WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:10.599 This could get Me Fire podcast? What Up on Gizzo? That is John 2 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:14.199 Magic, and we are back super excited about today's guest. He's been called 3 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:20.440 a marketing genius. He is well versed in the hip hop culture and also 4 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:27.079 he has a fingerprint on making Fresno fucking cool and a dope city to be 5 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:31.280 in. Ladies and gentlemen. Sam Hanson aka Sam from FDK, What Up? 6 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:32.759 Bro? Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. I mean, 7 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:35.439 I'm glad, like I've seen a lot of your previous guests, Dorian was 8 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:37.600 on here, a lot of like the homies, so I mean, I'm 9 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.159 glad you got them on. I'm glad that a lot of people got some 10 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.479 shine on here. So this is such a big episode, right just because 11 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:48.039 Sam made such a name for himself for the city. I mean just the 12 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:51.640 events that he's done, the stuff that he's done with like the Grizzlies, 13 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.640 the stuff that he's done even before that. It's just so much that this 14 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:59.479 guy's brought to the city recognition and I'm excited to get into it for sure. 15 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:03.480 So we like to start from the beginning because if I'm not mistaken, 16 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:08.480 you're not originally from Fresno, No I was not born and raised here. 17 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.560 I'm I'd like to say I was born and raised in the Bay but made 18 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:19.599 with Central Cali parts. All my parents are from Lamore, California, So 19 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.359 my mom and dad moved to Valeo, California. My dad was in the 20 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:27.519 Navy, and that's where I was born. But my family all here in 21 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:30.799 Central Cali. I had the cool aunt that lived in the tower. You 22 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:34.560 know. She was like my mom's younger sister. So I would come down 23 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:38.120 here every summer, and so a lot of my childhood was spent here. 24 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.799 Oh Fresno. I might give away my age a little bit, but the 25 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.719 first time I ever made out with the girl was nineteen ninety. It was 26 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:48.239 behind the pirate ship at Blackbeard's Oh wow, when the pirate ship was brand 27 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:51.239 new. Yeah. So, yeah, I have a lot of Fresne memories, 28 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.840 like in my you know, Fresno had a big part in like building 29 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.879 my character. But obviously I grew up in the Bay Area. I grew 30 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.120 up in Vale, California. Okay, what brought you down here? Officio 31 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:04.519 school? Fresno State. Okay, so you went to state? Yeah, 32 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.879 all right, I left without my receipt, but I did attend Fresno State 33 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:15.080 College dropout? Was that because, like you said, you had a childhood 34 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:19.080 here as well too in the city, and when it was time for college, 35 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.280 is that why? Yeah, I just it wasn't even a choice. 36 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:24.120 It was obvious thing that, like, I just had the valley in my 37 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:27.199 veins, and I just I knew I was going to end up here, 38 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:31.240 that this was where I wanted to sort of build my future. I knew 39 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:38.159 that there was opportunity here to sort of grow the things that I wanted to 40 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:42.479 to grow. I knew that when when eventually I was going to start screenprinting 41 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:46.639 T shirts and open a store. And at the time, the Bay Area 42 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:51.840 was just so oversaturated that this just looked like a an open, untapped market 43 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:55.159 maybe the market and uh, I felt that fresnol had such a great appreciation 44 00:02:55.400 --> 00:03:00.719 for Bay Area music and just I mean to this day this day, Yeah, 45 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:02.879 I feel like Fresno does get more influence from the Bay than l A. 46 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.400 I've always felt that way, So that makes sense. But what was 47 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:10.719 the store sort of your your first big move out here. It was probably 48 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:16.360 the event like street rock event. Okay, so I ended up getting a 49 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:21.360 internship at a screen printing shop in Vicelia, and so I ended up moving 50 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:24.039 down to Vicelia working at their shop, and then I found out that you 51 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:30.080 could take Fresno State classes at COS. And at COS I met these cats 52 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:32.800 from Lamore that were throwing these b boy battles at the parks and it was 53 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:38.520 called street rock, and so I got involved with them. I started doing 54 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:42.520 their flyers, we started printing t shirts and stuff for the for the events. 55 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:46.840 And around the same time, I met Bobby DJ Bobby Noggle from Vicelia 56 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:51.919 and he was putting out mixtapes that were called for the kids. And back 57 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:58.400 then, you know, the Internet wasn't as you know, as dominant in 58 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:01.719 our lives as as as as it is now. And so we built this 59 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:04.879 website called Central Cali dot com, which became sort of like one of the 60 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:08.879 first, I guess platforms of social media. It was a message board where 61 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.840 people could go on there and post about different elements of hip hop. You 62 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.600 know. We had a section for lyricists, lounge and b boy wee boys 63 00:04:15.600 --> 00:04:19.279 could uload their videos things like that. And then it was this was growing 64 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:24.120 the attendance of these street rock events. So they went from like us originally 65 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:28.920 just literally doing it at the park to us having to rent convention centers and 66 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:32.279 put up cash prizes for the different tournaments. So we'd have B boy Battles, 67 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:40.040 MC battles pre eight mile, yeah, whereas Freestyle Sea battles and yeah, 68 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:42.759 DJ battles, and we'ld have like you know, legal walls for graph 69 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:49.000 art and things like that. And we started growing the user base of this 70 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:53.839 message board and it ended up we had like ten thousand registered users on this 71 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:57.720 message board. That was around the time you really started seeing like, I 72 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:02.360 don't know, a producer from Bakersfield network working with a MC from Fresno and 73 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:08.360 you just would see this like sort of network of Central Cali really like kind 74 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.319 of developing it scene. Yeah yeah, yeah, she didn't really didn't. 75 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.439 There really wasn't a scene out here. It's sort of like people kind of 76 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:15.519 doing their own thing. There was, I mean, well, but it 77 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.639 was very like I remember going to this place called the Mushroom in Fresno and 78 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:23.639 schoo Yard was there, Asia and those dudes with their turbine were there, 79 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:26.600 and then you know there was the b boys like Climax and Charles and Eric 80 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.000 and all those guys in the graph Riders like the Gtail dudes and this and 81 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:30.720 all those dudes. So there was a scene here in Fresno, but it 82 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:35.240 wasn't as connected as with all the other cities. Go yeah, it's like, 83 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:39.360 you know, so street rock kind of brought by Celia Bridge the Gap. 84 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.519 Yeah, all to the same events. And so once we made that 85 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:46.639 connection, we opened up our store and Vicelia real quick, excuse me, 86 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:53.839 I think we got to put some context because you're you're known a lot for 87 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:58.800 the culture, especially hip hop hip hop culture. Before we continue with the 88 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:04.560 stories, where did that come from? Where did did this love knowledge of 89 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:09.800 hip hop culture come from? You know, moving here because you're known for 90 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:11.959 that, Yeah, what was the influence? I mean, I grew up 91 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:15.360 in Valeo, California, which is, you know, forty an inner city, 92 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:17.279 and I remember seeing you know, like the independent stuff obviously like the 93 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:20.279 you know, I mean I literally saw like I didn't actually see E forty 94 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:25.800 do it himself, but I saw his brother d shot literally selling like the 95 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:28.560 call Me on the under single, like his trunk, Like I watched that 96 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:30.759 happen, Like he gave me a poster out of his trunk, and so 97 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:34.720 I saw that. But to be to be honest, I wasn't as big 98 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:40.199 of a fan of like the local Valo stuff. I was really into more 99 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:42.839 of the boom bab you know, like I was. I was listening like 100 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:46.199 Pete Rock and Seal Smooth, you know, EPMD and yeah, like that 101 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.959 type of stuff in music. And I mean Valeo was before all of the 102 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:54.959 the rap music started coming. Valleo was also like a hotbed for funk music. 103 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.040 So we had like Confunction and slic Stone there, they're from Valoe. 