Tendernism: The Untold Story Behind the Word That Broke the Internet

About this episode

This episode explores the origins and cultural significance of Tendernism through an interview with its creator, Walter Johnson.

Tendernism didn't start on the internet. It started 50 years ago in a kitchen in Robbins, Illinois, with a young Walter Johnson cutting wingtips off chicken wings for his brother's restaurant. 50 years. 50+ states. Casino kitchens, backyard cookouts, and every Southern state he could get to so he could learn what the old folks knew about a pinch of this and a pinch of that. By the time the camera found him, the craft was already there. The world just hadn't caught up yet. In this episode, Brandon Butler sits down with the man who invented Tendernism to tell the full story. How the word actually got named (an oxtail, the sun, and meat that peeled off the bone like an orange). Why he calls oxtails "Black Diamonds." How he ended up on the phone with Snoop and Ron Isley. And the Muhammad Ali line that made him realize this was bigger than food: "Ali shocked the world in '65. I shocked 'em in 2025." Walter is proof that your time is your time. The meat was just the entryway. Tendernism is the movement. ▶ Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@butternomics?sub_confirmation=1 #Butternomics #BusinessOfCulture #Tendernism #WalterJohnson #BlackDiamonds #AtlantaPodcast #BlackEntrepreneurs…

People in this episode

Host: Brandon Butler

Guest: Walter Johnson

Topics covered

• Tendernism
• Southern food
• Culinary history
• Black entrepreneurship
• Cultural movements

Keywords

• Tendernism
• Walter Johnson
• Southern food
• Black Diamonds
• cooking history
• culinary movement
• Snoop
• Ron Isley
• Muhammad Ali

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Robbins, Illinois

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