Latest / BBQ Therapy / Smokin Willy T - William Tischina : Traveling the BBQ Galaxy

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Smokin Willy T - William Tischina : Traveling the BBQ Galaxy · BBQ Therapy

0:00
Why am I going to live a miserable life?
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I there was a point in my time where I was going through a
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major phase in my life and got to the point where literally I
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had a 9mm to my head because I wanted to end my life.
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And for me at that point there, I had to really sit down and
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think about where, what direction I wanted to go in
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life. Lego ham, BBQ, Lego ham BBQ,
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Lego ham BBQ, Lego ham BBQ, M BBQ.
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Get your BBQ off. Get your BBQ off.
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Welcome to the BBQ Therapy podcast.
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My name is Tavis Bryant of Yago Ham BBQ.
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Have you ever stood around a smoker or a grill, felt the
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world fade away, and that has BBQ Therapy.
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Welcome to another episode of BBQ Therapy.
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My name is Tavis Bryant. This week on BBQ Therapy, we're
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heading to hyperspace with the pitmaster whose BBQ game spans
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galaxies. William Tashina, better known as
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Smoking Willie T, is a seasoned international competitor, a
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master of team building through smoke, and a BBQ educator who
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shared his craft across the globe.
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But here's the twist. Willie's not just slinging ribs,
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he's repping the rebellion. From a smoky Rebel cherry force
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rub to his Star Wars inspired luggage, Smoking Willie T is a
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one-of-a-kind of force in the BBQ universe.
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Whether he's teaching pit skills in another country or competing
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stateside, he's bringing the heat and the heart.
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So buckle up, we're talking BBQ travel, competition and a whole
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lot of geeked out smoke with the Jedi of the pit.
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Let's welcome the smoking side of the forest.
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Smoking Willie T, Welcome to the show.
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I got one rule. Make yourself at home, speak
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freely. There's no sponsor so.
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Thanks for having me on the show, man.
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I'm very, very proud, man. Glad that you invited me on.
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Oh, no problem, no problem. So how did you first fall in
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love with barbecue, and how did that passion turn into smoking?
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Willy T. Oh man, it would have to be.
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I'm originally from Chicago, so you know, I'm a Yankee that made
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it to Texas in 84. So I was still still young buck
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out there not knowing what BBQ was really coming from the big
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city and where my parents live. We had a neighbor that man every
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weekend he would fire up the pit, was always cooking
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something on the pit. And I don't know, it was just
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something like you're the name of your podcast BBQ therapy.
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I don't know, just the smoke was a therapy for me and being able
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to watch him cook every weekend and bring the families together
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in the neighborhood. It was just, it was something
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that truly stuck with me. I went to school, graduated, I
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started doing some cooking, some light cooking on cooking teams.
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But back then it was just the way to get out for a weekend and
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just hang out with your friends. And once I started working, I
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just stuck being on cooking teams.
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And there was a way to get off of work for two days and party
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and have a good time. But when I started realizing
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that we were not really winning anything, I just wanted to do
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something different. When a different avenue, I
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don't, I left some of the teams that I was with and I started
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working with teams that were actually doing something, being
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positive and winning. And it just took me to another
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level. It's just something that I never
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thought that I would be doing as a career.
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I worked in retail. I was miserable.
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And doing this was just, it was an opportunity for me to do
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something different. OK.
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And how did you come across your name?
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Smoking Willy T that was man that that name came from a guy,
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a friend of mine. His name was Nathan.
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And one day we were at a cook off and he was just like, you're
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just Smokey Willy T And my last name is Tashina.
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So my name is William Tashina and my last name is Tashina.
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And he just threw out. So he threw Smoking Willy T in
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there and it's stuck and it's been with me ever since and it's
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been like what? Almost 15 years just for that
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name. Well, so at what point did you
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get to the point and say I'm good at this?
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I think I might try my hand at competing.
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We did a lot of competitions in the beginning years.
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Like I said, I was on teams that we just never put any effort
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into it. It was just like we would just
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go party, get drunk, turn, forget, turn in times and it was
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just nothing. But once I left that team, I
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used to work for a Margarita company.
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It was a Margarita and a pouch. It was a hot black iguana
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margaritas. And we sponsored a lot of cook
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off teams out there in the beginning.
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And that's how I basically got to know a lot of the teams that
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are out there that were competing.
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One of the teams that we sponsored was a team called
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Crazy Cookers and the head cook on that team, his name was
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Robert Smith and he's a real well known world champion right
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now in the state of Texas doing really well.
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He has a BBQ restaurant called First Class Barbecue in
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Hempstead. And Robert was like, hey, will,
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you know, you want to be on a team and learn some stuff,
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you're welcome to come and join me.
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And so I went ahead and hooked up with Robert and we were still
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not doing very well on the competition side, but we were
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learning the ropes. We were cooking out there with
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Ernest Cervantes and Arnie and just a lot of up and coming
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cookers at the time and we started winning and I don't
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know, I tell everybody, once you get that, once you get that
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taste of winning and walking, you just wanted more and more.
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So we just kept on practicing. We were running every weekend at
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a competition for for years, just every every Friday,
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Saturday. We were somewhere in the state
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of Texas competing and started making a name for ourselves.
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Robert left Crazy Cookers and then he went with a team called
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Pits and Spits, which is a BBQ company that that makes BBQ pits
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here in Houston. So he was with them for a while
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and then he actually broke off of them, started first class
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barbecue and the team dissolved. So I was like in a void where I
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was like, man, I don't have any team.
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I didn't know what I was going to do.
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So I reached out to Victor, George and Julio with Pitmaker
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and they took me under their belt and showed me how really
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what competition cooking was all about.
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So we just continue to eat up the circuit, win trophies and we
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were actually the first team from Texas to go to Memphis and
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May. We took, I took 8th place
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chicken there and then we did 2nd place baby back ribs.
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I'm in the competition. We got beat by Myron Mixon with
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Whole Hog. But that was like the pinnacle
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of my BBQ time at just going to Memphis in May and walking the
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stage, being in the limelight and stuff like that.
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And it just took, man. It's just one of those what you
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do it and you want to keep on doing it over and over.
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And Victor, Julio and George with Pin Maker, they opened a
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lot of doors for me and gave me a lot of opportunities.
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Actually, Victor's the one that kept on telling me, man, you're
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good at what you do. You need to be doing this for a
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living. Yeah, so how did y'all figure
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out who was going to do what as far as the cooking?
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As far as turn insurance and stuff.
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Yeah, who cooked the chicken or who cooked the ribs?
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We all did what we did what we thought was best.
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Like I know that Julio does very good in bricks brisket.
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So of course Julio does the brisket.
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George and Victor, they did real good in ribs.
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So they did the ribs in Memphis. Chicken is an ancillary
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category. So it's not one of those big top
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threes like it is here in in Texas.
