Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Becoming A Jedi with Set Free Richardson
1 Playsin 17 hours
This week I am joined by Set Free Richardson, we talk about his first kicks. What it was like living in Philly and having a love for music and culture. Creating The Compound and what it is bringing to the city of New York. How Compound Conversations began. Working at And1 and how a conversation lead to the early days of finding marketing. What it is like to be able to hear stories from legends and much more!
Follow Set Free:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/iam_setfree/
X: https://x.com/iam_setfree
Site: https://www.setfree7.com/
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
Backing Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Compound and Episode
00:00:00
Speaker
That you, you know, a lot of people, especially like they've been doing this for a long time. Yeah. Or they just feel jaded about everything going on. So it was just like, yeah. I think for me, man, like one thing, but my company name is Compound. So it's about people, places, things, and products coming together. So, you know, this is why I'm a pop out, um you know, shout out to O, came to Air Max Day and like, you know, still meeting people and like, you know, how can I always, you know, put things together? I always say I want to be one the OGs that's not in the way. Yeah. You know, I want the youth to still rock with me and be like, oh, okay, Freez out here, but he's still trying to connect the dots. You know?
00:00:38
Speaker
And I think sneaker culture, man, when you meet somebody, you looking at their feet almost before you look You make feet contact before make eye contact. Eye contact. And so, you know.
00:00:53
Speaker
What's good, everyone? Welcome back to my first kicks, the podcast where I use sneakers as a through line to get to know my guest. This week as episode. Jumping in here real quick, just to say that this is episode 273, as you can see in the episode title. We talk about how this is episode 275. because I batch recorded a bunch episodes, but this is episode 273. Let's just jump right back into the episode. And I'm joined by the legend. Stop. Come on, man. The legend, absolute legend. Stop. Set free.
00:01:22
Speaker
Thank you, man. Thank you. man I'm here with. This is a huge honor. I know, like, you know, it's really funny. And I don't think, I think I added you on LinkedIn when I first started this podcast. Wow. And I was like trying to get you it. Did I don' you respond, though? Nah, I don't ni i' think so. I'm sorry. Nah, it's all good. And I'm like a LinkedIn advocate, I'm like, so that made me feel a little bad, but I'm sorry. I'm here now, man. Nah, you're good. at the It's like, I mean, look, you got the compound now, you know, ah and cooking crazy. I'm i'm trying, man. I still ah think I'm still on light simmer. Mm-hmm. Light simmer? I'm light simmering. I don't want to feel like the meal. Once the meal done, ah you're not cooking no more. No, that's true. The the idea of like, what you're building, like I can't even put it to words. I think it's just like like, the only thing I can say is like cultural hub.
00:02:07
Speaker
Yeah, I call it like a cultural Spartan gym. So for creatives to come like sharpen their skills. Yeah. And then also you got the compound show. Yep, the compound conversations. Trying to be like 255 I'm? No, 275. 275. See, I'm like cop close to 50. So I got a lot of work to do. Hey, look, man. Consistency. you you got You got mad good guests talking about me. Nah, your show is great, man. I'm honored to be here. Yeah, man. I mean, look, like I said, you legend. You've been in this for years. Like, it's, I don't know, representing Brooklyn? Well, now representing Brooklyn.
Set Free's Early Life and First Sneakers
00:02:45
Speaker
I was born in the Bronx and then move moved to Philly when I was young. So then my uncle George grew up. He lived in Queens. So I was going back and forth between Philly and Queens. But now been in Brooklyn since 21. So I'm a, what do they say, a Red Hookian. Red Hookian. Look, I've been trying to make it out to your best, but it's so far. I live in Queens. So far Yeah, you might have to zoom in something. Yeah, send the link. Send the link so I can hear DJ Prince Paul spin. Exactly, right. But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks with that first pair sneakers you absolutely needed to have? So this is why i bought, I call it the Pulp Fiction. yeah i bought it here because it's actually in here. oh Look, first first time we ever have a Louis v you know suitcase on ah on ah on the pod here. This is crazy. And you know, i don't I don't even bring them off the house, but I love this show. hu
00:03:40
Speaker
So to my knowledge, these are, it's not a pair. It's one of each. But my mom started. That's crazy. Yeah. I think one is a Cortez. ah I think this means this looks like an old school Nike Cortez. Yeah. And I'm like, this might be like an advanced like, you Cortez. But that's was my first kicks.
00:04:07
Speaker
Holy smokes. like I can't believe you even still have them. Yeah, nah, found them, man. And It was amazing how I found them. I found them in my old house in Philadelphia.
00:04:18
Speaker
And for some reason, like the basement had like all the storage up in there. And those two sneakers were sitting on a beam. And I ran upstairs. I was like, Ma, what was up with these? And she was like, baby, I was cleaning. I just sat them up there. And then I just kept them forever, man. Like, it's just... That's how it all started, man. do you have pictures of you wearing these? No, I think this has to be, man.
00:04:45
Speaker
I don't even know if these are like months, or because that's like and like maybe, what, a four-month, five-month? But that's mine. I mean, they're hard and hard.
00:04:56
Speaker
Yeah, they are. i was like, you got it. You definitely can't get get these on a little kid right now. Yeah, dawg. It's going to crumble. It's definitely going crumble. This is definitely the oldest shoe I've ever had on the podcast. It's the name of the show, though. mean, look, um I'm taking it back because like the i can't even I can't even tell you what my... like Your first shoe is like... Yeah, yeah. If we going that deep, dawg. Yeah, I think it's a Cortez. maybe If anybody from Nike watching, get a number on it because there's no tags. But if somebody could tell me what those are, like I said, I think it's a Cortez. They might try to buy them all for you. they have the archives They got the money, though. as you're growing up, like when did sneaker culture really like or sneakers really start playing a part into your life?
00:05:48
Speaker
ah think I think um sports maybe. You know, like, you know, remember you used to want to run, you want to race somebody, and it was like that line, like, yo, you for some reason you thought your sneakers made you race faster. Oh, yeah. So I think in those days it was probably, it was always Nikes and Pumas and, you know, um it was a sneaker, Etonics. Oh, yeah. Spot belts. What else was it? Pro Keds, of course. Homey's.
00:06:14
Speaker
Ponies, Converse, Lottos, Kangaroos. Yeah, it was- it was Kangaroos, of once i I had Premium Pete on the pod. Oh, okay. And so we talked about, his like first kicks is like Kangaroos and I didn't know, because I didn't know about them, but that was like one of the first shoes that had the pocket. A fact. That's fire. I mean, that with the pouch and the zip on the side, then Lottos had to change your colors, but um I think well like sports and just was way made me want to just, and know, and going to school was trying to be fresh. Like I was like i said, i Mom started me like that. So I had to be like, I want as many different styles of sneakers I can get. I hope you've been enjoying this week's episode with Sefri Richardson.
