MEAT MAN: WITH PETE FREEMAN

16 Apr 2025 · 51 min

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Podcast Summary: Front and Center - Episode: MEAT MAN: WITH PETE FREEMAN

Podcast Overview Title: Front and Center Description: Each week, award-winning graphic designer Alex Center and co-host Kevin Batory discuss branding, design, pop culture, and more.

Episode Details Episode Title: MEAT MAN: WITH PETE FREEMAN Episode Description: The hosts welcome Pete Freeman, the first employee of Center Design Studio LLC. The discussion touches on various pop culture topics, including Coachella, branding collaborations, and more unusual culinary ideas.

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Key Topics Discussed

  1. Guest Introduction: Pete Freeman
  2. Longtime associate of Alex and Kevin, referred to as "Sweet Pete."
  3. Notable as the first employee at Center Design Studio LLC.
  4. Currently visiting New York from Santa Barbara.
  1. Pop Culture Commentary
  2. Reality TV and Content Creation:
  3. Discussion about the Kardashians and Logan Paul's controversial family, admitting to watching their content for "scientific purposes."
  4. Mixed reviews on a reality show, highlighting the production quality vs. content.
  • Rat Infestation at Erewhon:
  • A humorous rant about rats in Erewhon grocery stores, with Pete claiming they’ve evolved to prefer high-end, organic items, paralleling societal trends.
  1. Coachella Preparations
  2. Alex is preparing to attend Coachella, discussing the essentials for the festival, including outfits and expectations.
  3. Light-hearted banter about the festival’s atmosphere and potential interactions with attendees.
  1. Brand Collaborations and Innovations
  2. Rizzler's Influence:
  3. Discussion about a viral kid, "The Rizzler," who’s become a cultural sensation; mentions potential merchandise ideas and collaborations.
  • Subway's New Footlong Nachos:
  • Subway's introduction of footlong nachos, showcasing their attempt to innovate their menu while discussing the absurdity and appeal of the product.
  • KFC's Fried Chicken Toothpaste:
  • A new product collaboration between KFC and High Smile to create fried chicken-flavored toothpaste, generating mixed feelings about its necessity and marketability.
  1. Glenn Powell and Smash Kitchen
  2. Introduction of Smash Kitchen:
  3. Glenn Powell's new condiment line, featuring organic ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, tied into a backstory involving childhood trauma related to ketchup.
  4. Market Strategy:
  5. The collaboration with Walmart aims to leverage Powell’s celebrity status for commercial success, despite skepticism about the actual culinary innovations.

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Key Takeaways

  • The blending of personal narratives with branding strategies is a recurring theme in modern marketing.
  • Humor-infused commentary on cultural phenomena (like reality TV and fast-food collaborations) reflects broader societal trends.
  • The episode effectively illustrates how personal stories, even those involving trauma, can be leveraged in branding and product marketing.
  • There remains a tension between innovation in food products and consumers’ appetite for authenticity and quality.

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Conclusion This episode of Front and Center captures a lighthearted yet insightful discussion on contemporary culture, branding, and the complexities of consumerism, all punctuated with humor and playful banter among the hosts and their guest. As they navigate through various topics, they highlight the intersection of personal narratives with professional branding strategies in today's media landscape.

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Transcript

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0:28I have a confession. hook and um it features their family well just you got to spin it alex you got to say i'm watching it for scientific purposes doing research for culture for culture purposes investigative journalism i mean listen these guys are at the top of their game when it comes to creating content yeah branding marketing wrestling boxing wrestling boxing product prime w deodorant lunchly lunchly these guys are moving units and culture. Just like the Kardashians. Moving shitty units, but units nonetheless. I'm watching. I watched two episodes. How'd you like? The first one was borderline great.

1:11Whoa. Second one, nose dive off a glove. Oh, wow. Yeah. So they put all the money into the pilot type of thing. Because I think he and him will love them. They are compelling. entertainers that's why they've got massive platforms that's what i'm saying for sure and i and i respect them for that not for the content i don't want the content i'm saying the fact that they have put their whole lives on the internet and constantly reinventing themselves and constantly creating things that people watch yeah threading the tough line there though you know i mean it's it's it's again be careful alex it's a slippery slope i had to admit it Thanks so you know.

1:56Slippery slope, dude. The father literally said in the premiere episode, the trailer, he said, if I could press a button and blow up all of Los Angeles, I would. Wow. Holy shit. That's the type of guy these people were raised by. Can you go to jail for that? Yeah. I believe Logan Paul said, dad, that's terrorism. Put that guy on a list. Yeah. No. So he... Check one point for Logan Paul. Nice. Turning over a new leaf. Yeah. He draws the line of terrorism. Very cool. Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to bring down the whole vibe of the show. Huh. Well, no. The more you know. Truly. I just had to admit it.

2:38I mean, this is a podcast where I can come and bring these kind of things. I wouldn't say it over there on the other side of the room. I'd be able to consider it a safe space. Thank you. Once the mics are on, it's not like anyone's listening. That's true. Exactly. Yeah. I've heard that. I had to tell... I had to let the people know. Yeah. Listen, this is in line with my past. I've watched some bad reality shows before. And he'll watch some bad reality shows again. Or fearless later. There's a 90 % chance I won't make it to the end of the season. Yeah. I think you have to now. That's a lot to ask.

3:09You got to give us the recaps.

3:16Three, two, one. Kevin. What's up? Peter. welcome back pete thanks for having sweet pete wow hey sweet pete for pete for pete welcome to the show we all today we all have a little peter in us wow thanks for saying it like that wow uh welcome to beautiful new york city yeah gosh it's nice here i don't miss santa barbara at all no all the way from california uh do we have the four-timers jacket okay we don't i forgot I forgot to make it. That's all right. That's all right. Put that on me. I have to wait for the five, Pete. It's on me. Well, thanks for having me again. For those who don't know Pete, Pete Freeman is employee number one at Center Design Studio LLC.