104 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.319 So I always had an just sort of like funk music. And at an 105 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.199 early age, I started noticing like I was like, oh, hey that's 106 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.000 you know mc hammy. You can't touch this. I was like, oh 107 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:10.319 hey that's Rick James, super freak. Like I just took an interest in 108 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:14.680 the music. And you know, I think I watched Style Wars documentarying Style 109 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:17.439 Wars and I was like, oh, the graffiti and break dancing and rap 110 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.000 music, like it's all part of you know, at an early age, 111 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:25.839 I sort of realized it was all part of one culture and just always was 112 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.399 you know, I was just that kid just watching every episode of MTV raps. 113 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:31.959 Yeah yeah, yeah, Like I would read the source from cover to 114 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:34.680 cover, Like some of my friends would only read like articles about artists that 115 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:39.040 they were interested in, and I would be reading articles about like Law of 116 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:43.079 the dark Man and just random rappers just to be up on it, you 117 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:46.360 know. So yeah, I mean that was like my thing. Like I 118 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.279 just was really into the culture essentially. And then when I when I'm in 119 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:54.680 Valao, at least like that was the culture at least where I lived in 120 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.959 Valeo, like maybe out by like Venetia and Napa and like where there's more 121 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:03.600 like did you say, like suburban like they were like into Green Day and 122 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:05.879 whatever that, you know, that type stuff, Like I just wasn't. 123 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.879 I just never listened. I've never listened to rock, like I've listened to 124 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.199 country music. So come down here and stay with my grandparents at the ranch. 125 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.959 When I was back home, like it was nothing but like hip hop 126 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:18.680 and R and B that's all anyone listened to. So yeah, I mean 127 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:22.600 that's just so. Then when I came here, I noticed I go to 128 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:26.879 places like Jay and Sea House of Records over there on I think it was 129 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:31.600 on Poddole, and they it seemed like they knew more about Bay Area hip 130 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:35.840 hop than like people in the Bay like Presno just had this real deep appreciation 131 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.200 for Bay Area hip hop. And I was just so impressed by that. 132 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.679 Wow, just like Max Dre was big out here, that's crazy. Yeah, 133 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:43.919 And so that made me appreciate I guess bay Area hip hop more. 134 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:48.960 And Fresno actually made me appreciate bay Area hip hop, that's funny. So 135 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.840 when I came down here, I got more into you know, the the 136 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:56.240 mob music and yeah. Yeah, and then Hiphi you know, came in 137 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:00.799 around that early two thousands. Yeah, as I was here, Hyphie was 138 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:05.399 coming with me bring it, but followed me out. Yeah, So we 139 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.960 left off, and that's how you opened the store. The store that I 140 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.879 remember was the one on Sean Blackstone, but you had a store and Vicelia 141 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:22.840 before that. So the store was called for the Kids because that's what Bobby's 142 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:24.679 mixtapes were. Bobby's mixtapes were called for the Kids. Wow. So that's 143 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:28.519 where you got the name. And so when we first opened, it was 144 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:30.960 pretty much Bobby was in a record pool. He's in like the Fat Beats 145 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:33.080 and the abb record pool. So he was getting all these records and he 146 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:37.120 was basically just wanted a place to offload them and you know, like he 147 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:41.000 had access to get a lot of harder to find hip hop music back then, 148 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:46.000 you know, like your like atmosphere and your higher living legends and that 149 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:52.039 type of stuff. And so originally we were just selling mixtapes, vinyl art 150 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:54.919 supplies, you know, spray paint can and markers and things like that, 151 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:00.759 and then T shirts of the artists, like Hieroglyphics T shirts and that you 152 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.519 guys wouldn't make yourself. Where were you getting these? We were just getting 153 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:07.399 them from the artists would just give it, you know. And so I 154 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.440 wanted to get these planet Asia t shirts that this brand Lifted Research Group had 155 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:15.919 made, and I ended up meeting up with the guys who started the brand 156 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.799 LRG Lifted Research Group, and then one of my good homies from Danuba ended 157 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:24.480 up being the sales rep for them. So we sort of grew with LRG 158 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:30.200 into you know, a fast because at that point you were either like on 159 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:35.240 some real underground like backpacker type wearing some Camo cargo pants and a Raucous Records 160 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:41.759 hoodie, where you were like super you know, uh jiggy wearing a fake 161 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:48.480 Jacob's watch and a basketball jersey. Halfway on with that like those like those, 162 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:50.120 and then larg made it so like you had to choose one. They 163 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:54.639 just went straight. They were right down the middle. And then Kanye came 164 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:58.440 and he was just like the perfect poster child for LRG. Yeah. It 165 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:03.960 was like the where he would literally put freeway and to live quality on a 166 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.240 track, you know, like the So right around that time was whenever we 167 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:11.159 opened up our store and we just kind of grew into the brand with with 168 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.919 LERG. Lergy was a huge part of that, and then obviously Kanye was 169 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.799 kind of elevated that to a whole other level. I was wearing a lot 170 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:22.879 of LERG stuff because I had friends that were reps for it. Just give 171 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.960 me stuff. Yeah, this gave me more. I guess this is my 172 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:31.080 style. Now. I'm curious about opening a store at that time, like 173 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:33.399 how do where do you get the money? Like how do you open up 174 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:37.679 a store like a storefront. So the first store was really small. I 175 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:39.039 was in by Celio was on Central Street. It was right next to like 176 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:43.480 the Get and Go. I mean it was five hundred square feet and we 177 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.519 were pretty much just going to use it as a warehouse for the stuff that 178 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:50.559 we were selling online and I had my screen printing equipment in there. I 179 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:54.039 had a little one station screen printing equipment, and I would so I was 180 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:58.159 printing like Central Cali dot com t shirts. And then also something that happened 181 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:01.519 right when I moved here was the area coach changed from two nine. Yeah, 182 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:07.120 And I was at Bobby's house, Bobby's making his mixtapes, and there 183 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:11.799 was a single on Raucus that had Royce the five nine and roy says nickel 184 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:13.679 nine. And I was like, yo, scratch that back, and he 185 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.639 scratched it back, and I go, Nickel Nickel nine, Nickel nick. 186 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:20.360 He starts scratching Nickel Nickel nine. Oh snap, And so I immediately went 187 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.200 home, got on Adobe illustrator, made a T shirt designed with two Nickels 188 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:31.000 and a nine millimeter yeah printed classic iconic Nickel Nickel. When I was born 189 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:33.879 up, everyone had I mean, it's still the point where like I would 190 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:37.240 see people with it tattooed on him that don't know. And but I would 191 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.600 go to you know, I was going to Fresno State slanging those on that 192 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:43.639 pack. Yeah, you know, just like the rappers and Valleo used to. 193 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:43.919 I was, you know, SLEI but I was doing it with T 194 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:48.440 shirts and uh so we were selling those online. We're selling these and so 195 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:52.080 it was just a smaller store on Central Cali dot com. Yeah, it 196 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.440 was selling on Central caliy dot com. And we just we we couldn't wearhouse 197 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:58.960 all the product in our apartments, so we just got a cheap little space 198 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.240 some storage, yeah, like next to anymore. And then it got to 199 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:07.679 the point where we needed more space, so I took my screen printing equipment 200 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:09.639 out and we knocked down that wall where my screenprinting stuff was, and we 201 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:13.480 expanded the store and we would have open mics there all the time. We 202 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.519 would have like open linoleum. We'd roll out in thenoleum and duct tape it 203 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:18.039 down in the parking lot and we just have open circles for b boys. 204 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:22.759 And then we started throwing these events. Started off the pp it well, 205 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:24.879 we started off at the parks, like we would just go out to the 206 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:30.559 parks and just not even get a permit. We would just I would literally 207 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.960 get a screw driver and unscrew the light at the park, yeah, pulled 208 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.159 the cord out, and you know, we'd plug in right there and start 209 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:39.240 having these little we didn't even have a mic like dudes with battle on the 210 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:43.879 headphones. The headphones, plug the phone into the mic. Yeah, did 211 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:46.600 Gio, Did you ever get to see that? I've I never got to 212 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:50.039 see the Vicelia store. No I didn't either, No, I never got 213 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:56.399 to see it. We we had the Vicelia Store and then we heard about 214 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.799 it here in town. Were coming up here and promoting a lot. Yeah, 215 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:05.120 and we were buildings were connections with a lot of the guys here in 216 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:09.039 Fresno. It was important for me before we opened up the Fresno store for 217 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:13.399 me to like pay dues in Fresno first. So we had done some street 218 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.919 rock events here in Fresno years before we ever opened the store. We did 219 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:20.440 an event at the Orchid Hall. We did a free DJ battle at Holmes 220 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.840 Playground, like we we we brought street rock here. And then we were 221 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:28.200 super involved with urban combat at Fresno State with hack K and like Scratchy Mentals 222 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:31.879 and those dudes. Always really cool with the dudes from Schoolyard. Still to 223 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:35.639 this day, I'm boys with the you know guys some soul Control and Climax, 224 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.080 Uh. The GTL dudes like Nist and Work and all the raft dudes 225 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:46.360 from here. So we were we were tapped in with them, and when 226 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:50.039 we started doing the merchandise or Kanye, that was when we got the money 227 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.320 to open the Fresno store. Okay, so this is a great story. 