During high school and a gap year before college, he interviewed people associated with the darknet market Silk Road, Occupy Seattle protesters, and juggalos.
[4] He later relocated to New Orleans, where he studied journalism on a full scholarship at Loyola University and worked as a doorman on Bourbon Street to support himself.
[7][8] While working as a doorman on Bourbon Street, Callaghan saw what he described as "hellish scenes" and wanted to find a funny or clever way to document them.
At 21, I pitched the idea of a video-based road show to a production company, who loaned me an RV to make videos and explore America with my best friends.
[15] In the words of Nate Kahn who worked as a videographer, the content "went from funny one-minute Instagram clickbait to an actual boots-on-the-ground news source.
[15] According to people working on the show, producer Reid Hailey of Doing Things Media asked Callaghan to make “party content” instead of news.
[15] By the end of 2020, Callaghan attempted to renegotiate his contract, which was set to expire in February 2022; he and his crew were locked out of the franchise's social media accounts and were fired in March 2021.
Doing Things Media had signed him to a contract granting him a $45,000 salary plus expenses covered in exchange for the intellectual property rights to the All Gas No Brakes brand.
[15] In May 2020, Doing Things Media and Abso Lutely Productions entered a deal to develop a television series based on All Gas No Brakes.
[17] On the Fear& podcast in July 2021, Callaghan revealed he had created a documentary film with Abso Lutely about the 2020 United States presidential election.
Directed and executive produced by Callaghan, the film followed him as he interviewed people involved in events leading up to the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
[31] On February 28, The Stranger published an additional story with two more women accusing Callaghan of rape and sexual assault that took place at Loyola University in 2017.