October 15, 2025 • 19 mins
“When you treat a guest like they’re visiting your home, you build trust that lasts long after the episode ends.”
Notable Moments
01:46 – How genuine curiosity drives meaningful connections
05:24 – The story of meeting former National Park Service Director John Jarvis
10:13 – Turning passion into a personal brand
14:56 – How “America’s Theme Park Technologist” came to be
18:52 – The friendly mini golf rivalry and sourdough story
Matthew Miller returns for a candid conversation with Jody on how authentic relationships form through curiosity and generosity. Jody shares how treating every guest like a friend builds trust that lasts beyond a single episode. They explore how bold self-branding, like Matthew’s “America’s Theme Park Technologist”, can open unexpected doors. From meeting National Park Service Director John Jarvis to lessons on humility and courage, this episode reminds us that relationships, not tactics, are what make great stories last.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign.
Welcome to the Jody Mayberry Show. Last episode
we talked with Matthew Miller, and as we do
on this show, when there's a guest, they return for the very next episode
to ask me three questions. I don't know what they're going to ask. The
questions are not suggested by me. I don't even
(00:22):
know what Matthew's going to ask. But I do know I. I'm
glad he's back. Hello, Matthew Miller. Hello, Jody. Thanks for having me
back. Well, we had such a great conversation last episode,
Matthew. I look forward to seeing where we go with these
questions. So let's get right into it. What's your first question?
All right, so in my episode, you asked me a lot of questions
(00:44):
about my career and you kept saying, this is one of my favorite
Matthew Miller stories, that sort of thing. Well, I as well have
some favorite Jody B. Stories. And I love telling people
the way that we met. I love people telling, you know, about the things that
you do. And one of the things that has really
impressed me about you is as you've went through your
(01:06):
podcasting journey, you've been able to work with some
really exceptional people, especially in the theme park
space. So, you know, we, obviously we know of Lee, there have been others.
And, you know, you've really became known as this voice of
podcasting and frankly, building a brand as well. So my first
question to you is, how do you leverage
(01:28):
these relationships to be more than just a one
off conversation? Because a lot of people do podcasting and they meet
somebody and they say thank you for the episode and they move on. But you
have really, in my opinion, mastered basically becoming friends
with the guest of your shows. Tell me how you do that. Well,
first, Matthew, it's nice that you came back for a second
(01:50):
episode because you said all those nice things about me. That doesn't always happen.
So I appreciate that. Now the question how do I become
friends with my guests? I don't know if I've ever
thought that through in that way. So I'll just say
what comes to mind. And I think there's
two main pieces to it. One is
(02:13):
that I would not have someone on my show if I
was not really interested in them. Like
fiercely interested in finding out more. And people
like to be interesting, if that makes sense.
Right. So I ask questions that I'm really
interested in, and given my background
(02:36):
in parks, working with all these Disney people, the
different things I've done, I hope it gives me a bit of a different
approach in how I do interviews. The type of questions I Ask.
And my number one goal, when I interview someone, I don't
care if you think I'm smart or you think I'm
a great podcast host. I do care that
(02:59):
you, as a guest, come across as a star
to the person listening to the podcast. So I think that
is a big piece of it, that being on my
show is like you are visiting at
someone's house. We're going to take care of you, we're going to make you comfortable,
we're going to make you look good, feel good, all of that. I think that's
(03:20):
part of it. And the other part is a good
Midwestern upbringing. I think I'm hopefully.
I'm sure not everybody would say this, but I'm an
enjoyable fellow to be around. I think that's part of it.
And sometimes I forget this part, that not everybody gets
to talk with a park ranger, and people find the park ranger thing really interesting.
(03:42):
And sometimes that is just a trigger
or a key into building better conversations.
I know a lot of people, so when I have someone on the show, I
probably know someone that knows them. So I will always
make the mutual connection look and sound really good because
it's all true. So I think there's just parts.
(04:05):
Parts of that and hopefully a decade and
more long body of work also
shows. All right. Jody's good to talk to.
