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Trackstar Athlete with Kofie Yeboah
95 Plays5 months ago
This week I welcome Kofie Yeboah to the podcast. We talk about his history with kicks. How he found his voice on YouTube, and the lane of content he choses to make. How much I love his work at Secret Base and how we got to know each other. Growing up in the land of Jordan North Carolina. Getting his first job and what he bought with that money. Also his time running track and how far it got him. Plus much much more!
Where to find Kofie:
Socials: @Kofie & @KofieYeboah
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Download Solesafe: https://solesafe.co/
Use Promo Code: PPOQA5
Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/... something and tell him we sent ya!)
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Kofi Yeboia
00:00:00
Speaker
Y'all welcome back to my first kicks. This is episode 176 and this week I welcome Kofi Yeboia to the podcast. Now if you are familiar with Kofi, he's part of the amazing team at Secret Base, SB Nation, Vox, all that stuff. And he's also a streamer and if you've seen him on TikTok or on YouTube he's mostly talking about sports.
00:00:26
Speaker
I love his content so this to me is and was a great conversation now just a full disclaimer we didn't get super sneakerhead about it but
00:00:41
Speaker
I wanted a different perspective of content creation in a space and finding your voice in a specific space that had nothing to do with sneakers because Kofi's content and the way Kofi grows his following is so pure to him and his ideologies that I find it more
00:01:26
Speaker
I
Finding a Unique Voice in Content Creation
00:01:27
Speaker
in the lane of
00:01:27
Speaker
wanted my content to be like and I don't necessarily call myself a content creator if you if you want to go and Listen to my conversation with Rainey. I talk about how I found find content creating boring and it's more because I love the type of content that Kofi does where it's a conversation and also a
00:01:52
Speaker
like a learning like you're just learning when you're hearing about deep dives like shout out to cam james who does amazing work and fd signifier also does amazing work on youtube that's the type of content that i want to do in sneakers and after this conversation with kofi i found i feel like i know where i'm going and if you've been following me for three years and or you've listened to the last episode and you hear me you know struggling with
00:02:20
Speaker
what I want to do with my content and struggling with how I find the my progression in this space please know I ever green my content because I want to be able to you know do five episodes in a week and then have five weeks to just do whatever I want and not have to be tied down to do an episode so I do that in the the ways of
00:02:49
Speaker
trying to always have content out and be consistent. Shout out to Ryan Sickler who taught me this. And so, that's my boy. And so, that's what I do. And I will say, because of that, sometimes you'll hear me relent or talk about why I'm not moving in a specific pace that I thought I would be moving or that this would go, this podcast would just take off and I'm getting, you know,
00:03:19
Speaker
sponsored deals
Kofi Yeboia's Content Platforms
00:03:20
Speaker
and all this and that and you know everything's on a network and I'm good to go no not how it works it's also the nature of when I have these conversations it's whatever's on my mind I'm always talking about it because this what this podcast is about I'd rather
00:03:37
Speaker
use it as a platform to see how people get to where they're going while talking about my frustrations of where I am right now. And how all of that intertwines with sneakers. So if this is your first time listening, keep that in mind when you go back. But if you've been listening for several years,
00:04:00
Speaker
shout out to you because you've definitely heard hear me and had have heard me just relent on like where am I going how am I doing this but like I said this episode with Kofi just got me on the straight and narrow I know what I want to do now I have
00:04:18
Speaker
clear picture of where I'm going and you'll be seeing a lot of that. No more of this nonsense of me jumping in to making TikTok videos and trying to make jokes and this and that. If I do make a joke, it's going to be a well thought out skit. If I'm going to make content, it's going to be all well thought out. So now that's what I'm working with and shout out to Kofi for helping me get on that path. So
00:04:43
Speaker
On to where you can find
Challenges in Podcast Growth and Direction
00:04:45
Speaker
Kofi. You can find him on everything, Secret Base. I implore you to watch his Fumble Dimensions. He has a, uh, recently he just did a MV, a series called MVP, where he, he mixes, you know, pay, no, it's Peyton Manning has a, he has a 99 overall rating in six straight maddens in a row. So now he's like trying to figure out which one's the best. Very interesting. Shout out to him.
00:05:12
Speaker
I mean, I love his work, like I said, and you're going to hear how many how many flowers. I mean, I might have might as well showed up with a bouquet of flowers because I've always like since he started, I've been watching him and he's one of my favorites. So this is a huge honor having him on at Kofi Y on Twitch. Go hit him with the follow and a sub if you if you want to, you know, you know.
00:05:38
Speaker
throw Wes beak a little bit, you know what I mean? And also, if you're following, I think it's KofiY on Instagram and also it's just Kofi on Twitter or X. But of course, everything will be in the description of this podcast and the description of the YouTube video, which I hope you're watching. And also,
00:06:02
Speaker
you know where to find your
The Art of Video Essays and Editing
00:06:03
Speaker
boy i am who was hostile social medias follow the podcast on my first kicks pod follow the podcast and no i was gonna say subscribe well is this subscribe whatever on youtube i'm trying to get that up to five hundred so i can get a little bit a chunk of change you know i'm trying to also wet my beak here but it's you know important as i try to grow this podcast you know it's just
00:06:30
Speaker
the nature of the beast here would love for if you could share this with anybody that you've seen or here or may know like this is the most non sneaker head version of this podcast so this is the easiest way to just jump in on this you know just like yo mom check this out guys cool they talk a little bit about sneakers but it's very cool episode like get it in there
00:06:56
Speaker
And also hit me with the like on the video if you're watching this on YouTube. And on TikTok, My First Kicks, My First Kicks Pod on Instagram. If you have a My First Kicks story, hit me up. I would love to read it to a guest, MyFirstKicksPod at gmail.com. And on to this week's guest, Kofi.
First Shoes and Track Spike Interest
00:07:17
Speaker
Hey, Kofi, welcome to the podcast.
00:07:19
Speaker
Hey, thanks for having me. No, man, this is this is a this is a big honor because, well, first, I watched a lot of your videos, a lot of your videos. And then and then for for if you to just throw us in a group chat together, it was like this is I that you know, it's like I don't know if you ever had a moment where
00:07:40
Speaker
you ever met somebody that you were following and then you're just like, I did not realize how much I actually spent time with this guy. Now I actually can have like an actual conversation with them and then I don't use it, use this time at all to have these conversations. Right, exactly. I think if you putting us in that chat,
00:08:02
Speaker
Well, I think I was originally there because I had downloaded Street Fighter 6, right? So it's like a fighting game and then sneaker.
00:08:12
Speaker
head chat, but I'm not a sneakerhead at all. So I was just so sometimes y'all be dropping in shoes. And I'm like, I don't understand what significance the importance of it. I like I like how they look cool and everything. But I feel like there's so much for me, like to keep up with that shoes has never been my forte, because my parents were always like, you get one shoe
00:08:35
Speaker
a year, you get like two shoes a year. And I
High School Track and Athletic Background
00:08:37
Speaker
grew up, I went to a private school that had uniforms, right? So there wasn't really, you had to look fly, you had to match the outfit. Like I only had, I could only wear like three different colors ever, right? So the shoes never really got it.
00:08:56
Speaker
of like, Oh, you get to wear whatever sneaker with the uniform. I mean, you could, but at the time I never, I never put that much thought into it. I think everything sneaker wise is like that I've ever liked has come from just like playing an organized sport, whether it's like you, it would be like basketball shoes or track spikes. I was big. I got big into track spikes in terms of just like trying to analyze. Cause it's like,
00:09:21
Speaker
I compare it to like Bay blades and everything because every spike, you know, have like a different weight or different stability. And if you're a sprinter versus a long jumper, you're going to need different type of spikes. So I got very fascinated by that, but I've never, I was never, everyone compares. Sorry. Everyone talks about like sneakers app losses. I have never downloaded that app, you know, because I just know that that's a, that's such.
