Teddy Swims: “It Was the CRAZIEST Thing!” How I MANIFESTED My Record Deal in 6 MONTHS!

I needed that feeling of unhappiness, 'cause it was just what I was used to, which is quite crazy how our brains do that. I try to now attack everything that goes bad in my life with, okay, well this is going to help somebody.

That's beautiful.

My next guest just secured his first Billboard Hot 100 hit.

My next guest's music has been streamed almost 400 million times now.

Please welcome back to the show, Teddy Swims. Please welcome Teddy Swims. Teddy Swims, everyone. I was working at a Chili's. you know, in 2019 and me and all my friends at the time, we did the Michael Jackson's Rock With youh Cover, which was like the first cover I put up. We woke up, I think, the next day with like 10,000 views on it.

We're like, holy.

Wow. It's so great, like how, like, manifestation really works, too, because we started June 25th of 2019 and December 24th of 2019, a day less than six months, I signed the deal with Warner. And the universe, God, whatever it is, is just like, was totally, we all put our heads together and said, this is what it is. And life just...

Your album's called I've Tried Everything But Therapy, Part One. Have you tried therapy yet?

I have not, man.

What do you think is the thing that you're afraid to discuss or talk about the most?

I don't know, man, 'cause I feel very vulnerable. I don't have anything I wouldn't talk about. But I think there's some things about...

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Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring Teddy Swims in the house.

My man. Thank you, man.

So good to see you, bro. Hey, you too. I'm happy to be here. Big congrats on everything, man. I'm loving watching the evolution of your journey from, you know, a YouTube cover sensation to original music and just dominating the charts, dominating, you know, Spotify, YouTube, everywhere. I'm loving the soul, the passion you bring in your music and your work. And I'm just so happy for you. So congrats on everything. And I'm curious because I've been digging into some of your background, your story. You used to play football growing up, which I love. but you talk about your father in a big way as being like the greatest man you've ever met in your life and just like the nicest guy who really showed up for you and your siblings. I'm curious to start, what was the biggest lesson that your father has taught you about life, music and love?

Well, you know, I think my father, man, is if I could be after man he is at all in my life, I think I'll be, I think I'll be bigger than Michael Jackson, man. I really truly, because just, just the heart that he shows to people, man, the time that he gives to people. There's so many times I've even introduced them to people as we've been on, on tour and stuff where I've met friends through here. And, you know, and I've been like, well, look, man, you will got a dad, man. My daddy will be your dad. Like, I swear he was the best in the world. And he's sure enough, man. He'll call me, hey, man, how so and so doing, man? Or he'll, he'll call them and they'll call me. Yeah, yeah, I just talked to your dad, like, last week, but he calls me, like, every week and checks on me every week. And my dad is just really just Always got time for everyone. And I think that's like one of the biggest things that he's taught me about love to start there is that there's always time, you know, and you're gonna make something work for, and I don't care how busy you are, if it means something to you, you make time to say, you know, hi, I love you, or you make sure that that little time that you have with somebody, they feel like they're important and they deserve that time and attention. And there's always a time to step away from something for what matters the most. I think he's just always been so incredible about that, man. He's just steady, you know? And I think, you know, and humans aren't very good at being consistent, you know? And I think, I mean, I think it's kind of impossible to be consistent always, you know, 'cause we're humans, we're gonna fail, we're gonna fail each other, you know? And, but I just, I don't see that man as, even some of the things he looks back and he thinks were like failures in his raising of us. It's just like, I look back at those moments, it's like, Dad, you hated that. I like, I loved that. You know what I mean? He was like, when he was like, he always talk about how when he was always going to softball field, when I was playing football, he was, he was also like, you know, doing semi-pro at the time. And he would always go to a semi-pro.

Yeah.

And he was, he would come, he'd come like, you know, take, take me to practice in his pads and then come pick me up. And I'd go watch his games after he'd watch my little game. He'd beat his pads and and he was just like, yeah, I was just too worried about playing at the time, though. I was still a kid. I wish I was more. And I was like, Dad, it was the coolest ever that you were, like, you know, picking me up. And I was in. I was at your bleachers with my little pads on watching you.

I was like, that's the coolest in.

My life, you know? It's like. But he was worried about.

Yeah.

He was just like, well, I think I was too worried about playing at the time.

And I was like, that was cool, man. That was awesome watching my dad do that, you know?

So it was. Also, you got to see a model of someone, your father, go after his dreams.

Yeah.

And his passion and his love and and what he did for me, speaking of that, is that, like, you know, his dad died when he was 15, 16, something like that. And so we didn't really have that much of a, like, that, that much of a figure is growing up. And especially that, like, prime time of growing and.

Yes.

And evolving. And I think, I think he, he was the first one, too, when we went on his trip from Texas and I came home. He's, and when I was 19, I was, I was in cosmetology school, going to cut hair. And really, my sweet mother, too, she's, she's a hair stylist, too, and a barber, so. well, she was like, always telling me, like, you can, you can pursue your music, but you can have this as a back route. You should go, you can just, you know, you can make your own schedule. You can have a backup plan. And, and so her sweetheart, man, she went and got her, her license to teach. Like, she was going the same school hours at the same time to, like, she was teaching you to teach teaching degree in cosmetology the same time I was going. So she could just, like, she's like, I'll just go get my teaching degree so we can go to school together. And I can, you know, chanted through it. I was like, hell yeah, mom. But my dad, he's the first one. He's like, look, son, if you want to sing, man, you should drop out of school and don't go back to college. You need to drop out and just go for it, man. Because if you're gonna look back at your life and say, why didn't I go put everything into this? He said, it's not gonna happen if you don't put everything into it.

So he encouraged you to drop out of school.

He's the one that told me, just promise me you'll never go back. And I did, and it took me 10 years to you know, to get to where I was, and I mean, even further now. And I mean, he's just the most proudest man in the world, dude. He's, there's not a gas station or CVS or anything he walks into that he's not like, man, you know Teddy Swims. Oh, look, that's my son, dude. That's my son right there. He's just so proud and so happy and follows me all over the damn world. And it's just, that's incredible, man. So excited, dude.

He's the best guy in the world. That's amazing, man.

So how old were you when you dropped out of school? I was 19. Okay.

Yeah.

I was 12 years ago.

Yeah.

And, yeah. And then, yeah. By the time I was, I think I signed in 2019.

Yeah.

And December 24th in 2019, I signed to World Records.

So it was five years ago, almost four and a half years ago.

Yeah. So I was, yeah, almost 10 years from that moment where we finally made it. And, but I've been working on music for forever. I mean, he was coming to my, my metal bands when I was in high school and stuff, and. It's like, I don't really like that kind of s*** son, but I mean, whatever. It makes a portrait. Yeah, yeah. I mean, and the kind of music I was making at that time, I don't know why he would give me that advice, because my bands were terrible. So I was like, I don't know why he was like, go for it, son. I guess he's like, you know, if I feel like if my son sucked at something, I would have been like, I guess you still be supportive, but, you know, I mean, he'll find it. He'll get his way. I guess you don't want to get, he had some faith in me. Yeah, because I would, I would, I don't know how, if I had a son of him, I'd be like, All right, you take your time with it, but, you know, it wasn't very good.

I mean, 10 years of pursuing a dream until you, I guess, quote unquote, made it. What were you doing for the last 10 years? Were you having jobs? Were you singing? Were you singing open mics? Were you just doing... All that stuff. Different bands. How did you survive and thrive for 10 years until you made it in the industry?

It wasn't a thrive by any means, but we made it through. A bunch of roommates. roommates moving back to their parents houses when it wasn't working out, you know, and get stepped on and getting hurt a lot and, you know, losing a bunch of jobs and, you know, waiting tables for a long time and also not a good waiter at all by any means, you know, but I remember one of the best advice that I got from this guy, Roger Waters. He, he gave me the best advice when I, when I first, first place I ever waited tables at this pizza place in the small town, Social Circle in Georgia and he'd always be like, man, you're like the clumsy server. You're like forgetful. Table one's been waiting on their ranch dressing for five hours now. You know what I mean? But. But damn it, man, you get good money because people like you. And as long as you make people feel comfortable and happy, they'll. They'll take a diet Coke, you know, even if they ordered a coke, it's fine. We love Teddy. He's cool. It, you know, whatever. Just. And so as long as you treat people well, I found that that. that goes so far in life, you know, just charisma and care for people. It goes so far, you know, you can be stretched so thin, but that just taking that time, yeah, to love on somebody, they're like, okay, I don't need a ranch dressing, I guess. It's fine.

But you were fine, you were at a good attitude.

Yeah, yeah, that's all you can do, man.

You gotta, nothing will steal your joy, that's for sure. That's great, man. So during the last decade, I guess, where you're trying to, you know, figure it out and develop yourself, what was the most challenging time?

I think the most challenging time for me was, was like right in the between parts of. So I was working at a Chili's, you know, in 2019, and I was, I was also, like, the things on the, the covers and stuff were starting to go off. And so, being all my friends at the time, YouTube was like, yeah, you.

