Right About Now with Ryan Alford - The “Real American Beer” Playbook for Breaking Into a Saturated Industry FAST

Episode Date: April 21, 2026

In this episode of Right About Now, Ryan Alford is joined by Chad Bronstein and Terri Francis to explore what it takes to build a brand in a highly competitive industry. Drawing from their experience launching Real American Beer, the conversation dives into the realities of distribution, the importance of relationships, and the challenges of scaling without massive resources. They also discuss how marketing, culture, and lifestyle integration play a critical role in long-term success—and why understanding your ecosystem matters more than ever in today’s business environment. 🔑 Topics Covered Distribution challenges and the three-tier system The role of relationships in business growth Scaling a brand without large budgets Marketing strategies in competitive industries Building a lifestyle-driven brand Long-term growth and ecosystem thinking 🤝 Connect with the Hosts & Guests Ryan Alford  https://www.ryanisright.com Chad Bronstein and Terri Francis Website — https://therealamerican.com https://www.realamericanfreestyle.com/ Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/drinkrab

I met Hulk through another business venture, and we were on the road one time, and someone came up and said, have you ever thought about doing your own beer? And Hulk's like, brother, I used to be say your prayers, eat your vitamins. But now that I'm not in the WWE anymore, I got this big idea, brother, real American beer. It's unify the country with having one beer to have a beer to have a beer with your neighbor, NASCAR, country baseball, football, good memories, drinking beer. That's what Hulk wanted to do, and he called me up for several months to do it. And I finally came out and doing it. This is right about now with Ryan Alford, a rad-cap. Network production.

We are the number one business show on the planet with over one million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over six years and over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping next and cash in checks? Well, it starts right about now. Terry, Chad, welcome to Write About Now. What's up, guys? What's up, Brian? Good to have you guys, man.

I get to do this show where almost 800 episodes in. It's pretty popular. business and beer. I'm in, baby. That's all I needed to hear. I am a real American beer drinker. It fit perfect with this brand. Love what you guys are doing.

It's got to be a little fun. Yeah, it's been a crazy ride. We partnered with Hulk on this, and obviously he's passed, but we were on the road for a year, and it was pretty amazing to share that year at Hulk and just hit the streets everywhere. I was a living, breathing child

that ate his vitamins because of Hulk Hogan. They get to leave behind the real American legacy and beer though that's cool it's great for you guys to pick it up focus on the positive sides how the hell did you get into beer with hulk hogan i met hulk through another business venture and we were on the road one time and someone came up and said have you ever thought about doing your own beer and hulk's like brother i used to be say your prayers eat your vitamins but now that i'm not in the w w wmeree anymore i got this big idea brother real american beer it's unify the country having one beer to have a beer with your neighbor naskar country baseball football good

Memories drinking beer. That's what Hope wanted to do and he called me up for several months to do it. And I finally came out and do it. I met Terry through another business partner. And Terry was ahead of M&A at InBev at the time. She was at NACO. And I called her up and told her this crazy idea and she jumped on it. So that's kind of how we got started. This bud's not for you. That was what you told him, Terry? Chad and Hope were pretty convincing. When you see somebody's work ethic matched with sort of a long career or hard work to show for it, it was a very easy and obvious decision for me to come and join them. Chad, hardest working, best marketer I know, they've met. And then Hulk worked and couldn't be stopped. There was nothing about him that ever

wanted to not be on the road meeting people and pushing the brand. We had such a fortunate year and a half with Hulk. He really certainly did open the doors to allow us to now take on, as you say, Ryan, his legacy forward and really bring real American beer to as many people as possible. How's it been and kind of where are you guys taking things now as far as the brand and the business? and it's an interesting time. I love this brand because I feel like we started to get towards this place where I feel like we were making. It's not about politics. We all should love America.

We were all blessed to live here. And whenever that became a bad thing or in any way, a negative connotation, I'm a big believer, like in sentiment. People have fucking lost their minds sometimes. Do you know you live in the best country on the planet? It's not perfect. No one's saying it's perfect. But, man, let's embrace patriotism and make it cool again to love the American way. and American products. Is that all right?

Yeah. Terry and I and Hulk were on the road. It was kind of during the hot topic of what you just mentioned because Trump was running president. Hulk and myself were at the RNC. They spoke there. And all Hulk really did care about truthfully. And this is not like people that didn't know him. They make their assumptions. We were with them every single day.

He would go on the road and we would just get to spend time with Americans. It didn't matter who they were. Republican Democrat didn't matter. Hulk was nice to everybody. Really, we had the best time because we'd be at a bar. Everyone's happy. Hulk was there on stage, chugging a beer with all the great Americans. And that was probably one of the greatest times we've had because it was rinse and repeat.

That's all Hulk. What you just said is exactly what he would say. It's not about politics. Beer is a place where you can have a beer with your neighbor, have fun, watch sports or barbecue. He'd also say, Mom's Apple Pie and Just Enjoy Yourself. That's the brand that he wanted to set out to create. Yeah. And what we found, and I say that we were on the luckiest two ever because we got to go to places most people,

and certainly the media don't write about. And we've got to see people's kindness, their generosity, their openness, their excitement, the pride that exists in all these small towns around the country. It really was a tour that everyone should go on because you'd realize that in fact, in these small hometown places, people are happy. It's very different from what you read in the media. That's something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Yeah, good point there. The only thing that oppresses me is turning the news on. It's all about doom and gloom and clicks.

And look, that of there's shit going on, but come on. It ain't all.