1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: Nightlife, entertainment. Shit is like a track. You're just running 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: in a circle and it's extremely complex. When you win, win, 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: it's great. But you can guarantee, my friend, I don't 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: give a fuck who you are, you're gonna see some 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: dark tons a lot of times. Many of the people 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: who own clubs and they need the money that's being 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: made to move forward. One of the things I've learned 8 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: and understand about businesses. We can't grow this if we 9 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: keep taking the money. And so if you need this 10 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: money to survive, I don't think that this is the 11 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: business you should be in. In order for a club 12 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: to be great, in order for clubs to be successful, 13 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: we've got to put more into the marketing. We've got 14 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: to put more into the service. But everybody is just 15 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,240 Speaker 1: chasing a bag. And the scary thing about chasing a 16 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 1: bag is at some point, this is going to implode. 17 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: If we're not putting no love back into it, if 18 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: we're not putting no authenticity back into it, at some point, 19 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: it's going to fall apart. 20 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 2: Here, everybody, Welcome to another episode of butter Nomics. I'm 21 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 2: your host, Brandon Butler, founder CEO of Butter atl And 22 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 2: Today we got a legend in the building, y'all, Like 23 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 2: this is one of those legends, know like you gotta 24 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 2: if you know, you know, and if you know, you 25 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 2: really know, you know what I'm saying, the one the 26 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 2: only mister bitty Barnes, Bitty how you doing? 27 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: Bro? Oh good Brandon? 28 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 3: How are you? Man? 29 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 2: If I was any better, i'd be you. 30 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: Man, Okay, I take that. I'm gonna take that. I'm 31 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: gonna take that one. I'm gonna take that. Yea, I'm 32 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: gonna take because it came from you, and I know 33 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: it's authentic. 34 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,839 Speaker 2: So yes, man, Look now, this man right here is 35 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 2: a legend of you know, Atlanta culture, nightlife, entertainment. A 36 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 2: lot of y'all wouldn't even be going to parties and 37 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 2: stuff right now in this city if he hadn't done 38 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 2: the work that he did. And I think that, and 39 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 2: we're gonna get into this, biy because I really feel 40 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 2: like and I feel like I know for a fact 41 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 2: that like the foundation you laid is what a lot 42 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 2: of the entertainment in this city is kind of built 43 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 2: on top of. Now, those are facts, but a lot 44 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 2: of a lot, you know, some of these young kids 45 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 2: don't know this. 46 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, that's less and let's educate 47 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: them today. 48 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 2: That's why I am honored and appreciative of you being 49 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:10,959 Speaker 2: here Real Talk. Before I started this podcast, I was 50 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 2: talking to my homie Angela Watts Yes, and I was 51 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 2: telling Angela like, Yo, there's some people I want to 52 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 2: get on here. You was on the list, bro, Like 53 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:18,359 Speaker 2: you could call her up this Real Talk. 54 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't question that because Brandon, you gotta realize, right, 55 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: I'm into authentic connections. And so I remember the first 56 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: time we met and it was it was it was 57 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: nothing special, but it was authentic. I could feel your energy. 58 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,679 Speaker 1: I could say, Okay, this guy really cares. What he's 59 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: trying to do matters. He's not on a money chase, 60 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: he's not on a money grap He's about building something 61 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: that really stands for something. So that always stuck in 62 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: my head for you. So that's why every time I 63 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 1: saw you wherever you was like, I don't walk over 64 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: the people just tell them hello or nothing like that. 65 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: I stay where I'm mad. When I see you, I'll 66 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: come over with you. Brandon, what's up, my brother? How 67 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: you doing? I see what you're doing. Keep doing that 68 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: good work. 69 00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 3: Man. 70 00:02:58,080 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: I appreciate you. 71 00:02:58,720 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: Man. 72 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 2: Again from the day one. Bro, You've always been authentic, 73 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 2: You've always embraced me. And again is I don't know 74 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 2: if it's called you OG is that okay? 75 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: I'm okay with whatever they want to call it. It 76 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: doesn't matter to me. 77 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 2: Well, it's one of the OG's again of Atlanta, one 78 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 2: of the the cultural icons of Atlanta. I've always appreciated 79 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 2: the authentic love and support you showed and it's an 80 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 2: honor for you to be on here. 81 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 3: Man. 82 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: We need more people like you. 83 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 2: Hey man, Look, we're gonna build them. And when they 84 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 2: hear these stories, I know it's gonna be more people. 85 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 2: It's gonna want to be out here. So just for 86 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 2: the people that don't know, like, can you just give 87 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 2: them a very brief synopsis of when I say you 88 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 2: are one of the architects of this entire Atlanta nightlife scene. 89 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 3: Just just just just give them the I. 90 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: Don't know how to do that brief that's that's complicated, 91 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: and because there's so many layers to that. All right, 92 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: I'm gonna try to give you what you're looking for, 93 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: but I kind of give you a little pre context 94 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: to help you understand it all, right. So I was 95 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: raised in the Bronx, New York, but I was born 96 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: in Jamaica. Me, my brother, my sister, and my mom 97 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: came to the United States in the late seventies and 98 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: we were raised in a tough neighborhood. But we were Jamaican. 99 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: There weren't no Jamaicans around, No, no. And I say 100 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: that because there's no support. There's no father in the building, 101 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: so there's no one to help raise me and my brother. 102 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: So it's the Bronx. Then the eighties comes and drugs comes. 103 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: We know my mom is real strict. She wasn't giving 104 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: us any money for no extra stuff, I mean no money. 105 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: And so my brother became a drug dealer. It was 106 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: just automatic. But one of the things that I learned 107 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: during the process of my brother being a hustler was 108 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: all of the dynamics that went with it. And so 109 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: without really even knowing it, right, I became engulfed in 110 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: the lifestyle that he lived, right, And so and my 111 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: brother are really close. I love my brother to death, 112 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: and every time he went somewhere and did something, he 113 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: always came home and told me the story. So I 114 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 1: will sit there and listen to the story. Okay, fast forward. 115 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: I go, I graduate from high school and I go 116 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: to college, and I decide. One of my best friends says, 117 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: they take a trip to Atlanta to go see clark 118 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: Land University. And he calls me and he tells me, 119 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: you'll tell your mother that you want to go to 120 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: clark Land University. I am here right right now, my brother, 121 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: and I ain't never seen nothing like this. I go 122 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 1: tell my mom's dad, Da da da, we come to Atlanta. 123 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,600 Speaker 1: And when we come here, Atlanta is as and this 124 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: is no disrespect as country is you could imagine. But 125 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,479 Speaker 1: these women, oh my good god, almighty, what the is 126 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: going on around here? She's okay, I like this right. 127 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: So again, remember that I'm eng golfed in lifestyle as 128 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: a kid and fresh I like to get fly, put 129 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: clothes on and all of that. But at the time 130 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: I came, there wasn't many New Yorkers, and so when 131 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: you met people that were like you, you connected with them. 132 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,599 Speaker 1: We started going to some of the parties freshman sophomore year, 133 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: but most of the parties they didn't play any music 134 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: that we liked. So we started doing house parties at 135 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: wherever we lived when the apartment, the house, the clubhouse. 136 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: So the last party I did was at the clubhouse 137 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: in my apartment. I'm vieufud Highway, and it got so 138 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: packed that you couldn't even get in a complex. If 139 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: you could understand that, that's how crazy it was. But 140 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: still I'm not thinking about promoter party, No, none of 141 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: those things. This is just something we're doing to entertain ourselves. 142 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: No big deal. We made a little bit of money, 143 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: but there's no thought in it. Right at the I graduate. 