May 15, 2024 • 24 mins
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Ever felt like the odds were stacked against you? Michael Stein's incredible journey from underdog to entrepreneur extraordinaire will convince you that anything is possible with resilience and humor. In our latest episode, Michael pulls back the curtain on his life, revealing a story that begins with his family's fight against adversity and stretches through his own personal battles with health and learning disabilities. He shares how the movie 'Rocky' served as a catalyst for his transformation, leading him to a path filled with fitness milestones and entrepreneurial ventures. Highlighting the peaks and valleys of his career, including a memorable stint in 'Boogie Nights' and the daring move to finance his own feature film, Michael's narrative is a powerful testament to the strength of self-belief and the significance of finding and capitalizing on niche markets.
Michael doesn't just stop at recounting his victories; he dives into the entrepreneurial spirit inherited from his family, and how it molded his business acumen, contrasting with the uncertainties of pursuing an acting career. He also addresses the role of comedy in his life as a bridge towards social acceptance and a way to confront the growing sensitivities around antisemitism with wit and grace. Furthermore, Michael discusses the importance of embracing neurodiversity in the workplace and how his journey has deepened his empathy and leadership skills. Join us as we explore these rich narratives, and be sure to check out Michael's podcasts and his innovative Bola pack product line, where his creativity continues to shine.
You can find Michael on LinkedIn and his website, michaelsteinmedia.com.
You can order your copy of Creating Belonging on Amazon.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Justin (00:09):
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Creating
Belonging podcast.
Today I have with me MichaelStein.
Michael, if you would just takea few moments to introduce
yourself.
Michael (00:20):
Well, okay, so my typical story is one of being a
long shot.
I do a podcast called Long ShotLeaders and I consider myself a
long shot.
My grandmother escaped theRussian concentration camps on
the way to America and my dadwas a New York homeless street
kid, became a multimillionaire,only to be homeless again.
(00:40):
And then, you know, I had tosleep in the same room, my
grandmother, when I was, youknow, uh, tell us like nine
years old, cause I was theyoungest, so I'd hear that story
about how she escaped theRussian concentration camps, you
know, and my dad, I hear aboutit.
You're lucky to have what youhave, cause, you know, we, we,
we grew up in a rich family, ina rich neighborhood, but we were
a poor family.
We're like the insinualJubilees, you know.
(01:00):
You had the old cars in a nicearea, you know, but, uh, so you
should appreciate what you have.
Uh, I was a premature kidhealth issues, add, they didn't
know what it was back then.
Uh, dyslexia and um, justawkward, you know, not a lot,
not a lot of wins, and uh, otherthan making people laugh.
And then, um, uh, one day myparents took me, like most, uh,
(01:23):
american kids.
They took me to see a moviecalled Rocky and I was like, wow
, this is going to change mylife.
I, this guy's like me, he's,he's funny, but he's not
successful.
And, um, he keeps on gettingknocked down and keeps on trying
, you know, and I said, the onlydifference in this guy myself
is he's physically fit.
So then, every day after that,I started working out self, is
(01:44):
he's physically fit?
So then, every day after that,I started working out.
I was like 11 or 12 years oldand then, by the time I was 16,
I became a physical fitnesstrainer.
I was like you would considerthe epitome of health at that
time and I said, wow, that'sthat's.
You know, people are commentinghow physically fit I was.
And I was like, well, that'stwo things I can make people
laugh and I can now, you know,train people and I'm successful
at being physically fit.
(02:04):
So I was like, wow, time pluseffort.
So I, my high school, um, as Iwas graduating, my high school
tutor asked me what, what do youwant to do?
Uh, for um, you know, afteryou're done with high school, I
said, well, I want to be anentrepreneur, an actor and a
standout comedian.
She goes you might want to justwork with your hands because
not everybody's meant to do whatthey want to do.
And I said, ah, screw you.
My dad didn't even finish theeighth grade and he became a
(02:26):
multimillionaire.
Granted, he's living in a vanoutside of the house right now,
but you know, visiting my mom.
But you know, you know he wassuccessful and I'm just going to
, I'm graduating high school.
So I started my own company, um,a day after I graduated high
school and made two sales within, like you know, 20 minutes uh,
selling out of my bedroom, uh,selling tools, and um, after
(02:47):
that I failed miserably.
I didn't sell anything and Iwas like it's summertime and
everybody's having fun.
I was like, screw it.
So then I took some actingcourses at local city college
along with a business class and,um, I said I got to start doing
standup.
So I did stand up.
I was, uh, 19 years old, uh,you know, six months later when
(03:08):
I did that.
And then I brought a lot ofpeople there.
I said, you know, I'm reallynot going to make money doing
standup.
You know you do open mic nightsand all that.
But I said I could start topromote nightclubs, because in
Los Angeles, where I was bornand raised.
That was a big business backthen, back in the late 80s.
So I said I'm going to be anightclub promoter.
So then, six months later, Ibecame the number one nightclub
promoter, uh, in my age bracket.
And uh, I was like, wow, herewe go again.
(03:28):
You know, time plus effort, youknow, as long as you believe in
yourself.
So I started uh from there,opened up the door for a lot of
things, uh, to be an actor and afilmmaker.
My first acting role is playingdirt Diggler and the dirt
Diggler story which becameBoogie Nights, which I appear in
as well.
There's a short film to BoogieNights and that turned into a
big motion picture and I appearin Boogie Nights.
And I was like, wow, you know,I see how this process is done.
(03:52):
So I started making my ownfilms and won a lot of awards
for that and it was a longjourney of there.
I quit my nightclub business tomake these big movies and you
know it came to a point where Ididn't have any money, you know,
and I wanted to make a featurefilm, cause I got close to
getting a movie deal, for myshort films was word winning
short film.
And I said, you know, I gottabe an entrepreneur again.
(04:14):
And the only problem was is,you know, I didn't have any
money.
I was broken in debt.
I didn't have any money to makethe film.
I didn't have any money tostart a business, but I just I
started building a website selltarps online, which is a niche
thing and I heard you get, theriches are in the niches.
