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Travis
All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with popping boba. To crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire? Try them all now at McDonald's. Refreshers contain caffeine. Copyright 2026, the Coca Cola Company. Sprite is a registered trademark of the Coca Cola Company. You're listening to the Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis. What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast, where it's a mission to help you make more money. Today on the show, my producer Eric is in studio. What's up?
Eric
I always love when you say welcome back as if I've gotten a chance to leave. You leave me chained up to this table in here all. All night.
Travis
It's the only way I can get you to work.
Eric
Yeah, I didn't think through.
Travis
Got something snarky to say back to that.
Eric
Wait, what's the improv thing? Yes and yes. And I love it. It's great.
Travis
Really added to the story with that one.
Eric
Improv is like comedy, where you see someone do it badly and you go, I could do that.
Travis
So improv is like comedy.
Eric
Improv is not always comedy.
Travis
Okay, but it is, I guess.
Eric
Anyway. But I was gonna say improv's like comedy in the sense of. Or standup comedy, where you see someone do it badly. You're like, I could do improv. And then you watch like, whose line is It Anyway?
Travis
And you're like, you watch like, Ben Schwartz.
Eric
These guys are brilliant.
Travis
Yeah. Or who's Lisa Gilroy? She's crazy.
Eric
Is she the one that's on the one? That one looks like a game show. Yeah, yeah. She's very. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Travis
And she's on Rick Glassman.
Eric
Yes, yes, yes. I know.
Travis
Her and Rick could have their own spinoff podcast I want them to get.
Eric
When I watched the podcast with them, I was like, they should get married. Can they get married? You ever see somebody, like, married? Anyway, what are we talking about?
Travis
But she's crushing.
Eric
What do you want to talk about? No, Just kidding.
Travis
Anyway, you know what, though?
Eric
I do think we should talk about what we're talking about before we hit record.
Travis
Okay, let's do it.
Eric
Which is like, how stressful life is. And things are falling apart and we're trying to save it, and you know how it is. No, I was going to say, I just did an interview with your favorite Internet celebrity.
Travis
Apparently, it's somebody that a lot of people would recognize.
Eric
I literally just wrapped an interview with Andrew Bowser, who is known by his Internet alter ego, Onyx the Fortuitous.
Travis
The one and only.
Eric
The one and only. Again, million dollar budget. Got to make a movie, went to Sundance like, two years ago. So it's not as obscure as some things I could mention, but he's working on a film project right now, and he's kind of the perfect blend of everything I love, which is I love really silly, goofy stuff like Weird Al's UHF movie, which his movie very much has that vibe. And I love horror. And his stuff also has a lot of those elements as well. And now he's doing a religious trauma found footage horror comedy based on a book I covered on my. I was like, hey, this headline was written for me, so. Oh, dude, this is the headline that was written for me. I was on the computer this morning. That's not at all.
Travis
That's super. That's not a boomer. I was going to say millennial.
Eric
I was on the family computer in the study this morning. I was on my computer this morning while I was eating my bran muffin. And this was the headline. Okay, first of all, I'm a big Robert Pattinson fan. I didn't know if you knew that.
Travis
I did know that this was the headline.
Eric
Robert Pattinson to star as Chris HANSEN in new A24 movie.
Travis
That's hilarious.
Eric
And I literally almost had a heart.
Travis
Robert pattinson, Chris Hansen, a 24.
Eric
And I was like, yeah, so anyway, that was written for me. But anyway, all that to say, so Andrew's making this film. And so we started talking, you know, we talked about all the stuff I usually talk about on my show. And then we started about horror movies, which I was like, oh, hey, buddy, we should talk more. And then we got into the actual project. So we started talking about, you know, like, filmmaking, and I was, like, getting projects funded. Hey, if you were a fella and you were working on projects that you wanted to get out there in the world, what would you say to someone like that? You know? And so we talked a little bit about personal, kind of like personal brand stuff. And then we started about it before we had this conversation, I was like, we should talk about it. So one of the things he mentioned was when he was in film school, he did a project and he's like, it was based on themes I really cared about. It was cool. I had this great twist and I showed it to my film professor and he's like, this was great. Everybody could make this.
Travis
Yeah. Like, literally, objectively, a good piece of work. However, there's nothing that says that you are the person that made this.
Eric
Yeah. And so his advice was, you need to make something that only you can make.
Travis
Yeah.
