That Digital Take with Torri Webster

iHeartRadio

That Digital Take uncovers the ever-evolving world of influencers—challenging the industry, harnessing its power, and exploring how it connects us all. Through the lens of pop culture and entertainment,Torri blends: Insider interviews with industry leaders, viral influencers/ creators, actors, and rising stars. Behind-the-scenes  storytelling from her own experience navigating the digital space. Actionable takeaways for listeners curious about how digital culture shapes careers, business, and society.

  1. 6d ago

    Take #80: Torchella Bachelorette Recap + Contrast Season

    It's been a while since a solo episode, so this is a proper catch-up, and it ends somewhere I wasn't expecting. First: D23 as a first-timer. Sneaking onto the grounds early thanks to friends in high places, the celebrity sightings, and Disney laying out everything they have coming. Then one perfect day at Disneyland with Adam. Then the main event, the bachelorette. Thirteen girls, planned entirely by me from January on: transportation, villas, menus, every moving part. JSX down to Cabo to meet the bachelor party, a welcome day at a villa that genuinely blew my mind, private chefs, a boat day I negotiated from the living room, a BBQ pool day, Bagatelle in unreasonable heat, and a Sunday surprise that was not for the faint of heart. Huge thank you to Suzanne and the Creative Destination Events team for every balloon and custom detail that made it TORCHELLA, and to the Cabo Villas team for taking care of us on every level. Cabo as a bachelorette destination: land, sea, party, relaxation, you get a bit of everything. From there, straight to New York with Moroccanoil to celebrate Aryna Sabalenka as the new face of the brand. Very glam, very spoiled. And then everything stopped. After losing someone close to me, I took time off, and that's the topic of the week: leaning on creativity in times of grief. A Labour Day weekend spent alone, clearing out my home because moving energy matters, new shows (Homeland), and honest reflections on living in contrast. If you're in a season of high highs and low lows, you're not alone. Holding space for you. Love you all.

  2. Aug 31

    Take #79 - Mel Grauds on Building Melrose Training, Brand Deals, Motherhood & Why Community Beats Reach

    Most people in the creator economy build the audience first, then figure out what to sell. Mel Grauds did it backwards, and it worked. Mel founded Melrose Training in 2020 with virtual classes, one-on-one clients and no following. Six years later she's running three Toronto studio locations, Yorkville, Rosedale and King West, plus virtual training and LIFT, her new small-group strength class. Along the way she's partnered with alo, Knix, Under Armour, Formula Fig, Revlon and Healthy Planet, and was chosen by Sporting Life to lead the official stretch at the Sporting Life 10K. In this episode of That Digital Take, host Torri Webster sits down with Mel to talk about what the business actually looks like behind the Instagram version, and the bet she's making that's quietly rewriting the influencer event playbook: taking the production, the brand access and the budget, and pointing all of it at real customers instead of creators. They get into the real barrier keeping women out of the weight room, the cost of building a brand on transparency, the structural risk of being the face of your own company, how motherhood changed what she's willing to say yes to, and how you prove community is real when brands only measure impressions. Topics covered: creator economy · fitness entrepreneurship · brand partnerships · influencer marketing · community building · women's strength training · Toronto small business · motherhood and entrepreneurship · in-person events · personal branding

