The Spirit Guides

How This Appliances Sales Manager Became a Leading Whiskey Influencer - Episode 5

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 community. The father of two has made all the right moves in the whiskey world and now has a merch line, brand sponsors, single barrel programs, and an e-commerce store for spirits. Despite all this, Ryan is not ready to quit his day job as a sales manager and has no plans to anytime soon. In this episode, we talk about how Ryan stumbled upon this business niche, starting with content on Instagram before moving to TikTok to create short-form content for today’s waning attention spans. As more and more people came to him with questions about whiskey, he realized this was more than just a hobby. With his background in sales and educating people, Ryan found his sweet spot in the industry and continues to make engaging and educational content for fellow whiskey enthusiasts. He shares his thoughts on operating in a competitive niche, the most rewarding aspects of being a spirit guide, and working with brands (both the good and the bad). We also hear about his approach to content consistency and why his Melin cap and cheeky T-shirts are now a brand signature. In This Episode: