#053: Balancing YouTube Fame and Brewing a $1M Brand: Brett Conti on His Next Big Move

I love like if I'm filming in the middle of streets and like people are like, "That guy's weird," or like come up to me and say something. It's not, I don't think people think it's weird. I've never had a vacation like where I didn't bring my camera and I don't even know the last time. Like I've gotten to travel to like 70-something countries and I can't tell you the last time I didn't bring my camera to one of them. I think it all clicked when I realized starting a business, I can run from anywhere in the world and this is the life I wanna live. And then that gave me, the impetus and motivation to make sure I kept making all my actions leading towards that. It's not even a question like if I want to do it, it's I need to do this. There's just something in me that's like, this is what your purpose is right now in your life to do.

Brett Conti, a YouTuber and entrepreneur, joins us in the studio to discuss his diverse journey in content creation and business. Known for his travel and business-focused YouTube content, Brett shares insights into his latest venture, a public journey to build a million-dollar D2C tea brand. He emphasizes the importance of staying true to one's passions and the sacrifices he's made, including forgoing a traditional career path. In this episode, Brett reflects on the challenges of balancing travel, content creation, and business while maintaining personal routines. He also shares stories of perseverance, such as taking over a decade to reach his first 1,000 YouTube subscribers and talks about his future plans, including his continued dedication to content creation and entrepreneurship. Welcome back to Season 2, Episode 16 of the Turning Pro Podcast. Today we have Brett Conti, who is a YouTuber, entrepreneur, and a bunch of other things joining us. I'm so pumped for this episode.

Thank you guys so much for having me on. I'm stoked to get into this. I've been watching the podcast for a while, so I'm honored to be here in the chair.

I was telling Adrian before we started, when I was thinking about this, like most episodes or most guests, it's like very particular what you— you kind of know what you're going to talk about. But I feel like you have lived so many different journeys that have culminated into what you've been doing today, in the sense that like we can go down so many rabbit holes based on just pure interest, whether it's building businesses, YouTube, traveling, etc. So maybe just start by giving a quick 30-second overview on what you're up to right now, and then we can jump into it.

Yeah. Like Ben said, you know, obviously like so much in the past and lived a couple of different lives for sure. But right now my main thing is YouTube. So I do a lot of like travel, New York City, business building content, anything from like switching lives with a billionaire to turning my New York City rooftop into a nightclub to see how much money I can make. And now I'm kind of like bringing it full circle and trying to publicly build a $1 million D2C brand. So that's what I'm currently dedicating all of my bandwidth to.

Where are we at on that journey?

It's gonna launch early fall. So in the next like 2 to 3 months, it's more just thinking about the content strategy, like the branding, the products itself. It's gonna be a tea company, is all pretty much dialed in. But now it's kind of just like, how do I wanna kickstart this thing with a boom? And like, how do I get it so excited and off the ground? So that's where I'm currently at.

What was the initial like kernel of that idea? Was it initial? What is it? What, what, Was it initially like a content idea? Did you want to go build another brand? Was it just, you know, the process that you were interested in? What was that first inclination?

Yeah, you know, I've been doing YouTube for like 7 years now. I mean, 7 years ago I was just doing like shitty little vlogs in my Chinatown apartment and documenting that. Hey, this is not a shitty little apartment. This is nice. But yeah, just like building everything out of my little apartment I share with 7 strangers and was documenting that process.

And you lived in an apartment with 7 strangers?

Yeah. In a 6-story walk-up right on Mott Street. Wow.

What?

Yeah.

Those units are old, too.

Wait, there were 8 of you in the same apartment?

Yeah.

Did you know them, or was it kind of—

No one.

Wow.

Moved in there, and what they did was turn, like, a 2 or 3-bedroom and just built flex walls. So all the walls were paper thin.

Mmhmm.

Definitely heard a little bit too much of my neighbor next door, but it was such a great, like, entryway out of college, being on my own and, like, trying to be an entrepreneur. So I was always like building businesses even since I was a little kid. And with YouTube, it's cool that it's very entrepreneurial. You know, it is building your own business in a way. But the goal was always to do something like this. I didn't know it was going to be this like $0 to $1 million build, but I was like, I want to publicly build some type of company and do it where it's almost like a master's degree for me and the audience. So I came up with the idea of like the $0 to $1 million. I'm like, that's a cool way to gamify it and publicly disclose every week, where we're at, what's working, what's not. So everyone's learning and it's insightful for everyone. And it's also just super exciting. Like, I love startup shows from like the WeWork, WeCrashed one, or like there's the Spotify one, you know, there's a bunch of the Ubers, how they did shows. I was like, how can I bring that in real time to YouTube? And that's where we're currently at.

What's going to happen when you hit a million? Because I have news for you. You're a little humble, dude. You're going to get to a million like very fucking quickly.

You know, a lot of people have told me that, or even I've met with like David from David's Tea, who's also like big D2C guy and sold his business for $400 million. Like, oh, you got this. Like, no problem. Like, million dollars is not easy to do, but let's run quick math. Yeah.

How much? How many is it? One SKU, couple SKUs.

There's going to be 3 that we're launching.

And what's the average price point per SKU?

We're going to sell them as of right now for $20.

Okay, so $20. Do the quick math for me. How many $20 SKUs do you need to sell to get to $1 million?

Let me calculate this in real time. It's—

someone already calculated it.

It should be around like 50,000.

You need to sell 50,000.

Roughly, yeah.

All right, so we're going to take the Mr. Humblebrat and we're just going to talk about it. You have what, almost a million subscribers on YouTube, 140,000? No, I think it's 8—

like, yeah, yeah, on social media, probably like 1.2 million. All right.

All right, so like we're— we need a very— I feel like you get higher conversion on like views on your video. Granted, it's different watching versus like taking out your wallet and doing something. But if we know anything about like MrBeast and gamification and engaging your audience, like if I put a gun to your head, I was like, bro, you have a week to sell a million dollars of this tea, I actually think you could do it.

Maybe. But I think it's also more— I do know like the audience has been like so excited to support this. But I do also want to treat it as a way where it's not just like an influencer selling merch.

Of course.

So I am going to be going about it like learning about D2C. I do even want to eventually try and get into like Whole Foods and try and create this into an actual brand. So even my last name is Conti and all my subscribers like call it Conti. But I thought that'd be too much like it's like me selling—

too on the nose.

Yeah.

So I was like, I want to create its own identity, its own brand, and build this as if I didn't have a following. But obviously it helps. I have like a nice little boost at the start.

When it comes to celebrity or influencer-backed brands or started brands, there's some that I see, it's, you know, like Rihanna and skincare company. It makes so much sense. And then there's some that I see that it's like selling random t-shirts from like a fighter that I don't understand at all. Are there a couple aside from like the big ones like Prime and other ones? Are there ones that you really look up to, maybe from smaller creators or smaller influencers who've done it right?

Ooh, my friend Ashley, who lives here in the city, literally yesterday just launched her own matcha brand called Nami Matcha.

I saw that.

And like, I think she crushed it and she like partnered with her management team. So like they even got to like help her out with stuff and she's just so good at marketing and has such an incredible audience. So like looking at her, I'm like taking notes and it's cool to be friends with her to be like, all right, what tips do you have for me? So I think she's doing like such an awesome job and like so excited for her. I do think like the Logan Pauls and the MrBeasts of the world are like kind of laid out the blueprint, but now it's like, how can we all do it in our own unique way as creators?

I'm curious about, you know, zooming back to some of the travel that we talked about even before we started this pod. And Ben and I were doing our research on your background. And I just got back from 3 months in South America. It was my first like traveling while running the business I started a few months ago.

How'd it go? It's not easy, right?

