Trading Secrets - Wells Adams: Bachelor Nation fan favorite, BIP Bartender & TV Host shares his unique career track, his negotiations & pay each step of the way!

Episode Date: June 26, 2023

This week, Jason is joined by Bachelor Nation fan favorite and reality TV personality, Wells Adams! When it comes to making a career out of being on reality TV, Wells has truly made the most of his opportunities. While working as a radio DJ in Nashville, Wells won over fans by competing on Jojo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette and later was a contestant on Bachelor in Paradise. Although he did not find throughout his time on either show, a love connection did come his way with Sarah Hyland. Fast forward years later, Wells and Sarah are happily married. Wells is thriving in his recurring role as the head bartender every summer on Bachelor in Paradise. In addition to working closely with the Bachelor franchise, Wells has expanded his media career by adding podcast host and TV host to his resume.  Wells gives insight to his career in radio starting in high school at the age of 16, how he worked his way up to radio host on Lightning 100 in Nashville, how he dealt with pushback when pursuing radio, what happened during his Bachelorette audition, how kindness goes a long way, and utilizing Instagram to promote his work and who he really is. Wells also reveals if iHeart paid him while he was on The Bachelorette, how he has dealt with imposter syndrome, the story of his one-on-one date with Jojo, how no one in his family wanted him to go on Bachelor in Paradise, how money is not always the motivator, and he and Sarah navigate their lives together with managing their careers in entertainment. How did Wells end up on The Bachelorette? When did he negotiate his deal as a bartender on Paradise? Is there another role in the Bachelor Nation that he is interested in? What is his take on monetizing on Instagram?  Wells reveals all that and so much more in another episode you can’t afford to miss!  Be sure to follow the Trading Secrets Podcast on Instagram & join the Facebook Host: Jason Tartick Co-Host: David Arduin Audio: Declan O’Connell Trading Secrets Steals and Deal NordVPN: Every purchase of 2 years plan will receive +1 bonus month on top. It's risk-free with Nord's 30 Day Back Guarantee. Go to nordvpn.com/tradingsecrets today! Whoop: To make it easier than ever to start, Trading Secrets has partnered with WHOOP to announced a new 30-day FREE trial. Go to join.whoop.com/tartick today to take advantage. Athletic Greens: Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 Free Athletic Green Travel Packs with your first purchase at  drinkAG1.com/TRADINGSECRETS Better Help: Start today and get 10% off your first month https://betterhelp.com/tradingsecrets

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. I'm your host, Jason Tartick, and welcome to the free market trading segment. This is a quick segment where I talk to you about what you can expect from our guest today. One thing you got to know what's happening in the market and one thing from my personal business life. What are we talking about? Well, today it's June 26th, and the premiere of the new Bachelorette is on. Charity is our Bachelorette. Now, even if you don't watch the Bachelorette or you don't plan on watching The Bachelorette, this episode is still for you because we don't even talk about that until the recap. But what we talk about this episode is our fan favorite, the stud of all studs,

our guest Wells Adams. Hilarious, down-to-earth, humble, successful, hardworking, all the things. Now, if you don't know Wells, you probably live under a rock, but Wells was on Jojo's season of The Bachelorette. And from there, he went on Paradise. And from there, he became a massive, massive fan favorite. And then he actually met his now wife all through the platform of The Bachelor, and his now wife is Sarah Highland from Modern Family. Caitlin and I were so fortunate to attend their wedding. It was so spectacular and so beautiful. And now Wells is the bartender. on Bachelor in Paradise, where he's filming right now. And he's the host of many other shows of which we're going to talk about and the numbers and contracts behind these shows.

So this episode starts where we talk about Wells' career where it first started. And it started in the radio business, making eight bucks an hour. And you're going to hear all about how he wasn't even qualified to be a secretary, making eight bucks an hour, then working his way up in the radio business, also working in the serving business. working to a position where he no longer had to serve until the big break comes when he is auditioned to be on The Bachelorette. And oh my God, this stuff, his bit that he shares. You just need a good laugh today. Wait until you hear the bit that he shares that got him on The Bachelorette. We talk about all dimensions of his career, things that he focuses on, things that he ignores.

We talk about what he made when he went on Paradise. We talk about what he makes as a bartender. Talk about influencing, his whole take on monetizing via ads. Everything that you can imagine around his career is discussed. And we also talk about what it's like being so successful, but also being in a relationship with someone who is internationally known, internationally successful, one of the biggest networks of the biggest sitcoms in television. And we talk about how Sarah Highland and Wells Adams also talk about their finances,

the numbers they share, how they support each other. So this is an episode you can't afford to miss. This is a side I'm hoping of Wells you've never seen. Don't worry, you'll still get your bits, you'll still get your laughter. And just when you're thinking there's too much career and money talk, Wells comes in hot with a killer joke. So you're going to get laughs and you're also going to get educated with this one. So I'm very excited. And stay tuned to the recap because David and I really get in the whole discussion of the

Bachelor franchise and where we think Wells can go next and how excited we are for his track. Now, let's talk about one thing in the market. I want you to focus on. I want you to be aware of, especially if you're a renter, is how the market is shifting a little bit. So renters had to pay a massive increase over the line. last two years. Renters saw a rate of 25% increase over the last two years in the cost of renting. However, apartment rent growth is declining, and it's declining at a super, super fast rate.

The shift in the rental market is now in favor to the renters. The average of six national rental price measures from rental listing and property data companies shows new leases, asking rents rose just under 2% over the last 12 months ending in May. And if you look at the two years prior before that, it was an increase of 25%. So, if you are a renter, be aware of this information, know you have some leverage. Shop around and negotiate with your landlord. And if you're out there and you're a landlord, I'm sorry I'm putting this information out there. but no, your tenants might be negotiating. So be aware. The other thing I want to talk about

is something that relates to my life. I ask a lot from my listeners to give me information. So I'm going to share a piece of information for me that actually touches the podcast. So we analyze our numbers very carefully. Chris Voss episode. Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator. If you didn't listen last week, make sure you listen. It's a life-changing episode. But this is just an industry expert, right? Chris Voss is an honest. celebrity, not a reality TV stars, not an actor, he's not a big comedian, you know, nothing like that. He is a former FBI hostage negotiator. He's an expert in his field. In this episode, in three and a half days, did more downloads than Barbara Corcoran's episode did in almost

two weeks, and Barbara did really well. We're starting to think maybe there's a shift here with Trading Secrets listeners. Maybe not only can we have the celebrities, the sharks, the well, Adams of the world. We got Macklemore coming on. Grancowski, A. Rod, Gary V. Girl with no job. Caitlin Bristow. I mean, we've had Dancing with the Stars, Vanderpump Rules. Maybe we could shift into having more industry experts on that are just giving you pieces of information that can literally change your professional financial and personal lives. Now, we got to talk money. That's what we do. But you guys tell us, go on the reviews, give me five stars. and let me know. Do we continue to have industry expert leaders on all the time? Or do you think

that should be something we do once a month? Or do you not prefer industry experts? You let us know in the comments, we will listen. That's a little bit about Wells Adams. That is a little bit about what's happening in the market right now, especially for my renters. And there are some numbers behind what's going on in our business. This episode is a funny one. It's an educational one. And Bachelor Nation, buckle up. There's some things that have never been shared before. Let's ring in the bell with the one, the only, Wells Adams. Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today, we are joined by Bachelor Nation fan favorite and reality TV personality. One of my favorites, Wells Adams. When it comes to making a

career out of being on reality TV, Wells has truly made the most of his opportunities. Working as a Radio DJ in Nashville. Wells won over fans by competing on Jojo Fletcher season of the Bachelorette. He was later a contestant on Bachelor in Paradise, although he did not find love throughout his time on either shows. A love connection did come his way with Sarah Highland. Fast forward years later, Wells and Sarah are happily married. Wells is thriving in his reoccurring role as the head bartender every summer on Bachelor in Paradise. In addition to working closely with the Bachelor franchise, Wells has expanded his media. career by adding podcast host and TV host to his resume.

The list is endless with this guy. Wells said to me, how could I come on Trading Secrets? I don't even know what to talk about. And what I said is how am I going to keep this under an hour? We'll be talking all about Wells' diverse portfolio of TV endeavors, podcasting, and what's coming next. So, Wells, thank you so much for being on Trading Secrets. I love that intro, and I'll tell you why.