Started that around 2018.

Yeah. 2019, June 25th of 2019.

Yeah.

And so June 25th of 2019 to, we did the Michael Jackson's Rock With youh cover, which was like the first cover I put out because it was, it was just 10 years since Michael had passed. And so I, like, wanted to do, I wasn't like to do covers, but I just wanted to put that up and just be like, here, pay some homage to the goat.

Right.

And we woke up, I think, the next day with, like, 10, 000 views on it. We're like, holy man, this is huge. We're getting hammered, guys. This is massive. And I mean, 10, 000 views now. If anything happens like that, I'm like, oh, I washed up, you know, it's just diminished returns, isn't it? But I remember we, like, woke up next day, it's like 150, 000. We're like, whoa. And so, so I, it's, we started, kept, kept on doing the covers, and, and as they were coming in, we were basically. So me and my band and I, my producer, Lee, and, and a bunch of us, we all, we all moved into this house together and. My manager still to this day, my best friend Luke, he was living in LA here and basically like got this Prius, pulled a U-Haul in the back and drove it all the way to Georgia. We all moved into a house together. It's like there was 12 of us living in this five bedroom house and we just put plywood walls up to like, you know, separate bedrooms and to make it, I think we made it like a nine bedroom house with like two studios in it. And we were just, we were trying to, so because we were, we had time is like, yo, if we can take the pictures, we can design the merch and We were even in our garage, like shipping out the merch as we were distributing it ourselves. And so we had like 15 people over there all the time just working and around the clock doing the covers, writing our own songs, producing everything, playing everything. We just figured if we could do it all ourselves, I was like, look, dude, we just need like six months to just figure this out. If everybody would just donate all the time that they have to this for just six months, I promise you guys, in six months this will work. This is like what I just put a promise on it. And so we all moved in together and that was a very tough time because not only we were all of us on top of each other all the time, but I was in a place where I could work maybe one day a week at Chili's or not at all. And I kind of had to quit my job before it was working. And so you were just kind of like existing.

Scraping by.

Yeah, just kind of scrambling and trying to do whatever you could because work would take you away from this, but then if you don't put everything into this, then this, you know, everything was suffering on both ends. And so you had to just kind of make a choice to go for it. And those guys really had to, like, kind of help me float by and, and get by. And we're, we were really scraping it. But, and even, even when we first started doing the, you know, it was about October or November and stuff, we were starting to go do label calls and flying to New York or flying here to meet with labels and stuff. And it was, you know, we were, like, broke as hell. So we were, we were also trying to buses. Yeah. We're also trying to stay in hotels, but also tell the labels. like, oh, our YouTube business is crushing it. We're making so much money. We don't need you. So like, to try- We need a hotel room. Yeah, but to try to like, let them know we already had a great business going to try to get more leverage than the fact. But the real lie was, it was like we were sinking in our, in our pants and being like, you know, all tough about it. Like, yeah, we're good. We don't need, we don't, we don't need this deal, you know, try to get a better one. And I mean, they gotta work, but and my boys, you know, I'm so lucky to have a good foundation of a group of guys. And, you know, and speaking of that six month, it's so great, like how, like, manifestation really works, too, because we started June 25th of 2019 and December 24th of 2019, a day less than six months. And on Christmas Eve of that, well, I signed that deal with Warner and, and, and it, like, you know, put all the boys on salary. And it was, wow, it was the craziest thing that just, like, manifestation, just saying, like, six months is the time limit was. And I'll leave you alone if we can't. Wow. And it was a day last. Like, just the universe, God, whatever it is, is just like, was totally. We all put our heads together and said, this is what it is. And life just.

Now, were you.

Were you aware of, like, manifestation or visualization beforehand? Or were you thinking about this or setting goals and.

Yeah, I mean, I'm always. I'm always like a. I'm always a big person of just, like, you know, how just. what you, what you say and what you look for in life and what you, what you think you want out of life. It's like, you know, it's like a, it's like going through your girlfriend's phone, you know, which you don't do. You're gonna find something you're looking for, you know? But it doesn't have to, it's maybe not anything you're looking for, but if you're trying to find something and look around and peek under a crevice for something, there's gonna be like a, I didn't like that. Something that you're like insecure about, you know? And, and I mean that in like, a way of man, I guess I'm using that as analogy for manifestation, which is a weird analogy for that. Yeah, yeah. You know, I feel like you're, whatever you're looking for, you're gonna find, is what I'm trying to say. And, and, and whatever you want to heighten out of your life, you can.

You can, you know, and you can.

Make anything, anything you want it to be is what I'm trying to say. Where did you learn this, though? When did you start to develop that? I, I grew up, luckily, man. And I, I say this, like, principle wise, I'm very fortunate. I, my granddad on my mom's side was a Pentecostal pastor. he's a very big, you know, he's very straight by the book kind of guy, you know, and I, I don't, I subscribe to a lot of those principles and a lot of those, the ways you treat people and your work ethic and stuff like that. But, you know, I don't know if I would have, I don't know if I'll, like, so, like, telling everybody they're wrong all the time, though, you know, I'm not so that far on the Christian belief of that anymore, but it taught me a lot so much about, you know, how to treat people and how to, how to how to ask for things out of life, you know, and how to say that you want this and how to do the work to get what you want out of life. And I just think every time I've ever said something, there was so many times, too, when even when we first started this business, you know, and we got signed and then we went through this pandemic and it was like, you know, two years of us not being able to play and we kind of built our our whole business are touring. And so I had now I had my best friends, but we're also, I guess, in some way, my employees now, you know, and, and our, our business was, like, falling.

Really?

We couldn't, we couldn't, we couldn't, we weren't making money to, to, like, going on tour or doing anything like that. And so there was so many times where it was like, man, we, we don't know how we're gonna make, you know, we don't, we don't know how we're gonna make payroll this week or we don't know how we're gonna make payroll next week and and that's where it gets kind of weird because, you know, the guys that you, you grew up with that are your best friends since middle school and high school that you're playing with, and you can't go tell them, like, hey, man, I don't know how we're gonna pay you guys Friday, but, like, just know that stick with me. Yeah. And, and, and because you don't want to say that, you know, and, and, but luckily, I would just always go in there and just say, like, you know what, dude? Something's gonna come through. Somebody's gonna call, something's gonna happen, and Sure enough, it was like always whether, I mean, I know not to take away from Luke and Curtis, I'm sure they were going out and looking for everything they could, but it would be sometimes too that we might just get a call about a private event that would just pay us like 100 grand real quick and it would be like, I bet we're safe for the next couple months, you know? And it was just always something when it was just like, I don't know, man, just whatever we got to do, just stick to the promise, just stick to the promise, stick to the promise, and it just continues to So every time I ever just get to like, if ever anything starts to be questionable or integrity gets on the line, it's like, no, just stick to the promises. We said this, and we're gonna stick by this word and stand on that. And I think just standing on a word is what I really learned from a very early age, that life is gonna come to you if you just stand on your word. It's just, it's powerful.

That's beautiful.

Yeah.

Now, but it was like almost six or seven years of you, you know, after dropping out of school, I guess going all in on the music passion and career until something happened. It was like six or seven years until you started doing the covers and started getting attention and awareness. How did you stay, I guess, inspired for those six or seven years while you're working restaurant jobs and part-time jobs and trying to do gigs on the weekends? How did you stay in belief that something was gonna come from this?

I just felt like that's what my deal. My life was, you know, and there's just nothing I would. I just don't think there would be anything else I could do. I don't know. I would never have. I would have never have gotten through. And I'm very fortunate, too, that if I was working at this place and it closed down or I lost this job or I lost this house, I had. I had people in my life, luckily, who were always just willing to just say, like, here, I'll float you for this. Or, like, you'll come sleep on the couch for a bit. Or, you know, my best pal, Jesse, man, he's been my best friend since We were in middle school and his dad too is like, he still plays guitar by band too and writes with me and his dad was just our hero, man. He would take me in and I mean, they did like commercial plumbing and so he would try to give me some job. I can't even damn drive a nail though, my dude. I'm like, I'm so bad at it, but he would, he'd go back behind me like sucks, but he would just, you know, still, he'd even take me to the backyard and be like, here, just build me a fire pit or something. What's something you could do? I'll pay you $12 an hour, you know, just come out here and work here, cut my grass or something. Here's some money. Come sleep on the couch, man. You're good. And I'm just grateful that I think everybody in my life was also like, Look, we don't want you to do anything else. And so I know it's gonna work, you know? Wow, man. I'm very fortunate to have had believers. I don't think I was, like, ever in a spot where I know a lot of people in a successful place can say that all my haters and everybody that didn't believe in me. And I can honestly say I don't think I've ever had that. point of like people just telling me, no, you can't do this. No, it's very slim chance that you could do this or you should think of something different. Because, and I don't know if that comes from my, because people actually believe that or it's because of my willingness to say if that if somebody ever told me that, that there just should not be in my life at all, you know, like, I just, I just don't entertain that idea. And I don't, I don't like, I would never entertain that idea for anybody else either that I talk to. If it's like, you want to do something, go do it. You know, I, I got permission from my father to go do something. And sometimes all people really need, especially children, as like just permission to just go for it, you know? And that permission goes so far.