00:09:48
Speaker
I know that once I get into if I ever get new shoes, I could not like stop and it's gonna like keep on like I'll have like a whole closet full cuz I am a collector at the end of the day, right? Yeah, I mean Shoot if this this this episode might start
00:10:06
Speaker
Like put a bug in you. If this is, if this is, if this was the start of this, you're going to be like, okay, like maybe I might try to, you know, or like, you'll be like, you know, help me just get this. And then I'll be like, here you go. You know, because that's what happens in my, I mean, I, I mentioned my discord on here, like maybe like once in a handful, but nobody's ever asked for the link or nothing like that. But usually in there, this discord I'm in, it's part of this old podcast that I used to follow called get up on this. I don't know if you ever listened to this.
00:10:36
Speaker
And so we started a discord or somebody started a discord I jumped in and then now I basically I took it over me and my other friend we used to host a copycat of that podcast and then it's I got the podcast bug from starting that podcast and now we're here to my own podcast, right? Oh, nice. Yeah, that
00:10:55
Speaker
that in that discord, there's always a message somebody shout out to the homie, Sean, he always messaged him and be like, Hey, I don't know what the shoe is. Can you find this shoe for me? And then it's like two seconds later, here you go, bam. And he's like, All right, I bought it. And I was like, Okay, like that's like a jazam. Yeah, he'll be like,
Prioritizing Interests Over College Track
00:11:13
Speaker
Okay, this shoe looks like this, this, this, this, and someone's gonna Okay, wow.
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's me basically knowledge right there. I am. It's funny because like, I've been thinking about it. And, you know, in terms of just like the form of your content, why really enjoyed is like the, like, I've been wanting to get into and I've been teasing it on here because
00:11:34
Speaker
I am. I love short form. Well, short form. I like video essays. And you know, you do a style of video essay, but it's more of just like stream of consciousness. And that's what I wish I can do that. But I know if I try, I would just be meandering and not get to the point. That's the perfect thing about
00:11:56
Speaker
YouTube and editing is that I there are times where I do not get to the point and then I cut about four minutes of that entire so it looks like I have a coherent thought the entire time. But no, it is is absolutely like my brains on a treadmill. It just keeps on going. Yeah, that's the beauty of YouTube. That's why I mean, I stream a little bit, but I don't do it as much but streaming and then shooting for YouTube is such a different
00:12:22
Speaker
school of thought, even though it's considered the same form of content at times. Yeah. And so I really wanted to jump into that because I feel like I can convey
00:12:34
Speaker
Like do what you do, like just cut out the me meandering part and to me getting to what the topic of what the episode is going to be about, whatever, and do that. But it's all about, it takes so much time because I have to do that, then edit it myself and then do that. But I'm also doing this and I'm also working. So it's just like, how do I find the time to do what I want to do? I have like a
Approach to Content Creation and Evergreen Focus
00:12:56
Speaker
million ideas of what I want to do that can actually help
00:12:59
Speaker
People who find it and are into sneakers. Well, I'm not and also be funny about it But it's all about how do I push myself and do it? but I say that and basically on the topic of me entering to go to to basically ask you to introduce yourself So, my name is Kofi Yeboah, I am a content creator I work at secret base the YouTube channel and
00:13:29
Speaker
has over about a million subscribers, and it's been fun to work on that team with about, I think it's about 14, 15 people. I also do my own personal YouTube, TikTok, Twitch content stuff as well. And you guys can follow me at Kofi on Twitter, K-O-F-I-E, at KofiY on TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, and then my Kofi Ebola is on my Instagram handle.
00:13:59
Speaker
And I kind of talk about a little bit of everything, but I mainly focus on sports and sports video games. Yeah. I mean, I remember I found that the first video I ever found of you and I was like, I think I, I think I was, I think I was more amazed by you having the patience to go through the entire NBA 2k.
00:14:23
Speaker
like is it the I don't know if it's the roster itself or the draft or no no I think you simulated so that it was only just the entire like everybody just law like it was just like a land of normal people right we kept we kept funneling a draft class of some of the worst basketball players in terms of we created all of them we kept funneling that draft class in repeatedly until
00:14:48
Speaker
That was the entire league and we decided to see what that season was like and I think that was I made that about five years ago. Yeah, that was my that was my debut on the channel too, right? Yeah, that's my debut on the youtube channel and coffee and I keep remembering the like the the
00:15:06
Speaker
The day before I keep
TikTok Journey and Audience Expectations
00:15:08
Speaker
remembering, I was just like, Oh, what if they, what if everybody hates it? What about it? It's a million, it's a million subscribers and I'm a new face. Like SB Nation has been, SB Nation Seeker Base has been around for like five, six, seven years. And it was a, it was a daunting debut, but I think that we, we won them over definitely with other video ideas and just honestly,
00:15:31
Speaker
having my sort of style but not trying to be another style, you know, I think that always like has helped me in terms of being like, hey, if this video if this video is not for you, then I can sit here and be like, hey, I didn't try to make it.
00:15:46
Speaker
for you. I would take more offense to it if someone didn't like my video. If I was trying to be somebody, I'm not. And now, oh, well, maybe I could have won you over if I had just been myself. I don't want to like ever think like that. So yeah, those videos take a long time. But at the same time, there's been such an overwhelmingly positive response, which I think for an internet
00:16:14
Speaker
for some of the internet stuff, it's like very rare, not rare, but it's like, it's very, uh, you don't take it for granted. Don't take the fact that like people like what you do, like that, that always like hits home, honestly.
00:16:29
Speaker
No, yeah, that I mean, perfectly said because I mean, but it also leads to when that day when you were like somebody was just like, is Kofi in this chat? And I was like, no. And then you were like, yeah. And I had like a moment of like, it was like, you know, I've been watching this do forever. So I mean, yeah, for a while, I was like, I don't know, Eddie Woods.
00:16:53
Speaker
You know how I get added to a group chat, but everybody, I guess has like already introduced themselves already more or five times. I think that that was what I got added and then like time passed and like, I was like, Oh, okay. Well, I don't know. I could figure out, I could figure out who's who over time. Yeah. That'll be, that was, that was like a super funny moment. And then I
Maintaining Authenticity in Content
00:17:12
Speaker
had to stop myself from being like, all right. Cause this is when you, when you started dropping when
00:17:18
Speaker
What's the last when you when you did like, I always call it like Elam, the Elam simulation because I was Elam ending. Yeah. But it was. Yeah. But that that series and it was like middle of the season. I was like always hesitant to be like, yo, can I get like the last two episodes? I was like, I want to finish it so bad because I was so hyped for it every week. Amen. When those released, though, they weren't even if you were asking for it, you're asking for episodes that were not finished yet.
00:17:46
Speaker
That was a rolling delivery system. Your Fumble Dimensions are the best to watch. I appreciate it. Shout out to everybody that works on it. But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks with that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have?
00:18:10
Speaker
So those are two different questions, I think. Yeah, I think that those, because my first pair of shoes that I really remember is when I used to go to this place, might not be a rack room shoes or something, some shoe warehouse in North Carolina, right? And my parents have always been like, oh, you get like one or two new pairs of shoes a year. And me,
00:18:39
Speaker
I prioritize color over what the shoe is, what it looks like. So I saw these Adidas shoes and the.