Because you said it, I was a radio host originally. and you kind of went into that. Radio, the new set of Rebel Radio. Here we go, coming at you live from Nashville, Tennessee. There is like a part of me, like back in the day growing up. I wanted to be like, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Royal Rumble. And this is the little part of my show because everything else is not funny like you, but that's the part I get to do.

So there's a closing bell too. And I get to start it. We do a recap. He'll listen to the whole episode, his name's Curious Canadian, and he'll want to know all these things about our interview, what you're like, things I didn't ask. And we started with, ding, ding, ding! So it's the only time I get to do that.

And you got to do that most of your career. Yeah. It was a lot of, like, bad radio bits and soundboards. Yeah. I had so many different soundboards. I used to edit calls, like, on the fly. I kind of miss those days of, like, being a true radio guy. And that was that, was it 100 Lightning in Nashville, or where was it?

Yeah, so I had my first radio show when I was 16. I was in high school, and my first con in the entertainment industry was I was able to convince a high school that I didn't go to to let me have a radio show on their high school radio station. And I didn't go to that school. That's hilarious. And then I was like, oh, this is fun because I wanted to be a musician. And I wasn't a really good guitar player and I was a trash singer. Still I am. Did you give us like one little?

No. Like nothing. If you had a guitar, I'd play like Blackbird for you. Imagine Jason Isbell, but like can't carry a tune. That was like my vibe. Okay. But I wanted to hang out with a bunch of musicians, and I wanted to be one, and I realized that, like, my way of being able to hang out with the cool kids

was to have something that they wanted to be a part of, which is a la radio show. I went to college. I went to Ole Miss. I was a broadcast journalism major. I had a multitude of airships on Rebel Radio. I went to my Rebel Radio, intro to make fun of you, because it was Natanzu-Bode-1, the new saddle of Rebel Radio.

Wow, that was good. That was it. I did every format. I did a morning show. I did afternoon drive. I even did a late night Saturday jazz set, which I called the Old Coast Road show hosted by Dave Garber. That was one of my fake names.

And I only played jazz. And my thought was that everyone was coming home from the bar around 1 o'clock and they'd turn on Rebel Radio and they would hear some smoky jazz and just bone down to it. And I was like, everyone's got to be listened to this. Come to find out, no one ever listened to that show. but it was fun to do on Saturday nights at Old Miss. Even this story of everything pre-show and Ole Miss in your high school, nothing at all is in any form of a blueprint.

It's the definition of a mosaic, and that's like what your careers today is in all different directions. There's not a specific niche. You're a bachelor guy. You're a cook. You're this, you're that. You're doing podcasts with Brandy, kind of all over the place, but it's all worked out. When you were at Ole Miss studying, broadcasting, and journalism, did you at all foresee

your manifest where you are today. Because some people sit down here and they're like, I had it ready to go. I knew I was going to be here and I'm here. And your career is taking so many lefts and rights. Did this at all become what you anticipated it? No, I think my initial thought was, and I do this with a lot of my goals,

like once I achieve them, then it's like on to the next one. My initial thought was, okay, get paid to be a radio host somewhere. And if I can do that, then that will be successful. My sisters went to Vanderbilt, so I had a sister still in Nashville. My plan was to go to Nashville and try to get a radio job there because that's what they made music.

So there has to be radio shows to airing there. And so I went there. I was waiting tables at brick tops on West End. My sister was like, there's this really cool indie radio station called Lightning 100, WRLT, 100.1. Listen to it if you're ever in Nashville. It's a fantastic station.

So I went in and I was like, listen, I'll do this. So whatever I can do to get in the building and then you can hear my air checks and stuff like that. and I remember sitting down with the with the GM and the program director and he was like what you're not qualified to be a secretary what's your Excel skills like you can't do this but your air tech is good so for people out there that don't know what an air check is what is that yeah so you would have like tidbits of your radio show in TV they called a real

but it's basically a bunch of my air checks of like me going into songs or me coming out of songs, me reading copy, me doing live callers, you know, all the things that you need to do on a radio show, just condensed in like a three-minute reel. So that's what the interview is like, or do you come prepared with that to the station? You make that beforehand. Okay, got it. And so they were like, you're great, but we don't have like a position for you so you can be a board op, which is basically someone who like pushes buttons and make sure like the live thing that's happening gets on the air. So like we broadcast Preds games at the time, the hockey team there.

So I was a board out for that. I did overnights where you just like are there overnight. All the while I was waiting tables at brick tops and just like waiting for my opportunity. And then like with everything, like someone got fired and someone died, someone quit. People started falling off. Atrition. Yeah, I was just around all the time. And so I started, you know, I first got the night show on Lightning, which was great.

And when I got that, I was also the promotions director. Someone's got to, like, buy the cooosies and the hats and the glasses that you give out, you know, at Bob's used car lot. To this day, of all the things I've done, one of my most proud moments was quitting my waiting tables job at brick tops. To be able to do that. Yeah, because I was like, I got hired, was making $30,000 a year. Each of those positions, what do they pay? God, I got to look back. I think I started at $8 an hour.

I think I was saying $10 there at the end. And I don't remember I had, like, my, I had to write it down, like on a sheet, turn it in. I was probably making, you know, $400 a month. So that's why I was still waiting tables. I was having to, like, subsidize. Quick question there, though. You go to Ole Miss. Yeah.

It's great school. You're family members. I've had the pleasure meeting them. Extremely smart. Done really well. You go back home or you talk to family, mom, you know, dad, I'm going to go work for eight bucks an hour as a board director. Did you get any pushback?

Like, Wells, what are you doing? I think I got pushback from everyone. It was really hard for everyone. to see the forest the trees but I was like listen this is fun

for me and my my theos with work is like try to figure out the things that you like to do and see if you

can con someone in a pangy for it everyone was very confused it was a lot of like why don't you just go sell insurance or like sure whatever

so I think I got a little bit of pushback I remember the hardest thing for me was all my friends who had went to Old Miss a lot of people

moved to Nashville after Old Miss and all my friends had like really good jobs or good jobs, you know? And I was waiting tables and they'd come into my restaurant which was a good restaurant

and I'd wait on them What restaurant was it? Brick tops. Oh, brick tops. I was a terrible waiter. I was great with my customers but I never remember the fucking menu so I just make stuff up

which is what I still do which is likely what you do on Paradise. It's just, it's what I do with every part of my life. Sarah's like I never know if anything's true or not with you and they'd be like what's the Hannah Rance Ribby

and I'd be like, Oh yeah, man. It's Asian flavors with pineapple. And I remember my boss coming up behind me and he goes, literally none of the things that you described were in that dish or in that dish. But you're doing it with a straight face and a hand gesture. But it was the most expensive thing on the menu. And I was like, who cares? I sold it. And he's like, yeah, okay, whatever. But yeah, it was tough for me. I remember thinking it shouldn't be like this. But when you serve someone, you feel less than. And it's funny because I still serve people today on a TV show. Do you feel less than? I'll tell you what, man. There are people that are fucking rude on that show and I don't give them the best advice when that happens.

Are you talking about the cast? You're talking behind the scenes? No, the crew's always the most wonderful people in the world. But sometimes, you know, people come in there and they're entitled and stuff and there has to be like a little bit of a check like, hey, I'm not really your bitch boy.

Like, say, there's been a couple of times when I'll say, what do we say after we order something? Wow. We'll get into that because I have a ton of questions the cast of paradise and the whole entire process and the people, because it's a show I've never been on. That's a perfect tease for that. You are redefining, I think, the jack of all trades with each one of those things you were doing every night, all in at the pinnacle of your

radio career, with all those moving parts around, if you had to estimate, how much were you made? $54,000. $54,000. At what age? So at age did you hit the pinnacle? Well, from lightning, I think $54,000 was when I tapped out there. All right. So you go from being a board op. eight bucks an hour. The life-changing event happens for Wells. He gets asked to be on the bachelor's. How did they find you? It was funny. I used to do a bit on my morning show where I would go audition for commercials. And so I would like on the morning show be like, I got this meow mix commercial and like, here are the lines. We're doing it tomorrow. And the whole bit was that I would never get the job. And I would be intentionally bad because the payoff was coming back the next day and

my, you know, co-host or intern, I would be inconsolable. And they'd be like, what, what happened with the mea-mix commercial? And I was like, I just forgot the lines. And they're like, it was just mea-mix, mehomics, we delivered. That was the entire line. And I'm like, I freaked out, you know. And so I was doing this bit and it was funny. And I had gotten dumped.