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I was pretty good at chicken and I had a chicken recipe that I
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just wanted to throw out there and they just said, hey, go
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ahead and do the chicken and I did it.
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So that's how we get picked. And it's just whatever we did,
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whatever tasted good is what went in the box.
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Oh, OK, I see. I guess in the background of
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your Instagram you is I seen Tall Yard Brewery, How you're
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associated with them? Tyler Breweries, a Brewing
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Company here in Sugarland, Texas.
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It's like a brewery. I unfortunately ain't with them
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anymore. But yeah, I was working with
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them. They had a BBQ program that it
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was experimental. They didn't know what direction
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they wanted to go with that program.
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It was more focused with the restaurant side than it was with
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the BBQ. So I yeah, yeah, I'm no longer
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with Tallyard, unfortunately. OK, OK, OK.
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For those who don't know, he William travels all over the
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world teaching classes and grilling.
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Out of all those places that you've been in around the world,
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what's your favorite place that you went to?
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Ben I've been a lot of places. I've barbecue actually opened
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the doors for me to travel. The 1st place I ever traveled
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was to Hong Kong and to do a BBQ class out there with a friend of
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mine that I think the Hong Kong is going to say it's probably
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one of my best places that I've ever saw.
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It's real real beautiful country.
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But then again, a couple months later, I traveled to the
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Philippines and seeing the way things are done over there in
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the Philippines and being able to travel all over Mexico from
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Monterrey to to Puebla and then going to Costa Rica and then
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going to the other side of the pond and going to Sweden and
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England. It's just, man, everywhere that
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I've gone is just like been in awe.
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It's like I can't really pick up just one spot everywhere.
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Everywhere I've gone has been phenomenal and amazing.
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Wow. So you're doing this with the
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same people or are you going with different people when you
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go to the different countries? A lot of the people that I've
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met through internationally was through the San Antonio
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International Cook Off that they have at the San Antonio Rodeo
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and at the Houston Livestock Show on Rodeo.
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A lot of the guys that come out from those countries, they go to
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those two rodeos. As we cook with them, we learn
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why we're there for the whole weekend.
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We learn to become friends and eventually they invited, they
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invite us out to their countries to go experience what BBQ is
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over there. Just going with Morgan to
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Sweden. He's Linden and Dale is the name
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of his team and he invited me to go cook at the Sweden Nortic
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Championships with him and I'm going to Monterrey.
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Luis Rivas and Memo de la Fuentes opened the door for me
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there because they had a couple of big cook offs that they did
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and I went out there to experience that.
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And then from there I was able to go through with Luis to Costa
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Rica and travel all over Mexico. And same thing with going to
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England. I met these guys online and just
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being over there open up doors for me to go back to England,
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which I'll be going back in August to do some some classes
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and some demonstration cooks over there with them.
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But yeah, man, it's like just meeting these people that I meet
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opens doors. We just got back from Australia
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with Ernest Avantis and David Kirkland and Bill Dumas going
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over there to meet stock and experience that.
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I've never been on the other side of the world where the
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water goes the other way. But it was an amazing experience
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man. And I got invited to go back to
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Australia too again. And it's just man, I tell
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anybody, man, that this is, I live a great blessed life to be
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able to do and meet all the people that I get to meet in the
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BBQ world because I've been there with, like I said, Myron
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Mixon and Chris Lilly and Rad Orson and Moke Song and Tuffy
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Stone. I everybody and anybody I know.
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And that's a great feeling, man. Exactly.
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I wish I had. I met a lot of them.
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But as far as the your interaction, it's amazing that
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you had the opportunity to do that.
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Did you ever think that you would be in this position when
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you first started? No.
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Man, a lot of times I remember just watching BBQ Pitmasters and
11:51
smoke and seeing all these guys coming out all the time and I'm
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like, man, I could do that. To be in the position that I am
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and going to. I met most of a lot of the guys
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there at Memphis and May because they all compete out there and
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with Pitmaker, we're real great friends with, with Kingsford
12:06
Charcoal and Chris Lilly and his team.
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And when we were there for the first time and cooking at
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Memphis and May, we were the Little Texas team that that was
12:14
trying to make it. And once we knew we, we got that
12:17
shot, man, they, it was like a whole group of people just
12:20
helping us because they wanted to see us win.
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They wanted us to see, they wanted to see us beat Myron
12:25
Mixon truthfully, but they did whatever it could.
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But it was just the experience and the love that that the BBQ
12:32
community showed us, man was just like like none other.
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I actually in the back of me, you see this banner operation
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BBQ Relief that I met these guys in in Memphis and May Stan Hayes
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and them guys, they started this organization whenever the
12:46
Tornadoes hit Joplin and it was just a bunch of cooks that got
12:50
together to feed people that lost everything through them.
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They showed me a different way of life that you got to give
12:56
back and you got to volunteer your time.
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And it opened up a lot of new doors for me too.
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When whenever Harvey hit here in Houston and we were set up in
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downtown for two weeks nonstop going 24 hours a day.
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At the end of it, we ended up feeding 380,000 people and just
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to have that much impact to the city of Houston was just, it was
13:16
so big and that'll open up a lot of doors.
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That got us a spot at the Houston Livestock Showing Rodeo,
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which, you know, the first year we cooked there, we got third
13:26
overall, and then the second year we got grand champions and
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then the third year we got reserve grand champion.
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So it was just like opportunity after opportunity, man.
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And it was just, it's a blessing.
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Truthfully, it's a blessing. Yeah.
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I I. Try to I probably won't start
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competing until later this year because I have a 13 month old,
13:45
but I I try to take my wife with the Memphis in May every year.
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We went 2023, we had the baby in 24 and I went this year and it's
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just I got to tell people I brag on BBQ people all the time
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because the atmosphere, the people are so friendly just from
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us just walking around and just we being pulled and people tent
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to meet people. And like I said, it's just an
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awesome atmosphere community. All the classes that I've been
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to, everybody's so friendly and get you to shirt off the back
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and more than people that you see every day.
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So I was like, I'm always bragging on them because it's
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like nothing else. And she sees that now that how
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friendly and nice the people are.
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And it's when I started this podcast how people reached out
14:28
to support it and get on. And like I said, it can't be
14:32
beat. And that operation, I reached
14:35
out to them. So hopefully they'll reach out
14:36
to me because I want to have them on the podcast to explain
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what they do and how they help people also because they do also
14:43
things for the BBQ community also.
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So I definitely want to have them on also.
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But yeah, they're going to get busy.
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You got the Tornadoes that just hit the Midwest right now, and
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then you they're getting geared up for hurricane season that's
14:56
about to wrap up in the South. But they're always busy doing
15:00
something. And even the last deployment I
15:02
was in in Lake Jackson, just being out there and being able
15:05
to provide a hot meal for somebody that lost everything,
15:08
man, means a lot to see. It really truly shows you how
15:13
blessed that we are that we can just give back, even if it's
15:16
just that little meal. And it does make people, it does
15:19
change people's lives. And for me, it's changed my life
15:22
a lot through Operation BBQ Relief and winning the Grand
15:25
championship at the Houston Rodeo.