00:18:51
Speaker
where the stripes were supposed to be. It's clear. But what you can do is you had these color panels, tabs and you can put them in there and change the color. Yeah. I do not know what those shoes are called, but I thought that they were the coolest things ever. Like it was it was 50, 60 something dollars. And I was like, wow,
Sneaker Culture and Storytelling
00:19:10
Speaker
it's like I bought 12 pairs of shoes right now.
00:19:15
Speaker
Cause I prioritize the color stuff. I've never been. I think there were shell toes, right? I think. Let me see. Let's see. Cause like I see, see, this is what I was talking about, about like people will just tell me about a shoe and I will tell you what shoe is it. Yeah. It's called the Adidas Addi color. Addi color. Okay. They were, hold on.
00:19:41
Speaker
Or also, they did, they did it on a couple models, but, so I don't know, maybe if you remember this, but was the front of the shoe hard? Yes, I don't think I remember, I don't remember the shell. I don't remember them being shelltoes. I remember them being very basic, very basic shoes. And I bought a black pair and I bought a white pair. That was, I think that was where the first time. So I remember like getting shoes that I actually liked and cared about.
00:20:11
Speaker
I feel like every other time we went shoe shopping, it wasn't really – I never really felt anything about it because I'm not – I'm not – again, I'm more of a – I have more of a fascination with like cool socks than cool shoes where it's like I can wear – I can get these shoes but if I wear like – if I get like white shoes or black shoes but if I get
00:20:36
Speaker
a lot of stance socks, a lot of a lot of cool colors or cool stuff about the socks. I'm more about I'm more into that because it feels like interchangeable in terms of just like, OK, I have I have this shirt. I have this. Oh, I could wear these socks to go with a pretty complimentary color that my shoes will always be. So I've always prioritized that. Now, the shoes that I remember that I first wanted, like the first like I was trying to like get these shoes for a long time.
Sneakers as Cultural Gifts
00:21:07
Speaker
they so I ran track in high school from like 2000 2010 to 2013 and my senior year track I had I had won the state championship in the hundred twice and I was trying to go for like a three-peat but I was also trying to get a college scholarship so I was trying my best to
00:21:37
Speaker
get the best shoes on the market and that's one of the things that the best spikes on the market and that's one of the things that in the season prior I wasn't like taking serious because my sophomore year I ran track I ran in these Nike they looked cool but
00:21:56
Speaker
They it just the my feet would hurt after I ran, which is not supposed to happen. Yeah, I'm running 100s. I'm running 200s. I'm not trying to. I'm not like running five K's or whatever. And 100 meters for people who are listening, 100 meters, 200 meters. Yeah. Sorry. Sorry for.
00:22:17
Speaker
And then I remember switching to Adidas, which the Adidas shoes that I first, the Adidas spikes that I first bought where they were fine, but they were so cheaply made that they like broke by the summer. Like they, like I ripped a hole in them. So I decided to go for what was then, uh, marketed as the, the.
00:22:41
Speaker
the lightest spikes. So they were called Adi Zero Prime SPs. And these were I think they're the same spikes that Tyson Gaye wore in the in like the London Olympics.
High School Sports and Cultural Significance of Gear
00:22:58
Speaker
I think they're the same spikes that he wore at one point. And these were shoes that were 3.5 ounces.
00:23:09
Speaker
The shoes were, the spikes were so light. And I remember saving my money to buy these spikes because I was like, okay, this is how I'm taking this seriously. I'm getting these sprinter spikes. I don't want to feel, I want to feel like I have everything to put towards breaking the school record in the hundred, which I hadn't done yet. And qualifying for a 200 meter,
00:23:36
Speaker
Because in track to get a scholarship back then or partial scholarship, there were like times that you had to break to be considered. And I had the hundred one down, but the two hundred one I did not have. So I remember buying these spikes. And I wrote down all of the sprint times that I needed. I wrote them down in marker on the spikes. That's crazy. So I so I was I didn't. But I was then.
00:24:07
Speaker
Like I got injured and the season didn't go the way it did. But that is the first story where it's like I'm glad that I tried my best and didn't try to didn't try to cut corners in terms of buying all the equipment that I needed to perform at my best. Yeah. And I think that that's more of my like sneaker spike story. That's one of the few that I have. And then because other ones come from just like being bad and a basketball and all of that. So. But you played.
00:24:38
Speaker
Well, we played you were were you like a multi sport athlete or were you just strictly track and field at that time? So I came into high school. In middle school, I played soccer once I played basketball for three years and I played.
00:24:56
Speaker
baseball, loved baseball cleats as well. Well, baseball is more fascinated with like the different baseball bats than the cleats. Right? Yeah. Everything all expensive. You're picking the most expensive sports to play in. Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. I, I've it took me a while to like realize just how expensive baseball is and all of that. And I
00:25:21
Speaker
When it came to all of these cleats at the time, I would be like, okay, this is the East Bay. This is the one with the shoe that had the whole page dedicated to it. Oh, this is the new cool. So I knew my parents wouldn't get that because of the high price. I was like, okay, maybe if we get like the third or fourth, we could try to bargain for that.
00:25:45
Speaker
And the school didn't provide like, oh, hey, we get, you know, these shoes or. For basketball, for basketball, we were told we had team shoes, right? So the first ones I remember we they were either Nike shocks.
00:26:02
Speaker
Like the Nike shocks. Yeah, and now now looking back playing basketball in shocks. I think is nuts What Vince Carter did it for so many years? I know but once what I remember once I put that shoe on when I was a kid I was like, I don't I Don't I don't like I said like the feel right? Yeah, and then I Think the next year it was the hyper dunks and
00:26:27
Speaker
I like the Hyperdunks a lot. Hyperdunks, I really like the Hyperdunks. Hyperdunks. I have a pair of, so I recently get, I'm getting back into playing basketball every week now. Yeah. So I've been rotating sneakers out. And so I recently had my Linsanity Hyperdunks and I was just like, I'll put those on and see how, see how I do in those.
00:26:47
Speaker
Don't hold up, man. I'll tell you that they feel totally different. They did not hold up. Hold up. Oh, man. Oh, man. That's tough. And I think so when I got to high school, I did not make either basketball team because our it's North Carolina. They're this is they're about their basketball. They sent people to like Duke, Louisville, et cetera. You know, so.
00:27:14
Speaker
This is one of those things where if you didn't make the high school team, it was just, okay, you understand that they're really about it here. And I didn't really take offense to that. It hit me hard because at the time, I had never ran track before. And I knew I was athletic and I knew I could put it towards something, but I just didn't know what, whether it was trying to... I was so close to playing lacrosse, thinking back to it now.
00:27:40
Speaker
I'm glad I. Why were you so fixated on sticking to sports? I think because I loved sports and it was something to do. I mean, I'm an only child in Raleigh, North Carolina. There wasn't really I wasn't really a hang out at the mall kid or that was never me. You know, all of my friends were also athletes in some capacity, whether it's football, wrestling, baseball. Right. So it was on top of it just
00:28:10
Speaker
on top of it being something to do. It's also just like making friends and like a sense of community outside of sitting in classes all day or whatnot. So I was always trying to and also my parents were on me for a while about like applying to scholarships and applying. I was like, OK, if I could. The dream was always, OK, if I could get a college scholarship for athletics for like maybe
00:28:37
Speaker
I work towards that and they're like, what about the grade stuff? And I'm like, what about the athletic stuff? So we had so much static about that for years. Which understandable, because they were percentage wise, odds wise, they were completely right. There's no defense on the history test. I get that.
00:29:01
Speaker
At the same time, it was always- Imagine if there was. I feel like a lot of math tests have a lot of defense on me. You write full court press, full court press permutations and whatnot. But I think that that was when
00:29:23
Speaker
Since I wasn't playing a sport while high school, I stopped playing every other sport organized except for track. That's when I was just like, OK, all of my all of my money or whatever is going to track spikes versus like I'm not buying a hundred and thirty hundred dollar basketball shoes to go play. Not like high school organized. That was my thought process at the time. Yeah.
00:29:50
Speaker
It was what it was, but I wouldn't change it for anything. What's up, y'all? So I'm jumping in this week's episode to talk about soul safe. It's a new mobile app that doubles as a hub for the sneaker community.
00:30:05
Speaker
You can do pretty much anything and everything that deals with sneakers from cataloging your collection or tracking the value of your collection or even getting their industry leading sneaker insurance which protects you from basically anything like storage theft and
00:30:26
Speaker
Of course, you've heard it on here on this podcast, things like flooding. And they launched a marketplace for everyone to buy, sell, and trade. That's mad dope. So what's really dope about that is that there are no fees through the end of June. But what I love most about SoulSafe is that they are building for and with the community.
00:30:50
Speaker
none of that taxing, or charging you to join, especially when you're just trying to add kicks to your collection, or even do anything. Just join the community, plug in your collection, and tap in with SoulSafe. So, if you want to help the pod, and please, I know that you do, because I know that you're listening, use my promo code, PPOQA5, or tell them my first kicks pod
00:31:18
Speaker
sent you when you sign up, there will be a dropdown or click something that will tell you how did you find or ask you, how did you find about this podcast? And there you go. But I implore you to do that because this is the start of something special and we are on the ground floor. So use my code PPOQA5 and tell them my first kick sent you because as we start building,
00:31:47
Speaker
your collection, or as we start building our collections on the app, we start building our community on the app. So make sure you put in that promo code and support the pod. But now, back to the episode. So I've never put on a pair of spikes. I've never ran track. I've been a basketball kid all my life. Basketball, some soccer here and there. Well, football, I'm half resilient.
00:32:15
Speaker
that's where that comes from. But the like it always looked because like when I'd go to Marshalls or something like that, they would have some spikes there. So I'd pick them up and be like, what is this? They're always super light, but I've never understood how spikes work. Like I know the clip in at the start. And then
00:32:38
Speaker
And then you're then you're off to the races after that once the gun gets shot. I don't know if they but whatever. So I need some I need some explanations of how how how how track spikes work. So track spikes when you have the spike, the shoe, they call the entire shoe the spike. I'm going to say like the shoe part. The spikes you screw in. Right. You don't you don't.
00:33:06
Speaker
when you buy the spikes, there are certain spikes that might, there are certain like mini spikes that will go into this part of the shoe. Now for each, for different types of events, there are different types of spikes. I'm not sure what the correlation is for each one, but for sprint spikes, they're only in the front part of the shoe. Whereas if you're a jumper, the shoe might be different. If you're,
00:33:34
Speaker
If you're a thrower, I'm kind of blanking on if you're a thrower. I don't think you wear spikes when you're a thrower, unless it's like javelin or something. I don't know. I'm not really the foremost. But all I knew is sprint spikes, they're meant to be just light because when you're a sprinter, you run in a certain way to where your heel is not trying to touch the ground as much as possible. You're kind of like trying to just
00:34:05
Speaker
So that's why like the spikes are really important. I did not know that I thought it was I thought that I thought it was heel toe. No, no toe toe heel. Oh, sorry. They're not there. Yeah, it's they're on the toe part, not the heel part. There's no there are no the ones I had at least there were no spikes where the heel is. Yeah, the ones I was looking at like it didn't even have any like it like to me.
00:34:28
Speaker
This the back piece doesn't even look like a sole like it looks like all the metal Is towards the front like towards the front to the mid foot and then it just becomes like uh Like I don't even it doesn't look comfortable at all to me. It's not supposed to be comfortable. That's the thing You're not I mean and the thing is with these with these spikes. They're not For you know walking they're not for cutting. They're not for you know, you think of all the movements in
00:34:57
Speaker
You think all the movements in basketball, right? You're in track. You are either running a curve or running but you're doing it with the technique and a lot of these spikes are helped to optimize that technique and you know, you want the shoe to be as light as possible but also as functional as possible. So it's a really like delicate thing with that and that's why the 3.5
00:35:22
Speaker
shoes, the 3.5 ounces, spikes were such a big deal because usually the ones I ran in were usually like five ounces or seven ounces or whatnot. And I don't know if it makes like the world of difference, but there, there was a part that made me like believe that. Hey, I'm wearing, if I'm wearing lighter spikes, anything, anything matters, right?
00:35:42
Speaker
Yeah. But yeah, that's that's what the spikes thing is. And then you're also this is probably a rule, but it you're you only wear those spikes on the track. Right. Yeah. Right. I'm not. There was a track meet in Wake Forest. I will never I will never forgive them for this. They made because they made the sprinters. They made the sprinters put their track spikes on. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But it was a but it was a summer track meet, which was like
00:36:11
Speaker
So there's like hundreds of that like thousands of people running right so they have to expect the process as quickly as possible They were making The sprinter they're making like sprinter sometimes there's a part that was concrete. They're making sprinters walk on the concrete with the spikes You're not supposed that's definitely not yeah, that's not like optimal and that's not ideal so that part of it is
00:36:35
Speaker
always frustrated me when when someone was like walking. If whenever I saw someone walking with their spikes like on concrete, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Like grass is like fine. Still, but it's that. But this shoe is made for concrete. I'm sorry. The shoe is not made for concrete. This shoe is made for the track. Yeah. And that's basically it. Right.
00:37:02
Speaker
That's crazy like yeah, that's because you're damaging the spikes and there you're not gonna have that same Yeah grip on the track. So yeah, it's just not what it's not what the spike was made for and that's what the that's what that is Yeah, so when you went to college were you like? what made you I Want to know the shift so basically, you know you
00:37:25
Speaker
Did you get the scholarship to go to college? No, I didn't run track in college. I injured my hamstring my senior year and then I like just sat back and was like, do I really like? Why am I doing track? Am I doing it because I actually want to be like the best in the world or is it just because I want to?
00:37:48
Speaker
And in college, when you're a college athlete, like that is like your full part-time, like full-time part-time basically job. And I'm like, track was something that after high school was cool to do like for one or two hours a day. But I wasn't trying to like wake up at six in the morning, do stadium stairs, then weight lift, then tutoring, then I wasn't trying to do all that. So after that, I switched back to like the pickup basketball scene. Like I wasn't like running.
00:38:17
Speaker
Like I didn't use track as a workout or anything like that. So that's when I stopped really caring about like what shoes I had, what shoes I wore. Cause I was just like, okay, as long as they work. And at this, at the time where I'm like paying for everything, right? I'm not, I'm not like asking my parents. So I'm like, okay, I'm gonna have to be smart with my smarter this money too. So what was your first job? My first job outside of college, my first job outside of college was working
00:38:48
Speaker
as social media manager, SB nation. Okay. And so this was right out of college. So I was living in Washington, DC, right? So there was a, it wasn't like I had that much like free money to spend on, you know, and I was watching video games. Yeah, but it is like, it's not a, so I was just like, okay, so I'm gonna, you know, I got this PS4, I'm gonna spend it on some games of course. And then,
00:39:16
Speaker
I want, I want to have, I wanted to have a time. I wanted this, like the Yeti, the Yeti Nano microphone. So that was like another $99. And then I get the pop filter and like, I have so much like tech equipment now that those are my, those are my sneakers. Honestly, those are my sneakers stuff. Like if I get a, if I get a new microphone or, uh, like a new keyboard or something like that, like that's my like spending habits first. If it's like shoes, it's like, okay.
