Breaking the Sound Barrier: Benjamin Shrader on Fortitude, Dyslexia & Music Industry Mastery

CJ Moneyway Johnson. They say the music business is loud, but the real battles, those happen in silence. Imagine building a concert empire while fighting a mind that won't slow down, learning in a world that never learned you, and surviving a diagnosis meant to stop everything.

This is not a comeback story. This is a continuation Today's guest didn't just break into the industry, he broke through limitations.

From Texas stages to national tours, from dyslexia and ADHD to discipline and domination.

Meet Benjamin Schreider, CEO of Schreider Promotions. Survivor, strategist, builder.

He produced for the greats, he outworked the odds, and when life tried to silence him, he learned how to listen deeper.

This conversation isn't about fame. It's about fortitude.

If you're building through adversity, learning through pressure, or healing while still leading, this episode is for you. Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show. Brick by brick. Let's get into it. This episode is for you. Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show. Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show. How you doing today though?

Doing great.

It's good to be here, man. Appreciate you coming on, man, taking the time out your busy schedule, man, to come on the CJ Moneyway Johnson Show, man. Appreciate it. Yeah, man. So let's jump into this, man. Opening the Door to Purpose. Ben, man, how did your journey into promotion begin while you were in college?

Well, I was part of a program called Startup Aggieland. It's now the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, but back then it was Startup Aggieland, and it was a program that helped students start businesses. We all lived together on the same, the 4th floor of Hullablu Hall in the dormitory, and we all took a class on entrepreneurship together. Now, I know it may sound strange to take a class on entrepreneurship, but it was really quite good. It was how to file your LLC, how to file your taxes, the different laws, how to get investors. It was a very serious class taught by entrepreneurs. We would have speakers come in all of the time and really Without that, I couldn't have done this. And basically, I had no product, I had no widget, I had nothing that I was going to sell, and I didn't really even have an idea for anything like that. I said one thing: all my life I've had been, let's say, an outcast, and I dreamed of being popular. I dreamed of being well-liked, of being known, which I know might sound silly, but it's something I had always wanted. And I said to myself, college kids like to party. If I control partying, college kids will like me. How can you be disinvited from the event you bring on?

You know? Yeah.

That is the simple deduction behind my entire career, which I know is funny, but it's the truth. And so I was very slowly— I started out just on the promotion side. I was going around every single night when other people were studying, when other people were partying. I was going around Northgate, the bar district, in a suit, and I was shaking the hands of bouncers, talking to managers, talking to anybody who would give me the time of day, saying, "Let me manage your social media. I'll promote these events for you. I've got 2,000 Instagram followers. Let me do this for you." It's much more now, but back then. And eventually one place gave me a shot, and we like increased their sales by like 20 or 30%. And made it really a hotspot. Got a lot of the fraternities and sororities to do their events there. We made it the place to be. And from that success, I started working with many different venues and slowly started doing less and less promotion and more and more event organization, specifically concerts, because that's where the money is at. You know, artists make very little of records today. It is all about concerts, all about the events. Now that makes it very expensive for me, for the consumer, but concerts are where it's at. And that is what Gen Z will go to. Gen Z doesn't go out and drink and party like the millennials or previous generations. You know, Gen Z would stay in with their friends and watch Netflix and maybe have a bottle of wine, but they will go out to a concert. So there's a real market for it. And it's been fantastic. It's been an absolute joy. I enjoy it a lot. To see all the work you put in come to fruition is just something special.

Man, that sounds cool, man. You right. You know, I don't really look at a lot of like videos, you know, like Instagram videos or reels and stuff like that. But we was at work yesterday, so I was watching some stuff and they was showing like the top 5 loudest crowds. And I think one of them, I think number 1 was Travis Scott. Oh, and then you have an incredible artist, uh, Travis Scott. I can't think it was—

I hope Kendrick's on there.

No, no, Kendrick wasn't on there. They were just showing the 5 like loudest places, you know, like when they came out or whatever. Yeah, and the crowd just went crazy. So I was just listening to you say that, you know, this generation, they will go to the concerts, and I'm thinking like, you ain't lying, they sure do, because they go out in droves, you know. I'm just But they just had a Coachella or something last weekend or whatever, man. Crazy, the money that they spend and the things that's going on, man. So you in a good space. Plus you said something too that made me think. You said, talked about the entrepreneurship class. You know, it's funny, like my son going to high school next year, so he had to do a schedule and that was one of the classes that he wanted to take, entrepreneurship. Although we switched some stuff around, you know, whatever. But I think that's a good thing for them. Yeah, you know, teaching them that this early, you know what I'm saying, as far as skills. And if that's what you— I told him maybe about his junior year to start taking entrepreneurship, you know.

