Davin Gentry - Diet Starts Monday

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Thing is to just know from someone who's young and is now a little older, most of those people that are telling you like, you're wasting your time or they don't believe in your vision, for one, they're not your friends. But two, they're not gonna be your friends in five to 10 years. So, like, don't worry about what they say.

What's going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome back to the R of the Young podcast. And on today's episode, I'm very excited to say that we have Davin Gentry on the show. Thanks so much for coming on. Thank you for having me, for sure. So, I mean, real quick, just to kind of set the tone, we met about a year ago up in D.C. at the diet Starts Monday shop. And for those who don't know, Davin is I would consider one of the dopest designers in the world that I've seen. And his company known as Diet starts Monday, which I know we'll get into, as well as premium and. And overall, I've been following you for a year and I think just everything you're doing with the attention to detail, with the quality, like, I've noticed that and that's why I'm super excited to have you on the show. But I want to say again, thanks so much for coming on and thank.

You for having me especially. Let me see this, this crib that.

You'Re about to, I don't know, we're looking, shout out to my buddy Oliver. We're at this, it's $9 million property that he has on the market and he led us through the podcast here. So I'm thankful for that. But yeah, it's beautiful. But to really start things off, Davin, just for the people listening, I'd love for you to tell them a little bit more about what Diet Starts Monday is and when you started it. Before we get into the story, Diet.

Starts Monday is really kind of an experiment. Like we. We launched it with the intention of not really making it a clothing line, not really making it this or that, but more like a brand that was a house for everything we wanted to create. So we started with clothing, but we also launched food products. We also launched skateboard decks, jewelry, footwear, candles, like home goods, etc, etc. I mean, the meaning behind the brand Diastice Monday is anti procrastination. People put things off all the time. They put it off till Monday or 1st of the month or the first of the year. And John and I have both put this brand off for three, four years before we actually put it into motion. And so whenever we started the brand, we were like, we know that the name has to be something that kind of relates to procrastinating since we put it off for so long. So Diet Starts Monday is something that John always wrote on his shoes just because he's like, we would travel so much, eat terribly, stay up late, drink all night. And he was like, yo, like, I'm eating so bad, my diet has to start Monday. And it's kind of like a joke.

Yeah, yeah.

Then once we launched the brand and we came up with the name, we really realized that diet, Diet Stars Monday relates to so many people. Whether it's like, whether it is a diet or whether it's working out or starting a new business or whatever the case may be, everybody always puts things off. And so we really started to see that procrastination is something that everybody relates to. And that's. That's one of the important things about a brand, is having a brand that people relate to. Yeah, it's really been. It's been a blessing to. To kind of stumble into a brand name that. That means so much to everybody.

No, it's funny too, because I am. I remember when I first saw it, it's like, I saw it and I'm like, that is one of the most relatable things ever. And it's funny because back home, before I moved out west, I was always showing my brothers and my mom, just like, yo, check out Diet Starts Monday. Just like repping it, right? And everyone I would show it to would say the same thing, like, they would relate to it, whether that's a diet itself. But overall, I just wanted to say that. Super dope. And so with diet, how long has it been something that you guys have been, like, pursuing? Because I know, like, you Said you guys procrastinated to start the brand. So how long has it been that you've been focused on that? And I know obviously you've had premium and different brands overall, but just what's been the timeframe of that for the people listening? I just want to pre frame, I.

Mean John and I started talking about it probably 2014, 15 and then 2016, around December was when we actually were like, okay, like now's the time that we want to, we want to put it into motion. And so it was probably like a two and a half year span of us kind of just like toying with the idea of creating something together. Yeah, yeah. And then once we decided to, it was about, I mean we started in November, December and then we launched the brand in February and then we opened up the retail restaurant and bar in May of 2017.

Got it.

It was really about like six months span of launching to having a restaurant store.

Yeah, yeah.

So it happened. I mean it happened really quickly, but the buildup was. Things can happen quickly when the buildup.

Like takes some time for sure. Yeah. So I know we met at that store, but for people listening, this may be the first time that they're hearing about yourself, the brand. I'd love you to take us back and just let us know more. So like where, where you're from and how you got into this sort of like design entrepreneur, starting a brand. Because I think a lot of people listening, it's 18 to 25 year olds, they're starting a brand and it's like they're going through their journey. Right. And I want to sort of just set the tone and say like number one, where are you from and how did you evolve to then start your own company, build a brand and then now just crushing it.