I like being around him, and clearly he knows what he's doing,
and he's been doing it for a long time. I think that's it. Matthew. I
do a lot deliberately, but that one that
(04:26):
Matthew just asked me about, I'm not so sure that happens
deliberately. It just happens. And to your point, you've done it for
so long, I think if you didn't do it well, you know, these
episodes would not have continued to happen. Right. You would not have been able to
find people that wanted to work with you, which, you know, obviously is a testament
to what you do. All right, so you do these podcasts. You build great
(04:47):
relationships. Right? It's. You've leveraged it into more. So my. My second question
is, who or even it could be more than one
person who have you not worked with yet that you
think would be wonderful to work with? Also, I
know we won't drop it here. I know you've got some other irons in the
fire or future things coming up, so I'm not trying to spoil any surprises
(05:08):
here. Nothing like that. But, you know, is there just anybody's like, man, if, you
know, if I could just get in a room with this individual and do some
podcasts, work together, you know, help them build their brand, speak, book,
whatever. You know, somebody that you just think you could really
skyrocket will together. I will tell you, Matthew,
my biggest love, just like yours, is theme
(05:29):
parks, mine is natural parks.
And some of the best leaders I've ever met
are from parks. Park rangers are just incredible,
and I think they're. I would love to
partner with someone like John Jarvis. He was the National
Park Service director for eight years. I would love
(05:52):
to partner with someone like him to bring
his story and what he's done out in a bigger way.
And I know John Jarvis. He's been on the Park Leader show many
times. He's going to be on the Park Leader show another time coming up.
So that doesn't maybe quite fit the spirit
of your question, because I know him, I've interviewed him
(06:15):
several times. But it's really interesting how we
met. I was invited to a conference. I had actually
reached out to John Jarvis requesting he be on the
Park Leader show. Never even got a response. And I'm sure it never
even made it to him. There are so many layers on the way up to
the director of the National Park Service. I'm certain he never even saw
(06:38):
the request. But one year in
2015, maybe 2014, probably 2015,
somewhere in there, I was invited to a
conference in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, invite only.
And they invited roughly 100 people from
the United States and Canada that they felt had an influence on
(07:00):
parks and recreation. And the whole thing was about, let's talk about
how we can get younger people interested and involved
in parks again. Well, John Jarvis, the director of the National Park
Service, was invited. Why wouldn't he be? The real question is,
why was a podcaster invited back
then? I don't know, but they invited me. And I was in
(07:23):
line for lunch behind, of all people, John
Jarvis. And I said, well, now's my opportunity. And I knew I couldn't
just say hello because everybody just said hello. I took a
Matthew Miller approach, I guess. I had interviewed a park
ranger who had worked with John Jarvis in their early
days. And I feel bad because at the moment I can't remember his name,
(07:45):
but I said hello to him and I said, you know,
I recently talked with this person
that, my goodness, I can't remember his name still. And he told
a great story about you. And he loved it. He loved
hearing that. That story. And he said, hey, what? Just come sit with
me during lunch. And we sat during lunch and talked. And I said, well, John,
(08:07):
would you Be interested in being a guest on the show. And we recorded an
episode of the Park Leader show sitting underneath a
massive taxidermied grizzly bear. One of
the most memorable recordings I've ever done. And John and
I kept in touch after he left the National Park Service. And
I've always thought, my goodness, here, John was a great leader,
(08:30):
wonderful background in parks. It would be interesting to
get more out of him in leadership. Not
he is a champion for conservation and for parks, but
there's a lot more there and I'd love to work with someone like him to
get more of that out. I work with some fantastic people.
Matthew hinted at some things that are coming up that I think will delight
(08:52):
you. I'm going to work some great projects in the works, but I
wanted to find something just a little different. So that's the answer.
Matthew, Someone from parks and conservation that
people that do that work, they just are so humble. They keep to
themselves. They don't want the spotlight, but they're always great
leaders doing fantastic work. I love it, love it, love it, love
(09:15):
it. Okay, third question. So you have been doing podcasting for
quite some time now. And you know, you're obviously, you're really good at it.
And then we just were talking about how you've used that to help other
builds brands for those people that maybe don't know you as well as I do.
