Unsubscribe Podcast #246 – The Crazy History of Sprite and Government Fraud

Hosts: Eli Doubletap, Brandon Herrera, Donut Operator, The Fat Electrician (King Trout)
Guest: Ronnie Adkins
Date: January 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a classic Unsubscribe Podcast blend of irreverent banter, personal stories, and deep dives into military, government, and gun culture, brought together with special guest Ronnie Adkins. The crew covers everything from Sprite's unusual marketing history and accidental government fraud, to Tommy Boy stories of shitting yourself, government cybersecurity, covert war footage, and the quagmire of gun rights lobbying. There are also some legendary detours: embarrassing meet-and-greet mishaps, bidet confusion, and the anatomy of American masculinity (plus, oblique rants about nicotine, caffeine, and fruit boots).

Key Discussion Points & Timestamps

1. Meet-and-Greets & Awkward Encounters

[00:37–06:40]

• The crew reminisce about fan mix-ups and awkward live events.
• Navigating exhaustion from constant social interaction:
  "Being on camera is my opportunity to be social. It's like being the wallflower at the high school dance. Except in this scenario, it feels much better." – Ronnie Adkins [06:27]

2. Travel & Live Show Mishaps

[10:10–12:28]

• Delays and dysfunction at live shows, especially in New Jersey.
• Backstage chaos and the team's relief when the tour ends.
• "The venue. Learned a very valuable lesson. Don't be dicks." – King Trout [11:12]

3. What is Funker530? War Footage & Media Ethics

[12:35–27:00]

• Ronnie gives a thorough history of Funker530: started by a Canadian infantryman, grew into a war archive, then a platform for veteran storytelling.
• Funker’s mission: showing raw realities, going past mainstream media agendas.
• Iconic war images and detailed writing by veteran staff.
• "What it kind of drew attention to is just how much people wanted to better understand things in their raw format rather than be reliant upon the media." – Ronnie Adkins [14:35]
• Staff war stories:
  "He said it turns them into spaghetti. And I can't get that out of my head. Now that's in my head. Movies to see spaghetti." – Ronnie Adkins [23:28]

4. Weapons Talk: New Army Gear & Military Anecdotes

[27:00–33:11]

• Weight and practicality of military arms: XM7/M7 rifle, Sig Sauer, Barrett, and the classic “hump the .50 cal” woes.
• "First thing you start doing overseas: stripping everything you can of weight." – King Trout [28:58]
• Amusing AT4 misfires and basic training stories.

5. About That Viral 'Performative Masculinity' Video

[34:24–41:35]

• Ronnie recounts blowback from a viral video of him dry-firing on his porch.
• The absurdity of online critiques on masculinity.
• "All you had to do was respond to one of them ... just like, 'Well, I am gay.' And then they would all have been like, oh shit, we're queer bashing our team." – Brandon Herrera [41:35]
• "If you think that that was performative masculinity, tell me that when I'm wearing fruit boots." – Ronnie Adkins [38:56]

6. Canadian Nicotine & Caffeine Laws – The Trials of Vice

[42:12–46:16]

• Tales of buying 'illegal' nicotine pouches in Canada and the nanny state’s caffeine restriction antics.
• “Imagine being babied by your nanny state to where they will tell you you can't have nicotine or caffeine.” – Brandon Herrera [44:42]

7. From Cybersecurity to Government Hypocrisy

[50:00–61:18]

• Ronnie’s career in Army Reserve and cybersecurity, his migration to cyber counter-intelligence.
• Major theme: government employees aren’t always the “best of us."
• “The hypocrisy that I ran into of holding government office, they are most certainly not by and writ large the best of us, in my opinion.” – Ronnie Adkins [61:13]

8. Investigating Government & Corporate Malfeasance

[63:11–68:22]

• Ronnie reveals the friction between contractors and GS employees (feds) on major security violations.
• FEMA drama and why he quit public service.

9. Ronnie Adkins' Weight Loss & Poop Stories

[80:03–84:41]

• Ronnie’s significant weight loss: from nearly 270 lbs to his current fitness.
  "If my stupid ass can figure it out, you..." – Ronnie [80:46]
• "If you can't admit to shitting yourself... you need to." – Ronnie [83:40]
• Everyone shares their own poop mishaps.

10. Deep Dive: Why Sprite Is Marketed to Black Audiences

[95:21–103:07]

• King Trout explains his viral research on why Sprite became a “black soda.”
• 1970s–90s: Coke co-opts hip hop and black youth culture to “astroturf” Sprite as urban cool.
• "They saw this untouched market of just, like, African American youth culture … and they were like, oh, we're going to exploit them to make money off of this soda. And here we are 20 years later and ... it worked." – Donut Operator [102:12]
• Historical sidetracks (the Nazi roots of Fanta, Volkswagen, Bayer).

11. Pop Culture & Corporate Catastrophes (Jaguar/Bud Light)

[102:22–108:59]

• Jaguar's disastrous brand shift toward hyper-progressive marketing: sales plummet from 1900 to just 49 cars/month.
• "They neutered the brand, dude." – King Trout [104:27]
• Discussion on Bud Light's failed Dylan Mulvaney campaign and marketing whiplash.

12. Gun Rights, Lobbying, and Organizational Turf Wars

[113:44–124:01]

• Inside look at how gun rights orgs (and the NRA) operate, emphasizing the schmoozing and the competitive nature of legal action.
• Frustration that court cases become donation-driven “races to file” rather than focusing on winning precedent.
• The NFA (National Firearms Act) and how its tax registry basis is now more vulnerable than ever for legal challenge.

Notable quote:
"If by definition the purpose was solely for that to be able to say hey, yes, this person has paid the necessary tax for this and then you remove that tax, suddenly you have no other reason to have the registration associated with it whatsoever... There’s an opportunity now that is probably first of its kind at least in my generation to enact permanent change." – Ronnie Adkins [124:01]

13. Guns, Content Creation, and Honest Humility

[125:04–129:55]

• Ronnie’s “dream rifle” (Barrett MRAD), the beauty of honest, learning-focused gun content, and why genuine humility trumps arrogance.
• "There's a way to be confident in the things that you're good at and also knowing the limitations of what you aren't..." – Ronnie Adkins [128:18]
• Brandon on the weirdness of comments: "I am very bad at taking compliments ... but if somebody's like, this guy doesn't have the qualifications to talk about X, suddenly I remember every accomplishment and everything I know about that topic." [129:21]

14. Final Thoughts & Gun Rights Activism

[131:40–132:19]

• Ronnie’s take: All gun laws are fundamentally infringements. He now works directly in gun rights orgs to see how the sausage gets made.
• Collaboration between orgs could be stronger, but real shooters are finally stepping up.
• “Most of them that aren't the NRA, are working towards the same end state. They just have a different design with exactly how they want to achieve that.” – Ronnie Adkins [120:10]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you think that that was performative masculinity, tell me that when I'm wearing fruit boots." – Ronnie Adkins [08:08, 38:56]
• "Imagine being babied by your nanny state to where they will tell you you can't have nicotine or caffeine." – Brandon Herrera [44:42]
• "What it kind of drew attention to is just how much people wanted to better understand things in their raw format rather than be reliant upon the media." – Ronnie Adkins [14:35]
• "If by definition the purpose was solely for that to be able to say hey, yes, this person has paid the necessary tax for this and then you remove that tax, suddenly you have no other reason to have the registration associated with it whatsoever." – Ronnie Adkins [124:01]
• "They saw this untouched market... and they were like, 'Oh, we're going to exploit them to make money off this soda.' And here we are 20 years later and it worked." – Donut Operator [102:12]
• "There's a way to be confident in the things that you're good at and also knowing the limitations of what you aren't..." – Ronnie Adkins [128:18]

Episode Flow & Overall Tone

The episode is classic Unsubscribe: part insightful, part absurd, always fast-paced, and loaded with sharp jokes, nerdy detours, and surprisingly honest moments about military life, personal failures, and America’s love-hate relationship with government and corporations. Ronnie Adkins, both self-deprecating and deeply knowledgeable, fits in perfectly—offering real talk on everything from cyber intelligence and war footage to weight loss and viral internet blowback. The episode balances meaningful discussion (military technology, war media, gun rights lobbying) with expletive-laced bromance and scatterbrained humor—doggedly refusing to take itself too seriously, even as it drops some seriously inside-baseball knowledge.

Where to Find the Cast & Guest

• Ronnie Adkins: American Marksman, Pepperbox, Instagram, etc.
• Brandon Herrera: @TheAKGuy on YouTube and socials
• Donut Operator: @DonutOperator on YouTube and socials
• King Trout / The Fat Electrician: YouTube, Pepperbox

If you missed the episode, this summary covers all the weird, wild, and worthwhile bits—minus the ads, but with all the swearing, shit stories, and hard-earned wisdom you expect from Unsubscribe.