Not easy. And Ben is thinking about it potentially doing a few months, couple months, we'll see. And I think early days when you're starting a company, it's you and a couple freelancers. Like a lot of classic like e-commerce guys go to Bali and start this and maybe they're doing like $5K a month or something. That's a very different kind of work travel situation than when you're doing millions of dollars in revenue every year. You have investors in your company. So as you've kind of scaled up, especially on the content front, things are just more important now and they have higher stakes. How have you managed to continue to travel while things have become more and more higher stakes for you?

Well, it's nice that I make money from traveling, which is insane to say, but a lot of my content that does really well is sometimes these crazy storytelling travel videos. So there's the aspect where I still feel productive in getting my job done by flying around the world a couple times to make some videos. But when I first started, how I like started my YouTube channel is literally I got my clothing company into the chain store Zoomies and I figured out the logistics for it finally. And I'm like 22, 23. So I was like, oh, I don't need to be in America to run this company. I figured out 3PLs and third party logistics. So I'm gonna run this company from Asia. So I went to Japan for a month. I went to Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, all while running it when it was nighttime in Asia, 'cause it was daytime then in America. So for me, I was able to make it work then, but now it's nice that I can like work by filming when I'm traveling. But as far as like building this business, it's been really hard. Like I just spent a month in Jordan and Europe and It definitely set me back a little bit. So that's why I'm like heads down focus. New York City, to me, this place is like the ultimate office and everywhere else does kind of feel like vacation. So just heads down, strapped to my room and trying to build.

I love that analogy. New York's the ultimate office.

It really is. It's like a living, breathing office with like partners and collaborators just walking in your door.

I have two questions for you. The first one is, are you, who, like, do you have partners involved in the Tee brand?

No, I, what's crazy is like right when I announced the series earlier this year of like what I'm doing and building this zero to $1 million, I actually like had some credible investors who like I had known of their companies reach out to me, but I want to try and build this myself first. If it comes to it where like I can or I run out of money or it's not working, like maybe, because I don't want to give up. But as of right now, I still believe too much in myself that I can do it myself. At least to a certain point. So I think I could do this 0 to 1 million.

And then my other question is, how is this affecting your content cadence?

So that's been the most exciting part, to be honest. Like, there's nothing that is getting me more excited in life right now than even how I'm going to be able to integrate this series into my content. So coming up with all the storylines has just been so much fun, and I know it's going to be so helpful for the audience. Also hold me accountable. Because I'm going to be posting like very, very frequently. So it's going to be like awesome just to like hold myself accountable to get all these things done and build this business.

So then what is your take on people who say they're too busy building their business? They don't have time to post content.

It's bullshit. I mean, I— we all know friends here in New York City that have like families and wives and companies, full-time jobs, and like training for marathons and still have time to work on their startup. So I think it's all excuses.

What would your advice be to people who are maybe listening, who are like either, you know, followers of yours or anyone we know that make content who are just like either scared to put something out in the world or don't actually understand how to be able to do it on their own where they don't need like a full production team to be able to make their own content? I think getting started is oftentimes the hardest part for a lot of people.

Yeah, I mean, for me, I got into YouTube literally 2006. You can check is when I made my channel. At that time, I was getting made fun of for it. Like, people didn't know what it was. It was just like videos of like me at the zoo, which was like the first ever video on YouTube.

How old were you?

I was probably, oof, like 13 or something like that. And my first ever video was solving a Rubik's Cube in like 36 seconds. Like, I was a weird kid. So it makes sense that like I became a YouTuber, but—

Misfits. Yeah.

I was definitely like a nerdy, weird little kid. But I didn't care what other people thought of me. And I think that's one of the things, like, looking back on my life, I'm so proud of myself for. And like, always would tell myself, even as a little kid, was do actions that your future self will thank you for. And even back then, when I'm 13, I still just like had that mindset. And so grateful I did, because very happy where it led me.

That's a very rare mindset to have. I think for 99% of people who A, either directly care what people are thinking when you're posting content or when you're building something online, especially Ben's been posting, as you can probably tell, a ton of like startup-related content and broader like founder thought leadership. Is there a point where you were, you know, you're a little worried about it early on, then you kind of grew into it and now you don't even care at all? Or is that, is there a hint of it sometimes?

Of like being nervous about content?

Yeah.

I think it's just, It's like anything, like when you're doing it so frequently, you don't even have time to think about it. So not now. Now I love it. I love like if I'm filming in the middle of streets and like people are like, that guy's weird, or like come up to me and say something. It's not— I don't think people think it's weird. But at first I used to be the slightest bit like embarrassed about it, like posting my first ever vlogs, especially this is 2016, 2017, and it wasn't as common as now. So definitely would get made fun of. Um, but again, like, those are still the same people right now that are hitting me up like, hey, I want to get into YouTube, like, have any advice?

So I feel like it's like that with anything you do in your life where you find a little bit of success. It's like someone thinks you're crazy, and then all of a sudden you did something, they're like, wait, can you teach me how to do that?

Right.

A question I have for you, which is something I've thought about— I've actually never asked any of my creator friends this— do you find ever that it's hard to be present because you're living life through the lens of like, how do I capture this on camera, versus like just being in the moment? Especially as someone who travels for a living.

I don't think so. I feel like it, it gamifies it and makes it more fun where I'm like, what's the story here? And like, what can I do? But I would say I've never had a vacation like where I didn't bring my camera. And I don't even know the last time, like I've gotten to travel to like 70-something countries and I can't tell you the last time I didn't bring my camera to one of them. So there's a time where I know it, I'll need that. But for right now, like I just love making videos so much. I love coming up with stories. I love sharing it. I love, the editing process and the whole part of filming. So probably could be more present. I'm actually doing something, haven't even announced this yet. I'm hiking in like 3 weeks, Kilimanjaro, where there's no cell phone service for the like 9-day trek. And it's the tallest freestanding mountain in the world in Tanzania. Um, so I'm very excited to like not check my phone. When was the last time you guys didn't check your phone for one day?

Not even a day, right?

Like can't even remember, probably.

I'm trying to remember if it actually happened, let alone like when. Yeah, I don't know, right?

Me neither. So that's why I'm like, 9 days no phone and just like, dude, you're going to, you're going to have withdrawal symptoms 100%, right?

You're going to, I guarantee you're going to like reach into your pocket, you're going to like feel like thinking there's a vibration. Objectively, we are like psychologically addicted to it. And then I think on top of that, the feedback loop that you get from like people liking and commenting and engaging with your stuff just makes it even worse. I'm curious to see how you are like by day 5. Yeah, then you're gonna get to day 9, he's like, I don't ever want to touch myself whenever again.

That's what I'm hoping. I'm hoping that—

I gotta find it for you. I saw something online last week. I, I'll look for it after. I forgot the guy's name, a very successful businessman. He doesn't have a phone at all. Doesn't have a phone.

I think to get to that level, you need to be reachable, and then you can be very successful.

And yeah, you have to be.

I'm sure he's got like VAs where you could call. Yeah, I know he is. Okay, but it's But don't you— I feel like it would be harder for me when I got to that level because I feel like you get more access, you get more opportunities when you're at that level. So like, think about how many business people we know today. Like Gary Vee, for example. That guy could build a $10 million company sitting in a room on his phone by just calling 50 people and be like, I need you to talk to this guy and do this thing and that thing and then post this thing here. You really don't need anything other than your phone to do that.

Yeah, he should. Yeah.

Does he have any videos? I'm sure he does. About how frequently he's on his phone and how quickly to make things happen.

I'm sure if you dig down the archives deep enough, you'll find something about it.

Deep archives. Something I want to talk to you about that I think we're both going through in some regard. We started our companies, what, 2.5, 3 years ago or something like that?

Wait, are you his business partner?

No, he's got his own company.

Oh, he's got his own company. Okay, got it.

