How Drama Built A Worldwide Clothing Brand

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What's going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome to the Villager Empire podcast. Today, episode three. We have Mr. Christopher Drama Pfaff with us, aka Drama. And I've actually interviewed Drama before on my personal podcast, but today we're back in la, actually in person, and I'm excited to have you on the show, man.

Hell yeah, brother. Round two.

Oh, yeah, bro.

First one was a success. Then we met up again and got you a day off of school, dude.

Yup. How to secure the little bag.

That was a good moment.

It was.

So, I mean, this is, you know, third time's a charm here.

Good stuff, man.

Yeah.

So before we get into it, man. So this podcast, build your empire. We. We like, really talking about really what it takes to, I would say, dominate a field. And I would say when it comes to the clothing industry or whatever it is, from your past experience on mtv, just you've built an empire, whether that be a fan base, clothing brand, whatever that may be.

Yeah.

So. So to kind of start it off, I would say the first question before we dive into it is like, when it comes to building an empire, you hear that phrase used in a lot of different places. Like, what do you think about when you hear if someone's built their empire? Like, what comes to mind? How do you explain that?

I would argue that anyone who's at least in the beginning of the beginning stages of building an empire doesn't realize they're even building an empire. You know what I'm saying? Like, I think that a lot of times, and just be cautious of this build your empire followers. A lot of times it's the people you meet that say they're building an empire, that never build an empire. And the ones who built an empire just were following the next step and grinding it out and trying to do the right thing. And you do enough of the right thing over and over and over again. I think you wake up one day and say, oh shit, I got an empire. You know what I mean? But that's how, that's really how I see it. And I think that I only say that to say. I don't say that to get down on anyone saying you're building an empire. I'm all about positive thinking and all that, but I think that like, you can't. Don't worry about sitting down one day in your bedroom and figuring out the blueprint of an empire. Worried about taking the next step and doing the next thing and doing the next thing and constantly learning and evolving. And yeah, if you're lucky, you know, one day people will say, you built an empire. Yeah.

And it'll be time cushion, man. I totally agree with that. So for everyone listening, that is following Blue Jumper. I know that we've done a podcast before. We've gone into your story. I don't want to just regurgitate all the same stuff, but for the people listening, just let's catch up to speed a little bit. When it comes to what you're currently doing, the empire you've built, when it comes to the clothing perspective and just what you've been able to do. Let's just take him back and like a two minute reference of, sure, what's happening and what's your up to nowadays? Rama.

Yeah, here's the super speed. I mean, I really feel like at this point I've lived like five completely separate different lives that have kind of evolved from one to the next. But I'm from Akron, Ohio, grew up skateboarding. It was my absolute passion. Love. It's all I wanted to do, all I cared about. That love led me to know at about 14 years old, I wanted to move to LA as soon as I graduated. Very similar to you. I knew from the moment, you know, I was getting close to ending high school, I was out of there, I was going to LA. I didn't take my SATs, my ACTs, none of that. College wasn't even in the discussion.

Same.

I was out of there. And really what drove me was skateboarding. Not some grand dream of clothing and all that stuff. And so I moved here. I ended up kind of settling in. I built a really close relationship with my cousin, Rob Dyrdek. We ended up, you know, we didn't. He's 13 years older than I am. And he moved to LA when he was 16, so when I was 3. And so I knew that I had this really cool cousin for most of my life, but I didn't know. I didn't know him personally really well, and I didn't know much about what he did or whatever. So when I moved here, we ended up becoming really close and he became like a big brother to me. And we ended up shooting this crazy idea that would become the pilot for Robin Big, which ended up getting picked up by mtv. That took our lives into this crazy lane of reality TV fame. Weird people are recognizing you, stuff like that. That lasted three seasons, a couple years. Huge hit. Way bigger than we ever expected or could have planned for.

Yeah.

That rolled into a show called Fantasy Factory on mtv. And really what Fantasy Factory signified, I think, for both of us. He was much further along than me, but was kind of. I think Robin Big was like. We didn't know what to expect. And it became this huge thing. And Fantasy Factory is like, okay, we kind of know the power of this thing, this marketing thing, and we want to use it to actually build and support businesses. And he had a lot of sponsors at the time and was doing really well because of all that and started some businesses. And then. And then I was just really searching for kind of like, what's my thing? You know, I knew that the last thing on earth I wanted to be was a personal assistant, which I first was, or a reality TV star, because that's about the lamest career title on earth. Right. And so I kept trying to think, like, well, how can I? I know I have all these eyeballs, I know I have this platform. How can I use this to build something that could actually last and create me a life in la, which is what I've always wanted. And I tried a million different things, including music production and with my alter ego, drama beats and a bunch of different things. But the thing that really ended up working and kind of connecting was Young and Reckless, the clothing line. And really what that was was it was something that I could do and put a lot of time into and market directly to the same people who were watching our show and then sell it to a chain of retailers being PacSun, Macy's, Tilly's, Zumies, that were the exact kids who were watching that show. So it was just like a perfect loop.

Right.

And it worked. And it did.

I watched that show and bought the clothes. There you go.

Target demographic.

Look at you now.

And now I'm trying to market to you Again, the other Casey added to the world. So. So it worked really well and had a lot of success. And then it was always really important to me. Like I said, I thought fame for me was really whack. I thought reality show fame was really whack. And I thought that building a brand that was like merch for a reality TV star was about the lamest thing ever. So I wanted to really make sure that it stood for something and it stood for kind of that rebel, do it yourself spirit of young people going out there and doing what they wanted to do. And we started working with people like Meek Mill and Machine Gun Kelly at the time and all these different artists to make sure that we could really solidify it as a real brand and as something much more than just merch. And that's what happened. And that was a bit of a struggle, I think more than a lot of people know or kind of expect. But there was some times there where we weren't really sure that this thing was going to last further than a season or two. And it worked and it really started catching. And then Fantasy Factory ended. I am running still young and reckless, full time. It's kind of taken on a life of its own. It shifted through the different worlds of retail. Kind of having some trouble into E Comm. Social media marketing. We're now making full outfits, full jeans, everything.

Like care packages. Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Badass stuff.

And so we've evolved quite a bit in that way. And then now I'm still doing that while also trying to make sure that I'm creating content. And obviously I, more than anyone, understand the power of media and the power of content and the power of branding and telling your story. And there's a new way to do that now, which is exactly what we're doing here. And so I created my podcast, short story long. I've really been trying to just focus on putting out content that's in line with who I am and what I believe and what I'm working on. And. And really my end goal is just to inspire, you know, people like you to do the same thing, because I fully, 100% realize that there's nothing overly special about me. I wasn't some high achiever. I wasn't some super charismatic guy. I just kind of went for it, figured it out, believed I could do it.

Yeah.

And have been able to achieve. And I'm currently living a life that's way beyond what I ever thought was capable for me. And that's something I want to pass along. So that's yeah, that's the five minute version.

Good stuff. Yeah, that's fire. So I want to bring up the podcast because I know when it comes to the podcast, you sitting down with people. There's something bringing up the interview. Jake Cassidy, today we were talking and this is something I referenced you in. It was like you said, dude, like, how about anyone who should start a podcast because it gives you an excuse to sit down with people and just have good ass conversations. And like, that's literally like my exact thesis for like everything that I do with this right here. So, like, when it comes to podcasting and like doing that thing, some people listening may be listening and be like, I love podcasts. Some people may be like, this is my first. Like, what is your thoughts on just podcasting? Why did you start it and when did you start it overall?

So podcasting, I really think, I think it's incredible and I think, and I would say that that also probably applies to like a YouTube show or any form of disciplined content with a purpose. But using podcasts as the example, I think it's absolutely incredible. I think that the, the platform and the type of media itself are just really blowing up. And I think it's obviously like the new radio and replacing that entire format. And then like, like you were just talking about, like, it's literally so good for your life. That sounds really heavy, but it's so good for you. It's like a manifestation machine in the sense of, think about this. If you're a dog trainer in Akron, Ohio, where I'm from, can you start a podcast and you go hunt down people who know interesting facts about dogs and interview them for an hour every week. I don't care if you have 0 listeners on your podcast or the whole podcast is fake. You just sat down with a hundred really knowledgeable dog people. Think of how much smarter you're gonna be and think of now, the relationships that you have and the businesses. It's like the discipline of it all is what blew me away. And I was not expecting that in any way. So I think it's really cool. I think the fact that you can do and say whatever the hell you want, you can release them whenever you want. Your fans can take them in however they want. I just think it's an incredible format and I think that the, the discipline that it gives you will literally change people's lives, your own.

Yeah.

You know, if everyone says, like, I'm doing this podcast because I want to change people's lives, it's like, you're getting to change your own life, you know what I mean?

That's the real shit. Well, regarding just something, when it comes to your podcast, you've interviewed how many people is it now?

105.

105.

Yeah.

Good shit. And that's time frame you started, what, two years? Two years ago. Good stuff. So when it comes to just the word, not even just the word success, but people that you've interviewed, everyone that's doing different things, everyone's kind of built a separate empire if you look at it looking backwards from their standpoint. But like, what's some been some of the biggest takeaways that you've just had from like sitting down with people? Is it just the mentality, just sort of like a short little golden nugget from like the 105 people just in your own form? Yeah.

The biggest thing is that they're all just people, you know? And like, I think that's the first thing that blew my mind when I moved to LA and I was around people that were doing really interesting things and that's what really broke through to me that I could do something cool. And it's the reason, it's what motivated me to start the podcast is I want to show everyone else like, hey, these are all just people. And it's just, they're just people. It's just that they're people that maybe persevere a little bit harder, learn a little more determined, don't take failure as hard. You know, there are some traits that each one of them have that you can see, but they're really easy to replicate. I haven't had anyone on and no disrespect to any of my guests, I haven't had anyone on my podcast yet that's like sort of levitated out of here and I've been like, oh my God, that was an alien. You know what I mean? Every person is like, damn, man, you're really cool and you're doing a really good job, but like, you're just a guy with the same, you know, a girl with the same struggles and issues and it's just about pushing through those.

You know, that's dope.

Yeah.

So I want to talk about just regarding the business of what you're doing and like the back end of what people really don't see. And in general, when it comes to just running the company that you do and maintaining it, what do you think separates clothing brands or brands in general from not having success long term within a 1, 5, 10 year window, and then companies that just flourish and just have this amazing brand like you have and can actually pioneer in certain things. Social media, like what, what do you think really separates those two brands?

Plain and simple? I think it's the ability to evolve and it literally comes down to that when you talk about flourishing and long term.

Right.

And I think that evolving like without an ego is a hard thing to do, but it's 100% necessary. And I think like if you're one in a million fortunate, hard working and get lucky enough like I was to have a moment, especially in the apparel industry, you're really fortunate. But to be able to put your pride aside and say, hey, things are changing, trends are changing, the distribution style is changing, marketing is changing. Literally since I started this brand, everything has changed. It's an entirely different business and you just can't. Like the worst thing that happens to a lot of people, I've seen it time and time again is they get some success and then they think they know it all and then they think they're the ones who get to say and then they think, you know what I mean? And why do I have to change? This is what people, people are doing. Influencers, who cares about that? We deal with blah, blah, blah. And I've watched people have really, really short runs especially in apparel because they just refuse to evolve.

Okay, good stuff. So when it comes to evolving social media wise and from a personal standpoint and a business standpoint, what do you think when it comes to a branding outlook on just like I was talking to Jake today and he was talking about like supreme or Gucci, Louis Vuitton, all these brands that are Louis Vuitton identified as these big brands or like they have a different perception which I think younger reckless has a great perception from the audience and customer base. What do you think creates that? Just the long like that presence of just a brand that is meaningful and has a culture based following. Because I know Andy Frisella always talks about that. So like, yeah, what do you think culture means for young and reckless and how have you been able to build that in that?

Yeah, I think that it's, you know, at best 50% of it is, is having a really strong identity internally. Like what is you should be able at any moment to sit in front of someone and say this is what my brand means and this is where it fits in the market and this is the type of products we make and why we make them and this is what we do and this is the type of people that we like to work with. And this is what our office is like. And yes, that's gonna evolve. Also, like this office, there used to be just like constant Nerf gun battles and just chaos and we had to clean it up a little, you know what I mean? And, and also the brand kind of used to have a quite a different design look and we changed that too. So that will grow and evolve. But if at any moment you can't explain to anyone what your brand is one on one, why are millions of people supposed to understand what it is? So that's 50%. The other 50%, I genuinely believe is straight up luck. It just is. Talk about that. And I hate when I listen to a lot of these podcasts and people are like, I know how to do it, I could do. It's like, hey, then why don't you have 27 Supremes?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because why not? You just can write it down. Yeah, like I'll take one. My friend wants one. You know what I mean? Supreme is magic. Like there is something in supreme that the way the consumer latched on to that brand is not recreatable. And that's something I think to take some lessons from and also respect.

The.

Luck of it all. And people don't talk about that enough. So if I channel that all into advice, I would say be able at any moment in like they say, an elevator ride, to be able to say exactly what your company is, whatever products you make, and what your company culture is, and let go and let God deal with the rest. You know what I mean? You can have the dopest brand ever and it's just not your time. Doesn't mean you're stupid.

Okay.

And I've seen some dummies make a lot of money.

Okay.

You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, for sure.

I agree with that. So when it comes to just the day to day inside of it, because I really want to build your empire, listeners, because there's a lot of, I would say people that either have companies or are trying to rebrand their companies are really just trying to make things better internally in their organization from that standpoint.

Yeah.

So like when it comes to not even just the growth of a company, expanding offices, but what was that experience like with you? When it comes to the idea standpoint obviously of you have this platform, mtv, the show putting out products that then the audience can buy. When it comes to just the growth of getting these designs to actually having an accounting team and a marketing team and a department team, like what's the separation point? And like what's the mental capability that you have to have going into the bigger side.

Yeah. I mean, I could probably talk about that for, like, half an hour because I've evolved so much through it.

Yeah.

And in the beginning, I'm going to be honest, in the beginning, I think I probably, you know, I'm 20. I was 21 years old. I was on a TV show. So everything you do is a little bit magnified. You know, you think you're a little cooler than you are. I started being really successful with it and making a lot of money around like 23 or 24, which is young for like a little hillbilly from Ohio. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think I was never a straight up jerk, but I just think that I put a little bit too much of the emphasis on myself and how hard I was working and not as much on the other people. And it wasn't until I got a little older and started really understanding what we were doing and how this was evolving. How incredibly important everyone in your office is, is. And it's like, it does not matter, man. There's nobody except for, you know, maybe Kylie Jenner that doesn't have to worry about a staff. Right. It just doesn't exist. You need your accountants to give a shit. You need your marketing people to know what the hell they're even selling. You need your sales people to know why they're selling. You need it, like. And you need people to come to work every day. And somebody said this to me the other day, and it's so true. People will never admit this, but the people that you work with are your friends and family. They are. They never admit it. And everyone comes to work and says, oh, yeah, well, I'm gonna be like, hanging out with my friends later. And I don't really. But it's not true. If you really added up the time and you really looked at what all your employees do when they go home, this is their family, these are their friends. And if they don't feel like every day they're working with people that they care about, then they're gonna just do a shitty job, period. End. And you're just not gonna get a good thing done. And that's becoming more and more aware to me. Once again, I'm not going to act like some super business genius. It's becoming more and more aware to me every day. And I'm trying to. That's why when you walked in, I was handing out Dean's book. And even just little things, trying to Start a book club, trying to do little stuff, to just say, like, I really do appreciate every single person here, and there is not a piece of me that's confused about the fact that without all of them, I don't get to do cool podcasts and talk about building empires. You know what I'm saying? And it's important, man. And I think if anyone's starting a company from day one, from employee number one, don't ever kid yourself that you're the only one that matters.

