# If I Wanted to Become a Full-Time Content Creator in 2027, I'd Do This ft. JHAWK

An episode of [THE 505 PODCAST](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1591279585), 23 Oct 2026, 1 h 17 min.

Audio: https://podcasts.beehiiv.com/3f71d8b4-2a8c-40eb-8500-c62b76bd9acc/019d43e4-0103-7741-b37f-b81b41dca056/01a16691-86e5-7288-8257-6e7da34b9d16/01a16691-8803-7122-91a7-a19b86040c32.mp3

Try KLING 4.0 today and get 2 extra months of Artlist free when you use our code on an annual subscription: https://artlist.io/artlist-70446?artlist_aid=the505podcast_2970&utm_source=affiliate_p&utm_medium=the505podcast_2970&utm_campaign=the505podcast_2970 What’s up, Rock Nation! Today we’re joined by tech creator, entrepreneur, and founder of Lab Culture, JHawk. We talk about what it actually takes to make a living as a full-time content creator in 2027, from growing an audience and landing brand deals to monetizing your content and knowing when you’re ready to quit your 9–5. We also get into building a sustainable career without burning out, why being easy to work with can lead to bigger opportunities, and JHawk’s full-circle journey from working at an Apple Store to being invited to Apple Park for major product launches. Plus, we dive into building his own clothing brand, moving to Austin, and how AI is changing the future of content creation. Check Out JHawk Here: https://www.instagram.com/johnnyhochstetler/ Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro 1:45 – Catching Up With JHawk 4:34 – How Your Environment Impacts Your Creativity 8:32 – Moving to Austin and Becoming a Full-Time Creator 10:45 – How JHawk Makes Money as a Content Creator 12:35 – Balancing Multiple Businesses and Creative Projects 13:37 – Artlist 14:09 – Building a Schedule When You're Your Own Boss 18:52 – How JHawk Plans His Weekly Content 21:46 – What Makes Content Actually Perform Well? 23:59 – Balancing Brand Deals With Organic Content 26:51 – The Reality of Making Money From Brand Deals 29:28 – How to Become a Full-Time Content Creator in 2027 33:22 – Why You Shouldn't Rush to Quit Your 9–5 34:51 – The Hard Truth About Being a Full-Time Creator 35:40 – Why Choosing the Right Niche Matters 38:50 – Dealing With Low Views and the Pressure to Perform 42:00 – Going From Working at Apple to Getting Invited to Apple Park 48:27 – The Full-Circle Moment of Working With Apple 50:12 – How to Build Relationships That Lead to Bigger Brand Deals 55:00 – Why Health and Fitness Matter as a Creator 1:01:50 – How Fitness Impacts Your Productivity and Confidence 1:04:36 – Will AI Replace Content Creators? 1:08:50 – How Creators Should Be Using AI 1:10:33 – Building Lab Culture and Launching a Clothing Brand 1:15:45 – Why Building an Apparel Brand Is So Difficult If you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/

## Transcript

[0:00] I think a lot of creators are good at building a following, but they can't really figure out how to monetize what they're doing as well.
[0:06] That's Jayhawk, a tech creator who turned years of building on the side into a full-time career as a content creator, and has even taken that audience beyond his personal socials to build his own apparel brand, Lab Culture.
[0:16] Being a full-time content creator is, I think, the best thing ever.
[0:20] A lot of people really need to ask themself, do they just want this because it sounds cool, or do they want this because this is actually the life that they want to live?
[0:28] In this episode, Jayhawk breaks down what it actually takes to build a sustainable career as a creator, from growing an audience and landing brand deals, to staying consistent, monetizing your content, and figuring out when you're actually ready to make the jump full time.
[0:39] I always try to go above and beyond working with the brands. You wanna be easy to work with. You wanna be enjoyable to work with. I think a lot of creators don't do that.
[0:45] We also get into his relationship with Apple and the full circle story of going from working at an Apple store in college to eventually being invited to Apple Park for some of the biggest product launches in the world.
[0:54] You go from, like, a broke college kid working in the store to, like, at Apple Park in Steve Jobs Theater making videos for an iPhone. That's a pretty unbelievable arc.
[1:03] And finally, he breaks down what it's taken to build his own brand in Lab Culture, and how moving to Austin has helped him step into a completely new chapter of his life and career.
[1:10] Apparel is definitely a whole different beast. It does take a ridiculous amount of work that I don't think everyone is really willing to put in. Jayhawk, give me the one-handed crack. One-handed crack?
[1:23] Dude, I don't think I've practiced since the last time. Here we go. Okay, go. Oh, no. Oh, get there. Come on. Oh, no. Oh my God. Dude, village on the keyboard. I might have just broke my computer.
[1:34] Holy- I might have just broke my keyboard. \[laughs\] No, it's fine. It's fine. I think we... I think it missed. I think that- Did you dent it? Um, yeah, I got, like, a double dent here. 4.9. Good shit, baby.
[1:47] Welcome back to the show. Look at that. \[clapping\] Kids watch, dude. It happens to all of us. Last time we chatted- Style points, though... two years ago, okay, you had just quit your job at Ghost.
[1:56] You were going full time on Lab Culture, on the personal brand on YouTube. Catch us up to speed now, in this moment. Where are we at? What's going on? Dude, that- that is a great question. \[laughs\] So much is going on.
[2:10] But, uh, no, I feel like it's been, I mean, a pretty crazy last two years. Like, I feel like last time we spoke it was, like... I remember I just had recently left my full-time job. I think, Figgy, you did the same.
[2:22] You were just recently leaving too. And so I think that was, like, a lot of just kind of figuring out what this new chapter looked like, right?
[2:29] So just kind of getting my bearings with everything and, like, building my own schedule and doing everything for myself. Um, that was, like, a crazy kind of transition period, like, that first few months.
[2:39] Um, and then obviously within the last, like, year or so, I feel like I really kinda, like, found, like, my footing and really kinda, like, I guess just was in a good groove with everything, whether it be my content, building, like, Lab Culture, and just everything.
[2:54] Um, but there was kinda like one pending large overarching thing that was going on, which was at some point we were going to move away from Chicago. So about...
[3:04] Now it's been actually already, like, six months, which is insane. We actually moved down to Austin, Texas, which that was, like, a huge thing. So I kind of felt like the kind of period of time where I was full-time
[3:16] after leaving my full-time job, um, and working for myself was just, like, a big transition period, kind of figuring everything out. But now, like, we're kind of in this new chapter down here in Austin.
[3:27] Um, I have a whole new management team compared to at that time. I have a new studio. Recently picked up, uh, my dream truck. Uh, I feel like everything's kind of, like...
[3:39] I feel like everything's kind of in a good groove now. So there's just been so much going on, but that's kind of, like, quickly I guess the chaos has been the last two years.
[3:46] But I feel like we're kind of finally over that hump of, like, figuring out being full time, figuring out, like, this new chapter in life where we wanna live and everything.
[3:54] And, uh, now we're just trying to do the damn thing, you know? You know the video where the little kid's like, "I got a girlfriend. I'm playing Xbox. I got pizza rolls in the oven." \[laughs\] Dude, life is good, bro. Bro.
[4:08] That's Jayhawk right now. The rocks are winning, dog. Yeah. It's a winner's circle right here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There it is. Right here. It is. Right here. No, dude, Fig- Yeah...
[4:16] speaking about winning, can we talk about it? We can talk about it. Fig got a big win today. We got a big... We got a- Wow... commercial, baby. We won a big commercial. Good shit. Come on, boys. Wow. Wow, congrats, dude.
[4:26] Thanks, bro. That's awesome. You brought up a- a big thing that came up in your life, is moving to a new city. Mm-hmm.
[4:32] And I wanna ask you about environment and how that affects you as a creator, because being at a full-time job in a certain environment can sometimes hinder you from creating as well as you would like to.
[4:48] Brayden's talked about it a million times on the podcast where, you know, you're at the mercy of working this full-time job, but you're also trying to pursue the passion.
[4:57] Um, but then there's also being in a city, right, where I think we're very fortunate to be in a major city like LA where weather's nice, so you can film outside a good amount of the year, if not all year round, and there's a lot of people that you're around that do similar stuff.
[5:15] So it's not like you're this weird person trying to create.
[5:20] I remember when I was going to school in Wisconsin, um, and content, I mean, that was 10 years ago, content was even still super, super new, and so I felt kind of weird and almost like an outcast 'cause I like making YouTube videos and taking photos and stuff.
[5:35] So I'd love to hear your perspective of, like,
[5:38] being in an environment in Chicago versus now Texas, um, and also what it's like now creating where you don't have the boundaries of also having to create content for a full-time job.
[5:53] Dude, I mean, that- that, yeah, that's a loaded question.
[5:55] 'Cause I feel like I'm such an environment person, and I guess, like, I feel like any creative really is, but I think, like, the first part of that, like, um- Yeah, you mentioned like the LA weather.
[6:06] Like obviously like the sunshine tax is a real thing because, yeah, I- it's beautiful 99% of the time. It's like great conditions, like whatever, you know. Like it really is so important.
[6:17] That was a huge issue I had with Chicago, because I love Chicago as a city, but you got like four months of prime weather, like a year, you know.
[6:27] Um, summertime Chi is a real thing, one of the best cities in the world for like three to four months. \[laughs\] Uh, but then like that like seven months of winter is like absolute brutal.
[6:38] So not even from a lifestyle standpoint of like, you know, walking to the gym when it was negative 15, um, but let alone, you know, trying to create content.
[6:47] Because I think as I was trying to kinda like evolve my content and stuff, I wanted to do more and more things outside just my home office, you know?
