Kyle Jones and Scott Russell didn’t know each other three months ago. Now, they’ve produced nearly a dozen episodes and counting of Love Augusta, a video series designed to spread the word about local businesses and causes.
Technically, it all began when Jones learned to create videos for Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church.
“I asked our pastor who creates our videos, and he said, ‘Nobody.’ So, I took it upon myself to learn a craft,” Jones said of his start with videography. “Then, the pandemic hit, and I wanted to try to do something nice for local businesses and try to create some free content to spark interest in Augusta.”
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Scott Russell runs the Instagram account 6bitesin, where Russell visits and brings awareness to local restaurants across the area. He said he saw one of Jones’ videos and wanted to combine their efforts.
“I had no idea who he was. I just saw the video and said, ‘Man, this guy is wanting to do the same things I do so let’s do it together,'” Russell said.
The two have collaborated on 10 episodes since they met, and they try to produce at least one every week.
“It’s just a way for us to say to our local businesses that ‘We believe in you. We value you and we believe your brand matters and we want people in the community to see that as well,'” Jones said.
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Russell said the first videos they created were based on people he already knew and felt would be interested in the free exposure.
“Now, though, it’s turned into us reaching out to businesses and just winging it week-to-week,” Russell said. “Augusta and Co. is helping us get some places to go and film, as well.”
The pair have produced videos about Golden Harvest Food Bank, Pexcho’s American Dime Museum, the recent ArtsCity Festival and more.
“It’s always cool to see someone commenting and say they didn’t realize we had this place in Augusta, and they thank us for sharing the word,” Jones said.
Russell said the shoot at Neptune Dive & Ski was his favorite, where he got to hop in the water and get a quick crash course in scuba training.
Jones said that every place they go, they try to not only highlight the business but make it interesting. He said if the business or cause will let them get involved and “get dirty,” they’ll take full advantage of it. It allows the pair to be creative and fun, which Jones thinks brings extra attention to the businesses.
“When Scott first approached me and shared his vision for the show, he kept saying, ‘I love Augusta, I love Augusta,'” Jones said. “That’s where the title came from. We want to highlight our love for this town and if people share the content, interact with it, give us ideas, talk about it — that’s all we want to do is just help this community.”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
