Rental Return: Tales From the Video Store
42 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 13 ratingsRelive the days of video rental stores through the stories of former employees. You'll hear experiences from the infancy of rental stores in the 1980s, their dominance in the 1990s, and their demise in the 2000s. From VHS to DVD, from Blockbuster to 'Mom and Pop' stores, Rental Return celebrates this distinctive time in film history.
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Episodes
Joe & Mike: Father and Son Video Store Memories
April 05, 2024 17:03 - 46 minutes - 63.3 MBWe close out season 4 with a first for Rental Return as we interview a father and son who both worked at video rental stores. Joe shares amazing stories about his time as the general manager of Canadian chain, The Video Movie Place from 1984-1988, while Mike reveals how much the business changed a decade later when he worked at Blockbuster Video. Plus, we announce a special event screening of documentary, 7 Year Rental, which you can get an invite to by contacting @hojukoolander on...
Lee
March 15, 2024 15:39 - 26 minutes - 36.1 MBLee joins us to recount his experience working at multiple Movie Gallery stores throughout the state of Iowa. Hear tales of getting peed on while dressed up as The Grinch for in-store events, destroying video store shelves with Spider-Man style shenanigans and so much more! Follow @TRNsocial on X, Instagram, and Facebook for more Rental Return visuals provided by our Video Heroes and other memories form the video store era. Support The Retro Network and shows like Rental Return by...
David
March 07, 2024 14:08 - 37 minutes - 51.2 MBDavid joins us to tell the fascinating tale of working in a privately owned video rental store in Wisconsin from it's opening day in 1999 to it's abrupt closing 8 years later. Plus learn about the documentary he created during the store's final year. Get more details about the doc here http://sevenyearrental.squarespace.com/synopsis/ Follow @TRNsocial on X, Instagram, and Facebook for more including visuals from our Video Heroes. If you are a former rental store employee and would...
Dalibor
February 29, 2024 15:00 - 20 minutes - 28.6 MBDalibor joins us to share stories of working at Blockbuster Video in the early 2000's during the transition from VHS to DVD to streaming, explains how he became the top seller of upgraded memberships and more. Follow @TRNsocial on X, Instagram, and Facebook for more including visuals from our Video Heroes. If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on X or instagram or email hojukoolander@gm...
Rob's Video Rental Tales From Down Under
February 20, 2024 17:45 - 22 minutes - 30.8 MBRob joins us to share his tales of the first video rental store in Australia, founded by his father in 1980. Lines out the door, Mickey Mouse costumes, gangsters, illegal porn and more! We've never heard wild stories like these before. Press Play now for one of kind stories from Down Under. Follow @TRNsocial on X, Instagram, and Facebook for more including visuals from our Video Heroes. If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming seas...
Danielle
February 08, 2024 13:35 - 25 minutes - 35.8 MBDanielle from the No More Late Fees podcast shares her experience working at 4 different Blockbuster Video locations in Florida during the early 2000's, breaks down the daily grind and you won't believe the story she shares at the end about an incident in the video game section. Follow @TRNsocial on X, Instagram, and Facebook for more including visuals from our Video Heroes. If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please ...
Dirk Marshall
February 01, 2024 15:30 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBDirk Marshall from the VH-US podcast share his fantastic stories about growing up in a mom & pop video rental store during the 80's and 90's. Discover all the awesome promotional items he brought home as a kid, what he did with movie screener tapes, the terrifying tale of cockroaches invading a VCR and so much more! You can check out Dirk's podcast at vh-us.com. Follow @TRNsocial on X, Instagram, and Facebook for more including visuals from our Video Heroes. If you are a former re...
Season 4 Kickoff!
January 29, 2024 14:00 - 31 minutes - 43.9 MBRental Return is back for Season 4! In this kickoff episode, Adam and Chad Young (Horror Movie BBQ) introduce the new season of interviews with former video rental store employees, explore a long closed video rental store through instagram, talk about favorite childhood VHS tapes and recent additions to their video collections. Plus, a very special farewell to dearly departed friend and producer of Rental Return, Jason Gross. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook fo...
Season 3 Rewind
April 25, 2023 10:00 - 27 minutes - 43.3 MBWith Season 3 of Rental Return in the books, Adam (@Hojukoolander) and Jason (@RD80s) bookend the season by reflecting on what they learned through the experiences shared by the Video Heroes. They discuss some of the most interesting stories, things they did not know about the video store business, and favorite moments overall. They also talk about some recent video rental news including Netflix finally cancelling their DVD service and Blockbuster seemingly on the cusp of opening ph...