4:05Resides in Santa Barbara, California. That's true. And has been on the show. He's not a guest, but he's not a host. So he's... Somewhere in between... He's the honorary third microphone. Oh, wow. He's our side piece. He's our side piece. and i always will be kevin um welcome here do you want to speak on behalf of all of the west coast what's up with the rats at erwan pete what is going on let me tell you what they have a taste for the finer things okay and if there's anything i know about rats uh they know where to find you know a little bit of uh you know entitlement they follow the money you know what i'm saying and they used to be in new york everyone knows this but no one's talking about the rats in new york anymore oh you're right they all went to la with all the creative directors and that's where they've kind of settled and so that's why everyone is the way that it is so i just wanted to yeah reporting on the scene i had to come here to tell you this thanks for coming pete we appreciate it thanks for having me i'm even the rats are moving to la yeah yeah yeah the red stood am i here you know the one bedroom apartment i heard they're taking over la yeah i mean word on the street dude this is not great for erwan i'm gonna just say it's a tough hit but they'll be fine they will grocery stores have rats that's just uh you know tail is all this time that's fair yeah yeah they just they love just is they love smoothies they have adaptogens they love wellness products they've gotten a taste for adaptogens yeah watch out do those aisles yeah yeah yeah they come out with a little erwan merch yeah these rats are gonna be optimized and healthy yeah yeah yeah Yeah, they're giga rats.

5:44So many supplements. Oh, dude, they're going to be massive. Yeah, so that's what you got to watch out for. They're going to be massive. Their skin's going to be glowing. They're going to be very sharp and aware. It's going to be... Optimizers. It's a nightmare for LA. Yeah. This reminds me of the worms at Bathhouse. This is bad for... So true. Watch our stars fall down one by one here. It's tough. It's really tough. I mean, what goes up must come down. I think that's the rules for an air one, uh, the$20 poke sandwich or whatever. $20 poke sandwich. Had a good run. Ain't even that bad. That's not a bad price.

6:21It's probably more like 30 there. Yeah. Moneybags, Kevin over here. Okay. Never forgets a number here. Yeah. I'm just saying guys. Uh, well you guys, uh, it's not making you want to visit soon. You know, we got mold and jelly at the squirrel and we got rats at air one. You heard it here first. The spot's blown. Stay out of Southern California. Yeah. That's, Do not come. Don't try it. I'm going to Coachella next week. Oh, wow. Speaking of LA. You should definitely do a run. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Should I go around asking people about the rats at Erewhon? Definitely. A man on the street side with a little microphone?

6:52Absolutely. Yeah. Good content. Hey, if any of the listeners out there are going to Coachella next week, bang Alex's line. Yeah, no, I'll be out there in a crop top and a flower crown. Yeah, do you have a fit set up? Absolutely not. You haven't even thought about it at all? I literally booked my ticket yesterday. I just got a hotel. So down the line of things that are important is what I'm going to wear. But what do you guys recommend? Something comfortable. Okay. Definitely something comfortable. Danceable only. Danceable. Is it going to get cold there? Good question. Hard to say, actually. Well, the last I checked was really warm, but cold at night.

7:26So maybe you kind of want a partner pleaser. Okay. Definitely a partner pleaser. Okay. Probably a hat for sun protection. I got that. Hat for sun. I got that. Sunny's to hide your fucked up eyes. That's exactly right. You want to pack a layer, you know? And you want to have danceable pants, dude. It's all about the pants. Danceable pants. I was, you know, the biggest... Some baggies. The biggest concern I have right now is pants or shorts, you know? Yeah, it's a tough call. Is it a pink and pants? I think you'd be all right with either, you know? I think, yeah. Whoa, zip-offs. Oh, yeah, that's good.

7:56Yeah. In the desert, though. I feel like you're right. I feel like it's going to get cold. It's kind of cold at night. Yeah, at night. But you'd be all right. You know, little hoodies, hoodie shorts action. Never heard nobody. Yeah, and also be around a lot of people. for it. Oh, dude. I don't know. $12? $20? Oh, really? No. I think somewhere between the two. Probably closer to$20. How much is a beer? These rats. I'm going to say$18 is my guess. Yeah. $15. $15. Hey, so I wasn't that far off. Okay, you weren't that far. $15's crazy. Dude,$2 waters. $2 waters. Wow, that's a bargain. That's a pretty good$25 cocktail.

8:32Yeah. That'll get you. That'll get you. All right, all right. Not too bad. Yeah. Honestly. It honestly isn't as bad as it could be. That could be worse. It could be worse. That could be worse. But no, I've never been to a hotel. Wow. Have you guys ever been? No. Never. No. Do you stay on site? Where do you go? I'm staying at the... Oh, I'm not going to say what I'm saying. I'm staying at the hotel room. When does this come out? I'm staying at a hotel. I'm not staying on site. Oh, okay. Which I think would be cool, but I'm too old to lie on the ground. Yeah. Fair enough. You know, even with like a sleeping bag of any sort.

9:03Yeah. I got back pain, hip pain. My sister says if you pay rent, you shouldn't camp. ah she's right which i think is fair no probably i love camping but i love camping but the worst part is is is lying on the ground yeah sleeping yeah i think my body i don't think could handle that you're gonna have fun alex thank you yeah who's there this year a bunch of people well i can't wait for the recap oh it's yeah no i'm i'm curious again i think yeah uh little monsters is that her group of people i don't yeah couldn't tell you with the monsters i'm gonna go out there with the monsters uh kevin this is the first podcast we've done since april fool's day oh um we typically do a roundup um yeah what did we like what but we we don't know that we need to do it but uh i'm i'm bummed to hear that the arizona risler collab is you're you're telling me that wasn't real the arizona didn't put two z's in arizona it appears to not be real even though this product would have moved, you know.

