Episode 1 of "Behind Grindstone." Dillan (CEO of Grindstone) and Colby (Head Coach of Grindstone) sit down and have their first-ever recorded debriefing of how they started the company. The goal is to track their journey, remember the hard times, and share all the mistakes and lessons as they try to scale Grindstone. They discuss: the origin story of Grindstone, why accountability coaching works, starting with pro bono clients, learning to work as a team, celebrating small wins, handling prob...
Dillan interviews Mario Joos. Mario is the CEO of the Stokes Twins and founder of Brightrock, a research and consulting company helping creators grow strategically. He previously worked on the MrBeast team and now helps creators scale through data, systems, and hiring. They discuss: the controversy around the Stokes Twins, how creators should think about copying versus inspiration, building a team to scale faster, how the YouTube algorithm actually works, outsourcing and hiring globally, the ...
Dillan interviews Josh Cirre. Josh is a software developer, content creator, and former actor who blends his creative background with his technical skills to help others navigate web development and creator life. His YouTube channel shares developer insights, Laravel tutorials, and his journey balancing creativity, fatherhood, and a full-time job. They discuss: combining creativity with tech, getting fired and starting a YouTube channel, building an audience around Laravel, how to balance amb...
Dillan interviews Bryan Ng. Bryan is the founder of Viral Bangers, a YouTube scriptwriting agency helping education creators make content that actually gets watched. His videos and newsletter break down viewer psychology, storytelling, ideal video structure, and virality. They discuss: how video games train you to win in business, building a life of total freedom, the mindset behind Bryan’s viral scriptwriting course, how to create content people trust, why good AI writing is still mid, and m...
Dillan interviews Jon Barr. Jon is a travel and food content creator with nearly 600k subscribers on YouTube. His channel began as "Here Be Barr"—focused on New York guides—but has evolved into a personal brand built around food, storytelling, and high-quality production. They discuss: the transition from niche to personal brand, how he revamped his thumbnails, focus, and team, the revenue breakdown of his content business, why short-form sponsorships are outperforming long-form, how creators...
Dillan interviews Chris Orzechowski. Chris runs The Email Copywriter. He's a world-class emailer, direct response marketer, and the #1 kielbasa salesman on the planet. He’s helped e-commerce brands, creators, and consultants generate millions through storytelling and email content writing. They discuss: how to sell to your audience without being sleazy, building an audience of buyers and #1 fans, the real reason most creators fail, what separates amateurs from pros, how to build systems that ...
Dillan interviews Michelle Varghese. Michelle is a writing coach who helps creators express themselves online with more honesty, vulnerability, and soul. She’s worked with programs like Write of Passage and now coaches writers full-time. They discuss: how to spot (and avoid writing) AI slop, the rise of performative content on LinkedIn, why vulnerability in writing matters more than ever, how to know when you're ready to share a personal story, the difference between wounds and scars in creat...
Dillan interviews CPreds. CPreds is a full-time Call of Duty content creator with over 400,000 YouTube subscribers. He built his audience from scratch while working full-time as a middle school teacher, editing videos on NYC subways, and uploading daily. They discuss: the harsh realities of going full-time, how to build a sustainable content system, what still surprises him at 400k subs, evergreen content strategies, how to package viral videos, why copying won't get you far, and much more. C...
Dillan interviews Jack Bly. Jack is a former online fitness coach who scaled his coaching business from zero to $100k/month. Now he runs Acquisition Pilot—a program that helps other coaches scale through client acquisition systems, pricing strategies, and no-BS sales tactics. They discuss: what keeps most coaches broke, how to start making real money online, why lead gen is the most important thing under $50k/month, how to build an offer people actually want, the five steps to landing high-ti...
Dillan interviews Tyler Cook—aka TCaptainX, aka TFitX. Tyler is a full-time Call of Duty creator and former registered nurse turned personal trainer, who’s built thriving online businesses around gaming content and fitness coaching. They discuss: how storytelling made his basic gaming clips go viral, what creators can learn from his pivot into online personal training, how to turn your audience into clients, building a two-business flywheel, balancing burnout with well-being, creator-friendly...
Dillan interviews Katliente. Kat is a full-time creator known for her Twitch streams, viral TikToks, and YouTube channel where she shares candid creator advice and commentary. She’s built a loyal following by blending humor, hustle, and brutal honesty about life as a content creator. They discuss: how she grew from 0 to Twitch Partner, the harsh realities of being a female streamer, how to stop being boring on stream, what makes or breaks creators, how to pivot content without killing your ch...
Dillan interviews James Gardner—the man behind Epic Chess. James is a British YouTuber who’s built a comedic and high-skill chess analysis channel with over 100,000 subscribers. His videos blend educational game breakdowns, storytelling, and humor, making chess entertaining for enthusiasts and casual fans. They discuss: how to build long-term success on YouTube without burning out, the power of storytelling in thumbnails and titles, the challenge of idea generation, finding your unfair adva...
Dillan interviews Tyler Lang—aka FatalGlytch. Tyler is a full-time content creator and UGC (user-generated content) strategist who has made over $30,000 in a single month creating viral ads for brands through programs like TikTok One. They discuss: how Tyler transitioned from gaming content to UGC ads, how to make $20k/month creating UGC, what makes a great ad, beginner steps to break into the UGC industry, how to price and package brand deals, key legal terms like “perpetuity” and “likenes...
Dillan interviews Giana Cambria—founder of Upper Hand Creative. UHC is a company that helps coaches, consultants, and agency owners scale their content while saving massive amounts of time. Giana shares her journey building the business, her insights on systemizing content workflows, how AI is changing the game, and what separates the creators who thrive from those who don't. They discuss: Giana's journey building the Upper Hand Creative, her insights on systemizing content workflows, what ...
Dillan interviews Michelle Varghese—a writer and former podcaster who co-hosted Build a Wealthy Spirit for four years with her sister. Now focused on writing and coaching, Michelle helps nonfiction creators improve their craft and grow their audience. They discuss: why Michelle and her sister intentionally quit their podcast after four consistent years, how to know when you're truly done with a creative project, the identity crisis that can follow quitting, how creators can build systems to...
Dillan interviews Joe (@CupppaJoe5). He's a Call of Duty: Warzone creator and educator, helping his audience improve at the game. A year ago, he quit his 9-5 job to do content full-time. They discuss: the best and worst parts of being a full-time content creator, why Joe started a brand new channel from scratch, why being stuck in a niche isn't a bad thing, what Joe learned from starting a new YouTube channel, how to script your videos in a way that attracts new viewers, the most valuable m...
Dillan interviews Nate Solon—a chess coach, writer, and FM (FIDE Master) in chess. There are only about 9000 FMs in the world, which means Nate is in the top .3% of all chess players on the planet. Nate writes the Zwischenzug newsletter, built a nice Twitter audience, made a few chess courses on Chessable, and even wrote a chess book. Nate uses his data science background in his content to help intermediate chess players study and improve at the game. They discuss: how Nate revived his che...
Dillan interviews Daniel Vassallo—an ex-Amazon engineer who quit the 9-5 grind to pursue building his own projects online. Daniel runs the Small Bets community, with thousands of creators and entrepreneurs who want to make low-risk, low-pressure experiments when it comes to building online businesses. They discuss: why Daniel hates Y-Combinator, what a "small bet" actually is, Daniel's biggest business mistakes, why Daniel quit his cushy job at Amazon, why most entrepreneurs fail, what wood...
Dillan interviews Bryan Ng (@boomerrbryan). Bryan runs Viral Bangers—a YouTube scriptwriting agency. They work with educational YouTube channels with over 100,000 subscribers. Bryan's videos and courses help creators of all levels write scripts that actually get views, tell captivating stories, and keep the viewer's attention from beginning to end. They discuss: how Bryan got into the scriptwriting business, how he got good at writing scripts, the worst scripting mistakes creators make, whe...
Dillan interviews Jake Julius from RattlesnakeTV. Jake is a conservative analyst who breaks down clips, interviews, and debates from prominent thought leaders like Jordan Peterson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Charlie Kirk, and many more. His channel helps viewers stay "armed and dangerous" with sharper debating tools and techniques. They discuss: how RattlesnakeTV creates content while traveling the world, the systems that help Jake and his brother post almost daily, how Jake handles getting demonetiz...