Gary Vee winning mindset, builder of businesses and people, masterclass of evolution, overcoming self-doubt, key to adaptability, 3 life tips to implement, reveals next big trend and explains underlying issue of parental connection to grown kids.

“There's something sort of romantic about losing everything and going back to zero.” Garry Vee Continuing to champion a winning mindset after Super Bowl week, We sit down with serial entrepreneur, investor, cultural icon and friend of The Pivot Gary Vaynerchuk, better known to the world as Gary Vee. From immigrating to the U. S. as a kid and transforming his family’s liquor store into a multimillion-dollar business, to building VaynerMedia and becoming one of the most influential voices in entrepreneurship, Gary’s journey is all about betting on yourself and embracing the long game. Gary dives right in on the do's and don'ts of navigating everyday life, offering research and guidance whether you are someone who feels stuck, looking for the next thing or experiencing self-doubt, he shares something for everyone in this conversation by making complex ideas seem relatable and breaking down what's hold someone back. He breaks down the fears associated with AI and how, electricity, something we couldn't live without now, was once feared that same way. Gary gets real about taking chances before you’re ready, the fears that still drive him, and why self-awareness is the ultimate competitive advantage. He breaks down what most people get wrong about success, money, and happiness, and why patience, humility, and execution matter more than hype. The conversation also dives into emerging business and media trends, where attention is really going in 2026, and how creators, athletes, and entrepreneurs can stay ahead without burning out. Plus, Gary connects his passion for sports to leadership, ownership, and legacy—and explains why athletes are perfectly positioned to dominate the business world if they play it right. This is a masterclass in mindset, risk, and evolution from someone who’s lived every chapter and has a willingness to share information hoping to make an impact. Pivot Family, please like, comment and hit the subscribe button, we love hearing from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  If you had all the money you could ever want, would you be willing to lose it all? For many people, that answer is no. But for today's guest, Gary Vaynerchuk, he's more than willing to lose it all. Gary V, as he's known to many, grew up working in his pops liquor store. It was right in the middle of the tracks. Half of the patrons came in and they bought $6.40 ounces, and the other half bought $1,000 bottles of wine. He's the man who runs Vayner Sports, V Friends, and Vayner Media along with a host of other businesses. And he's not done spreading the knowledge of how they've grown. In fact, he's just getting started. I mean, dude walked in with so much energy, and never once did he skip a beat.

• 1:13Ryan Clark?

  He dropped gem after gem after gem on business, life, and the principles of true earners. Gary V is fearless when it comes to business, and honestly, that's his number one superpower. He's not scared to go big or lose big, as long as his family will be straight. Somehow, he's built this massive public brand while keeping his private life private. That is, until today. He'll open the doors to the house of Vayner just a little bit. So sit back and relax as Gary V takes us to school, which ironically is the only room he didn't excel in. So it's the Pivot with me, Chan, Freddie T, and Gary V. Hey, that rhymed.

• 1:58Ryan Clark?

  But it starts right now.

• 2:20Ryan Clark?

  What up, brother?

• 2:22Speaker 02

  Man, man, man.

• 2:23Ryan Clark?

  How you doing, my boy?

• 2:24Speaker 02

  Good to see you.

• 2:24Ryan Clark?

  Man, good to see you as well. Good to see you as well.

• 2:26Speaker 02

  My man, you good to go, brother?

• 2:28Ryan Clark?

  You're probably gonna have a little bit more pep in your step. If the jazz was playing.

• 2:32Speaker 02

  Oh, my God. This Super Bowl is killing me.

• 2:36Ryan Clark?

  This is one of those weird ones, too, though. So I get it for sure. This is Gary Vee. The man needs no introduction. World-renowned. Just absolute great business mind. But I think the coolest thing about you is you're not trying to hoard that knowledge.

• 2:52Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 2:52Ryan Clark?

  You're trying to give it to other people so they can learn, so they can grow business.

• 2:56Speaker 02

  Desperately.

• 2:57Ryan Clark?

  But also grow their brand as well.

• 2:58Speaker 02

  Desperately.

• 2:58Ryan Clark?

  Desperately. This is Fred Taylor. This is Channing Crowder. I'm Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, thank you for pivoting with us. Gee, like, when I look at a lot of the things you post and pay attention to the way you move and what you do, you have a hustler's mentality, right? Like, your focus is, like, hey, you gotta continue to work. You gotta continue to put yourself out there and give yourselves opportunities to succeed. Sometimes, though, with the hustler mentality comes impatience.

• 3:25Speaker 02

  Yes, sir.

• 3:25Ryan Clark?

  So how are you able to know, I'm trying to get this thing? I'm trying to move this needle this way? But I need to be patient to allow that to happen through my consistency?

• 3:38Speaker 02

  Because I want to win. You know, I love talking to athletes, and you know how much love I have for all of you in the professional athlete community? Men, is it a good idea in professional football to throw 45-yard bombs on every play on your opening drive? You're gonna pick the ball off on the second play. I just don't understand how people understand. Honestly, how am I so patient? I have no choice.

• 4:05Speaker 02

  Like, when you are trying to make it happen quick, often, it's because you're insecure. You know this. A lot of us came up different but in similar ways. People want it so fast because they want to close the gap of their insecurity. "I want to make a quick money because I want to buy that watch. I want to have that car that will let me get the girl." And then you all be like, "He did it." When you're not doing it for anybody but yourself, it's slow. I've never been out here, ever. And I'm talking like middle school, where peer pressure was a currency. I never compromised on how I was raised. Like, in high school, in Jersey, in the 80s and 90s.

• 4:50Speaker 02

  Like, you had to be like a jerk to like get to that next level. And I was just not willing to pick on kids or make fun of some kid that we used to... You know how school went. I was boys with this kid in 4th grade. But now the 8th grade's got a different system. I'm not gonna shit on him for popularity. If I wasn't doing that in school, I'm definitely not doing it as a grown man. I'm trying not to impress no one. I'm trying to play my game. So for me, it's always been easy. When I got to a place in my career where I wanted to spit game to others because I just how the world transformed and all this stuff. You know what's cool about the internet? The receipts are there. My early content was like black and white advice. Like, "Be on YouTube. It's gonna be big." "Use Twitter like this." "Facebook is this."

• 5:34Speaker 02

  You know, "The apps are gonna be important." So, you know, I was really like giving more like CNBC business stuff. And then, I was like, "Wait a minute. Why is no one doing this?" And then, I would be out and about. And now all of a sudden, I'd be at a conference where 1,000 people would be there. And I didn't even know better back then. I would just stay and talk to everyone after a talk. My first talk, I stood there for 7 hours talking to everyone because I thought it was crazy people wanted to talk to me. And I was like, "Wait a minute. People are insecure." I don't even know if I said it that way. Back then, I was just like, "Oh man, I'm built different." Like, I got lucky. My mom, my dad, all that stuff, so... The real answer is because I want to win and shortcuts is an easier way to lose.

• 6:19Fred Taylor?

  I don't know if to call it luck or what have you, but I can say one thing, you're not a gatekeeper. You know, you're always trying to put everybody on in the sense or idea of wanting to see everybody win. I think the last time we saw you was in Cannes. You invited us on your boat and you also extended the welcome and your resources of the people that were there and trying to look out for us too. So I appreciate that.

• 6:42Speaker 02

  Thanks for saying.