I know that you've landed some speaking gigs as well and you know,
there's just been some really cool things you've got to work on. What would you
(09:36):
say to someone who is listening to this that is maybe more
like Joby was eight years ago, nine years ago. Maybe they're
just getting into podcasting. Could have been doing it for a while. Or maybe they're
doing Instagram Lives or TikTok Lives or whatnot is
blowing up now. Maybe they're, you know, all in on whatnot, but whatever it is
that they're doing and they're saying, hey, I'm pretty good at this thing, but I
(09:58):
don't really know how to turn it into a brand. What advice would you have
for somebody to kind of take, you know, if it's interviewing someone, if it's
doing live, whatever it is that their thing is and how they can turn it
into a brand that, you know, has legs and takes off much like yours
does? I actually think you are a better person to answer this question,
Matthew. And, and here is why. Because Matthew
(10:20):
has self branded himself as
America's theme park technologist and there's something
to that Matthew used to be in a mastermind
that I ran that currently doesn't exist. I'll bring it back
someday. But Matthew was in that group, and I told that maybe
you remember this Matthew. If not, I'm still going to take credit for it.
(10:42):
But Matthew was in that group, and I went to them and I said, look,
you have to lay a bold claim on something.
You have to identify yourself as. I
don't care for the word guru that much, but you have to take that
stand and say, this is me. This is what I'm great at. And then
once you make that claim, like Matthew has proclaimed himself
(11:04):
America's theme park technologist, you have to go all in on it.
You have to be known for that thing. Now, for me,
podcasting always has been just a way
to start a conversation, just a way to get a foot in the door. And
then the big thing that I do is to work with
people like Lee Cockrell to help them build out a
(11:27):
brand on their expertise and their career.
But podcasting is what people know me for. And
Matthew does so much more. He's had a wonderful career,
but he proclaimed himself as America's theme park
technologist and went all in on it. That's why I said, I
think Matthew is the better one to answer. Because if
(11:49):
you are doing some, if you're just getting started in podcasting
or you're starting to stream on, even
hikes in the woods, I don't care what it is, just go all in on
it. Proclaim yourself to be the world's best at
it. And when even I used to do this, when I
was a park ranger, I used to claim that our park was world
(12:11):
famous. And then when someone would ask,
well, what do you mean? I often would just turn it into a joke and
say, oh, well, there were two. Two guys from Norway here at
the park, and they. They live across the country. So we're world or in another
country that makes us world famous. But I would always call our
park world famous. And I just think you have to take that approach.
(12:33):
You have to just. No one else is going
to proclaim for you. No one else is going to blow the
horn for you. You have to do it yourself. And it does
get uncomfortable. A lot of people don't like it.
Matthew's very humble, and yet he put a tag
on himself. That is true. That's the other key. It's true.
(12:55):
But Matthew put that tag on himself. So now I'm going to turn
it to you, Matthew. Tell us the story behind America's theme
park technologist. Why did you call yourself do
you and did you first call yourself that? And why have you gone all in
on it? Great question. So the way that it came to be is
about four years ago I decided I wanted to start getting into the
(13:18):
media more. I was fascinated by people that were doing TV
interviews, radio interviews, things like that but I didn't know how to get
started. And it just so happened that a
DJ, a host gentleman named Shane Collins does the
Dr. Shane and Tess show out of Panama City. It's 92.5
WPAP. I grew up listening to them and they happened to
(13:39):
be coming to Orlando to host their show at a theme park
and I thought it would be really cool to buy him dinner
after he finished his show. We had never met before and I
said, hey, you're going to do this show. I would love to buy you dinner
and we can talk about parks. So David rich gentleman that runs the
grocery store, the iga and we wa he had heard about this, he made a
(14:01):
connection. So I called Dr. Shane saying hey, I would like
to buy you dinner after the show. And he said no, because
you're going to be on the show with me. And I said, excuse me. And
he said, you're from WE all which is very close to Panama City.
He said, you know, theme parks. He said, I've never met you before.
He said, you sound friendly over the phone but you come very well
(14:23):
respected and highly reviewed from my peers. We're going to put you on
the show. He said, normally it's a tryout. It's, you know, you got to
audition. He said, but if you promise me that we'll do well together. And I
said, let's do it, Dr. Shane. Game on. So we go, I show up at
the studio. We're in the broadcast center at University of Florida.
