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Lets Get Experiential with Paulina Lopez
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This week I am joined by Paulina Lopez, we talk about how Experiential has started to take over when it comes to marketing. How she got into sneakers, growing up in Mexico City and New Mexico. Who inspires her to be so driven and continuing to support others. How community is so important at every step of the way. Plus we talk about how she shifted careers and much more!
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Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
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Transcript
Growing Up Around Swap Meets
00:00:00
Speaker
you though You know, obviously it was hard to make friends and find like who I was going to hang around with. um But you know, this is a story that I just feel like always so proud to tell. So because of my background, you know, where I grew up yeah the swap meets was a place where I just really felt at home. Back then, the availability of like even like Mexican foods or snacks wasn't as widely available as it is now, right? Yeah. So I had to go specific places such as a swap meet to go and find the things that I just like grew up eating. Right. So I spent a lot of time in the swap meets because also, you know, it was close to my house. My mom didn't mind dropping me off and picking me back up. And obviously that is where a lot of people there was ah a bunch of like sneaker shops. So I would just like go up and down the aisles and it just really sparked my curiosity to see people
00:00:53
Speaker
either like line up or just like familiar faces weekend after weekend so i ended up making friends with one of the shop owners and i was just so curious about you know how do you even get to sell you know certain brand product like how do you get to sell nike product and how come you don't have this other brand or whatever the case was So she put me up on game about what it was to have like a Nike account and what it took in order to do X, Y and Z. wow So again, I became so cool with her that she gifted me my very first pair of Jordans, which was a flu game 12. Wow.
Introduction to 'My First Kicks' Podcast
00:01:34
Speaker
What's good everyone? Welcome back to My First Kicks, the podcast where I use sneakers as a through line to better get to know my guests. I'm Haas and sitting across from me is Paulina. Hey, what's up? I don't know if it we just going away with straight to Instagram. I got lucky. I got my actual name as a handle, so it's all good. Yeah, this is episode 274. You know, I'm very ahead of schedule here. So I might be referencing some stuff I've already said before. But thank you for pulling up to the podcast. You know, this is super last minute. um I wanted to say thank you for letting me get a picture with Stephon Marbury.
00:02:10
Speaker
I got you. No, honestly, like, congrats. You know, that many episodes is incredible. And like, I'm happy to be in the city and I'm so happy that I run into you. And of course, I got you. You know, sometimes it's a little bit hard to to get, you know, to get it moving when we have talent. But of course, thanks for coming to the event, by the way. No, come on. Yeah. I don't want to dox myself. But yeah, yeah I told you why was there. Yeah. But
Paulina's Career Journey
00:02:35
Speaker
it's a super dope. I think that like, you know, I saw your episode on a Sneaky League. Shout out to the homegirls. My peoples. um But like your, one thing I wanted to really touch in and get to know like about you and
00:02:50
Speaker
The industry that I'm currently currently navigating with this podcast as well is just like the trajectory of how you how'd you get to where, you know, you're, you know, handling such crazy big things around, you know, big events. Facts. Honestly, I don't really know that i really knew what I was getting myself into. i think my path has been a little bit like non-traditional. you know i I worked in spirits for a long time. I worked for you know Bacardi USA for a minute and I did sales. I did field work. I worked um on the on the brand side.
00:03:27
Speaker
But I mean, I've been collecting shoes since I moved here yeah you know from from Mexico. And I think that just being present and in meeting people and networking I know that it's like so cliche. We talk about it all the time, but yeah I just cannot emphasize it enough. You know, if it wasn't for, you know, that the time, because I think too, like when it comes to networking, people don't understand that it's, that it takes time yeah and that, you know, it's not like,
00:03:54
Speaker
you have to put in the time to go out and get ready and go to the events, yeah you know, when you could just be at home hanging out or you know, watching a movie or whatever. So networking, it is very intentional and it's actually a lot of work, right? So just through like being really cool with people that worked for the company and I got invited to events, I was even the face of the company of ah of a campaign, you know, with my current employer.
00:04:20
Speaker
You know, I wanted to get out of spirits. yeah It just never really aligned with like who I was to the core and like my lifestyle. Like I'm very much like a like a homebody to the core. Oh, yeah. I can't even get that. I did not even get that off of you. Like, you know, mind you, like I I am very like public facing with the work that I do now. But I think most of us at work in this industry we're low key to to two to three different people. yeah So at work, I'm super outgoing and like i' I'll shoot the shit with everybody. But in my own personal time, I'm like, I am quiet. I don't go out. I hang out with my family primarily and I'm just like really low key.
00:05:00
Speaker
So anyway, I just wanted to get out of spirits and find something that was like a little bit more chill. But, you know, the division that I work in now was like fairly new to the company. So my background, too, is very heavy and experiential.
00:05:14
Speaker
But from day one to now, it's really taken a 180. So, um you know, we do activations that are just of huge magnitude. Like All Star is the biggest activation
Experiential Marketing Insights
00:05:29
Speaker
that we do. Yeah. So, um yeah, it's just been a little bit all over the place. But nonetheless, it's been so cool i so cool. You're well, for people who don't know you, could you please just give a little introduction about yourself? You know, of course. Yeah. My name is Paulina Lopez and I am a marketing and experiential leader.
00:05:49
Speaker
One thing that's that's just been really, really interesting is we've seen, and I would love your commentary on this, is just like we've seen how big Experiential, Experiential, that's how you say it, has been growing so so vastly. I mean, if you think about ComplexCon and, you know, shout out Neil, he he created ComplexCon. And think that was like one of those big moment shifters where it was just like oh we this can be bigger than just a sneaker con where it's just like you know we have booths and people are just selling stuff it's like we can get brands involved with this and we can actually make this kind of like a destination point um and experiential wasn't really a word that existed until then but like can you explain especially to the listeners like what does that even mean Yeah. so I mean, experiential really has been around forever, but I think it's shifted as far as like how we look at it, how we engage with it, and then the amount of money that brands are throwing out experiential. So experiential really is like making a brand tangible, right? Like into IRL. That's what we call it too, like in real life. So creating a space and experience where people can come and feel and touch and see your brand. And that can look, you know, a thousand different ways. And I do think that ComplexCon by far has been one of like the first like moments and experiences that we have been able to to attend and really see the brands come to life in a way, again, that we can, that we can, sit you know and walk into like all these beautiful like build-outs and interact with a product and all of that. So you know when i when I was coming up in the experiential world, it really came as like a second thought in terms of investments. Right. It all went to digital and media and out of home and like all these things. And I mean, once you get into marketing, it's like, um you know, lower funnel and upper funnel, like all these things. work in advertisers. I know you're saying. But, um you know, again, from like the past five years to now, the level of investment and experiential across the board has been just like insane. Insane, because like all of us crave a story, right? We all buy product that somehow, some way has a story, whether it is like the product itself or our story that's related or tied to the product. So, I mean, what it yeah I can't think of a better way of telling a story yeah than to make it into physical form. Right. Yeah. And have people like immerse themselves into this thing. Like um and and, you know, if you're I'm pretty sure a lot of my listeners do understand what experience or like they've been into an experience or something. But like, you know, some people may not understand that there really have been um experiencing that in in general, because like.