00:39:45
Speaker
What does Adidas have? Okay, we'll get some of those. I'm going to start sending you stuff. You guys are sending me stuff. I'm not going to be like, I'm not going to drop everything because my spending habit, my collection is jerseys. That's my like, because I feel like that's a little bit more practical for me sometimes.
00:40:11
Speaker
having a bunch of shoes that I know that I'm gonna mess about. You can have a lot of people that I've met and one of my closest friends is actually he collects both hockey jerseys and sneakers. And like his his collection is absolutely bananas. So you can have that problem. Between that between that and retro video games is a lot because retro video games are expensive too.
00:40:40
Speaker
for sure. A little bit about me is that if you didn't know or didn't know, but I grew up where I had to pick sneakers or video games, and I always picked video games, so that's where
00:40:56
Speaker
my super extensive knowledge of video games, stuff like that. But then I also had to be Mr. OK. I have to pick and choose when I jump in to get sneakers because I'm going to miss out on the video game. Or I'll be like, I'll beg my best friend and be like, yo, you have to get this game so I can play it because I'm trying to get these sneakers. Like, we'll do one of those. So. So.
00:41:23
Speaker
And like, and also I'm only child as well. So like, that's where like, when you, when you have a best friend, when I grew up with, since I was four and we can do that, like, all right, you get SNES, I'll get Genesis, and then we'll just parallel as much as we can till we get to where we start affording our stuff ourselves. You know, I never, I never, I never did that system with like a friend where it's like, you get this, I get this, we'll, we'll trade. And I've never, I never did that honestly.
00:41:51
Speaker
You got well start now Find up find the same size friend same size shoe friend and be like let's let's let's go back and forth and see and see If you can get sneakers and I can get the games of all ninja the games you let me the sneakers That's actually that's a good idea. That's a great idea. That's wow. I never thought about like that. I
00:42:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean like I'll be because me if you're the same size So i'll be like yo, sometimes you get some cool stuff and be like yo You gotta let me wear those once or twice, you know, just like He's always like no, so that's not how it happens But so then like, you know, i'm curious about your journey through to where you are now because
00:42:45
Speaker
the, I feel like, especially now, content creation is, I feel like what everybody's always talking about would be a content creator would be a content creator, but it's like, is hard for a person to start. And
00:43:02
Speaker
see that that's what happens when you see other people just instantly start and then bam, there are already 100,000 followers and such and such. But, you know, you talk about could you talk a little bit about your like grind to to where you are now? Yeah, for sure. Like I've been at this content creation stuff, I guess, for about five, six years, technically, you know, and I've never I've never wanted to be an overnight
00:43:30
Speaker
success or overnight sensation because I feel like as quick as those people rise, they could also just be ignored, right? In terms of like thinking about people that became memes or something like that. It's
00:43:44
Speaker
It's also super extra, it's also a lot of work to keep that many people's attention permanently, forever. So I'd rather gradually just be like, hey, this is me, this is what I do. If you like, if there's one video, or there's one short-form video, one TikTok that gets you to follow, then I appreciate it, it's cool. And I think that we're in an era where
00:44:12
Speaker
We I don't think we've had an era where there has been someone that has been a content creator their whole life. Right. From like from like 19 to like 80. Right. Where it's like, yeah, we got to see how well Andy Milanakis gets to 80. He's close. He's the closest one. I think that's fair. There is a generation. There is a couple of generations of like first day YouTubers. I get that for sure. And like people. Yeah.
00:44:42
Speaker
But I think that the thing is, is that for me, content I never really see as like a race to like a million followers. Like I'm not racing to have these milestones or whatever because.
00:44:54
Speaker
I don't see myself not making videos or not being creative after a certain age or whatever. So that's why I've always just tried to take things slow and especially work in evergreen content in terms of like, if you find a video that I made eight years ago, I still want it to be like as relevant as possible. Um, so for, for secret base, a lot of my content is meant to be evergreen and that's a good, that's a good YouTube strategy that we've done for the channel. Now for my personal YouTube channel.
00:45:24
Speaker
It's a lot less evergreen I think if I'm trying to be more consistent but there are certain parts of like the sports video game part where I'll talk about an old feature like that kind of history stuff.
00:45:36
Speaker
I'm always confident will be will definitely be like cycleable in terms of like, hey, if you see it in like three years because sometimes a YouTube sometimes you'll go on YouTube and you'll be recommended a video from four years ago. Right. I like that about YouTube versus when like TikTok isn't going to show you a video in your for you page from like two years ago. They're not going to show you a video from two, two seconds ago. Right. Exactly. And I so I like that a little bit more.
00:46:03
Speaker
And that's why I'm trying to be more consistent in terms of just like dropping videos on YouTube dropping videos on YouTube keep going and all that
00:46:11
Speaker
So I that's like my content creation philosophy. And my thing is that I was afraid to start content creation for about like a couple of years. You know, I was afraid when this went back when the YouTube dislike button could the dislike bar could show up all red. Right. You think of the Rebecca Black Friday video and it's just like all like a Sith Lord lightsaber under the video. Yeah, I was afraid. I was afraid of that for a while. But then I realized, you know what?
00:46:35
Speaker
Who cares? Like as long as you're, as long as you're making stuff that's true to yourself and it's not like offensive or whatever, not like you're not trying to get a rise out of people or whatever, like I'm like, go do it. Like try to be as creative as possible. Cause the world can always use more creativity. Yeah. What are you, what are your feelings about like negative based context? I feel like.
00:46:59
Speaker
especially on TikTok, a lot of it is more of people being negative on purpose in order to get people or even on top of that misleading. So like, you know, I mean, recently that I don't know if you know about life in scars guy, that life in scars guy. I don't know who that guy is. He's absolutely bananas, but he's he's on. He has a crazy following and it's all like him being super misogynistic and it gets it gets played.
00:47:27
Speaker
Like he gets tons of millions of views off of this. But the like the idea of like his idea of like I'm going to just make negative content because I know that people are going to be like outraged by it. So then they're going to keep watching it or interacting with it in order for for you to keep, you know, recycling it. I think for me, honestly, that would weigh on me so much miserable, miserable. It'll make me so miserable, honestly.
00:47:54
Speaker
It would be, it would, it would make me, I, as someone that makes like, not the most negative, I don't make like super negative content, but like there'll be like times where you like make jokes on Twitter or whatever you do. But if I'm at.
00:48:06
Speaker
If I'm constantly waking up every day trying to see the worst in things, I would not enjoy this process at all. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like that. I have to because you have to put on that mask every day and be the Internet villain. And you're going to tell me that doesn't you don't you don't feel some type of way after you hit send on the video or anything like that. It could not be me. I'll say that like the when it comes from either
00:48:36
Speaker
like strictly negative content or like grifting, like that, I just don't understand how people can just like be like, yep, this is my, this is my, I have to, and you have to keep that up. You can't like rebrand.
00:48:53
Speaker
You can't just do all this negative stuff and then rebrand as like, hey, I'm making this kind of content now. No one's gonna, cause you already- I'm making cooking content now. Yeah. Cause you already built, you already built such a volatile fan base that like actively looking for, they've been looking for something like this. They're not gonna, when, as soon as it's, I'm not gonna say that as soon as you change, they'll leave. But I think that when you, when you pigeonhole yourself into that,
00:49:23
Speaker
that kind of niche and that kind of style of content. It's really hard to climb out of that hole. You know what I'm saying? So this has never been for me. Also, it would be wild because I people think that like it's just it'd be wild that you know how some of this stuff is like people think that people keep being like the Internet's not realized. The Internet's not realized. Sometimes it is.
00:49:50
Speaker
Because it's a difference between, because I've been recognized out in public before, right? And that's only because of my internet personality and persona, right? So if you keep thinking that, oh, this internet stuff won't catch up to me in the real life, like a part of it will seep into your everyday life.
