Then you get three more like feeds messaging 13 to 22. the amount of people that you snap to text is extraordinary, but to consume content, people are not doing that to the level that I think Snap has permission to play. Yeah, no I agree with you that Spotlight stuff is I mean I think it's more on the come up now than it's ever been. Yeah, Vaynernation, how are you? I'm excited about this episode I think we're gonna be able to double click into a very creative and strategic brain.

um I'm gonna let Cody introduce himself and give you all some context and I'm gonna poke and prod on some Curiosities I have and uh I think this is gonna be a pretty important uh podcast for a lot of people and you'll see why in a minute. it's a subject matter I talk a lot about which is things like 30 years ago nobody would believe that he is doing what he's doing for a living you know, parents. We were taught like some of this stuff was not good and it ends up being the best and that has happened over time. It's happening right now with AI Everyone's scared, it's and it's bad.

It's gonna be the best in a lot of ways and you'll have some bad and like everything. there's some good and bad but Cody appreciate you being on the show brother of course. Thank you for having me so tell everyone a little bit about like who you are and what you do. Yeah so I'm Cody Conrad also known as clicks I've been uh you know performer for fortnite, competitive professionally also entertainer ever since I was 14.

I kind of got in the industry when I was 14. blew up qualified for World Cup also known you know Buddha won World Cup I quality five times competed in World Cup um and honestly just been playing competitive since then now I'm 18. I'm also a Entertainer and I do all that stuff. So so take us back even prior to 14.

So just to recap real quick, just just make sure everyone contextualize that Clicks is one of the Great professional gamers in the space 14 to 18. He's last four years has been really doing his thing in Fortnite and others. We'll go into the minute but um, the entertain end Entertainer part is like what I want to double click into because uh, pun intended um take me back further. So when I want to break down both the gaming and the entertainment part when prior to 14 did you have a sense that you were good at gaming? Yes! so I started playing video games Call of Duty when I was like five years old I was like sneak in my brother's room I had like a whole documentary I would sneak my brother's room play Call of Duty and like I was like as a five-year-old that was pretty good right? I was five yes and um years coming up I kept on playing Call of Duty gone to CS go yeah to Minecraft it's like around 10 years old? yep and um I was watching the phase guys you know New York house and all that.

so looking up to them I was like I want to be that when I'm like 18 and 17 All that yes and you know where I am now. so um fortnite got announced instantly played though my brother the first game I ever played I won or my brother this was back in probably 12 years old. um and it was 16 to compete so I was like all right I'm just doing this for fun but I got really good and then when they announced World Cup they said 13 year olds uh could compete right? I actually was 13 at the time so that got announced um I competed. Where are you living at this point in your life with my dad in Connecticut yeah with my dad in Connecticut so uh qualified Does dad like know that you're good at this point? does he have I don't even tell.

All right I didn't say that story as well. Well so to make you know to get a computer I signed a contract with my dad to if he got me a computer I would have to pay him back within like like four months either work with him or pay him back in general and I paid him back I think it was like 1500 and three weeks I think just off of me doing my stuff when I was 13. meaning YouTube videos I got honestly just want to be wanting. you know it's it's illegal now.

but in fact, back then one morning competing for money. yeah yeah yeah, competing for money and all that way better than my concept of YouTube ads. So Pops was. Pops was focused on teaching you the right thing, the value of money of like hey, you're not gonna be handed stuff, you got to earn it yeah have you started to realize that was like a great thing for him to do for you? yeah well now like sure Of course sometimes that other people just I just need it.

but you know now it taught me all that stuff. Pops is in the background I'm like looking at him the whole time because I love that story because that's I mean everyone listening to the podcast knows what I think about the pandemic that is entitlement I think there are very few parents unfortunately. even though yeah well. Scott and I grew up in an era where that was like the norm.

parents weren't just giving kids money. we all did so, but he's executing that to the Next Generation that's pretty powerful. Go ahead brother. Well for all the Baby Boomers Um, their parents always fear the things they couldn't understand of course.

So what I wanted to do is break the cycle. You know, growing up in an Italian German family, it's like you know I want him to break. So that's when Cody came along and I said you know he's really enjoying this. He's really enjoying this.

