Transcription
Did you get that you only understand train station? It's all great to me, understanding train station living between cultures with Josh and FY. Welcome back, everyone! We're glad to talk to you all again. We're starting to wind down the episodes now, so each time we are on, as far as live recording, it starts to get a little bit more emotional, I have to say. But we're happy to be back here with you all.
We had a few, um, how should I say, technical difficulties recording this episode, so, um, yeah, it's been a struggle. So Fail and I are actually now recording on a different day than we actually had our interview. But before we get into the details of all of that, how are you doing, FY?
I'm doing okay, um, pretty relaxed from my vacation, so that was really nice.
Yeah, so do you want to tell everyone a little bit about it?
Yeah, I kind of announced that, I guess, in the last episode that I would kind of talk about it a bit. To sum it up, it was an amazing week in the Caribbean, laying at the beach and the pool. We went to an all-inclusive resort, which meant that, yeah, not only obviously it's like all the food included, but also we had people serving cocktails to the pool, to the beach. Even when you were inside the pool, they would walk by and take your order and then serve it to you in the pool.
Um, so that was amazing. The weather was great; we got a tan. Basically, I just used the week to just lay, and oh yeah, we had these, like, I don't know what the official name is, like Cabana Bali bed, like these beds with, like, curtains around them too, so you can adjust your shade. But they're super comfortable, so basically that's what we were laying on for seven days straight, reading books, playing games.
Um, and they had, like, a lot of programming there too, of course. Like, they had shows at night, and like all throughout the day there was always different stuff, like foam parties, or we did, um, like spinning, like the workout when you do spinning, the one that's in the water.
Yeah, uh-huh.
Yeah, in the pool. Um, stuff like that. They had, like, a beach party at night one time. Um, so yeah, it was pretty amazing.
Um, one thing that I honestly didn't really expect, this resort specifically had a lot of Americans, and I didn't hear a single person speak German at all, which surprised me. I was going to say the Dominican Republic is also a very popular vacation destination for Germans, um, but I'm assuming that there might be other spots, like places in the Dominican Republic that Germans go to, or simply different resorts or hotels that Germans go to. Just maybe other places might be marketed more towards the German audience, or maybe also price-wise, like Germans like to maybe sometimes get a bit of a deal.
Um, this was definitely more like a little bit of a splurge for Ben and me, so, um, it was still a really, really good deal because the Dominican Republic is cheap. That's kind of also one of the reasons why we went there instead of, like, um, Mexico or other places. But it was still more like on the luxury end, I guess.
Um, I mean, not like super high-end, but like a little bit up there. So that was surprising to me, honestly, that there wasn't a single German. Ben said he heard someone speak German one time, but I didn't meet them.
Um, and then the other thing that surprised me was that a lot of the staff there did not speak English, and especially it being like a resort where a lot of Americans come. So we went to Punta Cana, um, Bavaro Beach. That was very German for, I don't even know where the stress would be, Bavaro, or like how is it spelled?
Well, B, but I don't remember if there was like an accent.
It's probably B.
B, um, yeah, that's which actually means Bavarian.
Yeah, I know someone commented that, but that's the beach or like the region within like Punta Cana where that was. But yeah, a lot of the staff didn't speak English. Even when you, like, tried to order something at the table, they didn't really understand.
Yeah, so I was very surprised by that because you would think that it's such a big tourist industry that, you know, English is like the main language, and you can't even work in the tourist field if you don't speak English fluently. Like even one time, um, Ben had lobster, and he just wanted lemon for the lobster, and they did not understand. They were like, "Oh, lemonade, lemonade," and I was like, "Lemon," and he was like, "Oh, okay," and then he brought limes because I guess in, like, Spanish it's like the same.
Um, but he brought also like 20 minutes later. So that was the other thing that surprised me, um, which I've heard from a lot of other people too.
Um, this is all like vacation talk, but if you do plan on going to one of these resorts in the Dominican Republic, obviously it's not really real life, right? It's kind of like this fake space, but it seems like the service as well as the food is like hit or miss, and that's how it was for us too. Some of the food was not great, really.
Um, yeah, which I mean on the one hand you could maybe blame on it being an all-inclusive, but, um, it was super bland, like no spices, um, no salt and pepper sometimes even.
Um, and then other times the food was amazing, and same with the staff. Some of the staff was amazing. One of the main things that especially Ben bonded over was baseball.
Oh, new Cincinnati.
Yeah, I mean the Dominican Republic is known for having really good baseball players, like some of the best. So everyone knew the Cincinnati Reds, which is the Cincinnati baseball team, and one of the biggest players for the Reds, or one of the newest players, is Ellie De La Cruz, and he is from the Dominican.
And so everyone was like, "Oh my God, yes, you got our player!" And a lot of people even walked around with Cincinnati Reds hats, like of the locals.
Yeah, so that was like a thing, and some of the staff were like so, you know, friendly, and they recognized you every day, and they would like joke with you, and then other staff were worse than German customer service.
Wow, which was surprising. It's weird that there was such a weird mix of both, you know? Like the span as far as the quality of the service was so, so wide.
Um, I wouldn't have expected that.
Me either. Like I obviously, it's a poor country, and people coming there with US dollars too, so like we were able to just pay in US dollars, um, because that's like even better for them than if you pay in the local currency.
And even just like tipping $1, like for every drink that you give is a lot for them. Like we looked it up when we were there, um, and it said that the average salary a month was like $300 to $400, so you can kind of like see that.
But then we were like, well, if you are in a shitty position like that and you are in a place where it's a great opportunity to make a lot of money if you just put in a little bit of effort, then why wouldn't you do that?
Why wouldn't you be like almost like thankful that you're there? But I think there it might be a pride thing. I don't know if it's like a cultural thing, but it was like literally, I would say like half and half.
Like people rolled their eyes at us and were like, "Oh my God, that's so annoying that you're here," pretty much.
Interesting.
And other people knew you by name and were super amazing.
Um, but still, that was just kind of like to give you guys a little bit of background. We also didn't really, well, not just didn't really, we did not leave the resort, which was kind of, um, our plan actually.
But we were thinking maybe we'll do like one of their tours or something like that, but nothing really spoke to us. And when we were there, we realized that the Dominican Republic really, we already knew that it isn't like the safest place, but a lot of people say do not leave the resort.
And, um, when we were there, we figured out that the resort that we were at actually, um, it was called Majestic Elegance. There was an incident in 2019, and for some reason we like didn't see that before we went there where an American woman was attacked by staff.
Oh wow.
And beat almost beaten to death, and if you look at the pictures, it's bad, and that happened on the resort.
That's crazy.
And apparently afterwards, the authorities there kind of didn't really follow up.
Like they delayed stuff, like they delayed a rape kit, and, um, you know, it seemed like they were kind of trying to hide it, um, and they never found the responsible people.
So that kind of stuff, yeah. And then hearing other people saying like do not leave the resort, we were like, you know what, we just want to relax anyways, let's just stay here.
Um, and driving from the airport there, we could also tell that things were interesting. So yeah, we just lived in that bubble for a week.
You felt like it was relaxing at least?
