Two British nationals lit up the internet when they arrived in Michigan last January. Now, after braving the elements and broadcasting their travels to millions of followers on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook — the duo tells Hour Detroit they are planning a return road trip this August.
Josh Cauldwell-Clarke and Jason Riley — both from Nottingham, England — are known on socials as Josh & Jase. Over the years, the two have grown their audience through documenting their trips across the pond. Their excursions have included New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Washington D.C. and Louisiana — where they just held a live event at a casino in Lake Charles on May 30.
The two both started as content creators during the COVID-19 pandemic and got to know each other through TikTok — after Riley posted himself doing an impression of Cauldwell-Clarke.
“We met up, and yeah, we were friends before the content,” says Cauldwell-Clarke. “We realized our personalities work really well online, and here we are.”
This summer, in addition to Detroit, they plan to hit many of the same locations as they did over the winter, including Mackinac Island, Saugatuck, and Pictured Rocks.
Their three-week trip in January started in South Haven and ended in Detroit. On the trip, they braved the Mackinac Bridge, went ice fishing, rode snowmobiles, attended a Red Wings game, and visited Ford Field.
They tried Michigan staples like Mackinac Island fudge, pasties, and coney dogs, and did a bit of, ahem, influencing, promoting a limited time Josh & Jase special pie in partnership with Jet’s Pizza. While in Grand Rapids, they also helped raise nearly $50,000 for a local homeless shelter.
The trip was not without its setbacks: Cauldwell-Clarke was hospitalized on Jan. 18 due to a back injury, shortly after he and Riley shared videos at Boyne Mountain Resort. After the trip, he would receive a notice from the hospital that employees wrongfully accessed his medical data, which he spoke about in a February video.
Cauldwell-Clarke, who became a father in March, took some time off from travels for time with family (during April, Riley took a solo trip to Arkansas).
Now, they’re ready to reunite for their second trip to Michigan. On a May 28 Zoom call, Hour Detroit caught up with Josh and Jase from their hotel room in Louisiana. We discussed their favorite things about Michigan, what they can reveal about their summer plans, and what it’s like to travel the world as a viral influencer.
(Note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity).
Hour Detroit: You’re intending to return to Michigan this August, is that correct?
Josh: Correct. Yeah, so we came to Michigan in the winter. I’ve heard Michigan is like a completely different place in summer, so we said it would be an injustice to not come back in the summer. We have built such a loyal audience now in Michigan. It’d be wrong not to do that.
Jase: Also, we deserve it, right? We’ve suffered some of the snowstorms, the lake effects, snow, the cold weather.
Josh: I slipped a disc!
Jase: You slipped a disc. So, I feel like we’ve earned a few beach days in Michigan.
Are there any spots you’re planning on hitting this time around that you’re willing to reveal, and are you guys still taking suggestions?
Josh: We’ll always take suggestions. Our whole content is based off what the followers want to see and where they want to see us go. For us that is the best way to make the best content, because the people from there will know the best places to go. In terms of where we’re going to go [when we return to Michigan], I know for definite we are going to try and go back to Mackinac Island, because we’ve heard it’s very different in the summer.
Jase: We’re going to do a lot of the places we did before, purely because we want to see the contrast and the difference. What was it like in the winter versus the summer. But also do some things and go some places that we couldn’t go to last time. So, say, for example, Pictured Rocks we couldn’t see because there was a snow blizzard. There might be a few places, like Saugatuck was closed, wasn’t it? And the yacht club famously had no yachts in it.
Josh: Yeah, when we got there, [there were just] 40 people. Apparently in the summer, it’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people. So, yeah it’s gonna be fun.
Jase: It’s gonna be a blend of places we’ve been versus some new places that [were] suggested, as well, that we couldn’t quite tick off last time.
@joshandjaseHow is this real?! 😳♬ original sound – joshandjase
On your last trip, you were embraced by many Michiganders. What does that feel like? Is it ever overwhelming?
Josh: We love it. We love meeting all sorts of different people from all sorts of walks of life. And we get to do so many amazing things. We meet people and then it can lead to doing really good things. Like raising money for good charities. …It is growing, it is getting bigger. We went to a basketball game, didn’t we? And they got pretty crazy; we had to get a police escort.
Jase: But it’s overwhelming in the best way. It’s not like… ‘Oh, we don’t enjoy this, this isn’t fun.’ It’s like, everybody that comes to us has nothing but positivity, so that’s easy when everybody’s so nice. It doesn’t become overwhelming. You just feel like you’re meeting a group of friends, basically.
When you were in Grand Rapids, you raised, was it $40k for…
Josh: I think we was close to touching 50, you’re talking about Mel Trotter [Ministries] right?
Yeah, Mel Trotter, that’s right. So how did that come about?
Josh: It was very random, yeah, or who knows, divine intervention. But we were in this bar, and these women came up to us, and said, ‘We’re big fans.’ They mentioned they worked in a charity down the road, a Christian-led charity, Mel Trotter. And we went there and they took us around. It was emotional, wasn’t it? Me and Jase said, we’ve got to do something here, this is what it’s about. The reason we travel, the reason we go to different places, is because we can use our platform for things like this. So, we did a call-out to our followers, and we raised upwards of nearly $50,000.