144 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,679 Speaker 1: A year later, I get a job working corporate, working 145 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: for AT and T. I got a real job, a 146 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: real job. In the midst of it. Warehouse starts a 147 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: Friday night party. A gentleman that went to school with 148 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: me named Big Head Blue. He started a party then 149 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: and he was doing Friday Nights. And then Kenny Burns 150 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: came and he was part of Friday Nights. Me and 151 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: my friends ritually, when I say ritually, ritually went to 152 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: the Whitehouse every Friday night, and the ritual was and 153 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: because it's the one thing that felt like New York 154 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: to us. So every Friday, listen to what I'm telling you. 155 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: Every Friday, one of us says five of us. One 156 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: of us. Our responsibility was to go to the mall 157 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: to pick up a piece of whether it was a hat, 158 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: a shirt, a pair of jeans, or pair of sneakers, 159 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: because we going to this party and we're going to 160 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: be fresh. And so we go to this party. One 161 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: day a guy I know named Mike Squib that went 162 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: to school with me. He says, I go to this 163 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: party at a places called Ethiopian Vibrations on Auburn Avenue. 164 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: And I go to this party and we're there and 165 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: with my friends. I said, yo, listen, they on't even 166 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: want sixty five dollars for a bottle of champagne. Let's 167 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: get two of them. So we buy some champagne. In 168 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: the party, Mike Scriib comes over to me, So, I 169 00:07:57,760 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: got somebody who wants you to meet. I think that 170 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: y'all would be cool together. So I go over to 171 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: him and he introduces me to Alex, and so boom, 172 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,559 Speaker 1: I meet Alex and we communicating talk and probably within 173 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: the week before you knowing, me and Alex together like 174 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: goddamn every day. And he's telling me about the parties 175 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: that he's doing and the things that he's doing. I'm 176 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: like oh wow, this is pretty interesting. So this is 177 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: what you do for money? Right, at this time, there's 178 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: no ag entertainment, there's no agent entertainment yet. This is 179 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,959 Speaker 1: just Alex Goodwe doing parties, right, and so he's trying 180 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 1: to find his way. But he understands the business of it, right. 181 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,839 Speaker 1: I understood the lifestyle of it. I understood what it 182 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,560 Speaker 1: needed to feel like, look like, all of those different elements. 183 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: So he started bringing me around two different things. And 184 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: then a guy named DJ Trauma, he was doing the flyers, 185 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: and so he would I had a car. I didn't 186 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: have a car at the time, and I would pick 187 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: all up. We go meet Trauma after I got off 188 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: work and we meet them at the Federal Express Kinkos. 189 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: And at this time, this is where you could print 190 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: out to create your visuals for your flies. It was 191 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: super still at a simple phase, right, So we literally 192 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: being there for hours on hours doing that. And I 193 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: started going to these parties that I was doing, and 194 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: I started telling them, listen, listen, you should do this, 195 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: you should do this, you should do this, you should 196 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: do that. But I think the other piece that I 197 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: brought to the table that was huge was I worked 198 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: at at and t So there were a bunch of 199 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: people who lived in Atlanta that worked there. Right, I'm 200 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: a pretty cool dude. And then you got all the 201 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: people I went to school with. So I started doing 202 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: parties with Alan. I'm merging these two worlds together along 203 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: with all of my New York friends and all of 204 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: this stuff. So now it's nineteen ninety four and Abe 205 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: Wasson another important piece of this puzzle. Abe Wasson is 206 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:04,199 Speaker 1: a guy who grew up in DC and he started 207 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: doing a party in DC. Abele started out as a DJ, 208 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: and he was doing this party at some guys club 209 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: or whatever, and it started working, and it started working 210 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: so bad that a would have to stop DJing to 211 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: go get people at the door because the club owners 212 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: didn't know or understand what was going on. In the 213 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: midst of it, he found a DJ and the DJ 214 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: was better than him, so Am said, you DJ, I 215 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: do the door. They started doing that so well they 216 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: started building up that the owners of the club told 217 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: these guys in New York Kilimanjaro at the time, this 218 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: is like nineteen eighty eighty nine to ninety going into there, 219 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: they said, I think that we had the guy that 220 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: could work for your club. He's very good, it would do. 221 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: So A went and became a manager and ran a 222 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: club in New York. This is really important because he 223 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: learned all of the background. He learned all of the 224 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: things in the back room. Then he came to Atlanta. 225 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: When he came to Atlanta, he started moving around just 226 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: to see what it was. And Abe said, he found 227 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: the club. He figured out what he wanted to do, 228 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: so he went in. It was SS and SS was 229 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: owned by Kenny and a couple other people. At the time, 230 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: they weren't really doing anything with it. A went to him, 231 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: A went with such a strong conviction that they gave 232 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: him the key, said do whatever you want to do. 233 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: So the next step was A went to the radio 234 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: station and he told the radio station that he wanted 235 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: to do a live broadcast from the club. And he says, 236 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: what live What is that? And he said, listen, call 237 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: your parents station up in DC and they'll tell you 238 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: what a live broadcast is. I'd like to bring a 239 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: live broadcast to the club. Okay, cool, he called them. 240 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: They worked it out. They got the live broadcast over 241 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: to the club. So Abe u Saturday Nights for grown 242 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: ups and Friday nights were college young people night. A 243 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: gave me a Alex Friday Night. That's where ag entertainment 244 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 1: was for him. Ag Entertainment was formed because Abe didn't 245 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: want his name on the radio and he told al 246 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: you need to create something that we put on the radio. 247 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: And that's where ag Entertainment came from. And that's where 248 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: it started at. And we were doing Tunnel Friday at 249 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: the at Essos and that's the beginning. 250 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 2: So I just want to recap on this for things, 251 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 2: you just dropped a whole lot of architects, Yes, and 252 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,319 Speaker 2: legend here from Kenny Burns back in the day, DJ Trauma, 253 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 2: Alex Gidwan, Abe Watson. Like again, these are all the 254 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 2: people that created with Atlanta nightlife. But Atlanta became known 255 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 2: as from a nightlife standpoint, and so begin like you said, 256 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 2: before they started doing stuff, it wasn't no. I mean, 257 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 2: I remember the warehouse on Maria at the street, you 258 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:35,679 Speaker 2: know what I'm saying. I remember the Nike pavilion over there. 259 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 2: I remember that side of Atlanta. I remember watching Atlanta 260 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 2: kind of start to become this space where you know, 261 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 2: the the nightlife part was happening, and then the music 262 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 2: stuff started happening, but somebody again had to have that 263 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 2: vision and curated right. So again, now all of a sudden, 264 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 2: y'all start doing this, start getting ready to you know, 265 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 2: is this when y'all started moving to your own clubs 266 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,679 Speaker 2: and your own spaces or we all kind of stuff. 267 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: It still took some time to get to that point. 268 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: There's still a whole bunch of stuff that happened in 269 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: between it. So let's talk about things that are critical 270 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: to the growth of it. The AUC Without the AUC, 271 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: Atlanta just just becomes a regular place. Is because you 272 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,199 Speaker 1: have all of these people that are coming from all 273 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: of these different cities, and they're bringing their own seasoning, 274 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,079 Speaker 1: and they're adding that seasoning to what the lay of 275 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,079 Speaker 1: Atlanta's land was. What's also important for me to make 276 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: sure that I say is back then, right prior to 277 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and three, two thousand and four or five, 278 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: somewhere between two thousand and three and two thousand and five. 279 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,800 Speaker 1: Prior to that, people who were from Atlanta, like born 280 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: raised here. If you were raised on the east side, 281 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 1: you partied on the east side, you shopped on the 282 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: east side. If you was on the south side, you 283 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 1: partied on the south side. Then you shopped on the 284 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: south side, same thing as the west, same thing as 285 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: the north. Right. Of course, there were people who came 286 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: across in Minkedin, but for the most part it wasn't 287 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 1: And so there was this world like they didn't they 288 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: weren't people from Atlanta, weren't going to Lenox Mall and 289 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: Fished Plaza. Well, you like, Lennix, I ain't going there. 