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Loving Sneakerheads From Afar with Mandal
179 Plays7 days ago
This week I am joined by the hilarious Mandal, we talk about the shoes he absolutely needed to have. Wearing them to school and the moment he knew something wasn't right. How comedy found him and what it was like to do comedy. Why he loves Times Square and what are some wild things about New York. What it was like growing up in Atlanta and much much more!
Follow Mandal:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/themandalman/
See Mandal Live: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mandal-live-stand-up-comedy-taping-tickets-1975295097811
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
Backing Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
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Transcript
Introduction: The New York Archetypes
00:00:00
Speaker
i There's nothing I was telling somebody about New York. ah no New York guy.
00:00:06
Speaker
In other cities, there's one of each guy. In New York, there's multiples of the guy. Oh, yeah. It's like 10 of that guy. Like in Atlanta, we might have had a slinky dude.
00:00:19
Speaker
He dealing slinkies. Right. Right. Whole town go to that guy for slinky. Here's slinky communities. Uh-huh. right like they that it's slinky man yeah yeah yeah and then they challenge each other to become the the best form of slinkiest you get what i'm saying yeah and that's just that's a weird thing so then you start getting people who start like he like well i'm dressed cool i'm dressed cool well i'm gonna wear a a gi Just every day. They can't go be like, well, I'm going to dress like Ryu. You know what I'm saying?
00:00:51
Speaker
And then eventually you get the. you get a guy in a Mega Man helmet. Yeah, and then it keep escalating. Yeah.
Sneaker Culture and Upbringing
00:01:02
Speaker
What's good everyone, welcome back to My First Kicks. This is episode 255. This week, yo, we got a special, special guest. Welcome to the podcast, Mandel, man. Man, thank you for having me, man. I'm a big fan. I'm a i'm a big fan of sneaker heads. You know what saying? Like I was never, like my mom wasn't, that was just one of her things that she just decided wasn't gonna be the. You know I'm saying?
00:01:29
Speaker
I grew up middle class. But she was just like, that's just not what we spend all our money on. You know what saying? Yeah. And I think um saw everybody who's um who's a sneaky guy was like, y'all was cool in middle school. you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And it was a close thing you could be to being a basketball player without being one.
00:01:47
Speaker
Right. Exactly. You know? And I think it's hard. You could be like Mike. You could be like, you know, Pippin. Absolutely, bro. Absolutely. Like, everybody who was like, oh, I got the new LeBrons.
00:02:01
Speaker
They was basketball associates, basketball friendly. And I think that goes a long way. yeah It's also many human beings. Right. And if all the basketball players have got the ladies that they liked, there will be residuals left for their sneaker wearing friends. Yes, for sure. know what I'm saying? The trickle down effect. That's trickle down economics right there, baby. But for people who aren't familiar with about to introduce
Meet Mandel: Comedian and Creative
00:02:30
Speaker
yourself. Oh yeah, I'm Mandel. I'm a stand up comedian, writer.
00:02:36
Speaker
use it I use that term loosely. You got a show? You had a show? i do got a show. I got show. Yeah, I do got a show. ah i do some voice acting. I'm supposed to be doing regular acting too, but i'll do it like that.
00:02:50
Speaker
Do some voice acting on some junk. Yeah, bro. And then you got a Big Biz? Big Biz, yes. We working on season two right now. Man, that's the thing, bro. That's the thing. I be on the road so much. It's so hard to get the projects done.
00:03:04
Speaker
And um um I didn't think that Big Biz was going to do that well. That shit went crazy, bro. People like it. And I was really happy. about that bro i was just showing because i showed uh connor the video because he he i was like yo i got mandle pulling i'm mad hype mad hype yeah and then i'm like you gotta watch this video and i showed him the the earl yeah yeah yeah mandela's out there man that was so fun tasting man bro shout out shout out to taybay for doing that he didn't really have to do that and then making the part of his rollout that was real cool to him man yes i had that idea for like
00:03:37
Speaker
Three years. And I told zach and he never let it go. Zach really the reason why I got done. Like, he never let it go. He kept bringing it up to people he kept telling me do over and over and over again. And then eventually, this dude named Jacob, who I collaborate with it on, he, uh,
00:03:55
Speaker
He does like the, y'all know who Josh Johnson is? Yeah. He do those videos. Yeah. He does those. he does his like his hour specials? Yeah, I open for Josh Johnson on the road. Oh, excuse me. I've been open for him all year. But. Way to just drop that in. No, I'm just saying I just do. But the dude who does those videos does Big Biz.
00:04:14
Speaker
And um he got with me and we started doing it. And that's why Zach the first episode because he the one who told me. He's like, yo, you got to do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, bro. So we know we talked to a little bit about
First Sneaker Obsession: Nike Prestos
00:04:24
Speaker
sneakers. So I ask everybody each week a question. And that question is, what's your first case with that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? OK, Brad, this is going to be how lame I am. Oh, come on. My first, I thought about this question because I watched the program before came. I appreciate that.
00:04:40
Speaker
Bro, my first kick that I remember being like, I have to have, was some Nike Prestos. Yeah. It was some, the gray Prestos with the orange, whatever this thing that encapsulate the shoe. Yeah, the plastic on the side. The plastic that keep it, not the shoestring Presto. No, no, no, yeah, the plastic, the cage. Yeah, yeah. saw the commercial. Wait, you talking about the Prestos or you talking about like the slip-on?
00:05:05
Speaker
those were print That was the first pretzels. So people don't realize the second pretzels was the ones with the laces in. ah The first pretzels was no laces. Chris, we got can we get a fat check on that?
00:05:20
Speaker
its someone that has the netting Oh, yeah, yeah. I because I thought it was a Kukina. I was confusing it with the Kukina. Nah, I don't know Kukina. I don't know Kukina. That's a hard name, though. But the gray, it was some gray ones with an orange whatever may have used on it.
00:05:37
Speaker
And I remember seeing the commercial two, three times. I was like, man, I want them shoes. And I don't even know if it was on some like Fresh stuff on some like these shoes I got no laces but I'm seven yeah it's second grade and then my mom was like I kept telling everybody she was like I don't know I'm not good at it and I told my granddad and then my granddad took me to Foot Locker and bought the shoes bruh and then my mom was like okay cool and then she bought some fits to go with the shoe. Oh, okay.
00:06:08
Speaker
But one of them was them like, one them was a swish swish outfit. And that was- Love a swish. I was swish swish back in the day too, bro. I went crazy with the swish swish. Yeah. But in the summertime, it was one of them. You ever seen them dad gym shirts?
00:06:22
Speaker
Dad shirts. It's not a tank shirt. It's not a tank, but the it's no it's no sleeves. Oh, like the, is is it's like the sleeves is cut. Like the sleeves is cut the straight. It's the sports shirt. Right, yeah. The athletic shirt. Yeah, yeah And I remember I was in second grade and bro, my nipple came out of my mouth.
00:06:40
Speaker
yeah And that's how i knew I had man boobs.
00:06:45
Speaker
That's how knew I had man boots, because I had the shirt, and I remember one ah came out of the sport. This not a tank top, bro. Tank top's secure. yeah man Sport shirt, it's letting you do whatever may have you. yeah It's letting the body be itself.
00:07:00
Speaker
It's uncontained. Nip came out. Somebody pointed at that. And the fact that I had to pull it back in let me know that, oh, this is a level of tissue that is abnormal on my body, bro.
00:07:15
Speaker
And so yeah, that was when I was seven years old, but I remember was because them Nike Prestos, bro. That's what happened, yup. I can't believe somebody was just, they didn't say nothing? Nah, I mean, it was something to see. I mean, honestly, I'm pretty sure some people might've been like, oh, he doing that on purpose. He trying to be an artist. You know, trying to reprimand me, bro. And sometimes gotta reprimand, folks. Yeah, yeah. Shame, shame. Some people gotta have shame. Gotta have a little bit of it. Just a smidge. Gotta have a little bit of bro. You know? Yeah, man. What?
Growing Up in Southwest Atlanta
00:07:45
Speaker
I mean like that is crazy. That is like, where'd you grow up? You grew up in Atlanta? grew in Atlanta. I'm from Atlanta. You're from Atlanta? I'm from Southwest Atlanta. Me and Rob.
00:07:55
Speaker
Yeah, shout out Rob. Yo, shout out to Rob because he he put this together. Yeah, Rob has been on here. Yeah, yeah, twice. Yeah, Rob, me and Rob are from the same area. Rob Hayes. But Rob is little older than me. We went to elementary school and same college, but we weren't there at the same time.