My, my journey's been, my whole life has been like entrepreneurship once I got out of high school. But I'm from Madisonville, Kentucky, which is southwest tip of Kentucky between Indiana and Tennessee. So the closest big city to me that people would know is Nashville, Tennessee. Yeah, yeah. So that whole region, like I grew up in the 90s, so like now there's probably a little bit more of opportunity in fashion or design and stuff like that. But growing up there was, there was nothing like no schools for design. Yeah, yeah. Any of that. So like after high school I wasn't even going to, to go to college at first, but then my mom, she convinced me and some friends, they were like, yo, just come. Like, yeah, yeah, we're just hanging out. Like just come. So I started with community college, just taking random like English and writing classes. And at first, at one point I thought I was going to be a writer. I was in like a creative writing class and my teacher really, like, I know he really brought something out of me that I didn't even know was in there. And then I decided to switch from community college to the university Western Kentucky. And then I was going for business. And then I met a teacher who was like, she would always see me drawing in class and stuff like that. So she was like, why don't you switch to art? And so I looked at the classes and I'm like, yeah, but this is like sculpting and stuff like that. Like, that's. I don't really see myself being a fine arts.

Yeah, yeah.

Major. She was like, no, switch to like digital art. That's where the money's at. Like advertising, multimedia, like. Yeah. So I switched to that. At the same time I was hand painting clothing. So I was like, I was just, I was more of a, like a draw. I could draw really well, but I could never really paint. But around that time, hand painted clothing was like going crazy because there were a couple brands in New York, New Jersey that really, it really did it really well. So like you would, you would go to their shop and say, I want this shirt in red, white and blue, and they would sell it to you. But my take on it was the same kind of idea. But you tell me like a slogan or a picture, like whatever you wanted and I would paint it. So I was doing that and it started to pick up. So I'm in school for advertising and painting shirts and the painted shirts really was like, I mean, that was my first business. I mean it was like, it was like an in house, like garage type business. Like there was no, like, there was nothing official where I had like employees or taxes and it was like just like selling stuff to friends and family for cash or whatever. But honestly, I did that for like a while and won like a couple clothing line of the year awards.

That's tight.

And stuff like that. While I'm in school for advertising, I'm taking graphic design classes and stuff like that and really noticing that I could, I could take the skill set that I had from drawing and painting and apply that to. To graphics in like a digital way. And so once I started doing that, I realized like, these hand painted shirts and I'm doing one of ones, I could make 10 or 15 or 20 with screen printing.

Yeah.

So it transitioned into that and then I Mean, I just kind of, like, snowballed into, like, another clothing line that was another award winner. Like, these are, like, regional awards, but.

Like, in Kentucky still.

Like, Kentucky, Tennessee, Memphis. That was kind of like the Atlanta would even come up. So it was like Southern Entertainment Awards. That's like the biggest award in that area for music, art, whatever.

Yeah, yeah, no, that's tight.

And that's just kind of like, I don't know that that took off.

And I wanted to point out something, too, because when I. For me, as a consumer of your content, I've been following you for little over a year now. So, for example, someone like Chevy Woods, I see he's always rocking the shorts and the merch and, like, obviously, when it comes to, like, putting it in the right hands of people and the promotions, like, you guys are just crushing it at the. The placement of it, you know, and, you know, how you know the right style and, like, you guys, in my eyes, when I look at fashion and I see your designs, it's like, the creative aspect of it is insane, and I love it, so. And I want people obviously watching or listening. They'll definitely go check it out. But tell me more about how, like, for example, someone like Chevy woods, who's big artists, like, how have you guys been able to navigate product placement and get it in the right hands? Because obviously, I'm sure that's helped the growth and the branding and overall, just everything that goes a part of it. So, like, where does that play in the aspect of, like, going from in college doing your own shirts to then actually building a brand with different types of marketing strategies and campaigns? Like, how did that aspect come into the picture?

I think that a lot of it has been organic. A lot of, like, we don't do a ton of seating and, like, gifting and stuff like that to celebrities. I mean, we will send stuff every now and then, but a lot of it has been them just buying it or reaching out and saying, like, hey, how can I get this? And so on and so on. Now we're kind of to the point where we're starting to produce in. In higher quantities. And. And I mean, our T shirts cost us a lot to make.

Yeah, yeah.

So when you first start, you don't really. You don't want to. You don't want to, like, just give a bunch, because giving away 10 shirts is a few hundred dollars, so. Yeah, yeah. But it started organically, and then now, like, if an NBA player buys something or we send them something, then his teammates see it. They want It.

Yep.

And everybody. It's just kind of like FL follows itself. But I mean, Chevy, he's a. Chevy's a close friend of John's. Chevy Wiz, all of those Pittsburgh people.

Yep.

But then there's a lot of. There's a lot of artists that hit us up, athletes. But it's really like it has to. It just has to match, like, it has to match the vibe. So, like, if we see your style and it doesn't really like appeal to us, I mean, we may still like send it to you, but we're not going to be like just sending it to people who have millions of followers.

