DIGITAL MEDIA EXPERT WITH THANASI PAPOULIAS | E052 PODCAST

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Thanasi Papoulias is a media strategist, creative director, and digital brand consultant with a proven track record in content development, online business growth, and social influence. With over a decade of experience navigating the evolving digital landscape, Thanasi has helped brands, public figures, and startups craft impactful messaging, build loyal online communities, and monetize their platforms through smart, scalable strategies.

Throughout his career, Thanasi has worked at the intersection of storytelling and strategy — producing high-engagement media campaigns, guiding influencer partnerships, and developing online business models that thrive in a fast-paced content economy. His deep understanding of audience behavior and platform dynamics allows him to deliver creative solutions that convert attention into value.

In addition to his consulting work, Thanasi frequently collaborates with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to refine their presence in the digital world, helping them create meaningful narratives and measurable growth.

Thanasi Papoulias is passionate about helping others elevate their digital voice and believes that real success online comes from authenticity, consistency, and strategic vision.

Thanasi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thanasi-papoulias

ExcuseMeAreYouGreek IG: https://www.instagram.com/excusemeareyougreek/

Strategic Instinct: https://www.strategic-instinct.com/

George Stroumboulis sits down with Thanasi Papoulias in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things digital media, social media, influencing, online business strategies, celebrity interactions and so much more.

“I’m not funny — I just know what everyone’s going to laugh at. I observe. Everyone else is funny — I just highlight it.”
— THANASI PAPOULIAS

MEDIA RELATED TO THE EPISODE

George Stroumboulis welcomes digital media strategist Thanasi Papoulias to the Invigorate Your Business Podcast in Newport Beach, California. They unpack the realities of building an online brand, growing influence through social media, navigating celebrity collaborations, and launching successful digital businesses in today’s fast-moving landscape.

What does it really take to stand out online today? In this episode of Invigorate Your Business, George Stroumboulis sits down in Newport Beach with Thanasi Papoulias to talk about the business of digital media — from content creation and social growth to influencer deals and online hustle.

Join George Stroumboulis and guest Thanasi Papoulias as they explore the intersection of digital media, personal branding, and online business. Recorded in Newport Beach, this episode of the Invigorate Your Business Podcast covers social media strategy, influencer marketing, building revenue online, and what it takes to succeed in the content economy.

From viral content to real-world deals — this episode goes deep. George Stroumboulis sits down with Thanasi Papoulias in Newport Beach to talk about building influence online, leveraging social media for success, navigating digital partnerships, and the mindset it takes to thrive in the digital age.

George meets Thanasi Papoulias in Newport Beach to talk media, money, and influence. From social media strategy to celebrity brand building, this Invigorate Your Business Podcast episode delivers real talk on what it takes to win online.

ABOUT THE “INVIGORATE YOUR BUSINESS” PODCAST

The Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis podcast features casual conversations and personal interviews with business leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Crossing several industry types and personal backgrounds, George sits down with inspiring people to discuss their business, how they got into that business, their path to the top of their game and the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. We want you to get inspired, motivated, and then apply any advice to your personal and professional lives. If there is at least one piece of advice that resonates with you after listening, then this podcast is a success. New episodes weekly. Stream our show on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon and all other platforms.

ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS

George Stroumboulis is an entrepreneur to the core, having launched several ventures across multiple industries and international markets. He has held senior-level positions at progressive companies and government institutions, both domestically and internationally, building an extensive portfolio of business know-how over the years and driving profit-generating results. George’s ability to drive real change has landed him in several media outlets, including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. George was born in Toronto, Canada to his Greek immigrant parents. Family first. Flying over 300,000 miles a year around the world puts into perspective how important family is to George’s mental and emotional development. With all this travel to global destinations, the longest he stays even in the most far-out destination is 3 days or less - a personal rule he lives by to make sure he is present and involved in family life with his wife and three daughters. To read about George’s global travels, stay connected with his blog section.

FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Invigorate your Business with George Stroumboulis. Today I sit down with Thanasi Papoulias. You may know him from his ultra popular, very viral excuse me, are you Greek platform. Thanasi has built up several different businesses over the course of his career, has had successful exits and we're going to sit down with Thanasi. The last time we chatted together on my podcast was three years ago. So a lot has changed around the world from global pandemics, wars, geopolitical stuff, you know social media platform, shifting pop, cultural events happening. So we're going to dive into all that stuff. We're going to get some tips and advice from Thanasi as he does that for several of his business clients and, finally, we're going to have a bunch of laughs with Thanasi, who has evolved from someone who would create funny memes into someone that connects us culturally as it relates to our heritage. So I'm excited for this one and enjoy this conversation starting now.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 0:59

My name is George Stroumboulis and I'm extremely passionate about traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about new businesses. Join me as I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys. This episode of Invigorate your Business starts now. We're good, we're going to jump into here. It's been a while has been Been a while, but I'm sitting with Thanasi Papoulias, a man of many titles, right Skills from, we'll get into all that, but last time you sat with me on the show was three years ago, which kind of blew my mind today.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:40

Absolutely Right. I couldn't believe it's been three years already. I mean said two. You messed up a couple times oh yeah, two years ago, no way, and it was actually three absolutely so.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:49

Three years ago you were episode three, so right now we're in our 50s, right? Yeah, you were. You know guinea pig. But it was it was cool listening to your story then. A lot's changed since then, right, and I think it'd be fun to talk about what's changed since then. So in May yeah, may of 2022, what was going on off the top of your head Like where were we in the world?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 2:10

So May of 2022, we're like kind of recovering from the COVID lockdowns, right, like we're kind of coming out of that. The world has completely changed, absolutely. 2022, I think you know, some areas were still somewhat locked down. Maybe at that point I can't remember everybody kind of came online at different times, but the restaurant business has never shut down. So I was like constantly working. So it's just a matter of um, I guess, how things were done. Maybe we're a little different, just constantly changing.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 2:38

So, yeah, my company was two years old at that point. You launched in like like a year and a half or something, because I launched at the end of 2020, like in the middle of the pandemic. Yeah, worst time to launch, but also the best time. See, that's the thing. Though I don't see it as the worst time, because for what I was doing helping restaurants it was prime right, because now, all of a sudden, revenue streams were coming from not just people sitting in your restaurant, but it could come from a delivery service, come from a website, it could come from all these different channels, social media. So, you know, bridging that gap between old school restaurant owners and society helped me, I think, really take off.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 3:16

Absolutely. It was probably like the best time to be launching.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 3:19

Right. So you know, terrible time but a great time to actually launch. It was scary because it was something new. That's a whole different story. But a good time looking back to actually launch.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 3:35

Let's do a little list of where we were in 22 and where we are right now. So COVID was still going strong, canada China still in lockdowns right, and we were here in Newport Beach, costa Mesa, maskless, just kind of doing our thing. We're done that wars. Russia just invaded ukraine that month was it.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 3:48

That long it's that long ago.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 3:50

So they just invaded, like a month before we sat down together. Pop culture I know you're a pop culture aficionado, that's uh, right. When will smith slapped chris rock and that went viral around the world. Right, this is the big one, right? Think about where we are today. Chat gbt was still not a thing to the mainstream didn't exist.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 4:09

Well, it existed, we just didn't know about it we didn't know about it right.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 4:12

So like just think about that, three years ago meta was like the big thing, nfts, that whole universe. That was like hot back then. Now I feel like no one's talking about that right and that kind of came and went. Yeah, yeah, absolutely Twitter. Elon Musk just announced that he wanted to buy Twitter, so it wasn't even it wasn't a done deal.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 4:29

It was just kind of like that initial period Exactly.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 4:32

And then the other thing is like in 22, influencer marketing was a big thing and the organic reach was shrinking. And I know you're an expert in that field yeah, an expert in that field so we're going to jump into that quickly. Also, I'm very excited. This is the first time, first guest in this new studio, so thank you for being here.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 4:50

Absolutely, I love to be a guinea pig, yeah absolutely.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 4:53

We did this all just for you to be on the show right. Tomorrow it goes back to a regular office, but this is great. So talk to me and for the listener. I want to do just a little recap so people reintroduce who you are, your expertise. But you have a background. You know business, mba right, like just strong in the business world. The business acumen like you're very smart guy. You've started, you know, an online business. You had a successful exit. You've invested in real estate. All along. You've always been a tech savvy.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 5:22

Uh internet right, like you've always had, that You've launched different online platforms. You're a media personality yourself, like I hate saying influencer yeah, I hate it too.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 5:32

Content creator, media personality yeah.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 5:34

But you've become someone and then we'll talk about. Excuse me, are you Greek? But one thing I want to say is, like, over the years you've gone from you know, at the time I'm like, ah, he's creating funny memes and he's doing his thing while he's building his business. Right, this is kind of a mental escape. Yeah, it's like fast forward now you, you become a connector of culture and heritage, which I I didn't see that years ago. Right, I didn't think that would be the case I thought it'd be like I.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 5:57

Just a laugh, share it, move on sure we're now. People go to you, your page, to see hey, what's going on with our culture back home?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 6:06

Put their finger on the pulse of, like what's going on and what's kind of at the forefront.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 6:10

Did you think that, like when you launched it, was that the intent?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 6:13

No, you know, I mean we had this conversation about just starting something right, like, stop trying to think about it. When I first started it, it was more of a fun thing Escape. You know, I have my day-to-day job, just something fun. Because the content I would find online I just didn't find funny. I'm like maybe my grandparents might laugh at some of this stuff, but it didn't really connect with younger people. I'm like I could do better. And yeah, came up with a meme or two. I would post a meme every two weeks and kind of took off from there. And you know people are like well, how do you come up with this stuff? Why are you so funny and this and that? And I always have to correct them. I'm like you know I'm not funny, I can just observe. I'm a good observer. Everybody else is funny. I just know what everybody's going to laugh at. Like that's the way I put it.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 6:58

But do people in social settings? Because you're not behind a computer, you're at every social event, sure Right, do people expect you to be the funny guy? You?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 7:06

know what. Sometimes maybe they do, but I kind of try to remove myself from that. I'm not the same person you see online as I am in person, because I think they you know, online it's a funny page, right People laugh oh you're so funny, this and that, and I think right away when they get to meet me they're expecting like a huge comedy explosion. But it's really not that. It's a down to earth conversation, a couple of drinks and you know how's life.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 7:31

