Fear is afraid of you too. Interesting, Break that down and like fear has so much control. but it's the same feeling as happiness. Like nobody runs from happiness.

Fear is deathly afraid of the day where you turn around and be like I'm not afraid of you. It's funny you say and then it loses all power. Fear is fake Fear hangs out with Santa Claus Attention is the number one asset vayer Nation How are you welcome to another episode of Podcast with Friends? This episode is actually Podcast with former friends because is literally 30 26 minutes late. The whole show give a take I have a hard stop at 11:30 so I want to apologize for you two youngsters Joe has ruined your exposure I Was a fan of the show and you know well what happened the Long Island Expressway and don't pretend like you don't know there was an accident I Will say there was hours 10 minutes from my house 37 miles away.

I mean come on I did what I could listen. You grew up in this area your whole life. I Did you should have been here 9:00 in the morning and you know know you're right. Let's go into the show.

Ladies First, let's introduce ourselves to the Vayer nation. The concept of the show is incredibly simple. There are individuals in the world that you know. Me and my team spent an ungodly amount of time watching human beings move in society you know Tyler Walsh Boyd Music uh, Tyler Schmidt and Zach and and overall culture.

I I play a lot of role in it and we just kind of decided I wanted to do new content this year in 2024 and the thing that most excited me was getting people to intr each other and get to know each other that may not know each other admire each other from afar. But more importantly a get my audience to meet different voices, different people to follow their Journeys on everyone's in different parts of their journey and execution wise. I Really wanted to finally start streaming. It's something I've been watching for a decade and I've just never found my way in because I'm so busy.

that's why vlogging worked. You know Drock could follow me in my day-to-day but this whole concept of now twitching especially in my office. We tried it last week where like after the show I was on mute and just streaming in the back and people loved it I unmuted a couple times and I loved it and so huge shout out to the twitch Army all of you that are tuned in right now uh VAR Gainer Chuck that's a great name. big name for me in high in high school my friend.

I'll never forget the day my friends figured out if they reverse my two letters that they could really have some fun with me. So I see Varry Ganor Chucks in the building? Uh first time chat for J Boy for clay Ferno let me know how you got here I Just tweeted it I just sent it my text or you're an OG I want all 300 of you to right now reply OG text or Twitter let me know how you got here but purpose of the show is for the audience to get to know you and for us to talk about that's popping in society or sitting on our chests or our minds. We will start. Ladies first why don't you tell the vender Nation who you are what you do Yes how far do you want me to go though you you could.

it is your it is your space. Okay so my name is Dina a I'm 19 years old old I'm a rock and I was born and raised in Belgium um and I've always been into music I'm an artist so um I was an artist since a little kid like my mom and my dad knew but it didn't really take me serious. So um I participated with the voice kits in belum. Well I was 15 super young, still in school.

um and then that whole experience made me realize that maybe being an artist is what I want to do when I grow up. So um after that my brother used to make beats so then we sat together and we we decided to just make songs together have fun and um and then I was 16 I Met my producer Chuie uh and my manager Dro um we recorded a vlog on Chuck's channel. uh, a 16-year-old girl freestyling on my beat and that had like 1 million views in a couple of weeks. Um yeah, a couple of months.

So I was like Wow uh I really want? yeah, it's I saw like what happened on The Voice did you do well on the show? Yeah it was very nice. Um I got to the half uh to the semi-finals Yeah so you got a lot of exposure from that? Yes, a lot. It was nice being on stage. My first time being on stage I was very nervous, very young but it taught me a lot.

So what a stage to be on for your first one exactly? And so then after that YouTube video popped off what happened next? uh after that I was like well I want to sit down with my producer and manager. we're a team so I want to find my own sound, something that sounds like Dina a and other artists. So it took us like 3 years. we was locked in yeah and we really took it serious.

So um and then I decided to post a Tik Tok uh in December on my birthday and it was a Tik Tok of me freestyling on a random beat cuz I don't listen to beats before I hop on a beat. Oh interesting. yeah Wow. So um I can never do that.

so then I really resonate with that if I had any musical talent, that would be more my style I'm so so much more improv in nature like it just comes so natural to me as a human. It's how my speaking like I literally sometimes don't even know who I'm speaking to right in like 4,000 people events until I get to the location and meet the organizer I'm like okay, tell me about the audience like I don't I'm more comfortable he but if I throw a beat on right now you're telling me no I have no musical Talent if I had musical Talent I'd be the biggest rapper in the world I believe that, believe that I'm being dead serious I have so much real to say right? Oh absolutely I just have no musical you. everyone's always really nice and car you can do it I'm like yeah Barry Gainer Tru Barry Gainer truck in the building and so and so where we at at the journey now. So um I was 17 at that moment no I was turning 17 on my birthday and I posted a Tik Tok didn't overthink it I was like man just let it flow.

Um so then it took me a couple of days um and in the meantime so I was telling my manager bro I want to go to La let's go to La I know I'm in school but we can go after my exams So um so basically I had I was in law school beginning of the year uh and then we booked our flights, booked everything we was ready and then after we booked our flights and everything my Tik Tok starts going crazy. it blew up and I was like maybe this is God's plan so after my exams we went to LA and we were supposed to stay there for 1 month but we um Extended the trip so we stayed two months and a lot of producers, labels, artists they start reaching out to me so we was really just working over there like locked in and um I knew like maybe when I go back to Belgium I might want to drop out of law school cuz this music might be for me and um when I got back to Belgium I was I was talking to my parents I was like yeah I think this might be the right move for me to make right now like I believe in it so I um I dropped out and I did it online I remember my manager calling me 5 minutes later he was like Dina um somebody's finding us out to New York next week I was like this is God's plan yeah so it's been an amazing journey. uh after that I just continued posting on Tik toks everything blew up um a lot of people reaching out and then uh and in the beginning I told every label I want to I want to do a support act at the end of the year and I just got off tour with TJ that's amazing Amazing Awesome! So proud of you! Thank you Joe that's me I'm a freestyle rapper my name is Joe I Kick the funky flow I Rock your ass from here to Idaho hey uh I'm former Impractical Joker Comedian Improv uh started with improv when I was 19. uh ran that to the ground.

Got some improv experience here in New York Moved to LA to chase a dream to be a filmmaker. Ended up working at Nordstrom selling men's pants uh mov back here in New York with the boys perform real quick just real quick for the kids your your big plan to become this movie Mogul yeah go to La Yep, pick it up, pack it up. go the the chapter in the book on that was you ended up just working at Nordstrom selling pants Yep selling pants. All right You good at selling pants I was fantastic sales I was I was selling pants all the celebrities I worked at the Grove in LA which is all a hot spot.

What makes you a pair of pants? uh I I worked at the rail which was the Men's Wear section and this is when Von Dutch was big. you'll remember that and uh so I was uh yeah I was rocking out there and helping celebs and stuff and that was my claim to fame and then I just you know I loved sales I was always a Salesman came back to New York and I was doing comedy on the side till we got the me and the guys got together to figure out what our TV show was. we F we tried a couple that failed miserably found Jokers made that, found that concept and did that for a decade. Then life gave me a couple options of different ways to go and uh decided to focus on family and figure it all out and now I've been doing standup on my own and been doing torn that for two years.

Writing Movies is actually working on something getting something started there which is great and uh kind. been performing some big rooms which is great I'm playing the beacon here in New York which is the one I haven't done so yeah the beacon in January I'm January 20th can people get tickets? yeah they can. Yeah how did they find that? um joat official.com no matter where you live I'm I'm on tour but yeah the January 20th is at the Beacon which is why official because the other one was taken the real the real. it kind of goes the real.

That's like the rule right? Like it's your name if you can get it. If you can't get your name, you get the real and if you can't get that you go with the official official. Yeah Yeah I even had to do underscore G for my all my handles I'm an underscore guy say you're an underscore guy yeah I Really feel like if you're an underscore person like shit's just not. You know you could probably find it's just a common name I mean you got don't have a common name Jo in New York I it up I like added two silent e to it I'm supposed to be this branding expert and like completely it up.

Anyway, how how are you enjoying Stand Up right now? I Love it I Love it. Yeah is that your like favorite place to be to entertain is to make people laugh and now you can get in front of people and do it that way. but I enjoy writing I enjoy all of it I've always enjoyed all of it you know I've been doing a bunch of different Avenues now that the time is like you know I've had the time now. Wrote a kids book which is coming out next year which Jo already up but there's 800 people now on Twitch which is a real number.

There you go and I feel like you should say something to them All right everyone watching on Twitch We just wanted to get you all together and say you know, be kind to each other. Oh hey, amen, be kind to each other. That's it man. you got to be kind because you know life sucks.

suck harder friends, get out there and do what you got to do and just keep smiling and spread some joy I love that my brother so uh my name is Nick C I go I'm on Instagram Tik Tok YouTube Nick the official the official Nick actually the real nick uh with an underscore at the end but yeah I started no really what is your head Nikk cast Nikki. c So I started no but wait so funny story so that's the same handle that I had in high school. so like what I was my whole thing was like I was a big Sports guy I played baseball my whole life and I didn't really think that this was ever in the cards and then one day uh I was training clients in a gym I thought I was going to open up a gym and do this whole thing I was training clients out of my garage I always had like the entrepreneurial Spirit um anytime I wanted to like make make some money my dad would tell me to go wash the cars or like I'd sell stuff on eBay so um grew up like that but uh my bud I was always the like the class clown so like every sports team I was on I was always like bound to make you laugh and it just always felt so good but it came natural so I was never like yeah the way you talk it's Talent you know what's funny so I was so I was no but okay no all right I believe that no yeah for real cuz I would I used to play on this travel baseball team and I was the only kid from New York and every time I open my mouth start laugh like I didn't say anything yeah yeah like but they were all from the side I'd say like all right here we go kid they go all here we we go so it was the whole thing I never like I said it just kind of became natural so uh posted on Tik Tok the first video blew up and uh the first one the first one got 2 million yeah 2 million views your first TI Tok my first Tik Tok got 2 million views so I was working in a gy this was 2020 yeah um I was trying to tell it was right before the pandemic I was trying boy you know this I was you definitely know this I was trying to tell everybody but see like I got because of you I didn't have like it wasn't part like my buddies were just like cuz I would send the to my buddies and they were like post it and I'm like I'm you know I'm just going to open up the gym by the way on that cuz I just want to give value to the audience. Yeah, by the way, 807 all of you share the out of this link right now in and this is where I'm going.

Don't share it on social share this link right now to that thread. we all have that thread. We all have that WhatsApp or iMessage group text where like to your point everyone's their best version in their best friends text grip 100% I've got a Jets one and a Nicks one and a college one and like like a sports card one and like like we all have them and I feel like for a lot the reason I'm jumping in right now I apologize Jumping in is I believe that there's 25 people listening right now for sure that are in a thread where their buddies are saying you should do fantasy football fulltime. You're the smartest and best one of our crew but they're like nah, I'm not Matthew Barry or you're funny which is obviously very common cuz humor is a foundation of group chats but like humor or knowledge.

Yep, I'm telling you for the 25 out of the million that listen this podcast over the next 3 years in the long tale of consumption, please use this as a sign God's plan back to your point as like you know what it my friends have been telling me for two years I've secretly been thinking about it for two months. Use this m this dude's first Tik Tok the first one. Wow the first one and and to be honest with you to that point too like if I if I didn't put myself link to a bunch of your posted I was it was 8 minutes I'll never forget it was a Wednesday night 7:52 p.m. I'm working in the gym my college right? So I got six clients that I'm training I worked in The Athlete gym down downstairs at the school that I was at I was like you know what like no one's coming in it I'm just going to make a video so I made it's quick 15-second video post.

it didn't think anything of it the next morning I woke up and it was just going ballistic but then I deleted you didn't have, you didn't have alerts on so you didn't know nothing I Gary I woke up in the morning What? and I'm going to do my routine in the morning and my phone is what is your routine in the morning I mean personal. Okay so I wake up the first thing I Do I take my pills I take a heart medic. Uh, not a heart I I take a multivitamin I take a a probiotic. you confused a hard medication and a multivitamin.

Yeah, no I did I did. There's no, there's no going back but but but uh well cuz my buddy takes a heart medication and we were on the topic but uh yeah. Anyway, bottom bottom line: I had not put myself out there I wouldn't have realized that that I did have a gift that I did have talent and that I actually love the sport of business so the the onset of like just put yourself out there I think like I was always kind of good with with me no matter what. So like if I if it just didn't work out I'm like I don't care, you had self-esteem correct and so it matters for sure.

H 20 years into this journey, 15 and especially 5 to seven on the I'm talking about yeah, this is a binary I I I basic I I feel I can already feel at 48 that my 65-year-old content is going to be super weird cuz all I'm going to want to say is it is self-esteem versus insecurity I don't want to talk to you people about anything else. like if you if you are insecure someone made you insecure, go to get therapy, meditation, change your routine, cut your friends out that make you feel that way Like enough enough. Stop. Like all you people out there that are just willing to lean into cynicism and negativity and darkness I promise you it's just a pure reflection of what's in your heart.

like this is a binary game. You were good and this is what why I'm jumping in again. Everyone who feels that they're good, that's listening should only live putting themselves out there 24/7 cuz nothing bad can happen cuz you're good 100% There's no, there's no like fear of what are people going to say if it doesn't do well and like my friends my friends would say like I remember I went to lunch with this with one of I'm not really friends with him anymore but he he was like like you just don't ever feel like weird like putting stuff out on I'm like no man that's him feeling we like he couldn't do that. he would worry about what the girl that he thinks is cute things, he would worry about what his mom thinks he would worry about what you would think about him for sure.

Like everything good in my life is based on the fact that I deeply care about people but not their subjective opinions about me. Yes I deeply care about people. Even strangers or acquaintances that are becoming strangers become acquaintances. acquaintances become friends.

be friends. That's what this is and and most of all back to Mike Boydd and Dustin's on his journey and you'll get there over time and then friends become family. Amen mhm It's nobody's business. It's not your business what other people think of you and that's something that's always stuck in my head.

It's not your business I Just really want to have this combo while we're on it. like please explain to me what somebody saying your actually means it means actually nothing right? like actually yeah no it literally means absolutely nothing. Like absolutely because Well I will say this though, don't you? Don't you think like uh I mean we all have Confidant right? So if you are in the because I feel like sometimes there is that fine line not caring what people think versus caring what people think who care about you. and I think you have to look about where a place it comes from because I've been a different fine line of not being delusional.

I'm not sitting here saying I hate when people say like I'm trying to be a little bit better about like other people's opinions don't matter actually they do matter like I use people's feedback confs or strangers by the way for me Neil Cut comp and salsa chick Linda Like their opinion does matter to me. like do they think I'm too abrasive? Do they think I'm awesome? Do they think like it it? I I use it as feedback but I can't internalize it for sure as the thing that gives me validation for my life. By the way, the key for me is not accepting the accolades. The reason I think I do well with negativity is cuz I don't believe when people call me great yeah I'm just in the middle I think one of the thing cuz in the world of what we do like everybody's a Critic and and and what I've come to realize and like even even though like if you're secure in yourself like I like I would say like if everyone at this table is pretty secure in themselves but there are times where you you do question like on the on the journey up like I'm sure when you were coming up and when you were doing your thing like I I've developed this analogy called the dinner table MH and so I get six chairs at my dinner table I pick six people when people come to me and they either say like you should do this, you should do that I don't like this I don't like that I think to myself are you sitting at my dinner table if you're not I'll take what you say but again, I'm not going to internalize it so for me that's been super valuable in the whole cuz when you're when you're out there every day like people are getting perceptions of you and like who you are Y and if you try and live up to that expectation of what you think it is, you're you're not being you I you know I Also think it starts at home of how for me one of the reasons I also don't struggle that much with with judgment is I don't judge I've been paying attention to a lot of people that are struggling with it I'm like oh right yeah you're in the business.

You spend all day going through the feed and judging people too. You're judging people which is why you're vulnerable to judgment I don't know these people right I don't even know Dustin and Boyd like that these are guys I really know but I don't really know I know some nuances but I haven't been in their home 30 50 100 times. It's not like I've had like I'm not having a monthly dinner for 2 hours with them like. So like if I don't know people that are in my inner circle I definitely don't know anybody like I Don't think anybody really knows anybody besides themselves, even your parents and your siblings I Think what? I'm about to say we hit for all of us.

You know that not a person on Earth knows absolutely everything. Yeah, every one of us right now has some that we know about ourselves that we know. Not one person on there is not one person on Earth that fully knows you besides yourself. Yeah, that's true And so people are just sitting out here judging people 24/7 because it's become a National Pastime which is why they're susceptible to judgment.

I'm on some. Here's my judgment. back to the joke you made and and I know that we connect on this because I I see you see me and I'm very grateful for it. Here's my judgment: I Just hope you're good.

Mhm right? like I struggle seeing anyone in my feed. you should see me at the airport like I Just want to talk to everyone I Love people I Hope you're good. Life is amazing and at times hard I Cheer for people. It's the format of this show.

What do I want out of the show that these 800 people and these 80,000 people that listen this week start liking you more? start listening to music. Watch your videos. go to your show. Like if you're not leaving positive deposits, What the are you doing right? Yeah do you think though that's because of the the things that you pull value to.

like as a human being like the things that you find valuable. Maybe you mean like the New York Jets yeah Jets not buying them I mean like watching them like the New York well I mean you're fing I find Value in one place. kindness right? I find Value in like the warmth of knowing that if I'm struggling for a period of time that if I can call Brandon Wariki or my mom I'll be good in a second cuz those are go-to people for me. Where I know if I call it's going to be a smile and I'm that for the world Yeah my mother used to say all the time watch how people treat old people and animals and that's how you know how their heart is whole thing She was like no she's passed yeah um yeah I feel the same way.

Well yeah you feel more than I do I uh I you know I actually have a weird relationship with animals I I actually resent that's a clip I have a I have a real statement here I it's a very My team always tells me not to bring this up. They're always scared that it's going to be clipped out of context. Uh I resent the way humans blindly treat animals and not Each Other M It pisses me off I don't know what else to say I wish the world treated each other the way that just happened. is that this Google screen I think you had double like fingers or something.

What the is the thing on I thought it was broken black. Let me finish this thought. It's incredibly important we are. You see a dog, you're just like oh you pure love.

Yeah we see humans and most people have fear when they see a stranger mhh I feel like I'm very scared of of animals me too like but wow those animals. but I think it's important to to really like have that bond with a with animals too like the same way you have a bond with people like you should treat everybody the same way. but people people are comfortable with animals cuz they can't talk back exactly other they don't feel like they're judging them exactly. That's right, humans are petrified of other humans.

they deep like. Let's play it. Let's go around the horn. What's your general Vibe When you meet strangers or new people like how do you? how does it usually play out cautious? you know trust is earned.

Give like how do you kind of roll when you meet people I'm very real talk like real vulnerable, real talk like from all three of you I mean it because I want value out of this show like for y'all but also for the audience. What is your default when you meet people? Honestly I feel like I don't trust very easily I always I when I meet people I always have good energy like I smile and I make sure that they like. My first impression is always very important but I can't trust you right away. like I got to know you I got to talk to you, communicate with you to know what type of person you are and uh from there on like we got to build up our relationship.

but um I think it's very important to also not think negative, uh, negatively about other people right away and don't judge right? So it's not that you feel negative, but it's a neutral with a caution because you want to make cuz trust is important exactly. Trust is important. Yeah, I think it depends on my mind space where mood you're in reflects directly makes sense by the way. that's every1 directly like if I and also like if I'm with my family like I'm super protective like my kids because everybody always like I strangers taking pictures of my kids is weird like I always everybody always wants a pictures you know it is and I always get super like I go into dad mode and sometimes I just have to explain I'm being a father right now, not a uh, you know not I'm with my kid right now that kind of thing.

so they do that most do, some don't but most do and then again, that's not my problem, that's theirs like that's what I'm doing I have to worry about my kid, my daughter, my son and you know this like I'm going through it now like what you never think about is like most I've come to learn. Most kids that have someone who's a parent of notoriety hate it. Yeah, hate. Yeah, they don't think it's cool, they think it blows.

Yeah, yeah, they don't want people like them because of you, right? They don't want they try to. They don't want people taking the time away from them and you in the limited time you have. Yep, for the but for the most part I'm there to make like I truly believe I live to make people laugh I'm here to make people smile. So for the most part I'm there unless I'm running for a plane and I'm late.

But overall I think that and I think people get that from me too. but I'm just in a weird place cuz people. I've been on TV 10 years they seen they've seen me I wasn't playing char so they feel like they know me. it's I come in a different way but that I think really depends on where I'm at.

Yeah, I think I think I try to control the controllable so like for me, I'm not I'm not concerned about the person's reaction I just know that I can control my own energy and I'm huge on energy so like I'll put as much good as I can out there even on days and I used to say all the time like during the pandemic. like discipline is is a thing that you do with like if you're trying to accomplish something. but I also think discipline is a thing that you you do when you treat people so like even if I'm not feeling 100% I try and give even if I got to like force it out of give it out because I do feel like the universe is going to reciprocate that energy back like my godmother always used to say be the energy that you wish to attract. So I just try and be consistent with that and if somebody's not feeling it bro.

I I love you for this like on real talk and honestly you know what's so funny I used to be on the track of like them but I didn't mean it right. You know where where I'm at? it's not him, it's actually I'm in full I Feel bad my compassion The Compassion of catfish is here. Actually, let's open these packs. We're doing the befriends part now ni see.

Oh I'm excit right now. Hold on this dude. they just traed packs I want to see I caught him off guard I Like that? All right. All right.

Uh what? I want you to do is go through these V friends, look at all your cards and decide which character you most associate with you. Getting glasses? you ready for this? Here we go. there is by the way I'm going through it too brother I'm like getting close. Have to do Oh I got my F I got literally I got my favorite underrated character.

Here's some Alpha for be friends I'm getting serious about developing this character I Just got I got a good one. Polish Pole polish. Oh you pulled a good one. She pulled a shiny oh a rare one.

This one. no no, but look at the names shiny one. pick one character that most represents you. but you know what's funny? Back to compassionate catfish being here I was never them I was always like first and youth I was like they don't matter like no peer pressure.

Didn't feel it now in my older age when someone's coming with the wrong energy to me especially I'm like you I come out the gate like Fire H of POS and love I'm always trying to make people feel comfortable cuz I'm so comfortable and I know most people aren't comfortable so I'm trying to make the whole scene comfortable if someone's really not about that towards me. I go into like my God I just came in here and love bombed the out of this room when humble especially now that I have like notoriety now my like I did this when I was 19 and no one on earth knew who the I was and it would work as a good thing for people. Now you carry some reputation so it's even double Works everyone's like oh okay cool. so now if I see Darkness to that I'm like that person is in a deep bad place and like I need to like double down and try to get them out I I go like why? like why? Like what has gotten you to this point I Usually think it's like real up like by the way just like talking about real life.

Back to gratitude everybody big sh out to everybody here Wester Jack What's good? Good since 82. First time chat. Let's clap it up for good right? All right my in my intuition is they were born in ' 82 so I found that awesome. Um, but Podcast Twitch Who's watching live? If you're listening to the podcast, go to go to Gary Ve.com Twitch subscribe up.

Make sure you catch us live in the future. My big thing now though, is like look like for example, real talk I Had a 6:00 to 7: p.m. meeting today with a journalist. Literally yeah because Joe was I Don't know if you guys know this twitch I don't know if you know this podcast if you're listening Joe was so inappropriately late, right and made this episode much shorter.

If you're watching right now, you're like wait a minute, most are 60 Minutes Why is this only 35? That's Joe it's all Joe's fault. but because of Joe being so wildly late we had a great conversation. We did. but but I I I Got to see this text from my admins this this meeting is cancelled tonight because she's on a plane right this second to Chicago cuz her mom had a heart attack MH like I Don't think people understand how life actually works.

We're worried about all this dumb and real life. Real life is happening since we've done this podcast. ungodly amounts of tragic things have happened in the world and I don't see that as dark I see that as my God I'm so grateful that that hasn't happened in my inner circle yet. Yeah yet.

Mhm. Nobody lives to a 100 without heartbreak. You know I mean nobody comes out on but that's the thing too though. like if you're in the landscape that we're on, you're putting out so people are just seeing the product.

but like dayto day I mean it's I mean I don't know how it is for everyone but I'm by myself creating ideas wearing all these different hats I mean I got a team now that that help me I'm so grateful for but like we're human beings at the end of the day too. So there flag them down. Just said Joe for President 2024 interrup your brother Joe Are you willing to announce your presidential run right here on podcast with friends? Sure How many votes do you think you're going to get? seven teen present company not included I got two in this room I don't know I'm so working on V for you you out your you show up late to the campign let's go which which character out of the V friends you pulled most spoke to you I got oh I love this I got tough to beat a worm from the dirt o oh look there is a worm in V friends whose name is tough to beat a worm from the dirt why did that connect with you I wanted to ask you like can you explain I can but why did it associate on your first reaction what hit you you like worms or I do I with worms like and flowers? Yeah, oh the flowers. Um I Like wor yeah.

I'll explain this really simple. This is one of truly one of there's 283 characters. this is. Oh, I'm sorry.

This is literally literally genuinely one of my favorite character characters. See if I get the light here. Um, there you go. Boom! So let me tell you why.

I Love this character M I Feel like this is me and I feel like it's all the people I With Mhm I Believe that if you're lucky enough to be born into humble environments and you have love around you, you become undefeated MH That you know that I Think there's incredible vulnerability with privilege at Youth and it leads to a lot of the things I Think about which is insecurity and confidence when you come from the dirt. Yeah, you don't You don't. You know what life feels like when you don't have stuff and fame and money and fancy things and even the toughest upbringings have many days of happiness in that dirt. and I think it gives you a better perspective of life like I just think that that worm.

it's kind of like and I mean I'm going to go actually even deeper. This is an alpha story growing up. I used to play with worms a lot. we were 80s kids we like.

This is just what we did in New Jersey and then I just like the dirt and then I thought about dirt and worm. and I think a lot of kids. There's 10, 15, 19, 16, 7, 9, 10, 13 and even 20 30 40 year olds right now who don't give themselves enough credit for their resilience. Oh sure, and resilience is required.

Yeah, 100% Anything and anything resilience is required. So the worm is one of my favorite characters. I'm a big fan I'm glad you picked that. Joey I Went with a polished poodle.

please tell me when I look at you. Probably the last thing I think about is but the first thing you think about is poodle. I'm a I'm a dog guy I mean I have a I have a you know, a nonprofit Round Dogs Old Dogs. So Gatt pups and Friends shout out to the shout out that hold on, let's do that again.

not as fast. Shout out to URL so people can go and maybe G Gat Pups and Friends is our nonprofit we launched last year. Yeah, that's Aom that's not an official, that's Gups and Friends.com or on Instagram m G Pups and Friends it's on nonprofit. We Started last year.

mostly senior and unwanted dogs. Had our 57th uh, adoption last week. Cinnamon roll found a home so it was great but uh I was I'm a dog guy I Love dogs and I feel like I'm a little polished right now because I did some real self-work over the past couple years. I'm proud of.

so I think I feel like I'm a little in this stage of me right now so that's to me so awesome. Nikki I got the Uh principal praying mantis I pick that because I wouldn't be where I am today without principal because I think you talk about growing up in in humble beginnings, growing up like we were very fortunate like I had a roof over my head I had a loving family but I also had a father that worked every day. yeah and when he worked every day like he was a leader and like leader. They when when there's a natural-born leader, it's action.

It's not telling you like he just got up and went to work. It's not preaching, it's putting in 100% And whenever I wanted to do something, whenever I wanted to accomplish something, he instilled in me that you have to work for what you get And so being that I didn't really necessarily come out of the mud. But when I was 9 years old painting my whole fence back to front, well, you know what's funny. Let's talk about that.

There's a lot of kids that grow up in middle class, upper middle class, and even occasionally wealthy families that the parents are just like this and like you know, yes, we're not poor, but like we're not giving you money after 10 and so like you want money 10? I Get it if I wanted Madden it was go watch each Windows $5 at a car the whole thing. So I think your dad taught you ining those principles in me and seeing principles be expressed has led me to. That's a rookie card too. There's a series one as you can see these white backs right here where those are my original drawings.

Yeah, those are my original drawings. Um, but this is series. that's your original I'm sorry, that's your original Dr I Drew that I Drew You weren. You weren't kidding with the no artist No, you bro.

what? Me: look at this. that's youw that's I don't even know what that is I get a side by side here. Wait wait a minute. wait a minute.

I'm about to really with you though you I drew this and this is fresh. Wow. All right, respect, respect. Okay, hold on, hold on.

then you all start through this. Exactly what are you talking about That's a jolly Jack What is that like? Honestly, what is? Give me that me. that's your worst nightmare. That dude's going to come to your house and your thr think I'm going to be scared of.

that is what I'm saying. Yeah, maybe maybe you took a couple our classes in between those two car. All right, let me give you mine. Okay, the Tenacious Termite Favorite word is that your favorite word? tenacious? My faite am I saying obsessed with tenacity like again back to like what? I think everyone's trying to do here.

and by the way, you said something earlier about like the concept of it being an emotional thing, not a physical thing I don't recall the what the reference was, but that's how I think about Tenacity. You know like I I think the emotional success that I think everybody who's watching right now or listening I think this is probably the most interesting thing that I'm personally working on I've been in the lab and that means in my head Mhm, shower flights, driving. it's the best. It's the lab.

It's the actual lab, right? best. I've been in the lab and all I'm thinking about is if I can Market to the world, the redefining of success to be peace of mind mhm and smiling Mhm. Yeah, instead of stuff MH I could leave the biggest impact of all time. and I don't know why one wouldn't try totally and so I I just I Think tenacity is an incredible trait, but it's A.

but it's the tenacity not to go on tour every day or make music every day, or be an entrepreneur build content. It's the tenacity to fight for calm. Yeah, that's what we're trying to. 100 No 100% And I Think too like when you get to the place where because social media is great but it's also a dangerous place because there's so many people telling you what they think you should do, even if even if you're so deep rooted in who you are and a lot of people are trying to Define what success is and what they think your success should be and like if you kind of tune into that, it could be a dangerous place by way.

By the way Nikki on that I Know people have this take on social I will say this pre-social the my issue was you only had a couple of voices, right? Your parent To find success, you were stuck in that two person game. Whereas now all these other voices to your point: there's unlimited garbage Yes, But if you try to find the gold, there's more gold out there than ever Was the way we grew up. we didn't have these voices. there was none of us.

You also get you get the world instead of your neighborhood, right? Think about the circle of people that are influencing you. Talk to me about some I'm going to end with dreams. Tell me a dream you have I We've gone deep. You could make it far more light I'd rather it actually be a little more selfish than the selfless talk.

we just did like a fun thing like winning an Academy Award or like you know, you're so young in the journey compared to us old guys We're Young By the way, anybody under 90s young, 92 year olds I apologize um where you at what's a dream of yours at this point I have a lot of dreams cuz break them down I have the vision girl but uh I want to I want to get n nominated for for the Grammy Awards next year I see myself winning a Grammy soon I Believe in my dreams All that. That's why everything I speak into existence. Why do? Why do you? Why do you value soon soon? Because I I believe like I can make it work soon Do you? do you feel like wanting it soon potentially has any impact on your output I I I'll I'll tell you where I'm going I'm I'm worried about soon. Okay because for me it's like if you WI a Grammy in seven years you're a child mhm yeah and and that's fresh and amazing and I think it takes a little pressure off your chest because when you put soon or fast on it mhm it sometimes changes the things people do because they think they need to achieve it in a window to put an ideology out of pedestal.

Thoughts: Mhm no yeah I feel like soon for me means whenever God is handing it to me when like God's plan like it'll come whenever it'll come. so fight for it as fast as possible cuz that's the tenacity but you're chill if you get it in 19 years. not in 19 weeks. Yeah, put work Yeah exactly I just want to make it work I just want to like I Honestly like I always take my time with everything I just dropped an EP I took my time with that too.

It came together very organically I wasn't forcing it I was like I think it was God telling me like right now Dena is your time to put it out there So um, other than the Grammy I want to work you, you like intuition? Yeah, you go with it or do you overthink it? like when what you feel in your stomach does your brain have SE Is it a partner to your stomach or does it actually overrule your stomach? it used to cuz I used to overthink a lot but right now I really just go with my intuition. like I trust my gut feeling. so whatever my gut feeling yeah I feel like God's plan is a cousin to the intuitive Stomach tag team. yeah.

I I Think it's the biggest Miss in society right now I think we've over rationalized in the last 100 years and that if you go back a 100 years, there was unlimited people walking around of like you know, like evil eye and stomach. and and I think I think intuition is underrated. Yep, Mhm, it really is yeah I I Agree with that I think you got to go with I mean everybody? You're your own Compass You know cuz you know that feeling. you know the feeling when it's right.

You're accountable for your own right? so it all falls on you%. I think that's part of it. You know exactly. Um, keep talking amongst yourself I'm trying to buy more time in the podcast.

Okay, keep building on that. Uh, thoughts on that. I would Well, I would The thing about it's funny because like I think it's also a young thing too because like when I was 19 years old you know? and I look where I am now at 47. So different, right? like it took me.

I'm an 18-year overnight success. It took me as almost a year a year older than you right to make it like I was do an improv in U little little buildings you know, so you got you got to really take your time with that too. which is good. but I love that if as long as you're putting the work in I think that's what's important.

but I love how you said 18e overnight success. like it looks overnight where these guys come from and you don't realize all the work you're putting in behind the scenes and nobody sees it. Nobody Does It What's Done in the Dark one day comes to the light and when you when when it happens it's like everybody. Oh overnight.

No. I've been like the whole the whole way here I've been I've been working but let's get a question or two from Twitch Twitch. What do you got? Um I agree Dena is a superstar. This is going to be fun to look.

This is going to be a lot of fun to watch in like N9 years like and be like she was in our office. Yeah right like you. Oh I Remember Joe we miss him the rest in peace that ain't even right I hate that I hate that I hate that. Don't even put it out I Don't like that.

Don't even put that. My grandmother does that all the time I'm like no stop Grand Grandma are supposed to do that. That's leverage. Be like if you don't listen be no One day I'm going no be here.

You're going to do while I'm here. You're going to miss me when I'm gone. The balls uh forever 1620. Let's go with you Nikki cuz you're so early in your career.

what's your biggest takeway so far from your career? H Will Joe got be at Von next year? uh August 8th to the 11th in La Want to come up and like make some people laugh? do I'm there. All right we're going to work on I'm actually yeah I'm not Toring then All right, we're going to figure that out. At this point you're two seconds in. But at this point, your single biggest takeaway from this career you have as a emerging public figure that you wouldn't have thought the day before you posted that first.

Tik Tok you didn't see coming. You're like oh this. uh, fear is afraid of you too. Interesting, break that down and and if you like fear is like like has so much control.

but it's the same feeling as happiness. So if you run at like nobody runs from happiness, fear is deathly afraid of the day where you turn around and be like I'm not afraid of you, it's funny you say and then it loses all power and you could be afraid and do all these like I given I've done a ton of scared out of my mind. but I'm still me because I'm not going to let fear beat me and I think you know, like for the past 3 years I've been afraid in multiple occasions but my godmother told me you know you have to embrace every emotion, but you can't be every emotion. So when when I do feel fear, I'm just like all right.

