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From Vet to Podcaster with Joe aka HigherLXNG
108 Plays1 year ago
This week I welcome Joe aka HigherLXNG to the podcast, we talk about growing up in Houston. His love for pets and where that love came from. His beginning aspirations, and the moment he decided to switch. His podcast Thoughts for the Sole. Working with James Whitaker and how he got his foot in the door there. Plus we talk about the many times we wanted to end out podcast and much much more!
Where to Find Joe:
Socials: @HigherLXNG
Website: https://www.higherlxng.com/
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/ (Cop something and tell him we sent ya!)
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Transcript
Introduction to Joe and Higher Living
00:00:00
Speaker
what's good everyone welcome back to my first kicks this is episode 169 and this week i welcome joe aka higher living i want to say for this one i mean if you know joe he goes by higher lxng but he does explain his name on this episode of the podcast
00:00:22
Speaker
It's such a great conversation with me
Storytelling in the Sneaker Community
00:00:25
Speaker
and Joe. We talk about being host on podcasts that are seemingly trying to bring more storytelling and stories and just natural conversation to sneakers. So it's funny.
00:00:39
Speaker
If you haven't noticed or listened to his podcast, Thoughts for the Soul, please check it out. But it's funny to put him into the guest seat because as a fellow host, it's hard to turn it off. If you've seen me on other podcasts, like my appearance on Rob Hayes's Inconsistent Podcast or Buy Cell Talk with Leo and Brian, you could tell sometimes I end up being like, oh, let me ask him questions.
00:01:09
Speaker
It's really good
The Guest Experience vs Hosting
00:01:10
Speaker
to just be in the conversation with Joe, asking questions, see where he comes from, because as a host of a podcast, we don't really get these opportunities. We usually we usually are the platform for people to jump on, you know, to have these conversations, but we don't really see that invite like everybody's always trying to get
00:01:39
Speaker
another creator or have a conversation with somebody who made sneakers in this realm. So being asked and also being on a podcast is something I like doing. It's something I love to do more of. And I'm sure Joe does too. So
00:01:59
Speaker
I'm very excited for y'all to get into this episode. I'm very excited to jump into this. This is my second time recording this intro. So shout out to me for messing this up.
00:02:12
Speaker
I'm recording
Promoting Podcasts Through Word-of-Mouth
00:02:13
Speaker
this on a Wednesday and it's just because I am trying to do more of spreading the word of this podcast in person to as many people as possible. So with that, I have to be outside more and it lead like it leads me down to this path of just like, okay, I have to do
00:02:36
Speaker
All the assets or sorry, I speak in work terms. I have to do all these creative stuff in the podcast stuff Earlier put it together, but WrestleMania weekend stopped me from doing it on a Sunday And now we're here Wednesday and tomorrow I'll be at extra butter Spreading the word spreading the word of my first kicks
00:03:00
Speaker
So, not only can I do that, but if you are listening and this is maybe your first time listening, please know you have 168 episodes to jump back on, but also tell a friend because I put a poll out about how people find their podcasts and
00:03:20
Speaker
Apparently, a lot of people find it through word of mouth, which it makes sense because I didn't hear about a lot of podcasts unless somebody else told me to check it out. So please, please, please, please, please, please check out.
Joe's Social Media and Creative Work
00:03:34
Speaker
No, please share anything that I post or just send a link. I try my best to get the word out. I'm only one person.
00:03:43
Speaker
but I'ma always bring you these hot and fresh episodes every week. And I also have a special guest for 170. So.
00:03:53
Speaker
I'm very excited for y'all to listen to my conversation with Joe. So that's where you can find Joe. You can find him at, at higher L X and G check out his podcast thoughts for the soul. It's on everywhere. Uh, I'm gonna put a link to his website because he also does photography and he does speeches. Well conversations at APB and I'm on the Nair.
00:04:21
Speaker
He does work with the Whitaker group. It's very cool. We talk about his career shift and how he got into it. It's very fun, very, very cool and insightful episode. So please check him out and put an link to his link to his podcast in the description of this podcast. And.
TikTok's Impact on Content Visibility
00:04:40
Speaker
Yeah, just make sure you check out the links and stuff, because it's always good to see
00:04:47
Speaker
that support that circle of support you know gotta help each other out as much as we can so shout out to joe and you know where to find me i am who is hostile social media is follow the podcast on my first kicks pod on twitter and instagrams um if you're listening to this please please please put the phone down or pick up the phone and go to youtube look up my first kicks
00:05:12
Speaker
or my first kicks podcast, hit that subscribe or watch the rest of this episode on there and hit the thumbs up button. Usually when I post, it goes up and it premieres at nine o'clock and I'm in the chat to see if anybody's in there so I can say what's up. So please do that. And if you were looking for TikToks, my first kicks on TikTok, but hopefully, or maybe,
00:05:38
Speaker
It does get bad, I don't know. I feel like TikTok has gone down a lot, so I'm just trying to get as many listeners as possible before it goes down. Before it goes down even more, because the sneer community there, I don't know. Either the algorithm is just taking me out so I don't see a lot of people's stuff, or I don't know. I'm not getting fed the same stuff.
00:06:05
Speaker
And also, if you want to be part of the podcast, you can write in and send me your my first kick story at my first kicks pod at gmail.com.
Venturing into Sneaker Podcasting
00:06:15
Speaker
And also this week's episode with Joe. Hey, Joe, welcome to the podcast. What's up, man? Yo, man. Good. Good. You know, I had to hit you up to jump on episode, you know, followed you recently. Not recently followed you a while ago. And then I think
00:06:32
Speaker
I think you followed me after or something like that. And I was just like, you know, this would be a great conversation to have you on because I think we do. We appreciate this style of podcasting. And, you know, we have great conversations and I feel like it's a good opportunity to just have a great conversation with each other. I'm glad to finally get the invite.
00:06:52
Speaker
I don't get invited to, you know, it'd be like when you're in this space, you know, when you're in this space, you don't really get invited to it because you're the one that's inviting. So it was like, okay, hey, this dope. I don't get to sit back and relax, not have to worry about the technical difficulties on my side or your side or whatever. Like, I don't get to sit back like this, so I'm cool.
00:07:20
Speaker
Since we talk about it, it's interesting because after I started this podcast, I think we started our podcast around the same time, pandemic. I was a little earlier, like a few months earlier, but it was during the height of the pandemic. Yeah.
Invitations and Providing Platforms
00:07:40
Speaker
It's interesting because as we've been doing this for so long, I also feel like I don't get that many invites as well. I think I recently bitched about it on Mr. Miller Live when he invited me up one time. It's interesting because I feel like we give the space and we have these conversations.
00:08:03
Speaker
One thing that I feel like people don't realize is that we're not the ones putting ourselves out more, right? We're putting, we're given the space to let the people talk, you know? So I love when I had an opportunity, like, I think the most, have I ever been, it's crazy.
00:08:23
Speaker
I don't think I've ever been on the podcast. I have not. No, I have not. I've been on IG lives that were very good, but I have never been a guest on a... Make sure I'm not tripping. I've never been a guest on a podcast,
00:08:43
Speaker
I've been a guest a couple of times. The thing is, with being a guest on another podcast, is because we're so host-oriented, it's hard to turn it off. And you're going to realize it, watch as we go into this, because you're going to be like...
00:09:04
Speaker
It's up. Hey, I'm going to try to keep the noises as quiet as possible so you don't have to edit a lot, but I'm chilling. You're good. You're good. You can make as much noise as you want. There's no editing. This is a rough podcast, all right? When we're doing it like this, everybody gets all the bells and whistles in it, man. That's all you're getting. It's turned out for me. I'm sitting back. But for people who aren't familiar with you, Joe, how about you introduce yourself?
00:09:33
Speaker
Man,
Joe's Sneaker Passion and Creative Journey
00:09:35
Speaker
from the streets to H-Time, Houston, Texas, man, love my city, to death. Creative, artist, influencer, I'm gonna stop saying I'm not an influencer, finally give around. I don't know who I influenced, but I say I'm an influencer, just for the sake of not having to argue.
00:09:57
Speaker
artist, photographer, videographer, cinematographer, fellow podcasting. But the root of all of that is the love of sneakers. I just love shoes, tennis shoes, sneakers,
00:10:15
Speaker
trainers, whatever you want to call them, who can choose. I just love shoes. I've just always loved shoes. To see how, you know, like today we have in this conversation, shoes have changed my life in a sense of being able to just have conversations, opportunities, projects.
00:10:34
Speaker
friends, those associates, job opportunities, work, everything, at the root of it. That's me outside of just everything else in life. So yeah, that's basically it. The man of many talents. I love it. I love it. Being a creative is definitely
00:11:01
Speaker
I wanna say it's just like you gotta be able to do everything. And I mean, a lot of people who, and I'm pretty sure you've heard this a lot, or you also preach it about being like in love with the process and like always trying to learn new things, you know, stuff like that, that will help you grow and expand on the passion that you love. And, you know, after following you for a good bit, you know,
00:11:26
Speaker
What's really dope is I like seeing the like, you always give these positive, like positive inspirational quotes. And then, you know, like you're always picking up everybody. I forgot to put motivator in there. That's why I mentioned it right now. One day I'll be a motivational
Motivation and Positivity on Social Media
00:11:43
Speaker
speaker. But now it's just, you know, we live in a society that is a few C words. Like I like to compliment. I like to congratulate.
00:11:54
Speaker
I give constructive criticism where it is needed, or where I feel like I can do it in a gracious way, graceful way, but we just live in a world that is just a lot of complaining, a lot of just
00:12:09
Speaker
just straight up criticism. And it's just a lot of like, just, it's craziness. Like we can just keep it with the seeds. Yeah, we can see it up right now. And I'm from the Bloody Nichols, so I don't know. I leave seeds, you know what I'm saying? But like, nah, it's just,
00:12:31
Speaker
It's just a lot of that that goes on. And so like, I've been doing that since my, I had an IG page when I was in college and then social media just got to me and I let it go for about a year, year and a half. And then I brought it back, inspired by Tipimba Butterfly, but that's a whole nother story, but that's where I brought this platform back. But I was, one thing I never let go of was the words, the motivation because
00:13:00
Speaker
We all need it. And at first, I was just doing it for me. I was just putting it out for me. And so I was like, well, look, everybody else shared this crazy shit out here. My bad. Can we carry something? Yeah, of course. OK. Everybody shared this crazy shit. And it's just be like, yo.
00:13:21
Speaker
Okay, if that's cool, then let me share stuff that has some positivity to it, some light to it. I remember one time, somebody had, it was just one of my former coworkers many years ago, and you know how you had your work, happy hours and stuff. We went out, we had some drinks, and she was like, you know, I see you posting all this stuff, like, you know, whatever, but I just wanna know the real you, like,
00:13:48
Speaker
what make you sad? What make you mad? What's your demons? I was like, that's crazy because basically you saying that me putting this out is not the real me and it is me. Like, you know what I'm saying? And so. That's
Podcasting Challenges and Personal Growth
00:14:02
Speaker
so well, my bad to cut you off, but it's it's it's funny because the world is so dark. And then when somebody tries to shed light, right, it's always like something's wrong with them.
00:14:13
Speaker
because they're trying to be this bright sphere in this dark world. And I come across that a lot too, because everybody always talks to me, who speaks to me. I'm always forward with my advice. I'm always like, you just got to be optimistic, because that's the way I think. So yeah, there was a moment in my life where I was going down, I felt like a dark path. And I don't know, something just clicked into me where I just said, I can't be
00:14:40
Speaker
depressed anymore. I literally told myself that. And it's interesting because I didn't learn the concept of positive mental attitude, PMA. And after I learned, like I learned about that more recently, but a lot of that, it just form of just being positive in my brain.
00:15:04
Speaker
like whenever things get rough and then in order for me to just push past through it I just tell myself like yo you got this what's the worst gonna happen or you know now especially with these the podcast adventure and I mean been doing this for three years and you know we recently tweeted at each other because I was I was not that I was like frustrated it was just hey yo it's okay to be it's it's true
00:15:32
Speaker
Frustration, it's okay to be frustrated. No, but I think, because it can be seen as like, I'm frustrated at doing this, but that's not what I'm frustrated with. No, no, no, that's not what you're frustrated with. But it's like...
00:15:47
Speaker
I still am like, you know, I'm never gonna stop, you know, I'm gonna keep doing this. This is what I wanted to do. I love talking. I love talking to people. I love, I love having you on right now. I love having people on every on each week. And it's just interesting because when and like,
00:16:04
Speaker
I'm not a bitter person or anything like that, but when I see other people move forward or faster than me in this space, that's where it's like, yeah, that's where I get frustrated. It makes you want to just like, shit, I've been for the entire month of March, I've been saying I'm done with this shit. And while I'm saying that, I'm still releasing podcasts, but I've been saying I'm done with this shit.
00:16:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's frustrating because you start to wonder, what am I not doing? Is it me? What is it? Is it because of the way my podcast set up? Is it the conversations that I'm having?
00:16:48
Speaker
Is it because of where I look? Is it because of what I put out into the space? What I put out into the world? What is it? And it's like, you just don't have that answer. Am I boring? Am I...
00:17:06
Speaker
Is it just nobody just wanna hear about it like that or nobody wanna hear about it from me? It really does take a mental toll, but I just got to the point to where it's just like, I'm having fun.
00:17:19
Speaker
I'm having fun. I remember when I first started out, I used to want to make it a part of money for me, a part of money play for me. I loved it, but I'm like, oh, I'm going to get sponsored. I'm going to get advertising. I'm going to get collaborations, partnerships, whatever. And when those things did not roll in, I said, you know what, Joe?
00:17:40
Speaker
What are you doing it for? I love it. So it takes time out of me and it's built a network connections network. So is other assets that it has created outside of money. And it and that helps me to keep going with it.
Balancing Life and Podcasting
00:17:57
Speaker
Nah, yeah, that see a lot of people don't understand or I think it's more of just
00:18:03
Speaker
I think you have to get to that point, right? And, you know, during the pandemic, you know, a lot of people who started their podcast, it was just like, and then go to everything. Yeah, exactly. But a lot of that stuff just like fell off, right? Immediately after. And it's interesting when you look at that landscape and how oversaturated it is and how oversaturated it is now, but
00:18:30
Speaker
It's that moment where we, you had, I literally had the same moment you had where I was like, yeah, you know, I'm gonna do 40, once I get to 40 episodes, I'm gonna get these sponsors.
00:18:47
Speaker
And then since my podcast is super guest based, I was having trouble booking people at that point. And then the soonest I was just like, the moment you had in March, just past March, I was just like, I'm gonna give up. That was me. That was me like, I wanna say,
00:19:06
Speaker
six months in or something like that, something like that, where I was just- I gave up. I gave up. I got it a break, but I really was just like, I don't know, like multiple times. That's why if you look at my episodes, it's gaps. Until last year, it's huge gaps because one, I ain't had that much to talk about every week.
00:19:33
Speaker
Like I'm not as controversial as others can be. And two, or I don't have that many flavors and spices to me like that. It's just straight, whatever. And then two, like life. I just made it, made the, it's a justification, but it could be looked at as an excuse, but like the justification of like life, like, yo, it's a lot of life stuff happening right now. Let me just chill, so.
00:20:02
Speaker
Yeah, I wouldn't say that's an excuse like it's it could be like I feel like people who would paint it as an excuse
00:20:09
Speaker
are painting you in a different stroke than that. So, you know, like time, this is especially when it comes to something that we're passionate about. I think time is what we all I think we all feel like it's running out. Yeah. I mean, it is. But but I feel like I feel like it's like
00:20:32
Speaker
Yeah. But I feel like when it's like, yo, I want to do this so bad.
First Sneaker Memory
00:20:37
Speaker
I want to do this so bad. You're like, yo, why is this not moving so fast? I feel like once you're into doing something, especially because we've both been collecting sneakers for super long and something like that where we're like, finally, I finally figured out what I want to do in this space. And now you're like, oh, but it's not taking off as fast as I wanted to. You're already slimmed down the timeline. And you're looking at other people who have been doing this longer. You're like, yo.
00:21:03
Speaker
It's crazy and you have to check yourself, check your heart for jealousy and envy because I don't care what nobody say. It can creep up on you. You have to check yourself and be like, do I feel this way because I wish it was me or do I feel this way because genuinely this is not for me.
00:21:26
Speaker
You know, it can play on your mental, but I love it, man. Whether I have one listener or thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of listeners, I love it just because.
00:21:42
Speaker
it's my platform and it's my perspective and it's the way I want to shape it and cultivate it. If it never goes to the heights that I wanted to, I'm going to do it until I get to the point to where I'm satisfied. I'm like, all right, it's time to buy out. So yeah, I mean, that's just what it is. So I appreciate you calling out the words because people
00:22:06
Speaker
When I stopped doing it and just post my podcasts on it, people would be like, hey, yo, what happened? What a worry. I'm like, it don't fit this week because I ain't got enough content. But I'm doing better with that, bringing that back because it helps me and it helps others. And I'm grateful for that. That was how your LXNG came into fruition before the sneakers took over.
00:22:32
Speaker
Nah, I love it, like I said. But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kick? So what's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? So for me, honestly speaking, it was Presto. OK. Yeah, Presto. It was the black. And I think they called it black and silver, but it was gray. It was really gray. The band on it was gray. So I remember I was in the fifth grade, and I was like,
00:23:02
Speaker
My gym teacher came, I was like, yo, what is this? And so I'm looking at these shoes, no laces. You know what I'm saying? We learned how shoes in elementary school or before we went to elementary school, parents taught you that. And I'm like, yo, I ain't got to tie my shoes up. Like, what's up? So I just thought my gym teacher was cool. I forget his name. He was a Hispanic dude.
00:23:29
Speaker
And it was a black dude. I remember Mr. Davis now. I cannot remember the other dude. Mr. Lee. I'm lying. Mr. Lee. It was Mr. Lee and it was Mr. Davis. And he had got a pair over the weekend. One weekend we came back to school. I'm like, yo, what is that?
00:23:44
Speaker
And that was the first pair of shoes I went, what are those? And so I never forget, I begged my mom, she was like, nah. At this time I was still seeing my pops, so I would go over there, biweekly went over there, and I told him about it, and he ended up getting me that exact pair. And that was the first pair of shoes that just made me go, yo.
00:24:07
Speaker
I love these, I love sneakers. Like that was the first pair. And then it just, from those Prestos, it went to Iverson's, it went to T-Max. I used to have the T-Max with the matching shorts, with the matching tee, with the matching, with the socks. And all that. And then we went to, and then from there, it just expanded. But that was the first pair of shoes that Nike Air Presto,
00:24:34
Speaker
that I was like, yo, I gotta have these shoes. And so that, yeah, that was it. All right, so I'm gonna read a little bit about the Aeropresto Black Gray. Harold did for its t-shirt, light comfort. The Nike Aeropresto takes it on a straightforward colorway that's as essential as the wardrobe stand by it's often compared to.
00:25:01
Speaker
The Lifestyle Runner sports a breathable mesh upper and black accented with a light gray midfoot cage and partially translucent toe bumper. The white foam midsole embellish with a white swoosh completes the natural aesthetic.
00:25:19
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. I just was like, I had to tie my shoes. And they weren't comfortable, but I wasn't tripping about comfort at that time. I had to tie my shoes and they look cool. And then to think this was this thing, I went to Lions Elementary in age time. And I think they stopped it. They cut off at fifth grade, I believe, or maybe it was sixth grade. I think it was fifth grade. They did cut off fifth grade.
00:25:44
Speaker
So I went, um, when I had those, nobody in my school had no other kids in my school had those on. Now people went to other Nike's that went to Jordan's. I wasn't into Jordan's at that time, but those press dolls.
00:26:00
Speaker
And he like, oh, will you? I'm like, hey, man, you know. No, just holla at me. I might be able to hip yat. I remember we went to, I think we went to Dearbrook Mall. Dearbrook Mall, it was just one of those popping malls out here back early 2000s.