00:06:53
Speaker
So jumping back in here, just to say, don't forget to like subscribe and leave a comment. If you're watching this on YouTube, if you're listening to this on Apple or Spotify, please leave a review rate that joint five stars. And if you can write a review or a comment, I'll read it at the end of an episode in the outro.
00:07:12
Speaker
It will go a long way. It will help me get in front of other people. So please, help out the podcast. And of course, if you want to help out the podcast a lot more, hit up the Patreon. Patreon.com slash MyFirstKicks. I only have one tier. $5 tier. You get ad-free listening. I bashed a bunch of episodes this for the past... I mean, for the past... For the next couple months.
Support and Growth in Music and Culture
00:07:35
Speaker
So...
00:07:36
Speaker
I will be putting out episodes every Thursday ad free. um So please take advantage of the $5 tier. Just one payment per month, $5 a month. You get to help out the podcast because every single dollar that goes to the Patreon goes right back into the podcast as I say it every week. So please help out the podcast.
00:07:56
Speaker
But for now, let's jump back right into the episode. Yeah, I mean, were you Puma Clive guy? Yeah, of course, Puma Clyde, the black and white. I mean, breakdancing, used to literally go to the store, get cardboard boxes, and black and white, blue and white, red and white. Puma Suede was a must, because shell toes, I don't even understand how people breakdance in shell toes, because the front was so hard, and Clyde was the best shooter, like, dancing and, do all you know, out of most breakdancing moves. ah got You got to hit the baby freeze on them. No, they ain't ready for that. Look, I tried. I had a a moment where i i went to breakdance club. I had breakdance club in my high school. and In school? In school. Wow. They were trying to do. I was. a
00:08:42
Speaker
I'm one of these people that I realized lot of these podcasters that be like, yo, I just got into podcasting. I failed rappers. Like, I wanted to be a rapper so bad. was like, I'm like, damn, I realize I'm one of these people now. But I wanted to be a rapper so bad. And I was just like, yo, I'm all about it. Like, I need all the... So you wanted to get all the tools to breakdance. Breakdance, graffiti. Yeah. At least you said, I'm going to to school. Because some people are just going to be like, ain't even trying. I'm going to just jump in. And you're not a failed rapper. This is my bars right now. Yeah. um like i mean know the the story because i watched the your interview with marrow shout out marrow oh yeah shout out the mirror that's my guy my guy um and you know actually didn't know that you you were involved in the an one mixtapes wow that's what's up yeah that's good it blew my mind was like yo that's crazy the process of that um and i grew up like had i used to rent those movies like Where you rent them from, though? I had them from a... Blockbuster or something like that? No, I used to have... Because I lived in Corona, Queens. There was that, like, the mom and pop rent shop, video rental stores. So there they had the whole... whole collection. Yeah, and I was just... Nah, that's fine. You know, it's actually...
00:09:54
Speaker
It's a reverse effect now. When people know me for not knowing the A&W Mixtape, it makes me feel like yeah um'm I'm still relevant in the culture besides that. But um yeah, that was like one of the greatest times of my life. And when I think one of the greatest things I i created in culture and creativity and marketing though. the I mean, the i think a lot of people are very influenced by that.
00:10:17
Speaker
Oh, yeah, totally. Yeah. I mean, from sports to mixtapes to music to highlights. And, you know, one day I even seen like it was like the SC Mixtape 1 SportsCenter. And I was like, yo, it still still has a relevant current in the through line between sports and music. Yeah, and I'm i'm curious of like, you know, did you go to, like, I know you, did you go to school for a DJ? I mean, did you go to school for DJ? What did you go to school for? or And how did you go to like, you know, how get to DJ? I went to school because of my parents. yeah I didn't want to go to school at all. um Actually, DJing started like just going to the park, seeing DJs, and then going back and forth from Philly to New York and seeing the park. And I just was like, yo, seeing the DJ control the crowd, seeing all these people like, He could just change the whole mood of a room with just a stroke of a record. you order So I was like, I wanted to DJ. And I think I i started DJing like 13. I got my first turntables. And Philly was like, Philly's like a DJ child. Like, shouts out to all my brothers. jazzy jeff king bread rich medina active uh cash money and um dj miz i was just seeing all these legends growing up and you know but then i'm coming back to new york all the time and i'm hearing the radio and ronji and doo-wop and sns and kid capri and i'm like well i got the best of both worlds yeah you know from the technical side of dj and like philly and mixing and and then new york was blending and mcs always like talking over the mixtapes and Being on the radio, and it was I was like, this is what I want to do. And just, you know, started learning how to mix and know scratching and all that came later. But I just wanted to understand like how to put records together and like have just control that crowd. Yeah. Where did your love for music come from?
00:12:07
Speaker
Was it like in the house all the time? Not at all. That's what's funny, man. My mom, my mom, both of my parents are deceased. My dad, damn, thank you. My mom, very religious household. So my mom was like almost a preacher. And then my dad was a deacon. My mom preached like guest appearances and stuff. So we really didn't play no music in the household at all. um I got two older sisters. They played a little bit of records, but my music love came from outside of the house, actually. um Just from the neighborhoods, cookouts, and barbecues, and and actually coming back and forth to New York much more. So my Uncle George's house was like where the music was played. That's where i used to hear BLS, and I heard all of Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and all that. And then I was like, okay, this is starting to feel right to me. Yeah. I mean, that's music music is something that I feel like I don't know where we're at with it right now. like'm I'm lost. I mean, at least at least it's because like a lot of people just be there's one thing that I i i think I'm trying to break out of is like listening, always listening to the old like the music that I like I grew up on. cause you always run back to it, like I'll be running Illmatic to the ground. You're right. I mean, I'm telling you, I mean, I was talking to like
00:13:22
Speaker
just so many people, everybody kinda, it's the soundtrack of your life. So you never, I mean, people think like they gotta do that with music, but you watch the same movies what you as you growing up. So I mean, look, Charlie Brown is still coming on TV every year. The same same time, same channel. So there's nothing wrong with listening to their music. It'll their Christmas time. yeah um like But I do think it's just like, you know, where we live, where we're in this era right now where it's just like, you know a lot of people think that you know you should be really paying attention to how music has progressed over time and then there's a bunch of kids that just be like i don't care about that yeah you know um but it's like cultural aspects i don't know if like i like we talk about the compound and how it's like you know it's really a place where culture thrives in you know um i'm always curious of like how did you find a love for culture itself like it's all For me, was movies. So I think always tell people, for me, I think it started when I was seven years old, just so going to see Star Wars for the first time with my dad and asking for the movie poster.
Influences and Evolution of Streetwear
00:14:31
Speaker
It's like back in the day, it was just like the the clerk or like the teller was in the middle and you walk, but she had the movie poster behind her and i wanted that poster.