228 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:56.879 Yeah. So so that's the next timeline before the Fresne store. Yeah, 229 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:01.360 okay, for there store, we we started doing Anye's merchandise before we get 230 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:03.559 to the Kanye story. The reason why I know this is such a great 231 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.360 story because I I was picking up tickets somewhere at the mall and you were 232 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:13.320 there and you just gave me the rundown and I was things I did not 233 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:20.000 know about about this Kanye story. So that's just my setup for you guys. 234 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:24.440 Here's the Kanye story. So I we had we had an Adidas Originals 235 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:31.279 account and there was this dude named Drew from Chicago that was buying a lot 236 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.600 of Adidas Original stuff from US, and a guy named Don Crawley aka Don 237 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:37.879 c who is Kanye's manager. He was buying a lot of Adidas Original stuff 238 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:45.919 from US. And then also, you know LRG was a huge brand at 239 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:46.759 the time. Was I'm sorry, well, it wasn't that huge, it 240 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.399 was it was gaining momentum. It was highly sought after and we were one 241 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:56.759 of the first people to carry it. So we helped plug LRG with Kanye 242 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:07.440 with LRG and then he wanted uh some T shirts designed with his the Chicago 243 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.840 Skyline logo on it. A lot of people think that I did that logo. 244 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:12.639 I did not do the Chicago Skyline logo. So it was that I 245 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:17.639 think it's said Kanye West, right, and then with the sky skyline yeah 246 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:19.200 behind it almost like cartoony right. Yeah. Yeah, that's sort of a 247 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:25.039 yeah, it's sort of a silhouette type cartoony silhouette. But he just sent 248 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:30.840 Bobby the the file and I had screen printing, so I started printing those 249 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:37.840 shirts for him. And then he said that he wanted a logo for the 250 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:44.120 College Dropout and he asked he actually asked me to do the the what is 251 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:48.600 it the Godfather flip? And I was like, man, like, if 252 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.440 you're gonna if this is gonna be like your logo, Like it shouldn't be 253 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:55.679 a flip of something that Yogo should be something like like gangster w EPMD or 254 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:57.960 something something that you recognize as at this time, are you talking are you 255 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.600 communicating with the manager? I'm talking to Kanye and management. Wow. Yeah, 256 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:06.240 ok, he was because he was still pretty you know, like uh, 257 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:07.400 he was on the rock, but he was more known as like a 258 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:11.039 producer. Yeah. This is just when he was doing beats mainly, right, 259 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.519 Yeah, yeah, Through the Wire had just came out, so I 260 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.240 brought Through the Wire when I came to do that. We were doing an 261 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:22.000 interview in two thousand and three just about like the street rock battles and the 262 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:23.200 b boy battles, and I actually get I don't know if you still have 263 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:26.160 it, but I gave you a T shirt, the Kanye West one that 264 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:32.039 was it was I gave you. Yeah, it's blue with orange riding on 265 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:33.200 it. It was one of my favorite shirt. Yeah. I gave him 266 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:37.119 a Kanye shirt and and it was one of the first ones because it still 267 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:40.720 had the rock They had the Rockefeller logo on it. Yes, grip now 268 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:42.880 man, like you know, I wish I would have it. So that's 269 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:48.200 the part where I interviewed you. It was for the Rock Battle. I 270 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:49.920 woul think I was here with F Plus Yeah, I think so, yeah, 271 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.720 JF plus talking Where is F plus now? These days? You know, 272 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:56.240 I think he's in like Mount Mount View or so I think he worked 273 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.680 at Google. Wow f plus was he was a doing great DJ? Yeah 274 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.000 man he plus wow. Okay, But so so yeah, we started. 275 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:10.200 We ended up creating the dropout bear for Kanye real quick, let me stop 276 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:15.000 you there. Why did they did they know? How did they know you 277 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:19.039 were gonna you're a graphic designer? I told him, Oh yeah, Well 278 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:22.559 Bobby was like, hey, like you know, we were talking to Dawn 279 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:27.640 and they wanted some samples of some T shirts. So originally he wanted that 280 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:33.759 he wanted the college drop out to be the Godfather logo with the hand the 281 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:37.680 popp it oh yeah yeah, and and I was like I shouldn't do that, 282 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.119 like but you know, Kanye, we haven't got someone else to do 283 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:45.400 it. And then he sent pictures of the mascot suit and we're like, 284 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:48.119 oh, dang, like you know, like polo, like we already talked 285 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:52.000 about like we you know, we'd had like a polo relationship, and so 286 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.680 we're like, oh, I'm gonna flip that like it's a I'm like a 287 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:02.960 mascot collegiate type logo. So then we did that and he asked how much 288 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.799 do you want for it? And we were like, man, for the 289 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:07.559 logo. Yeah, he's like, I got a look cool little budget from 290 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:10.960 the rock. It's not you know, not a lot, but like you 291 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.400 we'll break you off for doing this logo for us. And one of the 292 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.920 smartest things I think that we ever did. I mean, you know, 293 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:19.079 Bobby and I both are just like kind of looked at each other and we're 294 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:22.319 like, no, we're on speakerphone and we're like, nah, man, 295 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:27.680 it's good like you have it, but let us put an extra page in 296 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:33.720 your album cover that says for fan club information and merchandise. Log onto Kanye 297 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.640 West dot Com and they were like, well, we don't have a shopping 298 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:41.759 cart. This is two thousand and three, late two thousand and three. 299 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:44.799 Yeah. Back then, like the first time I moved here. Now I 300 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:48.759 was in high school, encrypted shopping carts were like a new thing. We 301 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.480 had just upgraded ours because we were carrying LRG and we had had so much 302 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:56.000 heavy traffic that it was worth it for us to pay the one hundred bucks 303 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.920 a month for you know, encrypted credit card process say shopping cart, and 304 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.200 we're like, well, we actually just got this software. Wow. So 305 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:08.160 they sent us the HTML code from Kanye West dot Com, which was on 306 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:12.920 the Rockefeller server right by def Jam and we took that code and we made 307 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.359 FTK online. And at this point we had changed from Central Cali dot Com 308 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:21.319 to FTK online just because it was more marketable when we were getting a lot 309 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:23.759 of customers from out of state and out of you know. Uh. But 310 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:27.240 if you went to Kanye West dot com and you clicked on store, it 311 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:33.720 actually took you to FTK online backs Kanye Wow. So that was but the 312 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.799 background still looked the same, so you know what I mean, Like like 313 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:38.720 no one knew but when you ordered a T shirt from Kanye West dot com, 314 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:44.160 it actually came from by Celia, California. So yes, we started, 315 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:45.240 you know, making a little bread off of that. Wait, so 316 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.640 again, let me reiterate. They asked you how much do you want for 317 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:52.599 this logo? And you were like, nothing, but just do this link. 318 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:56.039 Let us do this, and I mean it. You know, I 319 00:20:56.039 --> 00:21:02.680 mean we weren't you know, I mean I was. I was eating Ramen 320 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:07.200 noodles and you know, I mean, I like, but we also weren't 321 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:11.240 hell a thirsty desprit by any means. We you know, we're making some 322 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.599 cool money off of lerg orders and whatnot. But all of our money was 323 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:18.440 going back into the store. I still worked at a day job. I 324 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:22.440 worked at a screen printing and sign shop in the morning, and then Bobby 325 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:26.920 would did inventory control for this vitamin distribution place and out in Goshen, and 326 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:29.799 then we would you know, hip hop doesn't start before noon, so we 327 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:33.200 would come in open open up the shop at noon we worked. We would 328 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:34.559 get up and you know, start our jobs at seven and then come in 329 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:40.880 and open up the store. And I wasn't expecting to make a lot off 330 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:44.960 of the Kanye merch deal, to be honest. But you know, normally, 331 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.920 like if we got a big larg order and we sold out of stuff, 332 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.359 we'd have like, you know, fifty sixty orders, and we thought 333 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:53.720 we were balling. Then you know, we're going to Sizzler. But when 334 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.799 the first day the the college dropout dropped, we came in and there was 335 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:00.640 like three hundred orders, oh snap, And then the next day four hundred 336 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:04.440 and you know, and just kept getting more. So Bobby ended up going 337 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:08.880 on tour with them and doing the Truth Tour with Usher the College Dropout Tour, 338 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.359 end up going doing going to Japan and doing the tour there. Ended 339 