YouTube and social media influencers Jack and Paige Aynsley spent their Fourth of July holiday in Andalusia, and their host says the couple couldn’t have been more pleased.

Andalusia native Steadman Glenn and his wife, Marley, first met the British couple, who have been traveling the United States and documenting their experiences, in a random encounter at a Tuscaloosa-area lunch spot.

“They first came to Alabama around August or September of last year,” Steadman Glenn said. “They started in Birmingham and made videos in both Mobile and Birmingham. I watch a lot of YouTube, so I saw their videos and started watching that channel.”

Fast forward to October of 2025, when the Aynsleys were the red-carpet guests of the University of Alabama for the Tide’s rivalry game against Tennessee.

“I saw them Friday before game,” Glenn said. “They were in Northport, going to City Café, and I saw them in passing. I stopped them and invited them to come tailgate with us.”

The Aynsleys showed up at the Glenns’ tailgate on the Quad that Saturday.

“That was the first time we met them,” Glenn said. “There were a lot of Andalusia people in that video from game day.”

The two young couples hit it off and have kept up with each other since October. When the Aynsleys returned to Birmingham in May, they reached out to the Glenns.

“We took them out for an Italian dinner,” Glenn said. “We had such a good time. So they invited to us to the SEC baseball tournament to watch Alabama play.”

When the Aynsleys decided to spend Memorial Day at Lake Martin, they invited the Glenns again.

“Marley and I went with them to Lake Martin and stayed the weekend,” he said. “They did a fantastic video handing out at the lake and cooking out, all kinds of fun stuff.”

That was the weekend Glenn made his second appearance on the YouTube channel, shocking his parents when was featured in the segment plunging into Lake Martin from Chimney Rock.

It was a marvelous weekend, Glenn said, but the couple was then off to Montgomery to do a video before visiting several other states. At some point, they came back to Birmingham.

“It all comes back to Birmingham,” Glenn said. “They really love Alabama because the people are so friendly. We went to a country music concert, and after that, did not know when we would see them again. It was a sad night, because we’ve had the best summer ever.

“I told them, ‘Listen, y’all are more than welcome to come to Andalusia and spend the Fourth of July with us.’ I didn’t really press them on it, just left it at that.”

The Aynsleys had many invitations for the Fourth from all across America.

“They could have done virtually anything they wanted to do,” Glenn said. “But Thursday, July 2, rolls around and Jack called me and said they thought they would much rather enjoy spending it with us and seeing Andalusia because we have talked about it so much.”

Glenn’s grandmother, Sue Bass Wilson, had already offered up her house, so when Jack and Paige asked where they should stay, Steadman and Marley said, “Don’t worry about it, you’re staying with us.”

The Aynsleys left Atlanta headed toward Andalusia Friday and documented their trip down, as well as Andalusia’s Semiquincentennial events. They were in the City Hall audience Friday night for “Andalusia Reads the Declaration,” and the musical “I Love America.” Steadman Glenn, his brother Hampton, his mother and grandmother were all part of the choir that performed the patriotic music.

Glenn said that was his favorite part.

“That is the epitome of America,” he said. “No country has greater appreciation for its history than America does, in my opinion. The amount of people there was uplifting.”

In the segments of that program included in the 55-minute YouTube video, Jack Aynsley looks shocked as the crowd sings, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”

“I didn’t know Americans had their own words for our national anthem,” he joked.

During the course of the weekend, the Aynsleys rode with the Wynne and Shannon Glenn’s family members in the Fourth of July parade; ate a traditional lunch featuring ribs, burgers and all the trimmings at Sue and Jimmy Wilson’s annual gathering; played in the pool and on a water slide; and shot fireworks at the end of the day. They documented all of it for their more than 400,000 YouTube subscribers and million-plus Facebook followers.

Glenn said he believes his friends found what they were looking for the Fourth of July.

“If you go back and watch their other videos, they’re not in touristy places. They like to get to know local people.”

“Any time they can sit down and have conversations with local people, it’s authentic,” Glenn said. “They stay in Alabama because they love it, but also the people are so friendly. They’ve been in California, Utah, Nevada, Colorado … in all of those places, they were very displeased with their videos because nobody would talk to them. Those episodes are just them seeing the sights. But as soon as they got into the Southeast, they were able to get the type of content they and their viewers enjoy.”

Steadman and Marley have become regular characters on the YouTube channel, but whether or not they become regulars depends upon the Aynsleys’ plans.

“They’ll be at two Alabama games with us,” Glenn said.

And in a bit of quid-pro-quo, Jack and Paige will show Steadman and Marley around Jack’s hometown when the Glenns visit the UK next year.

“We’re going to start in Ireland and meet them there,” he said. The two couples will travel by train, and the itinerary includes Jack’s hometown of Newcastle, in northern England.

“I think people can tell from the video, these are our friends,” Glenn said. “We consider them very close friends. We talk to them every day and keep up with their travels. They are the most genuine people ever. They love our country, our state, and our also hometown, now that they’ve seen it.”

That’s special for Glenn, he said.

“I’m proud of Andalusia, and our family’s role in it,” he said.