[6:55] And so that really felt like a huge barrier for content, was, you know, it was miserable to go outside even to take the dogs out, let alone do I wanna record a video, you know- \[laughs\]... or take photos or whatever.
[7:07] And so that obviously had a lot to do with kinda like where, uh, you know, I wanted to move and where I could see myself being long-term and whatever. And so that was absolutely massive.
[7:19] I think as far as like from, you know, not also working and balancing that was also huge just because, you know, of course there's some things of just like your schedule.
[7:29] Like for example, some of the stuff I've done over the last month, like going to the Apple event or the Sony event or whatever these different things are, I used to have to take PTO to even be able to attend some of these things, let alone figure out like, "Should I post content during work hours?
[7:45] Is it a weekend? Is it a weekday?" Like, are people gonna feel a certain type of way? Am I gonna get in trouble or not, you know, for whatever it is? Which I know is something that a lot of people deal with.
[7:57] Um, you know, and so I think even on top of that then just from like your physical location and where you are in your home office, or now I have my studio, or like your apartment, wherever you're at, like I think being in an environment that
[8:14] makes you excited to work in but also makes it easier to work in is like so important.
[8:18] So I feel like, yeah, just like those were a lot of things that I was fighting for so long, so now like kind of I feel like in this new chapter all of those things are kinda finally clicking, which is definitely like a pretty like obvious difference within my content, you know?
[8:32] Mm-hmm. Yeah, do you, you feel like when you finally got to move to Austin, 'cause you leave the job, you're working, you're kinda like, you throw yourself right into the fire, and then into a huge- Mm-hmm...
[8:40] move, which is obviously very stressful, even moving across the street. You're moving states. \[laughs\] Yeah. And now you gotta get everything back set up.
[8:48] Do you finally feel like now everything is, the dust has settled and now you can just fully push forward? I, I think finally, yeah.
[8:57] It definitely was, 'cause I mean, I've moved a few times, but I think moving across the country was definitely a much larger undertaking than we really expected.
[9:09] But, you know, it definitely took a little bit of time to kind of get everything sorted, and I keep saying that, like kinda get over that hump of feeling like, okay, we're in this new chapter, this new life, a new whatever.
[9:19] But it was a pretty big like lifestyle change. And the lifestyle that we want now, but it was, you know, we were sharing one vehicle in Chicago, so we moved down here.
[9:28] Uh, my fiancee, Miranda, she had to quit her job in Chicago, had to find a new job. We had to get her vehicle because, you know, now we're at, living in a city where we needed two cars.
[9:38] Uh, my old vehicle kinda blew up, so I sporadically had to buy a new vehicle at the same time. This like dream studio of mine kinda like fell in my lap. Uh, so that kinda happened quickly.
[9:50] We also helped move my mom down here to Austin, so she's close by now.
[9:54] So it was like the first two months were like unbelievable just the amount of things going on, but once the dust kinda settled from all that and I feel like I kinda like got in a good groove with my own stuff, like we are so much happier where we're currently at.
[10:07] And I think, I think, I, at least I hope it shows within my content that I just feel like, I just feel like myself, you know?
[10:14] And like doing what I actually love and like the way I guess I really want to, which is hard when like you have like this vision for a long time, but you just like don't know how to, I guess, put everything together.
[10:30] But I feel like I'm finally like kinda have all the pieces figured out right now or at least as of right now. Um, and then just kinda like trying to, I don't know, I guess just do the damn thing, you know?
[10:40] When, when you look at while you were at your job, maybe 20, 30% of the income is coming from outside brand deals- Mm-hmm... and whatnot, Lab Culture. Now, what is the split like? What are you super focused on?
[10:51] How do you make money as a creator? \[sighs\] Yeah. That's, um,
[10:57] I mean, that, that is a really big thing, and I think like I wanna say before I dive into this is I feel like something that I was very conscious of from the start was I think a lotta creators are good at building a following, maybe not like a diehard following, but they can have a lot of followers, but they can't really figure out how to monetize what they're doing as well.
[11:17] And so I think that was something I was always pretty conscious of, even early on when I had 10,000 followers, you know, and working a full-time job, uh, even to now. So I think I made the jump pretty calculated, right?
[11:31] But I guess like these days brand deals is definitely easily my biggest chunk of like what my income is, and then you have like all your passive incomes, like as a creator, right, like your
[11:45] Amazon affiliates, your YouTube AdSense. Um, I have like a decent amount of like digital assets and digital goods that's, you know, passive. Um, and then obviously now I also have
[11:57] everything that I'm trying to do with Lab Culture, which this year it's been a little bit slower just with the move and transition and waiting to get a space for it and everything. But that also is an income of mine.
[12:08] I don't really personally take too much from that, uh, or really anything from it, but it's now also helping to pay for the studio, I guess, so like it is helping the larger picture.
[12:18] But yeah, definitely brand deals are the biggest thing for me, um, but I'm always trying to figure out- New ways to kinda like diversify that and kinda like add more things into...
[12:28] I've even considered maybe doing like some sort of a coaching or some sort of thing as well, but, you know, there's only so much time in the day.
[12:35] \[laughs\] Yeah, that's the biggest thing that me and Braden have been talking about recently, is it can feel cool to say you're doing
[12:46] four or five different things or trying to do them, but in practicality, like you said, you only have so much time in the day to, to do that. So I think, uh, it's interesting, like
[12:58] on the topic of having a limited, a limited amount of time, how are you spending your days? Um, and has the,
[13:09] has the honeymoon period of having quit your job and being like, "Oh my God, I have all this free time. I can do whatever I want." Yeah.
[13:18] \[laughs\] And now have you settled into, "Well, shit, I'm, I'm, I'm my own boss and I gotta figure out a schedule, and no one's telling me what to do on a daily basis, so we gotta figure out- Mm-hmm...
[13:29] how to be the most productive." Um, because you almost trade in a nine-to-five for a job that you could, in theory, do 24/7.
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[14:13] No, for sure. I mean, I think when I first left my job, it definitely was a little bit of a struggle just kind of figuring out, like what... Like how do I schedule this, right?
[14:22] And I think, like for myself, I had been in some sort of a creative corporate setting for long enough.
[14:28] I'm, I'm definitely used to a schedule, and even like when I had to have a team and things, like I'm used to scheduling things out and having deliverables and due dates and all this stuff.
[14:37] So I think I had, or at least I was familiar with structure. But I think figuring out how to build it for you as an individual is like the really complicated part, especially with you want it to be,
[14:49] like not only- You wanna have some sort of balance within that schedule you create too. Like, it's easy to like plan out an insane week, but like is that actually achievable? Probably not.
[14:58] Um, so like just kinda like figuring out what actually works in like my schedule and everything. So I think it was definitely a transition period
[15:07] really for like that last year, and then I think since we moved down here to Austin, I was very intentional about like, okay.
[15:14] It just kinda felt like a fresh start across the board, so I think it was just a good excuse to like bring in some new structure and figure out what this new lifestyle was and like what I actually wanted my day-to-day to look like.
[15:24] And I think that also really helped my content as well, because, you know, if you're a more organized and happy human, like that's gonna show through within your content, you know? And so that was my biggest hope.
[15:38] So really, I guess right now for me is I'm really big on scheduling out like at least as much as you can, kinda like my week in ad- advance.
[15:47] Obviously, there's always gonna be things that come up and, you know, you have to put out fires here, swap things around.
[15:52] But at least if I can, I try to schedule out at least kind of like a week or so, and then kinda, you know, break it down with what days am I working on what projects or shooting or what is due what day or whatever.
[16:03] And so I think that's really big for me. And then from like a more like tactical standpoint, like day by day, I usually, um, wake up a lot earlier than I used to. And usually try to work out-
[16:17] What are we, what are we talking? Um, right now I'm trying to do like 6:00 AM- Oh... which I think is pretty, pretty good for me. You guys are beasts, dude. Pretty good for me. I, I gotta be honest. Yeah.
[16:25] I, so I was up at 5:30 today. \[laughs\] But not by choice. I, uh, just like woke up to use the restroom and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I ended up like getting out of bed at 6:00 and I'm, I'm feeling it.
[16:39] It's, it's 12:00 PM. Yep. I'm a little tired right now. Yep. So- Yep... 6:00 AM for you, dude, that's... Are you going to bed at like 10:00? No, I'm definitely not.
[16:49] \[laughs\] So, uh- So you're, you're ripping just six hours of sleep... yeah, I mean, I probably should. Mm-hmm. I probably should. Yeah. I'm, I'm a like a six hours of sleep average type of guy. Yeah.
[16:56] Which honestly for me is like even if you look at my Whoop for the last like 12 months, like I think I average around six, which some people will hate on, some people say that's good. It's kinda just what works for me.
[17:07] Me as an individual, I personally hate sleep. I know some people like love sleep, like I wish I didn't have to sleep, not even from a work standpoint, just from like a, "I feel like I'm wasting my time."
[17:16] So I just don't enjoy sleep- \[laughs\]... um, at all. And so I think it's- Bro... kinda like a blessing and a curse because, um- Bro, you know there's this, there's this- Yes... there's this condition.
[17:28] This is actually kind of wild tangent. I go to this fraternity camp back in college and it's like midnight and we're kinda in these dorms. We had to go to like Indianapolis.
[17:35] It was like the, like a council kinda meeting bullshit for- A fraternity camp? Kinda thing. I don't know. It was like a, it w- No, it's not a camp. What's it- It's like to learn how to get into the frat? No.
[17:43] No, no, no, no, no. It's like where they bring all the chapters together and they do conference kinda deal. N- Not a camp, but like, you know what I mean? Okay. Anyways. You went to that?
