# 178. Personal Branding is hard until you do this ft. Adrian Per

An episode of [THE 505 PODCAST](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1591279585), 23 Oct 2025, 1 h 46 min.

Audio: https://podcasts.beehiiv.com/3f71d8b4-2a8c-40eb-8500-c62b76bd9acc/019d43e4-0103-7741-b37f-b81b41dca056/019d43e4-686b-7f0a-b658-88de43a72eda/019d43e4-692a-7528-8f60-004ddcba4b96.mp3

The 10 Minute Personal Brand Kickstart (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/personalbrandkickstart What’s up, Rock Nation! Today we’re joined by Adrian Per - Content creator, director, and storyteller who’s built one of the strongest personal brands in the creator space. In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to stand out online — how to turn your limitations into your unique style, build a brand that connects instead of copies, and stay authentic in a world full of trends. If you’re a creator looking to build a personal brand that actually lasts, this episode is your playbook. Check out Adrian here: https://www.instagram.com/omgadrian/ https://www.content-college.com/ SUSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: https://the505podcast.ac-page.com/rock-report Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/xgEAzkqAvs Kostas' Lightroom Presets https://www.kostasgarcia.com/store-1/p/kglightroompresetsgreece COP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE: https://courses.the505podcast.com/BFIGGYSFXPACK Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro 1:12 – Why copycat creators fail to build true brands 4:02 – What makes people actually stop scrolling 8:16 – Creating for yourself vs. the audience 9:31 – The problem with “viral hook” culture 11:15 – Why not all views and followers are equal 13:13 – How traditional brands can learn from creators 15:29 – Personal Brand Kickstart 15:54 – The 5 most important traits for creators in 2026 18:06 – How to use AI as a creative tool, not a crutch 20:15 – The one thing AI will never replace 23:43 – Turning your limitations into your superpower 25:56 – Overcoming insecurities as a creator 28:48 – The viral video that changed Adrian’s life 30:50 – Why perfection kills relatability 32:59 – Embracing imperfection & showing your real story 34:48 – Playing it safe is actually risky 39:11 – How Adrian feels about copycats 45:48 – When your idea transcends you and shifts culture 49:47 – The power of world-building in your content 51:28 – What’s in Adrian’s Camera Bag 56:09 – The truth about Sony, Canon, and camera preferences 1:06:34 – How DJI is changing the game for solo creators 1:09:26 – How Adrian removes friction from his workflow 1:13:49 – Batch shooting content 1:15:19 – Why every creator needs structure 1:18:23 – How to protect your creative energy 1:21:31 – Building longevity in the creator economy 1:26:56 – Advice to creators who feel stuck 1:28:19 – How to find your unique lane online 1:31:29 – The one mindset shift that changed everything 1:33:17 – Adrian’s philosophy on success & creativity 1:36:07 – Final takeaways and reflections 1:42:14 – Why your story is your greatest advantage 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/ TikTok: Bfiggy: https://www.tiktok.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.tiktok.com/kostasgarcia/

## Transcript

[0:00] More often than not, your limitations, the things that you're not good at, the things that you feel most vulnerable or embarrassed about, those are what makes you unique.
[0:07] That's Adrian Perth's philosophy when it comes to building a personal brand in 2025.
[0:11] Adrian's built one of the most respected creative reputations online, working with global brands, inspiring a new generation of filmmakers, and proving that originality still wins in a world full of copycats.
[0:22] What AI can't replicate is the true meaning or the true story or the true passion behind why this person is, is doing this service or this business.
[0:29] So really doubling down as to why this person on the other side of the screen should feel connected to you. If they feel connected to you, they'll support you. He's not talking about algorithms or hacks.
[0:38] He's talking about what resonates, what actually makes people stay. Not all followers, not all views, not all eyes are created equal.
[0:45] And in a world obsessed with growth, Adrian's playing a different game, one where connection trumps all and the story behind the post matters more than the post itself.
[0:53] Quantity doesn't necessarily win unless there's quality involved, but if you can match the quality and quantity, and the quantity of what you're putting out doesn't affect the quality at all, then you're going to win.
[1:03] In this episode, we break down how to turn your story into your greatest marketing asset, how to stop playing the algorithms game- And how to build a brand that means something. Let's get into it.
[1:12] AP, right now it feels like copycat central on social. \[laughs\] Okay?
[1:18] What is, what is the difference between a brand who someone stops their scroll and they watch it, they get a story, versus the other people that are just completely forgotten? What do you think is the difference?
[1:29] Well, the difference is, here's the thing. Most people who consume content are, I'd say, unaware that it is, that whoever they're consuming that this creator is copying, they're unaware. They just care about,
[1:48] "Am I getting good information? Is this entertaining to me?" So I don't think it really matters to, to most people.
[1:55] In my opinion, if I see something that's entertaining or something that teaches me something or anything that I find of value, I don't care where it comes from.
[2:06] So as the vast majority of viewers, I don't think it matters to them, right? 'Cause if they copied somebody and I consumer it, and I consume it, then hey, \[chuckles\] doesn't affect me. But
[2:22] I don't think it even affects the original creator that was ripped from that much either. Who it really matters to, in my opinion, is the copycat because that's their whole identity. Their whole identity isn't them,
[2:41] it's, it's just what, whatever the next thing is, right? First it was selling knives, and then it was selling life insurance, and then it was Forex, I believe, and then it was crypto.
[2:54] So now it's content creation, and then through content creation is, well, just here we are. We're living through it. And I kinda feel more bad for the copycats who don't really have an identity or personality
[3:12] because you can tell when people or brands or whatever it may be is copying somebody to teach themselves something, to be, you know, inspired by this cool thing that they saw and they're using it in practice.
[3:29] And then there are the folks who use it as their entire brand's personality or their, their personal brand, whatever it may be, and I'm just like, "Damn." It takes the same amount of effort to be unique
[3:45] as it is to be original. So, like, I can kind of empathize, but it's also like, why, why are you doing this? Like, it's just, you don't need to. Uh, you... Am I answering the question? Yeah, I think.
[4:01] I, I, I, yeah, I love that. I would love to know your thoughts on, like, what, what's the sauce behind making somebody stand out and actually build a true personal brand and a following of people who
[4:16] respect what you do, and you influence them in a way through your content? What's the difference between...
[4:22] Like, what's the sauce on how someone makes content or goes about creating a personal brand for themselves that not only makes people stop their scroll, but allows them to stand out, rise above the noise, and actually create a true, real, authentic personal brand for themselves?
[4:38] You said it right there. The sauce is literally those last few words that you said. It's just being, I hate to use the buzzword, authentically you, but that's all you need to be, right? You don't need to emulate
[4:53] the people that you feel most motivated by or inspired by. More often than not, your limitations, the things that you're not good at, the things that
[5:03] you feel most vulnerable or embarrassed about, those are what makes you unique. A huge part
[5:10] of what I feel like has molded what people now know as my style or my look come, all, they all come from my limitations of what I can and can't do with a camera.
[5:22] And once you realize that is your true strength, your true superpower that makes you different from everybody else, and you double down on that, that's how you become uniquely you, right?
[5:35] You don't see any of these rappers try to become any of these huge singers or any of these huge singers try to take on rapping. And when they do sometimes, we all notice, right? So I'll use myself as, as an example here.
[5:52] I'm filming by myself, or even before I started making my content.
[5:59] I'm a very static shot shooting type of filmmakerI don't know the flashy effects, the transitions, and I'm not a film burn type of person.
[6:13] I don't know how to do the little whip pan and, I don't know, crazy zoom-in transitions. I like those. Sure, at one point I aspired to learn, but that's just not me. That's not what
[6:28] I feel like I needed to tell my story. So I could either see that as a limitation for myself, or I could just go with it and stick with that look.
[6:42] And hey, maybe somebody finds what I'm saying of value, and somehow through that people...
[6:53] Whoever has consumed my content has now looked at that as, like, my unique style, and that all came from me not knowing how to do flashy transitions. And when I came into making content in 2023,
[7:07] 2021 and '22, everything was about the whip pan, the speed ramp, the flashy, in-your-face captions, and it was all so fast.
[7:19] And I remember asking some friends who were pretty successful on social media like, "Hey, what do you think about this video?" They all told me, "Speed it up.
[7:29] It takes you a little too long to get to what you, what you wanna say." And even if you go back to that first video, yeah, sure, maybe it was a little too long, but if we're stopping the scroll, I-
[7:42] that's something that most people don't see. So why try to fit in to this pie that everybody sees as what's working and what's normal when you could just take
[7:58] what you're not good at and how you don't fit into this pie as a method to stand out? Like, you don't,
[8:06] you don't have to have your s- you don't have to have your story or the context of your content to fit into how you think people want to consume it.
[8:16] I love, um, Rick Rubin when he talks about, like, his book and he talks about he thinks about the audience last. When you go into creating, are you thinking about the audience last?
[8:31] Where does the audience fall within your creative, um, process? A lot of people say the audience is your boss, which I don't disagree with. I think that is great advice. And honestly, the audience is my boss.
[8:49] They dictate whether they want to see my content or not, or what value it gives them. But in the creation process, how I give it to them, I don't, I don't really take into consideration how I, you know
[9:08] ... I don't wanna say I don't take it into consideration, but how I give it to them is just how I give it to them. You know, I ju- Yeah, it's your, your discretion. Like, you are the, you're the mind behind it. Yeah.
[9:22] I don't want to fit within the... There's so many people now that are like, "Steal these 50 viral hooks." I fucking hate those videos. \[laughs\] I'm so over those types of videos.
[9:35] Bro, just go make videos and, like, give me some information that's great. Uh, like, about something that you like or you care about. I'm so over that shit. Yeah. It drives me crazy to see it. I don't disagree.
[9:47] You know, I'm not here to- I, I know... I'm glad you said that. I'm not, I'm not trying to bash on them. It just, like, every video's like, "Dude, try this Meta Ray-Bans viral hook trend." I'm like,
[9:57] just buy the fucking Ray-Bans and make a cool video about it. Or, like, using them. Like, and you know what I mean? I agree. I don't think all of this... You know,
[10:10] it's been categorized as to one size fits all, one creative fits all. And I don't disagree with these people. If you want to grow fast, sure.
[10:22] But growing fast and, you know, all, not all followers, not all views, not all, not all eyes are created equal. Here's a creator who gives a lot of value to their niche, right? Let's just say this creator here.
[10:37] Like a Chris. 15,000. Chris Do. We got a Chris Do. Let's just say- Ton of value... f- let's just... Maybe even smaller than Chris. Okay. Chris has a huge presence. \[laughs\] Chris is massive. Yeah.
[10:46] \[laughs\] Well, I didn't know you were saying small. Yeah. So- I thought you were saying, like, a creator that gives value. \[laughs\] You think Chris is a small creator? No. \[laughs\] You heard that, Chris? Never.
[10:53] Never, never, never. \[laughs\] Chris- Keep that in the head... Chris is the man. Dang, Chris. He got... 505 Podcast got beef with Chris. You heard it here first.
[11:03] It's the last time we ever have him on the epis- on the show. Goddammit. Damn. What, what beef you got with him, man? I love that guy. \[laughs\] I don't have beef with Chris.
