Episode 063: Charlie Jabaley - From 300 Pound Overweight Millionaire to Nike / Ironman Athlete

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Alright, what's going on, everyone? Kacey Adams here. Welcome to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today on episode 63, we have someone special, Charlie Jabli with us here today. And I'm super pumped for this episode. I know me and Charlie, we connected a couple months ago and we were just hitting it off in the DMs and then we made some stuff on Facebook and now we're here, man, and I'm excited for you to share your story, man.

We made history together, man. Our first, our first interaction, the first project we worked on, bro. We made literally history.

Literally, man. So I usually like to start the way when it comes to me introducing someone, but I know you're, you're doing so many things right now and people that may be following you for what you're currently doing or there may be people that listen to this podcast that say, yo, I used to remember him as CEO Charlie and what he used to do. So for everyone listening, I'd love to kind of just let, let you kind of catch people up to speed to know what you're currently working on and then we'll kind of work backwards to kind of see where it all started for sure.

Well, first and foremost, I'm just chasing my dreams right now, Casey. As you know, some really amazing things have happened. I now work with Nike, but you know, I used to be over £300 and now I'm an athlete and that was always my dream in life, was to become an athlete and. But I was always overweight so it was it wasn't realistic. And one of the things that I got in an argument with somebody the other day, and I don't, I don't argue too much, but somebody told me to be realistic. And I was like, never tell me that. Because everything I've done my entire life, from being in the music industry at a very young age, like, like, let's take you for an example. Like, bro, what you're doing at your age is not realistic. And you, you remind me a lot of myself when I was, you know, 17, 18 years old. Because what you're doing in this world, I was doing in the music world. And. But, yeah, long story short, I'm out chasing my dreams right now. I'm currently biking across America. I'm about a thousand miles in. I'm in a. Right now, my background. This is, this is the master room in my tour bus called the Dream Machine. And we're in a small little town called Alpine, Texas, population, my right hand. Like, it's a really small town, but I've got to see so much of America, and I'm going across the country helping people and making their dreams come true. Like, for example, there was this school teacher that we found in Phoenix, Arizona, that had just got diagnosed with cancer, and she didn't know how she was going to pay her bills or her mortgage for her house. And she's 65 years old. And I made a phone call to my good friend Eamon, who owns a company called Vero. I told him about her situation and he completely paid off her mortgage, he completely paid off her doctor's bills, which was around 90,000, and bought her a brand new car. So these are the types of things we're doing as we're going across the country biking.

That's insane. And for everyone listening, I know that you're listening to the podcast or you're watching a video with us, but there's going to be links to every single content creation that Charlie has been working on. Because I know throughout the journey of you biking across America, you've been just creating phenomenal content. And I want people to actually visually see that. So I'll make sure that, that I plug you put all the links so people can check it out. Because literally, man, since the day we connected, Charlie, it's like everything you do is so straightforward, on point, and just giving back. You're actually providing more this crazy amount of value to so many people in the world. And it's just such a pleasure to have you on because I know when the people after listening to this podcast, are gonna be like, dude, like that dude Charlie, like, that's someone you want to be. I always. I love the quote where it's like, if you had to replace yourself with someone's life, who would it be? And for. For me, Charlie, like, you for sure have one of those lives, man. Like, the story impact, like, it's just crazy to see what you're doing, man.

Thank you, bro. I appreciate that. For sure.

So let's kind of take people back, man, cuz I know people. I think a lot of people that are following me are for sure gonna be already following you. So when it comes to, like, you said you were starting in the music industry. You said, yo. And when I was young, I was getting the music industry. So for people that don't really know your background, where you're from, when you started kind of in that genre, kind of take it back to there. Because I know it's so funny now, social media, where it's like, you can follow people, you can see what they're up to now, but, like, what's the backstory? Where do they start? Because there's always the finished picture, but there's never the beginning picture, you know? And I think that you. You're someone that's definitely changing that with social media, by the way you put out content. And I'm super curious to kind of take it back to see, like, where was Charlie at 17? 18.