[17:50] Listen, listen, it's midnight, bro. \[laughs\] This guy knocks on the door and I'm like, "Are we getting robbed right now?" This dude walks in. He's chipper as fuck. It's midnight. I'm like, "Yo, what, what's going on?"
[17:58] He goes, "Oh, I'm Mike. Uh, I have this crazy condition where I don't sleep." I go, "What do you mean?" He's like, "I only sleep one to two hours a night." \[laughs\] And he was... I was like, "Well, you got so much time.
[18:09] You gotta be building stuff." He goes, "I just like video games, man." Got guys out there that have this thing. You, that c- maybe in another life, that's what you're gonna get. Wow.
[18:17] You won't, you won't have to- The dream... sleep at all, man. You could just game. The dream. You'd just be in the lab....
[18:22] all night Yeah Dude, I just, I- It was the dream I can't believe Brayden went to school to learn how to get into the fraternity. \[laughs\] Dude, no. \[laughs\] You went to frat camp?
[18:31] \[laughs\] I met a c- I met a meeting dude. Oh my God. \[laughs\] It was a meeting \[laughs\] It was for the higher up guys. Jesus. \[laughs\] I had to go. Oh my God. Unbelievable.
[18:39] Okay- You're definitely in a fraternity with, that's like getting busted right now with all the dudes in the basement. \[laughs\] Dude, that was at my school. Dude, that was at, Kostas was in that one. Really?
[18:47] No, I wasn't in it. That was Kostas, yeah. I was in A Pi, I was in SA. That checks out. \[laughs\] Um, dude.
[18:53] Dude, the funniest shit, I don't know if you've seen it, but Friday Beers did a, did like a remake of that, like a bit of it all. I don't- It, you gotta look it up after we go off the phone, it's so funny, dude.
[19:03] That's so funny. It's unreal. But- That's good... point, yeah, back to the important stuff, dude. Back to the important stuff. Schedule.
[19:09] I wanna know right now, when you look at the week for content, how can someone like take what you're doing and implement into what they do? How do you think about the week of content?
[19:18] Give me all the platforms and how you're thinking about it. Oh, man. Um, I, I think the biggest thing for sure is I kinda have like two main lists. I kinda have like
[19:30] my to-do list for like today, or like the night before I'll write out for tomorrow, you know? Um, and then also kinda like a this week to-do list.
[19:38] So it's kinda like, you know, your urgent things that have to be done tomorrow or today, whatever. Um, and then like the has to get done this week.
[19:46] So I think that helps me out mentally 'cause then if I have to push something or like whatever, I can move it around.
[19:50] But also like before I go to bed, I kinda like to have that list of like, okay, the next day I have to like execute these things, you know? So I think that helps me out a lot.
[19:59] And then from, I guess like a platform standpoint, I think even we talked about this the last time I did the podcast, but I'm very big on like figuring out like what my own posting cadence is versus like,
[20:13] you know, living and dying by the numbers of each video that you put out. So I think for me, I try to have, you know, I would say like if I could get out four pieces of content, like on my socials a week, that's great,
[20:28] and I think I would like it to be closer to like maybe seven if I could, but I know that's not gonna be possible every single week, so I don't like to set an expectation unless I can actually achieve it.
[20:39] So if it can be more, great. If it can be, or if it has to be less for whatever, you know, it'll live. But I try to do like I would say
[20:48] four pieces of content a week, whether that be a vertical piece, um, maybe a photo post in there as well, and then I've been going really hard on YouTube the last I guess like three months now.
[21:00] Um, and so I've been posting almost weekly.
[21:03] Again, I don't like to say guarantees unless I'm actually doing it, but I, I've been trying to post at least twice a month on YouTube, and it just happens to be, I think we've had a vlog like every week for the past like eight or nine weeks, so that's been pretty good.
[21:15] But that's kinda like how I take a look at it, and that way I can kind of go against my own check marks of being like, "Okay, yeah, I've posted three posts this week or four posts this week," instead of being like
[21:28] every day I wake up and I'm scrambling and like, "Oh, no. What am I gonna create today? Do I need to get a post up?" Or whatever.
[21:34] And there's always gonna be the weird days that come up, or you get sent a product you weren't expecting, or something has to be moved around.
[21:40] But for the most part, that's kinda like my go-to schedule, and then I just am flexible when I have to be around that.
[21:48] From all the pieces that you've made in the last year, if you zoom out and go back to the ones that have won and done really well, is there something that you can kinda pull from them that you could help someone with who might be trying to burst into maybe some bigger, better numbers than they're used to?
[22:05] I guess like the biggest thing would just be like, I think for any of us that do content, right, you're putting out so many pieces of content, and so I think it's very easy sometimes to
[22:19] make things like feel a little rushed. And maybe not intentionally, but just when you're trying to kinda like knock something out and then move onto the next thing, it's very easy to just like
[22:28] I guess do like a little bit more of the bare minimum than you probably should. Um, and I think we're all guilty of that sometimes, right? But I think if you look at,
[22:38] I think my most successful projects this past year, whether it be numbers-wise or even things I'm really proud of, it's usually 'cause I put a lot of time into it, you know?
[22:48] Like I've had some brand deals where, you know, which sometimes it's just how it happens. Like I have five hours from start to like turning it in that I have five hours to work on it, you know?
[23:01] And like that's, I'm never gonna be able to make the best thing I've ever made within five hours.
[23:06] It could potentially perform the best depending on if it's something crazy, but, or like an iPhone duo video that you do in 20 minutes.
[23:12] \[laughs\] But like if it's, you know, compare that to like I had a larger, um, brand deal with Microsoft, and I literally dedicated like two days to filming one of the vertical videos that was like 60 seconds, you know?
[23:27] Like that kinda sounds crazy, but I feel like I really crushed it and they were like blown away by it, loved it, we're already doing another partnership now. And,
[23:37] you know, I think that's also a really big portfolio piece for me on my page because other people, um, are able to like see it, and brands will see it, and that could lead to even better things like down the road, you know?
[23:51] So I guess like putting the real effort and time into it, it's not like anything groundbreaking, but it actually does make a huge difference.
[24:00] On the topic of brand deals, and you talked about, and you touched on how it's like that's your bread and butter as a creator, and I think a lotta creators, their main bread and butter is brand deals. How do you balance
[24:14] posting brand deals and posting organic content? And like I don't think you, if the brand deal aligns, like you're not really gonna wanna turn it down because it's how you make your money, right? Mm-hmm.
[24:28] But how do you balance-... like not just making your feed something where you're just promoting something every single piece of content, and is that just going back to the scheduling thing?
[24:41] Is that making sure that you're filming enough content where you can have, I don't wanna call it filler pieces because it's not, but it's like pieces that you put out that are just stuff that you're interested in, stuff that's gonna build your personal brand, stuff that's just gonna build your brand in general, where you're not selling something every time because
[25:00] I think you find the line very well. Like, I don't think of you as someone who promotes something in every single piece of content that you put out. Um, but at the same time, like it is a business.
[25:10] You know what I'm saying? And so I'm curious how you think about that balance as a creator. Yeah, I mean,
[25:17] I think that's something that's always like pretty top of mind for myself, and I think should be for a lot of people because I think what you said is very true.
[25:25] Like, I think the very start of all that is I try to only work with brands that I really mess with, you know, and that I would actually use for my- that I would either use for myself or I think people in my audience would use, or is just like an interesting topic, entertainment, whatever, you know?
[25:42] And so there has to be some sort of value with what any brand partnership, right? Which sounds like very basic, but some people don't think about it that way. So I think that's first and foremost.
[25:52] And then, yeah, I think a big thing is just like if you're posting consistently anyways,
[25:58] I think that just helps it break up because, you know, if you're posting seven days a week or five days a week and you even sprinkle in one brand deal within that a week, which I think is pretty high for most people, like I, I don't think that's gonna really feel like too much, especially if it's on brand still.
[26:14] But, you know, if you're only posting once or twice a week, and then also posting a brand deal within that, you know, you're talking about like, it could be 50% of what you're posting or more, whatever, you know?
[26:24] Or like, I guess like
[26:27] some of the people that I follow on YouTube and things, almost every single YouTube video they put out a weekly vlog usually has a sponsor in it, and I don't even really mind because that's just something I've come accustomed to with them, you know?
[26:38] And so I think it's really just like finding that balance, but I think the biggest thing, right, is if you're still talking about or promoting something that's very on brand to you, I don't really think your audience minds too much.
[26:49] Mm-hmm. So I think that would be like my biggest advice for sure. Yeah, I think that's so fair. Like I, I don't care if a, if a YouTuber posts say an ad read or something, 'cause you know that, that that's how...
[27:00] I mean, you're getting to watch their videos. That's how they make money, you know? Mm-hmm. Uh, yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm kinda going through that right now, posting hella brand deals.
[27:08] \[laughs\] I'm getting bags, but I'm like- You gotta post some stuff in between. I know, dude, but I'm like there's so much other stuff behind the scenes.
[27:16] We go back to talking about like balancing, you know, the four or five different things. It's, it's fucked honestly, 'cause I'm like in a season where decent amount of brand deals are coming in, but like it's hard to,
[27:31] it's hard to find the time to like really create the like other types of just straight organic pieces of content that I wanna create right now.
[27:38] And I'm like, "I'm gonna take the brand deal because I really like the brands that I'm working with," and, uh, I get to, you know, make money off of these brand deals, which is like incredible and I think that any creator, like that's the dream, right?
