We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful The Smoking Barrel Tavern. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with The Smoking Barrel Tavern below.

The Smoking Barrel Tavern, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

There was a time when we faced intense challenges with our housing. We had to uproot our entire life—our kids, our business, everything. It was heartbreaking to see our work slow down as we struggled to navigate our circumstances, and the burnout we felt from real-life obstacles was overwhelming.

But that’s life: it never stops testing you. You never know when you’ll be coasting or when you’ll be thrown into a storm of challenges. Even when we were barely scraping by, we kept reminding ourselves, ‘We’ll figure it out; we always do.’ We kept taking care of our family, kept running our business, and kept inspiring others, even if it wasn’t at the full capacity we wanted.

Eventually, things did get better. And we know it’s because we kept going, kept working through everything, until we did figure it out.

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’s kind of funny how we ended up here. We saw just how toxic social media can be—constant judgment, rude comments, and unkindness everywhere. We wanted to change that, especially for our fellow closet nerds because, hey, we’re nerds too! We noticed it was particularly harsh in our genre.

So we created a fantasy tavern online: The Smoking Barrel Tavern. Here, we speak kind, uplifting words, making people feel like they truly belong. Through our content—whether it’s encouraging messages, funny skits, parental figures, or Dungeons & Dragons moments—each video carries a message. We wanted to be a place where people feel safe.

Our style is unique, is very different compared to so much of what’s out there. We’re here to spread the kindness this world desperately needs, and thanks to our followers, we’ve been able to reach further than we ever imagined. Hearing from people we’ve impacted—whether we’ve helped them through tough times, made them laugh or cry, or shown them more acceptance than they feel from family—means everything to us.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When we first came up with this idea, we spent nearly five months trying to figure out every detail—planning and strategizing how to make our vision come to life. You know what we should have done? Just started. Those five months could have been spent creating content and building our Tavern Family.

When we finally did start, we grew our audience by staying true to who we are. Be yourself and just start! Embrace the mistakes—they’re what build resilience. The first hundred videos might be rough, but you’ll be miles ahead compared to waiting for the perfect moment.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Oh, absolutely. We’ve had family members doubt what we’re doing—they don’t understand how dressing up as a fantasy character and talking behind a pretend bar could make any real impact. But here’s the thing: you’ll always have people doubting your creative vision because they simply don’t get it.

This world is full of people living mundane lives by choice, but life should be an adventure! Creatives know how to tap into that magic, and we thrive on making the world a bit more enchanting. Don’t let those who lack imagination bring you down. You have something special, and it deserves to be shared—not kept bottled up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesmokingbarreltavern.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmokingbarreltavern/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesmokingbarreltavern
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFFcDmjXS6sOqgMHNBaDoRw?sub_confirmation=1
• Other: https://m.twitch.tv/thesmokingbarreltavern
  https://www.tiktok.com/@thesmokingbarreltavern