15:28
We've had the opportunity to go to the Jack Daniels invitation.
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You know, we've been lucky to go to the American Royal.
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We've done every major world competition in Texas.
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So it's I've been there and done that and it's a great feeling
15:41
just to be able to continue to do what I love to do.
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So how does international BBQ culture compared to what we see
15:49
in the United States? It's.
15:51
All there, everybody tells me they're like, man, how do you go
15:54
to another country and BBQ? They they don't know how to
15:56
barbecue over there. BBQ is it's international.
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There is a a sanction body eaten BBQ that's world worldwide.
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It's called the WBQA and it's brings all countries together to
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cook all over the world. And then they have the world
16:13
championship in Germany. But BBQ everywhere you go, they
16:18
have their different traditional ways of doing their own barbecue
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and it all boils down to the same thing.
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Smoke and fire, smoke and fire and throwing some meat on there
16:27
and then just having a good time.
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Everywhere I've gone, it's just learning how to adapt to
16:32
whatever they have to use. The woods are different than we
16:35
have here in Texas. We have to use the woods that
16:38
they smoke with and use ingredients and rubs and
16:41
seasonings that they're familiar with opposed to what we have
16:44
here in the States. But the technique is all the
16:47
same. Everybody that every country
16:49
that I go to, they inspire to be like us in Texas.
16:53
They want that Texas BBQ. They wanted to know they're like
16:56
sponges and we there, we're like celebrities to them because
16:59
they're like, oh, y'all are the you're the BBQ guy from Texas.
17:02
You know how to do it this way. And that's the one thing I love
17:06
about being able to go to different countries, talking to
17:08
different people and just showing them how I do things.
17:12
I always tell everybody, if you get 10 pit masters together in
17:16
the same room and you ask them how to do BBQ, you're going to
17:18
get 10 different answers. I just try to keep it simple for
17:22
them, don't overcomplicate anything.
17:24
And most of the time they understand.
17:28
So that's the good thing about it is just relaying to them,
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hey, this is how we do it, This is why we do it.
17:34
And then this is the outcome of our hard work.
17:38
And what was the craziest moment that you had from your travels?
17:43
Ah, dude, I went to the Philippines.
17:46
So I went to the Philippines then I'm going to have to give
17:49
me settle in for this one. No, I went to the Philippines,
17:52
right? And we cooked for this
17:53
plantation, the sugar plantation out there and we went out there.
17:57
I was out there with Timothy Broadwick and he has a company
18:01
called Pit Ventures. So what it is, he travels all
18:04
over the world to cater events, right?
18:06
So he signed us up for this gig in the Philippines and the guy
18:12
that through this event, he, he's from Europe and he owns the
18:16
Sugar plantation. So he wanted to an authentic
18:19
original BBQ that as we would do here in Texas.
18:22
So what he did was he got the emailed Salt Lick and got the
18:28
exact replica measurements of the Salt Lick pit that they have
18:31
at their restaurant and he had that built.
18:34
So we get over here to this plantation, he's showing us
18:37
around and he's so proud of this pit when he's hey, we got all
18:41
this meat we got and we're like, what are we going to cook it on?
18:44
And he's, I just built y'all a pit and me and Tim look at each
18:48
other and we're like, dude, they don't cook on the Salt Lake,
18:51
They don't cook on these pits. They got barrels, they got big
18:54
old 1000 gallon drums that they cook on.
18:56
And he's this is all I have. So we're like, oh shit, we have
19:02
£800 of beef that we have to cook and we have to cook it on
19:05
this replica pit of the salt Lick.
19:08
And we tried to, I didn't know anything about it and he didn't
19:12
tend to know anything about it. So we tried lighting it and, and
19:16
we were struggling. We were like 4 hours in and we
19:19
couldn't get, no, we couldn't get the pit up to temp or
19:21
anything like that. And we just like, man, what do
19:23
we do? I'm trying to Google everything
19:25
I can about Salt Lake pit and just man, I was like, if you
19:30
ever been to to the Salt Lake, the pit is just an Oval pit and
19:34
then it has an apron on it. And I was like, man, I told Tim,
19:37
I said now I'm going to rake all this coal onto the out of it.
19:39
I'm going to try to start this over again because we're 4 hours
19:41
behind now. And as soon as I raked all that
19:45
charcoal and wood onto that apron, the pit just lit up.
19:49
And I realized then it was a vortex pit.
19:53
So you put it on the apron and then the air circulates and it
19:56
shoots it straight up. We got that going.
19:59
And once we got that pit going, we started cooking meat.
20:02
We were for 72 hours, just cooking.
20:06
We take a nap period there, but we were just cooking because we
20:08
were so behind. But yeah, that was about
20:11
probably the most extensive and most oddest thing that we had to
20:15
discover while we were trying to figure out this pit man.
20:19
So you do corporate and team building classes.
20:23
How did that become part of your BBQ mission?
20:25
How did that get started? Yeah.
20:26
That it in competition, man, sometimes it takes teamwork.
20:31
It is teamwork. If you're on a cook off team and
20:33
you're not cooking for yourself and you're cooking with other
20:35
guys, it's all about teamwork and everybody know it has to
20:39
know what to do. It's like an orchestrated dance.
20:41
You got to learn how to do this, You got to learn how to season.
20:43
You need to learn how to trim and everybody works together.
20:47
I was like, man, we can do some classes and have these as team
20:50
building experiences for people that are wanting to try to all
20:54
come together and do 1 have one common goal, and that's just to
20:58
let make good food. So Center point and energy
21:01
contacted me and they're like, hey, man, we're having a team
21:03
building class. We want to know if you can do
21:06
one with barbecue. And I'm like, yeah, I said, man,
21:08
that we can do a classic. That's that'd be perfect.
21:11
And they're like, what did you, what can you do to make your
21:14
class stand out from any other class that's out there?
21:16
And I'm like I said, you know what?
21:18
Every BBQ class that I've ever gone to, or a lot of BBQ classes
21:21
that I see is you have one instructor, he's doing
21:24
everything and everybody's just watching and writing notes and
21:28
stuff like that. And I'm like, you know what, I
21:29
can make this better. I said, I could give each one of
21:32
your students a slab of ribs. I could give each one of your
21:35
students some chicken and I can show them how to trim it, how to
21:40
pull the membrane, how to spatchcock the chicken and
21:43
everybody's hands on. And he was like, we can do that.
21:48
I'm like, yeah, I'll provide the gloves, I'll provide the knives.
21:50
We'll do all, We'll do everything.
