Speaker 1: And that's what you really missed with Jenna.
Speaker 2: And Kevin an iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1: Podcast, Welcome to you, and that's what really missed podcast
Speaker 1: for a very special episode Achievement.
Speaker 2: Achievement. Hey Jenna, Today we have the one and only Rod,
Speaker 2: just Rod at Rod on TikTok. He got that. That's
Speaker 2: his name, no one else's name.
Speaker 1: He actually got that.
Speaker 2: He's the only one that's a that's a good gut
Speaker 2: he is. I feel like the resident nostalgia millennial king
Speaker 2: of the Internet. And it's just so nice, so funny
Speaker 2: and talented and really just I think if you are
Speaker 2: a fan of his, and if you're not, you're going
Speaker 2: to learn just like how open and honest and check
Speaker 2: gantic gleek he is.
Speaker 1: He's a really wonderful conversation And I really am honestly
Speaker 1: I say this in the podcast like interview, but I'm
Speaker 1: like grateful for these awesome TikTokers that we've been able
Speaker 1: to interview who are luckily Glee fans so we can
Speaker 1: get them on the show, who are advocates of mental
Speaker 1: health and are so vulnerable and open, and I think
Speaker 1: we need.
Speaker 2: More of it. So and I do think there's a
Speaker 2: really good perspective from someone who's our age, who didn't
Speaker 2: grow up with social media in the way that gen
Speaker 2: Z and jen Alpha are doing now and like to
Speaker 2: hear his respective of it is very enlightening. Yeah, So,
Speaker 2: without further ado, here's Rod.
Speaker 1: Hello, welcome, nice to meet you.
Speaker 2: It's nice to Jenna jenneral.
Speaker 1: Nice to Meeji. Thanks for coming on. This is very exciting.
Speaker 3: Yeah, very excited.
Speaker 2: This is one of my Internet friends.
Speaker 3: Yeah, mutuals, like we say in the industry.
Speaker 2: Is that what you say? So one of our mutuals.
Speaker 3: I think it's like just a social media.
Speaker 1: I guess I don't have Internet friends.
Speaker 3: I say friends. People are like, yeah, do you know them?
Speaker 3: I'm like yeah, I mean I see a lot of
Speaker 3: their lives on the Internet.
Speaker 2: I feel like yeah. And also because of how, like
Speaker 2: I've said before, when things are like algorithmically tailored to
Speaker 2: you and you like you know what you guys like,
Speaker 2: we know each other's interests in our sense of humors,
Speaker 2: and like that's the best way to connect. I feel
Speaker 2: like exactly, we automatically get along, we have shared interests.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's crazy that an algorithm like gives us content
Speaker 3: that we want to see yeah, or that we need
Speaker 3: to see. Sometimes sometimes I'll be on TikTok and it's
Speaker 3: like I did not need to see this, but I did.
Speaker 2: I was trying to explain I've kept my brother off
Speaker 2: a TikTok. He's forty two and a professor, and I
Speaker 2: feel like he would love it, but I've kept him
Speaker 2: off of it because like, you don't, you're not going
Speaker 2: to understand how to talk to people, first of all,
Speaker 2: and second of all, you're never going to get off
Speaker 2: of it because it is going to perfectly sum up
Speaker 2: all of your weird interests. It's going to go from
Speaker 2: like evolutionary biology to all these obscure comedians he and
Speaker 2: I talked about and he' said, what it's like, It's incredible.
Speaker 3: It's wild. It's wild, but uh, it's the world we're
Speaker 3: living in. It's crazy too. You can see the generational
Speaker 3: difference and like, because like I've been part of social
Speaker 3: media or I don't want to cut an interview time,
Speaker 3: but I've been part of social media from Zinga Zenga
Speaker 3: to today. I don't know if you guys had got
Speaker 3: Zenga was like free my space. It was like right
Speaker 3: from my space, had a short stint. It was like
Speaker 3: the vining of its era, like a year of popularity.
Speaker 3: It was like MySpace without like brending.
Speaker 2: And all of that.
Speaker 1: Okay, I did not know Zinga, but it's.
Speaker 3: Like a blog basically. But you I've seen it all,
Speaker 3: and I feel like it's crazy to see the generational differences,
Speaker 3: like because we grew up in a time where like
Speaker 3: interacting wasn't part of like wasn't for an algorithm. It
Speaker 3: was just like we liked content. But now I feel
Speaker 3: like gen Z generation after knows that, like the creators
Speaker 3: that they love and want to support, they know they
Speaker 3: have to interact with the content in order for it
Speaker 3: to go anywhere. And of course my content's all millennials,
Speaker 3: so they're like, that's funny, and then they just keep scrolling.