And so this is something like a lot of our friends are kind of going through, people that have been running businesses for like a handful of years. You've been entrepreneurial for the last decade plus. Now. And so I'm curious, I think our kind of mutual pain point or something that at least I feel is that as you start to have more access, unlock new opportunities, meet more and more people that just go through similar things to you, like a lot of the time I relate way better to founders that started new businesses a few years ago, even if I met them a week ago, than friends that I've known for 20 years because they're going through the same thing in real time. They can empathize. For you and maybe other YouTube creators now, maybe other CPG brand founders, right? And so I'm curious, as you've met more and more people, you've access to all these really cool people who are doing similar things to you. How have kind of your relationships evolved over time? Who you want to spend time with? And also, how do you ensure that you spend time or block time for some of your old friends from, from growing up, from college, high school, whatever it is?

Yeah, I mean, beautiful thing about living in New York is 99% of people are like ambitious, wanting to grow, similar mindset and values and principles that myself. So here in the city, pretty much everyone I surround myself with are people like you guys. Ben and I have been friends now for about a year, and it's awesome that like every time we meet, everyone's like excited when they leave. They're like just so fired up on life and like seeing their friends win and it motivates them to win and everyone's like very encouraging of one another. So I feel like New York's such a great place for that. And again, like luckily, like I would say most of my friends are in the entrepreneurial, creative, self-help world. But then, yeah, maybe some older friends from college or high school that went down the more traditional route, make time for them. But it's harder to relate on certain things where they're dreading their job or like living for the weekends where I'm like living for Mondays and like hate the weekends. I don't drink really. Like, so I do think I've been trying to balance it, but You guys are, I think, a couple of years younger than me. We're like, it's these past couple of years, it's like really shifted where like you still make time, but you kind of just start gravitating towards others.

Is it tough at times?

Not necessarily. I think, I think you'll have friends that you'll be friends with for life, but the ones that like are meant to be in your life, like, will always be there.

I attack this topic so aggressively head on. I actually wrote a LinkedIn post about this yesterday. that I'm posting later this week. But it's about just like accepting the fact that as your interests change and you stay true to who you are as a person, you're willing to accept that certain relationships are going to drift and trust that you'll find people who are similar to you, right? Like spending the week— we went to a retreat last weekend, uh, that a company put— they brought 25 founders to an offsite. They literally just rented 3 houses and put us like out in in like really nice backyards and we just literally sat there and nerded out all weekend. It's like, that was fun. Like talking about our problems in business on like Saturday at 3 PM. It's like a lot of my, you know, childhood friends and maybe more traditional places, they'd be like, Ben, shut up. Like no one wants to listen to this right now. Whereas when you find people who are similar, they're like, oh, tell me more, tell me more. Here's what I'm going through. And it's like, that's actually fun. So I think just trusting that you will end up where you're supposed to be if you're honest with yourself is very important. And I think has been the biggest learning for me, especially since I stopped drinking a couple years ago as well.

Yeah, no, I totally agree. So I feel like you guys are making the right choices to be around the right people.

Have you had to have any hard conversations with kind of like older friends or childhood friends that are like, why aren't you spending more time with me, man?

Not really. Again, I was really weird as a kid.

Like, I didn't have—

he's like, my closest friends were on like Discord and YouTube comments.

They were imaginary. You know, again, my first YouTube video was solving a Rubik's Cube in 39 seconds. My second video was a tutorial on how to do a backflip in my living room when I was like 14. So I was like doing my own thing. I was a skateboarder, like didn't have many friends in like elementary school, middle school, high school really. I like knew everyone but like didn't hang out. Also didn't drink at all in high school. College, I definitely became more social because then I became more entrepreneurial and became president of my school or student class president. So there was a switch there and like became more friends with people in college. But like, I've never had to have any really like hard conversations. I do think like my friends from the— like one friend I have from high school still literally, uh, is doing something similar. Uh, so I haven't had to have that conversation with like people not going on a similar route as me.

Something you're talking about which I want to double-click into is it seems like the willingness to spend time alone. I think it's not something that a lot of people are very good at. Admittedly, I'm not. Yeah, like, I feel like you're someone where you could like go off and disappear for a couple days and go travel, go make videos, go get like lost in your little creative rabbit hole and not worry about like what other people are doing. And it seems like it's something that you actually like get more energy from. Like, what— how do you think the ability to spend time on your own has really helped influence your journey as a, as a creator?

Yeah, well, I think spending time alone, like, as much as I have throughout my life, it's really taught me, like, the true meaning of, like, how to not give a fuck what anyone else thinks. And I think there's such a beautiful thing with that. And, like, once I came to the other side of that mindset, my life just began changing for the better. That's where I then became a travel YouTuber and, like, started businesses. Because before, I do feel like I cared a little bit too much subconsciously. So yeah, like, again, like I've spent like 6 months alone in Asia when I was like 22.

Dude, that is so crazy.

In like countries that don't speak English where like I was forgetting how to speak English because I'm just not speaking anymore to anyone. And those experiences were the grounds for like what I am now.

Do you think there's one moment looking back where you're like, that's where it all clicked for me? The turning pro moment?

The turning pro moment for me, I think it all clicked when I realized starting a business, I can run from anywhere in the world and this is the life I want to live. And then that gave me the impetus and motivation to make sure I kept making all my actions leading towards that. That was always my goal. Like, how can I build a business to be able to have the freedom to do whatever I wanted? And once I got a little taste of it and started making a little bit of money, It was a drug. It was like, how do I like really build something so I never have to get a real 9 to 5?

Is that taste around the idea that essentially what you're talking about is that reality is somewhat negotiable to an extent of like, I can just go do this and start a brand and go create content and make money from it? Was it kind of that first experience that was like, oh, I can kind of do whatever I want?

Yeah. I mean, even to take it back even further though, my sister and I was talking about this, how when she used to ask me what I wanted to be when I was older, I always say I want to be a professional Brett. No idea what that meant. No idea what that meant.

You did it.

I kind of manifested that.

You are that.

Yeah. So here we are, like 20-something years later.

Manifestation in the mirror. 10 years old.

When you did my intro, you should have said, this is Brett.

He's a professional.

He's a professional. Um, no, but there is some beauty with like even YouTube. Like when I started, I didn't know where it would lead me. But it's so incredible that I can integrate all my, I guess, curiosities, whether it's starting a business, travel, or life here in New York City, and just tell it in cool stories on YouTube and be able to turn that into a job somehow.

Were there any moments through, let's say, the past decade specifically where you thought you were kind of making all the right decisions to become a professional Brett? Maybe you're doing content, building businesses, traveling a lot. and then you maybe found yourself in a place, some foreign country, doing something that you're like, wait, this is not where I want to be. Maybe I want to be back in New York. Maybe I want to be here. Maybe I want to be focusing on this project. Did you hit any of those points where you're like, okay, I need to reset, focus on kind of who I'm working with, where I am?

Yeah, I think it's almost like if you had like a really nice cushy job and you're in the golden handcuffs, where right now I'm kind of in the golden handcuffs in great place where, yeah, like, you know, I get paid well to travel the world, make videos, get to hire my friends and bring them with me. So even like, yeah, like some of my best friends I've brought to like 20+ countries that like we've gotten to work with together from like Gabe or my buddy Chris. So I think now I'm like, what are those actions I can make right now that future Brett will thank me for? And that is why I think like starting this business is something that's so important where It's not even a question like if I want to do it, it's I need to do this. There's just something in me that's like, this is what your purpose is right now in your life to do.

Yeah. I feel like when you're traveling and building businesses, those are two of the biggest strains on your body. Like every founder I know has that physical strain and then traveling just takes it out of you. Even not even delayed flights, just like going to a new environment, time change, things. Sometimes it's really hot, it's really cold. And you do those two things at the same time. And so I want to get more tactical about how you protect your physical health to ensure that you can continue to do both of those. I know you mentioned not drinking, but what is that? What are those routines and habits?

