WEBVTT - |FULL POD| Frank Michael Smith Joins The Heat Check! 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:05.400 Break was breaking down all the biggest NBA storylines. Your 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:08.000 child So the heat Check, the Heat Check? 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:09.440 What's trist a Cracker? 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.200 The best podcast covering all the drama around the association? 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:20.280 Drank Michael Smith aka Rhino, one of the biggest fucking 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:25.720 names in the basketball content space. One point seven milli 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:31.720 followers on TikTok, one point three milli followers on YouTube, 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:36.600 gets more views than first take on YouTube, gets more 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.560 views than your favorite fucking morning show. 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.320 Why because he is a straight beast. 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:46.640 Similarly massive followings on other social media platforms as well. 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:50.360 He has been grinding making straight to camera video since 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.800 twenty ten. That is a long fucking time. This man's 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:57.160 been in the internet game since longer than I think 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.920 I even knew the Internet social media exists. He is 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.760 basically my role model when it comes to content. 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:04.920 Doesn't know this. 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.120 I'm about to drop some info on him. One of 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:12.560 the very first videos that I saw on TikTok that 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:15.520 was highly successful in the sports space that I sent 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:20.240 to my producer and said, this man is crushing, we 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:22.400 need to diagnose what he does. 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.040 Was this man, Frank Michael Smith. 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:28.600 I have been following you since the real reason Russell 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:30.760 Westbrook playd so hard in the spring of twenty twenty. 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:32.039 Frank Michael Smith. 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:35.720 Wow, that you just set the record for the intro. 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:39.119 Let's go. I'm fired up right now. Sometimes you need 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:39.920 to hear it, Trista. 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:42.680 I know, like you can do the intro later, but like, 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:44.480 who knows what the intro is really going to be? 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:46.120 Right, Like, who knows? 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:46.640 You know? 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:50.280 That was beautiful. Thank you. I'm ready to dive into it. Yeah, 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:52.840 you put the twenty ten number out there. That makes 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:54.960 me feel old at this point. But I was grind. 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:57.200 I was one of the first people on YouTube. I 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.480 was in two thousand and eight in middle school making 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.240 highlight videos and like people didn't know YouTube yet. 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:05.800 That's what's so crazy is the space at that point 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:10.680 was not as saturated as it is now. And what's 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.560 fascinating to me about your journey is that a lot 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:17.760 of YouTubers that are huge they got huge because of 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:21.160 when they started, but it was but you didn't, Like 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:25.040 you got huge through persistence. So what do you think 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:27.440 was the difference between what you did then and what 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:27.960 you did now? 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.480 And like how different do you think YouTube is now 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:31.320 from when you started? 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.000 Oh my god, it's so much different. So back then, 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:37.280 I remember I used to do these highlight videos, so 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:40.040 it would be like Lebron James Ultimate Highlight Mix, and 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:42.240 if you dig hard enough, you still might find one. 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:44.680 They're not under my name, but you might find one. 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.200 I was rarely ever in the actual videos. They were 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.760 just like you know, highlight compilations, and they I had 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:54.600 a cool soundtrack on there, which, by the way, is 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:56.800 like the easiest way to start hating a song is 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:58.360 to put it in your video. You have to listen 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.120 to it like seventy five times. So I just crushed 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:05.040 my favorite songs. But anyway, it was all about search. 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.400 I knew people were gonna search Lebron James, so I 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:10.440 would make his highlight mix and it would get views. 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:12.840 And you know, as a thirteen year old kid, getting 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.680 like one hundred thousand views was amazing. It was like 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.640 almost felt impossible, but it was happening. And now it's 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:23.080 you know, it's so much more sophisticated. It's not really 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:26.200 about search anymore. It's so much more it's it's probably 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.720 a better system. Now it's about watch time, loyalty, all 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:32.480 these other things. But I mean, at the end of 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:34.720 the day, it's still about like, hey, do people watch 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:36.760 and like your videos? It's not that complicated. 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:38.920 Well in discovery too. 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.600 I think the thing that's always been interesting to me 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:47.600 as someone who came like you from you know, anonymity, right, 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.040 like wasn't I wasn't a college athlete. I didn't get 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.960 plopped into the system where you get pushed. So discovery 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.200 has always been something fascinating to me. How do you 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:00.880 think if you were to start a YouTube pay today, 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:06.400 you could take it to zero to viral differently than 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:07.800 what you do now, Like if you were to do 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:09.400 it in a different way, I'm. 