Speaker 3: Then lately my content hasn't been going anywhere because it's
Speaker 3: like millennials like cool anyway, I follow them already, so
Speaker 3: fair they don't understand like the interaction. I did the
Speaker 3: most millennial thing when I downloaded TikTok because I was
Speaker 3: obsessed with Vine too, and then I got on TikTok
Speaker 3: expecting it to be Vine like twenty nineteen, like late
Speaker 3: twenty nineteen, and that's when it was like the cliche
Speaker 3: like dancing app, and they started to like incorporate more
Speaker 3: comedy content and promote comedy con creators. And then I
Speaker 3: got soberwhelmed. Though I deleted the app after I'd made
Speaker 3: one video when I went viral, and then four months
Speaker 3: later I started making videos again, and then that's when
Speaker 3: I started growing. Like I would have stuck with it,
Speaker 3: that would have been crazy, but I got soberwhelmed with
Speaker 3: just an app. I'm like, ah no, thinks. Then I
Speaker 3: deleted it because I didn't want to be seen or
Speaker 3: perceived fair.
Speaker 2: I mean also, yeah, the public's view also of people
Speaker 2: on it, becoming known from that app has completely shifted.
Speaker 2: I mean in all forms of entertainment. It's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: you might have we might have looked down at that traditionally, right,
Speaker 2: and now that wouldn't even cross my mind. Yeah, from TikTok.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you guys have seen it, probably more than me.
Speaker 3: But even just like people thinking that just because I
Speaker 3: show like a little part of my life on the internet,
Speaker 3: they need to know everything you know, and it's just
Speaker 3: it's it's wild to be prepared. And there was even
Speaker 3: a moment where I felt like I needed to do that,
Speaker 3: and then I'm like I don't though, you know, like
Speaker 3: I talk about like working and I talk about growing
Speaker 3: up in the nineties two thousands, So I'm like, that's
Speaker 3: the content I share and I'm just going to keep shying.
Speaker 1: That that's that's who. Yeah, on the on the gram
Speaker 1: or on the tick the top, I'm really showing my age.
Speaker 2: I know nothing.
Speaker 1: I'm a cool mam. But that is interesting though, because
Speaker 1: because you are an advocate for mental health, you know,
Speaker 1: like it's that fine balance of social media versus real life,
Speaker 1: versus what you're sharing versus people feeling like they know you.
Speaker 1: So what is it like now because you have so
Speaker 1: many followers, so many views, Like people seeing you on
Speaker 1: the street, did they come up to you and they
Speaker 1: does it feel like they really like you're their best friend?
Speaker 3: It's like polar opposite. It's either like TikTok guy, I'll
Speaker 3: just have someone just point at me to a TikTok
Speaker 3: guy and I'm like.
Speaker 4: Cool, like that that's funny.
Speaker 3: Or there would be like I was out with one
Speaker 3: of my friends who's a therapist, and someone stopped me
Speaker 3: on the street and it was like, oh, my God,
Speaker 3: Like you saved my life in the pandemic, which millennials.
Speaker 3: I talked to my therapists fat this week and like
Speaker 3: we just like exaggerate and catastrophize so much. That's like extremes.
Speaker 3: It's like you saved my life, not like your videos
Speaker 3: were funny and made my day. But my friend, because
Speaker 3: she knows I'm insecure, you know, and she knows that
Speaker 3: I'm going through and so she like grabbed my face
Speaker 3: and she's it's four and she's like five three, So
Speaker 3: she like grabbed my face down and she's like, I
Speaker 3: want you to hear what that woman just said to you.
Speaker 3: It's okay, you saved her life, Like I really don't
Speaker 3: think I did.
Speaker 2: Millennials, don't discount what you're contributing to say exactly.
Speaker 3: But no, it is cool to see. It's like I
Speaker 3: never thought it was funny. I like always was a
Speaker 3: consumer of content on the internet. Didn't expect any of
Speaker 3: this to go anywhere, and then here we are now
Speaker 3: talking to people from one of my favorite shows.
Speaker 1: We'll get to that, that's right, we'll get to that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: But when you started on the talk, what was the
Speaker 1: I remember you? You talked you mentioned it earlier, but like,
Speaker 1: what was the impetus like or the intent one you
Speaker 1: were starting on the talk why you didn't think you
Speaker 1: were funny?
Speaker 3: I just kind of like a I did on Instagram
Speaker 3: before or like Facebook, even throwing it back was just
Speaker 3: like for people that I was friends with, because like
Speaker 3: I had a couple of coworkers and the friends we
Speaker 3: followed each other because we would send each other kiktok
Speaker 3: strictlan on there rather than like texting them to each other.
Speaker 3: And then I just like started making the videos and
Speaker 3: then a ton of them didn't really take off. But
Speaker 3: then once I made one that really leaned into like
Speaker 3: using a throwback song, I used like a cascata every
Speaker 3: time we touch I'm sure you all know that song
Speaker 3: machic Yeah, Magic Ethereal sends me the space every time
Speaker 3: I used that song one my videos. And then I
Speaker 3: just kept going with that nostalgic collab of like working
Speaker 3: from home content just you know, kept doing that. And again,
Speaker 3: it was like October twenty twenty is when I started
Speaker 3: doing that, and then it wasn't until like I started
Speaker 3: re entering the world in twenty twenty one where I'm like, oh,
Speaker 3: those like that number of like one point two million,
Speaker 3: which was my following at the time, are real people,
Speaker 3: because people came up and like started recognizing me and like, no,
Speaker 3: I'm like, I just like make silly little videos, you know.