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah, Rob. but He's a senior. ya ra Yeah Yeah think when I was there Rob was already gone And then in college She was already gone But We from the same area I'm from Southwest Atlanta Yeah man And was that like a Poppin Like was the was everybody Throwing fits at that school For sure So like Southwest That's what Outkast was Oh, okay. So like, you know that Atlanta is this weird thing. You know, everybody know about Atlanta. Everybody was black at the time. It's a little bit more gentrified now than we like. Oh, is it? I thought it was still black Hollywood. Then we like to admit, it's a lot of, it's it's been, it's pretty it's got a lot of gentrified. It's still obviously a lot of black people there and most of the city is black, but it's not all like it used to be. Mm-hmm.
00:08:52
Speaker
And um it used to be a ah in Atlanta, it's just weird thing, and particularly Southwest Atlanta, where everybody went to the same schools. Like, we didn't have that thing where, like, the rich people,
00:09:07
Speaker
All the people, the poor people was in different places. know what saying? We all hung out in the same place. We all had the same schools. We all went to the same parties, et cetera. Like all our schools weren't, our communities aren't divided like that. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So like,
00:09:23
Speaker
you would see people who were literally ah like, don't want to call her specific person, but like rapper producers and rappers' children yeah who were the freshest kids you ever, I'm talking about my brother, they had everything a human being could have, you know what I'm saying? And then there was kids who didn't have that. And then me, I'm kind of like, I just have some stuff, you know what I have a rational amount. Of things that a kid would have. You know what saying? Like prison it was it was cats like who went to, because I went to high school in a different area. So I didn't see as much of that. But those cats who went to high school in my area that grew up in, having Benzes.
00:10:04
Speaker
Benzes? A Benz high school. Nah, he went to prom and rented a Benz. That's what he to school. He Benzied around. that It was just, it was very like that. It was just, because it was all like, we all stayed in the same areas.
00:10:18
Speaker
The discrepancy sounds crazy. Yeah, like, up, like, for for instance, also grew up in a, like a, like a regular house. Yeah. It was a house. Yeah. But then up, if you went up one street, it's mansions.
00:10:32
Speaker
Like, bunch of rappers had mansions over there. Uh-huh. If you went down the other street, it was projects. Just everybody all together. It's just very weird. And like, a maybe like a,
00:10:44
Speaker
Maybe like five, six mile radius, bro. Man, man, that's a lot. Nobody's getting into fights or nothing? Of course. What? co-exist together. Nah, I mean, anyway anywhere you put more than one person with testosterone People be fighting in Brunei. Brunei, Brunei. You know what I'm saying?
Journey into Comedy: Challenges and Triumphs
00:11:08
Speaker
I mean, that's wild. You ever seen the Sultan of Brunei? No, I've never watched it, no. Sultan, the Sultan, he one of richest people in the world. He the Sultan of Brunei. The Brunei government, a part of their income goes to their Sultan. Sultan's like one few monarchs left in the world. Mm-hmm. You should have him on here. I bet he got plenty of sneakers. I bet he does. But don't know. That email might bounce back. You know what it That's Sultan at Brunei.com? Bro, Sultan. The Sultan of Brunei. I bet he got so much shoes, bro.
00:11:45
Speaker
He got plenty of shoes, bro. He definitely got gaiters. Made out of gaiters. Made out of gaiters. Yeah, he probably has pet gaiters, too. You think he got the Cadillac shoes? I saw that TikTok, bro. I did have the Cadillac shoes. The Cadillacs... I might have the Cadillacs, like...
00:12:04
Speaker
You got to explain these because like I've never never seen them. never seen know Was that a South thing? I don't know. Like because. Y'all had a Cadillac shoes out here? Because you from here. Yeah, I'm from here. I've never seen Cadillac shoes. It's a time.
00:12:19
Speaker
Cadillac shoes was probably about later elementary school. So like maybe like fifth, fourth grade. Mm hmm. My mama was a big, you know, shoe carnival. I don't know if y'all had that at that time. No, we did not have that. Y'all didn't have the shoe carnival? No, not What's a shoe carnival? Y'all missed out. Are you from here?
00:12:39
Speaker
No, he's not from here. He's from the South. He's from the South. Okay, so you know something. Where you from? I'm from the bottom of the day. Yeah. Okay, okay, okay, okay. There's these shoe stores.
00:12:50
Speaker
I don't even know if they still around. ain't them. they would choose to It's not Foot Locker. oh It's just shoe. You know how women have DSW? Yeah. They had those like universal. So like shoe carnival. I'm trying to think a second one. i guess kind of like Payless.
00:13:06
Speaker
I feel like Payless was a little bit. so it's like the cheaper. Yeah, but Payless was like their whole brand was the shoes are cheap. Yeah. Shoe carnival was like. We non-distinct.
00:13:17
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We non-distinct in the shoe life. Right? Yeah. Shoe Carnival had...
00:13:30
Speaker
The Cadillac shoe, I don't know why. I don't know. haven't done no research on this. But Cadillac had a sneaker. uhhuh It was one design. And it came in three, four colors. They had blue. They had purple.
00:13:41
Speaker
They had a burgundy. They was going dark, dark, darker tone. Yeah. And I remember i had that purple and that blue, that navy blue. Uh-huh. That's all I know, bro. Did you wear in a prom? Nah, they were like a sneakers. I wore them to had the Cadillac. Imagine hooping hooping in some Cadillacs. Man, what?
00:14:01
Speaker
But look, imagine if you if the Cadillac shoes were good. What if they was fly? They weren't. But what if they were great basketball shoes? That's that's double marketing. Well, remember in N1, there was Cadillac in N1. Cadillac or catalogilla the Wow. Wow. You could get That could be the only way a basketball player could be signed to a 360. hope been enjoying this week's episode with Amandle Mann.
00:14:35
Speaker
And of course, if you really are enjoying it, please leave a comment, a like, and hit that bell to make sure you're not missing any other episodes that comes out after this. Of course, of course, I need you to hit that subscribe button. Trying to get to 2,000 subs as soon as possible and beyond. I'm trying to get to 2,000 and beyond.
00:14:56
Speaker
And of course, if you are listening to this, please, please, please, please please leave a five-star review on Apple and Spotify. And if you have a chance, leave an actual review. i will read it at the end of an episode. The next time I see a brand new one, I'll make sure to read that at the end of an episode on either Spotify and or Apple. And of course, if you want to go the extra, extra mile, I have a Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks.
00:15:29
Speaker
Right now, just a $5 tier. I'm starting to drop newsletters. i don't know if we're going to be monthly or weekly, but I have a newsletter up right now talking about the creator economy and my thoughts on it. And I will be updating that as soon as possible.
00:15:49
Speaker
But please, please, please sign up for Patreon at patreon.com slash my first kicks. So let's jump back on to the episode. wear Cadillac clothes. load on drive a Cadillac.
00:16:01
Speaker
I eat Cadillac steak. yeah My heart attack Cadillac. I'll go to a Cadillac fish fry. Yeah, that sounds good.
00:16:13
Speaker
If Cadillac was like, we are now we open up fried restaurants? Yeah. 100%. We in there. What other car company would you trust to make f fried fish?
00:16:27
Speaker
Not a Tesla. Maybe Buick. Yeah, Buick. Buick. I'd i'd give it a Buick. Yo, Buick fried fish? That sounds right. I think Buick fried fish. Buick Cadillac fried fish. Yeah.
00:16:38
Speaker
But you can't do like Nissan fried fish. No. What? Absolutely not. Nissan fried fish? Brother fried fish? That's tilapia. absolutely. Nissan's fried fish is over with, Jack. Nissan's fried fish. Can't do it, bro. I can't do it. What what if you knew somebody named Nissan and you grew up with somebody named Nissan and they were like, you should come out check out my fried fish restaurant. got by his last name.
00:17:07
Speaker
Whatever his name, Nissan Phillips, whatever. you gotta go about that. He gotta go Phillips Fried Fish, man. Go PFF. I say he spell it with an Go triple live triple love Triple F's. I'll go down to the triple F's. Phillips Fried You can't even, that's a tongue twister. Yeah, tongue twister, man.
00:17:28
Speaker
um and phil dad that You just made a commercial for him. Billups fried fish, we keep your tongue twisted. i Yo, yo. Trademark my first kicks. yeah If you're gonna open a restaurant, you gotta hire both of us Absolutely, man. and it's a commercial We in the commercial. when when is it When was the moment you were like, yo, I think I'm gonna pursue comedy?
00:17:49
Speaker
ah right, bro. So when i'm I'm like, I graduated from UGA. No, actually, bro, it depends on how long you want answer the reason. It can get little long, Wendy. I mean. So when I was in elementary school. All right, all right. Scoot up a little bit. Scoot up little bit. I had some interest in that. All right, all right, fine. I'm going to try to skip the middle. The middle is the beginning and the back half. All right.
00:18:13
Speaker
I tried out for all that in elementary school. No way. You're about to be sitting on that couch? I did. They had a Funniest Kid in America contest that turned into auditions. I did the audition and I didn't get on the show, which is anticlimactic. And that's the middle part of this story.
00:18:33
Speaker
And then when I was in, big fan of comedy, bro. And then, bro, I don't know if I should share this on podcast, but it's okay. One time when I'm in middle school, I'm at my dad house and I tell him I want to be a comedian and he just earnestly says, but you not funny. yeah He wasn't like trying to do nothing. that I'm not blaming him. He just said that.
00:18:59
Speaker
And then my brain was like, oh, okay, i shouldn't do that. But then maybe like, I graduated high school, whatever. Then I went, graduated college and then I was trash at anything corporate.
00:19:13
Speaker
And then my homeboy who is very good at corporate, I dare him to stand up. He did it. And then he eventually dared me to. And then I started doing it and I just got addicted from there. yeah When i was like 22, it was right after I graduated college.
00:19:27
Speaker
I mean, the, did you expect this meteoric rise? Nah. I mean, but it took a while, too, though. You know what I'm saying? But comedy takes minute. I'll be 10 years and stand up maybe like three years from now.
00:19:40
Speaker
Three weeks from now. Three weeks from now. ah But yeah, no, I didn't, bro. i Honestly, that's why I really started. Because always had the nickname Mando floating around. But that's why i really did that. Because I was working at...
00:19:53
Speaker
I was doing... I was working at AT&T when I started. So, like, I was doing, like, ah I was in a business sales program or something like that. And then I was just trash at that job, bro. But I had... I went... I started going by the nickname because I didn't want my work life to be affected by it. You know what I'm saying?
00:20:14
Speaker
And so... Yeah, I didn't think it was, I didn't, I didn't think nothing was gonna happen, bro. I mean, what is like the early scene? Cause you were doing it in Atlanta. In Atlanta. Yeah, it's great, bro. Atlanta, so every scene, every city got like a local scene with clubs and stuff.
00:20:29
Speaker
And it was fun, man. i had a great time. I didn't sleep enough. I would be out to every day doing stand-up to maybe like 12. Yeah.
00:20:39
Speaker
12, 31 and I had to get up for work at like 530. Nah, that's crazy. And that was every day for like full three, four years. So, like cause I was working like, God, I quit a job, I'd get fired or quit a job before I got fired and then moved to another one.
00:20:56
Speaker
And so then was working like corporate job. Like i worked for at a law firm. I worked for a logist's company. um Matter of fact, that was my first job at a logist's company before I went to AT&T. but I would do all those jobs a lot. I would be working corporate jobs off of like four hours of sleep every day.
00:21:12
Speaker
don't know how you do lived like three, four years. That's crazy. I didn't go full-time the first time until 2019. So from 16 to 19, would just, that was every day.
00:21:25
Speaker
That's a grind, bro. That was every day. That's grind. Like jumping in, were you scared? like just do I scared because i Was I scared as in like performing? I was scared of what was going happen? Scared of like going being like yo I'm going go all in and just do comedy So I had started doing colleges bro I had like I was like a I had got a bunch of colleges after I did this festival in Atlanta called Laugh School Festival and then i had got a bunch I booked a bunch of colleges so when I left it was cool because I had bunch of gigs lined up
00:21:59
Speaker
So I wasn't really nervous, bro. But March 2020, I'm in New York. And I'm standing on a friend's couch.
00:22:10
Speaker
And I'm about to sign a lease the next week. yeah And then everybody died. yeah Yes. Yes. Essentially, yes. So many folks died. Yeah, they gone. Huge number. Yeah.
00:22:24
Speaker
And because people were dying, That did get my gigs canceled because of the death. Yeah. You get what I'm saying? I get what you're saying. In this world, when people start passing away, a big thing that gets canceled is comedy live events. right People kind of tend to think that that's an important thing to let go of early on as we figure out why people are dying. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You know I'm saying? That's important. Comedy's first to go. Yeah.
00:22:55
Speaker
And if I'm being honest with you, I'm on their side. yeah I think that if a whole bunch of people start passing away, we need to stop whatever we doing and focus on that. right Now, parts of our government did not agree with me. right right But that's another question. But I do get it. I do get the world is bigger than my little career. right But boy, that's a hurt. I went from being like, oh, a full-time comedian to I just moved back to my mama crib. Yeah.
00:23:24
Speaker
So that was it. I went back to my mom's house for like a year or so and then started. and sorry You started. You didn't have to like restart? like you Oh, absolutely. I want i went back. i I was working at a, bro, my last job was in was two years ago. I just started working again two years ago and I was working at a belt factory.
00:23:43
Speaker
A belt factory? A factory that made custom belts. Custom belts and dog collars. Your belt, did you cop did you take some home? i I did. I made a fake Gucci belt. You've made a fake Gucci belt? Bro, I wish I should have brought y'all some. My merch for a while was these fake Gucci belts. No way, for real? had Drew I had drew the little G's and got it printed all over the belt.
00:24:06
Speaker
I can find a picture of it. Not right now. I'll show y'all later, but i made these fake Gucci belts. I'll make a clip of this. This is going to be a clip. Yeah, I was making fake Gucci belts, and I worked at a belt factory, and then I got put on. Shout out John Chris. This is Chris, a comedian, who put me on this tour, and then I started He got sneakers made by my boy, Andy. He's the dude that makes the Jordans with the the cowboy yeah shoes. yeah So he got the Air Forces. He did like a pair of Air Forces. That's crazy. You know that dude. yeah yeah
00:24:40
Speaker
That's hard. I had on podcast. You had the cowboy shoes. Yeah, the dude that made the cowboy movie. Man, he live here? Yeah, that's the homie. That's my homie Andy. Man, people be living here, bro.
00:24:51
Speaker
That's hard, bro. That's incredible. There's a whole side of New York where it's like they'll take the, you remember you remember Chinese s slippers? Yeah. Like the Chinese slippers with the the net on top? With the flower? There's somebody that he knows makes that as a hat.
00:25:06
Speaker
what? Yeah, yeah. It is fire. Man, that's that's hard. That's creative. That's crazy. That's what's up. There's like a scene of like people doing it. you could have You could have made a killing off of the belts out here, Man, man that's what I'm saying. I had the fake Gucci belts, man.
00:25:21
Speaker
And my Gucci belt was $20. Gucci, they go charge y'all $300, $400. Couldn't be me. Come shop with me, get you a fake Gucci belt, and I'll really do some fashion. Yeah, yeah. Man, my first time in New York, bro, that's when i knew that's why i knew I was, I ain't think, ah you know, you live in Atlanta, you think it's a city.
Fashion in New York: Creativity and Boldness
00:25:41
Speaker
I was like, oh, I am kind of country, bro. Because I was at some event. I had a friend here who used to work for Genius. We had some event. Man, I'm talking about It's some final final boss on Marvel versus Capcom dressing. Yeah. You know i'm saying? Like this cat, I can't even describe the outfit vest.
00:26:03
Speaker
Uh huh. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Just big V. Like he did he got a vest. I'm like, oh, okay. Like real fashion, real. You know what I'm saying? That's another thing. I was telling somebody about New York. Uh huh. New York guy.
00:26:21
Speaker
In other cities, there's one of each guy. In New York, there's multiples of the guy. Oh, yeah. yeah It's like 10 of that guy. Like in Atlanta, we might have had a slinky dude.
00:26:34
Speaker
He dealing slinkies. Right. Right? Whole town going to that guy for slinky. He has slinky communities. Right? like they they It's slinky men. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:45
Speaker
And then they challenge each other to become the the best form of slinkiest. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And that's just, that's a weird thing. here So then you start getting people who start like, he like, well, I'm a dress cool. I'm dress cool.
00:26:59
Speaker
Well, I'm gonna wear a gi. Just every day. They can't go be like, well, I'm going to dress like Ryu. You know what I'm saying? And then eventually you get the... Then you get guy in a Mega Man helmet. Yeah, and then it keep escalating. Yeah.
00:27:12
Speaker
Yeah. is it's New York is definitely... I mean, yeah. There's there's there's definitely a saying where you're just like, yeah I can't believe this New York. I remember I was out... What was that, I was outside and the dude was just walking around in a screen mask, like out my um outside of my house.
00:27:29
Speaker
He had the screen mask with a fitted on, just like walking through the block. And I'm like, that's not. That would spook me, bro. I don't think he trying to be violent.
00:27:40
Speaker
what part of What part of New York you from? Queens. Really? That's hard, man. That's where Nas is from. Yeah, Nas is from there. Nas is from there. Yeah, i know the each rapper's borough. Yeah, yeah. is Is that your favorite Queens rapper? You don't got Nori over him? You don't got... Isn't LL Cool J from Queens? Yeah, from Jamaica.
00:28:02
Speaker
Ooh.
00:28:05
Speaker
i mean, I feel like the answer might be Nas. Where's Big L from? Harlem. Okay, that's a different place. take it But it is Manhattan. Manhattan is pretty big. Yeah. But the funny thing about Harlem is they treat it like it's its own borough. you if you Yeah, I noticed that. It's wild. I noticed that because you go up and that's just Harlem. Yeah. is there any Is there any people who claim any neighborhood that's in the bottom half of Manhattan?
00:28:35
Speaker
Yeah, like LES and... LES. Bowery, yeah. Bowery. LES, yeah. I think people would just call it more Lower East Side. They'd be like, yeah, i'm from LES. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. But nobody like, I'm from Times Square.
00:28:51
Speaker
No, nobody's ever been like, yo, big Tom Square. Nobody's like, yo, big Tom Square. Nah, never heard it. Dang. Never heard it. Man, listen, bro. You're going to be the first?
00:29:03
Speaker
If I was from Tom Square, I would claim it, bro. Yeah. Because that mean we got great electricity. Yeah, yeah, yeah. it Electricity's always on. Bro, it's lights everywhere up there. You ever been up there? Yeah, I try to stay away. where i stay I stay away, though. New York people hate town. I hate it, bro. I hate it. I'm going to be honest um'm ah um One thing I'm learning about myself as I get older, I'm a sucker for a tourist attraction. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I subscribe.
00:29:33
Speaker
Like, bunch of lights. The Grinch doing the robot. yeah yeah I'm like, wowee. what ah would what what what What resources? What variables are in my life? you know You ever got stopped by like a Dora the Explorer trying to get you to take a picture with them?
00:29:52
Speaker
Man, i see, they don't really stop me because I am a um grown man. yeah yeah But I do sit around there. i be ah i like to see... i be maybe i like i i like flip man i like oh i'm gonna flip i'm like okay y'all flipping you know one thing i have i don't be on the train like that i've been trying to be on the train a little bit more okay not live though nah just i just be i just trying to be on there more because i'd be ubering it's too expensive oh yeah for sure i'm here and i'm here a little bit more often but one thing i do want people to start doing i do want to see one of them um them dudes break dancing on the ceiling Oh, you've never seen Showtime? I've never seen the ceiling break dancing. Man, you gotta go to you got you definitely can see it on the Queens. For real? If you get on like an E or an F, you'll see it. What time is it?
00:30:42
Speaker
Showtime. yep dead say it How many times have you seen this in your life, you think? Shoot. Definitely over 150. So it's often. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought it was like you gotta look up.
00:30:55
Speaker
Nah, so like there's there's actually like an art form to it. of like giving enough attention but not giving it to where they're expecting the dollar after. So like, you know, you tap in a little bit and then you go and then you'll get the little fist bump, bam. But like, like you stand in, them if you stand in the middle, they're going to be like, sir, can you move?
00:31:20
Speaker
And then sometimes you get the people that just don't want to move. But, They'll do the thing. the The coolest one, there's one where ah the guy, he puts his feet on the top poles and then slides that way.
00:31:34
Speaker
That's crazy. then he'll come back. yeah yeah Hey, but look, though. ah So, like, if you if you sit there and you watch the whole show, they like, you owe me a dollar. Yes, yes. That's why you got to, you, you there's a there's a strategic plan to it. You watch, and then as they they got their back to you you you, you That's when you start watching. then yeah you know You do one of those. That way, when they bring out that nasty hat because they've been stepping on that hat all the time. Yeah, they flipping around. yeah you could They come by ah you just like, you know you didn't see the show. How am I going to pay? So what happens if you say, I'm cool? man
00:32:17
Speaker
Nah, if you just don't say anything, you're good. ah so just don't look at the hat. So got go... Yeah, just pay it attention. Look at your phone. just pull the phone So it's like offerings at church where you just pass it to Okay. Yeah, you just slide it over.
00:32:31
Speaker
So these dudes got to have some real good core strength, man. Because I was on that train, bro. When they get to moving... It'll toss you around a little bit. You know what I'm saying? there's there there's There's some spots that they actually, you know the train actually really like hard hook turns sometimes. That's what I'm saying. Yeah.
00:32:47
Speaker
That's what saying. So that means that them guys, is they stable up here. They know what's going on. or They doing their planks when they sit up push-ups. Oh, for sure. I saw one dude. he did He was upside down, and then he went around the pole upside down walking. Like it was like...
00:33:05
Speaker
way yeah So so what's the what's the career beyond? oh um you but cut do you go work for Cirque Soleil? Do you become a like an Olympic gymnast or something like that?
00:33:20
Speaker
i To be honest, I think that is the top level because I think they start as the candy kids and be like, yo, I got a basketball team. yeah Then you promote yourself to, you promote yourself to ah I'm just begging at this point. Or a rap deal. I just needed a couple of dollars to get the rap deal through you know with the CDs. And then you turn into Showtime. It's like you know the progression of like like ah like a Pokemon. It just keeps going. That's all right,
00:33:47
Speaker
Okay, so how what's the oldest Showtime guy? Is it like grown men? Well, do you count all? Like you talking about just the dancers or you just talking about like just subway performers?
00:34:00
Speaker
No, like just the dancers. I know like, yeah, a cat be at 40 doing magic tricks. But I'm saying like, is a cat walking on the ceiling? He 58? I don't think I've seen 50. I think I've seen the closest I've seen was definitely 40. There was one dude. Really? He looked like he he was built like he just got off of Rikers.
00:34:18
Speaker
Gotcha, he was swole. Yeah, and so he did. He was there doing the- And he was going crazy? Mm-hmm. He was going crazy. And he was just- You got to though. He had the the young boy with him, and he I guess he was teaching him the ropes. How to do it? yeah Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you got to go crazy if you older. Yeah. Because a part of it, being some kids, you're like, man, at least they doing this instead of doing something negative. Right. know what saying?
00:34:42
Speaker
But if you 40, it's like, I have to be marveled. marveld You know what saying? You have to be marveled by your dance on ceiling ability. yeah That's crazy, Would you ever do comedy in the in the subway? Nah. One thing people hate in the subway is you talking to them. People in they own zone, man. And I feel like that'd be a bad place, but um would I do
Unusual Comedy Venues and Experiences
00:35:09
Speaker
it at Times Square. Yeah?
00:35:10
Speaker
I do standing room at Times Square. Do you you know the the dudes that be trying to be like, yo, I got tickets to Comic comic so yeah comedy Central? Yeah, I never did that, bro. Barking and The barking and stuff, I never did that. Bring your shows? That junk, that's a tough life, man.
00:35:27
Speaker
I respect it though, bro. Like, I think that, like, listen, this junk is so, stand up is so, um, what's the word, man? I feel like stand up
00:35:41
Speaker
is so, the the opportunities are so limited. are so limited And so I think that you just got to do whatever you can, man, and make it shake, man. So,
00:35:52
Speaker
Shout out to everybody who's doing the barking to get on stage. I mean, it's hard to get on stage, bro. I mean, there's so many comedy clubs around here. It's too many. Yeah. I think it's cool, though, because people can get up as much as they want to.
00:36:03
Speaker
Because I live in L.A. now, and it's like, it's stage time, but it's still, it's kind of more stand-up than stage time, so it's kind of harder, but... at least here even if you at the bottom of the barrel comedian you could still get up a lot and get better yeah but i know yeah my boy uh gastro amante you know that gas floor yes gastro amante yeah i might not know him but he did he used to do shows in the storage unit yes That's hard. yeah
00:36:34
Speaker
That's crazy. How many people would come out? I beat i think it was only maybe like 10, 15. I don't know. That's cool. yeah But see, I like stuff like that for the story, though. You know what I'm saying? Because I done did a bunch crazy. Yeah, it was the craziest. Man, one time I did a show in Portland at a canoodling club. A what?
00:36:57
Speaker
A club where they canoodled each other. What is canoodling? They getting festive with each other. they they they They being themselves, expressing themselves in physical ways with each other.
00:37:10
Speaker
Close on or close off? Absolutely not. They going full blown in there. No way. did But this before they they started all that. And I had this phrase. You the opener?
00:37:21
Speaker
You the opener? It was like a comedy show, Dare. and ah And this is the thing, i I had a phase where I said yes to any show. like I was like, I would do any show anywhere. So then we get up in the place, the green room, it's the behind this curtain, just bed.
00:37:40
Speaker
No bed accessory, no pillow, no comforter, you know what I'm saying? No bed skirt. It's just a bare bed? Just a bed with with with that with the scrunchie sleeve on there.
00:37:56
Speaker
that's what That was in the green room. They had some chairs right here and they had scrunchly. was like, I'm not gonna get in that bed. Definitely not. Yeah. So then I come out and on the stage, man. And bro.
00:38:09
Speaker
Them folks didn't want to hear nothing I had talk about. I had nothing interesting to them. I don't even know why they was at the show. I'm like, well, don't even know why they have a comedy show here. I'm like, these people have one goal.
00:38:19
Speaker
But it was crazy. You saw some stuff in there. I mean, um ah I want, you know, people, God bless everybody doing their thing. what God bless, you know, the cook it up. Yeah. um But it was a dude in there, man.
00:38:33
Speaker
He had the little shorts on. Leather X going across his chest. That was his shirt, just a leather X across his chest. ah SEC offensive coordinator face. No, no way.
00:38:48
Speaker
Imagine like leather booty shorts. li Leather, nipples out, just leather X going across the front his body.
00:39:00
Speaker
Real American face. Like real American, like this is somebody, like somebody offensive coordinator in there.
00:39:12
Speaker
game grace you knowe And look, man, people get older, or people get bored. People live their lives however they want to. ah Hey, do do whatever your thing was. But i did I did think that, and they said the comedy show's still going. They still do that show there. Yeah.
00:39:28
Speaker
I think got an audience. I think it's kind of ironic. I think it's like they're like, oh, we do, at a comedy show, at a thing. You know? It's a turn on at that point. But I do think people in the room were like, I would like these people to stop talking. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:39:42
Speaker
So I could, I'm surprised they didn't heckle. Nah, they wasn't heckling, but I will say this, man. I was like, I don't know if it's that cold, but everybody was rubbing under everybody.
00:39:57
Speaker
Yeah. They was keeping everybody warm. This cat rubbing this person, that person rubbing that person. They going, you know what saying? Uh-huh. Everybody was getting rubbed. Everybody.
00:40:09
Speaker
and But I guess before the festival popped off, I left. I wasn't to stick around. Nah, it was too much going on. It was too busy, man. Too busy. I think it was a little, you know, too much.
00:40:22
Speaker
I had to get up out of there. But hey, man, listen, it was a good show. that Shout out to that lady who put me, I can't remember name, but she was nice. I was happy to be booked on it. So it was cool. He'll headline. Just...
00:40:35
Speaker
don't I don't know about that, but but I'm rocking with him though. Hey, do your thing, man. Y'all did do that. That's wild. i you I know there's a video you talked about, Dada Supremes.
00:40:50
Speaker
Yes, the Dada Supreme. Man, you've seen videos with only Five likes. I appreciate that. All the, all the, well, look, I be watching. Man, I appreciate that, man. The Dada Supremes, they, uh, y'all remember when they had the ones with the spinner on them? Yeah, the Spreewells. Them, bro, them were clean. You know, they, they expensive now. Yeah, I saw it. But you've seen the one with the wood grain.
00:41:17
Speaker
it got There's one. It's a brown one with the wood grain on the front. And then, yeah, with the spinner on the back. Bruh, that sounds tough. Cadillac need to get involved. You need that for the special.
00:41:27
Speaker
Yeah. That's tough, bro. I'm going to send you a link. Nah, that's tough. Somebody sent me an article saying they're supposed to be bringing them back, though. Yeah. No, I think that they were saying like they're thinking about bringing it back, but they said it would be too expensive.
00:41:43
Speaker
So they don't know. But I brought it up because I got a story. Okay. and So we know Latrell Sprewell. that's That was a signature shoe, right? So I'm playing at the Comedy Central ah Corporate League. we went to it We go to the championship championship. We get to play at Madison Square Garden.
00:42:00
Speaker
Get there. Latrell Sprewell greets us. First thing I say out of my mouth. Yo, I had your shoe when I was younger. Never had the fucking shoe, bro. So I lied to the Trell Spiro's face. and he's like and i was like And he's like, oh, what shoe? And i'm like I'm like, yeah, you know the one with the spinner on the back. And then he's just like, it's like what? And then he's like, steps away. and he then as the as we start playing, he comes up to me on the bench.
00:42:26
Speaker
He's like, oh, you talking about my Dada Supremes? I'm like, yeah, yeah, I had them. I had them. Never had them. Never had them. I'm sorry. A lot of face, man. I don't know what- That is hilarious, bro. So he was like real hype about that and you just bold-faced lying to him. did. You might not want to put that out, bro, because I feel like- It's going to go out. He might mess around and be like, nah, I actually remember that and that made my day.
00:42:52
Speaker
You kind of hurting me right now, honestly. That's funny. Bro, man- He's a big follower yours, right? LaTrell Spiro? Yeah. Nah, I don't know. That'd be hard if he was. Shout out to him. I will say this.
00:43:05
Speaker
You just let me in on something. Comedy Central used to be popping. Yes, it used to be very popping. Clearly, man, it must have really been rocking at some point if y'all had a whole company basketball game. No, it wasn't whole company. We were playing in a corporate league, so we had our own. Oh, yeah. We had our own squad. thought all that was inner Comedy Central. Nah, that would have been crazy. And Comedy Central had a company basketball game at Madison Square Garden. I'm like, man, what really happened?
00:43:37
Speaker
What happened? Clearly y'all knew what y'all was doing. yeah would you Would you do a ah Comedy Central half hour? i i would have did the the short set. I tried to get the short set twice. You did? Yeah. They weren't rocking with me. No? ah But at well at the same time, too, I was...
00:43:55
Speaker
It was a decent amount years ago, so I probably just wasn't that good at the time. Yeah, but, you know, i tried to get one. I always wanted to do one, but i went i i felt like the 30 probably. if i but Back then I would have. Yeah.
00:44:08
Speaker
Like, when they were still doing that, what, four five years ago? Mm-hmm. I would have, yeah. Yeah, I worked at stand-up. You worked at stand-up? Yeah, I worked on the stand-up team. ah you So you did work on talent?
00:44:21
Speaker
No, I just worked with the team. When we were like cut specials and stuff like that, I was the person that like split up the specials. and like Wow. like Yeah, that was my job. You edited it instead? No, I was splitting them up and put them on put them on the back end. So when you know you go to ComedyCentral.com and watch it, I was the person being like, okay, this is where the ads go and like upload the whole special. Wow. Yeah.
00:44:45
Speaker
that's man you that that's That's a big job. No, it's god it's not. It's not. You the ad placement man? Yeah. the That's important to them. That's in their bottom line. It does. Yeah, it did. You slit the marketer, bro. Hey, man. You know? It slit your fault.
00:45:03
Speaker
Comedy Central fell apart. Nah, they let me go. didn't place it at the right. They let me go, bro. That's crazy, bro. that's That's a cool job. Where you work at now?
00:45:14
Speaker
I work at ah at an advertising agency. That's hard. With WBD, Warner Brothers Discovery. oh you were And also this podcast. You rocking with ads, bro. Yeah, I do. yeah oh You the admin. You the admin. I'm mad, man.
00:45:30
Speaker
and You the admin of admin. You know I'm saying? Nah, that's incredible, right dying bro. I mean, but I feel like they... use How long was you there? Two years.
00:45:42
Speaker
ah Oh, cool. You liked that job a lot. I did, I did. I did i was tight when they let me go. you like comedy? Boy, they probably let you go because they didn't have the bread. No, they said I was bored.
00:45:53
Speaker
and They said you was bored? Yeah, they were like, oh, we think you we think you look bored. We're just going to let you go. That's that gaslighting, bro. that's that That's the, you want they want to get out the relationship. yeah when They say, oh, you were cheating.
00:46:07
Speaker
I think they just ran out of the bread. You know what I'm saying? But I will say, did you like stand up a lot before you had that job? Oh yeah. When I was younger, so I got into comedy when I first got cable. And then I was like, I love comedy after this.
00:46:26
Speaker
The first comedy special I ever watched was Dennis Leary. Oh, wow. And then I saw Patrice O'Neill half hour after. And then I got ah fell in love with Comedy Central Presents after that. So i knew i literally knew all of it. So once I was watching it every day, I was a kid.
00:46:41
Speaker
i was like, I'm to work there one day. And I ended up working there one day. That's incredible, bro. yeah that that that That's what life about, bro. You set a goal many years ago and saw it through. That's incredible. Yeah. I think, well how old are you if I'm at? 37.
00:46:56
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, well, that makes sense if seen Dennis Leary. Because he was popping that probably the time you what I'm saying? The first book ever seen, i was five years old, and it was Kings of Comedy. Oh, yeah. Yeah, my my grandma told me i couldn't watch it.