It was super relaxing, but I did not really, I guess, experience the culture there except for obviously the people that worked there, the vendors that walked by and sold cigars all the time and all these other things.
We bought like a painting, and we bought a little like souvenir from one of the vendors, so you still kind of, you talk to them, and they tell you like they're coming to this resort.
Like one of the waitresses at the pool, she was like she's taking the bus here one hour every morning and then one hour back at night just to work there, and I was like, "Damn!"
I honestly thought they all lived here, like if they work here. But anyways, yep, um, that's all the background information I can provide.
It was definitely, as I said, um, didn't really expect that. I thought it would be even more of a tourist bubble with the English and with the, yeah, with the service, I guess.
That's good and bad.
Yeah, exactly. Maybe it brings you back down to reality a bit, but you were also wanting to escape reality.
So yeah, we still had a great time though. Like, I mean, I'm used to, I would say bad customer service in that sense, so when someone rolls their eyes at me, I'm not going to let that ruin my day.
So, um, I was just like, "Oh, okay, oops." I didn't think that was going to be a thing here. I thought it would be like more like American customer service, I guess.
Especially, I am a little surprised to hear you say that there weren't really many Germans that you ran into.
Well, really for you, any, because I always hear when Germans come back to Germany after being in the Dominican Republic, they always talk about how Americanized everything is.
Um, and yeah, just so I'm sure they have their own resorts, quote unquote, that they tend to go to, which I'm sure there's still a lot of Americans who go to those resorts as well.
It just surprises me a little bit. I always feel like when growing up, we would be in, I mean, I never went to any all-inclusive resorts growing up. At every vacation destination, there are always so many Germans.
Exactly, they're everywhere.
Yes, it's just weird.
Uh, maybe they were all like you, kind of flying under the radar a bit.
I don't think so because all we heard was a lot of Spanish-speaking people too.
Um, but mainly just that, mainly Spanish and English, and American English.
Um, we heard like maybe a couple British people, but mainly really just American English.
But yeah, Germans always go to the Dom Rep. That's like what we call it in German.
Um, to shorten it, it's just Dom Rep, and I don't know why, but it sounds so cheap when you say it like that.
Um, but that is definitely a thing, and I know so many people who would always go there.
But also, I'm thinking maybe not in the summer. Maybe it was also the time of the year. A lot of people go there in the W German winter.
Yeah, that would make sense.
That would make sense.
But yeah, how are you doing?
I'm doing well. Life is good. I was in Vburg for a bit over the weekend with some friends, or I guess it was two weekends ago now.
Um, but a really, really fun time. I did a wine tour, which was a lot of fun.
Um, it was weird to be in a wine region in Germany as well. So basically, we went to this winery, and then they gave each person a bottle of wine.
Uh, in my group, they gave us snacks, bread, different spreads, and each a bottle, like I said, a bottle of wine and a bottle of water and a map.
And then we got to like walk through the vineyards and stop at different locations, have a drink, eat some food, and then continue.
It was a really, really fun time, and Vburg is a really pretty city as well.
And like I said, it's just weird for me living in Munich. You're surrounded by the beer culture, but to be in a region of Germany where wine is very, very prevalent.
Um, yeah, it was weird but cool.
So yeah, it's something that some people don't realize about Germany is that we're all so big in wine.
I mean, I think Riesling is the one that I would say that's what most Americans know at least.
Yeah, they've at least like heard of it or read it on a menu.
Um, that's Sturm. I'm thinking what other one from Vburg is known for their Sekt?
Okay, see, I'm not a wine drinker, so I don't even know those types of wine, but maybe some of you have heard of that.
But yeah, like especially like Southwest and just like the more western part of Germany in general is pretty big for that and known for that.
But also in Munich, we have like a wine fest, for example, every year, so wine culture is also big.
It's not really like either or; both exist parallel.
But that sounds like a really cool thing to do.
I feel like I think I said that to you privately, but that would be something that a lot of bachelor and bachelorette parties would do in Germany.
Yeah, and we ran into them as well. There were a couple bachelor and bachelorette parties going on while we were there, so it was a fun time.
Yeah, but your guys' occasion or reason to be there was just for fun?
Yeah, I mean my friends had given it to me for my birthday, um, which was a few months ago, but this was the time that it all worked out that our schedules lined up.
So yeah, that was the occasion.
But yeah, other than that, I don't think I have really that many updates on my side, just staying busy.
Okay, yeah, with the new job still.
Indeed. Do you feel like you've kind of arrived now in your new position?
Yes and no. They've made a lot of changes at the company since I've started, so it's been, um, it's been a growing process.
It's not a bad thing; the company's growing a lot, so they have to adjust.
So it's just some growing pains.
Uh, so it's kind of difficult to like get in a rhythm, but I'm starting to get there, so that's good.
Well, today we actually followed your guys' requests because when we announced that the podcast is winding down, I asked who else do you want us to invite onto the podcast, and one of the names was Liam Carpenter, and we got him on, guys! We made it happen!
Um, he's here today, and in case you don't know who that is just by the name, if you are on social media at all, if you are on YouTube, um, Instagram, TikTok, and you're kind of interested in this niche and these like cultural differences, I feel like you've probably at least seen him before.
He's from the UK; he now lives in Germany, and he's a social media creator, content creator in the comedy sector.
Um, and he makes these little skits about things that are typical German, and one of his main things is, um, in Germany we don't say, we say.
So, um, that was a bad example. Just add a strong German accent to that.
In Germany, we don't say, "Wow, it looks really cold outside today. I think I'll keep all the windows shut."
VC LIF!
So that's Liam Carpenter, and we're super excited to have him on today and learn a little bit more about him as a person, hopefully.
Welcome, Liam! I'm so glad you made it!
Yeah, thanks for having me! I'm really excited. You were a highly requested guest, and I'm sure that most people that are interested in this kind of content that we do and that I do on my YouTube channel, like the typical German stuff, the cultural differences, especially in terms of the English-speaking world, um, have probably seen you before, whether that was on Instagram or on TikTok or YouTube shorts.
You're kind of everywhere, and if people just scroll, I think you're just going to pop up eventually.
Um, and before we learn a little bit more about you as a person and your story and everything, I was wondering what's like the most common thing that people, um, bring up when they see you in real life?
Is there like one sentence that they always say to you or one specific skit that they bring up?
100% in Germany, we don't say comes up like nearly every time.
Uh, it's either, "Oh, it's the guy from TikTok," or "In Germany, we don't say." These are like the most, the two most common ones.
Yeah, yeah, that's how I, when I was talking to some people that we were interviewing today, that's how I referred to you as well.
So, and people knew exactly who I was talking about, which is obviously then a great sign and proof that what you're doing has been very successful, so congrats on that for sure!
Yeah, I appreciate it!
Yeah, it's just kind of taken off, and, uh, yeah, really grateful and kind of see where it goes.
As I said, I think most people have probably seen something from you, but of course your content is mainly, um, comedy and not so much about you as a person, so we're excited to hopefully learn a little bit more about you.
So, um, yeah, maybe you could just tell us a little bit about you. Where are you from, and how did you end up in Germany?
Yeah, so, uh, I moved to Germany when I was 18.