00:14:41
Speaker
And when seeing Star Wars just made me want to dream and think outside the box, it was like people living on other planets and all there all these other worlds. And that was when I was like, my my psyche just was like, it's it's more than we just think of and just made me dream. And so you know from the music, and I just remember the theme of Star Wars, growing up watching like Jaws, Friday the 13th, The music in movies was always like really memorable to me. so set It set up the scene a lot. Set up the scene and and the feeling. And then you know Star Wars also went to action figures. like One of the George Lucas's biggest success besides the movie was the toys. yeah So for me, the toys helped me come home and play and create my own worlds. And that was like kind of like, all right, now me going in the backyard, filling the shoebox up with dirt, and then taking some leaves. bring it the house, but now I'm playing in this was forest inside my house. So yeah the creativity started for me always with ah like my toys and just building other worlds. and And that was like, to me, that was culture. Like, how can I make movies, be in my own little world inside my room and in the basement? yeah Yeah, that's fire. i did
00:15:55
Speaker
I was that like the guy with the in the mud the backyard. be like yeah like Exactly. With wrestling figures. Totally. Bouncing them off to the wall, like making wrestling rings out of Popsicle 6. For me, the creativity came first. and like Trying to understand how can I create to make my own little cultures was was what I wanted to do. No, that's fine. One thing real quick, because I love Star Wars as well. I mean, you know, they always who shot first.
00:16:25
Speaker
Wow.
00:16:29
Speaker
Wait, wait, wait. Ain't that Han? Yeah. I mean, no, it's ah it's a the bounty hunter. What's his name? Boba Fett. Yeah. Who I don't know.
00:16:43
Speaker
um I'm lost on that one. Is that the one outside the ship? they I think that's, yeah, from two, right? from from Yeah, from um it's from um Empire Strikes Back. Empire Strikes Back, yeah. And there was this scene, i'm i'm just I never knew who shot first, though. That's that's the always the question. Every time you bring up Star Wars, everybody's like, who shot first? um um Everybody, you know, it's either between Boba. I don't know. I say i say Boba did.
00:17:09
Speaker
i That's who I've patterned my whole life off to Boba. I love Boba. Yeah, Boba, he had to drip the His sneakers looked like Pradas. He had a cape, his whole outfit. A lot of people don't know he works for Darth Vader and Jabba the Hutt at the same time. So that's kind of how i look at myself in marketing. like you know One year I was working for, like I was consulting for New Balance and Vans at the same time. i was like it was It was great. Boba is like the blueprint of everything. I mean, you touched on that a little bit too, but like how did you get to, you I feel like your trajectory to where you are now, it's like it's not a sim it's not a singular line. I feel like you don't like you're you're touching a lot of things. It's definitely a current.
00:17:53
Speaker
DJing. DJing was the through line. Starting DJing and going back and forth to New York. I got my like, from DJing went to producing, producing went to engineering. I got my first record deal in 1996 on the Tommy Boy Records. Then I produced a record for this Jet Li movie called um The Black Mask.
00:18:15
Speaker
And from there, I remember going record shopping. was about to go DJ at the How Can I Be Down in Florida. And that's kind of when I met a guy named Peter Smalls, AKA Biggie. He's a footwear designer and creator. And he actually got me the job with N1. Wow. So he was like, do you like these sneakers? And I was like, no. And I was like. This the Thai cheese? Oh, no. This is way before. Way before? It's like a moon glider. I don't even know what it was. But he actually asked me, did I like the sneakers? And I was like, I said it was 96 and uh 96 just was the year you know the draft the music everything was just yeah bubbling crazy yeah authenticness and uh they sent me a bunch of product to Florida and I I seeded all the product out for and went and got it to all the all of the homies that they love the Black Moons the big tickets everybody I was at the conference and then that just turned into a
00:19:10
Speaker
me getting a job of product placement at and one wow and then um you know through through time that grew into becoming a director entertainment marketing and the story from from there and just went went on learning you know marketing also with all the things that i knew from the music world and djing putting that in the company Wow, the the melting of the two worlds is definitely like, I think that's more commonplace now. Yeah, totally. Back then, it wasn't. No, it totally wasn't. You know, the opportunity, shout out to Rich Medina, Bobito, because I met um Peter Smalls in Footwork. um
00:19:47
Speaker
And, you know, always, when I first got the job, I was like, yo, I'm actually... an A&R for A&1 but you know it's just really I just looked at and understanding the music playbook and the label playbook yeah and took that to a company the I've always said like the FUBU like you put people in stuff yeah ye even though it's like the one they said they like they only had like five shirts and they just put it in there everybody everybody had one shirt yeah it was for us by us yeah But like that process of like getting the hot person in the item. In the product, yeah. Yeah. It's like, I don't know. It's confusing now. Yeah, totally. i mean Very a lot easier back then. Yeah, and oversaturated now because like, You know, ah somebody or something else connected to finances, connected to social media, people weren't posting and so many brands. But back then it was it was not that not that many brands there that, you know, people wanted it anyway. You know what I mean? It was like a certain level of, you know, hip hop brands and sports brands that people wanted to always rock. I mean, look, this is my time. That's my time. i was rocking Mecca. I remember fiending for a Mecca shirt. Mecca, Acapulco Gold. Oh, yeah. Acapulco Gold was fire. Yeah, loved Acapulco Gold. Anichi. There so many, man. But Mecca, I had a couple Mecca soccer jerseys that was fire. Yeah. My favorite was like when Echo used to do the ah i bring this up when Echo used to do the like the I don't know if it was illegal or like they did the Marvel collabs, but it was like, yeah. Oh, like like early 2000s. I used to have a silver 72 football jersey with Spider-Man swinging across from it. It was sick. I wanted it so bad. I need it back so bad. he might have to go Comic-Con or somewhere to find that again. I have yet to see it again, man. This shit is crazy. That's hard. But the way that street... because i I don't know if... like Hip-hop streetwear took off and now it's like this thing that doesn't really... Like now everybody's doing street wear. Yeah. Right. what
00:21:55
Speaker
But like, did you see how, like, were you able to see how it started becoming this thing and taking over a lot of New York city? Yeah, I mean, definitely, you know, um just with like brands, like shout-outs out to April Walker. Shout-out. Walk-A-Wear. Walk-A-Wear and Mecca and and Nietzsche and, so well, the School of Hard Knocks. Nobody remembers the School Hard Knocks. had a School of Hard Knocks. I got a picture of me wearing a School Hard Knocks shirt still.
00:22:22
Speaker
I used to have, I had the shorts with the dude because they had the dude, dr like his face. His face, yeah, totally. like I had the shorts into the pants. I had everything. And Carl Cana. It's funny, man, because like,
00:22:34
Speaker
It was a wave of like black brands, like like I said, Carl Canard, Cross Colors, Walker Wear. And we didn't get the credit of streetwear. Right. It was just like, I don't know if it hip hop fashion or, but then seemed like- Like urban gear. Urban gear or whatever. then 10, 15 years later, here comes streetwear culture. And I'm like,
00:22:55
Speaker
But this is the same type of clothing that, you know, people like April and Carl was making for us. and Yeah. But I definitely seen it coming because, you know, the things was that, you know, my peers were making to me were just incredible. Like, you know, I always wanted, ah got a picture of me and my mom wearing Carl Canard hoodies. I used to come up to New York to to make, av buy stuff and take it back to Philly. And like, you know, it was, I definitely seen it.