290 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 1: He craates for white people. That that was the thought 291 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: of what it was. But all of the college students, 292 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: we were getting apartments in Midtown, Buckhead and all these 293 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: areas because it was so cheap. He's like, good, God 294 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: of Mighty, tell me I could live there for eight 295 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: hundred dollars. Yes, okay, so I'm moving in right there. 296 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: And so you had those pieces, and then you got 297 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 1: to add in Jermaine Duprix another important piece, another important 298 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: relationship that Alex and I had developed. He helped us 299 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: maneuver through certain aspects of the business because he was 300 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: who he was adding the connection. And let's add in 301 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: puff Daddy to that. You know, I pray for this guy. 302 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: You know, I wish no harm on anyone. I pray 303 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: for him because without him, we wouldn't be having this conversation. 304 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: I just that's just my thought. But Puff Daddy came in. 305 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: We did bad Boy Weekend, and bad Boy Weekend was 306 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: was a game change because it allowed people who weren't 307 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: from here got to see it. So most people when 308 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: you're from the north, most people as far as they 309 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: want to go as Virginia after Virginia, you in the South, 310 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: I'm not trying to go there. I'm gonna want to 311 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: go there. But then when they when we did bad 312 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: Boy Weekend. I remember we did bad Boy Weekend and 313 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: there was a party Friday night at Atlanta Live on 314 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 1: Piedmont where the old Kroger shopping Plazua used to be there, 315 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: right behind rooms to go there used to be inlant 316 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: Alive in one twelve, right next to each other. And 317 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: we did Atlanta Live and Puff Daddy was an all 318 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: white party with sexiest all out there. And puff Daddy 319 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: brings to that. He got the marching band, and he 320 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 1: just got all kinds of stuff that's going on, and 321 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: it's just saying people, it's like, Wow, this is an 322 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: amazing experience. So it was things like that that helped 323 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: to catapult the brand. Value. But then you got to 324 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: take aid Abe says to us, let's go to Howard 325 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: and do home coming up there, and let's take Jermaine. 326 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: They ain't never been there, and so we took the 327 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: south to d C. And it was incredible. And the 328 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: way they the way they embraced it. They were like, Okay, 329 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: this is what goes on in Atlanta. I need to 330 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: go to Nan and go see Atlanta. Atlanta travels very well, 331 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:19,560 Speaker 1: doesn't it very well? Because again, you're talking about a 332 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: city that with at the time for me, was super welcoming, 333 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: super real, and extremely non confrontational. Everybody had no problem collaborating. 334 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: If it could help each other, let's put it together 335 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: and make it work. 336 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 2: Now, how was it different, you know then versus now, 337 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 2: especially in starting to get because again there's one side 338 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 2: of doing these events and parties and clubs where you 339 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 2: literally just have the audience in the out in there, right, 340 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 2: But like now, a lot of these events and parties 341 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:06,639 Speaker 2: and clubs are supported by brands and sponsors and partnerships 342 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 2: and stuff like that. Like, what was it like then 343 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 2: and how did that kind of impact how it is now? 344 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,160 Speaker 1: Okay, so initially right, and so you have to understand 345 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: a person like how Al's like an outsider, right, and 346 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:25,640 Speaker 1: he's very determined. He's very disciplined in his manner and movement, 347 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: but he's also extremely independent, extremely right. So in the 348 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: early phases, we didn't really get much sponsorship money like 349 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: early early phases, but when it started to come in, 350 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: like I wish I could remember some of the guys 351 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: that really were good at bringing in sponsors. Once they 352 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 1: started to realize that you had to come through us 353 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: to what you called it, we would get a lot 354 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: of sponsor money. Great Gooses and all of those people 355 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: Belvetere's and they yeah, they were giving they were giving 356 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: them money up back then. But not only that, back then, 357 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: being a promoter, you actually really made money, Like we 358 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: really made money. I told you how to corporate job, 359 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 1: and I want to work every day. And one day 360 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: I said to myself, you enjoy this job? No, not really? 361 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 1: Do you enjoy promoting a lot? You like to create, 362 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 1: don't you? Yes, I like to create it. And then 363 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: I like to watch and see people have a good time, 364 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: and that that's that's the satisfaction for me. And so 365 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: I decided that one day after it was after the Olympics. 366 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: I was like, oh, that's mine. That's pretty nice. So 367 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: I called my mom and I told her. I said, 368 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: I don't want you to be mad at me, but I'm 369 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 1: going to quit my job. I don't want to do that. 370 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 1: My mom said, what are you gonna do? Boy? So 371 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be a promoter? What is that? Well, I 372 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,480 Speaker 1: work at the club? No No, I said, I've been 373 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,919 Speaker 1: thinking about this. I processed it. I'm growing up. I'm 374 00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 1: going to do that. And so I went to go 375 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: my job and a guy named ed that work. They said, 376 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: don't quit yet, go on stress leave. And I went 377 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: on stress leave for twelve months. So when I said 378 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,800 Speaker 1: I was going to quit, before I did, I saved 379 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: twelve months and then I said, okay, I'm gonna go 380 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: tell him I'm quitting. Then he told me that, and 381 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,919 Speaker 1: so I saved another twelve months. So I had built 382 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: up a pretty decent nest egg that could allow me 383 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: to go out and not have to worry about me 384 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: throwing these parties and stuff like that. 385 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 2: So when did the again like Vision, you know, Club 386 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 2: Vision Land. There's so many like iconic so clubs and 387 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 2: experiences that y'all are part of when did those start 388 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:38,879 Speaker 2: coming in? 389 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,879 Speaker 1: So it went so it started Asos and from SSOs 390 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 1: we bridged over to Club Kaya and Club KaiA is 391 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: the first place. Cassos was cool, but we didn't make 392 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: that kind of money that it was college party. It's cool, 393 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: but Club Kai was our first game changer the Olympics 394 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 1: that year. The Olympics, we made a lot of money 395 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 1: then and that's when we really started believing that, oh yeah, 396 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: this is this could be real. So it went from 397 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: Caya to the Velvet Room on Peach Street, not the 398 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: Velover Room, no, no, no, the original one. And it 399 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: was there that we realized that, oh this is real 400 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 1: because this is where elevation came in. Right, So it's 401 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: a nicer venue. It's a lot of sexier than other 402 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: venues that we've been in. And we were doing it 403 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: every Tuesday night. Tuesday night. Back then, albums were being 404 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: released on Tuesdays, but not only that was a big deal. 405 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: Tuesdays were an easy day for football players to say, 406 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: I'm going to come to Atlanta, hang out Tuesday, go 407 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 1: back because I don't got to worry about practice till Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. 408 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: And so when I tell you guys like to Kyo, Spikes, 409 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:56,919 Speaker 1: Carlos Simmons, Charles Woodson, Andre Rising, and I could just 410 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 1: keep naming and naming. If you was a football player, 411 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: you came over there because the women were beautiful, because 412 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,199 Speaker 1: we had a merge of women who were from that 413 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,880 Speaker 1: went to college that were now twenty one, along with 414 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: women who were from Atlanta. So you're taking all these 415 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: beautiful sets of women and bringing them into this party. 