I definitely think he should take it at some point in his high school career because, you know, it can go one of two ways. The class can either be extremely valuable like mine, or it can be something where it's more just concepts and not really applicable knowledge. But Being an entrepreneur is a very difficult thing. And today there are a lot of fake entrepreneurs and it agitates me immensely. There are a lot of people who say they're an entrepreneur, but they aren't. And because it is, it takes a ton of work. I mean, in college I had very few friends. I had very little free time. I worked constantly. I mean, it took everything that I had from every dollar in my bank account to every hour of my time just to get to the point where I was breaking even. And then to get to the point where I was making a profit took even more work. And then once it got a little more established, it was— it calmed down a little bit. But in the beginning, I mean, it was probably a good 3, 4 years of just nose to the grindstone. Yeah.

And, you know, I'm glad you said that because, because I'm grinding, you know, I'm just like, you know, talking to people like yourself and other entrepreneurs and business people, you learn a lot. You learn some stuff. Then you have people along the way that will help you out. You know, I had a guy I met not too long ago, uh, Ken Cox, and he gave me— he got an integration system called Nlink.com, and he actually let me use the system for free for 6 months. You know, then next month or whatever, I'mma be affiliate in the affiliate program with them or whatnot. And man, so like you say, I'm learning so much more now, you know what I'm saying? I'm glad that you said how long it took because that's what I was trying to tell my wife. I'm like, when you building a brand, when you build this up, it takes a while, you know what I'm saying? It just don't come overnight. It's just, it's so much stuff that's involved in it. Like, I'm learning how to do funnels now and automate everything, and you know what I'm saying, websites and all the Man, it's a lot of work, man, but you learn as you go.

It is a lot of work and it takes a long time and it takes consistency over that long time. You know, it's like for social media, you know, the growth is not going to be instant, but having good posts every day for months is going to be the key to growing your audience. And you speak about, you know, meeting good people and almost mentors in a sense. There's a quote that yours truly came up with, which is, many wish to be mentors, few are actually worthy, or few are worthy. There are a lot of people, you know, who are gurus and things like that, but finding those truly actually worthy people is amazing. I had Shelley Brinkman, I would say was just one of the most incredible mentors of mine, that she ran Startup Aggieland and did so much for me and really had it that if you put in more work, you would be offered more opportunities and you would be just beyond incredible. And she had introduced me to Brendan Anthony, the former music czar. He now works for Rolling Loud and he was the music czar of Texas. So you got to determine a lot of the music policy and he was incredibly helpful to me. So meeting those people and learning from them and getting help from them and establishing a relationship with them is incredibly important.

Yeah, it is. Uh, and Pelps too, I can't forget about you. And I appreciate you. Yeah, man, those people that you meet along the way, man, comes a long way.

And so I'm glad that you do it and being nice to them and being nice to everybody that you can.

That's critical, you know, just be a nice period, not looking for nothing from somebody. It's just, you know what I'm saying, just like how me and you, we're just having a good conversation, a good time or whatever. Like I said, I mean, we've talked already behind the scenes. There's some things that you got And I'm looking forward to— we, you know, I would like to talk to you about it. We gonna make it happen, man. Hey, I'm moving, B. I'm moving, man. And like you say, I got a passion. I want to do it. Like you say, outcast. People don't believe that you could do it. People don't think that you can, you know, pull it off or whatever, but they don't know what you're doing behind the scenes though. They don't know, like you say, the grind and the mindset. Like, look, failing is not an option.

Yeah, that's the greatest motivation. That is the greatest motivation. I mean, when you know that, oh my God, if I fail, I'm not going to be able to pay rent. If I fail, I'm not going to be able to— I mean, I had my rice and kippers time. There's this fish in a can called kippers. And yeah, I mean, there were times when it was a struggle. And then there have been times, you know, where you make a lot in one day and you're like, damn, okay, this was worth it. Excuse my language, but yeah, you're like, wow, this was worth it. And that's when seeing your work come to fruition, whether that's getting, you know, your first 100 views on a video or getting your first 100 people in a crowd, that is really something. And then, you know, your first 1,000, your first 10,000, that is really an amazing thing.

Yeah, I agree with you on that. Getting that first network podcast check did it for me. And, you know, it does not happen because unless, you know, that there's a— like, wow, it's a possibility, you know what I'm saying? And yeah, it just motivates you to even grind more, you know, because more, more doors opening and this and that. And so, you know, I was listening to you earlier. One thing I tell people, and I remind myself, you have to prepare before the door opens, you know what I'm saying? You have to already prepare before the door opens, because when the door opens, I'm already ready to go through. I can't get ready once the door opens, you know what I'm saying? It's too late then, because I'm now gonna be stuck at the same door that I was at. So I just prepare, man. And, you know, like you said about social media and stuff like that, it drags and it can be discouraging at times and this and that, man. But I just, you know, you just got to push on. That's for anybody out there that's trying to do something in this digital world or whatnot. If it don't seem like that is going the way that you want it to go, hey, just keep on. If you believe in yourself, just keep on going. In due time, it'll happen. It'll come for you.

So it's about being ready for when that lucky opportunity comes. I think Nicolae Machiavelli, old Italian, had said something along the lines— I'm going to misquote him slightly, but it was like, a great leader isn't determined by everything that they do, but how they manage fortune, something like that. So when fortune comes, being ready to handle that, or being ready to manage that, or when crisis comes, having that preparation beforehand, whether that's just saving up before kicking off your business or, you know, let's say that there is a crisis. I've had crises where artists have been 2, 3 hours late or really chaotic things. And how do you manage that? Are you ready? Are you prepared to manage that?