And your mental?

Yes.

Yeah. Not going to lie, it's volatile and the routines are tough going through different time zones. Like I was in, like, Jordan last month and time zone changes like 8 or 9 hours something. So there it's like, how can I still run maybe at the gym? How can I put, book hotels that at least have a decent gym where I can work out or run outside? So I think bringing your daily habits with you when you're home with you while you're traveling is important and critical to make sure you're like staying mentally sane. 'Cause when I used to travel, had no routine. I would just wake up, hit the ground running, explore the place, have to do a little work, stay up super late to talk to people back in America. So now I think I have strict guidelines and principles, and I know myself so much better now to be like, Brett, even if you don't want to get out there and run, you're going to thank yourself later.

Is there anything outside of running that you would consider to be like one of those non-negotiable habits?

Eating healthy when you're traveling. It is like easy just to grab like a quick bite or like a burger or something like that. So like, can't remember the last time I ate something like that because it really does just like ruin you when you're traveling.

It knocks you down.

When you're at home, will you splurge a little bit?

I'll have some cheat days for sure.

But when you're traveling, you try to be diligent about that because you know it will just downspiral.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I think eating healthy is like really important. Meditating, still reading a lot. So I think like having like those few things have like helped me out so much.

What impact has your cousin had on you? I know he was a YouTuber as well, and you got into skateboarding.

Yeah, yeah. Wow, you did your research. Um, Yeah, so my cousin Chad got me into skateboarding when I was like 5, and skateboarding became like a huge part of my life and ended up like having sponsors from like Red Bull and Nike and traveling all over the country when I was in high school and like getting excused from class to go to these competitions across the country. Um, and then I started a skateboard company, so huge influence there. And then I'm the one that actually got him into YouTube. So he got me into skateboarding, I got him into YouTube. So Uh, I think also growing up, uh, my dad like lived here in the city for the majority of my life, so I would see him on the weekends here and then weekdays with my mom in Long Island. So having my cousin close to me on Long Island during those days was almost like him being older, like a second father figure.

Is he still YouTubing now?

He is, yeah. He actually skateboarded across America by himself with just a backpack and broke a Guinness World Record and daily vlogged it. What? Yeah, yeah, check out Chakrus though.

Yeah, you got to send a link after this.

Yeah, it's insane.

Yeah, what's the Guinness World Record you're going to break if you haven't already?

That's a great question. I don't know, we'll have to come up with something crazy, but maybe we'll—

That's a crazy one.

Yeah, skateboarding across America by himself. No, like, support trailer, just no phone either. No, no, he had the phone. He daily vlogged it on the phone and edited it on the phone same day.

That's fucking crazy. Yeah, I want to talk about— I, I feel like the recurring theme that I'm hearing from you is you saw something you're interested in and you just followed that as far as it went. Like skateboarding, getting to a level of it, YouTubing or creating content, traveling, working on CPG and consumer brands. Now, a lot of my friends that aren't as entrepreneurial have interests and will tell me about them and won't follow them anywhere, even though they have like natural curiosity about it. It could be like designing couches, it could be interior design, and I know they're passionate about it, but maybe they're worried about doing it or going out on a limb to like chase it. It seems like you just naturally— maybe it's a self-confidence thing that you've built over time, that the minute you have like curiosity about something, you start digging and you just keep going. Is that kind of just a habit you've built over time? Do you even notice yourself doing that?

Yeah, well, I relate so much of career and these kind of life decisions, like you mentioned, so much with dating, where to me it's almost like I love opening myself up to so many different things in life and opportunities and potential paths of life that when one clicks, then I just go all in on it. And I think it's similar with dating where it's like dating a lot of people or meeting people and then finding someone that you like and then, you know, committing to them fully. So I think it's similar with me, like when I found skateboarding, when I found YouTube, when I found doing starting businesses, it's just like this instant click where you're like, that's for me. I'm, I'm gonna go.

Should we talk about dating for a second?

Oh, we can. I'm single as fuck though.

No, I, I'm very— I'm actually very— so we're both in relationships, right?

Congrats on that. When we ran a couple months ago, I know that you were—

you remember? Did I tell you how we met?

No.

This is the— so like, I feel like if everyone— he'll appreciate this more than anyone because the two things that he does the most in his life, I would say this is the intersection of that. The, you know, the run we did from Montauk to Times Square? So we needed a medical person because I had 20 creators and a 17-person production team. So I called my dad's friend who has a private practice in the city. I was like, yo, do you have any nurses or PAs that could help me? He's like, I have one PA who might be down to come help. She's now my girlfriend.

No way! I love that. I love it when it's such a like serendipitous story like that, like as organic as—

I'm like, if this girl could sit in the back of a production van for like 36 hours and not get paid and just like eat shit Like, I, I don't know what else I need at that point.

That's beautiful.

But the reason I bring that up is I think dating was very hard for me even prior to meeting her because I'm such an obsessed person with like things that I'm doing. And so I'm curious how you feel about this. When we started dating, I was like, it's very clear, it's very important that you understand my priorities. Like, I'm a workaholic. I'm not going to lie to you about it. I'm obsessed with it. I'm a nerd. Like, you're just going to have to deal with that. Fortunately, she's equally as nerdy, so like, it's— we can have like very intellectual rabbit hole conversations. But I'm curious how you think about dating as someone who shares those similar like ideologies in terms of like, work is your life, life is your work. You do a very good job of integrating those. It's like, what do you look for when you're, when you're meeting people and dating people?

That's a great question, and it's been such a learning curve. Like, I can tell you what I know I'm not gonna do again in the future.

Please do.

Takeaways.

Well, I think like a big thing was always like, what type of partner do I want? Do I want her to be very career-driven? Do I want her to maybe be a stay-at-home mom? Because I know I can be responsible for bringing home money and paying the bills and want someone to take care of the family. But after dating, uh, for this past like 8 months of being single, I think I do need someone as equally crazy as me and that like loves just like growing as a person every day and has their own passions. So that's like a major green flag for me. Like when a girl like can't stop talking about something that she loves, that's when I'm like, that's hot.

So what— but like in a perfect world, would you still— like if you were to hypothetically have kids, would you still want a caretaker to like go home and do that? Like I think for me, I want someone right now who's career-driven, but also like having a stay-at-home mom. I was very fortunate when I grew up that I 100% 50% want that for my kids.

Wow. No, everyone has their own perspectives on it, and mine have changed. Like, I used to think that way, but now I'm like, I do think I want someone that is career-driven, and maybe we could build a business together, you know? I don't know. I feel like I want a partner that is in it through thick and thin, and we'll like— we can help each other with our own businesses.

My girlfriend showed me a TikTok, actually. You might have seen this. It's like the 4 levels of dating.

Uh, it's like, it's like your first girlfriend.

No, no, it's, it's like your 4 levels of, I guess, your significant other, whether it's girlfriend, fiancée, wife. Uh, and it's like level 1 is she has to have a full-time job, you guys are like independent contributors. Level 2 is she's still working but has like a little bit of help around the house. Level 3 is like stay-at-home mom, has like a nanny. And level 4 is she has her own business and it's losing $20,000 a month, but she's having a lot of fun with it and that's all that matters.

So my girlfriend always jokes like, what am I getting to level for it.

I was like, a long time.

Funny.

So it's like doing things, but like money is not the end goal. So it's like you can have passions, you can explore your curiosities, but you don't have to worry about like not being able to pay the bills. Like, I'll take that responsibility. It's kind of like the way that it—

but live, live therapy session of when you guys started dating. I feel like a lot of people have those filters coming in and like strong opinions, like I want this and this. But also when you fall for someone, you fall for someone, and like you can't always have those conversations up front, and like, you may figure it out down the line. And so I'm curious for you guys, I know you're very strong boundaries. Were you up front like, hey, this is what I want, or did you just fall for it?