Speaker 3: And then you know, I started to embrace the fact that, like,
Speaker 3: my videos are reaching a ton of people.
Speaker 2: It is a crazy thing, though, because when you do
Speaker 2: have somebody literally in the palm of your hand watching
Speaker 2: them every day and we are everyone was stuck at home,
Speaker 2: and you do feel like you've become friends with them,
Speaker 2: like immediately starting talking to you, let's say, like on
Speaker 2: Instagram or something like. I feel like there was a
Speaker 2: comfortability factor. So I can't even imagine, but I know
Speaker 2: having been on like a certain side of it to
Speaker 2: an extent of like, well, we don't actually know each other.
Speaker 2: I don't want to be like creepy and weird and
Speaker 2: assume like I know anything really about but I respect
Speaker 2: their talent and humility and all that, and so like
Speaker 2: going out into the public after that had to be
Speaker 2: like a real awakening of oh, a year ago, this
Speaker 2: was not my life, and now all of a sudden
Speaker 2: everything has changed.
Speaker 3: Everything, everything has changed. But yeah, it's funny you mentioned
Speaker 3: that too, because I feel like it's what I realized
Speaker 3: to when you like meet people from social media or
Speaker 3: even like when people come up to me, I feel
Speaker 3: like that first layer is broken at least of like
Speaker 3: getting to know you, because it's like what do you
Speaker 3: do for work and all that stuff, because like you
Speaker 3: already have that, or like it's almost like social media
Speaker 3: is the mutual friend. Meeting people off social media?
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it is. I mean, I'm going to steal
Speaker 2: that because my least favorite thing about sort of small
Speaker 2: talk meeting people catching up with old friends is so
Speaker 2: like what do you do? What are you up to?
Speaker 2: That whole thing? And you're right, it does completely just
Speaker 2: negate having to even go there, right.
Speaker 3: And I feel like if if I do like a
Speaker 3: Q and A on Instagram or something and just like
Speaker 3: random advice that I'm not qualified to give, absolutely not,
Speaker 3: but I'll still do it just to do something fun
Speaker 3: on Instagram, I get a lot of comments and like
Speaker 3: how do I make friends as an adult? Or how
Speaker 3: do I make new friends as an adult? And it
Speaker 3: put into perspective for me too. It's like just like
Speaker 3: what feels natural because I feel like there was this
Speaker 3: time in my life where I felt I was forcing
Speaker 3: so many friendships and I was like so surfaced with
Speaker 3: so many of them. And now I feel like I'm
Speaker 3: at a point where like the people that are in
Speaker 3: my life are like in it and they've helped me
Speaker 3: through some some really hard times, and I feel I
Speaker 3: was I'm like I don't want new friends in the
Speaker 3: sense of like I don't feel like making a new
Speaker 3: like circle of friends. Yeah, like I'm totally for like
Speaker 3: broadening the circle of friends I have now, like through
Speaker 3: other mutuals and stuff and something organic captain's for sure,
Speaker 3: But I'm not like actively searching out new friendships because
Speaker 3: I just don't have the bandwidth there right now. Corporate word.
Speaker 2: But yeah, it takes so much time and energy to
Speaker 2: develop like meaningful and lasting friendship. So to sort of
Speaker 2: it's like dating. If you've been in the long term
Speaker 2: relationship and all the something happens and you break up.
Speaker 2: I have to do this again. I have to like
Speaker 2: go through all this getting to know you and.
Speaker 1: Also around the surface ones, they're like the ones you
Speaker 1: have the least amount of time for. You're like, why
Speaker 1: is why am I even doing this?
Speaker 4: Serving me?
Speaker 1: Is you know, does it serve me.
Speaker 3: You have to, Like I noticed to, it's harder to
Speaker 3: break up with a friend sometimes than it is depending
Speaker 3: how long you've been dating the person that it is
Speaker 3: just for like a relationship totally, because it's like you
Speaker 3: feel like an obligation because you've been there for each
Speaker 3: other through all this stuff. But at a certain points,
Speaker 3: if it's creating more stress for both of you, what's
Speaker 3: the point it doesn't serve you.
Speaker 1: I haven't had to break up with a friend in
Speaker 1: a really long time. I don't either.
Speaker 2: Yeah, good, Kevin, Good. I think I just good people
Speaker 2: around you.
Speaker 1: That's why the same good people around you most I do.