[11:10] \[laughs\] Feel like I'm being interrogated right now. All right. So we got a creator who gives a lot of value. Yeah.
[11:16] Let's just say you have a creator who has, that gives a lot of value, and let's just say they have 15,000 followers or whatever, right? Their, their watch time is, let's just say...
[11:26] Well, I, the metric is still time spent, right? They have a handful of vi- or all of their videos point to helping improve whoever the, the audience is, you know, the niche, right?
[11:38] And then you have, like, pure entertainment creators, whether they do pranks or dances or whatever, and, like, that stuff is funny. It makes you feel good, right?
[11:49] They have 100 million followers, and their average views are probably 20 to 30 million. It's passive.
[11:59] It, it, it makes their day better, and I'm not saying one content is better than the other, but, like, let's just say this guy's valueFortune 500 company CMOs are watching him.
[12:11] Let's just say creative directors of huge brands are watching him. Some of the biggest content creators in the world are watching them to
[12:20] help their business, you know, and this person, while smaller, this channel in my opinion, if we're gonna translate it to personal brand, um,
[12:32] business outside of what happens after social media, like, I'd say this channel has more value than this person lollygagging on the streets. That's just, but that's just my opinion.
[12:44] You know, I follow a lot of creators that I learn a shit ton from that might not be seen as some of the biggest creators, but, you know, I, \[laughs\] I don't need to...
[12:59] I, I just consider this brain rot, and that's cool. There's a time and a place for that, but not all views, not all followers are created equal.
[13:06] And, and if we're looking at what channel and personal brand values are, then, then this is what I'm going for all day. Is there something that a more traditional brand, let's say not a creator, not a single creator,
[13:21] but a brand who's making content on the internet, what could they take from what we're talking about today from, like, the creator aspect or how you create content?
[13:32] How can they bring that into their own content to be able to, I guess, provide more value or, you know, stand out on social media when everybody feels like they're kinda doing the same stuff?
[13:44] Is there, are there any tactics or any th- or any principles when it comes to creating content and marketing that you think a more traditional brand can take away from the creator landscape? Absolutely.
[13:56] There's every product ever, people aren't connected to the product necessarily. Obviously, the, the standard base level is that this product will make your life better for sure, but that's everybody's product.
[14:07] Everybody feels like their product will do that for their consumer, but people are connected to people. People are connected to stories.
[14:13] People are connected to emotions, and if you can attach that to your product genuinely, and not just this fabricated story of, "Buy my T-shirt, it's ethically sourced.
[14:24] We pay blah, blah, blah, blah, blah wages," and, like, when we know it's not, then people can see right through that. But if there is a, a true story that you can attach to it, whether it's...
[14:38] Oh, like, there, there's a million ways, like, you can sell your product or, or your brand, and
[14:47] people now are, they're detached from the traditional media, you know, the super polished looking T-shirt commercial of somebody unfolding it, wearing it, and modeling is. Like, AI can do that for you now, so it's like
[15:05] why spend time, money, and effort when the viewer can't even distinguish \[laughs\] if this is a real video or AI or not.
[15:13] What AI can't replicate is the, the true meaning or the true story or the true passion behind why this person is, is doing this service or this business.
[15:22] So really doubling down as to why this person on the other side of the screen should feel connected to you. And if they feel connected to you, they'll support you in any business. Hope you're enjoying this episode.
[15:32] Real quick, wanna let you know about an awesome free product that we got linked in the description. It's our personal brand kickstart. What's in it? Okay, we got five prompts for you.
[15:39] It's gonna help you define your personal brand, get clarity, and start posting content that really resonates with your audience.
[15:44] It'll literally take you less than 10 minutes, and it's been super apparent with all the guests that we've had on our show, they have really strong personal brands, and it's allowed them to scale their businesses.
[15:52] So go check it out, top link, and let's keep it rolling. When you think about h- what makes a creator successful, we've kinda briefly touched on some of the things.
[16:00] If you were to give someone advice, like, "Hey, I wanna come onto Instagram. I wanna do short form. I wanna dominate.
[16:04] I wanna maybe follow in your footsteps, do really well on the platform," are there a few p- key pieces of advice that you'd say, "These are the five most important things when I think about making a video"?
[16:16] What a good hook that you're gonna use for social media. \[laughs\] Short form. We've shared OMG Agents five tips on how to grow on social media- AP's five tips... in 2026. Top five Follow these things right here. Clip it.
[16:30] \[laughs\] Put it up. Oh, man, he got so excited by your headphones. I got so excited, I pulled out my headphone. Now I'm not locked in. \[laughs\] Now I'm back.
[16:36] \[laughs\] I need to r- I need to think what these five things could be. And, uh- Even three. Like, if you, if you had to just sit someone down- A few. Yeah However many you want. However many you want. Yeah.
[16:45] If you had to sit someone down and say, "These are the things that I think are most important." No, I can think of five. Okay. I can think of five. I don't want you to have to redo your hook.
[16:52] You delivered that amazingly. Thank you. Appreciate that, guys. \[laughs\] Thank you. Um, five things? Could you repeat the question? I got so excited. \[laughs\] What are the five things? Five- Five points of what?
[17:03] That, that would m- that you would tell a creator to crush short form. For right now or for the future? For the future. Understand how to prompt AI. Unfortunately, not because
[17:23] I don't value 100% human-made art and creation. If you can't beat them, you have to join them. All the horse carriage folks said, "What do we need cars for?" All the people
[17:40] who didn't wanna follow, you know, with big machine during the Industrial revolut- and during the Industrial Revolution. Industrial Revolution? Yeah. Industrial indust- Yeah. Was it Industrial Revolution? Yeah. It was.
[17:53] Sounded fucking good. Yeah. It was a revolution though? Yeah, yeah. I'm pretty, I'm like, I'm 99.9% sure. Dude, your words, not ours. Yeah. \[laughs\] Yeah. J- Yeah. Our, our audience is saying correct.
[18:03] \[laughs\] Jack Cook is saying yes. Um, you know, it's, it's unfortunate because we're millennials and, and Gen Z also still has a bit of, you know, valuing human-made... creations, but
[18:19] you don't need the thing to create. You need it to supercharge you.
[18:23] You need it to do things that you don't want to do or you need help in, whether that's in the organization process, whether that is taking your scattered ideas and making it into a list, which now you can then branch off into making more refined and better ideas.
[18:41] If you don't know how to take your script and visually show it, it could say, "How should I shoot this? I don't understand cinematography or shot listing. Give me some suggestions."
[18:53] I believe that it should still be made with the hands of a human, but unfortunately, in this social media, in this game that we're playing,
[19:05] the more shots you put, the more shots you put up, the better chances that you have. And I'm not saying quantity beats quality.
[19:13] It has to be both, but there's a lot of people who already know how to produce quality that's now introducing quantity because they understand how to prompt these AI programs that just, it, they're excelling.
[19:30] I already see myself getting left behind because I started so late, you know? So I don't wanna say that's my number one, but it's really high up there. You know, I'm not, at this point now, like,
[19:46] I'm not making videos that are AI generated. That's not what I'm in it for. But also I'm not to say in the future that I might not, right? Because if you're still not able to communicate a story that connects,
[20:04] then none of that matters. The best use case scenario is how can it help you do something that you have a pinch point on? And, you know, I actually wanna know your thoughts, both of your thoughts on that.
[20:16] It's interesting because if everybody starts using AI, which they will,
[20:23] I worry about a world where, like, AI's kinda giving everybody the same advice, or, like, if they go to script, everything's gonna kinda sound similar. Oh, it already is. Yeah.
[20:34] I use AI so much to help me in my pre-production process that I know when somebody hasn't added the- Mm... human touch or their personal element. I, I see it everywhere. I know immediately. I think at the end of the day,
[20:52] what makes us... What's gonna make you stand out is what makes you unique, and those are the actual lived experiences that you've gone through. You have a, you've lived...
[21:05] We're, as humans, we're very similar in a lot of ways, but we experience life completely different in a lot of ways.
[21:12] Like, your upbringing is completely d- completely different from mine and completely different from Brayden. Um, and so I think, like, leaning on that, I think we're very similar in a lot of ways, so, like,
[21:24] what makes you unique, being vulnerable and sharing that, people will... The, like, your audience is gonna find that, and f- like, you'll be more relatable.
[21:35] And I think that's what's gonna allow you to, like, stand out and not just have, you know, content that maybe gets a lot of views, but that's what's gonna lead to you getting DMs and comments and people actually supporting you and being a true follower and a supporter because they're like, "I love Adrian.
[21:52] I love the way he creates content, but I also really resonate with the story that he's telling," which is exactly what you were saying. Agreed. You still need to add the human element. Yeah.
[22:01] Though you can use AI to supercharge your productivity and your organization, but if there's no true backbone or there's no true story, right? If, if this is built on I just want to maximize... Hey. Hello.
[22:17] If you just want to maximize views and followers, like, there's no, there's no real value in that. There, there's no longevity in that. I think you're right. I think it's just a co-pilot. I still, I still think-
[22:30] Co-pilot's great, by the way... I think that is what it is though, right? It's like you're still writing the script yourself. Yep.
[22:36] You might get, you might get 10 ideas from it and be like, "Damn, I wasn't even thinking about that. That's something that I can maybe, like, explore more of."
[22:43] But imagine if the pod was perfect, if we never made mistakes, if we didn't trip up over our words sometimes, if we didn't laugh. Yeah. And that's what I feel like if you just throw the prompt in and get it out.
[22:53] That's what I feel like that stuff is. And like you're saying, you can really tell. LinkedIn sucks right now. Like, the platform is fucking AI central.
[23:01] You pop on, it's like, "Today in my sales job, I learned this," you know? \[laughs\] And it's like you can just tell when it's, when it's not wrote by a human. It just sounds, it sounds very off-putting, you know? I agree.
[23:13] You know- I, I think it's one of them for sure. I think that's definitely, like, a huge part of the workflow.
[23:17] If we didn't have it, I c- it feels like the Stone Ages when you're, like, we're just doing firewood and, like, the best- Chiseling away. Yeah, like chi- Let me write my script in a rock. Yeah. \[laughs\] Today- Exactly...
[23:29] we're going to talk about- Exactly... you know, I- Exactly. Like, the tools have changed. Like, we were talking about that before we started. The cameras and shit, dude, you can make...
[23:36] You could tell a great story on a phone, on a old Nokia flip phone. I'm confident that I, I'd watch it. If you told your AP story, like, we would watch it. I agree.
[23:45] You know, there, there are some people who still are reluctant to shoot digital, and there's still a place for that. We, as humans, don't care what the medium is.
[23:55] We care if it connects to us, you know, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, whatever it may be. Okay, so there's one. So AI's one of them. If you had to rattle off a few more, what do you think they would be?
[24:07] Stop looking at your limitations as to why you might, may not get to where you want to be. This is just for creative, right? This is not sports, right? You can't look at- \[laughs\]...
[24:18] the reason why you're running slow as the reason why you're not gonna make it onto the main squad, right? \[laughs\] That's such a good point. Like, dude, I'm, I'm running a six foot, \[laughs\] 6.0 forty.
