The Rasheed Philips’ Experience
A Rasheed Philips’ pop-up event is a rarity these days. The pitmaster, who became a household name in many living rooms during the pandemic, hasn’t had as much time to hold these events as he used to — a side effect of the notoriety he received from his time on Netflix’s American Barbecue Showdown. While he loves doing them, he spends much of his time on traveling the country to spread his knowledge, build his brand and inspire many of those he meets.
So when he decides to hold a pop-up event, he tends to draw a crowd. This past weekend, he did just that. I had yet another opportunity to film the event along with one of Rasheed’s partners, Blue Star Nutraceutical.
Blue Star is a supplement company based out of Toronto, Ontario in Canada. They decided a pop-up event would be a great opportunity to finally meet with Rasheed, attend his event and hear his story — all while documenting the experience.
The weekend began with Rasheed flying in to town after a visit from Florida to see his fellow Blue Angels. Flying back in from the trip on Thursday night, it would be a quick turnaround to get prepared for the Saturday event. In additional to preparing for the popup, both Rasheed and myself wanted to meet with the Blue Star team before beginning our work at the event. After a late-night struggle attempting to find a quiet, open restaurant to meet our new friends, we finally settled on a staple of the South — Waffle House.
After a few hours and a lot of laughs, we decided to retire and get a little rest for the big event. I emphasize “a little” because there was very little rest this evening or much of the rest of the weekend. As I have learned from Rasheed time and time again — rest is a luxury in his line of business.
The PBC popup event was not slated to start until 1:00PM but our day began bright and early Saturday morning. We met around 8:00 AM to pack up the equipment and transport it to Pontoon Brewery, a familiar location for anyone who has come to a Philip’s Barbecue pop-up. As we arrived at the brewery, I assisted Rasheed with setting up the tent and smoker then got right to capturing footage.
It has become very common for lines to form well in advance of the pop up opening. If you want to make sure you can snag a plate before it is all gone, you have two options — pre-order or get there early. This Saturday was no different.
As Rasheed began serving, the line stretched halfway down the building. Both myself and the Blue Star team began to capture event footage along with interviews with patrons of the event. As someone who has spent a lot of time at these events and with Rasheed overall, I can tell you there is a consistent vibe he carries with him — comfort. It is something you can take for granted when you have known a person as long as I have known Rasheed. Seeing the team from Blue Star live the experience for the first time was a real treat.
The majority of people at the event felt comforted by Rasheed which is pretty standard at these events. People will consistently come up and ask to speak with him. No matter how busy he is, he takes time to walk over, thank them for coming out and engage them in conversation. A selfie typically follows along with a hug or handshake.
As the line began to slow and the crowd became weary, what did Rasheed do?
He took samples of brisket, chicken or ox-tail to the patrons waiting in line and so they could get a nibble. He engaged the people who had been patiently waiting and thanked them all for coming out. This comforting, friendly spirit was infectious. Total strangers began to interact and make new friendships.
After the event, we broke down shop and had a well-deserved beer and got ready for the second part of the evening — a meeting with Blue Star. They wanted to get as much time with Rasheed as possible because of a documentary they would be producing to formally introduce him to their audience. We found a local bar, shared fun stories and made plans for the next morning where Rasheed and another entrepreneur and friend, Shay Diggs, would be shooting a workout video for Blue Star.
Bright and early Sunday morning, Shay opened up his gym, MSCL (Muscle) Thru Unlimited, for Blue Star to use as a shoot location. Shooting began with an interview between Rasheed and the Blue Star team and was followed by interviews from Shay and your’s truly. These interviews were meant to give background on Sheed through our stories and friendships. Afterwards, we moved to a workout where Shay was tasked with putting Sheed through the paces and getting some great footage for use in promotional materials.
After a few hours, we packed back up and headed out to a local park where Rasheed had grown up and began his journey running. But on the way, he took us through his old neighborhood to his old home, which I remembered from our time in high school. He spoke with his former neighbors who still owned a home and then headed over to a local park to grab some footage of him going for a quick run. Although we were all tired from a long weekend, we finished out Blue Star’s last evening in the States with a few rounds of golf at a local driving range.
Do you know that feeling when you watch a movie you have seen many times before but your friend who hasn’t seen it is watching along with you?
The experience of watching your friend see something for the first time is is the best way I can describe what I saw this weekend. The guys over at Blue Star had only known Rasheed through quick conversations on the phone and seeing him on Netflix. But to see them actually have the experience of meeting him in person was an experience itself. Truly a sight to behold.
Shout out to the guys over at Blue Star for coming out, sharing in the good times and the great experiences.