00:26:24
Speaker
That's why I ended up getting up from it was Foot Locker and Deborah Ma, and I never forget that pair of shoes. I love those shoes, man. I tried to wear them with everything. I wore those shoes so much to wear the sock part. I ended up getting a hole in them. I wore them shoes that much. Did you wear these in the rain too? I wore them in everything.
00:26:47
Speaker
Oh my God. Rain. We didn't get snow out here like that. So rain. Hot heat. It's just whatever I want and whatever. Like and I shouldn't have, but I did. I got a muddied up. Clean them off to brush. Let them dry right back on my feet. So that's love right there. I've never owned a pair of presos, but when that Virgil Presto
00:27:13
Speaker
I was like, that off-white press, though? Yeah. That was a little different. The material was different. Like, still very comfortable. I haven't had the pleasure of owning a pair, but from what I've seen and what I've felt like, they are very comfortable. They're still very comfortable. They look very good. But it's just a different feel to them. Yeah. I mean, the shoe is inside out, because it's like the whole shoe inside out, so it has to feel different.
00:27:42
Speaker
but that's the only Presto that I, mine, oh, actually, the, you know, remember when they did the, like, the, the lightning pack or it was like, hey, hey, I just see what you was about to say. Cause that was a one that the lightning pack was like what I remember when they, cause they did the, the Prestos, the TNs, and what was the other one? The, was it a, what was the other Nike they did?
00:28:10
Speaker
Wasn't it like an uptempo or was it the hyperflights? Yes, that's what it was. The hyperflight positive threes or whatever. It was raised. I remember when they packed draw, like, oh, hey, y'all speak it to me. I'm mad I didn't cop. I should have copped. Because then they did the, what's that shoe called again? The Kenea, Kaniya, Kukina. Yeah, Kukina. A matter of fact, I don't know.
00:28:39
Speaker
Let me tell you something. That's my favorite shoe to wear when, like right now today, my favorite shoe to wear like if I'm just going to like Sam's Club or something. Like I would throw on some twit, a hoodie, or a tee, and the kukina. I'm not probably not saying that right, but the kukina. But I have the lip repair. I love that shoe. Like, yeah. I couldn't do it. I could never do that shoe because they look, they remind me too much of like,
00:29:08
Speaker
the, there was that moment in high school where all the girls were wearing jelly slippers or whatever. The Melissa's. Yeah. Whatever. I don't know what they call them. They used to wear the Melissa's. No, it was Melissa's was the jelly shoes. Yeah. They would see through and had the M on there. Yeah. Yeah. And they had the, they had the, the jelly flip flops too. Yeah.
00:29:32
Speaker
That's what they look like to me. I couldn't do it. That's just because I have a little gym. Yeah, they got the gym outside. Yeah. Hey, you're getting up in age. Go try you. Try you super kiddos. And you're going to be like, hey, yo, nah, I'm tripping. Like, I promise you, you slip them on, just let it rip. You're good to go.
00:29:56
Speaker
My Slippamon shoe right now is the workplace harassment ones, the general purpose shoe, the GPS, Tom Sacks. Oh, no. Oh, no. I'll put those joints on. Oh, no. No, sir. No, we can't. Oh, no. Hey, but I was on them heavy. I was on them heavy. I never owned a pair. I wanted the first pair, the white pair, and then the orange pair. That was my two favorite pairs.
00:30:26
Speaker
I know they mad comfortable. And they just sleep, but probably won't have none now. No, definitely not. They gone. You got them, you got them. But you lived in Houston, right, Houston? Born and raised. Born and raised. Your whole life? I spent, like,
00:30:52
Speaker
Two and a half years in Dallas. Yeah. What was high school like? When did you get in touch with the sneaker community around you? I have to say middle school. OK. Well, since grade, I went to an academy. It was an intermediate school. So I was just fifth in sixth grade.
00:31:15
Speaker
And that's when I started rocking Iverson's real heavy. I also had some tummy heel figure, Air Force Ones, nobody was all numb. And then it was in the seventh grade. Seventh grade is when I got my
Sneakers in Middle School and Personal Style
00:31:30
Speaker
first pair of Air Force Ones. The seventh grade is when I got those. You remember that City Pack, the patent leather mid Jordan Ones, the Chicago's, the UNC's.
00:31:40
Speaker
and the black and gold ones, I ended up getting the Chicago joints. And that's when it was just like, okay, that's when people was like, oh no, like, yo, Joe, Joe be having that shit. But that was, it was in the, since grade, it was like, since it was one pair of Ivises I had, it was a black pair. I can't remember which number it was, but I remember it had the American flag, it was the American flag on the insole, and his face was on the other one.
00:32:11
Speaker
But then it was the seventh grade when it was like, nah, I have arrived. I got my first pair of joints. Because I hadn't had a pair of joints before then. I got my first pair of joints in the seventh grade for Christmas, the Chicago Paddle and the Mill joints. And after that, it was like, that's it. You can't tell me. S. Carter's, I remember S. Carter's came up.
00:32:35
Speaker
And it was after the seventh grade that it was just like, yo, I'm never, this is, I would rather have shoes over clothes. And that's really, the schools I went to, I wore a uniform, so.
00:32:49
Speaker
I didn't have to make a hard decision because I'm wearing my khaki dickies and a polo shirt. That's the same thing. Get them sense of the cleaners. I could wear them. Whatever. Just let me have my shoes. So it was middle school. And after middle school,
00:33:09
Speaker
I was a problem right here. Did you get a job? Or were you just a good student? I just didn't ask for nothing. I was made an honor roll. So whenever it was time for me to get that honor roll gift, I want some shoes. That's what I'm talking about. Whenever it's time for Chris, I have brothers. I have three little brothers.
00:33:32
Speaker
they were asking for the video games okay y'all take care of the games i can still play them because y'all my brothers and so y'all get the games i'ma get the shoes and so i didn't have to ask for both yeah you got everything y'all got the games i'ma come bully y'all boom let me
00:33:49
Speaker
whatever real quick and that was it. Like it was just always either I wanted money or I wanted sneakers. That's just what it was. If it was my birthday, Christmas, whatever, honor roll gift is either money or tennis shoes. That's all I wanted. I mean, you live in the life right there. Cause I was the only child right here. So it was one or the other and I had to pick video games, man.
00:34:16
Speaker
Oh, see, that's the only child you got to do. You got to do that. I had I was like, hey, yo, put that on your Christmas list. Put that game on your Christmas list. I'm going to get the memory card and then I'm going to get the shoes. So y'all get the games. I get the memory card and my shoes. And that's how we're going to do it. And that's how I went. Like it was it was it just worked very well. And I'm happy for that partnership that me and my brothers had.
00:34:47
Speaker
Yeah, I just, sneakers was just my thing, man. It was music and sneakers. Music was, you know, I always say music helped raise me. And then like sneakers was just that great, I mean, people would look at, frown upon it, but sneakers was like that great coping mechanism. I mean, growing up in the hood, growing up in the ghetto,
00:35:11
Speaker
Growing up in poverty, I had my music, I had my sneakers, and it helped me to not even realize, until I got older, yo, no, you was dirt poor. You was poor. Parents, grandparents barely knew if they was going to have the lights on or whatever.
00:35:30
Speaker
they did what they could and so it was just like yo sneakers just really was like coping mechanism for me that one of those music and sneakers were just coping mechanisms and helped me get through when stuff was just tough so yeah I mean I feel like see not to make this sound weird or like down but like
00:35:56
Speaker
What I when I got older and I thought about the same things of like, you know, as we're going through the stuff when we're younger, we look at we look for a dispute in these these items to like, you know, disappear for a second. Like I would disappear in the music, disappear in the sneakers, disappear in the video games. Right. Especially when you know some some like me, I wasn't great at school, you know, so at least I could be good at
00:36:20
Speaker
you know, shooting people in PS2. You know what I mean? Like, you know? Yeah, no, I got you. Yeah, no, I got you. Like, you could be good at running a high score. You know what I'm saying? Like, you had something to hold on to. That's basically what you said. Like, you had something to hold on to. And that's what a lot of us had to do. We had to have different things to hold on to. And then some of them, we just carried with us into adulthood, you know? Yeah.
00:36:49
Speaker
onto this where we're like, I feel like now we just, we got our own money. We playing catch up and it just continues. You never catch it. So like in high school, right? Were, were your goals always to like working sneakers or what was your first, like, or especially like, what was your first job? You know? Nah, so.
00:37:20
Speaker
from middle, from elementary school, shoot, from elementary school all the way up until 2019, my goal was not to work in sneakers. My goal was not really, I've been an animal lover since I was a baby boy.
00:37:47
Speaker
So I love nature, I love animals. And I just always had this connection with animals when I go outside, play, whatever. And so I never forget my first dog name. See, this is what happens when you get on the podcast, you know what I'm saying? You start telling all this stuff. But I had a dog- That's what we're here for. Had a dog name. Juju. Juju?
00:38:10
Speaker
Now that I'm older and I was in vet med, I realized that Choo Choo had parvo. He died from parvo. What's parvo? Parvo virus, it attacks your nervous system. And once the dog gets that, the stem for parvo, actually, and once the dog gets that,
00:38:29
Speaker
Basically, you hemorrhaging, they can't keep fluids down, they can't keep food down to have bloody stool. Your body is just hemorrhaging all of this stuff, right? Most of the time, if you catch it early, the dog can live. But again, growing up in the hood,
00:38:50
Speaker
We didn't, my grandparents didn't know nothing about that. So we went to the veterinarian, I'll never forget we had a truck ride. I was in the middle of my grandmother, my grandfather, we took him to the clinic. And I just remember when we left, he didn't come back home with us.
00:39:07
Speaker
So he passed away. And so I've always loved animals. So in high school, I was in health science. My school was a high school for careers, Barbara Jordan High School. And I remember I was in
00:39:23
Speaker
health science. And then when I went to college, went to Prairie View University, Prairie View A&M University, I majored in agriculture with the concentration in animal science because I was on track to be a veterinarian. I wanted to be a vet. And so I
Career Pivot to Creative Work
00:39:40
Speaker
was in vet med up until last year.
00:39:43
Speaker
I was in vet med up until like full time up until last year. And so like sneakers didn't really start to come into play for me until I started taking pictures of with my professional camera. Like I used to take the pictures with my shoot, my phone and everything. But when I started shooting, when the pandemic happened,
00:40:05
Speaker
2019, I started shooting events. I was heavy in sneaker politics in Dallas. They had just opened up. I was doing stuff at, I'm on my year social status. I just started doing events. Let's just freelance. I was going to ask like, did they hit you up? I don't know. I'm just there. Like I'm just, I'm just there. Like clockwork.
00:40:27
Speaker
support, events, and just taking pictures by my own premonition. Nobody, no payments, no nothing, nothing like that, no hiring. That was just me. That's what I love to do. And so I did that. And so when I'm doing that, I built so many connections in the network. And so I was like, you know what? I want to go into this
00:40:53
Speaker
I want to go into a field that I just do nothing but create for a living. Still not in sneakers like full time, but I get closer every year.
00:41:06
Speaker
at some capacity, because I do get paid for events now, and I do get paid for certain projects and collaborations now. But still, it's not full time yet, but it's getting closer. It's getting closer. I can feel it getting closer, but it was during that time that that transition from vet med to what I want to do with my life, I don't want to be a doctor anymore.
00:41:33
Speaker
what I wanna do, I had to make a decision. And when I made that decision, my world turned upside down, but it was for the better. And so that's how I got to where I am today in the sneaker space when I made that decision. Yeah, I'm very curious of like, so are you just dropping? Like you're just doing a full pivot?
00:42:00
Speaker
and not finishing or did you did you finish your vet school? Oh no I dropped it. Okay. I had like uh probably like four more prerequisites to go to actual vet school. So I got my bachelor's degree in animal science and I had I had been I was working full-time in vet med. I was a veterinary nurse, veterinary tech and um
00:42:25
Speaker
And then I dropped down. This is when I knew I was going to get out of bed mid because my last year and a half, I had dropped down to being basically a receptionist. I wasn't hands on anymore because I was just like, I don't want to be in this anymore. And so I dropped down to that. And then I was like, you know what? I got to get out of this soon. So yeah, I did not finish. I looked back on it and it was one of the
00:42:54
Speaker
toughest decisions in my life. Yeah. But I look back on it and it was one for me. It was one of the best decisions I made in my life because.
00:43:05
Speaker
I wasn't going to be able to do both. Yeah. You can't serve two masters. And the amount of time I would have had to dedicate to studying and going to school and the amount of money I would have to pour into that. There was no way I was going to be able to. And I was just like, you got to make a decision. It was one day I was just like, you got to decide. And I was like, yo, mom's not going to understand it. My ex at the time, not going to understand it. My grandmother probably not going to understand it. My brother's not going to understand it.
00:43:35
Speaker
I just got to do it. And I did it. And this is, and it felt, it was terrifying at the time when the season hit me. But then afterwards it was like, oh, I made the right decision. What was the moment where, you know, you were like, yo, like, you know, when you have that moment of like, it's all washing over you of like, yo, this is the right thing. What was that moment that hit you?
00:44:05
Speaker
It was just like I was going through a lot of different stuff in life. We had the pandemic going on. We had a lot of people during the pandemic had breakups, divorces, everything like that.
