How does someone with an MBA and a busy corporate career balance being a leading voice on the tequila scene? Marissa Paragano, aka the brains behind Tequila Encyclopedia and Host of The TequiLadies Instagram Live show, spills the secret formula for how she turned her hobby into a thriving side business on The Spirit Guides. MBA to Tequila Guru Host Tequila Jay Baer sits down with Marissa to hear her unexpected journey from the corporate world to becoming a respected voice in the tequila communit...
Sep 20, 2024•32 min
With a background spanning fitness, marketing, and bartending, Sam Pence had a variety of routes he could take. But after finding his passion in cocktail making, he was inspired to start his venture into content creation. In this episode of The Spirit Guides, we chat with Sam Pence, better known as @servedbysammy, who rapidly gained a following of over half a million across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. How @servedbysammy Serves Up Fresh Batches of Cocktail Content Sam shares the unexpected jou...
Sep 06, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 12
The music business, training as a chef, competing on a cooking show, opening a coffee roasting business and balancing that with being a spirit guide… Wayne Cafariella’s career has been an impressive cocktail of experiences! The man behind @drinkwithwayne first began creating content for his coffee business but later became a fully-fledged spirit guide after some words of encouragement from his wife. Now, his social media presence of spirited opinions has racked up well over 100k fans and countin...
Aug 23, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 11
From musical theatre to the world of wine, Amanda McCrossin took a major pivot in her career after finding her calling in the wine industry. Eager to learn as much about wine as possible, she trained as a sommelier before embarking on her content creation journey. Making Wine Content Relatable and Educational In this episode of The Spirit Guides, host Tequila Jay Baer sits down with Amanda McCrossin, the Sommvivant, to hear about her unconventional path, starting as a musical theater major and e...
Aug 09, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 10
How did a photojournalist make waves in the tequila world? What started as a simple love for tequila has become a highly influential business that has probably changed the tequila world forever. Find Your Perfect Tequila Match with Tequila Matchmaker In this episode of The Spirit Guides, host Tequila Jay Baer sits down with Grover Sanschagrin, the mastermind behind the Tequila Matchmaker app and a true tequila aficionado. Grover takes us through his journey from photojournalist to tequila guru, ...
Jul 26, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Chris Chapanar, aka Whiskey Noobs, is an engineer by day but a busy spirit guide by night. He launched his side hustle early on in his career after developing a love for whiskey and a desire to learn as much about it as possible. He poured that knowledge into a podcast, Whiskey Noobs, before branching out into short-form video content across Instagram and TikTok. Here’s his story... Balancing the Spirit Guide Life with an Engineering Career How does a busy engineer make time for a spirit guide s...
Jul 12, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Sippers, we step away from the world of spirits in this episode to speak with Lucia Palm, creator of the lucialoveswine brand across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. We hear how Lucia moved from culinary school to a career in the restaurant business as a trained sommelier, to create content for fellow wine lovers. From Certified Wine Pro to Content Creator With a love of cooking and the perfect wine combos, Lucia found her niche during the pandemic with social media. She started posting images, m...
Jun 28, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Whiskey connoisseurs, this one’s for you! Whiskey enthusiasts were the original pioneers of the spirit guide industry, and the community is still thriving and learning from content creators and educators like Ryan Mills, aka ThatOneDudeRyan. He joins The Spirit Guides for a deep dive into his passion-turned-business in whiskey content creation. Finding Success from a Passion Project Tequila Jay sits down with ThatOneDudeRyan to find out how his short-form content is making waves in the whiskey c...
Jun 13, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 6
From randomly filming how to make a Manhattan cocktail to becoming two of the most popular spirit influencers in the world, this episode of The Spirit Guides features the father and son duo, Johnny Drinks… From a Smoked Manhattan to Overnight Spirit Guides In the time it takes to age a single bottle of extra Añejo tequila, John Rondi and his son John Rondi Jr. (Johnny) catapulted into the realms of global spirits influencers. From their first viral video to amassing nearly five million followers...
May 31, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Between a busy day job, a tequila podcast, tasting events, trips to Mexico, and a family, how did Doug Price become the number one voice in tequila podcasting? We hear about it all in this episode of The Spirit Guides. An “Accidental Influencer” Turned Tequila Guru With a passion for tequila and a background in live events, Doug Price began his spirit guide career with a tasting event and a small inkling that there might be something in this… Today, he hosts The Agave Social Club podcast, create...
May 10, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 4
How did a comedy writer go from one video on White Claw to becoming the leading expert on hard seltzers, racking up millions of fans, a merch line, and a podcast? We hear Loryn Powell’s story in this episode of The Spirit Guides… From Seltzer Fan to “Seltzpert” It may have started as a pandemic lockdown experiment to pass the time, but Loryn Powell turned a love of hard seltzers into a fully-fledged business with merch, regular videos, and a dedicated fan community. The hard seltzer market has b...
May 10, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 3
How does a successful realtor make a 180-degree career pivot to becoming a tequila entrepreneur? Joining this episode of The Spirit Guides is Rob Gerard of The Tequila Collective (@The_TequilaCollective) to share his unique story. From Posting Photos to Growing an Online Tequila Empire Like most spirit influencers and content creators, Rob had no intention of becoming a big name in the tequila world. As he puts it, he’s “just a guy who loves tequila.” But surprise successes turned what was just ...
May 10, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 2
The Spirit Guides takes you behind the scenes of the spirits industry, revealing the unexpected journeys of ordinary people who became extraordinary influencers and entrepreneurs. From whiskey wizards to rum rebels, bourbon buffs to tequila teachers, this show uncovers how these passionate individuals ended up teaching the world about booze, cocktails, and beyond. Hear firsthand what it's really like to navigate the unusual path to success in this dynamic, fast-paced world. With laughter, learni...
Apr 23, 2024•7 min•Season 1Ep. 1