00:08:30
Speaker
you know New York is a hotbed for this stuff. I'm sure LA is as well, oh yeah where you you'll have long lines for ah like somebody to taste a a piece of ice cream or something like that. You're just like, you're like ah why did I stay in four hours in order to get inside this ah Barbie dream house type of thing? And you're just like, yeah, because that's experiential. That's what these brands are are trying to get to to usher people into to kind of like.
00:08:53
Speaker
make themselves a diehard in in like the span of like you know whatever five to ten minutes that it takes you to get in there and and like touch these things and i find it very interesting because we didn't have any of this back in the day where it's just like we don't know what we didn't know what activations were like we were just going to things and creating things ourselves and so for brands to really like take that chance to be like you know we're gonna put money into this and do that it's It's interesting. And and a lot of people are buying into it very fastly. Like like they're trying to to you know post their videos, post it on Instagram. And it like it it builds so much momentum in such a small moment. you know So it's like, I don't know how you like there. Is there like a moment where you've seen something that you wish could have done better?
00:09:39
Speaker
Like, oh, you know. Every single activation, you know, but I think this is this is a beauty of what we do that we do get the chance to do it over. And, you know, when it comes to it's kind of like when you go to wedding, right? Yeah.
00:09:54
Speaker
And the bride's freaking out because like they they put three flowers versus two and the rest of the the people that are going to the wedding, they have no clue what's going on. yeah So, you know, a lot of the times like the room for improvement is more like back a house behind the scenes, right? When it's something that the attendees or consumers actually do realize, then that is when it becomes like, oh oh, how do we fix it? And can we fix it in the moment? Or is it something that we just have to let go of and go and come back to it? But every single activation there's like long debriefing calls. And even at the moment, right, we're taking notes, we're sharing them with one another and and just seeing like, how do we, how do we make this better? And there's sometimes where we've done it a thousand times, right? Like you came to our activation, you know, a couple of weeks ago, it was a grand opening of one of our stores and,
00:10:44
Speaker
you just sometimes also cannot predict how people are going to react to what you're doing and like the flow of the activation. So when it comes to like experiential, it's really not for everybody. Like you gotta be able to think on your toes, like right there and then you just cannot panic. You gotta have like a game face on at all times. Cause again, people feed off of your energy too. yeah And it's inevitable, right? Like we're human, things are gonna happen and you're gonna be like, oh shit. shit how do I fix this but it's just inevitable and I think it's cool I think like it kind of it drives me like it just it gets my blood pumping like the thrill of like just not knowing what's going to happen in a good way in a bad way but I think we just like learn sometimes you just got to like move on and not dwell on on things that might have not gone right and just keep it pushing and I'm I'm such a thrill or a thrill junkie for creative problem solving are you that also as well Yeah, I mean, like sometimes I look at my my job and, you know, I just get overwhelmed with like the amount of like decisions and issues and problems. But then flip my mindset to think like what a privilege it is to like be someone that people can come to with a problem to figure out a solution. Yeah. And like my team is incredible. Like before we even figure out how to fix it, there's already 10 solutions. It's just a matter of like figuring out which is the best route. yeah But I mean, that's that's a majority of the job. It's just like problem solving, even as you're planning, because you're gonna you're going to run into issues like the venue, the timing, the talent. Sometimes the damn product's not even there. yeah So it's just like at all times being on solutions mode versus you know problems. Jumping in real quick to remind y'all to not forget to leave a comment, a like, or subscribe to the page. If you're watching this on YouTube, it goes a very long way. And of course, if you're listening to this, if you're listening to this in your ears and you're listening to this on Apple or Spotify, please go to the podcast page, write a review and leave a five star like review.
00:12:51
Speaker
It goes a very long way. It helps me get the podcast into other people's ears And of course, I have a Patreon. If you really want to help out the podcast, if you want to help me get into the studio, pay for all you know new equipment, pay for... um you know Actually, I want to start doing more episodes in like actual stores. I want to you know interview the guys at lambs they're at Lambs. So I just need $5 from you, $5 a month on Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks.com.
00:13:21
Speaker
five dollars one tier you get the episode a day early like i'm literally gonna put this out the day before the episode goes out on friday might it might be a bad idea with the next parade but will have the episode up on thursdays uh you know every week for only patreon and patreon listeners and watchers and subscribers patrons only but let's jump back right into the episode mean so We're super current right now, but let's jump back to beginning. Little Paulina. I'm going to hit you with 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?
00:14:01
Speaker
So, you know, I grew up in Mexico City. I didn't move to the States so until I was like a little bit older, a teenager. So I never grew up around sneakers or didn't even really know what sneaker culture was. And honestly, not even sports. Like soccer was, you know, football was yeah just like, it sort of runs in my blood. But I have never really watched like...
00:14:22
Speaker
but basketball to really get in tune with like what basketball shoes were being worn on the court or anything of that sort. um Once I moved here though, you know obviously it was hard to make friends and find like who I was gonna hang around with. um But you know this is a story that I just feel like always so proud to tell. So because of my background, you know where I grew up yeah the Swap Meads was a place where I just really felt at home. Back then, the availability of like even like Mexican foods or snacks wasn't as widely available as it is now, right? yeah So I had to go to specific places such as a swap meet to go and find the things that I just like grew up eating, right? So I spent a lot of time in the swap meets because also, you know, it was close to my house. My mom didn't mind dropping me off. and picking me back up and obviously that is where a lot of people there was ah a bunch of like sneaker shops so i would just like go up and down the aisles and it just really sparked my curiosity to see people either like line up or just like familiar faces weekend after weekend so i ended up making friends with one of the shop owners and i was just so curious about you know
00:15:36
Speaker
how do you even get to sell you know certain brand product? Like how do you get to sell a Nike product and how come you don't have this other brand or whatever the case was? yeah So she put me up on game about what it was to have like a Nike account and what it took in order to do X, Y, and z wow So again, I became so cool with her that she gifted me my very first pair of Jordans, which was a flu game 12s.
00:16:00
Speaker
But I didn't really know what they were, so I'm not going to lie. Like, she just gifted me a pair shoes, and I was super happy. Because moms, you know, we were struggling back then. Of course, yeah. so Did you, ah like, you immigrated to? Yeah.
