Attention comes in understanding that Tik Tok's about to blow. but it also comes in knowing that Gunna sat here when he had 400 followers on Instagram or that my company Bner Media did a campaign called Finding the Next Vine Star and the winner that we chose for that campaign was Logan Paul or that Charlie Deo or Charlie Deo was in that office moments before she went crazy like I Pay attention to people I Pay attention to platforms I Pay attention to why Ceroid hats are hot one than two years ago. So that's fashion and music and PE attention is the number one asset. Twitch Thank you for joining and being patient.

I know you've been waiting for the last 50 minutes. This is Podcast with friends Chase Just walked in, had a few minutes late. there a few minutes late. Oh man man, yeah, it's tough.

you know street. I'm not used to this no moreor New York City is different. Uh, episode three of Podcast with Friends I'm really excited about this three young men even though we were joking beforehand joining me. I think I made a little bit of mistake for episode two.

Big shout out to Ash and the rest of the crew that was with me. I'm going to give these three Gentlemen I actually learned from that. So what? I'm going to start this episode with is go around the horn and let everybody have 2 three minutes to really let the audience know who they are, what they do, what they're about, and then we'll just chop it up like friends and we'll get out of here. But huge shout out to everybody on Twitch Thank you for uh, tuning in.

That's the other enjoyable part of this one. I Was missing people and wanted to make fresh content. so this is the format and two: I've been wanting to really stream I've got an extra thing coming soon for everybody on Twitch But if you're listening on the podcast, go to Gary.com Twitch and make sure you follow the channel. Uh, I'm enjoying everyone in here.

So anyway, let's do this my man. Why don't you tell everybody in the audience who's watching live and listening to the podcast the day we launch it and for the next 5 years, who you are, what you do, Give us three minutes. Okay, my name is Franklin aka the King of Trainers I am um, the UK and Europe's one of the UK biggest sneaker bloggers. Um I've probably done more sneaker content than anyone in the world if I'm honest.

Yeah, it's just it's not on. YouTube is mainly on Instagram Um I'm the person that um JD Sports tried to take to court over the King of Trainer's name and um and and they had to back down um I I now currently help um, a lot of um, social media people and I I consult for Aex as well Aex jackets I help open the first standard on Aex shop in London um and I just different businesses here and there. Up and ups and downs. Ups and entrepreneur ups and downs.

When people say what you say you're an entrepreneur yeah yeah yeah, is that what you say? Well to be fair I I do say it but I am I I I would say I'm a business person cuz you know entrepreneur sometimes I think everyone says it yeah everyone says it I'm 48 I just turned 48 when I when I came up the game I was like I'm a businessman I'm a businessman the word didn't even exist cuz ironically back in the day it everybody who said entrepreneur was on some not really doing. Then when I came up my era the thing that kind of like I got I had good timing where it got cool. again it was entrepreneur and it's funny to hear you say that like I'm a bus cuz I'm like I understand where you're going with that cuz a lot of people playing the part on the Gr. That brings me to to to why I was going to get everyone to guess my age on on on on live Yeah everybody take a look at this F's face real quick.

guess his age twitch I feel like anyone that says that is old I'm nobody young says that course oh okay someone said 50 50 no that's B cuz they know that he wouldn't notice how I don't say how old I like he's got that black d crack going too. That's always winning. That's always winning. Wow okay how old are you I'm 44 yeah can we come on? CH give it to about to say share your regimen man what's going on? Just the happiness you grew I love that that is the regimen you.

You find yourself positive. Yeah, as much as I can be. Yeah as much as I can be even though sometimes you you had a positive parent. yeah both parents.

yeah my father passed away two two years. no it's fine. it's F you grew up. where in um in London London totenham to So when you hear of riots cuz I have a bricks to and that's and that's where I grew up Spurs life Spurs Spurs for sure all right man, tell everybody who you are, what's up y' U I'm Chase B uh DJ producer all around um I always call like an Enthusiast of the culture because it just comes with a lot.

uh sneakers obviously. um a big thing worldo just the whole just the whole realm of everything. Pop culture which is obious in today's world. black urban culture.

but it you know I think I I I will use culture when I'm talking about what you're talking about I'll use pop culture when I take on everything. What do 14-year-old white girls like about coffee? What's going on with exactly pop culture? Andor Culture keep going all right. So with that, um, a lot of people know me for obviously my involvement with like Cactus Jack and everything t with Tra like the last I don't know 12 years or so? yeah of course. um and then you know just other things on top of that like um like how we talking about businessman earlier really just like legitim iing and actually owning things.

So as me and you talked about Gary We just started the show Ox money um the podcast. kind of just overall just cultural, musical, athletic like binding, um if you will of the sorts and all that. So a show we just started. We actually launched the first episode uh about a week and a half ago with with with borro with Rich climbing.

Last night me and my friend Kim actually uh created the whole entire show and um we sat down rich and with Katie and we know they just love the idea so we partnered with them to just deliver it in the best way possible. Yeah, wanted to use the platform to get as much exposure as possible. 1 plus one equals 11. Yeah and they just they just exactly and they just helped us button up a lot of things that um you know that we had going you would had to learn over two or three years.

They sped up the process exactly. Yeah, so shout out to them for sure. and um so yeah. we launched our first episode with uh with CJ Stra about a week and a half ago.

