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Speaker 1: Be curious. If there's something that you see that's just

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Speaker 1: not right. Do you have to be invisible? Does it

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Speaker 1: have to be that way? Ask why?

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Speaker 2: Why not?

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Speaker 1: And and so I think you know, there's a lot

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Speaker 1: of change that's on the other side of curiosity.

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Speaker 3: Welcome, Welcome, everybody to this very special episode of Potter Rebellion.

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Speaker 3: I'm Johnny Brody. You're a nonspector but full on moderator.

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Speaker 3: Here spending some more time with Ashley X time because

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Speaker 3: we love spending time with her last week so much

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Speaker 3: and she's been generous enough to join us again this week.

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Speaker 3: Of course, it's not just Askley joining me. We've got

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Speaker 3: our captain not only the Ghosts but also the podcast

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Speaker 3: Specter two on the Ghosts, but number one in our hearts,

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Speaker 3: Vanessa Marshall.

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Speaker 2: Hello, everybody, Welcome and.

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Speaker 3: Also have Oh yes, we all sot have someone whom

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Speaker 3: Steve Bloom referred to as a goddess and we all

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Speaker 3: completely agree miss tearser car.

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Speaker 2: If I could pleasure it to be blushed. Hi, Hi,

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Speaker 2: thanks for joining.

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Speaker 3: Us, guys, and rounding it out is the Prodigy the

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Speaker 3: Mozart mister Taylor Gray.

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Speaker 4: Wow, thank you John. Hey, guys, how you doing.

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Speaker 3: Hi, praise it's no lies, We're told and welcoming back

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Speaker 3: our mind leader are incredible and again fashionable. Ashley Xstein,

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Speaker 3: thank you again for joining us for some extra time

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Speaker 3: with you, because we love talking to you so much

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Speaker 3: last week and you were so generous with giving insights

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Speaker 3: into a Sosokatano and what it was like to come

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Speaker 3: back as full Crum. But this week we really want

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Speaker 3: to focus more on you, Ashley, like Ashley x Stein

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Speaker 3: the person. Obviously we're going to touch on Star Wars

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Speaker 3: because it's such a you know, stone, it could be

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Speaker 3: a jump off of the conversation. But part of this

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Speaker 3: podcast isn't just celebrating the show and the characters. We've

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Speaker 3: been wanting to celebrate the people behind it, and today

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Speaker 3: we're going to do that with you.

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Speaker 1: Oh gosh, well, thank you, thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: having me and having me back. I had so much

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Speaker 1: fun last week, so just to come and hang out

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Speaker 1: with you is literally like a blast from the past

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Speaker 1: but one of my favorite things ever. We're all a

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Speaker 1: Star Wars family, so it's just like hanging out with

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Speaker 1: the family, just in our living room, but.

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Speaker 2: Virtually yes, well, we're glad to have you back. Thank you.

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Speaker 3: So what that can the four of you talk about

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Speaker 3: the first time before you like actually hung out. Whether

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Speaker 3: it was it at the convention, was it at a screening,

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Speaker 3: was it in the booth? And because there's obviously a

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Speaker 3: genuine friendship and camaraderie between the four of you and

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Speaker 3: I've been lucking at the witness it'll close. But can

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Speaker 3: you all talk about that and peel back the curtain

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Speaker 3: a little bit?

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Speaker 2: I have a question. Let me start with a question.

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Speaker 2: So last week we talked about Vanessa.

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Speaker 5: You mentioned something that I mean, I have like a

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Speaker 5: vivid I don't have a lot of vivid memories. I

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Speaker 5: have like the memory of an amnesiac. But I do

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Speaker 5: remember meeting Ashley for the first time. But my memory,

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Speaker 5: because it's faulty, I thought that Ashley, didn't you come

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Speaker 5: at the very beginning of our when we started recording

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Speaker 5: Rebels and that's when you brought Vanessa and I her

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Speaker 5: universe shirts. Did you come when you started recording I

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Speaker 5: In my memory, you came to sort of welcome us

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Speaker 5: and like be you know, just like gave us a

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Speaker 5: pep talk and sort of like gave us.

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Speaker 2: The lay of the land.

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Speaker 5: Of what we were getting into it was. That's my memory,

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Speaker 5: but Vanessa is that is that incorrect?

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Speaker 6: I think she had lines as full crumb or earlier

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Speaker 6: in the show, but we didn't know. I mean, oh,

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Speaker 6: I think you were there to record those lines in

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Speaker 6: those episodes prior.

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Speaker 5: Oh maybe I was blissfully unaware of that at the time.

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Speaker 5: So I just thought you were showing up to be like, hey, guys,

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Speaker 5: you're doing it like it was so sweet, and I

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Speaker 5: just remember, I remember you were so kind to like

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Speaker 5: bring us and by.

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Speaker 2: The way, this, I'm I was gonna.

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Speaker 5: Wear my shirt today, but it's in the laundry and

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Speaker 5: I was like, well, I can't really wear that, but

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Speaker 5: I intended to. But I still wear it all the time,

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Speaker 5: even though it's many years old now. But I just

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Speaker 5: I remember witnessing I mean, you were so kind and

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Speaker 5: lovely to us, and you and you know it was

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Speaker 5: it felt like you were sort of passing the baton.

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Speaker 5: But I remember witnessing Vanessa's reaction and how deeply she felt,

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Speaker 5: like felt what she was saying to you, And I

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Speaker 5: just remember thinking like this, I knew that what we

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Speaker 5: were doing was special, and what we were embarking upon

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Speaker 5: was special. But getting to witness that interaction between the

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Speaker 5: two of you guys, I was like, Okay. It was

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Speaker 5: little things like that, like along the way that kind

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Speaker 5: of illustrated to me, like that this journey that we

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Speaker 5: were embarking on was not just another job or another

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Speaker 5: gig or another role.

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Speaker 2: It was something much greater than that.

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Speaker 5: So I vividly remember Vanessa's reaction and that was really touching.

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Speaker 1: So I think it's actually both what you're saying and

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Speaker 1: thank you for jogging my memory, because.

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Speaker 2: Vanessa's right.

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Speaker 1: It was to record some Fulcrum lines and it was

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Speaker 1: separate from your cast record, but I think it was

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Speaker 1: before your cast record, So you all were there and

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Speaker 1: I just came in to record a couple of lines

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Speaker 1: and then I was out. So I definitely would have,

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Speaker 1: you know, said a couple of things and said hello

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Speaker 1: and welcomed you to the family.

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Speaker 2: And I'm from the South, so that's what you do.

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Speaker 1: You always bring something like a new neighbor, You bring

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Speaker 1: over cookies to me, you.

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Speaker 2: Hot plate exact exactly. So since I had her.

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Speaker 1: Universe, I was, you know, bringing you some fresh designs.

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Speaker 1: But but yeah, I now that i'm remembering it, You're right,

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Speaker 1: it was before we recorded the finale, but it was

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Speaker 1: like an actual episode that we were there for.

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Speaker 5: Got it well, you know, Dave, everyone's on a need

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Speaker 5: to know basis, and I certainly, in his estimation, did

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Speaker 5: not need to know.

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Speaker 2: Why you were there.

