, I think what I've been doing just naturally and organically is
 just kind of letting the dust set a little bit and figuring out what that is, you know,
 what Casey Webb's brand is and, you know, I was lucky enough to have some endorsement
 stuff right out of the gate, you know, I spent two years with twisted tea traveling around
 to NASCAR races as they're, you know, the grilling pro and I was unbelievable, right?
 And then prior to that, I had my first national commercial, which was a mobile one commercial,
 like we had a NASCAR driver, Kevin Harbick was in a commercial with me and it's so like,
 I became the NASCAR guy, like, and like, you know, a lot of people watch the food show and
 like, man versus food.
 So it was like, I was kind of thrown into this universe and was like, wow, this is so incredible.
 And I think now, you know, letting the dust settle years, so it's passed by and it's like,
 where do I want to be with Casey Webb and that brand and, you know, I'm humbled by the whole
 thing. So I haven't rushed it at all. So I'm really at the, you would think that I'd be way
 ahead of it, but I'm not. It's really at the kind of the beginning of developing what that is
 because now I've had some time off, you know, like we all had some time off. And I'm thinking
 a lot more clear and like, you know, the show could, it's as a shelf life, you know, it's going
 to go so far for myself personally too. One day, I'm going to decide whether I can do it or not
 anymore, or if I want to. And I don't want to disappoint anybody, but the reality is,
 and like, what's the next thing? And so I mean, as long as like, I'm helping people,
 keep people's lights on and bringing smile to people's faces, I'll do forever, you know.
 But as far as my personal brand, yeah, I think there's, that's TBD because we're working on some
 stuff, which is really exciting. And I mean, I love to come back and talk to you about it later on
 when that stuff has come to fruition. But, and, you know, I know I mentioned talking to you off
 line about that stuff because you're the man. Or I guess I am. And I make you more the man.
 But I'm excited about the future of things because, yeah, I, you know, I, I, I don't like sitting
 still and I like working. So, um, you hear that everybody. I condense things like clients come to
 me. That's not made. And literally, no, but it's less about verbal and how many words I could
 say, but clients come to me all the time. They pay me to unpack a problem and to convince it.
 But it's one word authenticity is exactly what you just described. It's the missing component
 in business, influencers, marketing in general, because like you said, everything's transactional.
 Everything is short term. We live in the modern world of short termism. It's a term that I
 preach about a lot of everyone is living in the short term. Like, what can I get for this today?
 Because they think they think that the dollars or success, the destination is where they're going,
 but the journey is everything. And if you don't take the journey through a lens of authenticity,
 whether you're an influencer or a brand, a person, it all falls flat. And it all becomes very
 short term indeed, because you fall right on your fucking face. You nailed it. That's a hundred
 percent. Like I've told people multiple times. That's so true on so many points. I tell people
 my life is like the movie slum dog millionaire. I said, I've done all of these ridiculous things in
 my life. The things and God has blessed me with a memory that is one of my greatest blessings
 that he ever gave me was being able to retain information that I care about. And the thought of a
 zero mind of like remembering the most ridiculous thing, but then it comes back because everything
 has purpose. So the thought of a zero mind, it's got to have purpose. Like you might have thought of
 this stupid thing that chain reaction into another thing. So it's like that's some deep with
 that's another podcast. That's a whole other thing. But the fact, the fact of a matter is is that
 you having that authentic mindset is like that movie is if that guy's just living his life and
 things are happening. Then at that moment, he is sitting in that chair. And because he was so
 authenticistic, I thought so on. I can't even talk. He was had so much on this authenticity and
 every motion, every movement that he did doing everything, not agreed, not just being real in the
 moment, knowing his location, knowing that all that added up to right at the moment of everything
 when he needed it and being able to stick to his guns and his gut instinct, having that
 chimney cricket inside telling him what he needs to do, not looking at the mirror, not believing.
 Like that movie is one of the greatest movies that has ever been made because of just the giant
 humongous. I mean, just the cysteine chapel of holy moment of just being real. That's what he was.
 Yeah, what sounds like you're going down the right path for sure.
 What, where is it all headed, man? I mean, it sounds like that's the future. But, you know,
 where do you, where do you want all this to go? I mean, what, what are your, I don't know,
 what do you want to be when you grow up, man?
 I was trying to figure out a long time, long time. I launched JS Entertainment in 2019.
 Should have launched it sooner, but you know, it's, we launched it right after we put Family
 Kitchen revival out there. We want to see how that would do. And it's been a great ride from
 that. And I'm a career person. I don't like to be tied down to just doing one thing. So, to say
 where I am 10 years from now, the goal is to be one doing right now. Hopefully, everything falls
 back into place. And nothing happens to me during that period of time and for the future. But there's
 a couple of the shows I'm working on concepts. One's going to be a cooking competition show,
 which is going to be a lot, a lot of fun. I can't say the name right now, but you will definitely see
 this show on TV in the forcing future. And it's going to be where it's going to be flipping
 competition upside down on what you see in all those cooking shows on TV. That's going to be
 something I'm working on. And I'm working on a couple of reality-based TV shows that would be
 kind of like keeping up with the Kardashians and stuff like that, right? I'll be in that format.
 So, I just like producing stuff right now, creating. I mean, both back of the camera and front.
 There you go. I love it. Where you want to take all this, man? I mean, you know, you cross
 right at, crossing over 50 million total in sales, growing new accessories. Like, what's the vision?
 The vision for me is I want Cosmos Q to be widely sought after by every barbecue fanatic worldwide.
 And it's not that I need you to buy the product. It's the knowledge behind it. Like, I want to
 empower people to make great barbecue. Because, you know, I will say this, mostly men is
 shocking how many men go, oh, no, I can't do that. What the hell? Why can't you? I don't know how to
 do that? Well, I didn't either, you know, but if you could watch a couple videos, you know,
 and I could show you, would you do it? Well, yeah, but I don't know if I can skip it. Well,
 this is, so I need to break down that wall. You can do this, you know, even if it's a hot dog,
 you know, start there. Well, really smart for you, you know, for the self-productive standpoint,
 like you said, if you know what you're doing, from a control perspective, from you like,
 there's no, I mean, there's so many opportunities, like, you know, with sponsors and
 content and everything else. So kudos to you for taking that route. I know it takes some courage
 to kind of go that route and carve your own space, but kudos, man. Look, you know what, you have
 to take the punches in the face, right? There's going to be a lot of a lot of the people that you
 reach out to, sponsors, whatever it's going to be. That's going to just say, no, you know,
 it's not an on budget. You just got to keep moving forward. You know, if you get a projection of
 something that is going to be a major issue for you, the entertainment world is not the right place
 for it at all. No way. You're going to, people see the success and they think it's easy, right?
 Right? You know that for that. Oh, yeah. To listen or watch full episodes, visit us on the web
 at theradcast.com or follow us on social media at our Instagram account v.rad.cast or at Ryan
 Alford. Stay radical.