“If you are in a room with people, you deserve to be there.”

What happens when years of livestreaming lead you inside TikTok headquarters? In EP.028 of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe takes listeners behind the scenes of his second visit to TikTok HQ in Los Angeles this time as part of TikTok's Creator Career Program.

Joe recounts meeting creators from completely different backgrounds, sitting down with TikTok's team, receiving feedback on his livestream and community, filming content for the platform and realizing how much simply showing up has changed the trajectory of his career. Along the way, conversations with creators including Alex, Chris, Conrad, Tara and others turn the trip into something much bigger than a creator event. Joe reflects on community, purpose, competition, masculinity, faith, feeling understood and the people who unexpectedly teach us something about ourselves.

The trip ends with a stranger on Joe's flight pointing out the moon and sharing something her mother once told her: wherever they were in the world, they could look up and see the same moon. After spending a weekend surrounded by creators at completely different stages of their careers, the idea lands differently. Whether someone has been livestreaming for months or years, has millions of followers or is still building, being invited into the same room means something: you belong there.

Key Moments

(00:28) - Joe's Second Visit to TikTok Headquarters

(02:49) - “We’re Seeing the Same Moon”

(05:24) - Arriving in LA for the Creator Career Program

(06:36) - Meeting the Other TikTok Creators

(07:56) - The Creator Who Inspired Joe Without Knowing It

(10:45) - Why Being Good at Your “Gimmick” Matters

(12:27) - Meeting Someone Who Already Knew Joe's Career

(15:21) - Inside TikTok's Creator Meetings

(17:58) - Getting Feedback From TikTok About His Community

(19:23) - Why Joe Name-Drops Strategically

(21:29) - Meeting the Ghost Hunter Glenda Watches

(24:51) - Why Chris's Livestream Matters to Glenda

(27:45) - How Glenda Helped Make Joe a Livestreamer

(29:50) - When Your Community Starts Existing Without You

(32:52) - Patriotism, Spirituality and Meeting Chris

(38:56) - Filming Content and Ads for TikTok

(41:51) - TikTok Asks Joe to Film More

(42:32) - Wanting to Be the Creator Other Creators See

(45:41) - Showing TikTok Exactly Who Joe Louis Is

(48:04) - Why Showing Up Keeps Creating Opportunities

(49:24) - The First TikTok Visit That Changed Joe's Career

(52:08) - Meeting Tara and Recognizing Another Entertainer

(56:25) - Meeting Conrad

(58:55) - Bonding Over Taylor Swift

(01:02:28) - Why Joe Had Stopped Battling Men on TikTok

(01:08:13) - Realizing It Was Actually About Feeling Safe

(01:14:09) - “Sometimes I Just Gotta Let It Out”

(01:16:41) - When a Stranger Tells You What You've Been Telling Everyone Else

(01:17:57) - What Unconditional Love Reveals About Us

(01:20:50) - “You're the Prodigal Son”

(01:22:41) - Realizing His Father Let Him Come Home and Rebuild

(01:24:27) - We All See the Same Moon

(01:27:49) - Meeting Creators at Completely Different Stages

(01:29:20) - Discovering One Creator Was Only 20 Years Old

(01:32:29) - If You're in the Room, You Deserve to Be There

(01:34:07) - One of Joe's Best Days of 2026

(01:35:03) - Thanking the People at TikTok Who Have Supported His Career

(01:39:04) - We All Share the Same Moon

(01:39:55) - A Message to Livestreamers: Just Keep Going

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #TikTokCreator #TikTokLive #ContentCreator #CreatorJourney #Livestreaming #CreatorCommunity

“The perfect moment will always wait for you to make it the now moment.”

Why do we keep waiting for the perfect time to start? In EP.027 of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe explores procrastination, overthinking and the question he has started asking himself whenever he catches himself waiting: why wait?

As an overthinker and overanalyzer, Joe reflects on the difference between thinking something through and becoming stuck waiting for motivation, certainty or the perfect moment. From relationships and telling people how you feel to career decisions, livestreaming and making music, he looks at how choosing to act in the present has shaped some of the most important moments of his life.

The conversation also explores when waiting is actually necessary, the difference between doing something now and rushing it, and why focusing too heavily on the future can stop you from doing the things required to reach it. Joe shares how livestreaming taught him to act in real time, why mistakes can be part of moving forward and how seemingly small decisions in the present led to people and opportunities that changed the direction of his career.

For Joe, doing it now doesn't mean acting recklessly. It means asking whether there is a genuine reason to wait—and when there isn't, choosing action over another day of thinking about it.