10:05It would have moved units. It would have moved heaven and earth. It's a best opportunity. It's a bit of a tease as well. I would have purchased the Arizona iced tea. Do you think there's a part of them that's just testing? Rizberry. Just seeing how it does and just seeing maybe if they have a Rizberry flavor. Maybe. I mean, they did release kind of a crazy press release post April Fool's saying that, you know, the Riz formula wasn't up to snuff and going back to the lab. Maybe they're increasing the Riz. for me, just knowing this guy's face, tell me more. Yeah, Pete doesn't know who the Rizzler is.

10:38Pete's not a big internet guy. Yeah. Small internet guy. Yeah, small internet guy. Yeah, yeah. So the Rizzler is a chubby 12-year-old who... Staking the world by storm. Yeah, and I will say, to be honest, he's been hanging around for longer than expected, you know? Interesting. For a kid that really doesn't have any real talent outside of him. Yeah, he goes like this, Pete. Just, you know. Oh, that's tight, dude. He mews. Yeah, he muse, and he's just a lovable. You just look at him and smile. That's really the thing. But his agent is putting in work. He threw out the first pitcher at a Met game again.

11:14I feel like he did that last year. Do you see him distracting the pitcher, the Blue Jays pitcher with the Riz face? No, I didn't see it. It was awesome. No offense on this kid, and I'm sure he seems great, but is this another one of those situations where, because the Ellen show doesn't exist, he hasn't hit the end of his career. Yeah, RIP on DeGeneres. Because if he went on Ellen, it'd be over. Ellen's not powerful enough to take down the Rizzler. The Rizzler would put Ellen in a body bag, brother. Fair enough, but I just feel like she was the apex predator for so long. The Rizzler would pack Ellen up and ship her to freaking wherever the hell people get shipped to.

11:51How much does the Rizzler make in a year, you think? How much, you know? Is he selling merch? I don't know. Make it all profit? I did see. Oh, should I wear a Rizzler tank top to Coachella? That would be sick. Do you want to borrow? You'd be a legend. I got two Rizzler tees, Alex. Wow. You want to borrow one? You can pop the sleeves. How much do you spend, man? Yeah, which one do you got? You got the Twizzler one? I got the Sizzler one, and I got the Zin flip. Wow. Both good. I'm on the Rizzler's merch page right now. So, yeah, let's take this conversation offline. What Coachella handled. Dude, do you think the Rizzler's – is the Rizzler going to be at Coachella?

12:28Is the Rizzler going to Coachella? I mean, probably if his schedule a lot, you know? Yeah. He's a busy guy we've heard. He's really maximizing his time in the summer. He's going to throw out the first bag of Molly. Gosh, this poor kid. He's going to come out with Charlie X. Definitely. I mean, listen, this kid, I will say, I feel like typically as a society, we chew up and spit out kids like this. Young talent. Yeah. He's just so damn wholesome. He's just so lovable. His face is just... You just want him to stay around for a little bit longer. I did see a Rizzler video where he was showing off basically he got a tricked out room and it was pretty sick.

13:14It was like Avengers theme and he had a slide from the top bunk of his bed down the floor. What a legend. I was pretty jealous. I'm happy for him though. Yeah. We're happy for the reason. It looked like they had a real-ass interior designer come and trick out his room, though. Dang, dude. He's making that kind of work. It wasn't some Bush League DIY dad project. The shit was popping off. It was probably for some HCG or home whatever. No, it was probably for an Instagram page, but you know. Welcome to my crib. Yeah. All the same. Exhibit was there, probably. Yeah, X to the Z for sure. Kevin, what are we talking about today?

13:52What do we want to talk about? You want to talk about the pool? The East River, getting a pool? Yeah, we should talk about the pool. I'm honestly interested in the pool. I'm interested in the East River pool. Pool Plus? Pool Plus. Pool Plus. I will say, did you guys know that the Pool Plus was a Play Lab project? Dude, yeah. Tons of years ago. I feel like maybe 10 years ago or more. And they're getting it popping now? Dude, yeah. That's great. Just happening. You ready for when they first started this thing? Yeah. 2011. Wow. This is 15 years in the making. We've been looking at renders of this thing.

14:22respect cool idea yeah very cool when is it actually happening soon i don't give it 15 years you know i don't know i mean new york it's 15 years another one another thing that i didn't know about the pool the plus pool is that the four sections have different like purposes ones for kids ones for sports ones for laps and ones for lounging it's a pretty fire concept honestly like the just the fact that you can walk out into the east river and uh hop in a pool of clean water let's say um i believe it's ideally it's filtered and um probably chlorinated i would guess that's part that blows my mind is that they filter the east river i didn't realize that was the whole concept it's a huge brita yeah interesting it's a giant swimmable brita that's a good idea i think it's great i mean the views are gonna be cool yeah i feel like the vibes are going to be cool, especially with the sectioned out pool.

15:16I've been trying to get my swimming up so I can boogie a little harder. So find me in the lap section of this plus pool, dude. That's what I'm saying. New York public pool energy. Can I tell you one of my things? Beef with the pool? Yeah, I want to hear pool beef. Looks like a really long walk to go from the street. It's like a meandering path. I feel like it'll be a great walk, though. I'm not saying it's a bad walk. I'm just saying that's a long, long walk. Yeah. Like it doesn't look very close to the land. Not to mention, it looks like this area is pretty inaccessible via subway. So you'll probably walk into the walk, you know?