[27:51] That's like you create big enough personal brand to where you can be paid to make content. Um, but it's sometimes just you go through a season where like... I just moved like a month ago. Yeah.
[28:02] Like getting settled in and all that kind of stuff, and doing the agency work, and doing the podcast and everything. It can feel, uh, very overwhelming. Um, but yeah. Well, and I think, I think it's just...
[28:12] And you can-- I guess that's also something to like mention too is you can try to control it as much as you can, but then sometimes things just happen. Like- Mm-hmm...
[28:21] we all know it's like you might be in the middle of a couple projects, you're waiting on weeks on end for all these people, and then they all come back like on the same day and they're like, "Okay, it's approved.
[28:30] Like can you post it today," you know? Like this happened for me even, uh, like this past week before I was in Hawaii.
[28:37] We had like two brand deals get approved on that Friday, and they were like, "Okay, like when can you post this next week?"
[28:43] And I already had like Monday through Friday, Monday I had a Mac Mini embargo going up, Tuesday I had a, um, Beats 360 embargo going up, and then Thursday I also had something scheduled.
[28:54] So like already a week in advance I already had three days I had something scheduled. Then we slide in two brand deals, so I already had five days of things like scheduled to post, you know, a week early.
[29:05] And so it's just like you kinda gotta I guess like finagle it a little bit, and also like you gotta be honest with these brands.
[29:12] Like, "Hey, like if you want this to perform well, like it needs to be on a day where I'm not posting three Beats videos," you know? Mm-hmm.
[29:18] And so like they usually will be appreciative of that, 'cause it's like oh, okay, like they want it to perform a certain way. But, uh, yeah, you can't always control it. Sometimes things just line up at stupid times.
[29:30] Yeah, 100%. Okay, I believe the working title of this, which I think we're gonna use, of the podcast specifically, If I Wanted To Become A Full-Time Content Creator In 2026, I'd Do This.
[29:43] And I'd like to ask you if someone's listening to this, which I'm assuming they clicked on 'cause they like the title- Hopefully...
[29:48] and they like Jay Hawk, if they wanna become a full-time content creator in 2026/2027, what pieces of advice would you give them?
[29:58] More practical, like I think we've all heard you gotta post consistently, like all that kind of stuff. But like- Yeah... as someone who is in the thick of it, like what, um,
[30:09] what do you think somebody needs to do to go from they enjoy making content, maybe they're working at a full-time job or a part-time job like yourself, the goal is to be able to quit, do this thing full time. Mm-hmm.
[30:20] What needs to happen? What pieces of advice do you have for them? Yeah, I think outside of the...
[30:25] I guess like if I were trying to go or if I was trying to tell someone, like how do you become a full-time content creator? If I had to do it again, like what I would do, aside from like the-
[30:36] Obvious, yeah, being consistent and posting regularly and making good quality content, whatever. Um, first and foremost, your content has to bring some sort of value to your audience.
[30:46] That should go without saying, but whether it be, you know, educational, entertainment, whatever it is, editorial, that's really important.
[30:55] But also I think from my own standpoint, what I did that I think worked really well is
[31:00] I embraced that I had a full-time job, and I really had that, for lack of better words, pay for my bills while I kinda build this other dream going on. And I think a lot of people are afraid of, like,
[31:13] I don't know, not being a full-time creator already, and i- it's a very hard thing to do, and there's a lot of pros and cons to it, which we can even talk about. But I think, you know, I really...
[31:22] Like for example, I wanted to be in the tech space, right? If you wanna review tech and buy these just certain things, whatever, like, that costs money. And so I really
[31:31] used these jobs that I was working at to really just help fund everything else that I was going on. So I was just spending, like, every waking moment I had outside of my jobs to work on building this
[31:43] personal brand and my YouTube channel and whatever, just 'cause I thought someday that could be, like, a goal of mine or the ticket out.
[31:51] I didn't know if it would be or not, but I think, I think that's a really big thing is just, you know,
[31:58] not having to be, I guess, embarrassed or ashamed that you're not a full-time creator already, because that's super relatable. Most people are actually like that.
[32:07] And even very successful people that are making a ton of money from their socials also still working a job, 'cause they can, or maybe they want to, or maybe there's benefits or whatever it might be. So that's number one.
[32:18] There's nothing to be ashamed about or embarrassed for sure. And then also I guess it's just, like, I don't know, I, I, I think it's...
[32:28] Being a full-time content creator is, like, I think the best thing ever, at least for me personally,
[32:34] and I think it's just, like, it does take a ridiculous amount of work that I don't think everyone is really willing to do or maybe put in, and I think that's something that a lot of people really need to, like, ask themself and figure out along the way is, like, are they actually...
[32:51] Do they just want this because it sounds cool, or do they want this because I guess, like, this is actually the life that they want to live?
[33:00] And so I don't know if that answers your question exactly there, but I, I guess that's, like, the biggest thing for me is
[33:07] you gotta kinda, like, still have your main thing while you're building this other dream until, like, it starts kinda tilting where you can maybe make that switch.
[33:15] So I wouldn't jump too early, you know, until it makes sense. Two things on that. I think social media, like you brought up, makes it... They, uh, they look at...
[33:30] Or you can, you can be on social media and think of a full-time job or having a job as, like, this terrible thing. Like, everyone needs to be- Mm-hmm... an entrepreneur. Everyone needs to be pursuing this thing.
[33:42] There's no shame in having a full-time job for forever. You know what I'm saying? Right. And, and I remember when we sat down with Gary Vee, he brought up something really interesting.
[33:54] He's like, "I've never had to make money off of content." So that has just allowed him to be, like, his true and authentic self through- Mm-hmm... his content. And I think that
[34:04] as soon as you make the leap and you s- you do become a full-time creator, there is this pressure of, like, content needs to perform. There's, like, this added pressure that it's your job now.
[34:14] When you are making content and you're still working at a job, the pressure isn't necessarily there.
[34:20] Obviously, you have, like, goals and dreams and aspirations of, like, doing it full time, but if a video doesn't perform or whatever, you're like, "I, I'm, I'm okay because I am still gonna collect my-" Mm-hmm...
[34:32] "my-" Mm-hmm... "check every two weeks." And then you also brought up an interesting point of the fact that you wanted to get into tech, and I also think...
[34:40] I don't know if it was on this pod or if I was watching another person's pod, but someone was talking about, like, build your own prism, prison. Build your own prison. In, in terms of, like, it all sucks.
[34:53] Like, it's all hard, right? Having a job has, is, is hard for certain reasons. Being a full-time creator is hard for certain reasons. Being an entrepreneur is hard for certain reasons. It's all hard. Oh, it was at, um...
[35:07] You weren't there. It was at this, the Adobe event that I just went to.
[35:10] Um, but the Try Guys were talking about this, and they said, you know, at some point, if you do make creating content into your full-time career, it is gonna feel like a job. You know what I'm saying? Like,
[35:24] and it's all hard, and there's stuff that comes with being a full-time creator that, you know, is positive. Like you said, there's pros and cons. Mm-hmm. Um, but there are cons. And so
[35:34] because it is gonna be difficult and there are gonna be times that it does feel like a job, pick something that you are super interested in and you feel like you can talk about forever.
[35:42] And I'm assuming for you, that is tech. Like, you fucking love electronics. Yeah. You could... You love talking about iPhones. You love talking about Beats. Like, all the stuff- Yep...
[35:51] that is your content is stuff that you love and that you genuinely live and breathe. Like, you used to work at the Apple Store, dude. Like, you're, you're as big of an Apple- Yeah... fanboy as they come \[laughs\]. Yep.
[36:04] Yeah, no, I, I think, yeah, both those points are great. I, I think, um, yeah, real quick to touch on the full-time thing is, yeah, th- I'm glad you brought that up, 'cause I think that is huge, 'cause I guess that was
[36:16] a freedom I had when w- working a full-time job, is you're not rely- any sort of money from the brand deal side of things or content creation side of things. Like, all that's, like, the cherry on top.
[36:26] But yeah, if a video doesn't perform well or a sponsorship doesn't happen or a sponsor is disappointed in how your video performs, whatever, like, yeah, that's not great, but you're not paying your rent with that money, so it's like, okay, you can kinda move on with it.
[36:40] So it does give you kind of a certain freedom in a sense where you can explore more things or try out different things or really kind of find your own voice or type of content you wanna make. But then also
[36:52] You know, I, I think it, yeah, it just makes it a little bit more fun too, 'cause there's not that pressure of having to, like, achieve certain things or hit certain numbers or whatever.
[37:01] And so that definitely was a learning curve. And then, yeah, I think going off what you were saying too about, like, me and, like, the tech things, like, obviously
[37:08] I show other stuff within my content too, and I'm passionate about other things as well. But I think, like, having whatever, like, my greater niche be is around tech
[37:18] is, is great because number one, there's always stuff happening, which I think is really smart whenever you find a niche, right?
[37:24] Like even if you talked about football, like, when there's a off-season, it might suck a little bit for your content, right?
[37:29] Or, like, some of my friends that are Call of Duty creators, it's awesome when Call of Duty's awesome in that first three months, but then towards the end of the cycle it sucks.
[37:39] Everyone hates it, no one's playing it, no one's watching it, you know? And so, like, even if you're making the best content in the world, like, there's kinda like an off-season with it, you know?
[37:48] With tech, there's still, like, bigger parts of the year in Q4 and whatever, but for me, I'm just passionate about it.
[37:55] But also, yeah, there's always new stuff going around or going on and always new things to talk about. So it wasn't even really intentional.
[38:03] It more was I was just really passionate about it, so it's something easy for me to talk about, and things that I buy and am into anyways. So, like, I think that's, like, what everyone should try to find.