00:23:22
Speaker
I didn't think it would take the turn that it took. to how streetwear came because I thought it was already there, but I didn't i didn't realize it was going to be that. big the So like during this time, I mean, and one, and one blowing up, you
Impact of And1 on Sneaker Culture
00:23:35
Speaker
know?
00:23:35
Speaker
Well, would you say, avi i think I think the Tai Chi was everywhere at one point, right? Yeah, I think the funny thing about Tai Chi, it started, well, the mixtape started before the Tai Chi. yeah You know, I think we was at um close to volume three. And Vince Carter ah just won the dunk contest wearing the Tai Chi. Right. And the crazy thing is that the day after he won the dunk contest, he's like, I'm not doing a deal. yeah yeah And it was just like a silence in the building for like months. and
00:24:07
Speaker
But you know, it it was the shoe that I think because of Vince in that moment. And then we we had a lot of players on the team at that time. we had Chauncey Phillips, we had Ben Wallace, we had Sprewell. So the colorways of the Tachi was amazing. And, ah you know, i just a shoe with this mishmash pattern was not seen yet. So yeah I think that that probably is the biggest shoe that Anne went at.
00:24:32
Speaker
Oh, for sure. And, you know, i do think it's just like Like it did launch like a ah ah I think the start of like mixing, you know, regular clothes and and basketball sneakers, too, as well, because it's like, you know, I don't think I don't think we count Jordans is like I think i don't think a we count Jordan is like a ah basketball shoe first. No, no, I think, well, it's just funny, man, because i always say to Jordans, like, when all the first Jordans came out, you know, he was still losing. yeah You know, i credit, like, a lot of Spike Lee, you know, when Spike Lee and, what's my man, Dwayne Wayne wayne um from Living Color. Yeah, yeah, yeah. ah For me, i just remember
00:25:11
Speaker
I forgot his name. I don't know. Is this Dwayne Wayne? Something was Dwayne Wayne. All I know the glasses flipped But culturally, seeing lot of Jordans and Spike Lee stuff and in the neighborhoods and all, but I think...
00:25:26
Speaker
We never looked at Jordan's basketball shoes. Like, you know, from one to whatever. Like, you know. um even though i was thinking, it was funny when i was thinking about just a lot of knowing I'm coming over here, it's like sneaker, it's like Labetia's going off. yeah But even like Barclays, you know, like when Barclays came, it was a basketball shoe, but I couldn't wait to wear Barclays with shorts. Like Chris Webber's. So don't know, basketball, it's ah for me, basketball sneakers always had a trend of crossing over to being fashion. Like, you know, you're not gonna really wear football shoe or a cross, like basketball shoes always lend itself to fashion for some reason. I don't, I mean, don't know if it's just like the people that just wanted to put it on just because it was just like, you know, I feel like you see it on the street first. Yeah, you do. Yeah. You know, before, and even though you're like, you're watching, like if you're watching the NBA game on like on a, on a boob tube TV, you're not seeing sneakers. Yeah, no, black and white, you're not, you're not, you're not seeing, you're logo maybe. Yeah. But you ain't going to understand the, like, you know, with the, the pliers and the hanger and the fuzz and everything. Nah, that's not. Nah, yeah. But I think it was just like, like, and one sneakers were definitely like affordable as well. Totally, yeah. So like, I would see them a lot more, especially out in Queens. Yeah. I would see them. And yeah, with the, the mixtape going crazy too, I, it was like, you had to,
00:26:49
Speaker
Everybody just wanted a slice of of something. The shorts was the shorts to me was the number one mover. It wasn't. the It wasn't the shirt. If you played ball, it was the shirt. But if you were just like a a person that's chilling in the hood or relaxing, the shorts was the way. shorts was The shorts was great. I just needed the shorts bad, too. To me, it was the mixtapes and then the shorts. And then play ball T-shirts and then shoes if you just like shoes. Look, I watched that 30 for 30 and i was just like, oh man. this this is that that was i was i watch That was one of the first for thirty s I was just like.
00:27:26
Speaker
i need to watch this as it comes out oh thank you that like it makes me feel good that's it was like an honor to do a 30 for 30 and be able to tell tell my like my story of like you know my story ain't about the business and the the selling of the sneakers it was just about the mixtape so like to do that it just was an honor man yeah i mean it was crazy like i can't believe sitting in front of you stop here here like thank you man So like as you've seen sneaker culture grow, because you literally watch it happen. I mean, you're chilling with Bob Bito. He's creating this thing. Totally. yeah if You know, like how much of that like really grabbed onto you? like Wow. I just think, well, since sneaker culture, man, the way it exploded from, i mean, so many different lanes of like, you know,
00:28:16
Speaker
sneaker like i remember gary payton got the glove and i was like you know seeing technology on the nike with the shocks um the reebok with the pump um then now going into you know i remember being young in philly going to atlantic city to get gucci's then that coming back around and reebok doing s dot carter like seeing hit the invasion of hip-hop um you know i think just all the different styles of sneakers that can't like you know, like from when Stash, oh sho that Stash and Futura and Hayes and what they did and Jeff Staple and the Pigeon Dunk and then you're going all the way to the West Coast and Nick Diamond and the Tiffany Dunk. Mr. Cartoon, Air Force One. I just posted a picture yesterday with Mr. Cartoon literally
00:29:03
Speaker
I don't even know where I ran into him at, but I just got my, the um I got the green and red ones, and I got the Spider-Man web ones. And I literally was like, yo, can you put the LA on the front? and yeah literally I mean, and he signed it literally the same way Virgil signs. like But this was...
00:29:21
Speaker
i don't even know how old that shoe is now. That's like a long time. So, you know, then just seeing all the collabs, shout out to Frank Cook, my guy who. Shout out Frank Cook. That's my guy too. Yeah, Frank, that's from my little bro, man. Dinner at 7, Frank. Dinner at 7. Where you over at? That one, just that one. oh You know, just from, and then how just the NBA, you know, and Kyrie was one of the biggest sneaker sellers at Nike. Like Kyrie number seven is one of my favorite. um did the The journey of Kobe from crazy eight back to Nike. yeah And now, you know, rest in peace to Kobe, the explosion of how everybody wears Kobe's now in the league. the Pro Troas are just yeah taking over. taking over like sha I do think it's a good shoe to ball into. Totally. like like You look at Jalen Brunson, Denton won his own shoe. He just said, give me P.E. Kobe's. yeah And I'm happy. So I mean, just so many different things of sneaker culture, you know from like all the sneaker conventions. Shout out Yu Ming.
00:30:20
Speaker
oh Just it's been amazing like to watch. and And it's not stopping. you know it's It's still going on. There's so many lanes that have been created for sneaker culture. the way and i mean the one thing i i love of just like the ah the amount of community that we have especially within new york city and like you know you you're building your own as well but like what inspired you to continuously be a participant within the community for a sneaker culture yeah or and in even streetwear too because like i mean the first time we met was at awake yeah so it's just like you know i really love that you you know a lot of people
00:30:55
Speaker
especially like they've been doing this for a long time yeah or they just feel jaded about everything going on so it's just like yeah I think for me, man, like one thing, but my company name is Compound.
Community and Storytelling in Sneaker Culture
00:31:05
Speaker
So it's about people, places, things, and products coming together. So, you know, this is why I'm a pop out, um you know, shout out to O, came to Air Max Day and like, you know, still meeting people and like, you know, how can I always, you know, put things together? I always say I want to be one the OGs that's not in the way. yeah You know, I want the youth to still rock with me and be like, oh, okay, freeze out here, but he's still trying to connect the dots. and
00:31:32
Speaker
And I think sneaker culture, man, is when you meet somebody, you you looking at their feet almost before you look at. make you may You make feet contact before you make eye contact. And um so, you know, I've been in the sneaker world for a long time. It's it's a sport. It's a sport, you know how we you know, going on the hunt when you go to other cities, trying to get the sneakers before somebody else or you know, thank God I'm sample size. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, as I was texting my friends, i was just like, Freese gonna wear some crazy unreleased samples. I was just like, all right, man.
00:32:06
Speaker
I think it's its it's it's almost like a game. I mean, the steam culture is a game. It's yeah it's a hunt. you know People want to be fresh. They you know match in their outfits to it. So I think it's a a part of culture that is never going to go away. And I just love being a part of it from, you know,
00:32:22
Speaker
wearing it to you know being able to do content on it and just and study it you know steerculture is something you study and learn and still have fun with yeah ah you talked about you know the journey did you have a ah crazy journey ah for a pair of sneakers but I'll go with one of my last, ah one of my fun last ones. Shout out to JDKiss2O, Kay Rosewood.
00:32:46
Speaker
um Chicago All-Star 2020. twenty twenty It was freezing. yeah It was brick. So you know All-Star weekend, all of the shoe drops come out. And oh we we literally got there.
00:33:00
Speaker
We all got there separate linked up. Went to Target, got Long John's first to go. It was that brick. You're like, let me get let me pick up some long johns. We all went walwin and got long johns, thermals. And I remember that was the year that the Jordan did the two-pack.
00:33:15
Speaker
One was a red and white ship. And the other one was a Jordan 1. Yeah, yeah. All of us in the came in a big box. And it was like a grid. Grid box. Yeah. we was on a hunt for that. And me and Jada were the same size. So it's always bad. So I'm a nine, he a nine. And then I think it was a couple other people was a nine. So like, I think he went and got his first and then I was stuck and like, And then we just runnin' around the town, and you know, a bunch of Jordans, because it's Chicago, so a bunch of other Jordans. But I think that was like the grail set for the weekend, man. And it was just, I'll never forget, runnin' around in the cold, just tryin' to find that box set, man. But I did get it. Funny thing was, I remember comin' back, and I seen Rick Ross in the airport, had no bags, had his box with him. And it was like, I seen like three more people with the box, no luggage, just the box. Same with me, too. You would've hit him with a L Rose. That's the joint when you walk into the airport, everybody like, it's just the head of the box. Oh, you got him. Oh, you got him. That's insane. I don't, yeah, I remember when that dropped. I thought you can get him here too. I think it was a Chicago only. That was a big, 2020 was a big,
00:34:35
Speaker
Sneaky, yeah. That was Joe Fresh did a drop. Yeezy was in, he did the, out the truck. Out the truck. I mean, it was Chicago, you know. It was a drop in temperature, too. I know that. It was freezing. Definitely like negative three. Yeah, it was freezing. It was brick. That, that is wild. You know,
00:34:56
Speaker
I love what you're doing with, like, the community, and, like, I'm very curious of, like, you know, starting up Compound yeah Conversations, and, like, what's what's the, what what's your, what was your influence into getting into the, to having the conversations?
00:35:13
Speaker
Wow. oh So I actually started Compound Conversations, I think, like, Might have been 2017. We started with Hypebeast first. you know The compound was in the Bronx. It just meant we had a table in the Bronx and we just, we used to, between basketball players, athlete athletes and artists and DJ, we used just sit at this table. Shout out to a restaurant called Giovanni's. We used to order mussels, pizza. yeah Everybody used to just chill and smoke. And we used to sit around this table
00:35:45
Speaker
And i I think my man Ambush or forgot my man Josh, I don't know, or whoever, like my my family, Leckie, used to be there. And we used to just sit at the table. and I remember somebody was like, yo, if we had GoPros recording this, it would be crazy. And I'll never forget, man, it was a night Black Thought and Moose was there. yes And I was just sitting at the table like, yo, dude.
00:36:07
Speaker
this is crazy. ah Sounds crazy. like And then that, I remember like, yo, I need to start these compound conversations. And think my first guest, I don't know if it was Stash or Jadakus, it was my first first guest. I showed it to Hypebeast.
00:36:23
Speaker
And then we it turned into a 12-episode deal to do. 12 episodes. We had Ron English, we had Nigel back then. oh well man Chris Kong from Hong Kong. He's toy maker. And it was it went really, really good. And I was like,
00:36:38
Speaker
that now And I was doing the um interviews, but I was doing the off camera. yeah um And it went really great. Then we turned it into, we did two live performances of it at the Soho House. We did one with Ron English. We did one with Slick Rick. Wow. Just name dropping crazy. Oh, stop. Stop. then i stopped for a while man and i just was like you know um i was like you know the podcast boom happened and you know i can't i came back and i was starting something else called free advice yeah same concept and i was really gonna go rough start running with that but then pandemic happened and then i stopped and uh you know i got i got a call actually man that that um no i did for i started it back up and and when i moved to brooklyn okay
00:37:27
Speaker
And ah I never said this yet. while what I never said it in interview yet. I started it back up and I did, I did four interviews, but two out, the first one was, um,
00:37:40
Speaker
tyra mccrea who's the so um head president of north america puma right now then i did two more interviews one was clark kent and rest in peace to him and then another person was re weiss wow and uh he was like the head chief um creative of ddl on ddbo and after i did both of them too both of them passed away wow right after each other wow And it kind of had me, like, just, like, shook up a little. And I was like, you know what?
00:38:11
Speaker
I'm going to stop. I'm not going to do these interviews no more. And I was just like, all right, I'm good. um I don't know. I'm just, you know, interviewing two people. I mean, but, like, why why did that discourage you so much? Not discourage me. It just it was had nothing to do with the show. i just was like, wow. I'm like...
00:38:30
Speaker
interviewing two people and they pass away back to back. and It was just like, it just seen just so was a lot. it was a And then um my good friend EP, shout out to EP, hit me and was like, yo, we we want you to interview Benny the Butcher from Def Jam. And I was like,
00:38:46
Speaker
was like, that's the fam. And I interviewed Benny and it just, as as the youth say, i I guess I went viral. Yes, yes, yes. And with the Benny and shout outs out to Benny and the whole Griselda. Shout out. oh And then after that, i ah caught the I caught the bug again and it was just like, you know, for me, it was like,
00:39:04
Speaker
Doing the interviews and having these conversations that I have with all my friends and peers and people, i'm still a fan of the game, but always want to tell people story and their journey from from the beginning. And then kind of that's where, you know, the whole timeline of Compound Conversations is. I mean, that i mean that one, i have to ask this question, but like, how does it how does it feel to to kind of have like that Rolodex where you can actually have these conversations with people?
00:39:32
Speaker
umm I'm blessed, man. um You know, it's so still humble, still a fan. A lot of the interviews I get, yo, Free, I'm only doing this because it's you. yeah ah get a ah lot. the The one that makes me smile all the time is, yo, never said this on camera before. i know. That's me just now. Yeah. Yeah, you got that.
00:39:54
Speaker
Just seeing, like, the moments of when I... be able to talk to these people about their family and life and and not the hot topic, not the clickbait question.
Authenticity in Conversations and Creativity
00:40:05
Speaker
yes um So it's it' a humbling honor to be able to call, you know, the greats, the legends, the the tastemakers of all different cultures and be able to want to just sit down and have a conversation with me.
00:40:19
Speaker
I mean, it's a it's a beautiful thing, because I think that's the biggest problem with media now, too. It's just like they're always just looking for that viral clip. But it's just like, why can't people just like, you know, hear or or even confine, like ah connect with somebody that they've been listening to or watching and seeing progress for years? so You know, or why why do we need to have something that they're angrily saying or to go viral? Yeah, exactly. I don't.
00:40:45
Speaker
That's always been like my biggest thing, especially with this, too, because it's like I'm never looking for that. I'm always looking for the progression of people's like like I want to know because especially I'm going to ask you this question, but like, you know, I'm always big on like curiosity. So I love hearing how people are so curious, especially when it comes to you, when you're being so curious about another person, like, you know, where does that come from?
00:41:06
Speaker
So in the words of Django, I want to know why you so curious. Don't get me. I don't know if you remember that scene. Yeah. It was the illest part. And he was like, no offense taken, man. oh I'm sorry. The question was with Gunn was what? Like what? Because you're you're having these conversations. So it's just like, you know, what fuels you to be so curious about people?
00:41:31
Speaker
Wow. Wow. I think it's the, I wanna know what makes people keep going. And you know, his life is like hurdles, man. you know You're gonna have to keep jumping jumping, jumping, jumping, jumping. And it's like, when you look at anybody that's successful, or not even successful, it's like, what keeps you going? So through my interviews, it they let me know all the way what hurdle they jump to get to this next point, what hurdle they jump to get to this next point. and i think i learned from that myself you know i always look um we always hear each one to each one yeah um and i always say on conversation is a mirror image you know when you're talking to somebody you can take from what you're hearing from them and apply it to yourself yeah so i think what keeps people thriving and keep people going it's my curiosity
00:42:21
Speaker
Is there a conversation that really stuck with you that like actually fuels you to keep going that you think about? Wow. Um, in life or on the show, you know I'm saying? In general?
00:42:33
Speaker
Um, show us out with my brother Freeway, man. He's one of my, um, closest friends. And, you know, we've been with each other through a lot of times, you know, Freeway was at my, my father's funeral. um Him and his kidney situation that he beat and then the passing of his daughter, the passing of his son, and just life, you know. um I think of him sometimes when I'm like, okay, you know, if he got through this, you can keep going. He's strong. Strong, you know.
00:43:09
Speaker
ah One of my best friends, I love him to death. We're even different faiths. I'm Christian, he's he's Muslim, and we're like best friends, man. I mean, look. It's not about, like, people be trying to make religions fight against each other all the time. It's just like, you know. But lot of the practices are different. But like, we have a, and we're proud of that. You know, we both speak on it in interviews and for years, but you know, he's a person in conversations that, you know, mean, for years, you know, since the late 90s, early 2000s, we talk and have those type of conversations. Yeah. And think that's the other thing is for me, know, I have same type of conversations I have on my show. I'll have with, you know, Smoke Dizzards, the Carmelo Anthony's, just all my peers.
00:44:01
Speaker
with the Carmelo Anthony conversation. yeah You know, and so, because you talk about this on um um Mero on Hot 97, but like, and I'm going to bring it up because I was very naive. I always thought it was Carmelo Anthony's hat. Wow. that the The seven hats. Yep. And so, finding out it was yours, like, like I was like, oh, snap, I'm so wrong. Okay, okay, okay. But um just because I wanted to to kind of segue to the event that you put on um with Shopify and ah just that conversation, because I've been bringing up that that that question that was asked to you the guest um on here, which is like being a multi-hyphenated.
00:44:42
Speaker
I think it's a really so It's something that we don't really talk about i And like on On a previous episode I say that like you know I've always considered myself um ah Jack of all trades and master of none Because like I'm editing, producing I'm hosting this podcast Like I'm doing everything yeah You know so it's just like I'm not really like honing in on one specific thing And so Like you as a person that's that Dabbled in so many things Right like have you ever Considered yourself ah a jack of all trades A master of none Yeah I have ah of have an example man That live by It was Thanksgiving dinner
00:45:20
Speaker
There's four burners on the top. There's a stove and then there's just bottom stove. Your mother, she started making the turkey two or three days early. And then now that day, you keep walking back and forth in the kitchen and you want to taste the turkey. mom like, not done yet. So she be like, here, you can taste the candy out. Taste them.
00:45:42
Speaker
Come back hours later, be like, not done yet, but you could taste the mac and cheese. yeah Now, for some reason, she's preparing all these different foods, and you see it all day, the the family coming in and out, and now the stuffing is getting done, and the turkey, and then the draw on bottom.
00:46:01
Speaker
But for some reason, she was putting time into each meal and each food, but at the end of the night, all of this food came out hot. Mm-hmm. Even before there was microwaves. don't know how my mom did it. i used to but But then everything came out. And that's kind of how I look at life. I'm going cook a little bit on this mac and cheese. I'm going to cook a little bit. And then, but and in God's time, dinner's going to get served when it needs to be served. Yeah. So I kind of feel like, I mean,
00:46:29
Speaker
it's a learning process you know ah i started out as a dj i never thought i would be a director i never uneven stood what product placement was at first and then i learned and then i didn't understand the creative director so for me it's like i learned along the way but i you know and i don't feel i mastered any of them i just feel like i ah do it good enough that people like it I mean, that's where it's just like battling perfectionism as well.