Speaker 2: See I have. I've had the same circle, and I
Speaker 2: slowly broadened it over time. Yeah yeah, every now and
Speaker 2: but but I have started to recognize just because I'm
Speaker 2: a round someone frequently like new people frequently, doesn't mean
Speaker 2: I want to be or have to be. That's happened
Speaker 2: a lot time. I'm like, oh, like we're peripherally like
Speaker 2: in the same circle, right like and like, oh, but
Speaker 2: actually I don't. This is taking up some time and
Speaker 2: energy that I don't want. I'd rather give it to Jenna,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, Yeah, it's like where you feel safe. Like
Speaker 3: I did residential therapy in May for a month where
Speaker 3: I like lived at a center basically just because I
Speaker 3: was at a like a low I guess you would
Speaker 3: call it.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And the first question that they ask when you're like
Speaker 3: discharging or like re entering the world is like, what
Speaker 3: right down ten people who are your safe space? And
Speaker 3: so I've been working with my therapists and transition a
Speaker 3: lot too, and just like who is safe? That's really
Speaker 3: the friendships that matter, you know, And I feel like
Speaker 3: once you lose that safety too, where you have to
Speaker 3: learn to trust someone new if you canting someone news,
Speaker 3: it was really difficult to gauge, right.
Speaker 1: Whoa deep stuff this is I think we've ever gone on.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 1: When you started on all of this. A lot of
Speaker 1: your stuff was like about you know, work, right, complaining
Speaker 1: about work or complaining about work? What does your work
Speaker 1: think about it?
Speaker 3: Oh my god? I was really nervous because the complaints
Speaker 3: I was making about work we're former companies, because I
Speaker 3: like worked for some toxic workplaces that if I mentioned them,
Speaker 3: everyone know. But it was just like startups or fitness companies.
Speaker 3: And one of my I was in sales too, so
Speaker 3: it's like sales is like the grind right m And
Speaker 3: one of my like my former companies, we had to
Speaker 3: work till like midnight the last four days of every
Speaker 3: month just to like make more sales, were signing up
Speaker 3: people for a gym. So at the time when I
Speaker 3: was making these tiktoks, I was working for a really
Speaker 3: healthy company that treated me well. So that's what you
Speaker 3: can see that at the beginning, I talk more about
Speaker 3: my experience and like how I feel rather than like
Speaker 3: how the company's treating me. But there was a moment
Speaker 3: where I got a counter invite just said you're tiktoks.
Speaker 3: And again, this is like at that early stage where
Speaker 3: I didn't think those people were real that were like
Speaker 3: watching my videos, Like I knew they were real, but
Speaker 3: it was just like, you know, I couldn't feel a connection.
Speaker 3: And I got on that meeting and it was with
Speaker 3: my boss's boss, so I was terrified. I'm like, this
Speaker 3: is it. I'm getting fired. I don't like I looked
Speaker 3: through my contract that I signed to see if there's
Speaker 3: any social media clause, which I don't think there was
Speaker 3: at the time, and he it was a guy and
Speaker 3: again in sales, it can be a lot of toxic masculinity.
Speaker 3: So he was like really stern, and I was really
Speaker 3: nervous for him to slatd into me. And he goes
Speaker 3: talk about your videos. I relate to a lot of them,
Speaker 3: and I was like, oh my god. I thought I
Speaker 3: was like getting fired. I thought this was this was done.
Speaker 3: And he's like, I think that about our CEO all
Speaker 3: the time. And it was just like a way. It
Speaker 3: was like really funny because like we related to each
Speaker 3: other and that's was like the content was for everyone,
Speaker 3: even though it's marketed towards the specific someone. Wow. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I wish I had a better story that I got
Speaker 3: in trouble or something.
Speaker 2: But no.
Speaker 3: There were a couple of videos where I had a
Speaker 3: manager send it to me to like be careful or
Speaker 3: like you're going a line here.
Speaker 2: Whenever I'm building a brand in a business, don't worry
Speaker 2: about me.
Speaker 3: Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but that must have felt good though, you know,
Speaker 1: just completely off taken off guard in the best way possible.
Speaker 2: Right, Wow, Okay, now I'm getting a promotion. For sure.
Speaker 3: There was a hard balance, so like because there was
Speaker 3: moments where I felt like I had to make a
Speaker 3: video like every hour or like every three times a day,
Speaker 3: because that's what I was doing when I was first growing.
Speaker 3: And now there's like two weeks, right, don't make a video,
Speaker 3: And that's fine with me, because again, talking about mental
Speaker 3: health is just like you know, it was a very
Speaker 3: like traumatic experience going from like zero to one hundred,
Speaker 3: while my personal life at the time was kind of crumbling.
Speaker 3: So it's like very hard to balance it all. Just
Speaker 3: taking time for myself to it, which would have done
Speaker 3: that more early on, to a focus more on my job.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard. It's like anybody. Everybody's looking for
Speaker 2: success in some way and something right, and it's like,
Speaker 2: all of a sudden you find this random success in
Speaker 2: something and you know that it does on average take
Speaker 2: like three videos a day to maintain that to build
Speaker 2: some sort of following, and you're like, well, sure, I'll
Speaker 2: let everything else all apart a little bit because it's
Speaker 2: like a professional weird thing is happening for me.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 3: If I didn't have a video go viral, I would
Speaker 3: like stay up like until like nine on the app,
Speaker 3: which is like trying to make something just lost my
Speaker 3: life doing that.