Eric
And I was like, that's really good. So I was like writing that down. And then he talked about. So he stars accent. That's the same thing. He accent directs, writes and edits, like his own stuff. Like, he's very much. It's him like in his project. So he's like the character that I created and started as a viral character and then became a film. He's like, that's me. He's like, obviously I'm embellishing stuff. He's playing basically the fifth grade version of himself, hyped up in a lot of different ways. But he's like, it's me. It's the character that I care about. It's only me. It's so weird. It's so different. And so he said when it comes to criticism of his work, he can be like, it's fine. I know that's me. What are you laughing at? What are you gonna say? You're saying something so mean. And I'm really.
Travis
No, I really. I'm really not. It just. What you were just talking about reminded me of a Tim Robinson sketch from I think you should leave. When I smile like that, I'm not going to try to explain it because it's not going to be funny.
Eric
Yeah.
Travis
If I try to explain.
Eric
Thanks for bringing that up. I just thought you were thinking something really mean and I was going like, did I say something?
Travis
No, no.
Eric
So anyway, so he said. He said, now I still think it is. I think it's like, it reminds me of how stupid you are.
Travis
I would. I would just say you would have
Eric
said something like, it would have been funny if it was. But anyway, so he's like, I made. I made things that were specifically me. And he's like, when it comes to criticism, people are going like, they just don't vibe with my thing that I do. And I was like, that's something I wish I would have heard like 10 years ago. Because I used to be way more people pleasy than I am now. Especially with, like, if I got the feedback I get on my show now, like, 10 years ago. I wouldn't ever leave my home. I'd be just destroyed. It's, like, so heavy. But I think now that I've just been like, this is who I am. This is how I talk. This is what I say. There's not a big contrast between my public Persona, Eric, and me, who you are in day to day. And so I think the gap when you're trying to aspire to. If I was trying to be Chris Hansen and someone's like, you seem like a crappy Chris Hansen knockoff, I'd be like, you're right. I would know I'm trying to be somebody that's not me. So anyway, I thought it was really good advice. I'm gonna just leave that there and let you know. Jump in. Because you have lots on your mind.
Travis
Well, yeah, because we're just talking about when it comes to being a creator.
Eric
Yeah.
Travis
And that was some of the best advice that I've heard recently was people tend to look at the ones who have made it and then just start copying all the stuff that they do. And then it doesn't work. And then they're kind of left scratching their heads like, well, but it worked for them. Why isn't it working for us? And it's. And it's sort of the idea of, like, you can model things off of what other people have done, but when you are doing it with the lack of originality that was assigned to them, then you are not going to have the game that they had, because that was something that they could. That only they. This episode of the show is brought to you by Chime. Chime is changing the way that people bank. They offer the most rewarding fee. Free banking that's built for you, not the 1% plus. Chime is rated five stars by USA Today for customer service. You get real human beings 24. 7. You're not just switching banks. You're upgrading to America's number one choice for bank banking. With a Chime checking account. Get 5% cash back on a Chime card in your category of choice, like gas or groceries. Get savings that grow faster with their 3.75% APY, which is nine times higher than the national average. Plus, you get premium travel perks like airport lounge access and 24. 7 travel concierge included with your chime card. You can even get up to $500 of your pay. When you say with my pay. Plus they also have SpotMe, which lets you overdraft up to $200 fee free. My younger self would have absolutely benefited from this and I know it will benefit you. Chime is not just smarter banking, it is the most rewarding way to bank. So join the millions who are already banking fee free today. Head to chime.com travis that's chime.com travis only takes a few minutes to sign up.
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Travis
And so it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately because the we, you know, we recently shot this, I guess pilot of a of a new show that we're trying to launch because we haven't really done anything on YouTube. You know, it's so funny because I. I met with the one when. When I went out with Joe Gatto
Eric
last week, named John.
Travis
The guys that was there.
Eric
Yeah, yeah, I was out with Joe Gatto.
Travis
Just one of the impractical.
Eric
It wasn't an episode or anything. Weren't working, just hanging out, played some craps.
Travis
Yeah. But anyway, one of the guys that there, you know, we're just talking about what we do and stuff and, and. And he was asking me about the podcast and. And YouTube and everything, and I was just like, I. It feels so. I feel ancient to trying to explain it because it's like, well, remember back in the day, which already sounds old, but like, podcasts and YouTube were separate and it was sort of like a. Like, I remember doing content on this back in the day. Like, should you start a podcast or should you start a YouTube channel? They're at odds with each other. They're not the same thing. Podcasts or audio. In fact, the first, like 150 episodes, I. Audio only. We didn't even record the video.