Mm-hmm. I know that. I know that's tough. You got the crowd out there going crazy. People want their money back.

It was— that was a terrifying night. That was my first big concert, and great artist, great guy. He just got tied up in traffic in Dallas, and he was coming down to us. And I remember that there were a bunch of people that wanted to open for him, and there was one person that was a trumpet player, and I had turned him down because I said, this is a rap concert. Like, you know, I, I think you're a very talented man, but, you know, who plays— and I remember seeing him. He had showed up with his trumpet just in case, which was smart on him. Good, good on him trying. And I went up and I said, you're getting on the stage right now, play for 50 minutes. Yeah, no, so he killed it.

He killed it.

I mean, he killed it. So yeah, it's about managing what fortune deals you, the cards fortune deals you.

Oh man, he came back and saved you even after you turned him down, man.

Yeah, yeah, you know, but the persistence, whether that's asking somebody for money, asking somebody to invest, you know, telling people to buy tickets, showing up, the persistence. And he had the persistence. So I forget his name, it's on the tip of my tongue, but he's a great trumpet player. So better than me, I don't know how to play trumpet at all.

I bet he's the best trumpet player now since he came and saved your butt that day.

Exactly. You know, it distracted people. It was great.

Yeah, that was cool. So then, man, let me ask you, man, switching on another subject, man. I know this one's kind of personal to you. The battle with dyslexia and ADHD. How did you learn to strive in the business world with learning challenges?

It was tough. ADHD has never affected me too much, but the dyslexia, the dyslexia affects me a lot. I have extremely severe dyslexia. So basically what dyslexia is, It's just trouble with reading. It's the— what it means, I guess, in Latin or whatever. And I am in the 1 percentile, so I am the most severe that you can get. You know, doctors told me I would probably never read and I would probably never meet anyone with as severe dyslexia as me. It's my neurons. I got about half the average on one side of my brain and about double the average on the other. So the— I have the same number as everyone else. They're just spread differently throughout the brain. So I, to this day, read at about third grade reading level. And without voice-to-text and text-to-speech, I would not be able to run my company. I would not be able to really do anything. And it was a real challenge growing up. You know, you see other kids reading the Harry Potter book and you look at it. And to me, the best way I can describe dyslexia, it's like looking at a foreign language. I see the scroll at the bottom of our screen. I see the CJ— I want to say monoway, but I know that's Moneyway— a show powered by— and I haven't seen that word before, so I don't know what it says— Podmatch, something along those lines. But yeah, it, it's tough because like in business, you know, whether it's you sit down at a meeting and everybody hands out, you know, papers or something like that, and you're just going off context clues. Or, you know, you be bold and you say, "Oh, Fran, forgive me, could you tell me what this is?" And most of the time I've gone with being very open about it because it doesn't impede the work that I do exactly. It just can make the process a little bit more difficult. And I think a lot of, you know, my desire to be known, my desire to be well-liked, and why I got into this, to put things on was because of my dyslexia. You know, I say I would have been a jerk without it because it made me who I am. It keeps a person extremely humble because you can put on an event and you can have 10,000 people in the crowd. Everybody's having a great time. The artist is going wild on stage. Everything's going perfectly. And I remember I pulled out of my suit jacket the paper for who was coming on next. And I just looked at it and I had no idea what it said. I remember I grabbed a sound technician and I was like, who's coming on next? And I've got the earplugs in. And so now it is very motivating because like you said earlier, you want to prove to people that you can do it. You want to show people that you can overcome. But it is hard. When I was young, I was very angry about it. I was very jealous of the other kids. Like, why did they get to read? Why am I cursed with this burden? But I could do one thing, and that was talk. And my father would tell me, and he'd say, Benjamin, you're going to have to work twice as hard as other kids just to get to where they are. But you're good at this. You're good at talking. So double down, really become good at public speaking, become good at talking in settings like this. That is going to be your skill. You're good at it. Become really good at it. And I would say that to anyone with a learning difference, any of the neural divergent people under the umbrella, is find what you're good at, double down on that. There's no cure for dyslexia. I mean, maybe one day Neuralink and all that and some cybernetic implant will fix it. But living in the world as it is right now, yes, we have technology, voice-to-text, text-to-speech, beyond incredible, a must-have for dyslexics. But Double down on what you're good at because that's going to be how you make money. That's going to be how you survive in the reader's world. That you can't operate on the same battlefield that they can. So, you know, you can't play the same game they can. So flip the board and play your own game and double down on what you're good at. That is the best advice that I can give.

Mm, I like that, man. Kind of sound like me a little bit, you know, growing up. You know, I was good in sports, but I was also a speaker too. I was all, you know, entertainer. I like to entertain and talk, you know. That's why my mother say that's why, you know, I'm probably doing a podcast now because this is what I've— this is something that I've been doing my whole life. I've never been afraid to talk to people. But something that you said, when I was in first grade, matter of fact, in elementary period, I was always in the last reading group, you know, like you said, you know, like one in every five people have dyslexia and it commonly is undiagnosed and the severity of it varies greatly.

