Obsessives - Soda Pop 

People with passions like this make the world an awesome place. Keep it up John!

On a vacation to USA from Australia, I made my family drive with me to the Galcos store during our stay in LA. It was just as important as going to Disneyland and Universal Studios. Got my pic with John too. He's the best and embodies the attitude that a lot of businesses can learn from.

micro company sodas should start becoming a trend like micro brew beers.

this man is a total bro. he loves his life and what he does. id drink a soda with him

This guy has one of the most likable personalities I have ever witnessed. You just want to walk over to the guy and shake his hand. He is definitely someone you'd like to have as a neighbour, friend, member of the family, etc because he's just so damn happy and nice.

I love how he can pick any of the 500 sodas of a shelf and tell you all about it. That's dedication, and it's certainly worth my $2-$3 a bottle for premium soda.

Visiting this store is on my bucket list.

and this is why we need more little guys then big guys honestly... you cant replace passion and pride with corporations!

i really want to taste the rose petal drink

"I don't work. I just play all day long." He's living everyone's dreams.

damn this guy would get my business every day.

I rewatch this every now and again, it always cheers me up. I love John's enthusiasm, it's my dream to visit at some stage. Might even bring him an Irish soda

went there today with my mom and sister, bought $100 worth of amazing sodas, including a lot of the ones listed here. we tried 3, Bubble Up is absolutely delicious, we had an amazing cream soda and tried the Blackberry Hot Lips one, all amazing. Plus, I didn't know this until we got there, but they have a make-your-own-soda area! 3 bucks per bottle, you can choose high/low/no carbonation and use whatever amount and combination of flavours you want. plus, John is always there working on something and he's glad to talk to anyone. They also sell great sandwiches! and have just as much cool beer and wine as soda, and a bunch of candies and such. highly recommend this place, lot of fun!

This guy loves what he does an insane amount! Hes addorable

I wanna try that cucumber soda really bad

This guy is living the life.

I was there last weekend, and spent some time talking to John. The place is amazing.

This guy seems so proud and happy of his business. sort of put a smile on my face. Cheers to you sir from Ny.

This guy is my great uncle! He runs the store great, and we’re all really happy with what he’s done with the place.

I love this, he's the King of Soda Pop

This guy loves his job so much, his happiness is infectious.

no one will ever see this but this dude makes me want to be a better human. he is like a soda angel or something lol

Give this man a show weekly he is like the Bob Ross of soda I would watch him talk about every soda in that shop!

This guy is an absolute treasure. Thank you to him for what he does every day, and thank you to Chowhound for sharing this story with the world.

I seriously love these bottle shops. I pray they never disappear. I'm one to pick up one of those weird flavors than a pepsi, any day. and by the way, pineapple creme soda would be EPIC.

Third time I've watched this over the years. I still wish I could find a shop nearby that was similar. He really brings the best out of small business.

I love watching happy people . Thank you .

Rose soda would be great at non-alcoholic weddings....put it in beautiful wine glasses instead of champagne.

This guy seems like a good guy ... pure passion ... real small shop friendliness and knowledge.

This is one of those youtube videos that has always stuck in my mind. The owner is so happy and passionate about sodas. This was the first time I had heard of Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, so I searched for it here in the UK and it really is amazing. So much better then coca cola. Its tastes so natural and full of flavour compared to the chemical metallic taste of coca cola. Thank you for making this video, and I hope Galco's Soda Pop Stop is still doing well

I was lucky enough to visit this place today. I had a blast here! Gotta make this a regular stop every time we travel to southern California.

I admire how passionate this dude is, it's good to see and he's a decent man for standing up for the little guys.

That coffee soda sounds delicious.

This guy is doing it right. I'm down for a trip to check out his store, who want to come with?

I have never been more jealous of a man in my entire life. I am so happy for him.

I hope he stays happy forever. This is just so...aw. I just want to hug him constantly.

This guy is adorable

Just saw him on Weird Wonderful World. I want to visit one day!