00:50:13
Speaker
Not every day, but so part of it was seeping into some parts of your life. Like you might pick, you might play pickup basketball with someone that knows you. And if you're playing, if you're, if you're out in public and someone recognizes you, but in, in like, for making this negative content, I wouldn't want to be, I wouldn't want that to be my life. No. Yeah. No. Yeah. You remember when those, remember when those, those people would like see Tucker Carlson, like just eating out.
00:50:39
Speaker
And they would just like try to, they would just like keep yelling at him and all that. I'm like, that sounds like, that's a miserable life. You must've picked bro. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like that's, that's crazy. Yeah. I mean, being in front, like, like for me, it's this idea of, I like making genuine content because then I can continue to be genuine.
00:51:01
Speaker
always like I don't have to put on a mask or switch up to be like hey you know like appreciate me like you know like it's not this this way of like oh I want you to like me or I want you to not like me as long as I get these likes and I get whatever message I'm conveying out but if I'm trying to have an actual
00:51:22
Speaker
message, it has to come from a genuine space, right? Or if I'm trying to come up trying to make any type of content, which is this, I mean, this is up to basically, you're gonna be an episode 175, right? And I and as you said, like evergreen type content, so like whenever somebody picks it up, they can just go back and be like, Okay, from episode 10, or whatever, and be like, Oh, yeah, he's been like, you know, the same guy has been trying to
00:51:46
Speaker
convey messages and stories and people's stories and how they progress through life. And this is the culmination of that. But for me to be like, all right, now I'm gonna go on TikTok and be like, I hate this shoe and you should too because of this. I've never understood that and I never will. And I get opinions matter, but at the same time it's like,
00:52:16
Speaker
Why make why be negative why announce like my biggest thing my biggest thing and I and I don't know if you've ever seen this or if you if like if you somebody that announces they don't they're gonna stop listening or watching something like
00:52:33
Speaker
I never understood it and I'll never understand it because I feel like why did you need to make an announcement of on your page that I'm I'm going to stop. I'm going to stop watching secret base like that. You know, like, yeah, why did you need to comment that under the under the video? Like I've never understood that. And I feel like that goes towards the same thing of like a lot of these TikTok videos that are just basically negative. Now, I don't know. There is a there is a thing where it's like
00:53:00
Speaker
If you're being negative but also being constructive about it, right? So do you remember recently, Marcus Brownlee had a YouTube video. He was like, this is the worst product I've reviewed. But I'm seeing that being like, hey, this man has done a decade of tech reviews. His opinion is very valid.
00:53:21
Speaker
And he's not, he's not trying to, this is, you like trust in that he's being honest about the stuff. And you know that he's going to bring receipts as to why, right? It's not like, I don't like this player. I don't like this person. And here's why you shouldn't. And it's like, you didn't give any concrete reasons. Didn't give me concrete. Like that's a little bit different. I think that's completely different than just being like,
00:53:49
Speaker
You know, I hate insert group or this here. And that's like your entire stick. I think it's a little, I think, I think the internet, honestly, it's like your. Everything's a resume, you know, it's like, you know, if you, if you are, if you keep being, if you make negative content every day for three years and try to like switch, everybody's going to be like, what's this guy's deal? Right. I think that.
00:54:18
Speaker
That's the con, I think that's the constant content creator journey where you see all these, like either of these big content creators try to flip who they are as soon as they, as soon as the stuff that gets them to where they want to be popular popularity wise starts to weighs down, like start to weigh down on them. I think there's a major difference on that part, but.
00:54:43
Speaker
No, I think that there's something to be said for just being genuine about content creation and. Not letting not letting someone else behind a screen, like not letting a couple of people behind the screen gets you. But if a bunch of people are saying something, it is you should take the time to like listen to the feedback or like like or be aware of the feedback and be like, OK, you guys are all saying this.
00:55:13
Speaker
I did this re– I did like– I looked at it again but like you're right or you're wrong but like if someone– if like– if it's like a bunch of people– if it's like five people versus like 500 people, it's a little bit like it'll– one makes me stop and think a little bit more. But I still–
00:55:31
Speaker
Like me reading YouTube comments, like I'll read the like one secret base, like when a secret base video drops, I read the comments because I and it's not because I'm like worried about it, but it's also because it's because I want people to.
00:55:44
Speaker
If something is – if something is with the video, I want people to be able to point it out and like if I have – if I – there's something that's like your personal preference where it's like, I don't like this man's voice, okay? That's – that's fine. But that's – that's something I can't change. But if someone's like, oh hey, the audio isn't working in my left ear from these 30 seconds, I can look back and be like, oh man, I missed that. Let me be more cognizant of that the next time I make a video. Like there's like – there's different kinds of like in terms of like –
00:56:10
Speaker
Critique and then like a preference, right? Yes, I think it's a constant like waffling back and forth in terms of just like this is what sometimes it feels like a preference of your content sometimes they say like an actual critique and knowing the difference between the two is like a really big thing in this this space for sure yeah, well what I because I followed you when you first started your tick-tock and I was like
00:56:35
Speaker
I was like, I want to see how you are going to progress this because I felt like TikTok was such a crazy and still is a crazy landscape of like, how do you get your following? Right. And one thing I loved about watching your progression was that you
00:56:55
Speaker
kept you were trying things, but at the same time, you were still like, I'm going to push out this type of content, this like long form, more than a minute of like sports content. You just kept pushing it every day. I was like watching all your videos and being like, oh, man, he's going for it. He's going for it. Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I know why I did that is because I first got popular on TikTok.
00:57:22
Speaker
duetting food videos. Like I was duetting food videos because there's like, there are a lot of, there's a lot of kitchen and cooking content out there that's really aesthetically pleasing, really cool. And I feel like a lot of people might relate to the fact that every recipe you see on TikTok looks cool, but in terms of you getting off of work and
00:57:46
Speaker
wanting to like make the recipe, I feel like for a lot of us was unrealistic. So I started to duet a video where I would like stop the food, like to stop the video when like the recipe got too. The recipe got too late, like I was got too lazy for the recipe, right? Yeah. So like someone will be making, they'll make it something and I'm like, they're cutting an onion. And I'm like, I'm not doing that after that. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, it's just like like stuff like that. And it became a meme and became a bit. And I got a nice following off of that. But
00:58:16
Speaker
Then I realized, I was like, Hey, I'm not a, I'm not a food duetter. Right? Yeah. You're not, you're not shit reactions. I'm like, I, I wasn't, I was like, I'm not a, I'm a content creator and I wasn't taking TikTok seriously at all in terms of like, Oh, I was like, this is a, I just treated it like it was Instagram stories and whatever. But I, but as soon as I got like, I was like, okay, now I have to make this pivot into,
00:58:42
Speaker
to sports but when I went to sports, nobody like the people weren't really rocking with the videos because that's not what they signed up for. They didn't sign up for sports, they signed up for because they like food, you know? So I had to, it's still an ongoing fight with that main channel and I made like other TikTok channels just for sports because I was like, okay, I need to start over because it doesn't really mesh. So that my main TikTok account is just really weird.
00:59:11
Speaker
It's just really weird, but like YouTube, it's easier. I feel like it's easier for YouTube if you want to do a video that is like a slight pivot by the same time. Like that people will show it, but like people be shown it if they actually like that, that's a little bit different. So.
00:59:28
Speaker
No, yeah, but but still like I like I like when you do the green screen couch videos and you explain it like this is the problem why, you know, this is why I'm gonna use a terrible and terrible
00:59:43
Speaker
version that's only pertaining to the Knicks. This is why Julius Randall is the reason why the Knicks lost against the Pacers.