• 6:43Fred Taylor?

  But I do want to ask you, would you consider yourself a visionary?

• 6:46Speaker 02

  I think I have visionary tendencies. I think that I'm very good at seeing around corners. I'm incredibly intuitive. You know, I keep going to sports because it's my favorite thing and I'm with you guys. Like secondary play. You know, you get to the high levels, you gotta be careful because everyone's good. But like as a kid, backyard football, I was so good at picking the ball off because I would just watch the quarterback. Like I'm just the anticipation. You know what I'm very good at? Not saying no. That's an interesting place to go, maybe. Might unlock something for someone. AI. No, I'm like maybe yes. Right?

• 7:26Channing Crowder?

  No.

• 7:27Fred Taylor?

  No and no. I'm receptive. I'm open.

• 7:30Channing Crowder?

  But you still, but you gotta navigate it.

• 7:33Speaker 02

  It could end up being no, but I start with maybe yes.

• 7:36Fred Taylor?

  Got you.

• 7:37Speaker 02

  Because if you start with no, you're cooked. When you start with no, it's over. When you start with fear, it's a rap. The world's all fucked up because fear is on offense. Both sides of the political aisle, all the bosses, all the corporations. Everyone's weaponizing fear. They're all doing the same exact thing. I'm going to scare you on immigration. I'm going to scare you on socialism. I'm going to scare you on like Trump. Like they're just all the same stuff. Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. So anything new, you know, the internet. People thought that, again, I'm a little more grown than you guys. People thought it was really stupid. You guys were little. Like it was like I was just getting into the business world. Everyone thought that was a fad.

• 8:19Speaker 02

  There was unlimited articles that I looked up to those magazines saying, "The internet will be done. This is stupid. In five years, we'll like..." Like, and social media? That you guys know. Social media was corny when you guys were... right? Yeah. And I was like, I was like, "I don't think so." Like, all the nightlife guys that I know that are my age that run all the best bots, they laughed at internet kids back in the day. Now they recruit them. They're the most important people coming through. Right? So, I'm just very good at, you know, let's go take it to your game. Super Bowl I, 30,000 empty seats. You know what that meant? No. 30,000 empty seats.

• 9:02Speaker 02

  It was not a big deal. No, it's an event. Now it's, whoa, 30,000 empty seats? Forget about TuneIn and all this. So, you know, I'm very good, I'm very good at maybe with a leaning to yes. I'm also very good at willing to put myself out of business.

• 9:21Speaker 02

  When you start making paper, let me give you an example. I've watched you guys from day one, which is why at Cannes, I'll give you love. I want the brands to invest in you. I want you to win bad. And I'm still mad at you for that game. I bring it up every time for that Jets game. You really hurt us in that one. And I'm mad at all of you, actually, as a Jets fan. But now you guys build. And like, I'm watching this, like this, I mean, I'm like, so joyful right now. And I'm like, "But here come AI influencers." And here comes this, and what if podcasts starts to fall? Most people, when they work so hard for seven years, and they get in a spot where they're about to cook, and some new stuff comes, they're like, "That's bad." What they're really saying is, "I'm scared."

• 10:05Speaker 02

  But sometimes when you're seven years in and building what you need to build, you might need to jump on that thing to double accelerate. Instead, you're gonna lose anyway. One more sports reference? You can never be in prevent defense in life. Because just like in football, you will lose.

• 10:22Ryan Clark?

  Also too, Gary, I want you to be, give yourself a little grace. Like when you're talking about things that started a long time ago, maybe Channing and I were too young for it. Fred definitely saw it, right? I want you to be, like I just, hey, Chad, I'm just saying, he was like,

• 10:38Fred Taylor?

  See, but I saw that too.

• 10:39Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chad.

• 10:40Channing Crowder?

  Fred was there.

• 10:40Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he was like, he was like, yo.

• 10:42Channing Crowder?

  Anytime you say a name, Fred was there.

• 10:44Fred Taylor?

  This is the thing, and it's okay.

• 10:46Speaker 02

  Fred.

• 10:47Fred Taylor?

  I saw it. That's okay. I saw it.

• 10:48Speaker 02

  Fred.

• 10:49Ryan Clark?

  Hey, it was so hard for me.

• 10:50Speaker 02

  Bad news for the Raz boys. Bro, I was building businesses when Fred was drafted. Fred's, Fred's young to me.

• 10:56Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chad, what's funny about it though? He said that, and I had to continue to listen to what he was saying, because he was dropping gems. But I was like, as soon as he done though, I'm gonna make sure he know he ain't that old.

• 11:08Channing Crowder?

  Fred was there.

• 11:09Fred Taylor?

  See, but they, and I get flack too, because

• 11:12Channing Crowder?

  Fred was there.

• 11:13Fred Taylor?

  I talk about Charizard, or Gengar, or Greninja.

• 11:17Channing Crowder?

  Oh, Jesus Christ.

• 11:18Fred Taylor?

  They don't know, they don't know you plugging me with a verse, Juicy Jaguar V, friend, first edition.

• 11:23Channing Crowder?

  G V, please, please don't tell me that I gotta get a Charizard Rainbow.

• 11:28Speaker 02

  Bro, collectibles, real talk, it's like, and everyone kinda knows. Like, like when I started talking about this eight years ago, I had real people hit me up and be like, you're losing it. Straight up, from love. They're like, what are you talking about, sports cards? You're like an important businessman, back to, are you a visionary? And I'm out here like, making videos like, you need to buy sports cards. Everyone's like, he lost his damn mind. In fact, the only time I gate kept, but I wasn't gatekeeping, I was checking myself. The only time I did not make public content, the second I knew something was happening, was when I thought trading cards and collectibles were about to explode. I thought I was forcing it subconsciously, because I grew up with it. I'm like, listen, I'm about to put out receipts, and I don't want to be wrong.

• 12:13Speaker 02

  So let me like, I spent a year crossing my Ts and Is before I made my first videos about Yanis and sports cards and what I thought was gonna go down. Collectibles is a big deal. Look at us. We're grown men, the four of us. Our daddies at our age right now did not wear clothes and act like this. Yeah, right. Look at us. We look like teenagers.

• 12:38Speaker 02

  Youth culture, culture changes. You know, a Charizard is $400,000 for the best one. It's art now. It's Andy Warhol. I'd rather buy a Bill Russell 57 Tops rookie card because what I think Bill meant for the game, for the culture. That collectible means more to me than buying a vase from Sotheby's from Europe from 1830. But a 50-year-old businessman just a generation ago, he was buying that. We are buying sneakers and rare watches and we're buying collectibles. And I think it's phenomenal because it's fun. It keeps you youthful and it's just fun. Like, I'm like up at night trying to buy 1940 Superman rookie cards because I, real talk, like I'm doing my life and I'm up doing that right now

• 13:23Speaker 02

  because they're like $8,000 for not even in good condition. I think they're going to $100. Like that's, you know, and so that's happening. Yeah, you're gonna have to.

• 13:33Channing Crowder?

  I know you love that. How you gonna get you some, uh? I'm not getting a Charizard rainbow.

• 13:39Speaker 02

  Because that might not mean anything to you.

• 13:41Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 13:41Speaker 02

  Who's your favorite athlete of all time?

• 13:43Channing Crowder?

  Lawrence Taylor.