So it's very possible.

Yeah, I mean, I always thought I could read, you know, but I was always like, like you say, you know, we had the paperback books and then you had the hardback books. In our school, there was the hardback books. You had, uh, Tapestry, I think it was. That was like the highest level. And then you had Rockets, that was the lowest level. And I was in the lowest level. And then people were used to— so some of them that was in the higher groups, you know, they listen, you know, because everybody hearing each other read because you're still in the same classroom. And they would sit back and they would laugh at our reading group because, you know, because for one, we in the last group or whatnot. And that always motivated me, you know, because teachers always felt like, like you said, you would never amount to nothing, you won't be this and this and that. But I could say in 2015, not only was I able to read, Ben, I wrote a book and got another one coming out. This shit, man. So like you say, I'm one of them. I'm going to prove people wrong.

It's a secret project, but I'm working on one too. So no, I feel you. And that's a tragedy. You know, there are a lot of great educators out there, really a lot of great educators, but the teachers that would say something like that— I've had so many amazing teachers, but I had one that called my handwriting chicken scratch. And I remember that to this day. I mean, it— yeah, yeah. I mean, it does look like chicken scratch.

It ain't funny, but I got chicken scratch too.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's motivating.

Yeah.

And but it's tough. It is tough because it's something, it's a burden you have to carry forever. And but, you know, we all got a cross to bear. And, you know, without dyslexia, I wouldn't be who I am.

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That's where the next level starts. And that's what we leveling up together. Now let's get back to the show. You know what, like you say, without some of the trials and tribulations, And that's why— that's what the Moneyway Show is, man. I like, you know, like, we can see Ben where he at out here with Wiz Khalifa and G-Eazy and a lot of these other famous artists, man. But people don't know what you had to go through to get to where you are, you know. So that's why it's stories behind the success. They can see where he is now and just think that, you know, it just was handed to you, you know, it just came easy. A lot of times, man, people don't know the struggle and the tears and the trials and tribulations, man, that you have to go through to get to where you are, you know what I'm saying? So, man, kudos to you, man, and keep doing great things. Hey, so Ben, man, let's go to another one, man. Concerts, celebs, and strategy. You've worked with huge artists. What's your method for pulling off big shows?

Okay, one of the best, the two best that I can give, like actual concrete things to do. Are one, artists that— and I want to say this in the nicest way possible— artists that might have had a big hit, you know, a couple years ago, and they maybe haven't had a big hit since. These type of artists have high name recognition because they are known, you know. People even might derogatorily call them a one-hit wonder or things like that. They have high name recognition, but they haven't had a recent hit. These are fantastic people to work with because it's all about name recognition. It's all about do the people recognize that name and want to buy a ticket and go see it. You know, if there's a one-hit song that you love, you might go just to see that song, and that is fantastic. You get a much better price and you— they have high name recognition, so you're able to sell tickets. The second thing is going to be spot shows. This is an industry term for when an artist is already in an area. So let's say there's an artist you want to work with. You look up their tour schedule, you say, okay, he's going to be in Dallas. And yeah, best— it's a very personal-based industry that does make it hard to scale. So you can work with a talent agency and things like that, but it really comes down a lot to who you know. So like, I know a DJ who knows the DJ for this person who puts me in contact with the manager of this artist. It's very much like that. So I'll reach out to my people. C3 and Night Culture are the two big companies out here. C3 is the company that puts on ACL. They're the big one in Austin. Night Culture is the big one in Houston. There's Disco Donnie Presents as well. There's a lot of those different companies. So you have a few contacts there. You say, can you put me in contact with so-and-so's manager or so-and-so's DJ? Once I'm in contact with them, I'll say, oh, introduce myself. And I'll say, I saw that X and such artist is going to be in Houston on July 15th, on July 16th. You know, I would love for you guys, if we can talk about making a detour to Austin, we'll have a spot show. And it's a great way for the artist to make more money. And it's great for us. We get a much better price than, you know, some of these artists in their rider, which is what they require. They'll require a private jet, things like that if you're bringing them in.. But if you're doing a spot show, they're already here. The tour bus is already here, the team is already here. And, you know, if they're able to just do an hour, 2-hour show, make a couple thousand, that's a great time for everybody. And so that— those are, I would say, the two biggest things that I don't hear people say a lot, but it's finding people that are— have high name recognition but maybe aren't as popular right now to get a better price and the spot shows that those two things are just keys. And then I sell almost everything, all tickets, things like that, through social media. I've used physical flyers before. I like it. For me, it's very nostalgic, almost like I like putting up a flyer. I like making my people put up flyers and conscripting my poor cameraman. He's a great guy. I love him into putting up flyers and but that isn't the main way anymore. The main way is social media. Something I have done— this is more of not really even a tip because it'd be hard to implement— but I will do my flyers like, uh, old Eastern Bloc propaganda posters. You know those? You might see a World War II propaganda poster like, 'Uncle Sam wants you,' those type of things.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I will have the whole wall covered with those. So it's very worked very well in College Station, and it was just very unique and very odd to see that. You're like, whoa, what is this? It almost looks like a political poster, but like from some alternate universe. So that was a lot of fun, just a silly thing, but that's really not an applicable tip. But everything else, anyone else could implement, and those are the keys to success.