21:51
And we did that. And it was just, you should have
21:54
seen the people all just working as one trying to help each other
21:57
while they were splitting chickens and cutting ribs and
22:00
stuff like that. So it was very successful.
22:03
At the end of the day, we all put the ribs on the smokers.
22:06
And then at the end of the class, they all get to take a
22:08
slab of ribs and a chicken home. He was so impressed about how we
22:12
threw that class that he actually booked another one last
22:15
week. And we did the same thing,
22:17
having a bunch of people and trying to show them all the same
22:21
thing. And everybody's going to do
22:23
something different. Nobody's going to.
22:24
I can tell everybody how to season chicken, how to trim
22:27
chicken or do all that, but they're going to do it their own
22:29
way. But at least I gave them that
22:32
insight. I gave them that tidbit of, hey,
22:34
this is what you can do to make it a little better.
22:36
And it just was successful. And I love doing the team
22:40
building things. I love just being around people
22:42
and showing them how to do BBQ, man, 'cause you got to get back
22:46
to what was given. I'm not going to keep all my
22:48
secrets. I can't.
22:49
There's always somebody better, younger and more hungrier.
22:53
That's why it wants to make it out there.
22:54
So the best thing I can do is just pass what I know to
22:58
somebody else that that can use that knowledge.
23:00
Yeah. Definitely and and I guarantee
23:03
each one of them that did that, hey, look what I did and feel
23:07
good about themselves because oh, most of them are like, I
23:09
don't even cook. I don't know how to grill.
23:11
But you didn't did this. So it's going to boost you as
23:14
well as you're going to take more of an interest in BBQ as
23:17
well as you're going to pass it on to someone else.
23:19
And yeah, and there was a. Lot of women that attended the
23:22
class so it was like some of these women were like I've never
23:25
I've never barbecued ribs or chicken Me for my husband always
23:28
does that I was like, now you can go back and do it for your
23:30
husband and he'll be happy so yeah, it was a good thing it was
23:33
a great experience for everybody that was involved in the class
23:36
yeah, I'm an. Advocate for just helping
23:38
people. You see somebody struggling, go
23:40
over there and tell them because a lot of people just sit there
23:43
and watch people crash and burn where you can easily give them a
23:46
word of advice to help them. But people will be gatekeeping
23:49
and try to hold stuff to themselves just to see people go
23:53
down and it's not benefiting BBQ at all.
23:56
We got no BBQ. I mean, it, it happens there.
24:00
It's in the same thing in the restaurant business.
24:02
I've been in the restaurant business for a long time.
24:04
There are people out there that they don't want to help anybody
24:07
but themselves. Not me, man.
24:09
It's like I tell everybody, if I have time, you can come on over
24:12
to the restaurant, you can sit there and watch me and or you
24:15
can come to my house whenever I'm cooking in the backyard.
24:18
I have no problem teaching anybody that wants to learn.
24:21
I think that's the one of the downfalls of what society is
24:25
today. Nobody wants to teach anybody
24:27
anything. And we, I grew up, I grew up in
24:32
Pasadena, TX. So when I came here in 84,
24:35
Pasadena, TX, still had the KKK out there.
24:38
So I grew up having to fight white kids and ended up in the
24:41
office and then ended up going home and my dad beating me,
24:44
beating on me because I was in trouble.
24:46
And I had that sense of mindset that society is just messed up.
24:51
And then even when I moved into Houston, I was going to junior
24:55
high school and I was zoned to an all all colored school and I
24:58
was going through the same thing.
24:59
I had to fight colored kids because of the color of my skin.
25:03
And then and I didn't understand all that because up north they
25:05
didn't, they don't tell us what happened on the South.
25:09
And once I got into high school and I started learning more and
25:12
started integrating with everybody, that I realized that
25:15
the people, the person that you are inside is what you make of
25:19
it. I could have been angry at white
25:21
kids and colored kids for all my life, but what's the use?
25:24
Why am I going to live a miserable life?
25:26
I there was a point in my time where I was going through a
25:29
major phase in my life and got to the point where literally I
25:33
had a 9mm to my head because I wanted to end my life.
25:36
And for me at that point there, I had to really sit down and
25:41
think about where, what direction I wanted to go in
25:44
life. And you know what the, the
25:46
therapy that BBQ gave to me gave me that direction.
25:49
And I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to pass on the
25:53
knowledge that I know to other people, no matter what race they
25:56
are, it's just we are, we all bleed the same.
26:00
We all bleed the same. We're all envision children of
26:03
God and we just have to be good for each other, man.
26:06
If not and the society is going to fail and that's the one thing
26:09
I hate to see. For a society to fail because of
26:12
stupid beliefs out there. Exactly.
26:14
Plus it makes you feel good that you invested in somebody else
26:17
and you see them going successful.
26:19
Hey, it makes you feel good that somebody listened to you and
26:24
took your advice and it practically it'll save somebody
26:27
life sometime. And then you got to do a BBQ.
26:30
It's just like a kids or something like that, giving them
26:34
advice and stuff like that. You don't know how to make it.
26:38
I've been lucky enough to go to schools with where I graduated
26:41
here in Houston. They have a culinary arts
26:44
department, which they didn't have when I was growing up, but
26:46
I got invited to go. They have a program where these
26:50
high school kids, they joint, they do a joint session with
26:54
NASA and they all get together. They give them strict guidelines
26:59
of what they want to cook or what they have to cook and we go
27:02
and judge it. And then whoever wins that dish
27:06
that they made actually gets flown up to the space station
27:08
for the astronauts. So being able to go in there and
27:11
talk to kids and tell them, hey, this is something that's really
27:14
important and to for it to give them purpose in life, man, we
27:18
live in a day of age where it's all about social media and
27:21
everybody's on their phones and nobody, they don't have any kind
27:23
of skills and being able to give that back.
27:27
I do a lot of stuff with Alcoholics Anonymous and go in
27:30
and talk to people that are in addictions and give them purpose
27:33
because and a lot of people mess up in their lives and they feel
27:38
that once they get to that point in their lives that they're not
27:40
going to move forward. So for me to go in there and
27:43
give them that little spark of hope, it means a lot.
27:46
And especially for somebody that's really struggling it
27:48
without any problems that they've been might be having,
27:51
man, cuz we all have problems, man.
27:53
It's just what are you going to do whenever it happens to you?
27:56
And just to give them that, that encouragement is what's my
28:00
purpose in life today. I see.
28:02
And man, like I said, you do things like that and not expect
28:05
anything for it. You get blessed.
28:08
And I'm, I fortunately have been blessed.
28:11
Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
28:12
It's not over until it's over everybody.
28:14
You never know what happens if you put a word in somebody's ear
28:19
that the next day it may change their whole life and they might.
28:23
You never know what they turn out to be.