This is going to be fun, man. I would love if. I'd love if I could just tell some cool stories about my journey through entrepreneurship. So when I was 17 years old, man, I was in high school, all my friends started making music, and I had long given up on my dreams of being an athlete. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to be this business guy. And I lived across the street from the high school, so I put a studio in my bedroom, and next thing you know, there's 50 people in my house writing lyrics. And we'd make a song that would be 20 minutes long, like, just on some high school stuff, you know? And I started this website that ended up blowing up to where, like Atlantic Records and Interscope Records, they wanted to buy my website because it was like a media outlet for young hip hop artists. And I knew. I knew back then, like, hip hop was gonna be the. The number one genre in the world. And I remember, like, I'd, like, take my little MP3 player. Like, I would be like, ma, like, listen to this song. Like, it's Pharrell. And Jay Z. And she would be like, I just don't get it. Like, and I'm like, no, no, no, no. Hip hop's gonna be big. Like, I promise. And now it really trips me out. Like, if you log on to Spotify right now and go to the United States top charts on Spotify out of the. I guarantee you 22 of them are hip hop songs. You'll have, you'll have a sprinkle of maybe two pop songs in the top 25 songs in the United States of America. But this is something I saw 13, 14 years ago. And so I'm in hip hop. I'm passionate about it. And I ended up becoming a cameraman for artists named Soulja Boy. And I, I was around your age, you know, like, I'm going all across the country and I'm on tour and it was a really amazing experience. But I got fired because I wasn't the normal cameraman. I was smart. So, like, I would say things that if he was messing up, I would like, correct him on. And apparently superstar artists don't like when that cameraman try to correct them. They just want him to film. But I'm like, no, man, like, like, you're doing it wrong. Like, don't do things like that. That's not good business, you know? So I got fired and, and I, I dropped out. I dropped out of college and I went home to my mom and I said, I said, I'm going to be a manager. She said to me, what do you know about managing artists? I said, I don't know anything. But what I do know is that that's where the money is. And this cameraman thing, that's cool, got me in the door. But management's where the money is. So I signed a girl group and I got him a record deal with Interscope Records. And, and they ended up firing me a couple months after they got the record deal because they were like, we can't have an 18 year old manager. Like, we're big now. And, and I'm like, I kind of understand that a little bit, but at the, at the same time, like, I'm who got you here. So I felt I fell on my face once again and I found another group and their name was Dem Hard Hitters. And I changed their name to Travis Porter. And Travis Porter in Atlanta, where I'm from, was like one of the hottest artists in the country and we did it independently. I would drive to every radio station from Jackson, Mississippi all the way up to New York and I would take These songs, we had songs like Make It Rain, Bring It Back. Hey, ladies. We had songs that were top. Top 10 in the country, and we didn't have a record deal. And it was all the hard work that we did. And I remember, like, I remember I was in New York and I was like, put in this big bidding war together with all the record. And I've never told anybody this story, Casey. Like, this is. You're gonna be the first one I've ever told this story. So, like, the record labels, they would always be trying to sign Travis Porter, but I wasn't interested. I was. I wanted to do it ourselves and I wanted to keep all the money. So they would call, like, P. Diddy would call Warner Brothers. Like. Like P. Diddy would. Like, always, like, Charlie, like, yo, let's meet, you know, the record labels. Charlie, let. Let us fly you up to New York. And I'm like, nah, we're not ready. We don't want to sign a record deal yet. So when it became time that we actually were ready, we were so hot that I wanted to pin all the record labels to. Against each other. And, like, they would always offer to fly us to New York, right? And I'll say, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're going to fly ourselves. Because after I leave your office, I'm going across the street to the other record label. And I wanted them to know that this is about to be a big bidding war. So we get to New York and we're going from record label to record label. Universal is taking us to Mr. Chow's. Warner Brothers is doing the big presentations in the office. Jive Records is through us, the biggest party. Like you walk off the elevator and those Travis Porter posters everywhere, and the whole, like, they were covering up their other artists with us to just, like, throw us this big, like, party to try to get us to sign with them. So we're in New York. I'm. I'm 19 years old. I'm on top of the world, right? Like, we're getting. We're getting thrown all these different offers. And I get back to my hotel room that night, and I'm in the shower and I see my phone ringing on the sink. And I look, I look out and I see it's Puff. And I'm like, man, because we weren't interested in signing with P. Diddy, right? So that's why we weren't meeting with him. Like, P. Diddy's the coolest person in the world, but, you know, we didn't want to Sign to him. You know, sometimes you just have a preference. So I see he calls again. I'm in the shower. I see he calls again. Then he calls again, Then he calls again. And I'm like, man, he's blowing my phone up. So I get out the shower, and I, I, I, I, I finally answer the phone. It's like his tenth time calling me. And he says. He says, charlie, I'm like, what's up, bro? He says, so you come to New York. You gonna let Monty and Avery Lippman over at Universal take you to Mr. Chows to eat chicken on a stick? People don't even eat at Mr. Charles anymore. You let Jive Records throw you a pizza party and you. You're not gonna meet with me? I'm like, bro, like, you know, we're just up here handling a little business. Taking, Taking on. I'm sorry, you know, didn't call you. And he's like, giving me hell. Like, he's cussing me out. He's like, you come to New York, you don't meet with me. At least show me the with me you going to meet with. And I'm like. I'm like, man, like, it's late. We're about to go to the club. He's like, look, I'mma send you a card. Just at least come over to my condo. At least meet with me. And I'm just, like, trying to avoid the drama of, you know, all of this. So he's like, man, come on over to the condo. At least have the respect to meet with me. I'm like, all right, cool, cool. We'll come. I was, I was, I was extremely trying to avoid this from happening because Diddy is such, like, a powerful guy. Like, it's like he'll almost, like, force you to almost want to sign with him just out of. So I was just trying to avoid it all together. So we end up going to his house, going to his penthouse condo. And I'm not going to lie, it was. It was really cool. You know, like, everybody wants to hang out with Diddy.

Yeah.

And we were. We were going to go to the club that night with, I believe Jive Records was taking us to a. A New York club. And he was like, let me take y' all to the club. And I'm like, so we're actually going to the club with Jive Records. He's like, no, no, no, no. You'll be able to go to both. Let me just take the boys to another one. So I was like, I was I let him, I let him talk me into it. So I go back to the hotel. I'm sleepy. I'm handling business. I let the boys go out with Diddy to the club. And I wake up the next morning to a New York Post article. It says, travis Porter signs with Diddy. And I'm like, I'm like, diddy done pulled a fast one on me. So I'm guessing what he did was he didn't want to feel left out in the, in the bidding war, so. And he really, really liked my group, Travis Porter. So he, when he took the fellas to the club, he had the DJ say something and he maybe had somebody from the New York Post write something.