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:18.440 up doing the European tour and so we did two four solid tours with him, 340 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.920 and then we started to do the the merch for Late Registration second album, 341 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:26.519 and then I mean it was just it was just he had kind of 342 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:32.200 outgrown yeah, yeah, yeah, And so they negotiated a deal with a 343 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:34.880 larger merchandise company. But by that point we had made enough money to open 344 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:40.160 up the Fresno store. But then you guys had brought Kanye to FTK, 345 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:42.519 right, Yeah, I remember that came for the grand opening at the Fresno 346 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:47.079 store, so real quick. Before that was FDK, wasn't it gear Hog? 347 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:49.480 Gear Hog was across the parking lot. Okay, that was another hip 348 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:53.119 hop clothing store. Yeah, that was Motts at that spot. Yeah, 349 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:56.720 and it was it was more kind of what we were talking about. It 350 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:02.200 was more like geared toys like the the Sean John. Yeah, it was 351 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.759 like the stuff that I was wearing basically stuff, and we were more like 352 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:07.920 and all that ship. Yeah yeah, and we were more like like l 353 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:12.880 R. I guess we were a little more like sneakerhead like or and also 354 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:18.839 a little more graffiti Bee Boy, more of like they had a hip hop 355 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:22.119 hip hop rather than like the rap. I mean that's when we but then 356 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:26.200 the sneaker head element like brought in all the ball players yeah too. And 357 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:32.880 then around that same time was whenever like the Hyphie blowing up. I remember 358 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:37.400 when Kanye came to the Red Room for when he came for the grand opening. 359 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:38.559 I remember him asking, He's like, heyo, fres No, like, 360 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:41.759 what's this that they're telling me about it here that you guys what you 361 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.960 guys go dumb, what's that all about? And President was just going, 362 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.000 man, yeah, yeah, you know. And so right around that same 363 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.480 time, all of the Bay Area dudes started coming down and coming to the 364 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:53.440 store. So I started making like, sure it's this, said Hella hiphee. 365 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.000 Yeah. I started like leaning into that because I mean because I am 366 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:00.920 from Balleo. You know, I wasn't like a high dude per se, 367 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:03.799 but I mean, you know, I'm from there, so I know like 368 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:06.880 a lot of those guys, you know, I know, I've had good 369 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.319 relationships with the jack I had good relations I have a good relationship with Numb 370 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:14.200 A lot of these like you know dudes who were part of like the fab 371 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:15.880 is like a good home of mine. Gary Archer, so all those dudes 372 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:19.880 who are really you know, part of that movement I was really tapped in 373 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:25.359 with. So we were selling all of those CDs too, so like the 374 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:29.839 you know, the all the mac Ra CDs and yeah, and then we 375 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:32.440 had you know mac Ray, you know, all the mac Ray merch and 376 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:36.720 things like that. Also, we didn't really carry the crazy like airbrushed yellow 377 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:41.440 bus tees and stuff like that sort, but we still had enough of that 378 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.559 stuff to kind of you know, FTK was like that. That was the 379 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.559 style that during that time for me, just those hip hop shirts and I 380 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:52.559 would buy some, like I've I bought a couple of sneakers there, you 381 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:56.279 know, not a lot because I wasn't making too much money, but I 382 00:24:56.359 --> 00:25:00.920 frequented that store just because, man, it was like a cool as it 383 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:04.160 was a cool store. Spots of being right across the streets literally yeah station. 384 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:07.240 Yeah, yeah, man, the Kanye thing. I think I was 385 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:11.319 out of town. Did you tell me you wanted to I didn't get to 386 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:14.920 go, but I remember when it was happening. Yeah, I remember when 387 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:17.839 it was happening because I think we were doing a promotion with that. I 388 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:22.039 think we were doing like tickets or something to get you there. So I 389 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:27.799 remember that time that was when Present one censored. Yeah, during that was 390 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:33.160 that was a crazy era. We sold all the President One censored DVD like 391 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:37.440 all that, you know, and so yeah, we had a some uh 392 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:41.839 kid got beat up at the Kanye in store and we ended up getting sued. 393 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:44.799 It was a security guard that beat him up, right, I remember 394 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:48.839 that it was on was on film. Yeah, we had some issues with 395 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.160 the Present one censored DVD and just a lot we had at a series of 396 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:57.839 you know, just headaches. And then the recession came in two thousand and 397 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:03.240 eight, we opened up we opened up FTK by Sellya two thousand and one, 398 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:11.599 we opened up FTK Fresno two thousand and five. We closed FTK by 399 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:17.480 Selja in two thousand and seven, and then in two thousand and eight, 400 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.400 Bobby, he was just over it. He wanted me to buy him out. 401 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:25.279 In two thousand and eight was whenever the you know, the big the 402 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.319 great recession it came in. And it went from us having kids sleeping in 403 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:32.599 front of our store to pay two hundred dollars for a pair of shoes to 404 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.079 we couldn't sell a two hundred dollars pair of shoes for sixty percent off because 405 00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:37.799 all the kids wanted to wear Vans. It was that era. That was 406 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:42.039 that era or the lower price point, and and Nike's kind of like a 407 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:45.960 cartel man like there, I mean, they owned Converts. I couldn't get 408 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:51.000 a Van's account because Vans was like a core skate account and I wasn't gonna 409 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.480 front like we were like we were skaters, Like I respect skaters too much 410 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:56.039 to try to, you know, act like there's something you're not. Yeah, 411 00:26:56.519 --> 00:27:02.200 but I knew that Nike owned Van or I'm sorry, Nike owned Converse 412 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:04.359 and people were really rocking Chucks tough back then too, around the same time 413 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:07.519 as Vans, if you remember. And so I asked Nike or our Nike 414 00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:11.079 rep. I was like, hey, can we get a Chuck's account? 415 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:14.279 Like, nah, man, you're gonna push these two hundred dollars force ones. 416 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:19.119 I deal with the cartel. Yeah yeah eventually, Uh so, I 417 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:23.920 I I had the idea to bring in vintage year. I had a really 418 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:30.319 big vintage Polo collection, just vintage streetwear in general. I've always just archived 419 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:33.720 everything, and so I brought that into the store and I maybe like a 420 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:38.880 quarter of our two thousand square feet. When Sean Blackstone was vintage streetwear and 421 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:42.599 it was just too early. Fresno just didn't get it, which is funny 422 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:45.440 because it's popping now. Yeah. Yeah, the vintage shirts and stuff is 423 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:51.359 like there's stores everywhere now shirt and it's just and but Fresno, I mean 424 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:52.799 they literally, like I literally got mocked for it, like when people were 425 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:56.519 like this stuff is used, Yeah, I was like, it's been washed, 426 00:27:56.519 --> 00:28:02.160 It's been But I ended up having to buy Bobby out to not close 427 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:04.799 the store. So I kept it open from Water Mountain two thousand and eight, 428 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:11.359 kept it open to twenty eleven. And in two thousand and eleven or 429 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:15.359 maybe like late twenty ten, fash On was in the shop and he used 430 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.640 to just kick it in there, and I had in the venture section, 431 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:22.200 I had a bootleg Bart Simpson T shirt, you know with the black Bart 432 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:25.400 Simpson went from the late nineties, and he goes, oh, man, 433 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:29.640 that's crazy. I'm I just wrote a song called black Bart Simpson. I 434 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:32.160 talked about me being a skater, and I was like, oh, snap, 435 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:37.039 I should we should do a Bart Simpson character of you. And back 436 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:41.000 then his whole thing was like Grizzly Gang, Grizzly City, and I'd already 437 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.880 done like those logos for him by flipping the presne Grizzly stuff. So I 438 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:48.599 did this Bart Simpson T shirt design and it was, you know, a 439 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:52.319 Bart Simpson character wearing fresnel Grizzly stuff, the purple stuff, and at that 440 00:28:52.400 --> 00:29:00.400 time he had just got this this strain of weed came out called griz City 441 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.240 cush, and so he asked me to put a joint in his character's hand 442 00:29:04.279 --> 00:29:07.000 and it said Grizzly sitter or something like, you know, g's up. 443 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:11.680 And someone wore one of those shirts to a Grizzlies game and I ended up 444 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:15.160 getting a cease and desist from the present base, and so I went down 445 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.559 there and I was like, Hey, what if I just take the joint 446 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:21.680 out of his character's hand, we just have him holding the skateboard with the 447 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:26.079 g And then I was like, and then we make the skateboards and we 448 00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:29.000 sell them here in your store. And if we do that, then you 449 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.720 guys let me design like a new era hat. And we saw that Sean 450 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:37.799 Blackstone at my spot and they were with it. Wow, and kids weren't 451 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:40.559 able to pay two hundred bucks for a pair of Air Force ones right then. 452 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:42.359 But they were down to pay fifty bucks for a new Era hat. 453 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:48.440 And so we sold one hundred and forty four Grizzly's hats like in two hours. 