Okay?

You know, that's the truth. Yeah.

So wait, you guys have how many people total now here?

I think it's 42.

Okay. Yeah, 42 best friends, then.

Friends and family, man. If you think about it that way, it's great. The other day, we went skydiving. We ended up getting canceled because it was too windy, which is ridiculous. But we try to think of team bonding things.

Okay.

And we thought up skydiving, and so we're all gonna go jump up, you know, you respect. Together. No, there was only 10 that committed.

Okay. Okay.

But we try to do little stuff here and there to, like, really build the, you know.

You've been skydiving before? I have.

Twice.

How is it?

It's great, man, but it is scary. I'm not gonna talk about that.

Yeah.

I'm not gonna act tough again. I. It's like, I would do it again. We were going to do it last week, but. But, man, it's. It's a rush.

Okay.

Yeah. You should do it. Have you died?

I have. Not yet. I can't. When I turn 18, I think I'm good to go.

Yeah.

Where can you get, like.

I think 18, right.

Signed off when you're 17.

When you turn 18.

July 9th. It's like, right there.

Oh, yeah, you're good?

I'm good to go. Yeah, Good. Yeah. Because my brother went. And, like, he was like, yeah, bro, that shit's. It's not. Yeah.

Like, I don't want to make it, like a hippie thing, but, like, it gives you some perspective, you know? I mean, like, you land and you're like, whoa. I'm just happy to be, like, walking. You know what I mean? It's good. There's that. Have you ever watched that Will Smith video? Will Smith did a video about skydiving, and he really Smith the shit out of it. Like, he just made it so much cooler.

Yeah. And Will Smith the shit out of it.

He did. And you should watch it because he perfectly describes kind of the breakdown.

Okay.

Yeah.

Good stuff. So when it comes to team activities, your daily life, there's obviously some pleasurement. And when you talk about work life balance, is that even a thing for you? Or like, what does that even mean to you? Like work life balance at work and in your normal life, like, what's the difference between work life balance, how do you balance that? Or what even is that to you?

Yeah, yeah, it does exist for me very much. And I think another young flaw was thinking that it shouldn't and thinking that it was just a game of the, the harder you work, the more successful you are, period. And that's so untrue and it's so stupid. And that's another thing I hear on a lot of these business things is like, I don't ever sleep. It's like, okay, then you're just dumb. And it's just literally like, you know, like, it's not like, damn, I wish I could never sleep. You're just stupid. And the simple fact is, like, it's not about, it's truly not you. Can we all work hard? Everyone in this room?

Yeah.

But it's about the quality of the work you're doing while you're working.

Yeah.

And if you don't know why you're working, because you're not spending time with people you care about or doing fun things or just resting yourself that you're just doing a lot, a lot, a lot of really shitty work. And I'm sorry that that happened.

Yeah.

So. So that's it. So it's another thing. And I don't, I don't go, I don't have any crazy hobbies. I'm not like some crazy like spear fisherman or something. I wish I was, but I, you know, I'm trying to figure out how to play tennis.

Okay. I played like two weeks ago, bro.

Do you play for real?

On a real court?

Yeah, I'm saying, do you actually play?

I have like four or five times. But like I played with this girl back home and like it's hard. We were getting it. She smoked me. But like, yeah, I was like, this is a good workout. Yeah, good ass workout. I love tennis.

I love, I love ping pong.

Okay?

And that's why shout out to the movement, kids, I'm gonna come smoke you in your own office. But I love ping pong and, but it's obviously not very good physical. So I was like, man, I guess I would probably like tennis. And you just like, you're drenched, man, you're just like sweating, whatever.

So tear up your shoes.

Yeah. So I do that. I just hang out with friends, you know, whenever I can. I, I do do obviously things like ping pong. I love shooting photos.

Yeah.

Little stuff. And then I work a lot and I love the people that I work with and work truly is what keeps me going and feeling motivated and whatever and. And so I think I've done a pretty good job at evolving into a healthier version of guy who works a.

Lot, you know, I mean, for sure, that's dope. So I want to talk a little bit about hometown. Akron, Ohio. Yeah, Small town, cuz I know when we first met, we started talking, I was like, shit, I'm from a small town in Virginia. Like I resonate with that, you know, saying so like when you look at where you're from, where you are now, just like the journey from being born in Akron, Ohio and like looking at LA and this perception of, oh my God, la, how has that changed over time? Cause I think for a lot of young people, maybe they have that place they want to be in life and they glorify that and they just want to get there and then it's over. So like for you, was that your, like when you looked at LA and wanted to move there and you moved there, what was the perception change of like actually thinking about moving there and then actually being there?

Yeah.

Oh man.

I think that it was like a mixture of like absolute heaven with like pure chaos, you know what I mean? Because it was like all I wanted to do was live in la. Like I said, it was mainly a skateboarding. It was skateboarding and opportunity.

Yeah.

You know, it was just like Ohio, there's nothing going on in Ohio. I just want to be in the action. And LA is the obvious choice because I love skateboarding and LA is the skateboard capital of the world.

Yeah.

So I got here and I was really happy to be here, but at the same time I was like so overwhelmed, like traffic and like I remember the first time I tried to drive here, I was like, what in the hell? Like I'm gonna die like every two seconds. And, and just the, like the different types of people and the. You know what I'm saying?