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Speaker 5: So I just thought that you were just like coming

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Speaker 5: to you know, welcome us into the family, which you did,

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Speaker 5: and I just didn't know that you were also there

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Speaker 5: for work, which.

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Speaker 1: Was good because I was supposed to be top secret totally.

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Speaker 5: And you know, we often talk about Dave's sort of

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Speaker 5: like how how secretive he was, but I I just

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Speaker 5: I fully accept and agree with his like, you know,

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Speaker 5: it was important for us not to for being not

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Speaker 5: to know, so all the better that Tia didn't know,

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Speaker 5: Like I didn't need to know that, And when I

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Speaker 5: found that out, it was, you know, like a major revelation.

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Speaker 5: And that stuff is fun to me, Like it's fun

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Speaker 5: when as a viewer when I'm watching something and I finally,

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Speaker 5: you know, connect the dots and it's a big reveal,

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Speaker 5: that's exciting. So for that to happen when you're actually

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Speaker 5: recording a show for me, for someone like me that

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Speaker 5: like loves figuring things, out and like loves solving the

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Speaker 5: mystery that that is also exciting and fun. So I

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Speaker 5: was I was perfectly fine not knowing until I needed

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Speaker 5: to know.

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Speaker 1: Oh well, you know, we talked about this in the

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Speaker 1: last episode, about the passing the torch or the passing

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Speaker 1: the lightsaber moment. For me, it was important to kind

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Speaker 1: of pass the lightsaber to you all.

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Speaker 2: You you were telling.

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Speaker 1: The next story, and you know, I had learned so

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Speaker 1: much from Clone Wars, and you know, to me, it's

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Speaker 1: like I said, it's one big team. And so to

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Speaker 1: welcome you to the team, to welcome you to the family,

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Speaker 1: was an important moment for me. And so I was

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Speaker 1: really excited to meet you all. Definitely nervous, you know,

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Speaker 1: because you were already so close, you know, and I

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Speaker 1: so admired how close you all were.

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Speaker 2: So it was weird, you know.

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Speaker 1: Even though I had been around for a while, I

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Speaker 1: was the new guy, you know, a party crew.

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Speaker 2: So I was nervous and excited. It was. It was

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Speaker 2: a wonderful moment.

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Speaker 5: And can I just say also, well, for those who

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Speaker 5: are listening, I, as you were just talking, actually I

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Speaker 5: was just thinking about how, yes, we we are so

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Speaker 5: lucky that we we like became we like forged those

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Speaker 5: bonds pretty quickly, which we've talked about on this show before, but.

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Speaker 2: Some of us more so than others.

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Speaker 5: No, no, and it was just so easy, like it

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Speaker 5: was just there was no there was no there was

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Speaker 5: not much effort put into it. It just happened so

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Speaker 5: naturally and organically, which was great for us because it

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Speaker 5: was hardly acting. You know, it was just like us

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Speaker 5: and our familial bonds that we had forged, like right

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Speaker 5: out the gate. But I also as you were talking

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Speaker 5: about that, I was thinking about you guys and the

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Speaker 5: Clone Wars cast and how we've all gotten to know

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Speaker 5: each other, especially getting to go to cons, geting to

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Speaker 5: go to Star Wars celebration all over the place, all

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Speaker 5: over the country, all over the world, and we get

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Speaker 5: to see each other. And I know you guys have

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Speaker 5: a similar sort of situation and that you guys are

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Speaker 5: so close.

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Speaker 1: But I have to give you all credit because how

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Speaker 1: we felt a little bit in the beginning with Star

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Speaker 1: Wars Rebels, we wished we had what you all had,

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Speaker 1: because the difference between Star Wars and Clone Wars and

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Speaker 1: Star Wars Rebels is that it wasn't the same cast

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Speaker 1: in every episode, so whereas you all it was always

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Speaker 1: the Ghost crew and you were always together. You knew

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Speaker 1: that you were going to be together in the studio.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes there would be three or four episodes without Ahsoka

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Speaker 1: in it, or you know, without Yoda, or because Clone

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Speaker 1: Wars jumped around so much and told so many different stories,

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Speaker 1: and so we didn't have the cast dinners always that

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Speaker 1: you all had, and and you know, we had different

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Speaker 1: things that that did make us just as close and

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Speaker 1: now over time, and you know, it's kind of starting

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Speaker 1: with Disney Star Wars weekends, which I think we need

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Speaker 1: to get into, but starting with Disney Star Wars weekends

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Speaker 1: and then you know, with all the conventions that that

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Speaker 1: really formed that bond with all of us over time.

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Speaker 1: But I think as a Clone Wars cast, we looked

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Speaker 1: at you all being so close and it actually brought

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Speaker 1: us as a Clone Wars cast closer because we were like,

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Speaker 1: wait a minute, we have that too. We're a family too,

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Speaker 1: Let's get together for those cast dinners. Let's you know,

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Speaker 1: so you all actually set an example for us to

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Speaker 1: follow as well. And I think naturally because we're all

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Speaker 1: now one Star Wars family and we get to go

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Speaker 1: to conventions and everything we have become one, which is

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Speaker 1: really really nice and such a blessing that here we are,

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Speaker 1: all these years later and we're still doing panels together,

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Speaker 1: we're still traveling together.

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Speaker 2: It's it's just it's so much fun. It really is.

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Speaker 2: It's such a gift. It's like a gift that keeps

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Speaker 2: on giving.

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Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, the fact that we're doing this podcast.

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Speaker 7: That I thought that much of talking about it all

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Speaker 7: had been in the past a bit, but it's been

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Speaker 7: so amazing and sweet to relive this as we've gotten

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Speaker 7: older and can look at it through a different lens.

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Speaker 7: Something I wanted to ask you about that I've always

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Speaker 7: been so interested and impressed by and curious of you.

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Speaker 7: Touched upon it in the last episode, but her universe, Like,

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Speaker 7: surely you couldn't have imagined it would be as big

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Speaker 7: as this, or maybe you did, maybe you had the

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Speaker 7: vision of it's where it's even going to. But I

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Speaker 7: think it's just so special, and even more so when

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Speaker 7: I've seen fans and you interact with fans and them

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Speaker 7: wearing your designs, I just think it's so special what

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Speaker 7: you've given them in a way as well, was your

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Speaker 7: that you talk about the sort of origins of it,

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Speaker 7: But did you see it going to where it's at.

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Speaker 1: It's so.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you for your kind words. Yes and no.

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Speaker 1: So yes, I'm going to say yes from the standpoint

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Speaker 1: of I think it's important when you have a dream

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Speaker 1: to dream big.

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Speaker 2: You know, I think you should dream big.

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Speaker 1: I think you should have big expectations.

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Speaker 2: So yes, I dreamed big.

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Speaker 1: However, it's wildly exceeded those expectations. When I started her universe,

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Speaker 1: I just wanted a safe space for female fans to

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Speaker 1: feel accepted into the fandom, and the clothes were just

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Speaker 1: a way to do that. Because I know it seems crazy,

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Speaker 1: but back in two thousand and eight, there was a

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Speaker 1: massive stereotype, and the stereotype was that Star Wars was

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Speaker 1: just for.

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Speaker 2: Men and boys.