Why have I watched this video half a dozen times since I've found it? This guy just loves what he does and really wants to bring a smile to people's faces, it's great. I live on the East coast and I really wish I had a reason to go to California just so I could visit this place. I want to try one of everything.

Galcos is now on my list of places to visit in LA. Pepsi and Coca-Cola probably own 98% of the bottled drinks you see in any major superstore. It's great to see an independent business side-stepping these two giants, offer greater variety, and do well in the process.

Man I love this video. Had seen it before but it was so pleasant had to watch it again.

Very interesting. Reminds you that there are many out there fighting the good fight against corporate hegemony. Viva la little guy! Viva la good taste!

This isn't for any thumbs up because I've seen tons of people who do this, but who could possibly dislike this? I mean it just blows my mind that someone could watch those 13 minutes of the nicest guy on Earth so passionate for what he does to serve his customers well and all of those neat sodas, and then dislike it!

Revisiting this video after many years, still like it. Should be reuploaded at HD! Kudos.

A little correction about the "Kosher Coke"- Coca Cola is kosher year round, and the OU symbol is the Kosher authority's logo and can be found on the bottles not bearing the yellow cap as well. The P you see next to the OU on the cap they show says it is Kosher for Passover and since Ashkenazi Jews don't eat corn during Passover the KfP Coke is made with cane sugar.

This is pretty close to where i live, might stop by.

Its so nice to see when people never work in their life but just enjoy their activities and passion for doing something they like

I live right around the street of this place and let me tell you. When he says he has all kinds of soda, he means it. They also sell a fin selection of beers and wines and they have a dell. He's really friendly, and so are the staff.

that cucumber soda tho

I'm happy that he turned down major corporations like Pepsi and cola. :3

I just have to say, John is a great guy. We came in from Northern California one day and ended up spending about 2 hours here looking around and John answered every question we had. We ended up spending a butt load of money but it was well worth it. I still want more of the blackberry soda from Oregon. MMM.

This gentleman has a passion for his hobby, business, and communication. I'd visit his store just to shake his hand.

omg that looks awesome

I would love to visit this shop and buy a ton of interesting soda.

I stumbled on this video and was super stoked to find out it was in L.A.! I went and even got to speak to this guy, he's so cool! He helped me find a Brazilian soda that I couldn't find anywhere. Galco's rocks!

I watch these Obsessive shows all the time, this guy made me smile... pride and care and compassion. What an impressive guy. I also would love to try one of those Rose soda pops.

i think i'm in love

This guy is so cool! Would adopt him as my uncle! Would have a grand old time!

I miss Chowhound. I joined after meeting Jim Leff at an in-store at Tekserve many years ago. I made a tea friend on Chowhound with whom I still keep in touch. It's too bad it devolved and eventually disappeared.

He's exactly like that in person too. Best experience I've ever had at a local independent store.

This guy clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. Mountain Dew™ is the superior soft drink and the preserve of classy gentlesirs like myself. And diet soda?! Sounds like something a swagfag would enjoy. - Doritus Sagan, moderator of /r/soda and /r/atheism

Where is your store located at? Which state and city?

I just want to hug this man and say thanks for making me so happy and knowing that such a place exist!!!

Love your Obsessives series. Full of such inspirational people with such a passion for what they do! Hope there could be more to come!

Soda companies fear him...

Corporate America has since found where this man lives and administered some "free trade initiatives". John Nese now lives under a bridge in Wisconsin and eats moss to survive, he was found hugging one of those thick sided, old empty glass bottles and mumbling about cucumbers whilst sobbing.

So awesome that this guy loves what he does so much. Rare to see something this genuine.

Wow i watched this a few times now in the last years, it always cheered me up again. This guy is a true inspiraion, honest, down to earth and genuine.

Trending on reddit. le cringe!!!