And my brother, my brother who lives in L.A., he is like, and you've met Brett. Like, he's like the best guy in the world. He's a 10 out of 10. 11 out of 10. Yeah. And it's funny because he's like the handsome one. our family. He was the model and everything. He has not. Yeah. He's got a, in a room

he's got a big, a big presence. Yes, he does. And so he was at Q's, which is like, it's in Santa Monica or Brentwood area. They actually used to film Vanderpum rules. So my brother was there, and a casting director came up to him was like, you are like the most entertaining person in this room, like, everyone is like hanging on your last word, everyone loves you, who are you,

will you come on this show? And he went, through like the entire process and kind of you know you know just as well as I do that the process kind of takes a long time and so by the time it was time to film he was like I am in relationship with somebody like I'm not going to do it but Brett being my brother being the person he is he for some reason stayed in touch with this casting director for like 10 years and so when I got dumped he was like hey do you want me to call Melissa she's the one from me yeah she's great I still talk to her I do shout out the Melissa and so And so I was like, oh, this would be such a good bit, like, for the morning show.

And I'll bring everyone through the process of me. And I'll intentionally do bad and, like, not be douchey enough for a show with a lot of duches on it. Yeah. And so I went and did it. And I did, it's funny, because I wore this exact jacket to the audition. It's got history. I could be framed right there. And it's funny.

You can't see it. It's got all these, like, buttons and shit. And I remember going into my interview and they were like, what's with, all the fucking buttons on your jacket. What do you work at TGF, right? I was like, well, it's my 14 pieces of flare. Just to see, I was like, does anyone watch office? Watch office?

Yeah, yeah. And then I went, I got annoyed and I was like, well, this one's a band. This is a taco, because I love tacos. This is, and I was, like, this is cool. You guys didn't know what you're talking about. Yeah. But I went to that audition and I was wearing all denim. Because I had just finished a radio show and I had another one coming up

and I wasn't gonna get all dressed up. And I wasn't really trying to get all dressed up. really trying to get the role of being on the bachelor's right and I remember walking in and everyone I don't know if this was your experience but everyone was wearing suits as if like this is what they're going to wear when they get out of the limo like a suit and tie yes wait what how many people were there there were probably like 20 people it was like at the lobby of a hotel yeah and so I walked in and I'm like I was like oh off to a blazing start not even wearing one I'm supposed to be wearing right now but that'll be a good story on the morning show tomorrow exactly

Which it was. I was like, hilarious. And so I went up and I did the audition, just kind of similar to like this vibe of like you go in this small little hotel room. They've got a bunch of cameras on you. And they were like, all right, so who are you? And like, what do you do? And I was like, I'm a radio DJ.

And so they're like, okay, then do your radio bit. And so that day I had, like I remembered what my bit was that morning. Still do. It's funny. And I did it for him. And I had these two women like dying laughing. And I had a heart out. How long was the bit?

Well, the bit that I did, I know exactly what it was. It was, take yourself back to 2016. Justin Bieber was in some trouble, in some hot water, because he went and peed in a bucket in like a restaurant somewhere. And it was like all in the news that Justin Bieber peed in this bucket.

How dare he just go to the bathroom and all this stuff? So the bit was taking it from the perspective of the bucket. Like, man, I've seen some shit, but like, what a day. Justin Bieber gave me a golden shower. Like, whoa, man, like, today's the day. Were they dial out of? Yeah, and I was like, and boy, did he? he have a nice cock and like, you know, like, that's unbelievable.

I woke up and all of a sudden Justin Bieber just shining down upon me, raining down excellence. And so I was doing that bit for them. So that was the thing. And then I remember being like, I have a heart out because I have to do my afternoon drive show. And so I look at my watch and all of a sudden like 45 minutes had gone by and I had just been like chit chatting with these women. I was like, guys, I got to go.

So sorry, you know. And that's when they were like, so are you busy in April and May? And I was like, oh, no. like this is going to happen I wanted to not get this thing one quick story is you went in with your flare I went in I just had it all black on

with the black button up and I had to do this thing they're like what's your favorite animal and I said lions they go why I go because I know every word every song in Lion King they throw me a pillow and they say do your thing

and I just went up and I did the whole thing they're dying laughing but I'll never forget I got on the show and then I go to the hotel like, you know, days before they're going to film and Alon Gale comes in.

Kind of felt like you got a little chirp there. He looks at me and goes, you look different. And I was like, what do you mean? He goes, I don't know. I feel like I could work with this. And I go, did you not feel that before? And he goes, not at all. He goes, you know what?

That whole outfit, remember that black shirt you had on? Because I just saw the video and that black pair, let's just burn it all. We'll start fresh and now you're in a good spot. I'm like, Jesus, this place is cutthroat. It's unbelievable. But when you go back to IHeart, they go back and forth, they say, okay, you can go on, act like the red lights always on, be aware. Did you get paid while you're on the show, or did you have to take vacation?

And when you stopped filming and came back, did you immediately jump right back in your role? Yeah, so I fought to have paid leave because in my mind, I was enhancing the brand of IHeart by being the radio host for IHeart on a nationally televised show. And I, to this day, I think I had a good argument. But they were like, no, we're not going to pay you while you're gone. I'm like, all right, fine. So I had to take a leave of absence. And you know, when you go on the bachelor, you know how you could be for three days or it could be two months. So I took my leave of absence.

Well, I think what I did was is that I took all of my vacation days for the first two weeks. I was like, I think I'll probably make it two weeks. And then everything after that will be. Two weeks. That's what I felt. And then it became like a war of attrition. It was just like, let's just see how long I can stay on this thing. Please.

One more day. I want to go to Argentina. Because I knew Doja did not like me. But that's also, by the way, anyone who watches the show, that is the mindset of almost every person that's on. Absolutely. What do I do to survive another minute, another day? And some of the motive might be fame.

Some of the motive might be a TV screen time. It might just be like, this is fucking cool. I don't want to go home. But everyone does that. It's just how do they do it? And emotionally, how do they react? That either puts them in a complete catastrophic situation where they're else. is just blowing everything up.

Or they're skating by and getting a couple trips. Well, for me, and the thing about The Bachelorette is it's competitive. Like, it is someone's leaving every week. Like someone's losing and someone's winning, like every week. I compare it to Survivor. Yeah. And you have to ally up with people. Absolutely.

And you've got to figure out like, for me, I was like, okay, what's my role here? Because it was pretty evident that she liked a certain type of guy. And it was like, and it was not me. I watched this show, and I remember, like, she, like, the quarterback, the football player, you know, and at least compared to the other people, that obviously wasn't you, and I'll never forget the firefighter. Oh, yeah. And, like, you, like, bailed out, tapped out, and these huge jack guys are doing all of it. But she came over to you, and, like, that was, like, your very lovable moment there.

I always like to bring these stories back to career in financial advice and how people back home can somehow take something away. You had to feel some sort of imposter syndrome when you were competing against these guys. knowing you aren't what she wants and they're these like massive dudes all jack for pro football players did you feel that yeah but I also knew that I brought something that they couldn't so is that how you cope with imposter syndrome if anyone back their home did they have imposter's when they walk into a conference room they're in an interview they feel that what you felt what did you do to put that aside and differentiate one of the biggest attributes that I like attribute to myself in terms of my success is that I have an irrational delusion about how good I am at things.

And it's a way for me to cope with not getting what I want. So I've been hosting TV shows now and stuff and I go into auditions and I don't get things sometimes. And I always, because that can really like fuck you up when you're getting no a lot. And I always would be like, I was great. I killed that. They're just not looking for this, like, you know, me. They're looking for something else, but I kill that.

And so that's on them. And I do that a lot with like everything that like is not working out. Just like just be irrationally delusional about how good you are things. And for me it's like a copium mechanism for like staying away from being depressed. And so in that particular situation, I remember being like, I'm hilarious in the interview chair, which I think I was. You are. And I think that that's why they kept me around. I don't know what really happened.