Oh, my Lord.

But, you know, like, these are just some of the cool experiences as a young man like, in the music industry. And then to go on, you know, I, I, I signed two chains and he became much bigger than Travis Porter. But yeah, it's been a, it's been an interesting ride. But I, I retired from all that, as you know.

Yeah.

Last year I left to pursue my dream. So thanks for letting me tell that little story.

That's crazy, man. So you were 19 when that was entirely happening?

Yeah, man.

That's insane. Cuz I think a lot of people, like, they're young, they either look at Diddy or even Two Chains or Travis Porter, soldier boy. Like, everyone in my genre, like, knows those people, you know, so it's super cool to, like, know the back end. But like, my questions, like, when it comes to you, like, kicking it in your house, making songs with your boys, to then managing two chains and going to meetings with Diddy, like, what's the breaking point in between? Like, wizard, like, is it just. You started gaining connections from outreach? Like, what was the process from point A to point B? Because I think a lot of people, even what I'm doing, like, oh, how do you connect with Charlie or Andy for seller? All these guys, like, what was your strategy? Kind of like make that jump to, like, get into the big leagues at only 19 years old.

So I could break down a couple different, a couple of different things that were consistent. So when I started my website, I needed traffic. So I would go on, like, other music websites that had like, like Soundclick, for example. It was like, people, this was all before SoundCloud existed. Like, SoundCloud dominates today. But back in the day, we would use Soundclick or like just other little MP3 upload sites. And I would go on there and for like eight hours a day, I Would, like, message the users and say, come to spit your game dot com. Like, that's where it's popping. And I would message everybody to where I'd get carpal tunnel syndrome. And then after doing that for six to seven months, it was able to have an audience big enough to where people like Soulja Boy became fans and reached out to me.

Wow.

So with Travis Porter, how I built their fan base, because I was just living in my mom's basement.

Yeah.

Like, I didn't have any money. So when I wanted to build a fan base for them, I would use MySpace and I would. I would comment on every single. Like, a real comment. Not, like, just a copy and paste, but, like, a real comment. I would pick neighborhoods, and I would find the girls who would live in these neighborhoods of Atlanta, and I would want to, like, dominate a neighborhood. I call it boiling a pot of water. Okay. And I want to be so known on this side of Atlanta. So then I would add everybody comment. And then it would grow and grow and grow until we started getting booked for shows, and it just took off. And with two chains, what I did was something very similar. But my space wasn't popping anymore. I'd pass out hundreds of thousands of CDs. I would go to clubs, and I would stand out there at 3, 4 in the morning when the clubs would let out, and I would pass out the CDs one by one. So another thing that I would do is I would drive. Like I said earlier. I would drive from every radio station, and I would stand outside the radio stations, even if I didn't know anybody there. I would. I would go sell, I would go pitch. And when I was. When I was young, I used to sell vacuum cleaners. So it taught me, like. Like, go talk to 50 people to get one. Yes. And I just took that to the music industry, and it worked. So it wasn't any big things that I did. It was building fan bases or customers. A lot of little, small things.

That's the fact. I like how you said with MySpace, like, you actually sent, like, a real comment. Because a lot of people, like, I talk a lot about, like, the power of the dm. Like, that's how we connected. I've. That's how I pretty much connected with everyone in my network. But it's like, it's a real dm. And I think that kind of, like, aligns with. What I try to tell people is, like, don't just copy and paste. Don't just spam people. Like, if you want to connect with someone or, like, get someone to follow you, whatever. Like, be genuine, send a real comment. So that kind of stuck out to me. That's super cool.

Definitely, man. I. I say this, like, in marketing, I call it mom status marketing. Okay? So the closest person in our life who's going to support every single thing we do is our mom. So our goal in business, or as content creators or just simple customers is to take a complete stranger and move them closer to being mom status.

I like that.

Okay. Because your mom is going to support something, whether it's good or bad, period. So that's what we need. And there's. And so that brings me to ask the question, why do our moms support us? The way they do is because there's a strong connection with our mothers. We come from them, so it's the strongest connection in the world. So how do we make a complete stranger have a strong connection? There's only one way. It's to actually talk to them, show interest in what they care about, and to have real conversations. So that should be our goal in business, is to take a complete stranger, form a real connection, and move them closer to being a mom.

Okay. Dude, I never had that before. That's. That's the truth.

That's Charlie. That's a Charlie original.

I like that. I like that. So when it comes to now that you said you started doing stuff on MySpace and you built this website and that's when you were 19, 20. Because I know when it comes to, like you said a year ago, you kind of like quit everything. You started pursuing your passion, starting to be an athlete, and now, like, your life is completely done a flip flop over the year. So before you kind of quit everything, like the two years, three years leading up to that, like, what was happening? Because I know that video that we helped make viral, that is over like 1.3 million views. Like, you talk about, like, you had the spotlight, you guys won a Grammy. Like, everything was so good and then it just cracked. And I'd like for you to kind of explain, like, what was that cracking moment for you? What was that breakthrough that you were here and then everything just came tumbling down. Like, what was that gap between winning and then taking that major loss?