That's pretty cool, man. As you was talking, I was thinking, I interviewed the guy from Tag Team DC Glenn. I interviewed him. And like you say, you know, we know the 'Whoop That Is,' whoop that is. And they even did the commercial, you know, not too long ago for the Super Bowl, not too long ago. Scoop That Is. But like you say, to me, that's the only song that I really knew that they had. But just off of that song, and you know, saying, can remake it, he's built a whole model, a whole brand, you know what I'm saying, him and the other guy, off of that, you know. So All it takes is, is one, like you say, the name recognition. Yes, you know, once you get the name recognition, you can build off of that. Like he said, he can do speeches or go do some, you know, say any stadium in America, you know, say, because you got to keep your name clean. He was telling, you know, he was giving me a lot of pointers about a lot of stuff. You gotta keep your name clean so people don't ban you from here and ban you from there. And he just made a whole model out of stuff, you know.

Oh yes, keeping a good reputation is so important. I've spent years building. And I was so happy when someone had said, "Oh, Ben, I've heard about you. You do good work out here." Because building a good reputation, maintaining that, because yeah, you don't want to get blacklisted, you don't want to get banned, you don't want people to say, "Oh no, I hated working with X and such. I'm never doing that again." And then that word gets around fast, especially because it is such a personal industry. And with someone, you know, who has that one really big hit, and this is something for anybody who has an opportunity like this, like let's say you have something that blows up in a great way, that becomes really popular, you gotta capitalize on that. You gotta go to the wall ASAP, do all you can while that's really big, to then be able to ride that after, you know, it's a little less popular and capitalize on that. So it sounds like he's doing a great job of doing that, and that is just incredibly, incredibly important.

Yeah, that is. So let me ask you, man, before I go to the next question. So have you had Megan Thee Stallion, the Ghetto Boys, Scarface, man? What's, what's going on, man?

You know, I, I have not. I have not. Yeah, no, the boy, it'd be fantastic. You know, I would say that something recently that I have been doing in Austin, because, you know, hip-hop's my specialty and it'll always— it's my favorite type of music. It'll always be my specialty. Like, the greatest person I would be so honored to work with— now, this would be very hard— would be, you know, Kendrick Lamar. He's, in my opinion, the greatest rapper of all time. Like, I mean, he has a gift. I've seen him live, and I mean, Mad City, when he did that and he came out, oh my God. Like, I mean, he has talent. Like, he is gifted. Country, I've also branched into a good bit, you know, done stuff with Coe Wetzel, done concerts with Coe Wetzel, Parker McCollum. Parker McCollum's been opening for I believe, a different country. I was very well known. Forgive me, this slipped my mind, but I think that we've got a few big things in the works and I don't know how much I could say quite yet, but keep it under wraps, man, till you're ready. Yes, yes. To come out with it has become quite popular out here in Austin. Funny enough, there's this Jimmy Eat Brisket band that is a silly name, but they're just blowing up, becoming super popular. So a lot of DJs, you know, DJ bookings, a great way to have a constant revenue stream. So a lot of small shows, and then we have probably 2 to 3 big shows a year. And a big show would be anywhere from, you know, a couple thousand to— I think the biggest show that I have done was just over 20,000 at the Circuit of the Americas. I was a part of that. But yeah, no, it, uh, we got, we got good things coming up. So anytime you're in Texas, you let me know. VIP only.

Hey, especially when you get, uh, Skyface, the Ghetto Boy, Slim Thug, man. Come on, man. I know you can get Slim Thug, man.

Amazing. That's probably— yes, I— that'd be amazing. I'm trying to think of, oh, what was the name of that one guy? I know T-Wayne, he had that first Let Me Hop Out the Porsche song, very popular TikTok sound. And, uh, but Slim Thug would be great. Uh, you know, it was an honor I got to meet 50 Cent.

Oh, okay.

And he's super nice guy. Like, he is very well known for like being nice, being tough but nice.

Yeah.

And I was talking with his manager about doing something, but you know, it's a chunk of change.

I know it is.

Oh, I mean, he was super nice. It was a great honor Really very great guy.

Yeah, but there's one thing before I move on, man, that I'm gonna have to agree to disagree with you on. Okay, you said that Kendrick Lamar is the greatest rapper of all time. That's in your opinion. Me personally, I am Tupacalyst all day long.

Damn, I am saying blasphemy. Let me say greatest living rapper.

Okay, yeah, yeah, let's reframe that. Uh, Tupac. Everybody know Tupac. All eyes on me.

Oh yeah, he was gifted, and it's, uh, a tragedy that he was taken from us early.

Yeah, yeah, I remember where I was at the day he died, man. So, so let me ask you, man, surviving the unthinkable. Tell us about the moment you found out about your brain tumor. And how did you stay mentally strong?