It's like 4am they come pick us up in black Escalades,
(14:45):
like we're just meeting on our way to the studio and tell me more about
you. And he said, well I, I need to call you something. He said, when
I get on the radio, it's a broadcast. He said, I, I need to call
you something. I said, well, they just call me Matthew Miller. He's like, no, no,
no, you need to have a showmanship name. So we're going. We still
hadn't came up with it. He's like, I don't know. We were going back and
forth and I'm, I kid you not, we're sitting there and they'll okay two Minutes
(15:06):
till showtime. One minute he's stowing out names, throwing out names, nothing
sticking. And we start the show and he says, we've got Matthew Miller
and he's the roller coaster man. That's how he said it, the roller coaster man.
And every time there was a break in the show or it went to a
commercial, Matthew Miller, he's the roller coaster man. And it just
kind of stuck. And the show went so well that he said, hey, I want
(15:27):
to invite you back to be a celebrity for a week long
stint on my show in like three weeks. So we did that. Matthew
Miller, he's the roller coaster man. And so I was like, oh, you know, people
do want it. They would call in, hey, we have a question for the roller
coaster man. And so that's really how it spun up in terms of, I need
to have something, what is it going to be? And I was like, well, I
(15:47):
want to be no more than just roller coasters. And honestly, where it came from
is I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey and
his crew. And, you know, he's called, you know, America's financial guru.
And he's got a gentleman that works for him with him, a personality named Ken
Coleman, who's America's career coach. And I said, you know what? I
love America. I love theme parks. I love the way that they're tying this
(16:10):
in. So I went with that. And I asked AI and
AI said, if we were going to give you a name that's perfect for
you. And then I was invited on Fox News and they said, what
do we call you? And I said, this is my name. And they said, we
can't think of a better name. And they called me that. And it just stuck
ever since then. Well, what I like about that, in addition
(16:30):
to how Matthew got there, it's really easy
to understand when someone tells you that Matthew is
America's theme park technologist, you know
exactly what that means. Now, you may ask some
questions about the technology part, but you say, tell me
more. You don't say, what does that mean? And that's what I like about it.
(16:52):
Matthew, you've hit on something good with that. Thank you. And you
know, in my career for several years, I was a technologist. I
love America. I love theme parks. It's tidying in. And I think I'm gonna stick
with it for a while. But I appreciate your voter confidence and I'm really
appreciative that the media has picked it up as well. Because it's one thing for
me to say it and say, hey, I like it. But for me, you know,
(17:12):
national media, local media, for them to say, no, this is great, and then, you
know, to share that, it's just solidified it even more. Now,
last episode, when we were talking about how you really
married up and out of your league, you referred to your wife as the
Sourdough Queen. Is that the same sort of thing? You're adding a
label to the work that she's doing? I have to, because I've
(17:34):
started Miller Eats. It's a lot like Ubereats. And there's just so many
deliveries now, you know, I'm going out and so, you know, I build roller coasters
during the day and at night I moonlight as a sourdough
delivery boy. But it's great and the bread's wonderful, so,
you know, I'm happy to do so. All right, so my
wife has a sourdough starter that has been going
(17:56):
in our house for decades. I don't. I don't even know where it came from
at this point. So perhaps at some point we can do a cross country
sourdough swap. We should do it. Yeah. And that gives you an excuse
to come back to Orlando? Well, I barely need excuses
to come to Orlando. I feel like I practically live there.
I wish you did. That's a topic for another podcast. But, you know,
(18:19):
maybe, maybe if y' all sourdough thing takes off, you know, we get you moved
here, we combine forces. We'll figure something out. Well, I'm
yet to try a slice of bread from the Sourdough
Queen, so next time I'm in Orlando, you will have to let your wife know
that you have now obligated her to give me a
piece of toasted sourdough bread. I would love to do it. She'd be happy to
(18:41):
do it. The problem is I'd be like, oh, you've got to beat me in
putt putt to get it. And then it would be like another decade before you
ever even get a piece. So we probably shouldn't, you know, put it behind a
competitive wall. Oh, my goodness. Okay, so this is
next time Matthew Miller and I play mini golf. Then
we will have to maybe live stream it or at least put
(19:02):
it on social media. It's been a long running competition.
No, I think so as well. J, this has been great and I really appreciate
you having me back again. And thanks for letting me ask you some questions. Well.