Eric
That's so crazy.
Travis
Yeah, it's. It's weird.
Eric
I didn't record like my first 15 episodes and then I was like, maybe I should.
Travis
The video.
Eric
You're saying maybe I should, you know, have video evidence.
Travis
At least have it. Yeah, exactly. But, yeah, they were just not the same thing. So we've been sort of playing catch up on YouTube for the past few years and not ever really able to figure out the YouTube thing. It's like we've had some stuff that's gone well. A lot of our shorts have done pretty well. We still have probably gotten, I don't know, 20 to 30 million views or something like that across our channels, which isn't like, nothing lame, but it's not amazing. And it's not. It's not what we're shooting for, obviously, and especially when it comes to the long form. So I was just like. This new thing was like, hey, what. What if we just created this thing that is existing more for like the visual, you know, preference of watching something on YouTube instead of listening to it on a podcast. And that's what it felt like to me when we were in the middle of shooting. It was like, what is something that only you can create? And I know that there are other people who could potentially do something similar, but in the space that I operate in, it felt like something that was really unique to me, that it was like, like, not a lot of people starting from scratch with a new thing would be able to pull off the level of talent that we had in the room. The. The complicated production that was involved. Like, there was a lot of things about it that was like, this feels uniquely me. And now there's. We're getting to the point now, and we won't know this for the next probably couple of weeks, but we're getting to the point now. We're basically figuring out we might have to scrap the whole thing and start over. And so now just kind of going back to the drawing board and asking myself that question again is like, okay, well, now that we have clarity around this, now that we've done this once or twice and we have an idea of what it looks like, do we want to continue doing this? And if not, what would it look like if we didn't continue doing this? Or what would it look like if we made it even more so just for YouTube? Or, like, what would it look like if we tried to actually put it as a show? Like, should we hire a writer? Should we, like. You know what I mean? Like, it just start. Starts prompting a bunch of other questions about what. What does the. What is the end. What. What is the end goal here? And how do we actually build something that only we can create? Because it's just a really good piece of content. Yeah, because when you think about, like, I've talked about this before, but when you're a creator, you're not just competing with other creators. You're not just competing with other creators in your niche. You're not just competing with other creators on the platform that you primarily are creating for. You're creating with all. You're competing with all other forms of attention. So it's like when you're looking at it from the perspective of, like, oh, somebody, you know, the boys or Game of Thrones or they could watch what I'm gonna put together, it sort of makes you start going, like, we gotta have more, like, wow factor here. Yeah, we gotta have more, like, visceral emotional reactions. We gotta have more attention grabbing. Like, I saw Mark Rober talking about this recently where he was talking about, you just got. You have to, like, you have to light up some center of the brain in order for this to get shared a lot. And. And it's got to be something that's uniquely something you can create. And he's sort of the ultimate example of that. You know, like an engineer. He sort of became the Willy Wonka of engineering. You know, what I mean, and that was. He made content that was specifically stuff that he could create and not a lot of other YouTube creators could create. And then he leaned into the wow factor, and just like, the. The world's, you know, biggest funnel or whatever, or, like, we're gonna send this thing into outer space, or, like, just started doing stuff that's like, oh, that's unique. That's different. I've not seen that before. And so when it comes to the stuff that you're creating, whether you're a small creator or you're a small business owner trying to learn how to create content, just think about it more from that perspective. What is the stuff that only you would ultimately. That. That ultimately only you would be able to create that nobody else could duplicate. And you're probably going to find more success doing it like that versus, like, pulling a list of your top 10 favorite creators and going like, okay, how do we copy what they do?
Eric
Yeah.
Travis
You know, it's like, it's not necessarily about that, because I feel like that's more what my podcasting journey has been. It's been like, copying what other people have done, and it's worked to a certain degree, but it's not ever, like, blown up. And I think that that's probably one of those things is like, I. I leaned too. I leaned too heavily away from my own intuition and depended too heavily almost on, like, the advice.
Eric
Because you don't see other people doing it. Yeah.
Travis
But then it. It's sort of like that's ultimately almost the thing that comes and bites in the ass, which is like, oh, well, a lot of people can start a random podcast and have conversations with people.
Eric
Yeah.