• 13:44Speaker 02

  Great. An LT 82 Tops rookie in perfect condition that you could buy for 10K right now, that long-term will go up. You might want to buy that. You may not, but you might.

• 13:55Channing Crowder?

  But even for that, where I would want to say, because like you said, you're open book and you're not a gatekeeper. You try to help people out. You try to tell people the trends and all. As the trends change, as the economy changes, as all of that changes, how, is that tough on you to really try to keep people up? Because people are going to listen to you with investing.

• 14:17Speaker 02

  Which is why I don't say much. Like, it's not like every day for me, and I go macro. I'm saying collectibles are good.

• 14:24Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 14:25Speaker 02

  I'm not saying like you have to buy Lawrence Taylor. In fact, Lawrence Taylor is likely not one, because there's nothing that's gonna happen with LT. He's made the Hall of Fame. I mean, he could become a game show host, but I know too much about LT to know he won't.

• 14:37Ryan Clark?

  LT ain't game show host.

• 14:38Speaker 02

  LT's not gonna do anything that's gonna make that go crazy.

• 14:41Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 14:42Speaker 02

  Right? But that might mean something to you, like a piece of art, right? It might. And that's more common now than it used to be. Someone like you, that's not really about that life, is starting to consider to buy something like that. I'll talk in macro, but not specific. I'm not gonna tell people to go buy a Me Too rare, you know, Pokemon. Or I'm not gonna say, "Go buy Kevin Garnett rookie cards." You know what I mean? I won't go specific, because it's too hard, and I could be wrong, and it moves too much. But I walk in here right now as Bitcoin's crashing. I'm comfortable to say out loud, "I'm buying Bitcoin left and right the last 48 hours," because I'm cost averaging out.

• 15:18Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 15:19Speaker 02

  It was a buck and a quarter, it's 68,000. It can go down to 30,000. If I said here right now, "Y'all, you have to buy Bitcoin, and you guys air this tomorrow, I'm sure you have a process." But if you did, and it goes from 68 to 42, people are gonna be mad at me. But I'm saying 68 by now, for 13 years from now.

• 15:35Ryan Clark?

  Right. Yeah.

• 15:37Speaker 02

  Right?

• 15:38Ryan Clark?

  You're a leader in that space. You were ahead of your time. You saw around the corner and knew that social media would be a platform where you could do things

• 15:45Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 15:45Ryan Clark?

  like this. You mentioned how leaders on both sides politically

• 15:50Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 15:50Ryan Clark?

  are driving the subconscious with fear.

• 15:54Speaker 02

  That's right, they're trying to create their outcomes, weaponizing, scaring people.

• 15:58Ryan Clark?

  Okay, so for you, though, what fears do you have as a leader in your space? What are some of the things that are true, that could truly be negatives that you would warn people against?

• 16:10Speaker 02

  The only thing I'm personally scared about is the health of my family. Real fucking talk.

• 16:19Speaker 02

  That's real, right? Like, I'm not scared of AI at all. Humans have shown consistently. You actually want to get off your fear of AI? Go read about the history of electricity. Go to the library, because that's the only place you can get this. It's crazy. Libraries are important, y'all. I love libraries, because everyone just thinks everything's on the internet. A lot of stuff's not on the internet. But you gotta go to a library. It's weird as hell. And once in a while, I do it. Rarely, once every 10 years, I did it for AI. I knew the answers to AI were in electricity, and I knew I was struggling to get enough. So I just went to the New York library and literally read old articles from the New York Times in the 18th, 19th. It's crazy. And it's all the same, man. People were scared shitless. Listen, we now know it.

• 17:03Speaker 02

  Could you imagine being around with electricity? Like, everything was candle. Right. People thought there were demons in it. People would not put electricity in their homes because they thought there were demons in it.

• 17:17Speaker 02

  Humans are scared of change in a real way. People hear something that scares them. AI's gonna do this. It's gonna be written with biases. Right? That was the first thing 18 months ago. We better be scared of AI, because all the white dudes from San Francisco, ironically, we're here, are gonna write it, and it's gonna be bad for minorities and women. Okay, next. You know, it's gonna... The one that's got everyone shook. Do you know why everyone hates AI, right? Everyone's scared to lose their job. Yes, 100%. Straight up!

• 17:45Channing Crowder?

  Future's gonna steal it.

• 17:46Speaker 02

  100%? By the way, electricity changed everyone's job. God net. I watched Terminator. Yeah! God net! I get it!

• 17:54Speaker 02

  My belief is the following. Man, are you familiar that there's something called the atomic bomb? Are you familiar that it's been around for 70 years?

• 18:07Speaker 02

  I just believe in humanity, bro. Real talk. I believe in the human spirit, straight up.

• 18:12Ryan Clark?

  And so, and I wanna have this analogy...

• 18:16Speaker 02

  Please.

• 18:17Ryan Clark?

  The way you use the analogy, I wanna make sure it's clear. In your mind, it's, hey, we can have these things, like the atomic bomb.

• 18:24Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 18:25Ryan Clark?

  But if people do the right things with it, it won't lead to the extinction of people.

• 18:31Speaker 02

  Better than that. Humans have shown we do the right things in the net. In the micro, a knife is bad.

• 18:39Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 18:40Speaker 02

  Let's talk about the knife. We should ban him. Someone stabbed someone yesterday. In the macro, we're the best.

• 18:51Speaker 02

  In the micro, we pay attention to the .1% of the worst.

• 18:55Ryan Clark?

  Agreed.

• 18:56Speaker 02

  That's a bar of fuck, man. Give me some.

• 19:00Speaker 02

  That's real shit.

• 19:01Ryan Clark?

  I ain't never seen nobody do that on the show, dawg.

• 19:04Channing Crowder?

  I understand, that's a bar.

• 19:05Ryan Clark?

  I ain't never seen nobody.

• 19:06Channing Crowder?

  That's a real shit, though.

• 19:07Ryan Clark?

  Mid-question, mid-conversation, man, that's a bar, man. Like, I doubt myself, but I need to get you. Sometimes you know what you know.

• 19:15Speaker 02

  Right.

• 19:15Ryan Clark?

  Listen, Jim. Yeah, that was one.

• 19:17Speaker 02

  I think, I think about this every day. I don't know what happened. Thank you, God, for the mom you gave me, the circumstances you gave me, my inability to be confused. I walk around Earth every day and I see nothing but love. Straight up. I'm aware that if you're looking for negativity or hate, or you're shook, rubbernecking, the fuck are we looking at an accent for?

• 19:41Ryan Clark?

  Nosy, damn.

• 19:43Speaker 02

  I get if you turn on the news. I get how the algorithms work. There's no politics in my algorithm. There's a lot of Jets football, Knicks, Cards, wine, happy, joy, rainbow. By the way, I can change every, don't believe me about the algorithm? Everybody, don't believe me that you're in control of the algorithm, not the algorithm on you. Right now, everybody, stop the podcast, go to Instagram, go to search, type in rainbows, enter. Like three posts. Out. Go back to the search, put in happiness, like five, five pieces of content. Out. This is the most important part. Type in Gary V E E. Follow that account. Like three things. Go out. Put it down. Come back in the morning, show me your stream.

• 20:26Speaker 02

  Email me, gary@vaynerx, tell me what happened. The algorithm isn't controlling you, the algorithm is exposing you.