But this is my envision of, of what. went down. Okay, Jojo, who do you want to pick this week? I want to pick Jordan. I want to pick Chad. I want to pick Chase. And they're like, what about Wells? And she's like, I don't know if I really like him. Yeah, but he's helping us tell a story in a very funny way in the interview chair. Maybe let's just keep him around. And she's like, yeah, great. That's how, I don't know if that's what was going on, but that's how I was like, this is how I get to hang around. I feel like that's how the show works. Yeah. I don't know. Like, the lead has there's three people. And then they're like the rest. We have to tell the story. Yeah.

Yeah. He's a great guy. Like, everyone's going to like him. Don't get rid of yet. Yeah. So were you surprised you made it to week six or did that seem right? Well, it was messed up because this whole, my storyline was I hadn't kissed her yet. And that was really a, uh, a symptom of I never had a one-on-one. I never really was just alone with her. Yeah. Because I was, I went on every single group date except for one. And that, and that one week was the week that I went on a one-on-one finally. And so I just remember, being like, this is a bummer because I'm never alone with this person, you know, like I'm never having an opportunity to, to kiss her. And then they kind of use that to like, kind of

emasculate me a little bit, which I didn't love. But looking back, it doesn't really matter. It's a show. It is what it is. Okay. So you get off the show and you never did kiss her, right? No idea. I kissed her. And that was a little, and then she let you go. It was so funny. Yeah. So I finally kiss her. So it was actually funny story. So we went to this thing called Rootsa or something like that. And it was like performance art. It was this weird thing. It was this pool that was like a glass bottom that lifted up in the air and it had water in it and they had these two people like sliding around on it and like they were basically naked like both wearing like thongs and speedos and stuff. And I remember the thought of they we were both watching it and I knew that they wanted me to kiss her then. Yeah.

When they had lowered down this. This is where your radio back at it is like, okay, this is the moment. Yeah, and I was like, I was like, I don't know if it's going to look super weird if I make out with her with like, this guy's a nut sack, like in his little banana hammock, like three feet from my head. Like, that's a weird look. And so I was like, nope, we're not doing it right here, guys. And they're like, why not? And I was like, his balls were right there. You're getting too bad, like trying to make out.

Listen, I know I'm this skinny, funny guy, but come on. I'm emasculating me. Yeah, so anyways, they put me through it Okay, got it And it all happened You get out of there You go on to Paradise, what, months later? So they wanted me to do Paradise

Because I think I was like a fan favorite everything And I had no desire to do the show I was done I was like I have a good career I'm really proud of like what I've built like This show is kind of trashy at the time It was kind of considered the trashy one It might still be considered that

Paradise, yeah I think it's, yeah. My family did not want me to go on the show. I think compared to The Bachelor of Batchett, Red, it's probably a step down in that reality realm of, like, the trash go. Yeah, but I, but I, I, I hear, I'm not saying for the bartender. I'm saying for the cast. No, but I also think it's the best show.

Oh, it's definitely the best show. It's the most entertaining. Yeah, so my, and my family really did not want me to go. I remember I was at, like, my sister's lake house in Texas, kind of like leading up to paradise and it was like an intervention everyone sat me down and like do not go on this show like it's not a good look like

you already looked fine on that show which we weren't even sure about that like you have a good job do not do this and you did it I did it and it turned it's funny because I've had to tell this to like my family

and my parents a lot I was like you guys have all given me very bad advice when it came to my career they didn't want me to be a radio host they were like hey go beat sell insurance they were like don't go on this show it's trash you know that worked out well

then they were like do not go on paradise and I was like there's a I see that there's something else further down the line that you guys can't see I'm gonna keep pushing that way you get up listen to your parents kids that's my advice break the blueprint guys you get off paradise

how many followers do you have oh I don't know it's funny because Alon Gail who is the EP on the show when I first got off the Bachelor I remember I was like I have 80,000 followers now. This is great. Like, I don't need to do any more of these shows.

Like, I have my three radio shows. I got $80,000. It's just amazing. And he was like, that's nothing. You need to go on the show. And I was like, no, I really don't want to. And then that's kind of like how the whole negotiation of my role on the show now came about. Okay.

So you get off Paradise. When you went on the first time, you didn't want to go. Or you wanted to go. Your parents didn't want you to go. You knew it would have impacted your career. Did you negotiate with The Bachelor to get paid more because of that to go on Paradise the first time just as a cast? No. And it's funny too.

It's funny because this show is all about like how to make a lot of money and I'm like not good at this. Or the opposite. It's about what you did wrong that you could have done better. Yeah. I still do this. I'm a firm believer in I don't care about bottom line as long as I can see the benefit for myself going forward. Like yes, having a lot of money is great. But like I would have probably done these shows for first.

I think that's cool. You weigh the tangibles, right? The stuff you can count, the black and white, and the intangibles. You put a total value on both, and then you make your decision of what you're going to do. Okay, got it. And for me, especially like in the world that I was in radio, the value for me was, like, growing the awareness of me, of who I was to everybody. You know, then I could have gotten like a syndicated show because everyone on the radio, because everyone knew me. And like, that's how I was looking at it and thinking about it.

And so, yeah, dude, so I think you guys. have talked about it before. It used to be $400 a day was what you got in paradise. But then there were people, there were outliers who would be like, I'm not going unless you pay me $30,000 or whatever it was. Sure. I wasn't playing hardball in terms of that. Because I remember some people that wanted to negotiate like a $2530K guarantee.

Because what they figured, if they have to guarantee me that money, if I walk in there day one, they're not going to let me go, day two. Well, if that's not true. Because you've seen it. If there's a good exit for you, we'll take it. Yeah, okay. All right. No, I mean, I say that in jest.

But yeah, so, and it's, this is going to blow people's mind, but like the first three years of me being the bartender, I was just doing the $400 a day thing. Like, I never, I didn't renegotiate my deal until, until maybe my fourth season of being the bartender. Why? Because it's a good show. I'll tell you why. Everyone fucking wants that job.

And I know all the people who have tried to come and steal my job from Bachelor Nation. and if you don't think that I don't have like a little Rolodex in my head of all the people you've got to give me at least one or two people that you know they've come swinging for your job I imagine you could probably think of a couple give me one because I can't like oh oh oh oh I see like a Nick Vial definitely

I don't know but he goes I don't know but yeah I know like they told me and they're very good about they know what they're the best negotiators of the planet explaining to me how fickle my job is so I was just like man I'm just really pumped to be doing it. Again, you thought, I'll do it for free. I don't really care about the 400 bucks. I probably would have back then. Yeah, now. But yeah, like, one, it was, it was such an opportunity

to, just to be a part of a, like, what I thought was, like, a very, very good show to make. It suited my sensibility so well, because it opens up as a comedy. So you know where, what this is going forward. I was a good bartender, like in college and stuff and at brick tops and whatnot. You weren't a good server, though. I wasn't a good server. And I'm actually, not a great bartender, but I can make a couple drinks. And once I got the taste of, like, helping people find something, it became very, like, rewarding for me.

Because the bartender's gig is one thing, but, like, the therapist gig is, like, really the, where the juice is on that show, right? And so much gets cut of me talking to these people, but, you know, the whole thing is that I was in their shoes. Like, I remember how it felt, to be on that show and have like crippling anxiety about how I was gonna look

and what my edit was gonna be and what should I be doing and I'm not sure if I trust any of these producers yada yada yada and I'm the one person who's like I know I know where you are at I know where you've been I've been there too like it might be it might look bad if you go talk to so and so or like

I think that you gotta go like you should probably break up with her before she finds out about like you hung out with so-and-so in the pool, whatever, you know? Because I want these people to be successful in love and stuff. And so once I started having a hand in helping the show be successful, then it became, I was just proud of, like, getting to do it.

