It was less than four years ago that Toni Lodge and Ryan Jon Dunn decided to quit their radio day jobs and invest in themselves – and their friendship – by starting the Toni & Ryan podcast.
It was a giant leap of faith, but they’ve never looked back.
Last night, Lodge and Dunn were front and centre on the world stage at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, rubbing shoulders with high-profile celebs at the 29th Annual Webby Awards.
It was literally a world away from Lodge’s former life as an audio producer with the Hit and KIIS Networks, and Dunn’s previous role as Workdays host on Melbourne’s KIIS 101.1FM.
With their loyal legion of TARPers rallying behind them, it was announced late last month that Toni & Ryan had won the People’s Voice category.
Last night, they were officially presented with their award.
The Webbys are famous for their five word acceptance speeches, and Lodge and Dunn certainly didn’t disappoint.
“Just start a f****** blog.”
Not only are Toni and Ryan one of Australia’s most successful podcasting exports, they’re the benchmark for others seeking to start their own.
Despite limited resources, the pair worked tirelessly from the get-go, writing all their own material, constantly coming up with engaging video content for social media and building a dedicated following from the ground up.
Of their Webbys outing in the Big Apple, Lodge posted to Instagram “WINNERS are GRINNERS! Thanks for listening, watching, sharing your stories and putting up with ours.”
“TARPers are the greatest people in the world and we couldn’t do it without you!”
This year’s Webbys theme was ‘All Good,’ with host Illana Glazer recognising “creative people leading the culture who are actively making good on the internet.”
Webby Awards Executive Director Jesse Feister talked of the importance of recognising self-made creators.
“What I love most about the internet is that it gives talented, self-made, creative people a way in. And tonight’s winners are proof of that.”
Ice-T presented Snoop Dogg with the Webby Entrepreneur of the Year Award for expanding the playbook for how creatives can amplify their influence.
The awards wrapped up with Dr. Fei-Fei Li being presented with the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for her foundational contributions to Artificial Intelligence and her leadership in advancing ethical, human-centered AI.
Dr. Li said “Artificial intelligence must benefit humanity.”
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