Breaking Free From the Cubicle
Tommy G did not start out hanging out with fentanyl dealers or drone-dropping inmates. He grew up in a quiet, safe suburb north of Chicago, spending his days playing street baseball and catching turtles. After college, he spent over five years working a corporate sales gig in Milwaukee. While the job put him in diverse neighborhoods and taught him valuable follow-up skills, the corporate world’s shallow rituals and endless small talk nearly drove him crazy. When he was eventually fired from a sales job, he took a leap of faith into YouTube. Just four months later, his documentary on the Milwaukee Kia Boys took off, and his life changed forever.
“I worked in corporate America as a salesman. I hated it at the time because it was just like I had a little cubicle and I thought, is this all I’m going to do? Am I just a salesman for payroll? I always felt like there was something more to do and more adventure in life.”
The Secret to Infiltrating the Underground
How does a suburban guy end up interviewing active criminals in some of the most dangerous zip codes in the country? According to Tommy, the secret is not hiring heavy security, which he says actually raises suspicions and makes things worse. Instead, it is a mix of his natural sales-driven lead generation and an innate ability to make anyone feel comfortable. He treats his subjects with respect, operates as an independent journalist, lets them greenlight the footage, and never collaborates with law enforcement. By establishing those boundaries, he is able to get people to open up in ways mainstream media never could.
“At the end of the day we all have a story to tell. Most people I feel like want to tell their story. Even a guy that doesn’t talk so much, as soon as you get him talking, that’s a guy that won’t shut up.”
Unlocking the Soul of West Virginia
Tommy G’s work is not about exploiting extreme situations; it is about finding relatability. When he set his sights on West Virginia, he wanted to see past the TV stereotypes of toothless, backward hillbillies. What he found instead was a beautiful landscape filled with highly adaptable, welcoming, and deeply insightful people. While discussing the structural challenges like clean water issues and food deserts, Tommy expressed his frustration with media narratives that label struggling rural areas as “forgotten” or “hopeless”. To him, these communities are rich with history, pride, and an undeniable soul.
“The word I hate is when we see the word forgotten, because the people who are in that community are not forgotten with each other. It is not a forgotten community. Maybe they are forgotten by the system, but I feel like when someone sees that word in a community that they live in, it literally just steps right on their face.”
Get Into the Mix
Want to see how Tommy G actually works his magic in the field? The full interview goes much deeper into the crazy stories, the close calls, and what it really takes to build an empire on YouTube. Head over to the full video to get the raw, unfiltered conversation!
