Born and raised in Mississippi on the Gulf Coast, life was always full of stories and characters. From my earliest memories as a very young child, I can still remember riding around with my paw-paw in his work van going to different jobs and hearing the stories and tales between him and his friends. My dad would take me and my brother to his friend’s houses and different businesses in town, stories being told and laughs between them with no concern that two little kids were present. The stories, the laughs, the busting balls, are what I remember the most. Storytelling is what makes up the South, especially the Gulf Coast. Long before the days of cell phones with cameras everywhere, recording every second of every event, likely with some ulterior motive for “likes” or “followers”, people just did crazy shit and had fun simply to get a laugh from those around them. These crazy times and shenanigans with friends could only be preserved by telling the stories. These stories are told through the years at parties, bars, crawfish boils, or the local po-boy restaurant. These stories are told in different ways, depending on who is telling it, which can lead to bigger and grander plots and twists as time goes on. My life has definitely been shaped by this storytelling culture, and I have been no stranger to providing plenty of storytelling material for myself and others. 

One afternoon while spending the weekend at a cabin in Oregon, a childhood friend and myself were drinking some whiskey, sitting at a table, telling stories. We had both relocated to the Pacific Northwest; for me it was Hurricane Katrina, while he had already relocated here to pursue his passion and profession in music. As we are sitting at this table, both in tears from laughing over stories growing up on the Gulf Coast, my friend says to me, “This would make a great podcast”. We start talking about how we could just start meeting up and recording stories, both new and old. And so it began, one Saturday night in the garage with two microphones and some beer. We started talking about a name for the podcast, what the direction may be, and what was the goal, if any. Growing up, from my teen years to today, my friends would refer to me as “Ol’ Rob”. This name would stick, especially with the craziest of events and outlandish things I would do at random, and sometimes planned. People never knew what I would do next, and it would keep them on their toes. The name became synonymous with so many stories that have been told through the years. I have always gladly embraced the name, because to me, it represents fun times and positivity. For the podcast, we started thinking about how everyone has stories from the past, with no video or picture proof, and everyone has an “Ol’ Rob” in their life….or maybe they are the Ol’ Rob. The stories are told from my perspective, and to the best of my memory, depending on how much whiskey was consumed. The hope is to provide some laughter in these crazy times, and maybe inspire some of you to call an old friend you haven’t talked to for a long time, or maybe just start telling some stories to a new generation, to carry on the history and art of storytelling. Either way, the stories are raw, full of colorful language, with some background describing the place I will always call home, the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

If you are easily offended….this is probably not the podcast or site for you. Otherwise, sit back, crack open a beer, and enjoy a little bit of my life and the craziness that became normal for me and my friends growing up.

Ol’ Rob!