416 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 1: We had guys like Mkai fight For, Michael Jordan, al Pacino, 417 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: Robert de Niro, all the rappers I don't even got 418 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: a name, rappers everywhere, Dolsta. 419 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 3: Yeah. 420 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: They we weren't paying them. They were choosing to come here, 421 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 1: the basketball players, Alan Irrison and all of them. And 422 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,199 Speaker 1: you're talking about the money that we started making on 423 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 1: a regular night at the door. 424 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 2: I was like, oh, I mean as much as you could. Like, 425 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 2: I'm going to give you an example of some context. 426 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: I'll give you some context to that. It's July the fourth, 427 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,640 Speaker 1: I think it's nineteen ninety nine. I think pub Daddy's 428 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 1: hosting the party. Let's say we paid him at this time, 429 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: couldn't have been that much, maybe fifteen twenty grand at 430 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: the most right at the end of the night, Al says, 431 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: you're not gonna believe this. I said what he said. 432 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,440 Speaker 1: We made ninety three thousand dollars at the door, at 433 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: the door of ninety nine at the door, ninety three 434 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. Yeah, the line was around the corner for 435 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 1: the whole fucking time that we was there. Was there. 436 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 1: But not only did they say that, we also got 437 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: twenty percent of the bar. So after the door made ninety, 438 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:29,119 Speaker 1: the bar made sixty seventy and I was on hurt. Loo. 439 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:31,640 Speaker 1: We ain't never seen no shit like that. I left 440 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: with four. I made forty thousand dollars that day. Forty 441 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: thousand dollars a couple hours. Yes, and I was saying, 442 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 1: and so prior to this, right and I right to 443 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: be really honest, I may have gone to the Gucci 444 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: store in these places and bought a T shirt, a belt, 445 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,120 Speaker 1: you know, anything that was low. Oh no, I went 446 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: to backs. Hey, Pam, I biddy, Pam, I can't spend 447 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: some money today, Say yeah, what you want? You see 448 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,360 Speaker 1: the orange Gucci jacket over there the sway one, Let 449 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: me get that. You see the hat that goes with it, 450 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: Let me get that you see them stinkers, ain't there? 451 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: I go with you, let me get all of those things. Today. 452 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: I probably spend about five six thousand in a swing 453 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: right then and there, and that had never spent that 454 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: kind of money before it. 455 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 2: It was flowing in. 456 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 3: Man. 457 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 2: Again, that was a different time. And I think also 458 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 2: that was was that around the time that just like 459 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 2: some of the culture in Atlanta, nightclubs kind of start 460 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 2: to change, the evolve. I remember again, y'all are elevating it. 461 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:35,479 Speaker 2: You know, I remember you used to be a lot 462 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 2: of standing around. Then you know, the bottles start coming 463 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 2: out and the section what did that whole thing start 464 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:41,120 Speaker 2: doing things? 465 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,360 Speaker 1: So that all started at the velving room, right, And 466 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: so the velvet room had so if you walk in 467 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: the velvey room, there's a bar, and then there's a stage. 468 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: The stage might have had one, two, three, four, five, six, 469 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,479 Speaker 1: maybe eight sections in them, right, and then there was 470 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: these two little cabano like sections off on the side, 471 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,399 Speaker 1: and there were a couple of tables over there. So 472 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,160 Speaker 1: let's say at most there's twelve tables in the building. Right. 473 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: But at this time, what I understand is that life 474 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:15,880 Speaker 1: was split in two, meaning that VIP was VIP and 475 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: regular was regular, and nobody had a problem with the 476 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,439 Speaker 1: other one, right, And I could show you pictures. I'm 477 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: not to send them to you. I'm gonna go o 478 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: my thing because I got the catalogs on and I 479 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: send you pictures. And you could see the dance floor 480 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:29,639 Speaker 1: and people dancing, they having a good time, and then 481 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: you see the people in VIP and they a getting 482 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,400 Speaker 1: the bottles and all that. And what you also got 483 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,919 Speaker 1: to remember is that even when there was VIP sections, 484 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: the people in the sections didn't stay there. They went 485 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 1: to the dance floor. So I take the little bottle 486 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 1: that you whatever it was, But they didn't just sit 487 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,479 Speaker 1: in the VIP section all night. They came and they 488 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:49,919 Speaker 1: went and they party. They're just the VIPs for my 489 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: exclusive feeling or whatever that is. So it led to 490 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 1: the point where we didn't start sections. The people did. 491 00:24:57,880 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: They called it, Hey, I want to book a section. 492 00:24:59,640 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 3: What do you mean? 493 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,639 Speaker 1: I want a reserve a section so that we're not 494 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,560 Speaker 1: get there it's waiting for me. Prior today, it was 495 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:06,880 Speaker 1: first come, first served. 496 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 2: First come, first serve sections in Atlanta clubs where to god, 497 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 2: ain't nobody was booking nothing, No table minimum. 498 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 1: Nope, nope, no usually, but you once again, the people 499 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: who went to it were VIP so cool they buy 500 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: a bottle or cooler. It just we just weren't in 501 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,320 Speaker 1: golf that way. We were concerned about that door. We're 502 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: on one hundred percent of that door. So all that money, 503 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: we need to make sure all that money comes in. 504 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: And everybody was paying friends and all. 505 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, wasn't all a I'm on the list. 506 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: There's no list. There's no list. Remember one dude, there 507 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: was the last day of VELV room. I hope you 508 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: don't get mad. I tell this. And were standing outside 509 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 1: right there, So pictures standing outside in front of Prime 510 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,359 Speaker 1: on Peachtree, right and we're standing right there. Line is 511 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 1: down the block and it's the last day this place 512 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: is open. And dude pulls right up and in front 513 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: under the windown. Yo, ol, I know I'm good tonight, bro, 514 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,639 Speaker 1: he said, Nigga, my mother is not good tonight. She 515 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,080 Speaker 1: if she came here, she got to pay straight up, 516 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,440 Speaker 1: straight up. No listen, right at the end of the day, 517 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: right hook a crook. The one thing I will say 518 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,679 Speaker 1: about our list. He was very clear on what he 519 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:31,959 Speaker 1: wanted to do. I wasn't clear on that. Mmm, he 520 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,040 Speaker 1: had a he had a vision of what he wanted. 521 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: I had no vision of what I wanted. Yeah, No, 522 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: I was happy to be here, just the truth. 523 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 2: What do you think he wanted? 524 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: Control? Power? 525 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 3: And what did you want? 526 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: Just to be happy? 527 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 2: Be happy, have a good time. 528 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: So I have a good time part. I'm an introvert, yeah, 529 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: and so I liked if I could create it and 530 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: stay home. I'm good with that. What I needed to 531 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: be there, So I had to open myself up to it. 532 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: So the good time part, I can go have good 533 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: time with my best friends and be good with that. 534 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: I didn't have to have that experience for me to 535 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: be able to have a good time. 536 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 2: What do you think is some of the most or 537 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 2: one of the most misunderstood things about running like a 538 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:21,719 Speaker 2: successful nightlife business like that in Atlanta during that time? 539 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: All too often people, You know, it's like anything when 540 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: you see something from far, it looks really good, right, 541 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: and then the closer you get you get to see 542 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,360 Speaker 1: all the blemishes and the marks and the stuff in it. 543 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: Nightlife entertainment, my shit is like a track and it's 544 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: you just running in a circle. And it's extremely complex. 545 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: When you win win is great, but you can guarantee, 546 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 1: my friend, I don't give a fuck who you are, 547 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: You're gonna see some dark toms you go unless you 548 00:27:55,160 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: create the ultimate system to do it too. A lot 549 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: of times, many of the people who own clubs and 550 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 1: what you call it, they need the money that's being 551 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 1: made to move forward. One of the things I've learned 552 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,159 Speaker 1: and understand about business is we can't grow this if 553 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 1: we keep taking the money. And so if you need 554 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: this money survive, I don't think that this is the 555 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: business you should be in. We've got to be able 556 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 1: to grow this money. A lot of the reason why 557 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: I feel like we've gotten to a point where we 558 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 1: won't grow, we haven't grown anymore. It's because we're still 559 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 1: using the old method to operate a new system. And 560 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: in order for a club to be great, in order 561 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: for clubs to be successful, I also say this for restaurants, 562 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: lounges and everything. We've got to put more into the marketing. 