The Tiki Talk Show

This week on The Tiki Talk Show, Ryley sits down with William and Kelly of First Wave Tiki. This husband and wife, artistic duo take first-wave tiki treasures and reimagine them into works of art for the modern tiki-phile. They first got into tiki around 2020 in Los Angeles. An antiquities dealer by trade, Will ran into tiki artifacts naturally; the first wave treasures were coming up for sale in auctions and estate sales where their uniqueness, exoticism, and beauty piqued his interest. Getting started into selling tiki antiques, Kelly lent her creativity to the business by refreshing worn down pieces and repurposing older treasures into modern works of art. Besides refreshing older "antikis" as they call them, First Wave Tiki also offers custom carving and building decor. They love working with individuals to help their tiki visions come to life. Stepping into an established tiki community can be intimidating, but as Will and Kelly have continued vending over time, they have shaken off feeling shackled to their booth and been able to express their true love and enthusiasm for this hobby and all of the people who make it so great. Check out their website to see their current showpieces and let them know if they can help purvey that item that's been on your wishlist for far too long. Keep up with them on social media to see where they'll be vending next so you can meet these lovely people and take home an "antiki" treasure of your own. You can find Will and Kelly at their website firstwavetiki.com or on Instagram or Facebook @firstwavetiki.Thank 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.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

This week, Ryley and Ellie get back to the interviews by welcoming Max Well, co-producer of The Donn of Tiki, to the show. Max and fellow co-producer Alex Lamb got interested in tiki in 2020. As filmmakers, they were interested in highlighting L.A.’s tiki bar culture before they fell down the rabbit hole of tiki history and the legend that is Donn the Beachcomber. The Donn of Tiki tells the story of Donn, born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gant, as he formed the legendary character and bar brand that brought rum-based cocktails and exotic escapism to the forefront of American culture. Listen to Max explain the creative process behind the project, the fun diving into the differences between the Donn Beach the man and the myth, and what’s coming up next for wider distribution. Several of our previous guests were contributors for this film including Tim Glazner, Adrian Eustaquio, Marie King, Sven Kirsten, Otto, and Baby Doe von Stroheim. For more about Donn the Beachcomber listen to our interviews with Tim Glazner and Marie King linked below. Follow along with The Donn of Tiki team on their website thedonnoftiki.com and on Instagram @thedonnoftiki to stay tuned about physical and streaming releases.https://youtu.be/iE1bs4YU0Vs?si=1lgf8vUwicDKTRN4Thank 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.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

This week on The Tiki Talk Show, Ryley and Ellie recap their recent trip to the crown jewel of North American Tiki establishments, The Mai-Kai. First opened in 1956, The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been serving delicious food, great drinks, and a fantastic experience for decades. Ryley and Ellie headed south for a few days to get away from Maryland’s cold and snowy weather, and south Florida did not disappoint. Visiting The Mai-Kai was the center-point of this great trip, and they had the best tour guide to show them around. They met up with Hurricane Hayward, author of The Atomic Grog blog, who you’ll remember from Episode 16. Hurricane has devoted years, and many many words to capturing The Mai-Kai’s greatness first by detailing their extensive cocktail program through to their renovation and revival of the property. Ryley and Ellie were very fortunate to have his expertise and discerning eye as they meandered the gorgeous property and took in every little detail. Be sure to check out Hurricane Haywards blog for more Mai Kai greatness at www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/.Also featured in this episode is Tim “Swanky” Glazner’s amazing book on the Mai Kai which you can find at many major retailers across the world. Thank you so much to the Mai Kai and the amazing staff for the great hospitality. We loved every second, and can’t wait to be back!Thank 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

Ladies and gentlemen, we are back! After a brief hiatus, we are slowly getting back up to speed and bringing you more great interviews. We wanted to record a quick episode to let you know what we have going on. Throughout January, we were ran ragged and we are still recovering so no interview this week. We have a lot in store here in the next few months and a lot of very exciting announcements coming up. Until we are fully back up to speed, you have to deal with a quick episode with just Ryley. Thank you all for your continued support, we really appreciate it! We hope to talk to you all soon!

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