Like diversity.

I don't mean to sound like straight up, like just hillbilly, but like, but like the, it's not even the diversity meaning and like racial or anything like that. It's the different types. It's. Everyone's doing something. You know, you walk into a Ralph's and it's like there's someone who's an actor And a musician and a businessman, and it's just like, whoa, like you can do anything, you know, and. Because in Ohio, everyone's doing the same thing. And. And I think that. So it was this combination of, like, how do I drive anywhere? This is nuts. And also, like, it's overwhelming. But I. I like it.

Yeah.

You know, and. And I always say there would never be another city, unfortunately, that I could move to, that I would be as excited as I was when I first came to la.

Okay.

There's just not. Like, New York doesn't do that for me neither, bro. New York's cool in small doses. Still a little hectic. Yeah, Miami's great in small doses. Still feel hungover when I even think about it, you know, like. But there's not any one city that's like, as cool as this was to me. It is.

I agree with that 100%. I'll just remind me last week got a terrible sunburn, bro. I was stranded on jet skis for like three hours and just took an L. And I was like, dude, this heat is not for me. Always, like, it's hot up there.

I love, like really love Miami a lot, but it's just like, you know, it's a town built around, like, partying and that energy. You just go there and you're like, shit. Like, I'm already. You just hear like, Tiesto coming out of the, like, air. But yeah, but yeah. So nothing. Nothing like la, definitely.

So reading. I know when I first got you on my personal podcast. Yeah, I remember I DMed you and you posted a picture of the book. Obviously you talk a lot about reading. You. What did you get set a book club you want to start in your office?

Yeah.

So what is reading done for you? Have you always, like, vibe with reading in school or like, what was that entire thing when it comes to just like self education and just sort of not doing the traditional thing? Because I know you said, did you drop out of college or did you not go to college?

No, never went.

Never went. So I know that you said that was even a thought. And though you just want to move to la.

Yeah.

But regarding just educating yourself, books, like background I'm from. It's like, once you graduate school, go get fucked up the rest of life and go do your thing and work at a job you met in second grade. Yeah. So like, what for you, like, what was your perception of like self education and the books and what's some books after you answer that, that you just really vibe with and think have impacted Your life?

Yeah, that's a great question. I think that I had to, like, wake up to it, you know, and once again, not getting down on my childhood, but for the sake of the story, I honestly. And I checked with my mom the other day and she confirmed that she thinks I'm right. I don't think that I ever read one single book until age 27. No shit. Yeah. And that book was Start with why by Simon Smith in it. And I remember reading it and I would say, I have good instincts, right? At best, like, that's my thing. And I read that book and I remember being like, holy cow, somebody just put like all of my kind of instincts into like a book. And like, there's examples of other people who have done this and there's theories of why this works and there's blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, this is incredible. And not that even, you know, I went from that. I probably read maybe at best three books that year, and then the next year I probably read, you know, eight or something. And now I read. I'm pretty on par so far for the year. Reading a book a week. And I love it, man. And I feel weird even like this, these words coming out of my mouth, because I feel like, you know, I mean, it still feels like, who are you? It's nuts. And it's. It's. I think the fact that you're kind of. You have a relationship with education growing up that's a little flawed and that's a little bit like, you look at it as science, math, you know, biology, and you hate it. And then there's this kind of like, well, I'm gonna do it myself way, and you think that that means literally do it yourself. And that's also dumb. And I think realizing that there's a book for anything, you know, like, for anything you're interested in, like, people have done this. You're not walking on the moon for the first time. You know what I mean? Like, research what it is. Read some books that'll lead you on a weird down a rabbit hole of other books related to the topic. And it's just. It's not only has it truly led to so much growth for me as a person, it's changed my relationship with education and what educating yourself means. It's changed my perspective even further on formal education, like college. It also has done so much to help me carve out moments to just focus and do one thing. And I really now look forward to those moments. It's almost like when you get you know when. Talks about when you get on an airplane and you have to shut your phone off and you're actually like. Like, I got five hours in New York and nobody can reach me. And when I now, you know, every morning or every night, I try to carve out 30 minutes, an hour of reading, and I put my phone away and I focus on what I'm doing, and it's just really. Yeah. Really good. As far as what books? You know, there's a. There's probably 10 that I might not even be able to name that have truly done a lot for me. You know, think and Grow Rich is a big one that everyone talks about. But I'm gonna be honest, it's hard to read, like, the way. Yeah, I don't like that. And I think it's a great book. And I listen to the audiobook sometimes on repeat, but the way that it's written is a difficult. Difficult to put the sentences together.

Yeah.

But the theory is very cool. Principles by Ray Dalio is an absolute game changer. But in my mind, I would tell everyone, anyone who's even listening to this podcast, because you have an interest in these types of things, buy Principles by Ray Dalio and only read the life principles section. Because the whole book is just his story, which you can read if you want. Life principles. And then the business principles kind of repeats what the life principles are. So if you read that section, it's actually really small. And it's just like, holy cow, it's mind blowing. Start with why by Simon Sinek. Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday.

He was on the podcast.

Yeah. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight was incredible. Man, I would love to, like, literally. Yeah. The Power of intention is an incredible. I'm not even gonna lie. I read Oprah's book, what I Know for sure the other day, and it's the only book that I've ever read in one day. Yeah. Only in my life. And it's like, it sounds weird coming from me that, like, because I'm not. I don't even really know much about Oprah, to be honest. I just know she's Oprah.

Yeah. Good branding.

But she just crushed it and, like, putting lessons, you know, it's almost like the Ray Dalio book, but a little bit more like spiritual.

Yeah.

So I don't know. There's a. There's a bunch, but those ones are the absolute must read. Go to.

That's good stuff. Yeah. So regarding just what you got going on. Business, wise, ventures, when it just comes to just wealth in general, putting your money places that will grow different things, investments. Like for you, what are some vehicles that you either use or believe in that helped really or that you look at that is different from just running a business, but it's just helps you capitalize your long term. Like is there anything in particular that you do or that you would like to share that really would just resonate with the audience?

Yeah. I'm going to be honest, I'm not the best mentor on this one because I still very much operate from the mindset of like I'm building a business first. And so I'm really like actively working with priority number one being grow this thing. And you know, a couple years ago, shift from retail to E comm. Grow, grow, grow. And, and obviously there's a lot of upside there for me if I do that well and continue to do that well. I do invest in like random shit, you know, like I have a group of friends that, that all invest in tech stuff together and we've invested in a lot of tech companies and up and coming things. I'm not doing any thorough due diligence. I'm not, you know what I mean? I'm just kind of doing what the group does. This looks good. We're in on like a juice company, we're in on a granola company just across the board. We kind of look at good investments and we as a group throw some money into it. I don't do anything with real estate, but obviously I, it's, you know, solid as long as you do it right.

Yeah.

And unless I'm missing anything, I think that's it, man. I, I'm just not quite in that mindset. Yeah. And I'm doing enough to make sure that if everything went to, I'd be fine.

Yeah.

You know, but, but I think that I see that as like kind of the next phase of my life, you know, Like I'd like to build this company. I'd like to one day either have it be very strong cash flow business or have some kind of exit, have that feather in my cap of doing that and saying I completed a business and, and then really be smart about investing and investing in companies. Working with a young entrepreneur, stuff like that and kind of letting that be the next phase. You know, I kind of look at it like I'm taking, I'm learning everything I can right now and I want to be able to apply everything I've learned to helping people actually build businesses later.

And that kind of become like VC in a sense or like Venture capital to a degree. Long term.

Yeah.

That's dope.

Yeah, I think be cool. I think be cool if I had like a cool podcast.

Yeah.

Cool little YouTube videos, entrepreneurs build and sell businesses, that'd be pretty dope. Pretty cool guy.

Hell yeah. Yeah, that's what's up. So I think the next thing I want to touch on just so many things are going through my head, I would say, when it comes to the current situation and beyond, because obviously a lot of podcasts you talk about your past, touched on that and all that sort of stuff. But when it comes to your current standpoint, young and reckless beyond here. Yeah. Are you more of someone that is long term thinking, team execution or in the now thinking. But you know, there's stuff you have to reach for. As in, like, do you more. Are you more of an outside thinker or like an inside thinker, if you get what I'm saying.

I kind of do. I think that I'm a blend of both. And I think that like I, you know, so what I just said is kind of how I see long, long, long term goals. Like that's like next 10, 15 years. And then I try to, you know, obviously my bigger goals for young and reckless are more based around young and reckless growth and how we adapt over the next, let's say five years. And then I try to, as much as I can break those down into literally daily, what I can do today to start to act on some of that. And that's what I try to do. That's why I tell other people to try to do. And so I know what I'm doing almost every hour of every day. And I know that that is working towards what I want to be doing in 15 years. And all that might change and shift a little bit. It won't change. It'll shift if anything. But yeah, I think it's about having the balance between those two.

Okay.

You know, definitely.

So from, from a merchandise standpoint, I think this always interests me. Like you go into a store or whatever, buy stuff online. Like the design, I feel like for young and reckless, like just the capability to design so many unique pieces of clothing. Like what goes into the actual design process of making clothes manufacturing and really just creating something that is just so beautiful in a sense when it comes to clothes. But like, what's your part in that design team wise? I think from my standpoint of is like a creative thinker.

Yeah.

I want to know, like from your CEO position, like what goes into that process of just like from getting we need a new hoodie. And this is a spring line coming up. Boom. Like, what does that process look like?

Yeah, so it's evolved. That's evolved quite a bit too. And it went from literally me, I've never been a graphic designer or designer, but for me it went from like sitting over the shoulder of the designers and literally picking colors and logo placement and everything under the sun to now I'm acting much more, as you know, in the CEO role and I'm able to oversee everything. And I'm over to the cool thing is I'm able to have the conversations with retailers and potential, let's say brand ambassadors or collaborations, and obviously the design team very closely every day and mesh those things because I think that's a really important. You need someone, whether it's me or not, someone has to be in that perspective of knowing what everyone wants at once. Right. And so essentially, you know, the long story short of it is it's, it's a lot of moving pieces in all those different places. I oversee the mall. But our design team is so talented now, you know, it's nine years in. It took some time, but they are just so good. And we have relationships with our retailers that we know they're really transparent with us on what's working well and what we need to kind of make more of or maybe evolve on and what we need to dead. And then when it comes to our E Comm, it's much more tripling down on the things that work and experimenting very heavily on new things. Like denim for us was an experiment, experiment. And we didn't really have much hope for it, to be honest. We thought, like, sure, we'll try it, because why not? But I, I don't think people want denim for us. And now on our E Comm, men's denim is our biggest category. And you know, a year later, and now we can't bring in denim fast enough and we're just trying to. Who would have thought? And so that's how you really evolve and grow that stuff. And. And also we're very, very price conscious. I never wanted to be aspirational. You can't get us.

