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Laced Up Marketing with Sydnee Thompson
90 Plays1 month ago
This week we are joined by Sydnee Thompson, we talk about the impact of sneakers in her life. How her world has changed as of late and what inspires her. Being featured on the SNKRs app and the process that went behind that. Working in the corporate world and being yourself, also taking that chance on yourself and the signs that lead to that. She also speaks on the community that surround her during the pandemic and much much more!
Where to find Syd:
Socials:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/lusydvibes/
Website: https://www.digital319.com/
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Intro Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
Outro Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/
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Transcript
Sid's Journey to Podcast and Life Overview
00:00:14
Speaker
Hey, Sid, welcome to the podcast. What's up? How are you doing? Yo, this is a long time coming. Yeah, I'm like, no lie. Like, I had highs so as a sticky note on my desk so much, but it was like a stained mark from that sticky note being there for so long. So I'm glad that I was just able to finally make it happen after months and months of trying to get to some account. No, yeah. I mean, look, you you're also super busy outside of you know your personal life and and I mean, we're going to get into you know the advances the of of Digital 319 as well later. But you know you're I've always seen that you're busy. And you know this podcast has been keeping me busy. So I i totally understand it. Absolutely. But ah first off, let's ah let's ah let people know where to find you.
Rebranding and Personal Evolution
00:01:04
Speaker
Of course. So actually, I recently changed my OG sneaker page name. I was sneaker-freexy. I recently changed it to Lucid Vibes. And I'm still figuring out if I'm vibing with her. um We'll get more into it later in the podcast. But essentially, like we all evolve over time. right And so these last two years of but becoming a mom, I've just changed so much. um And I think when I started,
00:01:30
Speaker
that page in 2020. Most of us, you know we started pages, but the love was already there before social media even existed. um The name, sneakerfreaksid, just didn't really describe like me to this day anymore. So that was like part of the switch-up. But um if I decide to you know merge pages, get rid of the page, I don't know, just throwing it out there, um you can always find me on my personal as Sydney John Quill um on Instagram. So yeah.
First Must-Have Sneakers and Memories
00:01:58
Speaker
No, yeah, yeah. And then, you know, you got Digital 319 also. Business, got the podcast, Cool It Talk, Digital 319. So yeah, you can find me. I want you to find out. Easy to find. You got to be easy to find in these. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. 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 of sneakers you absolutely needed to have?
00:02:25
Speaker
So my first pair of kicks that I absolutely needed to have, and I still drill over this silhouette to this day, is the Jordan 14. So when I was in the eighth grade, this was probably like my third year playing basketball. um And the eighth grade girls, we all wanted a matching shoe this year. you know like eight like Middle school hoops, y'all don't got matching nothing. like bear like Matching warm ups, whatever, like you just come.
00:02:51
Speaker
um But we all wanted it matching kicks that year. And it was a black and pink
Versatile Sneakers and Life in Texas
00:02:58
Speaker
Jordan 14 that dropped. Keep in mind, we're out of school. Our colors are maroon, green, ah navy blue, and like white. And we wanted some black and pink Jordan 14s that were off with our fit. And so I think and my daddy might tell us like different. But I feel like that was the first pair of Jordans my parents like ever brought me, where I was like, mom, dad, I want these shoes so bad, so bad. like Everybody up for the games.
00:03:21
Speaker
um And they like surprised me for my birthday and got it for me. That's like the first shoe that I remember like begging for, getting it for me. um And to this day, like the if it's a 14, dropping nine times out of 10, I want it. I passed up recently on the... um They dropped like a gray colorway of them, but I mean from The Clot collab, two of the days, the black and white pair that they recently dropped, the Oreos again, like I gotta have them. I still love a 14 to this day. Yeah, my first pair of 14s are the Clot. I got them. yeah and i But those things, you need you have to have an arch in your foot. If you don't have an arch. they Yeah, but that's true. That's true, because the way that little back part go up,
00:04:07
Speaker
i yeah that like I think whether I'm rocking them, I can really rock those with a good flare jean or skirt. So I'm always, my sneakers are already versatile. Can I wear them throughout the year? I live in Texas, so we don't really have seasons. So it's like, my week is cold, the next week is 110. So I love shoes that I can just wear year round, no matter the month, and 14 turtles for me
Upbringing in Savannah and Sneaker Culture
00:04:32
Speaker
too.
00:04:32
Speaker
I mean, but what's the barbecue situation like? Situation, I'm definitely putting on the dump. Like, if we arrest me in somebody's backyard, it's going to be a load for me of any time. You're over there with this, you're like, I'm next to the smoker. You're just in there with a pair of ducks. Did you always live in ah in Texas, though?
00:04:52
Speaker
I didn't. So actually, I'm from Savannah, Georgia. Okay. um But always been a Southern girl. So I'm from Savannah, Georgia. And then after I graduated um college, my first job brought me out to Dallas. And so this year actually marked 10 years, 10 years that I've been living here in Dallas. Happy anniversary. Thank you. Thank you. Century Mark, yo. Like, it's crazy, right? Yeah. I mean, it's like, I've been somewhere for 10 years. And like, I've been doing Yeah, it's kind of crazy.
00:05:19
Speaker
successful, been somewhere successfully for 10 years. yeah I love it. And we love Texas. um But you know, we got to skip back home every now and then. You appreciate home more, for sure, like after you move away. but um But yeah, I mean, Dallas, most times people ask me, like what's home? like and Dallas is pretty much home at this point, like being here for 10 years. For sure, for sure. when you drew When you grew up in Savannah, Georgia, was there like a sneaker scene? Or you know did you start it? Or was it just like? I would say.
00:05:50
Speaker
There was a sneaker scene, but I think when you think back, you know, 90s, early 2000s, we were all like getting our sneakers from Foot Locker, Just For Feet, where else, like, hip hits, athletes foot.
00:06:07
Speaker
So I would say like it was definitely like a speaker scene. We weren't like, you know, New York that had like a thing for like Air Force Ones or DMV for like um phone posits. Like it was like whatever. um So whether it was like case with forces, whatever was hot at the time, like that's kind of like was the style. And I think Savannah definitely probably got a lot of style more so from Atlanta, right? Go up in the summers or breaks from school. You go visit your family up in Atlanta or friends. And that's probably, we were just kind of a subset of Atlanta culture down
Travel Aspirations and Dream Destinations
00:06:44
Speaker
there. No, yeah. I mean, I've never been to Atlanta, but I've had KO from ATATF on. And I want to go to Atlanta so bad just to experience it. I haven't ever been.
00:06:57
Speaker
I'm not... I mean... So... I guess... It gave me, you know, got a reason. no No, wait, well um I've just not like I want to travel more and I've made it like the past like year I have traveled much more, you know, especially with the podcast. Like, you know, I'll go to Complex Con and stuff like that. So now it's like I need to see more of the city because more of ah the US because of that. But then at the same time, I'm like, I do want to go to Japan. I want to go to Japan so bad. your Favorite place. Yeah.