28:24
And then they're going to be like, I remember so and so told
28:26
me this. Let me call him and there's an
28:30
opportunity that may help him and bring it may come back on
28:34
you, like you said, and everything that you sown you
28:37
seeing the results of it now. So all they see all people see
28:41
is smoking Willy T. He's traveling all over the
28:45
place, but they didn't know all the back story that goes into
28:47
that to where you got to where you at now.
28:50
The people you've helped and sown seeds all over the place
28:54
now is producing fruit. So that's great to hear as far
28:59
as you're building your team building and your classes that
29:02
your other class that you teach, which one key lesson that you
29:05
hope every student walks away with.
29:09
I hope that from anything that I teach anybody is that they
29:13
understand what BBQ or what cooking or smoking meats is all
29:18
about. It's not, it's not something
29:20
that you can just throw in an oven and just let it do by
29:23
itself. It's learned.
29:24
It's being out there with nature, no matter if it's cold
29:27
or if it's hot or if it's raining.
29:29
Knowing, knowing how to regulate your fires, knowing how to
29:32
season your meat and trim it to where it's got that aerodynamic
29:36
flow when the smoke hits it. Or the one thing that I would
29:39
want anybody to take from any of the classes that I give is just
29:43
just do the best you can. Everybody's going to fail.
29:46
Believe me. I've messed up hundreds of
29:48
briskets before I got to be to become high.
29:51
And with briskets now today, you're going to fail.
29:54
The best thing to do is just get back up and get on that saddle
29:56
again and just give it your best.
29:58
That's the thing about BBQ, you just give it your best.
30:01
Have fun. Because if you start thinking of
30:03
it and going to every competition and expecting to win
30:06
all the time and you don't, you're going to, you're just
30:08
going to frustrate yourself. And then it gets to the point
30:11
where it's not fun anymore. If I go to competitions, if I
30:14
win, that's great. If I don't, you know what, I
30:17
have fun. I was out there with my friends.
30:19
We at the end of the day, when we're at a competition, yeah,
30:24
I'm trying to beat you. But at the end of the day, we're
30:26
friends. So I just want people to
30:29
understand that BBQ brings people together.
30:32
Heck, I under, I'm sure that you've been to a lot of cookouts
30:36
and just seeing people all together eating food and talking
30:39
and laughing and having a good time.
30:42
That's what BBQ is about. It's not about thinking you're
30:45
the best and that that you're, pardon my friends, but your shit
30:50
don't stink. But everybody is different, man.
30:52
And I've learned that in my travels.
30:55
I've had a lot of people take advantage of me just to make a
30:58
name for themselves and not give me any kind of recognition.
31:02
But you know what? At the end of the day, people
31:05
see behind that smoke. Those people end up, they end up
31:09
burning their own bridges. And I've seen that time and time
31:12
again. Man, Victor once told me, a pig
31:14
maker. As a matter of fact, I spoke
31:15
with him last week and he's will.
31:17
You need to write a biography. You need to go and write.
31:20
Who is smoking Willy T and who is William Tushina?
31:23
William Tushina is just a fragment of Smoky Willy T Smoky
31:27
Willy T is on my social media, traveling all over the world.
31:31
But a lot of people don't know who William Tashina is and what
31:34
I had to do and struggle to get to where I am today.
31:37
And that person there, he's still there.
31:40
But there's a lot of things that people don't know.
31:43
Like I said, putting a 9mm to my head because I wanted to end my
31:46
life and stuff like that. Nobody knows all those kind of
31:49
things about my personal life, but it's easy to put on a mask
31:53
and portray smoking Willy T, this cartoon character that's
31:56
all over the place and be a superhero out there in in
32:01
Facebook land or Instagram land. But man, it's a lot behind
32:05
closed doors. Sometimes it's that pony mirror
32:08
show kind of thing. But I just try to, I just try to
32:12
like show people that you can make a difference in somebody
32:17
else's life or you can change your life and turn your life
32:20
around. And even though I struggle
32:22
still, especially with the BBQ line that I came out with,
32:26
starting your own rub company and doing all that, just you'll
32:29
never understand your full potential if you don't just
32:33
jump. I can sit there at the edge
32:35
looking down all day long, man. But if I don't take that jump,
32:38
then I'll never know what could have happened.
32:40
So I just, there comes a point in everybody's life that I think
32:43
everybody's so stagnant about just being stuck where they're
32:47
at instead of trying to discover the full potential, what they
32:50
can be. And that holds a lot of people
32:53
back. Exactly, just with it.
32:56
The other day I spoke to Harry Sue and he said that if you go
33:00
through the day and it was and you had a comfortable day, you
33:04
didn't grow. If you went through the day and
33:07
you had some challenges and it was an uncomfortable day, that
33:10
mean you've grown. So that's definitely true words
33:14
to live by because if you don't step out there, you never know
33:17
what's going to happen until you try.
33:19
You can imagine in your head, but you don't know because it's
33:23
a percentage game. You may be successful, you may
33:26
not. That's why when I started this,
33:28
I'm like, I don't know if I'm going, my wife tell her go ahead
33:31
and do it. You never know what's going to
33:32
happen until you try. I'm like, man, nobody ain't
33:34
going to sign up and be on this show.
33:36
And the thing I know I'm asking in two weeks I didn't did 15
33:41
shows. So I was like, I wouldn't have
33:44
expected this. So I wouldn't have known if I
33:46
wouldn't have jumped out there and took the chance.
33:48
But let's say take a chance. You never know what's going to
33:51
happen or need help from somebody or as I say, do your
33:56
part and the other people that do their part.
33:58
If you do the research, like when I come, I make sure I do my
34:01
research on everybody. So if I meet them out in the
34:04
world, they're going to scratch their heads.
34:07
Oh, listen, catches them by surprise because I'm like, it's
34:11
all about I have my T-shirts on. When I went to Memphis and May,
34:15
I told my wife I'm here to make connections.
34:16
I'm not here to promote the podcast.
34:18
They'll see the shirt and if they want to be on, it's fine.
34:20
But most of them come on. Hey, being friendly.
34:23
Then they asked to be on the podcast.
34:25
I'm like, fine, I don't have a problem with you.
34:28
Come on, you're welcome. But it's all about just taking
34:30
that first step and see what you can do and reach your potential.
34:34
There's a lot of people just like to be in their shell and
34:37
what's comfortable for them instead of, like you said, being
34:40
on the edge and go ahead and jump and see what happened.
34:44
You never know. You go ahead and land on your
34:46
feet, or you might land on your feet and roll, but you never
34:50
know until you take that chance. Yeah, you got.
34:52
All those people out there that they want the fame and the
34:55
fortune, but they don't want to work for it.
34:57
I tell a lot of people out there, everybody wants the title
35:00
of a pitmaster, but nobody wants to do the work that's involved
35:03
of being a true pitmaster. Nobody wants to get up at 4:00
35:06
in the morning, light pits, clean, pits trim, mate.