15:56Right. Which is kind of how New York does water. Yeah. It's fair. What if it's a ferry stop? That'd be sick. I think it is. It appears to be. I haven't triangulated the location, but it's on the water. Probably close to some sort of ferry. Okay. So they have some parties happening this summer. I assume it's opening this year. That's what it's looking like. They had some events listed on the website. So it does appear that they are threatening to open this. There's a gala on the 19th of May. So, I mean, this thing's got, I guess it's opening this summer. I'll go. I'll be there. Yeah, Kevin, I'm going to need you to go and report.

16:30I'll scout it out. It's free, dude. I mean, it's always looked cool to me. Because the East River is, you know, that's going to be just a spectacle. I mean, the looks are there. What's it going to smell like? it's gonna smell weird i think it's gonna be a bit tough it's gonna be good no it's gonna be good no for sure for sure it's gonna smell great yeah yeah no you're exactly right the launch new york's plus brita i'm here for this i'm here for it i'm here for the pool i'm here for the new new york city map subway map uh where do you guys stand on the new map i like it yep i like uh abstraction and you know yeah only like 45 degree angles in 90s yeah i mean it tells you where you're going communicates about the lines and shit.

17:13I don't know. I don't have an issue with it. I don't take the subway, though, because I'm a bike rider. You're a bike rider. A cyclist. A cyclopath. A cyclopath. I've never heard anyone say that. There's a lot of complaining on the internet about how it's not geographically based anymore and how people are going to get lost. I don't know. Just probably figure it out. Totally. We also have all of our phones. I was going to say the same thing. So like how important is the map? When you get on the train, do you see a lot of people like following the actual map? I see every now and then. Only old heads.

17:49My father did when he came to New York. I'm going to admit it. I do it sometimes. See you. Because I like to learn about the subway. And I'm a graphic designer. So I love maps. I'm obligated to like - You're made for this. Big map guy. Big map guy. Yeah. Yeah. Can I buy this and put it in my bedroom? You should. I mean, I'm sure they sell it, right? You should definitely buy it. I mean, there's debate on the internet about it. Dude, there's been debates since the 70s, brother. Wow. The Vignelli map was, from what I know, kind of short-lived. It was boxed out for the geographically accurate map.

18:30Wow, didn't even know that. Yeah, there's a debate. And the debate continues now that they've done it. People just really hate change. no that's true fair enough they hate change i do like how it's a little bit bolder a little bit more graphic wow you do like it more bold i do i do the other one was kind of a mess let's just let's just call it like you know what it was that was a fucking mess yeah it wasn't that that was type small lines are small the vignelli one is is it's true this is more of an yelly ask i actually think they should just go back to the you know sort of that exact kind of style like why stick some new stops on it that's right exactly well it is kind of crazy if you look at a you know central park it's like a square yeah well it's not accurate to that no that's fair not accurate to the geography of the island yeah so wow interesting rig snl did a bit about the new york city about how it was like planned and you know just how random new york city is from like random just how the streets just make no sense.

19:34It's just a giant park for fucking 30, 40 blocks in the middle of this whole fucking thing. Who came up with this idea? Who designed this shit? Who's this? Dizine. Dizine, tell me. Kevin, you know who's back in the news this week? Who's back? Our friends at Subway. Oh, I saw this. This is a big deal. Coming off the heels of last year's big breakthrough products where they had a foot-long pretzel, a foot-long cookie, and a foot-long something else. They went back to the lab, and they have come back with foot-long nachos. They got a brand. Yeah. They're really leaning in here. They got a brand. They got concepts.

20:18Yeah. They got ideas. To collab with Doritos. I guess I get that. this this only makes sense because they already had the chips right i i believe subway is a pepsi partner they are so they they've always had those like chips just sitting on that sort of you know sort of stand this looks like a lot of chips though like a foot long's worth of chips seems kind of massive well it's just a trough right they're just throwing in a thing that's my It's just a slop drop. That's my question. It's like, we know it's a foot long, but do we know how wide it is? Oh, it's going to be quite narrow. That's the whole thing.

20:57With this kind of a concern for me with nachos. Sorry, the third thing was churros. They had foot long churros, foot long cookies, and foot long pretzels. And I like this idea. I like that they were really leaning into their brand equities. I just can't wait for what's next. And this one actually makes a lot of sense because they already have the fucking ingredients for nachos. They already have the jalapenos. They already have the cheese. They already have. They got the meat. They got the meat. They could just toss all that on. They got the ovens. They got the ovens. Yeah, this is the easiest idea in the history of mankind.

21:27Listen, if I was 12, I'd be fired up about this. I guess I agree. I'm not, and I'm not fired up. You should get some right now. You can request steak or chicken for no extra charge. What? Now there's a deal. Wow. Do you think their steak or - Five dollars, no extra charge? Do you think their steak and chicken is actually steak and chicken? No. No, it's the same chicken that's in the sandwiches, which is just yoga mat. Yoga mat. Exactly. We got a quote from Paul Faber, Senior Vice President of Culinary and Innovation at Subway, who said, Subway's newest partnership takes everything our fans love about Subway sandwiches from quality veggies, proteins, and tasty toppings to the next level with the cheesy flavor and iconic crunch of Doritos.

22:11Whether you're in the mood for a snack, pairing them with your favorite sub, or sharing with friends, Subway and Doritos are serving up even more flavor in every satisfying bite. That's awesome. Wow. That's so awesome. I'm so sold. 12-year-old me would be so stoked on this. If I was going into the summer as a 12-year-old, I'd come out so fat because of these. It'd be crazy. If you eat a footlong sandwich and a footlong nachos, that is such a big meal. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's two feet long. Your daily caloric intake right there. Probably$10 for all the calories you need. Sign me up, dude. Such a great deal.

