Bussin' With The Boys – "Introducing The Newest Bussin' With The Boys Member, Derrik Whitten | Inside The Bus"

October 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This inside-the-bus special welcomes the newest member of the Bussin’ With The Boys team, Derrik Whitten. The boys spend the episode getting to know Derrik and his journey—from content and advertising hustler in Pittsburgh to busing with the Boys in Nashville. The pod dives into workplace culture, tiers of sports fandom, legendary hiring stories, sunflower seed side quests, and, unexpectedly, deep-dive brewery rankings. The crew’s conversational banter is spirited, candid, and full of inside jokes, with an undercurrent of camaraderie and gratitude for the evolving Bussin’ family.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Welcoming Derrik: First Impressions & Contributions

• Derrik’s Arrival: Officially 39 days in, Derrik recounts his nerves about integrating into the Bussin’ crew, and the anxiety around sending out his first blog post.
  • “I was super nervous… [wondering], does everyone hate it or whatever… but no, it was good.” — Derrik (02:16)
• Content Contributions: The office needed more writing energy, and Derrik filled the gap, notably adding a blog dissecting fandom levels—sparking spirited debate among the boys.

2. Fandom Taxonomy: From “Casuals” to “Sickos”

• The Fandom Scale: The group discusses sports fandom archetypes among their crew, ranging from casual watchers to die-hard, emotionally invested “sickos.”
  • Categories mentioned include Casuals, Gamers, Gamer Plus, Die-Hards, Vols Fans, and the legendary “Will Comptons.” (03:04–09:33)
  • “You guys keep coming back no matter how bad it is. Like a student loan reminder.” — Derrik, describing Vols fans (09:24)
  • “Will Compton… the sickest, most die hard Steelers fan I could find. The Steel City wouldn’t hold a single match to the love that the Will Comptons have for their team.” — Derrik (09:33)
• Fandom Levels:
  • “Gamer” is coined as a middle tier: someone with great football knowledge, enjoys the sport, but not emotionally devastated by losses.
  • JP’s outlier Gamecocks fandom is immortalized by his childhood “Cocky Land” brochure, where South Carolina culture permeates every detail of make-believe life (12:24–15:04).
  • “There’s a difference between you guys with the college football fandom and being a Steelers fan. It ruins my day. But with you, it’s like—‘cool, on to the next year.’” — Derrik (05:15)

3. Legendary Hiring Stories & The Road to the Bus

• Derrik’s Journey:
  • Heavy background in social media, content creation, and agency life, followed by post-layoff hustle (Lyft driving, freelance, and relentless video creation).
  • Process was “unconventional as the job” (39 days of trial, fake-outs, and test assignments).
  • “I was making another piece of video, just about my day. That got me a job offer at Meta—which I turned down for this.” — Derrik (22:51)
  • “You guys have been great. 39 days have been so sick.” — Derrik (25:13)
• Interview Antics:
  • Test clips, strategy assignments while on vacation, and handling a “no bullshit” Will Compton after a marathon recording day.
  • “My whole family's like, so you’re, like, auditioning for a podcast?... It was never serious until now.” — Derrik (32:38)
• Others’ Pathways:
  • Mitch and JP share equally chaotic hiring sagas; the office has grown from a tiny crew sharing one desk in the bus to the present squad (38:16).

4. The “Seed Boys” Saga: Sunflower Seeds as Content & Culture

• Birth of the Side Quest:
  • Coop and Derrik become obsessed with cracking sunflower seeds at work, starting informal taste tests and ranking sessions.
  • “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t just rip a bag of sunflower seeds at work.” — Derrik (43:59)
  • The “seed boys” moniker is born along with a movement: multiple brands reach out, care packages are unboxed, and seed reviews become a fixture.
  • Seed culture even impacts dental health:
    • “The tissue in your cheek is like, white and rough… could it be from sunflower seeds? Probably.” — Coop (46:04)
• Potential for New Content:
  • Ongoing “seed side quest” may spin off into formal Bussin’ material.
  • “If I have a gift with content, it’s sniffing out opportunities like this. This is gonna go forever.” — Derrik (42:22)