00:16:14
Speaker
Yeah. it Like, tough? Oh, my. I can't even begin to tell you. Like, our our journey was really rough. yeah You know, we came from living, like, a really good life in Mexico City. And then, You move here and you literally have to start from scratch. You know, we moved with nothing. we didn't have anywhere to live, you know, homeless for a bit. um But, you know, my mom is such a hustler and joyous person that we never even looked at what we were going through as what we were going through was just like,
00:16:46
Speaker
Oh, we get to have a sleepover in the car. yeah So like the mindset, you know, has a lot to do with like how you how you navigate through challenge. But nonetheless, you know, so I got my first pair and um I wore them to school the next day. But it was like midweek and the shoes didn't really come out until like the following
Immigration and Personal Growth
00:17:05
Speaker
Saturday. Oh, you early? I was early, but I had no idea. you know, I come back to school the next day and everyone wanted to come say hi and like ask me how I got the shoes. So it it sounds like really crazy, but I think I owe her in that pair of shoes for quite a bit because you know back then again when I was in high school people weren't rushing to come talk to me or make friends with me but that really allowed me to is like a conversation starter and even now right like when we're out and about and events and stuff it's like sometimes what you're wearing is what will catch somebody's attention and it all you know it starts friendships you know at times so um that that was my first pair That is amazing. yeah
00:17:49
Speaker
Especially because it like it opened the door. oh you know like The hardest thing, and i mean even I remember when I was a kid, like i just like finding a way to to start a conversation, especially at such a young age. And it's just like, you know we've got all the clicks. you've got all you you can't well You can't sit at this table. you know and Or you know somebody like the bad kid or whatever. You don't want to be the class clown or you know something like that. and yeah um Just having like having sneakers early and everybody knew what they were amazing. And I had no idea yeah yeah what they were. yeah But again, you know, after that, I just got hooked. And yeah my mom was like, it's just not going to happen. I said, OK, well, I'm going to go work. Yeah. So that's exactly what I did. You got what? the How old were you? i was your first of
00:18:32
Speaker
was 12. Yeah. I was. Oh, yeah. He was. he was i was really just left and right. You know, because also you know, my mom was single mom with yeah two newborn twins wow and me. Wow. Yeah.
00:18:44
Speaker
So we had to make it work. had to make it work. I mean, I don't know. Working as super, super young like that too. Honestly, I started working when I was like eight or nine back in Mexico City, because I was a competitive figure skater. And I spent so much time at the ice rink that I ended up just being like an instructor, nothing big on the weekends. I'd take a couple of kids and with a little training, sliding thing. So I started working really early, but I've always seen my parents hustle like crazy. So I always wanted to work like from a very young age. I would pretend to have like drive through restaurants and I'd have like the fake money and I'd play with my siblings. And I was always finding a way to like make a buck, you know, somehow, some way. That's, I mean, that's, I mean, that hustle mentality. Like, I mean, we don't see, I don't know if we don't see it a lot now, but I definitely wouldn't. Nope. I definitely, like the people that I have sitting across from me are all, most of them, a good majority them are hustlers. Oh, yeah. The idea of just, they can't sit down and figure, they're just like, the ideas just running and running. Like, okay, how do I do this? Or let's do this. And I think that like, at such a young age too, it's just like, do you think, do you attribute that to,
00:19:58
Speaker
where your creativity started spreading out like or just like the like because i I always call it like creativity like figuring out ways to make something happen he yeah you know like did you do you think that like attributed to like how hard or how much your success is now Yeah, because when I think about someone being creative, it doesn't mean like, let me go grab a pen and a paper and draw some shit out. To me, being creative, it also means like, how am I going to get out of this situation, right? In order to excel and grow and be better. So it takes hell of a lot of creativity yeah to figure out how to do that. Right. Like, it's not that, you know, we grew up with a handbook as far as like how you're going to get to, you know, go to school and like get your first job and like meet people, especially me, you know, coming from another country. I had no idea how I just knew that I would. Yeah. Somehow. Yeah. Didn't really know how. Yeah. So the creativity came in place when I would sit with my mom and figure out, all right, well, you got a couple years to get through high school, but then how are you gonna get to college, right? and And not pay the full tuition, you know, or whatever the case is. So we got hella creative.
00:21:12
Speaker
You know, as far as like, for example, my mom, the school that I was supposed to go to just based on where we lived, it just wasn't a good school. yeah So my mom literally drove around the school that she wanted me to go to and knocked like on every door begging for someone to let her borrow.
00:21:31
Speaker
their address. yeah So we find this amazing man who allowed us to, you know, essentially use his address. But the one condition was that every week i had to show him my report cards. Oh, wow.
00:21:44
Speaker
So yeah you had to be on it. Oh, I had to be on it And my mom showed no mercy, even though we had just moved here. she still expected me to get eight pluses and wouldn't let me sit in like ESL classes, which is like English as a second yeah language. yeah I have to take French and I have to take all these AP classes. So there was no grace or mercy. It was just like, I don't know what your excuse is going to be and I don't care. Go figure it out.
00:22:10
Speaker
So I had to get creative. Yeah. what like i So I also have an immigrant parent. My mom's Brazilian, raised me. So like that's all i'll saying when you said you know football, I was like, yeah. Oh, oh oh yeah yeah. In your veins. Yeah, exactly.
00:22:24
Speaker
We're low-key enemies of it, but it's cool. It's fine. We're not in the same group this Yeah, you're right. yeah But um like having an immigrant parent, like I love when like-minded people who grew up. like like like When you're starting to collect sneakers, like when you you you're starting to amass sneakers, like how did you bring that up to...
00:22:42
Speaker
To your mom. You know, my mom was always the person who'd say, as long as you're taking care of your responsibilities, I don't care what you do with anything else, your time and your money. So that would include like, okay, you know, if if you say you're going to help me with a rent and, and that's what you're going to do, because that's what you're telling me that you feel comfortable doing, then I expect that.
00:23:04
Speaker
The rest of it, it's your money you're working for. it So it would be the same concept as like, you know, if I was going to school and I chose to go out with my friends the night before, all my homework had to be done. so it was always like a matter of, also my mom was so busy with the with the newborns that like when it really came about decision-making, my mom would always just allow me to make the decisions. So for example, if I say, hey mom, there's this pair of shoes that I really want, right? And like, I'm going to make this much a week and this is how much the shoes are. So instead of her telling me like, yes, no, she would just look at me and say, what, should you?
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah. You think it's a good idea? u-huh So then I would have to sit with myself and figure out that the answer. And that was with everything. Hey mom, should I ditch? you know Should i buy this car? don't know, should you?
00:23:54
Speaker
So again, at the end of the day, would only have me to blame for my either good or bad decisions. So I've always had to figure it out and not because she didn't care. She was really prepping me for a life where I could just make my own decisions, right? And weigh out the good, the bad, the ugly. Even if I make the wrong decision, well, sis, you made that decision. Yeah, you got to live with it. That is amazing. And like, I think that she built basically like the foundation for you to have just, you know, strong will. You make your own decisions. Like everything's on you in terms of just like, instead of just like now I can, you know, oh, I got to rely on somebody else. And I think that like, I mean, I do think that's a very immigrant parent type of thing. Very much so. Because my mom was definitely very similar. She was like, she was always just like telling me like, do you think that's a good idea? And then, yeah, I'd make the wrong decision. Because we know the answer, right? We're just we're just waiting for the parent to either validate or just completely be like, no. Yeah. But we know. We know. We always know.
