WEBVTT - SHONTAY LUNDY – Franks & Beans with Sugar 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.239 Welcome you all to another episode of Eating While Broke. 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:05.680 I'm your host, Colleen Wit and today we have special 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:09.440 guests Dante Lundie in the building, founder and owner of 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:13.760 Black Girl's Sunscreen. What do you have us eating today? Well? Hello, 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.319 thank you for having thank you for joining us. All Right, 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:21.759 so I'm gonna prepare for you all, or you my 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.520 favorite dish of all time, favorite dish, favorite dish of 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:29.360 all time. Um, hot dogs and beans or to some 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:34.720 beanies and wheenies and to others franks and beans. Franks 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:38.159 and beans. So it could be called three things, one 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:42.240 of three things to me different people, and it's your 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:46.559 favorite dish, like to date, all the foods you've had. Yeah, 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:49.600 because I'm not a cooker, and this is something that 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:58.120 I can easily prepare, it's affordable, and so I'm curious, 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:01.279 when was the last time you ate this? About a 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:03.880 month and a half ago? Okay, okay, was it like 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:05.440 the middle of the night or you were like, I'm 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.960 craving it? No, straight up dinner? Yeah, straight up dinner. Um. 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:13.479 I work a lot long hours, and um, I didn't 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.520 feel like, you know, spending money on delivery, and it 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.160 was something that I had in the fridge, and you 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.280 can't go wrong with beans not perishable in the in 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:26.520 the cabinet. You know, I used to live in South Florida, so, um, 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:28.920 we would have to prepare for hurricane season, so like 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.160 beans isn't essential, So I always have beans in the house. 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.640 But you're originally from New York and then you lived 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:36.960 in Florida and now you live in l A. That's right. 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.720 Quite a journey, right, Yeah. You you're a mover and 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:42.520 a shaker, a risk taker, a risk that's how I 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:46.399 see those moves. Yeah, yeah, you're a visionary too. I 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:50.480 like to consider myself as Yeah, that's amazing. So while 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.680 you prepare this dish, I gotta know how you go 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:58.600 from how you get to building black girls on the screen. 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.800 This wasn't a first venture, was it? As an entrepreneur? 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:07.360 It was? It was it was leaving upstate New York 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:11.920 right after college to South Florida, pursuing my graduate degree 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.560 in business, and um, being in the corporate space for 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.080 twelve or thirteen years, transitioning out and then saying, you 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.680 know what, I must continue on my life journey and 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.520 that meant coming to Los Angeles because that's always been 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:28.520 part of the plan. Um. While I got here, it 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:32.160 was it was interesting because you can drive down the 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.960 street whatever to three o'clock and see people having coffee, tea, 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.079 eating and just kind of like, what do they do? 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.920 Why are they not at work? How do they do 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:46.359 what they do and live in these houses? Right? There's 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.680 many different reasons, many different things. So it's kind of like, 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.959 all right, So while I transitioned out of the corporate space, 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.480 I had time on my hands because I moved here 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:59.520 with no job, no place to live. I just literally 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.959 got into my Twodor infinity with my my English bulldog, 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.240 and I drove to Los Angeles and I said, I'm 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:07.600 gonna find whatever I'm gonna do when I get there. 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:09.720 And I got here to stay with a friend for 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.000 legit two weeks, because that's the timeline I gave myself, 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:16.920 found an apartment and started hiking and doing lots of yoga, 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.480 and um, really appreciating the time that I had to 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:25.560 myself because I'm coming from like a really structured you know, 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:28.880 just time, right, Like most people are starting school at 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.320 the age of five, then you go to twelfth grade. 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:33.160 Some people go to college and some people don't. I 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.560 choose to go to college, right, another four years. Then 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.400 I did my graduate program two years. Right, so we're 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.080 on like whatever, eighteen years of school right. Then I 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.800 worked in corporate for twelve years, so waking up at 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.520 six o'clock in the morning and going till four or five. 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:52.040 I was also in extracurriculum activities such as whatever cheerlating track. 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:56.440 I played the violin. My first job was, um, I was. 0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.280 I did a paper out. I was at fifteen years 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.320 old and I had to get a paper out because 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.200 I wanted my own things. So in the eighties and 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.640 the nineties, I'm aging myself here. Um. One of the 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.840 cool things was to have your own phone right in 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.160 your bedroom, in your bedroom that is not a cell phone, 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:16.400 like a phone that was like connected to the wall 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:19.039 right with the caller I d But in order for 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.560 me to get that that phone, I had to work 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.320 for it. Right. It wasn't attached to my my family's 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:26.360 phone line, like I had my own phone number as 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.720 a teenage girl. Oh that's a big deal, A huge deal. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.240 So what are they like answering? You know, back in 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:34.239 the day, they would just you know, everyone would answer 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:35.919 phone hello, Hello, Hello, and you'll be like mom, my 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:38.080 got it like one of those and you're like, I'm 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:39.640 done with this. I'm dealing with it. And then your 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:42.000 parents were like, get you know, if you want a phone, 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:45.600 you better you gotta get a job, whether it's babysitting. Yeah, 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:49.159 but I was always um wanted to be like independent, 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.479 if you will. So first job, age of fifteen, And 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.240 I'm gonna circle back to how we got to Black 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.120 Girl's Sunsteen because all of these things that I'm sharing 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:01.880 with you is part of the journey, right, So, first 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:03.400 of all, having a job at the age of fifteen 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:07.440 is huge sacrifice, especially as as a teenager. And if 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.599 your job started at three o'clock in the morning, that 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.720 means you can't have sleepovers like that's important for teenagers, 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.280 especially teenage girls. But it also sounds like you're very 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:19.000 popular because you you needed this phone, so you're popular 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:20.719 giving up your right. I don't know how do you 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:23.560 define popular? Well, did you have a bunch of friends? No, 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.400 I like a few friends, but I was on cheer leading. 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:30.320 I don't know. Popular weird, that's weird. That term popular 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.640 was weird. But you did sacrifice, Yes, I did sacrifice. 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.400 I did sacrifice, like not being able to go to 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:39.680 those parties, not being able to sleep over and um 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:43.039 having to roll up papers in the rain and deliver them. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:46.040 And then also like how do you get subscriptions to 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.719 how do you get new customers? So that's where the 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:52.400 salesmanship came in and that's how I learned. So anyway, 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:57.880 fast forward to being in Los Angeles. UM, I said, 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.080 you know what, I'm gonna take this time because I 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.359 didn't have a job, I didn't have anything I wanted 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:05.080 to do. But at this point, you quit Corporate America. 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:09.479 I'm just curious, what is your thought process when you're 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.119 deciding to quit, because it sounds like you're a clean slate. 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:14.640 You moved to l a clean slate, So what is 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.640 the triggering moment where you're like, I want to break. 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:21.839 I felt like I've done everything I needed to do 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:26.320 in Miami. I wanted to change the pace, different scenery. 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:29.160 It was time to go. I finished what I was doing, 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:31.680 And maybe I shouldn't even have stayed that long, right 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:34.760 because I went to Miami to do my masters and 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.279 I found a job, So it was just like okay, 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:40.080 like continue on the path. Like I still don't think 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:44.640 that Los Angeles is a final stop for me. Oh okay, okay, 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.520 the story is gonna get I'm just open and I'm 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.279 just open to to always expanding and building and trying 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:52.920 new things. But now, when you're moving to l A, 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:57.400 you're leaving stability at this point, so too, well, I'm 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.400 curious you're leaving stability, right, I don't if I'll be 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.880 leaving it. It was just like a piece, like a 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.680 like a like a stopping point. Um, so I can 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:11.119 always come back. Yeah. I go to New York very often. 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.720 I go to South Florida, Miami very often. M Yeah, 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:17.280 so I don't think I'm leaving anything behind. It was 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:19.480 just kind of like a touch point. Yeah. Yeah, I 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:23.360 made my mark, penetrated the market, you know, cultivated great relationships, 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:27.400 and built black Girl's suncreen here. So now what if 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:30.880 we have a team in Texas or a team anywhere 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.600 in the country. That's how I see that. Well, let's 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.120 start trying to whip up some of this dish. And 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:42.080 I'm imagining this dish only takes like five minutes. You're 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:45.560 just heating it or what how do you do this? All? Right, 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.720 so we have our boiling water. It's not boiling, So 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.480 let's turn this on. So I'm a non cooker, and 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:54.360 that's why this is one of my favorite dishes a 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:59.080 because I don't cook right, and it's just something really easy. Yes, 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:01.520 all right, so and watch how because it gets hot? 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.280 Yeah yeah. So we got um two pots, one of 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.600 them that will be boiling water and then the other 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.920 one where we're gonna put the beans. So um, early 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:14.440 eighties nineties dated we did not have like to flip, right, 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:15.880 So that's good that it's just kind of like a 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:19.240 regular like can just pop that open. There a lot 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.680 of juice, but will make you someone's gonna pour the 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:29.160 beans you Okay, I think this dish was less than 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.280 ten dollars. It was definitely less and I don't want 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:36.360 to say it was less than four dollars, uh, depending 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.640 on exactly I was gonna say, depending on my hot dogs, 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:41.360 Like I could have really came up. If I wanted 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.640 a dollar store, this would have been a two dollar mail. 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.920 So while those heat up, um, and I'll i'll help 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:49.640 keep a close eye. And the water has to boil 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:53.440 before you put the hot dogs in. Some people put 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:56.040 that dog in the water while boils. I would literally 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.040 watched my husband boil spaghetti and he put the spaghetti 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:03.360 in the water before the water boiled. And I've never 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:06.600 seen that done. Needless to say, it came out as spaghetti. 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.000 But I would never authorize that. So now I ask. 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.800 So I've been eating this meal since. UM. I can 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:16.520 remember as a little girl being from upstate New York. Newburgh. 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.560 UM is a place where you must leave if you 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:23.720 have any aspiration of being anything. You know. I grew 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:27.200 up in the early eighties, um, and that was like 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:32.240 the crack academic um. And um. There wasn't much happening 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.319 in Newburgh, so if you had like a decent job, 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.120 you would have to travel down to Manhattan, UM, take 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.559 the train and you know, find work. Um. So this 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.440 meal was very affordable for my family. I am the 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:48.680 oldest of six. Yep. That's also why you want another 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:52.040 phone line. Four. There were four of us in one 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:55.599 household and then the other two in another household. So 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.400 my parents, Um, we're both in the military. So I 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.640 was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky. My parents were only 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:03.240 married for one year and got divorce, but at we 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.360 stay they were married, and UM, I grew up on 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:09.920 my mom's side. But there are six of us, so anyway, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.280 my mother had to feed you know, four of us 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:16.600 with not much means honestly, um, not that she was 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.320 a young mom. It was just kind of like she 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.439 had to do what she do what she could. Um, 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:23.920 and this was just our go to meal. Um. Hamburger 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:27.960 helper was another go to meal. UM. We also love 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:31.680 like grits and eggs, um and bacon for for breakfast. 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.800 I can't say that word. It's really bizarre, but I can't. 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.520 So um. You know, the thing is like I took 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:39.960 this meal all the way through college because it was 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:43.319 just something that reminded me of like being home and 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.640 like feeling safe and just affordable and good. Yeah, and 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:49.560 it didn't. It never gave you the instinct so like 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:51.480 you know, I know, on eating well broke, we call 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.760 these dishes like broke dishes, but you didn't ever feel like, oh, 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:56.720 I'm eating this broke dish. She felt like this was 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.800 like a homely this was your comfort meal per se. Yeah, 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:04.080 you know, broke is a perspective because um, although um, 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:06.480 we didn't have much when we were coming up, it 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:10.400 didn't feel like we didn't not have much compared to 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.480 you know, are my peers like people in my class, like, 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.080 you know, they might have new sneakers, you know whatever, 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:18.719 three or four times a year. My new sneakers might 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:20.800 just come like in the beginning of the year for 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:24.960 for school. So um. But my grandparents they taught us 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.679 to have pride, you know, to keep our things nice 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.360 and clean. Um. So it didn't feel like we were 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.600 you know, broke if you will. It just felt like 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:36.320 like this is what we have for the time being. 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:40.480 And broke is a mindset. Um. So if you're feeling like, hey, 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.560 I'm down and out, I don't I don't have any money, Um, 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.280 in my situation isn't going to change. I think that 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:49.360 that is that is the definition of broke. It's not 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:53.360 just monetary thing. So even today, like I choose to 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.120 eat this meal, but it is a choice. Yeah, it's 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.280 a choice. As it's definitely a choice because you have 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:02.040 black Girl sunscreen. And again this is all relative, right 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:05.720 because is I mean, are we the Muska of the world? 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:09.560 Are we the um what's this dude from Meta um 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:13.160 Zuckerberg's of the world, right, Like this is all relative 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:18.599 because that money and our money is we were broke. Yeah. 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:21.240 I was just on the phone call with someone today 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:23.959 and I no one judged me on this show, but 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.040 I've been going through my own personal But I said 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.640 something like, well, you know, a minimum in l A market, 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.320 I have to make like at least a hundred fifty 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:32.520 And the guys stopped me and he was like, a 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:34.559 hundred fifty thousand, and he started laughing. He was like, 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:37.800 you mean a hundred fifty million, and I said huh, 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.440 And then I said no, facts like you're right, Like, 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:44.840 why is my my parameter so low? Yo? Not even 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:46.959 one percent of the population of the United States makes 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:50.600 a hundred thousand dollars. But that's a real statue, that's 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:54.520 a real statu Yes, So again, it's all relative. It's 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:57.079 relative on where you live, you know, how you spend 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:01.640 your money. All of that six figures for a person 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:04.960 is is an accomplishment. Yeah, except for in l A. 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:08.760 It feels like because this is this is this is 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:10.880 La La ly and then you have to understand that, 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.400 and it's it's hard to remain ground it here because 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.640 when you drive around and you see t G wagons 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:20.800 and everyone has a test, You're like, oh shit, what 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:22.719 am I doing wrong? Am I doing something wrong? Or 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.080 what am I not doing right? And how do I 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:27.640 get that? It's all about your mindset. Though. Speaking of mindset, 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.320 I want to circle back to you at Corporate America. Yep, 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.520 you have a graduate degree. Clear, I'm gonna just assume 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:37.040 you're making great money, You're moving up the corporate ladder. 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.640 You decide you want to exit. What is the reason 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:45.120 you wanted to exit? Um? I felt like I learned 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:49.679 a lot from my corporate positions, and I felt like, um, 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.079 there was nothing more for me to do there. M 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:56.520 So she's adding sugar to the thing. I sure, I am. 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.280 We're gonna sweet it even more. A lot of then was. 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:02.920 And I used white sugar because that's what it was 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.480 in the eighties and not brown sugar. It wasn't brown. 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:07.320 It wasn't brown sugar. So now when you make it 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:09.440 to use brown sugar, do you still use white? Um? 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:11.880 I still use white. I use white sugar actually for everything, 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.640 and um, people on me like why are you using 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.000 And I did not have a wooden spoon. Also, I 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.880 would just probably shake it up or use a metal spoon. 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.600 It is what it is, right, Um. So you know, 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:28.160 transitioning out of corporate was a realization of Hey, like 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:32.720 I learned some valuable Um, I had some valuable takeaways 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.520 from from that position, and it helped me to where 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.320 I am today in terms of how to run my business, 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:41.800 how to establish different departments, how to hire, how to 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.160 build corporate culture. So it wasn't that, hey, I have 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:48.200 this awesome idea for a product, because that's that's just 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:49.760 one piece of it, but how do you run? How 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.160 do you run the business? So you were able to 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.560 get that experience. So it sounds like while you were there, 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.840 you looked at your job is more of almost like 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:00.800 another form of education. You are just trying to catch 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:05.040 a check. You were over there like observing absolutely and 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:07.160 um the space that I was in you had to 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:09.840 be a top performer. And what that meant was you 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.360 had to perform at a high level in all aspects. 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:16.160 So there was different like measurables, whether it's like customer 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:20.480 service or sales, or retaining employees, recruiting employees, you know, 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:23.280 gaining accounts. So if you were like in the top 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.840 of kind of like your class and like you would 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.000 always not advance, but you were doing well. But if 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:30.600 you were in the bottom of your job was in 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:35.800 jeopardy of getting termed. UM. So it taught me like 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.520 I was always competitive, but this is not a different 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:41.600 This is not a different level. Right. You're competing against whoever, 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:46.040 people you don't know, for money, for bragging, race, for promotability, 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.560 and um, I've just learned a lot from that space. 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:52.560 I have nothing bad to say about my corporate experience, 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.120 um at all. And again, like I wouldn't be here 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.720 if it wasn't for those things. Now, while it was 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:05.240 a corporate I also wasn't rolled into a pH d program. Um. 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.000 So one of my goals in life is to become 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:13.360 a doctor, a professor if you will. And I had 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:17.200 to transition out that as well because it was a 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:21.280 lot it was corporate PhD and then Black Girls sunscreen. 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.520 So you're working on a Black Girl sunscreen this whole time, Um, 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:27.520 not the whole time two thousands in fifteen SI. So 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:31.240 I transitioned out of the one job after like whatever 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:34.320 ten years, moved to Los Angeles and then I mean, 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:37.240 your money kind of runs out, of course. So I 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:39.760 didn't work for four months, best four months of my life. 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:41.360 And that's how I came up with the concept the 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.400 Black Girls Sunscreen because I had the freedom to let 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.280 my mind just run wild, right, So when people go 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:49.600 on vacation from their jobs, it's kind of like, oh, 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:53.360 all right, I have seven days off, great, like disconnect, 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:56.160 do whatever you want. But guess what on that if day, 0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:00.160 you're back at work. So when you take time them 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.040 all four months, five months, there is no like, oh, shift, 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:05.640 I gotta go back. You're just doing whatever you do. 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:08.439 And I've never had that freedom before because I've been 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:12.520 so structured school, school work, you know what I mean. 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:17.800 Like up at six bed eleven twelve repeat, coming to 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:19.919 Los Angeles, who was like, la la la la la 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.280 la la la la la. Yeah, I don't have ship 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:25.120 to do today. I'm going to do yoga. I'm gonna 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:29.320 go to Balwa Hills and and take a hike. Um, 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:34.320 I'm gonna walk my dog. I'm gonna just be aimlessly like, oh, 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.359 buildings are pretty. And that's when I was able to 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:39.480 like just think of different ideas. I have a lot 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:43.679 of ideas always, and my friends would ask me like, hey, 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:46.280 we see here out in the sun pretty often, like 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:49.320 are you protecting your skin? And my my response was 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.480 like do you see the sun screens that on the market, 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:55.480 and do you see my complexion? And they're like, yeah, 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.640 but you should probably do something about that because you're 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.320 gonna be And they would say like, oh, let's go 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:04.680 to this rooftop party or let's go to the beach, 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:08.320 and I'm like, okay, so we need an umbrella or 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.560 I need it any because I'm not getting darker and 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:13.760 I don't want to burn. And that's what your friends 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.879 were saying. They would ask me put on sunscreen because 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.919 I have a very day, verst group of friends that 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:23.119 do wear sunscreen, right, and they're not all my complexion, 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:27.200 and I would be very hesitant, but Legit paid twenty 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:29.399 five dollars for an umbrella because I didn't want to 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:33.080 get darker, and that was my own security, Like I'm 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.879 a dark skinned woman, what does that mean to get darker? 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.520 And why don't I want to get darker? And that 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.960 that wasn't beautiful in society in two thousand and fifteen. No, 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.919 it wasn't, not, not at all. I don't know if 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:49.159 one hund dogar was enough for you. But you got 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:52.320 to cut this up in there, okay, And then we're 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:54.680 gonna add more sugar because I'm a sugar fanatic kind 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:58.360 of sugar. I'm a sugar person too. So you're you're 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:01.240 out there, your friends are like, hey, you know you 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:05.160 should be wearing sunscreen, and then you're doing all these 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.680 things to protect your skin, but you're not wearing sunscreen, 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.360 essentially negative. We didn't. So first, first off, black people 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:15.399 don't grow up with the words suntreen in their house. Um, 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:19.320 with the notion of wearing sunscreen. Most don't anyway, And um, 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:24.320 we have been taught that melanin is built into our skin. Yeah, 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:28.920 that melanine is our protector. It's our superpower. So why 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:31.680 are we taking away our superpower? Right? Like that's the 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:35.639 feedback today that we would get as a corporation, like 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:38.040 why are you doing this? Not so much anymore, they 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.760 still say it today. Of course, there's always gonna be 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:42.800 I'm not gonna lie. I was that girl that would 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:44.600 be like people be like, do you wear sunscreen? But 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:49.040 like I'm black? What what? But every once in a while, 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.159 like my nose would burn, you know, it would be 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:54.800 like every other year hit or miss I would get 0:19:54.800 --> 0:20:00.280 a burn, but burn when my skin started appealing off. 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:03.520 So that means it was too late, right. So so 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:06.720 if that's another thing you got, you got sunburned, you 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:08.639 didn't know what was sunburn had on and then you know, 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:10.800 started to peel or whatever part of your body started 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.480 to peel, and you're like, oh, crap, I have to burn. 0:20:14.960 --> 0:20:16.879 I had no idea it was possible. And that's the 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:22.440 disconnect between you know, professionals, industry, health care professionals, and 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:26.000 our population is that it's not caught until it's too late. 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:30.280 So that's why there hasn't been marketing or communication to 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:34.640 people of color because it's detected at later stages. Yes, 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:38.040 and then I did realize for the first time ever 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.919 in my life. Shout outs to Kidding's wife Asia, she 0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:44.280 owns a uh smooth skin lounge, And I want to 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:46.480 get my first facial, and you know, I asked what 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:49.560 was your age? It was like a couple of weeks ago. 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.359 Seven seven. There's no judgment, but listen to that, and 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:59.439 you got your first facial at have you been to 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:03.399 the dermot oologist before? No? Okay, So this is an 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:06.800 issue within our community that people of color are not 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:09.920 going to the dermatologists. They're not having annual check ins 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:12.679 in terms of like full body skin. Right, We're not 0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:15.879 taking care of our skin the same way of our lighters. 0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:18.560 Can counterparts. And this is why Black Girls sun Screen 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.159 exists because we're here to talk about the y y 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:24.720 wise instead of the bye bye byes. So like, set 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:30.680 aside suncare, right, think about your skin, exfoliating, moisturizing, toning. 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:32.680 There's so many things that you need to take care of. 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:36.000