Haha.

I didn't. I never connected with that guy. You know, I don't know whether it's from Akron, Ohio or what it is, but I never connected with like, look at how fancy I am. You can't be like me or look at how expensive my clothes are.

Yeah.

And so I didn't want the brand to be that I wanted it to be. Something that was cool and people could connect with. And cool people were wearing it, but everyone could get it. And so when it comes to design and stuff, we do a lot of design for price, if that makes sense. So sometimes that might mean you have, like, a button that looks really cool and, like, it might go into a pocket, but there's no pocket there. It's just a decorate. You know, it's just a decorative thing. Right. Or there's all these extra zippers and, you know, or whatever it is, and you can kind of get a really cool look. And not every button, every pocket, every everything just makes your price go through the roof. Right. So we're designing for. So that it looks cool but is affordable. And. And then as a whole, as the brand, you know, we have our identity. We have kind of what young and reckless is and what we stand for, and then we do. I'm not in any way ashamed to admit this heavily. Take into consideration what's going on in the market. You know, is moto denim cool? Great. We're going to make young and reckless moto denim that has a bit of a different look to it, but it's still capitalizing on what's going on. You know, we don't ever want to try to rest on, like, getting everyone to come to us. We want to play the game.

Yeah.

You know, definitely.

So I see now when it comes to your personal Instagram, it's like, what is it? You have, like, Mentor Monday or.

Yeah.

Is that Mentor Monday? Right.

Yeah.

So what is that? I saw that coming up recently. Just from a personal standpoint, like, what does Mentor Monday mean to you? What is that piece of content? Because I see you've been putting out that, and actually we reposted one of those on the Village Empire side of stuff. So I want to know, like, what is. What's going on over there?

Yeah, yeah. Here's what it is. I. At the end of the day, the reason why I do all of the content is because I want. I truly want to teach and inspire young people how to do what I did. That's it. Cause that's all I know how to do.

Right, you're doing it right here.

Exactly. And so I started Short Story Long, the podcast, kind of with that mentality, but Short Story Long is very, like, me talking to other successful people. And sometimes it gets a bit of, like, high level. You know, it's kind of like, okay, great, love that podcast, but where do I start, you know?

100 million.

Yeah, you hear that number?

It's like, shit.

Yeah. And so, so I think that, like, it was really cool. It is really cool and it serves its purpose. Like, let's get some inspiration from here. But I realized when I kind of looked at everything, like, man, I'm not actually doing anything that is talking directly to that kid. And so we just said, why don't we directly talk to that kid? And so we just, every Monday, we post the video and we film it throughout the week, and we get people from the Instagram comments or DMs or whatever, and we just say, you know, send us what you're working on and why you want to have a conversation. Yeah, we line it up and I just go meet up with them wherever. Sometimes at the coffee place down at the bottom of the building. And I just say, literally, ask me anything. Like, I don't have any secrets, I don't have anything to hide. Ask me anything you could possibly want to ask me. I'll tell you everything. And not only, hopefully, is that kid walking away a little bit more inspired or something, but now I'm able to post it and hopefully, you know, a couple thousand other people might feel some way, because that's honestly my goal. Like, I. All I want to do is find the quickest way to that.

Yeah.

I want someone to come up to me and say, you know, I moved out here because of you, or I started this business because of you, or I'm going for it because of you, because that's the, that's where the energy is for me. Right. You know, so. So that's what it is. It's just trying to talk directly to my followers about whatever questions they may have.

That's sick. Is that more guided obviously, towards the young demographic of your audience, or is it random? Or you have to know more about their story, what they're doing, and then you guys do like a random comment pick or how does that look? Yeah, if they wanted to be part of that.

So if you want to be a part of it, you just literally comment on one of my Instagram pics is the best way. And we're constantly looking through them and responding and making sure that we hit people up and literally just say, I want to be a part of mentor. You'll put hashtag mentor Monday. And I'm going to be really honest. We're. We're gonna just talk to everyone, but we're also seeing what types of people my audience is resonating with the best. You know, like, are they relating to an 18 year old who doesn't really know what he wants to do but has an idea or are they resonating more with like a guy who has it going but doesn't know how to scale, you know, and so we want to see that because at the end of the day, that's my goal, is to answer the right questions. So we're just kind of picking anyone who's got anything going that's not, you know, short story long type of person. And just talking, you know, and whatever we talk about, we talk about.

That's dope.

Yeah.

So we were at this conference this weekend in la. I was speaking there, I talked about personal branding and a lot of other people on stage were obviously telling their stories and then talking about their specific topic. But when it comes to you, and I would guess storytelling and the way you look at social media when you say like, alright, follow me on social media and the content you post, like, what does your entirety of your brand mean? What's the standpoint that you're trying to press upon your audience? I know that you said inspiring the young people, but when it comes to just your intent with it, obviously it's like from social media, you aren't getting paid for your podcast or if you're not monetizing it, you can, but there's different ways. But I know that you just sit down with people, have the good conversations. But when it comes to, I would say the intentional action on social media, when did you really start going hard for everyone watching? Because I know like we talked about last time where it's like you run MTV and you were like in the TV world and it was hard. It was a hard transition. I believe you said transforming from like going hard on social media and doing the podcast or whatever it may be now that you're doing, but what is your now core intent is? I guess I'm trying to get across. Yeah.