35:10
All they want to do is be on social media all over the place,
35:14
cutting briskets and stuff like that, but nobody wants to do the
35:17
work. There's a lot of there's a lot
35:20
of restaurants that it might be has somebody's name on it, but
35:23
that person ain't back there doing anything.
35:25
There's a Mexican or somebody back there in the pit room doing
35:29
all that work, but they're getting the recognition because
35:31
their names on the building. Me, even when I cooked at
35:35
different restaurants, my pit hands that I had, I would always
35:39
post it on social media. They help out.
35:41
These are the guys who grind every day and sweat their asses
35:45
off while the owners are in the office.
35:47
Yeah, they they're owners and they have every right to sit in
35:50
the office. But man, give the credit to the
35:52
little man that's busting their ass out there every day.
35:55
I work my butt off to get the reputation that I am and to be
35:59
the be considered a true pitmaster.
36:02
And if I don't project that and I'm not out there in the in the
36:06
trenches every day, then I'm no different than anybody else that
36:10
has a name on a marquee and just sitting in an office all day.
36:14
Those people, they'll be in the spotlight when it's time to get
36:17
the credit and when something goes wrong, you blame it on the
36:20
people that's under you and stuff like that as a scapegoat.
36:23
So that's what I like. I'm I don't like that at all.
36:28
So I screenshot of something that you put on Instagram and I
36:31
was like, I had to read it over the show.
36:34
It says BBQ is my drug. I don't party every night.
36:38
I don't get wasted. I don't pop bottles of pills.
36:40
I don't smoke weed or crack. I BBQ.
36:43
I push my body to the limit in the heat, rain and cold.
36:46
When it's turning time or service time, I push even
36:49
harder. I burn wood, I season meat, feed
36:52
people, I chase trophies. I love the thrill of winning and
36:56
seeing people's faces when they enjoy my food.
37:00
I hate this thing of losing and lousy critics that don't know
37:03
what real BBQ is. Don't judge me.
37:05
Only the BBQ judges can do that. You can have your clubs and your
37:09
fake flashy life. I can take the smell of burnt
37:12
wood all day every day because BBQ is in my blood and nothing
37:17
can stop me from being the best I can.
37:20
Winners will always go out and accomplish great things at any
37:23
cost, while losers stay on the social media to see what we post
37:28
next. OK, Willie cheater, I was like
37:30
when I read that, I was like, I got to read that.
37:33
Just make sure more people here right there because that's what
37:38
BBQ therapy is. And you were in the zone.
37:40
You wrote that. So I got to give your props a
37:43
lot of, a lot of. Things that you know, that I
37:46
post on social media, it's because that's what I'm feeling
37:49
at the time when I wrote that, like I said, I, I, I am drug and
37:53
alcohol free for 15 years and this barbecue therapy that I
37:59
started is just something that, that I'm able to just take my
38:04
senses to another level. When I'm out there sitting at
38:07
the pit, I think about life. I'm out there and I just think
38:10
about how life is just some for some people, it just your life
38:15
in the fast lane. Everybody's rushing and rushing
38:17
to to do things, to try to accomplish things.
38:19
And whenever we're smoking meats, it's a slow process.
38:23
And sometimes slow and low is better because you get to see
38:27
all the things that are going on in in life instead of being
38:30
rushed through. The late great John Brotherton,
38:33
which is a real friend of mine that we lost last year.
38:35
We used to cook a lot at Texas A&M brisket camp and BBQ camp.
38:39
And me and him would be out there at 3-4 in the morning just
38:42
lighting pits to get briskets on.
38:44
And he once told me he's, well, you know, how many of us get to
38:48
get up every morning and do what we love?
38:50
And that's something that I've always taken to heart because
38:54
not many people get to get up every day and go to a job that
38:58
they love to go to. We do, we get to, we get that
39:02
privilege. And I, I wouldn't trade it for
39:05
anything in the world, man. Like, I can make millions and
39:07
millions of dollars, but I'll tell you one thing, it's not
39:10
going to buy you happiness. We can work all our lives and
39:14
not accomplish anything, but the minute that we lose a job, shit,
39:18
your employer is going to post your help one and sign right
39:21
quick. They don't give a you're just a
39:23
number to them. Today.
39:24
I do what I want. I go where I want.
39:27
I don't have to worry about anybody trying to put any kind
39:29
of pressure on me because at the end of the day, it's my life and
39:33
only I'm going to make myself happy.
39:35
And and that's what I encourage anybody out there to do, man, do
39:39
something that you love that makes you happy.
39:41
And believe me, you'll never have to work a day in your life.
39:44
Exactly, exactly. All right, we're going to switch
39:47
subjects. Let's go ahead and sell some
39:49
rough. Let's talk about the Smoky Rebel
39:51
and Cherry Forest. How did you come up with that?
39:54
And what's the flavor profile on that all?
39:56
Right. So Cherry Forest man, The funny
39:58
thing about Smoky Rebel is I was in in mold in England and I was
40:03
out there last year for the Smoke and Fire festival.
40:06
It was in the middle of August. So that's their like their fall.
40:09
It was cold out there. And I go there with Bill Dumas,
40:13
the sausage sensei, and we're there and the promoter forgot to
40:17
get me a room. So I was like, man, where am I
40:20
going to sleep? And big lighters were right next
40:24
door to us and they had these big bean bags.
40:26
So I pulled the bean bag right there by the by the next to the
40:29
500 gallon that I was smoking because I was smoking some pork
40:32
butts for the festival. And I was just laying there
40:35
trying to stay warm next to the pit.
40:38
And these guys came up. It was late at night.
40:41
These guys walk up to me. They're like, what are you doing
40:43
on the ground, mate? And I'm like, man, This is why
40:46
I'm asleep. I had no blanket, no nothing.
40:48
I was cold. And one of the guys, his name
40:51
was Russ. He's I have an extra blanket, a
40:53
poncho, if you want to borrow it.
40:54
And I was like, yeah, I'd love to, man.
40:56
He bought the poncho back. We were just sitting out there
40:58
talking and he was like, we have an extra tent on the other side
41:02
of camp if you want to sleep in a tent with us.
41:04
And I was like, man, I'd love to man, it's cold out here.
41:07
So I ended up meeting these guys from Smokey Rebel and man, ever
41:11
since then we just been really close knit guys.
41:14
And Smokey Rebel is a rub that's from Kent, England.
41:18
And in a market that's saturated with rubs, whenever we thought
41:22
about the idea of bringing a rub, their rub to the United
41:25
States, I was like, man, guys, we're bringing sands at the
41:27
beach. Our rubs have to be unique if
41:30
we're going to try to sell them here in the United States.
41:32
And the one thing that I loved about their rubs were they were
41:36
all natural. There were no additives, no
41:39
preserve. There's no anti clubbing
41:40
agencies. Everything in the rub is all
41:43
natural and in England they have that process.
