On this episode of The Fred Minnick Show, actor and cinematographer Ethan Trace joins Fred for a flight and a spirited chat. Trace starred in the film “Charlie’s Christmas Wish” in 2020, and has been involved with several other films. He’s also well known for producing TikTok content, for which he has amassed a huge fan base, with more than 2 million followers. He also does a lot of celebrity impressions, as we learn during the interview. During the show, he and Fred also discuss topics like being an influencer, pairing characters with whiskey, dealing with social media followers, a new YouTube show idea and plenty more.
Whiskeys tasted:
- Success 13 Year Kentucky Bourbon (17:27)
- Frey Ranch (30:40)
- Four Gate Rye (41:21)
- Michter’s 10 Year (57:51)
EPISODE SUMMARY
Fred and Ethan get into many diverse topics during the nearly 90-minute interview, such as:
- Ethan became a whiskey fan after thinking aloud, “There has to be more to life than beer.”
- He and Fred address a perception that becoming an influencer doesn’t require hard work – and Ethan talks about how he went about it. (Yes, it requires a lot of work.)
- Ethan also talks about how frustrating it can be to put several days of work into a production and only get a small response, versus doing an impromptu short video with his phone that blows up. “It’s hit or miss,” he says.
- Ethan says everything is on TikTok – there’s even Welding TikTok. Fred cautions viewers to shield their eyes when watching Welding TikTok.
- Ethan’s response to the Success 13 Year Bourbon (127 proof): “Woooah! Did somebody turn pure electricity into a drink?”
- Trace talks about finding the “sweet spot” as an influencer, and how to maintain popularity.
- Ethan unveils an idea he has in the works for a new YouTube interview show that involves whiskey. Fred agrees that whiskey “opens people up.”
- Fred made an oops – he sent Ethan one bourbon, and Fred was tasting another. Same distillery, though, so it worked out.
- Ethan talks about his work in film production as well as his introduction into acting. Looking for him in upcoming films like “The Next 24” (he plays a bad guy) and “Christmas at the Grey Horse Inn.” Also? He relates his desire to one day play The Joker on the big screen, and shows off his best Joker laugh. Be wary, Batman.
- Ethan, when asked about the film “Ace Ventura,” says it is, “Jim Carrey at his Jim Carry-est.” And be sure to listen to the story behind Carrey’s role as The Grinch.
- Things go down a rabbit hole when they start talking about dry counties and the religious folks in the south.
- Ethan follows up this spirited discussion about religious conservatives by tasting the Michter’s 10 Year and exclaiming, “Sweet Mary, Mother of God. Holy crap, that’s good.”
- Fred talks about how he became a writer, going way back to his days in FFA and faxing stories to the local newspaper. He originally wanted to be a veterinarian.
- A discussion of the social media outlet OnlyFans leads to a discussion of prostitution and marijuana legalization.
QUOTABLES
Ethan Trace, talking about the work that goes into creating content as an influencer: “If you knew how much people who actually take this seriously as a job … do off-screen, it would blow your mind. … Social media is no different than how other people work a job.”
RESOURCES
https://www.instagram.com/ethantrace
https://www.tiktok.com/@ethantrace
https://www.facebook.com/EthanTrace/
https://twitter.com/EthanTrace
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Source: The Fred Minnick Show
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