I find it, that makes a lot of sense. And your role has changed. And you even talked about how I would have done it for free then, obviously not now, because your value exchange changed drastically and continued. to change in the right way. I want to just talk a little bit about this whole transition from being cast to now being part of the producing and execution of the show. You had mentioned that you deal with different people of all personalities, some douchebags, some nice people, some people

you have to literally coach to say thank you. I've noticed this just from personality types of people that come off the show. It's really interesting to see where the confidence, arrogance, insecure, down-to-earth varieties are and they just land on all different spectrums. I would think anyone that's on paradise, especially these things, especially these days, is talking to you and they're looking up to you at a level like no other because of all the success you've achieved from the show and outside of the show. But you're telling me that's not always the case. And I'm curious from your professional standpoint, what's your observation there and why? Well, this has always been my like creedo with work because I saw it happen long before I was on TV but it's really really hard

to fire the guy that everyone likes in the office and so I've always been that way like and it's not to say that I'm not really a nice person but like it's really really tough to get rid of somebody who everyone is pumped about seeing every day you know and so I I try to bring that into that situation and I tell people on paradise that same thing like it's really really hard to be mean to you in terms of your edit or whatever if everyone likes you you know like be nice to the person micing you up offer you know the photographer's assistant water because you know they're sweating like a hooker in church over there like you know like that stuff kind of goes long way the thing that I have to get over when people are rude to me is that's an insecurity thing for them like

that's an issue for them and it's not really at me. But I will say when people are rude, I will say, hey, listen, you can't talk to people like that, you know? Like, it's just not a good look. You want to be the bad guy. It's not hard to make you to be the bad guy if you're saying and acting like that. And I think also another weird work parallel you can take the bartending on paradise

is they have some little dotted, itty-bitty-dotted line to you almost being like a boss, in my opinion. You could have some little sort of impact of how things turn out. for them, right? Like, something. Like, you even said yourself, when, you know, like someone, you might give them the wrong advice. Do you think there's some truth to that? Like, the better you are to your boss, the better someone is to the bartender, the more likelihood of success they might have? I think, yeah, absolutely. And it's so much easier to give bad advice to someone you hate. You know, like, this really is. Don't be hateable. Yeah. Don't be hateable. But I guess

just, like, you walk the fine line of, like, being fake, and I'm not fake. Like, I'm a genuinely nice person. I have my days where I'm, like, upset and stuff, and that's just fighting through that. And then, like, also knowing that, like, everyone else is dealing with their own bullshit. And you have to, like, give people grace and that kind of stuff. And the same thing with Paradise. People are on there, and they're like, I haven't slept in three days, you know, like, I'm getting yelled at by so-and-so. Like, I know that they're going through a lot. And so I do give them a little bit grace. Like the radio world, you saw all different positions, right?

From secretary all the way to the top. In the bachelor world, you've now at least had vision to all positions. From being cast and interviewing with your flair to seeing the people at the top. Are there any other positions within this production other than being the bartender that you have your eyes set on in the future? No. I mean, I think my bid for the host of the show came and went. And so that's great, and that's fine.

I was a, I'm a fan of Jesse, still am. He's a great guy to work with. So I think now it's more of like, I want to keep doing what I'm doing in television, just expand it, you know? Yeah. I love doing Paradise and I hope I get to do it forever, but that's eventually going to end,

and I just hope I can kind of continue on. Do you know what it will end? Do you have a contract that says in 2025? It's up. Do you know anything like that? This is my last contracted year, but which one the one coming up yeah once this contract's up are you going to try and negotiate for a larger raise or time period or anything like that or you're just up in the air with it yeah i don't

think we'll cross that bridge when we get there okay one thing i was interested i've talked to you behind the scenes about instagram and something i'm extremely like open about talking about is the way i've monetized it every show i do one annual review i talk about every penny i made on instagram I was shocked when you told me once. I look at Instagram as like little side money. It's like whatever. I could do a deal and maybe go on vacation. I was blown away by that because if I look at all of my different businesses and stuff,

I'd say definitely last year, Instagram had the highest profit margins. It was the largest dollar amount. Is that still your take on Instagram? When I agree with you that you can make a lot of money off of that stuff, my thing is that I just try not to do a lot of it. So you're intentional about not trying to do that. Yes. And, like, I have a manager, obviously, that brings me stuff. We get into a lot of fights about, I'm like, no, we're not, there's enough, like, enough ads.

Do you have a rule? I only do one ad a month. I'll only do one every two months. You have a rule of thumb like that. My rule is I don't like when there's, like, two ads back to back on, like, my grid of pictures. I agree with that. I'm in the same boat. Yeah.

Yeah. I wouldn't do that. Listen, I will concede that you can make a lot of money off of it. for me I don't like I don't consider myself an influencer I consider myself a personality and a host of which I've been since I was 16 years old

this other thing is great and it's a it is side money but like I think if I do we're just doing social media stuff I would feel not who I feel like I am if that makes any sense so you look at your identity is you are in TV and you are a media personality and you can make

money influencing because of that yeah you are not an influence or in any shape or form. No, but I think for me, the value of social media comes with its ability to help promote. So like, let's say I'm in a room to get a job. Okay, yes, I can reprompter. I can do anything with an in-air.

I'm really good, you know, improv or whatever you guys need me to do. And also, I have a relatively large following that I can help promote this show. And so it's an intangible that I get to use as like a resume builder. And then when I do, like, you know, I did best in dough this past year on Hulu, which is a great little cooking show. And I was so proud to put out, effectively those are ads for free, but it was me promoting this show that I was really proud of that I worked on, you know? Yeah.

And so I look at it that way. It's like it's this opportunity to promote what I really am in my head, which is a host and a TV personality. Okay, I love this. I don't know whether, again, whether it's tangible or intangible. Whether it's some type of like optimistic delusion or it's the reality, it's the Wells way and no one else's way. Yeah. Let me ask you this though.

2000 since you've been doing what you've been doing 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, you sit down with your accountant. Your accountant's doing all your financials and they're looking at all your sources of income. Is it fair to say that social media influencing is usually a top source of income or no? Yeah, it's up there for sure. Yeah, it's, it's pretty high up there. but I would say no.

Like, I did two TV shows last year, and that was the bulk of, like, what I made. And if that's the bulk now, I'm assuming that transition for you is flipped, right? Where it was influencing podcasting. You've now built such a strong brand. It's TV with influencing and podcasting below. And then your value, the host, like we had Rob Grunkowski on,

he goes, you know, man, I made a lot of money in NFL, 70 million bucks, but that doesn't touch TV land. Like, that TV money is different. I assume your trajectory is, TV money is going to hopefully continue to move at a high pace and influencing and podcasting, there's going to be more separation. Does that look at your forecast? I think that's what I'm hoping for, too.

Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm striving for. Okay. And I also, there's also another thing that, like, I haven't gotten into producing shows, but I eventually want to start doing that, whether that's with my wife or not. I love being on camera, because I do have an ego and stuff, but, like, there would be a lot of, it would be very gratifying to create something and be behind the scenes and make something, you know?

So many options. Yeah. We just had Caitlin on the 100th episode. One of the things we talked about was business and relationship. And she talked about how, as a partner, there was a lot of masculine what you talked about just based on her success versus his. And we brought it back to our relationship and talked about that. Professionally, do you feel any of that in your current relationship?

Of course, but also, like, I could be the next Ryan Seacrest, and I'm not sure if I would touch Sarah's success in terms of 11 seasons on Modern and, you know, bumper in Berlin and love island, like, that bitch fucking kills. So, so I at least know that, like, there's really nothing I can do to be able to, like, surpass her success and stuff. but then again like I go back to you we and that's I'm sorry because this is your show but like we are so tied to the barometer for success is money yeah and it for me it's not like I love that though I think that's such a good perspective what is it I think being really proud of the work that you do is really really important because like yeah I could go case and point I could go sell diarrhea tea and favit fun boxes and make so much fun of fucking fucking money. Five million a year all day. Yeah. And I would not be proud of myself. Like I would not be proud of the work that I did. But if I go do like a, you know, a small little Hulu show that like, I think turned out to be really fun and funny and good. And yeah, I didn't make as much money, but I'm really proud of that thing. And I made enough money to be, to live fine and, you know, luckily my wife is very successful. So these go bad. I'm sure she can help me out. I think it's a slippery

scale when you just when you're only looking at bottom line of success being financial yeah i think that's great i've always said like the biggest hack when it comes to work is to get people to let you i mean everyone it's an old saying or what like you know do what you love and you know work a day in your life but like that's that's that's all good the hack is is convincing people to pay you to do shit that you love yeah and once you can do that then it's like man this is this is great like yeah i love I love being in Mexico bartending. Like he's the most fun freaking thing in the world. Like I get to see the shit show unfold in front of me.

I get to be kind of a part of storyline, you know. And there's a little bit of me that's like, I can't believe they pay me to do this, you know? That's really cool. Let me ask you about this. The whole second book I'm writing right now. It starts with a question, and the question is not subjective, it's objective, it's a number.