Right, right, you're analyzing too right. Like every situation, you're always thinking.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 7:35

Always I have my digital notes on my phone just ready to go whenever I need something. Right, and I hate to admit it, but, like you know, holy week is like my Superbowl, like I'm just note after note of what's going on before, after church, during church. I did pull my phone out once or twice during church and my wife gave me a look like I'm working, I'm working, Wait well let's jump into that though, speaking of church, you you had.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 7:57

can we talk about the priests? Yeah, can we?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 8:00

uh, to some level. Yeah, we don't have to name names. No, no, yeah Right.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 8:03

But so some of your recent content was just hilarious and it was just poking fun more at you more than like, but you featured some priests from the area and the greater LA area just doing like just funny stuff at Starbucks, like explain some of the skits.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 8:18

Well, it came from a skit. I thought last minute. It came to be last minute two years ago now. So it was during Holy Week. I was meeting with my priest you know, he's our age so he's a little more relatable and we chat here and there we're going to go grab lunch and you know, we discussed making a video. Hey, that'd be funny, let's make a video. Sure, well, it turned into hey, I have this priest and this deacon on the phone and they're down the street from you and they said they'd love to join. Can we do this? So, yeah, sure, let's do it. So this is me last minute now driving to lunch to meet three priests and trying to come up with a script in my head like there was no plan, right? So that was the one where they caught me eating meat during holy week.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 8:58

I don't know if you remember that yes that video launched an annual tradition of us just making videos during Holy Week where I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing and getting busted for it.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 9:09

Yeah, hilarious, yeah. And then the aftermath of that.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 9:12

So the aftermath is the video series people most look forward to, and of every age group Old, young. My age, I guess I'm in between old and young, even though I think I'm a little more old now. But act younger, sometimes right the maturity level and physical age are two different things.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 9:30

I'm with you, man, I'm with you.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 9:32

You know Aftermath, it seems like we might be at our last video for a while, just because you know it's a touchy subject, right? It's kind of society has roles people are supposed to play and they view people in a certain light and if they break character it might not be so good and um, well, let me take that back. Not that it should. It's not so good. People interpret it as not being so good. So there was a little heat for involving some priests and videos, but honestly I thought it was g-rated and I didn't think it was anything big.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 10:03

That was amazing I think today we're always putting forward this fake. This is me, this is my image, I'm this like online and this was just kind of man I wish my priest would do that.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 10:14

That's hilarious Like it relates more to the youth and my pitch at the very beginning of this was hey, this is a great way to connect to the youth. I mean, the church has identified that there is a lack of engagement from younger generations and the new memberships are like shrinking and shrinking in the Greek Orthodox Church. That's just not in the United States, but that's in Greece as well.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 10:34

And I feel like any church around the world. Yeah 100%.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 10:37

So it's not only a Greek Orthodox problem, for sure, but this was a way to reach young people, as you know where they're at. They're online, they're on social media, they're at events, you know. So it was a good way to show like, hey, priests are people too. You know, they're funny, they could be funny, they're like us. They just put on you know their uniform and they go to work just like a restaurant worker does, and all that. It's a job, yeah.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 11:05

Yeah, but I mean in Greece. Just talking about priests, last stat I heard was there's 10,000 priests in Greece, just Greece alone, and it's paid by the government. It's a government job. Sure so it's a job not taken away from the spiritual connection of what you feel, but I mean, just lighten up it.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 11:16

The other thing is like people come to your page and, whatever you post, I feel like they treat you as you're. You know you're speaking on behalf of an entire culture and anything you put, they're going to attack you and it's like do you? Do you play into those trolls?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 11:29

I love the trolls. Okay, I love trolls. How do you handle them? Most of the time I ignore them. Sometimes I play into their stuff, like I asked them just a funny question in return.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 11:37

You know you can tell who's trolling just to be a troll. You can tell who's trolling because they're angry and it's engagement, right. You know comments like shares that all you know boost the platform. So I started engaging them and, you know, say a few things that might I don't want to say tick them off, cause I'm not trying to piss them off. I'm laughing at this. Like you know, they're the ones coming to my page to like rip me apart. We're like great, I did my job, you came, you engaged, you saw my content, success. Now you're giving me even more engagement. Like I love it.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 12:08

You know most of my videos that go viral, I would say, have the least acceptance rating of all, and by that I mean, like you know, only 50 or 60% of the people are going to like it. But that's only because 30 or 40% of the people hate it, gotcha, or have something to say about it, or that's not the right way. Like my village does it this way. That's not correct. That's not what those are called. You know trolls from other countries too Like no, that's our food. You know that's a big one.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 12:36

You love that one.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 12:37

That's my favorite and I step into that whenever I can, because personally, I don't care where the food is from. I don't care who invented it. I know who's popularized it. It's popular in Greece. I love it. It's Greek food. That's the way I'm going to promote it. If it was invented in Turkey or Syria or wherever, cool, it's Greek food right now.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 12:57

Exactly.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 12:57

When I'm talking about it, it's Greek food.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 12:59

It's on my page. I'm sorry, yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 13:02

And yeah, you, the turkish ones are the funniest because I mean, they've obviously, you know, taken over a lot of land and given and taken over the years, so a lot of cultural mix during those times, right. So it's like who's to say somebody invented it, somebody popularized it, somebody took some ideas from a country they took over. I mean, who knows, it's a hodgepodge oh yeah, absolutely.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 13:24

That's why I won't do 23andMe or Ancestrycom. I'm scared of that too, in 400 years something.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 13:30

That should be like a competition, like to really come up with who's the greatest.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 13:34

Whoever loses loses, but it'll be sad when, like, the highest is really like a 47%, it's like shoot, that's really what it is.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 13:40

You know, we have one of those sitting on our desk. We got it on a Black Friday, maybe two years ago, and I've been hesitating to take it ever since. Don't do it.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 13:46

You've done it. You just didn't like the results and you're not sharing it.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 13:49

Yeah, you know, there was a little more than I expected.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 13:52

Yeah, Last time you were on the show you were at just under 80,000 followers.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 13:59

That was three years ago.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 14:00

That was three years ago.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 14:01

Wow.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 14:02

Talk to us in numbers where you're at today, just like on all platforms, and then talk about, like specific content and the reach that it has.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 14:09

Yeah, that's a great question because social media changes all the time. Different platforms are popular at different times. So Instagram is kind of my lead page. That's the one I base everything off of. So 80,000 followers back then, I'm at 220. Actually, I just hit 220 a couple days ago.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 14:25

Let's go man.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 14:26

Congrats, thank you, thank you.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 14:27

That's huge. It is For a niche culture, right.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 14:31

Page.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 14:32

That's huge.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 14:33

Thank you.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 14:33

And this has potential to just keep growing.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 14:37

Yeah, Well, and the way social media has transformed now. Followers were more important a year or two ago. Three years ago, that's because your content would only reach your followers, but now the algorithms, because of what TikTok started. Three or four years ago with the For you page, TikTok came out with the idea let me suggest some content to you, and that became. You know. That blew up. So Instagram implemented something very similar and now, when you look at a viral video, it's only 30% of your followers that actually see that video and it's 70% non-followers.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 15:09

So, that's how the landscape is changing right now. So when we're doing influencer marketing for clients or anything like that, follower count's important because it's somewhat of a badge Like hey, there's enough people that are interested, but it's not like you have to go find that million follower influencer to get your most bang for the buck. Some of my better influencers that we utilize for clients have 10, 20,000 followers, but they make such good content that it takes off, it explodes, it goes viral and non-followers go check it out.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 15:39

So someone that has a following of 10 or 20,000 and they produce certain content for your business, they could get hundreds of thousands of views, millions of views. Yeah, that's incredible, but it's still. Is there a science to it, like all these years you've been doing it? Is there a science?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 15:53

You know, it seems like every time we figure out what that science is, it changes again, right, so it never stays the same. It's honestly, it's good content. Every platform has a trigger, right, like when somebody watches a video for longer than I think Instagram's like the 10 second mark. You know, there's no science on this, there's no book on it, right? This is just what we observed. But we notice if somebody can stay engaged with a video for like 10 or 12 seconds, then that's the first level, right, so they'll feed it to like 10 or 20 more people, and if it continues like that, they'll feed it to even more. And if you're accumulating likes and comments and shares along the way, that just adds fuel to the fire. So it literally comes down to just having good content.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 16:36

But does it? Yeah, absolutely, and doesn't it scare you Like? We're so dependent now on these platforms, whether it's your business, your personal brand, you know a meme page. We're so dependent on Instagram, right, and we saw what happened with TikTok recently where they just kind of lights out here in the States came back Like what happens, if that ever happens, to Instagram, and then just really quick on Instagram, I feel like they're already limiting now the content you put out there. It's 30%. You said that actually sees it At some point. I feel like it's going to go down next to nothing and they're going to want you to be boosting and paying for.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 17:10

Well, let me scale that back a little bit. So it's not every piece of content is 30% of your followers. Most of the content is 95 to 100% of your followers. It's the ones that end up going viral. It's because somebody from outside your following picked up on it and it blew up that way. So your followers are still important, but not as important as you would think, meaning we don't validate accounts anymore based on followers. A year or two ago, yes, absolutely yeah. 50,000 followers minimum. We don't want an influencer less than that. Now we look at well, it's not that we didn't look at engagement rate, but engagement rate to me is much more popular and powerful than follower count, right?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 17:46

So see, I see that even personally, like with my business page, we'll get a lot of views, we'll get followers, but then you know you'll get likes, but then comments aren't there on certain things. So, like, what's, what's the psyche like? From your experience, what do you think the psyche is?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 18:01

They're they're not interested or it's not worth engaging, but they're still viewing and liking, yeah Well you know we specialize in the food industry and F&B and events, so I'll talk from that perspective. But even the food stuff is getting a little repetitive, right, like a lot of restaurants are still a year or two behind with their social media efforts. Five years ago, a photo of a burger that was dripping with cheese would get a million views. That was new and groundbreaking. Then it went into well, hey, video's becoming more popular. We got to do videos. Okay, cool, so they would show videos of food. All right, that's great.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 18:39

That started dying down. What's next? Oh, recipe videos. Let's show how food is being built and the behind the scenes Great, it just constantly changes, right? So now we get into. You got to somewhat be willing to come in front of the camera and make things happen. Now you know you got to tell your story from your perspective because there's so much noise out there compared to five years ago. Now everybody at the minimum is putting that juicy burger dripping photo on their page.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 19:06