What a hipster. All these glass bottles with fruit and other disgusting things (especially the jolly rancher one, only redditors will get the reference) Where's the mountain dew? That's the only soda anyone needs. - Doritan Cheeto, moderator of /r/food

this is a decade old, and the collection just keeps growing 👍

To see someone this passionate about what they do... it's just amazing. I love that there are people out there who do what they love.

if you've never had one, manhattan special is the absolute best and a true local brooklyn, new york drink. i used to have a standard treat of one bottle with a delicious fried eggplant, mozzerella, and pepper hero with balsamic vinegrette from this amazing italian deli that sadly closed because none of the sons wanted to take it over. i will hopefully always have the soda at least!

I grew up in Highland Park by Galco's and when I went to Franklin High School down the street, Galco's was the spot for us afterschool. Aside from the delicious sandwiches in the deli, the fantastic sodas and delicious candies sell the place. John Nese is incredibly nice too and I'll never forget when he recommended us rose water soda six years ago. I also see him occasionally at Penny's Burgers down the street. Yesterday was their soda tasting and I saw a line going around the block too!

I've been to Galco's and met John. He's just as awesome as he seems in this video. They do shipping to anywhere in the USA and nothing breaks. Worth a visit if you're ever in LA.

I absolutely love this guy. I saw him on the history channel some 8 years ago and he really got me curious as to all these different kinds of soda. A week later I started trying them out, now I have an all together too large empty bottle collection of my favorites :)

I just went here yesterday since I live about 10 minutes form the place and... My friends and I bought over 15+ sodas for us all to try. It was the first time I had good Root Beer, I had some of the best colas of all time, ginger ale, etc! So good!! Plus old candy. Best experience I have had in a long time.

I wish more people were able to follow their dreams.... Every store/company in the world would have a man just as happy as this one!

This is amazing. He is one of the few people I've seen who is really enjoying what he does.

Ive been to this shop a few times and have always just missed John. Would like to meet him. Love his shop, his drive, and his passion!

Such a cool, nice guy. You can really tell he loves what he does and he has a great attitude and personality. Like a big kid at heart.

This guy is awesome. Just brightened my night. So passionate about his work.

this is probably the only video on youtube that is 13 mins long and that i actually watched from the start to the end.. i want somethink to drink now! i wish his store was closer to me!

I watched this video about a decade ago and it always stuck with me. I saw Moxie at a store recently and bought one because of his recommendation. I watched this video while drinking it, and it really is delicious!

This guy is awesome, I'd love to try some of his soda pops while listening a few of his stories and I'd come back every week.

This guy has an awesome job. Glad to see someone as happy as this

This video makes me sad that there is nothing in my life that makes me this happy to work with and talk about like soda is for this man ...

i was there. galco's is like finding blackbeard's largest treasure or the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. everything is amazingly good, especially the fruit sodas. and that man... this man, John Nese, is the god king of galco's.

I want to hug this man so badly.

Going there next week. I’m going to shake John’s hand. I love his passion. Do not meet too many people as passionate on what he loves.

This guy seems so happy, I hope he continues doing what he loves and living life the way he wants to!

Not often that I watch a video and play the return button again, and again and again. What joy to see, and sadness that I havnot followed his example. So its going to be independent glass bottles from now on.

This guy is the sort of guy that makes me skip going to big box stores and visiting local businesses. Customer service over savings, especially when they will cater to you instead of saying "let me speak with my manager".

One day I wish I have one ounce of the passion this guy has about a job. It is so amazing how passionate you are about your job sir.

I love this guy. I can listen to him for hours.

i need to visit this store! Great job John!! YOU ROCK!

This is the most genuine and happy guy I've ever come across. I want to try some of the cherry ones so bad..

Love this since I saw it 14 years ago.

i could honestly care less about sodas and the history and so on, but watching how excited he was is contagious. people who love that they do are able to talk about their jobs in such a way that it becomes exciting and fun for other people as well. good for him :)

It's in Highland Park of Los Angeles, CA. I have walked up and down the store so many time while I wait for my Original sandwich. FYI, they probably have just as many different types of beer than soda. This place is a gem.