00:47:13
Speaker
And then my cousin was in the other room watching. So i went to, I waited till she fell asleep and I walked in the room and watched her with What was your favorite? Were you, were you, that was the first time you saw Bernie Mac? That's what I seen everybody. But, but my young five or six, five or six, whatever time that came out.
00:47:29
Speaker
So I'm not really all the way understanding all the jokes, but I do, I just thought it was so cool when Cedric and Tana did the Matrix part. Oh yeah. And then they like edited the like the, you know I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah. They slowed them down. Yeah. I remember, I remember at five been like,
00:47:49
Speaker
This is comedy. Yeah, but then like, as a kid I was watching what? Premium Blend and Comic View. I was big Comic View person. Yeah, i like Comic View too. yeah Or even like Def Jam.
00:48:01
Speaker
That's a little bit before my time. So I seen the later Def Jam. I had it on tape. Oh, you tough. Oh, you tough. You tough. You tough. cloth mostly But you know something crazy though? i wish the I wish that they still had the Comic View set somewhere. yeah That IP is nowhere. It's nowhere?
00:48:23
Speaker
Byron Allen didn't buy it? I feel like Byron Allen bought all of comedy. Bro, he should buy it He should definitely buy it. it's nowhere. It's not on the BT app. My mama got the BT+. plus I went to her house, searched Comic View. It only got the new seasons that they made. Mm-hmm.
00:48:38
Speaker
They don't got... you could find a different You can find every other little showcase show set it except Comic View. They nowhere, bro. We got to find it. Yeah. I think we need to make a documentary.
00:48:49
Speaker
Absolutely. And we go on the hunt for Comic View. Comic View is what blew up a lot of the Atlantic comedians. Because they had Bruce Bruce and all of them was coming from Atlanta. And then they started to shoot it in Atlanta. And then so many Atlanta comics got their first TV set from being in Atlanta when they were shooting. Yeah. Because, remember when Earthquake was on there. Bruce Bruce. Monique was on there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What's the dude they used to do? Poppy? He'd be like, go to the bodega and Poppy to... Oh, I can't remember his name. He passed away, but he was one of my favorite. Forgot his name.
00:49:26
Speaker
um But he had that, the funniest bit was like, the you know, the the cat is always sleeping on the bread. And you know, whatever you want with the bodega. Yeah, like a hot 10 minutes on the bodega. I know you talk about it. can't remember his name.
00:49:39
Speaker
Yeah, so many. I mean, bro, there's so many like legendary bits and stuff from the on Comic View that was from Atlanta comedian. Booty dude. You know, people say your stomach stick out front of your booty. Booty dude, yeah. That's a comic from Atlanta. He passed away. His dude name. No, I never met him, but people talking about it. Oh, like the moral of the story is guy, that was Tyler Craig. He was from Atlanta.
00:50:02
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. ah auto You know he's gonna be on the next season? If they brought me a comedy, I absolutely would try to get it. Now, there is a fair chance of me bombing that. Why? just offer je Just off the strip.
00:50:20
Speaker
But I would do it. I don't think you'd bomb. Why would you bomb? I could that, You said in a video, ah you talked about like alternative. you think you are you you say your alter i could be a little weird. i could be low You alternative comedy?
00:50:35
Speaker
I would i would say i would say i will say I fit in some of the categories and what I find, what I can write about. I find a lot of stuff funny, but I tend to write about a little bit. I can get a little zany.
00:50:48
Speaker
You know what feel on my eyesset I feel like a lot of my, some of bits are related, but most of it is imagination pontificating, man. And I think for certain people for certain, not even certain, but most people,
00:51:02
Speaker
That could be a little bit unattractive. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? People like, man, my wife pissing me off. Then they like, hold on, wait a minute, man. My wife is also pissing me off. Yeah, yeah.
00:51:16
Speaker
We both pissed off. I need to buy a Ha ha ha! That's most of it, in some form or fashion. right yeah But if I'm talking about, you know what saying, don't know, lasers. hu It's also much, man, I'm rocking with lasers so much, bro. I gotta get this cat $25. You what I'm saying?
00:51:38
Speaker
It's also much laser guy. The crowd full of laser guys? That's saying. Everybody's just pulling up their lasers for you. That's what I'm saying. That's why, bro, I feel like the laser, guys. If you're part of the laser community, hit me on the email.
00:51:56
Speaker
MrLaser415 at gmail.com. Hit me a man. We're going to really show them the linear light. Hey if you fast enough You make it bend That's what i'm saying Wow You ever seen that dude On Instagram With the gloves on? No oh But I've i've seen them i' seen it before But i've I've never seen The dude on Instagram With it Bruh It's an Asian dude He got like a He got one of them Tear my life into pieces Haircuts Yeah He got the perm. He got the white gloves. And he teach people how to glove. ah He like, okay, so you want to keep your fingers? you He one of my favorite people. Yeah.
00:52:34
Speaker
Incredible, bro. It's an incredible follow, bro. Absolutely. there I know there's one where it's like the dude does it and he's like, and he'll make like his fingers disappear. He tough. Yeah. He getting rid of fingers? He getting rid of fingers, bro. Oh my God. getting rid of fingers, bro. Yeah, I got that. Losing fingers? Crazy, bro. That's hard.
00:52:54
Speaker
That's hard, man. Also a big thing in New York, people be Dominican. Yeah. That's hard. They be Dominican, they be puri Puerto Rican. You don't got a lot of those in the... Not that many. Not that many not not that many in the in in the South like that. it it There are some, but it's way more up here. Oh, yeah.
00:53:15
Speaker
You been at Washington Heights? I was there. I stayed in a hotel there. Yeah.
Cultural Heritage: Brazilian and Bangladeshi Roots
00:53:21
Speaker
I stayed in hotel there. Music at five o'clock in the morning, ready to go. Bro, they got that. But I'm rocking with them. Yeah.
00:53:28
Speaker
I'm rocking with. I understand that the Dominican the ah the dominican republic Republic and Puerto Rico got beef.
00:53:39
Speaker
But they both have a union and that's within my heart. Yeah. know I'm saying? They're like cousins. I don't think they would say that. they they get they get They're very serious about No, they think it's like it's like you have that one cousin that is like from that family that you like, ah you know. like you we There are times we we link up and it matches, but most of the time it's like I don't want to see you.
00:54:05
Speaker
Yeah, but one thing I do, we'll say this about New York and Jenner. They got them racist, man. People be all types of racist out here. And I think that's phenomenal. Yeah.
00:54:17
Speaker
You get an elevator with cats. They speak at. Mm hmm. You know what they saying. If it's Spanish, you block. How they doing some Spanish right now?
00:54:28
Speaker
You know what i gotta I gotta take you to Roosevelt, bro. but yeah this is it Maybe it's a little French, but you got they might be going they might be going straight, you know? Kazakhstan, man. You what I'm saying?
00:54:43
Speaker
They going straight. I mean, this language we ain't never heard You reminded me, yo. You just reminded I can tell you a fan of languages. I'm a fan of languages, bro. What's your favorite language? I'm half Brazilian, so I'm teaching Portuguese, bro. Hey.
00:55:01
Speaker
I'm rocking with Brazil. Let me tell you something. Brazil, they tough. You go to the restaurant, they say, we got the meat man walking around. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:55:12
Speaker
They say, we got various meats, man. u huh Different, this man got this type meat, this man got this type meat. We go walk around and we could go ahead and scrape you a little bit off. Yeah.
00:55:23
Speaker
That's such a good idea, bro. It's amazing, Whoever, well, Brazil, obviously they came up with it. the The Brazilian man who came up with that, he better have a billion bucks. I'm not necessarily pro-billionaire, but when it comes to the Brazilian steakhouse guy,
00:55:40
Speaker
I want him to more money than Bezos. Yes, I agree. You know what I mean? agree. I love a, it's called a chuhascaria. Oh, so they don't call it Brazilian steak. yeah. Can you it one more time? Chuhascaria. Chuhascaria. Chuhascaria. Chuhasc
00:56:04
Speaker
shuhakadi ra real i'm sorry Chuhascaria. Yeah. Chuhascaria. That's hard. Yeah. That's what they call it in Brazil. That's what they call it. many times have you been in Brazil?
00:56:15
Speaker
Twice. Dang. I'm going to this year, too. Wow. You like it? I love it. You got to see my family. time you go. Oh, so you got folks still down there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, dope.
00:56:26
Speaker
That's what's up, man. You like it down there? Yeah. Where go? Yeah. was last time you went? 2008. 2008.