[24:26] I'm going D1, though. \[laughs\] You can't, like... You, you just... Because m- crea- the creative space is so subjective-You know, there's so many different ways to get there, right?
[24:39] Gosh, you know, whoever made that setting or whoever made that saying there's multiple ways to skin a cat, w- what sick fuck made that? Brilliant. Who skinned a cat? Yeah. Not me. Not- I haven't done that. Yeah, not me.
[24:52] But I just want- I want to go on record and say I've never done that. But there's, there's, uh \[laughs\]- The first dude to do it though wrote the saying, and he was like, and they're like, "That's gonna stick."
[25:00] \[laughs\] Ugh. So it's just exposed flesh. \[laughs\] Ugh. Or you're just taking the fur off. Oh, my God. But it- that saying, right?
[25:10] It's like, there's so many different ways to get there, and people tend to think, "It's my camera," or, "I don't know how to use the tools," or, "I don't have the same color grading," uh, you know, "I don't know how to use my lenses properly."
[25:28] It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. So being self-aware enough to understand that your limitations aren't the reason why you can't communicate your story, I mean, the number one thing is if you have a foundational
[25:44] communication improvement gap, focus on that. But everything else, your limitations, as, you know, for how to share your story in the digital world, in the social media age, it's not a limitation.
[25:58] Before what, what, what we see now is, you know, you're an amazing creator. You can, you can write, you can film something, whatever.
[26:04] What were the limitations though in the beginning that you might have had a barrier up for yourself that you, you broke through?
[26:10] Is there anything that you'd be willing to share today that you're like, "Man, I thought it... Like my script writing wasn't there yet, but I really just needed to practice more."
[26:16] Like, what's something that you could tell our community? Absolutely.
[26:20] I had spent 13 years behind the camera, and that's because I think I was born with the looks of, of needing to be on radio and not in front of the screen. \[laughs\] Okay? I have to be honest.
[26:36] Everybody that I was filming was so conventionally, uh, beautiful, right? And I'm like, "Yeah, I'm behind here and I'm gonna make this person look good because they already look good, look good in front of the lights."
[26:47] I never thought that I needed to be in front of the camera. So when I started seeing myself on camera and, and, and just... Slim Aarons is a great photographer. Anyways. Love that.
[27:02] Um, so when I started putting myself in front of the camera, I was self-conscious for sure. I had to put that aside. And because I felt a little self-conscious,
[27:14] the way I would speak on camera versus the way I would speak in person, completely different.
[27:21] I could pull up a video right now and, and this is the video that changed my life, but if you were to listen to how I talked, not my voice necessarily, but the cadence of which I'm speaking,
[27:35] if somebody were to hand me that video and I close my eyes and I listen to it, I'd be like, "Ugh, why are you so stiff?"
[27:43] And that was one of my limitations, and I didn't let it stop me from continuing to keep posting, to keep making, to continue to aspire to grow.
[27:54] And if I told myself I wasn't ready to put myself out there, I wouldn't be here today. So let me play this video, and you can just listen to how bad the delivery was.
[28:10] I'm posting on TikTok 365 days straight this year, every day, at least once a day, for all of 2023. I'm posting a day... I'm posting a video every day, once a day- Brian still went with the beat though. For sure.
[28:27] The beat was tough. For sure. Went with that beat. But like- I get what you're saying. I just- Can I have delivered it like- Yeah. Yeah, yeah... I'm posting a video every day, once a day, 365 days straight this year.
[28:38] Why? Who am I? I'm this. Mm. And just 'cause I didn't have that, I didn't let that limitation stop me from, from still putting it out. You know what's so funny? I just wanna note this.
[28:53] 'Cause I specifically remember finding you off of that video and coming across it, and you feeling maybe insecure or a certain type of way now about your delivery,
[29:08] I watched that video and I didn't think any of that. And I think that oftentimes- Same. Yeah, same... we have these insecurities that
[29:19] we're so wrapped up in and we focus on so much because it's us that we think that people are paying just as much of attention as this little insecurity that we have when it's really not the case.
[29:30] And it's so funny that you bring up that video. I didn't think you were gonna bring up that video- Yeah, neither did I... because I was like...
[29:36] I watched that and I was like, "Damn, man, this guy's pretty fucking good at talking \[laughs\] to camera." \[laughs\] I'm like, "Well, that's a great piece of content." But I mean, you hear how I talk now- Sure. Yeah...
[29:43] or even when we did the pod the first time, I wasn't stiff like that, you know? Mm-hmm.
[29:48] It's, and it's just, you put the camera on me and somebody who's meant to be behind the camera, I'm just like, "What am I supposed to do? I'm filming 365 days straight this year."
[29:58] I'm like struggling to even feel confident in saying it.
[30:02] But because I was confident in all the other things, whether it was my color grading, my, my shot selection, whatever it may be, like, I l- I led with those strengths rather than have my weaknesses stop me from chasing after whatever I wanted to do.
[30:17] And I think as a creative, you need to be okay with that. So many people let their edits or their footage, whatever it may be, their finished products sit on their computer or their phones because it's not perfect.
[30:29] Or they put it up there and it doesn't do as well, and then they take it down because they wanna hide it from embarrassment. Well, guess what, bro?
[30:37] What if your page blew up, you know, a handful of weeks or months or even a year later, and then people find your entire catalog of amazing shit that you hid from the world because you were insecure, 'cause you were scared?
[30:50] \[tsks\] Fuck that.I also think perfect isn't relatable, and people won't resonate with perfect. Yeah.
[30:57] Like, if you think about all the, all the people who you admire as a creator or an artist, think about what about them do you like.
[31:08] It's not that they're probably the fucking best looking or, or the- they're the perfect version of whatever.
[31:16] It's because you probably relate to them in some way, you see yourself in them, and it's because they're willing to be vulnerable and not pretend like they're this fucking perfect cookie cutter, no flaws human, 'cause none of us are like that.
[31:32] And so I don't think people relate to perfect at all. And so I just... I think it's fucking awesome that you brought up that video 'cause- \[laughs\]...
[31:41] thinking about myself watching, I like specifically remember watching that video and I didn't think of anything, I didn't think of anything as far as insecurities. So- Thank you...
[31:50] but I like that tip of, of like, don't let your, your, uh, your limitations be the reason why you can't see success.
[31:58] I also think in the era of AI, to go back, your one video that I love so much was when you went to your mom's house and you showed, like, all the things about, like, a Fil- Yep. The AI can't do that. Nah, bro.
[32:09] You were talking about all the things about a Filipino household. You're like, "Oh, we have these specific plates. They've been here since I was 10." Or like, "My mom doesn't throw these things away.
[32:16] Like, we keep all these things." What was the name of the video? Things in my Filipino household that- Just makes sense? Okay... just make sense, kinda. Uh. Not really. Uh. Yeah.
[32:25] That was like one of my favorite videos you've done, and it's just, like, shows this other part of you, your family, where you grew up.
[32:30] And I think that, like, like you're saying, if you pop on someone's page in two years or three years and it all looks perfectly polished in the exact same, I think we're gonna want the real rawness of, like,
[32:44] of someone's actual life, not some fake bullshit that's, like, so curated and... You, you know what I'm saying? It's like you wanna see- I agree...
[32:50] the background of, like, how someone grew up or, like, why, why are you a filmmaker? Why, why did you do this whole thing? You know? Yeah. Why did you start this podcast? Why...
[32:58] Like, that's what I think is super interesting. Back in 2022, that's honestly the reason why I came onto social media to begin with. I was so tired of, like- Oh... the, the washed, reused- Cookie cutter...
[33:13] and res- recycled- Mm... social media content. And it works so much because I wasn't out here trying to be perfect. I, I was like...
[33:23] I remember talking mad shit about all the filmmaking content that I had seen on social media with my girlfriend at the time and, and my manager now. I would just be like, "Yo, I'm sick of this shit, dude.
[33:34] Like, this sucks." Uh, I used to look at social media and feel inspired. I used to look at it for inspiration. Now it's just, like, everything was the same and given to me in a way where, like, it just wasn't...
[33:49] It's just brain rot. It was brain rot type content, and unfortunately, I think we're circling back into this cycle again, where because one person excels in this thing,
[34:01] everybody feels like they should have their story be delivered that way. Not everything needs to be an episodic series, unfortunately. And not everything has to be a build in public.
[34:16] Not everything has to be an infographic carousel. Not everything ha- Like, how do you stick out? Weirdly enough, the super widescreen shit for... Oh. \[laughs\] Nella got scared. Sorry.
[34:32] The super widescreen meme stuck out because it wa- it was like a break from, "These are my top 10 tips to help you." Yeah. It's like, "Oh, this is a good break.
[34:43] This is a good break from all the, the nonsense and the noise that so many people are feeding to me the exact same way." You've also talked a lot about how, you know, playing it safe is actually risky,
[34:58] and you brought up Chris Dell. He had a great- Mm... quote that he said. He said, "Risky is safe and safe is risky."
[35:05] And I'd love to hear you talk a little bit more about risks that you've taken in your career when it comes to content and why it actually is riskier to play it safe and kinda just go along with the crowd, do what everybody's doing, as opposed to trying to stick out and kind of bringing your unique flavor to, to social.
[35:27] Well, it depends here. It depends on what the goal is, right? The creator or the person who's stepping into the social space needs to really identify what their goal is. And if your goal is to just
[35:47] blow up, get 100,000 followers, maybe get, I don't know, a couple of people into the doors of your business or a couple of brand deals and, you know, do something for a year or two and be out,
[36:01] then listen to all the, the viral tips and tricks and hacks. But if your goal is to express yourself and find like-minded people and maybe create something that wasn't out there before, you know.
[36:19] There, there's that saying, if, if what, if what you're looking for isn't out there, then, then create it. If that's your goal and, and, and it's rooted in what your purpose is, your passion, then
[36:35] trying, then playing it safe would be listening to those reporters as to how to tell your story for general mass consumption, and that's risky because if your goals are to create something that's never been done before,
[36:53] whether that's your creative ego or-You know, just genuinely wanting to create something that, that moves the needle, then yeah, playing it safe is risky for your goal. I don't think either path is necessarily bad.
[37:12] I think it really just depends on what your goals are. Because our goals, and I'd assume what the viewers' goals of this podcast are, isn't just the speed run to growth.
[37:25] It's super risky to just share your unique story in a way where people are telling you how it's best consumed on social media. That does nothing for you in the long run. Something that I take a lot of pride in is
[37:41] being consistent with a content format or an experiment even though it's considered a flop, even though
[37:53] people weren't consuming content this way before I started giving it a shot, and it's actually become a thing that people have now used in their content strategy.
[38:03] And part of that it's my, is, part of that feeds my creative ego, and part of that is just sticking it through. You know? Like, I, I...
[38:13] Sure, it was risky to spend time, effort, and money into, to something that nobody wanted yet, but now it, it seeing, it's, it's a way that people want to consume content a couple years later.
[38:27] It's like, \[laughs\] "Hey, we tried that. We gave it a shot, and that was risky."
[38:31] It, it was risky throwing something into the void that people didn't necessarily find that much value in, in the masses at the time, but hey, if you stick through with something that, that may be risky,
[38:42] maybe people will enjoy it. I mean, you look at all these social media platforms or even, like, Lyft and Uber or Airbnb, like, people weren't ready to consume that way.