Even a local mom and pop, for example, even a local mom and pop, because now the mom knows how to use her camera phone as opposed to five years ago. Maybe was learning it.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 19:15

But they're seeing trends, people are talking about it. It's like any new invention, right? You have your early adopters, you have the people that jump on when it's starting to take off, when a new product plateaus, that's when most people jump on. Same goes with social media, you know, and the hardest part for me is trying to convince my clients, like we have to pivot, right, but no, this has been working great. Yeah, it was working great. You know, like I've hit a plateau with a couple of clients for like six months where we haven't netted, you know, more than than 100 followers in like six months, right, and to me that's a fail. So it's like, hey, I'm not doing my job. I got to convince you that we do need to pivot and change our content.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 19:51

But what are the trends? So take like a McDonald's, a Wendy's, a Burger King, right, we're talking about the food space. What are they doing with their social media when they have unlimited budgets versus a small local chain? I budgets versus a small local chain.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 20:02

I think most of those big guys are wasting a lot of money. How so? Because a lot of those pages are creating these extravagant graphics and content that was popular two years ago. I don't want to name any names, but there's a couple of pages where you know they're a popular restaurant chain and my mom and pop shops has like 10 times as many followers as them you know, and you're talking about a national chain across the entire United States that probably has a budget 20 times that of my mom and pops, but they just don't have the followers or engagement.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 20:34

Because it comes down to like you got to provide people with what they want, whether they know it or not. Right, right, like that was a Steve jobs comment. You know he made that comment. When people are like, hey, nobody wants, nobody wants that, it's like, no, let's tell them what they want and you have to connect with them on that different level and you see it, right, things get stagnant and I can tell. I can tell every single time hey, we need a pivot, we need a pivot.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 20:57

But again, a lot of these mom and pops people hire me and my company because they don't understand it. So with that comes not the understanding of it either. Like hey, what needs to be done? And just trying to explain new things. You know, every year it seems like I'm trying to recreate the wheel with them. Like remember five years ago when I told you like we got to do this photography and we got to stage it? Like I'm doing that every year. Like, hey, this is what this year is, well, why do we have to spend that much money? And then I go you know, this is what it is now.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 21:26

Well, you started. So when you started, strategic Instinct yes, right, it was a one person shop, right? You're like, hey, I have this idea. You quickly scaled that up, right? You have a team now of content creators, executors, project managers, right, like, and you're building this and you're bringing it on why? I know, in your previous life, too, you've been director of food and beverage executive positions at cinema companies, so I understand that's your forte. But why do you focus on the restaurant industry? Are you trying to expand, or this is your?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 21:56

So we kind of do stuff outside of the restaurant and event space. But the restaurant stuff comes easiest because I've been in it and it's one of those things you know like as an owner, as an entrepreneur, usually you have to do every single little job to understand that industry and that business. So I've been there and done that, everything from like washing dishes, dishes busing, hosting, cooking, some. You know. A couple times I've been in the restaurant business, I've worked for the restaurant business, I've worked in food and beverage, so I've seen it all and I understand what the owners are dealing with. I also, as a consumer, a restaurant you know somebody who loves restaurants and going to food and going out, like I understand what that side of it wants, so I'm able to marry the two very easily. So the work that I would do for a restaurant is probably half the effort of going outside of that space. So that's really why you know we focus on that space more so.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 22:49

Yeah, and it's. Uh, it's interesting to see. Like you said before, you know you would see commercials of McDonald's, for example, and you'd see behind the scenes I don't know if you've seen the footage where you know with the syringe they're putting the mustard perfectly on this and that when now it's just so raw. Anyone with a decent camera phone right Is capturing it and the way you're doing it and you're just getting crazy views. It's kind of changed where it is.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 23:11

Absolutely yeah. The production effort has been scaled down. You don't need all that anymore.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 23:16

Yep, what. What's some advice for brands right now Like that that want to engage and go out there and think like I feel, like a lot of people think it's instant success, like I just hired this person, I should get a million followers, a million views, it should be overnight. Just explain how you talk to your clients. On day one I'm meeting with Mr or Mrs X who has a chain of five restaurants. How do you educate them?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 23:43

The best education is a timeline, because they're not going to remember what you said a month ago or two months ago, Right? So always says. I always tell them this is what you should expect in the first six months. Okay, when you hire us on day one, that's when month one begins, Month one, you're going to expect this. Month two, we're going to start this and this is what your expectations should be.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 24:03

And I really try to level their expectations until that six month mark, because we need to build a story, we need to backfill their page with good content so that when you do bring people to the page that they want to stay. So it's a process and you know we always ask for a six month mark, Like that's the minimum. Sometimes it's eight, sometimes it's nine, depending on the industry, the status. Sometimes the restaurant's not in the best shape to be able to market like I want. So I, you know, try to give some positive advice like, hey, maybe you want to fix that or maybe touch up your website a little bit. Your online ordering system or platform is dated, you know, maybe change that a little bit.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 24:42

Even physically, to the actual.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 24:44

Yeah, we try, because, at the end of the day, in marketing, we're bringing people to the restaurant, whether it's digitally through the online you know footprint or physically into the store. All that has to be in sync right, like if they have this beautiful footprint online and their burgers look delicious and you know they're drippy and the cheese is, you know, melting and all this, that's their expectation. And if they come to the restaurant and it's, you know, a cold slice of cheese that was just thrown on the burger at the last minute, wrapped up and thrown out, you know, to the customer to go eat, there's going to be a huge disconnect and they're going to lose trust in that restaurant, you know. So that's why we analyze every aspect of it and then, before we officially start, here's my list of you know 20 things I think you should do before we start this other process.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 25:26

Yeah, which is great. Just expectations in anything right? Sure, california's got to be one of the hardest places to market restaurants.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 25:33

Like from my experience.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 25:35

you were born and raised here, I moved here and I've lived in different parts of the country in the world. There's no place in the world that has more concentrated fast food options.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 25:45

Well, every kind of food right, not just fast food but even like fine dining middle of the road, all that Everything.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 25:48

And I've lived in New York City and that's concentrated, it's three miles by 10 miles of. But I'm saying here you could go from the Bay area all the way down to San Diego and there's so many options and I've always said this even the crappiest burger spot here we'll still have. You know, on a national scale, we'll still kick ass all day long. You know what I mean. It's just I don't know culturally. So marketing, that here has got to be a challenge, right, there's so many options.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 26:13

There is. I don't know that it's a challenge to market it, it's more to stay relevant, I think. Right, like, why is your burger better than somebody else's, you know? So that's when you know, when you're telling, when you're showing your food. That's kind of like the surface level stuff. Right, people love the food. They have to like the food, they have to like how it looks first, but you have to backfill it with well, why should they like this burger more than the place that's right next door to them? So you kind of tell that story.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 26:42

Okay Well, is this fresh ingredients? Is it ease of use? You know. So that's why you know, if there's a restaurant that has a convenient drive-thru, you know we'll consistently talk about the drive-thru like hey, our content will be geared around, like you know. Are you a fast paced person in the corporate world? Need a quick bite? This juicy burger can be yours in less than 10 minutes. We don't say it like that, but we try to convey it through video and the communication online. Are you a single bomb that needs to put dinner on the table? Hey, this person's family pack is easy and you can order it from the app. It can be ready to pick up right when you get off of work, pick it up on your way home and then it's there for dinner. So you got to find a story to tell for each client to differentiate why they're more important than their competitor.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 27:23

Yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 27:24

And you really have to highlight it without saying, hey, we're better and we have an app, come check out our app. You know, nobody wants to be lectured to.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 27:31

No, and you're doing it through images and video too right, right, right right. Yeah, you've gone from doing you know the business background doing memes to becoming like a media personality, right, like, is that fair to say? Okay?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 27:44

so it's still hard for me to accept that, like to think that right, like people tell me all the time like, oh my God, you're so funny. Yeah, I can't believe I'm meeting you and I'm like, I'm just it's just me, my youngest daughter's baptism.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 27:57

A few months ago, I had some nephews. It's like dude, it's out there and it's not just here, like around the world, right. So how do you go now, when people need your services and they need Thanasi's FaceTime? It's not just through your company, because you have an infrastructure that can do this. But hey, thanasi, we're launching this group of festivals and I need you to be there and we're doing this here and there. How, how do you filter what makes sense for you, what doesn't?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 28:27

First and foremost, and the most important by far is do I like what it is I'm going to go promote, Because if I can't get behind it, I can't sit there and like, lie through my teeth and say this is the best thing, or everybody should be going here and doing this, because if my reputation is on the line I'm definitely not going to do it, you know, and if it's something I don't agree with, I don't do it. So, first and foremost, I have to like or accept or be willing to promote something right, Whether it's an event, a product. And then I have to be careful because I don't want my page to turn into a bulletin board. I would rather take five gigs let's call them at a slightly higher rate than take 20 gigs for a cheaper rate, you know so it gets to the exploiting type.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 29:11

Yeah, and and it's you know like. I don't want to just put up a post, like some people expect. Hey, can we throw some money your way and just post this? No, absolutely not. That's the one thing I won't do. I will create something for you, but I'm not going to just take your picture and put it up on my page. Here's what I propose. So if it's something I find worthy or that I like, I'll counter them and say, hey, this is what I'm going to propose.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 29:33

Because look, in marketing they always say it takes people five, six, seven, eight times to react to something or to make a move. Right, so it's like I'm putting up a post. I tell them you're wasting your money. You know, you might as well roll down your window, drive down the freeway and start screaming your company's name. You'll reach more people than just putting up a picture on my page. So I like to do things that, first of all, last over a longer period of time. I'll never put up a single post. It'll always be a campaign of a minimum of three or four posts over a two, three, four month period of me talking about something. And it's truly because I like it and I enjoyed it and I want to promote it and tell people about this product or place, or you know.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 30:13

But even charities like you've gotten behind charities with certain times. I see that, right yeah, and you have a voice now, like think of like a quarter of a million sets of eyeballs, right yeah, in 50, 60 different countries around the world that see this. That's significant. So what are some of the negatives that this page has grown? Are there any negatives associated?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 30:39