00:24:59
Speaker
Oh, you definitely you touched you touched on like sneaker culture
Sneaker Culture in Mexico vs. U.S.
00:25:03
Speaker
hitting you that moment. um But I don't know much about the sneaker like sneaker culture within New Mexico. So um can you tell a little bit about like what it was like collecting sneakers during that time?
00:25:15
Speaker
Like were there like stores you would go to religiously? Did you have like a group of people that you would like roll with? Like did you have like or was it just you? It was just me. Well, actually, no. you know Once I, again, got in high school and I started to learn about like what sneakers were, then I realized that everybody was part of the culture, you know somehow, someway. And um you know some, like to your point, there's like different groups of you know kids or whatever. so like some were wearing maybe like case ways, right? But some were like, just all dorned out. So all the different like groups were wearing something different, but for sure, everyone had something to to talk about, you know, when when it came to like either an outfit or like shoes. And that's when I started to realize like, dang, everybody has some sort of heat on, yeah you know what I mean? That's I mean, it's is's interesting because like when it comes, i don't know, would you consider New Mexico like small, like a small market?
00:26:15
Speaker
I you mean Mexico City, Mexico City. Sorry. Yes. Well, again, when I grew up, it wasn't like synchro culture was non-existent. Like I grew up wearing kids and like K-Swiss. But I mean, fashion was a thing for sure. Like I grew up wearing, you know, um Armani Exchange and like Tommy Hilfiger and Oscar De La Renta and like Zara was like the staple you know back then. So it was more about like the fashion more so than like sneakers. And then when I moved here, I realized that it was more about the shoes than the fit. Yeah.
00:26:54
Speaker
So like, again, when I was like growing up in Mexico City, was more about like what outfit I'm going to wear. And I can probably wear the same shoes every day of the week. But then once I moved here, i could wear the same fit every day.
00:27:06
Speaker
But I needed different for sneakers. Yeah. Yeah. You're right. You're right. Very different. Yeah. Especially if it's like, yeah, especially in Mexico where it's just like, we're like, you got to have the the fly stuff. the fly stuff, and it was like all like all designer. But I mean, now Mexico City today and sneaker culture is more than booming. I don't know if you've had the chance to go out to Mexico City. I've never been to Mexico. Okay, you have to go. You have to go. But I mean, SneakerCon is out there. Every brand's investing so much money into experiential in Mexico City. There's like some great sneaker stores like Lust. you know Camilo and and his team are really good friends of mine, and they have like experiential spaces. within their stores and StockX is always activating out there. you know i was there um last September, October um for the ah NBA. yeah It was Pistons and Mavs and StockX did a huge activation at Lust. And I mean, New Balance is going crazy out there. There's like so many sneaker events now out there too. So it's really cool to see i need to invite what i happening. I need to invite. No, for sure. We're going back out in October, so pull up.
00:28:18
Speaker
Oh, well yeah i'll I'll definitely... Well, we'll see about October. Yeah, so it was a good time. Yeah, yeah i've definitely i'm super like... what What I'm trying to definitely see, because like when I grew up in and and thinking about like, you know, Brazil, like I would go to Brazil. There wasn't much sneakers. Right. But then Nike SB did that like signature series that they did um where they had custom them Nike SBs done in Brazil.
00:28:44
Speaker
And I've always wanted them. But then that also brought up that like, oh, wow, there are sneakers outside of. America. yeah Legit. yeah Just maybe not in the same way that you were wearing them when you were young. So like, for example, and even the availability, right?
00:28:59
Speaker
It yeah just weren't sending pairs to till this day. There's some countries that don't get the things that we get. But yeah, like I remember back then it was just mainly like the the the Puma and the Adidas. yeah Till this day, right? You go to anywhere outside the U.S. and most people are wearing like Adidas or Puma.
00:29:19
Speaker
and those are the two Those are the two brands that are just transcendent. right oh yeah And then when you come in here, people are like, they're not doing that much. um the like But you're not thinking about not taing you're not you're not thinking about the rest of the world. you're not yeah i mean you know We always just think here, yeah but there's more than what's happening here. But yeah, they're they're investing a lot of money. It's very dope. out So I think I missed a part. when Where specifically did you move to? What area? So we first moved to San Diego area. ok And um we were there for, honestly, like that whole timeline is really blurry, but it must have been a couple months. okay And then my mom got a job offer and an area that's called the Inland Empire, the IE. You know where that is? Yeah.
00:30:05
Speaker
Oh, wow. I've never been, but I know where 909, San Bernardino. And that's where we moved. Yeah. And then once I, you know, got my first job at Bacardi and when I was going to UCLA, the commute from the IE to LA, like it would take me almost two and a half hours to get to campus. So eventually just. Wow, were doing that?
00:30:24
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. Oh, yeah. I'd get to class and I would be dead by the time that I'd sit down. Yeah. So eventually. drove at least though? Oh, yeah. Okay. Because I was usually like you're doing a bus. No, in L.A., we don't. It's only driving like public transportation. It's a little bit better now. Yeah. But there is no way. Yeah. I mean, look, I did this. I did. I the first time I've been to L.A., my bad for derailing this. But the first time I went to L.A., 2017, I decided like because there was a wrestling thing that was happening in Long Beach. So i was just like I went to l L.A. I was going to do five days in l L.A. And then do three days in Long Beach. I did public transportation from l LA to Long Beach.
00:31:03
Speaker
Like a bus? Yeah. i did I did a bus to the train. And then the train took me. yeah I couldn't even tell you where the train is. It was like the trains that are like outside. So it's like. That's cool. Yeah. I did it. I did it. It took forever. But I did it with the luggage also. That. Honestly, i mean, I'll do it anywhere in the world, yeah like here, right? But back home first, I mean, and we have cars and like, we just need them to get around like no matter what. And it's not as accessible and and everything else. um But yeah, no, I was, I was driving. So I'd get to campus tired as hell. So eventually I was like, you know what? I i have to make a move. So i rented a room just so that when I did get really tired, i would just go and crash. Mm-hmm. But then eventually I got tired of like almost like living in two places. yeah So I ended up making the move and I kind of just never left. I still go back home to see my mom like all the time. But yeah. I mean, that's look. Hey, she made she made a ah a hustle, hustle and bustle. She really did. So it's like, of course. you But the just even thinking about like how how bad you wanted to go to school. But what did you go to school for?