[38:53] A super \[laughs\] risky move for all the investors and the people involved in those projects, but it became a thing, and they found success in it.
[39:01] And, and obviously those are anomalies because those, those companies became successful, but the only way to find out is to take that risk, you know?
[39:09] Your audience doesn't know what they want yet if they've never seen what they didn't know that they wanted.
[39:13] Did you feel like once you maybe got 365, or maybe even it was after 200, you maybe noticed a few people were copying the style that you were doing. Did you sit back and say, "Okay.
[39:26] I'm gonna finish out this 365, and then I'm gonna think about what is the next iteration of AP's content?"
[39:32] Like, what were kind of your thoughts internally or with your team or with, you know, talking with Sam about this, about showing people, like, "Hey, I'm seeing...
[39:38] Like, people are copying this shit, and I know that I'm, I am the originator of this style or this sort of text or this color look"? What was that like? It was flattering. Mm-hmm. It's really cool.
[39:49] It didn't make you mad at all? No. Really? That's awesome. More... The other people that I knew who were either on my team or my friends were more upset about it than I was. Mm.
[40:01] And I think also because it, it fed my creative ego at the time. \[laughs\] You know? I was younger. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was \[laughs\] also in my 30s, but, like- \[laughs\]...
[40:10] I also didn't, you know, I never experienced that. Yeah. You know, people, people hate being bit off of...
[40:19] But I don't think I was ever cool enough in school to be bitten off of, so this was, like, my first time in life, \[laughs\] like, "Oh, you like this stuff? This is cool. This feels good for me."
[40:30] And, you know, when I first started creating, I was... I guess there's a fine line between experimenting and copying and taking inspiration.
[40:44] Quentin Tarantino is the, the big, bold either yellow or red or, you know, just the high contrast font text on your screen as titles.
[40:55] So I took that inspiration as far back as 2011 on some of the first music videos that, that I've ever directed. Like, you will see big, bold, yellow text, "Directed by Adrian Pere." Did I startle you?
[41:12] Um, this has been a great ornament. Great. It's a great cast member, huh? Yeah. Yeah. She deserves credits. Yeah. I agree. We'll put her in there. Nothing to say. Do you have anything to say to the podcast?
[41:21] She's actually just mind-blown. \[laughs\] The conversation's been so good. \[laughs\] Um, but yeah. That, that's... You know, I was inspired by it, and, and it became somewhat of, like, my, my personal online brand.
[41:34] And, and you know, uh, even Wes Anderson, like, there's so many symmetrical shots and, that are locked off or intentional camera moves that, that I've taken from it, and that is just a culmination of all these things that I liked.
[41:50] So when I see that from people, in order for them to find their voice and their style is to try all the things that they ins- that they're inspired by and see if it works for them.
[42:01] Now, if people use that and, you know, market it as, "I am a branding expert," by taking the style, whether it's of me or other creators on the internet, and then selling it to people as to- Mm...
[42:16] why they're this branding or marketing and visual expert/coach, it's, that's where you cross a line. That's where I'm like, "Get the fuck out of here. You're a snake oil salesman." Mm-hmm. You know?
[42:28] Like, you can't just... \[sighs\] I guess there are, there is a, uh, there is an audience for it, but, you know,
[42:38] there's people out there who learn some things on social media for a year or two, and then they package it into, like, a $1,000 course, and all of a sudden, you know, they position themselves as an expert and become millionaires off of it.
[42:50] That's where I draw the line, but as for people who want to use that format or things that I've done that inspire them to help tell their story better, it's cool with me. Like, I'm flattered by it.
[43:04] There's this, uh, quoteThat I saw actually on LinkedIn, uh- Shout out \[laughs\] Probably AI. ChatGPT probably came up with it. No, I- Shout out chat...
[43:13] I can guarantee it was probably a real pers- it was a real person- \[laughs\]... who said this. And in, in this post it was talking about just, uh, you know, original ideas and when ideas become successful.
[43:26] I hope I'm not butchering this, but it was like this person asks this, this person on... Somebody high up on the Nike design team and was like, "When do you feel like ideas become a success?"
[43:40] And that person answered, "When the idea escapes just the success of completing and executing the project, but actually supersedes that person. You can't find the origin of where this thing started.
[43:54] Does it shift culture? Did it move the needle?" And I take a lot o- of pride and, and my creative ego was fulfilled because there's so many people who don't know...
[44:08] And I'm not even saying I started it necessarily, but there's so... It- I'm sure I've been inspired by something somewhere, whatever it may be, right?
[44:17] But to see that video postcards or, like, the video carousels is being made in, like, the most remote parts of, like, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand,
[44:32] um, like, Reunion Island in Africa, which is, like, a, I think, like, a French colony somewhere in the middle of the ocean, or, like, Sri Lanka, that's insane.
[44:42] Like, to know that that format was, uh, started as, like, a little experiment and an idea that has been, you know, played telephone from this creator to this creator to this creator that was inspired by this creator that posted it over here, and, like, now this person is making it, it's like
[45:01] I can't be mad at that. Like, I can die tomorrow and this, this style of content will live on. So to answer the, the copycat/people being inspired, the copycats who are selling it as a business,
[45:18] I'm not, I'm not about that. But the people who are inspired by it, it's like that's something that anybody who creates art can't pay for.
[45:29] There's not an amount of money that you can pay PR services and agents to make your idea shift culture, and some of these did that organically, and that is done by the, the inspiration telephone done so far removed from me that it's just spread across the world, and that's really cool.
[45:50] There's certain things that you've brought into your content that are pretty synonymous with you. I think about your car. \[laughs\] It's, like, fucking sick. You got this sick vintage Mercedes, um,
[46:03] and that's kinda part of this world that you've built as AP, and I wanna talk about world building a little bit and how people can utilize world building
[46:13] to stand out on the internet, but also make themselves more relatable and how it relates to storytelling.
[46:19] 'Cause I know at the end of the day, like, content creation or creating commercials or any type of content, whether it's on social media or some other platform, like, you're a storyteller at the end of the day, uh, whether it's behind or in front of the camera.
[46:33] So how does world building come into play with your content strategy, and how can people utilize world building to stand out? You know what I can't stand? Mm-hmm.
[46:43] Is when I watch podcasts and they're asked a question and being positioned as if something was intentionally done, and then they answer it as if they intentionally did it- Oh... and is speaking as an expert- Okay...
[46:58] of the thing that they did. As a podcast listener, we- all of us know, like, you fucking didn't mean to do that shit. And so for me to answer that question truthfully, I wasn't...
[47:14] I didn't have world building in mind- Mm...
[47:17] when I started making my content, whether it was the consistent yellow text that's on my videos or the car mount shots or the things that you constantly see in my videos.
[47:33] It wasn't necessarily perfectly planned out as to this is what is in the OMG Adrian universe that I want you to see. None of that was intentionally picked.
[47:49] More than what was intentionally picked was what was intentionally left out. So
[47:57] there's a lot of things that I leave out, and what you see on the internet really is just, like, my truest life, whether it's my work desk or my car, because I've always been a Mercedes Benz boy from the jump.
[48:14] My grandpa had one, and that car was actually his for a l- y- his whole life. \[laughs\] That was one of his babies, and I'd somehow convince him, like, "Hey, when can I get it someday? Can I, can I ever drive this?
[48:27] Can I buy this from you?" And it was passed down to my uncle, which was then passed down to me, and, you know, um, yeah, I didn't...
[48:35] You think I had the bread to buy something like that, something that cool, that pristine? Nah, that, that thing was, was babied because my grandpa babied that thing. And, you know, everything in my videos
[48:48] is just a true reflection of the life that I live and what's around me, and I can't act like there was some sort of expertise as to what
[49:02] I'm building in the OMG Adrian sphere of what I show on camera. Now, I know what I'm not showing.I know what vulnerabilities, I know what p-parts of my personal life, and I know what parts I'm not talking about,
[49:18] which then crafts, like, what I show on the internet. I think that's just, like, an extra layer of crap and noise that I have to think about. Because whether, let's just say, I'm building the world, right?
[49:32] If I had this intentionality of building the world,
[49:36] I then had to think about that on top of what camera angle that I, do I wanna use to, you know, deliver my story best, or thinking about how I'm going to communicate this. So yeah, I'm sorry.
[49:47] There was no, like, secret sauce or formula. Uh, but I think what you said as far as what you leave out,
[49:55] I think a lot of people are searching for clarity, like what kind of content should I make, who should I make content for, like, how do I wanna show up online?
[50:04] And getting clarity on, like, what it is you don't wanna do and who you don't wanna make content for or what you don't wanna say is just as powerful and gives you clarity on what it is you should do and say yes to.
[50:18] So I think that as, uh, without maybe answering the question how you might have thought, like I wanted it to be answered, I think there's a lot of value in, there is clarity in no. I agree.
[50:31] I think a lot of people try to fit in all these things bas-based off of what they see on the internet and thinking it's, like, intentionally curated. Yeah.
[50:42] I think there's a lot more things that you can intentionally, like, leave out. Not every hobby has to be your \[laughs\], your business. Not every hobby or interest needs to be included in your content.
[50:53] And not to say that you can't share that. It's, but it's just, it's more noise, it's more friction.
[51:00] It's more friction that's getting in the way of you connecting with whoever may be watching, and the more things on that list that I have to think about when I'm making content, the less content or storytelling I'll be able to do.
[51:16] So yeah, it wasn't any magic aha moment of, this is gonna be in my video, this is gonna be in it, this is gonna be in it, this is g- what's gonna make up me and my, you know, unique look as to what I bring onto social media.
[51:30] It wasn't like that at all. On the topic of what's in it, what's in the camera bag right now? \[exhales\] And what are, what are you thinking about? What'd you buy? What's in the camera bag currently? Mm-hmm.
[51:43] I'm super camera agnostic. It's whatever works with me at the time. I just recapped an event. I've done so many event recaps that are on my phone, and- Do you upgrade or no? Or like, are you, did you get the new one?
[51:59] I did not get the new one yet. Did you think it's worth it or no? I don't think the camera is impressive enough to make me shell out, uh, over 1,000 bucks for it. Back camera ain't worth it.
[52:11] The front camera's nicer, I've noticed. The back camera is just the same. I think the camera on both sides have been good two iterations ago. Mm. I have to be completely honest. That's what, that's what you said.
[52:20] I have a 15 still. I, I got the 17, but I was, I didn't get the 16 'cause I was like... It's so funny. I used to stay home and, like, fake sick when the new iPhone announcements would happen.
[52:34] \[laughs\] And I would be, like, the guy at school, like, the next day come in and be like, "All right, Coasties," like, "What's it o- like, what's new?" And I'm like, "Oh, dude, this, this, this."
[52:42] \[laughs\] I was, like, so dialed, and I was, like, always getting the new phone, and now I've just- So I'll tell you what's new, it's just orange. That's about it. Yeah.
[52:50] It's so hard for them, I think, now to, to make upgrades and- Their stock price went down quite a bit with the- Really? It's just- Mm... they're trying to wow us with how much better the camera is when honestly,
[53:03] the new Samsung Galaxy S20- Got this one, right? The Samsung Galaxy S23 had 100 megapixels already. Mm. Right? The S25, it now has 200 megapixels.
