The summer of 2017 in the Ohio Valley Region started like most summers; unusually muggy weather, high temps, & god awful amounts of body sweat. The FedEx machine was running like it always does & all was right with the world.  Well. . .Sort of.  

You see, that summer at FedEx, two guys who had been friends for a very long time were about to embark on something creative that neither one had ever envisioned or entertained the notion of before.  I guess we should take a step back about fourteen years from that summer and give you a little backstory (or as our friends in the movie industry call it, a flashback). 

It was around 2003 in Evansville, Indiana, at a little rinky-dink delivery operation called Airborne Express (which would later be bought out & become DHL) that two guys were brought together by the ineptitude of local management.  Brian Sumner had been with the company for just a couple of years & was slowly coming into his own as a dependable driver in Kentucky.  At the same time, this young, newbie upstart (fresh off a stint at UPS) named Jim Miller was running a route up in Washington, Indiana.  We were short staffed and Jim wasn't given proper training on his new route.  So what was the logical solution??

Send Brian from Kentucky to help the Jim in Washington with the route Jim already knew how to do. 

Classic.  

Despite both fellas questioning why Brian was sent up North to “help” to begin with, they both came to realize their undying love & devotion to the comedian Dane Cook. Over the course of many hours & many miles on the back roads of Indiana, Brian & Jim developed a friendship that still carries on today.  Through the trials and tribulations of Jim's early dating life that brought him to his wife, Kylee....or the ongoing circus that is known as Brian's day-to-day life, these two movie lovers have seen it all.  

Which brings us back to the summer of 2017 when the stagnation of everyday life finally scratched an itch that Brian never knew he had.  A burning desire to finally quit underachieving and move forward with a creative endeavor that could possibly bring a little bit of success. 

Brian started thinking. 

He started thinking a lot. 

He had this idea in his head about a radio show. 

The popcorn kernel of it had been floating around in the back of his head for a long time. He just wasn't quite sure of how to approach it.

The idea . . .

In its beginnings . . .

was a show about movies that people always considered to be classics. 

The movies that people swear by.

The "go to" movies. 

The movies that people,

no matter what,

will always watch when they're on TV,

day or night,

regardless of which part of the movie they happened to stumble upon. 

“The best of the best”, one might say. 

Well, what if someone hadn't seen those movies?   What if there was one guy out there that, for whatever reason, hadn't seen any of these classic movies that everyone so passionately loves? 

What if?  

Brian got to thinking about this idea more & more. 

Who could be the guy that hasn't seen such fine additions to cinema?  Who is so pathetic to have not seen classic movies like Jaws?! 

Then it dawned on Brian

"I haven't seen Jaws. . .

Am I the guy? 

Oh no! 

I am the guy!!"

 It was in that moment, Brian started making a list of all of the top named films from the past four decades. 

• Big budget blockbusters. 

• Art house films. 

• Hollywood classics. 

• Cult classics. 

So many films that have shaped American culture via cinema & given all of us topics to ponder over, to discuss, to debate & love. . .

so many of them Brian hadn't seen!! 

It was embarrassing!!

So the idea became a quest. 

A movie adventure down the rabbit hole of the Hollywood vault.  A quest to redeem Brian's stature as a movie lover.  But he couldn't go on this journey alone.

No sir. 

He needed a partner. 

He needed someone to help him along the way. 

He needed someone to make fun of him & totally rip him apart when these movie confessions came to light. 

He needed a co-host.

So one morning at FedEx, while loading their trucks, Brian asked Jim that fateful question. . .

"How would you like to do a podcast with me?”

So few times in life does something so wonderful start with something as simple as one friend asking another friend a question, but that's what happened here. 

Little did Brian know, but Jim, too, was feeling the drag of stagnation in his life.  As family men, both guys couldn’t have been happier, but from a creative standpoint, they both felt like maybe their time had passed. 

Jim said "Yes to the dress!" so to speak, and they both realized soon enough that they were both wrong about time passing them by.

The simple idea of doing a movie review podcast blossomed into what is now known as:

Dude, What?! A Movie Review Podcast. 

The  "Dude, What?!" came from the idea that anytime you ask a friend about a particular movie & that friend tells you that they haven't seen that movie, your immediate reaction is almost always, "Dude, What?!" 

It's an involuntary thing that just comes out of you from a place of shock & disbelief.  Here's an example:

"Hey man, what's going on?"

"Aw, not much. Just got finished watching Jaws."

"Jaws, like the movie?”

 “Yeah, I had never seen it."

"Dude, What?!"

Now you get it??

From day one, the boys hit the ground running.  Working on marketing strategies, coming up with a game plan for scheduling shows.  They were even coming up with ideas for future shows and how to "expand the brand" before they had even released their first show!  Which presented their next hurdle:

How do we release these shows?? 

The podcast world was foreign territory to both men.  Neither one of them had broadcasting experience & the land of podcasting was being ruled by men like Marc Maron & Joe Rogan.  Giants of the podcast world! 

Luckily for Brian and Jim,

Brian had an ace in the hole to help them with this next step. 

Enter The Homers Radio Network.

HRN, or Homers Radio Network, was a small podcast outlet that specialized in covering local high school athletics. Specifically, the 3rd region of Western Kentucky.  It was created and operated out of Owensboro, KY, spearheaded by the great Stephen A. Turner as a brainchild that came out of Steve's first podcast The Displaced Diehards.  HRN was launched to give a radio spotlight to all the student athletes across the 3rd region and beyond who may have not gotten enough recognition for their hard work during high school. Joined by fellow "Homers" David Clark and Brandon Ward, with technical assistance from his brother, Roger Turner, the Homers Radio Network caught fire and became an instant success across Western Kentucky. 

Brian knew that if anyone could help him get his show off the ground, it would be Steve. Oh, did we mention that Brian & Steve have been best friends since day one of 6th grade?! 

Oh yeah. 

Brian's old school friend & new school friend were about to unite for something amazing!

One afternoon in June of 2017, Brian called up Steve to get some basic info about how to launch a podcast.  After some general questions & some back & forth, Steve just casually offered Brian a spot on their network.

"Are you sure man?"

"Absolutely! We can put you on Thursdays in our lineup. It'll be extra content for our website & it won't cost you a thing!"

"Dude, What?!"

So it came to be that July 19th, 2017, courtesy of The Homers Radio Network, the Dude, What?! Movie Review Podcast debuted their first episode. For the next two years, Brian & Jim put out close to 60 episodes of movie loving entertainment.

Of course, some changes happened along the way. 

Jim & Kylee added to their family & have 3 beautiful kids.

Brian & his wife, Crystal, became grandparents (Brian is still getting used to that), and HRN has ceased to be. 

But it's without question that Dude, What?! would not even be a thing if it hadn't been for The Homers Radio Network and the help of Stephen A. Turner. 

Which brings us to now. 2020 was supposed to be a banner year in the history of Dude, What?! but like most things in our country, Covid-19 laid the proverbial smack down on our progress.  FEAR NOT!! 

Our story does not end here.

The Dude, What?! train is going to keep on rolling! 

The list of movies is ever growing that Brian needs to watch.

The boys are about to start churning out more side-splitting, "burst out loud laughing" episodes for you to enjoy, so like Brian always says. . .

"Sit back.  Strap yourself in.  And let's have some fun. . ."