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Speaker 1: And I was literally told that women and girls would

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Speaker 1: not buy Star Wars clothes made for them. And someone

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Speaker 1: called me and said, Ashley, you need to give up

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Speaker 1: on this dream and you need to be happy with

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Speaker 1: the men's size small because women and girls are not

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Speaker 1: going to.

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Speaker 2: Buy Star Wars clothes.

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Speaker 1: And I knew that wasn't true because I was going

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Speaker 1: to Comic Con and I saw that, you know, at

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Speaker 1: least it seemed like half of the attendees were women

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Speaker 1: and girls.

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Speaker 2: And so, you know, I was a full time actress.

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Speaker 1: Like I said, you know in the last episode, I

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Speaker 1: don't even have a college degree. I knew nothing about

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Speaker 1: starting a business. I knew nothing about fashion design or licensing.

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Speaker 1: But I did my research because I was so troubled

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Speaker 1: by what they told me. And in my research, I

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Speaker 1: found that women and girls were being bullied, and they

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Speaker 1: were being bullied horribly for just being a Star Wars fan.

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Speaker 1: You know, that was back when message boards were a

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Speaker 1: really big thing. And I just remember I read a

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Speaker 1: couple of stories about how women would pretend to be

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Speaker 1: men on the message boards just so they could have

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Speaker 1: a conversation about Star Wars and be taken seriously for it.

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Speaker 1: Like a lot of people, if they found out they

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Speaker 1: were talking to a woman, they would stop talking to them.

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Speaker 2: I also read lots of stories.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, literally, they would find out they were talking to

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Speaker 1: a girl and they would stop.

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Speaker 2: Talking to them.

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Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, it was a very different.

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Speaker 2: Time, very different time.

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Speaker 1: And then I read a story after story of little

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Speaker 1: girls who were carrying, you know, little boys lunch boxes

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Speaker 1: to school because they wanted a Star Wars lunch box

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Speaker 1: or a Star Wars water bottle, and then they were

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Speaker 1: bullied for it, And so all I ever wanted was.

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Speaker 2: To break the stigma.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to break the stereotype, and I wanted everyone

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Speaker 1: to be able to enjoy Star Wars together, because you

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Speaker 1: can't put a gender on Star Wars. To me, Star

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Speaker 1: Wars is a story of hope. Star Wars is a

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Speaker 1: story of good overcoming evil, and you can't put a

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Speaker 1: gender on that, like hope is genderless, like you know,

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Speaker 1: hope is for everyone.

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Speaker 2: And so I.

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Speaker 1: Had the dream of a world where everyone could love

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Speaker 1: Star Wars together, which was a big dream and it

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Speaker 1: was a big stereotype to break. But never in my

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Speaker 1: wildest dreams did I think it would kind of create

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Speaker 1: a whole movement and kind of change and shift the

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Speaker 1: fandom in the way that it has. So for that,

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Speaker 1: I am forever humbled and proud. There's never a moment

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Speaker 1: when I see someone in her universe where I.

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Speaker 2: Get used to it.

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Speaker 1: I still always genuinely think that my mom is somewhere

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Speaker 1: around the course, like telling someone to buy it, and

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Speaker 1: so so yeah, it's forever weird to me. But I'm

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Speaker 1: forever grateful that that, you know, I've been on this journey.

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Speaker 4: That's amazing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that so much, and thank you for sharing,

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Speaker 3: because you really, you created it transcends being a fashion line.

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Speaker 3: You created real estate for unheard voices, particularly women in

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Speaker 3: the fans space. You so you broke ground where there

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Speaker 3: was no ground to break into. You know, you blaze

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Speaker 3: the trail because there was no trail set for you.

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Speaker 3: So you just made it yourself. And you you created

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Speaker 3: the safe space and also a voice. And now that

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Speaker 3: voice keeps on getting louder and louder and louder with

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Speaker 3: that volume is being way turned up. And it's a

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Speaker 3: really inspiring thing. And I think you're you know, with

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Speaker 3: the Her Universe fashion show that you do, it's so empowering.

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Speaker 3: I think what you're doing is you're you're having these

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Speaker 3: really cool clothing pieces, but you're giving them I feel like,

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Speaker 3: I look at it, it's like body armor. You're giving them

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Speaker 3: this body armor and this this is not that they

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Speaker 3: need that validation or anything that they belong, but it's

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Speaker 3: a reminder that yeah, you do belong. But and here's

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Speaker 3: some body armor that's going to look really cool to.

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Speaker 4: Go with it.

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Speaker 1: So thank you for bringing that up, because I've actually

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Speaker 1: described her universe as armor that you put on, so literally,

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Speaker 1: the clothes were.

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Speaker 2: Always just a means to end the bullying.

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Speaker 1: That's all it ever was. And I felt that if

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Speaker 1: female fans felt comfortable in clothes that were made for them,

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Speaker 1: that then they would feel comfortable to step into the

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Speaker 1: spotlight and say, Hi, I'm a girl and I like

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Speaker 1: Star Wars. And I always looked at my designs as

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Speaker 1: you know, literally armor of something that someone would put

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Speaker 1: on for the day where they could feel like they

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Speaker 1: can face the world. So if they put on in

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Speaker 1: Ahsokatano top, they would feel like it's you know, they're

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Speaker 1: they're Ahsokatano for the day, Or if they put on

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Speaker 1: the Sabine top, they would feel like, you know, they're

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Speaker 1: they're Sabine and taking on the world and being a rebel.

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Speaker 1: So it was always armored to me. It was always

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Speaker 1: more than a shirt or a top or a design.

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Speaker 1: It always had a purpose, and it was a bigger

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Speaker 1: purpose it was. It was it was always meant to

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Speaker 1: make you feel something, So yeah, it was it was

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Speaker 1: always more than just a cute design, but it had

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Speaker 1: to be cute too.

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Speaker 4: Yes, that's amazing.

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Speaker 7: I mean, I don't know if I'm deluding myself, but

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Speaker 7: I feel like because I'm not familiar with the origins

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Speaker 7: of it, but now where everything's that and you're partly

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Speaker 7: responsible for that in a big way, Like when we

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Speaker 7: go to conventions and we talk with people, I feel

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Speaker 7: like it is pretty close to a parody fifty to

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Speaker 7: fifty genders of who comes up to you, and also

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Speaker 7: so many couples and partnerships that are like we met

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Speaker 7: because of Star Wars and now knowing this backstory on

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Speaker 7: I think that's like incredibly beautiful.

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Speaker 2: Thank you. Well, so here's some numbers for And No,

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Speaker 2: I did not create.

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Speaker 1: That, I would to be very clear, because fans were

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Speaker 1: already doing it. And to be clear, I think that

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Speaker 1: the stereotype in this stigma was created by people that

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Speaker 1: weren't fans, because if you were in the fandom, it

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Speaker 1: was already an inclusive space. So that's why I started

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Speaker 1: doing research in the first place, because you know, I

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Speaker 1: started going to comic cons in two thousand and seven

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Speaker 1: and there was women everywhere, and so I was so

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Speaker 1: confused because I'm like, what do you mean that this

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Speaker 1: space is just for men and boys, like there's women everywhere.

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Speaker 1: So this was back in two thousand and nine when

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Speaker 1: I was, you know, putting together my business plan for

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Speaker 1: her Universe. I was able to get my hands on

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Speaker 1: the attendance records for the top five conventions around the world.