Um, yeah, I know I had the opportunity to play professional basketball here in Germany, and I just went for it.
I had been training my whole life to become a professional basketball player. Not many people probably know this because I never show it in the content, um, but I played professional basketball here for seven years before I started making...
Wow, I didn't realize it was that long!
Yeah, yeah, nine years I've been here now, so seven years I played professionally, and, um, then I started making the videos, so I kind of transitioned from one crazy job to the other.
Yeah, those are both like not regular 9-to-5 office jobs or anything like that.
How did you get started with those videos?
Um, it was kind of like my basketball career was on a downward spike, kind of.
Okay.
Um, I wasn't really playing that much, and I was looking for a way out, kind of.
Mhm.
And my first idea was to become a personal trainer to kind of stay in the sport, um, area, but I tried a few videos at the beginning, and they just did not perform well.
So you tried to do like personal training on the internet?
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, okay.
It was kind of like I tried, I used like trending sounds to kind of get it kickstarted, and it just didn't work.
Okay.
So I was just looking for something that was kind of unique to me, and yeah, just one day randomly I made one video about, uh, the German clichés.
Like I think it was about the German language was my first ever video, and it, the first one got like 100,000 views, and I was just like, "Wow, okay, this is something CRA start!"
Yeah, yeah.
I feel like if I didn't have that at the beginning, I might not have carried on with it, but it was such like a, it was like a shot of adrenaline.
Yeah, yeah.
I was like, I just need to keep this going. Like it's just, it's so much fun for me to create it and for people watching, so yeah, I just kept going with it.
Now we're here, and that was three years ago or two years ago? How long ago did you start?
Two and a half.
Two and a half years ago?
Wow, I mean that's honestly not that long, but also nowadays with TikTok and all the short-form video content, I know that it is possible to blow up pretty quickly, but you're at over like one and a half million followers on TikTok, I think, right?
Yep, yep.
And then you have like close to a million on all the other platforms in addition to that, so it's crazy how many people you're reaching.
I know, it's insane!
At first, I only did TikTok, mhm, because I kind of wanted to, 'cause on Instagram, you know, I've got friends following me and stuff, and at the beginning, I really wasn't sure what everyone was going to think about it.
I know that was going to be my next question is what does your family think about it?
Like they didn't find out about the videos until six months after I'd been posting.
Wow, okay.
Yeah, my dad was like, "What the hell are you doing?"
Like he didn't like it. He thought it was funny; it was just like the kind of, I'd been training for basketball my whole life, and it was like I've just kind of given it all up to do these videos, and it was kind of a bit of a shock.
But, uh, now that he's very supportive, he even joined in on one of the videos a couple weeks ago.
Yeah, and he just got a whole new appreciation for like what goes into the video.
Yeah, and that was really good, a really good moment.
Yeah, yeah, 'cause many people don't, especially if you've never worked in media.
Like my background was in radio and production, so like I already knew how much work goes into this kind of stuff, but I know that for a lot of people that have no clue, they think if they see like a one-minute video from you, it takes you like half an hour to make.
But how long does it really take you?
At least five to six hours at least.
I've had videos that take a couple days to make just because I have this idea of how it looks in my head, right?
And if I can't get that exactly how I want it on the screen, I go over it, over it until I get exactly how I imagine it in my head.
So yeah, it can take up to a couple days sometimes.
Yeah, yeah, that's, I mean, I know that feeling. Some people still like message me, and I mean, I'm not saying that I put out like that much content, but I put out long-form content, and then we do the podcast every other week, and then I'm also kind of active on social media, and my videos are often 20, 30 minutes, even sometimes over 30 minutes long, and they're researched.
Um, and people still ask me like, "Hey, so what's your full-time job?" I'm like, "Well, I do this like 80 to 100 hours a week."
Um, so yeah, it's always crazy, um, how people that don't know this kind of stuff, I don't know what they think, how it all gets created.
But I think at least with more and more content creators being out there, I think it's just becoming like a more and more job.
I think the understanding for it is becoming bigger, but especially in the like older generation, like our parents for sure.
Yeah, it definitely still takes a little bit, but that's really cool that he now appreciates it.
Yes, he does.
And also, um, it was also funny when, uh, 'cause my wife, I married, is, um, she was also a little bit unsure.
It was like she needed that kind of security 'cause when I was playing, I kind of had an income, and it was like, "Okay, I'm just going to stop all of this now," 'cause I felt so confident about how I could do on the social media.
I just kind of dropped everything and just went for it, and, uh, that was a little bit of a thing for us as well.
But I just knew it was going to work. I just had this feeling, um, if I put everything into it that it was going to work.
So yeah, and then it became your full-time job.
Yep, that's really cool, which is crazy to me 'cause you don't have any sort of formal training in editing or any sort of like production education per se.
It was all on-the-job learning for you, right?
Yeah, yeah, I just learned by doing pretty much.
Like the ACT, I've never acted before; I never cut videos before.
I literally, every day, it was just a learning process, and, um, I just had that kind of drive.
Just I wanted, I knew how I wanted it to look, so I was just willing to do anything to get my vision on the screen.
So yeah, every day I was just learning, learning, trial and error basically.
Yeah, yeah, and what did your teammates think?
'Cause you started it while you were still playing basketball, right?
So yeah, I'm sure that would have been an interesting locker room topic.
So the last team I was on in Germany, that's when I started posting the videos.
They still had no idea until when that season finished and I went back home.
They had no idea I'd even started the videos.
Um, but then my last season was in England.
Oh, and this is when I kind of had like 400 to 500,000 on TikTok, and my teammates were like, "What are you doing? This is crazy!"
Yeah, like how did they not accidentally find you on there?
I think for some reason, like it's just not a thing in the UK.
Like I don't have that much of a following in the UK.
Okay, yeah.
So it was kind of like the social media guy on the team told everyone about my following, and then, uh, yeah, some guys made a little bit of fun of me 'cause they didn't really get it.
I, that's the team I actually left. I quit halfway through that season.
Oh wow.
Um, just because I wasn't happy with the quality of the videos I was producing.
I felt like I had to produce two to three videos each day to kind of stay relevant, and, uh, I really just wanted to hone in and up the quality, so that's when I left.
Yeah, I didn't realize that you went back to the UK for a while.
So you were in Germany for years, and then did your wife move back with you too?
No, so I was really struggling to get a basketball team in Germany for my last season, so the only offer I had was first league in England, and yeah, just went for it.
I'd never done it before.
I mean, first league sounds pretty good, right?
In England, it's okay.
Okay, it's okay.
I know nothing about sports.
England is not known for basketball.
Yeah, but neither is Germany, right?
Or that's what I was going to say.
We've talked a lot about your TikTok career so far, but we want to, like we said, get to know the guy behind it all.
So as a kid, did you always think, "Oh, I want to play basketball in Germany," or how did you end up playing basketball in Germany?
Because for me, especially as an American, Germany and basketball, okay, sure.
So how did that, tell us a little bit more about that.
Yeah, the dream was to go to America. I think everyone who plays basketball wants to make it to the NBA.
So yeah, my initial goal was to go do one year in Munich, and then I was going to try and go to college in the States.