Some people don't have that permission from their parents, though.

Yeah. That's tough.

Stay in school.

Go do this thing. You're like, maybe you could try for a little bit, this music or art or sports career, but really you need to go get a real job.

And that's tough.

That's hard to overcome that.

Yeah. Because I had, I had one of my best friends I had since preschool. He worked with us forever. And, you know, his dad was always on him about that, too, and was like, you know, hey, man, or if his grades will start to fall, he would be like, it's because you're playing that guitar too much or you're doing this too much. And, you know, and he was like, he was like a full-time electrician, you know, and so like a union electrician. And he kind of wouldn't push his kid into, look, you need to be doing that. You need to be, you need to be focused on just a good caller job and making sure that your family's straight, get a family, get a kid and go to college and do this whole, you know, and it was just like, I think, I think to some degree, that's, that's, that's healthy. I'm not, I wouldn't be ever be mad at some parents for doing that because I do understand the, the ideal of wanting some sort of consistency for your child and safety and safety net for your child. And I think that's a beautiful thing to do, but just, I think it's when it came to dampening, you know, the, the, the dream or the, like, heart and that you can, you could see the light kind of go out of his eyes every time that was just like, put that guitar down, you know? And it's like, sometimes you need he, and I, I'm, of course, I don't have kids, so I would never tell anybody how to raise theirs, but I think he did an amazing job. He's a great man, you know? But I just, if there would have been more chance for him to be Permission, you know, he would probably be wherever he wants to be at this point in time.

Yeah, permission is the key when it comes to having someone start to believe in themselves. I think a lot of people struggle with belief in themselves and their talents. There's so many people I've seen over the years have way more talent than me in so many things, but not just go after what they wanted. How did you continue to believe When you weren't making much money for those years, though, how did you continue to-- Was there ever a time where like, ah, maybe this music and this career thing isn't for me. I'm gonna go full-time into something else? Or did you always believe eventually it would happen?

See, that's my thing is that never happened. And I just like, even though it was times where I was-- one of my last bands I was in, there was a guy I was working with and, you know, his whole thing was like, Look, man, this is my last Foo Ride with this music thing, you know? And and if it doesn't work this time, then I'm going to just give it up, you know, because I just, like, I've been at this for so long, and I've seen things fall through, and I had a band that was touring for a while, and that fell through, and he's like, I'm just getting old, and this is my last hurrah with this. And if it doesn't happen, then I'm giving it up. And I'm like, well, that's exactly why it's not going to happen, man. You know, I think. I think.

And.

And not to knock against anybody there, but I just. I. For me, it was just. This is all that I am and all that I have and all that I was going to be. And it was just very so important to me that. there was never a sight that I lost of this. I never lost sight of, like, I want to do this, and I need to do this. It's like, that was the only thing that I was going to be happy doing. That was what I wanted and what I. I saw for my life from a very young age. And I think I never lost that. And I think that's the. That's the important thing. I mean, even though. Even though, like, I think the self-belief is that I could get to where I wanted to be, not that I ever felt like my talent was. going to get me there, but I think I'm just now even starting to, some of my first bands, man, are just so trash. You can find, dude, you can find my very first band. I was a senior in high school. It's called Heroic Beer. You can find our EP on YouTube still. And it's so garbage, man. It's metal band too, and we're like post hardcore and it's so garbage. But I look back and I'm like, why did you guys tell me I could sing? This is so bad, dude. Really? You told me I could sing. It's so bad. but, you know, I mean, thank God they did, because I, I knew I wanted it, man. I knew we had something. And, you know, here we are.

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Slash Lewis did you did you rehearse a lot with your voice growing up were you singing all the time trying.

Different genres absolutely man and I think I think that's what's also so beautiful about the voice you know it's it's it's it's it's it's an instrument that you can take and practice anywhere you go at any point you know if I was a guitarist and You can't just use that everywhere. So, I mean, I was never, never not singing, you know, if I'm walking around, if I'm pouring drinks to go to a table, if I'm behind the bar pouring drinks, I'm humming to myself. Really? Practicing little runs on my way home. I'm, I just always sing it.

It's always, it's the best feeling. I mean, growing up in a small town in Georgia, though, and, you know.

Playing football, were you celebrated for that, or was it kind of made fun of, like, oh, what are you doing with this? No, it was great. And I also got really kind of late started in it, you know, because I was like my 10th grade year, me and Jesse got into theater together. And that year I was doing football in theater and then I kind of after that stopped football and kind of pursued, you know, chorus and theater and all that stuff. But I, it was not a thing. I like when we were doing theater in high school, it was like, it was cool. It was cool. It was cool. And like me and all my buddies were in there and we'd gotten all the dudes involved in theater. It was like we'd go in a, we'd go to like thespian, like a big thespian conference. And it was like we had, we had so many guys in our theater program, you know, which is like, which is, I'd like really like guys guys, like shot, good and beers guys, you know? That's interesting. We had just, we had just, we had gotten to everybody in theater and made it cool, you know, it was like, hell yeah, it was just, it was a dude's party in there, you know? That's amazing. It's quite funny. It was quite funny because we ended up like, Our school, I think, ended up looking for more girls about the same amount of just straight dudes we had in there, you know? And I just had a, it was a blast for us. I think I just had a different experience on that.

That's cool. That's cool, man. Now, Teddy Swims is, you know, your stage name. Jaden DiMesaile is, you know, your birth name. What made you want to create a stage name? And do you ever have any insecurities being your authentic name versus your stage name?

Oh, that's beautiful. well, so weirdly enough, swims was like something I was gonna go by. Well, so this, this project originally started with me and my best pal, Hattie Maxwell, who, who is, is a writer and producer and guitarist of my band as well, and known him for years. And we were working on this band called Wild Heart I was in for a while, and he started producing, like, hip-hop beats and stuff and was sitting on the certain artists and he's one day he was just like, dude, we should try like, you know, just rapping on something. And so we did and luckily my good friend Tyler Carter, he's in his band Issues with and wows me for long, like one of my biggest heroes, best pals in the world, my real mentor and friend and just the dearest person in my heart, man. And he came over one day to get tracks ready for his tour with Issues in Europe and he comes over here as like our one rap song and he's like, yo, this is dope. You guys should come on tour for my solo tour next month. And we're like, well, we have this one song. He's like, look, dude, just get 30 minutes of music. I'll be back in a month, and we'll go on my solo tour. And. Wow. So March of 2019, me and Addie go on tour as just rappers, and that was, like, the first Teddy Swims thing. But I was just gonna go by Swims as, like, someone who wasn't me sometimes. And then Tyler at the time was like, well, everybody already calls you Teddy. I've just been called Teddy forever because, you know, just of my stature and Joy, I guess. And he's like, well, let's put Teddy and Swims together and call it Teddy Swims. It's an awesome name. And I was like, I kind of hate that, dude. And he was like, well, he's like, well, that's my tour. So I'm putting it on the flyer. And sure enough, sure enough, it just stuck. And here's Teddy Swims now. Do you still hate it? No, I mean, it's growing on me, I guess. It's too late now, isn't it? But everybody hates their own name, I guess. And I think, I think the reason I started getting called Teddy anyway, Jaden was always kind of hard for people. It was like always like, Is it Jaden? Jason, Jason, Jason, Jason.

Yeah.

So the more, especially when you're waiting tables, if I'm just like, hi, I'm Teddy, and everybody's like, oh, yeah, Teddy. It's just like such an inviting, disarming name. And I think it just kind of happened. And I don't really, there's not really too much of a difference. Like, I wouldn't say that Teddy Swims is ever a character I'm portraying or, or Jaden Demuzes any different? I think it's, I think it's a, I look at it as a nickname and not like an alias or a character, you know, because it's always been a nickname. And, and I get called both all the time. And so that's why I say, you know, I don't care what you call me. As long as you call me, man, you call me. So I'm like, I got nothing but.

Love for you, baby. And I'm just happy to be in your mind at all. Wow, man.

But do you ever get insecure on stage or have fear before you go on? No. You know what's, what's crazy is that I, I used to when I was in when I was in high school and I first started doing like theater and stuff, I used to get so nervous where I just sit and stare at a wall like just blank for like 3 hours, not eat, not talk to anybody. I was just like, get throw up. I was just nervous as hell, man. And nowadays I find that I'm like kind of more insecure or like anxiety riddled like all the time except for the stage. now, I mean, I do get, like, the only nerves I really get before a show, I don't really get, like, no butterflies or anything, but I always know, like, 30 minutes before a show, like. Like, like clockwork, man. If 30 minutes before stage, I get a bubble in here. Doesn't matter how solid I've been. I'm gonna go paint the back of a toilet, bro. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's like. It just immediately is, like, just turns to fluid. It's like. And I'm like, must be 30 minutes.

