Meet Daniel Garay | Podcaster & entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Garay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Why did I pursue a creative career? Well the easy answer would be that I have worked in a labor intensive career from the age of 16 to now (28) and to be honest I had become bored with it. I felt like I had reached my peak in this career and wanted something new and exciting. So while continuing working in this field I used my job to fund my dream of being a creative. But that’s not the complete answer. See when I was in high school the YouTube boom was just starting. We had people like Rhett and link , Phil Defranco and the Shay Carl starting their empires on the platform and all I could do was dream of doing what they were doing. Unfortunately during my senior year in high school my family was going through financial problems so I had to put my dreams on a shelf and do what was necessary to help my family pull through. Years after high school some of my drinking buddies and I started brewery hopping to all the local Houston breweries and we started making connections with not only patrons but as well as brewers and owners. Soon after the itch to start a YouTube channel came back and the original idea was to interview brewers. Unfortunately one of my friends got into some trouble and our friend group started to fall apart a bit as adult hood and responsibilities were pulling us apart to the point were there was only two of us left. Dan and Daniel, we were to most outspoken and social of the group so naturally our weekend adventures always lead to crazy stories and long interesting conversations with locals. That time of together brought back my itch to do YouTube but I quickly learned a lot of people didn’t like to be on camera but they also didn’t mind just having their voice recorded. After finding that out and having my buddy Dan on board to try something new we created the now 4 year old Weekly D Podcast that has become a staple to up and coming artist in Houston. So to answer your question I always had a passion for music and talking but never really had the means to try it, so as an adult I followed my dreams and decided that a creative career is what fulfills my life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Honestly as a podcaster it hasn’t been the easiest to get where we are at and to be honest I feel like we still have a long way to go. But with that said it has taken tons of late nights, perseverance and, consistency to get where we are. We have build a great reputation amongst our peers, interviewees, and listeners for bringing them great content on a consistent basis. The biggest lesson I’ve learned about podcast is that you have to be honest and genuine because anyone can see through and act. Also treating people with respect and making them feel comfortable lead to more people wanting to work with you. At the end of the day the goal with The Weekly D podcast is for people to say that we were a great first step in peoples rise to success and that they recommend more people to come onto our show. As for Paper Plate media our end goal is to build a great team of editors, host, and creators to constantly produce new and entertaining content.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well with Houston being huge in food culture I would definitely take people to a plethora of food spots like La Cruderia on Bellaire street. The waffle bus in the heights is amazing too. Also la fogata if you want Colombia food or Agas food Indian food. We definitely have tons of diversity in food. We also have some of the best breweries in the world like Buffalo Bayou, Saint Arnold and Southern Star Brewing to mention a few. And at night we can go hit up Main Street or mid town I personally love going to Gloria’s on Saturday nights to dance salsa with my fiancé.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes absolutely first and foremost I have to dedicate my shoutout to my family because without them I may have never developed my sense of humor an perseverance, secondly is my fiancé who always supports me, and lastly Paper Plate Media which is my newest project that my friends and I have been building which is a Media Company. I also could have never done any of this with out my buddy Dan who started The Weekly D Podcast with me and Alex Middleton and Pass the Gravy podcast that took us under their wing and guided us in the beginning.

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