Speaker 2: It's like trying to get like your fix of right, Like,
Speaker 2: you know how.
Speaker 3: Viral video is just crazy.
Speaker 1: So how do you how do you now balance that
Speaker 1: for your mental health? It sounds like you've obviously taken
Speaker 1: that as the priority versus the social media or the
Speaker 1: you know, the the views, So like, how how long
Speaker 1: did it take you to get there and what did
Speaker 1: you do?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it was that moment of realizing that
Speaker 3: I looked at my profile and I was like, wait,
Speaker 3: there's one point six million people here who follow me
Speaker 3: who can't engage my content. That's like your brain has
Speaker 3: the capacity of knowing a thousand people, you know. So
Speaker 3: that was wild to me that that many people followed me.
Speaker 3: And then I'm like, why the reason I kept posting?
Speaker 3: Posting because I wanted to grow. I wanted to grow
Speaker 3: because I thought it would stop. And then once I
Speaker 3: realized that I didn't need any more than that, because
Speaker 3: I didn't even need a thousand. If my content reached
Speaker 3: five pep, that's all that mattered. I had that moment
Speaker 3: of introspective where I realized that I am making this
Speaker 3: just for the community, and if I'm not well, if
Speaker 3: I'm like not living by what I'm trying to say,
Speaker 3: even just like as a joke, then what's the point
Speaker 3: of doing it. So just like if I think of
Speaker 3: something funny, I'll post it. And you know, I do
Speaker 3: have to be methodical a little bit if I don't
Speaker 3: want my whole feed to be like branded content, and
Speaker 3: I do you know, need to have branded content to
Speaker 3: earn money to do with whatever, and so I do
Speaker 3: have to regularly post for that, but just not as
Speaker 3: much pressure like I would even research like the best
Speaker 3: time to post on TikTok and like, that's so weird
Speaker 3: that I was like living by.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm pretty sure I've done that too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's admirable because I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: do feel like like a slave to the to you know,
Speaker 1: social media in a way, especially when you're making money
Speaker 1: off of it and it's part of your livelihood, so
Speaker 1: it can be really hard to balance it. But yeah, great,
Speaker 1: good on you. I mean, really very admorable, truly. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's talk about me a little bit, because you know
Speaker 1: podcast tell us about when you first saw Glee and
Speaker 1: and kind of your journey with the show, because I
Speaker 1: know you've watched a few times now.
Speaker 3: Yes, I vividly remember I went to like I went
Speaker 3: to a religious college where it was like very strict
Speaker 3: and even like there, it wasn't I wasn't not allowed
Speaker 3: to watch Glee, but I remember if I was there,
Speaker 3: definitely would have been some judgment because you like, you know,
Speaker 3: you guys were posting about things that like oh yeah,
Speaker 3: like you were like the episodes are going live about
Speaker 3: like against what I was being.
Speaker 2: Totally yeah Ryan every single week.
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, you used to it, but I remember I
Speaker 3: was in my dorm room my roommate with my roommate
Speaker 3: got swine flu. I don't know if you remember swine flu. Yeah,
Speaker 3: And the show premiered my first year at this college,
Speaker 3: so I actually had like the whole dorm to myself
Speaker 3: basically the entire semester. So I like locked the door
Speaker 3: and I remember like scheduling it to watch it live
Speaker 3: and then yeah I watched it opening day.
Speaker 2: Wow, yeah, day one crazy? What made you want to
Speaker 2: watch it?
Speaker 3: Like? Man, I was a theater kid. I was in Yeah,
Speaker 3: I was in musicals even throughout college, and that really
Speaker 3: caught my eye. My school didn't have show choir, but
Speaker 3: I remember I had some friends from my youth group
Speaker 3: that were in show choir, so to go watch them
Speaker 3: in show choir. And so I was just love music
Speaker 3: and found it fascinating. So I was caught from day one.
Speaker 1: So it sounds like the music was the thing that
Speaker 1: kind of kept you right.
Speaker 3: The music, but then the writing just kept me going
Speaker 3: to Like I still you know how people like watch
Speaker 3: fine compilations, your TikTok compilations. I watch gleek compilations when
Speaker 3: I need a lot or just something for background noise,
Speaker 3: just actually see.
Speaker 2: It's like me watching the America's Got Talent compilations.
Speaker 3: Like the like the Golden buzzer.
Speaker 2: Yes, just before we got that's what I was doing.
Speaker 2: I've been crying.
Speaker 3: My eyes.
Speaker 2: I looked a mess. My eyes were bloodshot before I
Speaker 2: got on here, Like I have to go get my
Speaker 2: life together before I see someone.