And it's talking about how in relationships these days, we talk about trauma, we talk about our past, we talk about history, we still have yet to get comfortable with the taboo subject of money and what it means in the relationship and what it means for a couple. So every chapter has a question. Like the first one is about what is your credit score. You have to talk about your credit score, your partner's credit score, what that means, how you can improve it, how not to leverage it against one another, etc. Do you and Sarah ever

do anything like that? Do you guys talk about the money you make? Do you talk about how to manage it in a healthy manner, how to not let things like that, the success of one or the other, the ebbs and flows of your industry, throw your professions off or your finances off as a couple. No, it's more of like, we're good teammates. And so it really more of our conversations are. And she gets a lot of these offers more so than I do. Would it be like, hey, I've been offered to do this thing for this amount of money? Sure. And then it's weighing the pros and cons of, is this good for us? Is this good for your brand? Is all that kind of stuff? And then we kind of reverse engineer it back to like, okay, so if you go do this, what does this look like

and going backwards? But like, no, like, I don't know what Sarah's credit score is. I don't think Sarah knows what Sarah's credit score is. She has a team of business managers who are dealing with that. Yeah. Okay. My business manager talks to her business manager and that's how things work. That's how it all works. We don't talk to each other about it. All right. I know it is, it's tough when like the numbers that I'm offered are much different than the numbers because she's being off. Sure, sure. But it's all relative.

And yeah, so it's a lot of like, okay, is this good for us going forward? Okay. And also for us too, and for everybody, but especially for us, time is a commodity that's almost more valuable

than actual cash. Because, you know, she does bumper in Berlin. That's a three-month shoot. She does Love Island. That's a two-month shoot. So now we're talking about almost half the year

she won't be around me. It's like what is the value of the next thing that take her away from our life here and is it worth it for her to go do those things? Yeah. And same with me. Like Paradise is a month shoot. I was supposed to go do a, you know, a thing in Toronto for like a couple months. And it was like, I don't know, man, because I'm not going to see you very much this year. This is our first year of marriage. The one thing I got to ask you is about just the overall more famous, more or everything makes more. And I was going to ask kind of like,

do you ever have a complex about it? And if you do or don't, what advice do you have for someone back home where their partner might be in that situation? Yeah, I mean, I think that saying that I don't have, like it doesn't affect me, that would be a lie. Because I think we're all brought up in this,

you know, in this world where like the man is the provider. Sure, sure. That's so antiquated and stupid. Yeah. It kind of goes back to my delusional success. I'm always like, I'm great. Like, I killed that. Like I, and I do that with kind of comparing our careers. They're obviously completely different and her skill sets different than

mine. So no, I, I'm just really, really proud of her. And I think that if you can start having that feeling to replace like the jealousy maybe is the word is or resentment or something of someone's success with like pride and be like, dude, my bitch, fuck kills. You know, like she rakes it in. She gets the bag. She is a boss. It was funny. We were talking about a hollow-and-ote song came on and she goes, if I could encapsulate... Which song was? It wasn't rich girl, wasn't it? It's my favorite

old. I got to look it up. Anyways, it was, and she was like, if I could there was a song that I could say would capsulate you, it's this hollow-notes song. And I'm like, that's very, very odd. And then she was like, so what song encapsulates me? And I was like, well, that's a tough thing. And I came at her with, I think it would be queen, killer queen. And she didn't like this at first. And she was like, why?

And I was like, well, you are a Broadway kid. You're, like, classically trained singer. Like, Freddie was an opera singer in a rock band. You also are an ally for, like, the LGBTQ. So, like, that also works. Yeah. But also, like, the songs about this badass bitch, you know, like, who's having, like, people over and everyone loves her

and is, you know, in awe of, like, her badassness. And then when I told her that, she was like, oh, okay. I like that being my, like, my energy or my, song. It all clicks. Yeah. I completely agree with you. I think like there's always there's always something that happens where you think about stuff like I think about what Caitlin's done in her lane and like just the empowerment she's had on people and they'll come up to her and I've seen people cry just being like I heard there was one girl who said like I was in a really dark place rethinking my life and your advice and your show helped me bring out of that and she just gave Caitlin a hug and that was like

one of the most beautiful things I'd seen. And then you walk away from you. from that and I am like I started a camera like how amazing is that right but then like let's say it's like five hours late and you're thinking about it I'm thinking am I doing enough in my lane to make an impact yeah am I doing enough to like actually change so I and I start to think like that a little bit like maybe I'm not doing enough to like really change someone's whatever in my lane yeah I think through that a little bit but I do agree I think the advice out there is like like it's I get so proud of her and I want to support her I want to see if I truly when she succeeds I get so happy.

I get fired up myself. So I think that's part of it. And that's just a huge part of the puzzle. And it's honestly just a beautiful thing, really. Yeah. And I would say that that's the most beneficial thing about getting married, aside from like the tax breaks or something, is that you have a, you now have a teammate.

Like you have a partner like there in your corner. And I was asked this on, you know, carpets and stuff about like, what's the best thing about being married? And I was like, I have a teammate. And I know that's not romantic, but it's true. Like, someone gets too drunk at a party. The other one's like, hey, time to go. You know, like, that's get you out of here.

Or, like, you know, I'm not sure if, like, this next gig is the best gig for you to do because it's on this network or whatever, you know, like, little things and big things, it's so great to have someone to be able to lean on. And the second that you start, like, resenting somebody for their success, you're no longer a part of the team anymore. And her success is now my success and vice versa, you know? Yeah. I think for richer for poor, for better for worse,

and that is a real thing, and that pleads in. And when you have that teammate, it changes the world. And I also think you can tell. One thing I took away career advice from Sarah's family was you can tell she's a good teammate because she is. But also I got to talk to her dad a little bit at your wedding. And her dad talking about how his wife was so supportive of his decision to go into Broadway. And he was telling him they lived in this little itty-bitty apartment.

Like you could barely move. were giving Sarah, you know, baths in the sink and all these things. 300 square feet. And you talked about like the commitment it took, but how it made their family happier and it potentially helped Sarah with her career. And that's just, that's like when you have teammates, when you have partners, when you have parents and stuff that give you that support, it impacts the whole circle around you, the whole future of your friends, your family.

And that's career advice that leaks into all balance of life. That like when I was talking to them there, I was blown away. Your wedding was amazing. your life has been a beautiful, beautiful mosaic, a nice piece of art moving in all directions, all different colors, sizes and scales, and it can continue to do so. Well, this has been awesome. There's just so much to talk about in so little time. We got to wrap with your trading secret. So one piece of advice, it could be financial advice, career navigation advice, life advice. You can't get into textbook. You can't learn from a professor. You can't learn from your boss.

You can only learn through Wells Adams and your wild story professionally. personally. So one trading secret, what could you leave? Listen, I told you before coming on this, I was like, I'm not like a finance guy. Like, I'm not sure if I'm a very good guest for this. But, okay, I'll give you two pieces of advice. The first one, I think this is a quote from Lex Luther. So take it for what you, it might be from somebody else. But buy land, it's the only thing they're not making any more of. A firm believer in real estate, I think it's a pretty solid bet. And passive income is pretty freaking awesome. That's good. And then my second one is, and I said it earlier,

it's really, really hard to fire the nicest guy in the office. And everyone should strive to be the nicest and best guy in the office because one, you bring everyone's vibe up day in and day out. And yeah, you know, like, what is it? The honey attracts more flies and vinegar. Like, just be the best guy you can be or girl and you'll be successful. And that trading secret, you got anecdotes. You got metaphors.

And you also got tangible financial advice. Wells, this has been an absolute pleasure. Where can people find everything that you have going on, your podcast, your shows, et cetera? Yeah, so I do a podcast with Brandy Cyrus. That's Miley's sister and Billy Ray's daughter. We have been doing that for six years now. And it's funny because back in my radio days, Brandy was a regular contributor on my show, on my pop show. We actually tried to make, we tried to get a syndicated radio show together, and IHeart turned it down.

And we were like, well, screw, we'll just do this podcast. So we've been doing this forever. And that's called Your Favorite Thing Podcast. And effectively is what my morning show was, but condensed down into one hour with a lot less music. And winter episodes release for that. Every Wednesday on wherever you get your podcast. And effectively, it's our favorite things.