01:00:00
Speaker
But you know, it's like something like that. But I think that whenever I convey a take or something like that, I've always tried to let it go. If I had to do the same takes in the style of like, say like a Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bailis, you would just go to Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bailis, right? Whereas for me, I'm like, I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to tell you something that I believe if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I'm not going to like try to antagonize you if you think if you think I'm
01:00:23
Speaker
If you think I'm wrong, I'm not trying to be like, oh no, but I'm not trying to like come off as the person that knows everything. I'm not gonna do that. That's stupid. That sounds exhausting, right? So I've kind of tried to lean into that and I use that green screen as just an extra way to just like
01:00:39
Speaker
have my videos pop out a little bit more because I'm not trying to like yell and get your attention. But I'm also still trying to be like make the best content in a certain unique way, if that makes sense. Yeah, I mean, I want to definitely, you know, round this out with a little bit of sneaker talk. But the since you watch a lot of basketball, has there been any models or like sneakers in general from your entire time of watching basketball that just like stand out to you and
01:01:09
Speaker
You know, were you able to get them or you or you just you just like alright, you know, he's just cool These are cool for the players or you like none of that or does any of that pique your interest? And so like let me I want to try these out and ball Oh, I got sent I got sent a pair of shoes. You want to see them? Yeah, sure. All right. I'll be right back
01:01:35
Speaker
All right. So this company sent me a pair of shoes and it's called a dizygotic. So they – so the shoes are intentionally mismatched. So this shoe is based on the malice at the palace. So this shoe – this shoe is the Ben Wallace III and then inside the –
01:01:56
Speaker
Whatever this, the sole, is this the sole or something inside here? That's the insole. Insole, sorry, insole. It has the exact score of what it was when the mouse of the palace started. And then this one is the Ron R Test shoe. And it's different colors. And so this is a shoe that when it got sent to me, I started to get why.
01:02:21
Speaker
Because the sneakers, I started to get why people really like certain sneakers, because it's more, there are so many cool details on this shoe, like right even here, like this is like the built drink, I think. Like there's so many details that you could put in a shoe. So I get it. I understand.
01:02:41
Speaker
I was like, Oh, okay. I understand like why, like certain shoes, if like you want to get them and whatever, like they may look cool, but they also like might have like more meaning and stuff like that. No, yeah, details. A lot of a lot of sneakers now are based around different stories. And the thing is, like, back in the day, a lot of these sneakers did not have these stories.
01:03:06
Speaker
The stories came from the people like telling the story or of a story, like, you know, Jordan Flugame, for instance, just just a black and red Jordan 12. And, you know, right. I hope I don't get it. I think that's the right shoe. Yes, it has to be because I better have that correct. But but the Jordan Flugame, let me double check before I get
01:03:34
Speaker
Roasted in the comments here. Well, it makes you feel better. If he makes you feel better, I've never had a pair of Jordans. Well, I'm pretty sure we should probably say which, you know, some of these brands will definitely probably reach out if they hear this episode. So they want to hook you up. But they are.
01:03:55
Speaker
black and red Jordan 12s. But the story behind them is that Jordan played the flu game in them. And so now, from now on since then, since 1996.
01:04:08
Speaker
When he wore that shoe? 1997. Yeah, that was, that wasn't his last series, but like the series before that. Yeah. The last finals before that. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And he, so now whenever a black and red Jordan 12 gets dropped, which is one coming out, I think this year also, they call it the flu games. And so.
01:04:32
Speaker
That's how like, that's just like an example, right? You know, so this one with the mouse at the palace, it's interesting because it's a brand that it's like, it's a brand new brand. And they're trying to bring in, you know, people with a story, but it's also just like the idea of
01:05:00
Speaker
they're telling the story for themselves, not for like, like, none of these players in, in the in the game were wearing that shoe, right? None of the like, it's like, it's like, we're gonna we're using it like a t shirt, like how you put like, if they were like, we're gonna cartoonify
01:05:18
Speaker
mouse at the palace and now sell this t-shirt, but they did it but in shoe form. That's how I see it. So it's interesting for a brand to come out the gate trying that because it's one, it's a hard sell because two mismatched shoes. You're more selling it off the story than it is
01:05:41
Speaker
The like the the heritage behind the shoe or any of this extra stuff that like say a Nike has or Jordan has or even Adidas right and It's that's why I was like
01:05:54
Speaker
that was interesting to me to see influencers, I don't know if you call yourself an influencer or a content creator, that they get gifted the shoe. And so as the onus on you to sell the shoe to a fan base that knows about the story of the mouse of the palace,
01:06:15
Speaker
or like that. I think that I think that I got I got sent the shoe because I am a Detroit Pistons fan. I think that was the way I think that was the main thing where it wasn't like I wasn't like a Vancouver Grizzlies fan back in the day. And they're like, oh, let's give me some malice of the power shoes. You know, like this really doesn't mean as much to me as you think it. But
01:06:35
Speaker
the mouse in the palace, the trait like I will and again, I wasn't paid. I was just given the shoe. It's not my job to get you to buy them. But I said I did say that like, hey, I will get this shoe and I will show you everything that I like about it. If you want to buy it or not, that's that's out of that's out of my control. You know, so I don't really feel some type of way.
01:07:00
Speaker
honestly because my theory with doing sponsored content is that I only I work with brands that I rock with or would wear or would you know if it's a food brand or like I would eat I would eat your I would eat the food or whatever. So I think that's it's more genuine but there are some times where you know
01:07:18
Speaker
You'll see a sponsor. And you're like, that person doesn't use this at all. Yeah, you know, it's like a lot of the time. So and there are certain times where like I will get thrown. I've gotten thrown sponsorships in the past where I'm like, I don't. I'm new to this, but you it you won me over with the product, but I'm not going to be like.
01:07:42
Speaker
I've had this product for six years. Like you just, you just gave it to me and it's good. I tried it for a week, tried it for two weeks. It was, it was dope, but I'm not going to like come off as an expert in that kind of product that gets sent to me and stuff. I'd be like, here's me, a regular dude. I use this sometimes, you know?
01:08:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's, it's, I mean, I haven't gotten or get gotten to that point where people are like, you know, can you do some sponsor content for me, you know, but I have, I have been in a situation where, you know, somebody sent me something, and I am, you know, they're asking me to, to, I don't know if they listened to this podcast. So I don't know if there's
01:08:25
Speaker
But they asking me to wear it in the video or episode and stuff like that. And, you know, trying to find the perfect moment to be like, all right, you know, I could put it on, you know, you know, I'm really appreciative of getting something. And it's like.
01:08:43
Speaker
that balance of like, I feel like if I get something, I don't wanna let somebody down because obviously a lot of this stuff is like, they put their hardware and money into this and they're spending their money to get it to me in order for me to get it in front of the eyes, whatever little eyes I have and hopefully that will spark a sale or two is what I see it as.
01:09:10
Speaker
I always if anyone ever sends me stuff I Will always make it a prior not priority, but I'll also I'll make an effort to Thank them in some kind of video form not I'm not saying go get this I'm like, thank you for this brand that sent me these shoes or something that thank you this brand that You know sent me whatever, you know, I have a I have a working
01:09:38
Speaker
I have a working relationship with home field apparel, right? That's the, um, it's like a call. It's like a collegiate apparel place, but for like the first two or three years, I, they would send me stuff, but I always took for like three years. I was like,
01:09:56
Speaker
I will do, I will promote your brand for free for like these three because what happened was when a bunch of people three, four years ago got furloughed from Box Media, they did a fundraiser and raised about $90,000 I think. And I was like, because you guys, because you guys took so much good care of my colleagues,
01:10:20
Speaker
I will just promote your brand because of you – of what you did off the goodwill of that, right? So I think that understanding that a lot of these brand dealers can just turn into like relationships after a while. Like I've always thought about like that so that's why I'm like a thank you would suffice but like at the same time
01:10:41
Speaker
only if it's sponsored, I'll be like, this video was sponsored by, but I'll be like, oh, no, thank you, home field for the the shirt or something like that. I think it's a I think it's I think it's two different things I would like to say. Yeah, for sure. For sure. But yeah, the beginning part of my question was like, have you seen any sneakers that like call out to you while you've been watching, you know, playoffs such as this? Oh, man. Oh, sorry. I wish. Jeez, I forgot that was a question.