00:07:32
Speaker
Yes. Oh, you've been? Yeah, me and my husband went to um Tokyo.
School Days: Basketball and Band
00:07:36
Speaker
We went in 2019. Right before. Because it was right before the pandemic, and they were selling Tokyo 2020 Olympic stuff, and we got like a ton of it, and then it like didn't really happen. So yeah, it's like- It's got to be worth money now. That's got to be worth money. Yeah, how heards like because we went in August, and then pandemic happened like right in March. So yeah.
00:07:56
Speaker
That's crazy. But yeah, toki Japan's on my list. like I want to do like two weeks out there. But especially now, because it's cheap now. ah So I want to do that. a But yes, i want to i want to the reason why i I had this bad problem, right where and I still have it, where I feel like work and comes first. o And so I don't take time off. I need you to change that. Yeah. i am No, I need to change that right now. like I'm about to re-manifest your whole travel desires and putting work last, putting you first, just because it's like I always tell my team. I think it has just a lot to do with my story, like being a cancer survivor. But you got just one life. I can literally have 50,000 jobs, but I only got one life. like You literally got one. So just do it. like just Literally, just go do all the things. Don't put it off. Just take the leap.
00:08:52
Speaker
Be like, I'm taking that Japan trip like next year. It's done. but is i Just do it. I'm going to do. I have to do Brazil. I haven't seen my family in Brazil in like 15 years or something like that. Yeah. So people yell at me about it. But I have to do that. And I have to go to Brazil. Are you from? a Rio. I'm from Rio de Janeiro. That's so cool. Yeah. I haven't been to Brazil. I've only been to try to think of something. I've been to Argentina. That was actually the first country that I went to. Wow.
00:09:21
Speaker
like when i first like My first time out of the States was the Argentina, but it was for school, like for a study abroad. But um in Costa Rica, I've probably done others, I just can't remember, but I've never been to Brazil. And the year that we went to Tokyo, that was actually where my husband wanted to go for his birthday. But that was the year that like the rain forests were on fire. Yeah.
00:09:42
Speaker
Yep. And so we pivoted and went to Japan and stayed. But yeah, that that would have gotten checked off, but it was like crazy at that time. So well, next year, you're telling me next year, I'm telling you next year.
00:09:55
Speaker
oh But like, so growing up, like, where, you know, you talked a little bit about, you know, Savannah, Georgia, and growing up with your family and stuff like that, but like, but You played ball, so like did you go to
Career Path and College Experience
00:10:08
Speaker
school for ball? did you like what How far did it take you? And then you know what was what was your pivot into what you wanted to do?
00:10:16
Speaker
I'm 5'2, so let me do it. You never know. You can be nice 5'2. You out there cooking people. Great. I played ball from fifth grade all the way through varsity high school. um Absolutely loved it. But my true like passion when I was in school and what took my heart the most was band. So I played the trumpet, but I was a drum major for my sophomore year up to my senior year.
00:10:42
Speaker
um And I did both of those, like band, basketball, all four years, varsity, you drum major. how did like Was that like your parents or was this you where you were like? Really me, like previous things. So me my and my siblings, I have an older sister and a younger brother. We were all like very, like either athletically inclined, super competitive, always in things, which, you know, that was obviously a sacrifice and a blessing for my parents to be able to do. Our parents were like,
00:11:09
Speaker
The go to school, I don't want to do nothing else. Let me get this C just to get out. Our parents were very uninvolved, like just did their own thing. I feel like when they had us, they was like, nah, y'all need to stay in school because we had y'all super young. We don't want y'all repeating the cycle. like so So yeah, like we were all like, my sister was a varsity cheerleader. She even cheered in like a Pro Bowl like in high school. um My brother did ah track baseball, basketball. He did all the things. yeah um But yeah, I i think you know looking back, I never knew it then as a kid, but being involved. And then I was like class president both years, carried that on through like college, did a lot of you know different um organizations and stuff. But I think much more than like the sport of basketball itself or like being in the band, all those things, like now when I look back, it was just like grooming me to be a leader.
00:12:01
Speaker
And what I loved about it was was leading, or like helping, or teaching. um And throughout that time, like I was always that kid that was like the artsy writer. Give me a paper and a pen, and I go crazy. I don't do math. Don't do science. Still to this day, mm-mm, don't, mm-mm.
00:12:20
Speaker
But when it comes to like writing and the arts, that was always like my gift. And um when I got into college, I went to University of Georgia, go dogs. right um And i my major was advertising from day one. like I knew I wanted to be in journalism. I knew I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a copywriter, write TV commercials, magazine spots, whatever.
00:12:44
Speaker
um And then I kept that same major all four years, which I know every time I talk to somebody, it's so rare to just like, then you went in as a freshman, that was my desired major, got to Grady College of Journalism at UGA my sophomore year, um majored in it, got a degree in it, worked in it, have now built an agency on it. So it's just kind of crazy.
Starting a Marketing Company During the Pandemic
00:13:04
Speaker
like I knew from day one what I wanted to do.
00:13:07
Speaker
Um, it's absolutely wild. You, cause like me, you talk about me, I went, I went to school for computer science thinking I was going to develop games and ended up switching that major to print production management. Wow. And then from there, I, I like left, I graduated and I worked in print for like a year or two. And then I ended up working at entertainment after that. Like I worked at Comedy Central my first job like after, like had nothing to do with my my my degree. And now I've been, now I work in an ad agency. So I would even pivot even way more, all of it. Yeah. So yeah. But you staying true to it, like super fire. Yeah. It's so crazy because like as sometimes I'm like,
00:13:56
Speaker
you know especially like now like having my own company and like getting a new clients, like the things that I'm just able to just like do in my sleep, because I'm like, so you've been doing this since you were 22 years old. um And then like I've literally just watched the landscape of marketing change, like because I've been with it since day one. like When I started, like literally Facebook and Twitter was the only thing popping. Instagram was like not really a marketing channel. It wasn't even out like when i like we graduated. and then to just see where like that has evolved is just crazy. And then the other part of it is just like because the norm, I feel like for most people is I majored in this one thing, but I do something totally different now, is this desire to like, am I supposed to do something different at some point? Like, do I just stay this... smart Like, who's hiring like a 40 something year old marketer down the line, like a social media man? Like what? So yeah, I kind of like sometimes have this like
00:14:49
Speaker
side brand conversation of like, when am I supposed to do something else? Because like, I've been doing this for this long. I mean, see, so I think with the beauty of what you're doing is that there's so many things you can get out of like, you can jump into so many different things, right? You can, at any given moment, you can be like, all right, cool. Now I can be a project manager, for a brand or something like that, you know?