[53:16] So you're telling me the baseline that's higher than already what's on the iPhone is what you're trying to sell me on? There's no way.
[53:25] There's literally no way that, like, I'm supposed to be impressed with tech that I wouldn't say is archaic. It's just not better than what's out there.
[53:34] So why would anybody feel the need to spend that much money to upgrade when if you're trying to sell me on a camera that's already not as good as its competitors? What are, what is the Samsung price?
[53:48] Is it the same or a little bit cheaper? It depends on- Oh, yeah... what size you get also. Mm. I don't pay attention to Samsung- \[laughs\]... if I'm being honest. I love- I need, I need AirDrop, dude. I, I need the...
[53:57] \[laughs\] I'm so in the Apple system, it's not even funny. I, I just, because I'm not camera agnostic, whether it's a phone- Yeah...
[54:06] whether it's shooting on Sony, whether it's shooting on Canon, DJI, Blackmagic, I use the best tool for the job.
[54:18] So sometimes if I wanna walk the streets of Tokyo and I don't wanna carry my tripod because that's just, like, not the culture to be, you know, putting your tripod and your camera down, flipping it around, and talking to your camera out there.
[54:32] It's very... People are very mindful, and that's not a mindful thing to do. So sticking the DJI Osmo onto a street lamp, and it has a magnetic back, monitoring from that.
[54:43] Or if I want to be at an event recap and I, and the, the goal here is to not necessarily
[54:53] capture cinematically what the event looks like, but what does the event look like from my perspective, then I'm using Ray-Ban Metas. I'm using my phone. I want
[55:04] to use the tool that's going to give me the least amount of friction from trying to, the least amount of friction in telling the story that I wanna communicate.
[55:15] But to just wrap this whole thing up, I have Sony's, I have i-The FX3. I have, I have three ZV-E1s.
[55:26] \[smacks lips\] I have one FX3, I have a Canon C80, I have the Blackmagic 6K, I have the, the Osmo. I have both versions of the Osmo, the Action and the Pocket. The... I have \[chuckles\] all the cameras I need
[55:41] to tell the right story with the right tool for the job. And to be honest, the FX3 just isn't worth it.
[55:49] I bought one recently, like a couple months ago, and because I shot on this ZV-E1 for so long, and it's, it's smaller, I'm shooting in short bits, like I... It's never overheated on me. Like, I, I don't... I just \[sighs\]
[56:05] ... You're never gonna get that FX3 to fully match image quality of this FX6- Okay... ever. Okay, hold on. It's actually hilarious that you bring it up, because my new FX3 is coming in the mail tomorrow.
[56:17] \[laughs\] I have a ZV-E1. We've compared the image quality between the ZV-E1 and the FX3, specifically for, like, podcast angles,
[56:29] and the FX3 compared to the ZV-E1, in our experience, the FX3, like, blows it out of the water. When you zoo- What are you s- When you zoom it up What are you... What settings are you shooting on on the ZV-E1?
[56:41] The same exact settings as the FX. I- 4:2:2, 10-bit... I've, I've- Yeah... I noticed it looks a little- What codec?... a little muddy. The, uh- It does look muddy... the highest one.
[56:49] It looks like when you scale it up and you look at them both scaled up next to one another- Who's doing that? \[laughs\] Well, we, I mean, we punch in on you. Oh, true. True, true.
[56:56] Like, if we, if we, if we punch in on you, like- Yeah... I think if you just flip them vertically and you look at them side by side and they're scaled to 100, like yeah, you're not gonna notice anything.
[57:04] But as soon as you start to punch in, I notice that it looks a little off. I think if I told you I filmed everything on an FX3 or a ZV-E1, my videos, I don't think...
[57:14] I think you guys would've believed that I was shooting it on an FX3. Sure. I was just, I, it's just interesting that, uh... I don't know. I, uh, I'm excited to get my FX3.
[57:24] But you're, you're also, like, you don't think... Uh, it's so funny that you don't think, uh, you're not the biggest fan of Sony. It's not that I'm not the biggest fan, it's just I use Sony for convenience.
[57:35] It's not because I like the brand. It's not because I think they make... I, I do think they make amazing products, but I've owned Red, I've owned Arri, I've owned Blackmagic.
[57:48] I've, I've owned every new camera and different brands under the sun. I've shot on the Venice, I've shot on the Burano, uh, on \[laughs\] Fuji. I've shot on, you know, IMAX. So,
[58:01] not IMAX film, but I've shot on, like, I guess the, the \[smacks lips\] super big, like, sensor, Open Gate. Um, \[smacks lips\] I just don't think the image quality is that great. It takes...
[58:17] I think it's good enough, which is why I use it. I'd say I use it 70% of the time, but it's just... It has the right buttons.
[58:26] Until a camera is, you know, until a camera brand is gonna innovate and truly, like, blow my mind and say, "This is everything that I need in a small body", which in my opinion, Canon al- Canon almost got there with the C50.
[58:40] \[smacks lips\] There's a couple things that some people may not like about it, like the IBIS. But if you're shooting on a tripod, in my opinion, Canon colors out the box is way better than Sony. Have y'all used Canon?
[58:55] You think way better? Way better. \[gasps\] Dynamic range. I was just, I was a Canon guy for years. I had two C70s, I had a C200. I don't know, I just hated the no 12,800... Well, the C50, what did it not have?
[59:10] It didn't have IBIS. It just doesn't have IBIS. I don't know what else it doesn't have, but- No, there was one other thing it didn't have. Didn't have one other thing that I talked to you about.
[59:16] I don't remember what it was. I don't know. What's the, what's the ISO on it? What does it go up to? I don't remember, but my C80 has a 12,800 base ISO- Yeah... and it's so clean. I like this, I like the C70 a lot.
[59:26] The only... Oh, okay, I like the C70 a lot. The only thing I hated about it was Super 35. The C80 full-frame, right? C80's full-frame. Uh-huh. Internal NDs. Mm. Three, three base ISOs, 12,800 being huge.
[59:43] Triple base is big. The, the internal stabilization, Th- CLog2. CLog2 beats S-Log3 any day. Wait, but you also bought a new camera. Do you think this new camera's gonna be legit? The Nikon ZR? Uh-huh. 12-bit raw? R3D?
[1:00:01] Absolutely. I've seen the image. Like, I, I've had a Red weapon, you know? Mm-hmm. I've had the weapon. I didn't need the Komodo. It just wasn't that...
[1:00:13] The Komodo, in my opinion, was worse than the Blackmagic Pocket 6K that was full-frame, and the Super 35 version. Um, I could talk cameras for hours, man. Seriously.
[1:00:25] Like, I'd be glad to- Well, it also, wait, it's, it's RF mount, so you'll have to get, you'll get Canon lenses, correct? Which one? For the, for the Nikon camera. No. No- It's Nikon mount. Oh, it's the Nikon mount? Yeah.
[1:00:35] So you're getting Nikon glass. Nah. You, they have really, really thin adapters that you can mount your, your EF gla- not EF glass, your, your Sony FE glass. And i- you think the autofocus will be lit? It's Nikon.
[1:00:49] Nikon's really, really good. Are you gonna be using that as, like, your daily driver, replace the ZV-E1? No. I wouldn't even say any of these cameras are my daily driver, really.
[1:00:59] Just, what is my daily driver for recapping events? It's my phone, it's my Ray-Ban Metas, it's a pocket cam. What's my daily driver if I'm filming l- longer videos where maybe I leave the camera running for 45 minutes?
[1:01:15] It'll be the FX3. If I'm going outside to, you know, and I'm traveling out the country, or even, like-Shooting anywhere in LA, it's my ZV-E1. I don't need the FX3. It's just heavier, clunkier.
[1:01:28] Uh, I don't think the front facing record button is that much more convenient. I could control it with, you know, the other cameras with my apps.
[1:01:37] So there is a camera that I use more often than not, which is the Sony, but my daily driver just depends on whatever, whatever the assignment, whatever the task is.
[1:01:49] So if the Nikon Z f fills a space of me creating my short form videos and I have more latitude, you know, more dynamic range, and
[1:02:01] I can get the colors of the Nikon Z f closer to what I like and my personal taste, then I'm using that. You, you can't tell me that the three-inch screen is good enough. No, that four-inch looks phenomenal.
[1:02:16] I've seen it in person. It's incredible. It's... It truly \[laughs\] is game changing. People are upset that they have the micro HD, um, the micro HD, uh, port and not the full HD. I mean, with that monitor, I, um...
[1:02:31] it's just what do you need it for? I don't think they're making that camera for the professional- Mm... pick up the camera, run and gun docu style. Like, no.
[1:02:41] You, you, you get the ZR and it's just like lower stakes to throw it on a drift car than, than putting your FX6 or your Komodo on there. Um, and also I think for solo creators who are looking for
[1:02:57] more, you know, you can play with your colors more and you don't need a screen and you wanna travel minimally with, you know, the least amount of gear and you just use a flip screen, and you're shorting... You're...
[1:03:08] And you're filming in shorter bits, I think that's a camera for you. Now, the files are huge. That's what I was gonna... I was gonna ask you about the files. You're shooting 12-bit all the time.
[1:03:18] I would be shooting 12-bit RED RAW, absolutely. Wow. I like the way the RED image looks. I can turn the RED image... ARRI. ARRI's gonna get bought probably. Blackmagic.
[1:03:34] ARRI's gonna get bought I think. RED. I think RED and Blackmagic are around the same space, but I think, like, the Blackmagic is a really good pocket ARRI. And then Canon, Fuji, and then Sony.
[1:03:51] You're putting our guys at the bottom. And- Whoa. I... Dude, I think S-Log3 looks fucking fine. That, that's the thing though. That's why I use it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's good enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[1:04:00] But I don't love it. I mean, I look at my videos when I was filming with a Blackmagic, and then when I started filming with Sony, I could tell the difference. Sterile. Mm. I don't really like the sharpness.
[1:04:12] It takes more, and I'm speaking from a professional colorist background, it takes more for me to get the Sony image
[1:04:23] to be at my level of taste and quality and acceptance, but none of that tells my story better, which is why I will rock with a Sony. But it's just, I don't know.
[1:04:36] I think the most en- exciting camera brand right now is DJI. With the little pockets? Little- Yeah. It's exciting, man. And, and how they're, you know, they're releasing their drones.
[1:04:46] Have you seen the new Mavic, the Mavic Pro, the 4? Yes. Yeah. Dude, it looks like you're flying a Sony. Bro. It's crazy.
[1:04:55] But aren't they having- Yeah, what's the deal with the- Aren't they having trouble bringing them into the US and stuff? Oh, I smuggled mine in. That's perfect. I smuggled mine in through a Canadian friend.
[1:05:05] I call her my drug mule. I might get in trouble for doing this, but the day it came out, um, the day... Let's just not mention the, that I, I smuggled it in.
[1:05:15] So the day that drone came out, I hit up my Canadian friend and I said, "I can't order this to my door. Can you buy this for me as a gift and then send it to me in the mail as a gift?" And it showed up at my doorstep.