So within six months I madealmost a half a million dollars
and I was able to pay for mymovie called love Hollywood
(04:36):
style, which I casted FayeDunaway, academy award actress,
and Andy Dick and Coolio and acrazy cast many other actors
you've seen and I got to wrotedirect Andy Dick and Coolio and
a crazy cast many other actorsyou've seen and I got to wrote
direct, wrote direct, produceact in this film.
And I nearly bought him out thebusiness that I created, the
tarspluscom business and I waslike you know, I can take care
of this business and and and thefilm did well, it got you know,
(05:01):
bought, you know and it diddecent.
But I said I'm gonna take careof this business and since then
that business has earned over ahundred million dollars and
continues to grow.
And I'm launching another bigbusiness called Bola Tour in two
months which hopefullyrevolutionized the backpack
industry.
And I do this podcast calledLongshot Leaders because I said
if I'm going to do a podcast, itwould be about people that have
overcome large obstacles tofind success.
(05:23):
And I'm talking to you todaybecause you know much of that
journey.
I never felt like I belonged.
Sometimes I feel still I feellike I don't belong, but you
know, the journey continues andthat's why I'm here today.
Justin (05:36):
Yeah, michael, thank you for sharing that.
I love the background, likesuch rich experiences you have,
so like we could talk about aton, but I have a few places I
want to dig.
I think one of the reasons Ireached out and wanted to have
you on the podcast was, you know, when I look at the combination
of identities that you use todescribe yourself entrepreneur,
(05:58):
actor, writer, director,producer, stand up comedian and
then personal development expertand that there was this combo
that I was like this guy soundsinteresting.
I think we can have a funconversation let's chat.
So I want to pick up on kind ofwhere you just left off,
because this is actually one ofthe areas that I wanted to dig
into.
(06:18):
You've been really a lifelongentrepreneur and you know that
can be kind of a lonely journeyat times.
So I'm curious how you've builtcommunity and found places to
fit in and belong in your career.
Michael (06:33):
Well, I'm an entrepreneur because I don't
feel like I was ever hireableand all I know is entrepreneurs.
My dad was an entrepreneur, hisdad was a fruit peddler or his
dad was.
His dad was actually a managerfrom Jimmy Durante for a couple
of times.
He's like a job or, you know,he's searching around.
But I come from a long line oflike entrepreneurs.
My uh, when my grandmotherescaped the Russian
concentration camps, her uh dad,my great grandfather, he owned
(06:57):
a, one of the only candyfactories in Kiev and he had to
leave it all because you, theydidn't like jews back then
either.
So, um, you know, uh, I, I havealways heard this story.
You know you, you know that'swhat you know you're.
You have a family ofentrepreneurs.
Uh, working for other peoplejust didn't seem real to me,
seem more real to me to startyour own company, because that
(07:18):
seemed like more, it seemedeasier, rather than somebody
choosing me, because I don'tfeel like anybody would want to
choose me either.
You, you know, um, that's thatwas the problem I had with
acting.
You know, it's like auditioning.
I was like, you know, I feltlike people don't want to choose
me.
It's just the insecurity partof it and I felt more secure
just starting my own businessand, um, that's, uh, that's the
(07:39):
sense of, the sense of thebelonging, you know, is like the
only time I, when I was younger, it started, you know, because
being awkward, you know, and andhaving um just these
idiosyncrasies that I had, ummaking people laugh at me or
making them laugh at anything.
You know was the icebreaker.
So those were my tools to uhmake people laugh and, uh, my
entrepreneurial career is justbecause I felt like it was just
(08:01):
more doable yeah, that'sinteresting.
Justin (08:07):
um, so, if you think about the and that was actually
another area that I wanted todig so maybe let's go a little
bit deeper there and look at theintersection there of the, the
role that comedy has played in,you know, you being an
entrepreneur kind of digginginto comedy, uh, and you do that
because you're like, you knowto paraphrase what you just said
(08:27):
you know to make people laugh,made you feel good and even if
they were laughing at you, likeyou were giving people enjoyment
.
So I'd love to hear more aboutyou know, if you think about
belonging, your feeling ofbelonging and comedy, whether
people are laughing at you orwith you.
(08:47):
I want to dig into that alittle bit.
Michael (08:50):
Yeah, you know it's tough because stand up, you know
you can easily feel like youdon't belong, because they don't
laugh at you.
You feel like, well, here we goagain.
All those old feelings comeback, you know.
but it's just, you know it's,it's just inherent in who you
are.
And you know it's interestingwith standup.
You know I just did stand up Um, I'm taking a break over there
(09:12):
cause I got to launch my company, um bullet tour, but uh, I uh
was doing standup.
Uh, I think it was about sixweeks ago, eight weeks ago, you
know, and um, you know, rightnow it's it's interesting, cause
sometimes you could always feellike you don't belong.
You know, I'm like right now Iguess I don't feel like because
I'm a caucasian jewish guy,older jewish guy.
You know I'm not the youngcomedian anymore and you know
(09:35):
it's like.
You know it's tough time for thejews, you know, because there's
a lot of stuff's going on andand it's almost like you know,
there's a lot of people thatwant to say things and you you
got to grow tough skin when itcomes to try to get laughs.
So you know that's that.
That sense has been interestingand navigating that.
But there's always a corkscrew.
There's always a way to, andthat's what I love about standup
is always a way to try to findthe rapport and try to find
(09:59):
common ground and try to find ajoke.
That you know, cause people arepeople really, at the end of the
day, you know they they allwant the same things.
They all have six human needs.
You know psychology, which Ibelieve in, you know, which is a
more personal development thing, where people just want to feel
certainty.
They want a sense of variety,they want a sense of love and
connection and growth andsignificance.
(10:21):
And you know if you could findthe rapport of you know who
you're talking to, whether it'sstand up or me and you today.
You know you find out what.
You know you're feeding thosepeople.
There's six human needs.
They just have differentvehicles for it.
Everybody's got a differentthumbprint on how to get the
vehicle for those needs.