Well I'm afraid. but I'm still going to do what the F I'm meant to do. it's it's so funny. It's literally incredibly similar to one of my favorite quotes for myself that I say occasionally.

but I say to myself all the time which is fierce F fake. It's yeah, it's fake as fear hangs out with Santa Claus wait a minute. What you? What the wait? What are you saying I'm saying oh my God This reminds me of something that I got to tell you. Do you know what do you know when I Stop telling jokes fourth grade.

Do you know why? why? Denise Lori if you're out there big shout out Denise Lori was my sister's best friend okay in first in kind. she was in kindergarten I was in fourth, my sister was in first grade. we come home from school. all this is 80s life all outside chilling even.

It was the best. You were just outside constantly living parents knew there's parents right now that have trackers on their kids in college I was six my mom had no clue where the I was I was in the neighborhood somewhere different world though Gary you know World Bingo Same all right I tricked you n it's safer now with all these phones and everything. Kidnappers are like this with Amber somebody to see you it's safer. It's so sa to see you get stuck in 10 times safer.

It's just that the news became a business and selling fear which is fake works anyway. Joe last time I told the joke. so I hear this joke. it rips all day in fourth grade.

I'm killing people. They're like you're the you're Richard Pryor I'm like I'm Richard PR killing it I Come home and I tell this joke to my crew Robbie Turnick Marissa bird and Greco Denise Lor big shout out giving all the shout Eric Godfrey Alen Godfrey I'm like gang let me I'm on my way I'm going to be a practical joker in the future I'm that guy like here's the joke. all right. If the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were in a room and I threw a quarter in the middle of the room, who would get it? No one cuz there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

So I tell this joke. everyone's dying laughing except Denise Lori starts cry crying cuz you dropped the truth bomb on that ass because she still believe it gets worse it gets worse. Father came to see you worse worse. where is he Dingdong? Oh get to the get to the Uh door.

Denise's mom who is literally may she rest in peace one of the greatest women I ever met in my life. You want to talk about sweetness sweetness again back to 80s all the moms by the way you you want to talk about how different was in 1985. If you got fresh or did some wrong in the neighborhood and you were on your friend's lawn, their mom could smack you Yeah for sure I was smacked by women that were not my mom and I said thank you very much I'm sorry I'm sorry apologize. Imagine that Happening Now n come on now.

no I can't but I ruined her life. She came over and nothing hurts more than and I was a I was a good leader in the neighborhood. She just looked me dead in the face and she said I'm disappointed in you honestly I can't even tell you what's going on in my body telling this I've never told this story. it was devastating anyway I don't know if you know this but Santa's fake.

Okay there's just all people crying in the and and fear hangs out with Santa fear is fake. Fear is some you made up and we need to get the out of the system cuz right now unfortunately, if you want to know what's going on in the world, it's that. Fear is on fire. It has momentum.

It is on fire. Politicians have weaponized it, Parents have weaponized it. School systems have weaponized it. Humans have weaponized it young.

Generations have weaponized it on old gener. It is the weapon of choice. and I hate it more than anything on. Earth I Hate fear as much as I hate Bill Bich.

That's a lot. Yeah, drop that mic I think we were talking about dreams yeah I Want to I want to own a pony? uh HB Cu uh said grad said Gary Tell me more about becoming a full-time streamer I said this the other day I'm very real on this I think what I'm doing right now everyone for me I don't have time if I was 22 I would get in front of a camera and stream all day. It is very clear to me that live is the opportunity right now for all three of you. I couldn't push you more enough to do T Tok Live all day long.

all day long brushing your teeth, driving. you know, make pretend you're late on the train to a meeting like whatever you like to I drove by the way I drove you drove your own car. my good for you I do that all the time I I Just really, really really think that live and so anyway, what did I what did I mean I mean that uh that I really genuinely believe that streaming is a huge platform. people are interested in people.

Yeah, you don't have to put on a show you don't have to I don't have to give a keynote I'm about to stop this and go on mute and you got to are going to want people are going to watch in the background me going on with my day and that's interesting because it's an Insight because I can tell you this 16-year-old me would have looked up to Gary ve and would have thought it was cool to see how he does his day. I'm like okay, like I didn't know that. that to me like I'm huge on watching people being observant and watching how people move. so if I if I take a yeah I got binoculars I got the whole thing but like i' i' pushes i' nck lives in the bush no I do no no no like I'm watching everything and so like when I see that like when I watch people work I take what I can and I and I almost like and and that's a thing and that's why like I'm so blessed to be living in this area is like there's so much free game out there.

you just got to pay attention and you just got to look for it. You just got to have the hunger to do I need to get rid of my fear of the camera my friends. If someone says you're not attractive, they're a piece of yeah for sure they're piece of I Don't know what to say like can we just can We you like this one like I don't know what if someone comes on your platform and comes to you, they come to your home right? Your page is your home. yep and they don't take off the shoes and they look you in the face and say you're ugly They are a piece right of for sure.

That's how we're ending the show. Thank you boys girls thank you thank you Oh.