563 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: We've put more into the service, but everybody is just 564 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: chasing a bag. And the scary thing about chasing a 565 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: bag is at some point this is going to implode 566 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 1: if we're not putting no love back into it. If 567 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: we're not putting no authenticity city back into it, at 568 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: some point it's going to fall apart. 569 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 2: You see it all over the place in Atlanta now, 570 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,200 Speaker 2: you know, you see a lot of the everybody's at 571 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 2: the same restaur same menus, the same basic level of service. 572 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 2: I was in La the other week. Man, I went 573 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 2: to this restaurant and I tell you I had the 574 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 2: best service. And it wasn't even a crazy restaurant. But 575 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 2: you know what made it so amazing was the serve. 576 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:21,720 Speaker 2: The weight that was serving us. 577 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: It was engaged, he was funny, he. 578 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 2: Was, you know, telling me about different things, you know, 579 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 2: And I was like, I have not experienced this in 580 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 2: Atlanta in so long, because it seems like it's the 581 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 2: bare minimum so many times. 582 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: Are we really moving culture right now? It's tough to 583 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 1: say so. Again me, I like to have the tough, 584 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 1: real conversations. I listen to everybody. I know everybody there. 585 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: I don't think there's many people don't who's been here, 586 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: who have a position to say something that don't know 587 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: who I am, right, And we not moving culture. That's 588 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 1: a lie. The reason I say that we not move 589 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: culture is because we're just here and when I say we, 590 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: I mean everyone is just here to take money. They're not. 591 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: No one's here to make money and develop some better things. Okay, 592 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: let's talk about that. A guy goes and he said, 593 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 1: I want to go open the club, and he finds 594 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: a location to open the club. Doesn't do no research, 595 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,840 Speaker 1: doesn't do no surveys, doesn't understand the area, what's here 596 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: and everything. Now I'm going to open a club here, Okay. Cool. 597 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: So everything is front loaded, meaning we put everything into 598 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:36,719 Speaker 1: the design what it's going to look like, Da da dah. 599 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: But no one's ever said, okay, we spend one point 600 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: two to put this place up, but we didn't even 601 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: put one hundred and fifty two hundred K for a 602 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 1: marketing budget to be able to market to the people. 603 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: So now the second I open, I got to be 604 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: super strict because I got to make money right away. Yeah, okay. 605 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 1: Two Another, I do a lot of reading, right so 606 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: I spend more time doing less work and more education 607 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: than ever. I probably spend limited time doing work, but 608 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 1: I do maximum time reading to understand and to learn, 609 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: And so I read books and things that are in 610 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 1: the area of what I do, but also in the 611 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: area of helping me understand things mentally and how to 612 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 1: maneuver things mentally to understand them on a higher level. Okay, 613 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,479 Speaker 1: so you said you went to the restaurant in LA. 614 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 1: You didn't talk about the food, you just talked about 615 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: the service. Yeah, did you realize that? Okay, I promise 616 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 1: you those people at that restaurant, the process they went 617 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: through to hire a person isn't the process we go through. 618 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: Oh we say, we put up on Instagram we're hiring, 619 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: and then people come in and you hire them based 620 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: on what you feel how it feels, I like she 621 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: looks good at this and that. But then there's no 622 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: real training process that you have to go through because 623 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,640 Speaker 1: the club owners don't want to pay the money to 624 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,239 Speaker 1: bring someone to train them on what this job is. 625 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: So how do you expect for you to build something 626 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: strong if the first point of contact people that come 627 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: into your building they're just there for the bread. So Valet, 628 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: you go there. Listen. I disrespect Valet when I come 629 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 1: to the clubs because you guys all you are a 630 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 1: sea urchins and you just hear the squeeze people for 631 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,520 Speaker 1: money because you got to deal with the club to 632 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: run the parking lot, and you're disrespectful, you're rude, and 633 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:39,960 Speaker 1: you shouldn't be. This is a business, meaning that I 634 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,120 Speaker 1: make money based on you coming. So I'm gonna make 635 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: sure that when you pass by me the park, I'm 636 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 1: gonna make you feel good. Right, even if it's forty 637 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 1: sixty eighty dollars, it's not about the price. It's always 638 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 1: about how you handle a person. So you're telling them, hey, listen, 639 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: it's forty dollars here, but if you want fifty, it's 640 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: twenty over here, or you could do six. And when 641 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,719 Speaker 1: you start to give people options, then people start to 642 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: become respect you a little bit more, like, hey, my 643 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 1: first step to the thing, then you go to the 644 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:11,040 Speaker 1: line and then security, and yeah, listen, I'm a grown up, right, 645 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 1: I understand you have to do your job. Listen, ma'am, 646 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: I'm the security. Listen, I got to do a pat down. 647 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:18,800 Speaker 1: It might be a little aggressive, but I would do 648 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,040 Speaker 1: my best not to make it feel a certain one, 649 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,880 Speaker 1: but I've got to do my job. Yeah, and automatically 650 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: makes you feel a little bit more at ease going 651 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,080 Speaker 1: to the regist for fifty dollars instead of same, good evening. 652 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: How you doing today, you're good. It's forty dollars to 653 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: answer that person. Now those three points of contacts they've made. 654 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,000 Speaker 1: Now they're going to go inside and spend double what 655 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: they plan to spend because they feel good. Yeah, but 656 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 1: we're not working and make people feel good anymore. 657 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 2: They make it. They make it almost seem like you're 658 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 2: bothering them. Like I said, you pull up, you didn't 659 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,920 Speaker 2: spend fifty to park, you know, another fifty to get in. 660 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 2: And then the whole time, like I said, you got 661 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 2: harassed by security, They talking to you crazy. They going 662 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 2: out here and I go to other places. Man, they 663 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,480 Speaker 2: don't get that same experience. So it's very interesting why 664 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 2: you know, to your point, like we get put up 665 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:04,240 Speaker 2: with those kind of experiences when we also talk about 666 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 2: this is a city that drives culture in so many ways. 667 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,480 Speaker 1: How are we driving culture? So so I'll say this, 668 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,399 Speaker 1: right when I first came to Atlanta, I said that 669 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 1: Atlanta has to be five to seven years behind New 670 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:21,799 Speaker 1: York and lifestyle. But that's also probably the same thing 671 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: from LA and stuff. And every city gets their opportunity 672 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,040 Speaker 1: to be the big dog. Yeah, when you push, you 673 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,600 Speaker 1: put the work in, you get the opportunity so when 674 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 1: New York Land lost in Atlanta took it, but we 675 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,799 Speaker 1: thought that we treated it right. But I also tell 676 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 1: people that you never see the consequences of your actions. 677 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,239 Speaker 1: Sometimes it could take five to ten years before you 678 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,720 Speaker 1: see it. And so when you look at what Atlanta 679 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:50,239 Speaker 1: looks like right now, it's because of what happened five 680 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:53,400 Speaker 1: to ten years ago and how we were dealing with 681 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:57,120 Speaker 1: and handling it. Listen, right, our focus is the bottom 682 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:02,239 Speaker 1: line of the end of results of these events and 683 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:07,720 Speaker 1: these places and things. And when that becomes the bottom line, 684 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 1: you end up losing some of the things that are important. 