• 20:37Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 21:06Speaker 02

  You own one today. You own one today.

• 21:13Speaker 02

  Do you know why I'm so excited about AI? Because I have zero musical ability in my body, but when they make this AI music, I've got real bars. I'm gonna be the biggest rapper in the game. I just can't sing. I just can't flow. It's the melody that just... I have none of that shit. I got that white fucking man shit in me. But the AI is gonna give it to me. I'm gonna be like, alright, give me a Metro Boomin' fucking beat. I'm gonna give you a little baby cadence of Wheezy on the end. Prime Wheezy like Carter Ford, like boom. But all my words now play? I'm gonna fucking own Spotify. I'm gonna own... Because the shit I've got to say is so fucking real. And I'm often counter-cultural because I don't fucking follow. I go back and I'm like, let me think.

• 21:58Speaker 02

  I'm some like, I would have been good like 800,000 years ago like as a philo... I would have been that dude like under the tree and be like, I would have been a good philosopher. Like comes natural to me like, I'm not gonna rush to anything. I'm gonna stay quiet. I, you know, it's funny, I was a bad student, but I was good at history. I'm good at pattern recognition. You know, I'm good at that shit. That's a little bit of like the stuff we were talking about. So, yeah, I'm optimistic, man. I'm really straight up optimistic. Let me say this. Everyone who's scared about AI and mad about the work stuff, when they realize AI is gonna save your mom's life?

• 22:30Speaker 02

  Wait till people realize what AI is gonna do to medicine.

• 22:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, you might lose a job, you'll get another one. But when your daughter lives because of AI medicine, and she wouldn't have without it, hmm, I think you're gonna have a different take on AI.

• 22:44Fred Taylor?

  Right. Gee, you've built wealth, influence, access. Those are the things you talk about. And I'm sure you've also talked about failure, or how many times you didn't succeed, right? But people kind of listen to whatever they want to listen to. So they sort of miss that. So one, give us a little bit game about failure. But also, tell us about what's overrated about success.

• 23:06Speaker 02

  I'm gonna start there, because it's a great question, because that's not asked of me often. There's many things that are potentially overrated about success. It's predicated on who we are individually. We talk in this world now so much in the macro, but everything's micro. I'll give you a wild one about me. One of the overrated aspects of success is being known. It's crazy what I'm about to say, because I'm one of the actual most prolific content creators of the last 20 years. I'm private as hell. And for the people that really follow me, they know that, because I don't share anything about my family. One of the overrated things about success is lack of privacy. You know?

• 23:51Speaker 02

  I don't mind when I'm out and about. In fact, I love people so... I'm crazy. I'm a lover boy. I like strangers like they're my family. I'm like, I was in Radio Row, and I'm dapping up people like they're my boys from the 80s. I like people. It's a beautiful thing. I like it. It's easy for me. I'm not scared of people. I love people, all kinds. I grew up with such great diversity as a kid too, so it was locked in for me early. You know, going to MLK Elementary School, you know what kind of life that is, you know? And we had it good. It wasn't just black kids. We had Asian and Indian and white. And it was just like this beautiful thing. So like, people are natural to me. But when I'm with my family, I have a 16 and 13-year-old. They're trying to maximize time with dad.

• 24:33Speaker 02

  They're not about that like person that rolls up and wants to tell me like their business idea. They're like, it's limited to begin with, given dad's life, like, I'm not trying to share you right now. That's a downside, right? Listen, downside comes in like the pressure of being the financial beacon in your circle. I have a funny feeling you all know what I'm talking about. All of a sudden, everyone's looking at you. And forget about the shit we hear about like a cousin comes out of the woodworks. It's not even like, of course, it's sometimes that. But it's even just true day to day. Like, true day to day where you have a family member that's got good intent for you, but it's in the air. Like, you're the one that will fix it if there's a problem. It's the pressure of being the guy.

• 25:17Speaker 02

  You know, for me, that comes natural, but I've seen it really hurt a lot of my friends. For me, it came natural because I was an immigrant kid and my mom from day one was like, you know, I had some real, I've had a real epiphany about my childhood. I think one of the biggest issues in the world right now is kids are getting grown too late. You say getting grown too late? Yes, sir. I think kids, I think there's too many parents that are treating their 22-year-old man-son like he's nine, still on the payroll. Still there. On this fucking, you know, this whole like, let's share our locate, like, you got, I was out at a business meeting with a 26-year-old dude and his mom called him three times. He had to call him back because mom saw that he wasn't home yet. I'm like, you're 26, bro. Get out the titties. I literally told him to his face, I'm like, disconnect with your mom's location now.

• 26:04Speaker 02

  Like, so I think we have an issue of grown late right now. All well-intended, you know this, like, you have kids, like, we all know, like, we all know. You don't cover something, you got something, you want it good for your kids, but that's the fuck up.

• 26:18Speaker 02

  I had grown-too-early syndrome. My mom lost her mom at five in Russia, it's tough. My dad lost his dad at 15. I was the oldest and the only one that was born in the old country, now I got siblings here. My mom, I'm getting goosebumps, my mom from the get was like, if something happens to me and dad, you're in charge, I'm nine. She was already prepping you based on her experiences. Exactly, I don't have judgment towards my, my mom killed it. I talk often about my mom being the greatest of all time, but like, this was, like, you know, so I was grown at like 14. At 14, I was already working in my dad's liquor store. I was already like a better businessman than him, was like, do this, dad, do this. Like, I was already making my own money. I didn't get a gift after 11. Everything was like, "You want Sega Genesis?

• 27:03Speaker 02

  Go get it." Some flinging, slinging, and shoveling snow, washing, like, so I was grown. Early.

• 27:11Channing Crowder?

  26 is too long.

• 27:13Speaker 02

  Yes, sir.

• 27:13Channing Crowder?

  That's, you're a grown ass man, tighten up. I think 11 is too soon.

• 27:18Speaker 02

  I agree.

• 27:18Channing Crowder?

  What's that mid-ground for you? Like, with your kids now?

• 27:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm a big fan. We've been talking about it in the office a lot. 18's a watershed moment. And then I'm on some, "Let me give grace to the kids." And actually, you're gonna be surprised by this. I'm on some 20, I have an interesting relationship with 25. So I think of it in three numbers. 18, 22, and 25. 18 feels right to me, but that's me. 22 is like some on, "You went through college," or like, "What the years are supposed to college." Fine. I'm even on some, because I'll tell you where I'm going with this. I'll give you the 25. My thing is, on your 25th birthday? Shut your fucking mouth. I am done hearing, "It's mom's fault, it's dad's fault, it's Trump's fault, it's Biden's fault,

• 28:07Speaker 02

  it's Instagram's fault, it's China's fault." When the fuck is it your fault?

• 28:12Channing Crowder?

  That's real.

• 28:13Speaker 02

  Right? Like, listen, here's my thing. Again, I got lucky, I grew up in like, not the best places. Most of my friends had a fucked up sitch. Dad was an alcoholic, mom wasn't there, like, real shit! My thing is, if you've ever seen, man, I went to a hood college. I was such a bad student, I thought I was not gonna go and trick my parents. My mom smacked me in the face and said, "You're not gonna embarrass me, you're going to college." I went to Mount Ida College. 90% of the kids in Newton, Massachusetts were on financial aid. 80% of the population at my college was black and Hispanic on financial aid. I'm not talking about fucking HBCU. Like this was CeeLo and spades and guns and knives and basketball.