It's doing amazing Man he's crazy bro. I'm so happy for him for real I met him you know how those rookie Seasons could go man he's having like the best. Ironically the Jets played the Falcons this weekend and we reped de Ritter to the Falcons quarterback. So this is the first time since I've owned Vayner Sports where my my beloved Jets have to play a team that has a quarterback that I rep that we rep that AJ reps that Brian actually reps he's his aent.

but V Sports good news Dez Big shout out You know I love you but like good news I feel nothing I want the Jets to destroy Dez yeah I'm I'm Jets over everything I'm Jets over everything everything everything but um Stroud's been balling I met him when Dez was working out with Jordan Palmer out West Coast he was still in college and I kind of walked away saying like that kid's got it like that good head on his shoulders man. great kid, great kid so uh, grew up in Houston I grew up in Houston yeah I lived here actually I lived across the street for about six years literally across the street I watched this whole area get built. It was loud as hell every morning. Yeah yeah, so um yeah I lived in the building called the like right across the street definitely from Houston I'm back in Houston now I'm just like kind of back and forth like every other week.

Where do you really even live anymore? To be honest, if you're making things happen, you're right. uh what's up everybody? I'm Christian Crosby I'd say my claim to fame is definitely working in the NBA as an in Arena host for Philadelphia 76ers which is home based. but I also do all the NBA stuff. so like NBA draft NBA Allstar Weekend actually there was a NBA Allstar it was during a slam dunk contest right? I was killing it I was doing a great job and you were sitting uh like I don't you were like I think first row and you were just you were vibing you.

We made eye cont eye contact a couple times and you were just like you're doing. You're doing a good job I remember I don't know if you remember that or not. I was like I think it I'll take that man I like thanks Gary I think it was Chicago I remember it very well. Facts: that's crazy.

So yeah, honestly by the way, real quick for the podcast and everybody on Twitch and for all of us, can we start making giving flowers while people are alive? A bigger thing what that was. look here they come the Goosebumps I know what? I'm saying something like I like we don't do it enough. We're quick to tell people what they suck at Ser We're quick to tear people down. We're quick to be envious of people moving and can't wait for them to up.

but why not give love I agree in little ways like that like I remember that vividly. that's Gary Do you really remember that I really remember that cuz I will never forget it and like it's crazy like that's just a random really I really remember it and and by the way, the coolest part is and I wouldn't say it. The other thing I've held myself accountable to cuz I so want to give people flowers is well if I give people flowers when I don't mean it then it doesn't mean anything. The reason I remember it is cuz I remember it right? True Because what I do for a living is try I mean my next book day trading attention comes out next year.

Attention comes in understanding that Tik Tok's about to blow. but it also comes in knowing that Gunna sat here when he had 400 followers on Instagram or that I or that my company Bner Media did a campaign called Finding Next Vine star and the winner that we chose for that campaign was Logan Paul or that Charlie Deo or Charlie Deo was in that office moments before she went crazy like I Pay Attention to people I Pay attention to platforms I Pay attention to why corduroy hats are hot one Two years ago. So that's fashion and music and people and so the reason I remember it was cuz I meant it right because I think you really were doing a great job and it's hard thank what you do that's not that easy and to even get to be able to do it is already real talent but you were doing on a big stage with a lot of chaos I Remember it very well. yo Gary's over here trying to make me cry and I don't appreciate it.

That's what's up. Go backwards. let's go even a step deeper and then we'll get into some other sure, how did you the whole give me the real origin story I'm going to go into how did you get there so we got a sense of what you do. Yeah so you grew up where so I grew up in South Jersey uh um but most of my life uh has beener Hill Camden like I was born in Vorhees so if you're familiar with that area, so I know every zip code in New Jersey cuz when I was building my dad's liquor store back in the 90s I went crazy on direct mail sending coupons and I I was one of the first people to have a website so I was like wait I can send coupons close to my dad's store right? but I can send mail to Cherry Hill 2 hours an hour and a half away 2 hours from Springfield But I could say go to Wine Library.com and so I literally analyzed every zip B me that's a very fun fact God that's amazing.

Okay, so Cherry Hills so like the Total Wine in Cherry Hills that big liquor store like I like knew the day it came out in 1992 and analyze how they did. You have to understand Now all of you kind of know me a little bit. imagine 14 to 34. Yeah and really 13 to 14 to 34 four.

but 14 to 30? Imagine 14 to 30y Old me having 100% of my attention to the liquor store New Jersey business and wine. That's all I care about right? It's why I got all those bad raids up there in my report card. It's why I don't have any story of fun in my 20s I was religious of building the biggest liquor store in New Jersey for my dad. okay but like where did that come from cuz like even if even let's say your dad wanted you to be that I'm glad I have I'm glad you're here.

You know where it came from from. gratitude yeah MH yeah I was so grateful I understood somewhere around 12, 13, 15, 17 somewhere in that you know Junior High middle school, high school preol. somewhere along the way I realized damn my parents are better. Yeah it was deep long before we talked about feelings I was just like my mom is the best my dad worked I don't really even know my dad like when I realized it I was starting to work with him but like my dad worked every minute to you know I was born in the Union we came to this country lived in Queens in a studio the size of this room with eight family members I'm talking really actually like people on the floor like the that people say on come up stories I liveed it and we didn't speak English and was hard and it was like really a tough time.

in America late '70s we were all up with the economy and so I and this might resonate for a lot of people who are watching or in this podcast or definitely listening. I Believe the person that is Most Unstoppable in life is the person that is lucky enough to be born, born into a family that doesn't have that much financially in the first 10 years of their life. But they're happy as right because they're shown that happiness has nothing to do with Finance right? That's fact. if you're unhappy in a home that doesn't have a lot you believe cuz the world tells you money will get you happy right? If you're in a house that is very wealthy and everyone's happy you think it's because the money? Interesting.

but if you're in a house that doesn't have much that is happy you as you grow, you just know. And of course these are generalizations. When you said interest of course. do I believe there are people I mean I have wealthy kid like do I think there are people but you But you know what the problem is.

you can't fake environment. No no, you can't like the way all of us came up and everyone. you can't fake it. No right meaning like it is what it is like you.