Or stuff that you wish For me. It's hard to say no to people, and sometimes I get trapped in doing things I don't want to do because the efforts there and they mean well and I try to help, but I find myself doing a lot of charitable or free work that I probably shouldn't be doing. I got to learn to say no more often. Look, I have a filtering process, right. There's people that reach out to me on Instagram hey, can you share this? I'm a big fan of your page and then you click on their page and they don't even follow you. Like what do you?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 31:14

mean, how are you a fan?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 31:15

Because your mom shared a video with you like two months ago. So that's the first thing I look at right, like are they following me? Have they ever commented? And you know, as a creator, we can look and see how long they've been following us for too. So if it says, oh, you were following me as of yesterday or this month, right, and you know, you're telling me you're my biggest fan, like you know, thank you. But yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 31:35

So there's a layering thing there, right, I try to see. Is it just somebody that's doing a money grab? Then I don't care. If you're just doing a money grab and you're not into this passionately, there's no need for me to promote you. Go buy some airtime, go run an ad, run Facebook ads, you'll reach more people. You know what I mean. If you want to make $1 plus $1 equal $5, that's where I can help, if I can get behind it. It's something I like. So I guess the negative aspect is filtering through a lot of requests, at least two or three a day, minimum two or three a day.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 32:05

Yeah, and what would drive me nuts is on the social like you know, community church, this and that, like there's always an angle and it's like having access, that that would drive me nuts Like hey man, I'm just at church, we're just talking, Like what's the angle?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 32:20

I haven't been bothered in person much, so I can't really complain about that. Once or twice it's happened, but for the most part I can honestly only remember two times where I'm like I just wish I was not at this place at this exact moment right now. Right now, yeah, and it's only twice in like 10 years.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 32:35

That's pretty good then, yeah, okay. So in 10 years, what platform has this given you? Just from meeting cool people, people that you've maybe not looked up to, but understood or respected their work? What access has this given?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 32:49

you. It's given me a lot of access to people that I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd ever connect with, whether it's professionally, personally. The professional aspect has been great, right.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 33:01

Let's name drop. Let's hear, let's name drop.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 33:03

So we'll name drop. You know Yorgos Karagounis, the ultimate soccer player in Greece ever you know him and I become friends over this, and it's just because I would make a video of him on his birthday or on some other events. Um, we got to know each other. We met up in Athens one year and we became good friends. He came out here, picked him up from the airport, drove him around. It's amazing, um, you know. So that's more on the personal level, you know.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 33:25

Just so people understand who are non-Greek. Like just explain who Karagounis is so Yorgos Karagounis.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 33:31

You know, greece's most capped soccer player ever best soccer Look who's the best is always. You know an opinion and that gets people into fights. You know he has the most heart. He's played the most games for Greece. You know he's dubbed the captain of captains in Greece for a reason 2004, greece, big underdogs in the Euro Cup tournament, beat Ronaldo's Portugal. Karagounis was on that team. He scored the very first goal of that tournament. You know he took. He made a few tournaments with Greece, you know, and the latest being I think it was the 2014 World Cup, and took them pretty far.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 34:04

So and all these guys, like, just think of, like how humble they are, how approachable they are. You see these guys doing different shows and podcasts, like I feel again from the outside, looking in. They embrace the love that they still get from generate kids that weren't even born at that time when they won that and kids like still idolize them.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 34:23

Well, I think it's also something about. You know so many Greeks abroad. You know that, idolize these guys and have an appreciation of what they did. Think about that. You know you grow up in a country like Greece. You become a soccer player. You become a famous soccer player. Now there's millions of Greeks around the world that know you and saw you and appreciate you. You know that's got to be humbling on a whole other level.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 34:44

Absolutely. We're going to get back to other ones, but while we're on the sports thing, let's talk Yanis Adedokubo, let's talk about your boy, just talk about. He's obviously very proud to be Greek, very proud to be Nigerian. He's done incredible stuff, right From the slums to Disney movie the guy's incredible the family is incredible.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 35:02

NBA champion. I mean NBA champion.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 35:05

Yeah, almost fought Halliburton's dad a couple of weeks ago when they got beat out. Champion. Yeah, almost fought Halliburton's dad a couple of weeks ago when they got beat out. What are?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 35:15

your thoughts just on him representing. You know Greece, greek and and his brothers as well. Sure, so my, um, my thing with Greeks has always been this you're Greek If you feel Greek has always been this You're Greek if you feel Greek, okay, whether you're born in Greece, whether you're a Philhellen, right, I mean, there's some people here, some of the best travel influencers that I engage with and talk to, and some that I even call friends now are non-Greeks, because they go to our country, they go to Greece and they see what it has to offer and they see the things that other people are just taking advantage of, like these beautiful beaches. Right, they're not there every day, you know, they don't see this all the time, and they've become some of the best voices for travel in Greece and they're on the side of hey um, you know the whole overloading of tourism, like when these, um, when these cruise ships go into like small islands and unload 5,000 people at a time In a 10-hour window Right.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 36:13

That's very devastating to small islands, so they understand that aspect of it, whereas most Greek travel influencers are like oh, this is my favorite island and they talk about different islands and different this and different that, and they don't talk about the impact of that at all. So these non-Greek travel influencers are like amazing and if you follow my page you probably know who I'm talking about. There's two or three of them.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 36:34

Can you name drop?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 36:34

them Like if I'm Melissa from Ella, what about travel? She's been amazing.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 36:38

Where's Melissa from Idaho? Where's?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 36:40

Melissa is from the Midwest of the United States and she's in the process of moving to Greece with her Greek husband. Okay, okay, and she does, and excuse me if I butcher your exact job, melissa but she is kind of like a travel planner. She helps people come up with itineraries. She doesn't actually book things for them, but she helps them come up with a trip. And she doesn't just ask what's your favorite island, she gets down into the nitty gritty what's your family size? What do you like to do? What does your wife like to do? How many kids do you have?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 37:12

Because all that stuff impacts you when you're in greece and you can't just go to like you're not going to take five kids to mykonos for a week you know like, it's just not possible, no, even if you wanted to like, yeah, and you're gonna, aside from the money and plus there's so many other islands and places to go, so I think that's the next wave in gree Greece of step away from all these 10, 15 most popular islands and start building those up. Yeah, and someone that can do that, because there's not enough content online to talk about those islands that are up, yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 37:38

But circling back now. So to your original question about Yanni and all that, right, so I'm giving you examples of these people that aren't Greek, weren't born in Greece. Some don't even have Greek relatives or Greek anything. Right, melissa happens to be married to a Greek, but some don't. But anybody that is pro-Greece, and Phil Hellene, like I consider a Greek, and some of them are even more Greek than some Greeks. I know, you know, like I always make fun of just the cigar smoking, coffee drinking, greek, like that's why they think they're Greek, you know, because, uh, this is what greeks do, or this is, you know, like our, our mental state and this is, you know, our culture. Like, no, like you got to remember where we came from and what we created for the world. You know, there's a lot more to that and we still have a lot to offer you you truly believe that, though, if someone identifies as greek, not not to get into they identify as, like that, like inside of you, it's not like okay, dude, your DNA is not there.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 38:32

We're not the same Like not to get you in trouble, but you know what I?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 38:36

mean it's a good question. I don't believe it to that extent, like I'm not going to think they're Greek, but I don't see a Phil Helene and a Greek person as being different. Right, like I'll call this person a Phil Hellen. They weren't born there, but if they go to Greece every year for like four months because they absolutely love it, sure, and they entrench themselves in the culture. I'm not talking about people that just go island hopping and bar hopping and drinking. I'm not talking about those people. I'm talking about people that truly love it and want to be there and be a part of it and they're promoting our culture and promoting our well-being.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 39:16

Like they're almost I mean, they're greeks. It is a beautiful thing, absolutely. Sometimes I'll roll my eyes. Yeah, I'm an american citizen. Now, I wasn't six years ago, so the day I got him I'm like, yeah, us americans, am I american? Like overnight, you know? Or like in canada we have so many different cultures show up, they get their citizenship, like us canadians, and it's like, oh, who's really canadian? Because my last name, strombolis, is not canadian, right? You know what I mean. Like there's just that side. Uh, I guess I don't know what I'm trying to debate here.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 39:34

I'm just saying look, I think about this all the time, to be honest, right, Because it kind of crosses the line of politics and pop culture and all this stuff. And we got to remember race is a human created thing. Right, Like in history. There's just people that existed and branched off into different parts of the world and, you know, became different for different traits in different areas, right. So the Greeks. Okay, there's this landmass called Greece right now, you know, 500 years ago that landmass was completely different. Before that it was completely different. Right, the Ottomans occupied Greece for close to 400 years. You know, there's people in Turkey, that's former Greece, that are Greek, but they live in Turkey. So, are they Turkish? Are they Greek? You know what I mean. So it's a tough line to walk and that's why I always put it back to, like are you Phil Hellene or not? Are you a friend of Greece or are you not a friend of Greece?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 40:27

Which is a great metric.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 40:28

That's a good starting point, because there's people in Turkey that have nothing to do with the government. Maybe they live in Constantinople right now and their heritage of the past is Greek but have been mixed with the Turkish now living there for however many years. I mean, are they worse off than somebody that lives five miles away? That's just on the Greek border? If that person's history is Greek and they just happen to be in another country, to me they're Greek.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 40:50

Yeah, so back to the Yanis, yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 40:56

They identify as Greek. They identify as Nigerian. Yanis was also born and raised in Greece. Right Like his parents, moved to Nigeria.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 41:03

So all Yanis knows is Greece. Yes, that's all he knows. Yeah, even the mannerisms, you see it, even his brother, thanasis the accent the accent.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 41:07

The accent, I mean, come on, it sounds like my feel. You know, if you close your eyes and he's telling his jokes, I'm like you know.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 41:11

Those are my funny feels in greece absolutely any interaction with the adidakubo boys, a little bit with thanasi.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 41:17

He came to the downy greek festival last year. How did that happen? Just by chance he saw one of the ads my company was running. He was in west la getting some um therapy on his. He was injured the time and he came out to LA to do therapy for a week and he got an ad for the Downey Greek Festival Come on. And he brought the whole family and he showed up and he's walking through and everybody's like who his?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 41:36

mom and no, no, his wife and kids and then, I think, a friend of his. That's cool man. So he's walking through and he was walking around he had a boot on his foot because he had some kind of you know injury that he couldn't really walk. So we're like, take a seat, let us bring food to you. So we brought him his family food. We connected a few times, but he doesn't live here, so you know, but I mean to renew your contract with all the festivals.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 42:04

there you go, look who I brought here.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 42:05