22:49Dude, they're calling Subway a Connecticut-based chain? Is that even true? Is that? Yeah, probably. Is that where they're from? If they're saying it, they are. Jeez, that's crazy. Doesn't Subway have more locations than any other fast food establishment on planet Earth? Yes, I didn't know. I didn't know that either. Yeah. Sounds about right. They don't need much of a footprint. That's the thing. it's like they they're not really making it in a gas station or something like that you know you see those like subways so it's like they just need like one depressed employee to put together a sandwich an artist excuse me guys put some respect you're so right you're so right all you need is a little yoga mat and some bread yeah then you're good to go which are one and the same which uh no the bread is cake oh the bread is cake yeah yeah and no oh the bread is also yoga mat right or no mcribs yoga mat yeah we're getting our we're getting our fast food lines fast food meats and the tuna is chicken right isn't that what they decided right there was like um traces only traces of actual tuna found the subway saga continues i'm uh i'm excited i i think they're taking more shots you know i think they're gonna get back out there this year and um they'll do some more awesome things like this awesome foot long things i feel like they're laying i think i should work there because i'm a foot long you should dude you definitely should wow um you know they're they're i feel like they've been kind of quiet i know they're waking up though yeah with this uh this footlong nachos idea yeah it's gonna take them to the next level you want to talk about the next fast food innovation we got here what do you got what do you got the kfc toothpaste yeah is this is this this is real now this is real so you had to really do research on the april fools this is real so tell me what's the idea here kevin i don't know the exact details i don't have the computer in front of me but uh basically they've partnered with a oral care provider high smile high smile to release a fried chicken flavored toothpaste um with an accompanying accompanying toothbrush toothbrush yeah wow the toothbrush looks kind of wild kind of cool yeah i mean i kind of fuck with it i wouldn't i wouldn't personally fuck with it for my own teeth and my own health but you know i like i'd look at it i'd take a peep like biting into a hot juicy piece of kfc original recipe chicken this toothpaste is irresistible coating your teeth in flavor while leaving your mouth feeling fresh and clean how is that possible that's we do not need that that's disgusting i think the only this is the shit we should be putting tariffs on i exactly i think the only mammals that like savory stuff in their teeth is dogs.

25:33Wow, Pete's bringing some knowledge from the program. I'm just saying, you know, they like meat toothpaste. Not sure it's a human thing. Just not sure. Pete bringing facts to the show. Yeah, facts and logic. I got the wrong show, Pete. I got a pup with gingivitis. When you brush his teeth with a pate? Yeah, straight up. They're calling KFC a Texas-based chain. I guess that makes sense. That ain't right. It's Kentucky. That ain't right. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Also, they said this started as an April Fool's joke, but we thought, why not make it real, said High Smile Marketing Manager. We love pushing boundaries, and what better way to do that by bringing KFC's legendary flavors into an everyday essential.

26:18This collab is bold, unexpected, and seriously fun. That's such a sick role. That guy was just like, yeah, why don't we just make this real yeah why don't we make this toothpaste actually taste like why don't we call it marketing why don't we call that's wild that's that's a good role this same place high smile has a toothpaste called red frog sweet you think it tastes like red frogs red frog sick sick uh question for you guys the dialine uh asked me this uh recently on some serious shit they said like is the uh the brand collab fatigue uh is that something that is real uh coming from the podcast that talks about brand collabs almost every week well they didn't ask me yeah are we are we sick of them because i i am personally tired yeah 100 i just feel like this idea like kentucky fried chicken toothpaste like 10 six years ago would have like popped and like jimmy fallon and like everyone would have been talking about it and now i didn't hear about it until i saw it on this doc yeah maybe it's a bit of a cheap trick is maybe the issue cheap tricks two A few people have to sign a piece of paper, and then you get a couple people involved.

27:23Make a couple mock-ups. Yeah, it's mostly a mock-up. They probably made like 500 of the lowest possible run you could make. They didn't even have to make them real. They just needed a picture of what it would look like and a big press release. I haven't seen it. Put it on the website. Need a good PSD. Put a little sold-out sticker on it. So, Kevin, you're feeling fatigued. Yeah, I'm fatigued by brands in general. So what's next? Yeah, where do we go from here, Kevin? Ernesty? The woods. the woods probably yeah see you there brother tomorrow tomorrow i mean i i think i'm i'm i just think it's it's with the playbook has been run dry yeah no it's just it feels lazy now it just isn't a way to excite or or get people nobody yeah nobody's stoked on this i actually think it might be hurting both of these brands like i don't think it's helping high smile like with their clean teeth creds and I don't think it's doing anything for KFC.

28:21No. Right? Probably not helping KFC. You can't help them. They're helpless. They're already on the top.

28:29I mean, I kind of agree with you. Maybe take it back. I was thinking in my head, I was like, maybe I should get the fried chicken for dinner. The kernel don't work for nobody. All right. Because fried chicken is the fucking shit. Goddamn right. Yeah. I mean, this definitely doesn't move the needle at all for KFC. And I'm surprised that they would even like sign off to put their name on this because, yeah, it does seem pretty stupid. Yeah. I just don't know that we like, I know we don't need this, but I also know that like, I just don't even think it's doing the thing that people want it to like, which is get it to, you know, break through and get complex and other culture making, you know, new sources talking about it.

