“Join for the mayhem, stay for the feels.”
That’s the slogan prominently displayed on Alan Longstreet’s Instagram.
And it’s apt.
The on-air antics of Derek Kevra and Alan Longstreet present an entertaining mix of nonstop banter, frat-boy pranks and an electric aura of goofiness that make for great video content. When these two are together, the result is a blend of quick-witted conversation, on-camera mischief — and a genuine affection for each other that’s both hard to fake and charming to watch.
Kevra (darker-brown hair) and Longstreet (blondish-brown hair), both long-time meteorologists at Fox 2 Detroit, interviewed for the same position in 2011. Kevra got the job but declined, and it was offered to Longstreet. Two years later, Kevra interviewed again and was hired. When he first showed up to work, Longstreet thought, ‘We don’t need another white guy with brown hair. I’m already here.’”
Kevra’s version is a much sweeter rendition.
“I remember meeting Alan for the first time and being like ‘Oh, this guy is pretty cool. I hope we become friends,’” he says. “Twelve years later, and here we are, best friends.”
As their friendship developed, so did their antics, ultimately leading them to launch a multimedia franchise called the Weatherboys. Together, they’ve created nearly 100 segments of adventures and interviews released as podcasts, videos and animated shorts, available on YouTube and Spotify. Their entire collection is also on Fox Local, the station’s free 24/7 streaming app.
During a more conventional podcast, the duo interviews local guests, including musicians, authors and more — past guests include former meteorologist Chuck Gaidica, New York Times best-selling author John U. Bacon, local rapper Kid Jay and astrophysicist Dr. Christian Greer (dream guest? Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell). Their wackier moments happen during various unscripted adventures where they dive into new experiences, often failing miserably but having fun in the process and never taking themselves too seriously.
The content may be unscripted, but according to Kevra and Longstreet, part of the magic comes from their videographers Brian Puninske and Matt Phillips — the latter edits all the footage, and his skills have earned him the honorary title of the third Weatherboy.
Some of the Weatherboys’ most memorable antics included joining the Detroit Roller Derby team and learning how intense the sport can be. They’ve donned high heels, waxed their chests from the stands of a college basketball game to distract the opponents and got tackled while practicing rugby with a highly competitive local team.
In that particular segment, appropriately titled “Weatherboys Try Rugby: A Series of Poor Decisions,” Longstreet tricks an exhausted and thirsty Kevra, handing him what appears to be a bottle of water. Longstreet, admittedly a “child and an instigator,” swapped the water for vodka just to mess with his friend and colleague.
Despite the pranks, most of which are instigated by Longstreet, the duo shares an unbreakable, supportive friendship. On-screen, Kevra and Longstreet aren’t afraid to represent a strong male bond, something they say is rarely depicted in the media.
“When you see male friendship portrayed on TV, they’re drinking beer and watching football. One of the things we wanted to show with the Weatherboys is that we are best friends who support each other,” Kevra says.
Outside work, their friendship is deeply rooted in their everyday lives, including family vacations together when their kids were younger. They like to tell the tale about an incident during a trip where they assured their wives they could handle five kids under four while their spouses went grocery shopping.
As they recount, they took all the kids to the beach then watched them scatter in different directions, including toward the water, as soon as their collective feet hit the sand. Strangers offered to help, but the confident dads decided they could handle it and managed to corral everyone back safely.
When Longstreet later went through a divorce, he found himself in a difficult in-between stage of still living with his soon-to-be ex while the divorce was being finalized. To get some much-needed breathing room, Longstreet and his daughters had Friday-night sleepovers at Kevra’s house. Those evenings became part of both families’ routine, and the Weatherboys admit to missing those fun weekend nights.
It’s their kids who played an unintentional role in the origin of the Weatherboys and its ongoing success. Longstreet got inspiration for the franchise from certain videos his daughters watched on YouTube, where people did inane things like playing tag at work and trying to keep a balloon in the air.
Longstreet thought that if other people could do that and get millions of views, he and Kevra could do something even better.
Fittingly, they use their kids as a barometer of whether they have good content. “If our kids like it, we know it’s good, and so far the kids love it,” Kevra says.
The viewers like it too.
“I get stopped more than I ever have, with people saying, ‘Hey, it’s one of the Weatherboys’ or ‘Hey, where’s Alan?’” Kevra says. “To me, that’s such a compliment, because initially the general feeling (from the station) was this might be a little too silly, and it might undermine the seriousness of our roles as meteorologists.”
But the Weatherboys were able to show the station that they understand there’s a time and a place for fun, that viewers can tell the difference between severe weather coverage and lighthearted content and that they can balance professionalism with play. Once they achieved that, they’ve only looked forward.
Kevra adds that what started as, ‘I don’t know, guys …’ quickly turned into, ‘These are great. How many can you do a month?’