Justin (10:44):
And that's that's how I navigate through that.
Yeah, ok, so I want to dig intoone piece there so the your
kind of Jewish identity and as acomedian and kind of the the
rise in antisemitism right now Iwant to dig a little more there
.
I'm just it's surprising to methat that would even come up.
I mean it is and it's not right, like I don't know, if you're
(11:06):
in a comedy club, like why areyou like I don't know, like what
experiences have you had thathave been kind of backlash
against?
Michael (11:15):
uh, it happens, I don't know, like, uh, you know, I've,
you know, sometimes like gonna,just recently, and nothing too
extreme, not like the one thathad the girl that with the
bottle through the can the beerthrew out, or whatever, that the
jew comedian girl.
But uh, you know, I was onstage and I did a routine and,
uh, I didn't say anything badabout anybody in particular, you
know, but I I, you know said Ididn't say anything about Jewish
(11:38):
or whatever.
Like another comedian, I waslike easy Jewish guy or
something like that, you know.
And and then other comediansyou know, like, uh, and that's
really weird, it's out here inAustin, texas, which is like,
you know, you, you know, youthink it's not a small.
You know, uh, somebody was like, you know, just went into their
own little um rant about, uh,you know, uh, jewishness and and
(11:58):
and and all that you know.
And I was, you know, hey, look,you know people, you gotta be
able.
There's a big world out there,8 billion, almost Right.
So people are going to haveopinions, you know.
So just got to realize likewhat, what?
The thing that helped me throughthat is realizing what need are
they trying to meet?
You know, by saying somethingthat would be a negative vehicle
(12:19):
towards meeting one of thoseneeds.
You know what?
What is it?
Significance Is it?
Is it trying, you know?
Is it trying to gain connectionwith another group that they're
there with, you know?
So that's kind of likemollifies, my, my, my um.
It breaks it down to likematrix to me, you know, like
cause.
I think everybody is operatingoff of the same six human needs,
you know, and and uh, from it'svery Tony Robbins thing, but
(12:42):
I've done everything that he'sever done.
So I'm kind of uh, you'll heara lot of parallels between Tony
Robbins and me, but I think thatpeople operate, you know, by
those things and and so that'sthat's that's helped me navigate
through that though, becauserecently has been tough, you
know, to hear some of thosethings because of my background.
But you know everybody, youstart to realize, you know it
(13:04):
really forces you to beobjective as well, you know.
So that's, uh, that's importantas well, to be objective.
So you don't judge people, youknow, till you look at yourself
as well.
Justin (13:14):
Yeah, it's, you know it's.
I like how you're positioningthat and I do think some of
those statements like ifsomebody is in a crowd and they
yell something like that, Ithink it is connection, it's
their perceived way ofconnecting with others thinking
like I'm saying the thing thateveryone else is thinking, and
(13:36):
so it's a way of, you know,standing up with others in their
own mind.
Michael (13:42):
They might feel like they're getting, they're
contributing as well, you know,and that's a.
That's a, that's a noble need,but it's also a negative vehicle
.
If you feel, if yourcontribution is being negative
to you, there's a triad, it'scalled the triad of a good
decision.
If it's good for you and it'sgood for me and it's good for
the greater good, you need allthree, Then it's a tri.
That's not exact science, it'sa great art form, but but you
(14:05):
need those three to.
That's the triad of a gooddecision.
Justin (14:08):
Yeah, yeah, I like that when it it makes me think, when
I, when I try to bring that backto the creating belonging model
I'm thinking about it's thataccept the acceptance piece of
you know, am I?
Am I?
Am I expressing my values in away that are trampling on
someone else?
Am I expressing my values in away that are trampling on
(14:32):
someone else?
Or am I suspending my ownvalues to try to let someone
else in?
And that's kind of where welike to focus.
The other thing I'm curiousabout in your comedy so back to
kind of I always like to justtie back into the model and then
, and then we go from there.
(14:57):
So on the authenticity side,you know, authenticity requires
a lot of vulnerability and Iwould assume I've I've tried to
do comedy in front of people,like briefly, and have failed
miserably, and so in myexperience it requires a lot of
vulnerability.
I would imagine getting up onstage repeatedly requires a lot
of vulnerability.
So I'm just I'm curious tell mea little bit more about about
(15:21):
your experience with that.
Michael (15:23):
That comes really inherently because my, my mother
who's this good looking MarilynMonroe lady right next to her,
right here she's she had thepersonality of Don Rickles
really warm one he was.
She Don Rickles is actually areally loving guy, very funny.
And so my mom, you know, wasvery open about everything you
know.
So I grew up in an environment,so it was my dad.
So you know I grew up around alot of volatility.
(15:46):
You know my dad.
You know my mom got divorcedbut you know I was around a lot
of you know stuff.
My mom would say like she, shesays say things out of blue of
like you know I'm, I got areally upset stomach, you know,
and I'm younger, before I wasmarried and I was like you know,
this is Chili's, maybe I shouldget the chili, and my mom's
(16:11):
like you can't eat that.
You got diarrhea.
I was like you know, nothing iscensored, you know nothing is
like everything is like out inthe open, and my mom was just
that kind of lady that she'slike very little sensor, you
know, and she would just saythings like you know, I was the
youngest, you know, and she'slike you know my son, I didn't
plan on this one.
(16:31):
You know I drank, I smoke, Iran up and down the stairs, you
know, but he survived.
But I say that because now youknow I love him, because I said
it out loud and that way I'mcopying to it.
You know that was his way ofshowing her.
You know that she loved me.
The truth was, you know thatshe loved me Every.
The truth was, you know, uh,loving.
If I got too big for mybritches, she would love to
knock me down a little bit.
If I, if I was, if I neededsome boosting, she would
(16:54):
lovingly boost me up.
So that's where my standupcomes from my mother being and,
um, and my whole family justbeing so open.
There's not a lot of sensorythere.
You just talk about like youcould literally ask me anything
right now and I'm almost goingto be like, probably be inclined
just to like tell you like thepersonal details of my life,
just because it's easier for meand that's the way I've been
built yeah, yeah, I definitelyidentify with that.