• 28:56Speaker 02

  Like my guy, my guy, I went to D-Wade's fucking, D-Wade's spades party for the first time, seven, eight years ago during NBA All-Star. My first draw in the tournament was Chris Paul and his mom. His mom is a gangster spades player. I caught her on a deep cut throwaway move that you have to like really play spades like that. This woman turned to me and she said, and she's a player. I got her. She, cause she saw, she thought she was playing a white dude and didn't know what the fuck he was doing. I did this on her.

• 29:31Ryan Clark?

  100% Mark.

• 29:31Speaker 02

  100%, 100%. I did this move on her. She turned, she said, "Boy, what you know about spades?" I said, "Way more than you think, Mama Paul." So in that culture, in that life, like I saw on my college crew, there was a lot of kids. One of our friends is in jail for life for murder. He didn't make it to the other side. The rest of my crew, everybody became a much better man than what they grew up with. If they had the strength to do it, if they found their community to help them, then everyone that looked like them can too. And so that's the excuses, I'm sorry, Rob. The excuses thing is what I'm trying to talk about. The blaming.

• 30:15Speaker 02

  We've become addicted in society with fingers. Everyone's throwing fingers at all times. What the fuck is the thumb? Where's the thumb?

• 30:23Ryan Clark?

  My question to that would be, would be this, G. I had this conversation actually today on message. Someone put a message out on their social about racism.

• 30:34Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 30:34Ryan Clark?

  And this was a black man and he was basically saying like, "I feel like if you speak about racism, you're now becoming a victim." And he's like, "I don't want to be around," he's like, "I don't want to be around people who are victims. I don't want to be around people who are blaming others for their stuff." And my reply to him was this. If I see bullshit, I can call you on bullshit.

• 30:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 30:59Ryan Clark?

  I don't have to believe that that bullshit can hamper me from becoming

• 31:03Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 31:04Ryan Clark?

  or being everything that I was made supposed to be and I will work to be. But that also doesn't mean I have to allow your bullshit to continue

• 31:12Speaker 02

  You don't have to give it a pass.

• 31:13Ryan Clark?

  without giving it a pass. So, my question to you would be, how would you?

• 31:18Speaker 02

  What's the balance of that?

• 31:19Ryan Clark?

  What's the balance of that?

• 31:20Speaker 02

  It's such a great question. I think of it as this way, one man's point of view. There is systematic issues in society.

• 31:27Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 31:29Speaker 02

  But you said it so beautifully, that doesn't mean that that needs to completely impact you in a way where everything out of your mouth, your whole being, is based on the excuses of why not.

• 31:41Ryan Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 31:41Speaker 02

  You know, it's funny, you're saying something very important. I think things are blended, and things are easy for me to decouple. Both things can be true. There could be systematic sexism, racism, separation of wealth scares the fuck out of me. I hate it. Because, you know, Charles Barkley said, "We don't have a black and white issue. We have a rich and poor issue."

• 32:04Ryan Clark?

  That's a real thing.

• 32:04Speaker 02

  And there's some real things to debate in there, because we know.

• 32:08Ryan Clark?

  That's real.

• 32:09Speaker 02

  Right? Look at the enormity of black wealth that's been created in the last 40 years in America compared to before because of the rise of sport and entertainment and just the culture. I mean, the culture. The culture is black culture. And then it becomes culture. I always say to my brands, "You want me to sell to 14-year-old white girls in America? I'm going to Southside Atlanta, making it cool there, and I'll see you in 24 months."

• 32:32Ryan Clark?

  Did you see the SNL, the news report? And it was a young white actor, I don't know who he is. And he said, like, he's like, "Let's be real." He said, "Gen Z culture is just black culture."

• 32:45Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 32:46Ryan Clark?

  He said, "Black people take something and they make it cool." And he's like, "And then young teenagers see it and they start to utilize it, and then it becomes a thing."

• 32:53Speaker 02

  And it's starting to blend. Adversity is the foundation of success. Black in America, because of our history, is that. But now you're starting to see it with Hispanic, right? Look what happened to music. Hip-hop was crushing. And by the way, you know what made rock and roll good? Those South boys that were poor as shit.

• 33:14Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 33:14Speaker 02

  You guys know, you had teammates from the South, white boys, that were more hood than the black kids on the team. Right?

• 33:20Ryan Clark?

  And they were ingrati- they were ingratiated in quote-unquote, like you said, the culture.

• 33:24Speaker 02

  Or my favorite, you know what northeast white and black dudes were always confused by? I was like, no, no, the kids were recruiting. I remember I was recruiting a kid for Vayner Sports, a black kid. And I was like, I'm gonna go hunting and fishing with him. And like, northeast people are like, wait, black people like hunting and fishing? Like, they didn't even know, right?

• 33:43Ryan Clark?

  He loves it. He loves it.

• 33:44Speaker 02

  Yeah. The Jets coach, Aaron Glenn, he's a cowboy.

• 33:47Channing Crowder?

  Yes.

• 33:48Speaker 02

  You know, like, there's all these subcultures, but it's adversity. Jewish culture in America. Those were people that ran from a country because they didn't want to get killed. They started from zero, and they built. It's just the same game. That's why you're seeing the Hispanic, you know, impact so heavy now. Now rigatone, bad- who's doing Super Bowl?

• 34:06Ryan Clark?

  Bad Bunny.

• 34:07Speaker 02

  Bad Bunny. Right? That's not Gloria Estefan. That's a different game. So, you know what I mean?

• 34:14Channing Crowder?

  But VJ, how do you sit down in all these rooms? Because people don't like, Will'll listen to you.

• 34:21Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 34:22Channing Crowder?

  Seventy-year-old white billionaire will listen to you.

• 34:24Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 34:24Channing Crowder?

  What's different that you can sit in every room and people will listen to what you say?

• 34:29Speaker 02

  Because I've been in every room. That's why, that's why I tell all the people that are mad at DNI, D E N I, yes, anything out of whack gets crazy. But bro, the reason I can sit in every room is because I grew up in every room. You know, my life just got, this is why I'm so driven with gratitude. I did go to Martin Luther King Elementary School. I did spend four years of college playing spades and CeeLo, right? I, but I also worked in my daddy's liquor store that was literally in the middle of the tracks. One side of the daddy's liquor store was Union, New Jersey, Elizabeth, like, hood. They came to the liquor store buying seven-dollar jugs of wine and a six-pack of Budweiser.

• 35:14Speaker 02

  And the other side of the tracks was Short Hills and Milburn. And they came in and bought $900 wine. You know, I feel like I can be in rooms because I, when I'm in rooms, if I was in Asian gaming culture, I come in humble, I can't be in the room. I can be in rooms because if I'm in a room that I don't know, I show respect. And I'm in a lot of rooms because I was at a lot of places by the time I was 22. I just, the luck of my draw had me in so many different places that, you know, I was an immigrant, this is a funny one. I grew up in Edison, New Jersey, that capital of the immigration of Indians to America in the 80s. So I'm the immigrant in first, second, third, fourth grade, right?