Landall Goolsby
April 06, 2023 10:00 - 45 minutes - 73.5 MBSeason 3 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store concludes with an interview of Landall Goolsby (@iamlandall) who owned his a video store, Landall's Box Office, up through 2019. He also worked at several stores in the New Mexico area which he started working at 13. Randall talks about the circumstances of beginning in the video store industry, managing stores, and then owning his own store and becoming a board member for a national video rental association. He talks about the ...
Russ Burlingame
March 31, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 76.4 MBSeason 3 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with an interview of Russ Burlingame (@RussBurlingame) who worked at Emerald City Video and just about every chain video store during the 2000s in the Syracuse area. Russ talks about the difference between working at a "Mom and Pop" store versus the corporate giants. He remembers some of the unique décor at Emerald City Video include screen used (and not so screen used) props. We also hear some stories of bad customers...
Michael May
March 23, 2023 10:00 - 28 minutes - 45.8 MBSeason 3 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with an interview of Michael May (@MichaelMayComix) who worked for a "Mom and Pop" store called Adventureland Video (later changed to Aardvark Video) in the late 80s in Tallahassee, Florida. Listen as he shares his early memories of visiting the store and how eventually was hired and became the manager for a time. Michael talks about ordering new movies, the perks of taking posters home, and how Blockbuster essentially...
Andy Serwin
March 16, 2023 10:00 - 31 minutes - 50.5 MBSeason 3 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with an interview of Andy Serwin who worked for a "Mom and Pop" store called The Video Hut in the late 80s in rural Pennsylvania. Listen as he shares his memories of working at the store and the family atmosphere it had when he started. Then he talks about new ownership and how he eventually moved on from working at the store. Andy also talks about the perks he experienced like watching movies all day and a close call ...
Michael Labbe
March 09, 2023 11:00 - 32 minutes - 51.5 MBSeason 3 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with an interview of Michael Labbe (@Superstarml) who worked for Movie Gallery in Augusta, ME in the late '90s to early 2000s. Listen as he shares his memories of working at the store, what he did in a typical week, and perks. Michael also remembers the layout of the store, encounters with the adult film room, and the unique time of when VHS was slowly being replaced by DVD. He also tells a sad story about the demise o...
Landon
March 02, 2023 11:00 - 25 minutes - 41.5 MBSeason 3 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store kicks off with an interview of Landon (@HOC_STUDIOS) who grew up in a family-owned store in the early to mid '90s. Listen as he shares his memories of the store his mother ran for several years including her trips to the VHS warehouse that sold tapes and promotional items. Brandon also talks about the setup of the store, his favorite and least favorite rentals, and a ghost that still haunts a former video store location to this ...
Season 3 Preview
February 27, 2023 11:00 - 41 minutes - 65.9 MBAdam, Chad, and Jason host a preview episode for Season 3 of the Rental Return podcast series. First, the hosts comment on the recent representation of rental stores on Netflix including Blockbuster and That 90s Show. Then the trio share recent VHS finds in thrift stores and on eBay. Then, get a sneak preview of what to expect for Season 3 of Rental Return. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more Rental Return visuals provided by our Video Heroes and other me...
Season 3 Trailer
February 19, 2023 15:04 - 2 minutes - 3.65 MBGet ready for Season 3 of Rental Return as we introduce our Video Heroes! Thanks to our monthly supporters Chad Droze Ken Spaulding Karen Flieger Tim Heasley Jeff Sheldon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Season 2 Rewind
March 04, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 98.9 MBWith Season 2 of Rental Return in the books, Adam (@Hojukoolander), Chad (@HorrorMovieBBQ), and Jason (@RD80s) bookend the season by reflecting on what they learned through the experiences shared by the Video Heroes. They discuss some of the crazier stories, things they did not know about the video store business, and favorite moments overall. They also talk about some old newspaper stories that Jason dug up from the '80s about video rental stores, news about a video store closing r...
S2: Pushing Stop
February 18, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBSeason 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store comes to a close with "Pushing Stop." This episode features the final days of video stores from the perspective of our Video Heroes. You'll hear how DVD, Blu-Ray, and Netflix affected the operation of their stores. Then, listen how some of our Heroes ended their tenures and their perspective on other store closings in the area. With the perspective of hind sight, we then ask our Heroes what they miss most about working at a vide...
S2: Secrets of the Staff
January 28, 2022 10:00 - 51 minutes - 82.7 MBSeason 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Secrets of the Staff." This episode features some wild stories of staff shenanigans during and after business hours. Here Brandon tell about an epic pen-throwing war that occurred after hours one night that ended with an exploding marker and a clean up that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Our Heroes also take us behind-the-scenes with details about how the business of rental stores operated that most c...
S2: Video Land Maniacs
January 14, 2022 10:00 - 50 minutes - 80.6 MBSeason 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Video Land Maniacs." This episode is all about the craziest customer interactions our Video Heroes had to deal with as well as regular customers that were quirky or they tried to avoid. Billy tells about the time Quentin Tarantino and Sophia Coppola visited the store. Alan and Joe talk about some customers they suspected were dubbing rental tapes. You'll also hear some of the most ridiculous things that customers...
Interview with Ira Belfer of Captain Video
January 07, 2022 10:00 - 20 minutes - 32.2 MBDuring the Rental Return Season 2 Preview episode, several video rental themed newspaper articles from the '80s were discussed which included the small chain of California based stores called Captain Video. A quick google search by Adam found one still in existence and planned a trip to visit the store and interview the owner of 37 years, Ira Belfer. Listen to the interview and watch the video version including a walk through of the store on TRN TV. You can also visit Captain Video ...
S2: Rewind the Grind
December 30, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBSeason 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Rewind the Grind!" In Episode 2, we asked our Video Heroes why they were motivated to work at a video store and how they got the job. Now in Episode 3, we get more into their daily routines at the store like what were their favorite parts of the job and on the flip side, what was their least favorite things to do. We'll also find out some of the perks that our Heroes received including Mark's unique position as a...
S2: Pushing Play
December 17, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 104 MBSeason 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues with "Pushing Play!" In Episode 1, we introduced our Video Heroes including their first experiences with renting VHS tapes and what their local video stores were like. Now in Episode 2, you'll get a deeper knowledge of why our Heroes wanted to work at a video rental store. You'll get to hear how they got the job which for Bryan was a lucky second call after his initial voicemail was deleted. You'll hear what their trai...
S2: Meet the Heroes
November 19, 2021 10:00 - 43 minutes - 69.9 MBSeason 2 of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store has begun! We hope you enjoyed our preview episode featuring Adam, Chad, and Jason, but now it's time to give our Video Heroes the spotlight in Episode 1 of Rental Return. Episode 1 "Meet the Heroes" will be your introduction to the interviewees in Season 2 of Rental Return. Our "Video Heroes" include Mark DeWitt (@Mark_DeWitt), Brian B. (@InnerDemonsGR), Joe Corey (@YourCanadianGF), Matthew Corey (@rollerdogNC), Bob O’Rourke (...
Season 2 Preview Episode
November 02, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 98.6 MBAdam, Chad, and Jason host a preview episode for Season 2 of the Rental Return podcast series. First, the host share three of their latest VHS finds. Next, they discuss the skyrocketing market for VHS tapes and the insane prices common tapes that are sealed or graded are fetching today. Then, Jason reads some newspaper stories from the '80s which give insight into the early rental market, how studios tried to secure revenue for tapes, and the effect of VCRs becoming a household item...
Season 1 Rewind
April 22, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 60.8 MBWith Season 1 of Rental Return in the books, Adam (@Hojukoolander), Chad (@HorrorMovieBBQ), and Jason (@RD80s) bookend the season by reflecting on what they learned through the experiences shared by the Video Heroes. They all pick some of their favorite stories that were heard during the season and finally, how Rental Return has affected their VHS collecting experience. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories. If y...
Rewind: Season 1
April 22, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 60.8 MBWith Season 1 of Rental Return in the books, Adam (@Hojukoolander), Chad (@HorrorMovieBBQ), and Jason (@RD80s) bookend the season by reflecting on what they learned through the experiences shared by the Video Heroes. They all pick some of their favorite stories that were heard during the season and finally, how Rental Return has affected their VHS collecting experience. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories. If yo...
S1: Pushing Stop
April 08, 2021 12:00 - 45 minutes - 73.3 MBThe first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store comes to an end! In Episode 5, you heard our Video Heroes talk about some drama that happened at the store and some promotional items they got to keep. Now it's time to wrap up their memories by "Pushing Stop." In Episode 6, you'll hear how our Video Heroes ended their tenures at the video store. Most of their experiences lasted until the end when DVDs invaded the VHS shelves and stores slowly faded from the retail scen...
S1: Secrets of the Staff
March 25, 2021 12:00 - 20 minutes - 32.2 MBThe first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 4, you heard some of the crazy experiences our Video Heroes had while they were employed at the store and some of their unusual customers. Now it's time to hear the "Secrets of the Staff." In Episode 5, get ready for some drama! You'll hear about some real co-worker issues from personal hygiene to former employees (allegedly) setting fire to the store, which is why Zac recommends you never hire bes...