Wouldn't you want to have a son that really enjoys what he's doing having a lot of fun playing with kids all over the United States all over the world you have a sense that there was like real I already hit your radar like there are there are pro Gamers this is like a business or that wasn't on your radar yet. Yeah, no clue, You had no clue I remember those days he's like oh, you can make money off of video games Scott don't rewrite history in this podcast I didn't have a clue but this is what we did. uh you know I would watch on. you know, like I said in the mini documentary that we have.

um I would go in his room and I would watch him only for about two weeks for about 10 15 minutes. check all my emails, watch them play fortnite. that's what I did and he turned and looked at me. he says Dad Dad if you buy me this really good gaming computer at Best Buy I'll get so good you'd be so proud of me.

I'll make so much money and I says listen let me think about this. I says right now you know you know the funds aren't there But let me think about this and I'll be back in your room in 45 minutes. Okay, back in 45 minutes. This is what I'm gonna do I'm going to write up a contract I'm a business guy I said I'm going to run up a contract What? I like about it Scott Is you you so many parents overreacted to the past and to your point, you didn't want to close it down.

but on the flip side, you didn't go to the extreme and just hand it you created. you kind of got the best of the old and new world. I Love it All right? Yep, so then you just got the new computer and what? Immediately obviously you had it leveled up the whole search. Yeah! so got the new computer qualified for World Cup week two which was guaranteed fifty thousand dollars for uh, solos and I think duels was first and then I qualified for solos also which was another fifty thousand dollars guaranteed if I were to go to New York um I went to New York to compete I did bad in Duos yeah but I didn't okay and Silos I won like 160 grand total and you were 13 I think 14 at this point Yeah, 14 and I was also uh, assigned to a gaming org.

Yeah, yeah, Misfits yeah and so like so it just became very real. Real fast right? Yeah, it became very real Yeah. I Was gonna say real quick. Uh in two weeks he made a thousand thirty five dollars online I said he must be pretty good at the same business sense and then I said well then your next step is you got to get picked from work.

Yeah, of course. I Signed up at 14 years old making fifteen hundred dollars a month. Yeah, that's a guy says man, there's something really. Yeah, it's awesome.

Talk to me about the entertainment. You know it's funny I know a lot of Gamers professional Gamers people in this space people that look the profile of you know the phase crew well know a lot of characters. You've always been pretty consistent. It's one of the things that really hit our radar of Vayner Sports like this concept like and even it was I was listening carefully.

You come out here like okay, but Entertainer talk to me about what that is and was that happening before even gaming? like did you see did I become an Entertainer or how do you define being an Entertainer or right? or even more fun for all the kids that are listening and the parents are listening, why are you saying that and what do you mean like where are we, where are you going? So how did it become an Entertainer Basically since I was I just think it's better, right? Because most fortnite players they just don't really have like the personality to entertain people live on stream. Yeah, so I guess like I was like a toxic when I was younger. I was really toxic right? I was like that toxic little kid who was like talking everybody I played against and that was like their entertainment right? Yep, so like as I progress you find, you know I found new entertainment. Yeah, where it's like I know how to non-stop talk to little kids non-stop like entertain kids? Yeah, of course and like people's attention.

Yeah, keep their attention which most players you know don't really playing, they just play You're multitasking or I mean like I resonate with that because I do a lot of public speaking I'm public speaking like doing my keynote right and equally paying attention to the audience to keep them on track. Yeah, and adjusting even the content, potentially based on the way they're reacting throughout. Exactly. That's kind of same thing with streaming.

like what the chat is saying, seeing if they're bored. Of course, change combos. get them back attached of course. So you're saying I'm an entertainer from the standpoint of trying to educate people like hey, I'm not just good at playing the game exactly I'm also bringing another variable to the table and what you're doing is you're educating the masses because as you know, Aaron I was like I I'm aware there's certain players who are just locked in and they're just.

it's almost like Andre Agassi versus Pete Sampras right? If you use a tennis comp, you know Pete Sampras was just like straight down the line vanilla piece of paper. but he was an epic tennis player and Agassi was an epic tennis player right that people came out to see because he was entertaining right? right? So I'll be like basically getting like 20 bombs while entertaining the chat. so it's kind of. It's a correlation with what you're trying to say.

Yep, and so now what what are you thinking about right now? So now you know I just signed to Vayner Yep, um I'm still doing the normal stuff, still competing a lot. Kind of like my schedule now. I just moved to Dallas for a competition. so I'm competing but I'm also when comp isn't going on I'm doing like entertaining stuff entertaining streams like I just stream in La you.

You might have seen it basically like two girls caused a lot of drama but you know the dramas is entertainment for the other people. You know, how do you find the balance of to keep it in that kind of middle you know. I think about the world right now. it's so political red, blue and I'm always like how is it purple so that it's like you know, like that you find that middle.

Do you think about that? Like when you're thinking about doing entertainment that's going to be interesting for people? Are you trying to find a fine line where it's not at the detriment of other? like? It's probably a tough thing to juggle. Well I think I just do what I think is going to be like funny I guess and I don't like let it get you know, too chaotic unless the girls make it at that chaotic and sometimes that does happen. you're not in control of other people. but if that happens, it's not me and it's entertainment for other people and it's you know in my head like I'm like yo like this is hilarious but like in like their mind it's like a real life like interaction.

but I'm just like trying to make it entertaining and the chat's going crazy. it's three in the morning it was. it was a blast But like after on Tick Tock it was like 30 million views in like two days on my channels. Yeah just off of like posting eclipse and then like Bryce Hall and Josh had him on their Tick Tock and like BFFs podcast and it was like good entertainment but in my end I I'm just around when they're being free.

Yeah I mean it's so interesting I think a lot about where the world's at in In at this point and like not giving kids the freedom to like live youthful energy is like a super challenge like when me and my friends and everybody who's listening who's 35 45 55 65 75 when we were goofin when we were 15 to 18, it was just lost in The Ether right? But now when you guys are goofing, uh, it's just documented. Yeah, it's a very different mindset. That's the beauty of this industry. You can do whatever and you make you know people entertain you.

Also make money off of doing what you want to do of course. Andrew Dice Clay was entertaining. People thought it was like you remember that era like that was like whoa, like too hard in 1988. Now that's mundane tick tocks.

The world just continues to evolve. Are you thinking about business? How do you know pops talking in the background about business Guy? So you've got some of that DNA Like how how do you think about business? Like how do you think about what are deals that are right for you Ambitions right things you want to do in your 20s 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s I mean right now? I'm not really. you know, obviously you have to be focused on the business part. That's why you know a son of a Vayner Yep, um but back then Feldy, he still is my manager.

he was you know, getting all the deals yes I mainly just do the full entertainment stuff and kind of let the background people do the deals and like the numbers that I feel are right for a deal. kind of like something you know I'm saying like he knows what's going on right? You trust the people. Yeah I trust the people around. What you're focused on is unless you like completely hate the product.

or yeah, it's corny You'll Play in that exactly exactly. But you trust the people to understand the business exactly. I'm focused on the entertainment. They're focusing on ideas and what's good for my brand and what's not good and so very simply I'm sorry to do.

of course 90 of the time you've got that locked in right? Yep, yep and and then it's like if you want to do anything outside like start a brand new all that stuff like let's do it and let's just get yeah yeah I mean I think I think for all the people that are listening that manage talent I always say like if you're going to be great at it, you're going to have 90 of it figured out like 90 of time you're gonna be like he's gonna do it. He's not gonna do it. She's gonna do it. She's not gonna do it.

What you have to be is make sure that you don't have ego as a manager or someone that reps and think you're 100 right. You have to have the humility to be like you know what? Pretty sure he's not going to want to do this, but I'm going to put it in front of him in front of her and let them decide. and I think that's like when those Partnerships go best right? they're saving you Time by not bringing you stuff, but he's also got the humility. We've got the humility to put stuff in front of you where we're not exactly sure and plus your temperament changes especially when you're young.

I Think the most interesting part about I see it in all of our facets gaming Sports I See it in all of marketing. See it in influencer marketing. We all know this. We've lived it.

A lot of you are living it. A lot of you are now in this room and listening in the 20 30, 40 year old Range man who you are at 15 versus who you are at 17 versus who you are at 19. versus who you are at 23 and 27. You're like different humans in such quick windows.

and that's also something that needs to be on strategy of what you will and won't. Where are your Ambitions on the non-entertaining part meaning do you as an athlete, as like a player as a skill? Are you overly crazy about getting better? Are you chilling on that? Like the game you're saying and then like even think like, let me let me ask the direct question I'm curious about. Has it run through your mind that there'll be another game, right? right? A Call of Duty a four night that comes out in the next 24 36 months that captures the gaming world's attention. Will you have a lot of thirst? So let's play it out.