685 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: And so in the midst of it, we've lost things 686 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:16,799 Speaker 1: that were important. Al's the big dog. He's the king, right, 687 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:19,920 Speaker 1: so everybody looks at the king in and mimics the 688 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,279 Speaker 1: king on what they do. And so Alice passed on 689 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,800 Speaker 1: bad habits that other people have picked up. And so 690 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 1: there are some people that are smart that picked up 691 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: certain things, that made sure they didn't carry it with them. 692 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,759 Speaker 1: And then there's people who picked it up and said, nah, 693 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,120 Speaker 1: I'm going to do it just like that, And so 694 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,000 Speaker 1: that's what's hurting our ecosystem. They thought that was the 695 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 1: way to do it. 696 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:55,320 Speaker 2: What do you think of being two or three of 697 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 2: the most pivotal moments in Atlanta nightlife over the last 698 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 2: call it twenty years. 699 00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:04,640 Speaker 1: Two thousand and three or four, whatever year that was 700 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 1: opening a Vision yep. And I'm gonna explain from my 701 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:13,200 Speaker 1: point of view why it was pivotal. Vision was the 702 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,880 Speaker 1: first club in the city of Atlanta that could hold 703 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:22,760 Speaker 1: thousands of people right there in the middle of the city. Yeah, okay, two, 704 00:36:23,719 --> 00:36:28,400 Speaker 1: it's the first club that you ever seen that it 705 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:33,280 Speaker 1: emerged all of components together that shouldn't be together. Vision 706 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:37,480 Speaker 1: had the nine to five worker, Vision had the hustler, 707 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:42,439 Speaker 1: Vision had the athlete, Vision had the entertainer, and all 708 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: of these people emerging into one place. And so you've 709 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,960 Speaker 1: got all different types of feelings and all of this 710 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: going on. And this is where sections went wrong in 711 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:58,839 Speaker 1: my opinion. Okay, before Vision is Velvy Room, Valvue Room 712 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,160 Speaker 1: was cool, Via regular. Nobody had a problem with this. 713 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:05,879 Speaker 1: But when you took a big space and you put 714 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:08,240 Speaker 1: a lot of sections in it, and then you're emerging 715 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 1: all of these different characters of people together. Right now, 716 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,920 Speaker 1: you've got the regular nine to five person, right you 717 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 1: know they wants a section. Yeah, and so now you 718 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:21,839 Speaker 1: drop the price in to where it can make sense 719 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 1: for them to say, okay, cool, listen, three of us 720 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: get together and we could bring all the girls and 721 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,440 Speaker 1: we buy a section. Okay. So now the people who 722 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,960 Speaker 1: would make the party feel good, the people who would 723 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 1: be on the dance floor, and all of these people 724 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,360 Speaker 1: are no longer opting for that. They now opting for VIP. 725 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:42,799 Speaker 1: So you know what else you lose when you lose that, 726 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:46,000 Speaker 1: You lose your early line, You lose all your early 727 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: RSVPs and people who just want to come to come 728 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,000 Speaker 1: to the party. Because now if you're not in a section, 729 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,960 Speaker 1: you're not special. You are well what she called them, 730 00:37:55,960 --> 00:38:01,840 Speaker 1: a brokie, yeah, and soul. The perception that went across 731 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,879 Speaker 1: so little bit by little bit, and you would see it. 732 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:08,040 Speaker 1: And now if you don't have a VIP section, not 733 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:13,319 Speaker 1: just for a nine to five person, just anybody, whole ecosystem. 734 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:18,400 Speaker 1: So now people now coming to clubs. And then we 735 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:22,640 Speaker 1: got to a point. So let's say visions open, then compound, 736 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:29,560 Speaker 1: velvet room, rein, vanquished, goal room, preve right, so now 737 00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:32,280 Speaker 1: you have all of these places he has, and then 738 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,399 Speaker 1: something happened between the brothers conflict. I'd rather not talk 739 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 1: about that, And that was the door opener for everyone 740 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,279 Speaker 1: else to say. Prior to that, no one else was 741 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:45,760 Speaker 1: trying to engage in be an owner. I was monopolizing 742 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:49,319 Speaker 1: the situation. But the conflict open the door and other 743 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:55,680 Speaker 1: people started opening places. Now instead of people building and 744 00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:59,439 Speaker 1: creating their own audience, their mimic can do the same thing, 745 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:02,920 Speaker 1: but they give it away. And so come over, I 746 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,040 Speaker 1: give you a bottle. Come over, I give you a bottle. 747 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,359 Speaker 1: Now you got all of these. Now people are having 748 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:10,920 Speaker 1: different options and choices. But the value of the party 749 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:16,480 Speaker 1: wasn't was losing steaming just and now you got more 750 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:18,359 Speaker 1: people saying, oh, I've seen him open, I'm the house, 751 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:21,440 Speaker 1: I got money, I'm an open one. But everybody's forgetting 752 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:25,120 Speaker 1: about what's important because how didn't institute it. How didn't 753 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:29,080 Speaker 1: make sure that customer service was a priority. If customer 754 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:31,920 Speaker 1: service was a priority, then you would see certain things 755 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,880 Speaker 1: that would be a little bit different. Then we started 756 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:38,759 Speaker 1: opening restaurants. Yeah, now, listen, you can you can give 757 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 1: somebody some bad service in the club and a nigga 758 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,719 Speaker 1: not be so mad, right, But you can't give me 759 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,960 Speaker 1: bad service in a restaurant. I want a one. I 760 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,759 Speaker 1: want to feel like saying if I'm going to Capitol Grill, 761 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:51,560 Speaker 1: if I'm coming to place, I want to feel, I 762 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,719 Speaker 1: want to feel it just like that. But if we 763 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,560 Speaker 1: are hiring people the same way we're hiring them from 764 00:39:57,560 --> 00:40:03,480 Speaker 1: a club, we're going to do. Life is about creating community, right, 765 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:06,840 Speaker 1: And you're creating community and you build on that community, 766 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:08,759 Speaker 1: and that's what makes you stronger and stronger. That's how 767 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,040 Speaker 1: you built your brand. Right, We're not doing that. 768 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:14,839 Speaker 2: So how are you taking all those things you learned 769 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,359 Speaker 2: because you're still doing events and all these things nowadays, right, 770 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:18,920 Speaker 2: and you know what all the other things? How are 771 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:20,799 Speaker 2: you integrating that stuff that you learned into what you're 772 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:21,280 Speaker 2: doing now? 773 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,880 Speaker 1: So let me say this. You know, at this stage 774 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 1: of my life, I'd rather be so transparence ridiculous. So 775 00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:29,359 Speaker 1: I really don't want to do no events, how about that? 776 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:31,480 Speaker 2: Okay? 777 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:37,080 Speaker 1: All right, okay, So I don't necessarily enjoy the event. 778 00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:40,240 Speaker 1: I enjoy the curation of it. I enjoy the creation 779 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:44,120 Speaker 1: of it, but I'm for sure rather stay home. Right. 780 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:48,040 Speaker 1: So there, let's giving another honest before I go into this. 781 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:53,600 Speaker 1: Because I never had no guidance and no understanding of life. 782 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:56,520 Speaker 1: It took me a long time to understand certain aspects 783 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: of life. And there's some things that happened that I 784 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:02,839 Speaker 1: could feel a way about, but I tried not to. 785 00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:08,360 Speaker 1: And I'm an emotional person, and so when things go 786 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:13,440 Speaker 1: really left, I go left. And so I've walked away 787 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:19,160 Speaker 1: from a lot of things because my moral fiber is 788 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:23,919 Speaker 1: really strong and my integrity level always stops me from things. 789 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:25,960 Speaker 1: I was just talking to one of my friends the 790 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,080 Speaker 1: other day and he said, you know, you cross over 791 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,520 Speaker 1: to the other side of the street and go get 792 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:33,959 Speaker 1: all of the money and do what they're doing. I said, yeah, 793 00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:36,640 Speaker 1: but I gotta take my soul with me. And if 794 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:38,360 Speaker 1: I can't take my soul with me, I can't go. 795 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:41,799 Speaker 1: I'll just go the longer way. So I've made a 796 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,920 Speaker 1: lot of mistakes, right or I've missed a lot of 797 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:49,319 Speaker 1: opportunities because they didn't necessarily suit my soul, and so 798 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:53,200 Speaker 1: I had to walk away. So sometimes I've always been 799 00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:55,800 Speaker 1: pretty good at saving money, so when I walk away, 800 00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:57,960 Speaker 1: I kind of just sit back and try to figure 801 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,920 Speaker 1: out how to take my next step. And so right now, 802 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,279 Speaker 1: a year or so ago, I said, I laid out 803 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:09,480 Speaker 1: what I wanted the rest of my life to look like, right, 804 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:12,840 Speaker 1: And one of those steps was I did. I'm in 805 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:18,319 Speaker 1: the process of finishing up a document, a docuseries, and 806 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:23,080 Speaker 1: it's called The Evolution of Atlanta Nightlife. And I interviewed 807 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:30,839 Speaker 1: about eighty eight people minus Alex Jermaine Lil John and 808 00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:33,759 Speaker 1: it could be GZ or TI those four people, but 809 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,160 Speaker 1: I have everybody else that I need to interview, and 810 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:41,000 Speaker 1: I did, and I built a story that literally, when 811 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:42,840 Speaker 1: you see it, you can sit there and it's going 812 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,160 Speaker 1: to walk you from nineteen eighty five to current day. 813 00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:49,360 Speaker 1: And so I took my money and I started doing 814 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,560 Speaker 1: that right. And it took me a little bit more 815 00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:56,080 Speaker 1: money than I expected to get my first phase, and 816 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,600 Speaker 1: it took more time than I expected. But when you're 817 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:02,440 Speaker 1: doing something you don't know, it takes a little bit 818 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:06,600 Speaker 1: more time. And in the midst of it, I said 819 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:10,239 Speaker 1: to myself, So I'm getting ready to buy a car wash, right, 820 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,120 Speaker 1: and it's to the left because I've never told the 821 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:15,200 Speaker 1: other part of the story that explains why that is right. 