00:15:13
Speaker
And so I think that you you have you're in a position where you do have that like lateral, well, not lateral. You can move up and go around into any different thing and use that as like you know your're your pivot. Exactly. Yeah. Because that was like essentially kind of like how you're able to pivot you know since you've been doing this for so long. But I think that you have a skill from doing this for so long that it just is easily transferable. yeah Yeah. Yeah. And I think like the crazy thing is because I was always a writer like and I knew going into college exactly what I wanted to major in. I wanted the ultimate goal is to be a copywriter. like at it
00:15:58
Speaker
So when my first job that hired me, found me on LinkedIn, like this is back 2014, reload to Texas, moved to Dallas. I had never been to Texas before and never been to Dallas to be a copywriter. And the first brand I was copywriting for was TGI Fridays. I was like rewriting their like menus and like- Let's go. Bacon strip, like no, ah potato skins, the potato skins? is like drank descriptions, like and it was dope. That's you know what I wanted to do. And then six months into my job, um the agency that I was working at, they um won the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group account. I think they like to create Dr. Pepper now, but and they want it for digital. This was their first digital account ever. This is an agency that created the COW campaign for Chick-fil-A, Home Depot. They have a lot of you know great kind of campaigns under their belt and their heritage. and
00:16:50
Speaker
They want a digital account. They're so used to it. And so they were basically like, all you young whippersnappers who just came up out of college and just started here in the last six months, we need y'all to go do this digital stuff. yeah So literally started Dr. Pepper's Instagram.
00:17:06
Speaker
um That's crazy. They're like crazy stories about like brands that I started in 2014, 2015 on social because it didn't exist. um i saw Dr. Pepper for general market in Hispanic were like my main brands and then throughout my time there, Bud Light, Home Depot, Avocados from Mexico were like all of my main brands that, I mean, we got Facebook, Twitter, that's all it was, social listening, like creating reports before these platforms had insights. That's what, to your point, it's absolutely true. you know You get some type of role, I feel like, in marketing or um you know the broadcast media space or something. There are so many transferable skills. and so
00:17:49
Speaker
that's probably why I stuck with it for so long because you can never get like winning as a copywriter did that for six months became a social strategist have done that since but as a social strategist I get to write copy and develop strategy and do all the insights like it's so much that goes into it so I don't think I ever truly get bored. um I just know in 2020 when I launched my own company I was bored of working for the
Corporate World Reflections and Authenticity
00:18:12
Speaker
man and I was bored. yeah working for these huge brands that y'all really don't need me. Yeah, I'm great at my job, but y'all don't need me. But there's other businesses out here that look like me or you know don't look like me, but that are struggling. They have great services, great products, but they just don't know how to market and they'll go pour my like skillset into that. So that's pretty much how I like started digital through and on.
00:18:33
Speaker
So, I mean, collapse all around. Everybody listening and clap, clap it up, clap it up. Like, like, this is a drink chance, but, um, uh, so like, I've had a couple other, like I've had Tim Trasano on and we talk about, you know, working in corporate settings and being into sneakers and being into street wear and stuff like that. So like, how were you able to basically be yourself in these settings?
00:18:56
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question. First job at an ad agency, I felt like I could just show up as me. I was literally the only black woman in that agency. I'm 22 years old, like in a new state, in a new city, he had never been here. And on top of that, in ah my first corporate job, and the only black chick, I'm like, was I the only black person? I feel like I was the only black person, period, for a while. That's crazy. um and that's got to be like a culture shock, like what was that like? But I went to University of Georgia, which is predominantly white. So, you know, but it was a shock to be that person and I'm now like leading something that this agency has never done.
00:19:39
Speaker
you know And I had a boss at the time, um and it was just three of us that were like the social people. um And the good thing though, I think one thing that kept me rooted there and kept me loving that job, that people were great, but also I could wear sneakers, I could wear shoes, I could... you know like And it was even to the point where like I would come with... like I remember one time I wore some KD's.
00:20:01
Speaker
I still had that pair somewhere. um But it was like these peach KD's that were all in. ah what i mean And like so much so that other people then started wearing sneakers who didn't really wear sneakers. yeah um And so I think that's what kept me rooted there was that I was actually able to be myself. Then when I transitioned over into the corporate side and I started working at airports you know as a social person, but it's very corporate, very vanilla. You got to come with business casual every day. I immediately hated those jobs.
00:20:27
Speaker
i Also, the culture and the people at those places were like not the best, but I hated the job and I came to learn that it was because I couldn't show up like as myself. So um that was definitely like a big part of that first job was that I could really just come in like where exactly what I wanted. No. Yeah. I mean, that's sick. I think the the it's like I was talking about this in my current job because one of the people there was just like She was just like, I love how you dress like yourself in here. Like you're not afraid to be yourself. And I wanted to be like, that's because I kind of don't want to be here a lot of the times. but Like the minimum I can do is just be me. right But yeah, the, it's funny because I remember when I first got into corporate America, I was always like, Oh yeah, I gotta have my button downs. I gotta be, you know, I gotta wear, you know, work, work, uh, appropriate sneakers or whatever. And.
00:21:24
Speaker
You kind of like, I feel like I don't know if that's just something my parents told me and then like, my mom was like, you got to dress up for the job or whatever. and i Now we live in this era where, you know, ah like even the presidents are pulling up in like a supreme box logo. Exactly. And isn't it crazy to think though, like, I mean, I hope, I mean, obviously I haven't been a corporate office setting in the last five years, but like,
00:21:51
Speaker
It's crazy to think that we lived at a time for such so many decades where every single day you need me to dress like that. I get it. If it's like a uniform job in your attire, like actually your job, for instance, my husband's a firefighter. So he got to show up to work a certain way for the job that he does. He can't come with basketball shorts. You need tactical pants and cargoes and all that. Right. But like it's kind of crazy to think in a corporate office setting in like you couldn't just come as you were like And OK, we got a presentation or something, then maybe there's a dress code. But like every single day, you need me to just dress by this like paper thing that you tell. That's kind of wild. Yeah.
00:22:28
Speaker
right It's ridiculous.
Sneaker Collection Growth and Independence
00:22:32
Speaker
And I think it's just like, and I said this before, I was just like, it should be, it should matter about your output and not your outfit, right? I mean, look, I've heard stories of people pulling up and like fishing their shirts and stuff like that. Like, all right, you know, like, you know, that's when you gotta be like, all right, you know, let's have a conversation because you don't understand. Like, just like you wanna be fly, don't dress like you're about to go to chill on the block. Like, you know? And that's why I guess I get into an extent like why they were always parameters. But I'm glad like it's certain things and I'm very thankful for the pandemic for. And that's one of them like I felt like it just forced companies to have to operate differently because if you don't, you're not going to get you're not going to hire people.
00:23:18
Speaker
people are not going to want to work there. You know what I mean? Like you had to bend the rules some a bit. And I feel like dress code was just one of the first ones. It's just like, we can't expect these people to go from a year wearing pajamas, you know, behind the computer. it And so now y'all just about to be in button downs. and see Yeah, I even I remember, you know, I took a I took an interview and I was like,
00:23:39
Speaker
I think i had I had basketball shorts on, but I had a button down. just like And the button down wasn't even fully buttoned. It was all right. It wasn't like wrinkly. but But the shirt, I think I buttoned like the first three. Whatever you can see in the camera, I was like, all right, cool. I just got a button that. And then the rest was just out.
00:23:59
Speaker
yeah just like Because I'm like, nine times out of 10, including right now, I always have on Fuzzy Socks. I have like full pants. It's nope. I have Fuzzy Socks because that is like my go-to comfortability like in my office. like That's fire. Fuzzy Socks. I might have to add that to the list.
00:24:17
Speaker
here So you moved to, you said, Dallas? Yeah, to Dallas. Right. And now, like did you always have a huge collection? Because we look at we see we see the background. so So my thing is, this is just what's in my office. Don't even being get my husband started on our closet and the guest in the second guest room. ah This is just, you know, this is what it's saying. And crazy story. I forget what we had on this wall, but um when Nike came to shoot the drop-off for the Dr. Christina J's,
00:24:55
Speaker
we shot it in here in my office and we're just making like a small little kind of like makeshift of a few boxes. And then after Madison, the team love, I was like, you know what? How about I just like move a lot of my shoes into here. um So no, i wasn't I wasn't the kid that grew up with my parents like by me Jordans. like Like I said, they had a young in their twenties and it was three of us. Like so when I went out like K-Swiss, Reebok,
00:25:23
Speaker
had them all the time, a couple of years, some Air Max 90s. But I didn't really get like Nike, Nikes, and Jordan, Jordan is into like maybe high school, and I had a little bit of change from like report cards or something. And um it was honestly when I moved to Dallas. um I moved in 2014. I think Shannon and Cassidy started seeing K-Daily in 2016. And center had just opened, like maybe in 2014, sneaker store here, center.
00:25:53
Speaker
um And the Dallas sneaker scene, I feel like was popping off like really strongly and boldly when I moved. So while I always loved sneakers, I was always a sneaker girl. I didn't like have the funds to just be going and buying sneakers. But when I moved here and had my own job, had my own place, that's where my money fits my shoes. So I actually moved um The very last corporate job I had was in ah Southern California. So I moved there for two years between 2018 and 2020. Really great job. like That's when I like really moved up the ranks. I left there as like the director of digital. I was making great money to kind of still just be me and you know ah my boyfriend at the time. um And all again, all my money went to shoes. So I would say probably from 2014 to now,
00:26:42
Speaker
um like That's when my collection like really, really grew.
Creation of Sneaker Page and Community Focus
00:26:46
Speaker
um But as a kid, i you know I had what my parents brought me and I would hold on like to them for like ever because it...
00:26:56
Speaker
you know like i would even Even if they got me something like them two pairs at the start of the year and then some at Christmas, it was like something I really, really wanted. um But it wasn't until like I would say like young adulthood where I was just like, it's going to shoes. And so probably the last, I don't know, like 10 years my collection grew.
00:27:14
Speaker
and I mean, look, it's a beautiful thing. you know Who would have thought that you would end up yeah on the you know the Nike app and then yeah but you know doing some stuff just off of that? you know So like you know you're talking about how Dallas the sneaker scene started booming while you were there. So what what did you see that kind of like influenced you into being like, oh maybe I could like do this a little bit more, do this on a bigger stage that more speaks to me.
00:27:42
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like honestly, when I like really started, and this was, I think we, you know especially as a digital strategist, it's very hard to like not weave in the impact that social media had at different points of our you know like adulthood as well. This is also the time where like Instagram is getting like really, really popular.
00:28:01
Speaker
um And I think, honestly, probably one of the first couple of sneaker pages that I follow here are probably C&K Daily, Center and Sneaker Politics. And just seeing like now like having more exposure. you know Before then, you were just... If I was at the mall, you know you had to go to the mall or... like go stick out for a shoe or like see it on somebody else's feet and be like, what's that? like But now you're like literally exposed. you know just This is before we got sneakers out. you know um I think we still had like sneaker talk and a lot of blogs back then. But like you know this is when you're like literally, we're now being exposed to things that it's just like, ooh, where can I get it? yeah And so I feel like it wasn't until
00:28:44
Speaker
Hmm, maybe 2020, honestly, when I started my sneaker page, the whole background to me starting Sneaker Freak Sid was because I had been in this marketing and brand game for eight years at that time. And I just wanted a page that i that was just free. That was free of measurement, free of impressions, free of engagements, free of a client, like down my back about what are we posting? What are we doing? How is it doing? Like a page that was just something that I could have that I wasn't like worried about.
00:29:13
Speaker
Measurement or engagement or reaching for for for listeners who are don't understand this it's these are like these are terms that we use within advertising and marketing to gauge how if a post that we put up or something like that is successful so you know that deals with a lot of like.
00:29:33
Speaker
you know I feel like people talk people like Cruz pass it of like, oh yeah, you know this is engagement farming. But you're like, well, what are you trying to engage? What is farming that you're trying to engage and all this stuff? But yeah. so And it's all like behaviorally tied, no matter what side of the coin that you're on, right?
00:29:49
Speaker
And um so I just feel like it wasn't until 2020 when I started like really naturally just connecting with people. like Some of my best friends to this day, I literally just found them through Instagram. like Me and you doing this right now is through the sneaker communities of the different pockets of the world that come together. And you know we're on here. And it wasn't until I really started to make friends, I feel like that, again, I didn't create the page to do it. um But it just naturally happened where I was just like, wow. And seeing the opportunities,
00:30:17
Speaker
you know, that other people were doing and how they were connecting with the brands. And I feel like the very first thing that I did from the brand side was um somehow I got connected with um doing like focus groups for Nike um on a lot of women's line for like and GRs or like things that they were thinking about bringing back, things that I see now in the sneakers. I'm like, dang, I wear tested that shoe like two years ago.
00:30:38
Speaker
um And it just blossomed from there. like But again, it wasn't I never created that page to to become anything. um And I think when you it's just a testament like when you just naturally pour yourself into something without ah you know desire or goals sometimes. like You're just naturally being used. Stuff just like comes from that.
00:30:58
Speaker
um But yeah, I don't even think in 2014, 2016, when I really started to like buy my collection and you know just really you know get back into sneakers with having money to do it now, that I even knew then that, hey, one day you know you might work with you know Nike's Web 3 team, or you might you know do this with Footlock or
Connections Through Sneaker Community
00:31:18
Speaker
athletes with. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I mean, it's absolutely wild. The the opportunities that that I've seen you get through are like super dope, and I love seeing it. you know the especially like, you know, I've had ah several women on and we talk about just like,
00:31:35
Speaker
women's place in sneakers and how this is such a male-dominated, you know, hobby and this and that. But then it's like, you know, once i people try to shine a light on that, people instantly are like, oh, but you don't deserve it. Well, you know, and I hate it. I hate it. You know, so like you deserve all the flowers that that you get, all the opportunities, you know. yeah um But like, is there a moment that where you like you went to go get a pair of sneakers and somebody noticed you? Or like is there a moment where you like like you were able to celebrate that like you've come this far? Hmm. I'm trying to think. I feel like I'm trying to think where I was at. It might have been like a sneaker con or something like that, um where somebody called me up on my Instagram name and I was like,
00:32:27
Speaker
Wait, what? Like, wait, my answer? You know, just like, like, wait, like, how do you even know me? But then, you know, you think about your pages and, like, posting all the time. But, um. I've been like, oh, I think they're trying to fight me. Right, right. Yeah, I think it was like at a community con or something one time, or like, I've been to an event and it, you know, just more so like maybe people you've, like, DM'd with or commented with, like, a couple of times through posting, like, y'all finally, like, meet up. ah But, yeah, it is always wild sometimes to me, like,
00:32:57
Speaker
in my DMs or my stories like when people who, you know, again, like literal strangers you've never met, you probably would never meet them again in your life that just like, you know, celebrate you or like if I'm like reposted by another brand and they're just like, oh, that's so and so. And I'm like, how do you even, you know, like, no, but um that's what I mean, I know the sneaker community gets its ups and downs and like um trash because people who, you know, they ain't been in this since like it's so much riffing around it. But at the same time, I feel like it's so much celebratory, like moments and like good love. And I feel like not like talked about enough. um Just like the good, genuine connections, honestly, and relationships that people form whether like with complete strangers like I've never met. We've never been in the same room that we know of.
00:33:46
Speaker
um But here we are like. I mean, I've never stepped foot in that. Right. Here we only are, like, dedicating time on our Sunday to spend and talk to each other. Like, who was doing this before the event? Like, who was doing this?
00:34:01
Speaker
definitely, I felt like I definitely felt like sneakers were a lot more disjointed before the pandemic. And then yeah, and then during the pandemic, I felt like a lot of people were just like, yo, this is all we got right now. Like yeah everybody was always looking for like that glimmer of hope of like, you know, how do we keep this, you know, a connection going? And that's where I spend ah way too much time on Clubhouse, but I was on Clubhouse talking sneakers. I've heard somebody recently like reference. I was like a podcast I was listening to and they were like the Clubhousepreneurs and they were just almost like all the people who like became these like business owners too. I was like, but nah, I was on Clubhouse Heavy like for real, but I knew, I literally knew just, you know, again, going back to like the behavior of like social, I was like, when the pandemic is over,
00:34:52
Speaker
Maybe and we go back to work. This app's done. Done. I said it every day. and like As much as I would be, like i I was like, this this model is not sustainable. Not sustainable. Literally, when we in work, even if I work in my home office, like I'm watching things on mute. I'm like, who's doing this still? And I just saw like two of the co-founders of Clubhouse. They're creating like a new app now. Yeah. But come a couple of them came from Netflix. um But yeah, I would say all the time, as much as I was spending time, I was like, when the pandemic is over, this shit's dead.
00:35:24
Speaker
not to same the vo It's wild because like they had they had so much time to like throw ads in there to make some money off of it, and they did not capitalize at all. and I almost wish they would have had like their whole like ad strategy and platform going before they even launched it. because Like you said, just to solidify from the moment they launched, because just as fast as it took off, that's as quick as that shit ended. Like, it was over. And I'm like, dang. I remember laughing.
00:35:59
Speaker
I say good rank low power. But i remember I remember being in those rooms and people be like, you look at people's pages and be like, dot connector. And you're like, man, what are you connected? What dots are you connected? And so now, I go outside and stuff like that. and And I'll be hanging out. And I'll be obviously sometimes I'll be like, I like i think I'm a dot connector. I'm putting people to together. I think I know what a dot connector is now.
Launching Digital 319 and Entrepreneurial Journey
00:36:27
Speaker
like Yes, I love it. I love it. So you talked about branching out of and working for yourself now. So like where was that moment where it just flipped in your head, like, I think I'm good. Mm-hmm. So it was, I never actually voiced it in this way, but it was an act of love. So me and my husband, we've known each other since sixth grade, high school sweethearts.
00:36:54
Speaker
I went to University of Georgia. He went to a D2 school in Nebraska to play football through college. So we did long distance through college. um And when my first- I'd like to yell. Yeah, when my first job moved me out here, he still had a semester left of football. So he um played that last year and then he moved here. um I moved here July, 2014. He moved here January, 2015.
00:37:19
Speaker
um And to fast forward, we got engaged in 2020, February 2020. Hey, right before. Right before. And ah at the time, like I said, I was actually in Cali, like working in Cali. We would just, every other weekend, we'd not be here, he'd be there, like we'd take turns or whatever. And um we got engaged February 2020, and I like we wasn't about to do a long distance marriage or engagement, you know, and at this point we've been best friends since we were trucking at 11 years old. Yeah. And um I was like, yeah, so it looks like I need to go back to Texas because I loved Cali. I just I'm from the South. Like I just didn't see like raising a family in Cali. Like I just couldn't as much as I loved it. I couldn't see us there. and So um
00:38:09
Speaker
Literally, I was actually moving back like for a surgery that I had on my foot. And that week when I'm like, my parents came out there to get me and my dog. And we're like driving back from Cali to Georgia, like just kind of like moving because I was going to be out for like a month. It was on my foot. So I was like, not going to be able to walk. Yeah. And this is the week when Covid is happening. We went to the Lakers Clippers game last game before the bubble. Oh, my God. Yeah.
00:38:34
Speaker
And we're packed up next day. They're driving me basically from LA back to Savannah, Georgia. And it's a three-day trip. We're going to make stops. We're driving. We get to Phoenix. There's a case of COVID-19. It's one case. By the time we get to Georgia, it's 10 cases. By the time we get there, Cali shuts down.
00:38:51
Speaker
so I'm in Georgia for the surgery that I'm about to have. And then my job has shut down. So I got an apartment in Cali. I'm in Georgia for the surgery. My man is in Texas. And long story short, I knew like in that moment, I was like, okay, so there's no point in me going back to Cali. When I'm done with the surgery, I'm going to just go to Texas and kick it with Antonio.
00:39:14
Speaker
and um Yeah, it was at that point, I was just like, I just kept having these thoughts of like, see, you've been doing this for like, brands for so long. And then remember, this is at the time now where nobody can go outside when you do get food, you can't even freaking order for real. Because now they like got this makeshift QR code, scanning QR code, their websites as just like this whole like time of just like what is happening. And so just so small. Again, you got to keep in mind at this point, I've been doing this for like eight years. Yeah.
