#165 Gardening in the Digital Ecosystem — Kevin Espiritu on his fascination with the early Internet, how Poker broke his brain on money, starting his YouTube channel, Epic Gardening, taking a long term perspective, how to structure a video, transforming his YouTube channel, introducing new people to his audience, the probabilistic mindset and what he learnt from poker that helps him in his life
Feb 5, 2024
auto_awesome
Kevin Espiritu, professional poker player turned gardening YouTube channel host, discusses his journey from poker to gardening. He talks about his fascination with the early Internet, how poker broke his brain on money, starting his YouTube channel, structuring videos, transforming his channel, and introducing new people to his audience. He also shares insights on the probabilistic mindset and the valuable lessons he learned from poker that help him in his life.
Epic Gardening is transitioning to a multi-host model, bringing in diverse perspectives and expertise to create a network of hosts within their channel.
Kevin Espiritu simplifies gardening knowledge, breaking down complex concepts and terminology to make it accessible and relatable to a wider audience.
Kevin's experience in poker has influenced his strategy in building Epic Gardening, focusing on probabilistic thinking and stacking actions to increase the overall probability of success.
Deep dives
Transitioning to a Multi-Host Model
Epic Gardening is shifting from a single-host model to a multi-host model, inspired by examples like ESPN and Barstool Sports. The goal is to bring in different hosts to cover various gardening topics and create a network of hosts within the Epic Gardening channel. This allows for diverse perspectives and expertise, making the content more engaging and informative for the audience.
Translating Complex Gardening Knowledge
Kevin's approach to communicating gardening knowledge is centered around simplicity and relatability. He aims to break down complex concepts and terminology into easy-to-understand language. By avoiding jargon and relating to his own experiences as a non-expert gardener, Kevin is able to bridge the gap between gardening enthusiasts and novices, making gardening more accessible and engaging for a wider audience.
Adapting to Probabilistic Thinking
Kevin's background in poker has shaped his thinking and approach to the digital gardening realm. Poker's emphasis on probabilistic thinking and understanding the range of possible outcomes has influenced Kevin's strategy in building Epic Gardening. He focuses on making decisions and taking actions that have a higher likelihood of success, even if individual outcomes may vary. Kevin embraces the idea of non-attachment to specific outcomes and instead stacks actions that increase the overall probability of achieving desired results.
Growing an Audience and Expanding Platforms
In this podcast episode, the speaker discusses the growth of their audience and the expansion of their platforms in relation to their gardening content. They recount how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge of interest in gardening, resulting in a rapid increase in subscribers and followers. The speaker also reflects on the growth of their YouTube channel, blog, and podcast, and shares their strategy of providing valuable content related to gardening to attract and engage their audience. Additionally, they highlight the importance of creating high-quality products that align with the interests and needs of their audience.
The Philosophy of Long-Term Planning
Another key theme discussed in the podcast episode is the speaker's philosophy of long-term planning and the importance of considering the longer-term perspective in their content creation and product development. They emphasize the significance of creating evergreen content that can continue to attract new audience members over time and the value of building enduring relationships with their audience. The speaker also shares their approach to introducing new products, taking into account the functionality and value they provide to their audience while ensuring they are not wasteful. They reflect on the challenges of maintaining structure and organization as their company expands and navigates through different growth phases.
Kevin is the man behind the Epic Gardening channel. Although he had not read the Pathless Path at the time of the recording of this episode, he seems to be living it with every breath he takes. The only constant thing in his life seems to be that is constatly reinventing himself. From professional poker, gaming, web design, indie consulting, blogging to running a huge YouTube channel about gardening with almost 3 mil. subscribers, we meet at his next crossroads, after he's decided to take a step back from running the show personally day to day.