The relationship between Myles Montplaisir and the state of Wisconsin may have gotten off to a rocky start, but now things are as smooth as an ice cold Busch latte.

In his first video to really find an audience, the 26-year-old YouTube personality from Fargo, North Dakota sat down at a patio table at his family's place by a lake and compared Busch Light, his favorite beer, to New Glarus Brewing Co.'s Spotted Cow.

His take on the farmhouse ale that's, you know, kind of a big deal for Wisconsin? Let's just say one of the few upsides versus the more affordable domestic was a higher alcohol content. And that's about it.

"Wisconsin was not very happy with me on that one," Montplaisir said. "It's so funny because I had talked about doing this (comparison video) and I wanted to do a craft beer. I have a brother-in-law who is from Wisconsin and he brought my parents some Spotted Cow and I was like, what do you think about doing Spotted Cow? ... I know it's like a thing where it's only sold in Wisconsin and people are die-hard about that, like wouldn't it be funny to poke fun at people who love Spotted Cow? It was definitely a trigger."

It's likely the strong reaction — from people with strong feelings about Busch Light, Spotted Cow, or else who just got a kick out of the three-minute clip — helped give it a boost. The attention showed what was possible with You Betcha, the brand he launched 15 months ago.

If you've spent any time on social media in the past year, you're likely to have at least watched or scrolled past a YouBetcha production. Perhaps it was "Dads During Summer," which has racked up more than 14 million views on Facebook and another 420,000 on YouTube; maybe "School of Ope," a crossover with Charlie Berens of "Manitowoc Minute" fame; or the aforementioned "New Glarus Spotted Cow vs. Busch Light," his first viral hit, now with more than 12,000 Facebook comments (many ticked off Wisconsinites among them).

Montplaisir was born and raised in Fargo and went to college to play football at nearby Minnesota State University Moorhead. After finishing school, he and a friend started a company that worked on branding and marketing campaigns for local companies. For about six months he'd been working on an idea on the side, one using his marketing skills but also his lifelong love of amateur filmmaking. (Growing up, he'd film and star in parody sports videos with the family video camera.)

He found a lane in simple, nearly no-budget videos playfully making fun of life in the Midwest. His years playing football and hanging around other athletes from the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and the like, plus his own experiences with family and other friends, tuned him into the way folks in these parts talk and act.

"You pick up on the tendencies people have just by being around people throughout the Midwest and just feeling like you're hanging out with someone from your hometown," he said. "I thought that was very fascinating."

You Betcha became his way to be creative and give a loving embrace to his home. That, and make some money off of cracking open a "Buschhhhhhhhhh."

Boosted by more viral hits — and the income that comes from YouTube ads — he was able to quit the day job at the end of 2018 to focus full-time on You Betcha. (It doesn't hurt to actually be in Fargo, the place outsiders connect many Midwesterners with thanks to the Coen brothers.) In under a year-and-a-half since the brand launched, Montplaisir now can claim more than 48,000 subscribers on YouTube and 388,000 likes on Facebook.

There is now You Betcha merchandise for sale, including shirts and hats with his different nicknames for Busch Light: "Nectar of the Gods" and "Busch Latte"; shirts with anti-seltzer stances like "Withdraw from the Claw"; and "Polar Vortex Survivor" tees. He also did a string of bar takeovers around the Midwest over the summer.

In a crossover event that's like an "Avengers" movie for cheeseheads on YouTube, Montplaisir and Charlie Berens teamed up for a few videos over the summer. Montplaisir said he and the "Manitowoc Minute" host both were getting calls to collaborate so they got in touch. One leaving from Fargo and the other the Milwaukee area, they met in the Twin Cities at Berens' buddy's house.

A highlight of the results? "School of Ope," a lesson on the noise folks in these parts use, as Berens explains, "to say 'Wow,' 'Excuse me,' 'You dropped this,' 'I need a beer,' plus in 100,000 other situations."

"It's kind of been a friendship but also a business partnership," Montplaisir said. "Basically just trying to help each other out. ... It's not like an I'm-trying-to-beat-him or he's-trying-to-beat-me type of thing."

You Betcha continues to churn out content on at least a weekly basis. The hope is to continue to grow without having to compromise values and continue to connect with people as a sort of flyover-state ambassador.

"What I'm trying to show people is that the Midwest can be cool and that we do have a sense of humor, we can make fun of ourselves," he said. "We just want to represent us the best that we can.

"It's not a bad thing that we're from the Midwest. I think it's a good thing."

You Betcha: The top 5 most-watched videos

"Guys with a YETI"

"Dads During Summer"

"$50 YETI Bottle Opener vs Generic Bottle Opener"

"Craft Beer Drinkers Be Like..."

"5 Stages of a Round of Golf"

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Contact Shane Nyman at 920-996-7223 or snyman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @shanenyman.