Overcoming Perfectionism and Meaningful Interactions
00:46:57
Speaker
And I mean, I'm pretty sure, you know, when you talk to so many people that create, like, I'm pretty sure they're battling perfectionism. Totally. Totally. So like, how do you handle that? Like,
00:47:07
Speaker
are you Are you quick to just be like, oh this may not be perfect. I'm still, we still rocking with it? think a lot of people, for me, I'm not scared to ship. You know, a lot of people are sit on something and sit on it and you gotta you gotta put it out there. You know, um for me, if it feels right, I just want to ship. I want to get it out there. yeah You know, I definitely have my, you know, i got ADHD of OCD but um yeah at the same time I still once I get to I like okay gotta go out to the world and a lot of us question ourselves lot of us need to ask other people I'm not asking nobody what they think I don't really if if if it's my creation I don't need an opinion from anybody else yeah um but i'm I'm also open to the criticism if it doesn't work but um I'm not scared to ship
00:47:54
Speaker
Nah, that's that's great because it's just like, yeah, i think some people get paralyzed in that. you know and so just giving people hope. Just push it out. you know Just put it out there. And then if it doesn't work, it's you you you get a chance to start over. Mm-hmm.
00:48:10
Speaker
Holding it, too many questions, too many people opinions, it's going to have you stuck in a certain of a space when just put it out. You'll get the answer you need to know. Yeah. um I know like in that event, you know, you talked about working with New Era, you know, like how does that like do because I was watching the video because they kept playing it. yeah And so the commercial was insane. And and you put that.
00:48:34
Speaker
Did you did you work on the commercial as well? Yeah, direct directed and produced the commercial. We actually shot it in the the compound art and sound gallery when i was building it up that's sick man but like what does it feel like to to like work with like one of these big brands especially when you started just you started making the hats just straight off yeah off your own well yeah i mean it was i mean i actually actually consulted for new era back in like 2007 and um shout out to a a woman named crystal howard um pull being and then
00:49:05
Speaker
for years later for me to create a seven hat and be able to notice the the hat and, um you know, give me an account and then be able to get the licenses from NBA, MLB is it amazing. But then when that turns into them calling like, hey, we love how you storytell, how you um present culture and how you like tell stories of a product.
00:49:30
Speaker
it It was amazing. And, you know, It's just one level to do photo shoots and lookbooks and yeah help get talent. But when it it comes to like doing a commercial and then doing a documentary, um that's just a whole other level. and you know it's It's always humbling and it's always... It's not it's not easy, though, because you got to...
00:49:51
Speaker
people are trusting you with their brand. But oh it's something i thrive off of and I love doing it. Man, I mean, that's and sick. I think that the opportunity, a lot of people are always looking for that, oh, I need a brand to to to buy into me or something like that, especially like at ah a creative on a creative level. Level, totally. Especially if they like, i mean, you talk with J tips and like, yeah you know, his, his creative process and how he does his things. Like I've have several conversations with him and um being able to kind of just be yourself. yeahp You know, everybody's always having that judgment of like, oh no, they're going to, you know, change you got to do it their way and stuff like that. So it's really dope that they were like really into how you did your thing. Yeah, not special. with so
00:50:35
Speaker
And it's a double-edged sword. It's like one way, which I got to live both ways of, is pause for everybody out there. when we click Double-edged, whatever. But it's like they'll call me to do work for them, and then at the same time I still get to do my own projects. yeah and So, you know, I get to create the way I create on both sides of the fence. Yeah.
00:50:57
Speaker
Beautiful, man. It's dope. But we're towards the end of the podcast and I got one last question. This might be a little bit hard for you. Because it deals with a little visualization. Now, you're young, Seth Free. okay He's about to get these shoes. These ones right here. right right oh Now, you're older. you You're you. okay Travel back in time behind your younger self. Young baby, Seth Free. yeah yeah What would you tell? Baby set free as he's about to get these. oh Wow. As he's about to get these shoes, what do I tell him?
00:51:37
Speaker
Don't walk in nobody else's shoes and follow your own path. Bars. That's what i would tell him. Bars. Let everybody know where to find you. oh Y'all can find me um on my Instagram. Talking to the mic. Yeah, my Instagram is I am underscore set free.
00:51:52
Speaker
um And you can find everything from that. It's the same one, um Twitter or X, whatever you still want to call it. But it's I am underscore set free. And then you can connect from the compound, compound art and sound gallery, everything from there. Yeah, ah you got... no we got to talk about the events as well. Okay. What is the... ah What's Monday? Monday's movies. So, Movie Mondays. Mondays. just showed Akira this week. I know. I wanted to go to that so bad. Next week, we got Heat. Top Shelf Tuesday when we bring in just great DJs. The last week when we had Prince Paul. Mm-hmm.
00:52:25
Speaker
And then Wax Wednesdays is where we um bring DJs in just to spend all 45s in Wax. um Thursdays is like jam sessions. We just had maybe one of my favorite events of all time, which we called the Ooga Mooga Jam Sessions.
00:52:41
Speaker
We had James Poison, Black Thought, Jazzy Jeff, Seeing the pictures, I was so sick. Yeah, it was i like it was amazing. Then Freestyle Fridays, just DJs playing whatever they want. And then so so Soul Saturdays, like Motown, R&B, and R&B Classics and everything. Man, look, cultural hub, all right? It's a fact, man. I think you're doing amazing things, and I can't wait to see what other conversations you'll have in the future as well.
00:53:06
Speaker
Thank you. One day, one day it'll be me. Gotta bring you over there. Yo, please, I'll be huge it. You know, you had 3,070 episodes now. Look, I'll never stop it. I'll never stop it. um You know where to find me, WhoisHasel, all social media. Follow the podcast at MyFirstKicksPod. Hit me up, info at MyFirstKicks.com. Hit up the Patreon, Patreon.com slash MyFirstKicks. I've started to put episode episodes out a day early, specifically on the Patreon. So in order for you to watch this episode a day early or watch a previous episode a day early or the next episode a day early, $5. $5 a month, that's all I'm asking. Help your boy out.
00:53:40
Speaker
And I'm gonna kick it to myself to do the outro. Peace. Thank you for listening to this week's episode with Set Free Richardson. Man, it's a huge honor to have Set Free on the podcast. You know, re-watching this and cutting off the clips, it was such a huge honor just to hear his journey. And I feel like we only got a little bit like the cusp of it. like But, you know, he's a man of many talents, had many different careers, was able to touch every aspect of hip hop culture, sneaker culture, music, like art.
00:54:15
Speaker
Like, yeah I mean, now he's traversing through using the the cultural space of the compound and really incorporating a lot of what i really love about this culture that, you know,
00:54:30
Speaker
accepted me at such a young age as well. um But I think it's in everybody's everyday life. And so getting to hear about his journey definitely makes me feel you know hopeful about mine. And I hope it brings hope to a lot of people that are listening to this and, you know, kind of feeling aimlessly or or trying to figure out their path and trying to try things and trying to, you know, instill different ventures and have a good, you know, group core group of people around them. I think it's very important to have these conversations with people that have such...
