Latest news with #RJs
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘With sadness': Big change coming to cherished burger joint
A cherished Heathridge eatery famous for its burgers and toasties has been sold to new owners. Ryan John Kitchen and Coffee, or better known as RJs, will be changing hands in the coming weeks after serving locals since 2017. Owner and chef Ryan John posted a detailed and heartfelt post on Facebook to share the update with his patrons. Your local paper, whenever you want it. 'It is with a lot of sadness and a little trepidation, but also tremendous pride, excitement, and gratitude — that I announce we have sold Ryan John Coffee and Kitchen,' he wrote. 'We can't wait to introduce you to our new owners in the weeks ahead as we undertake an extensive handover of our phenomenal team and village!' Mr John cited a change in scenery as part of the reason behind the difficult decision to sell the restaurant. 'I am also pretty excited to go and work for the man! Small business requires extraordinary effort and resilience, and there are tricky periods that can exert a huge toll on families and relationships,' he added. 'Prior to this year my daughters didn't see me at all on any given Friday. I did 16-hour days and during the early years I did 90-hour weeks as I was unable to afford the wages. There were periods where my mental health became so battered by stress that my staff had to break into my house and drag me out of bed.' He continued the post by individually thanking his customers, staff, suppliers, his wife and daughters before assuring the business will be left in safe hands. 'To the die hards, the rusted-on lovers of RJ's, the people whose coffee orders are so deeply ingrained in my brain that I will probably remember them for another fifteen years, we love you endlessly. Thank you! It has been a wild and delicious adventure with my best mates, my family, and my village,' the joint's founder said. 'Do you wanna know the best thing of all Heathridge? Our new owners love this joint, and they don't wanna change a thing! 'Same food, same faces, same good vibes. See you all at RJ's...' The change has been met with an outpouring of love from regular customers and the wider Perth community. 'What a fantastic and heartfelt post of true appreciation. I'm sure with your amazing team and the new owners RJs will continue to succeed. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavours,' one person wrote. 'I cannot get my head round this. Big love and big hugs to Ryan and the team at RJs. Very sad. Miss you already,' a fan of the eatery said. 'All the with your next journey and thanks for creating something unique. Will continue to enjoy a toastie and coffee from the new owners,' another replied. 'Wishing you and the family all the best, Thankyou for all your hard work and big Thankyou for how you have brought the Heathridge community together,' a fourth commented. The venue was crowned Perth's best burger place by Triple M's 'Best of Perth' competition last year.
Mint
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Tuning out: RJs abandon radio to become influencers as their social media popularity soars
Radio jockeys were the original influencers in the time before social media. So, it's no surprise that RJs are now making the most of their soaring popularity on social media to become content creators and regain their status as influencers. After all, content creators and influencers have lucrative careers that can bring them brand deals and entertainment opportunities. It can be so enticing that some RJs are even ditching radio, exacerbating the struggles of the audio broadcasting sector. Karishma Gangwal quit her job as an RJ at Red FM in 2023 to pursue content creation full time, making videos. She has close to 7 million people following her Instagram handle @rjkarishma and currently hosts a spot-the-imposter format game show called 'Find the Farzi' on JioHotstar. "As RJs, we do have an advantage. We're used to being creative, spontaneous and adding our own flavour to everything we do. These skills naturally help us in content creation too," Gangwal said. Also Read | India's influencers confront a harsh reality: more views don't mean more subscribers Content creation also becomes more lucrative for RJs due to its higher earning potential than their radio jobs. "It really depends on the size of your following. But generally, as a content creator with a strong audience, you can easily earn two to three times more than a radio jockey," said Princy Parikh, a RJ turned creator who quit her job at Radio Mirchi in 2023. She now has her own YouTube channel with 3.4 million followers. Her Instagram handle @princymirchilove has over 1.6 million followers. Analysts said the transition of radio content to social media to catch up with the changing preferences of consumers has fuelled the online popularity of RJs. 'Radio jockeys were the original macro influencers, long before social media. They commanded regional fame through FM radio, building deep audience engagement," said Amiya Swarup, partner, marketing advisory, at consulting firm EY. Over time, radio companies have started tapping the rising influencer status of their RJs. Today, brands benefit not just from on-air credibility, but also from the powerful social media reach of RJs, Swarup said. However, as radio stations build income from advertisements on social media, RJs, who are also promoting their personal brands on social media, are sometimes put in a spot when they have to work with brands they don't associate with. Freedom, flexibility "You have the option to say no to brands and campaigns you may not relate to," said Supriya Kapoor, a former RJ with Fever FM with over 50,000 followers on Instagram, who now calls herself a creator, voiceover artist and podcast host. "Becoming influencers gives you complete freedom with the kind of content you create as you aren't bound by a brand's presence. It also gives the flexibility to collaborate with brands you identify with, having complete ownership and say on the commercials." Experts said they have observed a growth in RJs taking over social media, gaining traction on the back of creativity and their masterful storytelling skills that give them an edge over other creators. Also Read | Fake followers and murky return on investment push brands to rejig influencer strategy "While there's no official data tracking this group specifically, from what we've seen in the ecosystem, ex- or current RJs likely make up around 2-4% of India's digital creator base. It's still a niche, but definitely a growing one, especially with the rise of podcasting and audio-first formats that play to their strengths," said Shravika Behl, head of growth at influencer marketing agency Pocket Aces. As per a Boston Consulting Group report in May, there are currently 2-2.5 million creators in India influencing over 30% of consumers and $350-400 billion in consumer spending. In their radio roles, RJs are heard only locally. Seeking national recognition becomes another reason for them to push for social media growth. Wider reach "I always aspired to be known. Earlier, people recognised me as a Red FM RJ—but only within Siliguri, which is a relatively small town. Social media changed that. It gave me a platform to build a name and gain recognition far beyond my city. It's not just local fame anymore, it is reach and impact on a much larger scale," said Priyanka Sarkar, who quit her job after a decade-long stint in May to pursue fulltime content creation. Her Instagram handle @rjpriyanka has over 1.3 million followers. Also Read | Influencers and brands turn to social media to raise cyber awareness Disclaimer: Fever FM is operated by HT Media Ltd, the publisher of Mint.