Okay, yeah.
But, uh, it didn't work out. I kind of had an offer from Alaska from a Division II school, but it never worked out in the end.
Okay.
So then I had an off, yeah, and then, uh, I just had an offer to just keep playing over here.
So, mhm, that was, uh, I just took it.
That's why I stayed.
Yeah, so basketball in Germany, you said it's professional, right?
I'm like just not quite sure how much money does a basketball player make in Germany?
You don't have to tell me your salary, but...
No, no, was it comfortable to live on?
Uh, mine wasn't really. I was like bouncing between leagues.
I've played from fourth league in Germany to first league.
Okay, okay.
Um, so I've just, I was kind of bouncing between the levels, and this is, that's why I gave up in the end because it was, uh, yeah, it was a tough grind sometimes to try and make it to the top level.
Yeah, and, um, I played one year in the first league, which is a very high level.
Mhm.
But I was on the bench most of the time.
Oh man, what team did you play for then?
Uh, it's called HAKRO Merlins.
Cim?
Okay, not that would, but maybe some of our listeners do.
And, um, I mean, very good team. I just, it was kind of too good for my level.
Oh, okay.
So this was kind of where my career started to go down a little bit, where I didn't get the minutes and I wasn't developing.
So yeah, that's why I looked for a way out.
But German basketball in Germany is very good. The first league is like known as one of the best leagues in Europe.
See, I had no idea.
I mean, I know that like the Bayern basketball is pretty big in Munich, so Bayern that also has the soccer club, they also have basketball, and they have, um, RU basketball as well, so wheelchair basketball.
Um, and I know that that's kind of big, but I always thought that's more like a local thing, like Munich people just like to watch that.
I didn't really realize that basketball was that big in Germany.
I've been to one German basketball game.
I, it was either NBBL or BBL.
I forget exactly which city it was that has the team.
Both have a team.
Yeah, okay, then it could have been either or.
I don't remember.
Shows you how impactful the experience was for me.
Uh, but it was such an interesting experience being an American at a German basketball game.
Like especially from our university sports being so rambunctious and loud and people really getting into it, and all of the Germans just sitting there in their chairs, like they got like their little noisemakers and sitting there being very like well-behaved.
It was a very interesting experience.
Yeah, that was funny.
So you said basically the UK level is kind of below the German level for sure?
Yeah, okay, yeah.
First league in England's probably like equivalent to third league in Germany.
Okay, okay.
Yeah, just to give you a bit of context.
Yeah, yeah, and your wife stayed in Germany, so you guys did long distance for that season?
Yes, yep, we were apart for four months.
Yeah, that was a huge reason as well I wanted to move back.
It was kind of like the time where COVID was kind of last, it was that kind of time.
It was still there, but it was kind of the time where things were opening up again, and I don't know, I just, I really just wanted to go home and focus and hone in on the content.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I mean, it all worked out for you in the end.
Do you ever still, do you still play basketball at all now?
Do you do it for fun, or is that like not a part of your life anymore?
Now it's, it really isn't.
I, it's a bit sad that it's not a part of my life anymore.
I just, I invest so much time and effort into the videos, and it's kind of that thing if I do something, I want to do it to the best of my ability.
So I feel like if I played, it would just be, you know, it would be for fun, which is not bad, but for me, it's kind of like I'd always have that frustration of like where I could have been.
So I'd rather just go all in with the content and see where I can go with this instead of maybe not putting as much effort and still playing on the side.
Yeah, makes sense.
So I just go all in for what I do.
Yeah, yeah, you did, however, play soccer the other day, right?
I saw you on the, I forget what it's called, this huge event in Germany where all these content creators came together and played each other.
What was it called again?
Battle of the Socials.
Okay, yeah, and so, um, yeah, all these content creators from like TikTok and Twitch and YouTube and all the different platforms kind of got together and played on teams against each other.
Um, did you end up being in the winning team?
No, it's a shame though 'cause I was actually supposed to be on team TikTok.
That's the team that won.
Uh-huh.
And they switched me last second to team Instagram.
Um, yeah, I mean, I guess you could do either.
It was really strange; they just switched it last second.
So I could have been on the winning team, but it doesn't matter.
It was, we'll consider you an honorary member here on the station podcast.
But yeah, I saw that, and I was like, "Oh, that's so cool that he's part of," 'cause I had seen it because I follow other German influencers or creators as well, and so I had kind of heard of it.
But then I saw that you were actually in one of the little promo clips that I saw or the little summary clips that they published afterwards, and I was like, "Oh, he must be really athletic as basketball, soccer."
Like, seems like you can play it all.
I thought I was before I played that football game.
Jesus, I was like out of breath.
I ran up and down like two times, and I was done.
I haven't played basketball in two years probably.
Yeah, honestly, I was like, "God, I need to start working out as much as I used to."
Man, yeah, it was fun though.
It was fun.
So just to give some context now, you said that you lived in Munich.
Um, and where do you live now?
I think I heard you, for our listeners, if you want to hear Liam speaking German, uh, go check out the Easy German podcast as well, which was helpful in preparation for this interview.
Some, um, but so you no longer live in Munich or in a big city, right?
You live in more of a village now, so kind of maybe where have you lived in Germany?
So yeah, I'll just kind of go through. I went from Munich to a very small village in Bad Berg.
Mhm.
Um, it's kind of in between Nuremberg and Stuttgart.
Okay, okay.
Um, so that is where I played for two years after Munich, and then I went to Haren for one year, and then I moved back to this small village.
Okay.
Uh, for another two years, and then my last season in Germany was in Berlin.
Oh, okay.
So I have lived near Berlin for half a year, yeah, seven to eight months as well.
That really means all over.
Yeah, like you, that really means that you understand the Germans for real because you've been in the big cities, the small places, different parts of the country.
Because that's always like one of the criticisms that we get 'cause Josh lives in Bavaria, in Munich.
I'm from Munich, so people always say, "Oh, like whenever you generalize about Germans," which is obviously something that happens when you talk about cultural differences, they're always like, "What you say only applies to Southern Germany or to Bavarians."
So your little skits are therefore probably even more accurate.
I mean, yeah, I try and get like a general, I don't know, I don't really, I don't think you get this feeling it's just one kind of region that's involved.
Um, I don't really play with accents.
Um, I have thought about trying to do content for the specific regions, but I think it's a bit too niche.
I don't know; I haven't really dived into that yet, so kind of just keeping it general.
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.
I mean, do you ever get criticism?
Because I feel like all of us do that.
So like from some Germans will find it really funny and accurate and be like, "Yes, 100%," and other Germans will be a little nitpicky and be like, "Well, but we're not all like that."
Does that happen to you?
Do you get that negative feedback?
I think I used to in like the first year I was posting.
I definitely noticed a few times, but now I really could say that I do, I maybe find one or a few comments on each post, but you know, I think it's just a lot of positive, a lot of positive feedback.
If anything, it's like they'll suggest maybe an alternative idea.
Like there's just not one way you can maybe say this, or there's like different sayings for different regions.
Like people will kind of suggest ideas; it's not like kind of a negative like, "Oh, why are you doing this?"