00:32:11
Speaker
This is crazy. yeah So I went to school for information systems. Like I was a tech girl. yeah um I started working for a local state agency when I was like 16. And um I just happened to be like an admin assistant for the IT department. So in my mind, I'm like, this is where I'm going to be forever, right? I'm going to be in tech. I'm going to just like elevate within um the the public sector. And then just like quickly learned that innovation and the branch of government that I was working for didn't really go.
00:32:45
Speaker
So um I basically was like maybe a month away from graduating ah and um a really good friend of mine at the time asked me if I wanted to go work this gig, right? She was like, they pay like 50 bucks an hour. i don't really know exactly what it is, but like, do you want to go? I was absolutely. yeah At that age, like 50 bucks an hour. that's um I don't care what it is, sign me up. yeah hu So we show up and it was basically my first taste at Experiential. So it was a tequila company that hired, they're called promotional models, promo models that will go from bar to bar, restaurant to restaurant, yeah giving out samples of the product, right? It's called liquid to lips. That's their strategy. So I did that. And um from that, you know, we were getting booked every weekend. And then I started doing promos for like Miller Coors and then like Bacardi. So I thought, you know what, maybe marketing is what I'm what I'm supposed to be doing. So right before I was supposed to graduate, i ended up adding applications. that time I couldn't add a minor so I had to add essentially a whole other major so I have two bachelor degrees. Wow excuse me. But that's just how the system was like now you could easily just add on a few classes and get a minor in something so I went back and I took a whole bunch of other like marketing classes. So yeah how much how much time total did you do? my gosh I think I was in college for like
00:34:11
Speaker
almost six years. Because I went to JC for a bit, like at the beginning. But yeah, man, it was like such a long time. But I actually really enjoy you know um going to school. So yeah, i I got my bachelor's in marketing and then I went to UCLA and I got my master's.
00:34:30
Speaker
um And yeah, it was cool. yeah I just went back on campus a couple weeks ago to do a panel and it was surreal to be back. What is that? Like, yeah. How do even, do even, you even like, I feel like the rushes of like the, and all those years being on yeah campus just rush back to you. And you know, what was a crazy thing is that, um, because I always worked full time and I went to school, I've never really gotten like the college experience. Same. So even though it was a shit ton of money and the campus is beautiful, i just kind of looked around like, I don't even really know this place. Like I remember where i parked at and the buildings that I would frequent. And even then I did a bunch of online classes. So it was like really cool to just, you know, actually host the um the the panel and like hear from the students. Like that's what was the most meaningful to me. But it was actually kind of insane to go back after so many years. It's funny you said that, too, because like I also I went to school here. went to school in Brooklyn City Tech. And so not that great of a school. But ah like, but I did the whole I'd work from 7 a.m. to 3 o'clock and from 3 o'clock, 3 o'clock go all the way down. yeah It'll take me like two hours whatever or an hour and a half. to go to school, then leave at like nine and then go back home and then do the same thing next day. And that's i feel like that's such a city thing that you don't get to really experience what it's like to to have like ah the full college experience everybody talks about. oh yeah I went to parties and did all. was like, nah, I had to go to work the next day. Like, um do you think, and I mean, I'm curious, so what do you may think about this, but like, do you think you, have you felt like you missed out on that? Like, did you feel like, do you feel like you missed out on that?
00:36:16
Speaker
I think a bit, right? Like I would have loved to maybe have a group of friends that I went to like football games with and and hung out, but I was so focused, right? On making sure that I finished my education and like at the time, like I had such a great job at at the county and I knew that it wasn't gonna be a forever thing.
00:36:36
Speaker
But yeah, I was just so focused that I didn't really care. You know, like I just wanted to I knew that the energy that I had at that time wouldn't be the same energy that I had later on in life. yeah So I just always figured like grind, grind, grind, because there's no other time like now. right Right. So maybe if you just put in all the effort and you just do it all right now, maybe later on in life you'll get to like you know like slow down. But then also, to be honest with you, I'm insane. like I love working and I love just like this chaotic life and i love being busy and I love just always like challenging myself, but that's been since forever. yeah So I just knew that I had these goals to accomplish and you know I was still very much involved with like my mom and the kids. So like I just always had some shit to do. i could never spare you know a couple hours for an outing or like an evening. Don't get me wrong. I did my fair share of like going out and partying. But that was never even me to begin with. So it's not like, honestly, I don't feel like I missed out because...
00:37:40
Speaker
As you're as you're like progressing forward so much, like do you have the time to celebrate the things that you accomplish, like the goals that you accomplish? Yeah, it's mostly like go, go, go. I don't really take a break until I really do. And then I'll just go off the radar for like a week, a week and a half. So like, for example, like now I'm on a stretch of working, I don't know, 20 something days in a row. And like, I'm cool with it yeah because then in June, I'm gonna go to Mexico City and like enjoy my family and like I'll be off for like a week. So, you know, I do take time to celebrate. It's mainly with like my family and like just being in in in just a space where like I don't have to think that much, if that makes sense. like Those are the moments that I really enjoy yeah when I just get to like sit there and not use my brain, at least for just troubleshooting. So yeah, that's how it goes. Because also my work is very much like on the weekends. yeah So yeah, here and there, like i'll I'll take a couple of days off. you know But for the most part, my celebration would just be taking off, going on vacation and being with my family. That's like, I don't know if it's like, I've always been like, you know, continuously trying to move forward to move forward. Like, I feel like my brain is always like you're trying to make up for lost time. yeah um or you're thinking about like, what's the next goal you can accomplish? And I also think I attribute that to like, you know, my mom being like,
00:39:09
Speaker
Like you'd be like, hey, I graduated from school. All right. When you get in your master's? Then what? Yeah. OK, nice. Now what? Yeah, exactly. So um I don't know if a lot of people i don't know. Maybe people understand that that logic because but I don't know if it's like a current thing now, like, ah for example, like. you know, current day parent millennials are just not doing that to their kids now where they because they they feel like they've been doing it for so long. Like they've been the ones that their parents are like, they they feel like they're not, yeah you know, ah what's the word I'm looking for? like ah
00:39:43
Speaker
oh like god'm I'm losing the word. i had it. But it's like they're not they're not overcompensating like to make up for you know the missed ah goals that their parents had. like yeah You don't have that now. like Millennial parents don't do that now. So once we like move on and move forward, ah my thing has always been like,
00:40:06
Speaker
You got to take a step back and see how far you've come. You know, um you know look how look how much look how much you've done. yeah You know, like you actually shifted into something that you love, right? Out of alcohol or liquor, out of spirit spirits. Spirits. Spirits. Yeah, sorry. um And so what was that moment where you you can shift it, where where you were like, I have the opportunity to to to go back into, yo, I can actually really touch sneakers again.
Community and Giving Back
00:40:33
Speaker
Yeah, I think like I still work on celebrating like myself and and like realizing like you know that I am doing something really cool.