When we decided to make the show, I think Miley was going through it on social media. I think I was getting a little bit of hate post show. And we were like, let's just talk about the things that we love. Let's just be positive. So it's just things that we love. music, books, TV, funny stories. The other show that I do is called Two Dudes in the Kitchen,

and it's me and Tyler Florence. I met Tyler Florence when I was filming The Worst Cooks in America, which I won. Not a big deal. Not a big deal. Be out Johnny bananas. Suck it, Johnny. And so now we do a podcast where basically I'm every man. I don't know everything about cooking.

Obviously, Tyler does. He's, you know, an award-winning chef. And so it's just kind of us talking about cooking, navigating like Thanksgiving or like whatever. And then also like, hey, you're in Austin. These are the places you need to go. So if you're kind of a foodie or want to get into that foodie world,

two dudes in the kitchen's great. Real quick, that's interrupt. I love the summary of that show. If you read the podcast summary, it talks about all of his awards and how famous he is as a chef. And it's like, and then we have Wells.

The fake bartender. The worst cook in America. It's perfect. Yeah. Yeah, I maybe need to go edit that. I never even looked at that. It's great. That's good to know.

And then, yeah, I host a cooking show called Best in Dough. It's on Hulu. You can watch all 10 episodes now, and it is about pizza makers. So if you love pizza or love food, go watch that. It's a really good show. There's a lot of cooking shows out there that are kind of, like you watch Gordon Ramsey, like he's mean, you know, or like chopped, you know, like they can be kind of mean. Our show is very, very positive. It's hilarious, too. I watched him prep for this. The Italian grandma is my favorite. If you need a good laugh and just want an escape, it's a perfect show. You're Italian, right?

Yeah, I got 1% in me. Okay. Literally, 1%. I swear to God. You look very Italian. I'll take it. Anyways, that's a great episode. But it's a very positive cooking show.

Go watch that. Obviously, Paradise airs every summer slash fall now. And follow me on at Wells Adams. Well, guys, go listen to his podcast. Go follow him on social media. You will not get overburied with ads. We already know that. And Wells, thank you so much for being on this episode.

Thank you, Jason. Good to see you, man. Good to see you, too. Ding, ding, ding. closing in the bell to the Wells Adam episode. This is after trading hours. We got the curious Canadian here with us. And after trading hours on a beautiful day like Monday, June 26th, the Bachelorette premiere. The timing is perfect. We're going to probably talk a lot about the Bachelor in this whole recap. We'll see what David brings to the table. But I just want to put this out

there. We are selective with who we have on from the Bachelor franchise. But I actually found so much of the background of Wells Adams, like his hilarious bit to get on the show, some of his careers before the show wildly interesting. If you think we should have more people on from Bachelor Nation, go give us five stars in Apple and just please tell us who. If you're giving us reviews in Apple, just remember the end of this recap. We're going to pick one name out and you guys are going to get a gift from our influencer closet. The influencer closet is all the shit they send to our house. We put in a closet. Give it the guests when they come. Now we're giving it to the money mafia. So always remember to put your name in the review.

and we will name one winner at the end of this recap, David Ardoin, Curis, Canadian. What are we thinking about the Wells Adams episode or The Bachelorette as a whole? I mean, funny guy. Wells is a funny guy. AI did its thing, right? After I listened to the episode,

I went on TikTok as I normally do in the first video that popped up was Wells Adams and he was talking about, you know, what the first day at the beach smells like and the preparation. He did it in delivery where it was like, okay, you're funny, you have radio background. You love having a hot mic.

You're in this to win this. It was good. you know what jay i needed this because i'm on the fence about if i want to really get engaged with the bachelor again you know if i really want to tune in i don't think i miss an episode since 10 years but i don't know if i'm feeling this so i might need to dedicate this recap just getting a little hype talking a little bachelor a little bip seeing if i can get the mojo going for the bachelor at the season here's a couple things one i got a couple buddies on the seat so that's pretty cool off the mic i'll give you a little background on that okay on the mic

You're like, ooh, tell me everything. So now I got, now I'm peeking your interest a little bit. I'm the mic where I'm going to say they have the Bachelorette with Charity, they have Paradise, and they apparently have this golden bachelor out, and then the next bachelor. So they have four more season. If one of these goes wrong, one of these sinks astronomically shows done. That's my personal opinion.

I think they have one more year to keep the momentum going because we have seen competition, but we haven't seen competition like we've seen now, 2023. We saw the pandemic with a few things like Love is Blind come to fruition. Now we have Love is Blind on their fourth season crushing it. Vanderpumps, Bravo's killing it. I mean, David, name some of the ones that you love out there. Ashley and I just started watching one called The Big D. And it's with Joe D.

It was with Jojo and Jordan. Yeah. And it's pretty electric. Temptation Islands, another one. Married at first sight. This whole category has gotten so next level. And I feel like people are falling off a little bit with the show. if they don't do this right it's over so here's what i'm going to tell you i know they've made some

changes at the top i know they've made some changes internally and i am praying that we see a different show and that's why you should watch david if i see another horseback riding date if i see another wooden hot tub in the middle of a desert date if i see the same song and dance the same pony show the same camera angles them sitting the same way in the same rose samaritan ceremony in the flow of the episodes, the exact same. I'm out. I'll tell you this right now. You've lost me and I'm out.

So I hope this is a guy who's been around. I mean, this guy's been around since Tristan, Ryan. You've been watching every. He knew more about Caitlin Bristol than I did when I wanted my first thing. Oh, big time. Yeah, shout out KB, fellow Canadian. Let's go. I think you should give it a shot.

We'll see what you do. We haven't watched this first episode, but maybe next week. Yes. We'll talk a little bit about it. What do you got about Wells? Yeah, no, of course. I mean, how about his story coming out hot out of the gates of, like, him going into that, you know, with that interview with a bunch of guys in suits trying out for the, reminds me of a young Jason Tardick sitting in the waiting room in a suit and him just going in there.

Yeah, you know I was one of the suits guys. Hitting them with the Justin Bieber bit. That was just hilarious. And it kind of set the table for just how funny he is. But, you know, getting into BIP itself and him, you know, just how he kind of landed in just such a perfect niche role for, you know, his presence on the show. but him making $400 a day just to go down on the beach to bartend. We know that's kind of the going rate for people on the show. But what do you feel about the strategy of going back down there to be the bartender

and then just taking the company rate, go down to the beach for $400 a day. A lot of security, though. You're not going to make it to the end. I mean, I'm first laughing at his bill. Justin Bieber just gave me a golden shower. What a day. That was incredible. But his 400, I mean, first of all, at the end of the day, the show knows they have leverage, right?

They still pay. They still put some money on the table. but they know they got the leverage. They know what the value of the show does. Like he said, there's a laundry list of people waiting to get on. I'm starting to think, though, I hope it's not the case, but I think people might be rethinking that a little bit. Is the value there?

Does it make sense to spend your summer down there? If you were only getting $400 a day, it sounds like he's getting much more than that now. I would probably argue at this point, oh, man, I guess it helps for relevance, but we don't see a huge pickup and following. We'll be paying very close attention to that this season. and we're not seeing the massive return that it would have had otherwise.

You know, Caitlin and I were asked to go down for a date, and we just love when the show keeps us, you know, in the loop on stuff. But Caitlin had something business-wise, she had to do. I had an opportunity for a brand deal that paid 50K. And, you know, we were offered, you know, I won't get in the exact number just, but, you know, 5K or less, let's say that. And you just sit back and you're like, well, what is this going to, what is this doing? Like, we go down there to be on TV for 15 seconds to host a date, a few thousand bucks.

I don't know. It's just like, I don't know if it makes sense. And we pat. I'll say this for Wells, too. Like, I know there are a lot of people that were upset up out there when he didn't get the hosting job and Jesse Palmer did. And he kind of alluded to like that he thinks that that was his kind of like only shot to get it.