So I would say that I started going like extra hard like at the beginning of the year maybe. And I think I've always just kind of messed around on Instagram.

Yeah.

You know, thought it was cool and did it throughout our TV process and when Instagram was first starting and got a shit ton of followers from that. But. But it's not the same, you know, now I have a shit ton of followers and I don't have the engagement that matches my followers. Right. And that's because there was never any purpose. It was just like, follow the guy from TV and he's gonna post pictures of his dog and. And that's what I did for a Very long time. And it was cool, but it has absolutely zero meaning. So then it's kind of like realizing slowly, a little bit late to the party, that. That this is the new mtv, right? This is the platform. So if you want to build a brand and talk and reach people, this is where you do it. And so I started taking it seriously. I think it was around January or February. And what that meant for me was just not only basic things like posting better photos and writing better captions and being a little bit more intentional with what I'm doing. But I meant, like, selling product less and. And just more talking more, if that makes sense, because I did a lot of, like, new jeans. Oh, now get them.

Get them.

So how many times can you hear that? Nice dog. And so it's just about being a little bit more, like, authentic. And I'll post little things from books that I'm reading or whatever in the captions. Writing longer captions has done well for me because if you're actually saying something, it's not just like, you. Yo, gang, gang. And like I said, good photos. And my intention is this. At the end of the day, I'm just a kid from Akron, Ohio, that thought he had no chance. Like, no chance. And through being exposed to some stuff and learning and keeping my mouth shut and waiting my turn and then hitting the gas pedal when I had a window, I have been able to have some insane experiences, help people buy my parents cars and things and just live a life that I never even thought. Like, I never was growing up in Ohio, like, this is going to be my life. I wasn't. And I want other people to have that, you know, just like all of us. I have family members. Ohio is one of the worst places where the opioid crisis is going down, right? Everyone's just fucking. Just popping Viking, right? And friends, obviously, they ended up in jail, and just friends that just aren't happy. They just drank their lives away. And I think it's such. It just sucks because I think that the majority of that, believe it or not or agree or not, comes from having no purpose, not thinking that you're capable of anything, and thinking, this is it, high school's over. I'm gonna marry that girl from band class, and this is it.

Yeah.

And that just sucks. And so I don't know how to cure cancer. I don't know how to cure diseases. I don't know how to go with Elon Musk to Mars so we can all run away from Earth. I know how to do this yeah. And so I'm gonna tell you over and over again how to do this, and I'm gonna keep learning and keep telling you what I've learned so that hopefully we can all do it together because, man, it's fun and it's cool and it's like. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

Great.

It flows.

Yeah.

Good stuff.

Yeah. So that's the goal.

Yeah. Yeah. So, last question for all the. We call them empire builders that build your empire. So for the people that are learning and like you just said, like the intentional people that are looking for more and trying to gain more knowledge, I tend to look at our audience from blood Empire. People that are from focused on doing more, maybe they come by and just check out the content to either get motivated, inspired, or whatever. Yeah. But for the people listening, the build your empire audience, for the thousands and thousands of people that are just listening right now, either car, airplane, whatever. Yeah. What would just be a primary tip for. I would just say maintaining things mentally because I think mental health is something that is not touched on enough in the school system. People are stressed, depressed, they don't know how to manage themselves. They get angry, go off, and people. Whatever that may be. Right.

Yeah.

So just like, from overall standpoint of mental health and just maintaining oneself.

Yeah.

What are some tips that you've been able to gain throughout these years that you'd want people to know?

I think. I think. You know, I hate to be the one to tell you this because I thought it was so whack for so long for anyone to say this, but you got it. You got to exercise on some level. Like, you gotta, like, play tennis, go to, like, a cycle class. Man, I don't care how stupid it looks. It's it. You need to do it. And if you want to use your brain, if you want, like, you got to meditate. Hate to be the guy to tell you that, too. It seems really weird, and I always thought it was some weird Buddhist shit, but it's not cool. And there's tests on that and it checks out. You know what I mean? It's science. It's not Buddhist. And last but not least, like, let it go. You know what I mean? Like, don't dwell in the losses. Like, I would urge you, if you're someone that thinks, you know, you're. You're kind of lost or, you know, you've taken too many losses and it's over for you. Read some. Track down some books or some podcasts or some. Something about people's stories and about People who've done really big things and just do a week just hunting for losses and. And you'll just see that the people who win and who really are happy and make it are the ones who learn to let the losses mean nothing. And so just let the shit go. Whatever's on your mind right now. Listen to this podcast. You're like, yeah, but you don't have this. Like, I get it, bro, but, like, go play some tennis, meditate a little bit, you know?

I feel you.

Good. Good stuff. That's what I would say.

Good stuff, man. Well, I appreciate you coming on the show. For all the empire builders out there, make sure you go check out Drama. There's a lot of content that we'll be posting about Drama from the mentor Monday, whatever it may be. We've been posting a bunch of your shit.

Thank you, man.

Good stuff. So, yeah, everyone listening. Appreciate you coming on, Drama. Everyone keep. Keep building your empire. Peace.

Build it, build it, build it. Gang, gang.

Monarch 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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