It's kind of more like, "Oh, maybe try this way," or...
Yeah, I'm glad to hear that.
Um, because I know that Germans, there's like, there's both groups, I would say among Germans.
Like the ones that find it really funny to make fun about their own country and their own culture, and then there's always the ones that are like, "Hold on, we're not like that. We're nice, and we're funny, and we don't scream like that."
And we don't, even when we follow the rules, it's because it's important.
It all makes sense, like, you know, the Germans that will defend all of the stereotypes basically.
For sure, yeah.
No, I definitely have seen some where it's like, "Are we really like that?"
Like a few comments.
Um, but I think the main thing is that I make a lot of fun about myself and my, the British culture.
Yeah.
So I think it kind of takes away from what I'm saying about Germany, or, you know, it kind of, it's a very balanced tone, I think.
So maybe this is a reason why, not sure.
Yeah, yeah, or maybe also the algorithm just made its way to the right people that actually want to consume that kind of stuff.
I mean, yeah, not saying that you, anyone should be offended by what you're doing.
I just feel like there's always random people that are offended by like C jokes.
Um, but actually talking about that, like all the comedy aspect, 'cause obviously that's what you do is comedy, and you make people laugh.
And, um, one of the biggest clichés or stereotypes about Germans is that we don't have any humor or that we don't understand humor.
What's your take on that?
I just, I cannot agree with it at all.
Like every, like the German friends that I know, like they're just hilarious.
Like it's just got such a great, maybe they're not as like outgoing with it, but there's this very subtle, like dry humor I've noticed, or quite kind of like this dark humor, all the friends that I have here anyway.
Um, yeah, I think they're hilarious.
Do you think that British and German humor is pretty different?
I think it's quite similar in a way.
Okay.
I think, um, there's this kind of, I always say like this dry humor.
I don't know, it's kind of like they like it a bit edgy, I think sometimes.
Um, maybe not sometimes against their own culture, but maybe in general, uh, like a bit more out there.
Um, that's what I've found anyway.
Yeah, so would you say that there was like a learning curve for you as far as trying to like hone in on the German humor with your videos at least?
Um, 'cause you're saying that they're quite, it's quite similar to British humor.
So what was that process like for you?
I mean, I feel like this is why in the beginning it kind of did quite well.
It's just because there was that similarity in the humor, I think.
Otherwise, I don't think it would have kind of taken off as it did.
Um, I think people really enjoyed that I made fun of myself.
Um, I wasn't afraid to do that.
Yeah.
But I also wasn't afraid to kind of, you know, make fun of these German stereotypes.
Like even though it wasn't like, it wasn't like in an offensive way.
Mhm.
It was just kind of, they were there, the stereotypes were there, but they weren't in a way, it was kind of a mix.
So speaking of all these stereotypes, these German stereotypes that you make fun of, which include the train system a whole lot, which someone, I think actually suggested that some of one of our listeners said that we should ask you about the German train system since our, my God, it's called understanding train station.
How long have you got?
How long have we got?
Oh dude, we, we have very long.
I was going to say we tend to have very long episodes, so we have a lot.
You're good.
Nice!
Um, but I was going to ask with all these stereotypes, um, is there a stereotype that you have taken on?
Like is there certain aspects of your personality that have become super German?
Maybe even in a way that you would make fun of it, like some of the stereotypes that you technically make fun of that you've incorporated into your own life?
I mean, probably the biggest one, but I did this before I moved here, I'm super punctual.
Okay.
I'm, I get everywhere super early.
Okay.
But I, I'm like, I was like that before I even moved.
Okay.
So it's just one of those things; it's just a personality trait.
Yeah.
But I, I like being organized.
Um, I think with this job, it's a bit different because a lot of things happen spontaneously.
Mhm.
But usually, I like everything organized.
I kind of like to know what's going on, like a plan.
Mhm.
So yeah, maybe that aspect as well.
Yeah, so you definitely get along with the Germans that plan everything ahead two weeks or like ask you, "Hey, so next month do you want to go to the movies?"
You know, the worst is, uh, my wife and I go hiking quite a lot, uh, and, uh, she plans most of the routes in the mountains, and we've sometimes, she's suggested a route, and we've just been lost.
Like we'll be walking for hours on end, like, "So, oh yeah, maybe we flipped the rolls in this one."
You get lost?
So we hiked up the T Spitzer.
Mhm.
And we, the highest mountain in Germany.
Yeah.
We started right at the bottom, and we planned to walk from the bottom to the top in one day, and we, it was getting like 3, 4 p.m., and we weren't really close to the top.
I think we were still two hours away, and we were going to miss the last cable car, so we just decided to turn all the way back, and we ended up walking, I think it was 42 km on this day.
Oh my God!
Yeah, that's 12 hours.
We were walking for 12 hours.
Yeah, wow, that makes for a fun car ride home.
So that's the part of your lives where she takes over the planning is what you said?
I mean, sometimes it doesn't go to plan, but yeah, but there is at least a plan when you start.
Yeah, that's the German thing for sure, like hiking and walking, and I know you mentioned that a lot in your skits as well as like German walks.
Um, but yeah, and anything else, like any obsession about the fun system or separating trash or anything else where you've become like really overly German at heart?
I think the separating the rubbish has, uh, is quite a big thing.
Yes, now sometimes I even say like, "Hey, that shouldn't even, that shouldn't go there."
Like sometimes I find myself saying that.
Like I really, I'm quite detailed with the separating.
Like if there's a cardboard box with like a tiny bit of plastic, like I'm ripping it out, like separating it.
Um, so yeah, maybe this as well.
I can relate to that.
Um, even in the, like on envelopes sometimes I'll make sure to pull out the inside of...
Oh wow!
Just to be safe!
You guys are more German than me!
I don't think it's because we're afraid of the German.
When you come to Germany, you're afraid of the Germans yelling at you for doing something wrong.
So yeah, you need this.
This is not an advertisement.
This, you need this, the M fad.
Oh my God, what is that?
It's like a little toy set that helps you learn about the mil...
That's so cute!
Is that for kids?
I assume so, but for kids and...
Yeah, that's hilarious!
Um, what's like one of the things where you can't get along with the German culture at all, where you're always going to be British at heart, and every time you encounter this, you're like, "Oh my God, I find the Germans so annoying in this regard?"
I mean, I think it has to be the paperwork.
I don't know if this is, I've heard it's a very German thing, but the problem is I, I've never worked in the UK.
I've only worked in Germany, so I don't know how different it is.
Yeah.
Um, but paperwork is just, it's brutal.
Yeah.
Like, uh, especially in the beginning when I couldn't even understand it.
Yeah, it was, uh, yeah, very, that was very tough to get used to.
Yeah, totally see that.
I mean, Josh, I was going to say sitting here agreeing with so much of what you say, but you just kind of hinted at the topic as well of as far as your German learning experience.
I mean, language and culture go hand in hand, and obviously, so I can imagine that really until you started to learn German, uh, or had a good understanding of the German language, that maybe that opened up some doors for you as well in regards to cultural understanding.
So what was that German process or journey, learning process like for you?
