Did Jono accidentally crack the blueprint for turning internet clout into real-world empire?

After years behind the scenes helping LADbible and global brands go viral, Jono Yates built OnlyScrans into one of the UK’s most engaged food channels – then used that attention to launch YRDS, a sports-focused creative agency, and GOAT, a packed sports bar in his hometown of Nantwich. In this episode, we break down how he went from “burning toast and sticking pasta to the bottom of the pan” to running a multi-revenue business built on IP, community and clever positioning.

Jono explains why he “hates food creators” (even as one himself), the perverse incentives behind negative reviews, and how chase-the-algorithm content is quietly damaging hospitality at the exact moment the sector needs help the most. We unpack his philosophy on integrity, trust and long-term audience building in a world where “honest review” doesn’t always mean what it says on the sign.

We then get into GOAT: why he always wanted his own place, what it’s really like to open a sports bar in a bruised hospitality market, and how he’s using creator-first thinking (social leverage, brand, community) to drive footfall from across the UK and beyond. From capacity and costs to margins and menu, he shares the real numbers mindset behind turning over six figures in the first few months – and why seeing people in the room hits different to seeing views on a screen.

We also talk sobriety, running a bar while not drinking, and why GOAT’s non-alcoholic range matters just as much as the pints. And finally, we dig into YRDS: how he’s channelling everything he learned at LADbible, Red Bull and OnlyScrans into a sports marketing agency built for talent, brands and rights holders who actually want to win online and offline.

00:00 - Intro

1:21 - Soy Sauce - What’s Soy Sauce?

3:25 - Building a Community Through Relatability

6:01 - The Journey to 500k - LadBible learnings

11:00 - When He Finally Cracked The Formula

19:45 - Transitioning The Formula to Long Form

25:18 - Where Does the Money Come From? You Can’t Do Everything

35:40 - Why Football Football? How does it Link With The Food?

41:50 - The State of The Hospitality Sector - Why Did You Choose To Open a Bar Now?

45:49 - What Is GOAT? - How Successful Is It?

58:18 - Who Would You Love To Work With?

!:00:00 - The Process Of Starting YRDS

1:05:00 - Are Food Creators Good For The Industry?

1:10:50 - What Makes The money - $$ CPM

1:19:00 - The Three-Year Plan

If you care about food, sport, hospitality, or the creator economy, this is a masterclass in turning views into venues and using content to build assets that live beyond the feed.

Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭 Your guide to the creator universe. No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff. Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content. As the Manager of the Sidemen, I've been navigating these worlds longer than most. No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing. So I'm here to help. I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses. Whether you're a YouTube nerd or you've never even heard the term 'Creator Economy' - I've got you covered.

Did The Fellas sell out?
After 15 years of making content, Calfreezy built Fella Studios into one of the most successful podcast production companies in the UK, creating shows like The Fellas, Saving Grace, Pitch Side, and more. And he is now taking it to a new level since its acquisition by Global. ​ In this episode, Freezy breaks down what the Global deal actually means for the industry, why “creator-first” revenue splits matter, how premium video podcasts are engineered for vertical, and what it really costs to run shows at scale. ​ Freezy explains the operating system behind building a slate, keeping creators happy, and making the business work long-term. ​ We also go deep on the economics creators often miss (true costs, margin, volume, the “big video treadmill”), plus why he pivoted his personal YouTube channel into food, and what that taught him about sustainability. ​ If you’re building in podcasting, YouTube, or the creator economy, this is a blueprint for how modern “shows” get built, packaged, and scaled.


Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭 Your guide to the creator universe. No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff. Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content. As the Manager of the Sidemen, I've been navigating these worlds longer than most. No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing. So I'm here to help. I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses. Whether you're a YouTube nerd or you've never even heard the term 'Creator Economy' - I've got you covered. Right here. Every Thursday.

If you watch football content on YouTube, there's no way you haven't seen John Nellis.

In just 12 months, he went from 1 million to 10 million subscribers.

That's not just growth. That's a phenomenon.

Behind every viral video, every perfectly crafted hook, every retention-optimized second—there's a system.

And today, we're pulling back the curtain on exactly how it works.

John Nellis and his business partner Alex have cracked the code on YouTube football content.