00:56:33
Speaker
twenty two thousand and eight Oh, so you still a kid. Yeah. about go as an adult. Yeah, yeah. Man, every time people say nice things about Brazil. The only thing I've always heard that is consistent, I know two or three people who went who was talking about getting pushed off the train.
00:56:51
Speaker
Really? They said some dudes who go down the train, they pushing cats. Like to get off or? No, they just, they just rowdy rough boys. They rowdy. That's crazy. Yeah. I also, I've never been on a train over there. I've taken the bus. Oh yeah. And then I've heard that like, yeah, they will like, they will hold up a bus. They will like the gangs out there.
00:57:11
Speaker
We'll pull up on a bus, knock on the door, show them a gun, pull up in there and be like, all right, everybody. Give me your money. Yeah. Dang, bro.
00:57:23
Speaker
Why the bus don't just pull off? Because it's it's so much gridlock traffic. Yeah. Yeah. It's a wrap for you. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that was some rationale that I wasn't accounting for in that moment.
00:57:36
Speaker
Okay. That's crazy, bro. That's hard, bro. See, that's what I'm saying. you You have Brazilian. Yeah. That's hard. ah Look. people people don't People don't be from Brazil all willy-nilly like that. No, yeah. it's it's it's It's tough out here. One thing I know about people from Brazil, they be in Brazil. know what saying? Yeah.
00:57:53
Speaker
lot of people from different places, they traveling this country, that country. It don't be a lot of loose Brazilians around. No, there's not. No, no. They kind of rocking with Brazil. You know what I'm saying? Am I making this up? Yeah, you are. You are.
00:58:08
Speaker
I mean, look, i it's funny because I brought this up recently to to and another person and I was like... I was like, you know, when you find another Brazilian, they're never really excited to know that you're Brazilian. A lot of Brazilians like being the only Brazilian in the room.
00:58:25
Speaker
Wow. See? And that makes sense because, like, I've met Brazilians but not a bunch. Cats be from China. You know what I'm saying? Cats be from India, Canada.
00:58:39
Speaker
Cats be from Nigeria. yeah right But you rarely hear cats being like, oh, y'all from Brazil, man. We just came down here, man. You know? yeah andc po So that's hard. That means it's not a lot of Brazil. Is your dad or your mom Brazilian? My mom.
00:58:56
Speaker
She moved to the U.S. around what time would you say? In the eight, I think it was the eight? No, no, no, no, no. Either the seven, seventies? Seventies. Oh, so she came, okay, so she came here a long time ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She been here for a minute. Yeah.
00:59:12
Speaker
Is your dad from New York? No, my dad's from Bangladesh. I'm half Brazilian, half Bangladesh. five Man, my one of my best friends Bengali, man. Yeah. yeah yeah my One of my best friends from college. Shout out to MASH.
00:59:27
Speaker
He's Bengali, man. And let me tell you something, man. That wedding, that food was the delicious. Yeah, bet. He had to do two weddings because his his his wife is black okay and he Bengali.
00:59:43
Speaker
So they had the regular wedding and they had the Bengali one. Bengali wedding tough though because you do the little thing and they just sit up there and just vibe out. been in one of these? No, no. You never been to a Bengali wedding? Nah, It's like a nice chair that they in and they sit up there and vibe and it's like a little party.
01:00:04
Speaker
They had their food in there. ah
01:00:09
Speaker
That food was delicious. I know you care about this, but. Yeah, I do. No, the food was delicious. I need to. I haven't. So I've actually had like since my dad, like ever since my dad left me, I haven't had Bengali food since. Really? Heavy on the Brazilian. That's why I can say churrasca. Yeah, because like, you know, I'm tapped in.
01:00:28
Speaker
Yeah. But i haven't been to like a Bengali restaurant. And so my boy, he did the podcast, uh, on the con he pulled up and he was like, oh, gonna take you. And I'm like, my all right, cool. We out. So that's going to be my, when is that? Hopefully soon. he's That's exciting, yeah Do you, do you desire more relationship to your Bengali heritage?
01:00:53
Speaker
Do you desire to it or it don't matter you? Yeah I want to know more I want to know more I think I think I I cut myself off At the legs From it and Yeah Being like Yeah I'm not going I'm Brazilian I was i was i was big y'all I'm only Brazilian For a hot minute Yeah And then and then you know People would be like Man You look like yeah You know yeah Yeah They was going in In high school, they was going in Really? Yeah. Wait, so it's a big Brazilian community here. No, I'm saying they were people in high school were saying I was i look mad Indian. And I was over here being like, nah, I'm Brazilian. But how can they eyeball?
Global Travels and Small City Charms
01:01:28
Speaker
This is what saying. Like, just the fact that they like, you don't look Brazilian. Yeah. How can they eyeball that like that? but People out here know stuff. They they mean. People out here mean. Nah, that's crazy, bro. have you would you Would you ever go to Bangladesh? Oh, yeah. I'm trying to see everywhere.
01:01:43
Speaker
Yeah. try to do I'm down to do a podcast in Bangladesh. Let's do it. You been out the country a lot? No, just to Brazil. I've been to a couple places. in Brazil, Bahamas. that's it i think that's not out of out of the states i i've been to other places within the us oh yeah i've been in all over the u.s yeah all it yeah i've been the whole year it's most of it probably at least 90 what's your favorite um best my favorite i know it's not oregon or portland atlanta i'm biased towards atlanta georgia but i like a lot of the u.s man i like
01:02:20
Speaker
I like the Bay Area. It's really nice out there. ah but Honestly, bro. I can see you chilling with Lil Russell. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm to be honest with you, man.
01:02:34
Speaker
I hate to be cliche, man, but we all know that in New Orleans is incredible.
City Love: New Orleans and Beyond
01:02:40
Speaker
but I've never been. I got to go. That New Orleans that worth the hype, bro. the The hang is fun. The food is the best.
01:02:49
Speaker
It's a great time, man. New Orleans is a good time. I like New Orleans. um but i But honestly, I'm the type of person who like... i'm I like a Duluth, Minnesota. Duluth, Minnesota? Sometimes, I feel like once you do enough touring, you start to find a charm in the smaller cities. Yeah.
01:03:10
Speaker
Like where they like, hey, this is our restaurant. This is our Italian restaurant we got. We love this place. This is our this the this the bar we hang out at.
01:03:20
Speaker
This our club. It kind of means more to them. it's like I feel like you get to really enjoy the pieces of the city because they all have value to the city in this weird way.
01:03:31
Speaker
I started liking those little places where, ah hate I can't name nothing right now, but like Sheboygan. Yeah, like stuff like that. Like literally, like when we'll be in, um like I thought York, Pennsylvania was nice. Yeah, never been. York was cool. Like them type of places, they be like, okay, this is cool. Like people hanging out here, you know.
01:03:53
Speaker
So yeah, I feel like a lot of those places be cool. I like, I like, I like, You know, that they I like Raleigh, bro. i like Durham. Yeah, Durham. like Durham a lot.
01:04:04
Speaker
Durham is great. Durham is incredible.
Toronto: A Blend of New York and LA
01:04:06
Speaker
going have to check that out. going to have to check out Durham. Yeah, bro. I've been of the country for the first time. I went out of country for the first time in 2025. Yeah? I went to Toronto. so Okay.
01:04:15
Speaker
I went to Toronto. Isn't it like, I heard it like it's like New York. um they they they They can't decide.
01:04:24
Speaker
In certain parts of the city, the buildings built close together, and in certain parts, they spread out. And I'm like, you either LA or New York, bro. You can't be both. yeah Either spread them out or stuff them in. And you cold? No, it was during the summer. Oh, they have summers up there?
01:04:39
Speaker
Yeah. boom Yeah. And let me tell something. I didn't hear nobody talking like Drake. Uh-uh. Man's...
01:04:50
Speaker
Also, too, the Jamaican places sold coleslaw instead cabbage. That's weird. I thought that was peculiar. They had a lot of coleslaw instead of the cabbage place, man.
01:05:03
Speaker
And I said something this one lady about it, and she was like, well, Toronto has, like, the biggest Jamaican population outside of sort ah Jamaica, so. And I'm like,
01:05:14
Speaker
Okay, but every other Jamaican place I've ever been had cabbage instead of coleslaw. And she was like trying act like I was like playing her on her, on Toronto's Jamaican heritage. I'm like, no, it's not that deep for me, bro. I just want to know why they got coleslaw.
01:05:29
Speaker
Why they doing the coleslaw thing? I'm not like trying. I'm pretty sure Jamaicans do that. You know what I'm saying? She was tripping. I just projected all that. But... And now I'm in England one time. Oh, fire.
01:05:41
Speaker
Yeah. Fish and chips. ain't gonna lie to you, bro. I had that i had that that English breakfast. Yeah. Beamed up. Beamed up? They go bean you out there. Yeah, they will you there. They not playing with Bush's Bake.