00:55:08
Speaker
amazing stories to tell and such like inspiring journeys because at the end of the day, like a lot of these podcasts and you know, I'm not, I don't feed into it, but we talk about it in here. a lot of these other podcasts are mainly just trying to, you know, rage bait you or get you to yell at whatever you're listening to. Right. And, but what I find,
00:55:34
Speaker
really dope about like what compound conversations bring to the table what this podcast brings the table so you know crash dummies or uh you know grits and eggs or stavi's world like a lot of these podcasts that really instead of just like keeping it within two people that are sitting in front it brings more of just an overall, we can interact with this type of environment and that breeds for more communication and more understandings of different people's lives, different people's thought methods, different people's, ah you know, habits of, you know, dealing with something that's tough or whatever type of hurdles as Set Free has said during this episode, like just hearing about other people's hurdles and how they've been able to overcome them
00:56:25
Speaker
I think it's very important because we don't necessarily have a lot of you know mentorships or we don't have a lot of chances to really flesh out like, yo, I'm doing this. like you know What do I do to do this? Or what do I do to do that? Or you know i've listen to this I've been listening to this person's music for x amount of years. How did he get to this point? Or how did how did they get to this point? Or you know what really inspires them? What really keeps them going? And and you know for me, to bring this to me, it's always been about sneakers for me and how it's been able to keep me going and going. right I think you know I'll have moments of you know being...
00:57:10
Speaker
angry or or sad or or wanting to to figure out, like, why is something not working at the moment? Or why is why am I struggling to get this idea across, right? And it is all...
00:57:28
Speaker
a learning method or a part of the struggle or part of the journey. um You know, they're both the same thing. Some people who feel, you know, they're seeing a lot of more downs, they're going to say that that's the that's the struggle. But I think that like what I've learned, especially through all these conversations, it's is's just that they all are so They all feed into making you, yourself, and the person listening, or the person in front of me, or or even me, just understand. And I'm big on, and I feel like one of my traits, and if you can tell, like if you've been listening to me for a long while, it's always been about just like listening to people. And...
00:58:12
Speaker
The toughest thing, especially with so much noise and so much content and so much TV and so much ah whatever we think we need to be consuming at a time. Nobody's really like listening. And, i and ah you know, I was...
00:58:31
Speaker
you know Pushing the the East Bay book and my efforts to try and read more um and trying to bring more reading into my life, it's you do have to listen to yourself as you read. And I think like what I've really noticed and by doing a lot of these podcasts is that like i I'm not retaining a lot of things. And I and i do think that's... like It's a detriment or or um a sign of like, I've been consuming too much content or consuming too much things that kind of put my brain into autopilot versus, you know, actually being present when it comes to that. Because like, I'm always present when I'm experiencing something, I'm in a conversation, but...
00:59:14
Speaker
I'm starting to realize like the things I'm putting on are more just background noise and and I'm trying to evade that. So, you know, that's my current hurdle because I wanted to bring that full circle. and And, you know, i'm trying to work on that and being self-aware about that and, you know, trying to let my brain...
00:59:32
Speaker
be become more of an overall sponge versus just me. I feel like it's more of like, I think I'm feeding my soul more than I am feeding my brain. And i think a lot of people do that just in general within you know cultures and within um music and within music.
00:59:52
Speaker
A lot of the things that we continuously just are living and breathing. And so just something on the top of my brain that I wanted to say because I've been saying a lot of things on Twitter if you want to follow me there.
01:00:05
Speaker
My first kick spot on there. But, you know, I've been teasing this YouTube channel. It hasn't been open yet. And... and Um, just because ah I'm just saying this because I want to make sure y'all know, but I backloaded a bunch or i i I, just, I got a ah ton in the chamber now, uh, of episodes, um, recording two next week. Uh, and i recorded one this week. That is, I can't wait for y'all to see that. Um,
01:00:37
Speaker
But I have a bunch in the pocket in the in the tuck right now. They're going to be slowly rolling out. And what I'm doing is that I'm going to be, as I'm getting ahead of everything, I will be launching my YouTube channel, talking about more stuff like I just talked about. How I connect cultures with a lot of the things that I'm trying to ingest and trying to really retain and really be well read on. um So...
01:01:06
Speaker
That's an effort of just wanting to be more knowledgeable and more of like a resource because this podcast is a resource and it's selflessness. Like I want to be of service and help people who are on the podcast, who want to be part of the community, who who want to really, you know, build out and help the ecosystem that comes with the My First Kicks. um you know, thing. I don't know what to call it. But I think that, like, we live in this world of just, you know, overconsumption. And I want to kind of just be...
01:01:48
Speaker
A wealth of knowledge for people. And so I'm hoping to launch this short video ah essays, you know, trying to do them like every two days or so and try to be very like on top of mind on topical. And that's what I'm just teasing to. to And they're going be like this. So they're going to be like me talking with a mic like this. So.
01:02:11
Speaker
I hope you are looking forward to it. I know some people have hit me up about it. And they're saying like where is it. I will make sure I will do a full announcement. For right now. I appreciate every single one of y'all for listening to this outro. Because not many people make it to pass. Like just they finish the episode and then just cut it off. So I appreciate you for checking out this outro. But let's do the Patreon shoutouts. And you can also get shouted out on Patreon. Patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. And it's only $5 tier. You get.
01:02:41
Speaker
Ad-free listening or watching, viewing I meant. You get ah an extra episode when I can do an extra episode, which right now it's not happening. Maybe next month or maybe in the next couple months we'll see my birthdays in July. um And so you get that, you get you get this Patreon shoutout. So let's do the Patreon shoutouts, and hopefully I get everybody this time. I'm sorry if I missed you last week.
01:03:08
Speaker
But let's start them off. We got Plox. We got Derek Hawkins. We got Derek Lipkin. We got Adam Butler. We got Jesse, Jesse G. We got...
01:03:20
Speaker
Adam Neustetter, Ross Adams, Jordan Kaiser, Samia Grandpierre. We've got Brett. And we have a new person, a new Patreon subscriber. We have Andy Dunn, AD Sneaks. Appreciate every single one of y'all for signing up for the for the Patreon. I'm pretty sure I left somebody off again. And I'm so sorry.
01:03:46
Speaker
ah Next time, I'm just going to write them down. I got to start doing that now because i keep missing one person because I know I have an extra person. um And so I'm sorry. I might matter of fact, I might even, you know, re just throw like the audio of it here. Sean hates you. But.
01:04:06
Speaker
I really appreciate every single one of y'all for tapping into the podcast. So, but if you're, this is your first time listening, watching, or whatever, check out these two episodes here. If you're on YouTube, hit that subscribe button right there in the middle. And you know what we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.