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:10.920 Not sure I would do it in a different way. 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.760 I could go from zero again. But it's it all 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:16.279 comes down a value at the end of the day. 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:18.560 And you'll hear people talk about this and it's like 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.240 a pretty broad stroke to paint here. But the end 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.039 of the day, like are you giving someone something interesting? 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:26.800 Like that's what you do on this podcast. People like 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:31.080 your podcast because you deliver value, Like you're funny, you're informational, 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:35.320 you're relatable. Those are all valuable things. So you know, 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:37.640 everyone has their own different way of getting there, but 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:39.839 you know, I know how to do that. Now so 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:40.839 I could go from zero. 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:44.000 Yeah, it's crazy. It's like almost become the thing that 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:44.839 I read. 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:48.359 I read an article of you being interviewed, and the 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.919 thing that I thought was like so fascinating and something 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.880 that I struggle with a lot is like having a formula. 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:59.040 And that sounds like for a creator, there's nothing scarier 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:03.400 than the word formula, right, Like you feel your trap 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.520 now into a box. 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.800 But for what has worked for you? Have you have 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:13.200 stuck to this recipe? Recipe is probably the better way 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:13.920 of putting. 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:15.920 It, because that sounds I think better and more like 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:19.919 open and then like this is working, I'm sticking to this. 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.599 Like how did you find out what that formula was? 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.120 You know? I didn't put that much thought into it. 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:28.200 Like I've tried so many different things and most of 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.840 them failed. So it wasn't like I was like, hey, 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:35.000 like first try here, got it. But finally when I 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:37.280 found something that did work, I knew right away. So 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.880 I met my first video on TikTok. We'll get to 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.200 the TikTok portion of my career. It was twenty twenty. 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:44.800 I had worked in sports media for a couple of 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.040 years out in LA started making videos on my own 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:52.080 and I did. I did an origin story about Yiannis. 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.880 I know, it's an interesting story, a little kid growing 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:57.400 up on the street to Athens trying to sell knockoff 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:00.520 DVDs to people to make a dollar. It's amazing, really 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.520 is a great story. I would see these on YouTube 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.800 and they were like eight and a half minutes long. 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:08.400 Eight it's an important number there because once you go 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:10.120 over that, you can throw an ad in the middle. 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.240 So people would stretch them out on purpose and the 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:17.080 story would lose value because you know, it just didn't 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.120 need to take that long. I saw these and I 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.680 was like, oh, I'll do that in one minute. I'll 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:23.839 try that on TikTok. You know they limit you to 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:26.719 one minute. It's the whole game. And it worked immediately. 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.719 People really appreciated how I didn't waste their time. I 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.839 told the story with forward motion. It was fast paced, 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:34.599 and that's the whole thing about TikTok because it's a 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:37.599 fast paced environment. So it just fit. It just fit 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:41.400 all of TikTok's values. People appreciated it, and I was like, Okay, 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:43.040 now this gout to do one of these every single day, 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.279 and that's the repeatability that you talked about was like, Okay, 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.160 it's one thing to go viral, to have a hit, 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:51.839 Now can you do that every day of your life? 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:54.479 And that's what I did, Like the next two years. 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:55.640 I don't think I missed a day. 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:58.119 Did you see that article that just came out about 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.480 Sham's I was going to ask I read the whole Yeah, I. 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:05.839 Thought that was so just for people who haven't read it. 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:09.720 It chronicles Schams's career. He ends up getting mentored by 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.600 Woes Wojenham are now in this like Cold War as newsbreakers. 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:15.680 But the thing that I thought was fascinating to me 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:19.920 is that like Shams has absolutely zero work life balance. 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.360 He probably will never date in any meaningful way. He's 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.400 on his phone like eighteen hours a day. Like, what 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.280 was the most interesting part, because you talk about consistency, 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:30.240 and that was the first thing I thought about when 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:33.440 you said two years without missing a video, Like, what 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.080 was the thing that you felt was compelling in that 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:38.760 article as it relates to you in your career. 