Yep. Sure enough, it's 8 30.

You know, and it's like, right up until the moment you got to go, yeah, right on. And I'm like, this is the worst time.

I used to have that in football, too, man. Like, right before I had my pads.

On, I gotta take them off. Yeah, it's always that. It's. But, you know, I think. I think also, too, if you stop getting those nerves, then. Yeah. You know, then you don't love it enough. And I think there's got to be some sort of, like, nerves. If you. If you walk in there, I was. I was literally just on. I was on the shop the other day, and. And LL Cool J was. Was on there, too. And it was so cool to meet him and hear some wisdom from him. And he said that same thing, and it really stuck with me because he was like, you know, if you ever get to that point, there's no nerves. That means you don't, you don't care enough. You walk in here all, you know, I got this. I got this. It's like, man, no, you gotta, you should, you should have a little bit of, like, some excitement and some, some anxiety about getting on there. But I've always been, when I got on there, though, it's, it's the most natural place for me to be. It just feels like home when I'm up there, and it'll get my shoes off when I'm on that stage, and I just get to feel solid, you know, ground and respect and try to create a safe place for people to, because I get to do this job where I get to walk up there and just basically just trauma dump on strangers, you know, and just get to just say, like, cry about some girl that broke my heart three years ago or something, you know, and, and put it out there for people and, and talk about my journey of, like, self-care self-love or When did I start loving myself? And how did I hate myself for so long? And, you know, start just talking to people like this on stage. And I get to really just have these moments of speaking just openly and vulnerably. And I think that outlet that I get to do that has not only been so necessary and therapeutic for me, but it's also great when people get to come and we do a meet and greet or something. They say, like, you know, this song got me through my divorce. Wow. you know, my, my, my husband was meant to be here with me, but he passed in October. And so, you know, I bought my friend, but I just want you to know, like, your music has got me through that, or your song Amazing was our first dance, and he's no longer with us. And it's, and it's like that kind of stuff right there is just like, wow. It's, it's heavy, but it's, it's, it's so beautiful to hear that kind of stuff because, you know, you, you know that everything that you're writing about, whether it's a love song or whether it's a, a from a place of personal pain. It's, it's so specific to my little personal pain. But then somebody else has their own personal pain or their own memories attached to somebody that they dated or their own moment with doing them in a car when they first heard this song, and now it's there in their girlfriend's favorite song. And, and it's just such a beautiful thing. And it makes you, makes you feel like all the, all the stuff that you went through was so necessary to go through. Like, even that little heartbreak that I went through, all the, all the pain and anguish that I went through on something becomes now so necessary. And, and, and the difference I get to make and, and all that time I spent moping around, like, thinking, what was me or that I was hurting. Now, now I look back at that stuff and I see how necessary it was for every little issue that happened in my life. And I try to now attack everything that goes bad in my life with, okay, well, this is, this is going to help somebody.

That's beautiful.

And I try to just look at it that way. I think, I don't know if that's, like, I think that's a healthy way to look at it because, yeah, every heart break I go that, well, this is going to help me and help somebody else.

And that's true.

And I think it's so wonderful that I get an outlet to talk about stuff. And, and I think it's so important that everybody has a voice and they talk about, if you don't talk about your issues or tell your story to people, then they don't also get to, you know, that they could know that they're not alone or they can, or you, or better, you can help them from ever going through that because you've already been through that. You can say, like, Hey, don't make this mistake. And you can help somebody from going through it or just let somebody know they're not alone. And I think it's just important that everybody just speaks, you know, their brain, it's important.

Now, you mentioned, you know, you get to, when you're on stage, you get to, I guess, unload your traumas and talk about all these insecurities or fears or love that you have in your heart at that moment. And you mentioned you used to hate yourself in some ways. What was the thing you used to hate about yourself the most. And when did you start to love yourself in a more full, authentic way?

I think. I think a lot of times in my life, it was. It was. There's a lot of things that came from, I think, from this. This place of. I don't want to, like, blame it so much on, like, religious situations, but I think some things growing up were just kind of like. it was, it was meant to be modest unto yourself and hold things in and, and not letting anybody know what was going on. And, and if there was anything kind of going on in our family, we're also tight knit. So it's like you just kind of like, we, we kind of had to, you kind of have to look perfect as a pastor or something, you know? And, and those guys are also going through things. And, yeah, sometimes they're not, there's, there's not people that they go to and just can say, like, you know, I'm falling apart here or, like, I'm struggling with thoughts of suicide or something, you know, there may be a pastor going through that, you know, and it's like, and they can't talk about that openly with somebody or they can't talk about certain mental health situations that they got going on because they have to be the God is the answer. And I'm, my life is perfect because I'm so close to God. And then it's, and it's just, it doesn't work like, and I think there's just a lot of things in my life that I kind of held in and kind of kept in and, and things that I was insecure.

Was it shame or was it insecurity.

Or was it insecurity? All of that stuff, you know, all of that stuff, I think, came in and I mean, and I won't just blame it all on, on religious things, but I think it's, you know, also just, I think a lot of time, too, in my life, I was always a, I was always a big kid. And so I, I struggled with weight a lot and the way I viewed myself and with eating habits a lot and the way I viewed myself and what was, was eating to get through this or was, was, you know, just handling situations certain ways and from, and, and so I, I had, I had a big, you know, problem with that growing up and this is always also feeling. I was just always sensitive little boy, too.

I mean, everything with the heart. Me, too, man.

So everything was just so a personal attack, you know, and, and I, I think, I think it's, I think the moment that that really switched for me is right during the pandemic or right before sometime, I think it's 2020 or so. So I got, I got a chance. Dominique Wilkins had hit me up on Instagram and basketball player. Yeah. The Hawk, man. He's one of my greatest friends. I got to sing it as wedding, like, you know, maybe a month or two ago. Wow, that's cool. He's, dude, he's the best guy ever. He hit me on Instagram. I was like, I want you to come play at my birthday party. So he actually coincidentally lives in Conyers, too, where I'm from. And so we went over there and we played it, you know, and he gave me this signed Jersey. We, we, I've done a lot of stuff with him. That's cool. He's beautiful. And he's like, dude, are you a wrestling fan? And I was like, yeah, of course. I mean, I got three brothers. I'm huge wrestling fan. And I, and he said, well, Diamond Dallas Page is coming through, and Diamond Dallas Page is like, this is my hero. And I was, I mean, still my hero. And so I met him, and he went to have some cocktails, and I was like, hey, man, I was about 300 pounds at the time. Really? And I I told him, I was like, look, man, you know, because he's doing the DDP yoga stuff, right? And he's like, look, man, you know, I really want to, you know, I'd like to try your stuff out or see if there's anything you can. And he's like, well, come over, man. Come over. come over to the house, come do some yoga with me. Come like, let's get together. And he called me the next day, and he's like, look, man, I know we were, we were drunk last night, but I meant what I said. If you want to come over, come over tomorrow. We'll start doing it. You can come to my house every single day, and we'll start talking. I believe in you. Your voice is amazing. Come on. Let's, let's. He said, all you got to do, man, is get this six inch piece of real estate figured out and own that, and we'll, we'll figure it out. Wow. That dude gave me so much on so much. And still, to this day, calls me he's calls me, if not every day hits me every day, he calls me weekly. And he's like, we got to get weekly calls. We got to get weekly calls. Stay on it. He's talked about, like, this year, he's like, I want to come out for, like, four or five days on tour and just come sit with you and, you know, just make sure you're straight because. And, dude, he helped me lose 65 pounds. Come on. Yeah. Grasping. I also, you know, I've been put about 20 back home, probably from Tequila on tour last year, but.

But I was gonna say, based on your videos from four years ago, I was like, you look a lot leaner. You look a lot healthier. Your skin looks better. Yeah.

And so there was, there was a time where I was at one moment, the biggest part of it was I was living in this house and I was kind of sinking. And this, this girl I was dating at the time, she had a child, and, and I'd known him for a very long time, for about, like, he was six at the time. And for most of his life, I'd known him. And his dad really wasn't around and established this kind of in and out, his life and on drugs and stuff. And I, I know what that was like because my, my little brother's mom was the same way. And I saw my dad struggle through that. And I think, I think I found something, and I fell in love with that kid while we were dating. And, you know, she ended up kind of going back to her baby daddy, and I, I really, at the time, was like, I want to do whatever it takes to, even if I got to get a full-time job and still pursue music, I wouldn't do whatever it takes to, to to make sure that this kid's okay. I don't really fall in love with that kid. We still talk to this day. I love that kid.

But.

When that kind of split and she just left to go back to this unsafe thing, it really kind of put me down. And at that same time, that same time that she left, my roommates moved out. I was like four months behind on rent. My car had broken down. The transmission went out on the way to work. and I had to walk two miles to work, and then they tell me that the place is closing down. And so it was like everything at once just like really just fell apart, right? And so I was really sinking and I called my dad at the time and I was like, Look, man, I need to just come in and just, if I could just throw my mattress on the floor, I'd be stoked. And it's like, Of course, baby. And that was coincidentally enough was wild as that was like right at the beginning of 2019 where we started working on the Teddy Swim stuff. Yeah. and because we were working in Loganville right by my dad's house on this stuff. And the, the things like, it's always like one gigantic loss for one. I think when everything is falling apart in your life, that was like, that, that was just making room for everything to start building. And, and I find that life works so much like that, too, where there's just one gigantic loss for, like, something to, I think it just kind of makes way for. Yeah, good things and. and now I try to change my perspective on that so much because of DDP, you know, you gotta own that, on that six inch piece of real estate. And he taught me so much about just like, look, man, you got to do small things. Like, look into your eyeballs in the morning. Have you ever looked at yourself in the eyes in the mirror and said, like, I love you. You're doing great, man. Don't, you know, just, like, talk to yourself. Right. Tell yourself you're worth it. Tell yourself you're early in love. And I felt like so long, I was, I was choosing relationships, and I was getting stepped on by people because I I wanted to give people love and a chance to do something, but I was mistaking more than I should have, because maybe I was also trying to be some consistency for people that I never had or they didn't have, or maybe I was trying to do something unrealistic, I don't know. But I find that I heard this one beautiful advice and a meet and greet not too long ago. This therapist was like, I'm a therapist. I'd like to give you a piece, a little word if I can. And she said, the way people treat you is a reflection of the way that they see you. The way you let people treat you is a reflection of how you see yourself. And it just like stuck with me and changed my life forever. Wow. I was like, yeah, okay, maybe I should just, there's a way to treat people well and love on people, but there's also a way to notice when they're hurting you, you know? Right. I felt like so long in my life that I, I. I let people kind of. There was. There was also. I think sometimes I just chose the same pattern because there was something about being hurt or being held down that I think was also. I was weirdly kind of needing for some inspiration to be the greatest, like, artist version of myself or to be in pain or something. I don't know why I wanted that. Maybe I needed. Maybe that was the consistency. It was just being in just turmoil all the time, and I needed that. that feeling of unhappiness because it was just what I was used to. And I'd rather be familiar. Yeah, I'd rather be familiar than uncharted happy territory, which is quite crazy how our brains do that, you know? And so now, even in my life, I'm with somebody now that's very good to me and I'm happy and everything in my life is coming greatly. And I find that I could still write Songs and I was like, From.

A place of beauty and love and joy and peace.

And even if I still write songs about heartbreak, I can always go back and tap into those emotions. I don't have to be there right now and I don't have to just like constantly put myself in hurtful places, you know? And I don't want to do that.

I don't know why we did that. Because you see these, I mean, you hear these great songs where an artist created them from a place of pain or sadness or loss or heartache, right? And I always think like, okay, this is a beautiful song or this is a beautiful piece of art, but isn't.

There a way to create art from.

Harmony and peace and love.

There's certainly abundance.

Yeah. That can also move and change the world. Yeah, absolutely.

There is. Yeah. And I'm learning that daily, you know? Yeah. And it's just like something I have to always see, like, it's okay to be happy, dude. It's fine. Just be happy.

It's probably the best. When did you start feeling happier and loving yourself then? Was it. Did it happen overnight? Was it a months of practice of doing these rituals and habits?

It's an everyday decision, you know? I find that happiness is truly a decision you gotta make. Love is a decision you gotta make up. You wake up every day with something that like, and your heart, I mean, even if you're with a partner for a long enough time, you're not gonna wake up every day like, wow, what a great another day to love you again. You know, it's doesn't, you know, you gotta wake up and you love things despite you, you're happy despite of things, and you're, you have to decide that, like, you have to just continue to train your brain to say, you're not upset. Just. You're happy, man. Like, everything's good. Sometimes. Some days I find myself about stuff, and I'm like, what are you about? Come on, dude.

Life is good.

Life is good. And you're so loved, and you're so cherished, and people love you, and you love people, and you got good things and a great family and friends and Foundation. Like, what the hell is your problem, dude? Come on, just get it together. Like, why are you, like, waking up all. Yeah, you know, like, don't be a little. Get up, just smile, man. It's okay.

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Someone watching or listening right now might.

Be thinking, well, Teddy, that sounds good because you've made a bunch of money now and you're famous and you've got success and you're going on world tours, so it's easy to be happy now. But what do you say to people that, you know, are like, I'm struggling, I'm going through it, I'm working multiple jobs, my relationship isn't working out, I'm overweight, I'm not feeling good about myself. How do you speak into them joy and positivity on how they can shift their mindset to feel loved and happy?

I would say, I would say personally, happiness is never easy, you know, and I think anybody anywhere in their life is, is, it's allowed to feel the way that they feel. And I. Because I also, I think I did the same thing when I always told myself, I'll be happy when I get to this, you know, or I'll be happy when I get to this level or when I get to this space or when I can do music full time, all my problems will go away. And that was the biggest wake-up call for me, as when I was able to finally do music full time, I was, like, the most depressed I ever been because. Because I thought that was going to answer all my problems, you know, but. that was like maybe answering a financial problem or like a problem that I didn't get to do what I love full time. But that was never the issues that was really happening. The issues were way deeper than that.

What were the main issues?

It was all the things that, you know, I've been discussing the things that I've held in my whole life that I was insecure about, the things that I was hating myself for, the ways that I was living, the things that I was doing, the people I was around that were were breaking me down, stepping on me and the, the things that, the, the people that were not valuing me and I don't want me not valuing myself. And it, it all, it all came from, like, so when I got to this point, I said, well, something's clearly got to change because I thought once I got here, I'd be happy. And, and again, dude, it's still, that's not, it's not easy to be happy. It's not, it's something you gotta, the pursuit is for everybody, right? You know, the pursuit of it is what we need. But happiness is something you, you got to wake up and choose and It's hard. It's harder some days than others and it's hard on everybody. And of course, you know, I can't speak for anybody with whatever their situation is going, anyone more successful or really struggling at the bottom. I can't tell them how to be happy or that you should just wake up and put it aside and decide to be happy. You can't do that either. But you know, whatever there is in your life that you can find to cling to, I. That's what, like, that's what kept me alive, truly, is that even though I got to that point and I was like, wait, there's underlying issues I wasn't addressing. I would tell you that I had a North Star of what I wanted and what. What I was here for. And so I think the only thing that kept me going while I was in the bottom of the barrel was that this is what I wanted to be, and this is when I get here, I'll be happy. And I know that was not even true, but. I had something that I was grabbing for, and I had something that was pulling me out of the bottom all the time. And I'm grateful that there was something to stay around for, and there's something to cling to. And as long as you have your reason, then I'll just say, man, make sure you have a reason, because if there's nothing for you, there's no reason, there's nothing to love that's keeping you here, then I hope there's a way that somebody can find that. And you just have one thing to cling to, one thing that just keeps you here, you know? Absolutely. Without it, there's nothing.

Man, what did you, I mean, for any artist, musician, singer, creative individual watching or listening right now who hasn't made it yet, who isn't making it full-time, who isn't making a full-time living or doing what they want full-time, but they have a dream and a passion to become more with their art, what would you tell them about fame, success and money that you know now that you didn't know five years ago.

I would say whatever, like, I would say try to be, that's a tough question.

Like, what is, what is Fame, success and money taught you? Having it now versus five years ago, not having it.

I would say that, that money now to me is, is now that we were dealing with a lot more of it, but twenty dollars still means what it meant when I was either buying a bottle or I was making it to work, you know, and, like, 20 still means what it meant to me. And, and a dollar, the, the, the, the value of a dollar is just always stays the same, at least in my brain. I always try to make sure it stays the same and that I know how much a 20 bill can do. And no matter how many of those I have, I know what they can do and know how much, how much that can do for somebody and, and in my life, you know, and how much. And, and I, I try to I try to know that it's coming and it's going and it's, it's, it's fleeting, of course, but, and I think with success, too, I, I, I find that I think my version of success is, I think defining your own version of success and what success means is, is really what the, the whole ideal is, is because you can, you can get to this level, but then there's, there's such a different level. Like, you know, if you, if you, they say that, like, the human eyes, he's 20 miles ahead of it.

Right.

You know, and so if you're looking 20 miles ahead, you walk that 20 miles, and then there's another 20 miles, and it's as far as the eye can see. And so I always find that I'm just like, as soon as I get here, I'm like, this is, like, cool, but I won't, you know, I want, like, what if I'd have dotted number two? I'd have been like, this sucks. And I would have been so hurt, but I'm not so, like, at, like, 99.9% of people don't even more than that, you know? And so I'm like, why, why, why am I? so I, I try to constantly just, I think I find a way to Define success and what success means to me. And I think that's, that's important for people to do. And I think what that means for me is this, I think success is like when you can, when you can offer somebody the opportunity or the ability to have the same success.