00:40:42
Speaker
um Because like to your point, I'm always just thinking 10 steps ahead. yeah And what I'm trying to work on this year is just be more in the moment yeah and more intentional about like realizing like what I'm living in the moment. And like, of course, like, you know, there's hard times and then like you lose hope or, or you feel like maybe this, am I even doing the right thing? Cause you know, ah even, even the people that you think are, are just like doing great things and have it figured it out.
00:41:15
Speaker
Me, I don't, I just, I, I wing it. yeah I just like every day is, it's like, just why am I doing this? Like, do I still want to do this? You know, there's a lot of times where like a lot of self doubt comes into play and, you know It has to do with like a life and what's happening around me. And like I see some very serious things and issues that are happening, you know especially to to my community. and So sometimes I sit with myself. was like, what am I doing? yeah So the only thing that I that i just like hope in terms of like celebrating myself is that I don't lose the plot. Yeah.
00:41:50
Speaker
I do love sneakers, right? and ah and And obviously, you know, this is what like keeps my my career sort of going, but it's really the the community and the giving back piece that really, really drives me. And it's not always an opportunity, right? Like different different things that we do at work have different purposes. But you know for me, it's really that the moments where whether it's like donating something that's physical, whether it's like product or shoes or whatever the case is, but then I also consider my time something that can be of value to somebody else, right? Like I do all these different like speaking engagements and things of that nature and like the the younger generations like crave just having like a conversation with me yeah right so I always try to make myself available you know for like a quick coffee chat or like give advice to people like hey send me a resume you know if I can repost your work you know sometimes support doesn't really come in the traditional ways that we look at it right like it's not I'm gonna give you I'm gonna
00:42:57
Speaker
you know, money or it doesn't always have to be so transactional. A lot of the times it's just, again, showing up to somebody's activation, right? Showing up to somebody's launch of whatever they're doing. It can be reposting somebody's content, you know? So, um and I forgot where we're going with this, but I think it was like what means to me yeah in relation to what I'm doing. and And that's what really drives me, right? Like, you know, even like last week, we ah we did a beautiful, like sweet night to celebrate the 30 years of, you know, um women's sports. But a few days before we went to high school in Brooklyn and, and we gifted all the kiddos like a pair of shoes and like, just to see the look on their faces, like that, that is just incredible, you know, because you and i were not getting shoes gifted when, when we were growing up definitely not and struggling, but just to think like, dang, like I'm in a position where we can do these things. That is what feels really, really good. Yeah, that the thing that is like, I mean, I've had a terror on here, know, Kauffman got him. Yeah. And the one thing that always resonates from that episode was like, you know, being of service and like, you know, you know, you talk about representation and, you know, having a
00:44:13
Speaker
you know Be that person that's like, you know I'm going to speak up. I'm going to do the things that I wish we could i could have gotten back in the day as well. It's very important because it's it's something that, you know and especially in this industry, it's very give me, give me, give me or what can you do for me type of thing. And it's it's never of of like, yo, let's do let's do everything together. let's you know Let's help the community around us. And it's very, you have to highlight those things. and Yeah.
00:44:41
Speaker
You know, my my it's actually really good that you bridged it into this because it's just like what what I was alluding to was more of like, you know, where was that moment where you you you you change careers into where, you know, now this is this is what I want to do, because, you know, we've seen how much you've grown in this.
00:45:03
Speaker
ah I'm always still I'm still trying to avoid the words, but like yeah in this capacity. Yeah. um You've seen how much you grow and give back. And so the moment where you where it actually came back to you in in your life when you're you know doing spirits and you're like, I'm going to move off of the spirit stuff. And now let's let's let's connect the loves together.
00:45:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i had been with Bacardi for so long too, that in the back of my mind, you know, i I just knew that I had served a purpose there and I had brought my my my point of view and like my life experiences into the work there. And, you know, I'm still great friends with everyone there, but I just knew that at some point I was going to have to make ah a shift, right? And I had applied for a million jobs before I got the gig that I got now. and you know I'm someone that like I just keep an open mind you know to like opportunities. I would be lying to you if I said, this is what I've always wanted to do
00:45:59
Speaker
I mean, hell, my life just took a 180 when I moved here from Mexico City. So I've never really had these like really solid plans for myself. I've just always envisioned being like happy and having like flexibility right and having the means to do the things that I love to do, which is like be with my family. And that's all that I ever focus on, right? that the All the extra that comes with whatever job I have have been like extra just like perks, you know, if you want to call them. So, you know, when I was really thinking about, and it's not that I was like so intentional about like I'm leaving Bacardi. I just would get curious about like what else is out there. Right. yeah This is really all I know. And like, even now that I'm in this, in this world, I do find myself sometimes craving like just a different type of conversation, chin right. To talk about something like different. Cause we get so honed into this world that we don't realize
00:46:54
Speaker
what everybody else is doing. So it's kind of nice to sometimes like take a step back and that's exactly what happened, right? Being in spirits for so long, I only knew that because it was my first big girl job and I started so young that in my mind, this is all it was.
00:47:09
Speaker
And so um I just happened to to get lucky and like I went through hella interviews, you know, to get this gig and I I didn't really, again, know what it would turn into. Because, again, that the company has had you know plenty of shifts between yeah you know that first day until now. And um i don't know, something in me just said, dang, you might have the opportunity to actually like even like dress how you how you feel inside. You big fly. You super But it's like, it it wasn't always acceptable and in certain circumstances and in certain like industries. It's like a very particular like look. And now it's it's more widely just like open. COVID changed everything. COVID changed everything. But it's like, I had to be in like these like almost like suits and like just...