• 35:59Speaker 02

  Because I was the only one not born in America, black, Asian. My second grade picture is crazy. Four Indian kids, four Asian kids, four black kids, four white. It was crazy, United Nations. But then here came all these Indians and everyone was like, who are all these people? But I had empathy for them because I'm like, I remember feeling not American. So I became boys with all the Indians and those kids were trying to sling and make money too. Problem is they got straight A's too, they were crazy. These Indian gangsters were crazy. I was getting F's, but that's because I was slinging and trying to make money. These kids were slinging to make money and they had straight A's.

• 36:30Fred Taylor?

  So that explains.

• 36:33Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a Superior light beer. It's also giving fans Superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/SupiorAccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 37:01Fred Taylor?

  Claims how we started. We're wanting to see everybody win. You know, your foundation, how you came up. But let me ask you, what excites you more? Building companies, building people, or building legacy? Or is it a combination or a blend of?

• 37:14Speaker 02

  It's a combination of both. Of what you just said, combination of both. I love building up people that impact the businesses I'm building in parallel. I've seen like four or five alumni on this trip. It's funny, I watch people move. People that look like me have built things. Many people we would all know. They have feelings when people leave them. I'm not gonna be as aggressive as slavery, but like I'm stunned how many big tycoons that we look up to have feelings when a kid leaves and goes tries to build something for themselves. I'm the reverse. I'm cheer, I want my alumni, motherfucker, if my alumni is better than me, I want them to build shit bigger than me. I just, I don't understand this concept of not realizing the world is abundant. So I love building up people, clearly. That's

• 37:59Speaker 02

  why I'm, that's why I'm sitting here right now. I'm hoping that someone that's listening hears something a little different this time and it switches. But I love building companies. Fred, I got too many companies, you know, like, cuz I love it. In fact, I have big companies, but they could be bigger if I had less of them. But I'd rather make less money and enjoy my game. And then as far as legacy, I think about it. I think in sports terms. My life is framed in sports, no question. That is probably the selfish part of me. I'm curious of how all time great I can be, and I'm, I'm still working on it.

• 38:33Ryan Clark?

  I have a question about evolution, though.

• 38:35Speaker 02

  Please.

• 38:35Ryan Clark?

  You don't become an all time great without evolution. And you continue to use sports, so I'll use sports. Tom Brady, greatest career of all time.

• 38:43Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 38:43Ryan Clark?

  Greatest player of all time.

• 38:45Speaker 02

  Please don't remind me.

• 38:46Ryan Clark?

  But he had to evolve, right? The first Super Bowl, it wasn't about Tom Brady.

• 38:50Speaker 02

  No, it wasn't. He had to make sure he didn't make a mistake.

• 38:52Ryan Clark?

  It was about defense, about Vinatieri. Then he move into MVP Tom Brady, and they don't win at that point. And then he becomes the greatest of all time, wins three more, goes to Tampa Bay. So Sir Isaac Newton, right whenever he said it, he was like, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And everybody was like, ooh. And he was basically kinda just like, like.

• 39:11Speaker 02

  That was real barb.

• 39:11Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he was like, you do some stuff. He was basically like, you do some stuff. Yeah, he was like, you do some stuff, some stuff's gonna happen on the outside. But that's how knowledge adds, cuz at that time, nobody ever stated.

• 39:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's right.

• 39:23Ryan Clark?

  There are some people who may know what you know, G, but, but they don't state it. They don't, they don't put their brand behind it. They don't put their name on it.

• 39:31Speaker 02

  They're not willing to deal with the ramifications.

• 39:33Ryan Clark?

  That's what I was about to ask you. What has made you so willing to say, I believe in this? I'm willing to not only put myself in it, but put you up on it too?

• 39:40Speaker 02

  Complete lack of fear. You asked me a real question. What am I scared of? I gave you a real answer. So if the only thing I'm actually scared of is the health of my family, I'm not scared about getting canceled on the internet for 48 hours. I'm not, I'm not scared of losing money. I'm not scared of going all the way back, right? The thing that scares me to my bone. Is that my favorite Rocky is Rocky V when he loses everything and goes back to Philly.

• 40:09Ryan Clark?

  One more wrong Tommy.

• 40:11Speaker 02

  Bro, when he loses everything, you remember Rocky III, he's got the robot and shit before he went to Russia. Like, he was rich. He was rich. And I don't know why that Rocky came out when he goes back to the Philly hood, because he lost it all.

• 40:26Speaker 02

  And I was romantic about it, like shook me, I'm literally straight up getting goosebumps. There's something almost romantic to me of losing everything and going to zero.

• 40:37Speaker 02

  Hearing the whispers from all of you, be like, damn, he really fucked up. He wasn't that good after all. I'm like on some, you know who I would have been as an athlete? The best, which is crazy because I love the Knicks, just below the Jets. I would have been a badass fucking villain. I want everybody in the arena to boo me.

• 40:56Ryan Clark?

  What?

• 40:57Speaker 02

  Which is wild because no one does. I'm like loved, but in my reel? I'm just not scared of anything. I'm with me, I'm with myself, I'm in my cocoon. I know I have nothing but good intent, so even if I make a mistake, I have the grace

• 41:13Speaker 02

  to give myself, because I'm a human, I will apologize if I am wrong. I will stay back, I will be vulnerable when I understand. I've been on a three-year run telling people that candor was a kryptonite for me as an operator. I'm just not scared, my man.

• 41:30Ryan Clark?

  What's sexy, but like you talked about Rocky going back to Philly. What's the, the beautiful part or romantic part or sexy part about that? Is it, is it the losing of it all?

• 41:41Speaker 02

  That's not scary. Right, that it's not scary.

• 41:44Ryan Clark?

  No, okay, but I'm saying like, would it be, what makes it romantic? Losing it all or having an ability to live in it? Or the building?

• 41:52Speaker 02

  I do love the ride to the Phoenix.

• 41:53Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 41:54Speaker 02

  Because there is a part of me that says, I'm not scared because I real build it back up and I'll be like, told you.

• 42:00Speaker 02

  But really, it's, it's, I just, you know this. I, man, do I know you guys know this. When you come from a place of less, and then you get to a place of more, most people go into defense. They do not want to go back. And I just have this weird, like, I can live in an apartment that has a rat in it, with like, like a bullshit TV. Like, I don't know, like, I can eat $2 fast, I don't want to for my health, but like, I don't know what it is, but it's just, I'm not trying to do dumb shit to make it happen, but I'm just, uh, I'll give you one. When people get the most on tilt about America, like, America falling.

• 42:41Speaker 02

  I'm like, alright, like, I'll go to New Zealand and start all, like, I got, like, you know, I don't, I don't know, like, I don't know, I've got, you know, I don't know.

• 42:51Ryan Clark?

  It's biblical, right, what you're doing. Right, it's the story of the, the parable of the talents.

• 42:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, I don't know it, but, okay.

• 42:57Ryan Clark?

  So the parable of the talents is this. God, Jesus, talked about people who all had talents, and there was some, part of it, they buried their talents, and someone else went out to multiply it. And in burying your talents, the, the fear of finally having something, and being so scared to lose it, you didn't multiply to honor God. And in the way that you're living life, you are saying, hey, look, I have these talents, I have this ability, now that I've built myself into something, I'm not too scared to lose it, I'll continue to honor it by building more. And I think that's a difficult thing to do.

• 43:34Channing Crowder?

  But it sounds easy, there's at some point when you can't lose. You get so much money, you can't lose. You give so much investments that you can go and get your 10% on 100 million, and then now, like, I can't lose moving forward.