They've built a lean, obsessive, best-in-class operation that consistently delivers videos with tens of millions of views.

From cooking a steak in a football stadium to spending 100 hours trying to meet Messi, their ideas are simple, universal, and engineered for virality.

But the real magic isn't just in the ideas—it's in the execution.

This episode is a masterclass in retention science, storytelling structure, and the forensic attention to detail that separates good content from generational content.

We discuss why packaging is everything, how they script every line with surgical precision, and why they'll delay a video for five months just to get the perfect payoff.

John and Alex break down their journey from 6,000 subscribers to over 11 million, the delusional confidence it took to quit their jobs, and how they generated 400 million views during the 2022 World Cup.

We explore their partnership structure, why they work with YouTube strategist Seb Losardo, and how they've built a team of just six people that competes with channels backed by hundreds.

From the importance of holding the viewer's hand to why every thumbnail is tested relentlessly, this is the blueprint for modern YouTube success.

If you're a creator, this is required viewing.

If you're trying to understand the creator economy, this is your education.

John Nellis isn't just making videos—he's building a generational publishing business.

And it's only just beginning.

Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭

Your guide to the creator universe.

No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff.

Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content.

As the Manager of the Sidemen, I've been navigating these worlds longer than most.

No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing. So I'm here to help.

I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses.

Whether you're a YouTube nerd or you've never even heard the term 'Creator Economy' - I've got you covered.

Right here. Every Thursday.

YouTube isn't just getting bigger.

It's professionalizing at breakneck speed.

Gone are the days of kids making videos in bedrooms with a webcam and a dream.

Today's top creators operate like media companies; with teams, strategies, and a level of intentionality that would make traditional broadcasters blush.

At the heart of this transformation is a new breed of specialist: the YouTube strategist.

Meet Seb Losardo, the man behind some of the biggest channels in the UK.

From building Sky Sports' YouTube empire from zero to 10 million subscribers, to now working with elite creators like WillNE, John Nellis, and Quadrant—Seb has cracked the code.

His clients collectively generate 700 million views per month.

That's more than most Premier League clubs. More than Ronaldo. More than the BBC.

And he's here to pull back the curtain on exactly how it's done.

This episode is a masterclass in YouTube strategy - from ideation to thumbnails, retention hooks to storytelling structure.

Seb breaks down the science behind viral videos, why packaging is 40% of success, and how the first two minutes of a video are worth more than the last twenty.

We discuss John Nellis' meteoric rise from 1 million to 10 million subscribers in just 12 months, the Kylian Mbappé blindfold surprise that became a cultural moment, and why YouTube is still a sleeping giant that we're only beginning to understand.

If you're a creator, this is required viewing. If you're a business trying to understand the creator economy, this is your blueprint.

The future of content is being written right now, and Seb is one of the people holding the pen.

Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭

Your guide to the creator universe.

No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff.

Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content.

As the Manager of the Sidemen, I've been navigating these worlds longer than most.

No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing. So I'm here to help.

I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses.

Whether you're a YouTube nerd or you've never even heard the term 'Creator Economy' - I've got you covered.

Right here. Every Thursday.

Chapters:

0:00:00 - Introduction

0:02:15 - Who is Seb Losardo?

0:05:40 - The Rise of the YouTube Strategist

0:09:20 - Why YouTube is Harder Than Any Other Platform

0:14:30 - The Professionalisation of YouTube

0:18:45 - Building Sky Sports to 10 Million Subscribers

0:28:10 - Premier League Highlights & Cultural Impact

0:33:50 - Leaving Sky & Starting Grow Media Club

0:38:20 - The Kylian Mbappé Video Breakdown

0:45:00 - John Nellis: 1M to 10M in 12 Months

0:50:15 - Packaging is 40% of Success

0:56:30 - The Pre-Production Secret

1:02:00 - How to Come Up With Winning Ideas

1:10:45 - Mining for Outliers

1:18:20 - Creative Engineering vs. Guesswork

1:24:10 - YouTube vs. Traditional Media Infrastructure

1:30:50 - Athletes on YouTube: The Next Wave

1:38:00 - Prodigy Studios & The Future of Sports Content

1:44:20 - Erling Haaland vs. Cristiano Ronaldo

1:50:00 - Why YouTube is Still a Sleeping Giant

1:55:30 - Closing Thoughts

Hollywood is in a dire state.

Almost every single being released is a sequel, remake or part of a large franchise.

There’s a severe lack of original stories being told in the cinemas at the moment.

But there is a group of people fighting back….

A bunch of TikTokers who are going toe-to-toe with the Hollywood machine, on minuscule budgets.

They made a film for $100k, and that film is now set for a worldwide release.

They believe the future of cinema lies in the hands of creators, and after speaking to their CEO Max Reisinger , I find it hard to disagree.

This is Think Like a Creator, this is Camp Studios….

Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭

Your guide to the creator universe.

No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff.

Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content.

As the Manager of the Sidemen, I’ve been navigating these worlds longer than most.

No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing. So I’m here to help.

I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses.

Whether you’re a YouTube nerd or you’ve never even heard the term ‘Creator Economy’ - I’ve got you covered.

Right here. Every Thursday.

00:00 - 00:45 - Intro

00:46 - 02:47 - Broken Hollywood

02:48 - 03:48 - Who is Camp Studios?

03:49 - 04:25 - Intro to Max Reisinger

04:26 - 05:29 - The Journey Here

05:30 - 07:03 - The $100k Film

07:04 - 10:25 - The Money Problem

10:26 - 12:10 - The YouTube Mindset

12:11 - 15:15 - The Economics

15:16 - 16:04 - Van Life

16:05 - 17:17 - The Future of Cinema

17:18 - 21:23 - The Deep End

This episode we welcome  Bella James, an absolute trailblazer in the Formula 1 content space. She’d leading the charge for a new generation of female fans in motorsport.
Here rise has been nothing short of meteoric, and today we discuss how she’s tackled it, from her first exposure to the sport, to becoming Christian Horner’s worst nightmare.

Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭

Your guide to the creator universe.

No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff.

Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content.

As the Manager of the Sidemen, I’ve been navigating these worlds longer than most.

No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing.

So I’m here to help.

I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses.

Whether you’re a YouTube nerd or you’ve never even heard the term ‘Creator Economy’ - I’ve got you covered.

Right here. Every Thursday.

Chapters:

0:00:00 - 0:02:10 - Intro

0:02:11 - 0:04:55 - The Drive to Survive Effect

0:04:56 - 0:08:25 - Bella’s Motorsport Journey

0:08:26 - 0:12:45 - Women in Motorsport

0:12:46 - 0:16:55 - F1 Creator Scene

0:16:56 - 0:24:05 - Bella’s Creator Journey 

0:24:06 - 0:27:50 - First Steps in F1

0:27:51 - 0:36:24 - Christian Horner’s Worst Nightmare

0:36:38 - 0:50:32 - The Business of Bella James

0:50:33 - 0:53:54 - The Format Formula 

0:53:55 - 1:01:00 - BoxBox with Bella

1:01:01 - 1:05:30 - Brand Deals

1:05:31 - 1:08:00 - Passenger Princess

1:08:01 - 1:12:30 - F1’s Missed Opportunity

1:12:31 - 1:22:03 - A Surprise Inspiration 

1:22:04 - 1:26:22 - Advice for New Creators

1:26:23 - 1:27:42 - Closing Thoughts

Welcome to Think Like a Creator 🧠💭

🪐Your guide to the creator universe.

No flashy set. No gimmicks. No fluff.

Just a show with one goal: be the bridge between the worlds of business and content.

As the Manager of the Sidemen, I’ve been navigating these worlds longer than most.

No matter which side you come from, it can be confusing.

So I’m here to help.

I want businesses to think more like creators and creators to think more like businesses.

Whether you’re a YouTube nerd or you’ve never even heard the term ‘Creator Economy’ - I’ve got you covered.

Right here. Every Thursday.

This episode we welcome  @graceandrews, a Creator Entrepreneur who has recently left the Diary of a CEO after being there from the beginning.

Grace walks us through what life was like at DOAC in the early days and what drove the success of a $1 billion podcast. We discuss when is the right time to quit your dream job. She then breaks down her income streams now that she's out on her own, showing what is possible for those that build their personal brands.

Thank you to Grace (my wonderful co-author of Community Service) for coming on as the first guest of the Think Like a Creator Show!