Yes.

I truly think whatever, whatever I can do that, when I, when I've been able to build a studio and I've been able to put my friends on a salary, or I've been able to bring them into writing rooms and see them flourish as writers and producers and writing songs for artists that are putting songs out or being their own artist and putting their own songs out. And I think that's truly what I get my happiness like that. My most success from is, like, watching them flourish because we were able to provide an opportunity for this person or that opportunity provided to this person. And it's seeing kids come up that are, that are at shows and they're standing in the front and they're nine years old and they come to show and they're like, they want to be singers, you know, and just reach out and give them a pair of sunglasses while you're singing up there. And, you know, that just changes their life. Or you bring them backstage after and hug on them and take a picture and give them a little word. And it's like, that stuff is success, you know? That's what success looks like.

Sure.

In my opinion. And I think it's, I think it's important for, for someone that if, if you want success, it's important to Define what that looks like for you. Because if you don't have a clear definitive line of what success is, and you're gonna be chasing it, never know you actually have it, you know?

Right.

And what about fame? What does fame teach you now that you've experienced it? And people know who you are.

It's quite strange. I think I try my best to be, like, some people I find are like, there's a certain separation that happens. when you have, when somebody, and it doesn't have to be Fame. It's like how famous you are to somebody. I think that's like you could be, there'll be a level of famous, but people treat you with you just a regular guy. Right. But some people, when they look at you, and it depends on how big you are in their life. Some people, I find that all they do is listen to Teddy Swims, and they're like, they are so, like, they're the biggest Teddy Swims fan in the world. And I'm so honored for that. I'm so absolutely honored for that. But I find it such a weird thing when somebody's like, you know, they come to a meet and greet and they're like, you know, they're just shaking and they're like, I don't know what to say. I love you. And, you know, and it's such a sweet thing, but it's quite an exchange that you have to get used to. 'Cause you're like, you know, they start crying immediately. You give 'em a hug, you're like, oh, that's such an honor that you like feel that way to be around me. In my presence, you're like all broken down and shaken and it's like, it's such a beautiful thing, but it's such a thing to get used to because you just want to be like, hi, how are you? Thank you so much for this stuff. I love you so much. And, you know, and they're just like, it's like they're just blown away by just like, oh, my God. Like, this presence of that is really not any different. I don't know.

I.

Because to me, I'm, I'm just a fat guy from Conyers, you know? And so, so getting treated that way is, is such a beautiful experience, but it's It's quite a jarring experience to go through. People are just not really thinking you're human kind of. And you're like, oh, baby, I'll bring it back down. Yeah, bring it back down. I'm not all that.

You know, how do you manage your, you know, your ego or your mind or your heart or humility when that is going to continue to happen more and more? You're going to be number one, you're going to be selling out arenas. What's your process for making sure it doesn't, you know, make you a bad person?

I don't think it could, man, because I think, I think there's, there's a thing that happens. I don't know why people change when they do this, because humility and people and, like, I, I was taught, like, one good advice, you know? And I say this all the time. They said, like, you know who the most important person in the world is? It's you. Because when I'm here with you, it's our time together, and I'm making sure that I'm fully engaged in this conversation. And if you get five seconds with somebody, 10 years with somebody, you make sure every moment you spend is right there. And your time, their time is just as valuable as, as mine and and I don't, I don't show up late to things. I, I hate to, I hate to be, not knocking anybody does. And on sometimes, sometimes things happen. But just when you act, is you, when you start acting as if your time is more valuable than somebody else's. And even if it is dollar sign wise, it's not like this, especially when people who are dropping their kids and are bringing their kids to a Teddy swim show and their, their time is, is actually what's so valuable that their, their time is way more valuable than mine, you know, and they're, they're investing in me and caring about me and and I think, I think when you start treating people like they're lesser than or that their time is less valuable than yours or that you are worth more than somebody, I think that's like, I don't, I don't, I don't think I have that bone in my body to, to be like, I'm, I'm this, you know, it's like, I, I, because I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't see myself as that. I don't plan on it. I never want to feel like, I never want to feel like, oh, I'm the best, you know? Sure, sure. I think I will strive to be, but as soon as I feel like I'm the best and there's no growth left. Yeah.

That's a good mindset, man.

Yeah.

That's a great mindset. I mean, your album's called I've Tried Everything But Therapy, part one.

Have you tried therapy yet, though? I have not, man. And, you know, I talked about it to you before this album came out. I was like, look, dude, this is my personal self. When I get this album out, I'm gonna go to therapy. And it's been such a whirlwind that, I mean, I know there's always time. Like, I can, again, I can make time to do this. do a 30 minute Zoom here or here or here.

Yeah.

Yeah. And this Whirlwind, I think I've just been kind of like, maybe not ready yet or something. And I'm, you know, I'm planning on, I'm doing it.

But it took me until I was 31 to start for me.

Yeah.

So it's perfect time for you. I think it is. And I think, I think even more so now that I am in a good place, I think it might be a perfect time to start not, and not being just like, you know, I think in a good place is a probably great place to start. Absolutely. I think it's good at any time. And, and I agree that it's good for everyone, but I just, I don't know what it is.

I don't know why it started here. Why did you want to title it this, even though it's something you've never experienced yourself?

Well, I think, I think, I think it was a funny name, too, just for the sake of, you know, I've, I've done everything except for there, you know, I've done every, I've, I've tried everything that I could to, to make myself, like, you know, as good as I can. And then therapy is probably the next step. And I think, I think in naming it that, too, it's, it's, it started conversations like these, which is, which is so important to me because, you know, I think in, in times before, and maybe that's why there might still be some stigma in my brain I'm trying to get rid of because, and some generational. Sure. Some people would just be like, told it in. It's tough. It's an, and I've been doing that my whole life, you know, and what we've been discussing and so. I think I wanted to just kind of open the door to talk about it and talk about it.

That's beautiful, man.

And the more that I've had conversations about this has, you know, been like, have you tried it yet? Or it also keeps me, like, accountable, and it also keeps me talking about my emotional place.

Beautiful, man.

Yeah. You know, I think it hopefully it just helps people start opening their mouths about that more. And maybe it inspires somebody else to. Or maybe when I do, then maybe more people will. I finally got to set the example. You know what I mean?

What do you think is the thing that you're afraid to discuss or talk about the most?

You know, I don't know, man, 'cause I feel very open and I can talk about it.

It seems very vulnerable.

Yeah, and I'm very lucky that I feel very vulnerable. I don't have anything I wouldn't talk about, but I think there's some things about, like, my habits of coping that maybe I'm scared of changing. Maybe it's the-- Like from heartbreak or.

From loss or from the stress.

I think it's just in general, like, there's certain things the tics I do or the ways that I handle my stress and emotions or the ways that if I, the ways that, what if I find out, oh, there's a way better way of handling this than drinking? And I'm like, well, I like to drink when I'm sad though. It's a little bit of a, you,'re familiar with it.

Yeah, you know, it's exactly like a buddy.

It's like a buddy and you don't want to let go of your buddy. Exactly, man.

It's a buddy that's probably not, it's like a toxic relationship that you're like.

Not ready to walk away from. Yeah, yeah. It's literally putting poison in you. Yeah.

But it's a comfortable, familiar feeling.

Exactly. And I don't know, not just booze too, but I think just all my other coping mechanism, like maybe it's even chewing on my nails or the inside of my cheeks. Maybe it's little ticks that I have here and there. Maybe it's too much about discovering those things, you know, that are like, that I might have to change and not be so stuck in my ways anymore. I don't want to be stuck in my ways, but there's something so protective inside of me that's like, 100.

Oh, no, no.

No, no, no. Don't change this.

It's working, and it's.

It's. What's gotten you here? Yeah, exactly. So I think there's also a protection of that, too. Well, what if I fall on my face after I get fixed, which is not even a thing. Nobody fixes you. But you know what I mean? There's just this stigma. I think I'm still working through, and. And I won't know until I really just go take the step. And it probably will be way different than I'm even explaining it, you know? So.

So I just gotta get there, you know? The thing I love that you're talking about is. you know, on the humility and fame side of things and how you just feel like you'll always be growing. And I just feel like something like therapy or call it coaching, whatever you want to call it, it's gonna allow you to just keep growing as a human inside and outside so you can serve more people at a better level. Yeah, that's the way I look at it. And I look at you as, you know, it's the first time we've met. We've matched this online a few times, and I've seen your work for a while, but I see you, and the more I see you in front of you, as an incredible leader and a voice to be of service to humanity, to express your voice in a beautiful artistic way that can connect with people with what they're going through. Whether it's something challenging or something beautiful in their life, you can use your voice and your artistry to empower and uplift individual souls, hearts and minds around the world. And the more you continue to evolve, it's not about fixing or being perfect or like letting go of every negative habit that you have, But just being aware of the root cause of why you do these things.

Yeah, sure.

And saying, okay, does this serve me and my art and humanity at the highest level? Maybe I never get rid of this, but maybe I improve a little bit here and there, and I, you know, I did a little bit, do a little bit of yoga for this season of my life, and I'm gonna try something else. It's like I'm gonna enter relationships in a different way, whatever it might be, and then you're gonna have that experience and be able to express that experience to humanity from a place of service and growth within yourself. And I think that's a beautiful thing that you're doing and you're on this journey. And just you've been talking about it as the title of your album is allowing you to express this personal growth. So I'm just really excited for you. Whether you do it now or in 20 years, I'm excited for your journey of growth because it's impacting lives around the world. And it's really cool, man. You're an incredible talker, man.

Hell yeah, dude. You're so good at talking. I'm just listening to you.

I'm just listening.

Yes, sir. It's so well spoken, man. That's so well said. Thank you, man.

I appreciate that. Of course, man. Yeah, you've got a gift. And, you know, I think the first thing I saw of yours was the COVID you did with Shania Twain, right? Ah, she's, wow, what an angel. And the first thing I ever heard out of your mouth, when someone sent this to me, the first thing I ever heard out of your mouth, do you remember what you said at the.

Beginning of that song? Yeah, it's my mama.

I'm a beautiful mother, man. That's where you say the first thing.

Yeah, she's an angel. I love her.

You say you dedicate this to my mom.

Yeah, she's the best.

And you say this, you know, you're still the one I, you're still the one I love, you know, all that stuff. So why did you decide to do that cover? I think it did over 120 million views. Why did you decide to do that? And why did you decide to dedicate it to your mom?

Well, you know, that song, I always, that whole album, but, God, dude, that she's just, she's just incredible. and that song just reminded me of my mother. I don't know why. I don't remember what, like, what happened where I was like, we should do this cover. And, you know, but I think. I think I heard it or something. And I was like, man, this makes me think of my mama. And maybe we should do this next. It's something like, I can't remember the place where we decided, but I remember when we were recording it, I was just saying, man, I'm gonna dedicate this to my mama, because it just makes me think of her.

And.

And. It's just such a beautiful song and it makes me think of us in the car and that song being on the radio and you know us going down the road and you know me singing in the car and my mom's and just makes me think of home, you know? And it's been such a beautiful thing too, because not only has that changed my life so much, but we still play it every night and you know and a lot of people's got like married to my version of that song and stuff too, which is so powerful. Play it on the road.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I gotta see you play that live. We'll always play that one too, as far as it's like, It's, it's, it's.

Such a contrast, like seeing you with like the physical body you have and the beard.

Yeah, I think that's a lot.

Seeing this sweet, beautiful like song.

I think a lot of that has been like what happened in my career too is, has been because of like, you know, the way I look versus the way I sound. I think it's been a gimmick that we've really been able to, Contrast. Yeah. And, but it's so fun. We go out there and every day I'm like, Yo, is anybody, you know, here with the mother this evening or, is anybody else just a mom at all? And I, you know, for the rest of us, can we make noise for the most beautiful creatures in the world, you know? And you used to honor mom for a minute. And every day is Mother's Day for me. Wow. So I'm just like, it's fun to go on stage and always just shout out to moms. And they're just like, you see somebody with their kid or you see somebody with their daughter and then their daughter's daughter, you know? And you see this generations of people in the crowd and all shapes and sizes and colors, all just holding each other together. And this couple who got married to it, they're just slow dancing in the middle of the crowd, and you're just like, God, this is a way to bring people together. And, and, I mean, that song, you know, that song just.

What's, what's a line in that song or a phrase in that song that resonates with you the most?

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You know, just look at us still holding on, you know, we're still together. And it's like, it's like that pre and you're still the one I run to. You're the one I belong to, you know, you're still the one I want for life, you know, you're just like, that whole song, I think is like, It's a love song, you know, and it's definitely about like a relationship with a person that has been, I guess, you know, together for a long time. But to me, it's always reminded me of my mom. And when we really spin the lyrics, you know, there are kind of, it can also be that way, you know, you're still, you're still, we've made it through everything together, Mom. And we're like, well, I love you. And we're, are you still, you're still the girl I run to, you know, my mom's, this is still my everything.

And she's my rock, dog. have you always had a good relationship with her growing up, or did you go through some challenges?

We went through a lot of challenges, man. We did. But she's always been, you know, and, and we, we've grown, too. She, she one time told me the most beautiful advice, man. And, well, I guess not advice, but just something that she said to, to me the other day, she said, she was like, you know, she's, I was cutting somebody's hair, and they, I had pictures of you and Kalen, my older brother on, on the one, she said, Glenna, how'd you raise such good boys? And she said, hell, they raised me, you know? Wow. And it just touched my heart, you know, because my mom is just, I realized, like, she was 23 or 25 when she had two kids. My dad was 21, I think, when he had two kids or 23 or something. It was like they're a couple years apart. And, and if I'd have been, like, not even 25 or two kids, holy, dude, or 23, I'd hell, I'm the child. I'm still, like, I'm still not a child, you know, as far as I'm like, I. So I I just, like, I I see also, too, that all the times and all the things that, like, as I was growing up that my mom was doing, I'm. As I'm getting older, I'm starting to see, like, oh, she's like a kid, though. Still, you know, she was still growing. And as a baby raising a baby, you know, and, like, any mistakes that were made were just like, that's a baby raising a baby.

I.

God bless her.

You know, she was going through hell.

Yeah.

Trying to figure out who she was, trying to raise two boys, trying maybe still also have a child, like, child to have some youth in her, too. And so, like, and it's tough to, it's tough to navigate being a new parent at all, but let alone that age, I'm sure. And, and so we had our times, you know, and we had, we had our, we had our stuff, but, and who doesn't, you know? And I think I'm just so grateful that she's, she's really turned into this most, most beautiful woman.

Wow.

Flourishing and also watch as my mother watched me grow up to watch my mother grow up, it's been like it's been a hell of a thing. We really grew up together, you know?

That's beautiful.

It's she's just a flower, man. She's the best.

That's great, man. What's the what's the lyrics or the, you know, the the phrase in a song that you feel like you've sung the most to yourself throughout your entire life? Maybe your childhood or your adult life. what's the thing that you see yourself just singing in the shower the most or when you're in the car or just humming? What are those lyrics of that verse that you sing a lot? Maybe it's your own song.

Maybe it's another song. I would say for, for. But my favorite, I think probably the song I've sang the most in my life is it knocks me off my feet. Stevie Wonder. I just love, like, that, that album, songs in the key of life is the best album ever. But I don't want to bug you either. My troubles, something about your love. You know that song? I don't want to bore you with it. I love you, I love you, I love you. It's just such an infectious, beautiful song, man. And I'll just, that album in general has just really always been something that's just so, so beautiful and powerful. It makes me just think of my childhood and just like growing up and that, and if I was to say my own song, First song in my album is called Some Things I'll Never Know. And I find myself always singing that, you know, when did your heart let me go? I guess some things I'll never know. And it's a song that's really helped me with a lot and acceptance of things, you know, because how's that verse, Cole? It says, what did your heart let me go? I guess some things I'll never know. It's out of the course of it.

When did your heart let me go?

Yeah, I guess some things I'll never know. if you haven't listened to the song you said, it's such a beautiful song, man. And it's like when it was written, you know, it kind of was like about just acceptance of, like, people walk out of your life, you know? And I say this all the time on stage. When people walk out of your life, it could be a friend, it could be a significant other, or it could be just a death in something, you know? But there's, there's no closure. I find that when people leave your life, you know, and all you can do is hope that the best thing. They're doing the best for themselves. And if you really love them, you gotta just let it go and, and you don't get closure. They're not going to tell you, this is what you did wrong. This is why I'm leaving. Or this is why I'm leaving. And, you know, it has nothing to do. They're not going to give you closure. You know, sometimes people just leave, and sometimes people don't say, they just go. And, and you gotta hope that or find some way to give yourself Clarity or some, some sort of acceptance or internal closure that you'll be like, well, I guess this is the end of that. And there's, there's no and I always found myself with relationships that ended, like, looking for closure, like, why did this happen? I don't understand. And it's just the acceptance of the things that I can't control. And that whole song's just kind of about there's things I just can't control. And I just gotta accept that I can't keep you here. I can't-- and I found that there's two reasons. I think anyway, there's two reasons why people hurt you. they either do it to specifically hurt you or they do it to help themselves. And. And you just gotta hope that they're doing it for their better good and interesting. And if that's what they're doing it, if it's. If it's. If it ever takes you hurting me to make yourself better than by all means, I would take that anytime, and I'll be glad to. Well, I'm not glad to, but I could accept that, you know? But, yeah, it's always, I think with me, when you're just, like, trying to blatantly hurt somebody, I think that's when it's like, okay, you. that you're giving, you're giving me too much power. You're giving somebody else too much power. If it's, they won't hurt you. It's just. So I just hope that it's always to, to benefit whatever you got to do for yourself.