29:11Like, I don't. Maybe that's also part of it is that's kind of all those websites now talk about. What's up with that? Maybe that's part of the fatigue. They got to stay on top of the algorithm. They got to post every minute, dude. Brutal. They got to post several times per hour. Stay on top of it. They need these collaborations. Stay on top of the feeds, brother. Yeah. Do it for the media, dude. Do it for the reels, bro. Yeah. yeah i mean high smile i i guess it's fine for them like in some ways to just be kind of a toothpaste brand that's gonna try some shit and goofy toothpaste goofy toothpaste but this is just i don't know i just think the fatigue is here and i think it's just the april i think the april fool's day piece of it all is really where the fatigue is yeah it's just like you can mock something up on AI or in Photoshop and you don't have to make it and no one cares and it's just like everyone everyone's doing it so it just doesn't break through in any way.

Read the full transcript

30:15Yeah. I'm kind of jealous of High Smile though. I wish the Colonel would lift me up like that. Dude. On the wings of the Colonel. If only. They're calling it a full on flavor takeover for your whole care routine. That's crazy. Speaking of flavor Kevin. The big story of the week. Glenn Powell's Spirits Kitchen. I've been waiting for this moment all week. My first question is, who is Glenn Powell? You don't know who Glenn Powell is? Yeah, it took me a minute. Okay. Glenn Powell is an actor that is known for being vanilla, handsome, and a romantic comedy foil. Got it. He is good looking, but not like, I don't know that anyone thinks he's good looking.

31:10He's not Ryan Reynolds good looking. Right. Like, he's good looking and I like, this guy isn't pushing any, like, with no bad boy sensibility. Right. He's just like straight ahead. He's like the best looking dude in your high school. Correct. That just grew up. That just grew up. Interesting. And life came to him a little bit easier. And then he just got cast as Sidney Sweeney's rom-com. Well, actually, not too easy, Alex, because I read that he had a pretty traumatic incident with ketchup. I didn't know if you were going to bring this up, Kevin, but we should get into it. So when Glenn Powell was a kid, he grew up in Texas.

31:50Do you know the story, Pete? No, no. So he was playing with some friends. And they were jumping around in one of those outdoor trampoline kind of situations. you know as kids do and um he loved ketchup glenn powell grew up in in somewhere in texas i don't know where sweetheart he was a ketchup freak barbecue just loved ketchup he would put it on everything anything that he could get his hands on he would put ketchup on it and then one night he was on uh he's at a sleepover on this trampoline uh outside in texas in texas and And someone decided to play a prank on him and cover him in ketchup in the middle of the night.

32:34No. And believe it or not, Pete, the Texas sun was so hot that it baked the ketchup onto him. And he woke up with the stench, the stink of baked ketchup all over his body. Baked. And since then, he hasn't been having ketchup. Wow. Until he had the idea to launch Smash Kitchen, a better for you version of classic tomato ketchup. How is it better for you? It's organic. Oh, it's organic. And he didn't just stop there, Pete. Oh, no. Of course not. He came out with mustard. What type of mustard? Regular yellow mustard. Then he came up with a mayo. What kind of mayo, you may ask? regular mayo. Regular mayo.

33:29It's better for you though. And here he is with a better for you a full line of sauces with clean ingredients you can actually pronounce. Wow. And you know that is the that is the origin story of Smash Kitchen. So we went from like a Glen patty of sorts to a Glen powerhouse. That's right. Wow. 100%. I'm in for this. Yeah. I live and die for this dude. And, you know, is he getting funky with the flavors? Absolutely not. No. He has yellow mustard and Dijon mustard. He's got barbecue sauce, and he's got hot honey barbecue sauce. All right. To be fair, that sounds pretty good. And he's got regular ketchup, and he's got hot honey ketchup.

34:17Wow. Okay, the hot honey ketchup. We've spoken about this. You can put hot honey on anything. It tastes delicious. Is he reinventing the form factors of any of these products? absolutely not he went to this he went to the uh manufacturer he said you know what that ketchup should come in heinz you know you know what the mustard should come in bottle wise french's you know what the mayonnaise should come in heilman's barbecue just whatever barbecue whatever most barbecue sauce is coming my dog knows what he's doing i think it's tight and glenn powell said you know what? Let's run the ball. Let's run out products exactly as people like them in the same containers with mostly the same ingredients, but just organic ones.

35:03So is he famous enough for this actually to work? Not really. But that's where Walmart comes in. Because this is not just a Glenn Powell project. This is a Glenn Powell ex Walmart. So this is successful already is what we're learning. Which will be successful. Precisely. Because it's already got a shelf project. Because it's on shelves. Well done, Glenn. I'm telling you, Glenn Powerhouse right now. Glenn Powerhouse. Absolute legend. I can see a picture of him right now. He's manning the grill. What did they do with the fucking photo shoot? Yeah, you're like. They ran the ball. They ran the goddamn ball.

35:40They put a handsome Glenn Powell in front of that grill. They lined up those products and he said, you know, get a load of this guy. This man is from Texas, and he likes to barbecue. He's good with his meats. In researching this topic, I came across a Delish article that went something like, you'll never guess what Glenn Powell puts on his unhinged BLT. Oh, wow. Unhinged. What was unhinged about it? What was on it? With 10 minutes to go, you take the bacon out, and you slather barbecue sauce on it. You'll thank me later. What? He puts barbecue sauce on his BLT? Yeah, and then get this out. What?