00:44:20
Speaker
Because you had to spend time with your person at that time. Yeah. And so it was just serving my life and like, yo. And it was just one night I started and like, man, I don't want to. I'm probably not going to listen, so I ain't going to. But it was just like certain people in my life at that time
00:44:47
Speaker
loved them dearly, uh, still have love for them today, that
00:44:55
Speaker
were not listening to me. They did not see me for who I was and who I was becoming. It was just looking at me for who they, who I, you know, and I, and I play a part in that because I said I wanted to be a veterinarian. So you,
Growth Through Life Challenges
00:45:10
Speaker
all you know is me being a veterinarian. You don't know me being a photographer or a writer or a podcast or whatever. You don't know me for those things, you know, for you going to go be a veterinarian, make six figures, graduate, make six figures.
00:45:25
Speaker
And so, but they wasn't seeing the artistic and creative sides of me. And those were the sides that were always there. But it was like, can you make money from this? Can you make a livelihood from this? And so it was when I made that decision, like I said, it wasn't the main factor in losing a lot of important people in my life at that time. But it was a pillar of it.
00:45:54
Speaker
And so when I made that decision, it just came to me one night. It just came to me one night. And I was just like, yo, I'm going after this. I'm going after this. And after I made that decision, I started losing people.
00:46:15
Speaker
I was all losing people. And it hurt. And it did not feel good. Because like, you know, people look at shoes as trivial things. And shoes, nigga, like, what? Gotta get a real job. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Don't do something better with your life. You got this degree in this. And it was when I made that decision. But you know what? OK, let me say this. OK.
00:46:44
Speaker
What made that decision a very important decision in my life is because up until that point, I was the most indecisive person you could be in your life. I was just going, I would be on this constant loop of, should I do this? Should I do that? Should I do that? Whatever. When I made that decision,
00:47:10
Speaker
decisions, decision making started to become very easy, like easier for me. Yeah. And after I made that decision, I was like, all right, bet. Like, I'm gonna be all right. It hurt right now, but I'm gonna be all right. And I had to, you know, being my ex, like, that was, we dissipated, that was done. And I had to, a lot of people don't notice, like, I had to move back home.
00:47:40
Speaker
I had to move with my mom's. I was in back in my old bedroom, like from a big ass house to my damn child. And like.
00:47:57
Speaker
was putting out, like still putting out like fire ass content. And that's when I had to realize like, yo, you gotta be comfortable in your decision. Life circumstance is not comfortable right now, but you gotta be comfortable in your decision. And- Did you feel like, my bad, it cut you off. Cause I know you're about to say something way more impactful than what I'm about to ask you right now. But did you feel, did you feel like
00:48:22
Speaker
it was like a life reset. Because I feel like going back to where you basically grew up, was it like, yo, this is a second chance. I think I'm- It was a total life reset. And it's hard to, you got to keep yourself sane and not beat yourself up. Because you can say, yo, I am
00:48:47
Speaker
I'm back to ground zero. But if you look at it the right way, you'll be like, I'm back at ground zero, which means I can reset and rebuild this foundation to where it won't be a fraud, to where it won't be weak, to where it won't be soft. You could reset the foundation to what it needs to be, to be able to sustain and last and endure life. I mean, shoot.
00:49:14
Speaker
You make me want to quit my job tomorrow. My boss listen to my podcast. No, I'm not going to quit my job. He was just saying that for the show. It just makes you, you know what I'm saying? When you do it, it's just saying I have the powers in the doing.
00:49:40
Speaker
It don't feel good all the time, but some of your power lives within you just doing it, just doing whatever it is you need to do. And so me doing that, going into the unknown, scary, uncomfortable, I'm hurt, I'm grieving relationships, but at the same time, on the other side of it, it's been so much more rewarding than, you know,
00:50:09
Speaker
what came before it. So. That's shoot, man. It's hard to follow up that because it's one thing that I think is super common, especially. I always I bring it up and I don't know if I brought it up on this podcast, but I think something that always holds us back is to get it out the mud mentality. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And
00:50:37
Speaker
will stick to something that we don't like doing until we feel like we got out the mud. Because you just feel like you got to do it. You got to do it. And that's not always true. Right. Because even if you pivot,
00:50:55
Speaker
If you started in the mud, you still got to get out the mud. Sometimes the same, what you was using to get out the mud wasn't going to get you out the mud. So when you pivot, you find another resource or another tool to actually get out the mud. That's just what it is.
00:51:11
Speaker
Yeah. And so like, I said, I don't know how old your mother is, but my mom's pretty old. So she like she very pushes the whole, like, you got to make sure you always have a background. Like, you know, like you got to have that, that full bag plan. And that whole in learning the difference of like, oh, you got to, if you don't step in with two feet,
00:51:34
Speaker
You don't know how far this actually can go. It can either fail, and you can learn that right now, or you can prolong how long it'll take to fail. And yeah, you're stepping out the comfort zone. You out the window sailing. You're like, yeah. I was already at a point where life was unraveling for me.
00:52:04
Speaker
It was like, let's just rip it off. The Band-Aid is already, just rip it off and just see what's out there. So that's what I did. My mom is not, she is halfway between what your mom is. One foot in, one foot out of, you gotta have that backup plan, but because she started to see
00:52:28
Speaker
what it was I was building and doing. My mom was like, oh, okay, big. In this time, in this day and age, this is the most my mom has told me she's proud of me. She was not, she was
00:52:45
Speaker
We grew up together, me and my mom. So it was like we were striving together. We were trying to survive, surviving together. And so like she wasn't trying to handle it. Go be the president, go be a police officer, go be a doctor, go be a lawyer, go be.
00:53:02
Speaker
What? I don't want to hear about them tennis shoes. You only got one pair of feet. Get out of there. You know what I'm saying? But when she started to see and the people she would meet, it was like, oh, no, Joe. Joe, duh, duh, duh. And so she was like, oh, well, how can I help you, son?
00:53:21
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? Like how can I help you with a photo shoot? Can I help you do this or whatever? And so she's come to some of the events I've hosted or moderated like, and that means the world to me.
Family Support in Creative Pursuits
00:53:34
Speaker
And so like she, you know, it's tough. Now my granny, she still don't know what a podcast is. The best thing I can tell is like, granny, just think about it. If you listen to a fireside chat back in the day, if you just listen to a conversation already, she's like, oh, okay. And what they playing on?
00:53:51
Speaker
We're going to talk about that later, but just think about it like that. That's me with my mom, bro. That's me. I have to be like, literally, just before we got recorded, I should be like, yeah, I'm just going to be busy. Don't be busy. Don't try to come pull up on me. I was just busy.
00:54:13
Speaker
I don't know, like, I mean, I'm part of like, you know, first generation, first generation immigrant type of situation and living in the city. It's tough for you. I'm sorry. I mean, it's tough for me, but yeah, that's that's a tough one. I mean.
00:54:29
Speaker
It's, it's interesting because I get the I'm half Brazilian so like I get to go to Brazil I witnessed the black suppression that you get over there versus over here and it's like, you know, it's so totally different in terms of like my struggle and the struggles of what that's my ancestor struggles stuff like that.
00:54:48
Speaker
The, the way to like, I don't know how we how we move and, and continue to push forward has always been this big thing for me right you know and a lot of your content is that and conversations but like how did you figure out that that is what you want to talk about versus being like, this is the new sneaker this week, you know what I mean.
00:55:09
Speaker
Man, so I'm gonna try to keep this short. Nah, keep it as long as you want. So my
Evolution of 'Thoughts for the Soul'
00:55:16
Speaker
podcast before it became Thoughtful to Soul was the LXNG podcast. And so higher LXNG stands for multiple things. When people say higher learning, they're correct. But if they said higher living, they would be correct.
00:55:34
Speaker
How I created was how your L-X-N-G is how you're living, how you're learning, how you're laughing, and how you're living, how you're learning, how you're laughing. And it was one more L word. I can't remember. But I always say that X is the placeholder. So whatever the word is, that's what it is, right?
00:55:59
Speaker
I had the LXNG podcast was just supposed to talk about life. I was just supposed to be talking to creatives, artists, entrepreneurs about that journey. That was for the Soul was a YouTube channel that me and my boy named Jesse. He from out here. He from Denver Harbor, which is like pretty much the Hispanic version of Fifth Ward out here. So I grew up in Fifth Ward. Jesse grew up in Denver Harbor.
00:56:26
Speaker
And we became boys in high school. But really after high school, we became like really good friends. Yeah. Because he loves sneakers. Like if I did a documentary, I would have to have him in it because he loves me like Jesse. His collection is stupid. Yeah. Oh.
00:56:44
Speaker
Me and Jesse had, we created the Thoughts For The Soul YouTube channel, and we just thought we're going to get on there, blow up, and retire, and get this YouTube money and be done. Man, Jesse worked at a plant. I worked, I was in Vet Med, working 12 hour shifts. Jesse worked in 12 hour shifts.
00:57:03
Speaker
at uh the plant and so he was like nah like so we had to we had to just let it go because the timing like when we off we need to be sleep or running errands or whatever
00:57:17
Speaker
And so we ended up letting that fold. And then a few years later, that was in 2015, 2016. I think in 2018 or 2019, I brought it back on YouTube. I was going to do sneaker reviews. And I was like, nah, it's so many people had to do this shit way better than that. So I had the LXNG podcast, and I had
00:57:43
Speaker
for the soul on YouTube. And then I was just like, you know what, let me, I'm gonna just merge and fuck you. Who gonna tell me, you know, if an episode is gonna be about sneakers, cool. If an episode is gonna be about life, cool. If it's about both, cool. And so that's why I just named it thoughts for the soul.
00:58:04
Speaker
just to, you know, play on S-O-U-L, and just talk about life, but sneakers, and it's probably like people that I met through sneakers, but we might not have a conversation about kicks. It might be about life, but we met through kicks, or it might, we might be, we met through life, but we having a conversation about kicks. So that's how I came to be. Like, I just like, nah, let me just mash them together, mash them together, and that was it. That, I mean, it's a perfect mash.
00:58:34
Speaker
You know, like I think that we only get two feet, right? But nobody could tell us what shoes we walk in. You know what I mean? Right.
00:58:47
Speaker
Look, if anybody's listening, tweet at me that that was a bar, because I wanted to say that that was a bar, but I need to give validation that that was a bar. Nah, you need to quote that, and you need to put that in your bio. And then people are like, what is it? And you know what I'm saying? And it was burped here. Let it ride. Episode 169. You need a t-shirt that's said on the t-shirt and everything. You know what I'm saying? Like for real.
00:59:15
Speaker
Nobody can tell you what shoes that you're wearing. Nobody could tell you today what hat you're putting on today. Nobody could tell you what
00:59:24
Speaker
what your walk has been and so like I have conversations to try to get people to talk about their walks because people think that a lot of time we think that stuff is linear and most of life is not linear like you go through a lot of the same things but it's in different ways so that's why I had a conversations I have because
00:59:47
Speaker
Again, it's a lot of complaining, critiquing, craziness. And I try to have a conversation that is complimentary, congratulatory, and just chill, cool. I'm not saying that there is not stuff that we don't need to talk about or say that is not this or not that. I'm not saying that, but it's so many people that do that. Right. Yeah. That's covered. What about the other side? That part, aye.
01:00:17
Speaker
You could open any app and it's covered, hands over fist. That's not what I'm here for. And I know that's a reason why it's been slow. I know that. Wait, what do you mean about that? The growth, the traction has been slow is because
01:00:38
Speaker
I'm not salacious. I'm not out here just saying certain things to get a reaction. Right. I'm not out here promoting this and promoting that. I know people ask me like I told you that story about that chick that I used to work with. Like people think like I'm just
01:01:01
Speaker
non-confrontational, but no, I'm none. I guess I would say I'm non-controversial, but I'm okay with confrontation. But at the same time, it's just like, it's so many people that do that in our space. I ain't gotta do it. Let me be on this side of it. I'm cool. You know what I'm saying? And if I be ducked off and nobody see me, that is what it is.
01:01:28
Speaker
Because I think this is definitely a conversation that we probably would have off mic, but let's just have it on mic. What is it about our content that you feel people don't want to listen to it? Because I know we touch on, and I feel you the same way of just, we're not controversial. I'm not going to be on here being like, yo, this is whack. That's not me. I could feel that, but I don't have to.
01:01:55
Speaker
I don't have to broadcast it. And I think it's just like not being spicy enough. I mean, part of my family is Creole Cajun. And then I got family that's just Southern. So I know about both flavors and spices and herbs and all that. I cook with all that. I get it.
01:02:22
Speaker
It's like they say they're saying to the meat spit out the bone. It's like, I know for me, my content can be meat, but it's like the seasoning, the seasoning of controversy or the seasoning of
01:02:41
Speaker
a hot take or the seasoning of whatever is not there. And that's just not me. I can have these conversations with you on the phone. I can have a conversation with people on the phone about it, but I don't like to run to social media and do that. And I put it like this. If I do want to say I dislike something, there is a tasteful way to say it.
01:03:10
Speaker
Tasteful Way is not enough seasoning on that. Yeah, I mean, because I mean, look, I'll post and be like, this is not for me. And then as soon as I know this, you know, it's not going to move nothing. But if I go, yeah, it's not going to move nothing.