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Speaker 1: And so at the time, you know, the top five

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Speaker 1: conventions around the world, one of those being Star Wars

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Speaker 1: Celebration and San Diego Comicon, and forty five percent of

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Speaker 1: all attendees were.

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Speaker 2: Women and girls.

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Speaker 1: So that was back in two thousand and nine, so

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00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,959
Speaker 1: there was almost already fifty to fifty. And then you know,

386
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:17,520
Speaker 1: they released all sorts of consumer reports and eighty five

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Speaker 1: percent of all consumer purchases, so that's anything, any piece

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Speaker 1: of merchandise that is bought was being purchased by a

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Speaker 1: woman eighty five percent. So I'm not a mathematician, but

390
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Speaker 1: literally those numbers were not adding up. It's like, okay,

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Speaker 1: if you make us stuff to buy, then we'll buy it.

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Speaker 1: But also what I found out, a lot of the

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Speaker 1: statistics at the time and fandom, in my opinion, were skewed.

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Speaker 1: They were like, well, of the percentage of action figures

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Speaker 1: that are bought, you know, ninety percent, are you know,

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Speaker 1: the male characters. Well, yeah, but that's naturally gonna happen.

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Speaker 1: When let's say, in one box of action figures night,

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Speaker 1: and there's twenty action figures in one box, nineteen are

399
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Speaker 1: male characters and one is a female character. Well, then yeah,

400
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:27,280
Speaker 1: that action fig that's gonna be skewed. Or if you ask,

401
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,800
Speaker 1: let's say you ask a little boy if you could

402
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:35,760
Speaker 1: play with one action figure, who would you play with?

403
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Speaker 1: And their choice is Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi or Ahsokatano.

404
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:46,720
Speaker 1: Well they're probably gonna say Anakin Skywalker, but it doesn't

405
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Speaker 1: mean they don't want to play with Ahsoka Tano. So

406
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,680
Speaker 1: I found out that it's like the statistics were skewed,

407
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Speaker 1: and you know, not that anything nefarious was going on,

408
00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:02,240
Speaker 1: but I was just like, you know, I just I

409
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Speaker 1: think we need to look at this differently, and they

410
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,800
Speaker 1: weren't looking at it differently. And so the scary part

411
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Speaker 1: is I basically launched an entire business off.

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Speaker 2: Of those two statistics that.

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Speaker 1: Forty five percent of all you know, comic con attendees

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Speaker 1: were women and girls, and eighty five percent of all

415
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Speaker 1: consumer purchase purchases were being made by women. Because there

416
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Speaker 1: was no other research to back my claim, so it

417
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Speaker 1: was a huge leap of faith, but it was one

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Speaker 1: that I felt that was being underrepresented.

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Speaker 2: And the last thing I'll say, because I.

420
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Speaker 1: Have to give so much credit to the guys, because

421
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Speaker 1: you know, everyone was like, oh, well, you know, hopefully

422
00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:50,760
Speaker 1: the women will come out and support you. Well, not

423
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Speaker 1: only did the women come out and support me, but

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Speaker 1: so did the men. You know, from the very beginning,

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Speaker 1: I said, if we want to break this stereotype united,

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Speaker 1: we stand, Divided, we fall.

427
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Speaker 2: I can't do this on my own. This has to

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Speaker 2: be a group effort.

429
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Speaker 1: And I was so amazed that not only did the

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Speaker 1: women stand up, but so did the men. And the

431
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,760
Speaker 1: men stood up loud and proud, and they said, I

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Speaker 1: watched Star Wars with my wife, I watched Star Wars

433
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Speaker 1: with my daughter. I'm going to support you because my

434
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,960
Speaker 1: daughter deserves a shirt made for her. And so it

435
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: was totally a group effort and it wasn't just one sided.

436
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Speaker 4: Amazing.

437
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,840
Speaker 6: One of the highlights of celebration in Chicago the women

438
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,520
Speaker 6: in Star Wars panel that we did. Do you remember

439
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,240
Speaker 6: we brought Darth McKenna up on stage. Darth McKenna, I'm sure,

440
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Speaker 6: you guys remember her from various events, but she had

441
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,399
Speaker 6: been horribly bullied and for us to bring her up

442
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,800
Speaker 6: in stage and applaud her fandom, that's something her mom

443
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,960
Speaker 6: still texts me about it. That was a very important thing.

444
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:58,600
Speaker 6: So when you tell me that that was your goal

445
00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:02,440
Speaker 6: to impact that one life as an example for other

446
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,000
Speaker 6: young girls as well, and that.

447
00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,160
Speaker 2: Was that was special in that moment.

448
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,479
Speaker 6: But it means more even more now to hear you

449
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,359
Speaker 6: say that that was a very another important moment.

450
00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,720
Speaker 5: It's amazing to hear you talk about the sort of

451
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,679
Speaker 5: nascent stages of her universe and like how you know

452
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:25,000
Speaker 5: her universe's origin story. But it's incredible because when did

453
00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,320
Speaker 5: we start going to our first combo con?

454
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,280
Speaker 2: Was like twenty fourteen?

455
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,200
Speaker 4: Maybe Star Wars Weekends was what I remember.

456
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,000
Speaker 5: Is the like Star Wars Weekend is probably twenty fourteen too.

457
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 5: I think even in that short amount of time, what

458
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,240
Speaker 5: that was five years since you launched her universe and

459
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:49,919
Speaker 5: in the years you know since, like my experience and

460
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,639
Speaker 5: my impression, Like, first of all, I agree with you, Taylor.

461
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,920
Speaker 5: I don't feel like I see a big difference at Oh,

462
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:02,160
Speaker 5: it's mostly guys, it's to me in my mind, it's

463
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,120
Speaker 5: fifty to fifty people that I meet Star Wars fans

464
00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,840
Speaker 5: that I meet, and I would say the majority of

465
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:13,119
Speaker 5: women and girls who come up to me are wearing

466
00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:17,400
Speaker 5: her universe. So to me, in my mind, like, it's

467
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:22,800
Speaker 5: incredible to hear you talk about you know what it

468
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 5: was like before you came up with this incredible idea.

469
00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:30,439
Speaker 5: You're like this change maker and you've like sort of

470
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,200
Speaker 5: I don't want to I'm not trying to blow smoke,

471
00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 5: but like revolutionize this space because once I entered into it,

472
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:42,000
Speaker 5: my experience has been that like women and girls love

473
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:45,480
Speaker 5: Star Wars just as much as the guys do, and

474
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,199
Speaker 5: they have this outlet to get to express that in

475
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:54,879
Speaker 5: this creative, fun way, wearing your clothes, wearing your designs.

476
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,359
Speaker 5: And so to me, like, I guess I just I

477
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,040
Speaker 5: never knew a world before, didn't I didn't know Star

478
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:06,560
Speaker 5: Wars before her universe. So you're the impact that you've

479
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:07,679
Speaker 5: made is huge.

480
00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:09,600
Speaker 2: Thank you.

481
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:15,600
Speaker 1: I you know that that's incredible, And that's again all

482
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 1: I ever wanted, you know. I think sometimes we don't

483
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:26,840
Speaker 1: realize it, but we just get used to things, even

484
00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:28,160
Speaker 1: if we're not happy about it.

485
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,320
Speaker 2: We're just like, well, that's just the way it is.

486
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 1: And you know, I remember searching because it it did

487
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,840
Speaker 1: start for me with a simple search for a Star

488
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,640
Speaker 1: Wars T shirt. I just wanted a T shirt made

489
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:46,159
Speaker 1: for me. And I remember this is back when they

490
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,600
Speaker 1: had a Star Wars shop on Star Wars dot Com.

491
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:54,040
Speaker 1: I remember searching it, searching like Star Wars Women, and

492
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,399
Speaker 1: all that was in there was a watch, like a

493
00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,120
Speaker 1: ton of stuff for men. But when I searched Star

494
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,280
Speaker 1: Wars Women, all that was in there was a watch,

495
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:05,320
Speaker 1: and I'm just like and it wasn't even a watch

496
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:10,239
Speaker 1: for women, was a man's watch, and I was just like,

497
00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,160
Speaker 1: this is just wrong, like that you can't give us

498
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:20,600
Speaker 1: a single T shirt. But you know, I remember Lucasfilm.

499
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,760
Speaker 1: You know, there was many stops and starts because I

500
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:25,840
Speaker 1: wasn't going about it the right way. So that's that's

501
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:29,960
Speaker 1: a whole separate business thing of the business of what

502
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,120
Speaker 1: I learned and how to go about it the right way.

503
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,760
Speaker 1: But finally, once I went through the proper steps and

504
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 1: the proper protocol and how to apply for a license

505
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 1: and start a business, Lucasfilm was incredibly supportive and they

506
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,240
Speaker 1: gave me the chance to start her universe.

507
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:49,600
Speaker 2: But I'll never forget, they asked me.

508
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:54,800
Speaker 1: They said, we've never been successful in selling Star Wars

509
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:55,840
Speaker 1: merchandise for women.

510
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:58,520
Speaker 2: How are you going to be successful?

511
00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,720
Speaker 1: Like they were just like, good luck, but you know,

512
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 1: we've never been able to do it. And I told them,

513
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,480
Speaker 1: I said, well, you've been ignoring female fans for so

514
00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,480
Speaker 1: long that they've given up on you, like nobody's looking

515
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 1: for it. And you know, one thing I've learned in

516
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 1: all the mental health work you know I've been doing,

517
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 1: is one of the worst feelings in the world is

518
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:26,760
Speaker 1: to feel invisible. Literally, all we want is to just

519
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:32,720
Speaker 1: feel seen and to feel visible. And sometimes even if

520
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:37,000
Speaker 1: it's bad news, at least if somebody handles it the

521
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,880
Speaker 1: right way and they they just say, I see you,

522
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,720
Speaker 1: and you know, here's why, here's you know, here's here's

523
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:46,400
Speaker 1: the why, here's what's going on. But at least I

524
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 1: see you. But to be invisible and to feel like

525
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:55,400
Speaker 1: you don't even exist, that's a horrible feeling. And and

526
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 1: so that's what was happening at the time, is that

527
00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,160
Speaker 1: as female fans are just invisible, they we weren't being

528
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:05,840
Speaker 1: seen and and I think we had just accepted it.

529
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,600
Speaker 1: We just accepted, like, well, that's just how it's going

530
00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:08,880
Speaker 1: to be.

531
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 2: And I think that's just a lesson to.

532
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:17,520
Speaker 1: All of us of like, you know, be curious. If

533
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,479
Speaker 1: there's something that you see that's just not right, do

534
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:23,200
Speaker 1: you have to be invisible?

535
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,680
Speaker 2: Does it have to be that way? You know, ask why?

536
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:29,880
Speaker 2: You know, why not?

537
00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,400
Speaker 1: And and so I think, you know, there's there's a

538
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 1: lot of change that's on the other side of curiosity.

539
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:38,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, don't accept the status quo.

540
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,880
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, it just occurred to me as you

541
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:47,920
Speaker 5: were talking. I uh was a I got a business degree.

542
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,160
Speaker 5: Strange to me as well, I might shock some of you.

543
00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,800
Speaker 5: That's great, I got I got a theater and dance

544
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 5: degree as well, but I also got a business degree.

545
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,880
Speaker 5: And in business school, we did a lot of case studies.

546
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,600
Speaker 2: And I was just like, I mean, it's.

547
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,720
Speaker 5: Possible these already exist, but her universe should be a

548
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 5: case study for business school students. So if there's any

549
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 5: business school administrators listening to this, or b school professors,

550
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 5: specifically marketing professors, because we did a lot of case studies,

551
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,360
Speaker 5: do a case study on her universe.

552
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,760
Speaker 2: It's fascinating and so important too.

553
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:28,720
Speaker 5: I mean there's just a lot of sort of layers

554
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:34,400
Speaker 5: to not just the business of it, but the overall

555
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:35,360
Speaker 5: impact of it.

556
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:40,880
Speaker 1: Well, I thank you interwards, I have to share one

557
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:45,840
Speaker 1: thing that and trust me, the credit was not being

558
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 1: given to her universe, but.

559
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:54,600
Speaker 2: It was. This is probably like twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen.

560
00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 1: I had read some sort of business article about how

561
00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 1: women and fandom was now an untapped business, and I

562
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:14,080
Speaker 1: think it was relating to the Disney franchises that they

563
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,240
Speaker 1: felt that in the fandom world they were leaving one

564
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:22,000
Speaker 1: point three billion dollars untapped.

565
00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 4: I hope you got all of that.

566
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,800
Speaker 2: Not I absolutely did not. I'm not even clothes, I

567
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:29,480
Speaker 2: can promise you.

568
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,959
Speaker 1: But to that, I remember reading that article and I

569
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,840
Speaker 1: was very proud because they were specifically talking about fandom.

570
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,440
Speaker 1: They weren't talking about like the other franchises like Princess.

571
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 1: They were talking about Star Wars, Marvel, like the Superheroes.

572
00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 2: And and.

573
00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:48,880
Speaker 1: You know, I launched in twenty ten and here we

574
00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: are just six years later. And it went from them

575
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,960
Speaker 1: saying women would not buy a single T shirt to oh,

576
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 1: we're leaving one point three billion dollars on the table,

577
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,320
Speaker 1: and you know, like I said they were not giving

578
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:06,240
Speaker 1: credit to me in that article. But I did personally

579
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,480
Speaker 1: take a moment to be like, wow, I think I

580
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 1: had a part in that. That's pretty cool and so

581
00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:14,920
Speaker 1: it was a very proud moment. But but yeah, I

582
00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,719
Speaker 1: think as female fans, you know, we are we are

583
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 1: forced to be reckoned with and Tia and Taylor to

584
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,400
Speaker 1: your point, you know, I think fandom is an inclusive

585
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,080
Speaker 1: place now for everyone.

586
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:30,960
Speaker 2: Hell I love that.

587
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,360
Speaker 3: And you know it's so interesting you brought up those

588
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,600
Speaker 3: two analytics that you jumped off with to start her universe.

589
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:40,000
Speaker 3: But I feel like if a statistician came in one,

590
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 3: I would love to see that marketing case study as well.

591
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,640
Speaker 3: TII one agree on that. And this is going to

592
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:47,160
Speaker 3: be a natural segue to the stuff you do in

593
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,960
Speaker 3: mental health space because I feel like there's a direct

594
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,120
Speaker 3: correlation or cosmic alignment if you will to stay in

595
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:56,640
Speaker 3: the space theme of you really her universe rise into

596
00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,880
Speaker 3: the forefront and the improvement of mental health. Because you

597
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,200
Speaker 3: just talked about being invisible is terrifying, but then you're

598
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:07,280
Speaker 3: making the invisible visible and you're empowering the empowered. So

599
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,480
Speaker 3: I would love to touch on this because I know

600
00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,440
Speaker 3: you have to go soon, and you have so many

601
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:13,680
Speaker 3: positive things to say. I love your mental health Mondays.

602
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:18,520
Speaker 3: I love your collaboration with Mindful Matters, having these practices

603
00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:21,240
Speaker 3: that we can take into everyday life, and all the

604
00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,799
Speaker 3: clinical collaborations you did with that with there's you know,

605
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,440
Speaker 3: to back it and everything. So I would just love

606
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:30,600
Speaker 3: for you to touch on that in terms of where

607
00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:33,400
Speaker 3: in her Universe journey did you realize this is also

608
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,520
Speaker 3: coin signing with your own mental health journey and how

609
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:36,680
Speaker 3: it could inspire others.

610
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:39,280
Speaker 2: Okay, this is going to be a two party answer.

611
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,080
Speaker 2: Great going back next week.

612
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:50,200
Speaker 1: So the first part is really before my own mental

613
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:55,120
Speaker 1: health journey started. But one thing I quickly realized in

614
00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 1: doing Her Universe, and this is one thing that I

615
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:05,280
Speaker 1: wish studio and creatives would understand because a little behind

616
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:12,320
Speaker 1: the scenes, oftentimes the creatives that are making the project

617
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:17,360
Speaker 1: and the consumer products teams, they they don't get along.

618
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,120
Speaker 2: They butt heads.

619
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:23,840
Speaker 1: They own The creatives almost view sometimes the consumer products

620
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:27,040
Speaker 1: and the merchandise is like a sellout because they're you know,

621
00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 1: it's like they they they're like, oh, I don't want

622
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:34,600
Speaker 1: to sell a plush of this character. That's lessening you

623
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:41,480
Speaker 1: know who this character is. But I strongly believe the

624
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 1: most successful franchises are when the creatives and the consumer

625
00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:50,920
Speaker 1: products work together. And the reason being is you have

626
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:59,720
Speaker 1: to understand what those what those products represent. Because we Vanessa,

627
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:05,080
Speaker 1: you said this in last week's show. You know, entertainment

628
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,880
Speaker 1: is used for most people as a sense of healing,

629
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:13,080
Speaker 1: is a sense of therapy almost because let's be real,

630
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,560
Speaker 1: in today's time, luckily we're talking about mental health more.

631
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,600
Speaker 2: But treatment is not easily accessible.

632
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:24,040
Speaker 1: You know. Oftentimes, you know, let's say, if you discover you,

633
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,359
Speaker 1: you know you want to go to therapy, it could

634
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:30,799
Speaker 1: be a six month wait to find a therapist and

635
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,040
Speaker 1: then much less to go on a journey to find

636
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:37,160
Speaker 1: the right therapist for you. It can be a long

637
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,920
Speaker 1: journey to find that. So a lot of people turn

638
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:46,160
Speaker 1: to their favorite shows and their favorite characters as a

639
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,719
Speaker 1: form of therapy, as an escape, as a form of

640
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:55,799
Speaker 1: hope and so but oftentimes those episodes they last for

641
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,680
Speaker 1: thirty minutes, or they last for an hour, and then

642
00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:02,000
Speaker 1: you're back into your everyday life. So let's go back

643
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,839
Speaker 1: to John the comment you made about our universe being armor.

644
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:12,800
Speaker 1: So the product now has to be that tangible connection

645
00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:17,600
Speaker 1: to the hope that you feel from this property or

646
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:24,440
Speaker 1: that character. So the merchandise is a necessary extension of

647
00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:28,319
Speaker 1: the creative. Whether it's a shirt you wear, or a

648
00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:32,040
Speaker 1: plus you carry, or a key chain that's on your keys,

649
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,440
Speaker 1: it is an emotional connection to the story that you

650
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:41,719
Speaker 1: take with you every day to inspire you, to empower

651
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 1: you to be that armor, to be that lightsaber. And

652
00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:49,479
Speaker 1: so if the two would just work together, which Star

653
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:54,000
Speaker 1: Wars does a great job at at times, is you

654
00:37:54,040 --> 00:38:00,480
Speaker 1: know when the storytellers talk to the merchandise teams and say, hey,

655
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 1: this piece of merchandise is going to be integral for

656
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:08,680
Speaker 1: the fans to buy because they're gonna want it, They're gonna,

657
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:13,640
Speaker 1: you know, be inspired by it, and it's it's going

658
00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:16,759
Speaker 1: to be more than just a piece of merchandise that

659
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:19,360
Speaker 1: they buy. It's going to represent something. It's gonna be

660
00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:23,640
Speaker 1: I call it tangible hope. Merchandise is like in Star

661
00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:26,120
Speaker 1: Wars is like tangible hope. It's something that they.

662
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,200
Speaker 2: Can touch and feel and bring with them.

663
00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:32,239
Speaker 1: So that was always part of it for me, and

664
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:35,080
Speaker 1: I always thought of it as that is, like, what

665
00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:38,839
Speaker 1: is this piece of merchandise representing? How is it going

666
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:42,799
Speaker 1: to make that person feel? And so that was part

667
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,960
Speaker 1: one now my personal journey.

668
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:52,160
Speaker 2: You know, I talked about my why. My why was

669
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,720
Speaker 2: wanting to help fangirls who are being bullied.

670
00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 1: That was my why. That's what propelled me to start

671
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:03,440
Speaker 1: the company. But forward, you know, five years, I was

672
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:08,480
Speaker 1: completely burnt out. You know, I had to completely step

673
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:12,200
Speaker 1: aside from acting other than Ahsoka because I was I

674
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:15,480
Speaker 1: was working seven days a week, twenty four to seven,

675
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:17,600
Speaker 1: from the moment I woke up and to the moment

676
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:21,680
Speaker 1: I went to bed, and I was exhausted, and.

677
00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,040
Speaker 2: I had lost my why.

678
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:29,600
Speaker 1: I was so consumed with delayed shipments and you know,

679
00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:34,319
Speaker 1: product delays and product mishaps, and you know, I had

680
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:37,000
Speaker 1: lost I couldn't see the forest through the trees, and

681
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:42,520
Speaker 1: you know, I'd forgotten about, you know, the purpose of

682
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,960
Speaker 1: my mission. I also wasn't taking care of myself. I

683
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 1: didn't understand that some people have a mental illness, just

684
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:57,960
Speaker 1: like some people can have diabetes or heart disease. So

685
00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:02,040
Speaker 1: not everyone has a mental illness, but everyone has to

686
00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:05,120
Speaker 1: focus on their mental health, just like everyone focuses on

687
00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:08,560
Speaker 1: their physical health. So just like they tell you to

688
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:15,160
Speaker 1: eat right and you know, exercise or just like we

689
00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,879
Speaker 1: can get a cold and that's totally normal. Hey, guys,

690
00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:21,080
Speaker 1: I have a cold today. Well guess what. Our brains

691
00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:25,200
Speaker 1: can get sick. Guess what Like when we break a bone,

692
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:29,799
Speaker 1: everyone sees that you physically have a cast on what

693
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:34,120
Speaker 1: happens when we break our brain, and that happens. And

694
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:38,720
Speaker 1: so my brain was broken. I was stressed beyond belief.

695
00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:43,279
Speaker 1: I wasn't addressing my physical health because I mean, I

696
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:46,200
Speaker 1: wasn't addressing my mental health because I didn't know how.

697
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,279
Speaker 1: I didn't know it was a thing. And you know,

698
00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:54,719
Speaker 1: eventually I was cyber bullied over a lie something I

699
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,279
Speaker 1: didn't do. I had proof that I didn't do it,

700
00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:02,080
Speaker 1: but it didn't matter because the Internet believed it. And

701
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:04,879
Speaker 1: it was finally the straw that broke the camel's back

702
00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:09,880
Speaker 1: and I was just in a bad place. And that

703
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:14,240
Speaker 1: really opened up my eyes to what mental health actually

704
00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:16,799
Speaker 1: is and how it affects all of us.

705
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,600
Speaker 2: And I felt like my.

706
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:24,320
Speaker 1: Voice was taken away because I couldn't defend myself because

707
00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:26,600
Speaker 1: the Internet was the jury and they had made up

708
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:31,120
Speaker 1: their mind. But I said, you know what, I will

709
00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:33,360
Speaker 1: get my voice back by being a voice for others

710
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,719
Speaker 1: and you know, talking about mental health. So that was

711
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:40,000
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen and I started posting every Monday for mental

712
00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,399
Speaker 1: health Monday. And I haven't missed a Monday since. And

713
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:45,880
Speaker 1: it's been a journey because I'm still learning. I'm not

714
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:49,239
Speaker 1: a clinician. I'm just a voice, kind of like how

715
00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:53,200
Speaker 1: Ahsoka told Ezra, you know, this is a new day,

716
00:41:53,239 --> 00:41:56,440
Speaker 1: a new beginning that you know, you you were the spark,

717
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,319
Speaker 1: and I was like, well, if I can be a

718
00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:02,080
Speaker 1: spark for mental health, that's that's what I'm going to do.

719
00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:03,120
Speaker 5: Thank you.

720
00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:04,839
Speaker 2: Sorry, I'm a long answer.

721
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,560
Speaker 3: That's an incredible answer, And thank you for being so

722
00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:11,759
Speaker 3: gracious and generous of sharing that personal side of you.

723
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:16,280
Speaker 3: And just like how you made the invisible fangirls visible,

724
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:19,239
Speaker 3: just like mental health is a bit invisible until we

725
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:21,399
Speaker 3: make it visible. So we aren't a time where those

726
00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:24,319
Speaker 3: conversations are being more open. So you that's why I'm

727
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,520
Speaker 3: always just so thankful. I'm very thankful that you were

728
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,280
Speaker 3: sharing a piece of your journey. And it's an ongoing journey,

729
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:31,480
Speaker 3: that's the whole point. Each day is a new opportunity

730
00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,719
Speaker 3: to do something better and improve on ourselves. And uh

731
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,799
Speaker 3: and and I think a lot of times people will

732
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:38,920
Speaker 3: see the final product. They'll see that maybe the four

733
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,160
Speaker 3: of you are at a convention and signing autographs or

734
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:43,680
Speaker 3: you're on the red carpet and by the way, yes,

735
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:47,000
Speaker 3: Tia is the best red carpet walker ever. We have

736
00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:48,879
Speaker 3: we have, we have, we have proof feel we got

737
00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,200
Speaker 3: receipts of that and uh, but you know it's the

738
00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:55,279
Speaker 3: the underneath all that, it's you're all human and which

739
00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:57,839
Speaker 3: means like you're real people, real emotions. That just means

740
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:00,360
Speaker 3: there's going to be ebbs and flows and and just

741
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:04,600
Speaker 3: normalizing these conversations like you have, Ashley and Tia, Taylor Panessa.

742
00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,120
Speaker 3: We talked about mental health on here a lot. It's

743
00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:11,080
Speaker 3: just it's so important. And thank you for entering that chat.

744
00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:13,279
Speaker 3: We're going to get you out of here because I

745
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:15,880
Speaker 3: know you got to go. Jace shared with me before

746
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:17,759
Speaker 3: we started this episode that he had a story he

747
00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:19,520
Speaker 3: wanted to share, so I wanted to bring jac on

748
00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:22,839
Speaker 3: and that could be I think a nice fun way

749
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,680
Speaker 3: to send you on your way. So JC, if you will,

750
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:36,080
Speaker 3: if you could share this story, the baby okay, apologize.

751
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:38,200
Speaker 4: Of course.

752
00:43:38,239 --> 00:43:44,359
Speaker 8: The timing I know, and she just started crying. Well, first,

753
00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:47,799
Speaker 8: I just wanted to say the thing I think, like

754
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:50,880
Speaker 8: listen Ashley, listening to you talk about not having a

755
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:55,080
Speaker 8: business degree and not having all this stuff and starting

756
00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:58,560
Speaker 8: a company. Something that you understood I think that nobody

757
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:01,799
Speaker 8: understood is as much as you know.

758
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:03,400
Speaker 2: Her universe sold T shirts.

759
00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,400
Speaker 8: I really feel like you were building a community before

760
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:11,080
Speaker 8: every business talked about building a community, like beyond just

761
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:18,040
Speaker 8: trailblazing merch for female fans, you trailblazed building a community

762
00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:22,560
Speaker 8: online for a brand in a way that nobody was

763
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:27,680
Speaker 8: doing in twenty ten. And I think that's that's really cool.

764
00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:30,680
Speaker 8: And that's the thing I think that you know, no

765
00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:34,719
Speaker 8: business degree from, no matter where you go, can can

766
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:40,400
Speaker 8: bring to anything. Is like you understood you were the consumer,

767
00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 8: and you understood that and you went out and found

768
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:46,800
Speaker 8: those people. I think that's something that should be studied

769
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:52,040
Speaker 8: in marketing class because I feel like you're one of

770
00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:54,239
Speaker 8: the first people who did that, which is pretty cool.

771
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:54,719
Speaker 2: Thank you.