454 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:52.319 Wow, finned up for him and the this was new to the Grizzlies 455 00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:55.799 back then. Wow, how did you do that? And they're like, 456 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:57.960 you want to come be a consultant for us? What a great transition. 457 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:03.559 So they were like, they wanted me to be a merchandise consultant at the 458 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:06.880 grizz And I was like, man, a check would be real nice right 459 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:11.119 now. I mean, at that point, I had more kids coming in 460 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:15.799 trying to get me to sell their streetwear brands and their CDs. Then I 461 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:18.519 had customers. In the days where I had literally had more kids coming in 462 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:21.640 wanting me to take their stuff on consignment or buy their stuff. Then we 463 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:26.720 had customers, and so I was like, yeah, I started working for 464 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:32.240 the griz and I tried to keep the store open and work for the Grizzlies 465 00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:37.319 part time. I ended up being offered a job as a graphic designer there, 466 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:44.400 and then I had what I call the Fulton Mall epiphany. I was 467 00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:47.359 walking on Fulton Mall, just like during my little lunch break, and I 468 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:48.240 was like around. I was like, man, this is like this is 469 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:51.119 a city, Like this is an inner city. Like this is a bigger 470 00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:53.119 city than I grew up in. It was like five times the size of 471 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:57.039 a Leo. But it doesn't feel like a city because the actual core of 472 00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.839 the city has been abandoned. And I was like, yeah, so thus 473 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:03.920 far everything that I had worked for the whole like FTK, you know, 474 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:08.759 years of my life. I said to myself, the brand that I built 475 00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:14.920 is counterproductive to itself because hypothetically, if just you know, your standard issue 476 00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:18.480 white boy from Clovis like had never come into FDK, he just probably buy 477 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:22.680 a lifted truck and spend his weekends at the coast doing what white boys from 478 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:26.599 Clovis do. But because he hypothetically came into FDK, now he's a sneaker 479 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:30.000 collecting and he's listening to a different type of music, and he wants this 480 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:34.160 inner city culture that at the time was not attainable in Presno. He'd had 481 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:37.640 to go to another city. He'd have to move to Santa Cruz or the 482 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:42.319 Bay or Portland or wherever. But there wasn't a real inner city culture in 483 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:45.559 Fresno at the time, and so I was like, man, I have 484 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:52.400 to dedicate myself to revitalizing downtown and helping re establish the energy in the nucleus 485 00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:59.400 of the atom and letting things radiate outward from the core. And I was 486 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:00.480 like, man, well, how do we get things cracking down here? 487 00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:05.680 I guess the Grizzlies. Being the biggest anchor tenant of downtown. I just 488 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:07.160 was like, all right, I gotta really make the Grizzlies crack. So 489 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:12.599 the first thing I thought of was taco truck. Well, yeah, it's 490 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:16.240 like I thought back to when I was in Fresno State and I remember being 491 00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:21.240 in class and just sort of identifying like, man, that's some Presno Like 492 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:22.680 we can't we cuss on here here? Yeah? Okay? Well, I 493 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:24.480 was like, Yo, that's some Presno shit. Yeh like itay see stuff, 494 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:27.480 and be like dam that's some Presno shit right there. One of those 495 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:32.119 things was in Valayl we had taco trucks, but they were looked at as 496 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:36.720 like dirty, Like well, I'd come down here and stee with my aunt 497 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:40.000 and she would take me to a taco truck over on Belmont, and you 498 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.839 know, everybody there was all walks of life. We're out of a taco 499 00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:45.160 truck. But you go to a taco truck and valail in the eighties and 500 00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:47.119 people were like, oh no, that's dirty. So they would call them 501 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:51.839 roach coaches. Yeah, and you know they're the they're the rage now and 502 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:54.240 they have been for a minute. Yeah in the Bay, but you're lying 503 00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:58.119 if you say that you were really like fucking with taco trucks like that in 504 00:32:58.160 --> 00:33:00.960 the eighties and nineties because you weren't not Fresno, but the Bay wasn't. 505 00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:05.279 And so I remember being in class and hearing like people just think, oh 506 00:33:05.359 --> 00:33:07.759 yeah, whant to hit the taco truck after the club, like that was 507 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:08.480 a thing in simple Callie. So I was like, oh okay. And 508 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:13.200 I noticed that like every little city, Kingsburg, d Nuba, read like, 509 00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:15.759 they all like had this one truck that they were like like, that's 510 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:19.799 their truck. Like people would argue about like you know. So I pitched 511 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:22.440 the idea to the marketing department at the GRIS. I was like, Hey, 512 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:25.160 what if we bring like the best taco truck from every city to the 513 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:30.519 stadium and we'd let people vote, And at first they were like, why 514 00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:32.400 would people come, you know, people come to eat at a taco truck. 515 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:37.680 And we did it. We had eight trucks the first year and it 516 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:39.599 cracked off like people loved it, and so each year we just kept growing 517 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:45.279 it and growing it, and they asked they promoted me to marketing manager. 518 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:52.119 I became like marketing creative manager. And then when the Giants left in twenty 519 00:33:52.519 --> 00:34:00.319 fourteen October twenty fourteen, they just kind of knew that they needed to race 520 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:05.160 sort of the Central Cali brand. A lot of their promotions had relied on 521 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:08.360 their affiliation with the Giants and everything was just kind of piggybacking off of that, 522 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:13.639 and you know, losing the Giants like kind of forced them to find 523 00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:16.199 themselves. And they were like, how do we like just give me the 524 00:34:16.280 --> 00:34:19.039 rock? Like give me. I'm like, you know, I just had 525 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:21.559 to, like I kind of had like lebron up right then. So I 526 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:25.480 became director of marketing and just kind of built the pro Fresno pro California. 527 00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:30.960 Yeah, yeah, and then and yeah, I was director of marketing for 528 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:35.119 let's see, I started in twenty fifteen and all the way up to COVID 529 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:37.199 but that's when I brought in Dorian, and so I started bringing in more 530 00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:44.679 of the I guess local culture into the into the brand. Well, I 531 00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:45.599 want to go. I think I was just going to say, like there 532 00:34:45.639 --> 00:34:50.119 was just there was so many great promotions during that time of the Grizzlies, 533 00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:52.480 and it was such a fun era. And not to mention they were really 534 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:54.719 good during that time too. I just I remember just going to the games 535 00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:58.239 just to cop a hat or do you get some march you know, one 536 00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:00.599 of my favorites was like the Simpsons. There was just some dope shit during 537 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:04.880 that time. I wanted to just before we continue with that, part of 538 00:35:04.920 --> 00:35:09.159 the story is going back to the Taco truck throwdowns the beginnings, because remember 539 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:14.679 the first ones was just this small, wasn't It wasn't that local artists in 540 00:35:14.719 --> 00:35:17.400 the beginning as performers, and it was like outside the stadium sort of, 541 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:22.199 right. Yeah, yeah, it went on simultaneously during the game. Yeah 542 00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:25.800 yeah, yeah, that's right. And so yeah, good thing you brought 543 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:30.199 that up, because actually actually a big point. So twenty it started in 544 00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:35.960 twenty eleven was the first one, yep, and then twenty fifteen it was 545 00:35:36.199 --> 00:35:38.719 just ridiculous I mean we just know it was cracking outside in the Tillary Plaza 546 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:44.239 and no one was really paying attention to the game to be h. I 547 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:49.079 mean, you know, the core hardcore baseball fans were and we were sort 548 00:35:49.079 --> 00:35:52.599 of, you know, just debriefing after the game, and I was in 549 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:55.920 Derek Franks, the president of the Grizzlies office, yep, and we were 550 00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:58.840 just saying to each other, We're like, man, like no one even 551 00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:00.360 like watched the game, might as well change our names to the fres No 552 00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:05.159 Tacos. And they were like, yo, oh, ship, we should 553 00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:07.559 change our name to the friends No Tacos. So that was Derek Frank's well, 554 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:14.119 yeah, kind of both yeah, like we both like we like Derek 555 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:17.559 Derek said it as like a joke almost, yeah. And then I was 556 00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:21.199 like, nah, like that's gonna work, yeah, because you know, 557 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:24.039 I mean one thing like obviously, like you know, I love pissing off 558 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:30.880 suburban nights, like I live for that ship. Yeah, And so I 559 00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:31.920 was like, oh, this is really going to piss off like all the 560 00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:37.280 you know what. I just knew that that was you know, your crow, 561 00:36:37.639 --> 00:36:40.559 your cookie cutter, Like I just knew that that would really get under 562 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:45.800 their skin and that's like, that's one of the few things that brings me 563 00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:49.519 like you know. So I was like, man, if we change our 564 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:52.039 name to the Freds No Tacos, like it's going to piss these people to 565 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:55.039 funk off. And I was like, I love it, and we so 566 00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:59.760 