00:39:44
Speaker
see how many like immediate struggles of small businesses were happening just domino after domino because they couldn't sustain the marketing to survive the pandemic. I was like, so many people need help. like And this is simple shit. like This is stuff I can do in my sleep. yeah um um I told my boss at the time, we were really great friends, because him and I worked at um DFW Airport here in Texas before he pulled me out there to Cali. And um I was like, look, I think I'm going to start my own company. like i I just think it's time. like
00:40:15
Speaker
like I'm tired of working for the man. I didn't see myself going back to Cali anyway. We had just kind of engaged. And it was like, well, that sounds good, but like you're a director of digital. You built this whole team. You've hired the agencies. Can we just become a client of whatever company you start? Whoa. That's crazy. Passed them a resignation. They passed me a contract. They still a client to this day.
00:40:38
Speaker
That is crazy, that is, that is, yo. That is crazy, yo. You did, you, you turned, you turned. I can't even explain it. You had so many twists and turns, that roller coaster, and you that roller coaster landed safely. all That's crazy. And they asked you if you want to go more. You want to go more and one more round. So when that happened, when God like placed that on my lap, your current job is about to become a client. like you They used to pay you, and now you're about to charge them for your services.
00:41:14
Speaker
I was like, okay. That's nothing I could have mapped out and checked off a to-do list and done the right things and got the right awards and certificate. I couldn't have done
Balancing Roles and Handling Imposter Syndrome
00:41:26
Speaker
that. like It was all gone. And so in that moment, I was like, well, cool.
00:41:31
Speaker
And um like I said, they're still a client to this day. Since then, we've worked with so many great brands. like We've done um some co-agency collab work with Springkill, with LeBron Maverick Carter's production agency. um We have some new business right now. Can't speak about the brand, but um is it's been awesome. And every time, I think a lot of times when people ask me about like that transition, like when do you know to go from full-time entrepreneur um or full-time employees to full-time entrepreneur?
00:42:00
Speaker
I feel like you have to be in a space of you've surrendered. like Whatever that desire is that you have, you've just surrendered that, look, I'ma just show up and work this job for however long I need to work it and wait till the time is right. like I think a lot of people think like- That's me right now.
00:42:16
Speaker
Yeah, like $500,000 or when I save up, dah, dah, dah, dah. It's not that. Because if you're going to walk into, I've had a friend tell me this most of the time, when you're going to walk into your car and the money's always going to be there. And I think I was ready, but I wasn't just about to jump. Pandemic, engaged or not, I wasn't just about to jump and be like, I'm going to just do my own thing. It was when I got that note from my boss at the time. He was like, well, can we be a client?
00:42:45
Speaker
I was like, that's God, bro. you're not even You're not even speaking. I'm not speaking. like That's just God. And literally, since then, in my business, at that point, I was like, I thought like I was just going to be like a small consultancy, just me you know helping brands out. And I was that for almost a year. And then um it just kept growing. I kept having more work than I got hands and brains and time.
00:43:09
Speaker
And now I have a team of eight. Nice. um And it just it just keeps thriving. And I literally just got to give glory to God because I just i show up. I'm like, whatever you need me to do, I'm not going to worry about this client not coming back. I'm not going to worry about this contract we didn't get. i'm not I just show up and it just keep happening.
00:43:29
Speaker
and I mean, it's interesting. what you You touched on it a little bit, but like, hi when you have moments of like, you know, oh, this contract, you didn't get it, is it better to be like, go fish memory about it? Like, or do you take it like how you'd say like, I would say in like, this is how I think about it, too. Like in sports, I was very like, I don't care. I i don't care how bad I played today or this game. I just I moved on to it's the next game. I'm more I'm more i'm getting turning my page to I'm turning the page to. Yeah.
00:43:58
Speaker
Yeah, I'm definitely like that. Like, I mean, it hurts, right? Like, the whole time that you're even if you're like pitching a business or something like pitching for another client, like the whole time you're going through it, no matter how many like we both I would like I've been doing this for 10 years, still getting posture syndrome still feel like I don't know for the right fit. You know, you're going through this vision, but and they say you don't get it. You absolutely have you know not only just the time and the effort that you put in it and in my seat, the payroll that you had to dedicate towards that, whether you got it or not. But you have to be able to, I think that's why I like always go back to that word, to just surrender and know that like what's for you is not going to pass you. So while you thought that was going to be a great client, you never know like what's coming next. like Literally, it's kind of been a season we've been recently of like we've been pitching a couple of different brands
00:44:49
Speaker
And while we're actively pitching others, two other like new clients just came that like I could have never could have never like thought of. I didn't even have them on our radar. like Amazing brands that we would always love to have on our roster.
00:45:04
Speaker
but We weren't like, we weren't even actively over there, like in that space. And so, I mean, it's just, that's what I'm saying. Sometimes you just got to just show up and do the work. Like it it sounds so like tactical and so simple, but I think why they show up and do the work is just like show up and just do the work that that you can do, that you can be called to do. Like, and and don't think too hard about
Social Media Challenges and Creative Expression
00:45:27
Speaker
it. Like literally, you just do what you're like skilled and talented and naturally love to do and innately like having you to do.
00:45:34
Speaker
Like whatever is for you is not compassion. Like literally. For sure. I mean, you touched on imposter syndrome and I feel like I've heard that being spoken to me too many times from too many people. I mean, i ah talk about a little bit of or like a scenario where that's that like you feel like that it came up and what did you do to move past it? Let me see. him I would say for me, as a, not just like a social digital strategist, like loving and knowing my craft, but also the fact that I have to wear the hat of, you know, mom and wife, and then also wear the hat of CEO. Like it comes up for me, I feel like more often in, in two spaces. I would say one in the, you got these three major hats that you have to wear every single day.
00:46:30
Speaker
Are you capable enough to do that? you know like are you Do you have enough bandwidth even just to to think to think out loud, to hear yourself, to be seen? you know and i oh I would say to be Sid, I'm naturally creative like we talked about. The content creator and the sneaker freak Sid that I was before becoming a mom, like I'm a whole different girl now. like And so imposter syndrome comes in that way because it's like, even now sometimes when i'll I'll have the camera roll locked in, the drafts locked in, the content I might want to put out. But I'm like, Sid, you've been away from it source for so long, in my head. You know what I'm saying? For so long, it's not worth it.
00:47:07
Speaker
just hold on to it, you know, don't put it out. So I would say in that sense of wearing that all the hats that I have to wear in pasta syndrome comes up from like a content creative perspective, not because I'm not able to produce an output in the way to that I was having to talk with my like health coach of the week and just saying how I realized that I'm a very all or nothing person. say If it's like a whole room full of laundry that needs to be folded,
00:47:32
Speaker
And it's four baskets. If I can't fold all four, I'm not doing any of them. Right, yeah. I feel you on that. and be like, oh, i get I'll tackle one each day. Hell no. If I can't do them all tonight, I'm not. Right now. Do it right now. You know, stay there for weeks. And so I think that all or nothing kind of like mentality plays into my imposter syndrome because if a new client and then recently from a business perspective, have a new client, we've never worked with this style of client before. But I knew for what he needs, like,
00:48:06
Speaker
we I'm like, we can get you there. like we're We're a great fit for him. um But his story and where he's going, on he's a retired pro athlete. um We just never worked with that style before. and But I'm like, dude, but I know like my team is like, like we're it.