36:19You'll never guess what else he puts on. Wow. He puts mustard on it. On his BLT. On his BLT. Fucking unhinged. That's a bit much. What? Barbecue and mustard? I'm in for the barbecue. I'll put barbecue on anything. Sure. Wow. That's a dude. Wow. Here's what I don't like. He's obviously a good looking dude. He refers to himself as disgusting. Wait, when? Yeah, he says, he says, I think I still hold the record for the most ribs eaten at that place in one sitting. i'm gonna say probably 40s or 50s that's interesting it's insane i'm disgusting i'm a disgusting person i mean everyone knows this pressure release this pressure release is crazy it's wrong it's wrong it's wild no the horrific story uh of glenn powell's that inspired his new condiment company is my favorite story of the year do you think that's why his cousin calls a meat man i don't know this this this entire uh rollout is just cap like did he get sprayed with ketchup on a trampoline probably not no does he hold the record for barbecues for ribs at the barbecue spot certainly not look at him dude he's he's got like a yeah he's got like a surgically he's got a surgically chiseled body so chused he's got the personality of a fucking wet bag but he's disgusting yeah i'm a disgusting man uh he was in top gun i didn't see it yeah he didn't see it was he good you didn't see maverick i didn't see it he's pretty forgettable i guess yeah i didn't didn't remember him yeah i think that's his whole brand yeah is pretty forgettable give us nothing which is to be honest this is a perfect product good for him i want to be on the record saying good for glenn powell yeah i support you in your condiment pursuit, but stop with the cap.

38:07Nobody calls you meat man. I know for a fact you don't hold that record for most ribs at the barbecue spots. Wow. And if you do, I'm coming to take it down. I'm coming to take it down, dude. Wow. You have too much. You have too much already to have a record at a barbecue spot for most amount of ribs. Too much. So true. So true. I'm coming for your throne, buddy. I'm sorry. I believe the trampoline story. I really want to believe that this was just the sleepover from hell. Also, I don't see the issue of baked ketchup. Have you ever had ketchup chips? Yeah. Ketchup chips are phenomenal. And they smell good.

38:44Wow. So you're saying he probably smelled good and was delicious. He might have smelled all right. I want to be in the room with the PR agency where they were like, all right, Glenn, we need something to roll this out. people might see this as just like a general cash grab plan and like you're hot right now and like everyone is talking about you and Sidney Sweeney and like Walmart's really excited about the program. Wait is he dating Sidney Sweeney? We're really excited. He is he was they were romantic colleagues in her movie Anyone But You and then recently she called off her wedding to her fiance.

39:26And then that weekend showed up at Glenn Powell's sister's wedding. Wow, to be expected. She wears Hey Dudes. And they were together. And they were seen together. I'm also now saying third eye open. This was also the same week as the Smash Kitchen launch. Interesting move, Meat Man. This is all part of a narrative to get Smash Kitchen awareness. Classic Meat Man. So back to the PR pitch. so they're like glenn we need something like you eating barbecue is is maybe not enough and he's he's like yeah but i'm from texas they're like i know but like we need something else he's like can you sit down are you sitting down let me tell you about the worst sleepover and that's and and they were like brilliant let's roll with that we need it we we we're gonna pitch this to the uh to the press yeah this is a great origin story as far as trauma goes um I feel like the percentage of people who have ketchup trauma is extremely low.

40:27Yeah. This is actually, this is a unique situation he's found himself in. Yeah. If it is true. He's just living his truth on this one. Yeah. And you know, King, thank you for sharing your trauma with us, dude. Yeah. Appreciate it. Way to be vulnerable. Glenn, we're here for you. On some design shit. Oh shit. I couldn't help but see that people, most notably Andrea Snackshot, shout out to Andrea, was saying that this was maybe a return to sort of, you know, a move away from yassification of design, you know, no sort of bubbly characters, no sort of... It's not very yassed. No bright colors, just kind of tradish, trad, you know, brand design here for Smash Kitchen.

41:11Just, you know, kind of looking like a private label because it kind of is. But is Smash Kitchen going to set a new trend in design? sure wow it's a bit of an old trend I will say the name's kind of fire is it a return back is it a swing back away from the playful whimsy and a gloopiness of the last maybe five years or so time will tell sauce friends unite I mean you know it's that Walmart difference oh yeah unity unity i i think one thing that's also like we don't need i'm just gonna i'm gonna have a bold take here guys i'm ready we don't need these what because the best ketchup is heinz it will forever be heinz the best mustard will let forever be french's yellow mustard and the best mayonnaise is obviously ao nice shout out and sponsorship um best barbecue sauce is sweet baby rays and the Shout out Mark Zuckerberg.

42:19Yeah, exactly. We don't need these guys. We don't need these. Yeah. Well, it's okay. We don't need a lot of... We need more, always. Always need more to consume. That's right, dude. We live in a world. Thanks. Thankfully, we got the meat man. Yeah. The meat man's going to save us. He says, I love grilling. And yeah. I'll put down 40, 50 ribs. I love meat. I love meat. I love meat so much. Call me the meat man. I'm disgusting. See, that would be a good start. Call me the meat man. I'm so gross. I'm going to go on a limb here. I don't know if anyone agrees with me, but I for one would love to see Gwen Palace lathered up in ketchup.

43:03Definitely. Maybe as like a brand activation. I'm imagining it right now. Oh, dude. On a trampoline? You got to try to catch him. You got to catch him because you're so slow.

43:12Get this man lathered up in ketchup ASAP. big miss on their part. I'm just so happy that this is, as Kevin said, helping Glenn with his trauma. Like, you know, it's got to be a tough life out there if you're not having ketchup because of this trampoline incident as a kid with these, you know, sort of this cruel joke that was played on him. So cruel. Where they woke up in the morning, you know, and he was gagging. Can you imagine gagging from ketchup in the sun? That's been slathered all over your body and somehow you didn't wake up? No, I can't imagine it. On a trampoline. And you're out on the trampoline in the hot sun for long enough to where it bakes on your skin.