Did you speak any German before you moved to Germany?
And, uh, yeah, are you still active, like quote unquote, learning German?
Your German is definitely at a good level now.
Um, so I didn't know a word of German before I moved here, and it was tough.
The first year, it was like, 'cause I was in this team where it was like everyone was either from America or it was like Spain.
It was such a mix in the team.
Yeah, everyone spoke English.
It was like I didn't use it day-to-day life, so the first year I really didn't learn much at all.
Um, because I was also planning to move to America, right?
So what the point?
Work, yeah.
So then when I stayed, I was like, "Okay, I should start picking, I should start picking some of this up."
So the second and third years were when I really started learning, um, and then I got my B1 certificate probably four years after I was in Germany.
Um, just because I don't know, I didn't really have a proper teacher.
I was literally just using apps and just books that I had bought from, yeah, online.
And, uh, I just, I found it really hard.
It was like this broken process.
Like I would learn a word from an app, then I would figure out trying to how to put it in a sentence in the book.
Like, yeah, my learning process was not good.
I would not recommend it probably for an efficient way to learn German.
Um, but then I started to like watch TV in German.
Mhm.
Or films that I'd watched in like Harry Potter, for example.
Mhm.
I started watching that in German just because I knew I wouldn't get frustrated if I didn't understand what was said 'cause I know what happens, right?
Yeah, so I found this a good way to just pick things up.
Yeah, for sure.
I wouldn't say I'm actively learning right now.
I just, I just kind of pick things up, like a phrase each day or a few words.
I still watch TV in German each day.
Just the problem is I just don't really use it as much as I should.
I speak English all the time with my wife at home, so yeah, I should definitely use it more.
I just kind of got to like this base level with the B1, and it was like, "Okay, I can understand stuff now. I can get by. I'm just going to kind of carry on like this."
So...
And then you just plateau.
I think a lot of people learn a language know that situation where you like, it's good enough, so you're just staying at that level 'cause there's no real motivation.
And it's crazy too in Germany, like what you said, and I think Josh is also kind of experiencing this, that it is really in some situations, depending of course what you do for a living, possible to get by without speaking a lot of German.
So like you're saying you're not really using it a whole lot, which to a lot of people that don't really know what it's like in Germany might sound surprising.
Like, "What do you mean you live in the country?"
But I mean, at the grocery store, you don't do that much talking usually anyways.
Um, and if you work in English, if all of your communication takes place in English and with your wife especially, then yeah, there really aren't that many situations where you're going to be forced to speak German.
I think this is the, it's a bad thing because a lot of people ask me kind of some tips of how to learn German, and I think I'm quite a bad example 'cause I've had jobs where I don't really need it.
Yeah.
And 'cause people who's looking for jobs that, you know, you need to speak German, I'm probably not the best person to go to, unfortunately.
Um, so yeah, it's a shame.
CU, I think the motivation thing is a big thing, you know, kind of this, if you need it, then you kind of have this extra drive.
Um, so it's a shame I didn't really have this, also this internal motivation in the beginning to just kind of be open and just learn the language 'cause I really appreciate now people who put the effort in to learn it.
Yeah, 'cause I know a lot of people who I used to play with, they just kind of refused to learn it, and it's like people need to speak English to me.
Like it's kind of like they expect everyone to speak English to them, and I, I now, I really appreciate people who are willing to learn or at least put in the effort.
It just comes across as a much, it's just a better vibe, I think, for both sides.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Yeah, I mean, since you spent so much time in Germany, obviously you've gotten into a lot of Germans.
You're married to a German; you live in a more rural area now or in a village.
When you're coming up with video ideas, um, do you have specific people in mind that inspire your videos or inspire your characters, or is it just kind of like the general stereotypical, quote-unquote, German?
Yeah, there's not really, I would say specific people.
Um, there's definitely situations where I try to take things from, like the supermarket is a great example.
I think, you know, the cashier sometimes, you know, not very happy, you know, it's kind of a typical thing.
Um, so just taking things from like the situations more than the people itself.
Yeah, just kind of how it would be in that scenario.
Yeah, so I would say more of a general, yeah, kind of thing, not not adding people directly.
Yeah, we wanted you to call some people out!
No, like your mother-in-law or someone like that!
Exactly!
Very political answer!
We see you!
You have like a certain set of characters, right, that are pretty much the same.
I don't know how many, four, five different characters that are reoccurring.
Do you have a favorite one or like one that is most fun to play for you?
Definitely the German man with the bulk tasche and the cap, 100%.
So the regular character, basically the regular character, 100% is my favorite.
He's just so cool, like just says it how it is.
Like he's just so like calm, and then at the end he'll, you know, the little smile sometimes.
It's just, I don't know, he's just got this cool vibe to him.
I don't know, this character.
So is he kind of who you want to be?
Yeah, 100%.
Okay, yeah, I feel that.
See, the funny thing about that character to me is like on the one hand it is like stereotypical German, but on the other hand also like in a very surprising way.
I think only young Germans understand that character because like it's not a dude in Leos; it's not like someone with socks and, well, actually he has sandals, doesn't he?
He does have the socks in Birken or fake Birkenstocks.
Okay, but he doesn't have this like uncool look that a lot of stereotypical German images kind of use.
But it's honestly, I feel like he's like Frankfurt.
Like it's just stereotypical Frankfurt dude that was the inspiration.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
When I first started this character, it was only the gray tracksuit without the cap, the bulk tasche and the Birkenstocks, but then there was a lot of comments though like, "You need to have a cap."
Like, you know, this is like a typical Frankfurt hop bof kind of outfit.
So I just added pieces based on the feedback I got, and now he looks like this.
This is what it's come to.
Yeah, this is what the people wanted!
I like that it's not that, you know, old traditional stereotypical German stereotype, but it's kind of like a new stereotype in a way that is also like accurate to a certain extent, and it just kind of combines a lot of different, I guess, fashion trends among younger people.
But yeah, I just, I like that about the character.
You don't really see a lot of them walking around Munich.
I feel like Munich is a little bit more bougie overall.
Yeah, that is true.
It's true!
You need to experience Frankfurt to really get it, I would say.
Yeah, we asked some of our listeners if they had any questions for you as well, and one of them came from someone who actually lived in the UK for a while.
She's German, and she said that she knows that quite often there are quite a number of preconceptions about Germany, Germans.
So what did your friends and family think of you moving to Germany and deciding to stay here long term?
Honestly, my dad was like really positive about it.
I didn't have any preconceptions about Germany before I moved.
Um, I hadn't really traveled that much from the UK, so I didn't really know what to expect.
Um, but my dad was like really positive; he really wanted me to go.
Um, I didn't have anyone kind of saying any negative things or had like a predetermined idea of how it was going to be.
There was one person who said, "Watch out that the women don't shave their armpits."
I don't know where this came from.
Yeah, that I hear that all the time!
I don't know where this came from!
So do I!
People still ask me like, "Oh, is it true that all Germans stink 'cause they don't shower?"
And I'm like, "Maybe in the 70s, I don't know what you're talking about!"
For me, it's actually really weird because in like here, men shave their armpits, which is something that doesn't happen in the US very often, at least not all men.