00:48:23
Speaker
And so you get you go through imposter syndrome, or at least for me sometimes, and when I'm working with a new style of client that we may not have had on a roster before, or it's been a while since I've worked with, or when I worked with that client of client like that before, I was with a bigger agency or something like that, where it's just like, oh, like, are we really, you know, going in the right direction when we present to him? is he Like, is this gonna really like solidify like what he's looking for?
00:48:49
Speaker
And then I usually can, on the business side, I usually can just calm that with a simple, like, you know, back to, like, if it's for you, it wouldn't have passed you up. And if God put this on your plate, like, he not gonna leave you. So, like, I kind of sit with that. But on the, I would say, like, the internal, more personal side, like, that's where my imposter syndrome is more. And it's just, like, me versus me. You know what I'm saying? It's not, like, deep of a comparison where you're, like, looking on your feet and it's just like, oh, but I went with she guys.
00:49:16
Speaker
It's not even that, it's just me versus me, like in my head, like me psyching myself out. Yeah. Thinking that I have too much going on and I just can't handle it all. I feel, yeah, I feel you on that. I think maybe I'm in the same boat when it's like, so I've been trying to figure out like what kind of content I want to continue to push, right? Or like the voice that I want to be on the internet now. Cause in the beginning I was kind of just,
00:49:45
Speaker
making content just to make it. And I would be like, you know, I'll make bullshit jokes in here and there, you know, but that's what everybody else was doing, right? Well, like, so now I'm like, okay, I'm focused to just doing podcasts and not like, like all this extra stuff. And now, but then I'm also like, but I have this idea and I want to do this idea. But if I don't, if I don't, and um yeah yeah, but if if I don't, if I don't, um,
00:50:13
Speaker
if i don't if i don't If I don't believe in like, okay, I can do this right now, oh, I don't have i don't have the time to do it right now, then I umm just keep pushing it back, right? So it's just like, I don't know if it's like the belief in like, oh, I can't do it. It's the belief of like, am I gonna do it how I wanna do it? And I think that paralyzes me. And I feel like a lot of people are in that thing where they just like,
00:50:37
Speaker
they feel they have a good idea, but it always stopped. like They're like, but am i able going to am I able to execute it how I really want to execute it? Or like is it going to look how I really want to look? Or is it going to get missed? And then you just start spiraling. Spiral literally in your head. And like it's the craziest thing to me. how like I can't have an idea I thought of 20 minutes ago in the shower. And I'll hop on the meeting with my team and just blur that shit out and tell them the idea. And either they latch onto it, go to a different direction like, oh yeah, see, that's fire. like Let's do this and this and that. Or they're just like, mm, not really rocking with that. you know like Because I value transparency on my team.
00:51:20
Speaker
and But when it comes to us as creators, we'll do this spiral shit and put on an idea and not do it. And just like you said, like I was scrolling back through like my page the other day. And like when I first started out, it was like, unboxing, unboxing, unboxing, unboxing. And now it's just like, I can never imagine we just sitting, again, everything I just picked up. but Real of unboxing, real of like, that's just not my content now anymore.
00:51:47
Speaker
And so to hear you even say, like um you know like I've kind of stuck with the podcast. And sometimes I have these other ideas. like We go through this trial of, like but this is the box I created. I want to do my podcast, but I want to do this other thing. and But can I do both? Am am I going to be able to keep this one up? Because you're probably, if you're all or nothing, you're a lot like me, where it's just like, if I do one, then I need to have like five in the queue. Yeah, yeah. Just like put this out. And it's the one thing. So man. I know. Yeah. so like I was trying to do this like, I forgot, I was trying to cut i was coming trying to come up with this series on TikTok and nobody was watching it. But I was like, I'll fuck with it. I'ma just keep trying. So I did like seven videos. I did seven videos in like two nights or something like that. And I was just like, boom, boom, boom. I knocked them out. And then those the videos were just doing absolutely nothing. and I was just like,
00:52:42
Speaker
I was just like, damn, I really, cause so that's what happens. Then I feel like, damn, I really just wasted my time. So I don't want to do this again. Right. So like recently, even recently I, I made a video. I was, i so I make, I do clips. I've like streamlined my page. So it was just like a bunch of clips. And then I made a clip and I posted it.
00:53:02
Speaker
I only got like 300 views. And I'm like, I spent three hours doing this thing. Like, it can't do you can't do that. Like, like I immediately just start spiraling like, why am I doing this? Blah, blah, blah. And then, you know, I'm still trying to get more people to watch that specific clip because it's a really good clip. But at the same time, it's like, yeah yeah like sometimes this social media just not just does not want to fuck with you at some point. yeah like yeah Yeah. And I mean, that's like, I think that's the, the double s word of it. All right. Like sometimes as like working on the marketing end of it, as a social strategist, I wish that all social media platforms would just strip the engagement. Like if I'm an advertiser and the marketer, let me see it. If I'm working with somebody, but the normal day to day user strip them. Like, because that will literally create a community of creative expression.
00:53:55
Speaker
with them there, with the numbers and all of that. Because think about it. Think about it. I'm going to just start a random podcast, like Club Shae Shae, right? Do we really care to see that they got 10,000 views? I'm going to watch it anyway. You see what I'm saying? If yours came up on my feed and it interested me in my first little two to three seconds of seeing it, I'm going to watch it anyway. So it doesn't, for me to watch or engage with it, I'm not looking like, well, this only had 100 comments. So no, I'm actually not going to comment. No, yeah.
00:54:24
Speaker
That's not how our behavior works. like Our behavior works off of visual cues. So it's like, just strip the engagements away. like We don't actually need them to stay longer on the app to operate. Like if ESPN, if you couldn't see engagements on ESPN right now, would you be like, I'm not following ESPN because I can't even see their likes.
Pandemic Effects on Connections and Communities
00:54:42
Speaker
I mean, now that that's what they, um like that they turned it they turned it off, right? like they turn You have the ability to turn off likes now.
00:54:50
Speaker
And we'll leave in the comments and the views and I just strip it off. But the thing that is currency for them, right? Like from my advertising perspective. But I mean, I'm going to just throw away the advice and keep doing the series and keep like repost that clip to the story every day.
00:55:06
Speaker
until enough people, enough seeing DM it to people, sending in the DMs. Like, have you seen this one? Like, bro, like this is crazy. like I mean, you kind of got to you got to fuck with the algorithm sometimes, you know? Unfortunately. And that's why like a lot of times when we're working with art, like the clients we work with, it's just like, that's like one of the first things we tell them in day one on onboard. And like don't even get caught up in what the post is actually doing, because you actually don't have control over that.