772
00:44:55,239 --> 00:44:57,719
Speaker 8: I have a fun story which I don't know if

773
00:44:57,719 --> 00:45:02,799
Speaker 8: you remember, but a million years ago I made a

774
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:06,080
Speaker 8: Star Wars fan film called Hughes the Force back in

775
00:45:06,160 --> 00:45:13,200
Speaker 8: twenty ten and eleven and her Universe sent over some

776
00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:16,960
Speaker 8: of the costumes that our female leads were in the

777
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:21,040
Speaker 8: in the fan film, and on this podcast, we often

778
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:25,480
Speaker 8: talk about sports, and one of my favorite stories that

779
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,600
Speaker 8: I tell over and over again is that in two

780
00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:33,000
Speaker 8: thousand and eleven, I was in Saint Louis. I was

781
00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:36,440
Speaker 8: working for the Major League Baseball Players Association, and I

782
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:39,960
Speaker 8: was in the Saint Louis Cardinals' locker room before the game,

783
00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:42,200
Speaker 8: and I got a call and said, you got to

784
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:44,840
Speaker 8: get to the Rangers locker room something. We got to

785
00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:49,040
Speaker 8: interview so and so, and so I'm running under the tunnel,

786
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:53,360
Speaker 8: the player's tunnel underneath Bush Stadium in Saint Louis, and

787
00:45:53,440 --> 00:45:55,279
Speaker 8: I feel like the way I remember it is I

788
00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:57,960
Speaker 8: came around a corner and almost knocked you off your feet.

789
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:00,759
Speaker 8: And it was right around the same time time that

790
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:02,799
Speaker 8: I was working on the fan film, and you had

791
00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:07,200
Speaker 8: provided the costumes, and you were like, what are you

792
00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:10,040
Speaker 8: doing here? And I was like, oh my gosh, I'm

793
00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:12,440
Speaker 8: working for the Major League Baseball Players Union. What are

794
00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:15,920
Speaker 8: you doing here? And You're like, my husband is throwing

795
00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:20,520
Speaker 8: out the first pitch because David had won the two

796
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:25,040
Speaker 8: thousand and six World Series MVP, and this was the

797
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,480
Speaker 8: next time that the Cardinals had returned to Bush Stadium

798
00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:32,640
Speaker 8: since David won the MVP Award, which I guess you

799
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,800
Speaker 8: and I were both at that game also, I believe,

800
00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:39,319
Speaker 8: but did not meet at that point. So I just

801
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:41,800
Speaker 8: I thought it was fun because we always talk about

802
00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:47,719
Speaker 8: sports and Star Wars here and they are interconnected in

803
00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:50,160
Speaker 8: ways that you you never think.

804
00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:55,000
Speaker 1: Well, thank you for refreshing my memory. I absolutely remember

805
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:58,239
Speaker 1: that now, and I do you know, oftentimes I have

806
00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:02,239
Speaker 1: two very different worlds. The sports world that you know,

807
00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:06,239
Speaker 1: my husband's in and I'm such a proud wife, and

808
00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:08,600
Speaker 1: then there's my Star Wars world where he gets to

809
00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:12,440
Speaker 1: just be a proud husband, and they don't often intersect,

810
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:15,799
Speaker 1: but when they do, it's just like whoa, yeah, what

811
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:19,080
Speaker 1: are you doing here? But one kind of fun fact

812
00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:23,320
Speaker 1: that a lot of people don't really realize. You know, now,

813
00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:28,120
Speaker 1: there's so many Star Wars nights at the ballpark, it's

814
00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:32,280
Speaker 1: a normal thing. But one of the very first Star

815
00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:35,239
Speaker 1: Wars nights at the ballpark was in two thousand and eight.

816
00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:38,919
Speaker 1: My husband was playing for the Toronto Blue Jays and

817
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:42,239
Speaker 1: we were promoting Star Wars the Clone Wars, and I

818
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,480
Speaker 1: asked Lucasfilm if we could do an event at the

819
00:47:45,480 --> 00:47:50,760
Speaker 1: ballpark to help promote the film, and we had had

820
00:47:51,160 --> 00:47:57,799
Speaker 1: some baseball bats turned into lightsabers, and so, you know,

821
00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:02,160
Speaker 1: back then it is not a normal thing. It was

822
00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:05,000
Speaker 1: just something I asked if they could do because my

823
00:48:05,120 --> 00:48:08,080
Speaker 1: husband played baseball, and hey, here's a stadium full of

824
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:11,200
Speaker 1: people that might like to watch this movie. And now

825
00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:17,040
Speaker 1: it's totally grown into this regular subset of the business.

826
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:22,400
Speaker 1: But it was not a regular thing back then, So.

827
00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:23,600
Speaker 2: That's another thing. Again.

828
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:26,960
Speaker 1: It was a very different time back then, and so

829
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:31,359
Speaker 1: I'm proud to see how far it's come. Now there's

830
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:35,160
Speaker 1: Star Wars nights at pretty much all the sports games,

831
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:38,120
Speaker 1: all the sports ball as people.

832
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:42,040
Speaker 3: Said, blazing trails everywhere. Well, Ashley, this was such a pleasure.

833
00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:44,640
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for donating your time. Please come back,

834
00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:47,680
Speaker 3: because obviously Rebels isn't done with Ahsoka again, I think

835
00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:50,759
Speaker 3: we could have more really insightful and stimulating conversations like

836
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:53,920
Speaker 3: we just had just now. So the door is always

837
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:55,640
Speaker 3: open whenever you want to come back, we would be

838
00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:58,440
Speaker 3: honored and just thrill to have you. But until then,

839
00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:00,480
Speaker 3: everybody and everybody else, thank you everybody for listening. I

840
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:02,440
Speaker 3: hope you got as much out of this conversation as

841
00:49:02,680 --> 00:49:04,560
Speaker 3: we did, and there's gonna be plenty more to come.

842
00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:07,319
Speaker 3: So as always, we're gonna be back next week with

843
00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:12,160
Speaker 3: more Potter Rebellion. But until then, Ashley our outros. Usually

844
00:49:12,160 --> 00:49:14,880
Speaker 3: we say Taylor's cute the music, but would you do

845
00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:17,480
Speaker 3: us the honors and give us our outro and tell

846
00:49:17,560 --> 00:49:18,680
Speaker 3: JC to cue the music?

847
00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:22,440
Speaker 1: All right, Well, thank you so much for having me.

848
00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:25,839
Speaker 1: This has just been honestly a dream come true to

849
00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:27,200
Speaker 1: join the pod with you all.

850
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:31,560
Speaker 2: But I guess it's time JC cue the music.

851
00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:39,520
Speaker 3: Potter Rebellion is produced in partnership with iHeart Podcasts Producing,

852
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:42,960
Speaker 3: Hosted by Vanessa Marshall, Tia Sirkar, Taylor Gray and John

853
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,840
Speaker 3: may Brody Executive producer and in house Star Wars guru

854
00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:48,880
Speaker 3: slash back checker J C. Reifenberg. Our music was composed

855
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:51,520
Speaker 3: by Mikey Flash. Our cover art was created by Neil

856
00:49:51,560 --> 00:49:54,480
Speaker 3: Fraser of Neil Fraser Designs. Special thanks to Holly Free

857
00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:56,799
Speaker 3: and Aaron Kauffman over at iHeart, Evan Krasco or At

858
00:49:56,800 --> 00:50:00,680
Speaker 3: Willie Morrison, Devor Trasy Canobio, George Lucas for Korea This Universe,

859
00:50:00,719 --> 00:50:03,040
Speaker 3: we love so much, and of course all of our

860
00:50:03,120 --> 00:50:06,279
Speaker 3: amazing listeners. Follow us on Instagram at Potter Rebellion and

861
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:19,920
Speaker 3: email us at Potter Rebellion Podcasts at gmail dot com