[1:05:26] Nice. 'Cause you can't, right? Like, right now I couldn't buy a DJI drone and get it shipped to me. Is that what's going on? No, you can't do it. Damn. Dude, that's crazy.
[1:05:34] The image, the image quality that I've seen, like the footage, uh, looks pretty amazing though. Dude, it's, it's... Amazing is actually a wild understatement. \[laughs\] Just because I know what it used to be like- Yeah...
[1:05:48] shooting with like, you know, like the eight prop drone and then throwing like, you know, your RED RAPTOR on it, and then having two operators, one person control the flight and then one person control the camera.
[1:06:01] It's at that point as a solo operator now, and at, like, a fraction of the price. What does it go for? Do you know? I think, like, three grand. Wow. You don't really use drone footage, or am I...
[1:06:15] In your short form stuff? No, I don't. It's just my own personal... Just, I just do it for fun. There, like, so...
[1:06:22] There's so much footage that I've, I've captured and collected over the years in all these world travels that s- I've just... That's another one of the things that I've just decided to personally leave out.
[1:06:34] I don't need to show any of that to my audience. Yeah. Okay, I do wanna take it back to, 'cause you brought up friction, and a big takeaway from this conversation is
[1:06:46] removing as much friction as possible to allow you to get the job done.
[1:06:51] What are some things that you've incorporated into your content creation workflow that has allowed you to remove friction and allow you to batch content at the level that you are, and create content and stay consistent?
[1:07:02] 'Cause I'm seeing your story post and you're posting that you're making 77 videos in one day, and I'm over here trying to make one video every single day, probably not the right way to go about it.
[1:07:12] So I'm just curious about how you've been able to remove friction in your content creation workflow. That, for example, is less about the friction,
[1:07:22] and I'm planning for efficiencyAnd the way I now write my content yields me more than just one video. It's not write one script, film one day, get one video out of it.
[1:07:37] I'm now able to use one video and experiment, repurpose, maybe even change subjects, what bits of this are evergreen, and that comes from, like, I'd say now... So back then,
[1:07:54] it would be 33% writing, 33% filming, 33% editing, 1% crying. And then \[laughs\] I don't know what that 1% is. I don't know. Figuring it out. Um, but now I'd say it's about
[1:08:14] 60%, 66% the pre-production, and then 10% of it is, like, filming, and the rest is just editing and, and repurposing and, and fitting it into the different,
[1:08:29] the different places and, and directions that that piece of content can go. I know that's really vague, but for example, if I'm shooting...
[1:08:42] If I, if my goal is to make a video on maybe let's just call it this filter, let's just say it's an ND filter.
[1:08:50] There's so many great purposes that an ND filter gives you more than just being able to shoot, you know, the, the shutter speed that you want. Right? One, motion blur. Why, why is motion blur important? It's cinematic.
[1:09:05] Why should your footage stylistically be not choppy, or maybe why you might want it choppy.
[1:09:11] So when I go plan a video about an ND filter, that's already multiple subjects that I can now implement in the writing process instead of just making a singular video about one use case scenario of an ND filter.
[1:09:29] Does that make sense? Yeah. I think, uh, it's interesting.
[1:09:33] I just think that pre-production is oftentimes so overlooked, and I think that's a great point of if you can really plan out how you can utilize a filming day, but also a style of video or a content piece and how can I repurpose it and utilize it in multiple ways, it allows you to stay way more consistent, which is why you're winning.
[1:09:58] Yeah, you know, it... Quantity doesn't necessarily win unless there's quality involved. Yeah. But if you can match the quality and quantity, and it doesn't affect...
[1:10:08] And the quantity of what you're putting out doesn't affect the quality at all, then you're going to win. You're gonna put more shots up of quality. And I could go on and on about this. I think it's a very
[1:10:22] specific formulaic and nuanced process depending on the subject matter as to how one subject or one film day can yield me 10-plus videos. Like, it's something that I actually, I can't even explain
[1:10:40] in a 90-second video as to how I do, which is why I'm actually doing a free workshop on this. Free 99. Free 99. \[laughs\] Yeah. Okay. I, for the first time ever... I actually don't even think
[1:10:55] I announced this yet on any of my platforms by the time this comes out. Wow, 505 is getting the exclusive. I love this. Ooh. That's actually crazy.
[1:11:07] No, I'm being dead ass, like, that I, at, by the, the time this pod is out, I wouldn't have announced it to my audience yet. But I'm doing...
[1:11:17] You know, I'm, I'm actually in the middle of a build in public type, let me work on something that's interactive with the audience, and
[1:11:28] I'm building this workshop, or I guess this webinar, this free workshop online, where you're going to be able to attend it like a class, just like a, a regular webinar, where I break down my system as to how I'm able to not just do a one-to-one shoot day and get one video out of it.
[1:11:49] It's how do we take your one idea and make multiple pieces of not just breakout content, it's not ancillary content, but brand-new yielded content, net new content out of that one singular idea. And
[1:12:07] hopefully you guys c- you guys can actually... I'll give you the link for your viewers to be able to sign up for the wait list and, and get the link. It's all gonna be done through email. I'm not gonna...
[1:12:18] This isn't like, this isn't like a for the public thing. I don't want it to be I wanna get the most people to watch this workshop. It's, it's more like, "Hey, I'm hosting this private little cohort.
[1:12:34] If this is really of interest to you, you're going to click through this series of links in your email if you really want to learn this."
[1:12:42] And this goes back to I don't think viewers are created equal because obviously I could do a live stream on YouTube and, you know, maybe get, I don't know, a few thousand people watching the live stream and, you know, concurrently a few thousand, but overall I could say, yeah, there were 400,000 people in the live stream who were coming and going, but that means nothing to me.
[1:13:03] Like, if there's, like, a core of, like, 50 people who stayed the entire time who really, really wants to learn, those are the 50 people I wanna talk to. So I'll send you guys a link. Actually- I'm gonna tune in.
[1:13:14] I'm excited. I, I, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to actually shamelessly plug this in the middle of the podcast, but- No, no, no. I'm down... it's just such a...
[1:13:22] I get asked this a lot, like, "Yo, how are you batch filming and still putting out videos of quality?" Yeah. Like, I'm... Nobody...
[1:13:29] If you looked at my profile m-I'm sure nobody could tell, like, a lot of this was bat shot. I'm rarely filming nowadays 'cause I, I feel like it just, I've gotten it so dialed.
[1:13:40] I used to film, like, three-ish times a week. Now it's probably one and a half. Wow. And I'm yielding more videos out of it, and the quality isn't going down. That's amazing. One and a half days of shooting.
[1:13:55] How, how long would it... Was it... Does it take one full day to write, or is it multiple days to write? Yes. So I spend a lot of the time writing.
[1:14:04] So that goes back to me saying I- it's, like, 60 to 66% of my workflow now, that, that pre-production time. And it, it does sound intimidating, right? But
[1:14:17] goes back to point number one on this list of five things that I only said, like, two or three things on, I use natural language to ask AI, "How can I organize all these thoughts?"
[1:14:30] And once I found out, "Oh, this is the best way I can formulate, or I can make, like, a formulaic process," and it isn't done through AI, right? It's
[1:14:43] I had AI help me make a structure which I could then always plug my ideas and writing into the structure and think about all these things to get the best out of that singular idea,
[1:14:58] and that's something I don't think I would've ever been able to get if it wasn't for the help of an LLM. Like, I talked to this thing in regular, natural language, and it gave me a fill in the blank, and, and
[1:15:16] I've tweaked it. I've added my touch to it, and now I'm gonna share it for the world to get for free. Yeah. That's awesome.
[1:15:24] As someone who's been able to create content, not only consistently, but the quality's extremely high, you actually won a pretty awesome award. \[laughs\] Yeah.
[1:15:34] And I'd love to talk about how that came about and what it means to you to be, I believe it's called an Instagram Featured Creator or Ins- what is it called? The Instagram Rings. Okay. Instagram Rings.
[1:15:47] You ba- they ba- Instagram basically said that you got the sauce and you're that guy, and so I'd love to \[laughs\] I'd love to hear about how that came about and what it means to you.
[1:15:56] How that came about, it was these judges, and these judges were... I don't know how it was presented to these judges, but it's people that I look up to.
[1:16:05] Everybody from Spike Lee to Marc Jacobs, Adam Mosseri, Pat McGrath, KAWS. I, I have been buying those KAWS dolls, like, the legit ones, right, like, s- for, for a long time.
[1:16:21] I have multiple ones of those, and I don't know how Meta presented the, the creators to them, and maybe they're like, "Hey, these are a handful of creators. Pick the ones that you like."
[1:16:31] And somehow my content was i- it landed on their laps, and they said, "Yeah, he's deserving of this acknowledgement." I would assume that's how it went, but Ash, it's really cool.
[1:16:45] It's cool to be acknowledged in something that isn't a popularity contest. Because so many things that are out there where people are acknowledged, it really is a popularity contest.
[1:16:57] How many views and followers do they have? And it's not about creativity bec- because, you know, creativity, once again, is a subjective thing, and you ca- you can't quantify
[1:17:10] what you've brought to the creative world as much as how many followers and views does this creator have, and so many people are recognized on that objective aspect.
[1:17:21] So to be recognized in a subjective way, it, it means a lot. Like, honestly, the... I got a phone call one day, and was, and I was surprised by it, and I was like, "Yo, this \[laughs\] really me?
[1:17:34] I never win th- I never win things."
[1:17:36] Just 'cause while I do have a big platform, there's so many more accounts out there that I know that implement the things that I've brought onto the internet that have bigger platforms. So it's like, why don't you...
[1:17:51] They're highlighting the people that I've inspired as, uh, you know, people to, that are noteworthy. So I'm so used to that, and like, so I don't really, uh, I never really see these things coming.
[1:18:05] You know, uh, something that I've been told a lot is, like, I'm a creator's creator, and, you know, I feel like a behind-the-scenes type of guy on the internet.
[1:18:16] So for the behind-the-scenes idea guy to be highlighted, it's just, it's unreal. It's, it's unreal to be recognized by the platform that single-handedly changed my life.
[1:18:27] Do you feel pressure now, or is it more so validating that you're doing the right stuff, and what you're doing's working? I don't feel pressure. I, I'm honored, I'm flattered. I don't think I've ever felt pressured
[1:18:40] by making anything, like, any, any content. I don't think the level of content or quality that I put out will ever feel pressure because of the things that I've been acknowledged by or people who've seen my work.
[1:18:55] If people like it, cool. If people don't like it, also cool. So yeah, it's validating for sure. And that, that's really it. Like, I think it's, it's just super flattering. What else are they going to do with it?
[1:19:09] They're allowing you guys to do something else. Yeah. So I have a gold ring around my profile picture. Type shit. Yeah. It's pretty crazy. So just like, it's like you made it to the Delta club, you know?
[1:19:19] \[laughs\] You get the red boarding pass now. Gets to board before everybody else. What's crazy is that, like- You gotta earn the status, though, for a year. You don't get it.
[1:19:25] \[laughs\] It's, you know, everybody wanted the blue check- Uh-huh... on Instagram, and it used to be, I guess, a exclusive thing, and now you can just pay for it, right?
[1:19:35] And, uh, I-So it's not, you know, I guess this is like the, the new version of that. Like- But you can't buy it. No. Can't buy the gold. You can't, they have the- Can't buy the Glock. No, you can't buy it.
[1:19:46] I mean- You can't buy the gold... my, my profile is, um, my profile has its own background color. Like I could change that to whatever I want, and I have my own like button.
[1:19:59] So if you click like on my profile, you'll see what I designed and I worked on the, the Instagram team with to... That, that is mine for...
[1:20:07] Well, I guess it's Instagram's, but that- that's something that's unique to the profile. Can you keep that?
[1:20:13] The like button will not change, or is it just for a year you get to have the, the background and all that stuff? Do you know? I was told it's a year, but I don't know. I hope it's forever. That'd be really cool.
[1:20:21] Maybe, maybe they just, maybe the product person forgets. Or the OG for the... Yeah. I would also talk to Adam and I'd say, "Look man, the fancy stuff is cool, but just boost my fucking page a little bit more."
[1:20:32] \[laughs\] Like, you know? Dude, Adam, push my stuff out, man. Yeah, dude. Like, I'm down to reach 50% of my audience every single time, you know?
[1:20:42] Do you feel like that's Instagram's fault, or do you feel like that's your fault? No, no, no, I'm just saying... I'm not... Listen, I'm- Oh, not for you... I'm not projecting. Not for you, not for you. No, you're not.
[1:20:49] I'm not projecting. I'm saying it'd be a funny conversation to be like, "Dude, I need you to reach- Yeah... I need every single person that follows me." 50%, 50% of them. Yeah. Yeah.
[1:20:58] Like, now that I'm, you know, I got the rings. \[laughs\] I get to reach more people. Yo, do you think it's possible for me to reach more, more followers?
[1:21:06] \[laughs\] I, I mean, I, for me, for example, I don't think I'd ever say anything like that. I know a lot of people feel discouraged by that, though. You know?
[1:21:14] Your, your boss is your audience, and if you're, you're not serving to that, then it could hurt your feelings. But because I'm not creating for the sole purpose of maximizing reach, like
[1:21:31] I'm not maximizing reach per video, then it doesn't hurt my feelings, right? What would you tell someone who is maybe blaming the algorithm a little bit more than they should for why they're not seeing success?
[1:21:44] You see a lot of people who are like, "Fucking shadow banned," or, "Fuck algor- fuck Instagram's algorithm, it's like the reason why people aren't seeing my stuff."
[1:21:54] Is there any validity to that, or are they just not making good enough content to stand out and to be seen? So that... I have two answers to that. Okay. One, it goes back to what your goal is, right?
[1:22:12] What are you creating for? Like, is it for yourself? For your audience? Is it both? Is it for maximum views and reach and, and follower growth? Then there's a different answer for that.
[1:22:25] But if the answer is, "I just sh- like sharing my little art, and I feel proud of it regardless if to me this feels like a flop, or it goes viral, or it does well or it doesn't," then that shouldn't matter.
[1:22:38] It really doesn't matter, and I think that's why I feel so detached from whether my views get the vanity metrics or the, the follows per post. Like I, I really don't feel affected by it, because I'm creating this
[1:22:57] not just for myself, but for the people who actually gives it their time. I'm so proud of that. You know, a- on average, let's just, arbitrary numbers here.
[1:23:08] If on average my videos get 100,000 views, and I don't know, 100 comments, right, of people who truly enjoy it.
[1:23:17] But if at any point the, the average viewership goes to 5,000 and then only, you know, 300 people watched it till the end, fuck yeah. You go 300 people. I love that for us.
[1:23:32] It doesn't really matter, because at the end of the day, I am creating this thing that, one, I like, and the fact that other people like it, whether it's 300, 3, or 3 million, damn, that's a good feeling.
[1:23:47] You know, you go around and, you know, you're shopping at Erewhon and, and one person walks up to you. That feels good that they remembered your work, and that's just one person.
[1:23:57] Now imagine two other people do that later in the day. Damn, that feels really good, right? So I don't really look at it as a loss of viewership.
[1:24:08] It's, I feel really proud and appreciated by the people that do get to see it. So because I am looking at it through, I guess it would be considered an abundance mindset, I don't feel discouraged.
[1:24:24] And for the people who solely want views and the vanity metrics and whatnot, who feel discouraged by the algorithm and they're, they're blaming social media, then go follow the gurus.
[1:24:36] Go follow the, "Here's your top 10 viral hooks." Try using that. Like it- the platform pushes what people want to see,
[1:24:48] and what those people want to see on their explore page or their reels page or their following page is solely based off of what that person's interest is. So we can't blame the algorithm
[1:25:02] for my page being curated, and it... Let me rewind. Because I have curated what I want to see on my explore page, which is cars, dogs, golf,
[1:25:18] and if your content doesn't fit within what I want to see, that's not Instagram's fault. I love that Instagram curates exactly what they think I want to see, because that was based off of my explore page.
[1:25:31] A funny thing is it's like have you ever seen those, uh, those videos of like the guy is like scrolling next to their girlfriend and like some like crazy provocative thing shows up, and he's like, "Whoa, I've never...
[1:25:43] I don't know why this popped up." \[laughs\] Yes, you do. You know why that popped up. \[laughs\] That is your interest. So you can't blame the platformFor feeding what the audience's interest is, truly.
[1:25:56] And if you want to fit into that, then be self-aware enough to understand that you have to play their social media game and maybe have to follow those hacks.
[1:26:07] Maybe you have to reevaluate how you deliver your first three seconds or your first seven seconds, your retention, y- you know, their, your different levels of retention in, in storytelling, how to get somebody or a viewer to watch to the end of the video.
[1:26:22] Maybe y- you do have to follow those. And if you solely think it's because you make great art but the algorithm doesn't push it out, and you're not self-aware enough to adapt, ah, you gotta put your ego aside a bit.
[1:26:37] If that's what your goals are, and you don't wanna follow the roadmap to achieve those goals in this, in this era, then that's on you.
[1:26:46] But if you're creating for the sole purpose of, "I just like making things, I don't care if it gets views or not, and I just like expressing myself, and hell yeah to the five people who do love it," then there's no reason why you should be complaining about the algorithm.
[1:26:59] Yeah. Man, you've probably taken an ego hit just listening to him talk about \[laughs\] getting, uh, recognized in Erewhon, huh? That's Brayden's dream. If I got recognized three times- \[laughs\]...
[1:27:10] I'd feel like IShowSpeed, dude. \[laughs\] I w- I would, I might do a backflip on the spot. \[laughs\] Don't even know how to backflip. You might see me just send one, and be like, "Here, hold my beer real quick."
[1:27:18] Be like, "No, no, you don't have to do that." I'm like, "No, no, I, I gotta show you that I can do a backflip." \[laughs\] Dude. Yeah, Brayden's dream is to just be going to get that yerb and breakfast burrito at Erewhon.
[1:27:28] Someone's like, "Dude." It happened this morning. Brayden? Jack took a photo of it. I could barely walk into the damn store. It's getting just out of hand. \[laughs\] Hit 25K on YouTube, barely could walk in.
[1:27:37] I was like, "No, no cameras, no cameras." Really? Just try- But you see- Just trying to get the yerb. Just trying to get to the- Sir, you need to pay for that. \[laughs\] Sir, you, you, you can't walk out with that.
[1:27:45] But you see, like, that one person interaction feels really good. Like, one person hitting like. Bro, it feels crazy. When... I, I was actually at Jack's birthday, and I met Iraq at dinner.
[1:27:56] And I was like, "That was the coolest experience ever." And Jack was like, "What, what the fuck just happened?" He- $500 for things that never happened? \[laughs\] Did it happen?
[1:28:03] \[laughs\] D- you guys all were like, "What just happened?" I was like, "He said..." He, he, he actually didn't say The List is the Party. He just said, "Are you BFA?" Oh, you're just assuming now?
[1:28:10] Well, I mean- No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding... I, I, I don't know what the hell else it would be. \[laughs\] Like, I'm like... He's like, he's like, "You been hitting home runs at the baseball field?"
[1:28:17] \[laughs\] Nah, he was nice, bro. It was crazy. I was like, I was actually taken aback, 'cause I was like, we're mid-app, and he goes, "Yo, you BFA?" And I was like, "Yeah." Really nice to me.
[1:28:26] I was like, "What the fuck just happened?" That was crazy. It was real- it, it, but it made my night. And he did not say that he watched my stuff at all.
[1:28:34] \[laughs\] Just introduced himself, super nice guy, and I was like, "Damn, that was really cool." See, if people were to look at it through that lens- Mm... their perspective as to how they view their work,
[1:28:46] you know, it, it would change completely. It would change overnight. Like, one person taking the time out to, whether it's watch 10 seconds of your video or 45 seconds or leaving a nice comment.
[1:28:59] You know, people look at their videos like, "Ah, it's a flop," or, "Did all right. I had three comments." But it's like, what happened to the three people who took their time out?
[1:29:06] Bro, if you met him in person, you're so right, you'd freak out. Yeah. If three people were like... If three people today- Yeah...
[1:29:11] were like, "Hey, I really love your podcast," I would call my mom and say- \[laughs\] I'd say, "This is a cra- You'll never believe this." "Mom, I know we haven't talked in a while."
[1:29:18] "Mom," \[laughs\] "I know I talked to you about an hour ago, but I have to tell you about this insane experience." \[laughs\] You guys have more followers, or you guys have more subscribers now that could fit...
[1:29:28] You have, you guys have more subscribers now than can fit into the Kia Forum. It's crazy. Isn't that insane? It's insane. Yeah.
[1:29:36] And then you try to compare yourself, "Oh, we need to get to 100,000, and we need to get to 50,000." Like, dude, 25,000. That's crazy.
[1:29:44] Bro, I wrote that newsletter at 1:00 AM last night 'cause I was so fired up when we hit it. I kept refreshing. Yeah. And it was stuck at 2499 for, like, probably three- And then it dropped to 98.
[1:29:53] \[laughs\] Oh, did it actually? Twice, bro. No, it didn't. No, really. It was at 99, it dropped to 98. I posted, I posted a story. I go, "Who's fucking with us right now?"
[1:29:59] \[laughs\] I posted a story, and I was like, "Help the boys out," and maybe someone thought it was funny, but then it just shot past. I got it right on the dot, too, right at 25,000 I hit it. That's sick.
[1:30:07] I was hit- I was watching Ozark just 'cause I was like, "Can you watch the fucking show?" And I'm like, "I am trying to watch- Babe, it's a big moment... Marty Byrde right now, but, like, I gotta hit this."
[1:30:15] Uh, 'cause it was gonna bother me if it said 25- Yeah... 001. Yeah. I really wanted the, I wanted the number, you know? But it was a really exciting moment. It's crazy, though. You're so right. Mm.
[1:30:23] I was thinking about Staples Center, 'cause where I used to work, I think it was 19,600-something, and I was like, the fact that we now have a bigger community than Staples Center is, is, like, mind-blowing. Yeah.
[1:30:36] 'Cause you s- you're down there, and you look up, and it just feels like a sea of people that goes on forever. It's crazy. Yeah. And, you know, the frustration comes from
[1:30:46] people's creative egos feeling like it, you know, it's not fulfilled, right? "Oh, my video only did 3,000 views." Shut the fuck up. What?