Jase: We’ve always said this: There really is no point having a platform unless you’re going to use it for good reason. We wouldn’t be anything or anyone really without everybody that supports us. So if we can help as many as we can, we will.
And now, Josh, I understand you just became a father. How long ago was that now?
Josh: She’s 10 weeks old.
10 weeks old, congratulations!
Josh: Thank you very much, Jack. Appreciate that.
Now is that going to have any effect on being able to make content as often, and that sort of thing?
Josh: I always said to Jase, and we had a conversation that my priority will always be my family. But my partner also understands that I need to travel, I need to dive in. And they will be coming on trips. I’m sure they’ll be experiencing stuff that I’m experiencing.
Jase: It means we’ve just added somebody else to the to the roster now, maybe it’s a trio!
Josh: Right now I’m in Louisiana. My partner and my baby are with me. She came on a 9 ½ hour flight. She’s by the pool, getting a tan, and she’s loving it. She doesn’t know what’s going on. She’s 10 weeks old. But my partner’s really enjoying the time here. So, it’s nice to be able to take my family along with me. It’s a real pleasure.
When you guys come back to Michigan, are you planning on hitting any spots in Detroit?
Josh: Absolutely, yeah, we’re gonna go to Detroit. Can we give the inside information about what we’re doing in Detroit, in terms of … [glances off camera] No! We’ve been told we’re not allowed to speak about it. But we do have some very exciting stuff planned for Detroit, like bucket list stuff.
Jase: We’ll end the trip, probably in Detroit like we did last time, just because that’s where we fly home from. So Detroit will be a lot more epic than it was last time.
Josh: Detroit. We’re excited. …My team’s there now: Detroit Lions. Go Lions! Gonna win the Super Bowl.
Jase: They famously never won the Super Bowl.
Josh: But they will win the Super Bowl, because the Brits are backing them now. Jase hasn’t found his team yet. Detroit Lions. Go Lions!
One of the other things about Detroit I was wondering, is what is the perception of Detroit in the U.K.? Like, what comes to mind? Is it Eminem?
Jase: I would say growing up, the only time I’d ever heard of Detroit was through Eminem. Eminem was like my favorite artist growing up. I had his albums, probably shouldn’t have, to be honest. But I was reading through like the lyric book, and I’d like try and rap along to his lyrics. So it was a real surreal moment for me when I got to Detroit and saw the 8 Mile sign and took a photo with it. But I think the perception of Detroit, there isn’t really one from Brits, is there?
Josh: Like Jase said, it’s in the movies, maybe 8 Mile but there’s not really a stereotype or a perception. But that’s why what we do is good, because we can travel to these places and show Brits what it’s really about. If there was ever any stereotype that would develop, we’re here to cut that out and show what it’s really like. And in Detroit, I love the culture of Detroit. Everyone treated us so nice. We had this hot dog, where was it that hot dog we had with the onions on?
Would this have been Lafayette Coney Island?
Josh: Coney dog! Yeah…it’s really good.
Jase: And people were coming in there like nurses, doctors, bankers, like everyone was after a coney dog. It didn’t matter who they were.
Josh: Yeah, it’s a fan favorite.
@joshandjaseWe had to try this…😳♬ original sound – joshandjase
You guys have a lot of experience traveling to new places, and finding the best things they have to offer. Do you have any advice for travelers who might be going to a new place, and how to do that same thing?
Josh: Two words: dive in. Just dive in.
Jase: Unless you’re in Louisiana. There are alligators here.
Josh: [Bursts out laughing]
Jase: Culturally, just dive in. Try the food. Meet the people. Don’t go typically to your tourist spots. I mean, obviously do, just to say you’ve been, but there’s so many parts of the world, and for us, America, that are untouched by tourism. And they’re just as beautiful as, if not more than, the places that tourists would go. …Be open-minded, dive in, and you’ll have the best time.
Josh: It’s important to embrace the culture, not judge the culture. Like, me and Jase have been in situations where we’ve been led to somewhere to ride a bull and we’ve signed a waiver on a handwritten note. …Well, that’s definition of diving in. And that was very dangerous to do, but, like, we didn’t judge it, you know? That would never happen in the U.K. We just thought, let’s give it a go, and now it’s one of the best memories we’ve ever had. It’s incredible. We’re actually talking about it in this show that we’re doing in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Well, it’s a teaser… unless we do a show in Michigan. Maybe that’s an inside scoop for you, Jack.
So you’re considering [doing a live show in Michigan?]
Josh: Listen. What we’ll say…
Jase: What we’ve learned is that this whole thing is just going way beyond what we thought it would. So, we’re just kind of riding the wave of what this is. Yeah, maybe, maybe not. We’ll see, because Michigan, in the summer, we’ve got a lot of stuff to pack in, But maybe. Who knows?
Was there anything you guys wanted to add about your trip to Michigan? Anything you want our readers to know?
Jase: I wanted to say it was so nice, we had to do it twice.
Josh: Oooooh. I can’t even follow that, because what an amazing way to end it.
Jase: And I’m going to get that tattooed probably.
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