we did that sort but you know, it ended up we only did it 567 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.960 for two Tuesdays. We're still the fres No Grizzlies. But we did the 568 00:37:02.039 --> 00:37:07.199 alt We created the alter ego of a baseball team, and yeah, no 569 00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:10.639 one was doing that, not one, not one in the leagues. There 570 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:15.679 was a team from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. They had they're called the Iron 571 00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:17.360 Pigs, and they had done a hat with a strip of bacon on it. 572 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:22.199 So they were the first ones to do sort of like a food but 573 00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:23.800 they didn't change their name to like the lee High Valley Baconcons. Yeah, 574 00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:25.679 we were the first ones to sort of like do it, like, look, 575 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:29.599 we're we have an alter ego. It's the friends of Tacos and we 576 00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:31.920 you know, so does that stuff have to get cleared by like the MLB 577 00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:35.360 or something like that. Yeah, it did, it did. So we 578 00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:39.480 had to create a you know, an on field hat and whatnot, and 579 00:37:39.480 --> 00:37:42.800 and we we did it as a press conference. I think we're changing our 580 00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:45.280 name. And at first we kind of you know, did the w W 581 00:37:45.920 --> 00:37:47.559 like like yeah, like you know, just to rile people up. And 582 00:37:47.599 --> 00:37:51.280 then we you know, said like now we're only on Tuesdays. Ye, 583 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:54.280 but yeah, it got the it got the hype, and that became like 584 00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:59.199 a national thing. Yeah, I've already seen it. Yeah. Well, 585 00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:02.800 actually a few promotions I remember seeing like on ESPN and a lot of these 586 00:38:02.840 --> 00:38:07.239 things were always making the news and stuff about what the promotions we were doing 587 00:38:07.239 --> 00:38:09.960 out here, which was dope to get that notoriety. Yeah, that was 588 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:15.079 definitely like something that I felt was sort of important for the Grizz because I 589 00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:20.000 know, unfortunately Fresno doesn't really rock with something until like it gets attention outside 590 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.159 of Fresno, and so unfortunately I had to like get some hype around the 591 00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:29.280 Griz. But I seeing just what you know, I've always been pretty good 592 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:34.239 at like what's trending. One thing I didn't mention like also, you know, 593 00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:37.360 I was in Valail as a kid. I would be at the bus 594 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:38.519 stop and I'd hear dudes rapping and stuff, and I'd be like man I 595 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:40.320 could do that. I was like, I could, you know, and 596 00:38:40.719 --> 00:38:44.920 I could come up. But I never wanted to like make music. I 597 00:38:44.960 --> 00:38:49.119 just wanted to like rap, to like let other people know that they weren't 598 00:38:49.119 --> 00:38:52.519 that good at rapping. And part of like rapping, at least back then, 599 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:55.320 what you used to have to have like real clever metaphors and and you 600 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:59.199 also had to be very topical. You had to always know like what was 601 00:38:59.719 --> 00:39:05.559 you know, like uh or like you know, like the day that you 602 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:07.400 know OJ's in the van, like you have to you know, like jumping 603 00:39:07.440 --> 00:39:09.719 the cipher and you're like, yo, you know, I'm I'm OJ and 604 00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:13.559 no white fan, you know, like you have. And so I was 605 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:16.639 always really good at like the minute. Like for example, I was I 606 00:39:16.679 --> 00:39:20.719 was in Valao actually visiting a family. I'm in traffic in between Valao on 607 00:39:20.760 --> 00:39:23.960 Fairfield and my phone starts going off like just crazy text messages. I thought 608 00:39:23.960 --> 00:39:30.320 somebody died. I pull over and like seven people had sent me this link 609 00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:36.360 of when twenty sixteen, when Trump was running for president, and this one 610 00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:40.800 of like a Trump supporter said something about like We're gonna have taco trucks on 611 00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:43.960 every corner. I don't know if you guys remember that. I was like 612 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:45.440 the thing and I was like, oh my gosh, this is like so 613 00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:50.559 I brushed out. Yeah, like we got like the red hats that looked 614 00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:52.880 like the Trump hat, and I made them say Taco trucks on every corner, 615 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:57.800 bringing ordered like we photoshopped and put it on our website and we sold 616 00:39:58.199 --> 00:40:00.800 a thousand of those hats, like pre ordered, like like we didn't even 617 00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:02.880 have a man's thought yet. Yeah, you know, And so that's something 618 00:40:02.920 --> 00:40:07.079 that's I've always been pretty good at, and it's something that's like sort of 619 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:09.199 a norm now in minor league baseball. So you have to just be like 620 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.519 topical and like, you know, you guys too and radio. Yeah, 621 00:40:13.639 --> 00:40:15.440 yeah, you know, you gotta get in when it's hot. Real quick. 622 00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:20.800 Let me wrap up the Taco truck throw down thing, because what number 623 00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:24.119 are we in. It's been Taco Truck throw Down thirteen now, yeah, 624 00:40:24.280 --> 00:40:27.639 it's actually been four. It's fourteen years we had it. We didn't do 625 00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:31.039 one on the COVID twenty Yep. It's such a staple in the city. 626 00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:37.000 Everyone waits for it and anticipates the Taco truck throw down. We're lucky enough 627 00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:39.280 to as a radio station to be a part of it as well too. 628 00:40:40.280 --> 00:40:49.079 My my curiosity is how how much are you putting into it today with these 629 00:40:49.719 --> 00:40:52.880 recent shows? Are you still part of it? And you don't have to 630 00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:55.360 say too much detail, but do you still get paid from it? Oh? 631 00:40:55.440 --> 00:40:59.480 Yeah, yeah, I mean I'm a consultant with the Grizzlies, so 632 00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:01.800 I would be like part of the marketing creative. Okay, so but they 633 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:06.480 sort of took it over the Grizzlies. Yeah, oh yeah, So it's 634 00:41:06.480 --> 00:41:08.920 always been part of the Grizzlies. But then Mike Oz from he used to 635 00:41:08.920 --> 00:41:12.840 be with the Fresno by now he's with Presdent Street Eats to Mike Ouse and 636 00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:15.719 I it was you know, are it was. It was my idea. 637 00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:17.639 But it would have never gotten done without my gods, because my gods had 638 00:41:17.639 --> 00:41:21.800 the connections to all the trust and so they brought them in. And then 639 00:41:21.880 --> 00:41:24.079 just over the years, you know, like k Rich has been part of 640 00:41:24.119 --> 00:41:28.199 it also, like it has helped with you know, and like so with 641 00:41:28.239 --> 00:41:30.480 a lot of the events like Tequila f s and some of these events, 642 00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:32.480 like I work with I work with Rich, I work with my Cause, 643 00:41:32.559 --> 00:41:37.559 Street Dats Ray, and I work with the Grizzlies marketing department. Might still 644 00:41:37.599 --> 00:41:39.320 have my office at the grizz Oh okay, I'm still there. Yeah, 645 00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:42.760 you know, and so you still get a check from them, like you 646 00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:45.239 know yeah, oh oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, I mean 647 00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:49.960 you left the grizz No, no during uh they didn't have a season in 648 00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:52.760 twenty twenty. Yeah, you know, so all of us just kind of, 649 00:41:52.760 --> 00:41:55.760 you know, we're laid off. And they asked me to come back 650 00:41:55.800 --> 00:41:58.960 as a consultant, and I said, well, I'm just going to start 651 00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:04.840 a marketing me. I'm gonna basically turn ft K into a events and marketing 652 00:42:05.400 --> 00:42:13.440 agency and you can hire FTK as a you know, so that's what kind 653 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.000 of I help with the events, and then I also design merch and I 654 00:42:16.119 --> 00:42:20.119 I'm sort of like, I guess, like a marketing creative consultant for for 655 00:42:20.159 --> 00:42:22.440 them and for Cockies and for you know a lot of like like that's what 656 00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:28.320 I do. That's pretty much FTK becomes sort of a uh well, I 657 00:42:28.320 --> 00:42:30.960 mean I have a have a vintage store downtown, but it's uh, you 658 00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:34.760 know, kind of as a how would I say this? Yeah, let's 659 00:42:34.840 --> 00:42:39.119 let's talk about this store because you sort of uh have opened an ft K 660 00:42:39.320 --> 00:42:44.480 again but not but not but not a store. So it's basically the FTK 661 00:42:44.599 --> 00:42:50.480 vantage section. Beautiful building like the painting, like it stands out because it's 662 00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:54.159 just in the middle of yeah. And it's so I had said this when 663 00:42:54.519 --> 00:42:59.039 I closed FTK on Sean Blackstone started working for the GRIZ. I said, 664 00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:01.960 eventually I'm going to real open a store, and I said, I was 665 00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:05.400 like, I could probably put it in the middle of partlier because my core 666 00:43:06.280 --> 00:43:09.440 customers will go wherever where it's at, Yeah, wherever it's at. And 667 00:43:09.519 --> 00:43:15.119 so I ended up buying a building in downtown Fresno, and I have two 668 00:43:15.840 --> 00:43:21.199 storefronts. I have what I call star Child Archives because I mean, it's 669 00:43:21.199 --> 00:43:23.679 still the same logo, the little star Child FTK logo, but it's not 670 00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:28.960 FTK. I don't have a Nike account anymore. I don't have larg I 671 00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:34.400 don't have the brands. It's just I have FTK shirts that we make and 672 00:43:34.440 --> 00:43:37.880 then vintage stuff. I mean a lot of people that know me know that 673 00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:42.760 I'm a huge uh Fresno State merch collect a huge polo collector. So I 674 00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:45.239 have just that type of stuff in there. You know you're gonna find like 675 00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:50.960 Troop and British Knights and Diodora. And is it basically all the same size 676 00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:54.039 because it's all your vintage stuff or no? No, I I dig like 677 00:43:54.119 --> 00:43:59.239 so oh yeah, very yeah. Yeah. So I've been like and then 678 00:43:59.239 --> 00:44:04.400 I trade I you know, uh, it's it's actually most of it is 679 00:44:04.440 --> 00:44:07.280 not my size because because I keep all my stuff. Yeah. So and 680 00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:10.559 the upstairs is all my stuff? But is it do you live upstairs? 