[38:14] But it also just kinda has some plus sides as well. But yeah, you want to make content around things you're passionate about, and genuinely passionate about.
[38:22] 'Cause I think we all know people that definitely just kind of f- see what other people are doing that's working, so they start trying to replicate that, and they do that for a bit.
[38:32] And then three months later they realize, oh, they don't really love talking about this stuff. Mm-hmm.
[38:36] Even if the numbers are performing well, and then they kinda pivot, and then they pivot again, and then the cycle just repeats. So
[38:43] I think it's really just kinda finding what you actually really love and what could talk about forever. And I think that just, like, shows in your content so much.
[38:53] That's super fascinating too to, to think through because yeah, you do have... You've picked a great niche that you really like. You enjoy it.
[39:00] But a lot of these pe- mean, a lot of the creators who pick niches, they have, like, this ebb and flow.
[39:05] Like, if they're basketball creators, popping during the year, but then if no one's watching the NBA their stuff goes down. Mm-hmm. And you're kind of living- Mm... and dying by the, the views, you know?
[39:16] Is that, is that ever something that you've gotten wrapped up in, just, like, looking if you had maybe a video that doesn't hit your, maybe it's 8 out of 10 back-to-back weeks and you're like, "Fuck dude, I have to keep going with this 'cause I have brand sponsors.
[39:29] This is how I make my money." Yeah. "This is part of my income." What are those conversations like, and how do you, maybe if you do pull yourself out of a negative spot and keep ripping it? Wow. Yeah.
[39:40] I mean, I think that is huge. I, I'll give you one thing that I think really helped me with my, like, with my mental strength, I guess, with content, and I guess, like, just creative things in general.
[39:52] My freshman year, so I went to art school. So my freshman year we had to take, like, at art school instead of, like, taking your basic classes like math and whatever, our basic classes were, like, art foundations.
[40:05] So painting, drawing, like, doing things like that. And so I had to take a drawing class, which I suck at drawing. I hate drawing. I hate it. I'm not good at it. Give me a camera, great. Don't give me a pencil.
[40:16] Um, and we had to draw, like, a self-portrait, and I spent, like, 20 hours or, like, some ridiculous amount of hours, like, doing this stupid self-portrait of myself.
[40:25] And I remember we all had to, like, present it on the front board. So we all, like, went and put our things up, and they go down one by one.
[40:32] And we get to mine, and the teacher goes, "This isn't even worth talking about," and literally ripped it in half in front of the class- Come on, no... and then moved on. And then moved on.
[40:40] And so, like- No she didn't \[laughs\]... that's like a small... Oh, yeah, yeah. So that's, like, a small hit, and I was actually, like, proud of it too. Dude. I'm like, "Oh, awesome." Oh my God.
[40:48] And so, like, I feel like my, like, years at art school m- more than anything taught me, like, to r- have really thick skin with my content. So I'm, I feel like I'm really good at bouncing back from bad numbers anyways.
[41:01] But I think also the years of doing it in addition to a full-time job definitely helped me with that too, just because, uh, I wasn't living and dying by it for so long. So I feel like I have a little bit less of a, like,
[41:15] I don't know, this single video, video has to perform amazing or else, like, I have to, like, go work at McDonald's tomorrow. So
[41:24] I think just kinda getting used to that, but also I think going back to what I was saying is if you kind of follow more your own cadence, your own posting schedule, you're already kind of focusing on the next thing.
[41:33] Instead of being like, "Okay, I'm gonna post an iPhone video. Let's see how it does," and then that decides if I'm gonna make another iPhone video or not.
[41:41] Like, that's, like, gonna be a super toxic way of trying to build content because then you're only, like, living and dying by every single piece of content you put out versus, like, I don't know, maybe it was just packaged wrong, you know?
[41:53] Or maybe it just was the wrong thumbnail or the wrong hook, but your next video could, like, completely bang. So I think it's just kinda figuring out what works for you. One of the videos for you that recently banged
[42:06] was your Super Bowl. Dude, you got to go to Apple Park. Let me go check- Yeah... yeah, I gotta see what these fucking numbers are- Yeah... man. Let me go take a gander. Keep talking.
[42:13] I, I, actually I don't know what the numbers- It's funny... I don't know what the numbers are. I just thought it banged from, like- Yeah... this is really sick. Oh, it was super sick, dude. Um- Yeah, yeah.
[42:22] I'd love for you to talk about being that you worked at Apple, I love the story- Mm-hmm... that you shared. Man, I don't... I think it was when you were there.
[42:33] It was at an Apple event or something, how you talked about- Yeah, it was the-... your, your home, and how you took photos on an- Mm-hmm. I thought that was- Yeah... an incredible piece of content.
[42:42] Part of the vlog that I was, uh- Yeah. 13,000 likes on that one, Johnny. Yeah. So, uh- Mm. Thank you, thank you... to, kind of a two-parter. One, um-
[42:54] How did it feel to get to the point and kinda having that validation finally of being invited to Apple Park and getting to go to that event? Mm-hmm. And two, for people that don't know, like what does Apple mean to you?
[43:10] Because I think that there are a lot of, you know, tech creators out there, and people are into tech for, for different reasons. Mm-hmm. But, um, seeing that video and you sharing that story,
[43:22] it made me realize that you actually have like a deeper love for the stuff that you do than I initially even realized. Um, and I'm sure- Mm-hmm... that you got a lot of messages from, you know, your viewers of,
[43:35] after they watched that part of the episode, um, that you put out. So I'm just, I'm just interested, like what did getting invited to that Apple event mean to you?
[43:45] And, uh, if you could share a little bit more about the, the backstory, that'd be awesome. Yeah. Y- yeah, for sure. So yeah, I put out, um, this video. It was when I went to WWDC, so that was like I think around in June.
[43:59] So Apple usually holds like two events at Apple Park each year. I could be wrong, but two major events.
[44:05] You got WWDC and then also like the iPhone event, and then sometimes some other various ones, but those are like the two big ones, you know?
[44:12] And so it was always kind of my dream to eventually go to Apple Park for some sort of event, right? The iPhone event, like you said, is like my Super Bowl, so that was like the end game.
[44:24] But I was like, even if I get there, like that's like milestone achieved, you know? And so yeah, like the very long story short, I worked at an Apple store around 2011, 2012. Uh, my first iPhone launch was the iPhone 4S.
[44:39] And so I loved the brand way back then. I feel like I learned a lot of fundamentals about me as a person, as a creative. I was in art school at the time. I had a lot of cool coworkers. It was just like great all around.
[44:51] Um, a really good experience. And then if you guys want, I have a whole video dedicated to this on my channel, but the long story short here is I had a very tragic like family event happen.
[45:03] Our house burned down, uh, to the absolute ground. I lost every possession me and my mom had our entire life, um, down to, you know, photos to, of course like my computers, hard drives, artwork, like everything gone.
[45:17] And so I was working at the Apple store at the time. Apple, it made it up the chain somehow. Apple corporate reached out to me and like gifted me like whatever computer I wanted to help me with school.
[45:30] Um, along with some awesome stuff my mom did with our insurance money. I feel like it kinda like kickstarted my entire creative journey again. And so that was, yeah, like 2012. And so,
[45:41] you know, that was like before I had a YouTube channel. That was before anything else. And I just like was trying to just like get through art school and then freelance and got a creative job and whatever.
[45:52] And then once I started making personal content years later, I was like, like of course like that's my end goal, is to eventually go to like Apple Park and a- attend one of these events.
[46:01] 'Cause you see all these people, like Justine and like these huge creators, like Marques, like doing these things. I'm like, "I think I could do that," you know? And I, and I really want that to happen. And so
[46:12] for years, like 'cause I've been doing personal content now for I guess like seven or eight years, which is crazy. Full-time now for a little over two.
[46:20] But if you ask anyone that I know, I probably even told you guys too at some point when I told you the story like personally, like someday I'm gonna be like at one of the Apple events, and I'm gonna do it my way and like whatever, you know?
[46:31] And I purposely never shared that story publicly 'cause I never wanted that to be like a, "Oh, he got invited because of that story," or I don't know, I guess just like I'm never a poor me person at all, and I, it was, as tragic as it was, it's one of the best things that ever happened to me 'cause it kinda gave me this whole new life and trajectory, I think.
[46:50] But, um, it's what also made it like hit so hard and was so important for me. And I think it was more just, obviously it was cool and like a full circle moment, but also like I think really,
[47:04] I guess like assured or reassured that like this vision I had that was this huge crazy vision, like is actually achievable, and I think that's pretty mind-blowing when you like actually take a step back and look.
[47:14] Like yeah, you go from like a broke college kid working in the store to like literally being like one of the only however many people at this event where it's a brand-new like, um, product, like the Duo.
[47:27] It's the third CEO of Apple ever. It's his first event, you know? It's just like such a mind-blowing thing. So yeah, I mean, it absolutely meant the world to me, and it, it was cool on so many levels, right?
[47:39] Like it was just cool to be at like this dope, sweet event, but it was also cool 'cause I think it like gave me like that pat on the back that like okay, like I did this thing.
[47:47] But also I, I think that's why I try to share so much of my story is because like I literally came from zero anything, not even having a material product or a T-shirt to my name, you know? Hmm.
[47:59] Um, to 14 years ago to then, you know, being like in there
[48:06] at Apple Park in Steve Jobs Theater wearing my own apparel with like some of my best friends and like just making videos for an iPhone, and that's like paying my bills, you know?
[48:16] Like that's a pretty unbelievable arc, um, and something I'm like just so like proud of, and I don't feel bad talking about it at all 'cause like I show the entire process of it, you know?
