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An eight-pound bass on the first stop is a pretty good way to start a friendship trip, but the real win is what happens after the rods go down. I’m Matt Pittman from Meat Church, and I’m joined by my buddy Kevin VanDam, one of the most accomplished pros in bass fishing history. We talk about what it’s like to chase excellence for decades, then “change jobs” into the nonstop world of TV, YouTube, and social media without losing the joy that made you start in the first place.

Kevin walks through how he got hooked early, what tournament life demands from your calendar and your family, and why bass fishing still feels like a puzzle even after a Hall of Fame career. We get into Texas bass fishing conditions, how cold fronts and spawn timing can shut fish down, and why accuracy with a baitcaster matters when the windows are tight and the cover is thick. If you love fishing education, outdoor skills, and the mindset behind high performance, you’ll get plenty to take back to the water.

Then we pivot into the other part of our overlap: barbecue, grilling, and bourbon. We taste a standout pour, talk Buffalo Trace barrel picks, and dig into practical outdoor cooking ideas like pellet grill temperature control, managing smoke levels, and reverse sear for steaks and tenderloin. We even swap stories about unforgettable meals like Kuby’s sausage and steaks, because food and fishing are really just two ways to make the same thing: memories with people you want to be around.

Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of fishing, barbecue, bourbon, and the outdoors, and if this one hits home, share it with a friend and leave a quick review.

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A brand like Meat Church doesn’t come from a logo or a marketing plan. It comes from reps, risk, and the kind of family stories that shaped how we work and why we cook. For the very first Meat Church Podcast, I sit down with my brother Josh Pittman to trace the real origin story, from our blue-collar roots in the South to the moment barbecue stopped being “something I do” and became the thing I built my life around.

We talk about where our work ethic comes from, why our grandmothers’ from-scratch cooking still influences everything we make, and what it looked like behind the scenes when I left a stable corporate career with four kids and real responsibilities. Josh shares his honest perspective on watching the business grow, how our personalities clash and complement each other, and why focus and consistency matter when you’re trying to turn a side hustle into a real company.

Then we get into the fun details: early BBQ competitions, the tweet that sparked the name “Meat Church,” the Barbecue Pitmasters tryout that went viral, and the scramble to bottle our first rubs so they could show up on TV. We wrap with a mailbag Q&A packed with practical barbecue talk, including what to cook when you’re short on time, how our charcoal is made, and what’s coming next with pellets and sauce.

If you enjoy barbecue stories, Texas barbecue, entrepreneurship, and real behind-the-scenes lessons, subscribe to the Meat Church Podcast, share this with a friend, and leave us a review with the guest you want us to bring on next.