Definitely from society standards. I had everything anybody could ever want. You know, I'm running a $15 million a year business. You know, we won Grammys, we're having world tours. But I was never as unhappy I had been in my entire life. I was over 300 pounds. I had got diagnosed with a brain Tumor. I was. I was so unhappy that I didn't even go to the Grammys.

Wow.

Like, that's how bad of a place I was in. I was in la.

Yeah.

And I didn't even want to go because I was dying. And when I looked back at my life and I said, that's my story. Like, if I'm about to die today, my story is just. I just made some money. That's what I'm going to leave on this earth. So I decided, and I started saying to myself over and over, my story isn't over yet. My story isn't over yet. And I decided to reinvent my entire life. And I said, I've got to change everything. I've got to change everything that I'm consuming, from food to entertainment, to the people I'm around. I'm going to change my city. I retired from music. I didn't even ask for anything. I put it in my business partner's hands. I said, you, you know what? Like, I'm going to go chase my dream and I'm not going to ask for a buyout. If you want to give me, you know, a buyout, then that's fine, but I just want to go chase my dream. I want to be an athlete and I want to be fit, and I want to help other people with their dreams as well. So I retired. I did an iron man in New Zealand. Crazy. I'm now a Nike athlete. I'm biking across America helping people's dreams come true. And I got. I got some really big news coming up with Nike that I'm excited to announce. That will be. We'll be announcing in a couple months.

Okay. Dude, that's so crazy. Like, just because, like, when I started following you, because I remember, like, way back when you were still in music, I remember following you. Then, like, when I watched the Gary V. Interview with you and Gary V. I don't remember where it was, but you guys were talking and I'm like, dude, like, I remember him from a video or something, or whether it be a two chains post or whatever. And then, like, I really started following you hardcore. And I'm like, dude, like, the transformation, like, just within. How long was that? Like a year and a half, two years now.

A year. Wow.

Like, I feel like some people can't even comprehend that, man. Like, a lot of people, like, they try to change one habit or one thing, but you, completely black and white, completely polar opposite, just changed everything.

That's insane.

So, yeah, I think my next question, like, it's just so amusing to me because like I come from a small town and I know we've talked before on the phone, but like I come from a small town, people aren't ambitious, people aren't happy necessarily where I'm from for what they're doing or the kids are in high school or whatever it may be. So when it comes to like you said, like you were not happy, but in society's eyes you were on top of the world, you were killing it. And I think obviously that's a lot of the internal, it's the mental, it's what was happening, you were just not happy. So I think when it comes to the younger generation, when it comes to someone that may be in that situation, like what's even the first step? Because like there's obviously many steps you took to be in a position where you are from a year, year and a half ago. So what was that first thing you did to really just like mentally flip things around?

I kind of have fun with it. As, as you know, my, my athlete name is Charlie Rocket.

Yep.

So what I did, I mean, and this is that depressed 300 pound Charlie. I said I'm going to reinvent my life and I'm going to be an athlete. So I'd like gave myself an athlete name. I gave myself a costume, I put my glasses on, I put my bandana on and I wear these bright colorful colors and shirts. And I said on this day, Even though I'm £300, I am Charlie Rocket and I'm an athlete. And I identified with him, I gave him a name, I identified what he looks like and I dressed up as him. And I did the same thing when I was young and I said I want to be CEO Charlie. And when I went to high school, I wore a suit every day. I wanted to be known as a businessman. Now obviously I'm not rich or making a lot of money in high school, but I dressed up as who I wanted to be every single day. Almost like Halloween. Yeah. And I said, I'm going to be CEO Charlie. And then I became it and then I said I'm going to be an athlete. I dressed up as the athlete every day and did what athletes do every day. And now I'm becoming it. I'm, I'm not there all the way yet, but I'm becoming it. So it really started with my imagination and like manifesting who I wanted to be by acting like who I want to be every day. I hope that makes sense.

Oh yeah, 100%. I think I think you touched on that. And the podcast you did with Andy Rosela, like, putting a character to who you are and then living up to that. Right?

That's right.

That's. That's something that, when I heard that, I know when you talked about it on Andy's podcast, like, that stuck out to me as well. Because, like, I think a lot of people, especially where I'm from, it's like they tear themselves down. They do the opposite. Where it's like they see themselves as someone that is depressed, and whether they be doing drugs or hanging out wrong people, and that's how they identify themselves. So then, like, they continue to see that image where you completely do the opposite. Where it's like, you may be depressed, you may be in a negative situation, but in mentally you're at your peak and you're living up to that each and every single day. And I just think that's a super dope perspective to live by.

And, you know, you know, you know it's fun and your audience will love. This process is you and I teamed up on something very similar with the, with the Nike. With the fan made Nike commercial. And I think, I think they'll enjoy if, if we both broke down how this all came about. So the end picture is the guy who y' all are looking at or listening to right now works with Nike and his Nike athlete. But if you go back three, four months ago, like, this wasn't the case. So how did it happen? I had a vision. And ever since I was a little kid, I love Nike because they were like an inspiration and a motivation company. And what athlete doesn't want to be a Nike athlete? You know, like, Nike is one of the coolest brands in the world. So I said, I want to be a Nike athlete. So I made a fan made commercial. And at the end of it, I said, insert Nike logo here. And I said, I hope this commercial gets seen by Nike and inspires millions. Next thing I know, thousands of people were watching it and sending it to their friends who work at Nike. And I just dressed up. What I did was I dressed up as a Nike athlete. I said, Nike athletes have commercials. So I made my own. Because if I want to be a Nike athlete, then I need to have a Nike commercial. So I made my own. And it was so honest and it, it, it went viral. And then I teamed up with you and you showed me how to get 1.2 million views because you said, this video is so viral and you're so talented at what you do. That, but, but if I wasn't, if I wasn't trying to dress up as a Nike athlete, you would have never been attracted to it and I wouldn't be a Nike athlete now. So it's really the same thing as the CEO Charlie or the Charlie Rocket or the Nike athlete. Just dress up as it and act like it and something cool might happen.