• 43:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's funny you say that. Like, my financial advisor hates me.

• 43:55Speaker 02

  It's not how I'm playing. It's also funny that money is like the framework of the combo. Right, like, I don't know, I've had a wild relationship with money my whole life. I'm great at it, but I do not respect it. I don't like it.

• 44:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's really interesting. You know what I like? And this is real talk. I like freedom. So the reason I got Ds and Fs in school was like, I'm like, no, I'm not doing homework. Bro, I did not open a textbook in four years of high school. I got zeros in every book report. I did not do homework. On my Scantron, I did A, B, C, B, A, C, B. I had freedom in fucking the system. That's what I like money for. I have freedom. But sometimes, you know this, I actually think most people get money and lose freedom. I agree with that.

• 44:45Speaker 02

  So, I have money. I view it as optionality. But, it's not my jail. And so, yeah, I mean, I'm detached. That's another thing. Lately, a lot of people have been giving me flowers around humility. Like, you know, as my whole thing keeps going and more people know me. And I just think it's because I don't believe that I'm great either. Like, it's just really zen shit. Like, you know, as you get older, you're like, I'm like, damn. Like, all this shit people are talking about, stoicism, Buddha, I'm like, shit. That's, like, I've been that. And that was because I lost a lot as a kid. Immigrant, got picked on for not speaking English. Then sports played 24/7. Early on dominated, first, second grade, I was killing it.

• 45:29Speaker 02

  Hand-eye coordination, crazy. But then, you guys know this, fifth grade, tap, all of a sudden, speed, strength, agility, athleticism, all this shit got caught up and then, and then like business. Business? I'm trying to sell shit? 900 people say no, one says yes. You start to fall in love with the micro no. I'm in love with the micro no. In fact, too much success early on, I always am scared for kids, really good-looking, and really good at school, and really good at sports, I'm like, uh-uh. You're about to get caught. I see a 16-year-old that like just is like, "That guy? Like, looks too good, got the girl, wins too much in sports, and straight A, going to Penn or Harvard, tennis first." I'm like, "Mm-mm.

• 46:13Speaker 02

  This motherfucker's gonna walk into some fire at 26 and not know what to do."

• 46:17Fred Taylor?

  Half the athletes right now, with that entitlement.

• 46:20Speaker 02

  That's right, because you guys didn't grow up in the era of all this AAU, OneSport, all the code. Like, you guys grew up different.

• 46:26Fred Taylor?

  Right, we grew up understanding not to put the shine before the grind.

• 46:30Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:31Fred Taylor?

  That we grind it first and then that started, all of that came.

• 46:35Speaker 02

  It's tough for these kids, Fred. Fred, you would have been on, there would have been an Instagram of a clip of you as like an 8th grader, getting offers to Alabama.

• 46:43Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 46:43Speaker 02

  Like, it would have been, it just, they got it different.

• 46:45Fred Taylor?

  You become complacent.

• 46:46Speaker 02

  Which is why it's all about parenting now and getting, we need to get in our caves with our crew and get our shit basic. Because the world's complicated. We gotta get basic.

• 46:56Fred Taylor?

  Gee, I need your help.

• 46:57Speaker 02

  Please.

• 46:57Fred Taylor?

  Man to man, I really need your... How can I stop spending money on Whatnot?

• 47:01Speaker 02

  I can't do it either. It's so fun.

• 47:04Fred Taylor?

  It's crazy.

• 47:05Channing Crowder?

  What is that?

• 47:05Speaker 02

  Whatnot is a live shopping app that has collectibles, and we're just buying cards, opening up packs. We love that game. It's our casino.

• 47:13Fred Taylor?

  It has everything. Like, and I hear you talk a lot about TikTok.

• 47:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 47:17Fred Taylor?

  TikTok Shop.

• 47:18Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 47:18Fred Taylor?

  AI influencers.

• 47:20Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 47:20Fred Taylor?

  All of that different stuff. Oh, of course, because we're gonna, we have some stuff buying, some work.

• 47:26Channing Crowder?

  You know, the grown people buying cards.

• 47:29Speaker 02

  Yes, sir.

• 47:30Channing Crowder?

  Come on, man.

• 47:31Fred Taylor?

  No, but it's more than cards, Channing.

• 47:33Speaker 02

  It's really not.

• 47:34Fred Taylor?

  It's really more than cards, and when I talk about Whatnot and TikTok Shop and AI influencers, like, really, I've been working behind the scenes before I bring to my people what we're trying to do with Pivot Performance Energy and a lot of other stuff.

• 47:50Speaker 02

  This needs to be on TikTok more than Whatnot because of the way that algorithm works. I'll talk to you about it off-camera. Let me answer yours. I do it for investment purposes. Like, I made real money. I bought a Super Mario, you know Mario from Super Mario? Yeah. I bought his Japanese rookie card on eBay 24 months ago for $35. It sells for $3,500 now. It's just a good investment. Man.

• 48:13Ryan Clark?

  When you can do that, Gee.

• 48:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 48:15Ryan Clark?

  And I'm listening to you, and it's like a thing with football players.

• 48:18Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 48:18Ryan Clark?

  Right? It's when your entire self-worth is attached to your career.

• 48:23Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 48:24Ryan Clark?

  What do you do when that career goes away?

• 48:26Speaker 02

  It's tough.

• 48:26Ryan Clark?

  Right? It would be akin to you saying, "I had to move back in my old neighborhood."

• 48:30Speaker 02

  My guy, that's why I started VaynerSports. I was so infatuated with the depression that came along with the transition. Infatuated.

• 48:38Ryan Clark?

  How do you separate that, right? You're, because you're a builder of businesses.

• 48:42Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 48:42Ryan Clark?

  How do you separate your self-worth from what you've been able to build?

• 48:47Speaker 02

  Because my mama made me see, like, drilled in me so consistently that my self-worth had to be based on how nice I was. I just got very fortunate, bro. That's real talk. My mom just, that's what it was. Like, by the time I was 17, like, I fully have my self-worth based on how you men talk about me behind my back when I'm not here.

• 49:12Speaker 02

  That's it. That's where, I don't, nothing else. And I get it, but it's just true. Yeah. And then that's why it's so awesome. That's why I'm unstoppable. There's a great term in boxing, like, a fighter that has nothing to lose is a dangerous. Dangerous fighter. Right? So you go into, this is why someone who's like 7 and 19 knocks out a kid on the come-up at 21 and 0, that person just said, "Fuck it, I don't give a shit." I lost 19 times already. You know what I mean? Yeah. And he said to Chloe, he's like, "Wahp!" And it's like, you know, and, and that's kind of, I have that mentality because I'm just not attached to my 21 and 0. I'm not attached to my best season. In fact, it really, this is a weird one going on with me right now. I came out the gate hot this year. In fact, you guys say you're on one? I'm, I'm on one, actually.

• 49:57Speaker 02

  I actually called my brother. Two weeks ago and said, "Bro," just on some random theatrical shit, because I knew I was locked in. I said, "Bro," and I don't usually call him in the middle of the day, we talk at night. He's like, "What's up?" I said, "Can you look up Jerry Rice's career?" He was like, "What?" Like, just in super left field. I was like, "Can you pull up Jerry Rice's career?" He's like, "Okay, what's going on?" I was like, "What was his best season?" He like looks, he's like, "95 was kinda crazy, 1800, whatever." I go, "Bro," this is like two weeks ago, three weeks ago, mid-January, three weeks in a year. I'm like, "Bro, I might have a 95 Jerry Rice season this year." I've done more.