Just followers.

Like, we want you to wear it and make it look. Yeah, we want it to look. So, I mean, we're really cautious about how we see the market, for sure. And who we. Who we give stuff to.

Yeah, for sure. So with John, obviously, I know that's you guys partnered together on that. How does that come to picture? How was you and John? How are your guys relationship and how did that sort of formulate in terms of just the relationship beforehand? Because I'm sure that's been a huge thing for just everything moving forward. Yeah.

I mean, John and I really met through Instagram and like really 12 or 13, we followed each other and he. He would buy. This was when we were really just doing jewelry.

Okay.

So he would buy some jewelry from us, we would send him some jewelry, stuff like that. And then we would just randomly be in the same cities at the same time time. I would be. I remember we were in Vegas, like celebrating New Year's and he just happened to be there. Yeah. And then like, I would be in Miami for something and he would just happen to be there and he would pull up and pick me up. He used to live in Miami for a little bit. And so, I mean, really just like we kind of became friends. Because I always say it this way. I feel like I. Around that time when we became really close, he had a lot of. I won't say a lot, but he had people around him that were just kind of like around for the wrong reasons. And I didn't really, like, I didn't really need anything from him other than friendship. So I think he really took to that and that's really what, like, strengthened our bond. And then we always. We always see things creatively kind of in the same way. So even if, like, if I have an idea or he has an idea, we kind of have this communication to where like, we both get it, even if nobody else Gets it. And so that's what made us, like, work well together. And now, like, his footwear line is taking off. He's about to launch clothing under that. That's tight and then diet. Like, we're still doing the clothing. We're still. We have footwear projects coming out. Fortunately, like, the. The vibe for both brands don't clash. So we can both put product that. I can put product out under premium and diet, and he can put product out under John Geiger company. None of it, like, really collides.

No, that's tight.

We really have, like, a. No, we really have, like, the perfect setup.

Yeah. Yeah. So I want to say this, too, because a lot of young entrepreneurs listening, you know, it's like they look at business and maybe they want to be independent. Maybe they have someone like you and John where it's like, they could potentially partner with someone, but they haven't been in a partnership before. I'd love for you to talk about just, like, what's been your experience and what advice would you give to someone that's just starting a company? Like, when it comes to just partnering with the right person, having, like you said, you guys align when it comes to the creative aspect of things. So, like, what advice would you give to someone that's young, that's saying, hey, like, should I get into this loan? Should I go find a partner? What advice would you give to that young individual?

Partnerships are tough because, I mean, you really don't know what that partnership is going to look like until you get into it. But honestly, I've had businesses with no partners, and I've had businesses with multiple partners.

Yeah.

And you really need somebody in your corner who, one, understands the vision, but two, like, is willing to do the work. Like somebody having a teammate that's. That's, like, willing to, like, step up and do whatever it takes, like, to. To make whatever play happen. That's the biggest. The biggest thing that you need in a partner. You need somebody. They may not. They may not know the best way to do it, but as long as they're willing to try and, like, learn and try to figure out the best way, that's the biggest, like, I guess, pro or, like, the biggest thing that I would look for in a partnership. I think that there are some people who work well without partners. Yeah. Just want to do everything themselves. And I've been guilty of, like, having partners and not wanting to delegate something because either I just feel like I'm better at it, or it's easier for me to just do it than to like tell somebody how to do it and stuff like that. Yeah. So it kind of just depends on what the business is, but I don't know, partnerships are there. It's like a two edged sword. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes it's like, it's smooth, sometimes it's, it's rough. But like without, without partnerships, like a lot of the stuff that we've done, like, wouldn't be possible.

Got it.

But yeah, definitely do your research. Before my first.

Were you guys like close friends before even ever stepping into business? Like, how do you think that played a role in just like forming a true partnership that you can rely on and trust? Like, because I think a lot of people that I've seen and I'm associated with, I've seen them step into something and they didn't know the person or they might have stepped in too early. Like, what would you say about just like relationship building and actually working with people, you know, like, and trust me.

I think that was the key too, is that we were friends for five, six years, like talk all day before we even decided to jump into business together. So we kind of like, if there's one person that understands John, like really well, I mean there's a few of us, but I'm one of those people that understands and, and he understands me. So luckily we had that understanding before jumping into it. But my other company, Premium, the co founder in that with me was, was Tyler Hundley. And we started that together without knowing each other from.

Okay.

How. I just met a lot of the people here.

Yeah, yeah.

That's kind of how me and Tyler were.

We.