681 00:44:10.639 --> 00:44:15.719 Is it like an apartment call? Yeah? Okay, So is it true 682 00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:20.800 that to shop there someone has to make an appointment? Yeah? Yeah, 683 00:44:20.880 --> 00:44:24.280 yeah, oh wow exclusive. Yeah I like that. I am. It's 684 00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:28.639 gonna sound like some like bitter old guys stuff, But I mean I was 685 00:44:28.679 --> 00:44:31.760 so mad that like, well, I can't say, man, I don't 686 00:44:31.760 --> 00:44:35.000 know how I feel. But I had all the like a lot of the 687 00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:37.320 stuff that I have in the store now, like I had it in two 688 00:44:37.320 --> 00:44:42.280 thousand and eight on Sean Blackstone, and you know, all these kids were 689 00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:45.400 coming in asking me for you know, the hundreds and Crooks and castles and 690 00:44:45.400 --> 00:44:49.880 all that stuff which I had before that, and they didn't want the vintage 691 00:44:49.880 --> 00:44:55.519 stuff, and now they want to. So yeah, I'm definitely like making 692 00:44:55.559 --> 00:44:59.719 it a little harder. You know, you have to go through a little 693 00:44:59.719 --> 00:45:04.599 bit of so a little hoops and hurdles to get in. But yeah, 694 00:45:04.639 --> 00:45:07.000 if you go, I mean, if you're listening to this podcast, like 695 00:45:07.079 --> 00:45:09.039 you're tapped in enough, like go on star Child Archives dot com and you 696 00:45:09.079 --> 00:45:14.760 can just set up an appointment And is it almost guaranteed or are you looking 697 00:45:14.760 --> 00:45:19.400 at it like not today? No? No, I mean my online you 698 00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:22.639 know, my social media persona might put off that vibe, but no, 699 00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:24.840 that's not you guys know me, I'm not kinda liken man. If you're 700 00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:28.280 if you're listening to this, if you've gotten this far in the interview and 701 00:45:28.280 --> 00:45:31.559 care this like yeah, of course I'm you know, but yeah that the 702 00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:36.719 well. And then also I'm I do events, so if someone's schedules an 703 00:45:36.719 --> 00:45:40.119 appointment, like I'll either be there to open up the store or I'll get 704 00:45:40.159 --> 00:45:45.440 someone to open up the store. Speaking of events, I got to experience 705 00:45:45.519 --> 00:45:49.280 one. I'm at that age where I don't really go out as much, 706 00:45:49.280 --> 00:45:52.840 all like going home and just like just relaxing. But I wanted to support 707 00:45:52.840 --> 00:45:54.679 this certain one just because I've been living in downtown for a few years now 708 00:45:55.119 --> 00:46:00.679 and it was that fashion show one and this thing. All the seats were 709 00:46:00.679 --> 00:46:06.159 taken, but oh by Fulton. Yes, bro, that's one of my 710 00:46:06.280 --> 00:46:08.559 That's one of the things I swear I'm most proud of. Like it's right 711 00:46:08.559 --> 00:46:10.639 now, and I mean, you know, check this out. I'm gonna 712 00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:15.079 let you explain more of it. But to make it real short, it's 713 00:46:15.199 --> 00:46:22.320 local designers. But you have to there's like rules in this contest. You 714 00:46:22.480 --> 00:46:27.119 have to buy clothes from this from Fulton, like from this until from this 715 00:46:27.159 --> 00:46:30.760 street to this street, go shop at all these stores and make a few 716 00:46:30.760 --> 00:46:35.840 outfits and then we do a fashion show. There's judges and I was like, 717 00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:38.960 this is amazing, Like people need to know about this. It was 718 00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:40.599 such a great event. Do you want to talk a little bit more on 719 00:46:40.599 --> 00:46:43.599 that? Ye? Please please? Yeah, thank you so much for bringing 720 00:46:43.639 --> 00:46:45.639 that up. Man. I'm glad that because I was so like everywhere, 721 00:46:45.719 --> 00:46:49.199 you know, it was a lot going on. It's in that event. 722 00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:52.960 But I'm stoked that you got to go to Pere. Yeah. Yeah. 723 00:46:53.000 --> 00:47:00.199 Yeah. So the concept is that we take three stylists from central California and 724 00:47:00.239 --> 00:47:06.440 then we task them with creating three unique outfits head to toe all with product 725 00:47:06.800 --> 00:47:12.320 from the Fulton Corridor, so you know from I mean the Visitarro to Ino, 726 00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:15.280 you know, and a lot of those. There's a lot of vintage 727 00:47:15.320 --> 00:47:17.119 shops on there like that. Yeah, Bag of Kids Club is in Mammoth 728 00:47:17.199 --> 00:47:21.880 Mall, so you can find some cool stuff stores I've never heard of before 729 00:47:22.159 --> 00:47:24.880 until now, like like Threstormanos and like some of those like spots like and 730 00:47:24.960 --> 00:47:30.440 especially with this whole wave of like Western stuff coming in, like I'm I'm 731 00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:32.760 excited that the next one. I think people are going to embrace a lot 732 00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:37.960 more of the Ostrich boots and you know, the cowboy hats and the vibe 733 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:40.280 that you get from there. And people are you know, obviously they're they're 734 00:47:40.320 --> 00:47:45.920 they're customizing and doing like alterations and stuff and just building dope fits and working 735 00:47:45.960 --> 00:47:49.000 with like what you have, not with what you wish you had. Y 736 00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:52.400 yeeah. It was It was just wild because you know, during the competition 737 00:47:53.320 --> 00:47:58.119 the designer will say I bought these shoes from this the pants are from this 738 00:47:58.199 --> 00:48:00.800 store. Yeah, and it just plugs all the stores in that area, 739 00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:07.039 and I love the winner gets a belt. Yeah yeah, yeah, I 740 00:48:07.079 --> 00:48:09.559 got a championship belt for him and then they also get a check for a 741 00:48:09.599 --> 00:48:14.239 thousand dollars amazing, which you know, like pays for because they have to 742 00:48:14.239 --> 00:48:17.440 put up all that loot themselves to buy the outfit. So it supports the 743 00:48:17.440 --> 00:48:22.280 businesses, but the businesses are usually pretty cool about like loaning stuff to competitors 744 00:48:22.320 --> 00:48:27.360 and giving them the jug on on on pieces. So that's one of the 745 00:48:27.440 --> 00:48:30.519 events. I'm like this. It's actually where the This is a collap shirt 746 00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:34.159 with Sincere that we did for for the event, But that's the event I 747 00:48:34.199 --> 00:48:37.840 really want to grow the most. I don't think that Central Cali really gets 748 00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:42.360 it yet. No, they haven't. They haven't seen it done anywhere else 749 00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:46.679 yet, and it's gonna like you see something somebody do it someplace else and 750 00:48:46.679 --> 00:48:52.639 then it's cool to support it. Yeah. Yeah, I'd like to do 751 00:48:52.719 --> 00:48:55.360 like a style by Manchester, a style by Cherry Auction, like you know, 752 00:48:55.440 --> 00:48:59.280 yeah, because I mean if you're if if if you have style like 753 00:48:59.320 --> 00:49:01.039 you can build, yeah, you're fit anywhere? You know, is there 754 00:49:01.039 --> 00:49:04.920 a place where people can get info on that or is it just through your 755 00:49:04.960 --> 00:49:08.800 social media? So on? At FTK Construction on on IG, I always 756 00:49:08.800 --> 00:49:14.960 post updates on there for style by Fulton and then I believe this year it's 757 00:49:15.039 --> 00:49:20.199 going to be part of the Fulton Block party that the Downtown Partnership puts on. 758 00:49:20.920 --> 00:49:24.239 So because we had our second one this year, you brought up your 759 00:49:24.280 --> 00:49:30.480 social media. Something that I've noticed is you're on their freestyling. You have 760 00:49:30.599 --> 00:49:35.960 like these sessions of just freestyle rapping. And there was this one day where 761 00:49:36.400 --> 00:49:40.639 you started combining country and wrap. Oh yeah, and so that's okay. 762 00:49:40.719 --> 00:49:45.719 So that's what where I think Central Cali got it twisted. But I'd been 763 00:49:45.760 --> 00:49:49.719 saying for the longest time because I you know, I told you guys like 764 00:49:49.719 --> 00:49:52.480 I grew up in Valle I grew up around like you know, dude's freestyling 765 00:49:52.480 --> 00:49:54.599 and rapping and whatnot. And but I also would come down here and stay 766 00:49:54.599 --> 00:49:59.880 at my grandparents' ranch like outside of Kalinga, yep. And I never listened 767 00:49:59.920 --> 00:50:01.280 to rocking. I listened to country music when I was a kid. You 768 00:50:01.320 --> 00:50:05.719 know. I grew up with that in my veins. And when I started 769 00:50:05.719 --> 00:50:07.960 hearing I guess Kevin Gates might have been like the I started hearing like those 770 00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:10.960 melodies, right, I was like, oh, these are country melodies like 771 00:50:12.039 --> 00:50:15.239 this is and I saw I'd say like, hey, man, like Fresno 772 00:50:15.320 --> 00:50:17.400 should just embrace like the Bay. I remember when the Bay dudes, some 773 00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:20.440 of the Bay dudes would come down and be like, oh man, Fresne, 774 00:50:20.480 --> 00:50:22.440 I am a country. I'd be like, hell yeah, we are. 775 00:50:22.079 --> 00:50:23.960 Just like lean into it, be like hey, we're country, what's 776 00:50:24.039 --> 00:50:29.320 up? You know? Like and and then people but that's where people will 777 00:50:29.320 --> 00:50:30.599 get twist. They'd be like, oh no, I've already heard hik hop 778 00:50:30.639 --> 00:50:32.239 like they already have. Like I was like, no, man, I 779 00:50:32.239 --> 00:50:37.159 don't want to hear country dudes rapping. I want to hear hood dudes singing 780 00:50:37.159 --> 00:50:40.280 country melodies. And because that's essentially kind of what Kevin Gates was doing, 781 00:50:40.320 --> 00:50:45.639 and then even Roddy Ridge, his melodies were very those are country, and 782 00:50:45.639 --> 00:50:50.400 then rod Wave and so now that's what post Malone is doing, and that's 783 00:50:50.440 --> 00:50:52.880 like the big Now the country scene is kind of like popular, right. 784 00:50:52.079 --> 00:50:55.760 I So at that time that you're talking about, I wasn't even familiar that 785 00:50:57.159 --> 00:51:00.079 others were sounding like this because I would just watch your video and you would 786 00:51:00.079 --> 00:51:02.719 always say, trust me, this is gonna be like the next thing, 787 00:51:04.119 --> 00:51:07.639 and correct me if I'm wrong. But that little nas X song came out 788 00:51:07.679 --> 00:51:12.920 and next thing, you know, it blew up this country hip hop thing. 789 00:51:12.920 --> 00:51:16.440 And I'm like, I saw this first during Sam's Instagram videos. But 790 00:51:16.840 --> 00:51:20.760 the reason why the little it took a while for like the little nas X 791 00:51:20.800 --> 00:51:24.079 thing too, So he was I want I say this like that was a 792 00:51:24.119 --> 00:51:28.360 mockery of country, right, parody Yeah, parody parody, Yeah, for 793 00:51:28.360 --> 00:51:30.239 sure, he was like kind of doing a parody of country. He wasn't 794 00:51:30.280 --> 00:51:34.480 really And there's actually this kid that from Fresno. He I think he's like 795 00:51:34.480 --> 00:51:37.239 from Calba area. His uh, you can find him on ig His name 796 00:51:37.320 --> 00:51:40.519 is kid k I d D Country. I think the country with a K 797 00:51:42.039 --> 00:51:45.119 kid country. And this is like a dude that grew up, you know, 798 00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:50.800 in the hood in Fresno, but he sings country music and his style 799 00:51:50.840 --> 00:51:52.719 of country music is you can definitely tell he's from the hood in Fresno, 800 00:51:53.079 --> 00:51:55.360 you know. I mean, and I love it. I really love what 801 00:51:55.400 --> 00:52:00.320 this dude is doing, you know. So I'm glad that, as I 802 00:52:00.320 --> 00:52:05.320 mean, Fresnoe should be at the forefront of this. Unfortunately, Nashville is, 803 00:52:05.960 --> 00:52:09.199 you know, kind of leading the way now and Nashville, Nashville is 804 00:52:09.239 --> 00:52:15.719 a business Nashville is going to be the the the promotion for the music, 805 00:52:15.800 --> 00:52:20.079 but I think that there's still enough room left where, like Fresno could really 806 00:52:20.119 --> 00:52:24.519 develop its own sound, like sort of how Bakersfield had its country sound that 807 00:52:24.639 --> 00:52:30.480 came out of you know, in the in the dust Bowl refugees, you 808 00:52:30.480 --> 00:52:35.039 know, grapes of wrath era. Their kids became like the real Haggards and 809 00:52:35.079 --> 00:52:38.280 the buck Owens, and you had like this Bakersfield sound of OKI's adapting to 810 00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:45.880 California environment. I feel like Fresno could produce a sound that is country roots 811 00:52:47.960 --> 00:52:54.079 influenced by the evolution of Fresnoe growing into an urban city. And so what 812 00:52:54.119 --> 00:52:59.239 I would like to hear is less of the what was his name Morgan walland 813 00:52:59.280 --> 00:53:00.480 like I don't even listen the country music. I'll keep it butt like I 814 00:53:00.480 --> 00:53:04.079 listened to the old country music. I listened like Hank william Senior. I 815 00:53:04.159 --> 00:53:08.840 listened to like the Morgan Wall and slowly getting into country lately. Yeah, 816 00:53:08.960 --> 00:53:14.400 I mean and dope storytelling, man, Like great melodies, great storytelling. 817 00:53:15.199 --> 00:53:19.559 But I'd like to see Fresno like not try to emulate what post Malone is 818 00:53:19.599 --> 00:53:22.000 doing now. I'd like to see them sort of develop their own sound of 819 00:53:22.840 --> 00:53:27.079 And I'm obviously going to be partial because I grew up in the Bay but 820 00:53:27.920 --> 00:53:31.280 with such a heavy Bay Area mob influence and the high influence here, I 821 00:53:31.760 --> 00:53:36.960 feel it's only right that there should be like a hiphi version of country. 