FROM A JOKE.
TO A PURPOSE.
Adam Willard
The person behind the story.
Rectum BBQ started as a joke.
A few friends. A love of BBQ. And a name that made us laugh: “assholes smokin’ butts and stuff.”
About a month later, I was diagnosed with rectal cancer.
Through scans, radiation, chemotherapy, surgeries, and recovery, friends and family kept showing up. And cooking gave me something normal to hold onto when very little about life felt normal.
Now we want to use that story to help someone else.
THE FULL STORYIn my own words
From a Joke to a Purpose
Rectum BBQ started as a joke.
A group of friends who loved BBQ, smokers, and spending time around the grill came up with a name that made us laugh: Rectum BBQ — assholes smokin’ butts and stuff.
It was supposed to be nothing more than friends, BBQ, and a good laugh.
Then, about a month later, the joke became something none of us could have imagined.
I was diagnosed with rectal cancer.
Suddenly, the word “rectum” wasn’t just part of a funny BBQ name anymore. It became part of my everyday life.
There were scans. Procedures. Radiation. Chemotherapy. Surgeries. Recovery. Good news, bad news, fear, exhaustion, frustration, and more emotional ups and downs than I could ever put into words.
But there was something else, too.
There were friends who showed up. Family who stood beside me. People who checked in when I needed it, made me laugh when I didn’t feel like laughing, and reminded me that I wasn’t fighting alone.
And through all of it, there was BBQ.
Cooking had always been something I loved, but during cancer it became more than a hobby. It gave me something normal to hold onto when very little about life felt normal. There were days when I didn’t have much energy, but getting outside, firing up the smoker, and cooking gave me a reason to keep doing something I loved.
Eventually, the joke that started before cancer began to mean something completely different.
Rectum BBQ became part of the story.
Now we want to use that story to help someone else.
We’re building Rectum BBQ around BBQ, friendship, humor, and the belief that no one should fight cancer alone. A portion of our sales will be dedicated to helping cancer fighters and survivors, because we know firsthand how much even a small act of support can mean when someone is going through the fight of their life.
We don’t want cancer to define Rectum BBQ.
We want what came after cancer to define it.
Friends showing up.
Families fighting together.
People helping people.
Finding reasons to laugh during some of the hardest days of your life.
And gathering around a smoker, grill, or table with the people who matter.
What started with “assholes smokin’ butts and stuff” has become something we never planned.
BBQ with a purpose.
Supporting cancer fighters and survivors.
No one fights alone.