Okay, we. He bought some stuff from a company that I was running and through me. And a little bit later he reached out to me and was like, hey, I want to start this company. I'm looking for X, Y and Z. And I knew, I knew where to get it. And I was like, well, instead of me just giving you the source, like, why don't we just go in together? And we kind of like we just did. I did. None of. Neither of us knew like it was going to turn into business. That's. That's been around for eight years. But the first time I met Tyler, really met him, we had been business partners for a year and we got it in Vegas.

Yeah. Yeah.

So like I said all of that earlier about like doing your research. Sometimes, sometimes you have to go into a relationship that works. And Tyler's. Tyler's is one of those people that like, if, if I'm gonna do Something or if I need help with something or he's like one of the first people that I turn to.

So that makes sense.

It can. It can kind of like just appear out of nowhere and be a blessing.

So that makes sense. I want to kind of pivot too, because I think a lot of just what I'm curious of, too, of just like, the fashion scene and like, creating a brand in that space that's not only respected, but it's stood. It stood the test of time. You know, I think I see a lot of people, you know, they're. They're coming into E Commerce. They start drop shipping product and they expect to build this fashion brand, but they have, you know, there's no purpose to it. They don't. They don't. They're not doing their own sourcing, they're not doing their own designs, and there's no, like, physical connection to it. And that's what I've seen from you is like the. The attention to detail. Like I mentioned before, like, what would you say when it comes to, like, in 2019, if someone's listening, starting a fashion brand and this really having one that's successful, what would you say some of the foundational components of that are?

I mean, it's honestly tricky because there's a lot of people that will do the opposite of what I'm about to say and make $20 million and sell their company.

Yeah. Yeah.

So, like, fashion industry is really finicky. Like, it's really no like, formula for it, but for us. And what works for me as a designer is every. Like, every piece means something to me. Like, every design is something that, like, has some type of, like, history or nostalgia. Like, there's some type of inspiration that. That means something to me. So every. Every garment that I put out, I try to tell that story of, like, this is like, I just released a. We call it the mechanic tee.

Yeah.

But it's a T shirt based around. My uncle has, like, an auto electric shop in Kentucky. Kentucky. In Madisonville. And I would. I would always hang out there when I was younger. And for some reason, like, the memories that I have there just, like, really, really strong. And so I wanted to do something to kind of, like, highlight that blue collar worker. Like, she's dirty all day.

Yeah. Yeah.

I wanted to, like, put that into a garment. So we just released a shirt, like, a few weeks ago, and it's. I mean, it's DSM Auto Electric. His shop is called GMP Auto Electric.

Okay.

I kind of came up with this Logo and put his address and phone number on it. So it's almost. It's almost like a billboard for his shop, only it's his Diet starts Monday branded. But stuff like that. Like, I did a piece. I grew up in a trailer park in Kentucky.

Okay.

And so I did a piece for our Fred Siegel Pop up, which was in May, and it was. It was literally a trailer park. And it said Rodeo Shores. And so it was kind of like.

If.

Rodeo. If. If Rodeo Drive. The Rodeo drive that, you know, like, wasn't the Rodale drive, you know, like, if it was a trailer park, like, what would that look like? And when I. When I showed it to my team, they were like, why? Like, like, is. Are people going to relate to this? And I was like, I mean, I don't know, but this is. This is personal to me. Yeah. Yeah. And it's something that I want to put out as a designer. And when I put it out, I, like, I told the story. Like, I grew up here. Like, my all, like, if I have dreams about being at home, like, they're in that trailer park. And so that's tight. I told that story. And surprisingly to me, that was one of our, like, best selling pieces. People that never grew up, never been to a trailer park, but, like, just. And to see people, like, react to it that way, that just kind of encourages me to keep that route and continue to tell a story. And so to answer your question, it's like, be personable, make sure that your designs have meaning to them, and communicate that. If I just put a trailer park on a shirt and then just send it out, nobody's gonna understand the purpose. Yeah, but have a purpose. Have a story and convey that message to stay true to it. And you'll. You'll see that there are people who, as long as you tell a story the right way, like, it's just like a movie.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I may walk into a movie theater and just pick a random movie, but if they tell you the story the right way, that could be one of the best movies you've ever seen. And that's the same way with clothing. Like, pick a. Pick a, pick a story, stay true to it, and then the following. And the audience will. They'll relate to it eventually.

That makes sense. And also on that note of just like, when you're designing a new piece, I want to get into, like, the business aspect of, like, how often are you guys dropping pieces? And like, what's the intent behind that? Because I know when you guys drop, you know, you guys, you guys sell out. You guys crush it. And it's one of those, like, anticipated things. Right. And it's that model where it's like you don't have a million pieces and anyone can get it. You know, it's like the exclusive, high ticket, like quality, like merch. Right. So how often do you guys do drops? And, like, what's the intent behind that in terms of the way you guys have built your brand?