822 00:53:37.639 --> 00:53:39.159 So that's my dream. It's like the height Tonk, you know, so 823 00:53:40.559 --> 00:53:43.360 I kind of want to switch up to this. It kind of goes with 824 00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:49.159 the whole Instagram you posting. I'll look at comments sometimes and there's and this 825 00:53:49.320 --> 00:53:52.639 is through the last few years. I'll just look and how do you feel 826 00:53:52.639 --> 00:54:00.599 about the people that kind of say that you're corny or you're because it's you 827 00:54:00.639 --> 00:54:04.159 always bring something so new that people are not used to. And I don't 828 00:54:04.159 --> 00:54:07.920 know if I want to call it hate, but they judge you. I 829 00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:14.480 mean that's gonna be and like people are gonna fear something that's different, know, 830 00:54:14.559 --> 00:54:16.599 so outside the comfort zone. Yeah, yeah, I mean, uh, 831 00:54:16.719 --> 00:54:20.719 I think that's gonna be. Unfortunately, what is holding Fresnel back from 832 00:54:20.760 --> 00:54:24.800 creating its own version like I was describing, you know of Uh? If 833 00:54:24.800 --> 00:54:29.760 Fresne were to just be like, man, I don't care if people call 834 00:54:29.800 --> 00:54:31.880 me corny, you care if people say like that they don't get it, 835 00:54:32.079 --> 00:54:37.360 and you just create a sound and you just run with that sound. Eventually 836 00:54:37.280 --> 00:54:39.559 you know that there's gonna be a hundred people to catch on and then it's 837 00:54:39.599 --> 00:54:44.719 gonna be you know when or they don't. But you you, you have 838 00:54:44.800 --> 00:54:50.559 that sound. And so I at a real early age, I remember I 839 00:54:50.559 --> 00:54:53.840 was listening to uh oc times up uh and he said I'd rather be broke 840 00:54:53.880 --> 00:54:57.519 and have a whole lot of respect. And that's kind of how I've always 841 00:54:57.599 --> 00:55:00.239 sort of, you know, like just lived looked at life. I was 842 00:55:00.280 --> 00:55:01.480 like, I don't really, It's not so much about the money to me. 843 00:55:01.480 --> 00:55:05.760 It's more about and as the older I get, it's even less about 844 00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:07.480 the respect for me. Like honestly, if the people that I respect respect 845 00:55:07.519 --> 00:55:13.880 me, I'm cool. You know. You know that's I'll wrap it up 846 00:55:13.920 --> 00:55:17.280 with this. You know. I think the Fresno b came out with a 847 00:55:17.320 --> 00:55:21.800 story about you during one of the times that you know where. I think 848 00:55:21.840 --> 00:55:25.880 it was from the Grizzlies, and I believe it said like marketing genius. 849 00:55:27.239 --> 00:55:34.360 Oh the dude from beat from ESPN had said that I was the smartest promoter 850 00:55:34.440 --> 00:55:37.639 in baseball is because I was tapped into didn't you have like a sort of 851 00:55:37.639 --> 00:55:39.039 like a feeling about that, like you didn't like, no, don't call 852 00:55:39.079 --> 00:55:44.440 me a genius, Like yeah, no, I mean because like everybody has 853 00:55:44.519 --> 00:55:47.360 some form of genius in them. It's just like what you're gonna apply it, 854 00:55:47.400 --> 00:55:52.159 like if you have the right platform finding what your genius is. But 855 00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:57.079 uh, yeah, I guess my question where where is this your mind is 856 00:55:57.119 --> 00:56:00.119 so unique? Where is this coming from? Video? All that? I 857 00:56:00.159 --> 00:56:05.800 mean? But I feel like most people have like creativity in them. I 858 00:56:05.880 --> 00:56:08.920 mean, it's just uh how I say. I was fortunate enough to go 859 00:56:08.960 --> 00:56:14.199 to a magnet school in the Bay Area that was I got Like I tell 860 00:56:14.199 --> 00:56:15.400 people now, it's like it was woke before woke as woke, Like they 861 00:56:15.519 --> 00:56:22.519 was progressive and they encouraged us to just not be afraid of our ideas, 862 00:56:22.639 --> 00:56:25.559 but then also like not be so open minded that our brain has fallen out, 863 00:56:27.039 --> 00:56:29.960 so to find that balance, find that balance, and then that just 864 00:56:30.079 --> 00:56:37.239 really taught me to uh have a frame where I would condition an idea and 865 00:56:37.960 --> 00:56:43.480 like be processing the logistics at the same time. And I mean, I'll 866 00:56:43.519 --> 00:56:45.719 be honest, like freestyle rapping is a bit for that too. I mean 867 00:56:46.280 --> 00:56:52.360 literally, like you know that sort of conditions your brain or just writing graffiti 868 00:56:52.400 --> 00:56:54.400 and you know, being a doing that style of art, like trying to 869 00:56:54.400 --> 00:57:00.400 make things connect, just like building metaphors in your mind is all part of 870 00:57:00.440 --> 00:57:05.000 like that creative process. And I mean, but nowadays everyone is a creative 871 00:57:05.199 --> 00:57:10.760 So it's just a matter of balancing like creativity with logistics and making sure that 872 00:57:10.840 --> 00:57:15.719 it can that it can ship hit it out the door, you know. 873 00:57:15.920 --> 00:57:22.800 Like so that's the main thing, is finding out like is this scalable? 874 00:57:22.960 --> 00:57:27.960 Is this executable? You know, that's that's that's the big part of it 875 00:57:28.000 --> 00:57:35.800 where I think that the writer from ESPN was was impressed that the staff that 876 00:57:35.840 --> 00:57:37.199 we had in Fresno, that we were able to pull off the amount of 877 00:57:37.199 --> 00:57:43.960 promos that we were doing that were so well received. And it was just 878 00:57:44.000 --> 00:57:46.000 because you know, it's Fresno, man, like there's no one here to 879 00:57:46.000 --> 00:57:49.079 help us, Like we don't have it, Like we got to do it 880 00:57:49.079 --> 00:57:51.559 ourselves. All we got, we are all we got, Like so if 881 00:57:51.599 --> 00:57:52.800 we don't do what, no one else is going to. So you know, 882 00:57:52.880 --> 00:57:57.440 shouts out to Dorian, shouts out to Andy m and Derek Franks, 883 00:57:57.440 --> 00:58:00.679 like everybody that was in the trenches with k Rich everyone that was in their 884 00:58:00.679 --> 00:58:04.280 trenches with us during those years at the grids N twenty, the Bare Flag 885 00:58:04.320 --> 00:58:07.119 Rebellion, you were. We really it was sink or swim during those years, 886 00:58:07.119 --> 00:58:09.679 and so we really just we just had to make it work just to 887 00:58:09.800 --> 00:58:13.960 just to go back on that. I mean, you can't bearing bearing gifts 888 00:58:13.960 --> 00:58:16.440 with these hats which appreciate it. So Grizzly had the as a. Is 889 00:58:16.440 --> 00:58:20.599 that the old English g Yeah? Yeah. So my question for you is, 890 00:58:20.599 --> 00:58:23.800 because you had a lot of great ideas graphics, was there ever a 891 00:58:24.360 --> 00:58:30.719 design or a promo or even an event that you pitched that just got shot 892 00:58:30.760 --> 00:58:32.559 down? And you wish like, what have happened? Do you have one 893 00:58:32.599 --> 00:58:36.960 of those? Yeah? Man, I mean to be honest like this, 894 00:58:37.079 --> 00:58:42.840 you had mentioned the Simpsons merch before. I you know, I pitched that, 895 00:58:43.079 --> 00:58:45.639 but then I I honestly wish like we wouldn't have done that because we 896 00:58:45.679 --> 00:58:49.719 ended up getting a crazy fine. We got like a seventeen thousand dollars fine, 897 00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:53.760 no shit, Yeah, man, I mean there's like stuff that Oh, 898 00:58:53.800 --> 00:59:00.400 there's just so much like merch like that. I mean I approach Nike 899 00:59:00.639 --> 00:59:07.079 about doing starter jackets like years ago. I wanted to do the the the 900 00:59:07.159 --> 00:59:13.440 jazzy Jeff and fresh print summertime, the Starter shorts that I remember Starter. 901 00:59:13.480 --> 00:59:15.679 I don't know if this my you you remember these may I don't know if 902 00:59:15.679 --> 00:59:19.159 you're old enough, remember when Starter had those little the overall shorts and that 903 00:59:19.280 --> 00:59:22.559 had the pin stripes. So I did a whole mock up of like this 904 00:59:22.679 --> 00:59:28.679 like Starter, uh collection for Grizzlies, and because Nike owned Starter, and 905 00:59:28.960 --> 00:59:32.039 I pitched it to Nike, and of course, my dumb mass, I 906 00:59:32.039 --> 00:59:36.639 had to take it one step further, like like we were down there, 907 00:59:36.679 --> 00:59:39.519 and then I took the the f wor I took the Starter s and I 908 00:59:39.519 --> 00:59:43.840 turned it into an F and I made it a finisher instead of Starter. 909 00:59:44.559 --> 00:59:46.159 And I don't know if Nike felt some type of way about that or what, 910 00:59:46.199 --> 00:59:50.519 but they just like they're like nah, yeah no, they just went 911 00:59:50.639 --> 00:59:57.000 like like dark on me. I did, but yeah, sometimes I will, 912 00:59:57.960 --> 01:00:00.079 you know. That's one thing about where at the grids has made me 913 01:00:00.079 --> 01:00:05.519 like reel it back a little bit, like I will sometimes take it. 914 01:00:05.800 --> 01:00:08.440 I get this. Yeah, so that's the corporate right, Yeah, yeah, 915 01:00:08.480 --> 01:00:15.159 I'm sure you guys know might get you might get yeah, exactly what's 916 01:00:15.280 --> 01:00:17.199 next, What's uh, what's next for you? What's is there a new 917 01:00:17.239 --> 01:00:21.760 project that we should be known about that's coming. So I'm hype that you 918 01:00:21.760 --> 01:00:24.039 brought up the style by Fulton Man That's something that I'm super passionate about. 919 01:00:24.679 --> 01:00:29.960 It's not, you know, as uh trendy or topical or whatnot like, 920 01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:31.880 so it hasn't really gotten the energy that I wish it would have, but 921 01:00:31.880 --> 01:00:35.480 it's something that I think is going to grow. It's something that I'm really 922 01:00:36.760 --> 01:00:38.320 putting a lot of effort and energy into. Like I had mentioned, I 923 01:00:38.320 --> 01:00:40.760 want to do like a style by Manchester, I want to do a style 924 01:00:40.880 --> 01:00:45.800 by Cherry, but we're going to do another one of those style by Fulton's. 925 01:00:46.039 --> 01:00:51.280 We're going to bring back the defending champions and I'm probably going to increase 926 01:00:51.320 --> 01:00:55.199 the cash price for it, and of course, you know, the champions 927 01:00:55.239 --> 01:00:59.960 have to defend their belt and then Taco Truck throw Down is November ninth, 928 01:01:00.320 --> 01:01:02.840 so we're gonna start planning that way earlier. Right now, you can get 929 01:01:02.880 --> 01:01:07.239 twenty dollars tickets on Fresno Grizzlies dot com. I don't know if anyone knows 930 01:01:07.239 --> 01:01:08.480 that, but you're pretty much buying. You don't know who the artist I 931 01:01:08.519 --> 01:01:13.280 was gonna ask, No artists yet or or not none announced at least none 932 01:01:13.280 --> 01:01:15.559 announced. Okay, so but there you guys have people in mind. Yeah 933 01:01:15.639 --> 01:01:19.519 yeah, okay, I mean I do, others do. It's sort of 934 01:01:19.559 --> 01:01:22.360 like you know who who at point. But typically those of you, you 935 01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:27.920 know, follow talk truck through now and we usually have a good Latino act 936 01:01:27.960 --> 01:01:30.119 and then we usually have someone that's you know, more like core hip hop. 937 01:01:30.400 --> 01:01:32.400 Yeah, so on the path've had Cypriss. It's usually kind of the 938 01:01:32.440 --> 01:01:36.079 formula that you guys go with, yeah, yeah, which is very Fresno. 939 01:01:36.239 --> 01:01:37.559 Yeah. Yeah, it's a good formula. Yeah, Chelino, Me's 940 01:01:37.599 --> 01:01:42.039 Mac Drey, Yeah yeah, balance of Fresno. Yeah. Well it's been 941 01:01:42.159 --> 01:01:45.000 man, it's been cool to finally get you on here and just chop it 942 01:01:45.079 --> 01:01:47.079 up and just hear about stories that man, long time coming, Yeah for 943 01:01:47.159 --> 01:01:52.400 sure. And I mean Fresno is my home. You know, I'm not 944 01:01:52.760 --> 01:01:55.559 originally from here, but I've been living here for twenty years now, and 945 01:01:57.679 --> 01:02:02.719 you make this city pop, like yeah, everyone, you definitely got your 946 01:02:02.719 --> 01:02:06.320 hand in it. Yeah man, And I guess that's what I was trying 947 01:02:06.360 --> 01:02:08.840 to say. Is. You have a big part of making this city what 948 01:02:08.880 --> 01:02:12.280 it is. So thank you guys, and thank you guys for creating this 949 01:02:12.320 --> 01:02:16.519 platform, forgetting you know, because I I can't say like I've exactly handed 950 01:02:16.519 --> 01:02:20.119 off the baton because I do still have my hand in it. But like 951 01:02:20.159 --> 01:02:22.880 there's younger guys that are really making it pop more than you know, like 952 01:02:22.039 --> 01:02:28.440 uh, Dorian and yeah, you guys from Iron Bullies and my guy market 953 01:02:28.480 --> 01:02:32.559 market here. Yeah, so I mean all the all the younger generation that 954 01:02:32.719 --> 01:02:36.119 is, you know, like that's who I did it for the kids, 955 01:02:36.159 --> 01:02:38.719 and those are the kids I did it for. That way of putting it. 956 01:02:38.840 --> 01:02:43.079 Hey, man, I appreciate you being here. I live in downtown. 957 01:02:43.119 --> 01:02:45.840 He lives in downtown. I see it. You walk everywhere. Like 958 01:02:45.960 --> 01:02:49.440 yeah, I don't even think you drive, but every time I'm driving home 959 01:02:49.480 --> 01:02:52.960 from work, you're I see you in the streets just walking around. I'm 960 01:02:52.000 --> 01:02:57.000 in the streets. Yeah. So, yeah, continued success, and I 961 01:02:57.000 --> 01:03:00.000 mean we're you know, we're friends. So I'm sure that we'll continue to 962 01:03:00.280 --> 01:03:05.119 chop it up and help come by. Come by butter brunch on Sunday. 963 01:03:05.480 --> 01:03:07.599 Oh there you go, I'm Cocky's right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, 964 01:03:07.639 --> 01:03:09.159 there you. Yeah, yeah, but you're just gonna force the step some 965 01:03:09.239 --> 01:03:14.800 Henny. That's why I don't drink anymore like that man. Yeah. All 966 01:03:14.920 --> 01:03:20.719 right, well, and don't come throw down the plug your socials if you 967 01:03:20.760 --> 01:03:25.079 want people to like to find you. F t K Construction is the marketing 968 01:03:25.079 --> 01:03:31.400 and events. Uh. The store is star Child Archives at star Child Archives. 969 01:03:31.840 --> 01:03:37.679 And if you want to hear some rants about streetwear fashion, might even 970 01:03:37.800 --> 01:03:43.840 do Hyphie Talk Tuesday. That's at Sam at Sam from FDK. There it 971 01:03:43.880 --> 01:03:46.960 is Sam. Thank you for joining us on this podcast. Until next time. 972 01:03:47.000 --> 01:03:49.440 This could give me fire podcasts