Speaker 3: There's nothing better too than when someone gets the golden
Speaker 3: buzzer and they just look underwhelmed, and like, do you
Speaker 3: not really You're more excited than they are.
Speaker 2: There is golden confetti. Heidi Klum loves you.
Speaker 3: How do you clume hit that buzzer for you? Yeah,
Speaker 3: the cannon's right there.
Speaker 2: I don't believe you. You used to go watch show choir,
Speaker 2: like your friend was in show, Like, I have no
Speaker 2: knowledge that show choir existed pre being on the show. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was something.
Speaker 3: The suburb I grew up in had a really intense school,
Speaker 3: Like the choir performed at the Grammys, Like it was
Speaker 3: very very musical school, very much like Audio Adrenaline, but
Speaker 3: it was it was uh yeah, so I would go
Speaker 3: and see the perform It's really good. But yeah, very
Speaker 3: knowledgeable in the show choir world.
Speaker 2: Is it true that you're on your fifth rewatch?
Speaker 3: It could be One thing about me is I I
Speaker 3: will never watch a new show. I have two types
Speaker 3: of shows that I watch. I have shows that I've
Speaker 3: seen multiple times it's really Happy Endings, not sure if
Speaker 3: familiar with that show and a New Girl. And then
Speaker 3: I watch shows that ended way too early, like shows
Speaker 3: that have one season even and I just feel like
Speaker 3: this is the worst, like happy Endings. I just watched Reboot.
Speaker 3: That is a new show I watched and that ended
Speaker 3: after one season, Like why do I get hooked on
Speaker 3: and I don't even know? I like, look like one season,
Speaker 3: I look when season two happening, it's like it ended.
Speaker 2: I'm like, great, it's because you have good taste. Those
Speaker 2: are like all the great sort of obscure comedies that
Speaker 2: we're very good and absolutely disa to have more.
Speaker 3: Amazing writing, just like we ahead of their time, ahead
Speaker 3: of their time.
Speaker 1: Okay, I have a couple of favorites, and I don't
Speaker 1: know if you can give us off the top of
Speaker 1: your head, but no pressure. Okay, what was your favorite.
Speaker 2: Season?
Speaker 1: Season threeh my god, we just started season three. I
Speaker 1: don't remember anything from it, so I'm really.
Speaker 2: Use that's what people keep.
Speaker 3: Saying this rewatch. I started on season three, the first
Speaker 3: two but and I you know, I think that transition
Speaker 3: starting in season four was like beautifully done. And obviously
Speaker 3: you know less of some cast members than others, but
Speaker 3: you know, that's what I look forward.
Speaker 2: To when I do my rewatch. Wow, what about season
Speaker 2: three is the one for you? Is it because some
Speaker 2: of them are graduating? It is that like gross thing?
Speaker 3: Or yeah, it's like the final you know, it's like that.
Speaker 3: It is really nostalgic for me because it brings me
Speaker 3: back to high school truly, and I think, you know,
Speaker 3: after watching it, you know what happens at the end
Speaker 3: of it. But just like the road to Nationals is
Speaker 3: always inspiring to watch give me chills.
Speaker 1: It feels like season six.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the season with My Cup, right.
Speaker 2: My cup with season two?
Speaker 3: Was that really? Yes?
Speaker 2: We were surprised as well.
Speaker 3: That is one of my favorites.
Speaker 2: I said you had good taste, right classic good.
Speaker 3: Season three?
Speaker 2: Right? Yes?
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, and that's one okay cool.
Speaker 2: When we do my cup is when we're trying to
Speaker 2: write I.
Speaker 1: Remember that, ye, mister, like you guys write it. You guys,
Speaker 1: go ahead it right, no plan, good luck? Okay, next one?
Speaker 1: And what is your favorite if you had to pick
Speaker 1: a favorite episode and and mash up? Do you have
Speaker 1: a favorite mash up?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: Yeah, My favorite mashup is when the walking on Sunshine
Speaker 3: Halo this vitamin. That's the vitamin the episode right, yes,
Speaker 3: which is probably one of my favorite episodes too, just
Speaker 3: because it's such like an out there concept really, but
Speaker 3: I love every Brittany episode too, you know, just like
Speaker 3: growing up with Britney Spears and then doing all the
Speaker 3: cover songs, and then the Michael episode is always good,
Speaker 3: like Naya doing Smith Criminal Smooth Criminal.
Speaker 2: Wasn't saying it was going to be one of my favorites. Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah, what is in your opinion is the most unhinged
Speaker 1: story line.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, so many to choose from there are
Speaker 3: I think everything was Sue, but I think Quinn in
Speaker 3: a wheelchair, well, yeah, I'm sorry seeing that a wheelchair,
Speaker 3: and I think it's just there's a line that Sue says,
Speaker 3: either in season five or season six, about like how
Speaker 3: easily it is for the grade just to come back.
Speaker 3: She's like, I don't know how you're funding your teleportation
Speaker 3: back here, But that's always a crazy storyline to me.
Speaker 3: The graduates just like show up, I don't know, nowhere.