I would say both, but extremely upfront about it. Uh, I think actually part of that reason is more the religion conversation.

Oh yeah.

So I don't even know if I've told you this, and not to go down like a rabbit hole because I'm not that religious of a person, but I was raised Jewish. Yeah, I'm a proud Israeli Jew. And it's something that's very important to me. And I think like she's not Jewish. And we started dating right around when October 7th happened, which I think is a crazy time. Number one, for a non-Jew to start dating a Jew, just like being exposed to what's happening while also trying to educate yourself around it. And then the second piece, I think a lot of people in my situation felt a much more cultural tie to their community, just in like unity with what was happening, which forced a lot of really hard conversations on us very early in a relationship. In that, like, I know to— I know that I want my kids to be raised Jewish, and you take your mother's religion. And so it was a catch-22 in that it's very uncomfortable to, like, have such a heavy conversation so early on in a relationship, but also not wanting to waste someone's time where you don't talk about it, right? So it's— on one hand, it's like, hey, I know we just kind of met, but I also wanted to know if we're about to go down the path of a serious relationship, if you're not down to convert, like my kids, I really want them to be raised Jewish. And I'm not saying you have to answer that question now because I know this is heavy and this is a lot. It's like the world is kind of half burning right now and we're like having this conversation. Just like take this in and process that. Like, I know it's heavy, but I have to just like put it out there. So the fact that we were able to work through a conversation like that in our relationship, like the rest is trivial to me.

Yeah.

Yeah. That's a really tough conversation. So the fact that she is still here like means that she must really like you.

So she's downstairs.

Kudos to you.

Yeah, she had today off, which is great. Yeah, she's still here physically.

How do you think about your own boundaries? Um, not just relationships or past relationships, but friends, family, how often people have access to you? Like, I have some friends that will text me nonstop, like Ben Sharf, but you are in an inner circle of like, that boundary is okay. But there are also people that text me nonstop. We've talked about this. And who And I'm like, you don't have access to me 24/7. This is not allowed. And so I'm curious from your lens, like, how have you thought about boundaries? Who's in the inner inner circle where there's really no boundaries versus kind of new folks that you meet?

Yeah, I don't think I have it like written out, but there's definitely some people where it's like no matter what time of day, no matter if I'm in the middle of something so important, like I'm answering that phone or calling them back. Um, but then some other people, yeah, like it gets a little more difficult.

At least Adrian's like very explicit about it. Brett's like, Yeah, then there's some people— Don't text me.

Yeah.

Do not disturb forever.

Exactly. I mean, no, it's life. Like, it's life. It's how it has to go. And like, with texting, I sometimes think I'm like, damn, I wish like there was some combination bridge between like texting and emailing. Like, now it's nice with like putting your phone on do not disturb and people get the hint, but to have like 24/7 access texting someone and like expect to reply, it's just like, I'll get back to everyone, but just like Maybe I'll set aside like 5 minutes at the end of the day where I will text back people I didn't or try and respond to DMs. But if I'm going to spend every minute responding right away, we wouldn't have any YouTube.

Are you an inbox zero kind of person?

No, my inbox is like 5 million, like insane.

Is it just sitting there?

Yeah.

That's an angst that I have.

You're about your inbox.

Every unread text message and or email is explicitly unread. Because I know that there's an action required, not because I missed it.

Oh my God. We're going to find this out.

I mean, his volume.

No, no, it's— yeah, his volume is different because he's got a pretty big audience.

How many bubbles do you have on your phone?

Let's see. Oh, we're on do not disturb.

So the other thing I just discovered like 6 months ago is the filter on iMessage where you can like filter to see just unread messages.

I did not know that existed. Did you know about it? No, no, look at this.

Look at this. So bad. You have like all messages and you go to filters and just click unread. It just filters all of them. Oh my gosh. So it makes it way easier than like if you have like messages from 2 months ago where you're just like, I know there's one in here that's like unread. You have to go look for it. Just set it. It's a setting in iMessage.

All right. Yeah. We're currently at 9,091 emails and 601 text messages.

Yeah.

That goes me. We're not at zero yet.

Is it? Yeah. We're working on it.

How do you function like that? Why don't you have a VA like scrape through your inbox and like unsubscribe from stuff?

Okay. But let me, let me say this before he gives you the answer. I actually think that's probably part of the reason he's so successful is because he has the ability to only prioritize the things that are actually going to move the needle in the moment. Whereas I know I'm guilty of being a people pleaser where like I'm responding to things at a level of urgency that I put them at a level of urgency that they're not actually at relative to what should be done. Yeah, I think my— the way that I operate is because I do believe people who respond quicker are generally more successful, but I think there's levels to that and how and why. But I think it's probably because, you know, there's things in there that are not like mission critical today and you don't let it distract you.

Yeah, exactly. It's a lot to what you had to say. Even have you guys ever read The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss? Great book. Probably like the first book I actually like read on my own when I was younger and it like truly changed my mindset early on.

What about it?

He talks a lot about checking your emails and like how like you only check it once a week. Yeah, I don't do once a week, but I probably check my emails for about 3 minutes a day, dude.

Oh my God. And like all quick responses, like no really, like I'm embarrassed to tell you how many times it It's awful.

How much time?

20 times?

No, it's my subconscious, like, oh, let me just check my email quick.

Yeah.

Wow.

I wish I could set up a filter where it's like every time over 3 times a day you check your email, you have to Venmo Brett.

I like this.

But I think that's the same thing we're talking about of billionaires that like don't have phones anymore.

Yeah.

But getting there, they're— I'm sure they're pretty damn responsive at all hours of the day.

Yeah.

So I think a lot of like— I'm the exact same way as you, especially thinking about like priorities that really don't— no one cares if it's 2 days later, but in my mind I'm like, they want it in 2 hours, it needs to be delivered. And so yeah, there are some like mindset shifts that you can make, but at the same time you've been able to build Platter at this scale and the growth that you have already because of that.

It's all— I was just gonna say, it's— that's actually a huge reason for it is because— and it's, it's an Elon Musk quote that stuck in my head that makes me act this way, which for better or for worse, but it was like Uh, if you try to accomplish your 10-year plan in one year, you're probably not going to do so, but you're going to get a hell of a lot further than if you try to accomplish your one-year plan in one year because it puts a level of urgency on you. And so I think, do I respond to emails that could wait till tomorrow? 100%. But I think because I have co-founders who are a little bit more pragmatic and a little bit more reasonable, we balance each other out where I'm like, everything needs to be done yesterday. Like, there's an SOW or a question in your inbox, like, answer it now. Because it's just going to get the deal done faster, which means more money sooner. And so I have this like crazy person mentality about that. Do I think it's sustainable? No. Do I think it's the most productive? No. Do I think it's actually also helped us move at the speed at which we have? I do. But I don't know long term if that's the best way to go about it, because now that we're at a point where like things are moving and there's other people in place helping in other areas, I think I can be more intentional about how I spend my time to maximize productivity.

So about an hour ago this happened where when we— I run a content agency, we work with a bunch of startups and when we ship something live, we go on their Slack channel, we tell them like, hey, it's live. There's no action needed. We're just kind of letting them know.

And something went live.

I saw it on LinkedIn and then like 3 minutes later I look in the Slack and it hasn't been dropped in yet. I ping the team like, what's going on? Like, why hasn't it been done? They respond like 2 minutes later and they're like, Adrian, this is happening. It doesn't like— it doesn't need to happen in the first 5 minutes. Like we're about to send it. I'm like, okay, I'm sorry. Like, I'll get out of this workflow. But my brain is built like that because I'm like, did someone miss this? Is the workflow broken? Did someone not take ownership? And anyway, I'm just venting, but yeah.