01:03:27
Speaker
The soonest I say, somebody tweets out being like, I can't believe they did this and they're doing this only for black people. Like, you know, immediately they're going to start. But if you say it's not for me, hey, it's not for me, but I could appreciate it. Oh, OK, whatever, next tweet. I just find it because, I mean, I don't know if you were on the forums back in the day, but I always felt like,
01:03:55
Speaker
When we collected sneakers and we were on the forums, it was a lot of more of just conversations. I can be like, oh, I don't like these. And then you pull up in the next thread, or whatever, and you go, yo, I love these. And I'm going to tell you why. I'm going to tell you why. Yo, my mom, blah, blah, blah. Right. That's what I'm about to say. Oh, you say you don't like these? I'm like, all right, man. I mean, I love them. But why don't you like them? What would you try? It would be a genuine, not a, I don't like these. Oh, that's because you.
01:04:24
Speaker
lame, you old, dusty, you ain't got no style. Like, you know what I'm saying? It just started going like damn. What up? You know what I'm saying? It gets wild, man. And so like, that's just not me. And when I say that's just not me, that's just not me in real life. Like, if I don't like something, I don't give life to it.
01:04:52
Speaker
I don't give light to it unless I personally, it's something personal. Do I see a shoe? Oh, okay. Keep scrolling. And so it made me start feeling like, well damn, is it something that's, is that something that's neurodivergent about me? It's easy to do it. So like, why don't I do it?
01:05:22
Speaker
The bread ain't baked all the way it ain't. Nah, I don't think that's it at all. I don't think that's it at all. I think it's more of the opposite, to be honest. I think it's too many people thinking they are neurodivergent, and they're like, I don't care about what anybody else thinks. I'm going to just put this on here. I want all the smoke. But it's not like, it's the opposite of being like, I want all the smoke.
01:05:51
Speaker
This is the smoke. There you go. Yeah, this is smoke. So that's just, and it pains me. And that's another reason why I keep going is because like, yo, maybe I keep going just to see it one day.
01:06:10
Speaker
The way that I communicate or express myself does catch fire. And I'd be like, I did it my way. I did it my way. Either way, I'm going to say I did it my way. That's just what it is. I'm not falling susceptible to that. I did it my way.
01:06:28
Speaker
No, that same here. I think that once I first started this, it was, I mean, I put it still in the bio of the podcast.
Bringing Back Storytelling in Sneakers
01:06:36
Speaker
I just wanted to bring conversations and storytelling back to sneakers because that's what
01:06:42
Speaker
I may bitch about it or may not, but right now, we're in this world where the sneaker companies are telling us the stories. That's all good and everything in terms of that, but I think it also takes away the room of everybody else's personal story with that sneaker. Even with that, we still could tell our story.
01:07:06
Speaker
But I think it like overshadows it because they're like, oh yeah, now this is what it means. Instead of it being like, oh, this is that moment where, you know, my mom took me to go see Travis Scott. Like, you know, that was just a bad example. But I don't look at it like that. I don't look at it like that. You know why? Because some stories follow death to me.
01:07:31
Speaker
Some swords just fall, they fall upon deaf ears, but I still like the shoe. So brands like Nike, Jumpman, they have gotten to a point to where they are. I mean, all of all the major brands really, except for
01:07:54
Speaker
I mean, no, all of them. No, all of them, for sure. Because, you know, it used to just be like, they would release a shoe. It wouldn't have no name attached to it. And then the forums would name them. And then that's how we got the names. Now we got names for these shoes now. And so if the story resonates, it resonates. If it doesn't resonate.
01:08:15
Speaker
I'm just like, well, shit, this is what I'm gonna call them. This is why they resonate with me. You know what I'm saying? Taking it back to this, this, and that. When I was skipping school and I shouldn't have been or whatever, like, oh, I remember when I did that or whatever. That's how I look at it. When it comes to custody, because it's still a canvas to tell your story, regardless of the story that's been told in East Sticker. But I think, see, I agree with that. I just think
01:08:45
Speaker
people take that, like they just take it as that's the story I should be telling instead of being like, I can add my own story to this. I hate that. I hate that for people. Like if it resonates with me, I stick with the story because it's a part of my story. But if the story doesn't, for instance, for instance,
01:09:13
Speaker
when concepts released the, the air max one pack, the heavy and all of that, right? Oh yeah. Yeah. I wasn't in the woods. Stop where you at the freak deck though. That wasn't fun. And it caught on the freely. They caught in the woods with the psychedelics and the mushrooms. You know what I'm saying? The rock music in the, the, the hippie like, so
01:09:36
Speaker
That didn't resonate to me, but the part of it that did resonate with me, okay, we're talking about festivals, we're talking about concerts, we're talking about these shoes got denim on them, 90s denim. So that's where it came for with me. I remember bandanas, like you gang banging, all right, bandanas.
01:09:59
Speaker
I seen my aunts in them wear bandanas for their hair, you know what I'm saying? It being a part of your fashion and style, so I took that away from their shoes. The other part, it's
01:10:15
Speaker
take the meat, leave the bone. Some of these stories be like that with me. But like you said, there are a lot of people that just stick with the story. And I hate that because it's like, yo, if I love a shoe.
01:10:30
Speaker
As long as it ain't no, as long as it ain't like these, the Hitler 3000s, I'm gonna take the shit. If it's not, if you gotta know, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't look. There's no way I can spin that, but if you thought of the Hitler 3000s or the Saddam Hussein's, hey, you, you got it.
01:10:54
Speaker
You got it, dog. Hey, they look good, but I'm gonna let y'all chill over there with them. Oh, man. Listen, Joe, at the end of the podcast, I always ask another question. And this one deals with a little bit of visualization. So I want you to think back to when you were younger and you were just about to open that box with the Prestos in it. But now you're you travel back in time behind yourself. What would you tell your younger self before they open that box?
01:11:23
Speaker
Yo, you about to open this box and your life about to change forever in a good way. You're not going to see it today. You're not going to see it tomorrow. You're not going to see it in the next 10 years. But from now on, when you open this box, after you open this box of sneakers, just know that
01:11:44
Speaker
You have a precious gift in your hand and moving forward, you're going to be able to meet some amazing, incredible people because of your love and passion for sneakers. You're going to be on a podcast episode that you never knew. You didn't even know what a podcast was, but you're going to learn what a podcast is in the future. You're going to be on a podcast episode.
01:12:07
Speaker
You don't have the ability to make a livelihood. You don't have the ability to express yourself like an expression of art through these kicks. And you're going to be able to meet some very important people, form some very important relationships in your life because of your love and affinity for what you're about to see when you open this box.
01:12:30
Speaker
Man, beautifully said. I thought you would at least be like, and Choo Choo, look up, look up, Parvo, real quick. Ah, man, too. Rest in peace, Choo Choo, man. Joe, thank you so much for jumping on the podcast. And you know what we say every week to everybody out there, wear your kicks. Peace.