MaDi Tells All - Buffalo to Building Brands

I sit down with Kieran Murray AKA Kiki, a Brisbane-born, Webby-nominated video editor, photographer, videographer, and co-founder of Paparazzi Boys, who has been quietly living one of the more interesting lives in New York City for the past decade. We get into the Paparazzi Boys origin, Halloween 2021 on the streets of NYC, 50 million views on a 12-part series with zero monetization because Tiktok hadn't figured out payments yet, how a Nissan brand deal with Tim Tebow at the Heisman ceremony came together, the $300 birthday party gigs vs waiting for actual brand money, Viral Hog licensing and the passive income that just keeps coming, and why they're now pivoting toward longer-form narrative content. Plus 12 years as a traveling barista doing latte art at pharmaceutical trade shows in Madrid, London, and Shanghai, a film degree that started it all, and Reddit being the platform that actually found them first. We also get to the Summer of Kieran 2023, quitting alcohol cold turkey after a breakup, losing 20 pounds in a month from daily yoga and cooking every single meal, Saturn's return, why he ate at a restaurant only four times last year, the open mic he's been hosting at The Flower Shop on Eldridge Street every Tuesday for 18 months, eating tarantula in Laos, accidentally going on a honeymoon with strangers in Thailand??? And what it's like being 6'5 and recognizable enough in NYC to unknowingly spend an hour at a bar chatting up a Paris Olympics athlete. Chapters: 00:00 – How Kiki ended up in New York and why Buffalo is basically Canada 03:08 – Only eating at a restaurant four times last year and learning to cook by watching line cooks on shift 04:16 – Never been on a dating app, and landing three brand deals through Hinge by accident 05:37 – Parents divorced, dad working 12 hour shifts, and cooking Jamie Oliver meals so he didn't come home to a Vegemite sandwich 09:11 – Growing up in Brisbane, spending Christmas at the beach, and the huntsman spider the size of a wall 10:54 – Going to a Thai wedding on a one-way ticket, eating fried tarantula in Laos, and sleeping in tree houses with pumas outside 16:21 – The summer of Kieran, a breakup, quitting alcohol, and losing 20 pounds in a month 18:13 – Curing SIBO after doctors said it was uncurable and they wanted to give me a colostomy bag 21:01 – Yoga philosophy, red light therapy, and why vitamins are pointless if your diet is right 24:50 – How the Paparazzi Boys started as a Halloween costume in 2021 and what the concept actually is 29:08 – The Nissan deal, Tim Tebow showing up to the Heisman in a mud-covered car, and how brand deals come in 36:47 – Running a music open mic every Tuesday at the Flower Shop on Eldridge Street and what makes it work Come on the pod, sponsor an episode, collab, or just reach out  ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/maditellsall Follow my world outside the podcast (food, tailgates, health, behind-the-scenes life) ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/madelinehall.nyc Thanks for being here guys. Like, share and subscribe! Catch me yap same time next week, bring snacks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I sit down with Chef Shannon Woodruff, a holistic chef and founder of The Green Kitchen, who somehow ended up selling $12 meal prep containers to coworkers before accidentally building a six-figure business. We get into Epstein-Barr, heavy metal poisoning, chelation therapy, the Medical Medium protocol, why organic kale might be working against you, colonics, neurotransmitter testing, and how a toxic relationship was wrecking her gut the entire time. Plus gin as the more logical alcohol choice, the Whole30 rabbit hole, and not eating fast food in over a decade. On the business side, the Arnold Schwarzenegger audiobook moment that led directly to cooking for MLB players during spring training, scaling to nearly a quarter million in year-one revenue, Girl Dinner boxes in a Phoenix juice shop, a Girl Dinner cart launching soon, coaching chefs on pricing and contracts instead of cooking, pulling clients on Tiktok at under 50 followers, and why Instagram is a chef's most underused digital resume. Chapters: 00:00 – Meeting Chef Shannon in Scottsdale after she cooked a private feast 01:47 – Fourth generation Arizona native, Miss Arizona aunt, and a great aunt who cooked for the Phoenix Suns 03:11 – Growing up on SpaghettiOs and Hamburger Helper, then overhauling everything 05:37 – Reactivated Epstein-Barr, heavy metal poisoning, and the 'real foods' diet that reversed it 06:11 – SIBO, colonics, celery juice, and the spiritual side of gut health 10:26 – How Shannon accidentally became a personal chef by selling meals to co-workers out of their office kitchen 19:35 – Listening to the Arnold Schwarzenegger book, a text from a company placing chefs with pro athletes, and nearly a quarter million in year one 21:48 – What Shannon's coaching for personal chefs actually covers and why no one else is doing it 25:03 – Why 500 loyal followers beats 500K disengaged ones, and The Green Kitchen's wholesale deal with Kaleidoscope Juice 26:14 – The Girl Dinner box launch and a Girl Dinner cart coming to Arizona 28:07 – The Scottsdale Airbnb, 2am girl dinners, and why everyone should do at least one year in hospitality 31:08 – The best alcohol to drink if you're health-conscious 32:30 – Leaving a high-stress relationship and watching SIBO disappear within two weeks 33:48 – Severe TMJ, face yoga, and how leaving the hospitality industry changed her body 35:19 – Storytelling as the most important part of building a brand and where to find Chef Shannon Come on the pod, sponsor an episode, collab, or just reach out  ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/maditellsall Follow my world outside the podcast (food, tailgates, health, behind-the-scenes life) ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/madelinehall.nyc Thanks for being here guys. Like, share and subscribe! Catch me yap same time next week, bring snacks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I break down what's been shifting on Instagram lately, cutting