Justin (17:17):
I think I've I've worked on um, trying to add some
filters, just because most ofthe people around me uh, don't
always appreciate how open I am,um, and talking about those
awkward things.
I don't always appreciate howopen I am and talking about
those awkward things and I don'tknow where it comes from.
It's just somehow how I wasbuilt, but I love that, so that
(17:41):
vulnerability just comes as aset of your default programming,
like second nature and I've hadto learn how to censor a little
bit set of your defaultprogramming, like second nature.
Michael (17:48):
Yeah, I don't, you know .
I and you know I've had tolearn how to censor a little bit
because, you know, in the pastI was just like you know, such a
wild animal, just like justblurting out or saying things,
you know, and I didn't know.
I don't want to pay too muchheed to ADHD, but I learned it
as an adult and I don't want togive it a moniker because I
still believe that you cancontrol, you know, your, your
(18:08):
mind control is very importantbut I, I, I fit all the boxes,
you know.
So, um, I, uh, blurting thingsout, being very impulsive,
that's just, that's.
That's my second, you know, Igot to make sure that.
You know that you're aware ofthat.
It's like, okay, let's take ourtime, not knee jerk react.
Justin (18:31):
Yeah, I actually that was another one of the topics
that I wanted to dig intobecause you mentioned, you know,
when you were younger, when youwere a kid, we didn't have all
the words, we didn't have ADHD,and so there was, you know, I'm
sure there were many definitionsthat were thrown around and now
it's something that we wouldthrow in, you know, the bigger
(18:54):
bucket of neurodiversity orneurodivergence, um, and it's,
it's a topic that I've beenexploring because it it does.
Going back to something that yousaid, kind of one of the
reasons why you're anentrepreneur is because you
didn't feel like you werehireable, and and we find that,
I think, in the workplace, wherepeople who are not neurotypical
(19:17):
then don't fit the you know themold of professionalism that we
often think about, but itdoesn't mean that those people
don't bring talent into theworkplace.
So I want to talk a little bitabout that and you know the, the
role that that's had in your atany point in your life, if you
(19:39):
can think of, you know where itstood out the most, maybe, or I
don't know that and kind of yourbelonging, like where it either
gave you belonging ornegatively impacted your
belonging.
Michael (19:52):
You know I believe iron sharpens iron, so I think it's
helped me.
You know it's hindered me inthe past.
You know there's.
You know, when I was navigatingthrough it, white knuckling it,
and there was no moniker for it.
You know I was put in a specialschool at UCLA when I was a kid
for some.
You know they took me out of myregular elementary school and
(20:12):
it was called for an all schooland it was for, you know,
special needs.
But they didn't have like thenames where you know, and I just
remember being in there with abunch of different kinds of all
you know, cause they justglommed in everybody.
It was not like a specialtykind of thing for whatever you
were, just like everybody wasbunched in.
I remember telling the teacherlook, I'll do whatever I got to
do to get out of this situation.
I feel as though I was beingpunished.
(20:33):
I just want to go back to myregular elementary school.
You just tell me what I got todo and I'll study or do whatever
I got to do.
So eventually, like like five,six months later, my parents are
let's go back, take him back.
But they don't know what.
You know what's going on, youknow, it's just a little
different.
And um, and then also, I had,you know, focusing problems with
my eyes.
It was a form of dyslexia,where a great doctor named Dr
(21:01):
Getz in Los Angeles area isknown for having to go through
exercises to alleviate your eyesfrom doing certain things.
My eyes would like, just youknow, get lost in the page or,
like you know, like the wordsjumping in front of each other
and like double vision.
Weird, you know my, my ownlittle esoteric kind of problem
with that.
So, um, and and and such agreat doctor to where you know I
I don't know whether I adjustedit cause no one knows.
You know what they, how otherpeople see, you know, but um
(21:25):
2020, you know and and and, nota problem you know right now.
Um, at least where I've adapted, but as far as you know um,
going through the uh, you knowhow it's helped.
I think that you know a lot ofpeople that have that similar,
you know, situation.
It's helped.
You be to have with empathy.
You know um, I'll say a lot, of, a lot of um times with you
(21:49):
know people.
For the most part, it's I'vehad so many employees throughout
the years, tons of employees,you know, so you're always going
to find one of them.
I say, ah, that guy, you knowhe was this way or that way.
But for the majority of theemployees you'd ask to work with
me, I say, you know, he wasreally good guy.
I like working with that guy,you know um, you know or the
that doesn't absolve, you know,maybe you didn't pay it out.
(22:09):
You always try to be on the onthe highest level of you know
pay, of, of understanding, ofappreciation and all that.
And I think that being a personthat has you know um, that's
been humbled in most of theirlife is it makes for a more
empathetic um person to work forwork with and, uh, relationship
(22:32):
wise, um same.
You know significant other for20 years almost, and I think
that those things help along.
But you got to work at it aslong as you're cognitive, of
whatever your typical corkscrewsare, whatever your weaknesses
are, and I think that's whypersonal development was such a
big thing for me, because itgave me a roadmap to say, okay,
(22:54):
two steps forward, one step back.
I understand that let's work onthese things and so along
through navigation.
I think it's helped me.
Justin (23:02):
Yeah, okay.
The one soundbite I'm takingfrom that is those moments of
being humbled helped youincrease your empathy and, I
think you know, tying that backinto the model that is helping
us find more acceptance forothers.
So that's, that's great and agreat, a great closing note,
(23:23):
michael, thank you so much fortaking some time to chat with me
today.
I will make sure to share somelinks in the show notes, but I
want to make sure you have amoment to um, you know, share
what, how?
How should people engage withyou if they want to come find
you?
Michael (23:40):
Just go to michaelsteinmedia.
com, everything's right there.
The uh, you'll see.
There's three podcasts rightnow.
That's the uh long shot leaders, which I mentioned.
The Stein time show, which areuh actors and comedians.
And uh, the Bolitor podcast,which launches in March 5th,
which is the Kickstartercampaign of Bola tour, which is
the outdoor brand.