Two years from now, you're making more money, there's more good stuff happening, you're more famous. Do you intuitively feel that you're gonna put your head down like 14 15 year old you and have the bandwidth and the time to be great? Or do you think you like every other athlete like we see this in all other sports you like were obsessed to get to be 17 and the best tennis player in the world and then you're super famous and doing cool and all of a sudden it's hard because there's some kid from Yugoslavia that's 13 that's doing this like what's your like. Do you feel the 13 year olds and 14 year olds who do nothing but try to get great like what's your sense I mean in two years I Don't think I would want to play another game like Fortnite's like kind of like my hot spot. You know what I'm saying like I'm good at that game yes I'm a professional player I'm Gonna Keep on doing that yes until the game runs out Yes I'm not gonna let myself get bad, but I'm also gonna be doing the entertainment spot on the side just in case God forbid Fortnite dies I still have that entertainment aspect to go on about I Don't think I would ever play another game which really what you're trying to say is like my 13 year old self would want to go pro in any game right? like now.

It's like I've been a pro for four years. I'm gonna be 20 if the game dies. might as well you know, take like an acting route or something like I'm already doing entertainment you know I got you I got you me getting the acting job that was the exact question. and I think that's super interesting I think there's like clearly like two three paths there I get it right.

But it's interesting though, right? The Cs go natural. Talent was able and work like translated to some degree to fortnite, right? Do you feel like the skill that you have at Fortnite could translate to lasers and lightning if that became the thing? I think a hundred I mean I think games genetics. I'm gonna be honest. I've been playing since I was like five years old so that has a lot to go into it.

But like bro, I have good news. basketball's genetics. tennis is genetics. Like someone can't practice 10 hours a day.

I'm practicing 10 hours a day and somehow you know Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly. So it's like what I want to become a professional I don't really know I get it. It would have to be a perfect scenario for me. to you know, go back putting 10 hours a day into that while you know if I'm streaming it and the game's blowing up and everything's going good and I'm becoming professional.

100 will bring value to the audience. Um, Social Networks right? Your current take on like the best apps and the not best apps. oh that's a good one. Good best apps in my opinion.

Yep. Twitter yep oh this is hard Twitter Twitter 100 you know I'm on the app all the time. Okay Instagram I think is terrible now I think you know what they did with the whole entire like paying for like views and I hate the verified aspect. you know, like what are your thoughts on that Yeah, to be very Frank For me it's like Logistics now that everyone has a verified account, it doesn't let me quickly and I see if there's an account like that's verified that I might need to be intrigued by or look at so like it's made it lost I love it as a business model I Oh I mean I have videos that I'm I need the team to dig up Six seven years ago I'm like these social networks are gonna figure this out and charge 10 bucks a month because it's just good business.

Yeah it made sense. I mean yeah they're making a bank off and doing it. but I guess you know I Get it? Yep. go ahead.

I mean in Instagram in general I'm pretty sure now it's like to get on a bigger like when you post it doesn't actually pop up on the feed. No until unless you pay for it. No no, still like you can still plenty. people are getting there.

problem with Instagram is organic reaches down because so much attention has gone to Tick Tock during a time where more con, more content is being produced on Instagram than ever. But the attention's not at the height that it was because there's an enormous amount of under 35 that now has given a ton of its attention to shorts. and Tick Tock so this is shy in demand. All right, keep going so that's Instagram sit down on that a little bit.

What about Shorts YouTube shorts I think are amazing I recently started like shorts and you know they a whole another. Channel they've been killing it. Shorts are crazy Tick Tock I think is amazing. Yep, like definitely the best way to promote anything that you have going on.

Do you think that if the US Bans and like burn houses down I don't think that's gonna happen? I just I can't see a world where they're actually in a band? How many careers you think would fall off of like that in general So many people use like Tick Tock for business in general to like make more money for like wouldn't they just go to Instagram and YouTube won't be the same though I know that so I think you are right I think it would promote No. But dude, like do you think 17 year olds are gonna burn their school down kind of thing I think it would be a little bit younger than that I think a little bit like 14 13. uh LinkedIn does that even hit your like? are you like what the are you talking about Gary I don't even know what you just said uh I was like I totally get it. Um, talk to me about Snap Snapchat I don't use Snapchat no no I'm verified on it.