No, it's a dopamine hit. It's a distraction. I'm curious for you, uh, what type of environments do you like to put yourself in when you're trying to get the creative juices flowing to like think of ideas or think of how to solve problems or like videos that you're making?

So I think it's Jerry Seinfeld who said a quote that really hit with me. And for him, it's comedy. For me, it's like content and business. But he just talked about how it's a curse that you can't turn off. So zero time in the day besides when I may be meditating and is my brain not like fully on thinking of stories, thinking of content, thinking of business ideas. So I think it's always on and just always going. And I'm trying to get better at like turning off and disconnecting for certain parts of the day. But man, it's just like if I'm trying to sleep, I get so excited because I'm like, oh, this would be so sick to do. With the tea company, or like, I want to travel here, I'm going to hike this mountain, then run this marathon. So it's just like always on and always on. Are you guys the same like that too?

Yeah, it's a disease. It's an addiction. I mean, I don't think it's a bad disease, but I guess, I guess I'm wondering, do you ever find yourself being like, I'm gonna go to a bookstore today, or I'm gonna like take mushrooms and go sit in the park and like think of things? Are you just like, it's always on, so you just live your life the way you do and it all happens? Because I think I've talked to some creatives who are intentional about trying to put themselves in certain environments when they're trying to solve a certain thing. And other people where I think it's like, at least like me, to what you just said, where it's just my brain can't turn off, so I just live my daily life and ideas are just flowing in and out all day.

Yeah, I think it's more the random areas. Like, literally, I feel like I've come up with my best ideas in the shower, like brushing my teeth. Maybe I'm on a run or like moving. I know that they said like cognitive thinking works best when you're like moving. So even like going for walks in the city or in the morning. Yeah.

About cognitive—

it's the same thing with like flow state if you're going for a run.

Yeah, exactly. Like getting the blood flowing and like going to the brain. Yeah. So that's why like people like sometimes work on like treadmills even too and it like helps.

But it might be, but I never understood that. I don't trust someone who works on a treadmill all day.

You're a treadmill walking desk, are you?

No, no, no.

Come on, respect him. Absolutely not.

No, but I get the process of like walking around in the streets of like New York City or somewhere to be able to come up with ideas. Or even something I've been doing more frequently now, like, uh, I was in Bali in the jungle for 3 days by myself. No internet, just a notebook. No TV, no nothing.

I just got anxiety running through my body.

It was amazing, honestly. Yeah, like the first couple hours it was boring and like my mind was going in weird places. But again, it's like without pain there's no growth. So it was like something that I feel like I, I really value doing, and it like makes me a better person and business operator.

I have two questions. One is, how do you formulate your ideas? So like, are you someone who's like in your Notes app? Are you like a voice note? It's something I think I've struggled with my entire life where something will come to me, sometimes I'll write it down, sometimes I'll put it in a note, sometimes I'll just text it to myself. And it just like, it's organized confusion that makes sense to me and only me. I'm curious what your system is for that. And then my second question leading off of that, which is actually not really relevant, but I wanted to get it out, is the most dangerous situation you've encountered on your travel YouTube journey. That's a good one.

Well, how I come up with my ideas is I think of YouTube videos as a product. So for me, what is the product? What type of video do I want to see on the platform? That's where I start. Because if I'm not motivated to make it, it's probably not going to be good. There'll be no passion behind the story. So that's how I think of 99% of my videos. So for example, Switching Lives with a Billionaire, that was a video that was like on my bucket list video ideas. I was like, that would just be so cool to see. Like, what would it be like for me to live like a billionaire and them to live like my life? Like, who would have more fun? Who's happier? Like, are billionaires— does that bring happiness? And Even the billionaire I switched lives with owned an NBA team with A-Rod. So like had a meeting with A-Rod, which was so interesting.

Who else did you meet with? Do you remember we talked about this?

Fucking dope.

Dude, one of our clients, one of our clients was in this video for this. Yeah.

Mark Lore mentored that woman.

So Kelsey Morera, who's the founder of Dope.

Oh, wow.

She came on the podcast.

Oh, no way. Yeah. Oh, sweet woman. Yeah.

She came on the pod.

Yeah, no way.

Yeah, she was in. I remember like watching the video. I'm like, wait, Brad, I know this girl. And he's like, yeah, it was just like his agenda. And I happened to have to do that that day.

No fucking way.

Anyways, continue. I had to add that anecdote.

Yeah. So it all starts with, for me, like what type of content I want to see. So even like this $0 to $1 million series, like that's something I would love to see. You know, it's a good idea when you come up with an idea that you would be so excited to consume but so pissed if someone else did it first. So for me, that was this, where I was like, if someone else did this $0 to $1 million series and like publicly built their company like how I'm envisioning, I'd be so excited to watch it. That would be something I look forward to every episode. But I'd be like, damn, why didn't I do that first? So when I had the idea, I was like, we have to hit the ground running. We have to get this going ASAP. So here we are.

Love that.

And then the second question is the most dangerous situation you've ever encountered on your YouTube travel journey.

Oh my gosh. All right. There's definitely been a couple. I would say one of my favorites, but also like sketchiest. I mean, even like last month in Jordan, I went scuba diving and the guy in Jordan taught me for 5 minutes how to scuba dive and like didn't know what he was saying or anything. And he just threw me in the Red Sea and I couldn't breathe for like the first minute. I'm coming up and I'm like dying. This guy just like slaps me across the face, like in a friendly way. And it's like, deep breaths, deep breaths. And then I went back under and did it. But There's just like stuff like that in these countries where the regulations are so different.

Yeah.

Than what we're used to. I kind of love it because it's just like more exciting, but also nerve-wracking when you're underwater for 30 minutes.

All right, tell me more. I'm all in on this topic.

Have you done it before?

No, I never scuba dived in my life. Wow.

That's—

scuba diving is dangerous.

I know. Yeah.

Tell me more.

He was just like, go like this if you're fine and like this if you're not.

Okay. Jesus Christ.

So that's the most recent one. I would say one of my favorite Scariest experiences.

I love how he leads with the word favorite.

Yeah, I got something.

That's when you know he's built different.

I remember when I was like 22, I hitchhiked across Japan, which was insane. And the family didn't speak any English. So we didn't speak for like the entire time besides like trying to use a translator. That one was fun. Not as scary. But then in Vietnam, I rode a motorbike for 5 days on the border of Vietnam and China, which was also pretty incredible. And it was on like a semi-automatic bike. And at this point I like never rode any real bikes like that. So you're riding on cliffs where like if you literally went 2 inches to your right, it was straight to death. So that was probably on the more like riskier side. Yeah. I mean, I feel like I can go all day with—

No, I continue. I'm like fully in on this.

What else do we have? Oh, this one was kind of— this one was actually the scariest because I thought I was going to go to jail. So Singapore, when you arrive on the airplane, on the back of the customs form, it says like if you're smuggling in drugs, which includes weed, that you get the death penalty. And they have killed like celebrities in Singapore, like rappers for having weed. I don't smoke weed. So it wasn't that. Yeah. Or even like, again, I wasn't worried about that because I don't do that stuff. But even though like fine you for having gum. So very strict. And I filmed a video, 24 hours in the airport, because it's like the number one airport in the world. And I bought fake tickets, like tickets that were real, but like weren't— wasn't actually going to depart on the plane. I just like wanted to get in to like film. So I bought tickets for me and my girlfriend for like $30 to go to Malaysia, which is the closest city. And we went in, we filmed. And as soon as I'm done, we tried leaving. And I thought it'd be like JFK where you can just like walk out a door. And exit the airport. And there's signs everywhere when you're going in. It's like, if you are not having intentions to leave, like, it is like a criminal charge and like will be subject to prison. And I saw that. My girlfriend at the time saw that. We definitely looked at each other like, oh, we'll be fine. It's okay.