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:41.960 Well, Shams is born that way. That stuck out. And 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:45.000 by the way, one of my friends I went to 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:47.120 college with him, he went to New Trier. He graduated 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.000 with Shams. I saw him this week and at a 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.160 wedding and he was like, you see the article my 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:53.200 boy Shams. And I was like, oh, yeah you guys, 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:54.920 Like were you the same year? He was like yeah, 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:56.960 I had classes with them. I was like, was he 0:07:57.040 --> 0:07:59.520 the same way in high school? He's like the exact 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:04.160 same way. Just loved basketball, obsessed with basketball. You know. 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.400 They mentioned this in the article like it didn't really 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.800 make the teams, but was just dialed in. And they 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:13.840 go in the article and talk about how he's you know, hey, 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.880 I can't do this interview. I got class. Oh skip college, No, 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:20.920 I'm in high school. So that's just the way he is. 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:24.840 Like you, you can't really give advice if your sham's 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:26.360 like you kind of have it or you don't. Not 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.640 everyone's cut out for that. In my career is certainly 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:33.400 not as demanding. But I'm entrepreneurial by heart. Like I 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.199 was the kid in high school selling snapback hats out 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:39.480 of my locker and printing T shirts in the school 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.160 art room and selling those and it was just fun 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.559 for me. That's what I like to do. So when 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:48.040 I had the chance, when I saw this video go off, 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:51.120 I knew I had a chance here. It was fun 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:53.280 to take that chance and be like, let's do this 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.880 every day, Let's keep this rolling. It was like, you know, 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:56.800 I was having a good time. 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.080 How long did it take for you to realize that 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:00.280 you could monetize this? 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:02.600 See, I had a bit of an advantage. I worked 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.120 in sports for a couple of years with clutch points 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:09.400 right exactly. So I'll tell you a funny story. I 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.920 wasn't making very much money, and so I went to 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:13.800 my boss and I was like, hey, can I start 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.200 doing some sales on the side. I got to sign 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:18.160 some of these deals so I can get a commission check. 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:23.520 Like LA's expensive, Trista, it's I know, I know. So 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:25.199 I was like, I got to make some extra money, 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.280 like I'm stressing, Like I didn't even have a car 0:09:27.600 --> 0:09:30.160 and I live in LA. So I was like, let 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:31.120 me sign some of these deals. 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:33.320 And I got I stop you right there really fast? 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:35.400 Did you uber everywhere or what did you do? 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:40.440 Oh? Uberpool? That was my thing? All right, Peter Uberpool, 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:41.120 we need it back. 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:43.560 So you say, okay, I want to do sales. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.160 Yeah. So I find this deal and it's with the 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:50.719 company sports Betting Dime and it was a nice deal. 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:52.760 It was like a twenty five thousand dollars a month 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.280 deal and I was scheduled to make like a couple 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:59.440 thousand on it every month, which was like, Oh my god, 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:03.080 this is like massive life changing money for me. And 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.480 the day we signed it, we had all the ink 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:11.720 on the paper. The pandemic hits March badness gets shut down, 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.400 the deal gets voided, and I'm out, and I was like, 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:17.760 this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me. 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:21.040 This can't be happening right now. And fast forward a 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.840 couple months later, I'm making my own videos. I part 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.160 ways with Clutch Points. I reached back out to the 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.520 same company, sportspending time, and I was like, Hey, give 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:31.600 me a fraction of what you were about to give 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.000 Clutch Points and I'll deliver. I'm getting tons of views 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:36.880 right now. I'll drive people where you want to drive them. 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:40.480 And I crushed it for them. So I monetized pretty quickly. 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:42.160 But I had some relationships in the bag. 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:44.319 So what do you think is the most important part 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:50.280 of a creator going from engaging content views to Ashley 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:51.559 delivering value. 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:51.880 For a brand. 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.600 I mean, people have to care about you, they have 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:56.439 to care about you, and that's like, that's one of 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.600 the problems Clutch Points had was like no one really 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.520 cares about the brand that much. They delivered a lot 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:05.240 of news like hey, so and so sprains his ankle 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.839 and here's the article about it, and we're gonna link 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:11.640 you back to the website. They they couldn't have like 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:14.400 an in person activation. They couldn't be like, hey, everybody, 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:16.360 meet up. We're having a three v three tournament at 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:19.280 the park. Like people wouldn't show up. They didn't really 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.040 identify with the brand. They were just in it for 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.920 these little news morsels, and a lot of it was 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:28.160 just aggregated too, like they're really shams probably like you know, 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.000 they're just there's taking what he does. And they do 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:33.240 have a couple guys like beat writers for the Clippers 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.280 and such, but you know, that was really the business. 