Well, Matthew, it's been wonderful. We heard last time that you don't have a website,
but people love you. Want to contact you, keep up with what you're
doing. How can we do that? That's right. If you just Google Matthew Miller,
(19:24):
theme Parks or America's Theme Park Technologist, all of my links
will come up. But the easiest way to find me is. Like I said, I'm
from Wewahitchka, Florida, so Wewa Miller. W e W a
Miller across all social media platforms. All right,
thank you so much, Matthew, and thank you for listening to the
Jody Mayberry Show.
(19:49):
Great bloke, but thick as a plank. It's Sugar J.
Foreign.
Welcome to the Jody Mayberry Show. Last episode
we talked with Matthew Miller, and as we do
on this show, when there's a guest, they return for the very next episode
to ask me three questions. I don't know what they're going to ask. The
questions are not suggested by me. I don't even
(00:22):
know what Matthew's going to ask. But I do know I. I'm
glad he's back. Hello, Matthew Miller. Hello, Jody. Thanks for having me
back. Well, we had such a great conversation last episode,
Matthew. I look forward to seeing where we go with these
questions. So let's get right into it. What's your first question?
All right, so in my episode, you asked me a lot of questions
(00:44):
about my career and you kept saying, this is one of my favorite
Matthew Miller stories, that sort of thing. Well, I as well have
some favorite Jody B. Stories. And I love telling people
the way that we met. I love people telling, you know, about the things that
you do. And one of the things that has really
impressed me about you is as you've went through your
(01:06):
podcasting journey, you've been able to work with some
really exceptional people, especially in the theme park
space. So, you know, we, obviously we know of Lee, there have been others.
And, you know, you've really became known as this voice of
podcasting and frankly, building a brand as well. So my first
question to you is, how do you leverage
(01:28):
these relationships to be more than just a one
off conversation? Because a lot of people do podcasting and they meet
somebody and they say thank you for the episode and they move on. But you
have really, in my opinion, mastered basically becoming friends
with the guest of your shows. Tell me how you do that. Well,
first, Matthew, it's nice that you came back for a second
(01:50):
episode because you said all those nice things about me. That doesn't always happen.
So I appreciate that. Now the question how do I become
friends with my guests? I don't know if I've ever
thought that through in that way. So I'll just say
what comes to mind. And I think there's
two main pieces to it. One is
(02:13):
that I would not have someone on my show if I
was not really interested in them. Like
fiercely interested in finding out more. And people
like to be interesting, if that makes sense.
Right. So I ask questions that I'm really
interested in, and given my background
(02:36):
in parks, working with all these Disney people, the
different things I've done, I hope it gives me a bit of a different
approach in how I do interviews. The type of questions I Ask.
And my number one goal, when I interview someone, I don't
care if you think I'm smart or you think I'm
a great podcast host. I do care that
(02:59):
you, as a guest, come across as a star
to the person listening to the podcast. So I think that
is a big piece of it, that being on my
show is like you are visiting at
someone's house. We're going to take care of you, we're going to make you comfortable,
we're going to make you look good, feel good, all of that. I think that's
(03:20):
part of it. And the other part is a good
Midwestern upbringing. I think I'm hopefully.
I'm sure not everybody would say this, but I'm an
enjoyable fellow to be around. I think that's part of it.
And sometimes I forget this part, that not everybody gets
to talk with a park ranger, and people find the park ranger thing really interesting.
(03:42):
And sometimes that is just a trigger
or a key into building better conversations.
I know a lot of people, so when I have someone on the show, I
probably know someone that knows them. So I will always
make the mutual connection look and sound really good because
it's all true. So I think there's just parts.
(04:05):
Parts of that and hopefully a decade and
more long body of work also
shows. All right. Jody's good to talk to.
I like being around him, and clearly he knows what he's doing,
and he's been doing it for a long time. I think that's it. Matthew. I
do a lot deliberately, but that one that
(04:26):
Matthew just asked me about, I'm not so sure that happens
deliberately. It just happens. And to your point, you've done it for
so long, I think if you didn't do it well, you know, these
episodes would not have continued to happen. Right. You would not have been able to
find people that wanted to work with you, which, you know, obviously is a testament
to what you do. All right, so you do these podcasts. You build great
(04:47):
relationships. Right? It's. You've leveraged it into more. So my. My second question
is, who or even it could be more than one
person who have you not worked with yet that you
think would be wonderful to work with? Also, I
know we won't drop it here. I know you've got some other irons in the
fire or future things coming up, so I'm not trying to spoil any surprises
(05:08):
here. Nothing like that. But, you know, is there just anybody's like, man, if, you
know, if I could just get in a room with this individual and do some
podcasts, work together, you know, help them build their brand, speak, book,
whatever. You know, somebody that you just think you could really
skyrocket will together. I will tell you, Matthew,
my biggest love, just like yours, is theme
(05:29):
parks, mine is natural parks.