Speaker 3: Remember when I was freshman supper year of college, I
Speaker 3: could barely fly home on a forty five minute flight
Speaker 3: from mine Chicago, you know, like, how are you coming
Speaker 3: back from New York so easily?
Speaker 2: Everyone's just next door, you know, New York and Ohio? Yeah,
Speaker 2: very close, close, Yeah right.
Speaker 3: I think growing up in the Midwest maybe appreciate Lee
Speaker 3: because my dad's from Ohio, so I've been in Ohio
Speaker 3: many times, but just very you know, similar to the
Speaker 3: suburbs schools that I grew up.
Speaker 2: Grew up. Did the show feel like the Midwest to you?
Speaker 3: It did?
Speaker 2: It did?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Because I knew I didn't know anything about the
Speaker 3: industry even until I started making content. So it's just
Speaker 3: like I thought you all filmed in Ohio, you know,
Speaker 3: like that's how naive was to this whole. Yeah, for
Speaker 3: most of it, and then you know, obviously learning more
Speaker 3: about the industry, learn that sets exist. But it did
Speaker 3: feel very Midwest.
Speaker 2: From Chicago, Okay, what's up?
Speaker 1: Yeah, Ryan Murphy also not from Chicago, but from the Midwest. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and then in Chicago, so yeah, that's a little bit
Speaker 1: more glamorous season four or five.
Speaker 3: Right, right, I did. I actually did like the second
Speaker 3: round of casts two, like yeah, Unique and Marley Rose
Speaker 3: doing blow Me for the Grease Audition is one of
Speaker 3: my favorite performances too. We love but yeah, they're good,
Speaker 3: kitty and like watching and I forgot how upset I
Speaker 3: was that, like we didn't get a closure to them. Yeah,
Speaker 3: in the final season.
Speaker 2: Totally was a bummer for me.
Speaker 1: Totally.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I love how this You appreciate them, Oh, you know,
Speaker 4: unsign heroes, they're all great. Yeah, but we was very
Speaker 4: formative for me.
Speaker 1: All right, so we leave, We ask everybody at the
Speaker 1: end of the episode, what is the feeling that Lee
Speaker 1: leaves you with? As somebody who's potentially watched the show
Speaker 1: five times. What what is the feeling that Glee leaves
Speaker 1: you with?
Speaker 3: It does leave me with nostalgia, I think. I I've
Speaker 3: been talking a lot with my therapist too, because its
Speaker 3: creating nostalgic content, Like why is nostalgia so important? It's
Speaker 3: I could transport you, transport you back to a time,
Speaker 3: even if it was a stressful time, like I did
Speaker 3: not have great years, you know, in college, but it's
Speaker 3: not the time that you're in now. And I've been
Speaker 3: going through some stressful stuff now, so it's like been
Speaker 3: nice to have that nostalgia and the music and you know,
Speaker 3: kind of calculate it encapsulates, like my high school experience.
Speaker 3: So watching that replay through through your characters is always
Speaker 3: a nostalgic feeling for me.
Speaker 1: You are nostalgia. You are my nostalgia on your step.
Speaker 1: You are nostalgia. Please do, please do.
Speaker 3: And you're inspiring trampoline too. I want you to know
Speaker 3: I listen. I don't think I can do the weight
Speaker 3: limit for the one I could have in my apartment.
Speaker 1: You can't, and you can't nobody.
Speaker 2: Jenna, Jenna, You're an inspiration.
Speaker 1: I did it I do it.
Speaker 2: If you do it, I can't. I am terrified do it.
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, he doesn't want to do it.
Speaker 2: The way you can kick your own face with your shin.
Speaker 2: I don't. I can't even toes. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 3: You did sit in the chair for years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, I have that. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I've always been pretty flexible, So it's it's not something
Speaker 1: that I, you know, had to work hard at.
Speaker 2: Maybe she's born with it.
Speaker 3: Maybe she's born with it.
Speaker 2: I don't know. Rod.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being here, and obviously I
Speaker 1: would open up the floor if you have any questions aboutly,
Speaker 1: We're happy to answer them.
Speaker 3: I did have one. I think, okay, go for it
Speaker 3: for one moment. Also for Rachel sending Sunshine to the
Speaker 3: crack house while we send me, I.
Speaker 1: Mean, it's just so bad.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I think so. One thing I noticed too
Speaker 3: at the beginning is, you know, with Naya and Heather,
Speaker 3: the pilot obviously pilots changed to once they get picked up,
Speaker 3: but like they're just seeing like background characters. It was
Speaker 3: so interesting to see them become like main characters of
Speaker 3: the show like you two were. So was that the
Speaker 3: plan all along, like from episode of one, Yeah, because
Speaker 3: it was singing.
Speaker 1: And exactly say a little crayer, how there was a dancer.
Speaker 1: I was hired as a dancer by Zach and so
Speaker 1: Zach actually was the one who pushed Ryan to see
Speaker 1: her for another Greek Club member. And then Brittany Espierce
Speaker 1: was born from Heather essentially and Ryan of course.
Speaker 2: It was sort of like n I started to get
Speaker 2: any line or song and she was behind the scenes
Speaker 2: such so funny. Yeah that Ryan was just like, Okay,
Speaker 2: we need more of that. And I think just because
Speaker 2: they're both amazingly talented, they just started writing for them.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I think like The Boy Is Mine was like
Speaker 1: one of the first kind of births of Santana and
Speaker 1: especially her and Mercedes because Ryan saw them like we
Speaker 1: were at our cast chairs and they were doing the
Speaker 1: impressions and so he put it in and you're like,
Speaker 1: oh and then they like show up you know what
Speaker 1: I mean on screen as well.
Speaker 3: So it was I think when she did when she
Speaker 3: had her solo and the Gods, which one it was
Speaker 3: that's like the first time you wrote bad Romance. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it was the first time, like you heard her voice solo.
Speaker 3: I think right or one of them, and I was
Speaker 3: just like, damn.
Speaker 2: Got it. We were sort of like the guinea pigs.
Speaker 2: I think for the wider audience, it's like if we
Speaker 2: liked it and then Ryan liked it, then he'd put
Speaker 2: it in and then like the public sort of responded
Speaker 2: to it just how we were, like this needs to happen,
Speaker 2: she's so good, put this in, or like Heather is hilarious,
Speaker 2: listen to this, like bitch, she has right, and then
Speaker 2: it just you know, people responded with it just like
Speaker 2: we did. So maybe we were the taste makers.
Speaker 3: Ye, that's a whole coin, I think. Besides you, like,
Speaker 3: the only other show that's done that with like making
Speaker 3: like growing the cast and like creating background characters throughout
Speaker 3: the series is The Office. But it's like such a
Speaker 3: big cast, but everyone's so notable, you know, totally.
Speaker 2: Very I think when everyone is so specific and everyone
Speaker 2: comes to the table with like their unique abilities, how
Speaker 2: can you can't It's unavoidable because you're filling out this
Speaker 2: really beautiful ensemble where there wasn't sure the were leads
Speaker 2: of both shows, but it was very much a team effort.
Speaker 3: Yeah right, Yeah, that's awesome to know that's my question.
Speaker 1: Well, we're grateful you came on, and we're grateful that
Speaker 1: for what you share on your on your social channels,
Speaker 1: and you know all the good, good things you're doing
Speaker 1: and saving people's lives. So thank you so much for
Speaker 1: really nice to meet you.
Speaker 3: Nice to meet you too. You want to get my trampoline?
Speaker 2: Please do those are the new videos.
Speaker 1: Please do it.
Speaker 2: When we're in the same town, you and I can
Speaker 2: take a trampoline class together.
Speaker 3: We'll just go to like those bounce houses.
Speaker 2: You're the best. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Thank you What a sweet sweet lad man. Yes, really great.
Speaker 2: Very calm, very calm.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed his energy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel very tranquil now, Like I just want
Speaker 2: to sit and hear him talk all day. I gotta say, Rod,
Speaker 2: thank you for being so just honest and open about
Speaker 2: your journey, your mental health journey, your journey through TikTok
Speaker 2: and social media in general. I also think that's the
Speaker 2: sort of the key to his success, isn't it is
Speaker 2: that he there is no sort of false pretense or
Speaker 2: made up shtick. He is just who he is and
Speaker 2: it is relatable and you're drawn in by him. You
Speaker 2: just want to hear from.
Speaker 1: Him absolutely, and it's like his integrity and like intention
Speaker 1: behind posting for not to be famous, not to get
Speaker 1: jobs from it, but to like really just reach people.
Speaker 1: You can really feel that it's very honest.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's refreshing, and I do feel like there is
Speaker 2: absolutely space for that and space to be successful at that.
Speaker 2: And it's nice to see that that's happening for him
Speaker 2: in that way. And also what thoughtful well considerations about Glee,
Speaker 2: you know, he like we all have that show, like
Speaker 2: you and one of my best friends justin like watch
Speaker 2: Friends or west Wing every single night to fall asleep
Speaker 2: or like it's their comfort show. And to meet people
Speaker 2: who like Glee is sort of their comfort show or
Speaker 2: they've watched it that many times and know it Like
Speaker 2: you can't even put a number to how many times
Speaker 2: rewatched it because you're just always sort of running in
Speaker 2: the background or watching compilations or something. That's wild to
Speaker 2: like be on a show that is that for people.
Speaker 2: That sort of breaks my brain a bit. People.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, no, no, for sure, agreed. Agreed, Well, thanks
Speaker 1: for joining us. Hope you guys enjoyed the episode and
Speaker 1: join us next feed.
Speaker 2: And that's what you really missed. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 2: follow us on Instagram at and that's what you really
Speaker 2: miss pod. Make sure to write us a review and
Speaker 2: leave us five stars. See you next time.