We recently connected with Greg Jones and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Greg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Learning the technical side of podcasting was really fun for me. With a career behind the camera in television, I had a bit of a foundation for how to do things, but I didn’t know how much was really involved. Coming up before podcasting was really popular, I had to learn how to host audio files, embed links in RSS feeds, manually submit to podcast apps, etc. But it was fun and challenging, and I’m so glad that I know how to do things the hard way. It makes me appreciate it more now.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
It all started back in the 80s…oh wait, that’s too far back. After working in news and television production for some years, I found myself with some free time and a friend had approached about creating a television show similar to Sports Center. Creating TV was the last thing I wanted to do, so I pitched a podcast. That lead to weeks of preparation, equipment procurement, and research on how to make an audio file downloadable by all of our potential listeners. While that show is no longer around, I’m proud of the technical know-how that we gained, and the community we built around the show. Smash-cut a few years later, and we have the Craft Beer Republic; a show focused on craft beer. Our goal is to educate, entertain, and make you laugh all around the shared love for craft beer. I’m extremely proud of the community that we have attracted, as well as some of the amazing breweries we’ve been able to interview and have on our show.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I’m starting to feel like a broken record, but the community is the most rewarding. Whether it’s the podcasting community, which is overall very helpful, encouraging, and willing to help another podcast out. Or it’s the craft beer community. The brewers we’ve met, brewery owners, beer drinkers/lovers, the list goes on. Even more special are the life-long friendships that have sprung up over meeting some strangers for a beer. It’s been so rewarding and a really bright spot in my life and creative journey.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
There are a couple goals that really keep me going. First, is the idea of building a community (there’s that word again, sorry) around the Craft Beer Republic. It’s so fun when people come up and will randomly recognize you and say they love the podcast, it’s a great feeling. The other goal would be to make this my full-time job. I love creating and growing the show, and I also love creating great audio stories. I’ve helped consult and produce for other podcasts, and hope to continue and ramp that side up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.craftbeerrepublic.com
- Instagram: @craftbeerrepublic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftbeerrepublicpod
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregjones32/
- Twitter: @craftbeerrepub
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@craftbeerrepublic7718
- Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/craft-beer-republic/id1135093105
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5x2Ks9AcQxQvUwXm2WzQJO?si=326e3e819e834c2a