01:11:10
Speaker
I have seen the, this is the WNBA, the Sabrina ENSUs, like the Sabrina twos that just came out. Oh yeah. The twos. Yeah. They look really nice. They kind of look like Kobe's. I know I had Nick DePaula on the podcast and he, he unveiled them on the internet recently at like, I think he was at
01:11:32
Speaker
I think he was at a Liberty game and he had like they like gave him a pair to hold and show on his Instagram and Twitter and. I am a fan. I am a fan. Yeah, I'm not. I'm not really. I've never really watched the basketball game and been like, man, these shoes. Really? No, I've never. That's never come to mind. That's me in a nutshell. Like like a lesser like.
01:11:59
Speaker
Unless they're like a different color, unless there's like, unless it's like, um, like I was watching the fever game a couple of days ago and I think Kaitlyn Clark shoes were like, it was a color of green that like really you're like, Oh, Kaitlyn Clark is the person in the green. If like, if for some reason I didn't know what Kaitlyn Clark looked like, I'd be like the person in the green shoes is killing it out there. You know what I'm saying? But I've never really watched.
01:12:24
Speaker
I've never really watched any form of a sport, honestly, and been looking at the feet. Usually, I look at accessories in NBA where it's like, oh, this dude is like, oh, Dwight Howard's wearing double shooting sleeves. I thought when we first did that, that was a big deal. It was like, oh, LeBron's wearing the face mask. It's like, oh, that's what kind of stands out to me more than
01:12:49
Speaker
I've never watched a game and been like, the only time I've ever watched a certain game is when I'm like, oh, their shoes are a different color. They're mismatching their shoes. That's what stands out to me a little bit more. But even then, I'm not being like, what shoes is Paula George wearing today?
01:13:07
Speaker
Really? Oh, no, that's never a bit. That's never. I never this never been my curiosity. Honestly, I go. I go. I look at the star and line up or whatever. And then I'll be like, OK. And then as the game goes on, I'm like, oh, wow, he's really wearing those. OK, cool. And then we're like, that's literally. That's never been me. That's me. You got we we're going to have to change his mindset.
01:13:30
Speaker
Because I feel like that's the original shoe marketing, was basketball team, like basketball playing and NBA, ABA. I feel like once it got televised,
01:13:48
Speaker
it was always like, oh, I gotta be wearing what the basketball players are wearing. So for me, I feel like I've always thought about it from the jump. Whenever I started watching basketball when I was a kid, I was always just like, oh, I gotta be like Mike. You gotta be like Mike. Right. I think the times when I would look at shoes is when I was actually playing against a team, right? Because when you're playing in the AAU circuit, I only did that for like two months or whatever, when you're playing in that,
01:14:17
Speaker
And if you saw a team wearing like all the new editions of a shoe, you're like, oh, we're going to get cooked. Like that was like that. Not like that was not you. It wasn't guaranteed. That's the trauma. That's the trauma. I'm like, oh, I'm like, oh, are these the are these are they all wearing the new Katie's? That's those these weren't even in the magazine. We're going to lose by 70.
01:14:38
Speaker
maybe that's where i'm like okay yeah i'll look at the shoes and be like oh you guys are wearing the actual like no we have we have figured it out yep this is this is why you don't like new sneakers it's because
01:14:51
Speaker
Every time you got cooked by somebody in new sneakers and now you're like, I can't look at new sneakers. I don't even want to see sneakers on other basketball players feet because I brought back to the time where I got put 70 on my head.
01:15:09
Speaker
But for me, but for me back in the day, it was still always socks. Right. Like I like I was in high school when like the Nike elite socks came out and were hard to find. Right. Where before, before all these Nike elite socks had all of these colors and stuff to them, there was only one pair of Nike elite socks. Right. And you.
01:15:34
Speaker
finding them was hard. So if you saw a team that, well, I wasn't playing basketball at the time, but whenever I would go, like go to our high schools basketball game, when you saw a team on the other end of the court that had the Nike elite socks, you knew that they were about business, right? They were, they were here, they're here to hoop, right? And our team was good, but it's like, knowing a team meant business, whatever. And then from then on,
01:16:00
Speaker
when everyone started getting the, the white Nike elite socks, the black Nike elite socks would come out. And then you'd be like, Oh, you got a team with the new. Fresh off of the East Bay black elite socks. You're like, Oh, that's how I've always like, it's always been like certain types of new gear where it's like, I remember, I remember when the, the shooting sleeve started to have like the webbing. Oh yeah. And that was like, yeah, the paddock. And that was exclusive. And you're like, okay.
01:16:30
Speaker
So that's really how I think about it versus like, cause I can, cause I can recognize that it's new from wherever I can't, I will, it's hard for me nowadays to look at an athlete and be like, I can't tell off of like eyesight how old or new those shoes are. Like you could be wearing.
01:16:54
Speaker
Someone could be wearing like the concords, right? And that shoe has been around forever. But like some people, someone could be wearing a shoe that's not out yet. And I'm just not gonna like, I just am not gonna like be like, oh, okay, I need to know. I've never, never done that. I don't know. We got it. We gotta, we gotta change that. I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna have to start.
01:17:16
Speaker
I mean, first of all, I got to have to have a heart to heart with iffy about this first. And then we're going to we're going to be like, all right, every week, every week. All right. You got to check these out. All right. This one. All right. But towards the end of the talk, we're at the end of the podcast. I do ask another question at the end of the podcast. And I want you to deal with a little bit of visualization. I want you to think back to the time where you's about to get those at zero prime SPs.
01:17:46
Speaker
because we're gonna pick that one since you love those. And I want you to transport yourself behind your younger self. And what would you tell your younger self as they open that box? We did it.
01:18:02
Speaker
that we finally, we did it. Cause that was, that was a time where I, I think those were the first shoes I really paid for my own money. Right? And you know, I was working, you know, working like mowing lawns and stuff. Cause I wasn't like, I didn't have like a job, like a high school summer job or whatever until like my junior year. Cause my freshman, my freshman, sophomore year, I wasn't like, my parents were like, you need to focus on your studying and all of that and whatever.
01:18:32
Speaker
So yeah, that was the first and that was a shoe that I felt more connected to I guess because I had worked so hard to get like I didn't like ask my parents and they got it for me. It was like a oh, hey, yeah, I did these lawns. I shoveled the snow. I you know, all that stuff. So I think that would like the side like the
01:18:57
Speaker
Like just the weight of like, you did it, right? I think that was so important to me when I first opened those shoes and I was like, all right, let's break records. Let's keep winning, you know, all that stuff. So I think that was like my feeling. I was like, oh, it's complete. Like these are the best spikes on the market, in my opinion. And I'm like, and you have them now, make it work.
01:19:22
Speaker
For real, for real. I mean, I love that you put the the times on it and you said you was setting yourself up to just destroy some records. I was driven back then, man. I'll tell you that. I'll tell you that, man. Yeah. Thank you so much for jumping on. And for everybody out there, you know, we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.