Travis
You know, so, like, what. What do we do to make that different? Because. Because if in the same space as, like, Theo Vaughn and, you know, Mike Rowe and people like that, it's like, well, ultimately, they already own the majority of that audience. So in order for us to, like, pull people away from that to get to watch this thing or listen to this thing, it's a heavy lift. Versus if you just, like, become a market of one, if you really search for that blue ocean and do something that only you can do, then it turns into, like, okay, we may not have 12 million subscribers, but you might have, you know, 60,000 who really give a shit about what you do. And I'm starting to get more into, like, those, like, early creator roots of, like, the true fans thing. So I think I lost touch a lot. I lost sight of that along the way, where it became more about the vanity metrics. Like, well, how many views do we get this weekend? And of course those things matter. It's not like those things don't matter because it's top of funnel and people have to hear about you at some point in order to be able to become a true fan. Yeah, but I think I lost the plot somewhere where, like, my first couple of years podcasting, I probably had more of a rabid fan base than. Than I have my last four years of podcasting, even though I'm making more money than I ever made podcasting, which is sort of counterintuitive, but it's also like, well, we're going after numbers, which sponsors like, versus, like, going after, like, building a really niche community of people who just genuinely love the stuff that we're putting out and are eager to see what the next episode's going to be versus just like, oh, well, I'll skip the. I'll skip those three because that he didn't have on somebody who I care to listen to. So. Oh, but that guy. Yeah, I'll listen to Jack Carr. I'll go tune into that episode. But this other, like, wellness person, like, nah, not my cup of tea. And I'll skip that one. Versus, like, whatever Travis puts out, I want to go watch that. And I feel like. Feel like just sort of trying to think through how do we get back into those roots a little bit and genuinely start building this community again. Because I also genuinely believe that the IRL version of everything is going to be significantly more valuable over the course of the next decade.
Eric
Right? Yeah. You're out of touch and wealthy. Very sad. Another sad loss.
Travis
I wish I'm just out of touch.
Eric
You're just out of touch and not wealthy. Yeah, you're broke and out of touch.
Travis
Well, not broke either.
Eric
You're perfectly happy and out of touch.
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Eric
Yeah, No, I. Yeah, I love the idea of just having your own thing, because that is. The thing is, like, especially with social, you see this where people go, like, how do I come across, like Gary Vee or Grant Cardone? How do I make my captions look like this person's? How do I make my edits? And it's like, it works because they were the one that did it first, so it's already old, you know? And like. And I think even with topics, too, is like, there's. You have to find a new way to do a format with an existing topic, or you have to find a topic that nobody's really doing, which, again, I'm a weird example of a niche topic that nobody was really doing at the time where it's like. But the format's pretty simple. You know what I mean? I'm not revolutionizing, like, hey, I'm doing zoom interviews, but the topic is unique versus, I think, what you're filming too. Knock on wood. Whatever happens here in the next couple weeks. But it's like you're doing a format that nobody's doing with people that aren't typically showing up in these spaces. I think you have to do one of those two things. What's a new format? Or what's a new topic to do with an existing format? And I think so many people go, like, how do I be hot ones? Let's do hot chips instead of hot chicken. And it's like, well, people are just kind of like, oh, you're the crappy hot ones. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. The other thing I was going to say just on the criticism part, because I'll just pull this other thing you mentioned during our conversation when you do. Because I was kind of just pushing on, like, well, what about when you do something and it's truly you and people hate it? And how do you deal with that criticism? Because it doesn't matter who you are. I feel like I've got a pretty thick skin now when it comes to specifically just people I don't know. I'm not known for my thick skin in all areas of life, but I have a thick skin there with general critique. If someone wrote an article about me, I'm like, ha, ha. And I send it to you as a screenshot. This is funny. But one of the things he did mention this might be helpful is he Talked about in 2010, he did a movie for $500 and he got it into a big festival. And he's like, I got just destroyed. He's like, critics in major outlets were reviewing all the films at the festival and hated my movie. Hated everything about it. Like, we're just like, basically just roasting my $500 feature film, which is like, which is so funny. It's like you just made a feature film for 500 bucks and like, they're like, you suck. Yeah, but he said it was kind of getting to him and he said he talked to a buddy of his and he's like, that's awesome. Which is like, shut up, dude. No, but he was like, that's awesome. And he said the guy told him, he's like, these major outlets are writing about your movie. Like it's a $30 million movie or a $300 million movie. He's like, you made it. He's like, you made the conversation. And I think that's a really cool thing too, is like, it's the topic of failing authentically where it's like, I made this. I put it out there. The people that liked it become hardcore fans. There's a lot of people that don't get it. But to get yourself into the conversation is such a big win. And I think so many times we get a video that goes viral and then we immediately look at like and go like, this person says I suck and so does my entire family. It's like, oh, you know, I'm never going to do this again.
