The Tiki Talk Show

Happy New Year Tiki Talk Show family! Ryley and Ellie kick off 2026 with a chat spanning 10,000 miles. We were joined by Australia’s resident tiki power couple, Josh & Babz Collins. Originally from London, U.K., these two have left an indelible mark on tiki and vintage subcultures wherever they’ve gone. Music drew both Josh and Babz to the wide world of vintage, mod, tiki, and more, and it has certainly been an integral part of their passion and recipe for success ever since. What started out as regularly hosting bands and club nights at some of London’s best underground clubs and venues eventually led to multi-day music festivals to highlight garage, surf, rockabilly, mod, ska, and more. These events not only promised amazing music but intricate decor, costuming, and theming thanks to Josh’s background in theatrical production and Babz’s passion for vintage fashion. Eventually, the Collinses were looking to spread their wings and make a change, a decision that would take them half-way around the world. A journey through several of the South Pacific’s islands provided a deeper insight and appreciation for all things tiki, tropical, and exotic. It also provided several great carvings and other genuine artifacts that the couple still holds dear. That journey around the pacific culminated in their move to the west coast of Australia. Here, they let their imaginations run wild with dreams of a theme park, The Zombie Zoo, which unfortunately never saw the light of day. However, they did open the Hula Bula Bar, a tropical paradise in an area unaccustomed to such intricate, escapist surroundings. From there, the Devilles Pad brought forth images of a 1960s Las Vegas cocktail bar, owned by the devil himself. Lastly, their bar, The LuWow, highlighted a technicolor, exotic dreamscape introducing tropical cocktails to a new audience. Beyond the bars, Josh and Babz also make “camp & colorful trash cinema” reminiscent of B-movies from the 50s and 60s. Josh & Babz truly understand the two most important parts of the tiki revival period: how to be artistic and build something new, and how to bring people together to have a great time. Their influence on the international tiki revival scene has been instrumental. You can find Josh and Babz on Instagram @theluwow or at theluwow.com and thezombiezoo.com. And here’s a link to buy their book, The Lore of the LuWow: https://a.co/d/6OAP9e1Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at [email protected]. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you and we’re looking forward to a great new year with you! Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

Merry Christmas! This week, Ellie and Ryley sat down with the king of cool, Charles Phoenix, for a post-Christmas chat. Charles Phoenix is a mid-century expert, professional presenter, and writer who has written a number of books on the mid-century style we all love. Charles Phoenix is best known for his slide shows displaying mid-century Kodachrome photos, but he’s also an avid car enthusiast and a chef who’s known for the coolest kitchen creations. Charles Phoenix got a foundation of his love of style while going to his father’s car lot and seeing cars of the 1950s and 1960s. The chrome, fins, and dramatic changes between years drew a young Charles Phoenix into the mid-century style. By the 1980s, Charles was a thrift store connoisseur finding hosts of vintage clothes and forgotten treasures from years past. At this point, there was no term called “mid-century modern” or Googie, but Charles enjoyed driving around the San Fernando Valley finding old restaurants, coffee shops, bowling alleys, and anywhere else he could find mid-century eye candy. While he was doing this, he never let his love of cars fall out of sight so he regularly owned cars that he grew up idolizing. By the mid-1990s, Charles had collected a vast amount of vintage Kodachrome film slides depicting life in yesteryear. As his collection grew, he felt that he needed to share these photos with others so he could keep the spirit of post-war America alive. At first, he encountered mixed reviews from those who didn’t believe people would be interested in seeing these photos, but boy did he prove them wrong. His slide shows took off and eventually spread into a LA-based driving tour, visiting remaining Googie monuments. The attraction kept growing and eventually he began working of a number of books that he released throughout the late 90s and early-2000s. Never one to shy away from a new way to spread the mid-century style, he began using social media platforms to share his passion for the topic. Now, Charles does live presentations of his various slideshows across the country where you can watch his passion for uniqueness, creativity, and color feed the flames of nostalgia growing in your soul. But, if you can’t make it to the live shows, recorded versions of the presentations are available to watch on his website or YouTube. You can find Charles Phoenix on Instagram at @_charlesphoenix, on his website at charlesphoenix.com, or on his YouTube at www.youtube.com/@_charlesphoenix.Thank you for joining us for The Tiki Talk Show’s last episode in 2025. We’re looking forward to 2026 and all of the amazing things that will come with the new year. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at [email protected]. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you, and we’ll see you in 2026!Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

