Jersey guys and former YouTube stars find success with Garden State podcast

Before YouTube had fully developed into the behemoth it is today, best friends and Jersey natives Josh Sobo and Josh Chomik were two of the biggest stars on the online video sharing and social media platform in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers and a loyal fanbase.

But in the middle of the 2010s, as other YouTube stars were building empires, Sobo and Chomik felt their creative fire die.

The duo, now living in Cranford, were occasionally uploading videos, but were also waiting for the next big idea to strike.

"We wanted something, a creative project that we could own," said Sobo. "We were just sitting one day and we'd always have these meetings like 'What's the thing, Josh? What's the thing we're going to work on?' "

Then it happened.

"I said to (Chomik) one day, 'You know I have this Instagram handle 'thegardenstate' ... what if we started something specifically for Jersey, not something trying to get millions and millions of followers, but something local," said Sobo, who acquired a multitude of handles when Instagram was in its infancy because he saw the potential for the app to grow.

From there, Sobo and Chomik sprinted ahead with the idea, and "The Garden State," a podcast discussing news and events in New Jersey, was born. The first episode was released Jan. 21, 2022.

"I love it. I think it's so much more personal," said Chomik, who still has more than 1.3 million YouTube subscribers. "You get to connect with the viewers a lot easier because you guys are all relating to the same subjects and topics. I think that's the coolest part. Rather than just casting a net out into the open, you're actually talking to people."

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Recorded in Sobo's living room, "The Garden State" has been steadily gaining in popularity, releasing a new episode every Friday. It's available on all popular podcast platforms. The July 22 show talked about property tax rebates, the heat wave, as well as the return of Toys 'R' Us.

Sobo and Chomik attract a local audience, seeing the most success on TikTok, growing the podcast's account to more than 200,000 followers and routinely posting videos that break 100,000 views.

"Those are all people in Jersey. That's all Jersey," Sobo said. "Imagine if we did a nationwide news thing? It'd be a bigger net, but because we're so specified and because the algorithms have gotten so good, TikTok and Instagram feed our content to local people, which is really rewarding to see."

From May 16 to June 16, the two saw the podcast clips get more than 5.5 million views and 65,000 shares on TikTok. From June 24 to July 21, the page received 3.1 million views and almost 49,000 TikTok shares.

Sobo and Chomik are hoping it develops into a substantial business. So what's the next step?

Outside of making merchandise New Jerseyans can wear with pride, neither of them is 100% sure. There are many avenues to potentially grow, they said.

Despite thoughts of starting podcasts targeted at other states, the duo wants to continue to appeal to the fervent New Jersey audience.

"It's so tricky because we've always talked about ... experimenting and trying to do something for ... New York ("The Empire State") or Florida ("The Sunshine State") because there's so many crazy stories in Florida," Chomik said. "But there's something about Jersey, where people, they're so passionate about Jersey. I know so many people who just love everything about Jersey. I don't know if people are like that in other states."

Shaun Chornobroff is an intern with the Asbury Park Press and entering his senior year at Rider University, majoring in sports media with a minor in journalism. He is the executive editor of the Rider's student newspaper and a resident of Jackson. Reach him at SChornobroff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Garden State podcast: Former YouTube stars, NJ guys find success