Key Discussion Points

(00:00) - Why This Episode Is About Doing It Now

(02:03) - The Question Joe Keeps Asking Himself: Why Wait?

(02:34) - If There's No Reason to Wait, Do It Now

(03:23) - Why Wait to Tell Someone How You Feel?

(04:49) - Stop Waiting for Motivation

(05:19) - Acting in the Present Instead of Just Thinking

(07:05) - The Livestreaming Lesson That Changed Joe's Thinking

(08:36) - Are You Waiting—or Are You Thinking?

(09:43) - There Is No Perfect Time

(11:44) - Why Are You Waiting to Shoot?

(12:32) - When Waiting Turns Into Being Idle

(14:19) - Don't Watch Your Life Go By While You're Waiting

(15:17) - When Waiting Is Actually the Right Decision

(17:31) - Doing It Now vs. Being in a Rush

(20:21) - How “Do It Now” Shaped Joe's Career

(21:22) - Letting Go of the Perfect Plan

(23:07) - When Overthinking Becomes Procrastination

(24:20) - Stop Waiting for the Perfect Moment

(25:44) - The “Right Now” Moments That Changed Joe's Life

(27:38) - Why the Present Moments Have Been the Life-Changing Ones

(30:06) - Getting Too Caught Up in the Future

(32:02) - You Get to Your Future by Being Present

(35:57) - It's Okay to Make a Mistake

(40:17) - What Joe Can Always Do Right Now

(42:01) - The Career Connections That Happened Because Joe Was Present

(44:19) - The Perfect Time Might Already Be Waiting for You

(44:55) - Make the Perfect Moment the Now Moment

(47:20) - Ask Yourself What Happens If You Stop Waiting

(48:45) - Keep Putting Yourself in Present Moments

(50:54) - There Is No Perfect Time Except the Present

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #StopProcrastinating #Overthinking #DoItNow #TakeAction #PersonalGrowth #StopWaiting

“Blood is thicker than water, but a blood clot will kill you before dehydration does.”

What happens when the people who feel most like family aren't the people you're related to? In EP.026 of A Podcast by Joe Louis, Joe explores chosen family, finding your people and why genuine love, understanding and belonging can sometimes come from the most unexpected relationships.

Inspired by a conversation within his livestream community, this episode begins with Glenda—a woman who found something much deeper than entertainment in a group of people she met online. What started as a place to laugh, talk and escape isolation became a family that checked on her, listened to her and gave her something she genuinely needed.

Joe reflects on the people who have become family throughout his own life, from childhood friends who understood him without explanation to the community that has supported his journey as an independent artist. He shares how these relationships have shaped his career, why being understood matters more than constantly explaining yourself, and how watching his sister's chosen family come together reminded him that family is also something we build.

This isn't about replacing blood relatives. It's about recognising the people who give you room to grow, show up when it matters and provide the love, comfort and stability you need.

Sometimes the family you're given and the family you choose look very different. Both can matter.

Key Discussion Points

(00:00) - Coming Up: Choosing Your Family

(02:00) - Why Joe Wanted to Talk About Chosen Family

(02:51) - Blood Is Thicker Than Water, But What If Blood Hurts?

(06:18) - When a Livestream Community Becomes Something More

(09:04) - How Glenda Found a Family Online

(14:57) - Sometimes This Is the Only Place Someone Feels Loved

(15:30) - Sometimes We Don't Need Solutions, We Need Love

(18:46) - Finding People Who Understand You

(21:13) - The Friend Who Knew Joe Wasn't Okay

(23:49) - When Your Community Becomes Part of Your Family

(28:41) - Choosing to Show Up for the People You Love

(35:29) - Why Chosen Family Matters to an Independent Artist

(36:01) - Building a Livestream Community With TikTok

(41:35) - How Community Culture Grows Through Its Members

(44:26) - When Blood Family and Chosen Family Support Different Dreams

(48:59) - Being Loved Without Having to Explain Yourself

(49:40) - Knowing What It Feels Like to Be Understood

(52:40) - The Childhood Friends Who Became Family

(55:42) - Why Real Friendship Doesn't Require Constant Contact

(59:10) - Surrounding Yourself With What Your Heart Needs

(01:02:46) - What His Sister's Baby Shower Revealed About Family

(01:05:53) - The Beautiful Mix of Blood Family and Chosen Family

(01:06:50) - Finding the Nurturing You Never Had

(01:08:59) - When the Family You're Given Hurts and the Family You Choose Helps You Heal

#APodcastByJoeLouis #JoeLouis #ChosenFamily #FoundFamily #FamilyRelationships #FindingYourPeople #CommunityAndBelonging #PersonalGrowth