I mean, the, the intention behind it was really just to create a sense of urgency and also exclusivity. Yeah, yeah.

The importance of that.

You know, we want. We want people to like. We. So we release two to three times a month, and we were releasing four to eight products at a time, and we release at 12am Eastern, so it's midnight. And the product is only available for 24 hours, but it's really only available until it sells out. So we may make 50 of a design, we may make 200 of a design. It really just depends on. On what. What the goal of that release is or what the message is. But, I mean, we put it up at 12, and 90% of our orders are in by 1202. 1203.

Yeah. That's crazy.

I mean, at first it took some time to build up to that.

Yeah, yeah.

We really wanted to create that urgency to let people know, like, if you want this product, you're either going to have to set an alarm, wake up for it, or stay up late for it or whatever the case may be. Or you could wait until you wake up at seven, eight, whatever time you wake up and try to get it, but it may not be there.

Yeah.

And then it's really just about, like, making it exciting. I also feel like if people can get their hands on things too easily, like, the hunt is over. So now you don't.

You.

You don't really have as much as much, I guess, urgency to get it. So us creating that urgency is really saying we believe in our product. We're going to put it up at 12, whether you want to wake up at 12 or not. If you don't, better luck on the next one. I don't know. It's just kind of different. Diet starts Monday. We drop on Mondays at midnight. It's available 24 hours. May be available 24 minutes.

Totally.

10 minutes. Depends. But we really like how I mentioned. It's an experiment. We like. We'll see. Like, okay, well, let's just drop a hundred of this and then see how it goes.

Yeah.

If it does well, maybe we'll re release it, but most times we don't. We just release. Got it the next job.

So that's tight.

But I mean the hard part about it is most, most companies in clothing, fashion, they're releasing collections once a season. And we're releasing, we're releasing 50 to 75 pieces a season because we're releasing so frequently. So that makes it challenging as a designer. But yeah, I have like, I have so many stories that I want to tell. Yeah, I'm inspired by so many things that I can just constantly crank things out. So for sure it's, it's working for us for sure.

And I'm just gonna redo it. I'm gonna stop and restart it.

I think I'm good.

I just restarted it. Cool. We just jump right back into it. Let me know when you're ready. Good. Alright. So you were saying in terms of like the creative aspect of like each piece. Something I'm curious about is like when you're designing a new piece, like what do you have any sort of like creative things that you do or is it more so? Like. Alright, it's sort of like when you think about something, you design it. Like how does that work? Because obviously with dropping two different things a month, then you guys are continuously making new designs and like the attention to detail and thought and like the craft of it. I'm sure it's like you go through different swings of you want to design something like this or that. Like how do you decide and what's your creative process when you're coming up with a new piece or a new design? And how long does it usually take in terms of different samples and tests to actually get to the finished product? Because I want people to understand, like the, not only, like I said, the attention to detail, but just your thought process as a designer when it comes in to making these like descriptions, quality pieces.

That's the. So I work from home for the most part. And the beauty of that is, I mean you can work on things as often as you want or as little as you want. But the bad part about it is I can't shut off. Like I can't shut off. So I may have an idea and it'd be midnight and I'm in bed and I'll be reaching for my, my computer, like waking her up with the light on my computer. Because I have this idea that I gotta put down because having having so many ideas is also a gift and a curse because as quickly as I have them, I'm forgetting them just as Quickly if I don't put it on paper or on computer or whatever. So it usually starts with like if I'm by my computer or by like a notepad or something, I can sketch it up real quick, quick as like a placeholder to remind me or I write it in my notes like mechanic T, GMP auto reference or like something like that. But most of the what I've started doing recently is kind of like an exercise to where it's almost like a warm up. So whenever I open my computer, I'll give myself 30 minutes and the goal is to come up with three new designs in 30 minutes. And it's. That's not like a, that's not to say like when I design my designs take 10 minutes, they usually take me hours or days or whatever. But that's the exercise is to kind of get me comfortable with creating something and leaving it and moving on to the next thing. I watched the interview from Heron Preston a couple years ago that really like triggered something. And he mentioned how nothing is ever perfect. Perfect. And that was something that I always searched for, was like perfection.

Yeah, yeah.

So I would design something, set it to the side and then come back to it, like tweak something a little bit, set it to the side and keep working with it. And that by the time you like, if you tallied up the hours, I probably worked on it 40 hours or something. Something crazy. But to the consumer, it may have been perfect 39 hours ago. So I just wasted 39 hours working on, on this like trying to perfect something that was already perfect to the consumer to begin with. And so this exercise is really showing me like that I can create dope things like really quickly if I just, if I just focus for that time and then and move on. It's almost like deep work.

I know, I read that book. Yep.