In Germany though, right?
But I've seen a lot of men with shaved armpits compared to the US.
That is funny you say that because every time my armpit hair grows a little bit too long, my wife's like, "I think it's time that you shave this."
Oh my God!
So yeah, basic s two personal!
No, please get as personal as you want!
That's what we want here!
Um, that's crazy!
I honestly, I had no, someone said it to me before I came in, I was like, "What? Are you sure?"
Interesting!
So there wasn't like any Nazi stereotypes or anything like that?
Honestly, yeah, nothing.
Okay, that's good! Glad to hear that!
Yeah, I mean, I guess you can't really say anything bad about the weather either coming from the UK.
This is the thing, a lot of people say that here to me like, "Oh, the weather's so bad in the UK," but I honestly would say it's very, I would say it's even.
Yeah, that's what I would think!
It rained just as much as here in the UK in my opinion.
Um, I don't know.
Yeah, I don't really see the slander or towards the bad.
Obviously, maybe if you were from another country like Spain or...
I would get it, but I'm not sure from Germany.
I don't know.
That's what I meant though, like it's the same; it's just as bad in both countries.
Yeah, I've been struggling, I have to be honest, with this summer.
Uh, especially the last couple weeks, uh, it's been so gray and cold and rainy lately, at least in Munich, that compared to Cincinnati where I'm from.
Uh, wait, but before this, you complained about the heat!
Josh, I know!
I know!
It was hot!
It was!
And that was summer!
And now summer's over!
Are you okay?
Yeah, I need to go grab a glass of water real quick, sorry!
Yeah, do that real quick!
Okay, no worries!
I got my little, um, American maté.
Do you drink German maté drinks like CL maté?
I don't!
I think I've tried it once.
Okay.
Um, but yeah, I don't know, I'm just a sparkling water guy.
That's what I've got here!
Interesting!
Did you drink sparkling water before you moved to the UK, to Germany?
I refused!
I refused to drink it!
And then just thought, "You good, hope we'll see!"
Um, just after like two or three years, I just, I just got hooked on it.
I just found it so like refreshing, especially when it was really cold.
Yeah, sparkling water, I just, yeah, I just found it, I felt like I just made me healthy.
I don't know, it just felt very healthy to drink it.
I don't know why, I just convinced myself this.
Yeah, and now it's all I drink!
Yeah, so that's another thing where you're very German at heart then!
Yes!
Yeah, I just told him about maté 'cause I'm drinking this American maté, and I honestly, I feel like the maté drinks, so like K maté, Mi maté, I don't know what all the other brands are.
Um, it's such a big like trend drink in Germany, especially like among hipsters, like Berlin people.
So if you ever want to use that for one of your skits, I think that would also like nail it!
Let me write this down!
It's all I drink when I'm in Germany, and they just like recently, I think a year ago finally brought out one in the US 'cause they did, it's not really a thing here.
But they had a brand, but it was always not carbonated, so it tasted weird.
The one in Germany is carbonated, and they finally brought out a carbonated one.
It costs a fortune, but I'll still buy it!
Yeah, I was going to say it looks quite fancy!
Yeah, I know!
Maté is my go-to when I go out with friends for a night out!
Vodka maté!
It's basically like a South American tea, and then they process it.
Um, it's probably not even the tea at the end anymore, but then I think they add more caffeine to it, and yeah, so it's like supposed to be a little bit more healthier than energy drinks.
Nice!
I might have to give it a go!
Yeah, suggestion!
Nice!
I know you mentioned that you moved back to the UK briefly, and then came back to Germany, but if you were to move away from Germany again long term or even during that time that you were back in the UK, what do you miss about Germany or what do you think you would miss about Germany?
I don't know if it's something I miss, but whenever I go back, I kind of sometimes I feel out of place.
Like for example, with the crossing the street with the red light, I always wait now whenever I go back to the UK, but it's no one waits in the UK.
It's very rare that you would see people wait if there's no cars, and I, I just stand there now.
I literally wait if there's nothing coming.
Yeah.
And my friends are like, "What are you doing?"
He's been Germanized!
Yeah!
So I don't know, don't know if it's something I miss, but I feel like it's something I've taken, and I like it, you know?
I feel like this is something that's kind of just been installed into me now, and, uh, yeah, I like it.
It's a nice way to do it, wait till it's the safest at least.
Yeah, exactly!
Good example for kids!
So nothing to say against that!
Um, there are there any foods or anything like that that you miss from Germany when you're not there?
Um, maybe a good Bratwurst probably what I miss.
Yeah, but, uh, yeah, it's about it, and the bread, and bread, of course!
Bread!
Standard answer is better, and the beer is better too in Germany, so yeah, these three things!
So you're not a big like British beer fan?
Like the...
A fan?
No, okay, no, not at all!
I'm a good, uh, either Pilsner or, um, yeah, like a Helles beer.
Yeah, I like it!
Yeah, I agree with that for sure!
Yeah, I think we would both agree with that!
As a Brit in Germany, I have to ask, how's the German tea game?
How's it holding up?
Very, very good!
Yeah, I, I'm a huge fan of like the fruity teas.
Like there's just the, there's like endless like selection!
I know!
Of teas!
Um, I mean maybe the British tea tea game with milk is probably stronger, but you know, Germany just has such a variety of, you know, these teas, exotic teas.
I know!
I really like it, especially come wintertime.
I'm always getting them the fruity teas to kind of just, yeah, to have it throughout the day.
Yeah, a huge fan of it!
Glad to hear that!
A couple years ago, I think it was, we had Rachel Stewart on the podcast.
Um, she does the Meet the Germans, um, Deut videos, and she's also from the UK, and she said that she was not a big fan of the German tea, and I think specifically she said the milk is different, and that's why the, like if you do the British tea with milk, it tastes different, she said.
Yeah, I'm not in that, like I'm not a big tea drinker with milk.
I see!
Okay!
I've probably only had it once!
So once in your life?
I'm, yeah, I'm a terrible...
Are you sure you're British?
Yeah!
Wow!
I would happily choose these, these teas, like the fruity teas any day!
Yeah, over the milk!
It's crazy with the variety of teas, what you said, because very interesting, I was so surprised when I moved to the US, and obviously the US is known as this country with endless options.
And when you go to the store, you'll have like a whole aisle just of cereal, and you'll have 200 different cereal types to choose from.
And that is true!
Like that type definitely holds up!
But when it comes to tea, they have like this tiny little section, and it costs an insane amount of money!
Um, like German tea is really cheap, and then, um, it costs like $5 for just one little tiny thing of like a few tea bags, and there's not a lot of variety.
You'll find like five different types of teas.
Wow, I didn't know that!
So that's just not a thing in the States, drinking tea.
Just, I mean, they have black tea, so they have like what you guys would drink, but, um, they have green tea, and then they'll have like maybe be a chamomile and a mint, and I feel like that's about it.
Yeah, I don't know what's up with that!
Interesting!
I didn't know that!
I mean, I think that in terms of like the British tea, you'll find it fairly...
Might actually get mad at me for asking this question, but for me as an American on New Year's Eve in Germany, I do not understand the obsession with Dinner for One.