(24:03):
We created a patented brand ofbackpacks that are they're
called Bola packs and they'relike it's a, it's a tarp, it's a
.
It's a backpack that opens upto a tarp, that's a hammock that
has a drain on it, thatattaches to a soft cooler or a
tactical backpack or a day packor lunchbox.
You know a pack and it's allthese interchangeable backpacks
and they're called Bolo packsand you can go to bolotourcom
(24:25):
and find out more about that.
But if you just go tomichaelsteinmediacom, you'll
find out more about me and mybio that you saw and all that
other stuff.
Justin (24:34):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much,michael, and stay tuned for
another episode of the CreatingBelonging podcast.
Thanks,
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Creating
Belonging podcast.
Today I have with me MichaelStein.
Michael, if you would just takea few moments to introduce
yourself.
Michael (00:20):
Well, okay, so my typical story is one of being a
long shot.
I do a podcast called Long ShotLeaders and I consider myself a
long shot.
My grandmother escaped theRussian concentration camps on
the way to America and my dadwas a New York homeless street
kid, became a multimillionaire,only to be homeless again.
(00:40):
And then, you know, I had tosleep in the same room, my
grandmother, when I was, youknow, uh, tell us like nine
years old, cause I was theyoungest, so I'd hear that story
about how she escaped theRussian concentration camps, you
know, and my dad, I hear aboutit.
You're lucky to have what youhave, cause, you know, we, we,
we grew up in a rich family, ina rich neighborhood, but we were
a poor family.
We're like the insinualJubilees, you know.
(01:00):
You had the old cars in a nicearea, you know, but, uh, so you
should appreciate what you have.
Uh, I was a premature kidhealth issues, add, they didn't
know what it was back then.
Uh, dyslexia and um, justawkward, you know, not a lot,
not a lot of wins, and uh, otherthan making people laugh.
And then, um, uh, one day myparents took me, like most, uh,
(01:23):
american kids.
They took me to see a moviecalled Rocky and I was like, wow
, this is going to change mylife.
I, this guy's like me, he's,he's funny, but he's not
successful.
And, um, he keeps on gettingknocked down and keeps on trying
, you know, and I said, the onlydifference in this guy myself
is he's physically fit.
So then, every day after that,I started working out self, is
(01:44):
he's physically fit?
So then, every day after that,I started working out.
I was like 11 or 12 years oldand then, by the time I was 16,
I became a physical fitnesstrainer.
I was like you would considerthe epitome of health at that
time and I said, wow, that'sthat's.
You know, people are commentinghow physically fit I was.
And I was like, well, that'stwo things I can make people
laugh and I can now, you know,train people and I'm successful
at being physically fit.
(02:04):
So I was like, wow, time pluseffort.
So I, my high school, um, as Iwas graduating, my high school
tutor asked me what, what do youwant to do?
Uh, for um, you know, afteryou're done with high school, I
said, well, I want to be anentrepreneur, an actor and a
standout comedian.
She goes you might want to justwork with your hands because
not everybody's meant to do whatthey want to do.
And I said, ah, screw you.
My dad didn't even finish theeighth grade and he became a
(02:26):
multimillionaire.
Granted, he's living in a vanoutside of the house right now,
but you know, visiting my mom.
But you know, you know he wassuccessful and I'm just going to
, I'm graduating high school.
So I started my own company, um,a day after I graduated high
school and made two sales within, like you know, 20 minutes uh,
selling out of my bedroom, uh,selling tools, and um, after
(02:47):
that I failed miserably.
I didn't sell anything and Iwas like it's summertime and
everybody's having fun.
I was like, screw it.
So then I took some actingcourses at local city college
along with a business class and,um, I said I got to start doing
standup.
So I did stand up.
I was, uh, 19 years old, uh,you know, six months later when
(03:08):
I did that.
And then I brought a lot ofpeople there.
I said, you know, I'm reallynot going to make money doing
standup.
You know you do open mic nightsand all that.
But I said I could start topromote nightclubs, because in
Los Angeles, where I was bornand raised.
That was a big business backthen, back in the late 80s.
So I said I'm going to be anightclub promoter.
So then, six months later, Ibecame the number one nightclub
promoter, uh, in my age bracket.
And uh, I was like, wow, herewe go again.
(03:28):
You know, time plus effort, youknow, as long as you believe in
yourself.
So I started uh from there,opened up the door for a lot of
things, uh, to be an actor and afilmmaker.
My first acting role is playingdirt Diggler and the dirt
Diggler story which becameBoogie Nights, which I appear in
as well.
There's a short film to BoogieNights and that turned into a
big motion picture and I appearin Boogie Nights.
And I was like, wow, you know,I see how this process is done.
(03:52):
So I started making my ownfilms and won a lot of awards
for that and it was a longjourney of there.
I quit my nightclub business tomake these big movies and you
know it came to a point where Ididn't have any money, you know,
and I wanted to make a featurefilm, cause I got close to
getting a movie deal, for myshort films was word winning
short film.
And I said, you know, I gottabe an entrepreneur again.
(04:14):
And the only problem was is,you know, I didn't have any
money.
I was broken in debt.
I didn't have any money to makethe film.
I didn't have any money tostart a business, but I just I
started building a website selltarps online, which is a niche
thing and I heard you get, theriches are in the niches.
So within six months I madealmost a half a million dollars
and I was able to pay for mymovie called love Hollywood
(04:36):
style, which I casted FayeDunaway, academy award actress,
and Andy Dick and Coolio and acrazy cast many other actors
you've seen and I got to wrotedirect Andy Dick and Coolio and
a crazy cast many other actorsyou've seen and I got to wrote
direct, wrote direct, produceact in this film.
And I nearly bought him out thebusiness that I created, the
tarspluscom business and I waslike you know, I can take care
of this business and and and thefilm did well, it got you know,
(05:01):
bought, you know and it diddecent.
But I said I'm gonna take careof this business and since then
that business has earned over ahundred million dollars and
continues to grow.
And I'm launching another bigbusiness called Bola Tour in two
months which hopefullyrevolutionized the backpack
industry.
And I do this podcast calledLongshot Leaders because I said
if I'm going to do a podcast, itwould be about people that have
overcome large obstacles tofind success.
(05:23):
And I'm talking to you todaybecause you know much of that
journey.
I never felt like I belonged.
Sometimes I feel still I feellike I don't belong, but you
know, the journey continues andthat's why I'm here today.
Justin (05:36):
Yeah, michael, thank you for sharing that.
I love the background, likesuch rich experiences you have,
so like we could talk about aton, but I have a few places I
want to dig.
I think one of the reasons Ireached out and wanted to have
you on the podcast was, you know, when I look at the combination
of identities that you use todescribe yourself entrepreneur,
(05:58):
actor, writer, director,producer, stand up comedian and
then personal development expertand that there was this combo
that I was like this guy soundsinteresting.
I think we can have a funconversation let's chat.
So I want to pick up on kind ofwhere you just left off,
because this is actually one ofthe areas that I wanted to dig
into.
(06:18):
You've been really a lifelongentrepreneur and you know that
can be kind of a lonely journeyat times.
So I'm curious how you've builtcommunity and found places to
fit in and belong in your career.
Michael (06:33):
Well, I'm an entrepreneur because I don't
feel like I was ever hireableand all I know is entrepreneurs.
My dad was an entrepreneur, hisdad was a fruit peddler or his
dad was.
His dad was actually a managerfrom Jimmy Durante for a couple
of times.
He's like a job or, you know,he's searching around.
But I come from a long line oflike entrepreneurs.
My uh, when my grandmotherescaped the Russian
concentration camps, her uh dad,my great grandfather, he owned
(06:57):
a, one of the only candyfactories in Kiev and he had to
leave it all because you, theydidn't like jews back then
either.
So, um, you know, uh, I, I havealways heard this story.
You know you, you know that'swhat you know you're.
You have a family ofentrepreneurs.
Uh, working for other peoplejust didn't seem real to me,
seem more real to me to startyour own company, because that
(07:18):
seemed like more, it seemedeasier, rather than somebody
choosing me, because I don'tfeel like anybody would want to
choose me either.
You, you know, um, that's thatwas the problem I had with
acting.
You know, it's like auditioning.
I was like, you know, I feltlike people don't want to choose
me.
It's just the insecurity partof it and I felt more secure
just starting my own businessand, um, that's, uh, that's the
(07:39):
sense of, the sense of thebelonging, you know, is like the
only time I, when I was younger, it started, you know, because
being awkward, you know, and andhaving um just these
idiosyncrasies that I had, ummaking people laugh at me or
making them laugh at anything.
You know was the icebreaker.
So those were my tools to uhmake people laugh and, uh, my
entrepreneurial career is justbecause I felt like it was just
(08:01):
more doable yeah, that'sinteresting.
Justin (08:07):
um, so, if you think about the and that was actually
another area that I wanted todig so maybe let's go a little
bit deeper there and look at theintersection there of the, the
role that comedy has played in,you know, you being an
entrepreneur kind of digginginto comedy, uh, and you do that
because you're like, you knowto paraphrase what you just said
(08:27):
you know to make people laugh,made you feel good and even if
they were laughing at you, likeyou were giving people enjoyment
.
So I'd love to hear more aboutyou know, if you think about
belonging, your feeling ofbelonging and comedy, whether
people are laughing at you orwith you.
(08:47):
I want to dig into that alittle bit.
Michael (08:50):
Yeah, you know it's tough because stand up, you know
you can easily feel like youdon't belong, because they don't
laugh at you.
You feel like, well, here we goagain.
All those old feelings comeback, you know.
but it's just, you know it's,it's just inherent in who you
are.
And you know it's interestingwith standup.
You know I just did stand up Um, I'm taking a break over there
(09:12):
cause I got to launch my company, um bullet tour, but uh, I uh
was doing standup.
Uh, I think it was about sixweeks ago, eight weeks ago, you
know, and um, you know, rightnow it's it's interesting, cause
sometimes you could always feellike you don't belong.
You know, I'm like right now Iguess I don't feel like because
I'm a caucasian jewish guy,older jewish guy.
You know I'm not the youngcomedian anymore and you know
(09:35):
it's like.
You know it's tough time for thejews, you know, because there's
a lot of stuff's going on andand it's almost like you know,
there's a lot of people thatwant to say things and you you
got to grow tough skin when itcomes to try to get laughs.
So you know that's that.
That sense has been interestingand navigating that.
But there's always a corkscrew.
There's always a way to, andthat's what I love about standup
is always a way to try to findthe rapport and try to find
(09:59):
common ground and try to find ajoke.
That you know, cause people arepeople really, at the end of the
day, you know they they allwant the same things.
They all have six human needs.
You know psychology, which Ibelieve in, you know, which is a
more personal development thing, where people just want to feel
certainty.
They want a sense of variety,they want a sense of love and
connection and growth andsignificance.
(10:21):
And you know if you could findthe rapport of you know who
you're talking to, whether it'sstand up or me and you today.
You know you find out what.
You know you're feeding thosepeople.
There's six human needs.
They just have differentvehicles for it.
Everybody's got a differentthumbprint on how to get the
vehicle for those needs.
Justin (10:44):
And that's that's how I navigate through that.
Yeah, ok, so I want to dig intoone piece there so the your
kind of Jewish identity and as acomedian and kind of the the
rise in antisemitism right now Iwant to dig a little more there
.
I'm just it's surprising to methat that would even come up.
I mean it is and it's not right, like I don't know, if you're
(11:06):
in a comedy club, like why areyou like I don't know, like what
experiences have you had thathave been kind of backlash
against?
Michael (11:15):
uh, it happens, I don't know, like, uh, you know, I've,
you know, sometimes like gonna,just recently, and nothing too
extreme, not like the one thathad the girl that with the
bottle through the can the beerthrew out, or whatever, that the
jew comedian girl.
