WEBVTT - Ep 329: Caught Up In The American Dream ft. Actor/Storyteller Christopher Rivas

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<v Speaker 1>Let me carry it. Hey, Hey, hey, got thinking of it.

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<v Speaker 2>We're back. We're black. I'm sick and it's run a bit.

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<v Speaker 3>Shit.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I'm sick again. I'm praying it's not COVID. I

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<v Speaker 2>don't think it's COVID. I've taken to COVID test. It

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<v Speaker 2>says not COVID. I think maybe I don't even know.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't even know what.

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<v Speaker 1>Other ways to be sick. And you get just how

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<v Speaker 1>much sympathy.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it's just I don't know. It might be

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<v Speaker 2>a flu around the season. Sometimes I get like a

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<v Speaker 2>little like the flu or whatever. I mean, there's green

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<v Speaker 2>stuff coming up, so I'm assuming. I'm like, i never

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<v Speaker 2>had green stuff with COVID. I'm sorry, guys, So I know,

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<v Speaker 2>just literally I'm calling my mom like it's like, I

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<v Speaker 2>know that's really what I've been doing, like tea and sleep,

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<v Speaker 2>ta and sleep.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>But I mean, I if you guys have been watching

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<v Speaker 2>my Instagram stories I had. I took the team, my

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<v Speaker 2>business partner took our teams to New Orleans for our

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<v Speaker 2>annual team retreat, which we have not done in two

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<v Speaker 2>years because of COVID. But it was so amazing. I

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<v Speaker 2>have to say New Orleans is such a magical place

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<v Speaker 2>for black and brown people. I mean it just yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, and it was so crazy Mandy because I

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<v Speaker 2>was like we were we were by the waterfront, and

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<v Speaker 2>I was sharing everybody. I said, you see those steps

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<v Speaker 2>right there, those are the steps where Mandy and I

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<v Speaker 2>planned out. Isn't that crazy?

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, I read that makes it sound really old.

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<v Speaker 4>I know.

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<v Speaker 1>I was just like my sister was like, really I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to cording off that step. That student was there

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<v Speaker 1>was I feel like there were free tracks. It was

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere random.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we were walking like we were walking like like

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we were walking up and down like that

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<v Speaker 2>kind of like the waterfront, and you know, we ended

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<v Speaker 2>up just sitting there just talking for some time about

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<v Speaker 2>like what you know, just a joke because you'd asked

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<v Speaker 2>me how to before. But we just you know, sat

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<v Speaker 2>and just like talked about like, you know, we were

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<v Speaker 2>talking about like at the time, your husband was your boyfriend.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't you know, I think Jiro was my boyfriend too.

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<v Speaker 2>There was no kids in the picture. It was just

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<v Speaker 2>like two brown girls who were like, let's do this thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Just had free time and energy.

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<v Speaker 2>I know, we were there for the FINCN. Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 2>it was like, you know, I don't think anybody really

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<v Speaker 2>goes to like unless it's like your friends, like whatever workshop.

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<v Speaker 2>You know that, you know how it is with conferences.

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<v Speaker 2>You go to your friends workshop, but then you really

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<v Speaker 2>go to hang out and have a good time, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>I think so we did personally.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and it was just a really good time. And

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<v Speaker 2>I remember just like obviously I've known you before and

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<v Speaker 2>we were cool because you had done a couple of

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<v Speaker 2>articles on me. But yeah, you were like we should

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<v Speaker 2>do a podcast, and I think I was like, what's

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<v Speaker 2>the podcast?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, that's interesting my number? Yeah, nobody, y'all's trip locked

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<v Speaker 1>freaking amazing, Like I had a little bit of fomo.

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<v Speaker 1>But also shout out to you for choosing the best weather,

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<v Speaker 1>like the best time to go to you know, essence

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<v Speaker 1>fast is like in the armpit of hell. July. Girl,

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<v Speaker 1>It's like why they got it.

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<v Speaker 2>Just to us day When I said we had a time,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean we had a time. I mean they went

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<v Speaker 2>out every night. And I just was like I canno

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<v Speaker 2>because I could already found myself getting sick because I

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<v Speaker 2>just been doing a lot of travel. I went to

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<v Speaker 2>Detroit to speak at event, and then it was like

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<v Speaker 2>literally landed. It was a list of sweet sixteen and

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<v Speaker 2>then at to fly to LA for an event a

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<v Speaker 2>day later. I was home for one day, then flew

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<v Speaker 2>New Orleans. I just think, honestly, this is like my

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<v Speaker 2>body saying, girl, you need to sit down, or we're

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<v Speaker 2>gonna sit you down and sit too much of a

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<v Speaker 2>good thing. But it was Honestly, it was just awesome.

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<v Speaker 2>Like there's something about hanging out with like your crew

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<v Speaker 2>of people that you really enjoy. And we get to

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<v Speaker 2>see each other. I mean, we see each other all

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<v Speaker 2>the time on Zoom and stuff like that, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>nothing like being in person. We do certain things every

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<v Speaker 2>year for our retreats. We always do a spa day,

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<v Speaker 2>so we did the Roosevelt, which is a wald of

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<v Speaker 2>a historian hotel, which was awesome. We always do like

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<v Speaker 2>a fun day where we do something like fun and

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<v Speaker 2>kind of physical, like one year we did ATV and

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<v Speaker 2>I think this year we went swamp tour like that,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, like you take the airboat. Yes, that was fun.

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<v Speaker 2>We got to feed alligators and crocodile. I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>the difference. We also my favorite though, on our activity

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<v Speaker 2>day was we did a second line band, which.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I saw at IG that I was like, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>do it up. That was just for y'all.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, yes, we use this company, this black owned mother

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<v Speaker 2>daughter company called Prime Time. They're based out of Chicago.

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<v Speaker 2>So if ever ever ever you need to like I

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<v Speaker 2>don't know what other kind of planning they do, but

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<v Speaker 2>if you ever needed planning, like a corporate retreat, they

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<v Speaker 2>were excellent. They flew into New Orleans, made sure everything

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<v Speaker 2>was great. The house they picked for us was amazing.

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<v Speaker 2>So we got like this eight bedroom beautiful home and

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<v Speaker 2>then we got a nearby hotel so that we ever

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<v Speaker 2>could have their own room. So like myself and like

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<v Speaker 2>the other C suite stayed in the house and that's

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<v Speaker 2>where we had a private chef. Our chef was actually

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<v Speaker 2>the great was the granddaughter of Fats Domino, which was

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<v Speaker 2>so awesome. He's like this really famous jazz musician. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>out of a New Orleans and so it was just

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<v Speaker 2>an amazing, amazing trip. But yeah, the second Line band,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean that is on my story. My story has

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<v Speaker 2>already passed, but if you go to my page you

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<v Speaker 2>can see us, so you know you I didn't know. Like,

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<v Speaker 2>I was always like, what's the first line band? They're like,

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<v Speaker 2>the band is the first line. I'm like, oh, and

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<v Speaker 2>so you are the second line.

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<v Speaker 1>And so we were thought to even ask what that meant.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I didn't really you know, but it's this jazzy

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, it was amazing to have your own parade

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<v Speaker 2>that's what they call it down Bourbon with police escort.

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<v Speaker 2>It was just that was just so epic. It was

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<v Speaker 2>it was like a core memory, you know. But yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>it was just I mean we were like, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>we're so black because we were electric sliding in the

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<v Speaker 2>house we played it. Apparently there's a taboo taboo culture.

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<v Speaker 1>See, that's just part of the trip that I was

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<v Speaker 1>most jealous of. I'm as game nights. I haven't had

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<v Speaker 1>a game night like three years, and I'm like, damn,

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<v Speaker 1>that looks so fun. And I'm so good at taboo too.

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<v Speaker 2>So we're gonna tell you I am. I'm not a lot,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a taboo massed up.

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<v Speaker 1>You were getting it. I could see the fire.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. The other was so sick of us because I'm

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<v Speaker 2>a really good guesser. But I'm also really good, like

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<v Speaker 2>you know, because I'm really good at analogies, yo, but

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<v Speaker 2>it was a lot. I tell you, it was just

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<v Speaker 2>a really good time. And so I'm just grateful for

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<v Speaker 2>the time with the team. And even though I came

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<v Speaker 2>to you sicker than when I left.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad that you gave them everything, but hopefully have

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<v Speaker 1>some time for yourself now. I do wonder because on

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<v Speaker 1>the last episode you said your budget was like eighty

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<v Speaker 1>k Did you use every penny of it?

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<v Speaker 2>No? So what we decided was because at first I

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<v Speaker 2>remember like, so shout out to Tammy. She was like,

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<v Speaker 2>was kind of like the our internal internal organizer, and

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<v Speaker 2>she was like saying, I guess they didn't have enough,

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<v Speaker 2>like you know, because she came to me she was like, Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>there's all these fun things we're gonna do. We don't

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<v Speaker 2>have enough money. I said, have we not have enough money?

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<v Speaker 2>We have eighty thousand dollars She's liked No. The CFO

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<v Speaker 2>Georgia shared with us that we can use forty and

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, why, So I hit up the CFO,

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<v Speaker 2>like are we saving that money for anything? She's like no,

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<v Speaker 2>because last trip was forty. I'm like, girl, that's how

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<v Speaker 2>the trip to work. The trips work in accordance to

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<v Speaker 2>what we have saved up. Like that's the point, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>this is money that we've collectively made with our efforts.

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<v Speaker 2>We set aside three percent of our net profit, you know.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I said how much we should have? I

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<v Speaker 2>think it was between eighty and eighty five. And I

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<v Speaker 2>asked Tammy and I said, you know, it's sixty enough

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<v Speaker 2>and if it's not, you can come back, and she's like, no, no,

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<v Speaker 2>sixty will be plenty, and so they ended up using sixty.

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<v Speaker 2>So I was like, girl, we released the coins, so

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<v Speaker 2>we still have some money left over it just because

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not gonna lie. This year was a really rough

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<v Speaker 2>year for the Literature Academy, and so I didn't want

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<v Speaker 2>to use the full eighty because I wanted for next

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<v Speaker 2>year that we had some money, you know, set aside

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<v Speaker 2>for to still be able to go on a trip,

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<v Speaker 2>you know what I mean. It might not be as lavish,

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<v Speaker 2>but I didn't want to, like, you know, totally drain

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<v Speaker 2>our trip account. So yeah, there's about twenty to twenty

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<v Speaker 2>five thousand I was left over for next year, plus

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<v Speaker 2>whatever we make, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, do you mean like rough in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>the like I know, at the beginning of the year,

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<v Speaker 1>it was really tough because you had the layoffs and everything.

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<v Speaker 1>H do you mean like just in terms of like

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<v Speaker 1>morale from all of that, and I don't know, it

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<v Speaker 1>seems like this would be a good way.

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<v Speaker 2>Meaning like I mean financially rough. So a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>my friends also have online schools, and it's it's it's

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<v Speaker 2>I've just been getting that same feedback across the board.

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<v Speaker 2>Because one, ads don't do what they used to do.

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<v Speaker 2>So many of us were like AD dependent, which we're

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<v Speaker 2>trying to switch away from that, but so many of

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<v Speaker 2>us were AD dependent, and so as a result of

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<v Speaker 2>being AD dependent, you know, like you know, as soon

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<v Speaker 2>as they change the rule, an AD that might might

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<v Speaker 2>bring in, you know, tens of thousands of thousand a month,

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<v Speaker 2>all of a sudden brings in nothing. So you're like,

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<v Speaker 2>so what do I do now?

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<v Speaker 1>And so that was you mean like meta like Facebook, Yes, but.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the majority of us wh they're running ads. You're

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<v Speaker 2>running ads on Facebook and Instagram and so like, it's

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<v Speaker 2>just the rules are always changing. So just when you

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<v Speaker 2>get acclimated or you get one thing good going and

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<v Speaker 2>the way ads work, it's a moving train. So let's

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<v Speaker 2>just say they say these are the new rules, and

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<v Speaker 2>you're like, okay, it takes a while for the train

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<v Speaker 2>to get back moving. You know, trains don't go from

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<v Speaker 2>zero to sixty and sixty seconds. It takes a while,

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<v Speaker 2>and so it's just expensive every time you have to pivot.

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<v Speaker 2>Then you have to spend all this money to get

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<v Speaker 2>the train moving, only for them to be like, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>we'll change our mind again. So that's one that we

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<v Speaker 2>were highly AD dependent. But by the end of this

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<v Speaker 2>year that will be different for next year because we've

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<v Speaker 2>been making this shift, like to really lean into working

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<v Speaker 2>and getting contracts instead of leaning on ads. So that's

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<v Speaker 2>one thing that it'll be different next year. And also too, like,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I'm not the CEO over there anymore, and

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<v Speaker 2>there's a learning curve for the new CEO, and she

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<v Speaker 2>just was thrown into this messy pot. And so you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I told her because she's like Tam is very, very

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<v Speaker 2>hard working and competitive, and she's like, oh no, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to blow it out the water. I said, you won't. Instead,

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<v Speaker 2>your job is just to keep us afloat because you're

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<v Speaker 2>still learning. I have no expectation that you're going to

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<v Speaker 2>do better than me, because how could you? Because this

0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:10.800
<v Speaker 2>would be a challenge for me who's been the CEO

0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:14.760
<v Speaker 2>a CEO for fifteen years, let alone you just started.

0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.800
<v Speaker 2>And so she realized it's really hard, you know, because

0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.280
<v Speaker 2>there's so much, so many things that have to be

0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.600
<v Speaker 2>realigned that were misaligned. And I'm like girl, and she's

0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:24.560
<v Speaker 2>only done a great job of being kind of like

0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.160
<v Speaker 2>our months are basically net net. We're making enough to

0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.000
<v Speaker 2>cover all the bills, to pay all the payroll, blah

0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.840
<v Speaker 2>blah blah. But there's not excess, like you know, typically

0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:35.560
<v Speaker 2>I take an excess as a draw, and so I

0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.880
<v Speaker 2>haven't seen a draw like a decent one in a

0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:41.000
<v Speaker 2>very long time, you know. But that's okay. My old

0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:42.920
<v Speaker 2>old thing is always are we net net? Meaning like,

0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:45.080
<v Speaker 2>do we make enough to cover everything and pay our

0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:46.720
<v Speaker 2>bills and things that we had been able to do that?

0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:48.160
<v Speaker 2>So I told her that was her goal, and she

0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:51.360
<v Speaker 2>met that goal. And also too, there's just a shift

0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:53.960
<v Speaker 2>in the economy, you know, rightfully, so people are looking

0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.679
<v Speaker 2>at their bills and determining what is essential. And I

0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:58.680
<v Speaker 2>tell people all the time, don't give me your last

0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:00.679
<v Speaker 2>like I've seen people say, take I got a credit card,

0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:02.880
<v Speaker 2>but I don't believe it all that. Don't give me

0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.400
<v Speaker 2>your last I have a lot of free resources and tools.

0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:07.760
<v Speaker 2>As a matter of fact, I'm bringing back the Literature Challenges.

0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:11.280
<v Speaker 2>I'm excited to launch the If you're like an old

0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:13.800
<v Speaker 2>school dream catcher, you know, we did a challenge every January,

0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:16.959
<v Speaker 2>and so we'll be doing a Literature Challenge, the Savings

0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:21.079
<v Speaker 2>Edition in January, totally free. It's a three week, free,

0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.920
<v Speaker 2>amazing course that walks you literally day by day. I

0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.800
<v Speaker 2>give you something small to do to work toward increasing

0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:28.640
<v Speaker 2>your savings.

0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:30.160
<v Speaker 1>I'm excited for that.

0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:31.360
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So I'm excited.

0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:33.240
<v Speaker 1>I just I was like the power of the Budgetista.

0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:35.840
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and I missed that. And so I mean, honestly,

0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.160
<v Speaker 2>the Academy's gonna be fine. We have been through way worths.

0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:39.600
<v Speaker 2>This is nothing. I remember one time we was down

0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.640
<v Speaker 2>to our last ten thousand and bills were thirty and so,

0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:44.840
<v Speaker 2>you know, but because this is just the reality of

0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.280
<v Speaker 2>business that as things shift externally and internally, you have

0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:50.560
<v Speaker 2>to pivot and shift. And this is not even the

0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.120
<v Speaker 2>worst that we've ever been, you know, on a scale

0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:54.880
<v Speaker 2>of one to ten of oh my gosh, we're in

0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:59.480
<v Speaker 2>trouble ten being big trouble, you know, one being were good.

0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:04.280
<v Speaker 2>I mean we're probably at a five, you know, maybe

0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.640
<v Speaker 2>even a four, a four or five, meaning like I'm

0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:08.600
<v Speaker 2>not worried about it because we have all these things

0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.320
<v Speaker 2>in place that you know, we're just activating them now.

0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.520
<v Speaker 2>So I'm just like, but it's you know, you have

0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:15.840
<v Speaker 2>a plan. Yeah we have exactly for me as long

0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:17.719
<v Speaker 2>as we have a plan. But that's just the way

0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.080
<v Speaker 2>of business. And so as a result of that is

0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.760
<v Speaker 2>just there's a lot of shifting. But in opposite, the

0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:27.319
<v Speaker 2>Budgetiesta has flourished like a damn butterfly. I mean it

0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:33.480
<v Speaker 2>has like doubled doubled is revenue, and our profit margins

0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:37.280
<v Speaker 2>are stupid, like honestly too high, to the point where

0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:38.719
<v Speaker 2>I was like, I feel like we're not supposed to

0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.200
<v Speaker 2>have eighty percent profit margins, you know, and technically you

0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.240
<v Speaker 2>really shouldn't, you know, because that just means that's how

0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:46.440
<v Speaker 2>much you're paying in taxes. So it's like, do you

0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:48.559
<v Speaker 2>need to hire more help? Are there other things you

0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:50.080
<v Speaker 2>could purchase with the business? You know?

0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.400
<v Speaker 1>You want to keep budget? Needs to private plane, I know, you.

0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.000
<v Speaker 2>Know, but that's what people do because if not literally,

0:12:57.120 --> 0:13:01.200
<v Speaker 2>It's like I much rather pay someone like on the

0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:03.520
<v Speaker 2>team that money than to give it away as taxes.

0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.719
<v Speaker 2>You know, does Logan need extra support you know what

0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.120
<v Speaker 2>I mean? And are there raises? Maybe I can give

0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.640
<v Speaker 2>her something. But yeah, the Bunchanisa has been slaying. So

0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:13.960
<v Speaker 2>that's just the nature of business. You know, you learn

0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:15.560
<v Speaker 2>to ride those rays. Those things I don't say, don't

0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:17.840
<v Speaker 2>worry me anymore. Like I would tell all my mentees,

0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:19.719
<v Speaker 2>you know, you work hard, you're smart, you're consistent, You're

0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.600
<v Speaker 2>gonna be all right. You just keep at it. So

0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:27.920
<v Speaker 2>but yeah, oh chah my lide, pray for my thread.

0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:33.920
<v Speaker 2>Oh before I forget today, this is gonna come out

0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.160
<v Speaker 2>on Wednesday, Thursday morning. I mean, god willing, I do

0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:38.920
<v Speaker 2>not have COVID because they come to test me. Tomorrow.

0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.480
<v Speaker 2>I will be on Ryan and Kelly. Is it Kelly

0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:46.679
<v Speaker 2>and Ryan and Kelly. I've never been able to get better,

0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:52.600
<v Speaker 2>I know, I know, yes, in studio, you know, so

0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:55.240
<v Speaker 2>it's gonna be. I have to be there at seven thirty,

0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:58.360
<v Speaker 2>so I'm assuming that eight eight am hours or eight

0:13:58.440 --> 0:13:59.520
<v Speaker 2>or eight thirty, which is like.

0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:02.439
<v Speaker 1>The listen, this is the one morning show that I

0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.439
<v Speaker 1>used to religiously watch Kelly and and then Kelly and

0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:09.319
<v Speaker 1>Michael and now Kelly and Ryan. Anyway, it's at nine o'clock, okay,

0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:13.080
<v Speaker 1>on an hour, so you're on the hour. Yes, and

0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:16.080
<v Speaker 1>it's coming from whenever that show is GMA or whatever

0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:17.640
<v Speaker 1>it is after yes.

0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.760
<v Speaker 2>So yes, so if you like, tune in wherever you

0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:24.000
<v Speaker 2>are and watch. I mean, I've got god willing because honestly,

0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.200
<v Speaker 2>if I'm if I have COVID, which I'm like, please Jesus,

0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:33.160
<v Speaker 2>so the audience stuff, can I know, Kelly, I know, give.

0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:33.400
<v Speaker 1>Me a plus.

0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:36.760
<v Speaker 4>I never asked for anything I ask you for, they

0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:41.080
<v Speaker 4>won't let Honestly, it is my Tracy is coming, like

0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:44.400
<v Speaker 4>my my makeup artists can't even come, and then like

0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:46.800
<v Speaker 4>I know, there's like so that they're like really, I

0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:48.840
<v Speaker 4>mean rightfully, so they're wanting to make sure that everyone

0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:50.640
<v Speaker 4>is like healthy and you can only so.

0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:53.280
<v Speaker 2>And then my my publicist from Penguin is coming. I

0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:57.280
<v Speaker 2>think I'm only allowed to two plus ones. But but yeah,

0:14:57.320 --> 0:14:59.120
<v Speaker 2>so I'm gonna be on God willing if you don't

0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:01.680
<v Speaker 2>see me on you know, because they send someone to

0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.240
<v Speaker 2>test you like two days before, so I get tested tomorrow.

0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:07.080
<v Speaker 2>So if I got the VID. I'll be home weeping

0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:07.640
<v Speaker 2>as someone else.

0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:09.560
<v Speaker 1>We've already been testing and it's negative, right.

0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:11.440
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but at the home test, I'm just like, I'm

0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:13.280
<v Speaker 2>hoping I'm doing it right. I've done it twice already

0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:14.840
<v Speaker 2>because we have to test before we came on the

0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.480
<v Speaker 2>trip together. So I'm hoping that this is just like me.

0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:18.880
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, I hope I can just give them the

0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:20.920
<v Speaker 2>flu not COVID. I hope I can just.

0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:21.520
<v Speaker 4>Give them.

0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:29.080
<v Speaker 2>Oh my god. Oh but we do have a guest today,

0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:29.960
<v Speaker 2>thank god.

0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:32.320
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we have a guest today. So Tiff is going

0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.440
<v Speaker 1>to take a little breaky break, so that I can

0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.160
<v Speaker 1>interview our illustrious guests for today. I'm really excited. I'm

0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:38.800
<v Speaker 1>sorry that you won't get to meet him because he

0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:44.040
<v Speaker 1>is amazing. But Christopher Rivas is a storyteller, professional storyteller.

0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:47.520
<v Speaker 1>He's an actor, theater writer, and he has a new

0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.560
<v Speaker 1>book that is coming out officially Tuesday the eleventh, so

0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.160
<v Speaker 1>by the time you guys listen, you can purchase your copy.

0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:55.880
<v Speaker 1>It's called Brown Enough, and it is an incredible it's

0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.080
<v Speaker 1>like part memoir. I was just reading a chunk of it,

0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.440
<v Speaker 1>this chapter about student loans that you guys, won't hear

0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:03.680
<v Speaker 1>me talk to Chris about because talk about being a

0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:06.840
<v Speaker 1>successful Hollywood actor but also having two hundred and forty

0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:11.560
<v Speaker 1>four thousand dollars of student loans, Like he goes there. Yeah,

0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:12.720
<v Speaker 1>but I'm sorry, you won't get to me.

0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:16.280
<v Speaker 2>Correct I know, I am sorry. And then we have

0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:18.920
<v Speaker 2>Baqa this week. But honestly, I'm probably like, oh, may

0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.320
<v Speaker 2>if i'd be Aqa. But you guys will have Mandy

0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.680
<v Speaker 2>obviously she's she knows all the things. But still keep

0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.680
<v Speaker 2>because we we're gonna have guests, So we're not gonna

0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:29.720
<v Speaker 2>have them this week as planned, but we'll have them

0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.760
<v Speaker 2>next week. Until if you have your questions, keep dming

0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.920
<v Speaker 2>us on Instagram. We have voice note questions because we

0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:37.760
<v Speaker 2>cannot have weight to have you guys in the hot

0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:41.640
<v Speaker 2>seat asking your awesome questions. But no, but for real,

0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:45.240
<v Speaker 2>I just like, I don't know, like I'm doing too much.

0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.240
<v Speaker 2>I don't want to start piling back on again. Honestly, Madia,

0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.360
<v Speaker 2>I'm nervous about that. Like the pylon. You know that,

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.400
<v Speaker 2>because the real work is there is the reaping, not sewing,

0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.160
<v Speaker 2>meaning like as good things roll in, it's hard to

0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:00.320
<v Speaker 2>figure out what to say No to, you know, and

0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:02.840
<v Speaker 2>I feel like my body's like, well, girl, you've been

0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:06.480
<v Speaker 2>doing too much. That's why we're like this, you know,

0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:08.000
<v Speaker 2>I really feel it, Like I'm just like this is

0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:09.840
<v Speaker 2>not just a regular cold. This is also because you

0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.200
<v Speaker 2>didn't sit you behind down cold, and so like that's

0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:13.640
<v Speaker 2>I'm nervous about it. I don't want to go back

0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:15.840
<v Speaker 2>to that, like I did all the things life. So

0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.440
<v Speaker 2>I'm really really really trying to be intentional about like,

0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:20.919
<v Speaker 2>let me look at my calendar again, what else can

0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:23.479
<v Speaker 2>come off? Does this have to be on here? You know?

0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.199
<v Speaker 2>Does this have to be you know? Yeah, because like

0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:28.399
<v Speaker 2>literally I'm about to get back into bed, have my

0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:32.080
<v Speaker 2>tea and sleep until tomorrow morning. And hopefully when these

0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:35.040
<v Speaker 2>people come to take my big test it says negative

0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.280
<v Speaker 2>you will be regis, Yeah, I will. I will thank you.

0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:44.640
<v Speaker 2>Not ready not reach No, look at me. I'm like, sorry, Ryan, sorry,

0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:47.720
<v Speaker 2>it has been a minute. We can talk about age,

0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:50.120
<v Speaker 2>we read just eat well.

0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:51.919
<v Speaker 1>I think it's just like an important message too that

0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:55.879
<v Speaker 1>no matter you know, the things like we know about

0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:58.639
<v Speaker 1>taking time and resting, but I mean everything is in

0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:00.919
<v Speaker 1>a cycle, right, and I think it's just about recognizing

0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:02.320
<v Speaker 1>like it is, right, now it's just gotten to be

0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.000
<v Speaker 1>too much. So like doing a reset, and thankfully, I mean,

0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.680
<v Speaker 1>you have systems in place to give yourself that reset. Yeah,

0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:10.280
<v Speaker 1>you know, you just got to be the one to

0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.880
<v Speaker 1>be like pull the plug, wors the escape patch. Yeah,

0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:14.920
<v Speaker 1>get me out of here.

0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:20.680
<v Speaker 2>All right, y'all until next week. You're in good hands, Mandy,

0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:24.040
<v Speaker 2>you know, like you're in good hands with all good neighbor.

0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:26.800
<v Speaker 1>Wait is that the neighbor one? Shit?

0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:29.000
<v Speaker 2>Wait, like a good neighbors? No, that's State.

0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:30.520
<v Speaker 3>Far Oh.

0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:32.840
<v Speaker 1>I thought it was the guy with the deep voice

0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:34.639
<v Speaker 1>from CSI or whatever it was.

0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.640
<v Speaker 2>Now I think I want to say, that's all State.

0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:37.920
<v Speaker 2>Maybe look at us, girl.

0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:42.400
<v Speaker 1>All right, I got y'all. Okay, I got y'all. Tiff

0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:44.760
<v Speaker 1>get some rest. Sending you love. I can't wait. I'm

0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:46.159
<v Speaker 1>going to be watching. I'm going to figure out how

0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:51.040
<v Speaker 1>to get on, how to get someone's cable and watch. Hey,

0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.560
<v Speaker 1>hey va, fam, it's mandra here riding solo. As you

0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.240
<v Speaker 1>guys heard Tiffany, we wish her well. She is under

0:18:57.240 --> 0:18:59.919
<v Speaker 1>the weather and without a voice, which you know, as

0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.119
<v Speaker 1>podcaster is a little bit important. But I cannot tell you,

0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.280
<v Speaker 1>guys how excited I am to introduce you to if

0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:10.320
<v Speaker 1>you're not familiar with this incredible talent already, Christopher Rives.

0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.439
<v Speaker 1>He is joining us today. Although he usually is in

0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.680
<v Speaker 1>LA doing big Hollywood things, He's in the New York

0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.680
<v Speaker 1>Snitcher studio right now. I had the pleasure of getting

0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:21.760
<v Speaker 1>to know Chris. God was it earlier this year and

0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:25.000
<v Speaker 1>in the springtime when his team reached out to me

0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:28.760
<v Speaker 1>to be a guest on his new podcast called Brown Enough,

0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:31.160
<v Speaker 1>which we're going to talk all about. But the real

0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:33.800
<v Speaker 1>reason Chris is here is to talk about his brand

0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:39.320
<v Speaker 1>new book. It's called Brown Enough. True stories about love, violence,

0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:43.479
<v Speaker 1>the student loan crisis, Hollywood, race, familia, and making it

0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:48.960
<v Speaker 1>in America. So you know, we're not covering just anyone's

0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.640
<v Speaker 1>subject here. He is becoming one of the most sought

0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:56.199
<v Speaker 1>after multi hyphenates. He's an actor, author, podcaster, storyteller. Like

0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:58.160
<v Speaker 1>I said, his new book Brown Enough. By the time,

0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:00.800
<v Speaker 1>y'all listen to this episode, BA fan, get on over

0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:02.879
<v Speaker 1>to Amazon dot com or Barnes and Noble or your

0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:06.320
<v Speaker 1>independent bookstore of choice and purchase his book. We are

0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:09.000
<v Speaker 1>putting a link in the bio or sorry, in the

0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:12.280
<v Speaker 1>show notes, you can grab that. It's part memoir, part

0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:16.280
<v Speaker 1>social commentary. Honestly, it's like a rollercoaster while Chris talks

0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:20.159
<v Speaker 1>about finding his true self while simultaneously having a racial

0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:24.480
<v Speaker 1>awakening amidst the struggle to be the perfect LATINX, woke

0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.840
<v Speaker 1>and brown person as possible to make it in today's America.

0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:31.280
<v Speaker 1>So we're so so excited to have you here, Chris.

0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:32.719
<v Speaker 1>Welcome bian Venia.

0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:34.399
<v Speaker 3>Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm happy to be here.

0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:35.680
<v Speaker 3>I'm happy to chat with you again.

0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:37.720
<v Speaker 1>Oh I almost forgot to mention you're like really famous

0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:39.800
<v Speaker 1>and stuff. You were on this Fox TV series called

0:20:39.800 --> 0:20:44.080
<v Speaker 1>Call Me Kat, opposite everyone's favorite actress Blossom. Oh my god,

0:20:44.200 --> 0:20:47.960
<v Speaker 1>my biolic? Did I say that right? Leslie Borden, Kylo Pratt,

0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:51.000
<v Speaker 1>Shian Jackson. So we know you are a big Hollywood

0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:53.640
<v Speaker 1>time actor, Chris, But I mean, I don't think it's

0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.479
<v Speaker 1>possible to hear you speak about your career and not

0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:58.239
<v Speaker 1>really just get the sense that you're not in it

0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:00.399
<v Speaker 1>for this Hollywood fame. You're really in it to be

0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:04.160
<v Speaker 1>like a storyteller and to get your authentic stories across,

0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:06.840
<v Speaker 1>which I was fortunate enough to get to see when

0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:11.440
<v Speaker 1>you had your launch party for your first podcast Ruby

0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.440
<v Speaker 1>Rossa which came out. Congratulations on that too. You're a

0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:15.000
<v Speaker 1>busy guy.

0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:18.360
<v Speaker 3>Thank you. That's all done now so you can binge it.

0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.240
<v Speaker 3>You haven't heard it, you can binge it. I shout

0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:24.840
<v Speaker 3>the Dominican man James Bond's based on Yeah, so.

0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:26.760
<v Speaker 1>Ba fam knows all about it. I shouted you out

0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:30.160
<v Speaker 1>when it first came out. And now your podcast, Brown Enough,

0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:32.879
<v Speaker 1>which is in conjunction with this book. So tell us

0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:37.320
<v Speaker 1>about this book, why the book and what can people

0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:38.000
<v Speaker 1>expect from it?

0:21:38.359 --> 0:21:40.240
<v Speaker 3>Why the book and what can people expect from it?

0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:42.520
<v Speaker 3>First the podcast Brown Enough, which you will be on.

0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:47.879
<v Speaker 3>So just letting your people know, we have an incredible conversation.

0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:51.639
<v Speaker 3>You know, that long title right with all the things

0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:53.960
<v Speaker 3>and student loan in this and making it in America

0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:58.880
<v Speaker 3>and Familia. When I was chatting with the publishers, they

0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:02.480
<v Speaker 3>would sold them and I think you'll appreciate this, you know,

0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:06.360
<v Speaker 3>finance and stuff, that whole title. What really sold them

0:22:06.600 --> 0:22:08.160
<v Speaker 3>was oh, student loan crisis.

0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:10.640
<v Speaker 1>You're shitting me, really, that's.

0:22:10.560 --> 0:22:14.520
<v Speaker 3>Like that was their Like the people at Simon and

0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:18.200
<v Speaker 3>Schuster were like, that's it. You know, they were like, race,

0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:20.360
<v Speaker 3>I see it all the time. This da da da da,

0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:26.400
<v Speaker 3>you know, but like student loan crisis, and and so

0:22:26.480 --> 0:22:30.680
<v Speaker 3>that that sort of is that title, how that came

0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:34.920
<v Speaker 3>into being? And the reason why now is because exactly

0:22:34.920 --> 0:22:39.560
<v Speaker 3>what you said, storytelling. I believe everything is a story,

0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:42.679
<v Speaker 3>one we've been made to believe or chosen to believe,

0:22:42.760 --> 0:22:46.280
<v Speaker 3>and knowing the difference is profound, and I think as

0:22:46.320 --> 0:22:50.360
<v Speaker 3>bodies of culture, it is imperative that we take back

0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:54.480
<v Speaker 3>our stories and we start unplugging from the stories about

0:22:54.520 --> 0:23:00.159
<v Speaker 3>us what whiteness and society and capitalism has attempted to

0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:04.119
<v Speaker 3>teach us about ourselves and our worth, what we're worthy of.

0:23:04.720 --> 0:23:09.840
<v Speaker 3>And so you are right, the Hollywood shine is not

0:23:10.000 --> 0:23:14.160
<v Speaker 3>as nice to me as the ability to tell new

0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:18.320
<v Speaker 3>stories and provide armor for young brown and black kids

0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:19.720
<v Speaker 3>who also want to tell stories.

0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:22.680
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean I in the portions of the book

0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:24.840
<v Speaker 1>that I have been privileged enough to get to read,

0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:26.600
<v Speaker 1>I wish I had a copy. But it says it's

0:23:26.640 --> 0:23:28.720
<v Speaker 1>going to be here tomorrow. That's fine. I check the

0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:30.880
<v Speaker 1>Amazon tracking, like when's the book going to get here?

0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:33.800
<v Speaker 1>But in the portions that I've read, I just feel

0:23:33.800 --> 0:23:37.320
<v Speaker 1>like any young brown teenager in America who picks up

0:23:37.320 --> 0:23:39.160
<v Speaker 1>this book or if you know a brown teenager, which

0:23:39.200 --> 0:23:41.320
<v Speaker 1>BA fan. You know, we know some brown teens out there.

0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:43.240
<v Speaker 1>I feel like they would find interest or young in

0:23:43.280 --> 0:23:46.080
<v Speaker 1>their careers. It's really for everyone, but I just feel

0:23:46.160 --> 0:23:48.560
<v Speaker 1>like you really see that person. I don't know if

0:23:48.600 --> 0:23:51.280
<v Speaker 1>you were envisioning a certain reader when you were writing this,

0:23:51.840 --> 0:23:54.200
<v Speaker 1>but it feels like a nice, warm, big bear hug

0:23:54.480 --> 0:23:57.040
<v Speaker 1>to any brown kid out there who's not feeling like

0:23:57.080 --> 0:24:00.480
<v Speaker 1>they belong. That was how I felt, and I sort

0:24:00.520 --> 0:24:03.879
<v Speaker 1>of put myself at my young teen years when I

0:24:04.000 --> 0:24:07.080
<v Speaker 1>was just I mean, had no idea where I belonged,

0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:10.760
<v Speaker 1>trapped in between, you know, two different sort of identities

0:24:10.840 --> 0:24:16.199
<v Speaker 1>and socioeconomically and racially and even geographically, feeling torn. And

0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:18.440
<v Speaker 1>I just felt really seen by a lot of the book.

0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:22.080
<v Speaker 3>That's well, thank you. I mean, the goal of my

0:24:22.200 --> 0:24:25.480
<v Speaker 3>work in general is to create spaces of belonging and

0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:28.880
<v Speaker 3>to allow people to feel seen, and so I'm glad

0:24:28.920 --> 0:24:31.359
<v Speaker 3>you felt that way. It's funny when I was writing it,

0:24:31.400 --> 0:24:36.240
<v Speaker 3>I don't actually think the irony. It's like the dedication

0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:40.200
<v Speaker 3>reads this book is dedicated to all the little brown

0:24:40.280 --> 0:24:44.040
<v Speaker 3>kids who need to see themselves grander and more vibrant.

0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:47.280
<v Speaker 3>But don't I see you. I hear you, we hear

0:24:48.840 --> 0:24:50.440
<v Speaker 3>But I think when I was writing it, I don't

0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:53.720
<v Speaker 3>actually know that I was writing it for like high

0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:58.520
<v Speaker 3>schoolers or teens. And yet every day since we've been

0:24:58.640 --> 0:25:01.240
<v Speaker 3>leading up to this book coming out out, I'm like,

0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:04.600
<v Speaker 3>this needs to be high school required reading. Yeah, is

0:25:04.640 --> 0:25:07.199
<v Speaker 3>what I needed when I was young, Like, that is

0:25:07.240 --> 0:25:08.879
<v Speaker 3>the audience I want to have it. And so we

0:25:08.960 --> 0:25:12.480
<v Speaker 3>made this incredible study and discussion guide that schools are getting.

0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:15.000
<v Speaker 3>And so if anyone listening is interested in that, you

0:25:15.040 --> 0:25:18.399
<v Speaker 3>can just email the publisher at row House and they

0:25:18.440 --> 0:25:21.200
<v Speaker 3>will send you this beautiful study guide we made.

0:25:21.760 --> 0:25:24.040
<v Speaker 1>I mean, how different when my high school experience have

0:25:24.119 --> 0:25:26.560
<v Speaker 1>been if there was even one author of color on

0:25:26.640 --> 0:25:29.719
<v Speaker 1>the list and not, let alone a book that really

0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:33.320
<v Speaker 1>embraces that identity. So tell, folks, backing all the way

0:25:33.359 --> 0:25:35.800
<v Speaker 1>back up to a little bit of your origin story,

0:25:36.160 --> 0:25:39.400
<v Speaker 1>talk to our audience about what made when you say brown,

0:25:39.440 --> 0:25:40.959
<v Speaker 1>what do you mean by that? Where are you from

0:25:41.480 --> 0:25:44.480
<v Speaker 1>and how did you sort of what was your journey

0:25:44.560 --> 0:25:47.160
<v Speaker 1>like coming into your own as a brown man in America.

0:25:47.720 --> 0:25:51.520
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so my father's Dominican, my mom is Colombian. I

0:25:51.560 --> 0:25:55.480
<v Speaker 3>grew up in Queens, New York. Queen's is one of

0:25:55.520 --> 0:25:58.080
<v Speaker 3>the most diverse places in the world. I spent a

0:25:58.080 --> 0:26:01.160
<v Speaker 3>lot of time in Jackson Heights, that is actually known

0:26:01.280 --> 0:26:05.040
<v Speaker 3>as the cultural melting pot of the world. Everyone and

0:26:05.080 --> 0:26:08.160
<v Speaker 3>their mother and everything is there, and so I think,

0:26:08.240 --> 0:26:12.399
<v Speaker 3>without knowing it, that was extremely influential on me. I

0:26:12.440 --> 0:26:19.359
<v Speaker 3>saw a brownness everywhere, and I struggled to think that

0:26:19.480 --> 0:26:22.560
<v Speaker 3>I was. I watched the boys on TV, and I

0:26:22.640 --> 0:26:26.520
<v Speaker 3>knew I wasn't white and so called pretty like them.

0:26:26.560 --> 0:26:26.760
<v Speaker 2>You know.

0:26:27.160 --> 0:26:31.000
<v Speaker 3>I didn't see myself and yet I didn't fit like

0:26:31.040 --> 0:26:34.320
<v Speaker 3>the you know, latinos on TV, and I wasn't Latin

0:26:34.440 --> 0:26:36.919
<v Speaker 3>enough for some of the you know girls. I was

0:26:36.920 --> 0:26:40.720
<v Speaker 3>trying to kick it too, and and I didn't know

0:26:40.760 --> 0:26:43.240
<v Speaker 3>if I had where my home was. My best friend

0:26:43.320 --> 0:26:47.960
<v Speaker 3>was Pakistani South Asian, like I was always trying to

0:26:48.200 --> 0:26:51.440
<v Speaker 3>be seen and be accepted and fit in, which I

0:26:51.440 --> 0:26:55.399
<v Speaker 3>think is a very human component of us, Like we

0:26:55.640 --> 0:26:58.199
<v Speaker 3>want to find our tribe, and so that's been a

0:26:58.200 --> 0:27:01.679
<v Speaker 3>majority of my life is looking for my tribe. Fast

0:27:01.680 --> 0:27:07.280
<v Speaker 3>forward many years and I'm an actor in Hollywood, which

0:27:07.320 --> 0:27:10.919
<v Speaker 3>teaches you a lot about tribe and where you belong

0:27:11.040 --> 0:27:12.800
<v Speaker 3>or where they try to tell you you belong and

0:27:12.840 --> 0:27:14.760
<v Speaker 3>you have white managers who tell you to cut your

0:27:14.760 --> 0:27:18.680
<v Speaker 3>hair or tell you to get a nose job right,

0:27:18.720 --> 0:27:24.760
<v Speaker 3>to look more white, more passing, more Eurocentric. And then

0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:31.040
<v Speaker 3>I go to see tanahase Coote speak and he's a genius,

0:27:31.080 --> 0:27:34.199
<v Speaker 3>brilliant man, and he's speaking about black and white. And

0:27:34.240 --> 0:27:35.879
<v Speaker 3>I raise my hand and I say, well, as a

0:27:35.880 --> 0:27:39.359
<v Speaker 3>Dominican Colombian kid from Queen's, where does that leave me

0:27:39.440 --> 0:27:43.439
<v Speaker 3>in the conversation? And he said, not in it, not

0:27:43.560 --> 0:27:46.440
<v Speaker 3>in an aggressive way, not in a just that's it

0:27:46.800 --> 0:27:50.680
<v Speaker 3>is not in it? And I went home a bit shattered.

0:27:52.720 --> 0:27:55.679
<v Speaker 3>Where am I? I've always felt like I wasn't in it?

0:27:56.440 --> 0:27:59.160
<v Speaker 3>What does it mean to be in it? Where's my father?

0:27:59.160 --> 0:28:00.240
<v Speaker 3>Where's my mother? You?

0:28:00.320 --> 0:28:00.639
<v Speaker 4>Mandy?

0:28:00.680 --> 0:28:03.639
<v Speaker 3>What's it mean to take up space? What does it

0:28:03.680 --> 0:28:06.479
<v Speaker 3>mean to look at brownness in that whole middle space

0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:09.920
<v Speaker 3>which is far more than skin color? Right, like in

0:28:10.280 --> 0:28:13.680
<v Speaker 3>a world that is always this or that heishi yes,

0:28:13.840 --> 0:28:17.159
<v Speaker 3>no fail, pass right wrong? What does it look like

0:28:17.240 --> 0:28:21.040
<v Speaker 3>to live and embrace that middle space, to live outside

0:28:21.080 --> 0:28:23.840
<v Speaker 3>of a box, to live outside of a binary. And

0:28:23.880 --> 0:28:25.720
<v Speaker 3>so I wrote this book. This book has been a

0:28:25.760 --> 0:28:33.520
<v Speaker 3>real reclaiming of my voice, and I hope it gives

0:28:33.640 --> 0:28:35.080
<v Speaker 3>other people that same power.

0:28:36.720 --> 0:28:39.680
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I find that really powerful. I mean, obviously ton

0:28:39.680 --> 0:28:42.040
<v Speaker 1>Of Haseekost is a genius, but I've heard you tell

0:28:42.040 --> 0:28:45.000
<v Speaker 1>that anecdote a couple of times, and I'm just like, Ah,

0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:47.000
<v Speaker 1>there may have been a better way to praise that

0:28:48.160 --> 0:28:50.240
<v Speaker 1>instead of like not in it, because I do feel

0:28:50.280 --> 0:28:51.640
<v Speaker 1>like there's a room for all of it. But I

0:28:52.000 --> 0:28:54.520
<v Speaker 1>completely get it. You know, at that moment in America

0:28:54.560 --> 0:28:58.160
<v Speaker 1>when we're so talking about you know, the pain, the

0:28:58.280 --> 0:29:01.600
<v Speaker 1>violence against black bodies and the Black Lives Matter movement

0:29:01.600 --> 0:29:03.800
<v Speaker 1>and all of that, and it belongs here. What I

0:29:03.800 --> 0:29:06.040
<v Speaker 1>love is that you took that feedback and you were like, well,

0:29:06.080 --> 0:29:08.520
<v Speaker 1>let's create a conversation that includes us, because I think

0:29:08.520 --> 0:29:11.480
<v Speaker 1>that we all deserve to be included. It doesn't take

0:29:11.520 --> 0:29:13.800
<v Speaker 1>away from the pain right of growing up black in

0:29:13.840 --> 0:29:16.280
<v Speaker 1>America or the stories there. It's just it's not about

0:29:16.720 --> 0:29:18.440
<v Speaker 1>it's not a zero sum game. And I think that

0:29:18.480 --> 0:29:21.240
<v Speaker 1>there's this there's this, especially in some of my conservative

0:29:21.240 --> 0:29:25.760
<v Speaker 1>white families ideology, that there's this this idea that there's

0:29:25.880 --> 0:29:28.840
<v Speaker 1>if one group is being focused on and being heard,

0:29:29.320 --> 0:29:32.920
<v Speaker 1>that somehow it's taking away from like your own issues

0:29:33.040 --> 0:29:36.200
<v Speaker 1>or what's important to you. But yeah, I just find

0:29:36.240 --> 0:29:38.479
<v Speaker 1>that so so short sighted. And that's why I'm so

0:29:38.520 --> 0:29:41.320
<v Speaker 1>excited to see a book like this even published, because

0:29:41.360 --> 0:29:44.080
<v Speaker 1>traditional publishing, I mean, has not always been the kindest

0:29:44.120 --> 0:29:46.880
<v Speaker 1>to black and brown authors. So that is just a

0:29:46.920 --> 0:29:48.080
<v Speaker 1>feat in and of itself.

0:29:49.320 --> 0:29:50.720
<v Speaker 3>And while I'm you do you want to tap into

0:29:50.800 --> 0:29:54.360
<v Speaker 3>that thing? Sorry, that thing you said about there's a competition.

0:29:54.560 --> 0:29:57.640
<v Speaker 3>It feels that way right, Like, Oh, they got their movie,

0:29:58.520 --> 0:30:01.400
<v Speaker 3>where's my movie? Crazy rich Asians gets their movie, where's

0:30:01.400 --> 0:30:01.880
<v Speaker 3>my movie?

0:30:02.240 --> 0:30:02.400
<v Speaker 2>Oh?

0:30:02.440 --> 0:30:03.920
<v Speaker 3>They got this show, where's my show?

0:30:04.960 --> 0:30:05.080
<v Speaker 1>Oh?

0:30:05.200 --> 0:30:07.720
<v Speaker 3>Heentified gets you know. Oh, the Mexicans get a show,

0:30:07.720 --> 0:30:08.840
<v Speaker 3>where's my where's my show?

0:30:09.840 --> 0:30:10.040
<v Speaker 2>You know?

0:30:10.600 --> 0:30:10.719
<v Speaker 1>Oh?

0:30:10.800 --> 0:30:13.280
<v Speaker 3>Dominicans get Gordica chron where's my show? Where's my port?

0:30:13.480 --> 0:30:19.920
<v Speaker 3>You know? Like, and that is something And I always

0:30:19.960 --> 0:30:23.360
<v Speaker 3>say this, right, we don't win until we all win.

0:30:24.320 --> 0:30:26.760
<v Speaker 3>And I will always quote James Baldwin, as soon as

0:30:26.760 --> 0:30:29.160
<v Speaker 3>you put one person in the cage, you put everybody

0:30:29.160 --> 0:30:34.160
<v Speaker 3>in the cage, White people included. Everybody's. Everybody's in this

0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:43.080
<v Speaker 3>nasty stuff, and we're all suffering the same myths and

0:30:43.200 --> 0:30:46.200
<v Speaker 3>lies that come with whiteness and capitalism and all of

0:30:46.240 --> 0:30:52.280
<v Speaker 3>that and systemic racism. Everyone's in it. And I really

0:30:52.320 --> 0:30:58.120
<v Speaker 3>hope this book and my work challenges that, like we

0:30:58.200 --> 0:31:02.040
<v Speaker 3>can all win, we can all celebrate each other. Just

0:31:02.080 --> 0:31:04.720
<v Speaker 3>because they got up doesn't mean it takes away from you.

0:31:05.120 --> 0:31:09.600
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for saying that. So can we talk about well,

0:31:09.600 --> 0:31:11.600
<v Speaker 1>one thing, I love the title of the book, Brown Enough.

0:31:11.640 --> 0:31:13.880
<v Speaker 1>Obviously we're a show called Brown Ambition, and the reason

0:31:13.920 --> 0:31:18.520
<v Speaker 1>we chose that title was really to highlight the ability

0:31:18.960 --> 0:31:23.000
<v Speaker 1>of our people, black and brown people, to excel, to

0:31:23.040 --> 0:31:27.480
<v Speaker 1>be ambitious, to be successful in spite of all the challenges.

0:31:27.960 --> 0:31:30.280
<v Speaker 1>And we're going to kind of shift the conversations. I

0:31:30.280 --> 0:31:32.120
<v Speaker 1>want to talk about the super sexy part of your

0:31:32.120 --> 0:31:35.160
<v Speaker 1>book where you talk about student loans. But the reality

0:31:35.240 --> 0:31:39.040
<v Speaker 1>is that in this America, and you have a whole

0:31:39.080 --> 0:31:41.200
<v Speaker 1>chapter in your book, I encourage you all to readcalled American.

0:31:42.480 --> 0:31:47.120
<v Speaker 1>But in this America, in order to succeed right and

0:31:47.160 --> 0:31:49.920
<v Speaker 1>to excel, it comes at such a high cost if

0:31:49.920 --> 0:31:53.200
<v Speaker 1>we choose the traditional routes, because I mean the traditional

0:31:53.240 --> 0:31:59.280
<v Speaker 1>avenues for success, meaning higher education, are indescribably like shackling

0:32:00.080 --> 0:32:02.520
<v Speaker 1>whole couple of generations now with black and brown people,

0:32:02.560 --> 0:32:05.920
<v Speaker 1>with enormous student loan debt, and so it's like excel

0:32:06.000 --> 0:32:09.160
<v Speaker 1>and succeed on whose terms? Right? So can you talk

0:32:09.160 --> 0:32:12.240
<v Speaker 1>a little bit about your student loan story and why

0:32:12.560 --> 0:32:16.120
<v Speaker 1>that became such a central part of of your memoir

0:32:16.160 --> 0:32:17.160
<v Speaker 1>of your book.

0:32:17.360 --> 0:32:23.400
<v Speaker 3>I think bodies of cultures access or lack of access

0:32:23.680 --> 0:32:33.040
<v Speaker 3>to financial education from very early on, debt, loans, credit,

0:32:33.600 --> 0:32:38.720
<v Speaker 3>compounded interest. You know, like, my parents didn't know this

0:32:38.840 --> 0:32:41.600
<v Speaker 3>stuff to teach me because they were figuring it out,

0:32:43.080 --> 0:32:48.000
<v Speaker 3>because they were they were caught up in this American dream, right,

0:32:48.080 --> 0:32:51.520
<v Speaker 3>which says, go out and get this by any cost.

0:32:51.640 --> 0:32:53.840
<v Speaker 3>Get the credit card, do this, get the house, get

0:32:53.840 --> 0:32:57.720
<v Speaker 3>the mortgage, and what you show other people is what

0:32:57.760 --> 0:33:02.960
<v Speaker 3>you are. They sort of struggle to be middle class.

0:33:05.480 --> 0:33:10.440
<v Speaker 3>And that American dream also sells you get the best

0:33:10.560 --> 0:33:15.720
<v Speaker 3>education possible, but that doesn't do much to actually help

0:33:15.760 --> 0:33:19.640
<v Speaker 3>you get that education. And then when you leave with

0:33:19.680 --> 0:33:24.240
<v Speaker 3>all this debt, it's as if you were the idiot.

0:33:24.600 --> 0:33:28.360
<v Speaker 3>You made the mistake. But you told me, you told me,

0:33:28.360 --> 0:33:30.400
<v Speaker 3>you said, oh, go to the literally, you know, went

0:33:30.400 --> 0:33:32.640
<v Speaker 3>to one of the best acting programs in the world. Go,

0:33:33.960 --> 0:33:36.200
<v Speaker 3>don't worry, go, that's that's what you know. One of

0:33:36.200 --> 0:33:38.480
<v Speaker 3>the first people in your family to go to college,

0:33:38.520 --> 0:33:42.680
<v Speaker 3>go do it. And so I go. And I have

0:33:42.720 --> 0:33:45.800
<v Speaker 3>all this debt, you know, six figures of debt.

0:33:45.960 --> 0:33:46.880
<v Speaker 1>Can we share the number?

0:33:46.920 --> 0:33:49.120
<v Speaker 3>It's in your book, you can, It's in my book.

0:33:49.120 --> 0:33:52.280
<v Speaker 3>It's the first line of my book. I have two hundred.

0:33:52.320 --> 0:33:54.240
<v Speaker 3>I have two hundred and forty four thousand dollars in

0:33:54.280 --> 0:33:58.719
<v Speaker 3>student loan debt. And no one knows this except everyone

0:33:58.760 --> 0:34:01.720
<v Speaker 3>knows this now. Not even my parents know. They too

0:34:01.800 --> 0:34:07.680
<v Speaker 3>now know, Oh my god. And somehow and all of

0:34:07.680 --> 0:34:10.160
<v Speaker 3>that is compounded interest, right, like I owe more interest

0:34:10.200 --> 0:34:18.600
<v Speaker 3>than the initial loans, and somehow, you know. I think

0:34:18.640 --> 0:34:23.040
<v Speaker 3>student loans specifically really is a way of trying to

0:34:23.120 --> 0:34:26.960
<v Speaker 3>cripple people from making it. In the book, I talk

0:34:27.000 --> 0:34:31.480
<v Speaker 3>about also rans in a horse race. One horse wins,

0:34:31.480 --> 0:34:35.040
<v Speaker 3>but you need the also rants. You need the competition,

0:34:35.560 --> 0:34:38.600
<v Speaker 3>you need the idea that they might win. That's what

0:34:38.680 --> 0:34:43.640
<v Speaker 3>keeps people betting. And I think this society systemically wants

0:34:43.719 --> 0:34:48.359
<v Speaker 3>also rans. We want more also rans than winners. So

0:34:48.400 --> 0:34:51.080
<v Speaker 3>we sell them a dream, we sell them capitalism, we

0:34:51.160 --> 0:34:55.000
<v Speaker 3>sell them all this stuff they should go after. And

0:34:55.080 --> 0:34:57.239
<v Speaker 3>only until we start to do the unplugging do we

0:34:57.280 --> 0:34:59.960
<v Speaker 3>see why we're chasing the carrot dangling from our head

0:35:00.320 --> 0:35:05.719
<v Speaker 3>that we didn't even put there. So student loans is

0:35:05.719 --> 0:35:07.400
<v Speaker 3>a very big deal to me because I feel so

0:35:07.480 --> 0:35:11.279
<v Speaker 3>blessed and lucky that every day, somehow I got to

0:35:11.320 --> 0:35:13.200
<v Speaker 3>make it work till the point where I could finally

0:35:13.239 --> 0:35:17.120
<v Speaker 3>start paying them back. I got to scheme in Machavelli

0:35:17.239 --> 0:35:19.480
<v Speaker 3>my way to the point where it didn't cripple me

0:35:19.640 --> 0:35:22.279
<v Speaker 3>and break me, and it almost did. I lived in

0:35:22.280 --> 0:35:24.480
<v Speaker 3>my car for a year, you know, like I did

0:35:24.520 --> 0:35:26.640
<v Speaker 3>all this stuff. I did anything I could to still

0:35:26.680 --> 0:35:30.080
<v Speaker 3>be able to be an artist, sort of praying that

0:35:30.120 --> 0:35:31.640
<v Speaker 3>one day I would get to this point. And there

0:35:31.680 --> 0:35:35.319
<v Speaker 3>is a bit of luck right. My favorite tweet is

0:35:35.320 --> 0:35:39.560
<v Speaker 3>the gofund me, you know, cool website to support friends,

0:35:39.600 --> 0:35:42.080
<v Speaker 3>and then twenty twenty, it's like that was when it launched,

0:35:42.080 --> 0:35:45.480
<v Speaker 3>and then twenty twenty the backbone of the American healthcare system.

0:35:45.760 --> 0:35:47.959
<v Speaker 1>And it's not just you either. It's not just our

0:35:48.080 --> 0:35:51.040
<v Speaker 1>kids who were taking on these six figure student loan debts.

0:35:51.320 --> 0:35:54.080
<v Speaker 1>I mean you you open up about your family is

0:35:54.680 --> 0:35:57.000
<v Speaker 1>co signed those loans signers. It's not just your mom

0:35:57.000 --> 0:35:58.520
<v Speaker 1>and David, you or your uncle.

0:35:59.000 --> 0:36:01.080
<v Speaker 3>You got your uncle, oh, good to you.

0:36:02.160 --> 0:36:04.799
<v Speaker 1>But I mean, in all seriousness, it's like it's not

0:36:05.000 --> 0:36:08.000
<v Speaker 1>just about the kids. It's often like even the adults,

0:36:08.640 --> 0:36:11.480
<v Speaker 1>you know, our parents, who because these loans are so enormous,

0:36:11.520 --> 0:36:13.840
<v Speaker 1>you have to have a co signer. And so this

0:36:13.960 --> 0:36:17.480
<v Speaker 1>whole like idea that oh, it's just ignorant eighteen year

0:36:17.480 --> 0:36:19.200
<v Speaker 1>olds who were doing this and they should have known

0:36:19.239 --> 0:36:21.560
<v Speaker 1>better and if only someone would have told them, we

0:36:21.640 --> 0:36:25.480
<v Speaker 1>all need more education, you know, like at the like adults,

0:36:25.520 --> 0:36:28.400
<v Speaker 1>all of that. But how has that now that obviously

0:36:28.440 --> 0:36:31.360
<v Speaker 1>you're able to start paying that those loans back, was

0:36:31.400 --> 0:36:34.240
<v Speaker 1>there damage to your relationships because of the co signing

0:36:34.360 --> 0:36:38.160
<v Speaker 1>or like, what's your what's the conversations around that now

0:36:38.200 --> 0:36:40.880
<v Speaker 1>with your with your family who was nice enough to

0:36:40.920 --> 0:36:42.080
<v Speaker 1>co sign those loans for you?

0:36:43.000 --> 0:36:46.520
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I want to go back to like my my

0:36:46.600 --> 0:36:49.400
<v Speaker 3>mom was born in Columbia, right, she didn't get to

0:36:49.440 --> 0:36:51.400
<v Speaker 3>go to college. Like I really want to put that

0:36:51.480 --> 0:36:55.600
<v Speaker 3>on our understand our generation and where our families come from.

0:36:56.320 --> 0:36:59.560
<v Speaker 3>My dad didn't go to college. And so when their

0:36:59.560 --> 0:37:02.640
<v Speaker 3>son gets into all these colleges and he sits on

0:37:02.680 --> 0:37:05.319
<v Speaker 3>the couch crying because he knows his parents can't afford it.

0:37:06.840 --> 0:37:09.799
<v Speaker 3>But they love their son and they love like, oh,

0:37:09.840 --> 0:37:11.919
<v Speaker 3>we worked this hard to allow our son to even

0:37:11.960 --> 0:37:17.359
<v Speaker 3>have this opportunity. We worked two jobs. Those two jobs

0:37:17.360 --> 0:37:20.279
<v Speaker 3>got us a house. This, this, this, to give him

0:37:20.280 --> 0:37:23.440
<v Speaker 3>this opportunity, we have to do whatever it is. And

0:37:23.480 --> 0:37:25.520
<v Speaker 3>then as a family, we sit down and read sixty

0:37:25.560 --> 0:37:30.840
<v Speaker 3>pages of gibberish with no education, as if we're supposed

0:37:30.840 --> 0:37:33.440
<v Speaker 3>to understand what we're signing into. But what we're signing

0:37:33.520 --> 0:37:37.719
<v Speaker 3>into is that dream. You know, my parents trying to

0:37:37.719 --> 0:37:40.480
<v Speaker 3>give me everything they never had. And that's so many families, right,

0:37:40.520 --> 0:37:45.120
<v Speaker 3>It's not the ignorant eighteen year old, it's it's the families,

0:37:45.160 --> 0:37:48.280
<v Speaker 3>it's society. It's so much is in this one idea

0:37:48.320 --> 0:37:52.080
<v Speaker 3>of a student loan, of an education that costs absorbant

0:37:52.120 --> 0:37:56.440
<v Speaker 3>amounts of money. How has that affected our relationships? It?

0:37:57.320 --> 0:38:00.040
<v Speaker 3>Thank god, it hasn't, you know. I feel lucky. I

0:38:00.040 --> 0:38:02.839
<v Speaker 3>don't think this is everyone's situation except maybe my uncle.

0:38:02.920 --> 0:38:05.200
<v Speaker 3>My uncle hated the phone calls and was always calling

0:38:05.320 --> 0:38:10.000
<v Speaker 3>me and always, always, always always calling me, and he

0:38:10.120 --> 0:38:13.200
<v Speaker 3>was worried and he was scared. You know, they call

0:38:13.320 --> 0:38:16.000
<v Speaker 3>a lot. I got the calls, my dad got the calls.

0:38:16.480 --> 0:38:18.319
<v Speaker 3>That's why I went to get a PhD. Right, Like,

0:38:18.400 --> 0:38:21.719
<v Speaker 3>everything I did was like I'm gonna just keep like,

0:38:21.800 --> 0:38:23.719
<v Speaker 3>let me and roll back in school, right, figure out

0:38:23.760 --> 0:38:25.160
<v Speaker 3>a way to do this, figure out a way to

0:38:25.200 --> 0:38:27.600
<v Speaker 3>do it, figure out a way to pause, to pause.

0:38:27.680 --> 0:38:30.120
<v Speaker 3>Pause the loans pause them. But at the end of

0:38:30.160 --> 0:38:34.279
<v Speaker 3>the day, I really did have whether they admitted or not,

0:38:34.360 --> 0:38:35.759
<v Speaker 3>I don't know. That's how I take it. I had

0:38:35.800 --> 0:38:39.120
<v Speaker 3>people in my life who believed in me, you know,

0:38:40.120 --> 0:38:44.120
<v Speaker 3>and I'm glad they did. And I'm really again, it's

0:38:44.160 --> 0:38:46.680
<v Speaker 3>just there's an overall gratitude because I know so many

0:38:46.719 --> 0:38:49.520
<v Speaker 3>people who didn't get to be artists, who didn't get

0:38:49.560 --> 0:38:51.759
<v Speaker 3>to be what they wanted to be because they had

0:38:51.760 --> 0:38:53.680
<v Speaker 3>to work three or four jobs to start paying back

0:38:53.719 --> 0:38:56.400
<v Speaker 3>their loans, which are sometimes more money than their rent.

0:38:56.640 --> 0:38:59.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, or even artists who are afraid or hear the

0:39:00.200 --> 0:39:03.479
<v Speaker 1>you know, hear a story like yours and then don't

0:39:03.480 --> 0:39:05.920
<v Speaker 1>see another way like don't see you like, are too

0:39:06.000 --> 0:39:09.880
<v Speaker 1>afraid because they're worried about settling themselves with debt. I

0:39:09.880 --> 0:39:13.879
<v Speaker 1>think about myself as a writer growing up and thinking, well,

0:39:13.880 --> 0:39:16.440
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to study journalism because you know, I had

0:39:16.440 --> 0:39:18.640
<v Speaker 1>these dreams of being a writer and like writing novels

0:39:18.640 --> 0:39:20.759
<v Speaker 1>and maybe writing plays. But for me, I was like, well,

0:39:20.800 --> 0:39:23.239
<v Speaker 1>I need to make money because ain't nobody come in

0:39:23.320 --> 0:39:25.640
<v Speaker 1>to save me or you know, help me with this life.

0:39:26.040 --> 0:39:28.880
<v Speaker 1>So it's almost that pressure like do we do something sensible,

0:39:29.520 --> 0:39:35.120
<v Speaker 1>you know? Or do we follow our dreams? And you know,

0:39:35.239 --> 0:39:37.480
<v Speaker 1>it's and I also feel like it's that in between,

0:39:37.560 --> 0:39:39.839
<v Speaker 1>like there's not it's not black or white in that way.

0:39:40.440 --> 0:39:42.440
<v Speaker 1>It doesn't have to be all or nothing. But like

0:39:42.480 --> 0:39:46.160
<v Speaker 1>hopefully stories were like yours, I hope won't make people

0:39:46.200 --> 0:39:48.880
<v Speaker 1>afraid to pursue their ambitions if it's like to be

0:39:48.880 --> 0:39:51.399
<v Speaker 1>an artist and whatnot, but maybe just to like look

0:39:51.440 --> 0:39:55.080
<v Speaker 1>for other you know, other avenues, other programs, other other

0:39:55.120 --> 0:39:58.480
<v Speaker 1>ways to do it without having to immediately just like

0:39:58.520 --> 0:40:00.719
<v Speaker 1>sign up for all those loans? Would you agree? Or

0:40:00.719 --> 0:40:02.520
<v Speaker 1>how do you feel about it? Yeah?

0:40:02.520 --> 0:40:04.279
<v Speaker 3>I mean that's how I end the chapter, right Like

0:40:04.320 --> 0:40:05.960
<v Speaker 3>if a young person asked me if I should go

0:40:06.040 --> 0:40:09.320
<v Speaker 3>to college today, I would quote, you know, I quote

0:40:09.320 --> 0:40:15.600
<v Speaker 3>the poet Maggie Smith and her poem good Bones. Any

0:40:15.640 --> 0:40:19.840
<v Speaker 3>realtor taking you through a real shithole will chirp on

0:40:19.920 --> 0:40:24.120
<v Speaker 3>about the good bones. This place has good bones. She

0:40:24.239 --> 0:40:33.400
<v Speaker 3>says this place could be something one day. And I

0:40:33.440 --> 0:40:37.960
<v Speaker 3>reference that poem because I think it's important to know

0:40:38.000 --> 0:40:42.160
<v Speaker 3>when you're walking into a shithole and to know about

0:40:42.160 --> 0:40:46.759
<v Speaker 3>the good bones. And I just want all children. And

0:40:46.800 --> 0:40:49.640
<v Speaker 3>this is why I think the education of finance and

0:40:49.760 --> 0:40:54.680
<v Speaker 3>opportunity and options is so important. Very young to say,

0:40:54.760 --> 0:40:57.759
<v Speaker 3>you know, there's community college and they're actually quite good.

0:40:58.719 --> 0:40:59.279
<v Speaker 2>You know.

0:40:59.440 --> 0:41:03.280
<v Speaker 3>Like, I'm not anti education, I'm anti the cost of education.

0:41:03.920 --> 0:41:06.399
<v Speaker 3>And I want to be really clear about that. Going

0:41:06.440 --> 0:41:08.560
<v Speaker 3>to college was one of the greatest times of my life.

0:41:08.680 --> 0:41:10.319
<v Speaker 3>I mean, I think it really made me who I

0:41:10.320 --> 0:41:14.520
<v Speaker 3>am today, especially that school. I value the education in

0:41:14.560 --> 0:41:19.200
<v Speaker 3>the community like and I want everyone to have that opportunity.

0:41:19.680 --> 0:41:22.000
<v Speaker 3>But I also want them to challenge and be aware

0:41:23.160 --> 0:41:28.319
<v Speaker 3>that asking a young person to take out loans that

0:41:28.520 --> 0:41:33.000
<v Speaker 3>size is criminal and I really want them to be

0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:36.719
<v Speaker 3>aware of that. And I didn't understand it. I did

0:41:36.760 --> 0:41:39.320
<v Speaker 3>not have that education, I did not have that language.

0:41:39.600 --> 0:41:42.440
<v Speaker 3>And so I'm not anti education, I'm anti the exportment

0:41:42.600 --> 0:41:44.200
<v Speaker 3>cost of education.

0:41:44.440 --> 0:41:46.360
<v Speaker 1>This is why we need this book to like require

0:41:46.400 --> 0:41:48.440
<v Speaker 1>reading for high school students. This is like the prime

0:41:48.480 --> 0:41:52.359
<v Speaker 1>opportunity get them before they make the same you know decisions.

0:41:53.640 --> 0:41:55.879
<v Speaker 1>I love that. Okay, So sort of just to tie

0:41:56.120 --> 0:41:59.400
<v Speaker 1>the conversation up, talk a little bit about I mean,

0:41:59.400 --> 0:42:00.920
<v Speaker 1>I think I know pe we are probably curious and

0:42:00.960 --> 0:42:03.880
<v Speaker 1>we've had questions from listeners who are in the arts.

0:42:04.280 --> 0:42:07.520
<v Speaker 1>So what's your advice to young or maybe not even young,

0:42:07.560 --> 0:42:09.359
<v Speaker 1>because I don't want to be ageous, but anyone out

0:42:09.360 --> 0:42:13.239
<v Speaker 1>there who's dreaming of pursuing a career, and let's talk

0:42:13.280 --> 0:42:15.880
<v Speaker 1>about theater maybe or film, whatever you consider to be

0:42:15.920 --> 0:42:18.120
<v Speaker 1>your primary focus, right, because you do a little bit

0:42:18.120 --> 0:42:20.839
<v Speaker 1>of everything, what advice do you have to people who

0:42:20.840 --> 0:42:24.000
<v Speaker 1>are wanting to get a career in the arts and

0:42:24.040 --> 0:42:24.960
<v Speaker 1>make it successful.

0:42:25.680 --> 0:42:28.840
<v Speaker 3>Yeah. So, I think being an artist is one of

0:42:29.320 --> 0:42:33.920
<v Speaker 3>the most important positions in society and in the world.

0:42:35.040 --> 0:42:37.399
<v Speaker 3>This is why when a dictator comes in, the first

0:42:37.400 --> 0:42:40.680
<v Speaker 3>thing they get rid of the lawyers and the like.

0:42:40.840 --> 0:42:45.000
<v Speaker 3>Artist artists have an ability to speak on what is,

0:42:45.600 --> 0:42:48.319
<v Speaker 3>to call out the good bones and the shit all

0:42:48.360 --> 0:42:53.440
<v Speaker 3>at once. And so anyone who's young or old, or

0:42:53.520 --> 0:42:58.520
<v Speaker 3>middle or something who's thinking about being an artist, one

0:42:58.520 --> 0:43:00.840
<v Speaker 3>I'd say you already are you know, and you're an

0:43:00.920 --> 0:43:04.239
<v Speaker 3>artist regardless of this sort of success or so called

0:43:04.239 --> 0:43:07.120
<v Speaker 3>blah blah blah blah. You achieve you are an artist

0:43:07.239 --> 0:43:10.120
<v Speaker 3>and you need to be an artist. Now, whether the

0:43:10.160 --> 0:43:12.000
<v Speaker 3>conversation is do I have to go to school in

0:43:12.080 --> 0:43:14.480
<v Speaker 3>order to be this painter and store to study fine artists,

0:43:14.520 --> 0:43:17.720
<v Speaker 3>or to study theater or to study writing, I would

0:43:17.760 --> 0:43:21.040
<v Speaker 3>just invite you to consider what are the other programs

0:43:21.040 --> 0:43:23.520
<v Speaker 3>out there? Is it better? Is this a field where

0:43:23.560 --> 0:43:25.440
<v Speaker 3>you can just go in and start doing the work.

0:43:25.640 --> 0:43:28.439
<v Speaker 3>I will say this, like, I you know, I worked

0:43:28.480 --> 0:43:29.799
<v Speaker 3>a lot in New York when I was a kid,

0:43:29.840 --> 0:43:32.520
<v Speaker 3>and then I stopped acting and I moved to Miami

0:43:32.600 --> 0:43:34.479
<v Speaker 3>and I was like a personal trainer on South Beach,

0:43:34.520 --> 0:43:37.560
<v Speaker 3>and I knew I wanted to act again. It like

0:43:37.640 --> 0:43:40.239
<v Speaker 3>really it really hit me. But I knew I wanted

0:43:40.280 --> 0:43:43.920
<v Speaker 3>to go to school. I knew I really really really

0:43:43.960 --> 0:43:47.600
<v Speaker 3>wanted to study it because I like I loved it

0:43:47.640 --> 0:43:51.400
<v Speaker 3>and I lacked an intimate knowledge of its history and

0:43:51.400 --> 0:43:53.560
<v Speaker 3>where it came from. I thought about, like, let me

0:43:53.600 --> 0:43:55.160
<v Speaker 3>just move to La, let me I got, let me

0:43:55.200 --> 0:43:56.880
<v Speaker 3>save this money and let me move to LA and

0:43:56.960 --> 0:43:59.120
<v Speaker 3>just try and figure it out. But I wanted to

0:43:59.200 --> 0:44:03.799
<v Speaker 3>study it, and I'm just so be the artist. We

0:44:03.880 --> 0:44:07.239
<v Speaker 3>need you, We need you be the artist you are.

0:44:07.560 --> 0:44:11.280
<v Speaker 3>We need you. And if you want to go to school,

0:44:12.120 --> 0:44:15.239
<v Speaker 3>really just test the waters, test your options, consider it.

0:44:16.239 --> 0:44:20.080
<v Speaker 3>And if you think you're like this is it. I

0:44:20.120 --> 0:44:21.920
<v Speaker 3>want to do this. I want to do this for

0:44:21.920 --> 0:44:26.000
<v Speaker 3>forty to sixty thousand dollars a year. Great, take that journey,

0:44:26.800 --> 0:44:29.120
<v Speaker 3>you know, but you're going in consciously and that's what's

0:44:29.160 --> 0:44:30.280
<v Speaker 3>really important.

0:44:30.520 --> 0:44:32.839
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and even getting a mentor, like someone who's been

0:44:32.880 --> 0:44:34.880
<v Speaker 1>there a little bit like bind you a Chris Reebus

0:44:34.880 --> 0:44:38.840
<v Speaker 1>out there. I mean like that could be crucial, like

0:44:38.920 --> 0:44:42.400
<v Speaker 1>having someone who can sort of share their experience before. Yeah,

0:44:42.440 --> 0:44:45.319
<v Speaker 1>you make that huge investment. Okay, Chris? Do you think

0:44:45.320 --> 0:44:47.080
<v Speaker 1>you're Brown enough? Is that the open end? Is there

0:44:47.120 --> 0:44:48.960
<v Speaker 1>a question at the end of this for the book?

0:44:49.680 --> 0:44:53.680
<v Speaker 3>Is there a I am enough? So at some point

0:44:53.719 --> 0:44:57.239
<v Speaker 3>I think we move beyond brown? Right? Like brown? Is

0:44:57.280 --> 0:45:00.839
<v Speaker 3>this invitation to think about the middle space in all

0:45:00.880 --> 0:45:03.360
<v Speaker 3>of your life, what it means to use your voice,

0:45:03.400 --> 0:45:05.160
<v Speaker 3>what it means to take up space, what it means

0:45:05.200 --> 0:45:08.640
<v Speaker 3>to cast a spell of self worth and really, which

0:45:08.680 --> 0:45:12.439
<v Speaker 3>then evolves to I am enough just as I am,

0:45:13.160 --> 0:45:15.600
<v Speaker 3>I am enough, just as I am with what's in

0:45:15.680 --> 0:45:21.239
<v Speaker 3>my bank account, with what I'm wearing with my skin, color,

0:45:21.239 --> 0:45:24.759
<v Speaker 3>with my hair, with my questions about whether I want

0:45:24.760 --> 0:45:27.560
<v Speaker 3>to be an artist or not. Like, right here, right now,

0:45:27.920 --> 0:45:32.160
<v Speaker 3>I am enough, and I can begin from this place

0:45:32.160 --> 0:45:35.440
<v Speaker 3>of fullness rather than a place of lack and less.

0:45:36.000 --> 0:45:37.680
<v Speaker 3>And I need to go after this in order to

0:45:37.719 --> 0:45:41.960
<v Speaker 3>be enough. And so I hope the book ends for

0:45:42.080 --> 0:45:45.319
<v Speaker 3>others the way I actually think it. You know, in

0:45:45.440 --> 0:45:48.359
<v Speaker 3>days and granted it's a spectrum, right Like, there are

0:45:48.440 --> 0:45:51.040
<v Speaker 3>days where I'm like, yeah, I'm here, i am enough,

0:45:51.440 --> 0:45:53.680
<v Speaker 3>I am Brown enough, I'm enough, I'm Revis enough, I'm

0:45:53.719 --> 0:45:58.040
<v Speaker 3>Chris enough. You know, I'm like, I'm enough. And then

0:45:58.080 --> 0:46:01.239
<v Speaker 3>there are days where we're still in the matrix. So

0:46:01.280 --> 0:46:03.560
<v Speaker 3>the matrix hits you hard and you don't feel so

0:46:03.640 --> 0:46:08.279
<v Speaker 3>much enough. But it's ideally about transcending past, you know,

0:46:10.520 --> 0:46:13.640
<v Speaker 3>brownness fitting in Latin on this Latini that x E

0:46:13.960 --> 0:46:18.279
<v Speaker 3>like blackness and just saying I'm enough because this whole

0:46:18.280 --> 0:46:22.279
<v Speaker 3>world is trying to tell you you're not, but you are.

0:46:23.760 --> 0:46:25.680
<v Speaker 1>That's beautiful. We thank you for creating a work of

0:46:25.800 --> 0:46:29.160
<v Speaker 1>art and a real gift. I feel like to anyone

0:46:29.200 --> 0:46:31.520
<v Speaker 1>out there who's been struggle, whether you're struggling with your

0:46:31.560 --> 0:46:33.359
<v Speaker 1>identity now or you have in the past. I think

0:46:33.400 --> 0:46:36.280
<v Speaker 1>it's just a welcome reminder that you can be enough

0:46:37.360 --> 0:46:39.040
<v Speaker 1>and that you're not the only one going through it.

0:46:39.160 --> 0:46:42.880
<v Speaker 1>So again, ba fam, y'all have to pick up Chris's book.

0:46:43.640 --> 0:46:47.640
<v Speaker 1>It's called Brown Enough, sold wherever you can find books.

0:46:48.120 --> 0:46:50.040
<v Speaker 1>What else can we plug? Check out your new book,

0:46:50.080 --> 0:46:51.480
<v Speaker 1>I'll tell brown Enough.

0:46:52.120 --> 0:46:54.919
<v Speaker 3>I'll tap into what you said about publishing. Yeah, since

0:46:55.000 --> 0:46:56.960
<v Speaker 3>nineteen fifty and y'all can look this up in the

0:46:56.960 --> 0:47:00.680
<v Speaker 3>New York Times did a beautiful article on it. Only

0:47:00.719 --> 0:47:04.600
<v Speaker 3>five percent of books published since nineteen fifty have been

0:47:04.640 --> 0:47:10.080
<v Speaker 3>by non white authors five percent. And so if you're

0:47:10.600 --> 0:47:12.920
<v Speaker 3>one of those people listening, which I imagine you are,

0:47:13.080 --> 0:47:16.200
<v Speaker 3>who's like, I like diversity, equity, inclusion. I want everyone

0:47:16.239 --> 0:47:19.440
<v Speaker 3>to have a chance five percent. That means we have

0:47:19.480 --> 0:47:23.600
<v Speaker 3>to be conscious about what we're reading, absorbing, picking up,

0:47:23.680 --> 0:47:27.280
<v Speaker 3>listening to whose art? Are we listening to? Whose podcast?

0:47:27.360 --> 0:47:29.120
<v Speaker 3>Who's this? And one of the ways we do that

0:47:29.200 --> 0:47:31.600
<v Speaker 3>is we support especially in publishing. You got to buy

0:47:31.600 --> 0:47:34.120
<v Speaker 3>the book, you know, and if it's not mine, awesome,

0:47:34.120 --> 0:47:36.680
<v Speaker 3>but go buy somebody's. Go get you a bell Hooks,

0:47:36.680 --> 0:47:39.319
<v Speaker 3>Go get you a Julius had to say, go get

0:47:39.360 --> 0:47:40.160
<v Speaker 3>you something you.

0:47:40.120 --> 0:47:41.280
<v Speaker 1>Know likedne eliche.

0:47:42.320 --> 0:47:45.719
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, there you go, go get you one. Please do

0:47:45.960 --> 0:47:48.359
<v Speaker 3>that is by a body of culture, please.

0:47:48.040 --> 0:47:51.920
<v Speaker 1>Because there Hell yeah, if your book does well, it

0:47:51.960 --> 0:47:53.960
<v Speaker 1>makes it easier for the next Chris, for the next

0:47:53.960 --> 0:47:55.319
<v Speaker 1>meet because I'm working on a book too.

0:47:55.640 --> 0:47:57.400
<v Speaker 3>It makes it easier for first well, it raised it

0:47:57.440 --> 0:47:59.520
<v Speaker 3>one percent, you know, and then one percent and then

0:47:59.560 --> 0:48:00.000
<v Speaker 3>one percent.

0:48:00.800 --> 0:48:03.680
<v Speaker 1>There is a room for all of us, right It

0:48:03.719 --> 0:48:05.520
<v Speaker 1>feels that way to me. There's a room for all

0:48:05.520 --> 0:48:09.680
<v Speaker 1>of us. Christopher Riva, thank you so much for joining

0:48:09.680 --> 0:48:11.560
<v Speaker 1>Brown Ambition and sharing some of your light with us.

0:48:11.640 --> 0:48:13.160
<v Speaker 1>I so appreciate it, friend.

0:48:13.200 --> 0:48:15.880
<v Speaker 3>I appreciate you. Thank you very much. I love your

0:48:15.920 --> 0:48:16.520
<v Speaker 3>hair right now.

0:48:16.880 --> 0:48:17.600
<v Speaker 1>Oh thank you?

0:48:18.200 --> 0:48:18.640
<v Speaker 2>Oh damn.

0:48:18.680 --> 0:48:20.400
<v Speaker 1>I didn't even get to talk about the anecdote with

0:48:20.400 --> 0:48:22.520
<v Speaker 1>the clothes pin on the nose. Oh ye, would you

0:48:22.640 --> 0:48:24.160
<v Speaker 1>like a quick outtake? Is that for real?

0:48:24.480 --> 0:48:24.680
<v Speaker 3>Yeah?

0:48:24.920 --> 0:48:27.520
<v Speaker 1>Aunties were telling people to put clothes pins on their nose.

0:48:28.120 --> 0:48:30.680
<v Speaker 3>Oh yeah, all the time. Make it straighter the play

0:48:30.840 --> 0:48:33.520
<v Speaker 3>when we do the play, and I do that because

0:48:33.520 --> 0:48:35.560
<v Speaker 3>we hide it in the audience and everyone gets one.

0:48:36.000 --> 0:48:38.520
<v Speaker 3>I get so many. I mean it for some people

0:48:38.560 --> 0:48:41.840
<v Speaker 3>it's funny for some people, it's heart breaking, right, I

0:48:41.840 --> 0:48:44.600
<v Speaker 3>guess so many people who say, man, my grandma told

0:48:44.640 --> 0:48:46.000
<v Speaker 3>me to do the same thing, my mom told me

0:48:46.000 --> 0:48:47.520
<v Speaker 3>to do that, my dad told me to do that.

0:48:47.880 --> 0:48:50.640
<v Speaker 1>Wow, all the time, I mean, I thought the whole

0:48:50.719 --> 0:48:52.680
<v Speaker 1>chemical in your hair to make it straight. That was

0:48:52.719 --> 0:48:55.560
<v Speaker 1>the That was very painful. Okay, I still have the scars,

0:48:55.600 --> 0:48:58.120
<v Speaker 1>but the clothes pin, like, oh my god, it would

0:48:58.160 --> 0:48:59.759
<v Speaker 1>have taken much more than a clothes pin for this

0:48:59.800 --> 0:49:04.719
<v Speaker 1>schnauztuk anywhere. I can't imagine, Oh my god. Yeah, well

0:49:04.840 --> 0:49:06.719
<v Speaker 1>for that anecdote and others. Y'all got to check out

0:49:06.760 --> 0:49:09.960
<v Speaker 1>the book. But thank you Chris again for joining.

0:49:10.480 --> 0:49:12.480
<v Speaker 3>Thank you. I appreciate all of you.

0:49:13.719 --> 0:49:15.960
<v Speaker 1>Hey ba fam, we could not do this show without

0:49:16.000 --> 0:49:19.040
<v Speaker 1>your support or the support of our team behind the scenes.

0:49:19.320 --> 0:49:22.960
<v Speaker 1>The Brown Ambission podcast is produced by Cumulus Podcast Network.

0:49:23.000 --> 0:49:26.520
<v Speaker 1>It's edited by the wonderful Imani Crosby and produced by

0:49:26.520 --> 0:49:30.280
<v Speaker 1>Tanya Bustos. Dennis Stimplinsky is our in house tech guru,

0:49:30.719 --> 0:49:33.440
<v Speaker 1>and I am Bandy Woodrid Santos your co host, and

0:49:33.560 --> 0:49:38.080
<v Speaker 1>I will see y'all next week.