822 00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:17,120 Speaker 1: But I'm going to buy about to buy a car wash. 823 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:20,680 Speaker 1: That would be my cash flow for me, right, My 824 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:23,280 Speaker 1: docu series. I know that it's going to be amazing. 825 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:27,520 Speaker 1: I should have the trailer buy probably next Wednesday Thursday, 826 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:31,080 Speaker 1: and I'm going to make sure I do the right steps. 827 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:34,359 Speaker 1: After that, I'm going to go to Sundance twenty twenty five, 828 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:37,799 Speaker 1: and I'm going to go to Tribeca January twenty twenty six, 829 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:40,320 Speaker 1: and I'm going to make sure that my film is 830 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:42,480 Speaker 1: in there because i know it's going to be a blowout, 831 00:43:42,719 --> 00:43:45,440 Speaker 1: and so that's a big deal for me. Car wash, 832 00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:47,680 Speaker 1: I'm going to buy one that I've been going to 833 00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:50,759 Speaker 1: for a while, this older couple. I'm just working the 834 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:52,719 Speaker 1: number with them, but I'm going to buy it. My 835 00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:55,680 Speaker 1: brother is great because I have a best friend, another 836 00:43:55,719 --> 00:43:58,200 Speaker 1: friend named Joey. He this is what he does, and 837 00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:00,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to put them to work and the car washing, 838 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:02,640 Speaker 1: We're going to build that up. And but I'm going 839 00:44:02,719 --> 00:44:05,440 Speaker 1: to buy five car washes. The fifth one is going 840 00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:07,400 Speaker 1: to be in the city, but it will be attached 841 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:10,200 Speaker 1: to an eatery of some sort so that you can 842 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:12,840 Speaker 1: I can. I'm going to expand on that experience and 843 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:14,920 Speaker 1: so I'm going to build that. So I went back 844 00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:17,080 Speaker 1: to the club because I was running out of money, 845 00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:19,680 Speaker 1: just honest, Well that man. 846 00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:22,080 Speaker 2: Look Well, the last question before we get ready to go, 847 00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:27,120 Speaker 2: how is social media changed the night life experience? Because 848 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:30,279 Speaker 2: you know, again I remember growing up, you know and 849 00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:33,120 Speaker 2: going to the clubs and the two thousands. It wasn't 850 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:35,839 Speaker 2: nothing like going on you know, nightlife Link and all 851 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:38,439 Speaker 2: these websites. You've seen all these photos and everything about 852 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:40,600 Speaker 2: what's going on in the clubs and atl Picks and 853 00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:43,319 Speaker 2: all these guys and like now it's but how is 854 00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:46,720 Speaker 2: like social media in your opinion, like changed the culture 855 00:44:46,719 --> 00:44:47,400 Speaker 2: of night life. 856 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:52,600 Speaker 1: I tried to you know, I'm an older person and 857 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:56,560 Speaker 1: I try not to be rigid my parents. My mom 858 00:44:56,640 --> 00:44:58,640 Speaker 1: is rigid, and a lot of the older people I 859 00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:00,480 Speaker 1: know are rigid. I wanted to make sure that I 860 00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:04,839 Speaker 1: adjust to change whether I like it or not. Right, 861 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:11,840 Speaker 1: The thing about social media that messes things up a lot. 862 00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:16,480 Speaker 1: It takes the authenticity of things away for me, and 863 00:45:16,719 --> 00:45:20,759 Speaker 1: I come from in a very authentic place, and it's 864 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:23,160 Speaker 1: the thing that matters to me most. I see people 865 00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:26,279 Speaker 1: and again I tell you, I've been around a long time, 866 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:28,959 Speaker 1: so I know a lot of people and I watch 867 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:32,320 Speaker 1: them and they lie in on social media, they're telling 868 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:35,479 Speaker 1: stories and it's not true, and they telling these stories 869 00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:38,160 Speaker 1: because nobody can't refute it. And if you refute it, 870 00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:40,719 Speaker 1: you're a hater. And if you're not big enough, you 871 00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:43,759 Speaker 1: sound like a liar. And so but I see them, 872 00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:49,360 Speaker 1: and they're monopolizing life with these stories, and you making 873 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:53,719 Speaker 1: people believe stuff that's not true. So when people that 874 00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:56,759 Speaker 1: watch it they act a certain way or they do 875 00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:59,359 Speaker 1: a certain thing, can they be wrong for doing that 876 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:02,160 Speaker 1: because they listening to the shit that's on there that's 877 00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:06,640 Speaker 1: not really true? And so we Alla, lah Land, I 878 00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:08,359 Speaker 1: have to tell my daughter. I have a nineteen year 879 00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:12,840 Speaker 1: old daughter that goes to Kennessas State and sometimes she 880 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 1: says stuff to me about stuff on social media. I 881 00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:18,839 Speaker 1: want to be like her, I said, Man, right, that's 882 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:24,239 Speaker 1: not real. Yeah, so she's giving you a snapshot of 883 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:27,960 Speaker 1: a moment. You can't take a moment and make that reality. 884 00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:32,160 Speaker 1: You gotta go do the work and so get I'm 885 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:36,640 Speaker 1: gonna tell a story. I got a story. I've helped everybody. 886 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:40,200 Speaker 1: There's not a person around this motherfucker that can't say 887 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:42,480 Speaker 1: that when I went to Biddy for some help or 888 00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:44,759 Speaker 1: some guidance or some shit, that Biddy ain't giving me 889 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:47,560 Speaker 1: all the information I needed and then someone never asked 890 00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:50,080 Speaker 1: for a don and you can go to everybody for that, right, 891 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:53,200 Speaker 1: And so I've always been the person that said, what 892 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,120 Speaker 1: I didn't get, I want to make sure I give. 893 00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:58,840 Speaker 1: I moved through life finding figuring it out as I 894 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:02,480 Speaker 1: was moving through life. When I went to college, my 895 00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:05,360 Speaker 1: mother didn't pay for college. Students loans paid for my 896 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:09,120 Speaker 1: college that I had to fucking pay back. That was astronomical. 897 00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:13,040 Speaker 1: So I'm always in a real place when I'm thinking 898 00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:15,919 Speaker 1: about shit, I'm dealing with shit and I'm doing shit. 899 00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:19,439 Speaker 1: But get back to the story. I have a young 900 00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:24,359 Speaker 1: gentleman that back in two thousand and thirteen, so I've 901 00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:28,919 Speaker 1: left night life twice just so just just's to be clear, right. 902 00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:33,080 Speaker 1: And when I came back, I started working back out 903 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:36,000 Speaker 1: and this is he's at compound at the time. But again, 904 00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:39,759 Speaker 1: I'm very good at what I do, very good at it, right, 905 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:41,719 Speaker 1: And so I get back there and it didn't take 906 00:47:41,760 --> 00:47:44,320 Speaker 1: me long to get back into the swing of things. 907 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:47,840 Speaker 1: And I picked up a young guy and put on 908 00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:50,000 Speaker 1: my team. His name is Sid the promoter. And the 909 00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:51,799 Speaker 1: reason I could tell it is because we've worked through 910 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:56,719 Speaker 1: our conflict and I educated sid on the game. I 911 00:47:56,760 --> 00:47:59,319 Speaker 1: showed him. I shared with him all of the things 912 00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:01,239 Speaker 1: the niggas in it. Again, it was like, yo, don't 913 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:03,360 Speaker 1: fuck with that guy. Don't fuck with him. And for me, 914 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:07,279 Speaker 1: you know, and I didn't, that didn't It didn't matter 915 00:48:07,320 --> 00:48:10,719 Speaker 1: to me. I wouldn't. I'm not insecure, I'm not afraid. 916 00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:15,439 Speaker 1: I'm cool with all things, right. And so we get 917 00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:18,120 Speaker 1: to a point and things are rolling and he's getting better, 918 00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:23,000 Speaker 1: and he's getting better, and one day he shits on 919 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:28,080 Speaker 1: me and he goes left, and he goes off to 920 00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:30,880 Speaker 1: do whatever he does and everything. And initially I was 921 00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:34,759 Speaker 1: upset because he was the younger person that I was 922 00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:38,520 Speaker 1: counting on, because it's a bridge. Yeah, I don't need 923 00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:40,080 Speaker 1: to be in the middle of it. I need to 924 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:41,880 Speaker 1: be on the outside of it at this space. But 925 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:43,839 Speaker 1: I can educate you on how to do it, and 926 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:46,120 Speaker 1: so there's a benefit to us both. But he left 927 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,319 Speaker 1: and took it off and went on his own and 928 00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:52,520 Speaker 1: did all the things he did. But this past Tuesday 929 00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:58,480 Speaker 1: we had lunch and funny how I came about. He 930 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:02,480 Speaker 1: texted me he said, you probably called my phone by mistake. 931 00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:06,319 Speaker 1: Pokadal right, I said, yeah, that's my bad. And he said, 932 00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:08,360 Speaker 1: I really want to sit down with you, and I 933 00:49:08,360 --> 00:49:11,600 Speaker 1: say cool. And we sat down and he talked to 934 00:49:11,640 --> 00:49:13,799 Speaker 1: me about all the things that I told him, all 935 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:16,480 Speaker 1: the things that I shared with him, and all of 936 00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:18,960 Speaker 1: the things that went wrong, and he said, damn, oh, 937 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:21,480 Speaker 1: you told me this, and every he says, as I'm 938 00:49:21,600 --> 00:49:25,040 Speaker 1: at these moments, I'm remembering all of the things that 939 00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:27,799 Speaker 1: you told me and shared with me. And I was 940 00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:31,080 Speaker 1: really wrong and immature with the way that I handled 941 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:33,680 Speaker 1: all of these situations. I could have done way differently. 