Wait, what do you mean intentions to leave?

Like what we're doing, how we like— we got into the airport and we weren't actually leaving.

Oh, oh, oh.

And we go in, we film the video, and then I'm like, oh, that. Like, there's nowhere to leave. Like, where— how are we gonna get out of here? Like, we're caught red-handed. We ended up trying to leave. It took like 7 hours. We had to go to customs. They're like, why aren't you going to Malaysia? And I'm like, oh, our friends canceled on us. Like, where's the rest of your stuff? Like, did you check in bags? And we're like, no. So we literally just had my one backpack with me, which was my camera bag that they opened up and searched. And they're like, you were just gonna go with this? And questioning us. I'm like freaking out. Luckily, like, my ex-girlfriend was like keeping my composure for me and like helping me out. But I was just like, if I get me and my girlfriend at the time like arrested in Singapore right now, like I'm going to feel so bad.

What a good story that would have been.

It would have been funny, but not in Singapore. Like, I feel like they treat this shit like seriously everything out there. So luckily I was able to like smooth my way, keep my composure and like get it together and like talk us out of it. I don't know if they actually believed us or not, but I kept staying with the story. Saying like, no, we just canceled our plans. And then like they finally let us go. But it was like 7 hours of just pure anxiety of like, am I going to jail tonight?

English is their first language though, too, right?

They speak English, Mandarin, a lot of Indian.

So if you're stranded in a different country with those rules, oh yeah, I've been in some Middle Eastern countries like Morocco where I'm like, no English.

Yeah, they like stole my drone, never got it back. Like at the airport they only speak Arabic. So yeah, travel is like beautiful that you get all these stories with it. And at the time they may suck, But looking back, I'm like, oh, that was funny when we almost got arrested in Singapore.

One thing I want to talk about is sacrifice behind what you're able to do. So in real time, this is like my favorite reflection question every week of like, okay, I want to start doing this more. And it's less about what do I need to add to my calendar to do it? It's more about what do I need to remove or sacrifice to do that thing? Like I've been trying to wake up early and it's not about like setting alarms or this or that. It's okay. I don't get to watch that hour Netflix thing. At night, or I don't get to do late dinner. And that's like the sacrifice to be able to be a morning person. So I'm curious for you, on a bigger scale, what has that looked like over the past 10 years? To have the degree of success you've been able to have as a creator or business owner, entrepreneur, what have you had to give up?

Yeah, I think it still comes back to like the making actions that my future self will thank me for. Because when I first graduated college with a finance degree, I had an internship for 2 years at Morgan Stanley and was going to go down that road and said no to that to literally become a burger delivery boy and like work on my clothing business, which like wasn't promising at all. I think we did like $10,000 in sales the first year. So it was a lot of sacrifice because a lot of my friends were going out drinking. I'm living here in New York City. Everyone's going out to dinners that they're inviting me to. And I kept having to say no. I remember always telling myself back then, again, this is like 8 years ago, but just saying like, I'll sacrifice to do what— homo, is it? It's like sacrificing what other— I don't know, something about like sacrifice.

Live the next few years of your life like most people won't so you can live the rest of your life.

Something like that. Yeah, I didn't make it up, but just like telling myself the quote about like sacrificing now to do like what others can't. Um, and it's hard to at the time when like you're sitting at home on like fried noodles every night for dinner. But at the time, I just like knew it was the best decision for me. So I would say a lot of it came back to sacrificing for sure.

What do you think about right now to kind of be the future professional version of, of yourself, whether it's launching this brand or launching new businesses? Is there anything right now that you know you'll probably have to sacrifice to get to that next level?

Oh, I think even like dating right now, like I haven't really been dating at all. Like before I was having fun and like could allocate my schedule to be like, alright, 2 hours a week I can at least meet people, not even if it's like not so romantic. Now it's been like 0 hours a week. So right now it's still like heads down focus. So I would say sacrificing that and knowing that maybe someone will come into my life, but I'm not on dating apps right now. I'm not really pursuing anything for the most part. So that, as well as even like, for me, as long as I can work out, spend time with family and work on my business, like I'm happy. Obviously friends too. But the beautiful thing is when you have other friends that are like us, it's like Ben and I, we always like go running together where we can still hang out and catch up, but we're also doing something we'd be doing anyway. So I would say just making sure you're surrounding yourself with like-minded people that can also like push you to be the better version of yourself and be that professional you.

What drives you? And is there a dark side?

What drives me? I think it's a lot of just like, for me, for me, knowing I was put on this planet to create content and to build businesses and to know I'd be letting a million people on the internet down, but also myself, is where I will do or die trying. I think there's an unhealthy side to it where, you know, I get recognized pretty much on a daily basis here in the city. And that's the thing that I'm so grateful for, especially like people come up and don't even just say hi, they come up and hug me. They're like, I traveled here because of your videos, or I moved to New York City thanks to your videos. And that's when I get the most fired up and then like go back home and I'm like, I can't let them down, also myself.

So damn good question.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think it's like, I mean, you need that question, man. Yeah. When you know you're living your purpose, like there's no even question of like, what's my motivation?

Any regrets so far?

No. When I think about that, like the only regret I have is like, I do love that I went to college and have a finance degree, which is pretty cool, I guess.

Where'd you go?

I went to Manhattan College here in the city. Um, but 4 years of your life and spending that much money, like I knew I didn't want to like really work a 9-to-5 job. Like I could have used those years doing something else that maybe would have progressed me further. But college was fun. Met a lot of awesome people and like did learn about finance, I guess. But that's like the one thing I'd maybe— you know what it is?

It's—

I love to question society, societal norms, whether it's having kids. I'm saying I don't want to have kids, but I still at least question them. But college, I was too young to really question that. Societal norm and wish I at least gave it more thought when I was 17.

Which ones are top of mind right now? Any other societal norms you're questioning or contrarian beliefs that you have?

Not so much. I guess like, I think the kids thing's like a big one. Like, I was just at like my sister's kid, my niece just, uh, turned 1, and all the whole family's there and they're all like, oh, you're single, blah blah blah. Like, you're in your early— you just entered your early 30s. Like, What are you doing?

Yeah, I get paid to travel and make fucking tea. What's it to you?

Yeah, so they're just like, oh, like, yeah, like, you know, you still have time, but like, it's, it's running dry. And why am I— I'm like, to me, no, like, I think I'm not worried about that at all. So I think it's just like, I just believe that the timing will be right when like the kids thing happened. But I think in suburb America, people are like, by 30, you need to own a home, you need to have kids, work on your family, where like I'm so grateful to live in New York City where none of those societal norms really come into play, where it's like totally normal for even a girl, guy to be single in their early 30s, mid-30s, late 30s, 40s, to not own a home. So I feel like New York City just like reminds me that don't listen to what like maybe I grew up hearing.

But I think those two societal norms you alluded to are directly correlated where it's like, at least what I knew to be true when I was younger was like, grow up, go to college, get a degree, get a stable corporate job. Find your significant other, get married, have kids, and that's like, that's the right way to do it, right? And then I think there's oftentimes people who hear that, get exposed to other things, they're like, wait a minute, what the fuck? Like, why are people telling me that? Like, there's more than one way to do this. So I feel very strongly about your perspective on the college thing. Like, I played a sport, so I think that was a huge reason that I actually like ended up going, uh, but gave up the corporate job, didn't do that. And then I think the kids thing For me, I would like to have them one day because I just think I would enjoy it genuinely, not because everyone else is telling me. But in terms of the timeline, like, I don't feel any pressure right now. And if it's going to get in the way of like my priorities, which are building things right now, I'm going to wait until it's, it's time to do that.

Yeah, no, same. Like, would love to have them one day. And I like— the biggest inspiration in my life was my grandfather, and the impact he had on my life is the reason I know I need to have kids. Because if it wasn't for him, obviously I wouldn't be here. He's my grandfather. But I don't know where my moral compass and if the decisions I've made like would lead me here. And I'm so grateful that they have led me here. So if I can have that impact on my kids or my grandkids, I feel like I'll be doing something great to this world.

Are you excited to be a dad one day?

Yeah. Yeah. Like I would love to be a girl dad or have multiple kids, I think that that's what motivates me as well. Like right now where it's like, oh, I want to be the man that I can show my kids like, look at how crazy your dad was.

What does your YouTube channel look like in 20 years from now?

Ooh, 20 years, man. I don't know if I can go down the whole like family route and like filming my kids. Nothing against like people who do that, but like for me, I just love storytelling. Making videos. So whatever ideas are relevant in my life. So maybe it's still travel, building businesses, but I don't know if I'm going to be like posting on the internet necessarily, like my kids and content like that. So I would like to say something still remotely similar, still like doing fitness and travel and business.

It's so crazy to think that like he's only been in YouTube for— I mean, I guess only, but like what, how many years did you say?

Started like 7 years ago, but seriously, like 6.

So he's only really been in it for 6, but you can ask him and he won't even— the reason I asked that question was to see if you'd respond and be like, I don't actually know if I'll be doing this in 20 years. Like, that seems like a lot of YouTube videos. But that, like, not even for a second did I sense that self-doubt. You have people who are like, oh, I can't start, it's too late. Like, there's way too many people on YouTube. And we're talking about how you're planning on— you already kind of know roughly in your head what it's going to look like in when you multiply the amount of time you've done it times 3 and you're still going to be going at it. I feel like there's a lot of people who get way too scared of starting things all because there's other people doing it.

Yeah, I mean, and that what sifts through the people who like shouldn't be doing it, maybe. Because for me, it's like, if I had to pay to do YouTube, I would still be doing it. I genuinely love making videos, posting them on YouTube more than ever. And not saying I'll never get burnt out, but I've yet to feel the feeling of burnout yet, just because I still just like love it so much and it like excites me every single day. So I don't think this is down my mind that I'll still be making videos in 20 years if YouTube, I think, will still be around. That's a better question. Yeah, I think they will. I think, you know, YouTube just keeps growing. They just surpassed Netflix as the most streaming hours of any platform in the world. Wow. So more people are watching on their TVs. And I think like there's still a lot more room for growth for the platform. So I'm excited to be a part of that movement.

We gotta get you on LinkedIn next. Ben's tearing it up over there.

I know, I see. Honestly, I've seen like your stories and after 5 years of not being on LinkedIn, I signed in this week.

Really?

Yeah. Because of him. Because of, yeah, like Ben and Aaron, our other mutual friend, are always posting about it. I'm like, damn, I gotta get on LinkedIn.

I feel like YouTube and LinkedIn, at least from like the startup content creation bubble, Yeah, those are like the two.

It's more mature audience, you know, like you're probably over the age of like 20 or at least like you're very self-motivated and like want to grow.

If you're on, it's just where a lot of decision makers are.

There's not too many like 17-year-old kids that are like consuming LinkedIn content for fun. Yeah, they're probably like DMing people for internships, right? Which is fine. Like I was that kid one time.

Yeah.

A couple last questions for you. One is, what would you tell your younger self looking back?

If you could change a few things about your journey, I would say don't listen to anyone. Take advice from people, but sift out what you know in your gut is true and always listen to yourself. You can, again, like, you can ask people for advice, but make sure you're always listening to yourself and you always know the right answer. It's— there's something in your brain that'll trigger if it's right or wrong. So I would say don't listen to anyone and just listen to yourself.

I love that. I think your gut is always trying to talk to you.

Mm-hmm.

And it's just whether you want to listen and give it space to actually make its voice kind of heard.

Yeah. And I think even to like go off of that reminded me how when I was starting YouTube and how you're even just talking about like how it might be too late. I do remember having this feeling of disbelief when I was at zero subscribers, like You know, you're just looking at the top of Mount Everest. It felt like, like, how am I about to like start this building this YouTube channel seriously? And I remember telling myself, if I can do this, I'll never have self-doubt about anything else I do in life. So vividly remember that like 7 or 8 years ago. So now whenever I embark on something else, I remember that moment. I'm like, Brett, you can do this. Like you did something you did not believe you could do in your wildest dreams. And you're currently doing it. So I think it's why entrepreneurs like us love doing hard things, because it shows us what we're capable of, whether it's marathon training or whether it's hiking Kilimanjaro. I think that's why so many entrepreneurs love pushing themselves in business, but also physically. I think— do you agree with that? Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest issue is that a lot of people just aren't willing to stay in the game long enough.

Yeah.

Right. Like, how, how many YouTubers do you know that failed for any reason other than they just quit.

Yeah.

Like, I, I think there's levels to it, of course, where you might see some of the guy, dude, I don't know if this is like your thing, but ultimately when you think about business building, like, you know who screams about this all the time is Alex Hormozi.

Just staying in the game.

It's like business, most businesses fail because you aren't willing to stay in the game long enough. So I think like a very good mindset to operate under is just like, how do you figure out ways to be default alive in whatever it is that you're doing? Because if you stay in it long enough and you can get one person to subscribe to your channel or one customer to buy your product, like, odds are there's probably more of them out there. There's what, 7 billion people on this planet? It's on you to just find those people. I think crazy people like us get excited by that and are willing to go on that discovery process to find those other people out there.

Yeah, I agree. It's almost even like— remind me of like the Dyson guy, how he spent like all of his life in his shed building vacuums and trying to perfect his craft and like never made any money and his wife like fully supported him. Where if you were as crazy like that, like you're going to make it happen, you know, like for me, it's— it took a little bit to get like really going on YouTube. But again, it was like, damn, I love this so much. It's making me feel so fulfilled. Like maybe I will have to get another job right now. Like I'm not going to go all in on this and expect it to pay my rent. But at least I love what I do. And even if it's like not breaking, uh, bringing in so much money, I'm at least enjoying it.

How long did it take you to get your first 1,000 subscribers?

Do you remember?

I would say, I mean, I started the channel in 2006. I probably didn't hit 1,000 subscribers until 2016, 2017.

Wow. Decade plus.

I hope, I hope people who are listening to this episode made it till towards the end to hear what you just said. Like, I don't think that is heard enough. Like, it took him a decade, a decade, yeah, to get to 1,000 subscribers.

Yeah, I mean, I was posting like science projects and like little videos, skateboarding videos, snowboarding videos, and like having fun with it, um, and like loved it. But then, yeah, it's like 2017 where I was like, I'm gonna post every day, I'm gonna see what I can do with this. So there was that turning pro moment where I was like, let's see if I can actually turn this into a job.

I love that.

I think you did it.

Yeah.

The professional Brett.

Yeah. It's still insane to like reflect back and just be like, wow, fucking YouTuber.

Never would have thought. Dude, what the fuck am I doing?

My wildest days. I'm so grateful for it. But it's just like, if you would have asked me 5 years ago, if I'd be here talking about like a career as a YouTuber, like, I'd be like, probably not. Yeah, not gonna happen, dude.

This was absolutely epic. I really appreciate you coming on today.

Thank you.

You want to just look in the camera— look at the camera on the left and let everyone know where they can find you and what you're working on?

Yeah, you guys can subscribe at Brett Conti on Instagram, YouTube. Also have my new tea company coming out end of October, so stay tuned for that.

Oh yeah, thanks for coming on, man.

Yeah, thank you guys for having me.