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.920 They weren't building a relationship with their audience. They weren't 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:43.080 fostering anything. So when I went out of my own, 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.640 I knew I can't have that. I have to show 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.400 my face in these videos. I have to I have 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:51.800 to be relatable. I have to show you know, there's 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:54.920 there's a human behind these videos. I'm not like, you know, 0:11:55.280 --> 0:12:00.720 some sports story machine. I have a life, so you know, people, 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:03.920 people actually appreciate that. I just started a broadcast channel 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:07.000 on you on Instagram the other day. Thousand people joined 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:11.040 it immediately. They care about me. So that's the answer 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.280 your question. That's how you have to transition. And like 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.920 people are only gonna convert to brands or sponsor deals 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:18.680 they care. 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.199 Yeah, and it's hard to get brands to want to 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.439 jump on even if your views are big, right, Like, 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:25.319 because how are you. 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:26.480 Going to do that? Are you going to put a 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:27.199 water mark in? 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:30.960 Because that's not gonna get any real organic value to 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.200 a brand, is it? Is it something that's like you 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.320 know this Canada drive that I'm just having, Like what 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:41.040 are like, how how do you find the Because I 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:44.280 saw that there was a big stock X partnership that 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.120 you just did where you did a scavenger hunt inside 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:49.240 of an arena. 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.800 So that actually not stock I wanted to be stock X. 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.040 Oh so what was it was just you bought the 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:55.400 Travis Scott. 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.559 Oh yeah, let me explain this. This is this is 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:01.360 really cool. So it's totally sponsored right now stock X. 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:05.440 If anyone's listening, pay those attention to the segment. My 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:08.360 suggestion is always to be creative with the brand deals. 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.480 The brand's paying you money, you know, I think you 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:13.599 owe it to them to at least think outside the 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.520 box a little bit. It shouldn't be as simple as like, 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.559 here's a candidate dry, you know, use your brain a 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:22.440 little bit. So this isn't sponsored yet. In the future, 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:24.920 I hope the brands will see the creativity. But me 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:28.240 and a fellow Pittsburgh creator. His name's Cohen Hanahan. He 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.480 goes by all Hail b Ball. You might have seen 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:33.040 his stuff before. I know you're on Basketball TikTok, so 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.679 you've probably seen him. Anyway, we linked up and we 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.240 were like, hey, how cool would it be if we 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.160 did a scavenger hunt at the Steelers game? And we 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.920 loved it, so we went in during the pit game, 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:50.160 which they play at Heinsfield Acrosher Stadium now and they 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.920 played a week before, hit it during the pick game, 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.200 took a video of us hiding it but didn't give 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:58.280 away too much, and then promoted that we're doing this, 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:00.800 and then it was on and we were like, hey, 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.640 find the golden letter, you win the Travis Scotts and 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:06.679 we ended up having to move the letter a little bit. 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.920 We had some logistical issues, but I stood in the 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.680 corner Trista and tied my hoodie up and watched hundreds 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.120 of kids dig around the concourse. It was amazing, Like 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.640 to see these people in real life. It's so game changing, 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:22.600 Like we sit behind these screens and see the views 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.320 go up. Seeing it in person is like next level. 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.360 I love it. So now we're doing it every week. 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:28.200 That's six. 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:32.000 You came out your pocket for the Travis Scotts Bobbie 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:36.320 the secondary market to do the activation for a potential 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:37.920 deal that hasn't even happened yet. 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.560 Well yes, but we also get like we're building something 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.640 like we also do giveaway attached to it. So if 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.720 you were to like I can't make it to Pittsburgh, 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.400 you go to my bill, you enter your email in 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.840 and you have a chance to win another pair. So 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:55.800 now we get everyone's email, we can create like a 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.200 koolus letter. So we're building assets attached to this. It's 0:14:59.240 --> 0:14:59.880 called the hunt. 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:06.040 I read that it takes you eight hours somewhere between 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:11.000 eight and twelve hours to go from ideation to publish 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:11.880 for one video. 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:12.480 Is that true? 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:12.800 Well? 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:15.280 Yeah, depending on the size of the video. Yeah, I 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:18.240 write pretty fast. Now I've done over a thousand of these. 