942 00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:37,960 Speaker 1: I just want to apologize. I said, were good. There's nothing, 943 00:49:38,120 --> 00:49:44,359 Speaker 1: no worries at all. But I'm a good person, right 944 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:49,400 Speaker 1: And when you're a good person with know what you 945 00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:51,919 Speaker 1: call it, sometimes people are gonna shit on you. People 946 00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,720 Speaker 1: are gonna do people are just gonna naturally do you wrong. 947 00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:58,319 Speaker 1: Because I'm not baling with anybody over anything. That's how 948 00:49:58,320 --> 00:49:59,200 Speaker 1: you feel, okay. 949 00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:01,920 Speaker 3: Cool, be good people going people, man. 950 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:05,640 Speaker 1: And people people are you know me, I'm the kind 951 00:50:05,640 --> 00:50:07,959 Speaker 1: of person if you do something for me, I'm doing 952 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,120 Speaker 1: ten things for you. I want to make sure I 953 00:50:11,160 --> 00:50:13,360 Speaker 1: give it back. I want to make sure that you 954 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:16,640 Speaker 1: know I take the time, Like if I'm scrolling on 955 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:19,520 Speaker 1: Instagram and I see somebody that's like a genuine friend. 956 00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:22,240 Speaker 1: I'm tapping. I don't tapping like I'm gonna put something 957 00:50:22,239 --> 00:50:25,200 Speaker 1: in there because if it helps stimulate more people to 958 00:50:25,239 --> 00:50:27,680 Speaker 1: see it and stay up a little bit longer, What 959 00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:29,520 Speaker 1: did it take for me to do that? It don't 960 00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:30,000 Speaker 1: take nothing. 961 00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:43,320 Speaker 3: So yeah, they. 962 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:46,520 Speaker 2: Look, man, this is again. It's an honor to have 963 00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:49,360 Speaker 2: a legend like you that he'll make Atlanta what it is. 964 00:50:49,400 --> 00:50:53,480 Speaker 2: And here stay thank you and giving your flowers for 965 00:50:53,840 --> 00:50:55,719 Speaker 2: pulling up and for all the things you've done for 966 00:50:55,840 --> 00:50:58,600 Speaker 2: the culture of Atlanta and the night life scene of Atlanta. 967 00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:01,840 Speaker 2: Before we get out of here, I got a question. 968 00:51:01,920 --> 00:51:06,120 Speaker 2: I ask everybody. If there was a mister Bitty Barnes 969 00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:09,239 Speaker 2: billboard in Atlanta somewhere, you can put anything you want 970 00:51:09,320 --> 00:51:12,000 Speaker 2: to put on that billboard. What would you pull on 971 00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:14,520 Speaker 2: that billboard? It could be a message, it could be whatever. 972 00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:16,759 Speaker 2: What would you put on that billboard? 973 00:51:17,480 --> 00:51:20,319 Speaker 1: That's a great question, man. You know how many things 974 00:51:20,320 --> 00:51:24,080 Speaker 1: I would put on Wow? What went? 975 00:51:25,080 --> 00:51:28,239 Speaker 2: Definitely you should definitely put something about the the docu 976 00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:29,240 Speaker 2: series putting together. 977 00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:32,839 Speaker 1: But no, no, I know, I don't want to know. 978 00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:38,080 Speaker 1: I don't want to No, I care about people. Right. 979 00:51:38,680 --> 00:51:41,319 Speaker 1: My mother is a great person. When I say she's 980 00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:44,840 Speaker 1: a great person, she's tough, but she's a great person 981 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:47,840 Speaker 1: because my mother used her whole life to help everybody 982 00:51:47,840 --> 00:51:51,719 Speaker 1: else by her and so I was raised with that. 983 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:54,719 Speaker 1: So when my brother went to the streets, my mother 984 00:51:54,760 --> 00:51:57,160 Speaker 1: put her hands on me and she told me, she said, 985 00:51:57,200 --> 00:51:59,520 Speaker 1: if you dare go that way, I'm gonna send you 986 00:51:59,600 --> 00:52:02,040 Speaker 1: back week came from. And I'm not talking about Jamaica. 987 00:52:02,719 --> 00:52:05,799 Speaker 1: And so I've always done my best to do the right. 988 00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:08,279 Speaker 1: Now have I done wrong? Shit? Fuck yeah? But even 989 00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:10,920 Speaker 1: when wrong, I try to find the right in the wrong. 990 00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:13,160 Speaker 1: If you understand what I'm saying, So what would I 991 00:52:13,239 --> 00:52:16,440 Speaker 1: put on there? Be careful of the decisions you make, 992 00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:19,560 Speaker 1: because sometimes you may not see the consequences to way 993 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:23,480 Speaker 1: later and not be able to do anything about it. Yeah, 994 00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:28,000 Speaker 1: I got something for you. I have a challenge because 995 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:32,359 Speaker 1: I believe in you, right. I think that you want 996 00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:35,239 Speaker 1: to do what's best for the city. I think that 997 00:52:35,800 --> 00:52:42,319 Speaker 1: there needs to be something where men from different compartments 998 00:52:42,360 --> 00:52:46,640 Speaker 1: of life, corporate entertainment, all of these things. We need 999 00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:49,880 Speaker 1: to figure out how to commute, get and create community. 1000 00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:53,400 Speaker 1: We need to figure out how to have real conversations. 1001 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:56,799 Speaker 1: A friend of mine said today before I came right 1002 00:52:56,840 --> 00:52:58,160 Speaker 1: before I got off the phone. When I came in, 1003 00:52:58,400 --> 00:52:59,879 Speaker 1: he said, one of the biggest problems with they teen 1004 00:53:00,080 --> 00:53:03,839 Speaker 1: is the wrong people in charge, and so it blocks out. 1005 00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:07,440 Speaker 1: You know, I don't mind, everything is what it is, 1006 00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:11,399 Speaker 1: but if we forget about us, it's gonna die. And 1007 00:53:11,440 --> 00:53:13,399 Speaker 1: what we what it looks like when you get there, 1008 00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:15,880 Speaker 1: you're not gonna want to You don't want to see that. 1009 00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:21,799 Speaker 1: We need a consistent round table conversation that's open to 1010 00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:27,120 Speaker 1: all men. There's no unity in the men. There isn't 1011 00:53:27,280 --> 00:53:31,680 Speaker 1: there's no real support for men. It's fake. Even when 1012 00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:34,040 Speaker 1: women do it. Even if it's fake, it feels real. 1013 00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:37,480 Speaker 1: We don't even do it. I just would like for 1014 00:53:38,440 --> 00:53:40,960 Speaker 1: me to challenge you to say, how do I put 1015 00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:46,760 Speaker 1: that together? Because again I'm like a myth in some things. 1016 00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:49,000 Speaker 1: Because if you don't know me, you don't know me. 1017 00:53:49,600 --> 00:53:52,960 Speaker 1: They know you, they know who you are. All of 1018 00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:57,200 Speaker 1: these people in these positions, it needs a conversation. We 1019 00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:01,279 Speaker 1: need to bring the coach ks and that the lawyers 1020 00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:04,960 Speaker 1: and the Kenny burns is and and bring all of 1021 00:54:05,040 --> 00:54:10,280 Speaker 1: these people together and say, Okay, how do we give back, 1022 00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:13,520 Speaker 1: and I'm not talking about money. It's ain't about money. 1023 00:54:13,719 --> 00:54:17,040 Speaker 1: How do we give back what we've learned, what we understand, 1024 00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:19,920 Speaker 1: so that the people that are coming behind us, they 1025 00:54:19,960 --> 00:54:22,839 Speaker 1: get a better understanding, because if they're looking in here, 1026 00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:26,880 Speaker 1: you know how much information is going through here? Yeah, 1027 00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:29,000 Speaker 1: it's too much. How do you know what's the truth? 1028 00:54:29,560 --> 00:54:30,359 Speaker 1: How you know it's real? 1029 00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,759 Speaker 2: Heah, it's only getting crazier. You're not gonna be able 1030 00:54:33,800 --> 00:54:35,200 Speaker 2: to know what's real and what's faked. 1031 00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:37,960 Speaker 1: Soon you're gonna be your own TV stare. Everybody's gonna 1032 00:54:37,960 --> 00:54:41,000 Speaker 1: be their own TV station telling us yeah to our 1033 00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:43,279 Speaker 1: own people. I just want to see that. That's the 1034 00:54:43,280 --> 00:54:44,200 Speaker 1: only thing I asked for. 1035 00:54:44,719 --> 00:54:47,719 Speaker 2: Now, Man, I hear you on many levels, and we 1036 00:54:48,200 --> 00:54:52,080 Speaker 2: will definitely continue this conversation offline. I got some ideas 1037 00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:54,560 Speaker 2: I definitely don't want to share with you, but we're 1038 00:54:54,560 --> 00:54:56,359 Speaker 2: about to wrap this thing up, Biddy. I just want 1039 00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:58,480 Speaker 2: to say again, thank you for pulling up. This has 1040 00:54:58,480 --> 00:54:59,920 Speaker 2: been an honor to have you come out. 1041 00:55:00,440 --> 00:55:03,480 Speaker 1: It's an honor for me to be invited, hey. 1042 00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:06,080 Speaker 2: Man, And you know, I just I just hope everybody 1043 00:55:06,239 --> 00:55:08,480 Speaker 2: really listens to some of the gems that were dropped 1044 00:55:08,480 --> 00:55:10,760 Speaker 2: in this In this episode, y'all. 1045 00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:15,120 Speaker 1: Should listen to Brandon right, Brandon is grounded on the floor. 1046 00:55:15,800 --> 00:55:21,680 Speaker 1: Branding is a part of the seams that help and 1047 00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:25,080 Speaker 1: land the s spaces and things that nobody's really paying 1048 00:55:25,080 --> 00:55:27,880 Speaker 1: attention to. And I just want you to keep shining 1049 00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:30,520 Speaker 1: that light. But I need that shit to be like 1050 00:55:30,560 --> 00:55:32,080 Speaker 1: the Batman signal soon though. 1051 00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:35,040 Speaker 2: Yeah me, heymen, if I got people like you in 1052 00:55:35,120 --> 00:55:35,799 Speaker 2: my corner. 1053 00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:39,000 Speaker 1: Bro way you got and I think you have. You 1054 00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:42,000 Speaker 1: have way more community than I think you understand that 1055 00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:44,600 Speaker 1: you have. And okay, last one, I promise. I'm done. 1056 00:55:44,640 --> 00:55:51,600 Speaker 1: I'm promised. Sometimes right, being a humble, high level humility, 1057 00:55:51,719 --> 00:55:54,840 Speaker 1: more rale, fibrant on it. Sometimes were not loud and 1058 00:55:54,880 --> 00:55:57,480 Speaker 1: aggressive enough. I need to be to be louder and 1059 00:55:57,520 --> 00:56:00,360 Speaker 1: more aggressive. I wasn't I see that. 1060 00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:00,719 Speaker 3: I do. 1061 00:56:01,120 --> 00:56:03,680 Speaker 2: We gonna start speaking up. We don't get loud and yo, 1062 00:56:03,840 --> 00:56:06,600 Speaker 2: this is this is another episode of button Nomics and 1063 00:56:06,680 --> 00:56:08,920 Speaker 2: when you out, that's the pod. You've been listening to 1064 00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:12,400 Speaker 2: button Nomics and I'm your host, Brandon Butler comments feedback. 1065 00:56:12,560 --> 00:56:14,160 Speaker 2: Want to be a part of the show, send us 1066 00:56:14,160 --> 00:56:17,560 Speaker 2: an email today at Hello at butterdomics dot com. Butter 1067 00:56:17,640 --> 00:56:20,600 Speaker 2: Nomics is produced in Atlanta, Georgia at iHeartMedia by Ramsey, 1068 00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:23,680 Speaker 2: with marketing support from Queen and naked music provided by 1069 00:56:23,719 --> 00:56:26,839 Speaker 2: mister Hanky. If you haven't already, hit that subscribe button 1070 00:56:26,880 --> 00:56:29,160 Speaker 2: and never missed an episode, and be sure to follow 1071 00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:31,920 Speaker 2: us on all our social platforms at butter dot at L. 1072 00:56:32,840 --> 00:56:35,920 Speaker 2: Listen to button Nomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 1073 00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:37,600 Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcasts.