WEBVTT - DeAndra Alex Full Interview 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.720 My next guest is a forward thinking entrepreneur has built 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:06.920 her brand on overcoming every obstacle on the journey of 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:10.280 life and in business with perseverance and will for a 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:14.480 and a will for a greater good. Adding a CBD 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:19.360 store to a portfolio, vegan makeup line, and a few 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.280 other projects upper sleeve. She's on our way to becoming 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:25.720 a mobile in the making. Please welcome to money Making Conversation. 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:31.280 DeAndre Alex. Hi, morning is it? It's a question that 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:34.839 I got that a statement of forward thinking entrepreneur in 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:37.879 your bio and I've never heard that before. What exactly 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:44.680 is that forward thinking entrepreneur? Being a forward thinking entrepreneur 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:50.440 is just another way to say visionary. Um, So yeah, 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:56.720 they're making up words what you do. You're just going 0:00:56.760 --> 0:01:00.320 to your own phrases over, I'm waiting on the deep 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:04.760 A deep statement for you. Shot is really just visionary, 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:09.920 just reworded. That's all too much words all the time, 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:15.360 and read the fine all the time. I love her, 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.480 I love her. It was just a visionary reworded that's all. 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:22.320 That's all forward thinking, that's all just just just come 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:24.160 off the top of the building. You don't have to jump, 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:28.760 come on down, Come on down. It's all good. I 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:32.880 want to enjoy this interview already, I know it. So 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:35.320 let's just just tell let's talk about Let's talk about 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:38.679 hot all started for you are read a little bit 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.759 about it, but your bio and the whole process. Before 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:46.320 we talk about the Lebron James relationship and the CBD 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:52.000 and all that stuff. Talk about your start. Gosh, oh man. 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.320 Um My start started when I was fifteen, I guess 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.760 I should say, Um, I wanted to be a rapper, 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:09.880 and I yes, yes, during my time, Yes, I was 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:13.000 very talented, and I ran away from home to be 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.640 this rapper. I took myself out of Christian school and 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:21.600 wrote myself into public school. UM ended up pregnant a 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:27.240 year later, however, but I graduated early. UM still continued 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:30.720 to do music after I graduated from high school, and 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:33.600 I rubbed shoulders and did music with some of the 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.680 industry's most influential people. UM. I think I even did 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.160 a cipher back with Kobe Bryant. Back in the day 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.560 when I was rapping, we used to do ciphers and 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:46.520 stuff after the games, and UM, I did a little 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.919 bit of you know, regular extra work. Steve Harvey Show, Moesia, 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:51.960 City of Angels, I did all of that kind of stuff. 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.320 So I've always been in the sports and entertainment industry. 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:57.480 Was just kind of my thing. And then UM I 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.880 decided to after that just moved to Atlanta with my 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:04.880 two year old sons. We tracked across the United States 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:07.640 and the dead of December, I moved to Atlanta. Wanted 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.359 to wrap UM still there because it was the mecca 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:14.600 of music back then. And after pursuing that for a 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.880 little while, UM worked with like Block Entertainment, which is 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:22.200 Candy's Um, you know, um daughter's father. I think I 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:24.600 even had sat down with Slim from Cash Money. He 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.160 transferred my adat music over to a CD back then. 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:32.480 But it just wasn't the industry for women now wasn't 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.359 what it was back then. So I had to kind 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.600 of like reassess and switched gears and I got involved 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:41.480 in one of my other passions, which was sports and entertainment. UM. 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:45.080 I ended up trying a little stab at Corporate America 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.000 with Fidelity Investments for a little while. That just wasn't 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.240 Being in a nine to work and nine to five 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:53.000 in office every day really wasn't my thing. So I 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:58.360 got involved in the UM in the service industry, and 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:02.280 I bar attended worked at six eighty the Fan, and 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:08.040 I pushed myself into becoming a sports and entertainment journalist. 