Travis
Well, again, to bring up stand up comedy, I think it's a like perfect example for that to sit in. You, you see somebody like an Anthony Jeselnik who's obviously done very well for himself in that, in that world. But like, if you just, if you're not in his audience, you would not like his stuff. Yeah, you know what I mean? But like, he had to go do a bunch of comedy clubs before people knew who he was and still do that stuff, knowing that a bunch of people were not going to like it, not going to vibe with it, think he's a dick. Like, think he's an a hole and just write them off and talk crap about him. But during that time he also found some people that were like, that's hilarious. I love that style of comedy. And like now when he goes and does stand up, it's at a theater and all those people are there because they love Anthony Jeselnik and his exact style of humor and they want to show up because they love that thing. It's like they're. That's why I say like, it's like the criticism is inevitable if you're doing stuff that Feels authentic to you because there's just. It's just not going to vibe with everybody. And most of the time anyway, you know, there's sort of rare cases, which is why they're so famous. You get like the Jerry Seinfelds or the Nate Bargazzi's who create comedy. That's pretty much for anybody and everybody. It doesn't isolate anybody in the audience and just is fun and everybody's having a good time. But. But, you know, for the most part, the majority of those people are just out there finding a bunch of people who hate them first before they find anybody who actually likes their stuff. I was just watching Kevin Hart on the Breakfast Club talking about the roast and stuff, and they were asking about all the criticism that the roast sparked. And there was. I'm not gonna go into all that stuff. But there was one thing that he said that I thought was really. That I thought was really valuable, which was like, it's easy to say that you have all the answers when you're not doing anything. Which ultimately, even talking about that guy submitting this 500 film project to a film festival, like getting it into a film festival, it's 500. That's insane. You might have all these critics, more
Eric
than the submission fee for the festival, than the movie.
Travis
Yeah, but you have all these critics who are not making films saying, this is garbage and terrible. And it's like, well, again, it's easy to say you have all the answers when you're not the one doing anything. It's like, well, go do something and you'll find out really quickly how difficult it is to actually do something versus just criticizing everybody for, you know, anything that they've actually tried to do.
Eric
I just did the thing you did where I. I thought of something funny, but it has nothing to do with this at all. It's literally the guy I interviewed. I just thought of one of the sketches he did to promote his movie. It's very funny. I'll show you after. But anyway, I thought it was good. I wanted to just throw those out before. Before it all left my brain. He. He mentioned something on the show because he just listened to my podcast Shout out. But he mentioned something. I had two episodes on the book that he's kind of parodying in the movie. He's like, oh, yeah. And I didn't realize that this guy had moved here. And I was like, huh? He did. He's like, yeah, I just heard that on your podcast. I was like, I should listen sometime. It's crazy how quickly it leaves. But anyway, I just wanted to throw those things out there. Just I thought it would be good.
Travis
Yeah, well, some valuable stuff to think about too. What is the unique thing that only you can do and go do that you should probably get more. Even if it's not, you know, millions and millions of views, the traction that you do get will be more meaningful and more important.
Eric
Anyway, I hope I find out what I'm good at soon so I can do more of it.
Travis
You and me both, bro. Anyway, that's it for this episode of the show. Remember, money only solves your money problems, but it's easier to solve the rest of your problems when you got some money in the bank. So let's start there. Here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Catch next time. Peace.
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Episode: CO-HOST | Make Money by Building a Brand Only You Can Create
Host: Travis Chappell
Guest/Co-Host: Eric (Producer)
Date: June 3, 2026
This episode centers on the critical importance of building a unique personal brand in today’s creator-driven economy. Travis and his producer Eric discuss why following your own creative instincts trumps copying others, how to handle criticism, and the necessity of making work that resonates personally and stands out in a saturated market. Drawing from their own media experiences—and anecdotes from guests and colleagues in film, podcasting, and comedy—they break down why originality, authentic voice, and “market of one” thinking are vital to both long-term fulfillment and financial success.
[04:51-07:19]
[09:50-15:45]
[15:46-22:39]
[19:23-25:48]
[25:49-26:05]
Casual, witty, irreverent, and honest—Travis and Eric humorously self-deprecate while providing real, hard-earned insights for creators at every stage.