So it started from that. When I read that, I really like tried to focus on locking in for whatever time frame and giving it my full focus and seeing what I can come up with. So now I'm doing this exercise and at the end of the week, I may have 20 designs that are cool and I may have 15 that are crazy. I may have 40 that are trash. It's kind of helping me like be content with just letting it go and moving on.

Now that's tight. That's tight. And one thing I want to talk about as well, just regarding deep work and just mentors and inspiration and learning and educating yourself, like, who would you consider some of like your inspirations as a designer or as a creative that's really like, brought you to where you are today.

Most of my. Most of my, like, people that I look to for inspiration are. Aren't designers. It's more like businessmen. And I mean, I know like Drama and D. Murthy. Yeah, yeah, those guys, Cal Newport, like Lewis Howes, like, people like that I look to them, I look to people that I look more for. Like how you took something and how you took little and like turned it into something massive. Yeah, yeah. D and D and Andres turned five four in the Menlo Club and it's. There's a fifty hundred million dollar company. Like, those are the people I look to because I have. I have enough inspiration just from like, like riding through the city. Like, I'll see like, like I live a block from Skid Row.

Okay.

And like, I have to like, there's no way to get to our place other than through Skid Row. And like driving through there, you would be surprised that, like, that I'm surprised at the inspiration that I get from like just the way, like homeless people kind of are resourceful.

Yeah, yeah.

And I mean, it's a.

It's.

Homelessness in LA is like the craziest problem. So you drive down this 10 block radius and it's just like people and people, but like to see how people kind of like wear certain things or like just the way they find clothes and turn it.

Yeah.

Like, I get so much inspiration from. From that and just like just everywhere. So I don't really look to people for inspiration design wise, just more so like how to turn the people wise.

Yeah.

To turn a business into like, something.

I got it. So with regarding Drama and D, obviously that's how we connected. Drama was in dc, I hit him up, came by the shop and obviously that's how we connected. So I want to touch on that because obviously since we've met when I was actually in dc, that was like the second time I met with Drama. Now we did the event together and we're like partnered up on a lot of cool stuff. So it's like, I want to talk about just in your relationship with him, obviously, because that's how we got connected. How long have you known Drama? How that, like, how did his network come into the picture? Because I'm just number one curious, but number two, that's how we got connected in the first place. Yeah.

I remember when you came, he asked me, he was like, yo, is it cool if some people come through? And I'm like, yeah, for sure. And then you came. And he. He came up to me. He's like, hey, Casey's at the door, but he can't get in. I think you were like, 17.

Yeah, yeah, I'm 19 now. I'm 17 then.

So I think it's funny because our security guard, jd is just like. He's just like the biggest bully, so it's just funny to picture that whole scenario. Yeah, yeah. I met. I met Drama. I mean, obviously I've known of him since Robin. Big day.

Yeah, yeah.

Watching all of those.

Me too.

I met him 2017, like, January.

Okay.

And that's when we started to. So dire starts Monday. We had signed a deal to collaborate with 54 before we had even launched the brand. We flew out in, like, January of 2017 and met with Dee and Andres and kind of told them, like, what the brand was gonna be and stuff like that. And they were like, well, let's. Let's do something. And obviously Dee and Drama are business partners, so their offices are right next to each other and kind of just met in passing. And then, I mean, we flew out here so much that, like, I was just continually seeing him. And then we. I mean, we're not like, super tight or anything like that, but he's just. I mean, he's somebody that. I watch all of the podcasts. Yeah, yeah.

Group chat or what?

Both. Group chat, Yep. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've. I've caught every short story long because that was really the first podcast that I. I got into. Yeah, yeah. And he's just. I mean, he's just, like I said, somebody who. He saw an opportunity in creating Young and Reckless and being on tv, but even then, there's so many people that create brands on tv and if that show gets canceled, that. That brand, basically.

Yeah, yeah.

So then to be around this long, like, it shows. It shows something. And he's what I spoke about, about having a story and sticking. Staying true to that. Like, he's done that with Young and Reckless. And so, I mean, I'm happy that's tight to, like, consider him a friend. And he comes and supports our events and stuff like that. So he's super dope dude, for sure.

No, it's tight. And so for LA Wise, because you're out here a lot, right? Like, what would you say in terms of, like, obviously, D. Drama, they're out here and me and Drama, we have this, like, ongoing joke. He's trying to pull me out from Arizona to move to la. He's always talking shit to me. About it. So it's like you being LA with, like, the relationships, obviously, just the people that are here. What would you tell someone? Listening? Because for me, I came out to LA like once a month in 2017 trying to network and build, like, just build my relationships. And that's how I've really been able to build this network of people. So, like, what would you say LA in terms of the fashion space and the people, how have relationships, not only in la, but relationships overall from a networking perspective? What would you tell a young person that's look, trying to better themselves, be around better people? And how did you do it growing up, from coming from a trailer park to now having all these quality people in your life and mentors and inspirations? Like, how would you tell someone that's trying to do that from your experience?