[1:30:57] Out of those 3,000 people, maybe a handful of them stayed to watch to the very end. Maybe a few of those people told their friend about an awesome video that they saw that day. We're so blinded
[1:31:09] by the comparison shit, you know, by people we look up to. It's like, start appreciating tho- those wins. And, and people say, "Oh, appreciate the little things, the little wins." Like, those aren't even little wins.
[1:31:21] They're huge wins. Like, the fact that you can share an idea, a thought, your passion, whatever it may be, on the internet, and for somebody that you may not know enjoy that, that's fucking huge. I wanna talk about
[1:31:38] 2026, the future, where you're going, 'cause you talked about how you're gonna start doing a new series, correct? Uh, a few of them, actually. Okay. And, you know, on the topic of, like, finding a style, and then also...
[1:31:53] What's up, Racey? Race finally woke up. Stretching it out. I know. Hey, bud.
[1:31:56] Um, on the topic of, you know, continuing to keep things fresh and trying new things-What is your strategy looking like and what type of, like, new formats are you planning on, on breaking out?
[1:32:08] 'Cause you're gonna start featuring other creators on your page. Is that correct? I don't wanna say featuring them, but it's gonna be a collaborative thing. Okay.
[1:32:20] It's gonna be bringing other people on to execute, uh, execute a series of shows. Like, one of them is, uh, the Creator Confidence Series, which is getting creators who I think have built... Aw, big stretch.
[1:32:37] You can't look at a dog who does a stretch, a big stretch, and not be like, "Aw, big stretch." Dude, it's so funny. Sometimes I'll do, like, downward dog before a run or- Yeah...
[1:32:48] to, like, stretch out, and this, and Nella will go into downward dog if she sees me do it. Yeah, dude. It's really funny. So cute. Do you tell her, "Big stretch"? Oh, yeah. Big stretch. \[laughs\] When did that start?
[1:32:59] I don't know. \[laughs\] I feel like you can't let a dog stretch without acknowledging that they let out a big stretch. Uh-huh. Yeah. Goose can literally do downward dog on command. Do yoga and he will sit in downward dog.
[1:33:10] It's crazy as shit. Chloe hasn't trained. \[laughs\] It's, it's... I'm not even kidding. It's fucking insane. I'll be like, "Downward dog," and he just pops into it and he'll just hold. Be like- That's awesome...
[1:33:18] it's insane. I love that. Yeah. I love dogs so much. So you're collaborating with other creators? Yeah, so that's part of a series and, yeah, I...
[1:33:28] By the time this is out, I don't know, it's not out yet by the time this pod comes out, but yeah, it's something that I've been working on.
[1:33:34] It's something that I've been working on, just doing more packaged episodic shows. You know, the, the series, follow this for every day or every week, that's been done.
[1:33:50] Like, I, I, I, I got to experience that. One- the once-a-week thing of, like, a certain style, it's just how do I continue to challenge myself, and I want to treat my channel like a media channel, I guess.
[1:34:04] Like, how does a solo creator approach packaging the things that, I guess, these singular ideas and breaking them out into, I guess, something that a streaming platform...
[1:34:18] Like, if a streaming platform made a just-for-a-short-form series, what would that look for? What would that look like? I think BK Coffee Shop does a great job. Subway Takes does a great job.
[1:34:28] That's a collaborative thing, and it's not really featuring. You know? It's like you don't just get, uh, Austin Butler to, to be featured on your thing.
[1:34:36] It feels like a, a collaboration between the two of, of the, the people on there. So yeah, that's what I'm aiming for in '26, and
[1:34:47] like full-blown 100% effort as to if a streaming platform had a verticals section, how would they take it in? Like, what kind of branding needs to be involved for this to be a polished product?
[1:35:03] And that's what I'm working on. That's what I'm aiming for. So many different ideas that I have, and I don't wanna spoil it yet. Just know
[1:35:12] they're really, really cool concepts and, and they involve more than just me, and I don't know if they will all be on my page or if it'll be separate pages, but I think a series of shows that are hosted by me or produced by me that has their own
[1:35:31] free pages to watch on these short-form platforms, that's what I'm working on. And- Oh, so you're considering potentially even starting, like, other Instagram channels to- Oh, I already have. Okay. Okay. They're just...
[1:35:45] I just haven't brought them to life yet. That's exciting. Yeah. That's really cool. I have the, the branding. I have the... I have some shows. I have some episodes filmed.
[1:35:54] We're in post-production for a lot of them right now. Oh, what a sleepy girl. Oh. Wha. Oh. Yeah. I have gotten the Instagram names for them and, you know, some logos. We'll talk about it at lunch. What- After...
[1:36:12] what is something else that's really exciting that you're coming out with that you can share to the group before we get out of here? Oh, man. Tell them. Oh, man. Come on. You don't have to if you don't want.
[1:36:24] I don't know if I'm gonna get in trouble for sharing it too soon. Okay, then don't. But- No, you don't have to say it if you don't want to. Let me think. What day is this coming out again? October...
[1:36:40] The week after the 16th. 23rd. Okay. I already brought one exclusive thing on here. Sure, why not? \[laughs\] Content College. Ooh. Content College. Yeah. What does that mean exactly?
[1:36:58] It's just your one online stop for everything you want to learn to elevate your content. It's, it's everything. It's everything from the color grading presets to,
[1:37:14] you know, free scripts and templates. There's gonna be a free section where it's just, you know, the, the, the, the freebies that I put out, whether it's that webinar or what- whatnot. But also, there's so
[1:37:32] ... I hate the course world because 98% of it is trash. I don't think students should be teachers, and I don't know if the audience knows this, but I'm 35 now. I just turned 35 in September,
[1:37:49] and my- Happy birthday. Thank you. My- September what? 10th. Oh, wow. Yeah. Let's go. Virgo. Happy belated. Come on. I'm a triple Virgo, and yeah, I,
[1:38:03] I have been so turned offBy what's out there, just like the hot garbage and kids becoming millionaires off of like, they're just really good marketers, and I don't necessarily want to- Right...
[1:38:22] I don't-- They're not my competition necessarily.
[1:38:27] It's just I want to create a place that, one, I feel like I have built the trust by have giving out so much free game over the past three years,
[1:38:42] and it was finally time for me to package it all up and house it somewhere.
[1:38:49] And, and that's done by the free stuff that's going to be on there, the small ticket items that's gonna be on there, and the bigger ticket item that's gonna be on there, which is the two courses that I've made
[1:39:01] in the past few months. Two? Two. What, what is the difference between one and the other? So one of them is, I wouldn't even consider a beginner course, but it's less of a 101, but it's more... It, it's like a 201. 201.
[1:39:19] Okay. Yeah. But I'm considering it a beginner course because anybody and everybody can watch that beginner course and have all of the handpicked knowledge and tools
[1:39:33] for you to succeed in this modern digital content era. It's l- what I don't like...
[1:39:45] So many courses pride themselves off of, "We have 13 hours of content for you to watch," but let's be real, like, what's the completion rate? Why are you fluffing up this course with things that people might not need?
[1:39:58] Mine is short. I'm gonna be honest with you. Like, it's short, and these are just the, the best handpicked things that I've learned over the 15 years as a professional that isn't filmmaking advice.
[1:40:11] It's not filmmaking lessons. It's this is the filmmaking world, this is what works in traditional media, this is what works in the content world.
[1:40:19] How do I take the best of those worlds and give it to you as directly and as concise as possible with the, the right actionable worksheets to follow along? And,
[1:40:33] yeah, it's taken a long time to develop what that is, and that was done through my professional life and now as a full-time creator. Like, the things that worked...
[1:40:45] What are the things that worked two years ago that don't work now? What are the things that's going to work for you in the future?
[1:40:51] What are the things that, that I found work that is, is going to be a timeless thing that you should know? And that's all in the beginner, which I think anybody who is intermediate or advanced would benefit from.
[1:41:05] And then I made something that's more intermediate, which is honestly more advanced. Like, what is the theory behind using a 35 millimeter focal length, right? Or how many different ways can you film a medium shot?
[1:41:19] And all of those... If I wanna film a shot that is chest up, if I film it with a 14 millimeter, a 35 millimeter, an 85 millimeter, or a 200, those are all going to
[1:41:38] visually communicate your story for the better or for the worse. And knowing exactly which focal length to use, whether you want to deliver the emotion of sadness, fear, anxiety,
[1:41:54] happiness, whatever it may be, I will teach you exactly this is the lens to use if you want to invoke this emotion and if you want to... If you want your story to h- it's, it's just basically
[1:42:14] how do you make film school but for consumable content in the intermediate. It's gonna be exciting. I'm super happy for you.
[1:42:22] I wanna know one gold nugget for someone looking to become full-time with this that they can take into the future. What's... Give me one from the, from the program.
[1:42:31] Give me one thing that someone can really take as we wrap this off today and take it into the future of their content that you think will be really helpful for somebody.
[1:42:41] I know there's probably 1,000, but what's the, what's big one? The big rock. Everybody...
[1:42:48] There's a lot of people out there that are selling courses based off of what they think or what their opinion is, is what the world wants from you, right?
[1:43:00] And that's based off of making you fit into the mold of what social media is telling them that they should tell you what to be. Basically, how do we take these 50 viral hooks
[1:43:14] and share them with you so you can make better content? Or not better content. Uh, how do you take these, these viral techniques and help you get followers? This course isn't, or Content College
[1:43:29] isn't about how do I help you grow as a content creator. That's not the transformation that I'm, I'm gonna do for you. You're not gonna learn how to go viral. You're not gonna learn how to garner the,
[1:43:43] the most amount of followers in said promised amount of time, which is what a lot of people promise, right? The one thing, and I don't even wanna say it's a lesson, it's a... You're right.
[1:43:57] There is a lot of things, but I think the biggest thing that they're gonna get out of it...
[1:44:06] Damn, I know you wanted the one thing, whether it's, like, talking about, you know, techniques or scheduling, but I don't think that it, it's any of that. It's
[1:44:16] you're going to learn how to tell your story and communicate that as uniquely to you and als- and as authentically to you as possible. I'm going to drive the best out of you.
[1:44:28] No matter what your upbringing is, no matter where you come from, no matter what camera you have, no matter what part of the world you're from or what your culture is,
[1:44:37] you're going to be able to take these things and communicate that as uniquely to you as possible.
[1:44:45] Not by telling you what you should do, but by giving you all the tools to puzzle piece, "This is how I want to best communicate my story that's unique to me." And in my opinion,
[1:44:56] that's what a lot of these, the, the course world is missing. It's, "This is what's worked in 2025, and I'm gonna teach it to you so you can prepare yourself for 2026." This is a timeless transformation to take
[1:45:12] the very selected handpicked things that I think will help... Not even I think.
[1:45:18] The handpicked selected things that will directly help whoever sits through this course from beginning to end to help them become a better storyteller for themselves.
[1:45:28] God, I can't wait to see the transformations that you have. This has been such a fun conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, this is episode 177 with Adrian Pirr.
[1:45:36] If you're still here, please hit the subscribe button, drop us a comment, leave us a like, and we'll see you guys all next week. Peace.

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