None of us can feel the alternative I can be empathetic and understand. but I don't know what it's like to grow up where you can sit courts side at a game. I was just trying to one day when I'm older I can buy a ticket to a basketball game Courtside that didn't even run through my mind. unable.

You know what I mean. but other kids like like you know, especially in the circles I run in now they think they should be friends with CJ Stroud they just think that shit's normal. You know, just and so and then everybody in between those two extremes, right? So anyway, how' you come up So so I I do come from a household uh maybe some struggle but middle class a little below middle class. it's a it was an up and down Journey there were times good Christmases where I was lit and then there it was like y'all a getting anything this year type Christmases So um I just fell in love with the Arts I my par my dad gave me a camera when I was younger I was just into Visual and acting and dancing um I'll fast forward to I got my first car uh commercial with Target yeah got a $5,000 check and I was a kid like oh my God I think I was like 16 17 I was like oh my God got good face I learned hands thank you Gary I was like yo I can make money doing stuff like this So then I did another lowbudget Philly tourism commercial but there were two Sixers dancers in the commercial at the time I did martial arts so I did like flips and tricks and I was doing these flips and tricks in the commercial and the dancers came up to me was like yo you'd be perfect for the slam dunk team for the Philadelphia 76ers I just wanted their number I connected with them.

Uh, followed up, showed up to the audition I wasn't even that good but they like the karate that I did so and your charisma I I wasn't even in the sports it's funny I I just thought it was a coach in a team I didn't realize there was community relations marketing PR I didn't know any of that I end up getting a job my first game I'll never forget it I Walked in and I I just looked around and saw all the people working I was just like I want to be here So from that day forward I became the super intern kid made every mistake but never made it twice. KN knew everybody's name, came early, left late. That whole story right? Uh, by the way, talk about a lost art. I'm just goingon to say I'm going to rewind it and have repeat it.

The amount of this is why I with the guys and gals that come to my team were very selective but it's getting harder. 10 years ago I could find a thousand super interns. There was unlimited kids who were like yo I'm hungry. this guy's got a platform that I get put on and I'm coming right? real and not that I think Jen Z is lazy and this and that it just got different.

Yeah, just want to skip a lot of steps really and honestly I don't judge I'm going to say this real careful I'm not judging the kids right now. Shit's just different right? Zoom Do I have to The government gave everybody money. they think they can do it faster which I respect the you can go eat for five years to get on. If you think you can go get on right now right? But like the whole vibe like super intern doesn't exist like you doesn't exist anymore I think they're just smarter than us and there's more options to get things faster and they the quickness Ginger Beloved said Christian is cute and charismatic Ginger Beloved let's go shots getting shot man how how'd your world go? What kind of kid were you in Houston man in Houston uh it was all about sports where I was at.

everything was about my high school was if you weren't getting a scholarship like you just weren't as good as everybody else it yeah the athletes were here everybody everybody else was everything was very competitive. so I ran track that Texas Friday night I went to high school was the of Friday Night Lights the whole and the basketb. we went to state twice. everything was football, football, basketball, track we all went to State while everybody killed in all everybody was just amazing.

how was your baseball team? It was all right it wasn't it was, it wasn't but the high school down the street from us. the high school down the street from us was had like an amazing baseball team so everything was just very competitive. Even our practices were like full speed everything you played Sports and that was Sports Sports Sports was all high school. so um I actually ended up going to Howard to run track in DC and when I got there I was like I'm not going to the Olympics like what am I doing here So and like you kind of said before about like how thing things were just like unfathomable I had no knowledge of like the music industry like that like none my parents are involved in that.

None of my family at all is really involved in the music industry. So when I got to Howard I actually uh was on a College radio station and it just taught me so much about just like that industry of media and why did you do the radio you were in I was in the School of Communications for something totally different and um but they offered that as like you know kind of yeah and I would just like let me try this out. So from then I did you always want to go to Howard uh probably when I was like CU sophomore in high school you were like that's the target yes how did that day feel when you got it and yeah so when I went to DC to visit I had an uncle that actually lived in DC it was my first time even going and I got there and I was just like something is like really special and like different about even the way they dress and everything I was like DC is just like his own world. it's nation's capital just driving by the White House every day was just like some just cool, different, different and um you really don't appreciate it until you like go there and and leave and come back.

it's like y I really did this like every single day. So um DC just taught me a lot about just finding yourself within like yeah and you were also in that great I mean 18 to 22? Yeah, you know you got to pick a major about yourself every hour Exactly. You know it's a special time. yeah.

so with the radio station I started um DJing in clubs and when I was probably like 19 years old and um whole bunch of financial happened I had up, had to drop out and I actually kind of just ran away and moved. my grandmother had just passed away this probably like 2011 or something like that. So I moved to uh East ARS New Jersey and um I would just get gigs out here in the city for like maybe $50 to $100 A lot of times it was free just like for the look or whatever I was sleeping in Pen Station at a point just to like you super internate, super intern. You know some people super intern for a company Exactly Other people super intern for the market right? like I Super interned for the market I Sold my whole life.

lemonade, baseball cards, flea markets, my dad's liquor store like the market was my boss I didn't have a boss ever. The world was my boss Exactly Yeah. like super interning for the world. We got to bring back the super.