I mean, they did. They did the same thing to me. Me, D Drama, Michael Minta, Sneaker Steve, like, a few other people. John. We were all at like, Nice Guy for a dinner, like two years ago, and they were like, you guys have to move out here. Like, there's no way around it. And I mean, prime example of, like, what it can do for you is you wrote me two days ago, I was like, are you in la? Do you want to do the podcast? If I was in dc, that wouldn't have happened.

Yeah, Yeah.

I just think that LA is one of those. Those gatekeeper cities where you, once you're in LA and moving and shaking, like, the gates just start to open up for you. And that unfortunately just doesn't happen in, in this industry. In a lot of other cities like dc, there are movers and shakers, but definitely not in the fashion industry. Like, we're kind of. We kind of reach the ceiling of. Of DC fashion. Yeah, yeah. Five years ago.

Yeah.

Yeah. And I just kind of like, plateaued with where I felt I could. I could go creatively and in that industry. And so it was just like it was. I mean, in dc, DC wasn't like, I'm not, I'm not. I'm from Kentucky. So that was never like, it was never like my, Like, I didn't lay a stake there. Like, this is. This is like. I always knew that LA was a place that I needed to live, whether it's going to be like, long term or it may be five years or 10 years or whatever, but I just feel like everybody who's anybody in any industry has to come through la. Yep. And if you're here and your network is strong enough, you can honestly, you can Run into anybody that you want to run into. And that only happens really in la.

For sure. For sure.

I mean, like, everybody already knows if you move out here. Like, I've, I've been bragging about you for like a while.

I appreciate that, bro.

Like, LA is just one of those cities that when you're here, like, and it doesn't mean that you have to be here right now, but, like, when you do get here, like, the amount of opportunities that are gonna like, come to you is just like limitless.

For sure.

Like, whenever you're here, we'll be waiting for you.

For sure. Sooner than later. I've been having these conversations a lot with myself and I see it personally. Real quick, just between me and you, six to eight months, I'm here for sure. But real quick, I have a couple more questions, man, just for people that are listening. I really want to dial it in terms of, like, for someone like myself, right? I'm 19 years old, I'm, I'm building my network. And for the people listening that are young, starting a business, just going back throughout your journey, what would you say has been one of the most important things that's like, hold you, held you accountable for you. Because, I mean, where I grew up, right, it's like there's people, even when I started doing my stuff on social media, they're like, why are you doing that? Why are you making videos? Why you, like, what do you expect to come from that? You know, like, what do you tell that young person that maybe doesn't have the right influences around them, that they're getting shut down by their friends or their families and like, they're listening to this podcast to search for something, you know, whether that's self esteem or whatever. Like, what do you tell that young person that just has these ambitions but may not be surrounded by the right people or tools to get to the next level?

I think the first thing is to just know from someone who's young and is now a little older. Most of those people that are telling you like, you're wasting your time or they don't believe in your vision, for one, they're not your friends. But two, they're not going to be your friends in five to 10 years, years. So, like, don't worry about what they say. Like, I have tons of people that I grew up with. None of them ever told me, like, yo, you're wasting your time or anything like that. I always had like a great support system, but a large percentage of those people that, like, I talked to Every day, or I was with every day. Like, I'm not as close with them anymore. And that's just like. That's just reality. People grow up and grow apart. So, I mean, I think that's the first thing to understand. The second is, like, you're only here, like, one time, so you shouldn't ever let anybody tell you, like, don't do this. Don't chase this dream. Like, you only have this one life. So. And that's something that I still struggle with as far as, like, taking chances and taking risks and stuff like that. But the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. And that's just, like, for sure. Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that you just have to. You have to be smart. You have to be calculated. Like I said, like, for you moving out here, it may not. You may not have to be here now, but you definitely. You're definitely doing your homework and you're filling it out. You're making the smart decision. I think everybody should take the time to. To really think about what they want to achieve. Map it out, like, figure out, like, all right, this is what I got to do to do X, Y, and Z in this timeline. Blah, blah, blah. Writing things down is a perfect way to hold yourself accountable. I don't write things down nearly as much as I should. I forget so much. But I just finally. I mean, I've been in this entrepreneur world for 15. This is my 15th year, and so. And I've just now hired my first assistant. Like, yeah, yeah, A month ago. And so I'm luckily now I'm to the point where, like, I'm able to do that. I probably was able to before, but it was just. I always. I always work from home. And so, like, having an assistant, like, come over to my house and, like, stuff like that is just really weird. But in la, I don't have to. He doesn't have to do that. But I'm finally to the point where I can, like, say, like, hey, I need to do X, Y, and Z this month. I need you to. I need you to do X, Y, and Z to make sure that I'm able to do these things. And being able to delegate is what's like, really now I'm having somebody to hold me accountable for certain things.