But uh, you know, I was onstage and I did a routine and,
uh, I didn't say anything badabout anybody in particular, you
know, but I I, you know said Ididn't say anything about Jewish
(11:38):
or whatever.
Like another comedian, I waslike easy Jewish guy or
something like that, you know.
And and then other comediansyou know, like, uh, and that's
really weird, it's out here inAustin, texas, which is like,
you know, you, you know, youthink it's not a small.
You know, uh, somebody was like, you know, just went into their
own little um rant about, uh,you know, uh, jewishness and and
(11:58):
and and all that you know.
And I was, you know, hey, look,you know people, you gotta be
able.
There's a big world out there,8 billion, almost Right.
So people are going to haveopinions, you know.
So just got to realize likewhat, what?
The thing that helped me throughthat is realizing what need are
they trying to meet?
You know, by saying somethingthat would be a negative vehicle
(12:19):
towards meeting one of thoseneeds.
You know what?
What is it?
Significance Is it?
Is it trying, you know?
Is it trying to gain connectionwith another group that they're
there with, you know?
So that's kind of likemollifies, my, my, my um.
It breaks it down to likematrix to me, you know, like
cause.
I think everybody is operatingoff of the same six human needs,
you know, and and uh, from it'svery Tony Robbins thing, but
(12:42):
I've done everything that he'sever done.
So I'm kind of uh, you'll heara lot of parallels between Tony
Robbins and me, but I think thatpeople operate, you know, by
those things and and so that'sthat's that's helped me navigate
through that though, becauserecently has been tough, you
know, to hear some of thosethings because of my background.
But you know everybody, youstart to realize, you know it
(13:04):
really forces you to beobjective as well, you know.
So that's, uh, that's importantas well, to be objective.
So you don't judge people, youknow, till you look at yourself
as well.
Justin (13:14):
Yeah, it's, you know it's.
I like how you're positioningthat and I do think some of
those statements like ifsomebody is in a crowd and they
yell something like that, Ithink it is connection, it's
their perceived way ofconnecting with others thinking
like I'm saying the thing thateveryone else is thinking, and
(13:36):
so it's a way of, you know,standing up with others in their
own mind.
Michael (13:42):
They might feel like they're getting, they're
contributing as well, you know,and that's a.
That's a, that's a noble need,but it's also a negative vehicle
.
If you feel, if yourcontribution is being negative
to you, there's a triad, it'scalled the triad of a good
decision.
If it's good for you and it'sgood for me and it's good for
the greater good, you need allthree, Then it's a tri.
That's not exact science, it'sa great art form, but but you
(14:05):
need those three to.
That's the triad of a gooddecision.
Justin (14:08):
Yeah, yeah, I like that when it it makes me think, when
I, when I try to bring that backto the creating belonging model
I'm thinking about it's thataccept the acceptance piece of
you know, am I?
Am I?
Am I expressing my values in away that are trampling on
someone else?
Am I expressing my values in away that are trampling on
(14:32):
someone else?
Or am I suspending my ownvalues to try to let someone
else in?
And that's kind of where welike to focus.
The other thing I'm curiousabout in your comedy so back to
kind of I always like to justtie back into the model and then
, and then we go from there.
(14:57):
So on the authenticity side,you know, authenticity requires
a lot of vulnerability and Iwould assume I've I've tried to
do comedy in front of people,like briefly, and have failed
miserably, and so in myexperience it requires a lot of
vulnerability.
I would imagine getting up onstage repeatedly requires a lot
of vulnerability.
So I'm just I'm curious tell mea little bit more about about
(15:21):
your experience with that.
Michael (15:23):
That comes really inherently because my, my mother
who's this good looking MarilynMonroe lady right next to her,
right here she's she had thepersonality of Don Rickles
really warm one he was.
She Don Rickles is actually areally loving guy, very funny.
And so my mom, you know, wasvery open about everything you
know.
So I grew up in an environment,so it was my dad.
So you know I grew up around alot of volatility.
(15:46):
You know my dad.
You know my mom got divorcedbut you know I was around a lot
of you know stuff.
My mom would say like she, shesays say things out of blue of
like you know I'm, I got areally upset stomach, you know,
and I'm younger, before I wasmarried and I was like you know,
this is Chili's, maybe I shouldget the chili, and my mom's
(16:11):
like you can't eat that.
You got diarrhea.
I was like you know, nothing iscensored, you know nothing is
like everything is like out inthe open, and my mom was just
that kind of lady that she'slike very little sensor, you
know, and she would just saythings like you know, I was the
youngest, you know, and she'slike you know my son, I didn't
plan on this one.
(16:31):
You know I drank, I smoke, Iran up and down the stairs, you
know, but he survived.
But I say that because now youknow I love him, because I said
it out loud and that way I'mcopying to it.
You know that was his way ofshowing her.
You know that she loved me.
The truth was, you know thatshe loved me Every.
The truth was, you know, uh,loving.
If I got too big for mybritches, she would love to
knock me down a little bit.
If I, if I was, if I neededsome boosting, she would
(16:54):
lovingly boost me up.
So that's where my standupcomes from my mother being and,
um, and my whole family justbeing so open.
There's not a lot of sensorythere.
You just talk about like youcould literally ask me anything
right now and I'm almost goingto be like, probably be inclined
just to like tell you like thepersonal details of my life,
just because it's easier for meand that's the way I've been
built yeah, yeah, I definitelyidentify with that.
Justin (17:17):
I think I've I've worked on um, trying to add some
filters, just because most ofthe people around me uh, don't
always appreciate how open I am,um, and talking about those
awkward things.
I don't always appreciate howopen I am and talking about
those awkward things and I don'tknow where it comes from.
It's just somehow how I wasbuilt, but I love that, so that
(17:41):
vulnerability just comes as aset of your default programming,
like second nature and I've hadto learn how to censor a little
bit set of your defaultprogramming, like second nature.
Michael (17:48):
Yeah, I don't, you know .
I and you know I've had tolearn how to censor a little bit
because, you know, in the pastI was just like you know, such a
wild animal, just like justblurting out or saying things,
you know, and I didn't know.
I don't want to pay too muchheed to ADHD, but I learned it
as an adult and I don't want togive it a moniker because I
still believe that you cancontrol, you know, your, your
(18:08):
mind control is very importantbut I, I, I fit all the boxes,
you know.
So, um, I, uh, blurting thingsout, being very impulsive,
that's just, that's.
That's my second, you know, Igot to make sure that.
You know that you're aware ofthat.
It's like, okay, let's take ourtime, not knee jerk react.
Justin (18:31):
Yeah, I actually that was another one of the topics
that I wanted to dig intobecause you mentioned, you know,
when you were younger, when youwere a kid, we didn't have all
the words, we didn't have ADHD,and so there was, you know, I'm
sure there were many definitionsthat were thrown around and now
it's something that we wouldthrow in, you know, the bigger
(18:54):
bucket of neurodiversity orneurodivergence, um, and it's,
it's a topic that I've beenexploring because it it does.
Going back to something that yousaid, kind of one of the
reasons why you're anentrepreneur is because you
didn't feel like you werehireable, and and we find that,
I think, in the workplace, wherepeople who are not neurotypical
(19:17):
then don't fit the you know themold of professionalism that we
often think about, but itdoesn't mean that those people
don't bring talent into theworkplace.
So I want to talk a little bitabout that and you know the, the
role that that's had in your atany point in your life, if you
(19:39):
can think of, you know where itstood out the most, maybe, or I
don't know that and kind of yourbelonging, like where it either
gave you belonging ornegatively impacted your
belonging.
Michael (19:52):
You know I believe iron sharpens iron, so I think it's
helped me.
You know it's hindered me inthe past.
You know there's.
You know, when I was navigatingthrough it, white knuckling it,
and there was no moniker for it.
You know I was put in a specialschool at UCLA when I was a kid
for some.
You know they took me out of myregular elementary school and
(20:12):
it was called for an all schooland it was for, you know,
special needs.
But they didn't have like thenames where you know, and I just
remember being in there with abunch of different kinds of all
you know, cause they justglommed in everybody.
It was not like a specialtykind of thing for whatever you
were, just like everybody wasbunched in.
I remember telling the teacherlook, I'll do whatever I got to
do to get out of this situation.
I feel as though I was beingpunished.
(20:33):
I just want to go back to myregular elementary school.
You just tell me what I got todo and I'll study or do whatever
I got to do.
So eventually, like like five,six months later, my parents are
let's go back, take him back.
But they don't know what.
You know what's going on, youknow, it's just a little
different.
And um, and then also, I had,you know, focusing problems with
my eyes.
It was a form of dyslexia,where a great doctor named Dr
(21:01):
Getz in Los Angeles area isknown for having to go through
exercises to alleviate your eyesfrom doing certain things.
My eyes would like, just youknow, get lost in the page or,
like you know, like the wordsjumping in front of each other
and like double vision.
Weird, you know my, my ownlittle esoteric kind of problem
with that.
So, um, and and and such agreat doctor to where you know I
I don't know whether I adjustedit cause no one knows.
You know what they, how otherpeople see, you know, but um
(21:25):
2020, you know and and and, nota problem you know right now.
Um, at least where I've adapted, but as far as you know um,
going through the uh, you knowhow it's helped.
I think that you know a lot ofpeople that have that similar,
you know, situation.
It's helped.
You be to have with empathy.
You know um, I'll say a lot, of, a lot of um times with you
(21:49):
know people.
For the most part, it's I'vehad so many employees throughout
the years, tons of employees,you know, so you're always going
to find one of them.
I say, ah, that guy, you knowhe was this way or that way.
But for the majority of theemployees you'd ask to work with
me, I say, you know, he wasreally good guy.
I like working with that guy,you know um, you know or the
that doesn't absolve, you know,maybe you didn't pay it out.
(22:09):
You always try to be on the onthe highest level of you know
pay, of, of understanding, ofappreciation and all that.
And I think that being a personthat has you know um, that's
been humbled in most of theirlife is it makes for a more
empathetic um person to work forwork with and, uh, relationship
(22:32):
wise, um same.
You know significant other for20 years almost, and I think
that those things help along.
But you got to work at it aslong as you're cognitive, of
whatever your typical corkscrewsare, whatever your weaknesses
are, and I think that's whypersonal development was such a
big thing for me, because itgave me a roadmap to say, okay,
(22:54):
two steps forward, one step back.
I understand that let's work onthese things and so along
through navigation.
I think it's helped me.
Justin (23:02):
Yeah, okay.
The one soundbite I'm takingfrom that is those moments of
being humbled helped youincrease your empathy and, I
think you know, tying that backinto the model that is helping
us find more acceptance forothers.
So that's, that's great and agreat, a great closing note,
(23:23):
michael, thank you so much fortaking some time to chat with me
today.
I will make sure to share somelinks in the show notes, but I
want to make sure you have amoment to um, you know, share
what, how?
How should people engage withyou if they want to come find
you?
Michael (23:40):
Just go to michaelsteinmedia.
com, everything's right there.
The uh, you'll see.
There's three podcasts rightnow.
That's the uh long shot leaders, which I mentioned.
The Stein time show, which areuh actors and comedians.
And uh, the Bolitor podcast,which launches in March 5th,
which is the Kickstartercampaign of Bola tour, which is
the outdoor brand.
(24:03):
We created a patented brand ofbackpacks that are they're
called Bola packs and they'relike it's a, it's a tarp, it's a
.
It's a backpack that opens upto a tarp, that's a hammock that
has a drain on it, thatattaches to a soft cooler or a
tactical backpack or a day packor lunchbox.
You know a pack and it's allthese interchangeable backpacks
and they're called Bolo packsand you can go to bolotourcom
(24:25):
and find out more about that.
But if you just go tomichaelsteinmediacom, you'll
find out more about me and mybio that you saw and all that
other stuff.
Justin (24:34):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much,michael, and stay tuned for
another episode of the CreatingBelonging podcast.
Thanks,
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