The humble potato. Few foods divide opinion quite like it. A simple veg, but one that seems to bring out so much emotion. Some people seem genuinely upset that someone has made a living by wrapping a potato in foil, baking it and serving it with different fillings. Or maybe they’re upset that someone has the audacity to film themselves cooking said potatoes and put it all on TikTok.
All I know is that there was a distinct aroma of jacket potatoes in the air around town. And lots of smiling faces of satisfied customers.
The Spud Man came to town, and Wrexham was ready.
So who is the Spud Man?
We asked AI.
“Spud Man, real name Ben Newman, is the Tamworth jacket potato seller who somehow turned the humble spud into a TikTok phenomenon. With millions following him online and queues following him in real life, he has become one of those brilliant modern stories where personality, graft and a bit of internet madness all come together.
It is only a potato, yes — but Spud Man has built a whole army around it.”
Now, you don’t get that many followers from just selling potatoes.
People have followed his journey. They’ve shared the highs as well as the lows. They’ve witnessed the online trolling, with people using every tactic to try and disrupt his ever-growing following. They’ve also seen Ben continue working whilst living with kidney failure. He openly talks about his dialysis and doesn’t shy away from it.
When it was announced that the Spud Man was bringing his tour to Wrexham, I saw plenty of comments from locals saying they felt sorry for the town’s two jacket potato shops.
“He’ll take all their trade,” was the common view.
Little did they know that Ben was already ahead of the curve.
I’ll let one of the owners of MH Taytoes tell you about her dealings with Ben.
“He visited us on Thursday while his team were setting up. We had been messaging for a couple of weeks leading up to his arrival to sort out a visit to our shop. He’s really keen to support small local jacket potato shops, to try and help build awareness of the businesses. There was some negativity online before he came, as people expressed concerns he would be taking business away from local council tax paying businesses, but the Spudman effect was quite the opposite! He helped directly to raise the profile of two city centre based business and increased sales in the coffee shops all around his pitch...I’m sure other shops were busier too! He didn’t have to go out of his way to try and help us, but it’s very much appreciated! We’ve met lots of new people and already have a few more regular customers after the visit.
And even if we didn’t see any improvement, it was brilliant seeing so many people coming out to support him at the pop up!
People say ‘its only a potato’ but you could say similar about any takeaway food... it’s all about how it’s cooked, the effort that goes into the fillings and the nutrition value too.”
I asked for pictures of people with the Spud Man, and I got two comments which sum up his visit.
One positive.
One not so positive.
And, to be honest, the negative isn’t even that bad.
And the positive was this lovely post.
It turns out the biggest story wasn’t how many potatoes Ben sold. It was how many people he encouraged to support local businesses. Sometimes there really is room for everyone.
I saw posts complaining about the prices. I run a site called Street Food Review, and I can assure you these prices are the norm. People who say it’s expensive for “just a potato” should look at the price of a McDonald’s meal and compare the quality. Most street food vendors use fresh produce and cook everything to order.
It’s easy to sit at home and criticise, but I saw a constant queue of excited children, and every age upwards. All smiling. All ready to have a selfie. All ready to buy Ben’s book.
I wasn't expecting much. I thought I'd grab a few pictures and move on. Two hours later I was still there watching people laugh, chat and queue for a potato.
I saw free meals being handed out. I saw disabled customers loving the service they were given. I saw families sitting around Queen’s Square enjoying time together. I heard of people making their first visit into town for years. I heard that the two local Spud companies were selling out early each day. I heard of businesses seeing extra trade since the weekend.
And basically, if you didn’t want a potato, nobody was making you buy one. And to be honest, if other people wanted one... it's got nothing to do with you?
And give us a follow on Tiktok………I'm only 4,185,000 followers behind the Spud Man 😁