00:47:57
Speaker
slacks and heels and like cool but that was never really me yeah like I just remember one day showing up to the office which was like based in ah in Miami and like I showed up in sneakers and it was like the most groundbreaking thing for and I'm like It's just sneakers. You hear a needle, a pin drop? No, it was really like, oh, wow. Like she's she's really not wearing like booties or sneakers or flats or whatever the case is. But, you know, I always just also struggled with essentially showing up how I felt comfortable and me thinking that people wouldn't take me serious because I was wearing a pair of sneakers. That is, that's something I, i well, you this is how I dress to go to work. So yeah i ah I understand that. Whereas just like the, there was this one phrase I made up on here one day. it was like, it it should more matter about the output and not the outfit. yeah And so the when it comes to, you know, working in in corporate capacity and corporate settings, we do. There's some places that are looser. Like I wouldn't expect that lawyer to be, you know, in pair of kicks. and you Right. But like working in marketing and dealing with creative stuff, I feel like you should be able to dress as yourself because. that's more of a representation of like your creativity and how you, how do you, you, you come to the table and, and change things and, and maneuver around, you know, something that and at the end of the day, people are paying for And they, they know that they, they, they need you to be reliable. So if like, if you're comfortable at work, you're going to put in your best
Dress Codes and Personal Style
00:49:34
Speaker
foot forward. And i do think that's like the whole, you know, you got to dress up, you got to dress up or else most people won't take you serious thing. I think it definitely comes from like our parents too. Like, Yeah. My parents are probably getting fully dressed and just go like pump gas. You know what I mean? My dad. So my dad's, I'm half Bengali. So my dad would go to the beach in like button down and, and, ah and, and slacks. I'm like, it's very generational. And, and, you know, but same, i my whole thing is like, you know how people say, if you look good, you feel good. I'm the opposite. Mm
00:50:12
Speaker
I feel like if I feel good, I look good. yeah So if I'm wearing something that I feel comfortable in, then my it's like it's like you glow, right? Like people just see how comfortable you are. But if I'm wearing something that's just like, people are going to ask, what's wrong? Are you okay? Because you just are like a mad uncomfortable. So let me just be me, dress what I want to wear. yeah And then you get the best version of me. Yeah, you know exactly. And the good thing too is like now, even in like cities like this and like l LA, I'm sure plenty of others, right? But even like going out to like fine dining or like clubs, restaurants, whatever the case is, yeah it's so acceptable to be yourself yourself and and be in street wear. And you can still look super elevated fly with a pair of sneakers. Like I wear any outfit and just put a you know pair of sneakers on. Hey, once Dior's hit the the white the the White House, it's like you changed the game. Yes. You know, um but we're towards the end of the podcast. and And I got one last question and for you. There's a little visualization. Once you think back to young ah Paulina, you know, she's about to get that. Those those the flu game 12s, you know, and now you're older. You behind your younger self. What would you tell your younger self as she opens that box?
Advice to Younger Self
00:51:24
Speaker
I would say, girl, you have no idea what your life is going to turn into, especially because, you know, s you know, a lot of immigrant stories, you move here and you just don't really know, don't know what your life is going to be like. So um the one thing that I would say to my younger self is to really try to find that confidence much earlier on in life. Mm-hmm.
00:51:49
Speaker
you know, because it didn't really hit until I was a little bit older. So that's the one thing that I would say to myself, like, speak up, even if people look at you crazy or or don't think that you're your you know your opinion has value. You know, now i I do realize like my duality of like, you know, being an immigrant, but also, you know, being like half Lebanese and like Italian, but being from Mexico City and Me living in LA and me visiting all these cities. So like my duality of it all is something that I just wish that I would have known much earlier that it was going to be one of like my biggest assets, you know? Yeah. That's, mean, that's beautiful. I think the, my biggest thing has always been about culture. Right. yeah And so as we go through life, when we're younger, we don't realize that a lot of the things that we're ah like living through is culture. It's like our culture. And so a lot of this now gets like,
00:52:46
Speaker
you know plastered all over as like whatever it is now and you know turn into sub genres and this and that but it's always been like you know when you look back at yourself and you go you know hey immigrant culture immigrant like you know some of these things that are just ingrained in our in our dna it's things that we need to be more confident about in general you know um one of the biggest things that I learned and like seeing like growing in New York, you you see a lot of people don't know English and they have to learn English, that you know, ESL, as you mentioned. um they
00:53:19
Speaker
they They try to assimilate as fast as possible instead of being themselves. And so when you assimilate, You're just trying to fit in. You're not trying to be yourself and your your individuality does get suppressed because of that. yeah So, you know, if you're if you are afraid, just be yourself. Yeah, this this this is the this is might be the name of the episode. Be yourself. I love that. That's a truth that we have to stand in. Yes, for sure. let everybody know where to find you.
00:53:49
Speaker
IG. I'm always posting something. Fire. Don't even mind me. I post some ridiculous things sometimes. I i love your IG face. Thank you. Three underscores Paulina. So follow me and thank you for having me. No, appreciate you pulling up. um And you know where to find me. Who is Hassel. All social medias follow the podcast and My First Kicks pod. I got a Patreon. Patreon.com slash My First Kicks. I only have one tier.
00:54:12
Speaker
Five dollars. Helps the podcast tremendously. It's just one one five dollar payment a month. yeah And that's it. It goes right back into the podcast. Gets me into the studio. Y'all know. You know what it means. ah Hit me up. Info at My First Kicks dot com if you want to write in so I can read ah My First Kicks story to the guest. And going kick it to myself to do the outro.
00:54:33
Speaker
Peace. Thank you for checking out this week's episode with Paulina. I mean, we learned a ton, a ton in this episode. I was very intentional about having Paulina on. I wanted to learn more about her position and working within experiential. And what does that mean? Especially within the current state of how big experiential is starting to become, right? You know, We talk about ComplexCon in here, but upcoming we have Fanatics Fest, which is in Jacob Javis Center in New York, and it is gigantic. Right. But ah we really touch on something that I feel like I've been a part of and been going to actively for a lot of years. Like I used to go to Comic-Con every single year, and that was like my first real taste at like experiential. Now,
00:55:26
Speaker
You know, you may think of like going to like a sneaker con or dunk exchange back in the day or even like a sneaker pimps. Like these were conventions that we we always frequented. And that's where we found our people. We found the the our niche people that we thought never existed or we spoke to them on the forums or we spoke to them online. And that is where, you know, we would save all our money up to come.
00:55:55
Speaker
and just kind of go to this one thing and hope to get steals, hope to, you know, find a brand, a new brand or kind of, you know, support people in a different capacity, but within our niche. And that has certainly exploded on to a different level to what it is now. And, you know,
00:56:22
Speaker
I always talk about and I've had been on other podcasts talking about, you know, creating or being intentional about going to tentpole events like kind like ComplexCon and, ah you know, SneakerCon, God's Soul. Like, you know, God's Soul recently has started combining all their things together and trying to make it a lot more immersive. So it's very interesting to see what they will be doing. I don't know if I'll be going on June 20th here in New York, but.
00:56:52
Speaker
I really wanted to highlight the importance of her role currently and what that entailed and you know kind of open that up because what we are seeing is more of a renaissance of these characters.