S1: Video Land Maniacs
March 11, 2021 13:00 - 23 minutes - 38.2 MB**Due to the adult nature of one of our stories and brief language in this episode, listener discretion is advised.** The first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 3, you got hear about the daily grind of our Video Heroes and some of the things they didn't anticipate while working for a video rental store. Now in Episode 4, we'll take a trip on the wild side as you'll hear some of the crazy experiences our Video Heroes had while they were emp...
Episode 4: Video Land Maniacs
March 11, 2021 13:00 - 23 minutes - 38.2 MB"Video Land Maniacs" includes crazy customer interactions and the most ridiculous experiences of our Video Heroes while working at the video store.
S1: Rewind the Grind
February 23, 2021 13:00 - 32 minutes - 52.3 MBThe first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 2, you got a deeper knowledge of why our Heroes wanted to work at a video rental store, what their training process was like and a little bit about the co-workers and supervisors they had. Now in Episode 3, you'll hear what the daily grind was like for our Heroes at the video store including some of the mundane tasks they endured like rewinding tapes. To offset those tasks, some great perks were o...
Episode 3: Rewind the Grind
February 23, 2021 13:00 - 32 minutes - 52.3 MB"Rewind the Grind" will ask our "Video Heroes" what their favorite and least favorite parts were while working at the video store. You'll get to hear what some of the perks were and things they didn't anticipated while they were employed.
S1: Pushing Play
February 11, 2021 13:00 - 35 minutes - 57.1 MBThe first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store continues! In Episode 1, we introduced our Video Heroes including their first experiences with renting VHS tapes and what their local video stores were like. You also heard the interviewees thoughts on how cable television impacted their movie experience and what some of their favorite rentals were as kids. Now in Episode 2, you'll get a deeper knowledge of why our Heroes wanted to work at a video rental store. You'll g...
Episode 2: Pushing Play
February 11, 2021 13:00 - 35 minutes - 57.1 MB"Pushing Play" will ask our "Video Heroes" what made them want to work in a video store, how they got the job, what their training process was like, and what kind of co-workers they had.
Episode 1: Meet the Heroes
January 29, 2021 13:00 - 28 minutes - 45.4 MB"Meet the Heroes" will be your introduction to the interviewees in Season 1 of Rental Return. You will get to hear about their first experiences with renting VHS tapes and what their local video stores were like.
S1: Meet the Heroes
January 29, 2021 13:00 - 28 minutes - 45.4 MBThe first season of Rental Return - Tales From the Video Store has begun! We hope you enjoyed our preview episode featuring Adam, Chad, and Jason's memories of visiting video stores back in the day, but now it's time to give our Video Heroes the spotlight in Episode 1 of Rental Return. Episode 1 "Meet the Heroes" will be your introduction to the interviewees in Season 1 of Rental Return. Our "Video Heroes" include Amanda Stefaniuk, Chris Tanski, Christian McGalliard, Gary Keffer, J...
Preview Episode
January 14, 2021 14:00 - 31 minutes - 50.4 MBAdam, Chad, and Jason host a preview episode for the Rental Return podcast series. You will get to hear the origins behind Rental Return plus a fun look back at the rental era through the hosts' personal experiences including favorite local stores, most-rented VHS tapes, and memories. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories. If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming ...
Season 1 Preview Episode
January 14, 2021 14:00 - 31 minutes - 50.4 MBAdam, Chad, and Jason host a preview episode for the Rental Return podcast series. You will get to hear the origins behind Rental Return plus a fun look back at the rental era through the hosts' personal experiences including favorite local stores, most-rented VHS tapes, and memories. Follow @TRNsocial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more from Rental Return visuals and VHS memories. If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming ...
Rental Return: Preview Episode
January 14, 2021 14:00 - 31 minutes - 50.4 MBAdam, Chad, and Jason host a preview episode for the Rental Return podcast series which includes the concept of the show and fun personal experiences looking back at the rental store era.
Rental Return Season 1 Trailer
January 03, 2021 17:47 - 4 minutes - 6.64 MBIn this short trailer episode for Rental Return, Adam explains the concept behind the podcast series and introduces the "Video Heroes" whose stories and memories will be featured in Season 1. The origin of Rental Return began with these podcasts on The Retro Network: TRN Talk - VHS Collecting & Home Video Memories TRN Talk - Weird VHS Tapes If you are a former rental store employee and would like to be interviewed for an upcoming season, please contact Adam @hojukoolander on Twi...