Whiskey Bent BBQ: How Chad Ward Built a BBQ Empire

from BBQ Boardroom · host Scott Erdmann & Shannon Pruitt

Chad Ward didn't set out to build an empire. He just wanted to cook with his buddies.Thirteen years later he's running Whiskey Bent BBQ out of Lakeland, Florida. A retail store. A co-packing facility. A competition record with 200+ top-10 finishes. A decade at Traeger. Collabs with Ken Griffey Jr., Brantley Gilbert, and Justin Herbert. And he's still the guy answering his own DMs.In Episode 1 of BBQ Boardroom, Scott and Shannon sit down with Chad to talk about what building something real in BBQ actually looks like. The grind, the pivots, and why protecting the brand always beats chasing the shortcut.He's got a lot more to build. This is where the story starts.🔥 Chad Ward and Whiskey Bent BBQ: Website: https://www.whiskeybentbbq.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiskeybentbbq/🏆 BBQ World Cup: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbqworldcup/#BBQBoardroom #WhiskeyBentBBQ #ChadWard #Traeger #BBQBusiness #Pitmaster #RoadTo1Million #BBQWorldCup #CompetitionBBQ #BBQ

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 7, 2026

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Whiskey Bent BBQ: How Chad Ward Built a BBQ Empire

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This episode was published on May 7, 2026.

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