Think back, mid-pandemic Tik Tok addiction. Remember that guy who was skateboarding while drinking Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, listening to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac? The video that absolutely skyrocketed to popularity, made it on Jimmy Fallon, and changed that man’s life? Something so simple, so basic, became popular enough that the creator had a choice. To run with it, or let the hype slowly fade away. He chose to run like hell.
It all starts with me trying to find the alcohol section in the Oakley Kroger on a Saturday morning. Now this wasn’t just any regular Saturday morning alcohol run, I was walking straight towards the man the world knows as DoggFace, or to his friends and family, Nathan Apodaca. The first thing I noticed was just the good vibes that seemed to surround Nathan. There’s really not another way to put it. Something about the energy that carried him from his hometown of Idaho Falls, Idaho to a Cincinnati Kroger where he’s now promoting the new signature BeatBox x DoggFace Cranberry Dreams product line, is just awe-inspiring and almost unfathomable. And to think, it all started with a Tik Tok going viral one morning.
For Nathan, that morning was just like any other – he was headed to work at the same warehouse, experiencing the usual car trouble, but this time around his car decided to break down entirely. You know that crappy feeling when you’re already worried about making it to work on time, and then Murphy’s law kicks in and everything that can go wrong does go wrong? Unfortunately, it seemed like it was going to be one of those mornings for Nathan. There was one stroke of luck on his side though – he had his longboard in his car, and he was within view of his workplace.
I had the opportunity to chat with Nathan for a few minutes and really pick his brain about his overnight success and his views of the world. When asked about his overnight rise to fame, even through the mask you could tell he was smiling. “The video happened overnight,” he explained, “I started getting reached out to by management. I didn’t think anything of it, I put it on hold.” In terms of what changed to make him press play? “All of the sudden I go into my message requests on Instagram, and I see all these blue checks, people who are verified, reaching out to me. It’s dope – I’m just going along with the ride man”.
I also asked him if this whole experience has affected the way he looks at and feels about the world. His response was nothing short of inspiring. “I just love the world… the people I meet, young to old, all different kind of races – to me, that’s the way the world’s supposed to be. Everyone just loving each other.” Nathan also hinted at a big venture he has coming up in the near future. “I’m super excited about it, but I can’t really talk about it.” So, to all you fans and readers out there – keep an eye out!
Now in terms of his collaboration in question, what’s the story there? Let’s go back to October of 2014, it’s Season 6 of Shark Tank and Mark Cuban, Barbara, Kevin, Lori, and Robert are sitting there staring at you as you watch three college students pitch their innovative new brand of alcohol: BeatBox Beverages. Their mission? To “become the Red Bull of Alcohol”. Motivated by their distinct flavor combinations that were developed to spark feelings of nostalgia in their audience, Mark Cuban invested one million dollars in the brand. Over the last 6 years, the brand worked hard to develop a platform to compete against giants like Anheuser-Bush, Boston Beer, and Whiteclaw in the alcohol space. And in most recent years, their success has started to pay off in a big way.
BeatBox Beverages are currently one of the fastest-selling US wine and Ready-to-Drink cocktail brands. You probably already know, but the Ready-To-Drink Cocktail market is exploding in the alcoholic beverage space. Ready-to-Drink, or RTD for short, comprises of all your alcoholic beverages that aren’t a wine, beer, or spirit. This includes your hard seltzers like Whiteclaw and Truly, your High Noon Vodka Sodas, hard ciders, hard teas, and let’s not forget your canned wines and a good ole canned cocktail. It’s a major up-an-coming consumer segment that companies are rushing towards and consumers are fully enveloped in.
If you’ve never tried it, here are a few key things to know about the brand. In line with its competitors like Whiteclaw and Truly, it’s low sugar and gluten free. The boxes, or cartons if you think about it, are resealable, and the flavors evoke nostalgia in millennials and even the older edge of GenZ. I mean come on, you can’t put flavors like Fruit Punch and Pink Lemonade and tell me that you aren’t trying to make me feel like I’m drinking a Capri-sun. The brand is really a story of entrepreneurial success, and as a college student, it shows me that the world is your oyster, and if you have an idea? Dream big and RUN with it.