  3. Aug 24

    Take #78 - Snarky Marky on Virality, Reinvention & the Long Game

    Mark Gaetano — Snarky Marky — is seven years into a career most creators don't survive two of. 4.9 million TikTok followers, 380 million likes, and he's doing it full-time from Toronto. Host Torri Webster sits down with the creator behind the teacher POVs, the cafeteria monitor and "the volume inside of this bus is astronomical" to talk about what's actually changed in seven years — and what it takes to keep up. Mark is refreshingly specific about the craft. When he started, a video was one continuous take, 15 to 60 seconds, no cuts. Now the hook is everything, and he explains what shifted in the last two to three years and what creators have to learn from it. He talks about working through creative resistance, why burnout is real once this becomes the full-time job, and how he handles the dry spells between brand partnerships after six years of relying on them. He also makes the case that YouTube Shorts pays, a fact he thinks most creators still misunderstand. Plus: school was always Plan A, why posting on TikTok used to be considered cringe, the strange truth that no two For You Pages are alike, how COUCHella came out of a little FOMO and turned into 26 million views, and why he thinks the lifestyle niche might be in trouble. In this episode:(00:00) The bus video and the five years before it(09:21) School was always Plan A(19:28) When posting on TikTok was still considered cringe(20:30) Why everyone's For You Page is different(21:31) One continuous take to fast cuts — how the format changed(22:32) Why the hook became everything(23:40) Working through creative resistance(25:05) Fight or flight, and going full-time(26:41) Burnout is real — the strategy for managing it(27:47) Six years of brand partnerships and the dry spells(29:38) You can get paid on YouTube Shorts(31:22) The hardest part: socializing with other creators(40:13) COUCHella, FOMO, and 26 million views(44:45) Why the lifestyle niche might be in trouble Follow Mark: @snarkymarky on TikTok and InstagramFollow the show: @thatdigitaltake Hosted by Torri Webster.

  4. Aug 17

    Take #77 - Get Paid for Your Work, Not Your Audience: Abby Yew, CrowdRiff

    Follower count vs. craft. The three things she looks for before hiring a creator. The contract and rights mistakes she sees over and over. And why brands will keep paying humans as AI-generated travel footage gets better. Every travel brand is now expected to publish authentic creator content everywhere — social, paid, web, email, booking platforms, partner channels. Almost nobody built a content operation designed for that volume. CrowdRiff calls it the creator content supply chain problem. Abby Yew, Head of Growth for Creators at CrowdRiff, joins That Digital Take to explain how they solved it: a network of more than 900 creators across Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand who have completed over 12,000 creator-led shoots, built on ongoing relationships, fair pay, and perpetual usage rights included from day one. Creators aren't chasing invoices. Brands aren't re-licensing every time they reuse a shoot. Drawing on more than twenty years in marketing, community and content, including leading marketing at Wattpad and YONDER, Abby breaks down the shift from being paid for your audience to being paid for your work — and what that means for anyone building a content operation right now. In this episode: Why content creation stopped being a creative function and became an operational one The shift from paying for audience to paying for work Whether follower count still matters The three things Abby looks for before hiring a creator The contract and usage rights mistakes brands make repeatedly Why human creators hold their value as AI footage improves Guest: Abby Yew, Head of Growth for Creators, CrowdRiffLinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/abby-yewCrowdRiff Creators: https://crowdriff.com/creators/

  5. Aug 10

    Take #76 - Ted Lasso S4 Premiere: Cast Interviews + Christine Sinclair

    Torri Webster goes inside the Ted Lasso Season 4 world premiere in Los Angeles with exclusive carpet interviews, plus a behind-the-scenes look at what covering a Hollywood premiere is really like. This week on That Digital Take, Torri travels to LA with Apple TV+ for the world premiere of Ted Lasso Season 4, and this one's a hybrid episode. First, exclusive conversations from the carpet with Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca Welton), Jeremy Swift (Higgins), and Juno Temple (Keeley Jones) about returning to the world of Ted Lasso, what fans can expect from the new season, and why the show keeps resonating around the globe. Torri also sits down with Canadian soccer icon Christine Sinclair to talk about her legendary career, the legacy she's built for the sport in Canada, and why Ted Lasso became such a cultural touchstone for soccer fans. Then it's the solo half. Torri breaks down what covering a Hollywood premiere actually looks like from the inside: the 6 a.m. press day, the evening premiere, the after-party, the pressure of writing thoughtful questions when a celebrity has already answered hundreds that day, and a few Jason Sudeikis moments that never made it to social. Plus a catch-up on Osheaga, wedding planning, and that premiere look. Ted Lasso Season 4 is now streaming on Apple TV+. Follow That Digital Take with Torri Webster for weekly entertainment interviews, premiere coverage, and honest conversations about creator life.

About

That Digital Take uncovers the ever-evolving world of influencers—challenging the industry, harnessing its power, and exploring how it connects us all. Through the lens of pop culture and entertainment,Torri blends: Insider interviews with industry leaders, viral influencers/ creators, actors, and rising stars. Behind-the-scenes  storytelling from her own experience navigating the digital space. Actionable takeaways for listeners curious about how digital culture shapes careers, business, and society.

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