And some of the best leaders I've ever met
are from parks. Park rangers are just incredible,
and I think they're. I would love to
partner with someone like John Jarvis. He was the National
Park Service director for eight years. I would love
(05:52):
to partner with someone like him to bring
his story and what he's done out in a bigger way.
And I know John Jarvis. He's been on the Park Leader show many
times. He's going to be on the Park Leader show another time coming up.
So that doesn't maybe quite fit the spirit
of your question, because I know him, I've interviewed him
(06:15):
several times. But it's really interesting how we
met. I was invited to a conference. I had actually
reached out to John Jarvis requesting he be on the
Park Leader show. Never even got a response. And I'm sure it never
even made it to him. There are so many layers on the way up to
the director of the National Park Service. I'm certain he never even saw
(06:38):
the request. But one year in
2015, maybe 2014, probably 2015,
somewhere in there, I was invited to a
conference in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, invite only.
And they invited roughly 100 people from
the United States and Canada that they felt had an influence on
(07:00):
parks and recreation. And the whole thing was about, let's talk about
how we can get younger people interested and involved
in parks again. Well, John Jarvis, the director of the National Park
Service, was invited. Why wouldn't he be? The real question is,
why was a podcaster invited back
then? I don't know, but they invited me. And I was in
(07:23):
line for lunch behind, of all people, John
Jarvis. And I said, well, now's my opportunity. And I knew I couldn't
just say hello because everybody just said hello. I took a
Matthew Miller approach, I guess. I had interviewed a park
ranger who had worked with John Jarvis in their early
days. And I feel bad because at the moment I can't remember his name,
(07:45):
but I said hello to him and I said, you know,
I recently talked with this person
that, my goodness, I can't remember his name still. And he told
a great story about you. And he loved it. He loved
hearing that. That story. And he said, hey, what? Just come sit with
me during lunch. And we sat during lunch and talked. And I said, well, John,
(08:07):
would you Be interested in being a guest on the show. And we recorded an
episode of the Park Leader show sitting underneath a
massive taxidermied grizzly bear. One of
the most memorable recordings I've ever done. And John and
I kept in touch after he left the National Park Service. And
I've always thought, my goodness, here, John was a great leader,
(08:30):
wonderful background in parks. It would be interesting to
get more out of him in leadership. Not
he is a champion for conservation and for parks, but
there's a lot more there and I'd love to work with someone like him to
get more of that out. I work with some fantastic people.
Matthew hinted at some things that are coming up that I think will delight
(08:52):
you. I'm going to work some great projects in the works, but I
wanted to find something just a little different. So that's the answer.
Matthew, Someone from parks and conservation that
people that do that work, they just are so humble. They keep to
themselves. They don't want the spotlight, but they're always great
leaders doing fantastic work. I love it, love it, love it, love
(09:15):
it. Okay, third question. So you have been doing podcasting for
quite some time now. And you know, you're obviously, you're really good at it.
And then we just were talking about how you've used that to help other
builds brands for those people that maybe don't know you as well as I do.
I know that you've landed some speaking gigs as well and you know,
there's just been some really cool things you've got to work on. What would you
(09:36):
say to someone who is listening to this that is maybe more
like Joby was eight years ago, nine years ago. Maybe they're
just getting into podcasting. Could have been doing it for a while. Or maybe they're
doing Instagram Lives or TikTok Lives or whatnot is
blowing up now. Maybe they're, you know, all in on whatnot, but whatever it is
that they're doing and they're saying, hey, I'm pretty good at this thing, but I
(09:58):
don't really know how to turn it into a brand. What advice would you have
for somebody to kind of take, you know, if it's interviewing someone, if it's
doing live, whatever it is that their thing is and how they can turn it
into a brand that, you know, has legs and takes off much like yours
does? I actually think you are a better person to answer this question,
Matthew. And, and here is why. Because Matthew
(10:20):
has self branded himself as
America's theme park technologist and there's something
to that Matthew used to be in a mastermind
that I ran that currently doesn't exist. I'll bring it back
someday. But Matthew was in that group, and I told that maybe
you remember this Matthew. If not, I'm still going to take credit for it.