[48:26] But yeah, it w- it was pretty damn, pretty, pretty damn incredible.
[48:30] It was super cool to see that video and just all the things you've done 'cause I do remember us talking about it, like that was your Super Bowl, and to see it come full circle and you to be there.
[48:41] And I remember the one that you went to where you were like showing the Apple Watch and stuff, whenever that was, like earlier this year. Mm-hmm. And that was obviously very amazing, but now it's like- Yeah...
[48:50] dude, you, you brought it to the bigs. Yeah. You're doing the damn thing. No, I appreciate it. Well, and it's funny because yeah, I, I first- Which we don't have to talk about the Apple stuff the whole time here.
[48:59] But like, uh, I first got introduced to the Apple thing, it was actually last October. So I got invited to like this... It was like a very one-off event. It was like for runners, which again- Yeah...
[49:10] show your, show your other interests because I randomly decided to start intersplicing some running content, and that's what got my foot in the door with Apple, not the Apple videos.
[49:20] And so I went to this like one-off running Apple event where they were like, we went to Colorado, we did like some hiking, running, all these different things, like showing the new phone and watch and AirPods.
[49:32] And I remember getting that email and like even that was like dream come true, right? And I remember telling Miranda, I was like, 'Cause I... Dude, I literally like cried when I got that invite.
[49:41] 'Cause I'm like, I was like, I remember standing in our closet and I told her, I was like, "This is it." Like, "My foot's in the door." I was like, "Watch," you know?
[49:48] And like I, I can almost get emotional right now 'cause I'm like, I told her, "I just need my foot in the door," and then that led to getting invited to the MacBook Neo event in New York.
[49:57] That led to getting invited to WWDC at Apple Park, and then that, you know, led to me getting invited to like the Super Bowl, which is like the iPhone event, you know? And so it's just like,
[50:07] dude, I mean, I told her like, "Yeah, I just needed my foot in the door," and like I did it, you know? And then I feel like I achieved it after that, so yeah, yeah. On the topic of getting your foot in the door,
[50:20] w- was there anything you made sure to do on that first trip, the way you handled yourself? Not even on like the content that you made, 'cause everyone's making content- Mm-hmm... on those trips and everything.
[50:31] But, um, I think we talked about this a little bit on like the pre-show call, you said that a benefit to you being in the corporate world for a decent amount of time was learning how to handle yourself and how to conduct yourself- Mm...
[50:44] in certain situations. And so I'm curious, um,
[50:48] like did you keep that in mind when you went to this, the first event, and you're like, "I got my foot in the door, I know I'm gonna crush the content, but is there something else that I can do to maybe stand out or at least make an impression with the Apple team?"
[51:03] Man, yeah, I think that's like, I mean, your first impression is so important, right? Like for anything, but especially like events or working with the brands, whatever. Brayden, Brayden- And so there definitely was-...
[51:13] wait, Brayden's gonna need to, Brayden's gonna need to pay attention to this one real quick. Yeah, make sure you listen on, brother. Dude, so Lando- Um, but like-... doesn't get invited too, man. \[laughs\] Sorry.
[51:21] I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
[51:23] But like, uh, yeah, no, I, I think, you know, something that definitely is my strength is 'cause yeah, being on the other side of like within the corporate world working with creators so much for so many years is number one, you kinda see what goes in be- like what, you see what goes into these events, right?
[51:41] Putting them on, working with creators, kind of what is, um, what type of creators are great to work with, what type of creators are a pain in the ass to work with. And then also, you know,
[51:52] you wanna be easy to work with, you wanna be enjoyable to work with, but you also like, it's pretty obvious when you are like not passionate about being there or you care to be there, care about the products and whatever.
[52:03] And so obviously, you know, a lot of it was just being genuine because I was very excited to be there, and obviously I'm passionate about this stuff. But also I think it's kinda just really some of the basics.
[52:13] Like obviously you want to be awesome to work with and easy to work with. I always try to go above and beyond regardless of what I do. I think a lot of creators don't do that.
[52:21] Um, but I think, you know, putting out a lot of good quality content, really like being respectful and appreciative to the people that invite you to these events or are associated with the event, and also like how you are with the other creators and things, you know?
[52:34] And so I think a big thing for me was just being so authentic about the entire experience and just like, I guess being really appreciative, but also just feeling like going above and beyond for what they're asking you.
[52:47] 'Cause a lot of these events, not even Apple, but any of these events, like Sony, anything, unless someone's paying you to be in a event, which is very
[52:55] unlikely, a lot of these events are just a cool experience where you can show up. There's usually not required, um, deliverables attached to that. It's really just, we're putting on this dope cool event.
[53:05] We'd love for you to come. Of course they want you to post stuff about that, but a lot of times unless they're paying you, they can't really ask you to.
[53:12] But if you don't, you're probably not really gonna get invited back either. \[laughs\] Um, which you know, that doesn't, not 100% either way, but like you think about it, like that kinda makes sense.
[53:21] And so, you know, I think just going above and beyond with that is kind of a no-brainer. But then, I mean, you'd be surprised, some people are complete divas on trips. Some people are very disrespectful.
[53:32] Some people, you know, you go to an event and they have this type of schedule and someone doesn't wanna go to half the things or decides to do their own stuff, or people are at,
[53:41] you know, an event with Chevy but they're posting about Ford the entire time. Like, like read the room, you know? And so I, I think it's really just,
[53:52] I, I kinda talked about this in a recent vlog, but obviously if you look at me as a human, like half my, not my half, but you know, I get my comments like, "Is this dude from prison?
[54:01] Like he has hand tats and neck tats and whatever." Um, but it's like I s- I may look a certain way and I don't dress in like a suit, but like I do carry myself very professionally in a crave sense, you know?
[54:12] And so I think it's a balance of like, yes, I'm very professional when, you know, you're in those certain environments and when you need to be, but also I really just try to also be fully me, you know? Mm-hmm.
[54:25] And some brands are cool with that. Some brands probably pass on me for how I look or what I do or whatever, and that's fine too, you know?
[54:32] But I think that was like the best thing with Apple is like, I was just 100% me, and I was kinda like, I was already grateful just to do that first thing in Colorado, and if that was it, like that would've been great for me and I would've been okay with that.
[54:46] But like if I had to like fake being someone that I'm not to like achieve these other things, like that kinda like kills half the fun, you know?
[54:53] So like the fact that I was just able to be 100% me, um, I think is like the best part about all of it. 'Cause I can just be authentic and just document what I'm doing and what I care about, you know?
[55:02] And that's like the dream right there. Okay, on the topic of running You're looking pretty- Yeah... fit, dude. Let's talk about this- Thank you... this journey that you're on, the fitness journey.
[55:13] You've lost a good amount of weight. You're looking slim since the last time we fucking chatted. How important is, is health and wellness to you?
[55:21] You told us that you've always been, you know, pretty consistent with, with the fitness, but I feel like you've taken things up a notch. Um, you know- Totally...
[55:29] you're, you're, you know, feeling bold enough to go shirtless in the vlogs now. Little fucking 4K 60. I see it, dude. I, I texted Jayhawker- Yeah... I go, "Bro, you're looking-" Just gotta take my shirt off right now.
[55:38] I go, "Bro, you're looking ripped in the gym. We can go, we can go tarps off." Brayden might be a little embarrassed too, 'cause he's not been in the gym so consistently, but- Still look insane. Yeah. \[laughs\] Obviously.
[55:51] Obviously. But dude, talk to us about getting fucking yoked, and what the, what the goals are and h- and how that plays into kind of basically- For sure... everything you do. Yeah, no, I, yeah, I mean,
[56:04] I've always been around, like, sports and fitness, right, like my entire life. Like, grew up playing soccer and basketball, and even when I went into college and stuff, like,
[56:13] I was still huge into, like, weightlifting and, like, playing basketball and everything, you know? And so, and then even some of my jobs, I was around that when I worked at Rogue Fitness, right?
[56:21] I was around CrossFit and so much powerlifting and whatever. And then obviously when I was at Ghost and stuff, we're around fitness all the time.
[56:29] And so it is a big passion of mine, for sure, and I think the biggest thing for me is,
[56:34] I guess like towards the end of working full time and also trying to, like, build my own personal brand, I definitely was kinda like...
[56:43] Which I think it, you're gonna have your chapters in life, right, where you kinda have to dig deep and, like, some of my health just went on the back burner.
[56:51] And although that's not ideal, 100% I don't think I'd be where I'm at currently if I didn't, like, sacrifice something a bit. Mm.
[56:58] So I'm not saying you should, like, sacrifice your health forever, but, like, you're gonna have those certain days or weeks where maybe you gotta trade off a few things, you know? And so
[57:08] I definitely, I guess for lack of a better word, definitely was kinda, like, running myself into the ground in a sense.
[57:15] And so once I kinda went full time and had that freedom and everything, you know, it took a while to kinda figure that all out. But then I remember I went to one event, and I remember seeing, like, the photos of myself.
[57:26] Again, coming out of Chicago winter, you know, you're wearing eight layers every day. I haven't s- my skin hasn't seen sun in- \[laughs\]... like three years, and it's like,
[57:34] I go to this event like in Dallas, and I remember, like, looking at photos of myself afterwards and I was just like, "Wow." Like, "All right," like, "that's it." Like, "That's all I need to see."
[57:43] Like, "Okay, it's time to change," because I know what, what things I need to do. And again, I was always pretty consistent with the gym to a certain degree.
[57:51] Um, just especially my diet, sleep, and other things just weren't dialed in. And so I just kinda was in like a four, five year, like, dirty bulk.