You, you're number one. You take care of that, you know? And, man, this is, this is a beautiful conversation, man.

Yeah.

I've got a, I've got a few more questions for you, if that's cool. But this has been a really inspiring so far. It's a question that just came to me as you were saying this. you know, you're close to, I think you're close to, or maybe you're over a billion streams already on your music in the last year, you know, platinum, you're selling out arenas around the world. Like so much is happening for you right now. I'm curious if you could go a year in the future and you could think back about the gift you would like to receive, the internal gift you'd like to receive from where you are now to everything you're about to experience and go through over the next year. what is that gift you would love to receive for yourself?

That's a really beautiful question. I think. I think. I think I'm like. I think I would like to. I think I would like to. If I could look back, like, a year from now and look back, I think I would like to just, like, hopefully have a. I, I'll say this is a gift because I, I think I'd like to just learn to let things go better, you know, just learn to let things slide off because everything I feel like sometimes for me is so huge and every moment so gigantic and everything is so like, you know, massive and whatever's happening right now. And, and there's, I mean, there's a thing about being present, but there's a thing about being like, everything is not the end of the world, you know what I mean? And if I could, I'm sure, I'm sure this could and I'm learning every day. But even if I could look back last year, I'm like, all that. That I was making such a big deal was not that big of a deal, you know? And hopefully I will have the gift of discernment. You know, that would be discernment. Will be the gift that I would like. Much better discernment. That's. That's. That's what I'm looking for.

Yeah.

I know a great tool that'll help therapy.

Yeah.

You're right.

Yeah.

Therapy is giving me.

Therapy has given me that, that's for sure. But all in time when you're ready, no pressure. You've got your tour coming out. People can go to teddySwims.com to learn more about everything you're up to. But you're on social media, Instagram, I love your Instagram content. Obviously, Spotify, YouTube, all these different places they can see all your videos and everything. What can we do? Where should we follow you the most to see what you're up to, how we can support you, how we can serve you, watch you live, where should we go?

All those are great places, but personally, yeah, I'm, I'm on Instagram the most. I, I, I have way too much screen time, probably, man. I really, I really, I really just, yesterday we went and got a new, a new phone, like, so I could, so I can, I can have my old phone, but I just, that way, if I can have one that's just for, you know, the family and, and also doesn't have any social media on it. So if I just want to leave this one for a day, I can just, that's good. So try to separate from it, but I'm, I'm always on there. If you, if you want to, you want to hear anything that I'm doing, I'm probably posting stupid story. I mean, anything. Something about parks and no matter what. That's great, man.

But you'll be on tour for a while, right?

Yeah, we'll be, we'll be, we, we got, we got Europe coming up and then, you know, Australia, New Zealand and, and then back in the US. October, we're in the states and, oh.

It'S, it's amazing, man. So if you, if If check out the tour dates and it's not sold out and get a ticket. Scalp it if you have to, but make sure you see Teddy live anywhere around the world. And if you get a chance, you know, go, because you guys do like a VIP thing. People can get upgraded, like see before or after.

Yeah, we do like a 100% meet and greet most of the time. That's great. And it's the best, dude. It's the best.

Before the event, right?

Before the show. And it gives me all the, it gives me all the energy. That's great, man. For the show, too. You know, it's, it's I find it's like quite a strange thing though, because it's such an up and down of emotion. Somebody's like so excited, you're smiling for the next person you got 20 seconds with and then like sobbing and then you're like, oh, and then you're like, it's just sucking loads of just up and down, you know? And so after, I'm just, oh yeah, I'm ready to go. But I f***ing love it, man.

That's great, man. I love the connection with that. That's beautiful. Well, if anyone watching or listening goes and sees you at a VIP, make sure to give Teddy a big hug. Absolutely. Let him know that you, you know, what part of this show you enjoyed the most. and the conversation that we had, what you enjoyed the most. This is a question I ask everyone at the end of our interviews, and it's a hypothetical question. It's called the Three Truths.

Okay.

So I'd like you to imagine a world where you get to live as long as you want. You know, another 100 years if you want to. But eventually it's the last day on Earth for you. And you get to create everything you want to create. You get to have the relationships you want, the career you want, you get to put the music out, everything you get to do, you dream of, it happens. you manifest it. But on the last day of Earth, you have to take all of your creations with you. This conversation's gone, your music's gone, hypothetically, right?

And for whatever reason, this happens.

But on the last day, you get to leave behind three final lessons, three file truths from your life experience.

Okay.

They can be verses from a line of music. They could be what's on your heart or mind right now. They could be. anything at all. If you could fast forward to the future that many years and think about what you'd want to share to leave behind, what would be those three lessons or three truths for you?

I would, I would, I would ultimately say the same thing, man. When you talk to somebody, you make sure that they feel like they're the most important thing in the world. And you make sure that time you spend is time well spent, I think.

Also.

You'Re time is no more valuable than anybody else's, you know, again. And, and I guess, yeah, and the sake of time, you know, like, I guess that's all because when you, when you, when you ask that question, it does really make you think about the time that you have or the time that you could have or what you're leaving behind. And, and, and I sometimes wonder if I, before I get to the third, I also sometimes wonder if, like, am I doing this to be remembered? Because, like, eventually Oblivion is inevitable.

Right.

So, like, Even when I am gone, at some point I'll be forgotten. So am I doing this to like make little exchanges here and there or just to make the most out of my life to have a blast? Or am I doing this to be remembered? 'Cause I always say, certainly if I am doing this business to be remembered, I'm in the wrong business 'cause... Yeah. Hitler will be remembered way after I will, way, way long. You know, serial killers will be remembered way after we will. So I think, I think if you really wanted to be remembered, you'd probably just be a serial killer or something. Right, right, right. I mean, that's clearly I'm not doing.

It for that reason.

So, it's always tyrants and serial killers that are just remembered forever for some reason. I think it's like the worst you do on the world, the more you remember it, so, which is kind of weird in a way.

Sad, but, yeah.

But, so I don't think I'm doing it for that reason, clearly, but, so I don't know, like, I never really think about what, what I'm leaving behind, you know?

But, what would be the lesson, the final lesson you think that you'd want people to, man, just think about their lives.

I think there are some universal truths, you know, and there are a lot of things that aren't black and white, but there are things that are black and white. And I think it's just, you know, just love, you know, love yourself, love, love people, man. Love people. Just love people. I think there's, I believe in the inherent goodness of people, and I think everybody is, and I think there's just, I think bad things happen and bad decisions are made, and I think people, Just have a reason for what you're doing, you know? And I just love people.

That's beautiful, man. Jaden, I've got one more question for you. Before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you, man, because I love how real and authentic you are. I love that you're real. I love your heart. I love your honesty. I love your authenticity. And I love that you have been committed to your dream and your voice for the last decade plus, and you've gone all in on it. most people give up a year or two into their dream, and you've been 10 plus years into it, and you're just getting started now. And so the fact that you've been consistent, committed, you know, you've been bringing your friends along the way with you, giving people opportunities, and it sounds to me like you've been yourself throughout the whole journey. I think it's just a beautiful thing. So I want to acknowledge you, man.

For, I hate you doing that.

For everything you're up to and for being of service to people using your voice and your talent, your gift, whether they listen, they stream something, whether they watch this or they go watch you live. It's a beautiful thing to see, man. And I acknowledge you for, you know, doing everything but therapy and working on yourself. Because I think a lot of people get comfortable with where they are. They stay familiar, even if it's toxic or it's hurtful. And the fact that you said, you know what? You know, Dallas, down with page. Yeah, I'll come and I'll do some yoga and I'll start doing some things over here and I'll try to work on myself. The fact that you're doing that. and not staying stuck in this while I'm the struggling artist that has to be depressed in order to make great art. That's a beautiful lesson that I want people to take away from this as well, that you can be loving, you can be joyful, you can be growing personally in whatever ways works for you and make a difference in the world. So I acknowledge you, man, and I'm excited to. To watch your journey. Swords. It's a beautiful thing. One final question.

Okay.

What is your definition of greatness?

I think it's gotta, I think it, man, that's such a crazy line. I think building happiness, you know, I feel like, I feel like, I feel like greatness is, I feel like, I don't know, I don't know what I would want to say, what is the difference between satisfaction and contentment, you know, because I don't know, is there a difference in those words? 'Cause I don't wanna say, I don't.

Wanna- Some people are satisfied, but they're not content.

It's like they can be satisfied. I feel like greatness will maybe be satisfied, but I also don't know if I'll ever do that. So it doesn't mean I'll never achieve greatness. I don't know. Maybe greatness is never being satisfied. There we go. That's what I mean. Yeah, never being satisfied is, I think, my definition of greatness. Always striving for more and always growing. And yeah, that's a good one.

Okay, we figured it out.

There you go.

Jaden, Teddy Swims, my man, thank you so much. Thank you, bro.

Talk.

I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad-free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel exclusively on Apple podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

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