That was a tough day. How I stayed strong was stoicism, but I will get to that. The story is I was doing a concert with Loud Luxury, a famous DJ group, and I remember I had a minor pressure in my right ear. What I would come to find out was just 2% hearing loss. I'm thinking, "Okay, I'm around all this loud music. That's the side that I always stand where the stage and DJ would be. I probably have hearing damage. What a tragedy." I started wearing earplugs from Eargasm, a funny name, but the best non-electronic earplugs. I said, "You know what? I should get this checked out just in case. I'm sure it's nothing, but I should get it checked out." I almost canceled the appointment, but I didn't. And, you know, a couple of days later I went to the doctor. They gave me a CT scan and they said, okay, your bones look a little weird, but you might have grown that way. Like, that happens. No need to be worried, but we should get an MRI. So I go back a couple of days or a week or two later, get an MRI, and then I have another event. And so like, I'm working like crazy. I'm not really paying attention to my phone. And like late at night, I get a call from my parents just out of the blue. And I love my family. I'm very close with them. They're incredible people. I just— beyond amazing. But it was unexpected. It was pretty late. And they said, Ben, we just got a call from the hospital and they said they couldn't get a hold of you, so they called your emergency contact. They need you to like go there tomorrow.. And that is when I realized, oh God, because the hospital doesn't call you. I mean, you know, that's a bad— so usually it's hard to get in, hard to— they're like, we need to see you tomorrow, you know, like that is bad. And I didn't sleep a wink that night.

I didn't sleep a wink.

And I went in and the doctor sat me down and he said, 'You have a golf ball-sized brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma growing off of your hearing nerve, pushing against your brainstem. If you do not get it out, you will have a stroke within 1 to 2 years. You're already at serious risk of a stroke at any time, and we need to get this out ASAP.' I mean, I remember my first reaction. I laughed. I laughed because I was like, wow, okay. And I kept it together. You know, they said, okay, we were going to schedule a follow-up like in the next day or two. Then we need you to go to this one clinic to meet with the neurologist and get an operation scheduled. I kept it together. I was sitting outside and thank God, you know, I took an Uber. Thank God I took an Uber because I could not have driven after that. I was a wreck. But when I was sitting on the bench outside the hospital, I was like, damn, you know, I might die. And there's only like a 10% chance of me dying from the operation or things like that, probably even lower than that with the expertise today. But, you know, it's a thing where I could have dropped dead at any point. And if I don't get it out, if I don't act, then I will die. Like, I, I— it'll kill me. I'll have a stroke and whatever. That's a bad way to go. And sitting there, I was thinking there's so many places I wouldn't ever get to see if I I'm at my end. But I said, "Oh, you know, Ben, you did the best with the time you had. You did good. And this is going to be a real hard time." Then I got in the Uber and then I broke down. I just told the driver, "I just got diagnosed with a golf ball-sized brain tumor." And he was like, "Yikes, I'm sorry, man." And I'm just crying back there. I got home, called my family, told them. They came and came up to College Station and then we went to a couple of different medical facilities and eventually, thank God, I was able to get the tumor removed at MD Anderson in Houston. They are the best in the world. If you ever have any cancer or tumor— mine was benign. It was myelin sheaths, a nerve coating tissue that just overgrew. And it's literally a 1 in a million for someone my age. But, you know, it can happen. But thank God it wasn't cancer. So, you know, they moved it and I need to get a haircut, but I had 61 stitches across here to here and they apparently spread. Yeah, on the operating table and they drilled a hole in the skull, went in, pulled it out bloody and fibrous, and then slapped titanium plates over the hole. Pretty horrific stuff. And then I had to get gamma knife. Where you're awake during Gamma Knife. Thank God I was asleep during the brain surgery. But Gamma Knife, they take a metal vise. It is like a Saw movie. And they drill it. They drill it into your skull. They numb it and there's a cracking sound when they numb it. And then they drill it into your head and you're in this. And then they put you into a machine that looks like an MRI. It's so— you can't move at all. And then beams of radiation zap the little bit that's left of the tumor. That, and I did that without any— I did that with 2 Tylenol and that was it because I said, oh, I want to remember it. I'm a big tough guy. I was traumatized. But that was great because that killed the last of it and I didn't lose control of the right side of my face. Otherwise I would have lost control because your balance, your hearing, and your facial nerve are all wrapped together in your ear. So lost the balance nerve on that side. So I'll stumble around like I'm, you know, it's so rare that I drink and I never drink when I'm working, but I'll stumble around sometimes at events and people will be like, oh, Ben, what's up with you? And I'm like, I'm half deaf and missing a balance nerve. And then I lost hearing in my right ear. So I don't even have a nerve. It just rings constantly because your brain's looking for a signal that's not there. But how I got through it, you know, I had to learn to walk again because you lose a balance nerve, you just will stand up, you'll fall over. Your brain can compensate over time because you have the other one. But that was tough. How I survived it was stoicism, and the real type of stoicism, not the type that you'll hear influencers or things like that promote today. I said, it could be a lot worse. It could be a lot worse. And this is really bad, but I can handle it. It could be a heck of a lot worse. I could have brain cancer. I could be really dying. I could already be— could have already had a stroke. All these things could have been worse. I can handle this. The whistle blows, it's time to go over the trench. I just got to do what I got to do. I got to survive this and I'll think about it later. And so that Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and the great Stoic, it was just has to be done. Nothing I can do but try to survive.