00:57:09
Speaker
brands really buying into the idea of these cons of these, ah not like, you know, conventions or or these get togethers and gatherings, um, and really like buying into the sense of community that they bring and build. Um, it's very interesting to see because,
00:57:30
Speaker
I'm super hypercritical about a lot of this stuff. And i love when I see intention and intentionality. And so I tend to gravitate towards that. Like ah early in the episode in the interstitial, I mentioned Lambs and I love what Lambs is doing and, you know, really tapping into the artist and the people in the city that kind of We really embody what community is and support and real support, not just on some like, hey, I like your post here and there. It's really like showing up and and being at everything or anything that a certain group of people have put on. um
00:58:14
Speaker
I know we really we touched on the transactional now the transactionality of a lot of this stuff and I do think like you know I wish we had more time to really shine a light but a bright spotlight but Paulina had a had a tough out and I'm you know really conscious about when my guests have a tough out or like, you know, they're running late or, or, you know, we're trying to, you know, make sure this episode happens. I'm trying to at least get an hour. And so i really appreciate her time and her getting onto, you know, on the podcast. And, you know, I got to spend time with her at a, at an event also, um got to talk and chop it up. So it led to this episode happening. And, and that brings me back to, you know, showing up for people and showing up, you know, for a community and showing up where it really matters because,
00:59:15
Speaker
A lot of this, like a lot of sneakers or a lot of like being in a scene or being part of a community, it really does take a toll on like your time. um And so being intentional and showing up for people that you you have to give a chance to see if they will show up for you. It's very important. And i and I last year i took a lot of gambles. was like a lot of chances on just showing up for people I've never even knew of or they didn't know of me. um And I kind of made myself just kind of, hey, you know, we really love to talk to you. Really love to give it, you know, ah see where we if i can get you a podcast, you know, um see what else you're working on, hear about what the would you what else you're doing. And it we really became kind of my lane of like, I show up, i I make my presence kind of known, um or is somebody else introduced me into somebody. And then that leads to ah a relationship of some sort, but it's not a transactional relationship. Like I'm more mainly there for a conversation. Like I'm mainly there to to kind of, you know, get caught up on what is popping. Like that is, is extremely important because
01:00:35
Speaker
you know When you're doing something like this and when you're doing something where you give a lot of your opinions or you give a lot of your stories and you give ah you know you want to create this lane where there's a two-way street where so or a three-way street, particularly if you're listening to this, where...
01:00:51
Speaker
you know, somebody's getting something out of this and whether that be gems, whether that would be, you know, insight or, you know, a look back on their journey or, you know, hearing and getting flowers, like a lot of these things when you're creating and when you're just constantly in a, in a moving forward position of like, I got to make more, I got to keep going, I got to keep doing it. Oh, they're like,
01:01:19
Speaker
we live in a world where it's like the internet will, if you take a break from it, it's like, we're gone, we're disappeared. What happened to you? And so I've learned with my methods that I have made a name for myself within the New York community. And it's beautiful to see it. And as much as I try to interact online, it's ah it's a lot harder out there. so And so you know if you are somebody that watched this episode and is really interested in, in experiential and, and is really interested and finding out more ways to connect, connect community, I really implore you to take a deep dive and to, you know, look through LinkedIn and look through, you know, these, other or go to like a fanatics fest and talk to somebody on the fanatics team. Like,
01:02:11
Speaker
It's a lot. Like, there's a lot you can get into and it's all community building. Like, I was just, like, the Knicks won. Shout out the Knicks. You know, first time. for The champion. I never thought I'd see a championship in my in my lifetime, right? And...
01:02:27
Speaker
You know, I was on Nick's Twitter before I started this podcast and I was on Nick's Twitter under my other um Twitter, ah who was Haas. And, you know, i really embedded myself into the Nick's community. And when I started shifting over to really focusing on the sneaker stuff. I kind of drifted away from Nick's community and, you know, shout out Nick's Fan TV and shout out like, you know, Papa Left and and Ari from Manhattan, like all like, you know, CP, this franchise, like the franchise, like all these people definitely taught me what it was like to build a community.
01:03:04
Speaker
And it was all around the Knicks and like, you could either love, hate, um you can either, you know, be a long time Knicks fan and thought they would never go anywhere and you build a community out of that, whether you argue on, ah you know, the moves that they were making, or you were like, nah, this moves is dope. Or you, you know, you guys, or we all rejoice when the Knicks win a game or we all cry when they lose. And so, yeah,
01:03:33
Speaker
I learned a lot doing that, like just actively being on, you know, the Knicks fan TV. I've been on i've been on a couple episodes of just like, you know, call in. And so to see that that they actually won a championship is...
01:03:51
Speaker
crazy. Like I keep bringing it up. I, there's one story I'll share. There's one story on here. Cause I don't know if I'll ever be able to share it, but I remember I bought tickets off ah on Craigslist.
01:04:01
Speaker
Uh, and I took my, my boy Kane with me and we bought these tickets off Craigslist. And i just remember Tony Douglas bringing up the ball in a extremely empty Madison square garden.
01:04:17
Speaker
and even though i saw a terrible team play I still had the time of my life because I was in the garden I was in the mecca I was at a Knicks game and um i used to go when I was a kid and now I got to see them win a championship and I'm ecstatic like it's crazy and it's funny because like if you've seen my my post on Instagram like I kept going to watch parties because i i was just like, oh, I don't know how long this is going to last. I'm going to keep going. I'm going to go a different one each time. Right. And i i mean, I got to go to the compound with Sefri. Shout out former my guest Sefri. And he introduced me to Jadakiss and Mero pulled up. but yeah I got introduced to Kazim. ah And so like.
01:05:07
Speaker
After that, it was just like I felt insane how like my worlds were colliding like sneakers, basketball, the Knicks. Like, you know, I got to hang out with J-Tips for two watch parties and watch they'll they get those games with him as Sweet Chick. And um it's just it's just been really fun like to see how.
01:05:28
Speaker
me doing this podcast has let me into, you know, building community because this is the theme of this outro building community in spaces. I didn't think I had community, but because I've been such, you know, super in-depth with like jumping into whatever hobby or, so or, or scene or fan base, um,
01:05:57
Speaker
i'm I'm usually diving in head first and trying to learn and absorb as much as I can. So it's crazy. It's been crazy. um my This year has been crazy. And I've got, you know, I keep saying this, but I got some crazy things lined up. i I've got um some huge guests that like I can't wait to announce and I keep trying to Like it's like the loudest secret in the room. If you meet me in person, will try to fight myself and telling you, but we got that. I got some crazy guests lined up and in a couple, you know, couple months.
01:06:30
Speaker
And i really appreciate y'all for for, checking out the episode. But of course, we got to do Patreon, Patreon shoutouts, and you can get shouted out on the Patreon and on here by signing up for the Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. Well, let's start it up. We got Ross Adams. We got Adam Neustadter. We got Derek Lipkin.
01:06:51
Speaker
We got... uh, Adam Butler. We got Derek Hawkins. We got Samia. We got Plox. We got Brett. We got AD Sneaks. We got Jesse, Jesse G, Sean. Sean hates you. And of course, finally, we have our newest and most recent patron, M.Dot.
01:07:15
Speaker
Welcome to the patron. Again, um but appreciate y'all for tuning in and signing up for the Patreon. Of course, I'm going to do it again. If you want to help out the podcast, I only have one one tier.
01:07:27
Speaker
Once here, $5, $5 a month, you help out the podcast tremendously. And you help me get into the studio. You help me get new equipment. You help me, you know, continuously grow this podcast and do more cool stuff and and visit more cool things and get to talk to cool people and do all the cool stuff. But if you're new here, check out these two episodes here.
01:07:53
Speaker
Of course, hit that subscribe button if you haven't subscribed. And of course, you know what we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.