[58:00] So I just, like, put on a lot of weight, and probably a lot of muscle within that time too. But uh, yeah, just that one day I literally
[58:08] started doing everything that I know I had to do, like count my macros and started consistently working out, and I was working out, like, six days a week.
[58:15] And then I started kinda getting tired of only weightlifting, so I was like, started messing around with some other cardio stuff other than just doing the StairMaster.
[58:24] And so I started running, which I liter- I think I have like a Instagram reel, like, saying that, like, I would never run a marathon, and now I'm hoping to get into a marathon, you know? So it's,
[58:34] I started running a little bit. I kinda fell in love with it, and so I kinda mixed that within, like, my personal life.
[58:41] And then I felt like there was a cool, like, kinda content tie within that, 'cause I feel like running is so widespread. It's so relatable to so many people and countries, and
[58:51] even if you aren't into running, kind of the mindset between, like, behind doing something tough is super relatable.
[58:57] And so I started to every now and then kinda mix it within my content some, a little bit, where it made sense, since fitness became a big part of my life.
[59:06] And then yeah, that kinda just helped lead to some different opportunities and things. But also,
[59:11] going back again to something else we talked about is, it also just allowed me to document and show more parts of my life too,
[59:17] um, because it is, like, you know, working out or running or both, like, are a big part of my life. And so that's usually what I start most of my days with.
[59:25] So whether it be as simple as an Instagram story or within a vlog or a potential brand deal or something, like, it's cool just, like, showing some of your other interests and things that you're into, because then that might lead to some other things.
[59:38] But uh, yeah, right now I'm a, I'm down, like, 55 pounds from when I started in, like, a little over a year and a half, which is crazy. I mean, I'm pretty much, like, at my ideal weight.
[59:48] Um, and that's pretty crazy, but I'm, I'm just super proud of, like, I guess my own journey with that, because, uh, it's definitely not easy at all. Mm. You know? Like, I, I wanna eat pizza every night, but I can't. So,
[1:00:04] um- What are you at? Yeah, that's kinda where I'm at. What are you at right now weight-wise? Uh, well, I had B-dubs last night, so, um, this morning I'm 211. But like yeah, I'm like around 210. Dude.
[1:00:17] And so I was at, like, yeah, 265- You're a, you're a lean machine. Big body. Yeah. But I'm also, yeah, 6'5". Yeah. Uh, similar to you guys, I know, but just so the viewers know. We're- Dude, I'm 200, 195. I'm a big body.
[1:00:30] You're 200? 195, 196. Yeah. I'm not that. I'm not quite there. \[laughs\] I'm at like 153, soaking wet. Damn. So we're getting there though, dude. Gotta get back on the creatine.
[1:00:43] Dude, I'm, I wanna get on the t- peptides, man. Yeah, dude. Give me a shortcut, dude. Yeah. Give me a shortcut. Yeah, seriously. Yeah, that's a good idea. Just wanna like- Yeah, no...
[1:00:51] give me, put, give me like- It is a trendy thing... give me like 20 pounds. I'll be dangerous. I could- You wanna put on, like, an extra 20? I could go to, I could go to the league. Here's the deal, man.
[1:01:00] I play baseball on Sundays. I wanna be on some, like, Jose Canseco type shit. I wanna be able to just go four- Let's do it... four 15. Did I ever tell you the story- Dead center...
[1:01:08] of seeing Jose Canseco's brother play softball? Yeah, and he hit a ball, like, 450 feet. That's what I'm trying to be on. Mm. I'm trying to go to the softball field- Yeah, I could see it...
[1:01:15] and them be like, "Check this guy for PEDs," and I'll be like, "We can't, 'cause I am on PEDs." Yeah. That's what, that's what I'm trying to do. Y- you can check me.
[1:01:22] No, it's gonna- If you check me, it's gonna come back positive-... come back positive... 'cause I'm knocking bombs, dude. \[laughs\] Well, and like, I feel like
[1:01:29] something that you guys can relate to too, 'cause I think we're all, like, within, you know, we're all into fitness and been around sports and everything. Like, there is a direct correlation between, like,
[1:01:41] taking care of your physical health and that, like, also applying to your mental health, and also how you show up within content, and your energy, and how you feel and everything. Like, there, there is a direct- Yeah...
[1:01:52] like correlation between the two, you know? Bro, yeah. When you eat like shit and you're not working out, everything starts to tumble, I feel like. You know? Mm-hmm.
[1:02:00] You go, you go get fast food a few times in the week and you're like, "God, I feel like shit." You're not sleeping as good. Like, it 100% impacts you. And used to not- Mm-hmm... I used to not think like that.
[1:02:09] Used to be like, dude, college you're just a machine. You can just eat whatever. Well, you can get away with it when you're younger. Yeah. When, once you're like maybe above 25, 26- Yeah... that shit starts to haunt you.
[1:02:20] Um. Mm-hmm. When I... Man. The week I stopped touring, I got my blood test done, and then I, um, I got my blood test done, I wanna say, maybe three or four months after.
[1:02:36] And like, I wasn't really working out when I was touring, eating like shit, sleep was terrible. Bro, my testosterone jumped, I wanna say 150 or 160 pounds in, like, a three-month period. Whoa. Just because I was like-
[1:02:51] Mm-hmm... working out a couple times a week, sleeping a decent amount, like, eating healthier. Health, man, it carries into everything.
[1:02:59] Like, content aside, bro, you're just com- more confident in your everyday, everyday life. You carry yourself a little bit differently. Um- Mm-hmm... yeah, dude. Health is- Well, and also, like-... super important...
[1:03:11] yeah, I think it's just, like, it, when you feel better, like, obviously everything just is a little bit easier, you know? And y- yeah, especially, like, yeah, your self-confidence, but how you feel.
[1:03:22] Like, how's your clothes fit? Yeah. Like, you know, like everything does impact that, and regardless of what people think or say.
[1:03:29] Like, I know there's a big hot topic right now, like, uh, online of people, like, saying, like, I think Andy Frisella's talked about this or, like, Highup Wellness. Like,
[1:03:39] people, I think, at least my own experience, and people can say whatever they want, um, I think do, people do... I think people treat you,
[1:03:48] uh, with a little bit more respect when you're also physically dialed in, and some people, you know, are gonna say whatever about that.
[1:03:54] But I think, you know, if you meet whatever CEO and he or she's jacked with a six-pack and whatever, I don't think you're thinking like, "Oh, they spend more time at the gym than they should," because they're like whatever.
[1:04:06] No, but you're like, "Oh," like, "this person is a polished human being," or is like- Mm-hmm... a dialed human being, like, in all aspects, you know?
[1:04:13] And I think that's, like, even just use me as an example, I definitely think, like, I'm completely more r- well-rounded and dialed in as a person than I was, like, two years ago, you know?
[1:04:25] And so I think it is, like, a lot of just how you carry yourself and how you, your confidence, and how you show up with people, and how you interact with others and things, you know?
[1:04:34] Like, if you feel good, like, obviously you're gonna, like, show up better within a piece of content, you know?
[1:04:40] With what you're doing right now, I saw YouTube put something out recently that they're cutting down on all the AI slop content. You know, these people- Mm...
[1:04:48] that are making, like, only content that is utilizing AI, they're taking it off the platforms. On Instagram, man, I'll tell you what, I keep getting duped, man. I'll see a video and I'm like, "Is that, is that AI?"
[1:04:59] And I'll click the page and I'm like, "God, this is just looking too real." Like, it, the video- Mm-hmm... looks completely real. It has different angles, different camera movements.
[1:05:07] It looks like a completely real person. Something a little off, like I feel like you can slightly tell, but sometimes I get 100% duped. And I wonder as a creator, of someone who
[1:05:17] is making money from being an online presence, does that worry you at all? Or do you feel like it makes being a creator more in, um, it makes being a creator have more of a moat, like being a real creator? Mm-hmm.
[1:05:35] Man, the, the whole AI stuff right now is pretty crazy, and obviously people are, like, so strongly opinionated, like, all around. I think there's so many good things about AI in the creative field.
[1:05:47] Obviously I think there's some bad things too, but I think, like, it is, like, a weird thing that the barrier of being able to tell is less. Like, I think some of that's a little scary. I guess the thing for me
[1:06:01] is, like, I've always really tried to focus with my personal brand to, like, instead of having people care about
[1:06:07] the things I'm talking about or the products, if they can care about you as an individual, you know, like you have a lot more strength with that, and that can take you a lot further I think.
[1:06:16] That's just a lot harder also. So I guess, like, that's the part that kinda doesn't make me way too concerned.
[1:06:23] I mean, I'm sure at some point you can AI clone someone completely, and like, sure, if someone's replicating me down to a T like that, starts getting complicated I guess. But I think for me it's, like,
[1:06:36] I'm still just documenting my everyday life and what I'm doing, so some of that stuff doesn't really concern me too much. But I do think there's, like... I think there is a lot of good parts about AI.
[1:06:47] I don't like the things of, like, misleading people or taking crazy shortcuts, but I think there's some stuff, like, you know, dude, especially you guys that, like, have done photography for years and freelancing stuff.
[1:06:58] The fact that I can allow, like, generative AI out, like a wall outlet in five seconds versus, like, taking three hours to, like, try to stamp that out. Like, I don't think that's, like, cheating the system, you know?
[1:07:10] Like, that doesn't feel like I'm not a creative anymore. I think some stuff like that's super useful.
[1:07:15] Or like today I was uploading a YouTube video, so I'm talking to ChatGPT, like working on some different, like, SEO things with the title and different AB tests. Like, I think there's ways to really utilize it.