That's what you're doing you grinding y' just grinding. you know? um I feel like you know and I had no doubt at any point when I was even asleep on the floor just like something. your grandma lived there exactly so pass and you went into the house. Yeah, exactly.

So I would do gigs in in the city but the PATH train or the New Jersey Transit wouldn't start again until like 4:00 or 5 in the morning so I would just have to just figure it out I'll just walk around Time Square like like that on some of that on some yeah yeah until I could get back I would just hop trains and like do whatever and um from there. this is when um the Darby was like really like the Darby on 14th and um I got like an opportunity to DJ there one night and it turned from one night to two nights to three nights a week and then when it became up and down I was like my whole I was there like you were that guy. yeah I was there um up and down the one I really miss those clubs man for real yeah they were ionic clubs exactly Yeah, that was like my whole and that's when you were making your that's when I like find my own as far as like being a DJ and turned to Vegas and like whatever you have now and then. um who? let's back to Flowers Who were some of the homies that saw you man DJ Clark Kent bro there you go DJ Clark K back to Flowers You know what I mean like yeah Clark k I I'll probably say him every interview I I'll ever do just because um obviously I just looked up to him so much this DJ and yeah you know just he was a legend already.

You met him and he was cool and he wasn't like a old guy that tried to be young like he was like old he he stands on being like yo I'm old bro but I'm like the tightest old yeah like he's going to be like I'm the I'm the dopest old you ever in your life. you know he never like tried to like yeah, youth down you know to you down and he just kind of told me he really broke down the game of how you you can do it, make money like even aside from clubs and like gigs or whatever to like really Enterprise yourself as a d this meet these kind of exactly Shake everyone's hand hello to everyone I saw some people in the comments on Twitch say memorizing everyone's name is real which is super hard for me I'll tell you bro names is real hard for me but moments as you saw with Chris like I'll tell you that like that is my superpower I'll bring up crazy especially if I see someone that I know I know I'll like immediately be like yo saw you in Boston 13 years ago when you sneezed right oh Gary me I'm like what's his name a real GI though it's a real good because audio and visual I got it. audio and visual I got it. yeah but it's why I don't have reading comprehension.

Something with names just doesn't anyway. Nonetheless, yeah yeah so no definitely. uh credit to DJ car for um you know he's my if I said to you like what was the moment where you knew you crossed over from like the come up to that next stage which one Pops in mind man I just really cuz I know it's Millions Pebbles to get to a boulder I people ask me all the time like 87 different things I can tell you but like what's one that you think was a moment I feel like uh so I signed a record deal in 2018 in Columbia and um just even at that point I never really thought of myself as like putting my own records out and put music out or whatever. but even to just when I when I was on that radar I was like yo you're much bigger than like what you think you are right now and have the I basically had every single leg that call and just like you should put an album out Yeah so at that point I was like oh this is bigger than me just being presid at like at a Travis show or in a club.

it was like Market the market was something much bigger. Yeah! so at that point I was like all right, how do I shift this into like something much more than what I'm doing right now Man cool. Um yeah. growing up in London Tottenham um I grew up.

Yeah when Tottenham was different. a little different. Very different. Yeah, got a little gender Fi? Yeah, yeah, very different.

We know what you're saying. Indeed. indeed. So um yeah man.

I mean I I grew up at a time. Unfortunately it was. It was quite quite violent. I lost a few friends.

Um so even like in the early ' 90s I would be in New York a lot. Yeah, so I'll be staying in Brooklyn Flatbush with my auntie just to kind of get out of trouble from in in London you know and just let it calm down. Yeah yeah it was crazy so it was like that bad it was. It was really bad.

like you had to go to America to hide. Yeah but for me it was just it was. It was the fact that I just had a lot of friends and my best friend got murdered and um it just kind of yeah, that's a experi yeah. so I was like that's tough yeah yeah so you know from then um I mean and for me in terms of like business I knew from 15 I went to work for myself but I had to do the university rout for my parents.

Yeah for all the kids that are listening and watching on Twitch and even for you youngsters like again when we were com I just turned 48 44 you said? you know, like it wasn't like that. Yeah like at 15 when we both felt it, it wasn't as obvious. it is for everybody right now exactly I See, there was no it for you. There might have been an internet.

Internet was popping. No, like the internet changed everything. Like like you couldn't do anything. There was like no, there was not a sing.

Every single influencer that you know that's under 20 making money. There was not one of those that existed when I was 16 zero. not one. that's it.

The most famous business person for us coming up was Bill Gates and he was the nerdiest looking dude on Earth and it was like I don't want to be that like if money comes with that and you kind of thought you had to be like this genius to even yeah it was like so dork, right? right? It was like dorks like like and it was like and not that like Bill Gates is a dork but that was like the image. That's what in cool culture it was Street it was. It's not what hip-hop is now where it's fashion. this it was if you were not hard you weren't in.

Yeah that's back to even like where people grew up. do. Do you know that people that came up hip hop in the 80s and 90s if they had an auntie in the hood but they grew up in middle class they would tell people they were from the they would be like I'm from from such and such because you're just like you couldn't say you were from like it was that much the currency hard and rough. nothing else, not creative, not nice, not nothing, just H yeah that's how London that's def how London was yeah that's how London was um and then yeah so you know from from school had to University went down University and then straight from University I graduated to like 2000 2003 I I worked in my own businesses I had an installation company property Investment Company done well in property quote unquote called I made a million in property.