I think it's something that's somewhat funny, but I don't understand the obsession behind it.
Uh, what is your perception of it, and do you enjoy watching it, or do you get annoyed that like this is something that they watch every single year, and you're forced to watch?
So the first time I saw it, um, I honestly didn't really get, you know, why it was a thing.
But then it was kind of like it just kind of brought everyone together.
I don't know, like people were in the lounge or like living room watching it, you know, laughing.
I don't know, it just kind of created such a nice atmosphere.
I don't know, whenever it came on, it's kind of like, "Oh, that's on," and then, you know, you'd laugh at some bits, maybe some bits you wouldn't now 'cause it's just a bit overplayed.
But honestly now, like I always put it on, or you know, I'm always checking the schedule 'cause I think they show it a lot of times during the day.
I'm always like, "Oh, when is it on?"
So I always just kind of put it on in the background now.
Uh, it's just a nice thing to have on during the day.
I don't know.
Yeah, but I mean it is British!
Yes, exactly!
Yeah, yeah!
I didn't know this when I first saw it, um, so I now I get it because it is very kind of this, this kind of British humor, this clumsy humor.
Yeah, yeah!
So, yeah, I don't know, I always take it on now.
Okay, Josh, I guess you didn't find someone who's on your side with that!
Sorry!
I mean, I'm not against it; I just don't understand!
It's, I mean, you have to be drunk for it, I think that's the main thing!
I think that's why it's also such a big New Year's Eve thing!
Yeah!
When you're drunk, you find it hilarious!
And of course, it's also kind of like having it being in British English, it kind of just adds this, like, his name is James, he's the butler.
I don't know, it just adds this just comedic element to it, I think, to us!
Yeah, and it's not just the Germans either!
I think, um, I get this mixed up every time, but I think it's Sweden or Norway, um, one of the Scandinavian countries where they also watch it on New Year's Eve.
The one I don't quite get is the Del HZ H for Ash.
I mean, I've watched it once, and I was kind of like, "Yeah, it's all right."
I mean, that one's not comedy; that one's just a basically Cinderella adaption, and I think it's like a half German, half Czech production.
Um, I don't think it was initially filmed in German if I remember correctly, right?
Um, but it's just been, I think, a thing for however many years, decades.
I think so!
It's just one of those movies!
How about Zissy?
Speaking of Christmas movies, I don't think I've seen that one.
Oh, okay!
Well, was it called Zissy?
Zissy!
It's about the Austrian Empress Elizabeth, but her, I mean, so it's basically like kind of plays in Bavaria and Austria 'cause she becomes the Empress of Austria.
Um, but she was born in Bavaria, um, Schazie, and that's POS H is where she grew up, which is right by Schazie.
It's based on a real historical figure, but in the 50s or 60s, they made like a trilogy, which is, it's in this like super cheesy, corny movie style from that time, like cheesy romance basically.
So, um, but it also has a comedic element to it, and I, for example, up with it, I love it, and they always play it around Christmas in Germany too.
So it's not necessarily the most manly movie, so a lot of guys always say, "Oh, my girlfriend forces me to watch it with her."
But if you ever want to check it out, I don't know if your wife likes it; she probably knows of it.
I think every German knows of it, um, but yeah, that's another Christmas movie.
Nice!
Good to know!
Good to know!
Speaking of your wife, I just was wondering what British or English traditions have you guys incorporated into your lives, or has she incorporated into her life, or are there any things in your home that are particularly British to you that you haven't seen in Germany and that are very important to you?
Oh, that is a good question!
I don't think there are many British elements in our apartment here.
I'm trying to think.
Good angered, yeah, but I mean there's one thing I have, like this tiny little British flag.
Okay.
And whenever we buy a six-pack of the Sprudel Vasa, I always stick it in the plastic in the water.
I don't know, it just became a thing.
I made it for a video once, okay, and now I just stick this British flag in the pack, and whenever the pack finishes, we take it out, we put it in the next one.
So like this British flag somehow just sticks in the six-pack of the water.
That's the only thing I can think of!
I like that!
It's like the UK has conquered the German sparkling water!
It is now ours!
Like in the comment sections, people always say this comment section is now, um, what did they say?
Territory of the Federal Republic of Germany or something like that!
Oh, that was like literally the only comment when I first started posting the videos!
It was all that!
Yeah, yeah!
'Cause you said your main audience is Germans, right?
Yeah, or it was in the beginning.
Now it's a very 50/50 split, I would say, between the UK.
Oh, it's a mix!
Okay, um, USA is probably a bigger part of that mix.
Okay.
Um, UK is actually a very small percentage of the other 50%.
Um, it's a lot of Austria, Switzerland, uh, Italy, Turkey.
Yeah, a lot, a lot!
Interesting!
Turkey!
I wonder if it's Germans living in Turkey or...
It could be!
Could very well be!
Interesting!
I honestly don't know the percentage that is German.
I don't know if they're people just living in Germany or they're actually German.
This is why I don't know!
Mhm.
So yeah!
Yeah, it doesn't show you that in the analytics!
It's funny though because like a lot of people who aren't really into that kind of like in the, that don't really know the scene or the industry always assume that for me, for me, for example, people always assume that my audience is Germans, whereas it's actually Americans because my American audience wants to know what I, as a German, think of their country.
And I would have assumed it's the same for you, which turns out to be true that like Germans want to see how you, as a non-German,
Don't know where Netflix will see that; that'd be crazy. I can imagine it being very much like this comedy thing, but also there'd be a very wholesome storyline where the British guy kind of adapts to life, and in the end, he feels like he's really become a better person. Germany's just really molded him into this kind of guy who can deal with life in a way that fixed him. Yeah, he goes from being this clumsy guy to someone who has his act together now. So, I like that. Hopefully, it sends a positive message as well, even though I'd be making fun, as usual.
That sounds amazing! Well, as I said, good luck with that, and thank you so much for being on the podcast. I think this was really fascinating to talk to you because you show up on my feed almost every single day, and I finally got to learn a little bit more about you, and so did our audience. So, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much!
Yeah, thanks to both of you for having me. Thanks so much, Liam, for sitting down and talking with us. And again, sorry for the little bit of technical problems. I don't know how well you guys can tell or not, but my computer decided to poop out on us there at the end. So, thanks for hanging in there with us, Liam, and thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us.
We hope that you all enjoyed this conversation as much as we did. It's really cool, and I think it's super interesting when we get to talk with these types of people that you know from social media, but then to sit down and talk with them and get to know the person behind the skits and behind the videos is always something that I really enjoy about us doing this podcast.
So, we hope that you all also enjoyed it. If you have any follow-up comments or questions, you can leave them on YouTube or also on Spotify. They've had this little comment function for the last couple of months, so you can also check that out. Also, if you are listening on Spotify, you probably know that our podcast is also always on there as a video podcast, so you can listen to the audio or watch it. That's only a Spotify function, though; they don't really have that on Apple Podcasts yet.
But yeah, I hope you enjoyed it, and let us know your feedback in the comments. With that, we'll be back in probably two weeks. We shall see. Talk to you soon. Cheers! [Music]