Episode
From Doomscrolling TikTok to 11.8 Million Followers: Forrest Jones | MotoMan Podcast #014
- Podcast
- MotoManTV Podcast
- Published
- Mar 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5757
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Summary
What happens when a hobby born out of "doomscrolling" turns into a global audience of 11.8 million people ? In this episode, we sit down with Forrest Jones , the pioneer of the vertical car review format who fundamentally changed how we consume automotive media. Forrest opens up about the high-stakes journey of building a massive digital empire, from the "leap of faith" moving to California during the pandemic to the viral Honda Odyssey clip that changed everything. We explore the tension of maintaining a "real" voice while managing a massive business, including why he walked away from the security of paid reviews and how a devastating gear crash nearly ended it all. Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro with Forrest Jones 00:01:42 - How the Vertical Car Review Actually Started 00:03:23 - Forrest Jones on Moving from Texas to California During COVID 00:07:32 - Doomscrolling TikTok and Posting the First Car Video 00:09:13 - The Honda Odyssey Clip That Changed Everything 00:11:46 - How Forrest Jones Got Obsessed with Cars 00:14:28 - The Mazda CX-5 Videos That Opened New Doors 00:18:19 - Why He Stopped Doing Paid Reviews 00:19:44 - The Crash That Wiped Out All His Camera Gear 00:22:25 - From Pandemic Chaos to 1 Million Followers 00:23:57 - Forrest Jones on Faith, Favor, and Staying Grounded 00:30:51 - What Makes Long-Form Car Content Actually Work 00:36:21 - Why Authenticity Still Wins in Short-Form 00:38:42 - Using AI Without Letting It Replace Your Voice 00:40:30 - How Forrest Jones Builds a 60-Second Review 00:47:09 - Audience Retention, Storytelling, and Finding Your Style 00:51:52 - TikTok vs Instagram vs YouTube: What Really Changes 00:56:02 - Managers, Sponsorships, and the Business Behind the Content 00:57:52 - Marriage, Humility, and Keeping Li…