[1:07:26] If I were to just sit down In 20 minutes and, like, have it produce a YouTube video for me instead of me filming or doing anything in the cro- process.
[1:07:34] Like, I think when you're reaching towards the generative AI stuff, that's definitely, like, the, the super polarizing thing right now, um, that's where you start to lose me a little bit.
[1:07:45] But I also, I'm not as opinionated as some people out there, so to me, unless it, like, directly starts impacting me more and more, for the most part, I don't really care what other people do. You know?
[1:07:58] Like, I'm just focused on me doing my stuff. But I think there is, like, a ton of pros and cons, but it's just such a whole new, like, uncharted territory for everyone.
[1:08:08] I understand why some people are nervous about it, but it's just a kind of a crazy time as a creative. Yeah, I don't think it's gonna, I don't think it's gonna take over what cr- creators are doing.
[1:08:16] There, there's gotta be something that they come out with, and I hope that they do, where there's a, like a, a flag or something that lets you know that you are not watching a real person, right? Yeah.
[1:08:32] Yeah, I mean, 'cause they'll, they'll... Instagram will say it, but sometimes it doesn't pop up, the, like, that this was AI generated. You know what I mean?
[1:08:38] So I, I, I think, I think eventually, like soon-ish, I think YouTube taking that stance is really good, 'cause I, I, I agree with you, Johnny. I think it's just a tool. Like, I think- Yeah...
[1:08:48] that people are gonna use it in different ways. I think that
[1:08:55] the things that I've been able to do with just, like, chat and Grok and Claude are things that would've taken me months, six plus months for certain things and topics, and just, like, quick information back on things that I would have to pay people thousands of dollars to find out, and that stuff is priceless.
[1:09:15] Mm-hmm. So I think it's silly if you're not finding ways to integrate it into your process in some way, shape, or form. I don't think it's gonna, like, film your damn videos for you. Mm-hmm.
[1:09:25] I still think that that is, like, the, that is the thing that makes you as a creator special, you know? Yeah.
[1:09:32] Well, and I think also, too, like, it's not exactly the same, so don't misquote me, people, but, you know, like, I think it's, like, some of the,
[1:09:39] like, the old head creators that when vertical content came out, they were so, like, against it. Like, "This is a trend. It's never gonna stick around." Mm. Like, you know, like, horizontal all day, every day.
[1:09:48] Like, I understand that, but it's like there's gonna be some sort of AI moving forward, and I think at this point, everyone knows, like, it's around to stay.
[1:09:57] I think we're all just nervous about what all it's going to be able to do or possibly replace, which I totally understand that argument. But to me, I guess just, like,
[1:10:06] I try to always be kind of on the forefront of, like, new stuff, right? Like, new platforms or trying out the new things that a platform might integrate or trying out just whatever new.
[1:10:17] Um, I think that's super important as a creative and creator, um, is to kind of just, like, stay up with what's happening and try out these new things and see how it can help you.
[1:10:26] And so yeah, I think right now it's just such a gray area, but I, I love it as a certain tools, you know? And so I think it's just figuring out what you like and don't like, you know? 100%.
[1:10:38] Something that isn't AI is Lab Culture. Mm. Can we talk about that to wrap us in a bow? Sure. Like, how- Yeah... how, how's it going?
[1:10:49] I know you were grinding on drops and then kinda had to slow down a little bit, but now we're gri- we're back on the grind. We- Mm. Back in the lab. Mm-hmm. Yeah, dude. Yep. Back in the lab. Um- Yep...
[1:11:00] how has it been building your own brand, building a clothing company? Like, what, what have you learned? What have you- Yeah... what has gone well? What hasn't? You know? Yeah. Like, h- how's everything- Totally...
[1:11:12] going with that? Dude, it, it's been definitely a crazy journey, but I, I really do love it.
[1:11:19] I think the biggest thing for me is, so I've been doing Lab Culture stuff now basically since I left my job, which was kinda like I left a job to also then start another thing, which was, like, that's kind of a whole different conversation.
[1:11:32] But I decided to take on another large thing at the same time, which I guess that's just me as a person. But, um, it's, it's been really fun. I mean, it's one of the most rewarding things, I think ever, right?
[1:11:44] When someone, when someone watches a piece of your content or comments on your YouTube video or, video or anything like that, like, that's such a fulfilling feeling, right?
[1:11:53] Like, you put your time into something and someone enjoys it. Oh, they enjoyed it enough to, like, take the time to comment on it and publicly comment on it, you know?
[1:12:01] I think doing something like apparel takes it, like, a whole step further. So not only is someone spending their money on you, right, but then if I open up Instagram- \[coughs\]...
[1:12:10] and someone is wearing a piece of, like, Lab Culture stuff in their content, you know, that's like six layers deep of, like, support. Like, that's crazy, you know?
[1:12:18] And so I think it's been really cool just to, like, see other people wear stuff. Like, I, I think that's, like, a pretty surreal thing. Or even having people, like,
[1:12:27] uh, stop me in person 'cause they know about Lab Culture, or my buddy was just at a concert and he saw someone else wearing a Lab Culture hat, so they, like, both had a hat on. Like, it, it is really- That's crazy...
[1:12:36] a cool thing. Like, yeah, probably. Yeah. Shout out to Frank. Um,
[1:12:42] yeah, it's just like, that's a pretty surreal thing, for sure, but I guess, like, just from, like, the logistics standpoint of it, it's definitely a much bigger endeavor than I could've imagined. And so
[1:12:55] I don't know if I'd recommend everyone doing physical products, especially, like, apparel, 'cause it... Thing about, like, um, you know, like, for example, I'll just use Max again. Like, Sour Strips, right?
[1:13:06] You drop a candy, um, a candy product, you have, like, five SKUs, like five flavors, and maybe every three months you come out with a new flavor.
[1:13:16] Apparel, you're basically coming out with a whole new capsule and campaign- Mm-hmm... every drop, you know what I mean? Like, that's a unbelievable amount of work, and then you can't just necessarily restock it.
[1:13:25] So apparel is definitely a whole different beast, and then even right now I'm struggling with, uh
[1:13:30] You know, there's a lot of things out of your control, whether it be website issues going on, or like right now I'm dealing with some manufacturing issues, and it's just like things that you can't really control.
[1:13:41] So I'm kind of like, in the similar sense of when I was doing personal content
[1:13:48] and I was also working a full-time job, I didn't stress as much about the personal content because the other thing was paying everything and like, like kind of driving the ship.
[1:13:59] My biggest focus is my personal brand, right? And the Lab Culture is kind of like a secondary thing, and there's nothing wrong with that, it just obviously doesn't take all my time.
[1:14:07] But it's successful enough and is making enough money enough now that I think I can get some additional help with it potentially that can like help it stay a little bit more consistent and do everything I need without it taking too much of my time, you know?
[1:14:20] 'Cause like I, I really do love it, it's just not the best use of my time, at least certain parts of it, right?
[1:14:26] Like I love the marketing part of it, and obviously I think that's important for me to talk about it and wear it and show it.
[1:14:31] But like is doing back-end work on the website for hours like really the best use of my time, or is packing orders? Like probably not forever, right? But I do love like the whole founder-led entrepreneur journey stuff.
[1:14:43] Like I, I'm, I've always been addicted to that.
[1:14:45] That's why I liked Ghost and, you know, some of these brands I've worked with, and that's such a trendy thing right now, 'cause I think people like getting behind watching someone else build something, right?
[1:14:55] And I've done that with my personal brand, I'm doing that with Lab Culture, and I think that's just something that's super relatable to a lot of people, 'cause people want to build something, whether, whether it be your
[1:15:05] physique or your dream life or a company or product or whatever it is. And so I think that's something that people can really get behind. But, uh,
[1:15:13] yeah, it's, it's been a ridiculous amount of work, and even like this year's kind of just been, um, kind of like a reset year, which is not great. But it's just been a little bit...
[1:15:24] I obviously took a pause with the whole cross-country move and just everything going on with that.
[1:15:29] Um, and then now that we have like a space to really do it out of in the studio and stuff, like it's kind of like ramping back up, but just dealing with some issues that are out of my control.
[1:15:37] But the goal is to have next year be a little bit smoother, you know? But, uh, yeah, it's, it's, uh, never a boring thing, that's for sure, but it is super fulfilling for as much as work as it is.
[1:15:49] Dude, we know how, how hard it is to put a, to put merch out, and just to do a full brand I can't even imagine, 'cause it's like it is so difficult. So much time, energy, resources go into it. And
[1:16:01] yeah, the, the campaign, the colors, the font, the textile- A lot of-... the tech pack. All of it, man. It's, uh- A lot of cash flow, too Oh, it's a grind. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
[1:16:12] But it is, it is super fulfilling, so I think it's really just, yeah, figuring out for me, right, like what do I need to do to kinda make it easier moving forward. Mm-hmm. But it's...
[1:16:20] I'm also okay, like I am truly a perfectionist, so I wish everything was scheduled and planned out and the next six drops were ordered and everything was planned. But like I have to be realistic with myself, too.
[1:16:31] Like that's just not possible with my other workload. So like that has to be a side thing for right now, and I think it can still be a great big side thing, um, but I just can't put 100% of my time into that right now.
[1:16:44] But the goal is to kind of help supplement that so it can still like be, you know, a big thing, just like not my main thing, you know? Mm. 100%. Man, this has been such a fun conversation.
[1:16:56] Round three with Johnny Hochstetler. Ladies and gentlemen, if you're still here please hit the subscribe button, drop us a comment, leave us a like, and we'll see you all next week. Peace.

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