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Meet Eric Walters

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Walters.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Eric. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a suburb of Youngstown Ohio a city known for decay, tragedy, and hopelessness for decades. Most people don’t leave. The concept that there is something beyond that is inconceivable for many. However, my dad always stressed upon me that there is more to the world than the small county that we had spent our entire lives in. In 2007, without ever even visiting, I packed up my car and moved to Phoenix to stay with my aunt. Within a week of being here, I knew it was my home and a beacon of hope.

Fast forward 10 years and I was married with two beautiful daughters and a great job but still unfulfilled in my career. I’ve always had this overwhelming feeling that I was meant to do something special and something that was on my terms so never finding that had always weighed on me. In 2015, a friend and I started a music podcast because we are both huge music fans. This was a great creative outlet for me and I could sense a flame of hope somewhere in there. Since we were having a drink every time we recorded, we started a segment called “WTF Are You Drinking?” I was always drinking local Arizona beers so a couple of local breweries reached out asking us to do a podcast at their location. Long story short, I bought equipment for doing mobile podcasts and started helping the Arizona beer community tell its story.

After a few months, I realized “This is it! This is what I am meant to do: be the mouthpiece for the Arizona craft beer story!” I became obsessed with this notion and hit it full force. On April 25th of 2018, I quit my soul-sucking cubicle job and started the career journey of making my own path.

Now, I’m over 110 episodes in and starting to offer marketing services to these businesses. About eight months ago, I brought in a partner, Luke who owns Mixed Mercury Media, to take this to another level. Luke is a super talented photographer, videographer, and pretty much jack of all traders. All the photos you see here were taken by Luke.

Our team also includes my editor Chris Dodson who makes the show sound really good as well as a few guest hosts including Liz Limberg and The Classy Alcoholic.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all and I am glad it hasn’t been. Smooth roads make for lame stories. I feel that the more difficult your journey has been the more you enjoy success when you find it. However, as cliche, as it sounds success is a journey, not a destination. I feel that to truly be and REMAIN successful you HAVE to enjoy the process. You are “in the process” 95% of the time so putting yourself through the stress and heartache that is true greatness for that 5% of “made it” is not sustainable. I love the daily process. Of course, some days are tougher than others but I truly love what I do.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Tap That AZ Podcast – what should we know?
I basically travel around Arizona creating content for the Arizona craft beverage industry. My team and I will create podcasts, video content and written content to help promote these people working hard to get their craft out for the public to enjoy. 90% of what we do is related to the craft beer industry but we also cover spirits and are slowly working our way into food. Authenticity is a non-negotiable for me. The focus on this combined with my commitment to consistency and integrity has really helped to create a positive reputation in the state. It’s really cool because I now have people reaching out to me asking for us to come and check out their place and products. I don’t view myself as a critic but more of a positive promoter of the story and experience of these people and places. This approach takes a lot more time and I have seen people come and go since I started. Its all fun and games until its not all fun and games. No matter how much you love doing something, once you turn it into a career, there are going to be things that aren’t very fun. Most people bail when the tough times come. Patience and a big-picture vision are crucial for me.

What’s your outlook for the industry over the next 5-10 years?
I definitely see a big shift coming over the next several years with craft beer. People keep predicting a “shakeout” which I believe is inevitable and necessary. Just making beer is no longer enough. You have to make GOOD beer. And depending on your business model, you need to be making GREAT beer. There are just oo many great breweries out there that people will need to step up their quality or they’ll go out of business.
I am also hoping that what we do will help make Arizona a craft beer destination. People flock to places like Portland and Denver specifically for the beer. Arizona is such an amazing state that has beautiful weather, amazing outdoor activities, world-class food, and one of the best up-and-coming craft beer scenes in the country. We hope to play a big role in making Arizona a place where people are drawn here by the great beer.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Mixed Mercury Media

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