That's what that was my dream to just make a million right? Made It by about 26 2 let me say back to kids that are like 44 and up Mhm a million was like and now was like a billion. Oh million like that was like a billion. That was literally the next sentence out of my mouth. Just so everybody knows, 20 years ago, making a million is the way people talk about making a billion.

It was that. Not achievable for almost everyone? Yeah and now we all walk around and these kids are confused. Like the okay so America very rich country country. one of the richest in the world if not the richest I Don't know where it sits with China these days M the top 1% of earners in America The bottom the last person in the top 1% The top 1% is 440,000 a year.

That's wow. That's really let me say, real slow. If you make more than $440,000 a year, you're in the top 1% of people in America N Man, that is crazy and this is where this is. This is why these conversations matter.

Some kids listening right now. Who thinks if he doesn't make a 100 million, he's a loser. A million not Sig this deal for less than a million I'm not signing and not to cut into your story, but you're seeing a lot of that content nowaday where it's like if you don't have then you're this type content I Don't know why I'm seeing so much more, but let me let me tell you to and straight. It's not like we didn't have that.

Everyone's like oh we have it so tough right now everyone's saying this well we had less content, there was no Gary ve talking real and what we had was MTV Cribs and guess what? Yeah, all as if all of a sudden the world is pushing like stuff. It's been pushing stuff always and we had no other things to find. They've been telling Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was a Smash Hit in the80s Robin Leech British Bo telling me as an American seven-year-old boy like if I don't have a yacht I'm a dick you know, like so it's been there. The difference is I see it flip everyone's like oh social media did I'm like I see the flip At least we now have people saying other facts because chains and bottles and models and prob they've been pushing that indeed.

Facts indeed indeed. Yeah so um yeah uh made made it made quote unquote a million but in property by by 26 27 they lost it by 28 credit CR happened credit CR happened I lost my contract you you were overleveraged yeah and I was and I was I was young so you didn't know yeah and and I I had an installation company I was making a lot of money but I I just didn't have I was making so much money I didn't have saving yeah and I didn't have the the kind of people around me to be like look, this is business I I just went straight into it I feel like that usually happens with every business man that crash and burn a little bit just to really learn how to really manage your Finance I'm really happy you said that. It's why I want to talk about that I talk about yes is right, the business man and woman. the 80% that's about the stuff, the 20% that are about the game.

Never have that happen right? Cuz they're not buying dumb. They're not over leveraging three properties because they know if God forbid it goes I'm at zero, right? They're not buying to flex like the amount of people that want to be rich just to buy stuff to impress people that they don't even like, right? It's crazy. You want to talk about a model that's up the amount of people that want to be rich at all costs and their lives up just to buy right to flex on people that they don't even like, they don't even know, don't even know, don't even know, exist for. But what's funny is people Flex For someone they know, let me say yes.

but it's always to show the girl that didn't give you that time. show your dad that didn't give you that love. show your mom that said you would never amount to nothing. Show show somebody.

Then there's people that are about the process. This is why I was so happy I was built properly I didn't do that right. This is why. like the Gary like I don't even give a about me I You know why I like the Gary ve thing for my parents right? They built me What the did I do I didn't have sex, they had sex I popped out I didn't I didn't you know you know like for y'all I they you know for for y'all I'm saying stuff and maybe I can have an impact but they did me.

So like when they're like you're the greatest I'm like you mean Sasha and Tamara Vaynerchuk yeah they made me New Jersey made me IM immigrant life made me I It's definitely like so important to what you were saying. Just like when you said who, your environment and to your point when you said watch who you're around because especially for a lot of black entrepreneurs or black businessmen depending on environment, not every black person, but um, depending on environment. There's a lot of times when we make that breakthrough into wow, this is working Wow. I'm actually bringing in some income we don't necessarily have.

yeah, an environment that tells us hey, you need to put this amount of money away of course Black comma. Anyone who doesn't come from an environment of money Facts: in 20 years, you'll be hearing a lot of people saying it from Latin backgrounds I came up in the hoods of Texas and Arizona like it's all it's whoever at the like. it just it's a money thing and by the way, a lot Black, white, Hispanic like gender, race, religion, sexual orientation. it's the people around around you.

This is the point of why I think this is a special era. Everyone's telling you that all this on this phone is garbage and yet the only good stuff is found on the phone. Yeah, you definitely got a F for yourself. Turn on the TV and tell me what's so incredible that's helping the youth True chat First first time coach Lori Cash the nukes like please Twitter cuz twitch is live.

Tell me this incredible TV show that's raised in the kids right? cuz I can show you YouTube channels I can show you Instagram I can show you Tik Tok of people putting it down proper Lear Tell me the TV show. give me the newspaper, the radio program. get the out of here with this yeah that's a good point. like I get they the reason people are on all this stuff is cuz it's where everyone's paying attention like I'm I'm you know what is TV you know someone said ESPN I I'll give you that of course way I I'll counter that Sports now has these Talking Heads on guys constantly yeah I'm about say ESPN report injuries before they post anything what Jason kid said the other day about the uh about and ESPN has Talking Heads trying to get people to watch which and there's a lot of good dudes and ladies on ESPN I know a lot of them, they don't even they don't even realize what's happening.

They're in the con. They come in innocent. They're like I need ratings. They don't realize how it metabolizes and you start trying to be positive and you're like, ah, my ratings aren't you Say one thing about somebody like and then we're getting seduced by rubbernecking.

When you're driving, you're not paying attention when there's not an accident, but when there's an accident, you're looking. Yeah, that's true. And so the media figured that out and they're shoving all this garbage down our throat. This toxic, that accident thing just hit me.

that's kind of crazy down a little bit. You got me with the accident. This is why I'm fighting so hard. This is why I'm fighting so hard to like the good.

We got to figure out how to make the good given flowers when we're live saying what I said to you like act people. The reason you remember that is people don't do that. We got to figure out a way collectively, all 8 billion of us and definitely the few of us that are so fortunate to just be good. MH We have I Always say negativity is loud as good at marketing and positivity is silent.

No seriously. And the reason I'm so loud is I'm like, well I can only control me Yeah? I can't tell all of you to do it if I don't do it Mhm right? Yeah that I think What? really help me there's a quote. Everything speaks And it's like from the clothes that you wear to how you carry yourself to the music, you listen to everything you consume everything. Everything speaks, what are you saying And when I heard that quote, I was like wow like okay, my words are are this some of my actions are this but that's saying something completely different than what I stand for like.

So I had to evaluate myself and once I became extremely intentional and had intent behind every action that I made and I started tracking my own actions I started seeing results like to your point with social media it's like I actually started unfollowing accounts that were posting crazy stuff. Let's about that when people like these feeds are all up I'm like you sunshine and roses. and honestly, when you really believe in like manifestation, you really don't have any time for negative energy. Anyway, you come back and people like oh, manifestation is I'm like manifestation is slang for being intentional.

Exactly. That's all. I I Manifested I'm like no, you took those seven meetings you did that work like it's not like you sat and prayed and just dropped. True True, it's all part of the process for real quick.

Actually, let's open up a pack of be friends cuz this is podcast with friends. Um while we're opening this, tell me what you're paying attention to. Tell me something that caught your eye in the world recently: What's something that's like really popping. Really popping right now? Like yeah, something.

Oh you hit a monster. What's that? Oh, let's go Gary You're going to have to tell me more about this I tell you more about this in minute I Don't want to act like I'm like oh I just got the unicorn and I don't know what that means exactly This is this is my Pokemon meets Sesame Street thing I'm building called Vs I'm building it for the rest of my life. It's a bunch of characters. You pulled the gritty ghost hearing how you came up.

This one really hits right for you. so you got to hold on to that and it's out of only a 100. This is a big car that's not fair, that's real money. What was going another real money.

What would you? no, no. Here's the I Want you to look at the characters. The names tell me which character most resonates with you, which character when you look at it. I'm going to go first I'm going to say the adaptable alien CU I Think one of my greatest skills is being adaptable.

The reason I with people so much is I'm not scared of people any people I'm around different I look I got very lucky I grew up in Edison New Jersey I went to Martin Luther King Elementary School We had a real Melting Pot you already know when it's MLK exact so it was black but I had it better than black white Indian Asian Brian Chen was my friend in third grade Robert Lee then Nati halel like we I we had it all like you know I didn't know I was a kid when I got older especially in the last 10 years where you realize diversity matters I'm like damn Not only did I have the great parents I had the great environment I learned how to love everyone we were just all mixed crazy like I don't like I actually have it on my Instagram my second grade picture when I posted that people were like oh, you weren't kidding because literally there's 20 kids in a class and it's like four of these four of these Four of these four of these and four of these and that's just a gift, right? You know? Anyway, so I'm going to go adaptable Alien. Okay, whether I'm talking to the biggest CEO in the world or I'm in a third world country building a school for pencils of promise and everybody in between. I'm just good with people. so adaptable.

How for you? I'm I'm going to go with Great Ghost. What does Grip mean for you? Um, hard work man, hard work and just just being. Do you think the world's demonizing hard work a little bit right now? Don't burn out. Oh no, 100% 100% But balance is Right Real Talk Balance is right.

Don't burn out. But do you think we maybe go a little far where like like a little bit of entitlement, a little bit of lack of balance like people trying to win without putting the eff. this is I'm I'm I'm not saying this just for I'm in love with hard work I just I Just love hard work. My parents worked there all the way.

You know? So yeah I just I just love it. Which one my guy? I'm going to go right here with the with the graceful goldfish. Yeah, Why? and just because Everything I've ever done everything I'm doing everything that I'm going to do. uh I try to approach with a real level of professionalism and just and just grace and grace.

You know and um, this is why I love this dudes that are cool. Say saying the word Grace yeah is is literally the mission statement of my life. Watching this man right now notice how even he's like you know profession no no Grace I'm on something like what our grandmas liked is now right? meaning like Grace like respect. My big thing right now that I'm hot on is we're putting youth on a pedestal and we're underestimating wisdom and age.

50 years ago the elders had all the respect and the kids had nothing. Now we flipped it cuz of Technology social act said D you it I think we need to get back to like resp people0 to 100 on the way. They earned it. Real talk we I watch people at the airports we are just losing our yeah like not getting up for like I watched these three dudes just sitting there nice I they weren't Bad Dudes but the fact that a grand I watched it I watched it cuz I'm on it so I'm looking yeah this 85-year-old lady's walking by them.

you could tell I was like behind I was was standing doing a call before the airport. This is like 2 weeks ago 3 weeks ago and these dudes are just chilling. Not bad. not like out of a movie where they're like thugs, they're just normal dudes.

but this 85-year-old lady is like clearly like tired, like it's just clear like she's like looking and I wasn't even mad at the dudes real talk I was just mad at where we're at 40 years ago All three of those dudes would have been like right? yeah we just don't teach I even say my my biggest inspiration um just as far as like media goes I my favorite show ever was a different world just because of obviously I went to an HBCU and that was all about that but just the way they looked and the way they acted, the way they talked on it was just so. it was just so much more professional and graceful. Dog: C says why can't someone cool say grace Everyone cool can say grace. Please tell me.