That's the truth. I remember that. I still remember that day. It was like I saw a video. I'm like, dude, because I was the explosion. Experimenting with a lot with viral marketing is like. And obviously it comes down to like, to the emotion of the video, right? And I remember seeing that video, which I'll have a link to for everyone listening or watching. And I was like, dude, like this is something that millions of people need to see. And I remember I DM'd you. I'm like, dude, let's make this video viral. Like, let's just do it. And like you said that was what, like two, three, four months ago? I don't know how times flying nowadays, but yeah, that was what, like around three months ago. And I remember we just like literally day, next day, we just put it up on Facebook. Within like seven days, it hits a million views. And that was a day where you were at Nike, correct?

That's right. I was at Nike's campus. They flew me up and introduced me to the entire company. And while I was there that Saturday, it hit a million views while I was on campus.

I remember that day, bro. I was so hyped because literally it was like a seven day process between like connecting on Instagram, getting a number, talking on the phone twice and then posting it, running the ads and just like it blew up exactly how I expected it to. That was crazy, bro.

Thank you for helping change my life, man.

Dude, thank you, man. I mean, you change my life every day, man. From the content, the stories. Like, you make me want to give more and you're making me give more just from like the videos you put out, which I'm gonna make sure everyone listening, that you will be able to see these videos from the links that I put in the description for sure. Thank you, man, 100% when it comes to that too. Because I think it's crazy because even by the time we met to now, it's like so much has changed. Now you're doing the bus tour even before New Zealand, where you did your Iron man, like something you just met featured in the podcast, like that's people. Oh wow. He's done Iron man. But like when we met, it was leading up to that moment. Right. So it's crazy to see how much can, like, progress when you're actually doing stuff. Right. I think I kind of want to test on this for a lot of young entrepreneurs because I've met a lot of people that at events or I've talked to people on the phone, and some of them tend to be younger, older, but they try to plan so much that they never get things done. And I feel like after learning from you and talking to you, like, you're all about the execution, you're all about today, today, today, what can I do today that's in a better someone tomorrow? Right. So kind of to simplify things, what's sort of the mentality that you kind of have moving into each day nowadays, or even three months ago, a year ago, Just what's the consistency? Because I feel like everything you do, you just dominate, whether that be music, now fitness, and then now this bus tour. Like, it's all ideas. So there's something that just mentally, you're just on it 24 7. And if you had to kind of give people, like, characteristics where you think that you are the most, just deep into, what would those characteristics be? You think?

It really just comes down to one thing, and it's. I'm delusionally optimistic. Like, to the point where even if somebody came to me and said, well, Charlie, did you think about it from this angle? What if this went wrong or this went wrong? I'm like, no, nothing's going to go wrong. Like, to where even when I'm in the middle of something and it's going wrong, I'm still. I still maintain my delusional optimism that is like, no, no, we're going to be good. Like, this is the way it's going to work. To where I will never give any acknowledgement ever, to anything that is currently going wrong or anything that could go wrong, because if I did, then that's where my thought process would go and I would attract things to go wrong. But instead I only think about possibilities constantly, which could get you in trouble, but they never do. Yeah, like, I don't think anything ever will go wrong. Like, I'm on a bus tour right now, right? I mean, I'm on a bus, but I'm biking across America with a bus. So about three, four weeks before the tour started, I was just like, okay, I don't have a name for the tour. I don't have a bus, I don't have the bikes. I don't have anything, but I'm like, oh, no, I'm a bike across America. Like, I don't know how it's going to come together, but if I focused on all the things that would go wrong, I wouldn't be right here. Instead, I was like, nah, it's all going to be good. Like, oh, it's going to be easy biking across America. The next thing you know, boom, this person comes into my life. Then this comes into my life. And then I found this bus, and then I got a bike sponsor, and then I got a title sponsor. And all because I just was optimistic endlessly. And that, I would say, is the gift that God gave me. And if I could share that with anybody, be delusionally optimistic before you start. And then your action is going to be so easy. If you, like, are drinking your own Kool Aid and, like, really think something's going to be easy, you're going to get up and out of bed and start doing it. But if you think things are going to be hard or things might go this way, or you get to game planning, well, how are we going to fix all the problems? And the problems haven't even happened yet, then you're going to think it's hard, and you won't even get up and start on it.

I wanted to touch on that because that bus, like, the rap is insane. Like, the way that it was so fast. It's funny that you brought that up, because I wanted to ask you. You started talking about a bus store. I'm like, wait, like, how's this gonna work? Is he's just gonna hop on his bike and go, like, what's happening? And then, like, everything started coming together. The bus, the Instagram pictures. I was like, dude, like, you just pull the strings and everything comes together. Like, it's crazy.