story volume down and tripling engagement, using the layout feature to combine posts, and why trial reels are still one of the most slept-on tools in the creator space. I also get into how I structure brand deals in tiers tied to view counts, why one-off sponsorships kill your credibility, and what the Tiktok vs Instagram conversation looks like. Plus a new creative director project just landed, a Yankees game, a rave, an after-party at my place, and the snowball that's starting to roll in New York City. Chapters: 00:00 – How cutting down to five to seven stories a day tripled story engagement 03:49 – Using Instagram's layout feature to collapse multiple food photos into one story 05:33 – What trial reels actually are and why the Wegmans video going viral started there 07:43 – Tiktok vs. Instagram, growth rates, and which one is actually better 09:27 – Remixing viral content and why reposting the same video keeps working 11:20 – Trending music as a reach hack 13:01 – Does your Instagram grid need to be aesthetic, and why cover photos matter more than you think 14:17 – A secret brand deal just signed, a 120-year-old Buffalo company, and her grandma's connection to it 15:29 – The Hartman's Distillery shoot, what a real creative director day looks like, and why one-offs kill your credibility 18:15 – Why becoming the cheesy sponsored creator is the fastest way to lose your audience 19:00 – Tiered brand proposals and why you shouldn't get paid by a brand until your content actually performs 20:43 – Yankees game, a rave, and getting added to a group chat called Ibiza Come on the pod, sponsor an episode, collab, or just reach out  ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/maditellsall Follow my world outside the podcast (food, tailgates, health, behind-the-scenes life) ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/madelinehall.nyc Thanks for being here guys. Like, share and subscribe! Catch me yap same time next week, bring snacks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I sit down with Brianna Peters, co-founder of Gotham Production Studios and The Gotham Network in Times Square, to talk about what it took to rebuild after COVID nearly wiped out everything they created. We get into their failed second business and the five years it took to get back on solid ground. Brianna breaks down how running a fully automated studio in NYC works, how she started networking her way into referrals and new clients, and the 24-hour rule she and her husband Matt use to keep ideas alive when you're running a business together. We also get into showing up on camera when you're naturally shy, using Instagram trial reels to test content, and somewhere in between all of that, we end up on make-out stories, being a daytime girl vs a nighttime girl, and whether or not I should dye my hair brown. Chapters: 00:15 – Meeting Brianna & what Gotham is 02:55 – Rebuilding for 5 years after COVID 08:34 – The second business that failed anyway 13:22 – Where Gotham is headed next 16:34 – Manifesting money & the $5 story 19:44 – How the studio started from Matt’s podcast 23:03 – Using podcasting as a digital resume 29:29 – Big podcasts, comedians & who comes through Gotham 30:46 – Why most podcasts don’t last 34:18 – Posting every day, trial reels & low views 38:49 – I took someone’s phone & started fixing their Instagram?? 40:50 – Business conversations & people opening up 49:45 – Random NYC event & meeting people 50:12 – Almost getting put in a movie 55:35 – Hosting people at 4AM & being a daytime vs night person Come on the pod, sponsor an episode, collab, or just reach out  ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/maditellsall Follow my world outside the podcast (food, tailgates, health, behind-the-scenes life) ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/madelinehall.nyc Thanks for being here guys. Like, share and subscribe! Catch me yap same time next week, bring snacks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue the conversation with Darrel Lerner, getting into how things operate day to day once you’re in it, including LinkedIn strategy, inbound leads, consulting structure, pricing, and managing demand. The conversation also moves into AI, ChatGPT, and how fast everything is shifting across content and product building, including vibe coding and automation, along with authenticity online and “AI slop.” We also touch on Syndicate 11, a private creator community with a combined reach of over 600 million, hosting networking events that bring together around 750 talents including creators, models, artists, musicians, athletes. Chapters: 00:00 – Madi's goal of owning equity in 10 businesses and why LinkedIn is her best shot at it 01:57 – Why Darrell soured on LinkedIn, AI slop, and the guy using ChatGPT to answer his own emails 05:09 – Why adaptability is now the most valuable skill and what happens when knowledge becomes a prompt 07:20 – What vibe coding actually is and which tools to start with if you have zero coding experience 09:06 – Pre-qualifying clients with a Google form and how to stop wasting time on lowball offers 12:17 – What fractional work means, what to charge, and why New York lets you charge more 14:23 – Why your best future clients are silent lurkers, not the loud ones in your comments 16:52 – AI spam on LinkedIn, em dashes as a red flag, and the art of spotting a bot 18:58 – How fast AI is moving compared to the early internet and why you have to be okay being disoriented 21:00 – Why ideas matter as much as execution now that AI has commoditized the build 21:41 – How Darrell and Levi met through a group chat and built Syndicate 11 from a two-hour conversation 25:46 – Why moving to New York City forced Madi to finally pick a lane Come on the pod, sponsor an episode, collab, or just reach out  ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/maditellsall Follow my world outside the podcast (food, tailgates, health, behind-the-scenes life) ⁠▫️ https://linktr.ee/madelinehall.nyc Thanks for being here guys. Like, share and subscribe! Catch me yap same time next week, bring snacks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices