I started painting and then my boy purpose he calls me he's like yo Drake is having his birthday party. you should paint him and his son and gift it to him and I'm like oh that's a good idea This going be a really good breakthrough for me. So I did that party was the next day it was like Friday the party was Saturday I pulled up before the party starts and then I walk up the Security's at the door I'm like and I had to think of an excuse I was like Yo Drake's dad told me to surprise him and they were like okay so they let me through they let me through yo Drake your security bro we need to talk about attention is the number one asset bner Nation how are you? We are here for another episode of Podcast with Friends where I get three people that are moving in culture together with the hope of honestly they become friends since they get to chop up times but most of all all of you who are listening become friends of them because they're all doing amazing stuff and I've been really loving this format. It's been nice to spend some time with the youngsters coming up in the game.

uh and I also really enjoy and I got to give a huge shout out to uh the twitch Mafia that Tunes in live Big shout out to all of you that are in right now actually for all of you that are in the chat uh let us know what part of the world you're from so city State Country right now all of you that are on, um, all right let's do what we always do here first and go around the horn and let uh, our beautiful people introdu themselves to the vayer nation. So ladies first as always. how are you? Why don't you? Why don't you tell everybody your name, what you do, and a little bit about yourself? First of all, thank you for having me. You're a legend.

I'm Sada I'm a TV host and Chef and cookbook author I brought it for you actually. um and yeah I've been doing this for a really long time I Love cooking I mostly focus on plant-based recipes with Indian influence cuz that's where my parents are from. Amazing! Um and yeah I'm to be here I live in Brooklyn New York Very nice and you grew up where I grew up in California What part? Orange County Nice Yeah and you've been here in Brooklyn for how long I've been in New York since 2016 when I started working at the Today's Show NBC it's a very long kind of convol story. Get into it.

Um and then I moved to Brooklyn a couple years ago. very cool. Well thanks for being here. Thank you for having me my man uh I'm Greg y born and raised in New York City by the way I had um Indian food today.

did you really were you in? Edison New Jersey I was not I was at Taco Mahal okay that's we were starving and we yeah that meic Indian it was good but I got only I got n and I got and I got the chicken I apologize some have you been to Edison New Jersey mouin Edison like that's the that's where I grew up as a kid and was there when Indian immigration came cuz I was the only immigrant cuz I was born in Russia in 82, 83, 84 85 and then in Martin Luther King Elementary School summer of 85 going into 86 13 new kids 11 Indian seven with the last name Patel but none of them actually related you know I was just like what's going and I loved it cuz they were Scrappers like me hug and then over the next two three decades it became Little India huge Indian Community and proper food right? like I hear a lot of my Indian friends who live in Manhattan that are like yo we're going to Edison this weekend to eat proper I mean that's where you go yeah Jackson Heights also yep Queens nice apologize uh Greg youa born and raised in New York City Queens and uh I'm a jewelry designer I live in New York from the G from the no I'm not from the Gat I started about 15 years ago he said from the G like since you were nine I didn't know if your grandparents were doing it I started in 2007 with some uh, distant relatives and now I'm you know we'll get into that. What's good y'all it's your boy Arlanta and I am an artist I'm responsible for throwing paint on all the exotic cars that you guys see. Yep and I'm from Atlanta Georgia Live in Miami now I'm in New York you but visiting New York say now? Okay, you mean now? like actually right? but you live in Miami yeah I live in Miami Yeah and and how when when did that go down when everybody else moved in the last three four years? Yeah, two years ago. Actually like after Co La was Miami is just like winning.

Yeah right. everybody wants to go there. The best city in America It used to be when you were like wrapped up in 60 you'd go 70 80 now the youngsters won't be there. Wow yeah, it's true.

All right, let's go back around the horn. why don't we start with like double clicking Now that we got a general sense, everyone's listening. let's go a little bit deeper. three four minute bio like like break it down Orange County and then like you go and work as a junior producer at the Today's Show or is it what? I'll break it down bottom of the totem pole actually.

um okay, so again, um you know I went to Berkeley I Always had well I me that's nice I Loved school I really Didu Berkeley Berkeley Real respect Boyd I'm not impressed that you went to be you Boyd You still don't You still don't look to me like a kid who got good grades I'm still always confused. you went to Boston University like yeah yeah bu you could mean a lot of things. True, it's true. Go ahead.

um yeah. I Really loved school I Had immigrant parents and I like that was very much a priority for me and for them as well. um but they never really pressured me to go into One Direction you hear a lot of The Stereotype of like Indian parents are like doctor engineer like that's it. they did not do that um which is really nice and I grew up having an interest in television and I thought that when I grew up I wanted to be a reporter or initially I thought more in the entertainment space.

so I thought like I would do reporting or things like that. but anyway, you know life takes you on really weird unexpected turns that even you can't really plan for. So true. um I studied media and public policy and a little bit of acting at Berkeley and then I went off to graduated early, did a month traveling by myself I applied to one job before I left which was the NBC Page program.

Um, it's a very prestigious very that kid Kenny played it on 30 Rock that whole exactly exactly you wear the uniform you give the NBC Studio Tour you work SNL Jimmy Fallon Seth Meers all of those late night shows and it's a very prestigious program. um and it's really it was my grad school really of TV I got to learn a lot of different things of in production. Not just it was very behind the camera very behind the scenes I Loved it um I Did that job for a year and it really immersed me in TV My favorite assignment was at the Today Show after my program was up I got a job at the Today Show as a production assistant all the while in 2015 this was we're rewinding back I was still in college um I took a internship at CNN I was in New York for the first time. this is definitely more than 3 minutes but I'm wrapping.

Go your thing, go your thing. um I was interning at CNN and I was just taken by the food scene here I Just loved it I Always had an interest in food in college. my friends called me a human Yelp cuz I really knew where everything was like with your parents dinner I got you like date I got you I had a full list curious about it I Loved it I just love being immersed in different foods different cultures I did half of my high school predominantly from a restaurant place or you also knew where like the good organic food store was or the or the market or or was it predominantly focused on restaurant at that point? that's such a good question because Berkeley kind of instilled like the crunchiness in me like I was very intrigued by Health only at Berkeley because there was so much more of a focus on what food you were eating and like where it was coming from. So I got really interested in sourcing at that point and actually looking at the labels on my like what is in this like why are there 8,000 ingredients right natural flavors be I don't know if you know this natural flavors is beaver anus Beaver What? You heard me my guy no so so when you drink like some sort of like the that claims to be clean and like it looks healthy on the Shelf like the new age soda or whatever.

as soon as you see second ingredient after water natural flavor you're getting straight Beaver anus to the mouth what is the beaver for some was in Beaver anus has like some sort of like sweeten like I'm I'm that's where my I wish I could answer that I I don't remember I did at one point can't remember at all but like I'm sure the comment's about to go off on this and they're clearly laughing. Yeah, people are going to Google it right now and are about to jump back in and like talk about this like it's really the anus glands. It's the glands I like saying Beaver anus for effect but it's anus glands I think like like it's like really kind of. but this is what she's referring to.

There's a ton of things that are listed on your products. They look good cuz like only 100 calories. but it's all chemicals. Yeah the whole, the whole you know this better than I Do the next decade people are about to eat clean in a different way.

It's not going to be about calories, it's going to be about the source of it and it's it's on. You could see it already, it's been on and it's starting to really get going good. But the messaging has been all crazy for years. Like first it was like oh eat sugar, it's going to keep you skinny.

like if you look at these all these uh advertisements from years, years like decades ago it was crazy to to see what kind of messaging like low fat like high sugar. like that's just not how you eat. It's all very much marketing and that's all life is marketing is. To eat healthy.

It so tough I Find it so tough. It's expensive. It's expensive. there's there.

I Mean you just look at you. just look at oils that every restaurant cooks with Canola oils and all this stuff is seed oils. Seed oil is the worst, the worst. but also being the run is is tough.

you know, traveling you know how that goes and food got smart 20 years ago these companies they made every package look healthy as but there's still a piece of candy like mango like these. That's all I Eat bro I love that too those dried mango. that's candy I eat it I'm like I'm healthy I'm like but in my brain I'm like yo this is fruit rollups. but it's different when you go to Europe it's different when you go somewhere else.

completely different, different, different, exact, much stronger food standards and they benefit from that in that Arena and like America has a lot more options so if you're educated you can navigate anyway. That's so in 15 you fascinated by that you're doing the Today's Show and I assume either social media or the internet helped you start to build enough a personal brand that you were able to make the transition 100% and it was very unexpected for me. So I started Do Eats in 2015 just as a way for me to document the food. I was cooking and eating and you did that.

Where on? Instagram on? Instagram Yeah and so when I finally started a job at the Today's Show I was cooking in my off hours I'd wake up at 3:00 a.m. I'd go to work at 4:00 I'd come home at 2:00 I would cook I would try to go to the gym and like work out. go to sleep at 8. Do it again.

So I did that for years. that was your life. That was my life. You knew nothing that happened in the world between 8 and midnight.

No and I but I loved it because I loved the people I worked with I was get up until 6m different I love it. You know people live in different lives. Yeah yeah and then what? The account grew momentum. So what happened was that at that point it was It Was kind of weird to have a food blog right? It wasn't normal in like 2014 2015 to be posting pictures of your food on the internet.

That wasn't as common as it. very normal to me because I was in the St Instagram was made for for the photos I feel like well, yeah, landscape photos Instagram's first intent was like take a beautiful photo of the sunset. not dudes like me telling you to stop being impatient. But that's the funny thing of every platform.

Facebook was made to be a replication of connecting people on campus. MH These Founders Start these things with a certain intent. Twitch was not started for it was Justin TV It was live streaming on a camera in head. Then it became Gamers Now you got dudes like me literally streaming me sitting in the office.

Yeah, like the consumer takes control. That's true. Platform starts with intent but then at scale the consumer takes control. go left right away.

Mhm. Yeah and so then it popped off. So basically I was working in the controller one day The Producers I heard them scrolling through my Instagram account and we started talking and they said and by the way, this wasn't a story where I like pitched myself to be on the show I was you could not go lower than a PA I was running scripts I was building the show down. You built your demand.

You built your demand outside of your work instead of expecting it from happening with's within your work. correct and I knew I knew I was I knew what my goal was right which was to be a reporter, be on camera, do something. but I didn't chase it so hard that I broke that dream in my hands before I even got it right. It was just in the back of my mind and it did come to me very organically.

So they said, why aren't you on the show as a guest I said that seems like a you call and then I started coming on the show as a on air guest and was able to leave and do it fulltime. We'll get back to more stuff my man. What about you from a comic book number one origin story So you grew up what a punk kid saw at first I come from a you nice boy or Punk parents very simp question I was a punk yeah I do what I goe I was a punk um I come from parents of you know my parents were immigrants. they came in 1979 from Russia like me the south of Russia yeah I came in 78 AUST they instilled that December that hustle in me um you speak Russian fluently.

Go ahead I always talk to you in Russian I don't know if you noticed I've been call forever yeah I do c um so that happened. uh never really did good in school like you know my uh my pull pull it pull it I I like doing this. you have to see it top frame can I excuse me? yeah you got I I need to you to no the one closer to your right hand top top one. you can take it down okay pull it I need to yeah pull it I need to get a sense of how bad we in school because I was one of the worst of all time I just you know what it was.

My attention span wasn't there like my IQ may not be the highest but my EQ is incredible. same yeah I mean I'm I'm right there with you man if not, you know what about the class rank? Look at that at the bottom. Where can you help me out here cuz I'm you know? look still I still can't read this is the opposite of you. 243 Yeah I probably I'm probably out of what 24 Oh my gosh, that was not Berkeley that was that wask there.

Still some people I might get into shirky with that so you were a bad student like that I wasn't a bad student I just I was more. Oh so you were better than me? Yeah, cuz everybody who says bad students were like C's I was D's and Fs actually I more of a Class Clown you know I love being a Class Clown um call out some good ones there see what you see in there. What about that? German Education that was an A I got A's in Gy I was a Gym Class Hero bro I was trying to win Stanley Cups and floor hockey. What about speech? Look at speech I think Health a senior year right? Health 12 Yeah yeah.

senior year I got my only other A in health What? I get in health freshman year a d Do you know how hard it is to get a d and Bro by the way, you want to hear something crazy about my report card I Never cut class in all four years of high school Bro I Never cut class in four years of high school, you got a in, in, in, in in in Jim Jim That's incredible. What about speech? As one of the most prolific public speakers, I'm one of the 10 most compensated prolific public speakers in the world D But that's just you know everything's on me. A lesson here. What is the lesson? It's I mean you can do whatever you want to do and this is an indicative of your future.

Su One system. A lot of people you know do really with it and they it. You're a good test taker. Not everyone's a good test taker, right? I didn't even like I I'm saying like you, you could be a very good ex.

Everyone's different, everyone's different anyway. I I Viewed off cuz I think it's funny, go ahead, go ahead. So I'm saying uh School wasn't really my school wasn't really my thing. my mom took me out of uh I think the I believe I was supposed to be class of 2000.

my mom ended up taking me out of school. Yep, got my GED started working for my cousin who owned a mortgage company at the time. Okay, um, were your parents kind of like yo? You're not a good student but that means you have to work hard or they didn't do that. They just they just wanted me to just stay out of trouble and not, you know, just not get into.

My mom helped me out I Used to be a dispatcher at my mom's limousine company that she worked for. she so my mom always helped me and plugged me wherever she could. and um, one day she was like why don't you go work in the Diamond District to have some um you know relatives that you can. you had some cousins I had some relatives her her cousins got it.

you know, not my cousins but um I I I started working there and Instagram started happening and Instagram honestly changed my life. Do you agreeed? It changed everyone's life? Of course you know. And then Tik talk changed lives YouTube YouTube and Twitter changed my life Like wherever the attention it the television changed people's lives Before then the radio changed people's lives wherever consumer attention is. Spotify SoundCloud MTV bet Dick Clark the Soul Train like it's all the same game Yeah over like the game has always been the same.

Where is the attention? Who understands how to get onto the attention forever? Pre- internet there were Gatekeepers There was a producer that said you're allowed to be on. There was a head of the studio. There was people that decided you're good enough, you're good enough. you're good enough.

you're good enough Now Nobody gets to the side I Just think this. I Don't think it's a cool table for the cool kids anymore I Understand s you know but gone meaning that like everybody, it's just like it's just the same language. Every you see the same thing. everyone's looking the same everyone.

Well, plastic surgery and plastic surgery they all the same. But it's like how do you? how do you? stay from that by not conforming? Yeah, not conforming, you know I think I'm doing a pretty good job by wearing a pink quar Ray jacket by way it looks precious I love it. So so you started you were able to outflank people cuz you were marketing on instagam I feel I was cuz I was watching what was so the jewelry game is is just it's it's it's so dirty. everyone's just that they're all haters over there you know? so it's very tough to get in there and and be respected and you know also takes time to it takes time right? like that's the thing that I always like right to your point.

there's always push back or thing but back to something I thought that was great that you said I think the biggest thing for Hunger ambitious people is patience. that's why I talk about it all the time like it just takes time. People like yo I want to be respected I'm like what have you done like I age you know what I mean like people want to be I came in like that I came in just like that I came in I'm like all right. where's my respect I can see it I can see it even the way like right now right? and it makes sense to me.

it's the number one thing I wish people understood like like you have to go through it Yeah you got to go through it like people like yo I want Gary ve you I want your respect I'm like I've been working for 40 years every day of my life I got F I was working at my dad's liquor store like you you like? That's like me saying why don't I have humongous pecs and like I've been in the gym for 10 years and now it's like somewhat decent when I was a slob 10 years ago like it's cuz I didn't do yeah, that's funny. You say that I got upset at a friend because he even put me on I was like come on dude like I got it going on I'm doing the jewelry. look what I'm doing he's like yeah, it doesn't work like that So and now when you look back at somebody doing that to me and it's like I'm try it it I Used to get upset when people wouldn't answer my text, forget the post I'm like you can't be that busy to not reply to a text that's wild. it's AUD it's it's it's it's an audacious it's wild and I get to my pH I get to my phone sometimes I'm like oh I get it now Of course It's like you have to prioritize replying to you Why? You know why non- busy people don't know what busy is and I was I was non- busy as I was getting to be busy M and I would just get and I would take it so personal I would get so upset so I'm a cancer so I'm very sensitive and I would take it so personal and I'll you know catch somebody in the like dude, you don't text, he takt out his phone.

he's like look at my text messag look look at how many text messages I have. that's true and I'm like all right, whatever I don't care, no but it's I love you right now cuz you're about to help a bunch of kids. It's a very simple framework. It's a selfish framework, but if it was Jay-Z they would answer.

That's my point because he earned it Exactly Exactly Who am I to put myself on that level, right? That's right, And and it and it's And here's my big thing. I Love it. By the way, what we're doing right now: I Love the most because it's going to help a lot of it's honest. It's very honest and it's going to be very helpful.

The other thing is when when people say that here's my question, you're the one that's asking right? Some dude was rolling up on me so aggressive at the airport and I was trying to be really like kind like and it's tough sometimes and I'm like yo my guy like it was real hot at the airport he was like you never I was like I and like I was just like I Just want to say one thing, he's like what and he I'm like but you're the one who's asking right? but I'm not asking you for why are you mad at me when you're the one who's asking you're asking for me to give you something you were asking your boy to give you something I was and so like how the is the all the kids that are watching right now. Let me make this real simple for you. If you're the one who's asking you have no permission to be upset. that's true but I felt entitled.

no you know my Bo is real. it's it's it's but I you know I calm down right? and he checked me just like that good it was Ronnie F by the way shout out to Ronnie Ronnie's the best but I was like dude put you're in space like you're not like inace and and and here's why: Ronnie's the best coming up in the same year as Ronnie Not knowing him until recently but always watching everything from afar took his lumps. Everybody sees it now, right? but it takes time for it to. you can't understand that when you're not even anywhere near that side.

That part I Understand not understanding I Understand what? I'm trying to get people to reframe and you're a great example and this and you people are looking up to you. Now this is perfect is not understanding I Respect because Na we all have blind spots. Coming at someone right before you understand is just a massive energy of insecurity. Well, because we put our emotion into it.

It's personal Now it's business. It took me a long time from go to personal to business. It's business now because you're on the other side, right? But but that crossovers. It's It's night and day.

It's a simp. It's a simple game of being self. It's it's a game of selfishness. It it's a game of selfish when when you wanted something, it was personal.

Now that you're busy and you've got a little something now, it's business. It's A it's A it's a very selfish framework versus a selfless framework. For example, why do I think most things work for me? For example, as we sit here right now, even this where am I at at my career I'm like, you know what? I'm at a place where I can get the biggest guests. but I don't feel like that's like like I feel like a bunch of podcasters got that? I Think what I can do right now is put people that are in a interesting part of their career.

It's not like day one and they got nothing. There's nothing to talk about. It's there this nice middle range with what I believe from afar observing y'all because I observe as much as I possibly can with much more to go. So it's good for them because I know how eclectic the mix of people that listen to my podcast.

There's people that are day one that are going to look up to you. There's people that are CEOs of the biggest companies of the world that might want to JB with you. So a right off top the second I allocate this hour I know for three people I'm doing something nice. On the flip side, if I do the kind of podcast I'm doing right this second.

I Also know for The Hundreds that are watching right now and the hundreds of thousands of millions that will listen over the next year on The Long Taale of this, there's something valuable. absolutely that's real. That's that's selfless framework. Like why the would these 600 plus people right now in the middle of the day give us their time I always think that way M I Love that amazing you.

What's your origin story? How' it go man? Yeah so yeah. I grew up in Atlanta grew up dirt poor my parents Southside oh yeah Southside Atlanta um my parents are immigrants as well from Nigeria came out here we didn't have nothing education too. school's big in the Nigerian yeah it was but I dropped out of high school I was a high school Dr I should have dropped that high school if my mom let me. If they let me.

By the way, the school was selfish. All those grades. all all of those grades besides Jim should be F You ready? You're going to love this. especially as a good Berkeley girl I did not do one piece of homework in all four years of my high school career.

not one one, not one you cheated I Went Nope, You mean when I you mean at tests Yeah bro. I gave so little you remember Scantrons. they give the Scantron bro on some real. they would hand me the Scantron Nobody in my high school four years finished a test faster than me I went ABC no somewhere around Midway through freshman year I'm like wait a minute, they're just pushing me through cuz I kept here in my school we're going for Blue Ribbon we're going for Blue Ribbon and somebody said the wrong thing like someone's like my mom's in the administration.

They need all of us to graduate for them to get Blue Ribbon I'm like peace. oh peace. that's genius. Anyway, so you dropped at of high school.

Yeah, dropped at a high school cuz like I always knew like yo School wasn't for me. You know what? I'm saying cuz I made music at the time I still make music but I I wanted to be a musician I'm like yo There was nothing for me in school. so I left Atlanta I dropped out, left Atlanta and I moved to LA but when I moved to LA I didn't know a single soul out there I was homeless sleeping in IHOP sleeping in and out straight up Yeah, just straight up I didn't care I just wanted to Chase my dream. you know what I'm saying and I really believed in myself so much.

Were you in the mindset of I' I'm going to work on music 24/7 so I'm going to sleep in IHOP or because I need to every minute I'm awake I need to work on this music or were you looking for some sort of like basic job to eat a 5 to 10 hours a day n it wasn't even I didn't even look for a job or anything. it was like something in the back of my mind just was like yo go to La and just thg it out and that's what I did and I and and when I did that I was like yo this is what I'm doing cuz this is what I wanted to be I wanted to make music I wasn't even doing art at the time, but now when Co hit, that's when I was at home chilling bored I'm like yo I need to go explore my other talents. So I went to the art store, got the canvas, the paint I started painting. All my friends were like yo you're really good You should take this serious.

You can make a lot of money at the time like I was broke as hell like and then I'm like yo let me try this and then I started painting and then my boy purpose he calls me he's like yo Drake is having his birthday party. you should paint him and his son and gift it to him and I'm like oh that's a good idea this going to be a really good breakthrough for me so I did that uh the party was the next day it was like Friday the party was Saturday I pulled up before the party starts and then I walk up the Security's at the door I'm like and I had to think of excuse I was like yo I told the security Drake's dad told me to surprise him and they were like okay so they let me through they let me through yo Drake your security bro we need to talk about that yeah it was crazy it was a whole movie scene yo it was really it was mad as when he sees this clip go ahead he's been complaining about it too that dud it's hard. it's hard crazy that one kid that go ahead. so yeah they walked me they uh they walked me to The Green Room where Drake was going to be at I put the painting there and then I leave and then I come back when the part's lit it's jumping every a long ass line outside.

so I skipped the line I said that I'm not I'm not wait line I walk back up the skur remembers me. he's like oh yeah let him through, let him through. So they escort me. everybody's thinking I'm a celebrity at the time they're like yo who's this guy he's getting escorted by security and they walk my heart beating fast they walk me they walked me to The Green Room I walk in I see Drake I'm like I'm like yo what's up I'm like yo I'm the one that painted that he looks at me he's like what for real N I was like yeah for real he was like yo I love this yo this is amazing and then like after that like he posted me on his story and like everybody's like yo we always seen you on Drake story and and that's when at the time I was only charging $250 for my art and then after that I started charge 20K 30k 50k and then like my career just like skyrocketed cuz I took that chance it was crazy.

It's amazing bro that's amazing. Honestly like yeah bro Drake's great at that first of all and and Sh like honestly let me deconstruct this for a minute while we're all chilling. If you think about it, what you did there, what you two did what I did with Wine Library Tv YouTube was four months old when I did my first video I'm like this is it YouTube was 4 months old Wow I think all four of our stories is what I want so badly for the whole world. It's why I wrote Crush It in 2009 my first book That book when I wrote in 2009.

the premise was you can make a fulltime living on social media YouTube and Twitter and Facebook If you go to Amazon.com right now and sort by oldest reviews of my first book, the first reviews are like this guy's full of wow yeah yeah yeah, somebody can make a H 100,000 a year on YouTube that's how foreign it seemed in 2008. Wow yeah, that's really early 2008 a long time ago of course I mean I mean look at that Uber look at like I've been in this Tech thing. Read that Uber email every time. every time you f like you put me on to Tik Tok yeah bro.

what's next My question: when I see it I'll tell you Read this. Read this. Read this out loud. Read this verbatim.

Give us the date Okay, this is from James Uber.com Yeah. Date: April 8th 2011 11:06 A.m. Subject: Uber NYC hey AJ I Wanted to say thanks for being our first ever Uber writer in New York how is your okay So Travis comes from Uber they're opening up New York I'm in a business meeting for Vayner Media and he's like yo I want you to take the first Uber ever in New York City I'm such an idiot I was so busy with a client I was like AJ My brother Boyd's friend from college I was like yo AJ you take it now instead of being able to always talk that I was the you imagine you know how good of a party that is like I took the first Uber in New York City Now my brother's got it. Put that up.

My brother other is my favorite person Kevin Hart had a similar story like he was supposed to invest in Uber and like when they first came out, it happens all the time when in this game. But back to why I made you read that being early is always a thing. but that's not even really what I'm actually talking about that. What I'm really talking about is all four of us just started doing Mhm.

The thing that's really upsetting to me about a like a mood board or a vision board or a manif like people love to talk about MH People talk talk their entire life. I'm GNA is the first two words of a sentence that makes me throw up in my mouth. So what's better than I'm gonna I am saying nothing and doing it right like don't open your mouth, just execute because every one of our stories of now I'm going to to yourself is a little different cuz that's you propping and pondering and strategizing right? But when the amount of posturing in society now Mhm just for like it's keyboard Warrior it's like virtue signaling. It's all these activists that live on social media but don't do about it in real life.

Yeah, we become a society of a PR agent of ourselves instead of actually doing like when I hear all three of you you, you did something you decided like you know many people like I want to be a food blogger and never post something like you're all frustrated and hot and trying to get it and you're like it. Let me start posting on Instagram Mhm like you did it right. Like a lot of versions of you just keep crying about it. still doing it now right? like still asking a next bu to put them on without doing the push-ups right? This shit's crazy what he just said.

All right, let's go back around the horn, what's up right now? You got this like right now State of the Union some promo time for you like what should people know? like you got a book like what? what? where we at right now? What's hot in 24 for you? Um well first of all I feel like the energy is really hot in 24 I don't know I I I don't know I've been thinking about this a lot about my mindset. I think last year I spent some of I've been doing this for a really long time, right? or at least for me I Feel like I've been doing it a lot and there's so much that you have to keep up with and so much you have to. You know, um, like things are just evolving and you have to evolve with it, right? That's a real point. One of the biggest things that pissed me off about Back to what you just said when I was screaming about Tik Tock 5 years ago, The reason no most people didn't do it was one of two reasons: perception M and insecurity.

Number one was perception. People thought it was teenage girls dancing on it, but they hadn't learned as if we didn't just live through Instagram being photographers to being what it was or Facebook being for college kids and now being for grandmas. they couldn't see the chess move of like yeah, it's 14-year-old girls dancing now, but it's going to be for everyone. So their perception number two was worse.

Insecurity: They had their 8,000 followers on Instagram they didn't want to go to Tik Tok and start over. It would have been uh, the best move they've ever made. I know that's why I get a thousand emails a year from people who literally started their career on Tik Tok literally because of how loud I was during that time and I get a th I get a thousand other emails from people saying literally titled in my inbox wish I listened to you cuz they're not doing right now on Instagram because it's harder nowhere on Tik Tok I literally joined because of you Tik Tok literally and I mean I got I don't know I got a bunch of followers really fast yep and I post when I post like you say I just do I post. you know it's the fear right? People are so afraid.

people are afraid of Judgment of judgment. They had 11,000 putting up their pecs or showing their ass or whatever flossing on. Instagram They had 11,000 but they didn't want to go to Tik Tok and start at zero because they were worried what people would think. Most of those people weren't scared of the work.

There's a whole group we just talked about that are scared of the work. Those people have no shot. But the part that drives me crazy is the second group that put in the work somewhere. This is why I jumped in cuz you just said it but evolves I buil on Twitter and then YouTube like I didn't want Instagram to come out I was winning right? but Instagram came out I had to figure it out I didn't want Tik Tok to happen I was winning I don't want anything to come out I'm winning but will come out and if you don't go where it goes, you're dead left behind.

so go ahead. so. and that takes time sometimes mentally to acclimate and recalibrate right. like if you feel like you're on top in one space and then you feel and then I think it's what you were saying earlier too.

A Lot of people are now just doing what other people are doing and hopping on. Trends And how do you stand out and how do you make yourself different and how do you feel different? It's because of you, like no one's me, so nobody's going to do what I'm doing the way I'm doing it. that's exactly right and I think you know honestly. I sort of forgot that last year.

A little bit interesting and I have done three shows with NBC TV shows, cooking shows. Oh wow, had a really good time with that and TV is always my North Star and what I want to continue to do? and do you have a pit in your stomach that TV is evolving in a way that it's not the way we all grew up and it's a different medium that it used to be. It's interesting because the way I started out was sort of weird because I was bridging both traditional broadcast media and also social media which was not really done before like they the Today's Show producers had never put like a social media person on air. That was weird and crazy.

I was 22 at the time like that was not heard of. but now I think for a second yes but at the same time like what do you do you can make I can make my own show now I don't need to R Being on a television show is less awareness than doing social media. You're small yeah and the amount of eyes you can get on your content smaller like you're a famous actor on Netflix even and like you're not bigger than the biggest celebrities on Tik Tok That's just the way it is Now it's what we went through when radio went to television. Radio stars were everything.

Yeah, they were everything and TV stars came and they were like yo. That's why we know who Bob Hope and Lucille Ball are because they were that first group of TV stars and that was a whole new paradigm shift. People love like Hollywood loves to make fun of these social media people. especially because I've been in it from day one.

They're not making fun anymore right? They want that, it's required. Yeah, yeah. so you're in a funny place where like what you started led to what you thought you wanted and now where the attention is for what you want to talk about actually lives where you started exactly I'm aware and that is is what I was grappling with last year because I've done these shows with with NBC and then I was sort of like okay now what Especially when you see somebody make 15 Tik toks and have more actual awareness than you? Yeah, that's real life 100% And It's funny because I think that I've had more eyes on my content that than could be technically on a show at a given time right? Like on my that's not a theory, that's facts. No, it's facts So right.

But it's like you have to just yeah. I guess I have two new books coming out, a kids book and my new business book which is the followup to Jab Jab Jab right hook I'm talking to all the Pr people right now my people um my the Harper Collins people and they're all talking about the launch and they're like we need you to do this, We need you to do that I'm like why I'm like I don't want to go to that studio for an hour and have sell 310 books I Can go do a podcast with somebody in my Underpants and sell 10,000 the am I going to the studio an hour before we go on air Yeah drinking coffee coffee is okay. sometimes you likeit coffee sh out to coffee bro I Love your pants. Good for you All right good for you.

So that last year so last year was a was a brain year because the thing you were achieving towards you kind of had a realization of like wait a minute I got to recalibrate yeah and I think that takes a you know it was a lot of thinking to myself about who I am what I want where I'm going and also making promises to myself and keeping them because I think you can say like oh, like you're were saying I want to do this I want to do this I'm going to do this. but if I'm not actually putting in the work, I'm not putting the work and I'm not getting anywhere. Um so this year I mean I have a cookbook which is very exciting. It took me two and a half years to make it and I love it and I'm very proud of it.

When did it come out? Uh 2021? Very difficult to. yeah, tricky time. do a whole book situation Co That was tough and unexpected obviously. but I'm just grateful that I'm proud of the product cuz that was all that matters to me 100% Um, I'm really focusing on making my own show this year, so that is in the works.

Um, when you say own show, you're going to make something and you're going to distribute it on social. Yeah, good for you. It's exactly right. And then also I have been really interested in inperson activations I did a couple popups last year.

Um, we sold out like two nights of like Me cooking. Actually do this for all three of you I Apologize. Yeah. I'm going to name a social media platform.

You're going to tell me what's like how serious you're taking if you're doing anything. Ready YouTube Shorts Zero No. I've I've been posting on YouTube Shorts but how often? Um, not that much. But tell me the truth no I haven't been posting that much.

No. I need the actual number I don't want your like once a week once a day I'll say once a week? yeah I don't even know about it like four to five times a week. Beautiful! So here's why: I Love YouTube Shorts YouTube Shorts is very similar to Tik Tok One difference: YouTube's a second biggest search engine in the world behind Google so unlike Tik Tok where you post something and it kind of, that's is and yes Tik Tok has good search query but YouTube really has search query and so like a YouTube short that you make could pop nine months later cuz the search algorithm changed and you might show up first for like blue diamond earrings. Okay, you see what I mean So YouTube Shorts very important Google should not be with they are never going away for your lifetime YouTube Shorts needs to be serious in your repertoire I on it tonight.

Okay Beautiful Facebook I Don't post on Facebook Respect same dinosaur. um I had the feature where it was automatically publishing to Facebook instag and I had a like decent Facebook audience cuz NBC Yeah, of course that's my Prime demo but not as often as I can back to day trading attention. What? I think about every day Facebook is a beast. My fastest growing audience on Facebook right now is 20 to 30y olds really? Yep, how do I get my account back? So Facebook B All these games are the same game supply and demand of attention because all the proper creators just did what you did.

all of them. There's not as many people that are really great at producing content producing for. Facebook Meanwhile, there is a fuckload of people on Facebook 40 to 90 all day. 20 to 40 more than you would think.

maybe not hardcore New York Miami LA But the world is much more than three cities or 20 cities and a lot of 25y olds will check it like once a week. but Consume is it reals Facebook reals both of them. It's both interesting. so Facebook especially with what's going on.

kind of like with now you saw what happened with Vision Pro I'm sure you saw that this weekend. This apple thing is coming. Facebook's going to be like oh, they might win the VR AR thing. so they're going to up their game on their next version of their things like it's coming Okay and so Facebook and YouTube even if you post the same videos you made elsewhere I don't want you to do it the the way a lot of people do it.

where it's like you post it exactly the same. You can make the same video, just change the copy based on the room you're in because you know that you're in Facebook For you, it might be like yo if you want to buy your significant other a proper gift for Valentine's Day Like and even proper gift is not right. like older language than you would on. Tik Tok right? So you know the audience.

that's going to see it. sense. You can tweak it a little bit just changing the words. the copy if you want to get Advanced Maybe you change the opening second or two that you're addressing if you want to do some editing, but Facebook and YouTube shorts are wildly underused by the good creators of the world right now.

I Got to play with that then cuz I used to do it where you just slide it over. It's the same thing. snap Snapchat I stopped using that No No Snapchat man I stopped no I'm not okay Snapchat And this is one advice: I Have to take myself so the others I'm doing this one I'm not doing so. You can even when you know you're like it's funny.

When my trainer makes me do something like you're doing it, he's like no, I'm like damn. See, it's like funny. like even when you know it, you can't get to everything if you can. snap and Vlog your day like really do it.

There is so much not only opportunity for audience growth money there's a lot of AD money in Snap but not a lot of creators getting it. Snap is a huge opportunity for all three of you as well to kind of do the like. the true story Vlog thing like I'm talking 13 snaps a day in Gary ve office and when you're going to go eat now and like your day I mean it would crush feel like you just became our manager Thoughts: yeah I mean I think look this is my look this is I mean you know what that is that's Facebook and Tumblr stock that I bought in 2006. My great gift has been knowing like I I knew twitch when it was Justin.tv but I know when to hit things.

it's not just know when you ask me what's next I don't know but the second I know I'm going to know that's right I was first on Vine moving was like I'm always the especially the age that I was when this all happen I was always like the older dog that was first on all these stuff because I view it not for any other reason than what's the opportunity to do whatever you want whether that's to sell wine or trading cards. Actually, let's open these trading cards real quick. I'm going to play a little game here with our friends. We going.

this is be friends. This is my Pokemon meets. Sesame Street Open these packs. You know, change kids perspectives like whatever you going to fill the pipes with but which are most fertile I Want you to look at these cards and tell me which card you most resonate with.

Twitch. Let's ask a couple questions in here. Um, Threads is not dead. um solder dog.

It's just declined a lot. It had that hot week and then it's declined. but there's plenty of audience there too. You got to try to actually make the content.

though. these hats are not are going to be very limited and a beast, they're not. It's going to be very hard to get them. I apologize I'm doing that on purpose though.

I Want these to be properly cool and hot? All right. Which one? Oh good. I got mine right. Look at them all.

figure out which one most resonates to you I got mine figured out. but and then we put the rest in there. Yeah, just put. no.

you keep you going. take them with you. just you got yours. I Think so.

which one I Chose Hardworking Wombat hardworking W and I have a reason for it. Great. Um I've been thinking a lot about. like actually this is on the way over here I was listening to Atomic City by you LOL there's a line in there that says if your dreams don't you, they're not big enough I love that and I just feel like the only thing that separates people from getting what they want is and who don't is the ones that stop on the way.

You know like if you stop, you're not going to get what you want. but if you keep going, no matter how many times you fail or you have to recalibrate or do it again, you, you'll still get there. it just time and there is a life filled with less regret. Yeah, and Itang, you may not achieve like we may have the biggest stre I Want to win a great I Want to buy the New York Jet I Want to buy the New York Jets The only thing I actually want to do is be proud of how hard I tried to get the New York Jets when I'm 90 right? So like to the point of getting there.

Most people don't actually achieve their goal. There's just two groups of people, one that are proud of themselves at 90 for trying and one that sits around at 80 and 90 and just dwell and regret not going for it. Yeah, it's as simple as that. The try is the game.

Yeah, it's funny. that's your theme, right? 2023 was kind of like a transition. You're right, you're kind of and now you're like feeling ready to go I feel like I've really always been a dude in movement but there are ABS I remember my 28th 28 to 29 I Can clearly see that was a passive year for me. Yeah I was comfortable.

Yeah, I was comfortable I was just kind of. You know I just worked every minute for seven years and I kind of just like I Just know I know that I like softened up a little bit and that's okay. just one year? Yeah, but you're s aware. that's right.

What do you got? Um I have the headstrong honey badger I Like that character me too. You feel Headstrong I feel like when it's time to get disciplined I'm very disciplined when it's time. I Love that. So you're kind of like like a fighter right? like you can around in between fights.

but when it's eight weeks from the Main Event pressure, you can stop eating. You like the pressure you'll put in the work like a prize fighter. Yes! I like that I like that yours I chose the energetic Electric eel oo cuz your energy is so flavored yeah like especially like when I'm in my element like cuz I do these performances called the Artland experience and like and that's me. like performing my art like I'm throwing the paint on these cars and like everybody feels the energy and like wow, like and and that resonates with me so much it's crazy what what happens to you in that zone and you just talked about Zone and I really with Zone like what the second before I take the stage for a public speech I'm on my phone running this business and everyone always laughing about it right? d like everyone's always like thinks it's kind of funny or weird but the second they're like that goes into my intro like a WWE wrestler like the second I hear my theme song I become like a Bizarro version of myself and I like black out and do my black out too.

Yeah yeah, it's like you just go to this place and like nothing matters, you just want to. How long does it take you to get down from the high when off post like you're done now. um doesn't take me that long no you transition yeah trans like TR out yeah like just like I'm going to give you one of my cards too. That goes with that.

It also depends on what kind of high we're talking about. Yeah, sometimes when it's like it's a big deal I'm high for the whole day like it's just like I can't even focus on anything I Can't believe this is going on. What are they saying? What are they doing? It's crazy I get it. but it's it's it's it's it's it's a high I'm going with arbitraging Admiral because what I've been talking to you all about just now is the Arbitrage that I spent my life on? Where's the attention that's underpriced that most people can't see the fact that you three are really in the game the way I Define the game humans that are moving that get it are caught up in the old world even though there's a world of attention.

Um and think about all three of those platforms that we just talked about and like to me: I get excited because I can't wait for one of the three of you to email me in two7 10 weeks DM me be like how the did you know I just know and I know you already have shown me the capacity to put out good stuff so it just becomes matching that good stuff to a new audience that's being underserved. Arbitrage W I'm going to take this back. yeah take it can I keep these cards So can you tell me what the deal is with these cards cuz you Pokemon over the next 30 40 years you're trying. Okay yeah like one day you will all look back in this video and be like why the did I lose those cards No no I I as soon as I got them I was like you know what? I'm keeping these Gary via sending them hide them all right? let's do last couple minutes let's do questions since I'm here for you.

Do you have any question anything I can answer? Well I Just feel like you have so many tabs open in your brain. Yes um everyone is nodding in the back. How do you? Where do you focus your attention like how do you I feel like I'm driving a boat I have a boat and I have all my homies on it and it's a boat in the ocean and Boyd's like yo there's a hole over here and I'm like coming over be like yo this how like I feel like I'm a firefighter and I like it. Wow this is my state.

like I'm not maximizing for money. if I was maximizing for money I would have done a fund yeah and just made a lot of money I'm maximizing for my art I love the art of being an entrepreneur and my art is chaotic. it is Jackson poock it is Atlanta it's all over the place and so when I sit back and assess years I'm like always can logically as an operator I'm like man I made like it's I smile at how many mistakes I make. That's because I have too many balls in the air.

The problem is, most people in the world are juggling a ball mhm mhm I'm juggling 39 Wow. Seven of those balls are going to hit the ground and break outright. That means I only have 32 balls, right? Some of those other balls are going to get dented while I'm playing with them all. So it means I only have 16 clean balls.

That's still more than one ball, Got it Yeah, and so that's how my world works. The key to my world is I'm glad we talked about this. The only reason my works is I don't care about my failures same and when I say I don't care about them I like to dissect them I like to learn from them. But the number one thing that I have that I'm blessed with and I'm so grateful for from parenting, upbringing, culture.

Luck of the draw is I genuinely don't give a what all of you think about my failures. Was it always that way? It was always. That's why you saw those grades. I had the strength to be judged by parents of my friends and my do you know that every one of my teachers told me I was going to be a garbage man? D that was the big thing in the 80s.

They're like you're gonna be a garbage man and I'm like I make more money than you do right now because I was making $500 a weekend selling baseball cards in the malls in New Jersey now I couldn't work every weekend but I had a good enough math skills to say 500times 52 teachers were getting paid nothing in Jersey back like I was like how I was like I understand you see the world from a grade standpoint I don't and so yeah, my self-esteem the way my mother raised me is so masterful. it's why I'm writing this kids book. Meet me in the middle. my mom hit the middle she like and your parents hit a version of this.

like having parents that didn't push you to the right when my mom did really well was your selfworth isn't your greats but she also didn't make me entitled anything that I did. that was wrong. She would smack my face and punish me. The biggest issue for kids right now is there's no consequences for their actions.

And now kids don't even get grounded so kids are just moving as if like that's wild right? It changed and so I'm I got very fortunate. So yes, it's always been like that because of great parenting and the luck of the DNA draw and then I refined it I've been on it early. Adopting is like a theme for your whole everything though completely based on lack of fear. I'm not scared to lose money I'm not scared to waste my time.

You know why most of my friends don't find the I find Most people in this world don't find is when a new thing comes out. be real. spent 20 hours on it. yeah most people like they heard it.

but I spent the 20 I put in the hard work and then I had the skill and the pattern recognition Be like no, this is not going to pop That's what I'm great at I'm great at really putting in the work when new happens and keeping tabs on I Everybody moved on from Facebook I'm looking at it every day is today. the day you understand I'm getting on tonight. I'm going to find out what my password is today I Love it. What do you got? We got like two three minutes.

anybody? you either one of you got something? man. I got a new restaurant happening in in the middle of March It's called Ch and the Dawn. Okay, where is it? It's uh, Pan, it's called Pan Latin so it's basically from Argentina all the way to Mexico Wow so been a P before that's Peruvian so it's going to be a sexy where is it going to be on 21st between Park and um Broadway nice and then I also have a jewelry store opening up. Let's go on in.

April the 25th of April Please You guys are all welcome. Right on Malberry Street Malberry between Prince and Spring two great locations. My boy proud of you I'm thank you I'm H P Art Pull up yeah um I'm actually starting in an art label. You know how the music labels like.

They sign these artists. Yeah! so I'm going to like find talented artists to sign them. They have the drive. You're the Opra you're looking for.

Dr Phil and Dr Oz Exactly Beautiful Mhm. Where can where can some of the talented kids that are definitely going to listen? I mean literally millions of people over the next two years will listen to this? Yeah, um, where should they find you? Yeah, so if you're an artist and you're interested, just go to my Instagram Artlanta. Send me all your work. I'm going check it out who's got the artl of proper man.

They're not trying to give it to me. No, some random have we negotiated? yeah, they're too much. They're not even. they're like, no, they don't even they're icing you.

yeah I Respect it. Yeah, it's crazy as they should. As they should, right? I Uh, that's right, as a good Hustler should as they should I Wish you three nothing but the best. Appreciate it.

Thanks for being on. Thank you for having us of course! Cheers Twitch! Thank you for watching podcast go to Twitch.tv / Garbe And subscribe if you want to watch these episodes live.