This week on The Tiki Talk Show Ellie and Ryley chat with Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim for a second time. That’s right, it’s the first ever 2 part series for this show, though it’s sure not to be the last. If you haven’t seen part 1 yet, where we talk about the 80s-2001 be sure to check that out. Last time, we left off in 2001, where Tiki News had released its final (published) issue and come to an unofficial end. At the same time, the now renowned event, Tiki Oasis, was just beginning. We hear the stories about the first Tiki Oasis, how the event grew, changed, and developed over the years as well as the introduction of Tiki Oasis Arizona. But Otto and Baby Doe have been involved in so much more than this iconic celebration of the Polynesian Pop. We talk about Baby Doe’s involvement in the burlesque community and the Tease-O-Rama events, art and museum exhibitions, the Tiki Art Now! books, and more. We had a fantastic time listening to their passion and love for tiki and the community it draws together for a second time, and we hope you do too. You can find Otto on Instagram @ottovs, Baby Doe @xoxobabydoe, and be sure to follow @tikioasis for all the fun and exciting updates and news.Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Stay tuned for part 2, coming out December 13. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at [email protected]. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

This week, Ellie and Ryley have the first of a two-part series with Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim, a Bay Area based tiki power couple. Best known for their world-renowned tiki weekender, Tiki Oasis, Otto and Baby Doe have poured so much time, love, passion, and effort into the tiki scene beyond this iconic event. This first part covers their beginnings in tiki, through the nineties, up to the first Tiki Oasis in 2001. Stayed tuned for part two to hear about the 2000s, 2010s, to now. Otto first dipped his toes into tiki in the late 80s when he started hosting yearly backyard luaus with his roommates in Southern California. His tiki interest and involvement developed from associated music sub-genres like lounge and swing. Thrift store finds like aloha shirts and tiki mugs fueled these great gatherings that became more and more popular and grand year after year. Those backyard parties were just a glimpse into the future of event hosting and bringing people together to enjoy music, art, great company, and fun drinks. Baby Doe had a website in the 90s where she talked about anything and everything she found interesting, including anything midcentury and other people’s collections. Eventually, tiki piqued her interest and Baby Doe became one of the first “tiki” websites out there, sharing what she knew and found with anyone that had a computer and internet access. Otto started Tiki News, a tiki fanzine (fan-created magazine), in 1995 and began spreading tiki interest and intrigue from coast to coast and beyond. For just a couple dollars, a Xerox copied, hand stapled, treasure trove of ads and information could connect a budding tiki revivalist to a whole wide world. At the end of that year, he hosted Exoticon at the Park Plaza Hotel as a tiki and lounge event that sold out and brought together people from across the subculture scenes at the time. From there, Otto moved up to the Bay Area to be with Baby Doe and combine their passion, creativity, and love of the midcentury. With DJ gigs, concerts, events, continuing Tiki News, and finding other ventures, Otto and Baby Doe became a big part of the Bay Area tiki revival scene. As Otto and Baby Doe make clear, it’s important to them to bring people together. We end this episode at the event that has brought so many of us together year after year; Tiki Oasis. Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Stay tuned for part 2, coming out December 13. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at [email protected]. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

This week, Ellie and Ryley had the joy of hosting Marie King, internationally recognized rum and tropical cocktail expert and enthusiast. Marie’s foray into the bar world began when she got her first hosting job at 16 years old. She quickly found a passion for cocktails, spirits, and the easy conversation fostered between bartender and patron. Always a lover of all things mid-century, it was King’s relationship with her husband Jonpaul that launched her infectious interest in the plastic paradises of Polynesian Pop. Since the cocktail education provided by a fake ID and an old salty bartender, Marie has gone on to create and guide beverage programs at some of tiki’s greatest bars. From Don the Beachcomber’s in Long Beach to Tonga Hut in LA and Palm Springs, to the new Don the Beachcomber’s in Florida and beyond, Marie’s creativity and love has helped cultivated an environment of familiarity and intrigue for those that pass through their doors. One of the newer aspects of the of the Don the Beachcomber’s brand is the Gantt Reserve Collection. Bars in the Gantt Reserve Collection focus on immersive escapism and quality cocktails. The first of these bars is Morgan’s Cove in Tampa, Florida, with more planned for the future. Marie mentions how these bars offer the opportunity to create a unique bar experience that molds itself to the community. A great bar is nothing without a great community to support it. That’s one of the things that Morgan’s Cove does so well. They understand their community and their people. You can find Marie King on Instagram at @mariekingofdtb. And check out @donbeachcomber and @morganscovetampa to keep up with news and updates on Don the Beachcomber’s and the Gantt Reserve Collection. Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at [email protected]. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie