As many of us are aware, smoking weed and engaging in deep conversations have always been a perfect combination. Thanks to podcaster Thomas Araujo, also known as Dope as Yola, this timeless tradition has now gone viral with his hit show, “Dope As Usual.” The show is available to stream on Spotify and YouTube, and its success has been on the rise thanks to support from the platform itself. However, Araujo has faced challenges in getting mainstream acceptance for a cannabis talk show, leading him to offer bonus “unrestricted” episodes to paid subscribers on the show’s website. Despite these obstacles, “Dope As Usual” continues to see impressive numbers, with over 110,000 listeners and 5.6 million streams on Spotify, 373k YouTube subscribers, and 40+ million hours of watch-time.
Araujo attributes the success of his current podcast to an earlier YouTube series called “Story Time,” where he shared personal memories from his life before cannabis legalization. It was during this time that his future co-host and producer, Marty O’Neill, reached out to him with the idea of starting a podcast together. O’Neill, who had previously worked as a graphic art designer for popular comedy podcasts, brought valuable experience to their partnership.
Today, the two of them are enjoying success as one of Spotify’s top cannabis comedy podcasts and a major draw on YouTube. They have even expanded their small crew and hired a booking agent dedicated to “Dope As Usual.” Despite his busy schedule overseeing multiple cannabis-related ventures, Araujo continues to book amazing guests for the show, including Steve-O of MTV’s Jackass, Mario Lopez of Saved By The Bell, and the late comedian, Ken Flores. Even when guests are unable to consume cannabis, Araujo is happy to make exceptions and leave space in between paragraphs in a hipster journalistic writing style.