Are you kidding?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 42:06

that could be anybody, for sure okay, so back to other people you've, you've, you've met through your platform. Now that it's just creating this, this, this platform for you to meet new people, to talk to them like who else or who are you aspiring to meet at some point, good question, neil vardalos.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 42:22

So, from my big fat greek wedding yep, I don't even know how we connected, but we just did um, and I think we just crossed paths, crossed paths at a lot of events and started following my page and we just connected and kind of hit it off. And I think the mutual respect, see, that's the thing, the respect factor, like if somebody trying to take advantage of me is somebody not, you know, that's always a question as to when you meet new people, right, and I think there was a mutual appreciation of the work that we do. That led to me and I just having, you know, as casual of a relationship as it is, but at least we can talk to each other, you know when we need to. And she's been great and we did some content together and we're planning to do some more content together soon.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 43:04

So yeah, absolutely, yeah, absolutely, yeah. Um, former guest on the show, evangelia, the singer. Evangelia didn't know the connection, but when she had come and my daughters met her and we're talking and, uh, your name came up and I'm like, yeah, my koumbaro, he's amazing, she goes, he's been so supportive and this and that, like her reaction on like it wasn't even about trying to capitalize, it was just like someone saw this talent. Support any way you can like that's a beautiful thing, you know no strings attached.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 43:32

you know like, and that's how it happened. And it goes back to what I said about wanting and liking the product or service or whatever it is I'm going to go promote. She went to Crete in the summer of 2020, I think it was right. Everything else is closed, shut down and she was trying to, you know, become a singer. And she went to gritty to go make a music video in her yes, choreo, her grandmother's village.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 43:52

Yes and I'm like, wow, you know, that's passionate, it's not anybody just gets up and does that, right. So she believed in herself number one self-finance, by the way itself yeah, absolutely. And then the song was a good song, it was a catchy song and I'm like, wow, there's potential here, right. So I just reached out to her and I said, hey, I love your music, I love your song. It was a song at the time, so let's back up. Yeah, I love your song. You know, I thought that was cool that you shot a music video. If you ever need anything, just reach out. Amazing. And she never really reached out to like take advantage of it. I was always pushing myself like, hey, do you want me to share that? Yeah, sure, sure. So then just kind of grew to know each other and appreciate each other's work, that's huge, yeah, and she's amazing Like all of her songs.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 44:35

Now, like my girls, love her.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 44:37

My kids love her and she was this close to Eurovision Like we were pulling for her hoping.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 44:42

What do you think of the girl that won? I forget her name, klavdia. Yeah, that's a hard name.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 44:47

Because people think Claudia, claudia, you know, but it's Klavdia, and I think it's just phonetically spelled.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 44:52

Yeah, that V, that V needs to go away.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 44:56

Look, she's great. She's a great singer. You know her and Avagilia were two different types of singers, you know, so it's like everybody's got to vote one type in Right Apparently. You know Klavdo was the winner, but it was a close vote. I think it was like a two point separation, so it wasn't that great.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 45:15

In your next life, you're going to run for politics because that was the most bullshit.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 45:17

Switzerland on the fence, not trying to lose Klaviyo followers no but see, the thing is, I still want Klaviyo to win Eurovision because she's representing Greece. Right, right, right Did I like Evagilia a lot more? Sure, that's my buddy. That's who I would have liked. Okay, you went on record. I'd on the hill for Evagilia, absolutely 100%.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 45:33

That's amazing, yeah. And then anyone else that you've you've talked to over the years, you know from like I always see stuff come up on. I think you have like on a VC or you.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 45:44

You talk to these different people, you know Well it's funny because you know, my cousin Dina does a lot of the concerts out here, so sometimes there's opportunities there. It's just how we can all help each other kind of leads to different places, right Like when Argyros came out and did the show out here in LA, my cousin Dina was the one promoting and doing the concert and producing it. So I had the opportunity to go meet him and talk with him, shoot some content with him, which was pretty cool because, especially at the time, which was like what two years ago now, like he was like what peak, peak.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 46:17

I mean he's still up there, but like he was like the talk of greece for filling out stadium sing with eminem.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 46:20

Yeah, I don't think there's been another artist that's had that that that reach and he was in miami recently and white clef jean introduced him and brought him onto stage.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 46:28

Oh, I didn't know that this just happened two days ago or something. Get out of here. That's it. He's got a good PR contact, whoever that is.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 46:34

Exactly. No, that's really cool.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 46:37

We're going to do something called this or that.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 46:40

I just hope it doesn't get me in trouble, that's all. It probably, will it probably?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 46:43

will.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 46:43

I'm going to have to explain myself too much.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 46:46

Actually I need to add one Clavia versus Evangelia. That's going to be the 16th one. There's 15 here. It's going to range music, food, islands. Right, you got to pick one or the other and don't just do some BS like this.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 47:00

So no apolitical. I got to make a decision. I got to die on a hill.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 47:08

Yeah, no, switzerland, no Canada, here, canada a little touchy. All right, let's do it, okay. So we're going to start. Okay, moussaka or pastitsio.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 47:15

Pastitsio Hands down. No, that's easy why? All right, moussaka is delicious, but eggplant I'm not a big fan of. So it's an easy decision for me Pastitsio moussaka, no eggplant and bastizio Okay.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 47:30

If you're eating takeout, where do you get bastizio around here?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 47:34

My Greek kitchen, I think, is the only place that has it. Yeah, costa Mesa, shout out Costa.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 47:38

Mesa yes.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 47:39

Well, I shouldn't say the only place that has it. The closest place to me. Yes, taverna Tamar Vista has top-notch okay, yeah, good to know.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 47:48

Anna vc or despina vandy.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 47:50

Oh my god, you're like taking my youth, and like I mean two classic uh look, anna vc is probably queen, but vandy was like the epitome of my prime years in greece, like when ya came out like that was, yeah, my pride, absolutely. So if I had to pick one, it's gonna be Vadi, just because of the timing what about her husband?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 48:15

wasn't she married to Demis Nikolaidis? Or am I mixing up my? I don't look who was like big, big soccer player.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 48:24

Yes, I think it. I can't. The thing is, though, at that time I confused a lot of the Greek singers, right and anyways, to me it's Vadi, just because of the timing. I think you know Anavisi has lasted longer and probably bigger, but for me personally, just for the timing of that late 90s, early 2000s, vadi was like.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 48:44

Where you were peeking.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 48:46

Colored glasses and spiky hair at the club yes.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 48:50

With the highlights I got you.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 48:52

Um, okay, this one's gonna be easy, but you gotta explain frappe or fredo, espresso fredo come on, look I there's still purists on my page that anytime fredo comes up, they're like mono frappe or frappe. Hey, frappe was great for its time Window. Yeah, it had a great run. It was invented by a Greek, I believe, in Thessaloniki in the 60s. Amazing product Growing up. It was fantastic. Have you ever tried Frappe without sugar and milk? Garbage, garbage, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. That's why I loved it so much is because you put a little sugar, you put a little milk and you can make it iced very easily. It was fantastic.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 49:29

It was dessert.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 49:31

It was almost like cake batter, right, if you think about it. Just add flour, you got a cake. But it was convenient, like at work, I would take my little shaker, I'd make a frappe. It was always easy at FDF, you know, we'd have frappe in our room, make some frappes, great for its time. When Fredo, espresso and Cappuccino came out, it was game changing because now you have good coffee, freshly brewed. You can pick any brand, it's not just Nescafe, instant dry coffee, yeah. And you can pick different beans. You can make it stronger, lighter. It's a no brainer for me. Yeah, it's a no brainer. I'm with you.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 50:03

Yeah, I'm with you, 100%, it's like McDonald's versus a fine dining restaurant. Like McDonald's is the fast food of frappe. It serves its purpose. Every once in a while You're in a hurry, you need a frappe, you need a McDonald's Fine. But when I want to go enjoy something, what I look for First of all, I look forward to my frappe every single day when I wake up.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 50:19

Yeah, I need an IV here. A subset question to that which one made you run to the bathroom more Frappe, frappe. Yeah, there you go.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 50:27

So it served its purpose, man.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 50:29

It was great for the time, so it had a double. These are easy.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 50:33

I thought you said they're going to be hard.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 50:34

I'm very no these are easy Panathinaikos or Olympiacos.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 50:37

If I had to pick between those two, I would pick Olympiacos, because more of my family is involved with Olympiacos. But if I picked a soccer team, it's Astera Tripoli. Come on, all right.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 50:47

Are they still? Are they D2? No, they're not D2. What are they? They're D1. Did they make it up there, okay, of course they made it up there.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 50:54

They made it up there.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 51:03

Listen, I'm a Kalamata, but up because of my uncles.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 51:04

But right now I rock olivia cos, just because that looks the most greek to me yeah, like when I'm out there, of course, well, and it's outside of greece, I think it's the most popular team. Yes, like whenever I meet somebody, like coincidentally, the other day I was talking to a soccer trainer at my kid's soccer practice and he's like, oh, you're greek. He's like, oh, are you an olivia cos fan? And I'm like, how do you know ol? He's like, well, they're usually the ones in the tournaments and stuff. So outside of Greece I think that's the team everybody knows. Now I'm not knocking Panathinaikos.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 51:26

No, no, but even Panathinaikos, I love it, but it looks Irish to me, yeah Right.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 51:30

Just from a visual.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 51:31

It's green. It's got the three. What do we call it? The three, the double?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 51:46

No offense Albanians or whatever, it's just not Greek. So, okay, nikos Galis or Yanis Adedokubo Look, oh geez, this is the first one that's making me think, right.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 51:50

And choose your answer wisely, Thanasi.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 51:52

Galis is like okay, I'm going to say this answer for one reason only it is who has made a bigger impact, and to me that's Yanis. Okay, galis was.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 52:06

This podcast is over. Yes, excellent.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 52:08

Look, man Yanis is in the US playing. He's winning championships at the highest level, right, the NBA is the highest level of basketball that you can play Right now. You're just going to have something to say to that, because if you've looked at all the MVPs lately, they're all coming from Europe. So let's see in 10 years if we're still making that comment. If I'm going to die on a hill, I'm just going to say, yanis, because of now, the impact, the exposure.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 52:37

Gallis, though I mean 87 was Come on man, this guy. Okay, I get what you're saying. Now picture Gallis what he did then no social media, no coverage, in a country where it was just soccer, right, right, and what he was doing.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 52:45

That's true. Here's the other thing Believe it or not, I'm not a big basketball fan, so that also has to play into it. I didn't really start liking basketball until recently. So when Gallis was doing his thing, I loved it. That was because of Greece, but I just wasn't into basketball as much as I am now. But even as much as how much I am now, I'm still not a big basketball fan, gotcha.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 53:07

And that's fair. Yeah, gallis, at the time, though, what he did, I think he went, did he study at Syracuse and then he got drafted to like the Trailblazers Something like that and he left and but he chose to be there, but the guy was phenomenal. They're both phenomenal. Okay, thessaloniki or Athens.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 53:23

It might shock you that I've never been to Thessaloniki. You got to put that on your trip coming up. Yeah Well, it's hard to go north of Athens. It is Not because I don't want to. I mean, there's all sorts of places I want to go visit up north. I've just never been to.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 53:40

Thessaloniki, so I'm sure you're going to get up there. Okay, suvlaki or gyro.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 53:44

Okay, we're going to go gyro. We're going to go gyro because it's a little more dynamic, there's more to do. Chicken pork, tzatziki, yogurt and, yes, there's places that put only yogurt. And if you've never tried that, I highly suggest you get your ass on a plane to gritti and go try gyro with yogurt.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 54:03

It's fantastic you heard it here, sunset in ia, sadorini, or partying paradise beach in mykonos. Now or 20 years ago, right like married, holding hands or single on a mission.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 54:18

That's a 20 years ago mykonos, now sadorini.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 54:21

Yeah there you go right.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 54:22

Basically, we're lame, now is what we're trying to say Basically, basically.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 54:26

Okay, we're crushing through this Mainland, greece, or the islands, just collectively, if you had to pick.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 54:31

I would probably I would say mainland. I would say mainland Not on Nakam Islands, because I actually like Chania, crete. I married somebody from Chania, my wife is from Chania and I love it there. It's probably one of my favorite places in Greece. But the mainland if you're going to make me take all of the mainland or the islands, I mean Athens is on the mainland. I love Athens. I'm one of those people that loves going to Athens. I'm not one of those guys that says, hey, I got to get into Athens and leave as quick as possible. I enjoy staying there for a while. Absolutely Such. Leave as quick as possible. I enjoy staying there for a while. Absolutely Such a great city. So you can get all of that right. You get big city on the mainland. You have mountains on the mainland. You have beaches too, if you want, on the mainland. So that's why I'm going to pick mainland.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 55:13

Love it. I agree, uzor or Tsipouro, tsipouro, tsipouro, okay.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 55:18

Tsipouro.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 55:18

Tsipouro or Araki.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 55:24

Ts Tsipouro or a rakia Tsipouro, I don't mind either, though I've actually grown into liking those and like when I'm in Greece, that's mostly what I just drink Right, especially in Crete, because they give you the rakia at the table. It's just on there, it's water for that. Yeah, but it's just there, so I appreciate it more now.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 55:34

Side note people know you're a Tavli expert, expert Connoisseur, or whatever.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 55:39

Expert is aiming kind of low.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 55:41

I would say master, but yes, Master Three-hour lunch or midnight souvlaki run.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 55:49

Three-hour lunch or midnight souvlaki run. Probably the midnight souvlaki run Comes with good stories.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 55:55

That's the thing Like why?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 55:58

The reason why I chose that is because I'm like, okay, well, what led to that midnight souvlaki run? Yeah, and it's probably whatever happened. That night was fantastic.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 56:05

Something worth sharing, Absolutely. We got three more. You grew up with both your Iyia and Papu like alive.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 56:11

No.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 56:12

No, no, so you're not going to be able to answer the same with me. I've never met a Papu from both sides.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 56:17

Well, three of the four but yeah, okay.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 56:20

So let's see yeah, yeah as advice or Papu's stories.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 56:24

Papou's stories, okay, papu's stories. I have a lot of stories with my Papu because in the horio growing up Okay, I'm from Capsa, outside of Tripoli We'd go out in Tripoli or Leviti or wherever it was, and I'd always come home super late, but it was always the time my Papu was waking up and we would sit for 30 or 40 minutes almost every night Well, my night his morning just chatting and that's when the old stories came out, you know.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 56:51

So I would have to pick those moments. I mean, he has vice advices is invaluable. But those stories like those moments, like there were times I'd come home and he was like screaming at chickens or something, and then we'd talk and then he'd tell me the story why he was just getting pissed off at these chickens.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 57:05

He hated the chickens.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 57:07

But then that led into conversations about you know 30 years ago what things were like and time that he did in the wars and you know all that's an army. I should say All that stuff you know would come out and it was always at that time at like five in the morning which is known as changing of the guards, side note to that.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 57:25

So I've only had grandmothers. I've never met my papu. But my grandmother in Kalamata, now 93 years old, like the most amazing human, widowed in her late thirties, still wears Mavra to this day in her nineties, like just such a free spirit Right and like I remember coming home late out, you know, and walk in the door and she'd grab me by the Like. She just had this great attitude, has this great attitude that can't replace that. Two more Spanakopita or Tirópita.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 57:57

You know this is an easy answer for me, but I think about it a lot because I start I'm a Tirópita guy, so Tirópita is my answer's right. That's my quick answer. But I'm starting to appreciate spanakopita more and more. Just for me, the tirapita that was more around when I was younger, so that's where my memories of greece come from, right. So the tirapita yeah, it's tirapita, but my mom made good spanakopita too. So, um, I, I love them both, like we're really they're so good.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 58:26

I'm saying tiropita is my choice, like if I had to pick one, it's always going to be tiropita yeah, I mean spanakopita can be a meal replacement for the rest of my life, like it's so good, dude, done right but to me the perfect breakfast is a tiropita and a freddo and a fresh oj and that's called a voba. That's where a meet, yeah yeah, exactly exactly last one. I already know the answer to this dimitris mitropanos mitropanos look at that takis look, yeah, both amazing.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 58:55

right, but it's just again. Who did I grow up with? Who was playing when I was drunk at 3 am the dance floor? It was Mitropano. Mostly New songs were coming out as I was growing up San Asito, cisaloniki, that was 92, so I was in 8th grade, so as La Vávica was coming out and Rosa and all those songs, younger generations look back at those as classics, but I was growing up with those songs. No offense to Cazanzanzi, he was fantastic and I have him right on my playlist with mitropanos, but for me personally it's mitropano hands down.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 59:31

You had a series where you would, uh, remove the vocals.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 59:33

Well, I would only play the vocals like I would remove the music. Yeah, called vocal isolation, and I would just have them sing yeah, and mitropanos like amazing yeah right, who was the worst one that you had?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 59:44

on that, you would say they're all good, though you know what I mean. Like um I I did a lot. I did Stelio too. I did um I did Argyros. They were all fantastic. The reason why I picked them is because they're good, but I try to find live clips so you can actually hear them live without a production yes, okay so most of them I would say 90 of the ones I did were live.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:00:06

I think the only non-live one I did was a glick idea, but that's because all her live stuff just was very it wasn't a good recording, oh yeah, um, so it wasn't good enough to to isolate, but yeah, I wouldn't say there was a bad one, but that's obviously because I'm choosing to only play good ones, totally yeah.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:00:24

Okay, a couple more things. You've been amazing with the time Just going to Greece, you have access to different advertisers, different people wanting to be on your page or talk and do different things offline. What are some services that you've come across that started as business but now have really become something that you really enjoy? You know what I mean. Like you have relationships with bakeries outside of the country and stuff like that. What are some stuff that you actually enjoy in your repertoire of Of actually like?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:00:55

doing what I do, yeah, Um, I think you know, learning about new Greek owned businesses and Greek businesses has been uh, has been fun.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:01:05

Really quick, sorry. Yeah, you're a huge supporter, which is amazing, right, like just new businesses stuff, cool things to check out, and it doesn't just have to be like Greek. Uh, this person like you're a big supporter even charities coming out, like I know I mentioned it earlier in this episode, but, yeah, you're a huge supporter on that, which is incredible. You're using your platform for good.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:01:25

Well, and then that's another thing that I have to try and filter right, like when I find something I like and, you know, is it legit, is it passionate, is it real or is it just somebody trying to do a money grab? Right? But I love learning about new businesses, greek owned businesses or Greek businesses, and sometimes, you know, I had another creator reach out to me once and say, hey, I did this promo with somebody and it's not doing very well. Can you comment on it? Right? Well, I know the creator and I know they mean well and they're and it wasn't performing well. You know what I took and I shared it, you know, instead of just comment on it and liked it, and I made the statement, like, if we can't help each other and promote each other, then what's the point of all this?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:02:08

right right.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:02:09

Everybody's got their niche, and if people from within your niche can't help you, there's no point right absolutely are you.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:02:16

Are you seeing a lot of like pages and people just ripping off your ideas? I know you have an ongoing battle, but are there pages that you would like to put on blast in a good way that? Hey, I like what they're doing in this space or that space.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:02:30

Pages that are doing things that I like in a good way. I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that one. Okay. That one okay, and only because, like I said, even if I don't like something, I'm not going to go blast it because I'm going to let them do their thing and I don't want to add to anything negative. Right, if there's something I like, I will promote it, but if there's something bad, I won't, except for the ripping off. Yeah, blatantly right, just yeah. And it's not just for me, like every creator. So this isn't the reason I felt like coming out out and blasting Greek Gateway by name is because everybody has had that experience with him, and it's not just me, so that's why I felt comfortable with it. If there's little rivalries between other pages, I don't care.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:03:14

Do you know the guy from Greek Gateway? I know who he is. I've known him. You know who he is? Yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:03:23

Like, why, like, why does he do that? Like he's almost doing it now, just like I think it's just a lack of creativity. And like he's a like counter right, a follower counter gotcha. You know, like if you go to my profile, you're not going to see a million followers across 30 platforms, but you will on his right. Like I don't care. It's not about the followers for me, like it's about being genuine, promoting greek things, making people laugh, first and foremost. Making people laugh is like the best part of it. So, yeah, I mean, you know, I think we as a culture and a group can be doing better with our news services. Like I'm noticing, a lot of our news pages are even like, like grabbing right, like just reposting viral stuff. Like really, is that where we're at now? And it's like it's exhausting, yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:04:06

Yeah, I see the same content on like 10 different pages and you know, maybe somebody comes out with a viral video and they tagged me in it and then they messaged me like, hey, how come you didn't share it? I go cause five other pages did? I don't care, I want to be different. I'm not chasing likes, I'm not chasing follows. If you don't like my page, I don't care.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:04:21

Yeah, you know but, but I like what you do, you, you you're not just resharing something like, you're adding your twist, your commentary your sure, sure, sure. An effort. You're adding an effort.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:04:30

Sure.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:04:31

Yeah, you, you got that, anything upcoming that you know, any collaborations, any work that you have coming up, projects that you could share a lot of stuff on the back burner but not worth sharing just yet.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:04:41

But I will make sure to reach out to you when there is something to announce and we can talk about the business side of it. No, I think a big thing coming up is just collaborations. I'm really trying to do a lot with collaborations because I think with people what I would say smaller following than me and with larger following, so we can all try to help each other out. So collaborations is something I'm really pushing for in this next go around, I guess for the remainder of this year. There's a couple of business projects on the back burner that you know about a couple of them.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:05:11

Very exciting, like once you get that launched.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:05:13

Yes, yes, yes.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:05:14

I think it's going to change the game without giving away too much on just how people experience. Sure, maybe just leave it at that, that's perfect. Yeah, that's perfect. So you have that. And then, um, people who want to collaborate with you. What's the best way to approach it? Like it just this is like a good opportunity to just say, hey, this, this and this is what I need to know up front. Let's not waste anyone's time, you know, yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:05:37

Um, what's the point of the collaboration? You know? Like, what am I offering? If it's just eyeballs, then I'm not interested. Yep, if it's something you want to involve me with and we can make something funny together, email me. What's your idea? Hey, I have this travel page and I think it would be funny to make a couple videos about this. Well, what are your ideas? Put the ideas in the email. The less work I have to do and the easier I can come to a decision, the better it is. Don't just say, hey, let's collaborate, Okay. Well, what does that mean? What does that?

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:06:05

mean Well, and a lot of times that means something free For me. Anytime I ask for something, it's like, hey, and here's my budget, or this is what I'm thinking. I feel like we're always scared in general to talk about what's the financial impact, because it's not a charity.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:06:26

Let me give you a prime example. Right, like when I go to Greece and I'm going to new islands or different places, I can easily reach out to hotels and be like, hey, give me a room for free because I'll put you up. You know, but you got to think about sometimes some of these people that own hotels are small families and this and that and that's their mainstream of income. And if I'm going in the middle of the season like that would be revenue that they don't make on a risk that they would have to take with my promotion, they don't know me. You know, am I going to come through number one? Is it going to perform? Well, there's so much risk.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:06:50

And it's a short season too that they got to Sure.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:06:53

So that doesn't stop me from asking. But what I do first is I book their place at their full rate to show I'm coming, I'm committed, I booked you. We're locked in Now. If you want to collaborate on something, I'm happy to do it. If not, no problem, you'll probably get a few stories out of me and this and that. If you want to do something more, let's talk.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:07:12

Great approach, yeah, Great approach. Cause then, especially the Greek hospitality. They'll, if they say, hey, the rate is the rate, for example, but you know what Breakfast is on us? The skidoo sea-doos. Whatever, Greeks will always go that extra step.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:07:26

Absolutely, and I always end the email with like this is not required. I'm offering it because I'm going to be at your place. I have a huge platform and I know that what you're offering is something I think my followers would really appreciate. I'm going to mention it. I'm still going to tell my followers, but do you want a couple stories out of it? Or do you want me to take some videos, send it to my editor while I'm in Greece, make a nice video and post a nice video about it.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:07:50

That's what it comes down to Do. You still spearhead. You have your editor on standby. Basically, that does a lot of this stuff.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:07:58

Not on standby, but, yeah, I have a couple of people I work with and, you know, before I go to Greece, I let her know like hey, you know, this is where I'm going to be. These are the amounts of videos. I still do 90% of my own content, um, the only content I get help with, like the priest videos, for example. Sometimes when I do collaborations with companies I just did one with go Greek yogurt, I don't know if you saw, I'll get my. You know my editor. She's also my videographer, but I'll get her involved with that project just to make it more professional and to get the shots I can't get with my own phone.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:08:27

How great did that, uh, yeah what do you look?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:08:30

It's fantastic 10%, 10%, and you can't find that in the market. Really.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:08:34

No, I mean 5%, five, it caps out, it caps out.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:08:37

But even that is rare, Like it depends what market you go to, what neighborhood you're in. So um, 2% is easy to find, Nonfat is easy to find, but I'll never forget the first time I had go Greek yogurt it was. I mean, it reminded me of the yogurt in Greece, right, Like in Greece it's, I'm pretty sure it's like full fatter.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:08:55

It's a close.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:08:56

It reminded me a lot more of that than it did they had a few down here thanasi, and they closed.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:09:01

I remember on pch they had a go greek yogurt or was it go. There was a brand maybe like seven, eight years ago that had a few locations and then they shut down I don't think it was them, because I do remember a yogurt place that was greek.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:09:13

I don't know if it was them, I think it was go greek.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:09:15

And it wasn't.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:09:16

It was different brand, but it was the same I know they're opening in orange county so they have some coming up in Orange County. So I don't know if it's the same company, but I don't know much about their past in terms of where they were.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:09:25

It's a concept you go in the base is the yogurt and you make your own bowl, correct?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:09:29

Yeah, correct, amazing. So they have fresh and they have frozen Jeez.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:09:32

Anything else for the listeners?

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:09:48

What's the best way. Are you greek? That's pretty much the best way. I'm most active on instagram. I try to do more tick tock, but I'm above the average age of tick tock so it doesn't come as easily for me. Right, right, but still a little active there. I still think there's like 50,000 followers, so it's picked up, it's grown and for Strategic Instinct LinkedIn.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:10:09

what's the website? Yeah, linkedin.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:10:10

You can look me up on LinkedIn, Donasi Papoulias. On LinkedIn. The website is strategic-instinctcom. That's for any marketing needs that you may need Digital marketing. For any marketing needs that you may need digital marketing needs. We're not in the printing business anymore. I can help you design all that stuff, but we're mostly digital-based.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:10:29

So if you're a restaurant or yeah, and I think it's important to know. You have a one-off location, restaurant, or a chain that has 300 plus locations Both yeah.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:10:41

So that's why I'm saying not too small or big. Correct, yeah, correct. You know we can work with any budget. We work with people that want to keep a person you know on staff in-house. We can just come out and do content creation. I mean it's the full spectrum. We have clients kind of all over the place right now.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:10:54

Yeah, it's incredible stuff. I appreciate you sitting down. Yeah, of course, In six months time we're going to sit down and talk about something else that we're brewing not from Frappe, but something else Appreciate you, brother.

THANASI PAPOULIAS: 1:11:07

Thank you, man, you're a rockstar brother.

GEORGE STROUMBOULIS: 1:11:08

Thank you, Appreciate it. Thanks for listening to this episode of Invigorate your Business with George Stroumboulis. Please hit the subscribe and like buttons and follow me on all the main podcast streaming channels. Also, please share your comments when you can. I appreciate your help in expanding this network to a worldwide audience. Until next time, stay invigorated.

CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO

00:00:00 Reintroducing Thanasi Papoulias

00:07:14 Building a Business During COVID

00:19:38 From Memes to Cultural Connection

00:30:17 Engaging Trolls and Food Debates

00:43:51 Evolution of Social Media Marketing

00:56:29 Platform Growth and Collaboration Strategy

01:03:20 This or That: Greek Culture Edition

WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER PROFILES AND WHY ARE THEY SUCCESSFUL

🌍 Top Influencer Profiles & Why They Work

1. Khaby Lame (@khaby.lame – TikTok/Instagram)

Followers: 80M+ (TikTok), 80M+ (Instagram)

Why He’s Successful:

Zero dialogue; universal humor through facial expressions

Capitalized on trending content (life hacks) and flipped it creatively

Short, consistent video format with immediate visual payoff

✅ Lesson: Keep it simple and universal. Relatable, visual content that crosses language barriers travels fastest.

2. Charli D’Amelio (@charlidamelio – TikTok)

Followers: 150M+

Why She’s Successful:

Early TikTok adopter; mastered trending dances and challenges

Approachable, girl-next-door vibe made her widely likable

Expanded into branding, fashion, and TV after initial growth

✅ Lesson: Timing matters. Get in early on emerging platforms or formats and ride cultural trends with personality.

3. MrBeast (@mrbeast – YouTube/TikTok)

Followers: 250M+ across platforms

Why He’s Successful:

High-budget stunts and massive giveaways

Transparent, generous brand persona

Cross-platform expansion (Feastables, MrBeast Burger)

✅ Lesson: Give more than you take. Value-driven content (even outrageous generosity) builds massive loyalty.

4. Emma Chamberlain (@emmachamberlain – YouTube/Instagram)

Followers: 15M+ (IG), 12M+ (YouTube)

Why She’s Successful:

Unpolished editing and authentic storytelling

Made "awkward" cool; relatable to Gen Z

Now collaborates with luxury brands (Louis Vuitton, Cartier)

✅ Lesson: Be yourself—really. Authenticity can outperform polished perfection in the long run.

5. Huda Kattan (@hudabeauty – Instagram/YouTube)

Followers: 50M+

Why She’s Successful:

Built trust through tutorials before launching her brand

Combines deep knowledge with glamorous delivery

Engages community through product feedback and demos

✅ Lesson: Start with value. Teach, show, solve before you sell.

🎓 Key Takeaways: How To Apply This to YOUR Brand

✅ 1. Define Your Niche, Then Own It

Start with one specific area (e.g., lighting design, fitness tips, property investing) and go deep. Build trust before you expand wide.

✅ 2. Post Consistently — and Stick to a Format

People return to what they recognize. Whether it's a reaction video, daily tip, or behind-the-scenes series—create a repeatable rhythm.

✅ 3. Engage Relentlessly

Respond to comments. Ask questions. Repost UGC. The algorithm favors engagement, and so do real humans.

✅ 4. Ride Trends with Originality

Use trending formats (audio, memes, challenges) but put your twist on it. Show your POV or style inside something people already love.

✅ 5. Let Your Face and Voice Be the Brand

People follow people—not logos. Build a personality your audience connects with. Be real, even if you're promoting a business.

✅ 6. Cross-Promote and Repurpose Content

One piece of content can become:

A short on TikTok

A reel on Instagram

A longer cut on YouTube

A quote graphic on LinkedIn

Squeeze every drop from your best content.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR ONLINE DIGITAL MEDIA IMAGE

🔥 How to Build Your Online Digital Media Image

1. Start with a Clear Identity

Before you post anything, ask yourself:

What do I want to be known for?

Who is my target audience?

What’s my tone? (professional, casual, bold, witty)

✅ Pro Tip: Create a one-liner that defines your brand:

“I help [audience] do [result] through [expertise].”

2. Own Your Name Everywhere

Secure your name or brand handle across:

Instagram

LinkedIn

TikTok

YouTube

Twitter/X

Personal website (e.g., yourname.com)

✅ Pro Tip: Use a consistent profile photo, bio, and handle (or as close as possible) across platforms to build recognition.

3. Post Valuable, Repeatable Content

People follow accounts that:

Teach something useful

Entertain or inspire

Solve specific problems

Show behind-the-scenes realness

✅ Pro Tip: Pick 2–3 content pillars (e.g., business tips, personal journey, client projects) and stick to them consistently.

4. Leverage Video — It Builds Trust

People want to see your face, voice, and energy.

Short-form video is the fastest way to build connection and authority.

Use Reels, Shorts, TikToks for fast attention

Use YouTube or LinkedIn for longer-form insights

Show your process, not just your results

✅ Pro Tip: Authentic > Perfect. Record in natural settings. Speak directly to your audience like they’re in the room.

5. Engage Like a Human

Building a digital image is two-way:

Reply to comments and DMs

Follow and comment on others in your space

Tag partners and clients to build visibility

✅ Pro Tip: Use stories, polls, and Q&As to create direct conversations.

6. Build a Home Base: Your Website

Your website should:

Showcase who you are and what you do

Host a portfolio or blog

Collect emails for a newsletter or updates

Link out to all your socials

✅ Pro Tip: Think of it as your digital business card — clean, clear, and easy to navigate.

7. Track, Tweak, Repeat

Use analytics tools (built into platforms or external tools like Later or Hootsuite) to monitor:

What’s working (views, saves, shares)

When your audience is most active

What content drives action (comments, DMs, clicks)

✅ Pro Tip: Don’t just chase likes. Track relationships built and opportunities gained.

Final Thought:

Your digital image is not just what you post — it’s what people remember when they see your name.

So show up consistently. Share with purpose. And let your audience see who you really are behind the brand.

BEST ADVICE TO CREATE VIRAL ONLINE CONTENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

🚀 BEST ADVICE TO CREATE VIRAL CONTENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

✅ 1. Start With a Powerful Hook (First 3 Seconds Rule)

You have 3 seconds to grab attention. Whether it’s a video, headline, or post:

Ask a bold question: “What if you could light your entire building with 50% less energy?”

Create tension: “This cost us thousands... but it changed everything.”

Share a stat: “93% of people never do this in their business. You’re not one of them, right?”

🎯 Goal: Spark curiosity fast. No curiosity = no click, no share, no save.

✅ 2. Show the Unexpected

Viral content often flips assumptions:

Before/after transformations

Misconceptions corrected ("You don’t need fancy gear to design luxury lighting")

Breaking norms ("We told the client NOT to buy the expensive option")

🎯 Goal: Surprise people. It makes them stop scrolling and hit share.

✅ 3. Make It Relatable or Aspirational

Your audience should see themselves in your content:

Show struggles they’ve felt

Use casual language

Highlight a win they dream about

🎯 Goal: If it feels personal, it gets shared.

✅ 4. Keep It Short and Sharable

Short-form video (15–60 seconds) is king. If you can’t explain it fast, simplify it.

Use text captions for silent watchers

End with a CTA (Call to Action): “Tag someone who needs this.”

Use trending audio or memes to ride platform momentum

🎯 Goal: Lower the barrier to engagement.

✅ 5. Make the Viewer the Hero (Not You)

Instead of:

❌ “We designed this amazing thing.”

Try:

✅ “Here’s how YOU can save thousands on your next project.”

🎯 Goal: People share things that make them look good, smart, or inspired.

✅ 6. Tap Into Emotion

Emotion drives virality. Choose your angle:

Inspire (“This entrepreneur turned failure into a global brand”)

Educate (“3 things we learned after 100+ installs”)

Amuse (Show behind-the-scenes bloopers or real-life client moments)

🎯 Goal: Make them feel something. Feelings = shares.

✅ 7. Post Consistently & Ride Trends Smartly

Consistency builds trust and discoverability. Trends give you visibility — but don’t just copy.

Add your brand twist to viral formats

Apply trends to your niche (lighting, design, manufacturing, etc.)

🎯 Goal: Use what’s hot. Deliver what’s yours.

Don’t chase viral. Chase value.

The content that goes viral is usually the content that gives people something worth passing on.

MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE

The Greek Connection: Building Cultural Bridges Online

Digital Pulse: From Viral Greek Memes to Cultural Ambassador

Thanasi Papoulias takes us behind the scenes of his journey from meme creator to influential cultural connector.

Laughs, Likes, and Levendi: The Business of Greek Identity

When Heritage Goes Viral: Navigating Fame in the Greek Diaspora

What does it take to transform from a casual meme creator to a powerful cultural connector with over 220,000 followers? Thanasi Papoulias joins us to reveal how his "Excuse Me, Are You Greek?" platform became a digital bridge linking Greeks across the diaspora.

Three years after his first appearance on the show, Thanasi's journey has paralleled massive shifts in both social media and global events. From launching his marketing company during the pandemic to watching his content evolve from quick laughs to cultural touchstone, he offers a masterclass in authentic content creation and community building.

"I'm not funny," Thanasi admits with characteristic humility. "I can just observe. I'm a good observer. Everybody else is funny. I just know what everybody's going to laugh at." This observational skill has allowed him to create content that resonates deeply with Greeks worldwide, from collaborations with Orthodox priests to viral videos that playfully navigate cultural idiosyncrasies.

Beyond personal branding, Thanasi shares valuable insights on the dramatic evolution of social media marketing. "When you look at a viral video, it's only 30% of your followers that actually see that video, and it's 70% non-followers," he explains, challenging conventional wisdom about follower counts versus engagement. As founder of Strategic Instinct, he applies these principles to help restaurants and food businesses differentiate themselves in crowded markets through authentic storytelling.

Perhaps most compelling is Thanasi's philosophy on cultural identity in the digital age. When facing the inevitable trolls arguing about food origins or cultural ownership, he embraces an inclusive vision: "You're Greek if you feel Greek... anybody that is pro-Greece and Phil Hellene, I consider a Greek." It's this spirit of connection rather than gatekeeping that has transformed his platform from entertainment to essential cultural resource.

Ready to rethink your approach to digital marketing or curious about the power of cultural content? This conversation offers valuable insights for creators, businesses, and anyone interested in how authentic voices can thrive online. Subscribe now and join the conversation!

BLOG POST

In today's digital landscape, cultural identity has found new ways to express itself through social media platforms. Few individuals have mastered this intersection better than Thanasi Papoulias, creator of the wildly popular "Excuse Me, Are You Greek?" platform. What began as a casual hobby creating memes has evolved into a powerful cultural connector, bringing together Greeks from around the world through humor, shared experiences, and tradition.

During a fascinating conversation on the Invigorate Your Business podcast, Thanasi shared insights into his journey from creating occasional memes to building a following of over 220,000 across multiple platforms. What makes this growth particularly impressive is the niche focus—content specifically for and about Greek culture. As Thanasi explains, his success didn't come from being inherently funny but rather from his keen ability to observe what resonates with his audience: "I'm not funny, I can just observe. I'm a good observer. Everybody else is funny. I just know what everybody's going to laugh at."

This observational skill has transformed his platform from merely creating humorous content to becoming a cultural touchpoint where Greeks worldwide can connect with their heritage. His content now ranges from collaborations with Greek orthodox priests during Holy Week to showcasing authentic food traditions, celebrity interviews, and cultural commentary. In essence, he's built a digital bridge connecting diaspora Greeks to their roots in ways traditional media never could.

The evolution of social media has significantly impacted Thanasi's approach to content creation. He notes that algorithms have drastically changed how content reaches audiences: "Three or four years ago, TikTok came out with the idea 'let me suggest some content to you,' and that became... that blew up. So Instagram implemented something very similar, and now when you look at a viral video, it's only 30% of your followers that actually see that video, and it's 70% non-followers." This shift means that follower count, while still important as a "badge," is no longer the primary metric for success. Engagement and content quality now reign supreme.

Beyond his personal platform, Thanasi has built "Strategic Instinct," a digital marketing company focusing primarily on restaurants and food-related businesses. He brings his deep understanding of both restaurant operations and consumer psychology to help businesses navigate the constantly evolving world of social media marketing. His approach emphasizes authentic storytelling rather than following trends: "We don't validate accounts anymore based on followers. A year or two ago, yes, absolutely... 50,000 followers minimum. We don't want an influencer less than that. Now we look at well, it's not that we didn't look at engagement rate, but engagement rate to me is much more powerful than follower count."

Perhaps most interesting is how Thanasi handles the inevitable cultural debates that arise when representing a specific heritage online. From friendly arguments about whether certain dishes originated in Greece or Turkey to discussions about who qualifies as "truly Greek," he navigates these waters with a refreshingly inclusive philosophy: "You're Greek if you feel Greek... anybody that is pro-Greece and Phil Hellene, I consider a Greek, and some of them are even more Greek than some Greeks I know."

As social media continues to evolve, Thanasi remains focused on collaboration rather than competition, believing that content creators within the same niche should support each other rather than viewing one another as rivals. Looking ahead, he plans to focus on more collaborative projects with both larger and smaller creators to help elevate Greek content creators across the board. For those looking to connect with authentic Greek culture online or businesses seeking to understand the rapidly changing world of digital marketing, Thanasi Papoulias offers a masterclass in building meaningful connections in the digital age.

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