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:12.320 UM never had any experience doing that. I can't even 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:14.920 tell you how it happened. I just know I submitted 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.400 a story to the UP magazine and then the next 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:21.520 time I had the recovery right after that, after me 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:25.120 and then after that, then I went over to North 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.200 Carolina and started working for an NBA team. And that's 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.520 kind of like the custom on how everything came into 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:35.480 fruition for me, for UM UM more than an athlete, 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.160 UM lifestyle, for the culture and everything like that. But 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.680 that's a short that's a short, short, short version. I know, 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:43.479 because you climbed a lot of years there. You know, 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.320 you went from running away from the home, you know, 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.039 got pregnant. You know, you said nothing of a boy 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:52.279 eron Harrington, you know, because he's my boy. I was 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:54.680 really saw his name in the bo same thing about 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:58.520 Mario Williams. You know, all these significant names you could 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:00.359 be dropping, you know, and and if you make this 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:02.720 and a few bigger, you know, but she's gonna leave 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.560 all these important names out of this whole process. So 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:09.119 I see, so I was really I gotta, I gotta, 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:11.039 I gotta hype you. That's what this that's the purpose 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:14.240 this interview, this interview is hyping you. You know, here's 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.600 a funny thing. But what did you what you said? 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:18.640 You mentioned to Steve Harvest sitcom? You you do some 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:22.120 things to the Steve Harvest sitcom. Yes, I was. I 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.640 was one of the regular extras on this show. You 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:27.000 know something, you know something on the reel on the reel, 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.360 on the reel, on the reel. We met because you know, 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:33.440 because I managed Steve Steve Harder for for for two 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:37.080 thousand and I used to always be on the set. 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.600 I used to always be on the set. And uh 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:43.440 and and and we've actually we've actually had conversations. And 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:47.160 I looked at your picture. Yeah, because she had no 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:51.039 problem talking to you. Now, she she come out, she 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.160 had no problem talking to She laid out of game 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:54.880 player right in front of you. Just what I'm gonna do? 0:05:55.520 --> 0:06:03.359 I went, She's kind of aggressive, but you have to be, 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.919 you know, because especially with you being you know, an extra, 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:11.200 you know, sometimes you're you're you're just disconnected and people 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.640 to people just see you just out there as as 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.080 you know, you know, being extra. Sometimes it's so far 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:19.080 off the beating tracked it. It's really can be just 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:24.280 so people so disrespected sometimes. And so I remember when 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:25.919 I met with you, and I was talking to you 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.200 a couple of times because because I remember one time. 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.760 You remember one time you find out who I was 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:33.320 and you came over. Okay, you had a little extra 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:36.520 conversation about what you wanted to do. And uh, and 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.520 so you said, Steve hard because I was looking at 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:44.280 that picture because when they send them the yeah you reportal, 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:46.320 they always send photos. And I was looking at photo. 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.479 I said, she looks very familiar. And we said, Steve Hardy. 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:52.360 But it's all good because, like I said, I meet 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:54.520 people in my life and I talked to them at 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.200 different times, and and to see the success that you're 0:06:57.200 --> 0:06:59.839 having now and to see that you're you're you're talking 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:03.280 just putting our names that I like to say, I 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.279 have been important in my life. Uh, in your view 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:10.160 and on your in your portfolio, it's really amazing. And 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.360 it really is. The briefly, let's talk about that. You know, 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.800 we talked about the life leading up to Courier. What 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.880 is a lifestyle for the culture. First, we're gonna talk 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:22.000 about that, and then we're gonna talk about more than 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.760 an athlete. Okay, let's talk about lifestyle for the culture. 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:30.280 And we're talking to D'Angel alex So. Lifestyle for the 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:37.000 Culture is a lifestyle management and PR firm, and I 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:40.600 also do brand strategy and I created that in two 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:45.800 thousand and eighteen. I have done so many things for athletes. 