‘Ridin’ Around’ Show Gives U of A Freshman a Journalism Career Jump Start

Noah Washington, a Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences freshman from Springdale, Arkansas, recently spent his spring break doing something he called “abnormal to say the least” – filing the business taxes for his LLC.

“I bet only like three other freshmen also file taxes for their own business,” he joked. But the business he’s talking about is no joke at all.

Washington’s business has given him a jump start in his sports entertainment career, and supports what he’s most known for: his impressive YouTube channel, “The Ridin’ Around Show.”

The channel, which has gained more than 228,000 views and more than 2,000 subscribers since its inception in January 2022, features in-car guest interviews and karaoke with athletes, artists, and prominent community members in Northwest Arkansas and from the U of A.

Washington and his guests explore his three favorite things: cars, music, and sports.

His recent two-part interview with U of A Chancellor Charles Robinson, for instance, finds the two in a Lincoln Navigator jamming to “What’s Going On” and “Mercy, Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye and questioning whether the Chancellor could out-dunk the Razorback Men’s Basketball team.

Washington, the ever-flattering host, thinks maybe so. The Chancellor thought not so much.

“The show is an accumulation of me — it embodies me,” Washington said. “I’ve been a car enthusiast since I was seven. My mom drove me to the Tulsa Auto Show every April. My dad raised me around Razorback sports. And I love music.”

After a gap year following high school, during which time he launched the show, Washington enrolled as a freshman broadcast journalism major in Fulbright College’s School of Journalism and Strategic Media.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure if this was the right next thing for me, but now I know that it was,” Washington said. “I see college as a tool to advance my career and I think what I do the most right now — with my show, with advertising — falls really in line with what I’m studying.”

Washington wrapped up his spring semester of courses in media writing, journalism writing, and media and society, all of which he said are building his skillset and experience toward his career.

“The [School of Journalism and Strategic Media] has been willing to connect me with people, help, and support,” Washington said. “They’ve been very welcoming and helpful — sharing and supporting my show and my work.”

While he has big plans to expand his work — growing the show’s guest list (Rod Wave is his dream celebrity guest), making the show seriously profitable, and building his brand and advertiser support — Washington said he also makes sure to pause from time-to-time.

“It gives me the goosebumps to think about,” Washington said. “I’ve been blessed and treated with such favor that when I think about what my life has been — it’s hard to express. I’ve met cool people, driven my dream cars, and sat courtside at basketball games. That’s crazy to me.”

For those close to Washington, the success he’s enjoyed is hardly a surprise.

AnReckez Daniels, assistant director of multicultural programming and diversity initiatives at the U of A, credited Washington’s vision for himself, for his show, and for where his life is headed.

“He’s very good at advocating for himself,” Daniels said. “He’s here asking questions about where he can get help with something or expressing what he needs and he’s good about promoting his show and explaining what it is. That is a quality that many students don’t have.”

Likewise, while it might be difficult for some students to get out of their shells and embrace their full identity, Daniels said, this is not the case at all for Washington.

“We can see all of Noah’s layers,” Daniels said. “Some people hide them, but not Noah. He gives them all to us, which I love.”

Washington, too, acknowledges that he doesn’t shy away from his layers. He called it his “on the record” and “off the record” self.

“My on-the-record stuff — cars, music, and sports — you could probably guess that,” Washington said. “But the off-the-record stuff — I love teaching, writing, and I’m a good dancer, too — someone might not guess about me.”

“I’m a big uncommon person,” he added, though Washington admits that his recent success can also be hard for him to grasp.

He even, from time to time, finds himself at odds with himself.

“I feel like there are really two parts to me — the introvert who likes to analyze and the extrovert who feels like a superstar,” Washington said. “That’s been odd to learn the balance. The introverted part of me feels humble and loves my passions. The extroverted part of me says I’m going to be the biggest.”

Without a doubt, if the show’s early success is any indication, Noah Washington may soon become a household name.

“The introverted part of me gets the goosebumps,” he added. “The extroverted part says this is just the beginning.”