How often do you think about the Roman Empire?

In this episode, I sit down with historic reenactor and influencer, Artur Hulu. Artur recently blew up on social media thanks to his handmade centurion costumes, passion for reenactment, and his absolutely superb meme game. I ask Arthur about his current success and then dive into his Swedish roots and his role in local government in his small town.

We then discuss the nuances of Swedish culture, politics, and how he balances his life as a reenactor and influencer. Arthur and I then dive into what it’s like to be an influencer in today’s cultural climate, and how he navigates that. We also discuss the impact Rome and Italy have had on western and world history.

Then of course we dive into Rome, where I ask him some rapid-fire questions about Rome including: who’s your favorite emperor? Favorite Roman Movie? Have you ever performed testudo? What weapon would you use as a gladiator? What caused the fall of the empire? And more.

You can follow Artur on his Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/gaiusflavius

And his YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@gaiusflaviusvideos

Timecodes

0:00 Teaser reel

1:46 Who is Artur?

2:33 How does success feel?

3:47 Being a Roman reenactor

05:21 Appreciation vs cultural appropriation complaints

07:12 What got you into this?

09:37 Life in the past vs today

14:00 Ikea

15:30 Arthur’s job

18:24 Swedish Government

19:26 Covid

20:48 Cross the Rubicon / European Politics

22:32 David growing up with Italians

23:35 Italy’s impact on the world

25:55 Interconnectedness of the ancient world (Sweden)

28:26 Interconnectedness of the ancient world (China)

31:51 Did you study / Italy central to history

33:01 Latin language

34:27 Reenactments and hard work

41:00 Reenactment Memes on IG

48:30 Going viral / success on IG

52:00 Navigating social media / Influencing

55:09 English and foreign languages

1:03:00 American culture around the world

1:06:21 Roman empire and Latin America

1:07:00 Roman empire trend

1:15:00 FEMBOYS homosexuality in the ancient world

1:19:00 Navigating with fans and community

Rapid fire

1:28:56 TESTUDO

1:34:00 Favorite movie or show

1:36:00 What’s your gladiator weapon?

1:38:00 What happened to the legion of the 9th

1:39:00 You hear an Elephant over the Alps… 1:40:00 Anti-elephant pigs

1:42:26 Jewish revolt and the Coliseum

1:44:08 David’s roman era comedy pitch

1:45:49 Favorite Roman Emperor 1:47:52 What was the downfall of the Roman Empire?

1:53:15 Why couldn’t the Germanic tribes be conquered?

1:56:34 Favorite battle

1:58:40 What’s been the most rewarding experience?

2:00:00 Wrapping up