Man, God bless you, young man, you know what I'm saying? Went through a lot, man, but you came out on the other side. May have some little— what they say, uh, war wounds, you know, it's been into the trenches. But hey, I'm still here surviving, still fighting, man. Big kudos to you, man. Big kudos. Thank you.

Yeah, I usually wear my hair really short in the back. I just— I need to get a haircut. And, uh, I like to show it off and you can really see it. And some people are like Oh, young man, what's that peculiar haircut you have? And I'm like, oh no, that's a scar.

I think you got a military cut or something. So, so man, I only got one more question for you, man. Then I got a quick fire round, man, when I ask 5 questions, say the first thing come to your mind. And I really appreciate you taking the time out your day today, man, and sharing all this great information with us, man.

It's been an honor. Thank you.

So let me ask you, Ben, man, what do you tell someone who feels their diagnosis or disability is holding them back?

This is tough. I would tell them, yeah, it might make it harder, might make it a heck of a lot harder, but are you going to let it hold you back? Do you have the fire inside to keep pushing forward, to work twice as hard as the kid or the man next to you? Because yeah, no, if you have a learning difference or a disability or things like that, let's look at the real situation on the ground. Yeah, it's going to be harder. It is going to be more difficult for you. But if you have the will, you can do it and you can overcome, you can strive, you can keep working, you can keep working hard, you can keep trying, because all we can do is try. So I would say, you know, we must try. Just keep pushing forward and it's going to be hard, but there will be successes, there will be victories, and those victories will be all the better because you are proving that you can either overcome or manage your struggles well. So yeah, keep trying, keep pushing forward. It's going to be harder. And don't— feel free to use it as an excuse to the outside world, but never use it as an excuse to yourself, to yourself, that you have to try, you have to fight, because that's all you can do. And don't ever say to yourself, oh, I can't read, or, oh, I can't hear out of an ear, I can't succeed as much as other people. No, I mean, look at Stephen Hawking. He couldn't move and he became a great physicist or whatever he did. So don't give up. It's going to be tough, but continue the fight and in the end you can still win.

Y'all heard that from my man, B, he say never give up. It's gonna be hard, but you can still get some wins out of it. Yeah, appreciate that, man. That was a great nugget right there. So Ben, man, you ready for this quick fire round, man?

I'm excited, let's do it.

All right, man, ask you 5 questions, tell me first thing come to your mind. All right, first concert you ever attended?

Tyler, The Creator. Tyler, The Creator by accident. At South by Southwest, and I think he caused a riot. And I was like walking by, so I might not count that one. The other one was, I might be totally wrong about this, but I believe it was Pat Green. A friend of mine was like, hey Ben, you want to come to a concert? And it was country music, great artist, but it wasn't my type of music. And I was just kind of standing there and then I started trying to talk to a girl. So yeah, you know, that's A good time.

Yeah, yeah, whatever you can mix a little pleasure with your night out, always.

I usually don't, but I, I was, I would have been like, I would have been a kid, you know. I, I don't know how old I was, maybe, yeah, it must have been high school, but I was pretty young.

Oh man. So let me ask you, um, Ben, one artist you'll love to promote next?

Oh, I mean, I gotta say, you know, uh I know there's a beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, but either of them I would be honored to work with. But I do have to say, I do really like Kendrick Lamar. I, you know, I think he's very talented. It'd be amazing to work with him. I think that's tough for me because there's a lot of people, you know, that I would love to work with. The easy answer is Kendrick, because that would be fantastic. You know, you just saw him at the Super Bowl and that was fantastic. Yeah, no, I would say that one I would have to think about a little bit more. I know that a friend of mine is doing something, working on an event with Nicki Minaj. That'd be very— that'd be fantastic. I know that— I think doing something actually with 50 Cent would be great to actually put on a show with him. You know, maybe a small private show with tickets that are astronomical and really VIP audience. That would be something special. That'd be something I'd really enjoy. And that's a tragedy— never got to work with— very distantly, but never got to really put on a show with the Migos before, uh, you know, one of them passed. So that would have been quite something. So Lil Wayne would definitely be up there. I know a bunch of different people that I've worked with have worked with him. That'd be a great honor. So, uh, there's a lot of people, you know, hey, if you're famous and you'll work with me, I'd be honored.

So Hey Kendrick Lamar, if you listening, if you ever listen to the CJ Moneyway Johnson Show ever, if it just come across, you know, my man B, man, he really wants to work with you. He's greater than Tupac at one point. So my man really admires you, man. And, and B, man, I'm shocked, man. I'm shocked. You said a lot of names, but I'm shocked you didn't say Beyoncé. Ain't she from Houston?