5. Beyond the Bus: Beer, Breweries & Hobbies

• Derrik’s Brewery Ranking System:
  • A spreadsheet indexed on beer quality, food scene, venue space, and people. Top TN brewery: Smith & Lentz. Top nationally are Pittsburgh’s Trace Brewing and Cinderlands Brewing.
  • “I have my own system. It’s crazy... third top brewery on this list is Smith & Lentz at 16.5 out of 20.” — Derrik (52:46–54:57)
• Best Beer Scenarios:
  • Derrik’s blog post ranks top ten “beer moments,” including the “family member beer,” “airport beer,” the “pre-reception wedding beer,” and more.
  • “The number one beer of all time is the next beer.” — Derrik (75:41)
• Other Team Side Quests:
  • Members share hobbies: painting, golf, video games, creative writing.
  • Discussions on gaming as winter approaches, and aspirations for Bussin’ brewery crawls.

6. Friendship, Culture, and the Future

• Friendship & Community:
  • “Cocky Land” childhood memories lead to aspirations of community leadership, illustrated by JP’s political interest and connection-building.
  • “You guys are making Joey Aguilar edits. He’s up here making presidential campaign edits.” — Derek (17:29)
• Relationship Updates:
  • Jack shares a heartfelt story about asking his girlfriend out at a Billy Strings concert, symbolizing personal growth and new beginnings alongside job opportunities (65:43).
• The Bussin' Culture:
  • The boys reflect on the unconventional but earnest workplace they’ve built.
  • “Not to blow your tops off—you’re very cool people. Like, I can’t explain how cool it is to tell people… I’m one of the boys that’s busing.” — Derrik (28:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Fandom:
  • “Die hards seem to teeter somewhere between serial killer and stalker.” — Derrik (08:24)
  • “You’re at your best when you’re two beers deep… Two is the perfect number.” — Derrik (70:00)
• On Content & Hustle:
  • “Thoughts from the Bench… We did shotgun races at tailgates against the Barstool guys… we just fucking grinded.” — Derrik (21:03)
  • “You have to go through… the ‘100,000 hours’ of podcasting, graphics, all the little shit… the second this opportunity came up I thought, ‘Oh, I know I can do the job.’” — Derrik (28:09)
• On Office Culture:
  • “When I walked back there… if one of us had a bad poop, everybody was smelling it… we were in the trench.” — Mitch (39:01)
• On Seeds:
  • “That’s what I was doing before we started this — hardcore seeds, bro.” — Coop (48:03)
  • “Chinook and Smackin’ are both low sodium… David’s has these little tiny seeds… they got comfortable at the top, but now the market's catching up.” — Derrik (48:00)
• On Brewery Experiences:
  • “They do a cold ship IPA… one of the few places I’ve found here, really good. Star Wars Day every year. Just a total vibe.” — Derrik on Fate La Force (55:04)
  • “Conviction days — if you’re convicted for something, you get PTO to go do it.” — Derrik (63:06)
• On Relationship Advice:
  • “On her worst days is how I could operate on, like, my just normal days. It’s nice to have a person like that.” — Jack (68:04)
• On Career Satisfaction:
  • “If I could sit at my desk and drink as many beers as I have seeds and still have my job, that would be the dream.” — Derrik (70:00)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• Introducing Derrik & Fandom Blog: 01:37–03:08
• Defining Fandom Tiers: 03:08–09:33
• JP’s “Cocky Land” Brochure: 12:24–15:04
• Derrik’s Career Journey & Hiring Process: 19:05–27:16
• Desk Item Ritual & Contract Story: 25:27–28:09
• Team's Hiring Stories: 34:15–39:26
• Birth of the “Seed Boys”: 40:17–47:16
• Hobbies, Brewery Rankings: 51:49–59:35
• Jack’s Relationship Side Quest: 65:41–68:03
• Derrik’s Top 10 Beers Blog: 73:38–76:03
• Closing Reflection: 76:07

Final Thoughts

This “inside the bus” gives listeners an authentic glimpse into the Bussin’ With The Boys extended family, blending self-deprecating humor, deep dives into niche obsessions, and real stories of finding community after risks and setbacks. Derrik proves himself a natural fit; his appreciation for content, community, and “side quests” embodies the show’s ethos.

The best pod? The next one.