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.440 So actually getting the idea, I have like a solid 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:23.680 filter for what's a good idea and what's not. That's 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:27.000 probably the most important thing to have. Then you know, 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:29.240 I'm writing the script or a guy on my team 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:32.400 writes the first edition of the script, I make an edit, 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.160 I film it that The filming process is actually really quick. 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.000 I'll hammer out a video in like four minutes, but 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.240 I send it off to my editing team, who are beasts. 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.880 These guys are the best and they'll spend a full 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:47.000 shift on it. So they'll spend eight hours editing this, 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:48.200 you know, one minute video. 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.920 Wow, So okay, so you guys all get together for 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:53.760 the ideation first, or just just like walk me through 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.400 the granular steps of how that happens. 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.280 From all over the place. Like I saw, for example, today, 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.320 I saw post from ESPN NFL. It was a quote 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.600 from DeMarcus Ware and it was talking about Micah Parsons. 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.880 He has all the tools to be Lawrence Taylor. I 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:11.280 was just having a conversation with my dad last night 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:14.440 about how the NFL is hell bent on making Michaeh 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:16.920 Parsons and the Lawrence Taylor. They are going so far 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.440 with this thing. So when I see that post today 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:22.200 on my Instagram feed, I'm like, Okay, that's just amo. 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.080 Now I have like a visual aid to put into 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.600 this script. It's going to look even better now. I'm 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:30.040 reinvigorated to write this thing. I got some of my 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.800 thoughts out with my dad last night. Let's write this. 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.480 I write it, I film it, I get to the team. 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:37.320 How long did it take to write the script? 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:39.920 Thirty minutes, not roughly when. 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:43.240 You edit the script or someone writes the first edition. 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:45.680 And I know this is like very granular, but I 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:47.880 think it's super important for people who. 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.720 Want to be creators. What are you looking for to 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:51.680 be in the script? 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:54.800 Because I read in this interview, but I also just 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:56.720 based on what I know, you've got some of the 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:01.240 best hooks, meaning the thing that gets viewers listening and 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.200 interested and not to swipe left or rights or out 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:07.280 of there. Like, So what's the most important thing for 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:08.560 you when you're building that. 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:10.920 Yeah, it's a fine line. You gotta walk. You can't 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:14.119 be so sensational and be like this is the greatest 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:16.600 you know, all this stuff, because then you're gonna lose 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.320 people's trust. It's probably not the greatest, the most crazy 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.679 thing ever you heard. And I see people who do that, 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.159 and you know, I don't think it's sustainable. So you 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:29.080 got to give people something without giving them the whole thing. 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:32.760 You have to make it exciting without making it sensational. 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.440 It's a balancing act. You have to weigh these things 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:39.040 and be like, Okay, how can I not give up 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:43.480 enough information here but still gain their interest and still 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.440 make them need to watch the whole video, which I don't. 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.200 Some people have a problem. They call that clickbaiting and stuff. 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.679 I really don't think it is. Like I think of 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.000 my story structure in a lot of the same ways 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.840 that like movies are written. There's context, there's characters, there's setting, 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:02.040 there's tension. A movie wouldn't be fun if they just 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.000 gave you the ending right away. You know, you got 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:05.320 to you gottadd some build up here. 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:08.440 Yeah, you have to say, hey, like check this little 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:09.080 that trailer. 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:12.120 The trailers wouldn't exist if we didn't have to draw 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:12.880 people in. 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.639 So how many people do you have working with you 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:16.720 on your staff right now? 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.480 And how did it go from you by yourself in 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.920 La to now you having a little squad. 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.679 Well, I'll start in La. I tell people this all 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:27.680 the time, like you don't I got the nice mic 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:31.000 right here, so do you? You know you don't need 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:34.200 this stuff. But the biggest mistake some of these newer 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:36.440 creators make is they want to buy everything right away. 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:40.159 I had an iPhone seven. I used like a suction 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.679 cup and put it on the wall and use the 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.760 front camera. It was nice and sunny in La, so 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:48.679 I was near a window, didn't need any lighting. But 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:50.520 I couldn't film it was dark. You know, I had 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.639 to get I had a little window here, but you 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:55.600 know I had a fifty dollars mic from Target. I 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:59.080