• 50:39Speaker 02

  This is real talk. I have done more. So I had a funny vacation. I usually travel, warm weather. I was in New York. Me and my wife, she's like, "You know what?" And I just had time, right? I just started like doing stuff that I don't normally do. It was just like, and I wrote this thing called, "Intentionality and Impact." I'm very improv.

• 50:59Ryan Clark?

  Two different things.

• 51:00Speaker 02

  I'm very improv, I'm very osmosis. I value longevity, continuity, vibes, loyalty. And I said, "You know what? I got too much going on. I got eight or nine real businesses going crazy. And I got like 30, 40 people around me who've been with me for 10 years, and I'm not really giving them enough direction. They're just homies. They're in a family now. They're doing shit." But I was like, "You know what?" And I just started writing down, "What are the three things I want Vayner Sports to get done this year? My restaurant group, which is exploding, Vayner, Vayner Media's gonna do $400 million in revenue." It's a big ass company. Not in value, in revenue. Vayner Sports is exploding, you know, I'm pretty excited. Oh, I'm gonna probably be in Pittsburgh.

• 51:44Speaker 02

  We have Sonny Stiles, we rep from Ohio State, he's gonna be a top 15 pick, so we're excited about that. You know, V Friends is completely out of control. I'm literally actually no bullshit building the next Marvel and Pokemon in front of everyone's eyes, but it's like the third thing I'm doing and no one can see it. And like, I'm building this crazy podcast network I decided this year where I'm gonna do four shows. I'm gonna build a network where I'm the Ryan Seacrest, I'm like doing all of them. But I'm gonna build a network, so I've got all this stuff. And then I've got these incredible people. Sid on my team, who's run my content. Hannah Park, my chief of staff. Justin Novello, my brother-in-law, who's in my... And I'm like, "Everyone here can do more too." And I just started writing down, "What do..." And I'm just fucking locked in. And like, what's been done in thirty days on this?

• 52:27Speaker 02

  Because you know, the student doesn't come out that often. Like, I don't do that often. So when I did, but it's, but it wasn't, it wasn't the action. It was where I was at. I was ready to make twenty-six crazy. And it's all just so easy for me because of what, we talked about the good shit before I just got to. So the reason this is all gonna work is because I'm okay if it doesn't.

• 52:48Ryan Clark?

  Now, my question to you would be, young people who watch our show. And I love the social media posts where there's a young entrepreneur, someone who is searching. They ask you a question, you answer the question. Three things, if you say, hey, these are three foundational principles of building a brand or business. And here's ways to start. What would those things be?

• 53:11Speaker 02

  Maybe a weird one first, that I really believe in. Number one, curiosity. The real stuff that I'm seeing is people that are curious. Because there's so little friction in this shit now. So number one is curiosity, and the action is take full advantage of ChatGPT and Gemini. Literally, the stuff I'm doing on this thing, I'm curious. I'm like, why did this happen? When did this happen? How did this happen? Why did this just happen? Break this, the fun one. Okay, I don't understand this chemical thing. Break this down in NFL terms. It does it. It really does it. So, using AI in this moment where it can tell you the answers to everything and using your curiosity, because it will lead you to something new and clever.

• 53:56Speaker 02

  Look, I think number two is some sort, I'll call it DMP, I'll say discipline and patience. It's just real, y'all. Like, like, if I did a push-up right now, I would not look like y'all. A push-up is not gonna get me there. And I really think people are like that. They're like, I made it, I made a social media post. Like, and? Like, in the famous words of like Chris Rock, like, what do you want, a cookie? Like, you need to post eight hundred times all month for thirteen years and then talk, then we can talk. Like, it's this level of patience and discipline that no one wants, which goes to the third principle, which is perspective. You have to understand why you're doing things. I'm telling you the reason everyone got fast is they want to impress everyone else.

• 54:41Speaker 02

  People are living their lives out here, trying to impress people that they don't even know or like. Like, living their life. Making your life to impress people on the other side of these cameras that you don't even know. People being shook when JohnnyPants19 says "you suck" in the comments. Like, living their life. Like, people are scared to post about their yoga interests or their startup idea. Scared because SallyPantsMcGeeR7 might be like, "You look terrible today. Your lighting's off." "I think we need a shift." But we need to stop blaming.

• 55:22Fred Taylor?

  Is blaming number three, is stop blaming number three?

• 55:24Speaker 02

  Yeah, accountability is over everything.

• 55:26Fred Taylor?

  Ah, I got you.

• 55:27Speaker 02

  To me, like, accountability is the oxygen needed in our society. We just absolutely default into blaming everybody but the one person that is actually capable of changing the script.

• 55:39Fred Taylor?

  I see V Friends.

• 55:40Speaker 02

  Yes, sir.

• 55:40Fred Taylor?

  Hell of a collab with Top Scroll.

• 55:42Speaker 02

  Yes, sir.

• 55:43Fred Taylor?

  Congrats on that.

• 55:44Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 55:45Fred Taylor?

  Just really quick before you leave, though, because you said your self-worth is determined by what people say about you in rooms.

• 55:51Speaker 02

  Behind my back.

• 55:52Fred Taylor?

  Behind your back.

• 55:52Speaker 02

  They know me based on my actions towards them as a human.

• 55:55Fred Taylor?

  Okay. And looking at, a lot of times, people, you ask that question about the glass half-empty or half-full, right? And that's perspective.

• 56:03Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 56:04Fred Taylor?

  Are you more of a "it's about who you know" type of person? Or more so about who knows you?

• 56:10Speaker 02

  Man, it's so crazy where my brain goes. I'll answer, and then I'll answer yours. I think it's more of how you feel about yourself. Like, those two things are important, but like, I think those things mean nothing compared to how did you wake up today and how were you talking to yourself about you?

• 56:29Speaker 02

  Then, I'm a little bit more, I'm a little more, I'm 50/50 on that, brother. I think network matters. I think people should push curiosity to meet different people. Different shit happens. I think who you hang out with is real. I think optimism, practical optimism circles change the perception. If we sat here and dwelled, that's why everyone's fucked up. Everyone's just in politics all day. And it's important. Can't put your head in the sand of injustice and shit like that. But all day, like you've got to have, you know, you're gonna lose every football game if the defense goes out on every play. You gotta score, you know? But I also think having attention, who knows you? That matters. Attention's the currency.

• 57:14Speaker 02

  You can't sell anything. God, trading cards, energy drinks, hats, a different way of looking at the world. You can't sell shit. A pastor makes nothing happen if the church is empty.

• 57:30Ryan Clark?

  Yep, that's real.

• 57:31Speaker 02

  So, attention is the currency. What you do with that attention becomes your legacy.

• 57:39Ryan Clark?

  Man, I think, you know, they say sometimes the sequel doesn't live up to the original, but this is even better than the first time, man. We really appreciate your time, brother.

• 57:48Speaker 02

  Thank you, guys.

• 57:48Ryan Clark?

  Thank you, family. Yes, sir. That was good. It's always good when you get the second conversation, because it doesn't have to be like we're telling your story. Yeah, you know what I mean? That's the...