the last time you've seen a 15 to 25-year-old cool person talk about Grace is important we don't talk about Grace Now we got a different slang tour for it. Maybe respectful like there's some other places, but it's everybody can say anything they want. I'm saying what we're not. It's not 23y olds that are popping in Social aren't making content around manners.

that's what I'm saying. that's facts cool Grace I Love that you did that bro graceful goldfish Man shout out to the Goldfish out goldish goldfish are a great snack so I'm going go with that all. so I noticed this guy had the highest score so that gravitated me towards it. But then I read it and it says thoughtful three-horned harpi Um so I am trying to be I I actually had two have one amazing parent but had two amazing parents that raised me who taught me that purpose is above all and so growing up I relate to a lot of things you said because I at a young age was thinking through like well, that doesn't really align with what I believe in or what I want for my life.

So I'm not going to do that right. It made saying no so much easier for me. So once you know how to say no to things, the yes becomes more clear. So thoughtful because I'm trying to be as thoughtful as possible right now.

I just started trying to make content that I knew wouldn't perform well. That just mean something to me. So um I've actually I don't think I've made a video about Grace but I have started making like not not a podcast but um, where I'm just speaking on a microphone just talking about things I Number one genre of content creation that no one's doing right now in my mind is you have a thought: you're you not, You don't have a video person around you yet. You're not there yet.

You don't really love doing the video like this. Cool. Hit the memo. talk.

Save post that right words radio, right? Works Still, that's crazy. Yeah, it's that's true. I Do see that a lot. Like if you got a thought that you believe in pop it, record it.

You could put some video on top of it later or just post it. I Think someone's going to own that and it's going to make it easier for people. but I love that. Big shout out to the heart pick.

Here's the big one. You ready for this? There's 283. Be friends. It's a big world.

There's only one madeup character. Everything else is something you know. An alien, a wombat, an otter, a ghost, a worm, a duck. right? The only character I Drew and Made Up is the harick.

The harick. Whoa. ladies and gentlemen, come on. chat, talk to me Ni go What? I look like Now let's go.

What? Uh, what else is happening in the game that's caught your eye that you're confused about that? You're thinking through that you're being thoughtful about or give some roses. This is the one I Love a lot cuz this shit's so fun to look at 5 years later. How about somebody coming up that you see M that you see? That's a good question. Let me so my the first thing that popped to my head is just what.

What is what? I'm becoming more aware of more than anything is the shift in what works. So okay what I mean by that is think about sneakers and we were talking about this off camera. By the way somebody just said I'll buy that goes for 15 $5 right? Oh my. I'm going to hold on.

you got? Let me just let me just tell you what just happened. Let me just tell you what just happened. That's when you know someone's from the streets when someone doesn't know the value of something gets thrown something real at them but their instincts are like nah, you know some I don't So I'm going to hold this and where' you get that number from 155? That's kind of precise I tell you where I think they got it from I I don't know if you've seen but I always do this in every photo I take because my mom knitted me a jersey when we couldn't afford a Jets Jersey when I as a kid and put the number five on it. So every photo I ever take as a head nod to my mom and as a homage to her and how she built me and why people even want to take photos with me is because of her.

I throw up the five as a little token so you locked in over there so everybody knows in the five a thing. Like even some of these. Char I Don't know if we got any, but some of the characters even have like a five. This is number 55 right here.

actually. Okay, there you thece. So anyway, that's probably why. but anyway, I'm sorry, go ahead.

no. So I we were talking off camera and like the hype era of sneakers is is is dead and I think when I'm looking at social media I'm looking at content the era of doing the wild thing to get attention I can see it sh shifting. look if they're good at it. Mr Beast is crazy that's just going to work.

That's a lot of talent behind. that's a lot of thought. that's a lot of planning. that's a lot of effort.

All that's different. I'm referring more to the the content that lacks any sense of death from any standpoint. whether creatively where it's just going. you know what it's called supply and demand right? We got filled with that.

Yes and so now we're looking for something else, right? Yeah, um, you know something I would like to or a person I Love giving flowers. Keep thinking that's what I really wanted to I'm going to get back to that. but um, just personally right now, what I would like to see is that with all of these I don't want to say kids but just this next Generation Coming up so fast and doing all these things I would like to see them even give like you know how we have like master classes from you know RS or whoever I would like to see them start teaching the kids below them. Now about just teaching.

now we have these 19 you know about J Alpha exactly So J Alpha's coming right? Exactly I think they're They're still debating what the year is cuz that's what they do. but call them 13 and under, right? Okay, okay, they're coming next and they they're going moving faster than than we did. Interesting the early signs cuz I'm spending a lot of time reading this. The early is they got judgment for Gen Z right? Jen Alpha's It's so crazy how fast it all moves Jen Alpa's coming out saying yo Gen Z You talk big game but you're full of right? You got to give the codes Man, you got to give the codes.

That's crazy. Crazy is crazy nine-year-olds looking at their 16-year-old crying about some but not doing right. You got to get a that's why I would love to see them teach bro it's that next Generation yeah cuz we have these 19 20y old millionaires from you know building all this content and they're literally building their own websites and you know there building their own Enterprises and Empires and everything just really just come down. just give the codes to to the Next Generation I think it be cool, it's been the story of my life.