00:55:33
Speaker
you know like I remember days I started in social media in the industry, and it was like literally with sitting rooms with these brands, and it was like, well, we want this post to garner 10,000 likes. And back then, you could do that shit. You could actually do it. right no You could either pay the play, or you knew exactly like what was the right formula to get the post to do something. Now, with a non-chronological algorithm, ads in the mix, all type of stuff going on, like it's actually not up to your control.
00:56:02
Speaker
know So don't like, when the clip is like 200 views, the clip ain't bad. Clip, I'm sure it's fire. You know what I'm saying? It's just, they they've literally created a formula to like, feed what they need to feed, when they want to feed it to who they want to feed. So it's literally out of our control. It's true. It's true. I mean, like, you know, ah every time or every week or even but recently, I was just on ah My boy Prosex Pod, Kicks Chronicle, he's in the UK. It's like a similar podcast as it is, but we were we were talking about how how to, I kind of lost my training in thought train of thought there. But wait, I got it, I got it. yeah We were talking about how, we were talking about like, um just the way we represent and present ourselves on on social of like, what are we doing with this and and doing doing with that. And it's,
00:56:57
Speaker
It's kind of like, no, that's actually not what I was talking about. I got it. I'm back. I got it. I'm keeping all this in. But i was it was actually about um Like not feeling that other people are doing the same thing that you're doing when it comes to like, so me, that's, that's what I was saying. So me and him have a similar podcast, but he's super like super or a sneaker oriented. Like he's going to, he will hit you with specific sneaker, right? Questions. And I'm over here. always numbers. Yeah, so i'm i I'm here like I want to learn learn about you through sneakers, right? So like he and i've and I've been through this before where he thought that like his idea was super original this and that and then here I come come along and I've been doing this podcast for four years. And you know, I'm asking I'm asking this similar question. I was just like, listen,
00:57:52
Speaker
Whenever it comes to anything, nobody can do it like you. Like you have your own your own story, you have your own twist, you've been through different things than everybody else. So just, you know, push the whatever you're being creative with it, just push that push it forward and keep trying because even if you do it one time or a couple of times, like as long as you take a different approach the next time. Or like you mess with it. like you You make it fun for yourself. It's going to be fun regardless. And you you never know what's going to happen. yeah So but I say that at the same time to be like, yeah, I'll still get upset when my videos get too much. Absolutely. And that's like the um like that white bread owl analogy, right? like Or just bread owl analogy. like You go into the store, you see hella bread brands.
00:58:41
Speaker
like Imagine if, I don't know, like one bread, the second bread brand that was ever created was just like, it's already some bread out there, it's not my favorite. And then the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, and like everybody decided that that's what they wanted to do, but they do it in a different way. And it's just, like we said, like if you just say genuine, authentic to like what you want to do,
00:59:03
Speaker
Man, just do it. Don't worry about all the other factors out there. Because if you really think about it, that never stopped anybody before. These apps have been around for, let's give them 20 years. They've been around for 20 years. I think Facebook came out in 2004. I'm older than 20 years.
00:59:22
Speaker
you're older than 20 years. So just think about like, I've been doing me longer than Facebook even like existed. Like, like, so it's just like, I've been doing me longer than Facebook.
00:59:34
Speaker
but jesus And the perspective is like, damn, especially when it's like people that like, I don't know, I'm 32. So it's like, when people are just like older and they're like really pressing these apps, like when we get clients that are a little bit older than me, I'm like, bro, you realize you've been doing this before before the app, right? So like, I want you to keep doing that. Like, the app is just a a medium, a platform, and that like that, again, that's like the blessing and the curse of it. Like, just like you say about your friend in the UK, like, even if y'all had the same exact podcast with the same exact questions, his corner of the sneaker world is different than my corner of the sneaker world, different floors.
01:00:10
Speaker
like I'm always just amazed about us that have like become friends through Instagram, through speakers, because I'm like, where are the girls from like Australia then? like like The world traveler in me wants to know like all the speakers of the sneaker world in the world. I'm like, we just know our pockets. We just know our pockets. And the more that we connect, it grows. And to me, that's the beauty of it all. I don't care what my videos get. i't care like That's the beauty of all the fact that like I'm connecting with this dude from like actually from Rio. like like What? In what world like would somebody have written this up besides after a pandemic? It's true. It's true. Because yeah, I mean i feel like when the pandemic happened, I there was like ah felt like it was like the reset button. it's goingnna give us it all It all gave us a chance to do what we really wanted to do. Do what we really wanted to do. We met people we never even met. We didn't realize the, I guess, the
01:01:07
Speaker
the draw and the just, I guess, I feel like, honestly, like electricity of connection that we were longing for. Yeah. Like we thought it was just like, oh, we shut down. We can't see our friends. Oh, we shut down. We can't see our family. But the groups and the pages and the things that have come up from the pandemic, it's like, dude, this is wild. Like the as a world, like as a society, we were longing for connection.
Reflection on Younger Self and Growth
01:01:33
Speaker
Yeah.
01:01:34
Speaker
and And now, when we go outside, we outside now. It's crazy. It's so crazy now. Especially after like, you know, I mean, I know you're, you know, you're your mother now. So it's not like, you know you're not, you're not, you're not hitting up the parties, you know? I'm glad you know. My parties involve diapers. Yeah, I was going to say.
01:01:59
Speaker
like sorry
01:02:03
Speaker
You're doing mom parties. be like yeah yeah I mean, those is fun too, so you never know. so but ah yeah But yeah, I mean, like coming out of the pandemic, I've been going out more and going to events more. We're seeing a lot more events pop up. So yeah, you know big reset. um But Sid, we're towards the end of the podcast. I always ask another question at the end of the podcast, and that is,
01:02:27
Speaker
ah deals with a little bit of visualization. I always mess up that word when I say it. um So I want you to think back to young Sid about to open those, those that box of the, you said black and pink, for Jordan 14s, right? Now you're you travel back in time behind yourself. What would you tell younger Sid as she opens that box? I would tell her these are more than just shoes.
01:02:55
Speaker
and to just always like be where your feet are. like These are shoes, this is something that you not only wanted, but you like you worked for and continue to just work and like lace them up tight, keep them on like and keep going. like No matter what's on your feet, just keep going.
01:03:16
Speaker
Keep going, you know perfectly said ah I mean um I actually should have said for you to do your shout out your shit your your plugs here um But thank you so much for hopping on I'm gonna do a little bit I would do my little plugs real real quick If you don't remember I am who is Haas whose house also media follow the podcast in my first kicks pod and Follow the podcast or if you are listening to this and you wanted to watch this go on YouTube My first kicks on YouTube if you have a story hit me up my first kicks pod at gmail dot.com um And you know what we say every week to everybody out there wear your kicks. Peace Peace. Thank you