Meet BBQ Tourist

Ryan Cooper – also known as BBQ tourist – is a barbecue and grilling enthusiast and blogger based in Omaha, Nebraska. He is the creator of the BBQ Tourist brand and co-founder of The Smoke Sheet BBQ Newsletter, a weekly email newsletter that curates the latest national barbecue news, unique recipes, media recommendations, upcoming events, and more. The Smoke Sheet was named as the first-place winner for Best BBQ Blog by the National BBQ & Grilling Association (NBBQA) Awards of Excellence in 2020 and 2021.

A native of Kansas City, Ryan has been traveling across the country exploring the best barbecue for years and regularly writes about various news, events, restaurants, products, and trends in his publication as well as the Kansas City Barbeque Society’s publication, The Bullsheet. When he is not trying out new recipes in the backyard, he is a frequent guest on national and international barbecue podcasts and is active on social media, with a large and ever-growing audience of followers.