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.600 I have been a service to so many athletes. I've 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:52.480 been around athletes and entertainers all my life and me 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.320 just as a person, it's the second nature to me 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:59.040 to be of service just period. So UM with me 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:04.680 working in the service industry, I was the go to 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:08.800 person in Charlotte when an athlete wanted to have a 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:12.400 v I P experience for they needed to know, um, 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.680 the happenings going on in Charlotte. There was a particular 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:19.360 restaurant UM that an athlete wanted to go to. I 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.720 was always the person that people would call to say, 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:26.120 hey Be. You know, people affectionately called me be, hey Be, 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:28.880 where is this going on tonight? I need for you 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.280 to set up this experience for me here there or whatsoever. 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:37.480 And so UM I was doing it off for free though, 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:41.640 and you know, a person very close to me and said, hey, listen, 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.600 you have to put a dollar amount on your work. 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.480 I don't care if you even give somebody a ninety 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:51.360 nine point nine percent discount. You have to put a 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:56.679 value to your worth. And ever since then, UM I 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:59.680 vowed to no longer give my services away for free 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:03.040 because what I was providing was valuable. So created Lifestyle 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.840 for the Culture. UM landed my first client in January 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.400 two thousand and eighteen, and that was Christmas. He plays 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:14.360 for the Cleveland Browns, and from there I have basically 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.960 took his blank canvass of him just being an athlete, 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:23.720 took his blank canvas and took his passion and created 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:28.880 something that's brandable but also something that's impassable for under 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:34.160 served us in communities. So essentially that's what Lifestyle for 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.680 the Culture is. I manage people's lifestyles, giving them the 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.840 opportunity to focus on the things that matters most while 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.280 I focus on the small thing. And so as the 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.199 results of that, I have him UM we do as 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:52.679 his charity with Christmas Closet. We do a show every year. 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:54.800 It's gonna be our second year in Chicago during All 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:59.280 Star weekend called Stiffer Marble. And um, I'm just landed 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:03.760 another client and Delila Mohammed, she is our uh four 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:09.520 hundred meter world record holder and gold medalists um back 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:14.320 from the two thousand and sixteen Olympics. And so I 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.920 just have those two thus far with my company. Well 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:22.079 pretty impressive, you asked me. So keep doing what you do. 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.320 Now when people come on board, Well, what do it? 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.120 What do they what do they expect from you? Do? 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.400 Do do? Do? Are you? And I'm just not even 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.160 saying this negatively, but are you managing them? Are you 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:37.079 babysitting there their brand and and and and and putting 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:40.719 it in different areas and socially in print, in in 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:46.400 video mediums. What exactly are you doing there? So honestly, 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.440 what I'm doing is I am taking mid level guys 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:55.280 who do not realize the opportunities that are afforded to them. 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.800 So yeah, So in some aspects of my business do 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.640 have babies. I'm gonna call it babysitting. But I young 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.760 guys manage their lifestyles. I'm kind of like a mama. 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:07.280 So with my guy Chris He's like, Deeed, you always 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:08.920 act like you my mom. You always act like you 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.680 my mom, and and and it's one of those things 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:16.600 to where like I just know what is out here, 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:22.480 and I'm very protective, and I tend to kind of 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:28.560 make their lives easier as I educate them and I 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:32.640 am them. Sometimes it's really funny, I am him. Yeah, 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.280 we're gonna continue this conversation because youre hitting some marriors 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:36.960 for me that I want to expound on. We're talking 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:42.640 to DeAndre Alex. Her brand is amazing. She's a visionary. 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:44.640 I'm gonna pull it back to what it really is. 