(10:42):
But Matthew was in that group, and I went to them and I said, look,
you have to lay a bold claim on something.
You have to identify yourself as. I
don't care for the word guru that much, but you have to take that
stand and say, this is me. This is what I'm great at. And then
once you make that claim, like Matthew has proclaimed himself
(11:04):
America's theme park technologist, you have to go all in on it.
You have to be known for that thing. Now, for me,
podcasting always has been just a way
to start a conversation, just a way to get a foot in the door. And
then the big thing that I do is to work with
people like Lee Cockrell to help them build out a
(11:27):
brand on their expertise and their career.
But podcasting is what people know me for. And
Matthew does so much more. He's had a wonderful career,
but he proclaimed himself as America's theme park
technologist and went all in on it. That's why I said, I
think Matthew is the better one to answer. Because if
(11:49):
you are doing some, if you're just getting started in podcasting
or you're starting to stream on, even
hikes in the woods, I don't care what it is, just go all in on
it. Proclaim yourself to be the world's best at
it. And when even I used to do this, when I
was a park ranger, I used to claim that our park was world
(12:11):
famous. And then when someone would ask,
well, what do you mean? I often would just turn it into a joke and
say, oh, well, there were two. Two guys from Norway here at
the park, and they. They live across the country. So we're world or in another
country that makes us world famous. But I would always call our
park world famous. And I just think you have to take that approach.
(12:33):
You have to just. No one else is going
to proclaim for you. No one else is going to blow the
horn for you. You have to do it yourself. And it does
get uncomfortable. A lot of people don't like it.
Matthew's very humble, and yet he put a tag
on himself. That is true. That's the other key. It's true.
(12:55):
But Matthew put that tag on himself. So now I'm going to turn
it to you, Matthew. Tell us the story behind America's theme
park technologist. Why did you call yourself do
you and did you first call yourself that? And why have you gone all in
on it? Great question. So the way that it came to be is
about four years ago I decided I wanted to start getting into the
(13:18):
media more. I was fascinated by people that were doing TV
interviews, radio interviews, things like that but I didn't know how to get
started. And it just so happened that a
DJ, a host gentleman named Shane Collins does the
Dr. Shane and Tess show out of Panama City. It's 92.5
WPAP. I grew up listening to them and they happened to
(13:39):
be coming to Orlando to host their show at a theme park
and I thought it would be really cool to buy him dinner
after he finished his show. We had never met before and I
said, hey, you're going to do this show. I would love to buy you dinner
and we can talk about parks. So David rich gentleman that runs the
grocery store, the iga and we wa he had heard about this, he made a
(14:01):
connection. So I called Dr. Shane saying hey, I would like
to buy you dinner after the show. And he said no, because
you're going to be on the show with me. And I said, excuse me. And
he said, you're from WE all which is very close to Panama City.
He said, you know, theme parks. He said, I've never met you before.
He said, you sound friendly over the phone but you come very well
(14:23):
respected and highly reviewed from my peers. We're going to put you on
the show. He said, normally it's a tryout. It's, you know, you got to
audition. He said, but if you promise me that we'll do well together. And I
said, let's do it, Dr. Shane. Game on. So we go, I show up at
the studio. We're in the broadcast center at University of Florida.
It's like 4am they come pick us up in black Escalades,
(14:45):
like we're just meeting on our way to the studio and tell me more about
you. And he said, well I, I need to call you something. He said, when
I get on the radio, it's a broadcast. He said, I, I need to call
you something. I said, well, they just call me Matthew Miller. He's like, no, no,
no, you need to have a showmanship name. So we're going. We still
hadn't came up with it. He's like, I don't know. We were going back and
forth and I'm, I kid you not, we're sitting there and they'll okay two Minutes
(15:06):
till showtime. One minute he's stowing out names, throwing out names, nothing
sticking. And we start the show and he says, we've got Matthew Miller
and he's the roller coaster man. That's how he said it, the roller coaster man.