01:05:56
Speaker
You know what saying? Big old bean facility. And that brown sauce that nobody knows was in it. oh Man, what? had did That sausage was good.
Cultural Observations: Food and Fun
01:06:05
Speaker
That egg was good because they were both sausage and eggs, are things I've had before. But I will say they did had at the McDonald's they had a Biscoff McFlurry. Oh, no, let's go. That was tough, i bro. That sounds mad good. The Biscoff McFlurry? I don't see why they haven't made to the States. It needs to. It was delicious. yeah It was delicious, bro. We here, my first kicks, we big Biscoff gang.
01:06:30
Speaker
Big Biscoff business. Huge. What a ginger treat, man. Please, man. Shout out to ah my boy ah Juice. we We call ourselves the Biscoff boys. For real? Bam. Shout out Juice. Yeah. I will say this. They do try to, a lot of times they try to, with ginger, they try to go, oh, we reduce the inflammation.
01:06:49
Speaker
But they didn't know that ginger can be fun as well. Mm-hmm. Get I'm saying? Yeah. We always looking at ginger for health benefit, ah restoration, whatever may have you.
01:07:00
Speaker
Sometimes in this life, ginger can have fun too. Yeah. Ginger can be sweet. Mm-hmm. Ginger can also be a special treat. Yeah. So I'm glad Biscoff was ah was um leading the forefront of changing our minds about how we view certain certain ah vegetables or yeah fruits.
01:07:21
Speaker
Is ginger a vegetable or fruit? It's vegetable. Gotcha. I think it's a root vegetable. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha,
Humor and Fashion Advice
01:07:27
Speaker
gotcha. But we're towards the end of the podcast, man. Yeah. And it deals with a little visualization. I want you to think about when you were younger, you about to get those, those press those right now you're older. You behind your younger self. What would you tell your, your younger self as he opens that box?
01:07:44
Speaker
Wear shirts with sleeves on them. Definitely wear some shirts with sleeves on them with these shoes. For sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yo, Mandel, tell everybody where to find you, man.
Special Events and Listener Engagement
01:07:57
Speaker
Hey, The Mandelman on everything.
01:08:01
Speaker
um Yeah, big Big Fun Network on YouTube. If you want to watch Big Biz. I thought we brought a Big Biz. Yeah, we did. We did. You want to watch Big Biz? on there.
01:08:12
Speaker
ah Special taping. When does this come out? This come out next week. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm doing a special in New York on February 6th and 7th.
01:08:24
Speaker
I have too many tickets left. The venue is entirely too big. And um i I have exhausted every fan I have in this city. So if you could come out and buy a ticket, it would be great. Rob Hayes is on the show. Oh, yeah? Buy ticket to go see Rob. Rob did not tell me that, but yeah, that's fine. Yeah, Rob is on the show. Yeah, yeah, he to there. going be in suits. Yeah?
01:08:47
Speaker
Yeah. i wanted to talk to you about that. its frills The frills that you did at this in your late night set. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But we didn't get to it. So ah next episode. Next episode. Next episode. So you know where to find me, who is Hassan on all social medias, follow the podcast My First Kicks pod. Don't forget, if you want to write in info at MyFirstKicks.com, check out the website, MyFirstKicks.com. Gonna kick it to me to do the Patreon shout outs. And don't forget to sign up for sign up for the Patreon as well. Patreon.com slash MyFirstKicks.
01:09:16
Speaker
Thank you for pulling up, man. My man. Thank you, bro. Thank you for having me, bro. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode with Mandel. Man. This episode was the most funniest episode. It probably might be the funniest episode of this year.
01:09:31
Speaker
Please, please, please make sure you cop a ticket to Mandel Special taping on February 6th and 7th down in Brooklyn at the Second City second city Comedy Club or a Second City Stage.
01:09:46
Speaker
wherever it is, just look up Mandel. It's gonna, I'm gonna, I'm leave a description. i'm gonna leave a link in the description for you to find that. And then of course, if you did not notice or have noticed sneaker politics, hook your boy up with a pair of their sock and ease.
01:10:04
Speaker
These joints are fire. Uh, love how the blue represents water. Um, This is such a clean, clean shoe. Shout out to Jared Moody and the team at Sneaker Politics. Dan, Saucepan Dan.
01:10:20
Speaker
Dan the man. And everybody else there. This is a beautiful shoe. ah Really, really feel honored to be given this. um And they even wrote me a nice little card here.
01:10:36
Speaker
sorry for the ruffling. But, come on. Happy New Year, Hasan. fire fire fire I feel very honored to be able to you know showcase this shoe especially i don't know the current dates of it's a release or did it I think it it released on their website um and I'm hoping there's a worldwide release I know people are at Paris Fashion Week and they're are all over the town they're paying the town
01:11:09
Speaker
ah politic colorways. So, you know, this shoe was so dope. i can't wear it ah I can't wait to wear it again. um Might even throw in the different laces, but if you appreciate, you know, different materials and nature colorways, this shoe is for you. So make sure you try to cop that. um I hope you enjoyed this week's episode. I know we didn't really touch on a lot of the sneaker things that I normally talk about with sneaker-focused people. This year, I'm definitely trying to expand the horizon on who I can talk sneakers with.
Podcasting: Fun, Storytelling, and Truth
01:11:48
Speaker
And Mandel was the first perfect guest to me because I've been watching his his videos for a hot minute, and i think he's just hilarious. He's naturally funny, and he's probably one of my favorite comedians right now. So again, a chance to sit down with him.
01:12:06
Speaker
really was just like a super fun time and I hope you had a really good time listening to this. If you've heard me on like Sock Jicks podcast or if you recently just saw me on Yo It's the Kicks ah I want to make podcasts fun again and you know i want to i I purposely listen to funny podcasts or podcasts that are just you know two people just shooting the shit and I think that this was you know a perfect moment to hear about his journey also hear his thoughts on things and i think we are missing that in terms of just like sneakers in general i think we a lot of these podcasts and i think a lot of podcasts currently right now are just taking themselves very very seriously and like a source of information but like let's be real like a lot of these people that get in front of this camera and with a microphone don't have all the answers or
01:13:04
Speaker
They're just trying to figure themselves out as well. But also we we're falling into this thing where we're seeing a lot of people that just are blatantly wrong, trying to push each other to be more wrong. Like I'm very tired of misinformation and I'm very tired of people just believing what they're seeing. um You know, always question things, you know,
01:13:30
Speaker
I listen to the jam, I listen Deontay, Grits and Eggs, I listen to you know the Downside, and what I always take from them and their thoughts and criticisms of what's going on is that you know you always have to think for yourself. like You can hear people talk, you can hear people say some things, and what ultimately comes down to you is how you interpret these things and how you are guiding yourself through life. And so when I started the podcast, that was like a huge kind of like point I wanted to get across where it's just like, you know, we're hearing about people's lives. I'm not here trying to tell you what is right. I'm not here to try to tell you what is wrong. I'm here to just share good stories and have a good time and kind of like
01:14:24
Speaker
be this like short escape an hour escape just to to hear people's stories and hear people's journeys so I want podcasting to be fun and it's fun for me and I'm hoping to it's fun for y'all too when you check in and you tap into each and every episode so it's been ah super wild week I did three episodes back to back to back. So that will be coming out in the next couple weeks. You saw me tease Deshaun Jordan.
01:14:55
Speaker
teased this week's episode on the newsletter, which is on Patreon. And make sure you sign up for my Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. All the money. that I accrue there. It's going straight back into the podcast because currently I fund this myself. So this is kind of a call to arms because it really, really does help. You know, ah I work a nine to five. I talk about it on the podcast and ah this is a way to kind of like you know, slow, slow down how much of my nine to five money is going straight back, straight into the podcast. But I appreciate y'all for, you know, you know, throwing me five bucks here and there. And of course, Patreon shout outs, because you got to do the shout outs. Thank you to everyone who signed us at the Patreon, patreon.com slash my first kicks.
01:15:44
Speaker
So shout out Plox, shout out Samaya, shout out Jordan Kaiser, shout out Derek shout out no No, no. Shout out Adam Butler and shout out Derek Hawkins. My bad. shoutout very likin Shout out Shout out Ross Adams. Shout out Neustadter.
01:16:05
Speaker
Shout out Jesse, Jesse G. um and And that's all. You know, of course, I really appreciate each and every one of y'all for tapping in Sorry for another long outro. Hope.
01:16:20
Speaker
Hope. You enjoy my little rant at the end. And of course, if you want to check out more of the podcast, you can check out these two episodes here or you can hit that subscribe button there.
01:16:31
Speaker
And of course, you know, we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.