43:53Yeah. No, dude. Man, it sounds worse than pancaking. Bro's a heavy sleeper. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And the most fun of all this is that until now, he has literally, you know, he hasn't been able to get past this horrific backstory. Listen, this just goes to show you the power of branding. Yeah. It can help you overcome trauma. Yeah, and it inspires. It inspires. If this ketchup had certain ingredients or preservatives, then the sun wouldn't have had that reaction. It wouldn't have baked because they're just the real clean, organic ingredients. And if it would have baked, it would have been a positive thing.

44:28It would have been like a ketchup mask. He would have washed off and his skin would have been all shiny. Yeah, yeah. And to quote Glenn Powell, you don't face your fears. You ride them. Wow. And that's something that he said in Twisters. Wow. Which is apparently a movie about Twister. but like a remake. I'm afraid of Sydney Sweeney. Did you guys see that? No, me neither. I tried on a plane. I feel like you're going to see it. Oh, yeah. 100 % on the plane back. I'm hitting that. Twisters. Gosh, man. Twisters. I like that they named the sequel Plural. That's sick. More than one. There's many in this one.

45:03Did you see Twisters, the sequel to Twister? That's brilliant. They should do that for more movies. They should. Batman's. all right salute to you glenn pal yeah way to go come on the show please yeah um please and come promote smash kitchen uh do you like the name smash kitchen i think it's fine yeah i i think it um if it was a cooler concept with like the condiments and maybe there was more like you know combining and whatnot i i would uh you don't feel like there's enough smashing i was gonna say i i feel like this brand is neither smashing nor kitchen me like it has nothing to do with anything.

45:40I like the name with the caveat that... It's just two words that sound vague. It doesn't make any sense with what they're doing. That's what I'm saying. It makes no sense. It sounds like a restaurant that doesn't exist. It's a product line from a restaurant that does not... That makes more sense for a smash burger. It's because he's smashing his trauma, Alex. No one has asked where the name comes from. They're just like, oh, it's just... Yeah, because nobody cares. It just sounds vaguely food related. Smash burgers, kitchen. Just two words that we put together. Sure. Thank you, Glenn. Way to give us nothing.

46:20Thank you. This is, again... Keep serving us vanilla. Keep serving us absolutely nothing, but handsome vanilla. You know what? People seem to like this. Yeah. Listen, go off, Glenn. Well, he's not making any grand statements. You know, he's just making a condiment and talking about his traumas as a disgusting meat man. We could learn a lot from that. Wow, wow. We all have traumas. And you know what? We love to hear them. So I look forward to the next celebrity to launch their next brand and the trauma. Yeah, make it traumatic. Yeah, help them. You know what helps people overcome their traumas of their childhood?

47:03A Walmart collaborative condiment line. CPG CPG is going to save you guys I'm happy for Glenn and I'm happy for the good folks at Walmart bless their hearts guys I love you both you want to call it? I gotta go to Coachella I gotta go to Coachella it's going to be so lit dude I'll see you guys when I return we need a full report we might need a whole hour to unpack what happened to Coachella I got to go to Camp Poosh. That's why I'm going. Spoiler alert. I'm going out there for work. Oh, wow. That's going to be sick. It's on the biz. It's a write-off. You better be networking. Oh, you know I will be.

47:46I got my business cards ready. Come back with hella business. Off mic, I'll give you some effective ways to network at a music festival. Oh, really? Yeah, I'm pretty good at it. What do you got? I got to turn the mics off. Oh, wow. All right. Well, I look forward to hearing this. Marketers hate him. All right. Thanks, guys. Peace. Hey, they call me the meat man. Y 'all don't see me eat man. Here, I'm the meat man. Y 'all don't see me eat man. I got jaws like a bat, trap a teeth like a razor. I made tack tongue with a sensitive taster. I was born out in Texas called the land of beef. Never catch a muscle greener showing a hell of a like a meat.

48:27I'm the meat man. Y 'all don't see me eat man. I'm the meat man, baby. Y 'all, there's any eat, mamma. I've been down to Macon, Georgia. I ate the fuzz off a Georgia peach. I plucked me a chicken in Memphis, mama. I've still got feathers in my teeth. I ate a pound of pork in Hustleville, Alabama. From a fine Alabama hog. I went to Dallas, Texas, got the look of me to love. And set the bones to a Louisiana dog. And they're going to meet, mamma. Y 'all, there's any eat, mamma. Woo, I'm a meat, mamma, baby. Y 'all, there's any eat, mamma.

49:14guitar solo

49:31It don't make me no dip but just as long as this good meat The killer ain't got no crap but dip it's darn rare I eat It don't have to be U.S. government approved This nap with no gray, they sealed. Long as it's lean and full of protein, I'm on down, Joe, get my bill. They fall in the midnight. Eat now. Ooh, midnight, baby. Now let me eat now. Hey, boy.

50:23I got jobs like a bear trap, sees like a razor, may tag tongue with a sensitive taste of, a born in Texas, a land of beef. Give it to me, honey, go to shore like me. I'm the meat man. I'm the meat man. I'm the meat man, baby. I'm the meat man.

50:43M E A P I am the Amalekamated Meat Man. I'm in the union.

50:59Another year.

51:05That song is way ahead of its time, I think.

From the publisher

We are thrilled to welcome Pete Freeman to the show! Pete, a willing 3rd, is a Center OG, the first employee. We are blessed with his presence this week as he’s in New York on business by way of sunny California! We talk about the rats of Erewhon, Alex is going to Coachella, Paul American, the Rizzler throwing out the first pitch at the Mets game, pool+, the subway footlong nachos, KFC toothpaste, Glen Powell’s Smash Kitchen, and more!

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