And every time there was a break in the show or it went to a
commercial, Matthew Miller, he's the roller coaster man. And it just
kind of stuck. And the show went so well that he said, hey, I want
(15:27):
to invite you back to be a celebrity for a week long
stint on my show in like three weeks. So we did that. Matthew
Miller, he's the roller coaster man. And so I was like, oh, you know, people
do want it. They would call in, hey, we have a question for the roller
coaster man. And so that's really how it spun up in terms of, I need
to have something, what is it going to be? And I was like, well, I
(15:47):
want to be no more than just roller coasters. And honestly, where it came from
is I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey and
his crew. And, you know, he's called, you know, America's financial guru.
And he's got a gentleman that works for him with him, a personality named Ken
Coleman, who's America's career coach. And I said, you know what? I
love America. I love theme parks. I love the way that they're tying this
(16:10):
in. So I went with that. And I asked AI and
AI said, if we were going to give you a name that's perfect for
you. And then I was invited on Fox News and they said, what
do we call you? And I said, this is my name. And they said, we
can't think of a better name. And they called me that. And it just stuck
ever since then. Well, what I like about that, in addition
(16:30):
to how Matthew got there, it's really easy
to understand when someone tells you that Matthew is
America's theme park technologist, you know
exactly what that means. Now, you may ask some
questions about the technology part, but you say, tell me
more. You don't say, what does that mean? And that's what I like about it.
(16:52):
Matthew, you've hit on something good with that. Thank you. And you
know, in my career for several years, I was a technologist. I
love America. I love theme parks. It's tidying in. And I think I'm gonna stick
with it for a while. But I appreciate your voter confidence and I'm really
appreciative that the media has picked it up as well. Because it's one thing for
me to say it and say, hey, I like it. But for me, you know,
(17:12):
national media, local media, for them to say, no, this is great, and then, you
know, to share that, it's just solidified it even more. Now,
last episode, when we were talking about how you really
married up and out of your league, you referred to your wife as the
Sourdough Queen. Is that the same sort of thing? You're adding a
label to the work that she's doing? I have to, because I've
(17:34):
started Miller Eats. It's a lot like Ubereats. And there's just so many
deliveries now, you know, I'm going out and so, you know, I build roller coasters
during the day and at night I moonlight as a sourdough
delivery boy. But it's great and the bread's wonderful, so,
you know, I'm happy to do so. All right, so my
wife has a sourdough starter that has been going
(17:56):
in our house for decades. I don't. I don't even know where it came from
at this point. So perhaps at some point we can do a cross country
sourdough swap. We should do it. Yeah. And that gives you an excuse
to come back to Orlando? Well, I barely need excuses
to come to Orlando. I feel like I practically live there.
I wish you did. That's a topic for another podcast. But, you know,
(18:19):
maybe, maybe if y' all sourdough thing takes off, you know, we get you moved
here, we combine forces. We'll figure something out. Well, I'm
yet to try a slice of bread from the Sourdough
Queen, so next time I'm in Orlando, you will have to let your wife know
that you have now obligated her to give me a
piece of toasted sourdough bread. I would love to do it. She'd be happy to
(18:41):
do it. The problem is I'd be like, oh, you've got to beat me in
putt putt to get it. And then it would be like another decade before you
ever even get a piece. So we probably shouldn't, you know, put it behind a
competitive wall. Oh, my goodness. Okay, so this is
next time Matthew Miller and I play mini golf. Then
we will have to maybe live stream it or at least put
(19:02):
it on social media. It's been a long running competition.
No, I think so as well. J, this has been great and I really appreciate
you having me back again. And thanks for letting me ask you some questions. Well.
Well, Matthew, it's been wonderful. We heard last time that you don't have a website,
but people love you. Want to contact you, keep up with what you're
doing. How can we do that? That's right. If you just Google Matthew Miller,
(19:24):
theme Parks or America's Theme Park Technologist, all of my links
will come up. But the easiest way to find me is. Like I said, I'm
from Wewahitchka, Florida, so Wewa Miller. W e W a
Miller across all social media platforms. All right,
thank you so much, Matthew, and thank you for listening to the
Jody Mayberry Show.
(19:49):
Great bloke, but thick as a plank. It's Sugar J.
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