That's tight.

I have trouble with.

No, that's super tight. And real quick, just to, like, really wrap it up, I know you talked about the book, Deep Work, and everyone that listens to the podcast, I always like to give, like, some sort of book recommendation or some Content recommendation. I know that you talked about short story, long group chat. I listen to those as well, and I talk about that a lot. But other than those two resources, like, for someone listening, what's been something. A book, maybe it's a podcast that you'd suggest people to listen to that's really helped you, whether that's have an idea or hold you accountable or whatever. It is just some sort of piece of content that's inspired you that you'd want to pass along to people listening.

I honestly think Deep Work is probably my. I haven't read a ton of books. I have a ton, but I haven't read 5% of them. Yeah. But the things that I learned in Deep Work were just so, like, impactful that for anybody that. Especially for people who have trouble focusing. Like, there's a particular story in the book where he mentions guy who had like a. The. Maybe a doctor who had a thesis or something to turn in, and he booked the longest flight that you can.

Book back and forth, Right? Yeah. To Japan, I believe it was.

So he, like, locked in for 18 hours on the plane working, landed at the airport, took a shower, like, ate, cleaned up, like, took a refresher, hopped right back on the plane 18 hours back and finished his thesis. But, like, if you really like. I think. I think that that's kind of the same reason why Drama has two phones. And people. People time themselves for these things and create slots and stuff like that. Because if you. If you eliminate all your distractions for like three, four hours and just lock in, like, the amount of work and the productivity level is just so much.

Yeah.

And there was another thing that just came to my head and now I can't remember it. Oh, it was like, who. Who wrote. Was it Four Hour Work?

Four Hour Work Week? Tim. Tim Ferriss. Yeah. Yeah.

All of Tim Ferriss's stuff. Like Tools of Titans.

Yep.

Tools of Titans is dope because it's not just one person's tool. It's not just Tim Ferriss tools. It's a list of all these successful people, whether it's like filmmakers or this person was an Olympian or this person was that. And it just tells them. Tells different ways they've enhanced their, like, creativity or their lifestyle or whatever the case may be. Those are Deep Work and Tools of Titans, which I know everybody kind of like falls back to those two, but they're just such great, like, such great books that it's hard to. It's hard. Especially for somebody like me who doesn't like to read yeah, yeah, those, those.

Like critical books that you said.

Those are like, for sure. Like, if I had a school, those would be the two textbooks.

Okay.

I would first.

For sure. I appreciate that. Everyone listen. I'll make sure to put those down below. And really, just to wrap it up for everyone that's listening, like, let's say they. Let's. They want to find out more about Diet starts Monday. Follow you, stay up to date, figure out when the drops are just like, start being in your world, which I'm sure everyone listening to is. And if you aren't, make sure you check them out. Where's the best place for people to. Number one, follow you, learn more about diet and just get involved with what you guys are doing.

I mean, Instagram is really just like the world right now. Yeah, yeah, like that. So that's, that's really it. So me. Davin. D A V I N Underscore. Gentry. G E N T R Y Diet starts Monday. Underscore, underscore. We so die. Starts Monday. Kind of has, like, since we have that exclusivity and that sense of urgency, like, sometimes we'll. We'll post about every release and sometimes we won't. So sometimes you just have to either be signed up for the newsletter or be following one of us and see me post something like, hey, tonight at midnight, like, this is released.

Yeah, yeah.

We really try to, like, keep you on your toes, which is. It's also tough with the algorithm. Some people might not see. Yeah. The next day. But that's also like, you got to.

Be like, you got to be checking.

Turn your notifications on. Like, if you really. If it's something that you really want, don't procrastinate.

Yes. That's the purpose of the brand.

Yeah. That's part of the diastores mind. Monday mantra is like, Monday may never come. So like, if you want something like, chase it today. Yes. Unfortunately, that's just life. Things happen. Yep. But yeah, that's where. That's where we're at.

Good stuff. And I'll make sure to link everything down below so you guys can check out Davin, check out diet and turn on the post notifications because I know it goes quick. So I mean, that being said, Davin, I just want to say thank you so much for coming on the show and everyone tuning in. Make sure you subscribe. Go check out Davin. Go check out diet and. And I'll talk to you guys soon.

Peace.

Peace.

Legacy of Monsters An Apple original series the world is on fire. I decided to do something about it. On November 17th, this place. It's not ours. Believe me. The most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything. I promise.

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