So you could easily make the argument as we have in the past about, you know, taking a job that maybe you feel you're underpaid on and for the opportunities of what it could lead to. but, you know, it doesn't look like it's going to lead to anything but Bachelor of Paradise bartender, which could be great. I love Wells. I think he's great in the role. I love, I did love when he was honest and he was like talking about the entitlement of some of these people coming down there and them being rude to him and him saying the quote, it's so much easier to give bad advice to someone you hate. Like, I could just, I could just see Will's making a drink and giving bad advice on purpose and like giggling as he walks away. Like, he like, let's see how this plays out. But do you think

he has a shot at hosting the golden bachelor has that been named is jesse palmer locked in for for all bachelor related host jobs you have any inside info three things i think he alluded to i wanted quickly talk about getting in the door he talked about it like i would have been a secretary to get into radio when you get in the door things open up yeah when you become part of their circle of talent life becomes easy a lot of these roles i can tell you david i don't know there are golfers they're pro basketball players, there are doctors, their accountants, they're scientists, but they have a super, super gifted, gifted, gifted, gifted, gifted ability

when they're doing what they do and they're in the top 1% of the world and no one can replicate it. I tend to disagree with that when it comes to TV and hosting. I think some practice, you're a good communicator, I don't think it's this skill set that is like so challenging to have. So this has always been my theory.

we also have the writer of entourage the creator the one that picked everyone to be on the show the guy started the whole thing he came on and said the same fucking thing he's like listen there are some people very special skill set but a lot of people can come in and be an actor it's like are you persistent enough to stay with it that long so i do have someone in this space who's very reputable that agrees with me so i want to say that but him getting in the door with paradise is huge like he's in abc land and disneyland where did jessey palmer come from you think he just you know they just found him from thin air? No, he's already contracted with ESPN. He's already under the Disney umbrella. So it's a perfect segue. No way Jesse Palmer gets the hosting job of The Bachelor if he wasn't

already contracted by Disney Empire. No way. So you got to get in that tour. The thing I want to say as well as hosting. I think he would be a great host. I could see them possibly picking him for the Bachelor Golden Hour. If I had to put my money on it, I would say they don't do it. Jesse Palmer, in my opinion. Great guy. I look up to I'm inspired by it. Jesse Palmer is not the fit to host Bachelor and Paradise. Not a chance. No. Wells would be a perfect fit. Caitlin would be a perfect fit. I could think of 15 people who would be a great fit. Jesse's not that. Do I see Jesse Batcher Bachelorette, more professional, you know, got the whole suit in tuxedo on, super clean cut. Yeah, but Paradise, the shit show, no. And the fact they did pass on him for Paradise, I think tells me that they're going to pass on him

for Golden Hour. And it seems as though what they're doing with Jesse is like, we know where Chris was. Jesse is the new Chris. He will be the face of the franchise for everything they have. That's my prediction. The last thing I want to say, I'm just blown away, man. I work with a lot of people in the reality TV space from all realms. I mean, we were doing deals left and right with people from Vanderpump right now. So the hottest of the hot for the people that have gone and are gone. The ego thing just blows me away. Because you meet with the people. that have the most reason to have the largest ego in the world

and they're so down to earth and humble and then you meet people that have zero reason to have any ego, like nothing's going anywhere and they act like they're Taylor Swift that just came off the show. So that one just always mind blow me. It's just such a self-awareness issue out there. That'd be a huge Netflix documentary

that I would turn into is just falling around these people when they get announced to be on these shows and falling around how like entitled they end up getting and how false their sense of what their reality could be and then watch their crash and burn on the back end. So what I did want to talk about too is like it was kind of interesting with Wells. He's strategically positioned in a very comfy role. He obviously has an amazing wife who's very successful. But he kind of was like, yeah, I don't see myself as

an influencer. Like I don't really like want like Max about my my my Instagram in terms of monetization. So he's kind of like in the middle of like. You know, what I think, hey, if I were Wells, I just keep doing what he's doing too? What was your taking when you heard him just kind of downplay the influencer aspect of it, especially with 1.2 million followers of the reach that he has? You're saying so many things and I have to hit on all of them. First and foremost, your question about the people that came off our show that have done well. There's a laundry list.

Colton's done very well. Blake's done very well for himself. Grocery store Joe has absolutely murdered it, right? So there is a list. Guy who created entourage is Doug Ellen. He's in the process of creating this show called Ramble. And what it does is it follows established stars like Charlie Sheen and a huge laundry list of big stars that are trying to reinvent their careers.

And so if they did that for reality TV people, the ups, the downs, the lefts, the rights, the big paydays, the day they get out versus, you know, quitting their job and scrapping by, like, holy shit, it would be unbelievable. So that show rambles coming, but you're on to something, David. to the second part of your question, I don't know, what is your take on? What do you think? I'm curious what you think. I mean, he's kind of said the whole time, even you can kind of tell him and it's come up.

Like, I don't think he's really a money motivated person. Like, you know, the optics of it are like, hey, here's a funny guy who landed in a funny position on a show that has great notoriety. He's got his wife. That's on one of the biggest sitcoms on TV. I think he's just in a point where like, you know what, I've grinded, I've landed myself in enough opportunities, like, I'm not sure what he makes. I don't know if you have any insight onto what he makes, but I think he's in a really comfy position and he'll dabble in the Instagram as needed, but I don't think he feels he's in the need or in a situation where he needs to pedal his Instagram to the point where he would have to call himself an influencer or someone to look at him as an influencer. I still think he wants to be looked at as more of an actor, entertainer, personality than a quote-unquote influencer.

That's my take on it. I asked you because I also wanted your take before I gave you mine. And I think you're exactly right. I think there is a stigma, especially in L.A. land that being an influencer is a whole different separation from being a TV host, actor, actress, et cetera. And so I really respect the fact that he draws that line in the sand and says, like, I'm very tactful with what I picked. I think it goes to his upcoming with the radio gigs and stuff. He never really has made his decisions on how he spends his time off money. He's landed in a great spot.

I mean, the guy is funny. Like when I watch that TikTok video, when I watched that TikTok video today, I was like, okay, this guy is funny and I end up watching five more. So I'm, I'm here for it. I'm definitely going to watch BIP because how could I not? But Jay, I will give charity a chance. And I will call it my charity to The Bachelor in giving them one more opportunity. and hopefully I don't get disappointed.

But we'll see. We'll be here to recap it next week. We have no idea what's going to happen with the show where it goes. We are rooting for the show. I will be tuning into charity season. David, I hope you stay on board with it. If you guys want us to have anyone else from the franchise, you're curious about their background.

Please let us know. Give us five stars in Apple and we will make sure to have those people on. In the meantime, David, what do you think? Should we give something from the influencer closet to? one of our reviews? We have to. And I just, I can't imagine what people's imaginations think of when they think of the, um, influencer closet. I just feel like you open it. It's like sparkly lights and like there's all these like ring lights and like skincare products and all these things when it's probably just like a dark closet full of boxes and stuff. You've dabbled in there. You, you, yeah, I got

I pulled the couple, I pulled a couple things from there. I got a couple eye rollers. I got a couple t-shirts. I got a couple I got a couple one-toes from there. I'll tell you this, David, too. Like, these reviews, holy smoke. The Chris Voss episode. The Chris Voss episode. The Chris Voss reviews are insane. Yeah. I read Never Split the Difference in 2020.

So I wasn't sure what additional nuggets I'd gain from this episode of Chris Voss. After listening, I'm obsessed. This is one I already want to relisten to again and again. I listened before work this a.m. And on my 8 a.m. team call mentioned, you can't be curious and angry at the same time. The line from the podcast. It totally reframe certain discussions.

I vow to add, have you ever given up on X, Y, Z into my rig cadence of working, which, by the way, that was a tactic if you ever feel ghosted. It's absolutely perfect. Thank you for not giving up on Chris and bringing him on. I'm certifiably obsessed with everything about this episode and want to reread his book. Wow. Chris Voss episode was the best hour I ever spent. To get crossed Chris Voss for an hour's 50K plus, that episode was one. That was probably has the best takeaways from any episode ever. So make sure you. subscribe to our podcast. Toot she, I think I'm pronouncing this wrong, but email us, trading secrets at jason tardick.com. We have a gift for you from the influencer closet. And everyone out there, give us five stars, leave your review. We pick one review every week to give something away. So thank you for tuning into another episode of Trading Secrets. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube.

Follow us on our Trading Secrets podcast page on Instagram. Join our Facebook group. Make sure to follow David Ardenwin, The Curious Canadian, and myself, Jason Tartick. And thank you for tuning in to another episode of Trading Secrets 1. Hopefully you couldn't afford to miss.