41:45
In the United States we still deal with fillers, artificial
41:48
flavors, all that stuff like that.
41:51
But this was a rub that didn't have any of that and it was able
41:53
to. Every grinded spice or any
41:57
grinded thing in there, it was able to.
41:59
The flavor was like amplified. So when I used the rub, it was
42:03
called Hickory hog on the pork over there.
42:06
It was just man, it was phenomenal.
42:08
I was like, wow, I this is a rub I can get behind.
42:10
So we left it at that and I came back to the States and we were
42:16
having an event at my facility and I told the guys I was like,
42:21
how would you like I'd do a collaboration.
42:23
Y'all, let's do bring the rubs out, let's do this.
42:25
And they came here to the United States and we did a Texas tour.
42:28
So we went, we went to my place, which was tallied at the time.
42:31
Then we went to Seguin, to Schultz's.
42:32
And then we went to the Macaroni Festival in in San Antonio and
42:37
we did a tour and the guys were like, hey, we were thinking
42:42
about bringing the rubs to the States.
42:44
We would like you and Bill Dumas to be part owners of that.
42:48
And do you think you can come up with a rub line?
42:51
And I was like, yeah, I think I can do that.
42:53
Like I said, I worked at Savory Spice for a couple years before
42:57
they closed down. And one thing I learned was how
42:59
to blend spices and things like that.
43:03
And one thing that a lot of people don't know is if you go
43:07
to buy a rub off them off the shelf at the store, it's all the
43:10
same ingredients in the rubs except somebody puts a little
43:14
bit of this or a little less of that and then they slap a label
43:17
on it and it's their rub. So I was like, man, I can create
43:20
a rub all natural, no fillers, no additives, no preservatives,
43:25
using real ground up spices and we can come up with something
43:30
spectacular. One thing I loved was I've
43:33
always loved cherry and I learned how to cook ribs and
43:37
pork from Mark Lambert and with sweet swaddle mine and he was a
43:42
teammate of mine on Operation BBQ Relief.
43:44
And I've always watched Mark whenever he cooked ribs And one
43:48
day he put me aside and show me how to do pork ribs.
43:51
And he had we were using, I think it was Heath Riles cherry
43:55
rub. And I've always loved that
43:57
flavor. And I was like, man, if I could
44:00
ever do a rub, I think I would do a cherry rub.
44:03
So I'm sitting there and I'm writing on all these ingredients
44:07
and what I'm going to put together on in this cherry rub
44:09
here. And one of the things that I
44:12
wanted to stay true to was no artificial flavoring.
44:15
So I contacted Russ and I was like, man, what about us doing a
44:19
cherry but using real cherry powder and which is very hard to
44:24
find, by the way, that we do not carry cherry powder here in the
44:27
United States and we found it in Germany.
44:30
So we get the cherry powder shipped from Germany to England
44:34
and an England shipped to here and we blended the what we call
44:39
Cherry Force. So this is the can.
44:41
Of course it's AR 2. It's a Star Wars themed Cam
44:44
because of course I love Star Wars.
44:47
And then you can see to where I got a little, there you go.
44:51
You can see the little C3 POR 2D2 BBQ pit.
44:56
We had to change up a lot of stuff on there because we didn't
44:58
want Disney to get a hold of us. There's things that we had to
45:00
change up on it, but we kept it a little Star Wars fun theme
45:04
because like I said, I love it and the rub was phenomenal.
45:07
Dude, we launched it in England before May the 4th and the
45:13
response for it just went off the chart.
45:15
It's sold more chair. We've sold more Cherry Rub in
45:19
England than any of the other Rubs that we have just into the
45:22
left since we launched it. The launch date here in the
45:25
United States for the rub lines because we are still talking
45:28
with Co Packers and and canners and stuff like that.
45:31
But we're looking to have it here launched in the United
45:34
States. All burnt all lines of it in by
45:37
October is what we're looking for.
45:39
That way we can we're right in line for the holiday season and
45:42
we can open the e-commerce store and people can order it online
45:45
and stuff like that. But yeah, man, just this
45:48
opportunity was just presented to me and it was that time in my
45:52
life where I was looking over the ledge and I was like, man,
45:55
if it's going to happen, it's going to happen now.
45:57
And I have to just take the leap of faith.
45:59
And the guys are actually coming next week from England.
46:04
Russ is coming in and we're going to go to, we got to go to
46:07
talk to the coal Packers and the canners and stuff like that.
46:09
But we're really pushing for this to hit the markets by
46:14
October. Yeah, I see They got a lot of
46:16
different rubs on the website. I'm looking at the website.
46:19
You get a whole arsenal of rubs. Yeah.
46:23
And they're all multi purpose, so it's not like one specific
46:26
rub, one specific meat, just the way the flavors all mashed
46:29
together. They're you can put them on
46:31
anything. People have told me that this
46:32
cherry rub, which I designed for pork is really good on chicken
46:36
and salmon and stuff like that fish.
46:38
So it's designed to be put on anything, not just one specific
46:41
kind of meat. Every one thing that you know,
46:44
that we try to keep true. Every character on the rub
46:47
actually has a meaning, like the SPG rub.
46:50
Russ's sons love Jurassic Park, so they put the Raptor on there
46:54
and then our Chipotle chicken. Russ whenever he was little, he
46:58
used to watch a lot of John Wayne films with with his
47:01
granddad and they did the John Wayne Chicken.
47:05
They used to he used to love watching Miami Vice.
47:06
So the Mahimi Moho got the Miami Vice guy on there.
47:09
And then he loved the 80s movies, Top Gun and stuff like
47:13
that. So a wing man has the ace on
47:16
there. So every rub and every character
47:19
has a meaning to them, Guy, because this is a small company,
47:22
mom and pop company from England, and they just wanted to
47:25
keep it true and real. It's a lot of his, a lot of
47:27
people love the packaging on it. They say it's just awesome that
47:30
there's no rub packaging like that here in the United States.
47:33
Exactly. None.
47:34
So definitely go at least check out the websites that were in
47:37
advance, but it definitely got a lot of rubs on there.
47:40
And definitely when it comes out, definitely hit the calendar
47:44
link and schedule another show. Oh yeah.
47:47
Definitely, as soon as I know some launch dates and stuff like
47:49
that offline, I get your address.
47:51
I'll definitely send you some man.
47:52
I want to get it out to as many people to try out as I can and
47:55
get some feedback on it because that's what it's all about.
47:58
It's getting feedback, making sure that we're giving a good
48:01
product to the consumer out there and we're not looking to
48:04
capitalize on a BBQ competitions and stuff like that.
48:06
We want the everyday backyard cook.
48:09
As a matter of fact, I had all the rubs at the Center Point
48:12
class and I ended up selling them all because as I was able
48:16
to teach the class, I was using the rubs and then people wanted
48:18
to try it so they bought it all up for me.
48:21
So I want the backyard cookers to buy it that way.