That would be fair. You know, it's funny, there are some people where I'm like, I had gotten this list from a booking agent of all the people that he could get and their price, and there were people like Beyoncé on that, on there, but their price was not there. It said, call me. So yeah, there were people like that where, you know, they've done so well that they, they don't need to do concerts and they do what they want to do. Yeah, so she's very talented, far on what I could get.

Way out my league. Hey man, hey, we dreamers. Uh, I got a dream to get Mike— uh, not Michael, uh, Magic Johnson on my podcast. That's my dream. That, you know, that would be it. You know, if Kobe was still here, I'd love to have Kobe, but I love Magic Johnson just as much. If I can ever get Magic Johnson on my show, I'm winning and I won. You know, that's just how I look at it. Hey, so, uh, greatest strength you have as a promoter?

Friendly persistence, I would say. The ability to be pushy, the ability to stay on people, being like, hey, hey, okay, you know, but to be nice about it. And, you know, there's a joke I make: kindness is the new currency. It won't pay your bills, but it'll help you get them paid. Like, being nice, being nice is really important. And being kind to people, but then also being pushy when you need to be pushy, but doing it in a nice way, saying, okay, you know, you know, you got this artist, you know, we need you here at this time. The sound guy, okay, no, we need this to be right. Uh, you know, these type of things where— or, you know, you have a sponsor and you say, okay, we need you to— you know, you said you would do this sponsorship, we need you to actually clear this and make this happen right now. Those type of things are the right time to be pushy and knowing which battles to fight. I would say that that probably is, yeah, keeping at it.

Keep at it, man. Keep at it. So let me ask you, what's a hidden talent of yours?

Oh, I'm a very open person, I would say. I'm a big-time oversharer, so I don't know hidden talent. I almost got a black belt in taekwondo for 9 years, uh, never did get a black belt, but I bought one online, so, you know, I was one under it, but I like fish. I like fish tanks. I got a big fish tank and that probably, maybe not a hidden talent, but I love fishing and I like to go fishing and whatever the legal limit is and catch that and put it in my fish tank. So that's a weird thing, but maybe a hidden talent. I keep a nice fish tank.

No, You said you can kick some butt. That's your hidden talent right there. Okay, if you're a level below black belt, that still means that you can kick somebody butt.

And it was a real— it was a real dojang. I mean, it was tough. It was not one of those ones where it's fake, like, you know, this— it was Karate Kid type things. It was a good time. I really enjoyed it. It helped build a lot of discipline and a good workout.

I'm glad you told me that before I come meet you. And then, you know, I might want to like, what's up, man? I don't like what you're talking about, man.

You wouldn't kick my behind in 2 seconds. Yeah, no, no, the dyslexic missing the balance nerve is not beating up anybody.

Hey, so my final one, man, finish this sentence for me. Success means—

success means— success means Success means becoming the person you always wanted to be.

Mm, good one, because that goes back to what you said in the first place. So I always wanted to be like— I always wanted to be successful, you know, that was my dream coming up. So I get you, man. So that's—

everybody's got that dream in their heart, and, uh, you know, a lot of people never jump at it. And, uh, if the opportunity comes and you have the chance to jump You know, what do they say? Reach for the stars. Even if you fail, you're still on top of the world.

Reach for the stars, baby. Hey, so thank you, Benjamin, man, for your resilience, your realness, and radical story, man. From brain surgery to building stages, you remind us that purpose comes after the push. If you're listening right now and going through something tough, remember, your story is still being written. Before I go any further, my man is a social media advocate. He's the, you know, he say he took one company from what you say to 30%, you know what I'm saying?

I believe so. Yeah, sales increase was great. Good time.

Where can we find you at on social media, man?

The best place to find me on social media is @Benjamin_Schrader, S-H-R-A-D-E-R, no C. My dad would say it's cheaper without the C. That's very much a dad joke, but @Benjamin_Schrader on Instagram, Benjamin Trader on YouTube, but Instagram is my main way. YouTube, The Great Expansion is coming, so hop on there, be the first to arrive. But Benjamin Trader on Instagram is @benjamin_trader on Instagram, my favorite social media.

Mm, find my man on Instagram. Hey, if you are artist and you gonna be in the Austin, Texas area, Spot On Well, you ain't gotta get no private jets and all that. Holla at my man B, he'll see what he's doing for you, you know what I'm saying? Hey, stay locked into the CJ Moneyway Show and keep an eye out for G Outta State's Property, something me and my man B gonna talk about a little later on. The animated project bringing social impact and storytelling to a new level. Until next time, keep planting seeds. Keep moving money, keep going. This your boy CJ Moneyway with my man B, the Karate Kid. We out of here. Peace. Every story shared here, it's a reminder that your story matters too.

Keep your faith sharp, keep your focus steady, keep your vision clear.

And if this episode gave you wisdom, hope, or a push forward, share it with somebody you love. Tap in with me on all platforms @moneyway and stay locked into the movement because God's not done writing your chapter. This is the CJ Moneyway Show, brick by brick. And always, Moneyway Johnson. If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow.

Thank you for listening.