It's. It's been that way my whole life. I just have faith that it'll come together. Like. Like, I didn't know what I was even gonna call the tour. And then out of nowhere, Scott just said, why don't we call the bus the Dream Machine? And then I was like, that's a great idea. Let's call the tour the Dream Machine. And then we're like, how are we gonna design it? Are we gonna put your face on the side? And I was like, no, we gotta make it about other people. We shouldn't make it about me. So I was like, let's wrap the bus and have everybody write their dreams all over it. And all this is, like, just really a one to Two day process.

Yeah.

Of just like, like, oh, that's an idea. Oh, let's do it. Like it's big things happen in small, simple ways. So I leave space in my mind constantly for something good to happen. And if I'm constantly thinking of bad things that can happen, then there's no space for the good.

Okay, so wait, let's kind of catch people up now. So you started where? On this bike tour?

Alright. So started in Santa Monica, California. I'm now a thousand miles in, I'm in Alpine, Texas and I'm headed all the way to New York.

That's crazy. I think people can't even fathom that. So you're literally you. Boom. I say, yeah, I've been watching your stories a lot where it's like, you'll bike and then you'll get exhausted, the bus will come pick you up, then you sleep on it and then just hit it again in the morning.

That's right.

That's insane. So when, so what was the day you started? Like, what's the time frame to bike across America?

We started April 22nd and we're going to end in New York on July 14th. So it'll be 81 days.

Oh my Lord.

Dude.

And that was an idea what like a month, two months ago?

Well, it was an idea I had a year ago. I just said, I want to bike across America. But how it all came together, like when I actually started putting like rubber to the road.

Yeah.

Was really about three weeks before. So the beginning of April. April 1st, I had no idea how this was going to work. April 22nd, we had the tour. Oprah's producer is producing the entire tour. Like how that happened is a super crazy story in itself. But yeah, all this just happened in a very short period of time because I wake up every day and I just believed it was going to figure itself out. You know what, you know what it's like? It's like this. You know how in, in school, like your, your, your, your teacher will give you a project to work on and you have three weeks to complete it. And then it gets down to like you procrastinate and it gets down to the day before and you haven't even started on it.

Yeah.

And you just stay up all night and you cram and you get it done. Like something that literally could take three weeks, you still got done in one night. And it magically got done. It just, it just magically got done. Okay, yeah, I wouldn't recommend that, but it's possible.

And I said as I'm kind of finished in school, man. Like I have like two projects do this weekend. They'll get done, but I haven't started them.

It always gets.

That's the truth, man. So you're in Texas now. What's the next place like? What's like the next week look like? How fast do you guys move?

Well, I'm super excited about this upcoming week because we actually get to hit some real cities.

So far.

I've just been in the desert. It's been 115 degrees.

Yeah.

But we get to hit Austin, we get to hit Dallas, and we get to hit Houston this week. So we're doing some really big things to help change some people's lives. So I'm excited for anybody listening or watching to see what rolls out because we got some really, really big things we're about to help some people with.

Oh yeah, I'm excited to see it all full out. And then you're gonna be in Richmond sometime in July because that's like, that's my hometown. So I'll make sure that I'm there for that.

You know it, brother. We gotta do something.

Oh, yes. So what was that I saw on your Instagram? It was like in the middle of the desert, that Zara store. You guys did a photo shoot. Shoot. What was that? Cuz like when I, I try to look up more information about it, like, is it just a store in the middle of the desert, Dude?

Like, it's literally a Prada store. Or I thought it was a store. It. It's actually a museum now, but it looks like a Prada store. Which it is. It's an official thing.

Yeah.

In the middle of nowhere, Texas called Marfa. M A, R, F A. Okay. And it's on this like two lane highway, nothing within 50 miles. And it's this product store. You can go on my Instagram and see the pictures at Charlie. And it's just crazy. And people started telling me like, oh, that's an art installation. It's a museum. Like celebrities all know about it. Like Jay Z was wearing a Marfa hat. Like, like J, J, Z knows about it. Like it's, it's crazy.

That's insane. When I saw it kind of stuck out to me, I was like, what is this? Like it's the middle of the desert and this, the store just happens to show up.

That's right. You get to really see some cool stuff as you're biking across America.

Definitely. So what you guys are doing how many miles a day for everyone listening.

It'S between 60 and 90 miles a day.

Oh, my Lord. And that's. You guys wake up. What time is. Or is it just kind of whenever you feel like hitting the 60?

Yeah, whenever we feel like.

That's insane, man. That. That's a journey. So 81 days, you started, you're in New York. When it comes to just the mission, I kind of want you to touch on it because I know the dream machine. You want to help people's dreams come trues. What was kind of your mission, like from an idea phase to now in the process? Like, what if you had to kind of give people like your mission for doing this? What would that be?

It's simple. Like. Like when I was, when I was in business, I was doing some really cool things, but I would always have this. I would always. It's kind of like a nightmare, to be honest. I would. I would have these dreams that I died. And there was a thought that came to my head is like, wow, I died before I got to achieve my dream. And I've always wanted to be like a very fit athlete. I've never looked in the mirror my entire life and saw myself in a way that, wow, I like the way I look. So when I, when I retired from music and I started chasing my dream, I was like, wow. It took me to age 29 to decide to chase my dream. What if I can help remind people what their dreams were and help their dreams come true? And. And that's my mission, you know, because our dreams are very pure. It's a very. It's something that we all have in common. We all have a dream and. Yeah, man, I don't think we talk about it enough.

Yeah, that's the truth, man. So the dream machine come into how many cities told. I want people to like, interact because I know they're hitting so many different places.

Yeah. So some of the cool cities are Dallas, Houston, Austin, New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C. philadelphia and New York.

So if anyone listening, if you're in those cities, like I said, I'll make sure to put all the information so you can check it out. You can see if you can stop by, see if you can come write your dreams down in the machine. Because I'm super excited for it when you guys come to Richmond. So it's just super, it's super cool to see just like the process. Like even I don't think people get it. Like when we met a couple months ago, you want. You had this video. I was like, dude, let's make it happen. And then like from that moment, it's just so much stuff. It's just been building momentum. Now you're on the tour and then in three months when we talk again, it's just gonna be another story, you know? And I think, I just think you're one of those people that after learning from and talking to, I've learned a lot from. When it comes to just like the consistent momentum, consistent action, and things just fall into place. Like you say, that's crazy. So for every, every young person I know, obviously From a young 17, 18, 19, you were killing it. You were going to the club with P. Diddy. All these crazy stories. What kind of not just business advice, but just advice to find themselves would you give to 17, 18, 20 year old listening that may be confused, not know what to do? Because I'm sure a lot of people listening are like, dude, like he was this age killing it and I'm lost. Like, how does that happen? You know? So I just want to kind of see, like, what would you give to the younger Charlie if you had to restart?

Well, one of the things that I would recommend is like, I started off as a cameraman and that's not like super cool, but I made it cool. Like, even though I was at the bottom, I made it cool. And then I went to like a manager. And to a lot of people, like, being a manager isn't exactly cool. It's not like, it's not like being P. Diddy. P. Diddy wasn't a manager. You know what I'm saying? Like, some people will get the thought in their head that I have to be P. Diddy or I have to be, you know, this Elon Musk that's in their head. So they never do anything smaller. Me, I was passing out CDs, driving to radio stations, filming artists, and I treated myself like I was P. Diddy at every step. And a lot of times with my friends who were younger, they would be like, oh man, like, I can't see myself being a cameraman. And I'm like, if I said that to myself, I would have never ended up becoming a manager. And if I wasn't a manager, I wouldn't end up being able to do what I'm doing now. So a lot of times we can talk ourselves out of something just because we don't think it's cool enough for the best position. So I just took every position and I made it cool. That's pretty much it.

That's sort of like, when you say, like, living up to that character, right? It's like you make that character, like, the prime machine of P. Diddy or whatever you kind of want to be. It's just living up to that character and having it instilled in your mind is like, I'm that dude, and I'm confident about it. You know that's right. That's crazy, man. I love it. I love it. So I know. I want to ask you around two more questions, because I know we've been going on for around 40 minutes now, but I just think it's super interesting to kind of see you kind of putting this puzzle together of your life from moving to this to moving to that. So now, currently, what you're doing. And I kind of like to ask people, when it comes to just habits, like, is there any daily things that you make sure you do, obviously now, when it comes to fitness and just pursuing that path, but when it comes to, like, mental exercises, is there anything that kind of stick out to you throughout your journey that you've, like, made sure that you kind of get done throughout each and every single day?

Yeah, for sure. So one of the first things is I write in my notebook, and I call it. I call it my quantum notebook, and I study quantum physics because it was very fascinating to me how, like, law of Attraction work. Like, I wanted to find out, how does law of attraction work? Is it a real law? Like, how does it work? So I started studying quantum physics, and it explains it so much. So I recommend anybody out there watching, you know, go look up, like, quantum physics and. And how, like, everything in this world is energy. Like, there's this really cool quote I put on my Instagram yesterday about Einste. He says. He says everything in this world is energy. That's not theoretical. That's physics. And if everything is energy, then that means everything is a wave. And if everything is a wave, then that means we're all connected. Because let's say we took a pond and we dropped three rocks in the pond. The rocks are separated, but the waves that the rocks put off, they all combine. So that means they're all connected. So when I found out that things are all connected and we're all energy, then I could put a thought out into the world and something else can feel it. And if you study quantum physics, what they found out is that a particle over here and a particle over there, if they did something to this particle, it changes this one, even though it's in a different part of the world. So I was like, wow, if that's the case, then I can truly attract things. So what I do every morning in my notebook, I write down my quantum possibilities. And I'll say things like, I want to work with Oprah. Now, I don't know Oprah. Or I didn't know Oprah, and I would write it down every day, and then, boom. Guess who's producing my entire tour across America? Oprah. Oprah's producer of 25 years to where now I'm working with her team, and she's seen my videos, and it's. It's incredible how those things can happen. So that's a big thing that I try to do every day. I'm not perfect. Like, I just put on Instagram this morning that, like, me being out on this tour, I've been sleeping later because I've been tired. And I said, you know what? I want to start waking up at 6am again because that's when I'm in my happiest headspace.

Okay.

Now, Casey, you know. You know how sometimes, like, when you wake up early, like, time just seems to move slow in the morning?

Definitely.

I have a personal theory about why that is. And I notice it when I wake up early and when I wake up late. When I wake up early before other people wake up, I feel like I'm in control, and I feel like I can think. When I wake up late, I feel like I'm waking up into a war zone, even though I might be alone, even though there, you know, isn't anybody calling me or something like that. And let's go back to quantum physics. I don't want to geek out too much about this, but I think it's cool if we're. If we're all connected, right? If we're all energy and we're all connected and I wake up early, that means everybody else is asleep and the energy going through the air is clear. But when everybody wakes up and they're making phone calls or they're emotional about something, or their kids are yelling or their wife is mad at them, then there's all this energy that's out in the air, and I'm. I'm feeling it. But when I wake up super early, it's like time moves slow because the air is clear of energy. Most people are asleep. I'm up. So it's just this peaceful, relaxing, creative time to where I'm not absorbing other people's energy because they're at a low frequency. Because they're asleep.

Yeah.

So that's. That's that's why I like waking up. I like.

Yeah, and I totally agree with that. I can see, especially nowadays where it's like, I still go to school, I gotta be up by like 6:30, you know, not too early. Sometimes I'll try to wake up a little bit early, whether that be read a little bit in the morning before I go to school. Because when I'm at school, it's all the people and the noise and teachers and this and this and that. Right. But I totally agree with that because, I mean, even on the weekends, I try to stick to that schedule so that I'm mentally aware of, like, the time from 6 to 10. I totally agree with you. Is like the longest 4 hours of the day, if you kind of put that in perspective. And I think definitely, when it comes to just the peacefulness, I totally agree with you on how that aspect kind of correlates into what you do.

Yeah, man.

So, last thing, Last thing I want to ask you. When it comes to your story, the impact you're making, I know a lot of people, if they follow you, they can kind of understand why you're doing the things you're doing, if they've heard your story or if they're listening to this podcast. But if you had to kind of reiterate to the people listening, just what is your why? In a sense, because I know this is something that, from the content you put out, from the message that you've been moving people with, it's just so clear. But I just want to reassure people, just like, what is your why? Because I think a lot of people don't really know their why. And kind of you explaining it, I think it could really open up some doors for people.

When I was in a very dark place, when I was sick, depressed, I look out into the world, and everybody was so perfect. And there wasn't anybody there that I could look up to that could be my superhero that I felt like I could relate to because I was in this bad place of living this unperfect life. But I'm. I'm looking out into the world and I see everybody's highlight reel, and it's just like their perfect, perfect life. And even the people that were trying to help, they were still so perfect. They were given amazing advice, but they were still just so perfect. And I said, when I get my. When I get myself together, I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna reach my hand back to everybody else, and I'm gonna give them the real me. Cause, you know, we're talking about a lot of cool things that I'm doing, Casey. But, you know, most of what I post on Instagram is also. Is the things that I'm struggling with.

Yeah.

Because I want to leave a legacy. And a legacy, to me is helping. Because when you help when I die, that can carry on. A legacy is something that carries on when I'm gone. I don't want it to die when I die. And when people are just talking about being perfect or that's what we follow them for, then when they die, their whole message dies.

Yeah.

I think about it. I think about it sometimes. Like, I study Jesus, for example, because I thought it was amazing how he did marketing. He did not come up on a horse with armor and a sword and say, I am going to save the world. He was just a regular guy, just like us.

Yeah.

And I was like, yo, just a regular dude. Not a warrior, not strong, not any of this. But, you know, 2,000 years later, you know, a certain percentage of this world follows what he does. And I'm fascinated by how somebody can do something and thousands of years later, it can carry on.

Yep.

And to me, that's a legacy. So I would love, if I can help people in thousands of years from now, still be helping people.

And you will, man. I mean, I want everyone to kind of the main takeaway from this is to literally all the video that you've accumulated put together, they've impacted me so much, and I want everyone listening to really take the time to watch every single video that I'm gonna be linking to this podcast. Because I know after going through it, you'll be able to know more about Charlie, his message, what he's doing, and overall, it'll just make you a better person. And I know you'll learn a thing or two from it, for sure. So, Charlie, I just want to say it's been a crazy from three months ago to now, just what you've been able to do. And I definitely so much appreciate you coming on the show, man. I know when we first talked, it was like, yo, we should do this podcast. And we were like, dude, we gotta wait. There's stuff coming up. We gotta wait. We gotta wait. And it's super cool to finally make this happen because the puzzle pieces, like I said, came together, and now it's. The story that you've been building is just so beautiful to watch, man. Honestly, it's a pleasure to be connected with you.

Thank you so much, Casey, man.

Absolutely. So, that being said, everyone, like I said, the one thing I want you to take away from this episode is to just go follow Charlie. Like, you can listen this podcast and you could think it's amazing, but you need to follow his journey. Because I know this podcast in the next couple of minutes is gonna end, but Charlie's story won't. And I really need you to literally take the time, follow him, watch all the videos that I'm gonna link, because I know long term, you're just gonna. It's gonna change your life. So, that being said, Charlie, like I said, thanks so much for coming on. And thank you, everyone, for listening to the Rise of the Young podcast.

This is a decade of devotion it's hard to stop my movement When I'm already in motion this ain't luck this is by design I had to work in the dark for my light to shine A lot of people are dope they just quit too soon. A lot of rappers. Lottery Monarch Legacy of Monsters An Apple Original Series the world is on fire. I decided to do something about it. On November 17, 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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