48:25
It's a way for them to enhance their meat flavors and put out
48:29
some good product. And the end off.
48:33
And then I'm going to ask a few quick questions and then let you
48:36
go since you're a big Star Wars fan.
48:38
So I came up with some Star Wars questions for you #1 what's your
48:43
favorite Star Wars movie of all time and why?
48:47
Star Wars movie of all time is going to be Episode 4 and New
48:50
Hope, just because that's the one that I remember.
48:53
Ever since I was a little kid, I remember my dad taking me to go
48:56
see that movie in the theater in Chicago.
48:59
And it's just one that I guess Star Wars is about fantasy, man.
49:03
It's about living in a make believe world that you can make
49:06
reality. And to me, that was the one big
49:08
thing that I got out of barbecues, living in that make
49:12
believe world in my mind of how I can be a BBQ master, live the
49:17
dream. And that's what I'm doing, man.
49:19
OK, And what's your favorite character in Star Wars My.
49:22
Favorite character is R2D2. Man, that little Droid.
49:26
I still have my original R2D2 when I was a kid.
49:29
Frame in a frame here but and you can see them back here.
49:33
I have a life-size R2D2 back here.
49:36
But yeah, the heats I got, I've got one of probably the biggest
49:40
R2D2 collections in the city of Houston.
49:43
Wow. And what's your ranking of the
49:45
trilogy's original, prequel or sequel?
49:49
The originals man I know Disney they just want to make money.
49:53
I think Indoor and Rogue One are probably going to be.
49:57
Man those are really good. I love those movies.
50:01
I love the Ahsoka series. Didn't like the Boba Fett one
50:05
that made Boba Fett just excuse my French again, look like a
50:08
pussy. But yeah, and it's all the new.
50:11
And I like some of the animated series too.
50:14
I like the Rebels and not the Bad batch.
50:16
I love the Bad Batch but for me it's the original.
50:20
OK. Would you rather be a Jedi or
50:23
Mandalorian? A Jedi.
50:25
All right. Would you rather fly the
50:27
Millennium Falcon or pilot in an X wing in battle?
50:31
No, man, I got to fly that. The fastest hunk of junk in the
50:34
Galaxy. Man, I got to fly the Falcon.
50:37
Would you rather have dinner with Darth Vader or go drinking
50:40
with Han Solo? I think I go drinking with Han
50:43
Solo all. Right.
50:45
Would you rather train under Yoda or Obi Wan Kenobi?
50:50
Definitely Yoda. All right.
50:52
Would you rather do Kylo Ren or Boba Fett?
50:58
That's a tough one. I think I do, Boba Fett.
51:02
And last question, would you rather wear a full stormtrooper
51:06
armor for a day or carry Yoda in a backpack all day?
51:10
I carry Yoda in a backpack all day.
51:12
Actually, I have my computer laptop back.
51:15
Is the Jedi backpack that you put a Yoda in it?
51:19
Yeah, so. All right, I go.
51:22
I. Carry it and it has a lightsaber
51:24
hilt holder. So I have my lightsaber hilt in
51:27
there. So I carry, I have my backpack
51:28
on. I'm walking around.
51:29
Is is that a lightsaber on your backpack?
51:32
What color lightsaber you got? I have a.
51:35
Blue one I have several lightsabers.
51:37
Actually I have 5 all together. That's definitely cool.
51:42
I saw the the luggage. I was like, wow, he really like
51:45
Star Wars. You don't.
51:47
Realize, OK, so my niece got found that luggage for me in
51:51
Chicago at a garage sale and she was like, uncle, wherever you
51:55
go, I want you to take this RTD to and that RT DS have been all
51:59
around the world with me. Everywhere I go, he goes hang
52:03
on. So everywhere I go, he goes and
52:08
he has a pen of everywhere that we've been.
52:10
So if we wherever we go, I put I buy a pen and I stick them on
52:13
there. So I get so many kids when I'm
52:16
at the airport. Look, it is R2D2 luggage and
52:19
they it's great, man, it's amazing.
52:21
I love to see little kids smile. And I just got a beer one too.
52:25
I just ordered the bigger 1. So now I got a full suitcase
52:28
R2D2 luggage. That's cool.
52:30
It's different. It stands out and that's the
52:32
trademark. When they see the luggage, they
52:34
know it's you. So it's definitely cool.
52:37
It's a great hobby. So I definitely it is.
52:40
It's my I. Tell everybody it's my
52:42
retirement, my retirement fund, because I have some very
52:45
expensive pieces in my collection and I know that if
52:49
whenever I retire, I can sell this stuff and make some money.
52:54
Definitely. Smoking Willie T your therapy
52:56
session is over. If you got anybody to think or
52:58
anything to promote, you can definitely do that at this time.
53:02
No, man, I just want to thank you for having me on the show,
53:04
man. It's been an honor and a
53:06
privilege. I'm, I'm glad that we have
53:07
somebody out there like you letting us air out some of our
53:11
BBQ therapy problems that we got going on.
53:13
I hope you build me a reasonable price.
53:15
But yeah, I appreciate it. I want to just shout out to all
53:18
my sponsors. Texas Original Charcoal back
53:20
here, of course, Smokey Rebel ghouls, sauces and glazes.
53:25
Man, I know that I'm missing Fatheads Eyewear.
53:27
I know I'm missing tons of them, but you put me on the spot
53:30
really quick. But yeah, man, just everybody
53:33
out there, my fans that follow me on Facebook, Instagram,
53:36
YouTube, all my social media content.
53:39
I'm glad that you know y'all, that y'all are always out there
53:42
supporting me and standing behind me and everything I do,
53:45
man, I appreciate all of y'all. Anybody that wants to check out
53:48
my social medias, just smoking Willy T without the G.
53:51
So smoking Willy T and then also go check out us out on Smokey
53:55
Rebel, all platforms too. Yeah, thank you, Sir.
53:59
No. Problem thank you for coming on
54:01
and sharing your story and definitely it's it's going to
54:04
help people out and motivate people.
54:06
So I definitely appreciate you for sacrificing your time and
54:09
coming on and helping somebody else because that's what it's
54:11
all about. Thank you, Sir.
54:13
If. Anybody out there has questions
54:15
man, feel free to DM me. I might get back with you a
54:17
little late but I try to answer any questions that anybody
54:20
answer. Anybody that emails me I have no
54:23
problem talking to anybody on the side about BBQ or anything
54:27
like that man. Like I said, it's all about
54:28
learning, promoting and giving back.
54:30
Definitely. And on that note, everybody,
54:32
we'll see you next episode. Thank you for joining us on
54:36
another episode of the BBQ Therapy Podcast.
54:39
My name is Tavis Bryant. Please tune in to YouTube,
54:43
Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and any streaming platform near you.
54:48
Please pay the secretary on your way out and we'll see you next
54:52
episode.