Let’s Talk
Have you ever been entertained by listening to two buddies banter back and forth? This is precisely how best friends Jerry Lopez and Brian Alvey spent their time — ribbing each other and talking current events as they smoked cigars and drank whiskey. They were so engaging that people often told them they should have their own show.
Although the pair have only been friends for six years, they feel like they’ve known each other forever. Lopez’s parents moved from Cuba to Indianapolis in 1980. Lopez, who was born a year later, grew up with a keen appreciation for the American dream.
“It’s not lost on me that I’m one boat ride away from communism,” says Lopez, who joined the United States Army to become a counter terrorism analyst in 2000. A year later, following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, counter terrorism analysts were highly sought after.
In 2014, Lopez started a social media account called IndySpanglish as a play on the way his mom combined English and Spanish when she talks. A conservative influencer who speaks his mind, Lopez feels he has a unique perspective in today’s culture, being a first-generation American whose family came from communism, was raised on food stamps, and is a veteran. His social media presence took off around the time that George Floyd was murdered.
“Everyone was scared to have their opinion, but I gave mine freely,” Lopez says. “People started following me, almost like, ‘Jerry’s going to say it for us.’ I ended up being the hot take guy.”
Soon he had radio execs asking him to co-host shows, including WIBC’s Hammer & Nigel where he regularly co-hosted with Jason Hammer.
“The first day I was on the radio, I wasn’t being [my authentic self], but I’ve been Jerry Lopez ever since, and I guess it’s working out,” he says. “A whole radio career has come out of this [personality].”
In 2000, Lopez met Brian Alvey via the radio show. The two immediately hit it off as they were both Army veterans. Alvey served in Afghanistan as both a soldier and defense contractor. For the last 30 years, Alvey has been an entrepreneur, working in sales, leadership, and management. Twenty-five years ago, he became a commercial mechanical contractor where he got to know a number of different business owners across various industries.
“I joke that I can’t light your pilot light, I’m scared to death of electrical, and I don’t do poop so I won’t go near plumbing, yet with my company I created a lot of work for guys who have the skillset to do those things,” says Alvey, who has long since sold that company and has served as a business consultant for nearly three decades.
Through the years, Alvey has owned several bars and restaurants, owned a bourbon line with a buddy, and owns a private investigations firm with his brother.
“I’m very active in this business,” Alvey says. “I was the investigator for the Delphi murders State vs. Richard Alan for over two years, culminating at his trial.”
Alvey also co-founded The Warrior 110, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness and funds for veterans suffering from emotional and physical issues such as post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
Alvey is passionate about getting the most out of his time here on Earth. When he turned 50, he even stepped it up a notch by participating in a 50K extreme ultramarathon, competing in Jiu Jitsu competitions, and riding a live bull in Morgan County (which lasted 2.2 seconds, in case you’re wondering) to raise awareness for The Warrior 110.
“Life is to be lived!” he says.
Like Lopez, Alvey speaks his mind and doesn’t shy away from political conversations. He, too, has a strong social media following so when the opportunity presented itself for the pair to start a podcast, they went for it. They agree that it’s their executive producer, Aaron Garner, who has really leveled up the podcast and made it what it is.
“Aaron brings us the beautiful production value. He makes us look good and allows us to do our thing,” Alvey says. “Otherwise, we’d just be two jack asses on an iPhone.”
They kicked around a few possible names for the podcast before deciding on Those AshHoles, which launched in November 2025.
“We smoke cigars [that drop ash],” Alvey says. “Also in the political world, Jerry and I call BS on BS and sometimes we get called a-holes for it so the name is a double entendre.”
They purposefully invite guests from all walks of life. Their inaugural podcast, which quickly went viral, featured Indianapolis’ own heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster, who talked about his upbringing, becoming the world champ, and his current work with youth. They already have a diverse assortment of future guests booked through May, including elected officials, local legendary restaurant owners, a retired general, cigar bar owners, sports figures, and more. They plan to record at least one podcast a week in addition to doing some long-form interviews. The podcast will be released every Friday.
“Jerry and I are still trying to find our rhythm as we work out the kinks, but we could not be more pleased with how well the podcast has been received,” Alvey says.
Although both Lopez and Alvey are known for their political opinions, the main point of the podcast is to get all kinds of conversations going.
“We’ll have political guests on the show who absolutely disagree with us. We’re not going to be an echo chamber,” Alvey says. “We’re not going to have a softball conversation. We’re going to have guests who wing some speedballs at us.”
They maintain that opinions are just that so there’s really no need to get all bent out of shape sharing them.
“When you look at the current state of media, it’s so far left and so far right, but the reality is that if we just get out here and talk to one another, we only disagree on two or three things, and those two or three things are not reasons to hate each other,” Lopez says. “This is why it’s important to have those conversations.”
For more information, check out @ThoseAshHoles on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Email them at ThoseAshHoles@gmail.com