Not even the message I know you're mad at that I'm not I don't give a oh, you don't give a oh yeah, we'll talk about it all right I don't use tick shock that much. Nap has the biggest outside growth. If they just got spotlight like then you get to get to get light in stories more like the because they've got. You know this messaging they own right like 13 to 22 like 30 Snap.

The amount of people that you snap to text is extraordinary, but to consume content people are not doing that right to the level that I think Snap has permission to play. Yeah no I agree with you that Spotlight stuff is I mean I think it's more on the come up now than it's ever been. Yeah, but you know I don't I don't post anything Facebook dude I haven't download that app in my whole life. Never downloaded feedback.

No that was always like your dad's thing. Yeah I feel like it's older generation thing 100 anything else. Do you know what Clapper is huh? Clapper no seriously, it's like a complete clone of tick tock that I think is like sitting in the cut. and if they're like if Tick Tock gets banned, we may explode anything out.

What about I mean Twitch is a different thing I think it's massive I mean what are your thoughts on the recent stuff going on? I mean like some of the things that people can and can't do like kick coming out. now you know they're cutting half 36 of their whole entire company. Yeah I mean I think that's just natural Ness but I don't think that you I don't think you as a Creator feel any effects of that reality. Companies are worried about their stock price so they do things.

but I don't think you're going to feel the there's still plenty of people that are doing to me I'm platform agnostic if twitch and Tick Tock Facebook LinkedIn YouTube disappeared tomorrow. Banned banned I'm like okay, like I gotta go be better at Twitter and whatever's left like people are gonna go wherever they're gonna go. right? Like like it's the same argument I have with TV and connect the TV and streaming services like like all these companies wasting money on running commercials on regular TV when everyone's attention's on social exactly I Agree with that and and that's why I think uh, influencers and entertainers like yourself will continue to get market share because you have now built up enough awareness that you're agnostic. if YouTube and and Twitter and twitch go away or kick like you have the ability to literally the next day because everyone you have to understand it.

it's fan for everyone right? It's not like you got banned from, it's banned from everything so everybody's gonna go to another. yeah, what are they gonna read newspapers? Yeah, you just new things form and so I think that's always going on. What about from you From a content creator standpoint, who do you think is doing a good job right now? yeah or even historically like things that you've looked at that you're like oh, that person, like things they do and not even maybe like what entertains you. Maybe people that have you've learned from I mean face-to-face Clan yeah that was back then.

you know they're going through a lot right now but of course I mean I think you know Kai Sinat he's a great example of like doing the impossible like nobody ever thought someone could get 300 000 um subscribers. While you know entertaining a hundred thousand people at once non-stop you know he was 24 7 live stream for 30 days and seeing like him his mom calling him hitting a hundred thousand Subs was like inspirational for me you know even though I I'm also doing good as well but like of course different step of like your parents calling you crying and being like wow like I was you know he's doing it different. That's a good example that like I want to become where after fortnite do like the entertainment aspect what he's doing. you know it's so funny you say that I want a lot of parents to hear like a lot of these kids are doing the same things that you grew up with.

You always hear about stand-up comics saying things like in documentaries like a Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle will be like but when Eddie Murphy did raw I knew that I had to go up another step or when like players today like talk about like when Allen Iverson was that quick I knew that I like I just wish people knew how much being a streaming Entertainer or a gamer was a talent and a skill that has requires incredible amounts of work. And to Pops your point putting a bow on this whole combo The parents that are most open to I mean like literally every parent that has an 11 year old right now 84 of them are telling their parents they want to be an influencer a Creator a YouTuber a gamer and you know for many parents they struggle with believing that can be true and it's only going to be more true five years from now, 10 years from now because it's become like normal. it's become like a normal sport brother. that green book right there.

the black crush it I wrote that in 2009 how old were you in 2009 Four good when you were four when I wrote that. So if you read that book, the hypothesis is like this: YouTube thing is new and I think people are going to make a living on it if you go to Amazon and look at the first reviews of that book that I wrote in 2009. everyone's reviews of my book were like one star. You're full of what do you talk? nobody's gonna make a hundred thousand dollars a year on.

YouTube Think about how outlandish that is. Now there's people who do that in a day. Yeah, today. So I the world's going to continue to move.

It needs people like you showing the way and I appreciate you doing that I appreciate you for having me. Thanks for being on of course. Awesome cool, good stuff. Good stuff.