I I I would I actually I've never read my own book of course not I wrote it I know what in it lately crush it which I wrote in 2008 came out in 09 lately I'm like man should I like read it just to like refresh ideas because the I talked about there of like this internet thing and like you should do YouTube and like I predict that people will make $100,000 a year on YouTube everybody read it back then and was like you're a idiot like like you know like like and all I was when I look at all those books when I think about what this this comes out I've never tried harder to give everybody all the cheat codes right cuz it feels it creates admiration. it creates real relationships. what else are you seeing? Oh cool, um what's going on in London oh man. so I I I just want to shout out someone someone that you know actually um uh Dexter Muller M yeah yeah so he's doing some big things in London man I want to give him his flowers man he's he's really grind in so yeah I just want to give him his flowers.

but in London what's happening now I mean it's a it's a Melting Pot I I would say people are I think people are searching for the next thing if I'm honest what we're all saying yeah I think people are searching for the next thing something. you can feel it. we're on the Cur feel. you can feel it, it's changing I agree and yeah, that's kind of yeah.

Go! We were talking about this and I was talking to Tyler about this too and he was speaking about you and how just always staying ground to kind of feel what's coming. Be in the dirt. There's a there's a there's a V friend character. none of us pulled it I don't see it here.

it's called it's a long ass name. You can't beat a worm from the dirt. seriously. CRA that is the name of the character that's crazy.

So and like that's who I think I am For all the hardcore V friends trading cards fans like here's the alpha story that you've been looking for. Obviously in vriends there's Gary B the be and like that's two on the nose. that's me, but that's not really me in V Friends in V friends the character I made for me. who's me is you can't beat a worm from the dirt.

It's the same what Tyler was probably telling you and that's cool that he was telling you. That is like no matter whatever happens with me, I'm always going to be in it I'm always going to be What? What did I say to y'all what have you been up to I've been operating I'm not saying I'm a businessman I'm a businessman and then I'm going to tell you about it. Yeah, I'm never going to I'm never going to get high on my own Supply I Just told you I don't even think it's me. It's very easy for me to stay humble I don't think I did anything I think my parents did something.

One of the reasons I want to shine is get people to get some stuff but also I know it makes my parents feel like I am I get that like and so I'm in the dirt I'm never going to think I'm better than somebody cuz I'm not I got skills I got things so does everybody. The dirt is where it this You know in music when the streets don't with you. You left the dirt right? Yeah, that's usually how it goes. That's out of 10 you left the dirt.

Now that's not saying like what we you know the other saying that we all know is like rappers get killed in their Hometown I'm not saying you shouldn't if you're in a real bad neighborhood like I'm not saying that but I'm saying like are you putting people on are you watching the kids come up yeah, Are you giving a cosign right? Are you giving somebody a feature on your track? just cuz you actually with them and you see yourself in them the Am I doing right now. that's true I want the three of you to siphon attention. Thank you man. Real talk I'm hoping y'all say something that makes a 100 people a thousand people 10,000 people over next year be like yo I like the way he talked what was his handle again.

actually let's do that. How do people find you? uh you can find me at Christian Crosby on all socials I have the same Christian C H R I S T I N Christian spelled normal Crosby C R o SB y All right yeah uh Chase B find me on all socials at OG Chase B man how's it B not like mmy B oh no Chase B B um and yeah every time I say Gary ve they're like B every time say B and up you got to real I say V as inv Victor when I call like credit it's VY I'm like V is inv Victor ay any I gota always do it cool Um yeah Franklin King of Trainers King of trainers everywhere. um you might even see in JD Sports but before we get out of here cuz they haven't pulled me yet which is good cuz I at 2:00 I'm enjoying this. uh tell me which social media platform you are struggling with like you're you wish you were making content for it or you wish you were making better content for it cuz you want to be good at it if you don't.

If if it doesn't exist don't make it up. but go ahead. Oh yeah, go YouTube you Where are you at with YouTube shorts? um I just started YouTube shorts is the gateway drug to build attention to then give you the leverage to do YouTube proper right? Okay, probably just Tik Tok You know it's something that um I enjoy it a lot but I'm not utilizing it the way could be. So yeah, just TI are you posting on it at all? a little bit but it's more.

most of it is like actually like produced content and people are kind of off that when it com T they want let me give you one on this. Do you with Live at all? Have you ever done Live with fans I've done it before. Let me tell you right now this for everybody. this is the alpha for everybody.

Tick Tock Live yeah live shopping is coming. It's huge in China people just selling on live Tik Tok Wants to win it. Not a lot of people going live on Tik Tok They are fully fully fully creating discoverability for the people that are doing it. mhm I Don't give a what you do on it.

eat cereal and just talk to them All right like get your ass on Tik Tok Live right? Okay, push yourself I know it's not I know natural I know I see it in you. but bro. honestly just like put it there and just like it could be anything like. if you're going to listen to music for an hour then just go on.

Tik Tok live and just look over I'm doing right now and be like yo mix one two three Go! What's good Jenny H Thank you so much. You know what I mean Mhm Um, to be honest, there isn't actually um, a platform I'm actually the one of the people that started live selling back in the day. Um, but I Want to kind of say there's another platform coming eBay Live eBay Live is coming come way. Just say anything you know.

just say live. It's all coming live Amazon Live They're all building. They're all building live shopping in America and in Europe is on a precipice of complete explosion. Complete me too with TV back in 2006.

But you know the way these platforms are built for live shopping. We wish we had this. This is it. No friction click click click.

You see that video of that woman in in China That was just like passing the 400,000 hours. Got swag too I'm not going to lie she knows what she doing with. Thank you so much for being on for thank you Twitch for watching podcast with friends. We will see you next time.