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:47.680 She's a visionary entrepreneur and she's going to be talking 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.720 about lifestyle for the culture more than an athlete and 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.600 a CBD business with a retail store. We're right back 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:59.920 with more money making conversations. Hi, this is Roe Sean McDonald, 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:03.120 and you're listening to money making conversations. Of course, being 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.080 in the RuSHA McDonald that means I'm the host. That 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:06.920 means I do most of the talking on the show 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.560 after I set up a brilliant courtion to my guests, 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:14.120 and then they get to expound, you know, pontificate as 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:16.960 they say indeed, I'm trying to use words it means, 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.040 it means, I means articulating at a high level of 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:26.199 the day team. You know, it's Alex. You talked about 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.840 Brandy and I you know, I'm that's that's my specialty. 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.800 And it's really funny when you when you you are 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.840 kind of like a mom or you're kind of like 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:40.160 a dad, because you know, I've had clients tell me, 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:47.000 you know, nobody cares more about their brand than meet Yeah, 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:54.480 I hear, yeah, but don't do this. Okay, I believe, 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:59.800 I really do believe. But don't do that. Okay, don't 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:02.679 do that. And that's where the that's what you're saying 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.320 is that you have to step up. You have to 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.080 always be ahead of the thought process because we're dealing 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.960 with brands, you know, and you have somebody shaping your brain. 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.679 You you gotta give up control. And so because of 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:18.199 now with social media, and let me tell you, some 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:21.199 incorporations have always done that. You know. There they go 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.280 to an ad agency and they say, shape my brain 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:26.720 or give me a new campaign or give me a 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.360 new Uh, we're gonna need up setting the home deeper meetings. 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:32.680 I've said in four meetings they have, they have, they have, 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:37.320 they have a seasonal four campaigns they want from your 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.600 year when they sit down in front of you, spring fall, 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.960 some one, winter, Okay, that's what they want. Now because 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:48.120 of social media, we're tied to individuals. They don't have 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.480 that corporate mentality. So when you when you sit down 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.680 with them, you talk about, uh no, you can't do that. 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:56.480 I know it feels good. I know you want to 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:58.319 do it like that. You want to you want to 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:07.199 rock them likes, but you can't poke right, that's sorry, No, you, 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:11.440 miss Alice, you can continue. We we're just talking for 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:16.760 for me. What I what I've noticed is that I 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:21.359 had to find my niche. And there's plenty of publicists, 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:24.560 there's plenty of brand strategies. You know. I never wanted 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:29.040 the major, top level, high level guy. I wanted to 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:35.640 really work with athletes that needed me. So I just 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.360 won't take everybody either. Like, I have to sit down 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.320 and get to know my clients. I have to know 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.120 what they like but they don't like. I have to 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.640 find out if there is a synergy in between us, 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:47.880 because if there is an energy between us and we 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.760 don't really think alike, I really can't represent you. I 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:54.160 have to be passionate about you and what you and 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:57.160 and what you're doing or what your goals are outside 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.640 of the sport. Like if I can't figure out what 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.920 you want to do outside of the sport, I really 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:07.120 can't work with you. And that and that's something that's 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:10.280 passionate for me, is about being more than an athlete, 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.600 and that is my thing. Any Way that I can 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:17.680 help any athletes realize their opportunities outside of the sport, 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:22.640 then I'm passionate about that, and I can do amazing 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:25.200 work about that. I take their passions and their goals 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.920 and then I turned it into something that's impactful for 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.520 their future. And that's important because and that's why I 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:36.640 brought up the conversation about corporations and individuals. See, social 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:40.920 media have turned individuals into entrepreneurs and small businesses, and 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.560 so with that mentality, once you understand that, then you 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.760 have to understand that they have power that wasn't available 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.640 to them ten years ago. And social media is really 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.240 as a as a daily press conference. That's why you 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.080 don't see anybody call the press conferences anymore. Yeah, but 0:15:57.160 --> 0:15:58.920 we will call a press conference. No. They just posted 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:01.680 right there. Don't talk those every we can. You don't 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.480 call press every Saturday. He starts posting Saturday and Sunday. 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:10.160 You just post sixty million followers post because the game 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.880 has changed so much. But in doing so, that's when 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.080 finding people like you it is important to have in 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:21.080 your life because you you understand the slip ups, because 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.200 once it gets out there and we can talk about 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.560 certain people out there who just go flip flops, like 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:29.920 Antonio Brown, he flip flops one one time, I never 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.160 play an n NFL. Next time, I want to play 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:34.360 in the NFL. Next time. I hate the NFL. Next 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:36.200 time I want to play in the NFL next time. 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.680 Oh please. That type of thing is what she's saying 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:42.840 in the sense that and then what I'm saying, not her, 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.840 when I'm saying, is that you have to have somebody there. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.880 What you're saying that you can trust it. Look, Antonio, Chill, 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:55.400 It's it's right. It's about truck. Absolutely, it's about truck. 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.320 Trust is a huge, huge deal for me. Trust and 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.640 integrity are the two biggest things for me. And that's 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:04.879 the one thing that I can say about you know, 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:09.080 my first client, he absolutely trusts every decision that I make. 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.159 I didn't go into this thing. I know everything that 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:16.000 I'm doing. I I'm still learning as I'm on this road. 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.359 Every day I learned something new. Every day I find 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:22.680 a mentor or find another person in my industry who 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.960 teaches me new things every single day and he trusts 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.680 me enough to take this journey with me. And so 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.080 far I've been able to um, I've been able to 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.760 deliver so far, so far, so far above reproach and 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.040 not above reproach at all, and you're not. And that's 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.880 why I'm really enjoying this conversation because I rarely get 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.360 to talk to individuals like you, because being the fact 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:48.600 that I truly understand branding and a lot of people 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:50.600 don't really get it, you know, because of the fact 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.760 that they were just being thrown out there so much 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:57.520 and facts being abused if you ask me, because it 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:00.359 really is a very it's it's it's it's very hoarding 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:04.000 that individuals understand the value of branding and also finding 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:07.240 exactly it just designed. Look at social media. Social media 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.040 to me is like you might have a million followers, okay, 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:13.720 but all of them not following you for the same reason. Otherwise, 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.280 if you post something you get a million likes, Okay, 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:20.120 so it means that, it means that it means that 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:22.840 you have to find out who is the majority of 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:27.879 your followers to your brand. So in other words, you 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:30.760 cannot It's like it's like a radio station. You have 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:33.720 your country hip hop all that you just suddenly can't 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.400 play a country in western song on a hip hop station. 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:38.480 Look at it gonna turn off your station. And that 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.720 tends to happen to social media. And so because if 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:44.000 you've got to know who you are through your brand, 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.840 and that's what brand strategists do, and that's why it's 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.520 more that's why it's really important to have a person 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.000 with your visionary. I'm gonna stick with that, and you 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:54.480 can do with that other word if you want to. 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:58.919 You are a visionary Dandrum okay, and I and I 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:01.159 respect you for that. Now, before we get out of here, 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.320 I want to talk about more than an athlete. Uh, 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.440 your your your company that was purchased by the incredible 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:10.640 Lebron James talked to us about that. Yeah, so more 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:15.840 than an athlete I created in two thousand and twelve, um, 0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:20.719 more than an athlete derived based off of my journey 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.920 in the sports and entertainment industry. Um. I remember guys 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.280 like plastical Birds, he made a mistake, ridiculed in the media. 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:32.399 You know, Michael Vick made the mistakes that he made, 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:36.680 was ridiculed, lost his livelihood um in the media. And 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:41.000 going through those scenarios and going through those time periods, 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:45.560 you know, I always was like, gosh, Like, they're human beings. 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.520 People make mistakes. The reason why they're so ridiculed and 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.600 and and so condemned so much is because they're on 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:54.080 this higher platform. They're visible to the public eye. They 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:57.000 all play our favorite sports. And it just touched the 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:00.520 place in my heart to say, gosh, you or human. 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:03.920 You know, they're more than just athletes. You know, they 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:06.640 they shouldn't be defined by the talent that they play. 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:09.520 They have purpose, you know, they have a right to 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:13.520 who who who make mistakes that as any any one 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:17.280 of us. And so you know, as I was getting 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:21.159 involved in my journalism um um business, Michael Vick was 0:20:21.200 --> 0:20:24.480 actually the very first person who gave me an interview 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:27.119 for By magazine. It was something a small piece on 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:30.560 how to throw a hail Mary path. In my here 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:33.720 in the business, I had been around practical births, and 0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:36.560 you know, these were very nice guys. I was always 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.959 respected in the company that I was keeping when I 0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:41.600 was in this in when I you know, when I 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:45.240 was in this industry early on, and so it became 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.320 a thing for me when I was a rounder and 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:51.080 athletes like, Wow, you know, these guys are actually cool. 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:54.240 I'm actually getting a first I v U to who 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.600 these guys are outside the scope of the sports as 0:20:56.640 --> 0:20:59.439 they play. And then as I went on and my 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:03.520 son are to playing basketball competing at high level, you know, 0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:05.920 it was ball is life. Ball is life. And these 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.919 kids were reclassifying and they weren't eligible to go to 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:12.800 be properly recruited, or they were having to go to 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.359 other schools to do an additional year. They were switching teams. 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:20.199 Like the business of of of high level sports and 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:23.600 a U programs is a whole another story. So as 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:26.520 I went through to my son's tournament, I talked to 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:29.640 kids about, you know, what are you gonna do if 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:32.720 you can't play basketball? Oh, there is nothing. I'm playing basketball. 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:34.359 I'm going to the league. I'm going to the league. 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:35.959 And I'm like, but you have to be more than 0:21:36.000 --> 0:21:38.560 an athlete, Like, what are you gonna do if that 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:41.920 doesn't happen, Oh, there is no there, There isn't anything else. 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:45.640 And that struck a chord with me. Um. As a result, 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:49.439 more than the athlete was you know, spoken to my 0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:52.199 spirit and I created it. Knew that it was going 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:56.360 to be something that was very powerful and impactful. And 0:21:56.760 --> 0:22:00.200 any kind of person creates a business night even n 0:22:01.000 --> 0:22:03.600 nine percent of the time, you create a business either 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:07.040 with an exit strategy or a hope that some bigger 0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:11.040 company will come in and and buy your company. Right. However, 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:15.480 it wasn't for me. It wasn't necessarily a decision. It 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:18.640 was just the steps that were ordered in my path, 0:22:19.160 --> 0:22:22.359 and it just so happened that our missions were aligned. 0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:24.240 Now I'll have to tell you, you know, I have 0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:29.400 to say this though, in all transparency, it wasn't a 0:22:29.520 --> 0:22:35.160 normal journey for more than an athlete Deandra Alex creator 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:38.919 and more than an athlete uninterrupted, It wasn't it wasn't 0:22:39.240 --> 0:22:44.919 a traditional Um marriage. Um. When I first saw that 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:51.480 Lebron had associated himself with more than an athletes from 0:22:51.560 --> 0:22:55.800 his perspective, you know, I was excited. I was like, oh, 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:58.199 I probably can't because I was like, oh, shoot, you know, 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:07.639 this is like, that's what you said, Alex shoot shot 0:23:07.800 --> 0:23:10.200 that we that, but I need to get the reality 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:13.240 where I know when the old shoot no, I was 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:15.800 like oh yeah. I was like oh, but so many 0:23:15.840 --> 0:23:19.160 people d ms me and and tagged me in his post. 0:23:19.200 --> 0:23:21.240 I was excited, like hey, yes, because I was in 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:24.880 the process of creating my performance wearline and I'm like, yes, 0:23:24.920 --> 0:23:27.560 let's get Lebron James a shirt. You know, everybody was 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:29.280 tagging him and so on and so forth, but nothing 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:31.520