Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Brown.
Hi Justin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts with my mom always asking me, “how can you say you don’t like something if haven’t tried it?” From then own I always tried new things. I gave different foods a try and decided what I loved vs what I’d never want to taste again. I guess you can say I became a foodie at an early age, way before social media.
In the age of social media, I was going out to eat with my family many times a week to try new restaurants and dishes. We were going out so much that people were reaching out asking me for restaurant recommendations, at first it was mainly friends and family. I’d randomly post pictures of food when I was out eating or traveling just documenting my adventures. I started noticing shortly after posting an image to my personal social media accounts people would inbox me or comment inquiring about the content and/or the location I had just uploaded. Almost every weekend or special holiday family and friends would contact me for new restaurant recommendations. Sometimes I’d have two people trying to call at once asking about a place to try out or if I’d visited a certain restaurant and what did I recommend. I guess people trusted my taste buds.
That’s when I figured since I go out so much and more people were reaching out to me other than friends and family I should start sharing my experiences with others via blogging. Plus if anyone asked for a recommendation or if I couldn’t remember a particular place I’d have somewhere to refer back to, my designated social media page. Shortly after, The Foodstalker was born.
Coming up with the name Foodstalker was easy because whenever I was going out to eat, I’d look at other people’s food and see how they liked it or if a waiter had a dish that I found looked appetizing I’d “stalk” the food. So I was “stalking” other people’s food, hence The Foodstalker.
Once I had my name and fan base, it took off from there. Since starting my Tiktok page, I’ve gained a nice following of people who look forward to my recommendations. There are so many options these days and can become overwhelmed with options. I want to try and make it a little easier for them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest thing for me at first when I was only taking pictures of food, the pictures didn’t do the meal any justice. Many times I’d see pictures of food myself and try the restaurant but the food wasn’t good. Seeing a person actually try the food and the visual response says it all. Videos can offer a better experience when it comes to the texture, flavor and smell.
A major misconception people feel about me is that they think I like everything and every restaurant, which isn’t true. I’ve been to bad restaurants, I’ve had bad experiences, I’ve tasted food that I did not like, I’ve tasted really bad food but I don’t put negative content on my pages. That’s what sets me apart from others, I don’t believe in putting down a small business or restaurant. I only post restaurants and food that I’d personally recommend. I’d wouldn’t post about bad experiences, just because I had a negative experience, it might not be the same for someone else. Also, just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want to detour someone from giving a place a try. Since starting my videos, I’ve learned people love my suggestions and whenever I post a restaurant many people “give them a try”.
When followers realized that I wouldn’t post negative content I started to see a change in the comments and more respect from those I met in the street. It’s been a pretty smooth road since I’m doing something I always loved but with a little twist.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
By day I work in Business Sales by night, I’m a foodie and girl dad. I’m most known for being a girl dad, I only have girls lol. I incorporate my foodie life with my family life. I don’t look for the most trendy places, some places I find just my driving by. I’m always exploring new areas and love to try new things. I’m most know for my geeky side and collector of shoes and memorabilia. I also have a family TikTok (Girldadmysuperpower) that I started just for fun that has started to be as noticeable as my Food Blog. On my family account which I only started because my daughter wanted to go live and she told me I needed 1000 followers in order to make that happened. Then I remembered I had a MIB Neutralizer that I purchased during our annual Universal trip so I started neutralizing my wife with as a skit and then a year later the account amasses over 75k followers and 1.5million likes, with additional growth each day. This account was started as fun and something for the whole family to do and just have fun with our toys around the house.
I’m also known for my big personality and giving almost anything a try, hence the phrase “give these folks a try”.
The thing I love most about food blogging, you don’t have to be an athlete or scholar, you don’t have to be big, you don’t have to be tall, you don’t have to be fast, you don’t have to be the smartest, you just have to be willing to try new food and be honest. All you have to do is be you.
What’s next?
My plans for the future is to travel more and try new foods around the world. My goal is to eventually have a nonprofit to help feed the hungry and single-family homes while bringing the foodie world together. There’s always been something about food that brings people together from all walks of life.
I’m looking forward to helping others and be a role model for my family and friends. I enjoy being able to help small businesses by sharing my positive experiences and passion for food. There have been times I’ve posted about a restaurant and later on the restaurant reaches out to thank me for the increase of traffic. Some restaurants have reached out saying they started to have an increase of customers and didn’t know why until someone showed them my video. I never know if people will like my recommendations or will even try the place out, but I will continue to share my experiences regardless.
I want to help with the age-old question of “What would you like to eat?”, I want to be that foodie that makes it easy for you to find a place to eat and make entertaining content along the way. If I had followers or not, I’d still go out to eat, I’d still help others, I’d still be the same person people you see on camera and off.
Contact Info:
- Website: Therealfoodstalker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealfoodstalker
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086182721671
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr1f0ksF6gUeyF1De9BBaCA
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealfoodstalker
