July 11, 2025 • 46 mins
He begged for a job at Foot Locker. Now he runs a sneaker empire!
Ryan Gazinski’s story isn’t about luck, it’s about relentless hustle, real relationships, and doing the work when no one’s watching. From cleaning floors for $6.75/hour to building Guest List, designing for the Suns, and creating a three-story retail concept with Ronnie 2K, Ryan’s built it all without shortcuts.
🔥 If you're into sneakers, startups, or just stories about grinding until it pays off, this one’s a must-listen. Tap in.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
okay, so welcome to our podcast.
This is a little bit differenttoday, because this podcast is a
spin-off of our radio show.
All right, welcome to mypodcast.
I got a cool guest today.
(00:26):
I'm pretty excited about itbecause I've been trying to lock
this guy down for a while.
Ryan Gazinski, the owner ofGuest List.
The shoe store yes, right, andit's not just any shoe store.
How do you explain what yourshoe store is?
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I mean, guest List is like an exclusive vibe.
We have, you know, a ton ofdifferent shoes and apparel.
We kind of cater to likeathletes, artists, and we bring
a bunch of different apparelthat's not in this state to this
state so, um, I know a littlebit about your story and I want
to get back to your story in thebeginning.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
But let's talk about where you are now, because now
you got something in sanfrancisco, you open a new
location.
Like what, where are yourlocations?
Right?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
now.
So right now we uh, we have alocation in Scottsdale Fashion
Square, we have a location inArizona Mills Mall, and then we
have a new concept in SanFrancisco and that's called
Levels, and my partner in thatis Ronnie 2k, and we built a
three level experience basically.
So we have an event space onthe top floor, we have a retail
on the street level and then wehave a speakeasy in the bottom
(01:24):
level.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
So it's the levels um .
My son dutch is here, he's.
He's my co-host today.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So when he says ronnie 2k you know exactly who
that is yeah, man, it's the faceof 2k.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, nba 2k yeah, we explain a little bit more.
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
he's like the 2k media guy.
Like when you think of 2k, youthink of ronnie 2.
You got Flight yelling at himon stream.
I know Flight, flight's a guythat says that he's always like
man F Ronnie.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, Ronnie takes the good and the bad for 2K for
sure.
Yeah, he's sick.
But we partnered up.
Guy Fieri actually introducedus and we were flying back from
an all-star on Guy's private jet.
We had hit it off on aconversation.
We were a jet, we had hit itoff on a conversation, we were
doing all-star, all-star,all-star and we were like yo, we
gotta do one san francisco'scoming, it's your hometown, you
(02:09):
have a space there like let'sbring this to life.
And he, basically, we decidedto try to bring the game, like
the 2k experience, because hebrings all the apparel into the
game.
So let's make a physicallocation to where, like, game
meets real world and we tie allthe apparel in so you can come
buy it at the space.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Where in San Francisco is it?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
It's located like five minutes from the Chase
Center.
So right as you walk out ourdoor, hit a left, walk down 100
steps, you're at the Chase frontdoor.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Explain the Guy Fieri .
I always say his name wrong,but Guy, like connection, like
how did you get to be with him?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
So Guy's a wrong but guy constant like connection,
like how did you get to be withhim?
So, guys, is a really goodfriend of mine, one of our, a
football player family of mineum, that was really bad.
So they're gonna have to editthat, but uh, yeah, it's all
good, my guy, marcel reese,introduced me and guy and me and
guy hit it off rider.
Actually guy's son, me and himbecame real close.
I was styling him, giving himall his shoes, taking care of
him.
(03:04):
Then you know guys, his heartis huge.
So he just was like you're partof the family, basically.
You know, every All-Star we'dbe together, we'd run in all
these rooms, have the dopestparties and he put me on to many
great experiences and then it'shistory.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So we just became family.
You to Johnny 2K.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Next thing.
You know you're opening up thisRonnie 2K.
Yeah, now you get the hang ofit.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Sorry, man, that's why I have him here, exactly
Alright.
So now, and how's it going?
How's the new location going?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
New location's amazing.
It's a new concept, so it'sinteresting.
We're still trying to figure itall out, but we have.
I mean, we just had a watchparty for the Warriors and we
did it with prize picks and thatwent amazing.
We had about 150 people downthere enjoying betting on the
game live.
Right there, we gave away aJeff Hamilton jacket.
It was a vibe, Really reallycool, the Jeff Hamilton dude.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I've seen him on Instagram at the Suns games.
Right yeah, what's his story?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
He's amazing man.
He's another family of mine.
We actually we met many yearsago all--star as well and we've
hit it off ever since.
He's like the creator of thejacket, so like when right the
iconic kobe picture where kobe'slike holding the trophy, like
that's jeff hamilton.
He made that jacket when jordanwon all the, all his
championships, all them jacketswere jeff hamilton.
But jeff's been doing this forlike 30, 40 I mean I feel like
(04:20):
40 years, right, but he's he's atalent with the jackets and he
knows everybody yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Okay, so let's get.
I want to get to you a lot,actually, because I know a
little bit about your story,yeah, but like, where are you
from?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
I'm actually from Connecticut, mm-hmm, but I grew
up here in Arizona.
I went to high school out here,where did you go to high school
out?
Here.
So where'd you go to highschool?
I went to high school at Dobsonfor a little while, and then I
graduated from a charter school,um ACP, out in Mesa.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So yeah.
So then what, like, how do youget from a charter school?
For how do you get from Dobsonto this?
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Um, basically, I mean , I always had a passion for
just buying and selling products.
I had many jobs, you know, justalways had a passion for that.
But I got a job at Foot Lockerat 16.
So that's where, like shoes,fashion, culture, that whole
thing, it was like birth rightthere.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Which Foot Locker.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I started at Fiesta Mall.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Man, that's not even there anymore, not even there.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
All right, so you get to, which is crazy, because
I'll give you the other one.
So I started at Fiesta Mall andthen my first store where guest
list really started.
It was called Swag and itstarted at Fiesta Mall.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Oh, really 15 years ago.
I used to bus tables for mydad's restaurant in eighth grade
at Fiesta Mall.
What was the restaurant?
It was called King's Table.
It was an all-you-can-eatsmorgasbord.
Wow, that's crazy.
It was so gross because backthen you could smoke in the
restaurants and I was bussing.
So I was 13, 14.
And I had to take mashedpotatoes that had cigarette
(05:46):
butts in it and put them on it.
It was terrible, but I just hada core memory of Fiesta Mall
when I was a kid.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
That's the core memory.
That's the core memory.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
That and my dad.
I remember when they werebuilding the restaurant, my dad
took me in the kitchen.
I had to pee so bad I got tostand in the kitchen.
He picked me up, put me in thekitchen sink and I peed into the
sink and I thought that wasreally cool.
But okay, you're 16.
What yeah, dude?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
He said you ain't let me pee in no studio yet.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
So you're 16.
You're a footlocker, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
What's your job?
At Footlocker I started as apart-time employee.
It literally took me like fouror five interviews.
I would go.
I wanted the job so bad I wentback for like two months
straight, before they even gaveme an interview.
I would just go dress up, putmy button up on, you know, go in
there like please give me a job, please give me a job.
Finally they took a chance onme.
I worked myself up from apart-time employee all the way
(06:42):
to becoming a store manager andI mean over the years I won like
highest sales book for like theregion, for the state.
They gave me plaques Like theytook the gamble and that was
well worth it.
But I was willing to work reallyhard.
That was the one key.
I was willing to scrub thetiles from the front to the back
, do whatever job came my way.
I wasn't big for nothing.
I just I would just wanted tomake a name for myself and I was
(07:05):
just doing it at Foot Lockerand at that time, like without
going to school or not, likethat, it was pretty much college
for me.
But I didn't really know thattill I got six years in and I
realized then I just went tocollege for business, like cause
it taught me everything.
And then I really just like Ifinally got my store to become a
store manager and was like, ohyeah, we just need to open my
own store.
So one year I've had of, oneyear of getting to become a
(07:27):
store manager after working fiveyears to get there.
I literally called my DM andwas like I'm opening my own
store and she was like you'recrazy, you're, you're not ready,
it's not gonna work.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well, I wish you luck you know how old are you at
this time 21 21.
You're ready to open your ownstore?
Yeah, but that means you musthave made relationships with
shoe people.
What gives you the inspirationto open your own store?
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Like I said, the passion for buying and selling a
product was always there.
You know, then I did meet manygreat relationships, athletes
Like I worked at Chandler Mallfor a while so all the
Cardinalsinals dudes were comingin, like all the rookie
cardinals dudes would alwayscome through to buy shoes.
So when they came to buy shoes,like we would always exchange
numbers, I'd, you know, try tohold them some shoes, get them
some stuff that was like limitedor exclusive, that they
(08:14):
couldn't find, and thenbasically just my name just
stuck in some phones and like belike, hey, ryan, I'm looking
for jordan, you know 17.
And I'd be like, oh, I got you,you know what I.
And I'd be like, oh, I got you,you know what I'm saying.
And then I'd go find, I gosource it, find it and then
bring it back.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So what'd you do?
Call your Nike guys and you dome a favor.
No, I just there were.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
There was these like sneaker shows back in the day
that were like all over the like.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
You know, it was like there was like sneaker con and
you would didn't read anymotivational books.
You did what.
What did your parents do for aliving when you were growing up?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
my dad built airplane engines at honeywell and my mom
was a hairdresser wow, man.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, what about brothers and sisters?
Not only child.
So you didn't read anything,this is just instinct just added
in yeah, I'm gonna work my.
So your parents were like youneed to go to college no, they I
mean they didn't even reallyforce me.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
I kind of got in some trouble as a youngster.
So you know, that steered melike a route.
And then I realized in thatroute, like this ain't really
what I want to do.
You know, I really want to dosomething.
I really want to make a name.
I really want to like becomesomething.
So I literally just clicked.
I don't even know what it was,I just knew I was going to let's
go do it.
(09:23):
I just went right to it and Inever looked back and I just
stayed running this route andit's been a marathon.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
But when you got in trouble were you already at Foot
Locker.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Like you, were at risk of losing your job at Foot
Locker, and that scared you.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
They took care of me, man.
They came in and fought for me.
Foot Locker did yeah, mymanager.
She came to court for me.
They got me on a work releaseprogram.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Oh, so you got serious trouble.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yeah, we got to edit that.
But yeah, yeah, that's good.
Yeah, I did, and they reallybacked me and I really kept
spilling my passion back intothem because, I mean, somebody
cared.
You know what.
I'm saying I think a lot ofyoungsters and a lot of people
that are going through thingsthey don't have want to be
associated or overlook it.
It's a tough, it's a toughthing.
(10:05):
So the more that I try to getback to all these kids nowadays
and like just me just givinggame and running the back, I'll
try to steer any of them awayfrom doing bad stuff and just
stick to it, because it just itreroutes you.
You know what I'm saying?
You take time, you lose time.
It's not worth it.
So you gotta.
There's only one path.
It's the right path.
There's no.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Is there somebody that, like, inspired you in
footlocker?
Is there somebody that was likeyour mentor that you looked up
to?
No, no, I mean, there's nobodynot really.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
I mean I had a.
I had a really good manager andthen a really good like uh well
, she was like a senior manager,so yeah, I mean I really they
were cool to you.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
You'd call them up, say, man, I need some help yeah
just just always.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
She was a manager for like 25 years so she was just.
You know.
I could talk to her abouteverything.
She understood, she related andshe loved that I worked hard,
so she was willing to back me.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
So when you decide to open up your own store, you
said 21 years old.
21 years old.
How do you get the finances andwhere do you?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
go, 20 grand saved up and what so?
Here's the crazy thing.
So the like, back in the day,the leasing lady at Fiesta,
where there were some people upin in the office that I used to
sell like bootleg wallets andbags and purses and watches
Cause I was already, like I toldyou, I was buying and selling
products I used to set up at40th street at the swap meet and
(11:19):
sell those products.
I would literally buy a boothand it was $25 to buy a space,
set up, sell those products andmake a great money every weekend
.
And then I took that I wasselling them at the mall.
The leasing lady was like, well,she knew me from Foot Locker
and then so I was selling hersome.
And then she's like, well, howare you going to open a store?
You can't really sell thisstuff here.
I was like, no, I'm going tosell apparel and shoes.
(11:39):
And like I pitched her thisdream and she was like, yeah, I
don't know.
So I partnered with basicallylike my older brother, like a
mentor that I did have in mylife, and I was like, look, I
want to open this store.
You know I love this.
Um, let's do it.
You know what I'm saying so Ihave my little 20 grand and he
backed the other 20 grand and weopened the doors.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
that's crazy, crazy and then, how do you get the
relationships with like?
So if you've got Nike andAdidas and Puma, like, is that
you just call them up?
Hey, I'm opening a store, ordid you have those relationships
at Foot Locker?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
No, so we didn't.
We always have done shoes notthrough an account.
We've done shoes on like aconsignment basis basically.
So like, since I was doingshoes and collecting shoes, like
shoes have paid my whole life,like I had, you know, at one
point in my collection I ofshoes and then when they were
(12:27):
like stock, so as they went upin price, I would take them and
sell them and buy more and justplay the stocks games with shoes
.
And still to this day, like Istill play stock game with shoes
.
You know, I've only lost alittle bit in the process what
year was this, by the way, uh?
2011.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
We opened the store you know, the first high-end
shoe store like yours that Iever saw, ever heard of, was
called high point high pointadrian wilson's store, adrian
Wilson's store.
It was a great store, I know,and it's funny because he would
hook me up or I would have toHim and I had the same size shoe
.
So whenever he got a cool pairof shoes, if he didn't take it
then I wasn't able to get it.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
That was a great store.
See, they were a real retailaccount accounts.
So we had we had to go theother route.
So we basically went to findstreetwear, which was like you
know it was.
It was a weird market becauseit didn't really exist yet.
Foot lockers weren't buyingstreetwear like the mainstream
stores weren't really buying it.
But it was like a boomingmarket because, um, I mean, it
(13:16):
was like exclusive, it wasdifferent, it wasn't for the
masses, it was like so basicallythere's a clothing show in
vegas called magic.
It's a magic convention oragenda.
So those were like the two bigclothing shows.
So you would go to theseclothing shows and it'd be, uh,
designers from atlanta, chicago,new york, you know all these
different places, and they'dbasically be showing off their
(13:38):
apparel and you could buy itwholesale.
So, and some of them had names.
I mean, there was some, youknow, solid brands that were
running around at that pointthat were at the show nike, puma
, new balance, all them were atthe show.
But a store like mine theywouldn't pay no attention to,
right?
You know they would payattention to adrian wilson, you
know, he was an athlete, youknow.
You know blah, blah, right.
So we had to build ourselves upwith brands that didn't exist
(14:00):
in the mainstream, right, butthat was the cool thing and
that's what made us havingexclusive stuff that you
couldn't buy at you know theNordstrom's and the, you know
Macy's and all that.
We had the cooler stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Do you have relationships from those days
that have come up with you?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
All a bunch Now like now, you're just.
I mean, I've had, you know,some of those are 15 year
relationships that we've beendoing stuff, and those people
have, you know, transitionedtheir brand from a $2 million
brand to a $20 million brand youknow.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
But like the street where you have right now a lot
of stuff you have to, is alsoyour own brand, right?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yeah, right now we're doing a lot of you know I do a
lot of guestless apparel.
I have a brand calledauthentics.
Um, that one, we, we do that.
We sell that wholesale to about75 different boutiques
throughout the States.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So so that's a.
You know that's crazy.
Yeah, we have fun with that?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
how did you learn like bookkeeping and stuff like
that is still a challenge.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Is it because that's like I mean, like I said, full
locker kind of taught me youknow what I'm saying.
But now you know I get you agood cpa, that's that's key one
in business.
Get you a good cpa and taxes,because that's the two things
you need for sure.
But I mean really spend all onyour card, make sure it matches
up with your books, report yoursales, do your taxes, stay out
the way.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
What about finding good people to work for you?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
That's the key ingredient to this whole process
.
I look for people like myself.
The kid that comes in that sayshe's willing to do whatever and
work really hard.
That's like the best thing.
I try to just find those allthe time, because that's what
makes great teams.
You know, I try to just findthose all the time because
that's what makes great teams.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You know people that are willing to do every position
.
So when you were like, comingup, you didn't care about the
money.
You didn't care about the money, you wanted to get me in there
Because, see, I think you're avery rare breed right now
there's a couple other people Iknow, like you, that will bust
their ass.
It doesn't matter how much, justget me in, I'm going.
I mean, I've worked, I've hadpeople on on my show.
They'd be like well, pay methis much and I'll do this much.
(15:45):
It's like no, that's not how itworks, it's a backwards formula
, right right.
So you're like I'm going to gethired at 13 bucks an hour and
I'm going to bust my ass.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Hey, it was 675 back then, it was literally like 675.
So how do you compete withright now like?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
minimum wage, I mean like mcdonald's charge is paying
22 bucks an hour.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yeah, it's crazy.
It's crazy.
So how do you get good people?
Because it's just, we have alot of.
I mean, I look for the peoplethat are willing to grind and
grow.
See, I went through thatformula so there's like I
wouldn't take nothing back fromit.
So I like anybody who's willingto work through it, because
you're not going to get it onthe first try, you're not in
this world.
All this social media,everything's teaching you like
everything should be right now.
No, that's not it.
It's you got to work for it.
Some people can skip the steps,but not many people get to skip
(16:30):
the steps.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Somebody had to instill this in you somehow.
Your dad, I mean, are yourparents still around?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
My dad was a hard worker.
I mean he worked every day, allday, honey.
Well, he would take all theovertime he would get.
So he was working 70, 80.
I feel like he was working 70hours a week.
I only feel like I really sawhim.
So the hard work was definitelyinstilled, the hustle and just
that.
I mean, like I said, I can'teven pinpoint what it was, I
just loved it.
I didn't mind, I didn't mindputting in the grind, because I
(17:01):
always knew inside my heartwhere I was going to go, no
matter what.
I just knew what I wanted and Iknew that I would just set my
goals and then little goals andachieve them.
That was it.
There was no special formula.
The only formula was hard work.
Did you write down your goals?
Speaker 1 (17:11):
or just knew them in your head.
I just knew them.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I talked I mean I when I drew up the first story.
It was crazy.
On the piece of paper I waslike it's going to be this and
this and this, and you know Ichanged that 6,383 times as it
all happened.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
You know multiple pivots you know I mean to go
from 16 begging for a job atFoot Locker to pulling up here
in a Rolls Royce.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, I mean bro we put a lot of work yeah, we put a
lot of work in right?
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, not.
You have any questions for Ryan.
It's a great story.
Thank you, man.
That's not a question, no.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I'm just saying I said to Dutch I go, you know, be
prepared, have questions ready.
He goes, I got it.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I got it.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I'm just listening right now, man, I know you're
listening but you also got tointeract.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I'm studying the game .
There we go.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I'm a student of the game man.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
What's your passion right now?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Right now.
I love fashion, basketball andmusic.
There you go, that's three thatI had in my belt.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Who are some of the?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
artists, the musical artists you've had, come into
your stores, oh man, or you soldto.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
We've had a lot of great people.
50 Cent is a huge one.
We've had Waka Flocka isanother big one, chief Keef's
another big one, man, the listgoes on.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
So how does that happen?
Is that list goes on.
So how does that happen?
Is that through connectionslike how do you get 50 cent to
go?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
to az mills.
Um, that was through a goodconnection again, hard work over
the years, buildingrelationships, staying genuine,
um, just doing good business.
Because a lot of people in theindustry no matter what they
just in any industry, mostpeople don't do good business.
So once you're building a name,I mean my name was more
important than like a coupledollars here and a couple
dollars there.
So I always shot it straightwith everybody and those
(18:45):
relations that has panned outheavily for me because nobody
can really say anything bad onmy name and they know like, oh,
that's great to work with him.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
No, you're right.
I mean, the man is only as goodas his word.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
My father always told me and I think that's yeah,
that was learned for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Like so you got a great reputation partnerships
and um actually.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
And I shot my guy, simon, that owns a liquor store
out here like on seventh andsouthern.
He is big time distributor forliquor so he had 50 coming to
sign at the store.
So I contacted him.
He got me in touch with 50speople.
50s people were like, yeah,we'd love to do it.
Yeah, so they came to the shop.
When fifth came to the shop wehad the print shop next door.
So we print all the apparel umwhich we manufacture for the
(19:22):
sons and all that.
We could talk a little bitabout that.
But 50 came to the store,walked just like, I think, wowed
a little bit at like damn, thisentrepreneur, this dude is,
this kid is you know he's doingit right.
So he literally had his dudethat I booked everything with.
Call me back like a week laterand said, hey, we'll start
(19:43):
running our production throughyou.
So I got 50 cents g unit.
Uh, like I was, I've beenrunning all like their power
stuff, some of their tour merchstuff, like anything that he
needs, website stuff, they.
He literally had them call andset me up.
I've been running all liketheir power stuff, some of their
tour merch stuff, like anythingthat he needs website stuff.
They he literally had them calland set me up so I've been
printing.
Yeah, 50 cent G-units.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
But you don't sell it , it's for them.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
We just manufacture it for them and send it back to
them so they can sell it ontheir website on tour.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Pop up whatever they're doing.
That's freaking nuts man.
I mean where you at right nowin life is crazy.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
That was a great moment, I mean.
Fifth was like definitely to me, like was like an inspiration.
Like I went to the mall, Ithink I went to Arizona Mills to
get his you know, when hedropped Get Rich or Die Trying
CD, like I was in middle schooland I went after school to go
grab that CD and like put it,you know, put it in my, my tape
deck and I don't think itstopped for like a whole year, I
(20:33):
just played that but when hecomes in and you're like in awe
that he's there, do you say pickout any shoes you want, pick
out whatever you like.
Whatever you want, dude I mean Iwas just like you know, like,
yeah, they were shopping and Iwas, like you know, obviously
like just a good heart in it.
I'm like, oh, if there'ssomething you see, you like you
know he, he liked everything.
He picked out my brand.
He's like what's your brand?
That's how much of a dopeperson he is.
(20:53):
He's like what's your brand?
I want to, I want to buy what'syours.
So he, he bought someauthentics and wore it that
night in his meet and greet.
You know what I'm saying likegod, what a great guy, yeah
great, great human, and it wasso dope because I respect it,
like everything he's done solike just standing there and
being able to soak up game.
He kept asking me questions andI couldn't even really get no
questions off and I'm like, damn, I want to ask you something,
(21:14):
bro.
Like, and he just he was askingme like so how does this?
Oh you print that?
Oh that, like it was just adope moment, like I couldn't
even recite it back.
It was so crazy.
It was just like a real feelingwhat do you?
What's?
Speaker 1 (21:25):
your deal with the sons what do you mean?
Speaker 3 (21:26):
sons we have a great relationship with.
We do a lot of their all theirlike, a lot of the team shop
stuff.
Uh, we'll do some productionfor that.
You know, when they need that,any specialty needs, like we've
done, like the devin bookercharity hoodies we do, like we
did sophia cunningham stuff.
We've done a bunch of a bunchof projects with them and the
recent thing is we just droppedthe suns collab with them where
we did, um, three differentpieces of apparel, like a sherpa
(21:49):
jacket and it was all guestlist so it it was guest list
X-Suns and we dropped it.
We did a big campaign for it,had Gorilla running around
wearing it?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
How does that happen?
Just from you going to the Sunsgames, meeting the right people
?
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, you know what I was at the I've been at the
games for a long time.
Like, I started kind of likerow three, me and Futuristic.
Futuristic played Spike Lee andBook was like it's the shoot
(22:20):
and they were like it's theshoes, the shoes.
So we met Book and them thenrookie year basically, and it uh
turned into just a relationshipwith them and his whole family
and then, like the sons I was,we were in row three.
I worked myself down a couple,got a couple court sides and
then I worked myself all the waydown to having my own court
sides and then just relationshipbeing genuinely authentically,
not doing anything out ofcharacter, and they just seen
(22:42):
what I was doing.
And social media nowadays,which we didn't have back in the
day, is really a fire igniterbecause you see these people
moving.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
So they saw what I was doing and they were like hey
, like yeah man, I see whatyou're doing and I'm just like
this guy's unbelievableappreciate you.
Yeah, dude, like your socialmedia is fantastic, it's always
shot really well, thank you.
It looks great when you're atthe suns games, I mean that's.
I'm trying to think back when Ifirst saw you and I don't know
if it was at a suns game whereyou told me about it, but when I
remember coming up to you,talking to you and you know,
telling you my son's a big fanthat was dope yeah yeah, that's,
(23:13):
and I'm a fan.
Then I then I heard your story,the footlocker story, and I was
like this guy's unbelievable,like that is an unbelievable
story, it's a fantastic, it's astory that everyone needs to
know, especially people nowadaysthat think like for me on my
radio show.
They think they can answerphones for a day and they get
their own show yeah, that's nothow it works exactly that's not
how it works you know no we just, we just did this yesterday.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
You just got to show up and today you're him.
You know, yeah, like yeah noit's a lot of work, especially I
mean, I'm a fan of you too fory'all, all that fan on me we've.
I've heard you on the airforever.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
So like go, you know.
So let me, let me talk to youspecifically about shoes,
because I remember one day wewent into your store and he was
like look what were the shoesthat you were like.
This is my favorite pair ofshoes of all time.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Oh, you had the Strange Loves.
Strange Loves, that's a goodone.
That's my favorite shoe of alltime, all time.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Do you have it?
No, I don't have a pair.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Incoming.
You have don't matter some ofthe shoes you have.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
The prices are what like, what's the most expensive
I mean, yeah, stuff ranges fromlike 200 bucks to 2 000 to 5 000
what's the most expensive pairof shoes you've ever had in your
store?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
we've had like some 10 000, 10 000 pairs I mean, you
had the what, the dunks, ohyeah what the dunk was like 20
grand now that you make meremind me of that one 20 grand
shoe right it's a beautiful shoe, yeah but it's just like
collector's items.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
They're like those, you know, like barrett it's the
barrett jackson, yeah, andthat's kind of what the idea of
our shoe wall is is to have likea barrett jackson you could
come look at, like you couldcome to the mall, take a look, I
mean, and there's somebeautiful ferraris, there's some
hondas, there's some beamers,there's some benzes.
So you just come and you enjoy,you know, seeing them and
they're all.
You know, they're all there foryou to see, which is a cool
part of the process because,like I get people that walk in.
(24:56):
They're like I used to hoop inthose in high school or that was
, that was my favorite shoe andit's dope to, you know, have a
conversation, like you to saythe strange love, and then we
can go talk about it, you knowit's like a culture.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
What shoe gets you excited?
If you saw what shoe would getyou excited, oh, man, I'm jaded
at this you are jaded, I justI've seen them.
I've seen them all but there'snot one that you'd want or that
you want to put in your storyevery once in a while the hype
gets me back and I and I want it.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
You know I'm saying like that nigel ford, that just
came out like I wanted itbecause the hype got.
They did such a great marketingplan and the way it rolled out
it just made you want it and itfelt like old jordans.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
You know what I remember?
We were at a Suns game and theGrinch, the furry Grinch, just
came out.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
And you were wearing them.
You had the CPFM ones on,that's what it?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
was yeah, that might have been the first time we went
up to talk to you, because Iwas like I got to talk to this
guy.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
I have had some outlandish outfits Right.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, you do.
I mean, the one you're wearingright now is pretty good, I
appreciate it Any of that yourstuff?
Speaker 3 (25:52):
No, that's Authentics , this is ours, yep.
This is Authentics, right here,yep.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
So you said your mom does hair, does she do your hair
?
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No, she quit on me 20 years ago.
Did she really?
Speaker 1 (26:04):
She said I'm too particular because I like to get
my fade every week.
You sold like is there acelebrity outside of 50 cent
that's coming in here?
Because I see sometimes you gotathletes in the store like is
there anybody like?
I remember being at going tohigh point and bumping into
steve nash.
I remember bumping into god whowas.
There was a handful ofcelebrities that would go to
high point quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Oh for sure, yeah, but I mean, uh dang, I feel like
I've got shoes for a bunch ofdifferent people.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
You know what I'm saying you're just used to now
it.
Now they just know They'll textyou, direct Somebody from the
Cardinals or somebody from outof town.
For sure I'm coming to town.
What do you?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
got, need something, or even like specifically, like
I said, when they're looking forsomething Like I need a Louis
Vuitton Air Force One and thenI'll go source it.
You know what I'm saying and alot of business-wise.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
When you said you started out, you were selling
like bootleg stuff at the swapmeet right?
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well, where did you get the bootleg stuff?
Just from New York, new York.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I literally, as a youngster, flew to New York,
took two luggages and I wouldpack up two luggages literally
with bags and we would come back.
I'm from Connecticut so myfamily lives in New York like
the Bronx area.
So my uncle, he took me outthere, laced me up, so I made a
connection with one of theChinese.
It was like a Chinese dude outthere selling on canal and I
took his information and hewould literally shoot me an
(27:19):
email back with here's the listof what we have this week and
I'd place an order and he'd sendit COD back.
I went like two times and thenhe was sending me CODs back.
So I would just get my moneyorders, have them at my mom's
house ready to get this package.
The packages come in, get a cod, unwrap it be at the parking
swap that weekend brought yourparents here.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
I'd like to pick their brain see how proud.
They must be so proud of you,man.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
I mean, yeah, I think , how often do you see your
parents?
I see them, you know, everyweek, for sure.
I go check on them are you likeliving styling?
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I mean, where do you park that rolls?
Speaker 3 (27:48):
oh yeah, we parked that tucked away yeah, what?
Speaker 1 (27:51):
What part of town do you live in?
I live in Gilbert, oh yeah.
So when you're doing stuff, canyou spot bootlegs, because some
of them are really good.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Nowadays stuff's getting really, really good.
But you can yeah, I mean mostlyon sneakers, like I usually
make shoe contact before I makeeye contact for the most part.
So I'm always checking out theshoes, usually like shoes have
got really good but they'restill like materials and stuff
that you can see.
But some stuff is now is reallygood.
I I mean I wouldn't be able todo it on bags and purses or
(28:23):
anything like I used to, butlike, yeah, on shoes, I can
pretty much tell you know, onfacebook I don't know if it's
because you know how the phonesare like you talk about it and
all of a sudden shoe ads pop up.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
I see, like like these travis scotts and I'll go
to dutch, I go, hey man, checkthese out.
He's like those don't evenexist yeah, all these colors.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
How do they do that?
How can they just sell?
Speaker 3 (28:41):
shoes, yeah how you know what I mean bootleg
everything, that's.
That's the game, you know.
Uh, I was with uh melvin bookerdevin's and we were at a
tournament and a kid walks bywith a color books on and he's
like hold on, I don't even gotthose.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
What are?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
those.
I mean, obviously they werefake.
We're like oh, those areterrible, but they're like.
I mean, this is his first shoeand they already have fakes
going around in his colors.
Yeah, you know, it's nuts.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
What's that?
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Hooping with fakes is crazy, crazy.
You know what's crazy Is.
In this circuit like the EY,I've been seeing a lot of kids
with like the Kobe's Like a lotof fake Kobe's being worn Can
you tell?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
they're fake Kobe's, you can yeah there's like, yeah,
you can tell.
Because I know when you werehooping in school.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
A lot of this.
There's like there's rumors oflike same factory.
Yeah, all this different stuff,same material, but it's.
I mean, it's just really in thecraftsmanship they can get
really close to most of theingredients, but then, like, the
one thing where the fake shoesbecome a different ingredient is
like they use stuff that you'rereally not supposed to put in
them, so know, like chemicalsand different stuff that they
(29:51):
wouldn't allow to be passed.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
So that's where the you know it really kind of
happened Like the fake Kobe'salways, like one of my friends,
like his foot went through theshoe.
Yeah, craftsmanship, I meanthat's just with everything too.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Like when they're you know they're doing good
craftsmen and not that Nikedoesn't.
You know, sometimes they'regoing to have a flaw or whatever
it's material, but for the mostpart, like yeah, you know, a
louis bag is gonna last, anike's gonna last, like that's
just what it is, because it'sgreat products and they stand
behind them I heard the key isto have real stuff and then you
can get in sprinkling a coupleof fake stuff and then no one's
ever gonna know.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yeah, that's, that's what ruined your name like I
don't know if that's a fakerolls royce out there I changed
the badges and stuff like that,so walk me through a day, a
normal day of yours.
You get up at what time?
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Normal day I get up usually about like 7.30.
I get going.
I usually try to go hoop on.
I usually hoop like three daysa week when do you hoop?
We hoop at like a couple LAFitnesses and the Sportas and
stuff and a couple gyms likeFacility and Inspire Court.
So we pop out out, have theseruns that we've been going for a
long time and, uh, you know,try to get my little workout in
(30:56):
right there to start it up.
Then usually, you know, comehome, get a protein shake and
then I'll start out and just goon the journey.
I'll start with, you know, somezooms and some calls, then I'll
hit the first, I'll hit arizonamills, then I'll hit the print
shop, then I will go to thestudio, because we have a film
studio as well, one take studios, so I'll go over there.
Then we might go to scottsdalemall to check on that store.
(31:19):
Zoom call, zoom call.
Do some buying at home?
Run back 150 calls, 8336 testmessages and then about 1, 32
o'clock try to get some sleepand then run it back again.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So you've got to have people.
Since you've got AZ Mills,you've got Scottsdale and you've
got San Francisco and you'vegot the print shop and the
studio, you've got to have somegood management.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Yeah, have some great people around I've had, like my
guy Chris.
He's been running the storesfor a long time.
He runs pretty much my lifebehind.
We have a manager out in SFthat does his job.
So I mean I got a great teamand I've been fortunate to have
some people around me Like Ithink a couple of my guys are
almost 10 years with me.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
So you've got to treat them well to stick around.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Yeah, I mean we've had the ups and downs together.
We've had the good times andthe bad times and I mean you're
great people and they've they'vesupported me and pushed me and,
you know, made me grow in areasand I can't thank them enough
for, you know, my success.
But I always just try tore-motivate them back to be
great.
You know, I knew where I wasgoing since 11.
(32:23):
That's exactly what I knew at11 years old.
I knew I was going to dosomething great and I started my
marathon and I always knew Iwas going to get to where.
I didn't know it was going tobe the Rolls Royce and the Suns
and 50 and the whole shebang.
But in my heart I just knew itwas going to be something and I
was going to put my, you knowpedal to the metal.
I was just gas pedal and I waslike I'm not stopping and nobody
can deter me and nothing,nothing.
(32:45):
It's just me versus me and I goevery day and I just go as hard
as I can and I leave it all outlike game seven so then, what
do you do, or what are you goingto do now to help yourself get
better, like how?
Speaker 1 (32:56):
I mean, do you feel like you've hit a certain place,
but I need to get here, arethere books to read, are there
seminars to go to?
Or you think you're just goingto do it?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
I mean I just have a passion to do it.
But I am like I mean now in myolder, as I keep getting older,
I'm starting to listen a lotmore.
I I just pay attention more thepeople that I see that are
doing things the way I like, Idial into them a little bit and
I just see what makes them go.
And you just asked me what'syour day?
Look like.
You know what I'm saying.
I try to pick apart, pick thebrains, guy Fieri being one,
(33:26):
when I'm with him.
I was on a Triple D set and Iwatched him go.
I mean, this man is like amachine.
He's literally, you know, he'sgot everything set up.
He's boom, boom, boom, boom.
He doesn't stop.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
So you pick his brain a little bit.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
I do.
I definitely as much as he'll.
Let me you know what I'm sayingand really just observing,
because I'm one of the ones thatcan just notice what I'm it.
Put it in my own pot of gumbo,mix it up and make you know what
I'm saying.
Some good soup.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
You're freaking, fascinating dude.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Appreciate you, bro, yeah but that's really what it
is.
It's like just picking littlepieces from everybody, putting
it in your own pot, making yourown formula.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
But are you working on another store or another
project or a video or a store orsomething Right now?
Speaker 3 (34:08):
I'm is my three-for-three project right
now.
We did San Fran was February,we just launched Scottsdale last
month and now I just purchaseda building to move the print
shop.
So finally have some ownershipafter all these years, I
purchased a building, so I'mvery excited about that.
(34:29):
So we purchased like a6,000-square-foot building that
I have to build out from prettymuch scratch.
I gotta put ac, I gotta putelectric plumbing, all this
different stuff, and then wehave to move all our machinery
to it so but is your print shopgoing to be?
Speaker 1 (34:42):
are you opening up the business for other things or
just your stuff?
50 stuff, sun stuff?
Just yeah for no for anything,for anybody like if some
companies watching this rightnow, they go, man we want to use
it for shirts.
Yeah, geo print and do you havea deal with good shirt
companies?
Do you use like next level oreverything?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
everything we use, next level bella, canvas, la
apparel, t style.
You know we we have any, anygarment you want, and the thing
is I've been working on it inthe 13th hour of the day or the
80th hour of the day.
I'm I do a lot of manufacturingoverseas.
So in portugal, china, you knowI do a lot of manufacturing
overseas.
So in Portugal, china, you knowI do a lot.
I can make you a garment fromscratch.
I can make you a pants, shirt,shoe, hat, lanyard, keychain,
(35:20):
belt, wallet, I mean whateveryou want really can make it from
scratch.
What time do you go to bed?
That's usually because overseasis usually about, you know, 9
to about 1 o'clock in themorning.
I'm usually working, you know,sending WhatsAppapps going back
and forth doing different cuts.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
You know materials dying like there's, there's,
that's such, it's such a process.
Dude, your hustle is real, realmad respect.
Man, appreciate it, mad respect, I mean that's.
Um, I knew a little bit aboutyour story but I'm just
completely blown away by yourwhole package, man.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Man, I just you know continued success to you.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Ryan.
That's unbelievable man.
Unbelievable is your.
You're married, I am married.
Does your wife?
Speaker 3 (35:51):
work she does.
What kind of work, man I justyou know.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
continued success to you, Ryan.
That's unbelievable manUnbelievable.
You're married, I am married.
Does your wife work?
She does.
What kind of work does she do,she?
Speaker 3 (35:58):
is a travel nurse oh, no way, yeah.
So she's the one that takescare of everybody.
She's the you know, she's theheartbeat to what we got.
That's unbelievable man.
She does a hard job.
I mean mine's creative, but Imean I feel for all them nurses
and then they go and see sometraumatic stuff and they have to
like, do real life and and comeback home and turn it off.
(36:19):
So I salute them.
They, they do really work hard,you know um in town.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Here just real quick, I'm just like what are your
favorite restaurants in town?
Speaker 3 (36:26):
oh, you know um rah-rah room, since I'm a nice
member over there you gottashout them out etta et Etta in
North Scottsdale.
Eddie, Eddie North Zagari.
He's got to be one of the bestfoodies in Arizona, so that's
great.
My top Thai Rama, 15th Avenue,Camelback Thai Rama.
Best Thai food in Arizona.
(36:47):
I stand by it.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Oh man, maybe we'll hit that on the way home.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Hey, tell them I sent you.
Oh man, maybe we'll hit that onthe way home.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Hey, tell them I sent you Dude you're unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
They're amazing.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Look, I've been messing with you for a while
trying to get you on thispodcast and I'm grateful you
made the time.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate your love I reallydo.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So let's just go over your locations real quick.
So when you're watching you goto it's Guestless in Scottsdale
floor upstairs by Dior.
Okay.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Then we have Arizona Mills, which is located between
entry three and four at ArizonaMills mall.
Then we also have guest listprint, which is located by Tempe
marketplace.
Then we also have one takestudios, which is our studio 25
different film sets.
You can shoot small film, videocontent, whatever you want.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
We should have gone there to do this podcast.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
Yeah, we can do it, so we do have a podcast room as
well too.
So that's good there.
And I have a partner, jacobOwens, that's great at
photography and videography.
He's one of the goats in thegame, so me and him partnered on
that, and that's right byArizona Mills as well too.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
I could see like in the future like you going on
tour doing motivational speaking.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Dude, I mean, it's an amazing story and the success
you had is fantastic.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
I think that's one of the things too.
I do love giving back the gameand like teaching and, like you
know, again, I'm relatable, evenlike me, and you like you can
look at me, I'm relatable.
You can say like, damn, he didit, so I can do it.
So I love passing the game.
The only thing I just got totell you is just hard work.
You got to be ready to sleepthat's the problem, that's it,
you got to be,
Speaker 1 (38:15):
willing to put the work in right, because a lot of
people don't work yeah and again.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
Like you just pick up a mic in your hymn, you just
pick up a t-shirt in your me.
You know what I'm saying likethat's not it that's not it.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
It's not gonna work.
That's it.
I can't even pick up a mic.
It'd be me, what huh?
All right, anything you wantcome on what?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Huh?
All right, what are you?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
talking about?
Come on, Nothing.
I just want to say good job,Dutch.
I know it was the first timeyou've been on camera with me.
Anything you want to askBecause we're going to wrap it
up- man, I don't even know.
Right now.
What is the most expensive shoeavailable right now?
We?
Speaker 3 (38:45):
have like a Louis Vuitton Air Force 1.
That's like about $5,000.
We have like an Off-WhiteJordan 1.
That's like $7,000.
We have a coupleplayer-exclusive like from
schools, like we have these UCLAPE Jordan 4s.
They're like $5,500.
We have a Michigan Jordan 6.
(39:05):
That one's worth like aboutthree grand.
So they vary.
There's some what's yourfavorite, my favorite shoe yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Ever is.
Lebron 1 Zoom Generation islike one of my favorite shoes,
but you'll wear those daily.
Yeah, I will.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
You'll wear it, yeah, I probably have like 12 pairs
of that.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Don't tell anybody.
Are they comfortable?
I can't wear any shoe like I doin Air Force One.
I just started with these.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
I kind of bounce around.
I mean I love Travis's.
Travis's are definitely one ofthe things that rolled me into
the hype because Jordan 1 Lowswere never popular back in the
day they would clearance down.
I mean you could get a Jordan 1Low back in my day when I was
working at Foot Locker.
They'd be like $39.99 on thewall, 99 on the wall and then
(39:50):
now, these are 29, 99 like 2999to buy a low top jordan one,
which is just mind-blowing.
You ever met jordan?
I've been in the room close,but I've never got to meet him
like shake his hand.
I met bron kobe, you know so,but never might have you ever
had a paris dunk.
Never have I touched the pair II've held, but I've never had
one in my collection.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
We saw one in Hawaii.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Oh, in Truist.
Yeah, truist, hawaii, we werethere.
Do you remember that?
It's a great store?
Yeah, great store.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Is that the one that was in Honolulu?
Speaker 3 (40:15):
kind of in town a little bit.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Yeah, it's on like King Street yeah they're like a.
They're crazy stuff.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
They're for the culture store.
They're definitely dope.
They've been there for a lot ofyears.
They actually just had Travis,or they had Travis in there a
couple years ago they did yeah.
He pulled up, signed a shoe forhim, everything.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
And good relationships.
It's so smart when celebritiesdo that.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
It's dope to see celebrities outside their
element.
You get them as real humansbecause, like you know, you only
know them from doing the courtor doing the field.
So like, when you get them outthere, they're normal people.
You know what I'm saying?
Right, but when?
Speaker 1 (40:48):
they go above and beyond and do something.
I mean, this is a differentexample, but like I remember one
time Miley Cyrus was in townand my partner, rich and I were
broadcasting outside of thearena.
She had sold out over at StateFarm Stadium or at glendale and
she came out and hung out whilewe're outside and within three
minutes there were 10 000 peoplearound us and it was absolute
(41:10):
chaos.
But people don't do thatanymore, right?
You know what I mean people.
So people don't do like like atravis scott doing that like 50
cent yeah people.
They're like outliers, they'relike different.
You know, that's, that's verycool man, that's another,
another dope one that I had.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
I had chris paul in in the with his son and we're
real cool and it was just greatto have him out.
He enjoyed the experience somuch, he's like because you know
he's been an, A athlete for 20years.
He's like I ain't even reallybeen able to just come to the
mall in a long like because wejust, you know, had him come in.
He came to Mills, he walked in,had a blast, you know I'm
(41:43):
saying shopped and left and waslike bro, this was dope, like I
haven't done this in a year.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
People can catch.
They probably go.
There's no way.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
Chris paul's here I mean, there was definitely
people around and definitelypeople like you know what I'm
saying but it was like I mean,he and he's he's one of the best
humans ever, like really a goodhuman.
So yeah, but it was dope, youknow, like seeing them just
enjoy an experience that'snormal to us.
I go to the mall every day.
I've been in the mall since Iwas 16.
You know what I'm saying andthis dude's like he's almost
(42:11):
breaking down.
He was almost in tears Like Ifinally got to be normal.
You know what I'm saying?
It's great.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
You know Luis Gonzalez from the Diamondbacks.
Yeah, we were in Tucson and himand I were walking through the
mall and they just won the WorldSeries and within 30 seconds
couldn't get that dude out ofthe mall fast enough.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
It was crazy, he's a GOAT too, One of the best to
ever do it in the D-backs.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
Yeah, man, he's great , he's great, we'll get him into
your shop.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
Yeah, let's do it.
How about I'll flip it to youreal quick?
What's your favorite celebritymoment you've had like through
all these years of just beingmeeting everybody?
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Well, you know, I met Michael Jordan, Okay that's a
great one, that was pretty sick.
I was an intern.
I was on my way up and I wasworking at a sports station and
I remember he was coming.
I was in San Diego at a sportsstation, okay, and there was a
guy that played for the Bullswho was from San Diego I can't
remember like Cliff Robinson orCliff, I can't remember his name
played for the Bulls and theyput together an all-star game in
(43:11):
San Diego and I was an internand I helped set up the press
conference.
So I was in this room oops, Iwas in this room with a long
table and a lot of microphones,you know, like a press
conference.
I had set it all up and I'llnever forget.
I'm walking out of the room andI'm pretending like I'm all
alone and I'm like that's enough, fellas, no more pictures, no
more, thank you.
(43:31):
And I turn and boom, I hit himchest to chest and he puts his
hand on my chest.
He goes do you want to do thisinterview?
I'm sick of this shit.
And I was like what the hell?
And what the hell?
And I go, yeah, I go, can I geta picture?
And he goes I don't, probably.
And it was like and the guy thattook the picture?
And I tell him I go, I'm anintern for sports station,
(43:52):
whatever, and and I'll be at thegame tonight, and the general
manager of the radio station wasthis woman named Judy and she
said to conference, she goes.
Here are my tickets.
They're on the floor, centercourt.
She goes.
You can have them for the firsthalf she goes, but then I need
them back the second half.
And I had my dad with me and Iwas like absolutely, thank you
(44:13):
so much Because I didn't getpaid right, so I'm sitting down
center court.
The lights go out, they startthe all-star game you know that
song that the Bulls were usingand they bring out, they start
introducing the players and alsothis Michael Jordan place goes
freaking nuts.
He sees me and he walks overand high-fives me in front of my
(44:35):
dad.
And then walks and that was likeone of the greatest moments, a
father and son moment for methat I could have.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (44:42):
Like it was great, that's pure pride and I got the
picture a father and son momentfor me that I could have you
know what I mean Like it wasgreat.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
That's pure pride, and I got the picture.
Every once in a while I post itbecause I stumble on it.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
I'm like oh my God, that's definitely got to come up
right here on this, On thepodcast.
Here's the picture man, me andMichael.
Speaker 1 (44:54):
Jordan.
I'm 19, 18 years old.
That's super cool man, sothat's amazing that he's, that's
he's amazing, mine was great,same with I met Magic Johnson, I
mean, you know.
But I mean as far ascelebrities, you know, they've
all been really cool.
Kanye, I mean I know Kanyecalled my show three times.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
He was fantastic yeah he was one of the best
interviews ever and one of theone of the most culture shifters
ever seen in the culture,streetwear, fashion industry,
sneakers he's a genius you knowa lot of guys these are his
brand, no the the pants yeah, no, these are his, oh, those are
his pants see, genius.
Speaker 1 (45:35):
Anyway that, thanks for asking me a question.
That's cool.
Um, anyway, all right, let'swrap it up.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Man, thanks, man, thanks hey thank you guys, so
much for having me all right.
Congrats to that firstinterview many more let's go,
man, let man, let's go.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Let's go, all right good stuff Appreciate y'all.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Thanks, man.
All right, that's my podcast.
Okay, so welcome to our podcast.
This is a little bit differenttoday, because this podcast is a
spinoff of our radio show.
okay, so welcome to our podcast.
This is a little bit differenttoday, because this podcast is a
spin-off of our radio show.
All right, welcome to mypodcast.
I got a cool guest today.
(00:26):
I'm pretty excited about itbecause I've been trying to lock
this guy down for a while.
Ryan Gazinski, the owner ofGuest List.
The shoe store yes, right, andit's not just any shoe store.
How do you explain what yourshoe store is?
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I mean, guest List is like an exclusive vibe.
We have, you know, a ton ofdifferent shoes and apparel.
We kind of cater to likeathletes, artists, and we bring
a bunch of different apparelthat's not in this state to this
state so, um, I know a littlebit about your story and I want
to get back to your story in thebeginning.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
But let's talk about where you are now, because now
you got something in sanfrancisco, you open a new
location.
Like what, where are yourlocations?
Right?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
now.
So right now we uh, we have alocation in Scottsdale Fashion
Square, we have a location inArizona Mills Mall, and then we
have a new concept in SanFrancisco and that's called
Levels, and my partner in thatis Ronnie 2k, and we built a
three level experience basically.
So we have an event space onthe top floor, we have a retail
on the street level and then wehave a speakeasy in the bottom
(01:24):
level.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
So it's the levels um .
My son dutch is here, he's.
He's my co-host today.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So when he says ronnie 2k you know exactly who
that is yeah, man, it's the faceof 2k.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah, nba 2k yeah, we explain a little bit more.
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
he's like the 2k media guy.
Like when you think of 2k, youthink of ronnie 2.
You got Flight yelling at himon stream.
I know Flight, flight's a guythat says that he's always like
man F Ronnie.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, Ronnie takes the good and the bad for 2K for
sure.
Yeah, he's sick.
But we partnered up.
Guy Fieri actually introducedus and we were flying back from
an all-star on Guy's private jet.
We had hit it off on aconversation.
We were a jet, we had hit itoff on a conversation, we were
doing all-star, all-star,all-star and we were like yo, we
gotta do one san francisco'scoming, it's your hometown, you
(02:09):
have a space there like let'sbring this to life.
And he, basically, we decidedto try to bring the game, like
the 2k experience, because hebrings all the apparel into the
game.
So let's make a physicallocation to where, like, game
meets real world and we tie allthe apparel in so you can come
buy it at the space.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Where in San Francisco is it?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
It's located like five minutes from the Chase
Center.
So right as you walk out ourdoor, hit a left, walk down 100
steps, you're at the Chase frontdoor.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Explain the Guy Fieri .
I always say his name wrong,but Guy, like connection, like
how did you get to be with him?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
So Guy's a wrong but guy constant like connection,
like how did you get to be withhim?
So, guys, is a really goodfriend of mine, one of our, a
football player family of mineum, that was really bad.
So they're gonna have to editthat, but uh, yeah, it's all
good, my guy, marcel reese,introduced me and guy and me and
guy hit it off rider.
Actually guy's son, me and himbecame real close.
I was styling him, giving himall his shoes, taking care of
him.
(03:04):
Then you know guys, his heartis huge.
So he just was like you're partof the family, basically.
You know, every All-Star we'dbe together, we'd run in all
these rooms, have the dopestparties and he put me on to many
great experiences and then it'shistory.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So we just became family.
You to Johnny 2K.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Next thing.
You know you're opening up thisRonnie 2K.
Yeah, now you get the hang ofit.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Sorry, man, that's why I have him here, exactly
Alright.
So now, and how's it going?
How's the new location going?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
New location's amazing.
It's a new concept, so it'sinteresting.
We're still trying to figure itall out, but we have.
I mean, we just had a watchparty for the Warriors and we
did it with prize picks and thatwent amazing.
We had about 150 people downthere enjoying betting on the
game live.
Right there, we gave away aJeff Hamilton jacket.
It was a vibe, Really reallycool, the Jeff Hamilton dude.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I've seen him on Instagram at the Suns games.
Right yeah, what's his story?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
He's amazing man.
He's another family of mine.
We actually we met many yearsago all--star as well and we've
hit it off ever since.
He's like the creator of thejacket, so like when right the
iconic kobe picture where kobe'slike holding the trophy, like
that's jeff hamilton.
He made that jacket when jordanwon all the, all his
championships, all them jacketswere jeff hamilton.
But jeff's been doing this forlike 30, 40 I mean I feel like
(04:20):
40 years, right, but he's he's atalent with the jackets and he
knows everybody yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Okay, so let's get.
I want to get to you a lot,actually, because I know a
little bit about your story,yeah, but like, where are you
from?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
I'm actually from Connecticut, mm-hmm, but I grew
up here in Arizona.
I went to high school out here,where did you go to high school
out?
Here.
So where'd you go to highschool?
I went to high school at Dobsonfor a little while, and then I
graduated from a charter school,um ACP, out in Mesa.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So yeah.
So then what, like, how do youget from a charter school?
For how do you get from Dobsonto this?
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Um, basically, I mean , I always had a passion for
just buying and selling products.
I had many jobs, you know, justalways had a passion for that.
But I got a job at Foot Lockerat 16.
So that's where, like shoes,fashion, culture, that whole
thing, it was like birth rightthere.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Which Foot Locker.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I started at Fiesta Mall.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Man, that's not even there anymore, not even there.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
All right, so you get to, which is crazy, because
I'll give you the other one.
So I started at Fiesta Mall andthen my first store where guest
list really started.
It was called Swag and itstarted at Fiesta Mall.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Oh, really 15 years ago.
I used to bus tables for mydad's restaurant in eighth grade
at Fiesta Mall.
What was the restaurant?
It was called King's Table.
It was an all-you-can-eatsmorgasbord.
Wow, that's crazy.
It was so gross because backthen you could smoke in the
restaurants and I was bussing.
So I was 13, 14.
And I had to take mashedpotatoes that had cigarette
(05:46):
butts in it and put them on it.
It was terrible, but I just hada core memory of Fiesta Mall
when I was a kid.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
That's the core memory.
That's the core memory.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
That and my dad.
I remember when they werebuilding the restaurant, my dad
took me in the kitchen.
I had to pee so bad I got tostand in the kitchen.
He picked me up, put me in thekitchen sink and I peed into the
sink and I thought that wasreally cool.
But okay, you're 16.
What yeah, dude?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
He said you ain't let me pee in no studio yet.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
So you're 16.
You're a footlocker, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
What's your job?
At Footlocker I started as apart-time employee.
It literally took me like fouror five interviews.
I would go.
I wanted the job so bad I wentback for like two months
straight, before they even gaveme an interview.
I would just go dress up, putmy button up on, you know, go in
there like please give me a job, please give me a job.
Finally they took a chance onme.
I worked myself up from apart-time employee all the way
(06:42):
to becoming a store manager andI mean over the years I won like
highest sales book for like theregion, for the state.
They gave me plaques Like theytook the gamble and that was
well worth it.
But I was willing to work reallyhard.
That was the one key.
I was willing to scrub thetiles from the front to the back
, do whatever job came my way.
I wasn't big for nothing.
I just I would just wanted tomake a name for myself and I was
(07:05):
just doing it at Foot Lockerand at that time, like without
going to school or not, likethat, it was pretty much college
for me.
But I didn't really know thattill I got six years in and I
realized then I just went tocollege for business, like cause
it taught me everything.
And then I really just like Ifinally got my store to become a
store manager and was like, ohyeah, we just need to open my
own store.
So one year I've had of, oneyear of getting to become a
(07:27):
store manager after working fiveyears to get there.
I literally called my DM andwas like I'm opening my own
store and she was like you'recrazy, you're, you're not ready,
it's not gonna work.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well, I wish you luck you know how old are you at
this time 21 21.
You're ready to open your ownstore?
Yeah, but that means you musthave made relationships with
shoe people.
What gives you the inspirationto open your own store?
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Like I said, the passion for buying and selling a
product was always there.
You know, then I did meet manygreat relationships, athletes
Like I worked at Chandler Mallfor a while so all the
Cardinalsinals dudes were comingin, like all the rookie
cardinals dudes would alwayscome through to buy shoes.
So when they came to buy shoes,like we would always exchange
numbers, I'd, you know, try tohold them some shoes, get them
some stuff that was like limitedor exclusive, that they
(08:14):
couldn't find, and thenbasically just my name just
stuck in some phones and like belike, hey, ryan, I'm looking
for jordan, you know 17.
And I'd be like, oh, I got you,you know what I.
And I'd be like, oh, I got you,you know what I'm saying.
And then I'd go find, I gosource it, find it and then
bring it back.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So what'd you do?
Call your Nike guys and you dome a favor.
No, I just there were.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
There was these like sneaker shows back in the day
that were like all over the like.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
You know, it was like there was like sneaker con and
you would didn't read anymotivational books.
You did what.
What did your parents do for aliving when you were growing up?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
my dad built airplane engines at honeywell and my mom
was a hairdresser wow, man.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, what about brothers and sisters?
Not only child.
So you didn't read anything,this is just instinct just added
in yeah, I'm gonna work my.
So your parents were like youneed to go to college no, they I
mean they didn't even reallyforce me.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
I kind of got in some trouble as a youngster.
So you know, that steered melike a route.
And then I realized in thatroute, like this ain't really
what I want to do.
You know, I really want to dosomething.
I really want to make a name.
I really want to like becomesomething.
So I literally just clicked.
I don't even know what it was,I just knew I was going to let's
go do it.
(09:23):
I just went right to it and Inever looked back and I just
stayed running this route andit's been a marathon.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
But when you got in trouble were you already at Foot
Locker.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Like you, were at risk of losing your job at Foot
Locker, and that scared you.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
They took care of me, man.
They came in and fought for me.
Foot Locker did yeah, mymanager.
She came to court for me.
They got me on a work releaseprogram.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Oh, so you got serious trouble.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yeah, we got to edit that.
But yeah, yeah, that's good.
Yeah, I did, and they reallybacked me and I really kept
spilling my passion back intothem because, I mean, somebody
cared.
You know what.
I'm saying I think a lot ofyoungsters and a lot of people
that are going through thingsthey don't have want to be
associated or overlook it.
It's a tough, it's a toughthing.
(10:05):
So the more that I try to getback to all these kids nowadays
and like just me just givinggame and running the back, I'll
try to steer any of them awayfrom doing bad stuff and just
stick to it, because it just itreroutes you.
You know what I'm saying?
You take time, you lose time.
It's not worth it.
So you gotta.
There's only one path.
It's the right path.
There's no.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Is there somebody that, like, inspired you in
footlocker?
Is there somebody that was likeyour mentor that you looked up
to?
No, no, I mean, there's nobodynot really.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
I mean I had a.
I had a really good manager andthen a really good like uh well
, she was like a senior manager,so yeah, I mean I really they
were cool to you.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
You'd call them up, say, man, I need some help yeah
just just always.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
She was a manager for like 25 years so she was just.
You know.
I could talk to her abouteverything.
She understood, she related andshe loved that I worked hard,
so she was willing to back me.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
So when you decide to open up your own store, you
said 21 years old.
21 years old.
How do you get the finances andwhere do you?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
go, 20 grand saved up and what so?
Here's the crazy thing.
So the like, back in the day,the leasing lady at Fiesta,
where there were some people upin in the office that I used to
sell like bootleg wallets andbags and purses and watches
Cause I was already, like I toldyou, I was buying and selling
products I used to set up at40th street at the swap meet and
(11:19):
sell those products.
I would literally buy a boothand it was $25 to buy a space,
set up, sell those products andmake a great money every weekend
.
And then I took that I wasselling them at the mall.
The leasing lady was like, well,she knew me from Foot Locker
and then so I was selling hersome.
And then she's like, well, howare you going to open a store?
You can't really sell thisstuff here.
I was like, no, I'm going tosell apparel and shoes.
(11:39):
And like I pitched her thisdream and she was like, yeah, I
don't know.
So I partnered with basicallylike my older brother, like a
mentor that I did have in mylife, and I was like, look, I
want to open this store.
You know I love this.
Um, let's do it.
You know what I'm saying so Ihave my little 20 grand and he
backed the other 20 grand and weopened the doors.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
that's crazy, crazy and then, how do you get the
relationships with like?
So if you've got Nike andAdidas and Puma, like, is that
you just call them up?
Hey, I'm opening a store, ordid you have those relationships
at Foot Locker?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
No, so we didn't.
We always have done shoes notthrough an account.
We've done shoes on like aconsignment basis basically.
So like, since I was doingshoes and collecting shoes, like
shoes have paid my whole life,like I had, you know, at one
point in my collection I ofshoes and then when they were
(12:27):
like stock, so as they went upin price, I would take them and
sell them and buy more and justplay the stocks games with shoes
.
And still to this day, like Istill play stock game with shoes
.
You know, I've only lost alittle bit in the process what
year was this, by the way, uh?
2011.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
We opened the store you know, the first high-end
shoe store like yours that Iever saw, ever heard of, was
called high point high pointadrian wilson's store, adrian
Wilson's store.
It was a great store, I know,and it's funny because he would
hook me up or I would have toHim and I had the same size shoe
.
So whenever he got a cool pairof shoes, if he didn't take it
then I wasn't able to get it.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
That was a great store.
See, they were a real retailaccount accounts.
So we had we had to go theother route.
So we basically went to findstreetwear, which was like you
know it was.
It was a weird market becauseit didn't really exist yet.
Foot lockers weren't buyingstreetwear like the mainstream
stores weren't really buying it.
But it was like a boomingmarket because, um, I mean, it
(13:16):
was like exclusive, it wasdifferent, it wasn't for the
masses, it was like so basicallythere's a clothing show in
vegas called magic.
It's a magic convention oragenda.
So those were like the two bigclothing shows.
So you would go to theseclothing shows and it'd be, uh,
designers from atlanta, chicago,new york, you know all these
different places, and they'dbasically be showing off their
(13:38):
apparel and you could buy itwholesale.
So, and some of them had names.
I mean, there was some, youknow, solid brands that were
running around at that pointthat were at the show nike, puma
, new balance, all them were atthe show.
But a store like mine theywouldn't pay no attention to,
right?
You know they would payattention to adrian wilson, you
know, he was an athlete, youknow.
You know blah, blah, right.
So we had to build ourselves upwith brands that didn't exist
(14:00):
in the mainstream, right, butthat was the cool thing and
that's what made us havingexclusive stuff that you
couldn't buy at you know theNordstrom's and the, you know
Macy's and all that.
We had the cooler stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Do you have relationships from those days
that have come up with you?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
All a bunch Now like now, you're just.
I mean, I've had, you know,some of those are 15 year
relationships that we've beendoing stuff, and those people
have, you know, transitionedtheir brand from a $2 million
brand to a $20 million brand youknow.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
But like the street where you have right now a lot
of stuff you have to, is alsoyour own brand, right?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yeah, right now we're doing a lot of you know I do a
lot of guestless apparel.
I have a brand calledauthentics.
Um, that one, we, we do that.
We sell that wholesale to about75 different boutiques
throughout the States.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So so that's a.
You know that's crazy.
Yeah, we have fun with that?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
how did you learn like bookkeeping and stuff like
that is still a challenge.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Is it because that's like I mean, like I said, full
locker kind of taught me youknow what I'm saying.
But now you know I get you agood cpa, that's that's key one
in business.
Get you a good cpa and taxes,because that's the two things
you need for sure.
But I mean really spend all onyour card, make sure it matches
up with your books, report yoursales, do your taxes, stay out
the way.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
What about finding good people to work for you?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
That's the key ingredient to this whole process
.
I look for people like myself.
The kid that comes in that sayshe's willing to do whatever and
work really hard.
That's like the best thing.
I try to just find those allthe time, because that's what
makes great teams.
You know, I try to just findthose all the time because
that's what makes great teams.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You know people that are willing to do every position
.
So when you were like, comingup, you didn't care about the
money.
You didn't care about the money, you wanted to get me in there
Because, see, I think you're avery rare breed right now
there's a couple other people Iknow, like you, that will bust
their ass.
It doesn't matter how much, justget me in, I'm going.
I mean, I've worked, I've hadpeople on on my show.
They'd be like well, pay methis much and I'll do this much.
(15:45):
It's like no, that's not how itworks, it's a backwards formula
, right right.
So you're like I'm going to gethired at 13 bucks an hour and
I'm going to bust my ass.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Hey, it was 675 back then, it was literally like 675.
So how do you compete withright now like?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
minimum wage, I mean like mcdonald's charge is paying
22 bucks an hour.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yeah, it's crazy.
It's crazy.
So how do you get good people?
Because it's just, we have alot of.
I mean, I look for the peoplethat are willing to grind and
grow.
See, I went through thatformula so there's like I
wouldn't take nothing back fromit.
So I like anybody who's willingto work through it, because
you're not going to get it onthe first try, you're not in
this world.
All this social media,everything's teaching you like
everything should be right now.
No, that's not it.
It's you got to work for it.
Some people can skip the steps,but not many people get to skip
(16:30):
the steps.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Somebody had to instill this in you somehow.
Your dad, I mean, are yourparents still around?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
My dad was a hard worker.
I mean he worked every day, allday, honey.
Well, he would take all theovertime he would get.
So he was working 70, 80.
I feel like he was working 70hours a week.
I only feel like I really sawhim.
So the hard work was definitelyinstilled, the hustle and just
that.
I mean, like I said, I can'teven pinpoint what it was, I
just loved it.
I didn't mind, I didn't mindputting in the grind, because I
(17:01):
always knew inside my heartwhere I was going to go, no
matter what.
I just knew what I wanted and Iknew that I would just set my
goals and then little goals andachieve them.
That was it.
There was no special formula.
The only formula was hard work.
Did you write down your goals?
Speaker 1 (17:11):
or just knew them in your head.
I just knew them.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I talked I mean I when I drew up the first story.
It was crazy.
On the piece of paper I waslike it's going to be this and
this and this, and you know Ichanged that 6,383 times as it
all happened.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
You know multiple pivots you know I mean to go
from 16 begging for a job atFoot Locker to pulling up here
in a Rolls Royce.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, I mean bro we put a lot of work yeah, we put a
lot of work in right?
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, not.
You have any questions for Ryan.
It's a great story.
Thank you, man.
That's not a question, no.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I'm just saying I said to Dutch I go, you know, be
prepared, have questions ready.
He goes, I got it.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I got it.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I'm just listening right now, man, I know you're
listening but you also got tointeract.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I'm studying the game .
There we go.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I'm a student of the game man.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
What's your passion right now?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Right now.
I love fashion, basketball andmusic.
There you go, that's three thatI had in my belt.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Who are some of the?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
artists, the musical artists you've had, come into
your stores, oh man, or you soldto.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
We've had a lot of great people.
50 Cent is a huge one.
We've had Waka Flocka isanother big one, chief Keef's
another big one, man, the listgoes on.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
So how does that happen?
Is that list goes on.
So how does that happen?
Is that through connectionslike how do you get 50 cent to
go?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
to az mills.
Um, that was through a goodconnection again, hard work over
the years, buildingrelationships, staying genuine,
um, just doing good business.
Because a lot of people in theindustry no matter what they
just in any industry, mostpeople don't do good business.
So once you're building a name,I mean my name was more
important than like a coupledollars here and a couple
dollars there.
So I always shot it straightwith everybody and those
(18:45):
relations that has panned outheavily for me because nobody
can really say anything bad onmy name and they know like, oh,
that's great to work with him.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
No, you're right.
I mean, the man is only as goodas his word.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
My father always told me and I think that's yeah,
that was learned for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Like so you got a great reputation partnerships
and um actually.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
And I shot my guy, simon, that owns a liquor store
out here like on seventh andsouthern.
He is big time distributor forliquor so he had 50 coming to
sign at the store.
So I contacted him.
He got me in touch with 50speople.
50s people were like, yeah,we'd love to do it.
Yeah, so they came to the shop.
When fifth came to the shop wehad the print shop next door.
So we print all the apparel umwhich we manufacture for the
(19:22):
sons and all that.
We could talk a little bitabout that.
But 50 came to the store,walked just like, I think, wowed
a little bit at like damn, thisentrepreneur, this dude is,
this kid is you know he's doingit right.
So he literally had his dudethat I booked everything with.
Call me back like a week laterand said, hey, we'll start
(19:43):
running our production throughyou.
So I got 50 cents g unit.
Uh, like I was, I've beenrunning all like their power
stuff, some of their tour merchstuff, like anything that he
needs, website stuff, they.
He literally had them call andset me up.
I've been running all liketheir power stuff, some of their
tour merch stuff, like anythingthat he needs website stuff.
They he literally had them calland set me up so I've been
printing.
Yeah, 50 cent G-units.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
But you don't sell it , it's for them.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
We just manufacture it for them and send it back to
them so they can sell it ontheir website on tour.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Pop up whatever they're doing.
That's freaking nuts man.
I mean where you at right nowin life is crazy.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
That was a great moment, I mean.
Fifth was like definitely to me, like was like an inspiration.
Like I went to the mall, Ithink I went to Arizona Mills to
get his you know, when hedropped Get Rich or Die Trying
CD, like I was in middle schooland I went after school to go
grab that CD and like put it,you know, put it in my, my tape
deck and I don't think itstopped for like a whole year, I
(20:33):
just played that but when hecomes in and you're like in awe
that he's there, do you say pickout any shoes you want, pick
out whatever you like.
Whatever you want, dude I mean Iwas just like you know, like,
yeah, they were shopping and Iwas, like you know, obviously
like just a good heart in it.
I'm like, oh, if there'ssomething you see, you like you
know he, he liked everything.
He picked out my brand.
He's like what's your brand?
That's how much of a dopeperson he is.
(20:53):
He's like what's your brand?
I want to, I want to buy what'syours.
So he, he bought someauthentics and wore it that
night in his meet and greet.
You know what I'm saying likegod, what a great guy, yeah
great, great human, and it wasso dope because I respect it,
like everything he's done solike just standing there and
being able to soak up game.
He kept asking me questions andI couldn't even really get no
questions off and I'm like, damn, I want to ask you something,
(21:14):
bro.
Like, and he just he was askingme like so how does this?
Oh you print that?
Oh that, like it was just adope moment, like I couldn't
even recite it back.
It was so crazy.
It was just like a real feelingwhat do you?
What's?
Speaker 1 (21:25):
your deal with the sons what do you mean?
Speaker 3 (21:26):
sons we have a great relationship with.
We do a lot of their all theirlike, a lot of the team shop
stuff.
Uh, we'll do some productionfor that.
You know, when they need that,any specialty needs, like we've
done, like the devin bookercharity hoodies we do, like we
did sophia cunningham stuff.
We've done a bunch of a bunchof projects with them and the
recent thing is we just droppedthe suns collab with them where
we did, um, three differentpieces of apparel, like a sherpa
(21:49):
jacket and it was all guestlist so it it was guest list
X-Suns and we dropped it.
We did a big campaign for it,had Gorilla running around
wearing it?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
How does that happen?
Just from you going to the Sunsgames, meeting the right people
?
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, you know what I was at the I've been at the
games for a long time.
Like, I started kind of likerow three, me and Futuristic.
Futuristic played Spike Lee andBook was like it's the shoot
(22:20):
and they were like it's theshoes, the shoes.
So we met Book and them thenrookie year basically, and it uh
turned into just a relationshipwith them and his whole family
and then, like the sons I was,we were in row three.
I worked myself down a couple,got a couple court sides and
then I worked myself all the waydown to having my own court
sides and then just relationshipbeing genuinely authentically,
not doing anything out ofcharacter, and they just seen
(22:42):
what I was doing.
And social media nowadays,which we didn't have back in the
day, is really a fire igniterbecause you see these people
moving.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
So they saw what I was doing and they were like hey
, like yeah man, I see whatyou're doing and I'm just like
this guy's unbelievableappreciate you.
Yeah, dude, like your socialmedia is fantastic, it's always
shot really well, thank you.
It looks great when you're atthe suns games, I mean that's.
I'm trying to think back when Ifirst saw you and I don't know
if it was at a suns game whereyou told me about it, but when I
remember coming up to you,talking to you and you know,
telling you my son's a big fanthat was dope yeah yeah, that's,
(23:13):
and I'm a fan.
Then I then I heard your story,the footlocker story, and I was
like this guy's unbelievable,like that is an unbelievable
story, it's a fantastic, it's astory that everyone needs to
know, especially people nowadaysthat think like for me on my
radio show.
They think they can answerphones for a day and they get
their own show yeah, that's nothow it works exactly that's not
how it works you know no we just, we just did this yesterday.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
You just got to show up and today you're him.
You know, yeah, like yeah noit's a lot of work, especially I
mean, I'm a fan of you too fory'all, all that fan on me we've.
I've heard you on the airforever.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
So like go, you know.
So let me, let me talk to youspecifically about shoes,
because I remember one day wewent into your store and he was
like look what were the shoesthat you were like.
This is my favorite pair ofshoes of all time.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Oh, you had the Strange Loves.
Strange Loves, that's a goodone.
That's my favorite shoe of alltime, all time.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Do you have it?
No, I don't have a pair.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Incoming.
You have don't matter some ofthe shoes you have.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
The prices are what like, what's the most expensive
I mean, yeah, stuff ranges fromlike 200 bucks to 2 000 to 5 000
what's the most expensive pairof shoes you've ever had in your
store?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
we've had like some 10 000, 10 000 pairs I mean, you
had the what, the dunks, ohyeah what the dunk was like 20
grand now that you make meremind me of that one 20 grand
shoe right it's a beautiful shoe, yeah but it's just like
collector's items.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
They're like those, you know, like barrett it's the
barrett jackson, yeah, andthat's kind of what the idea of
our shoe wall is is to have likea barrett jackson you could
come look at, like you couldcome to the mall, take a look, I
mean, and there's somebeautiful ferraris, there's some
hondas, there's some beamers,there's some benzes.
So you just come and you enjoy,you know, seeing them and
they're all.
You know, they're all there foryou to see, which is a cool
part of the process because,like I get people that walk in.
(24:56):
They're like I used to hoop inthose in high school or that was
, that was my favorite shoe andit's dope to, you know, have a
conversation, like you to saythe strange love, and then we
can go talk about it, you knowit's like a culture.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
What shoe gets you excited?
If you saw what shoe would getyou excited, oh, man, I'm jaded
at this you are jaded, I justI've seen them.
I've seen them all but there'snot one that you'd want or that
you want to put in your storyevery once in a while the hype
gets me back and I and I want it.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
You know I'm saying like that nigel ford, that just
came out like I wanted itbecause the hype got.
They did such a great marketingplan and the way it rolled out
it just made you want it and itfelt like old jordans.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
You know what I remember?
We were at a Suns game and theGrinch, the furry Grinch, just
came out.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
And you were wearing them.
You had the CPFM ones on,that's what it?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
was yeah, that might have been the first time we went
up to talk to you, because Iwas like I got to talk to this
guy.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
I have had some outlandish outfits Right.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, you do.
I mean, the one you're wearingright now is pretty good, I
appreciate it Any of that yourstuff?
Speaker 3 (25:52):
No, that's Authentics , this is ours, yep.
This is Authentics, right here,yep.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
So you said your mom does hair, does she do your hair
?
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No, she quit on me 20 years ago.
Did she really?
Speaker 1 (26:04):
She said I'm too particular because I like to get
my fade every week.
You sold like is there acelebrity outside of 50 cent
that's coming in here?
Because I see sometimes you gotathletes in the store like is
there anybody like?
I remember being at going tohigh point and bumping into
steve nash.
I remember bumping into god whowas.
There was a handful ofcelebrities that would go to
high point quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Oh for sure, yeah, but I mean, uh dang, I feel like
I've got shoes for a bunch ofdifferent people.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
You know what I'm saying you're just used to now
it.
Now they just know They'll textyou, direct Somebody from the
Cardinals or somebody from outof town.
For sure I'm coming to town.
What do you?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
got, need something, or even like specifically, like
I said, when they're looking forsomething Like I need a Louis
Vuitton Air Force One and thenI'll go source it.
You know what I'm saying and alot of business-wise.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
When you said you started out, you were selling
like bootleg stuff at the swapmeet right?
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well, where did you get the bootleg stuff?
Just from New York, new York.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I literally, as a youngster, flew to New York,
took two luggages and I wouldpack up two luggages literally
with bags and we would come back.
I'm from Connecticut so myfamily lives in New York like
the Bronx area.
So my uncle, he took me outthere, laced me up, so I made a
connection with one of theChinese.
It was like a Chinese dude outthere selling on canal and I
took his information and hewould literally shoot me an
(27:19):
email back with here's the listof what we have this week and
I'd place an order and he'd sendit COD back.
I went like two times and thenhe was sending me CODs back.
So I would just get my moneyorders, have them at my mom's
house ready to get this package.
The packages come in, get a cod, unwrap it be at the parking
swap that weekend brought yourparents here.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
I'd like to pick their brain see how proud.
They must be so proud of you,man.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
I mean, yeah, I think , how often do you see your
parents?
I see them, you know, everyweek, for sure.
I go check on them are you likeliving styling?
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I mean, where do you park that rolls?
Speaker 3 (27:48):
oh yeah, we parked that tucked away yeah, what?
Speaker 1 (27:51):
What part of town do you live in?
I live in Gilbert, oh yeah.
So when you're doing stuff, canyou spot bootlegs, because some
of them are really good.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Nowadays stuff's getting really, really good.
But you can yeah, I mean mostlyon sneakers, like I usually
make shoe contact before I makeeye contact for the most part.
So I'm always checking out theshoes, usually like shoes have
got really good but they'restill like materials and stuff
that you can see.
But some stuff is now is reallygood.
I I mean I wouldn't be able todo it on bags and purses or
(28:23):
anything like I used to, butlike, yeah, on shoes, I can
pretty much tell you know, onfacebook I don't know if it's
because you know how the phonesare like you talk about it and
all of a sudden shoe ads pop up.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
I see, like like these travis scotts and I'll go
to dutch, I go, hey man, checkthese out.
He's like those don't evenexist yeah, all these colors.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
How do they do that?
How can they just sell?
Speaker 3 (28:41):
shoes, yeah how you know what I mean bootleg
everything, that's.
That's the game, you know.
Uh, I was with uh melvin bookerdevin's and we were at a
tournament and a kid walks bywith a color books on and he's
like hold on, I don't even gotthose.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
What are?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
those.
I mean, obviously they werefake.
We're like oh, those areterrible, but they're like.
I mean, this is his first shoeand they already have fakes
going around in his colors.
Yeah, you know, it's nuts.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
What's that?
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Hooping with fakes is crazy, crazy.
You know what's crazy Is.
In this circuit like the EY,I've been seeing a lot of kids
with like the Kobe's Like a lotof fake Kobe's being worn Can
you tell?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
they're fake Kobe's, you can yeah there's like, yeah,
you can tell.
Because I know when you werehooping in school.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
A lot of this.
There's like there's rumors oflike same factory.
Yeah, all this different stuff,same material, but it's.
I mean, it's just really in thecraftsmanship they can get
really close to most of theingredients, but then, like, the
one thing where the fake shoesbecome a different ingredient is
like they use stuff that you'rereally not supposed to put in
them, so know, like chemicalsand different stuff that they
(29:51):
wouldn't allow to be passed.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
So that's where the you know it really kind of
happened Like the fake Kobe'salways, like one of my friends,
like his foot went through theshoe.
Yeah, craftsmanship, I meanthat's just with everything too.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Like when they're you know they're doing good
craftsmen and not that Nikedoesn't.
You know, sometimes they'regoing to have a flaw or whatever
it's material, but for the mostpart, like yeah, you know, a
louis bag is gonna last, anike's gonna last, like that's
just what it is, because it'sgreat products and they stand
behind them I heard the key isto have real stuff and then you
can get in sprinkling a coupleof fake stuff and then no one's
ever gonna know.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Yeah, that's, that's what ruined your name like I
don't know if that's a fakerolls royce out there I changed
the badges and stuff like that,so walk me through a day, a
normal day of yours.
You get up at what time?
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Normal day I get up usually about like 7.30.
I get going.
I usually try to go hoop on.
I usually hoop like three daysa week when do you hoop?
We hoop at like a couple LAFitnesses and the Sportas and
stuff and a couple gyms likeFacility and Inspire Court.
So we pop out out, have theseruns that we've been going for a
long time and, uh, you know,try to get my little workout in
(30:56):
right there to start it up.
Then usually, you know, comehome, get a protein shake and
then I'll start out and just goon the journey.
I'll start with, you know, somezooms and some calls, then I'll
hit the first, I'll hit arizonamills, then I'll hit the print
shop, then I will go to thestudio, because we have a film
studio as well, one take studios, so I'll go over there.
Then we might go to scottsdalemall to check on that store.
(31:19):
Zoom call, zoom call.
Do some buying at home?
Run back 150 calls, 8336 testmessages and then about 1, 32
o'clock try to get some sleepand then run it back again.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So you've got to have people.
Since you've got AZ Mills,you've got Scottsdale and you've
got San Francisco and you'vegot the print shop and the
studio, you've got to have somegood management.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Yeah, have some great people around I've had, like my
guy Chris.
He's been running the storesfor a long time.
He runs pretty much my lifebehind.
We have a manager out in SFthat does his job.
So I mean I got a great teamand I've been fortunate to have
some people around me Like Ithink a couple of my guys are
almost 10 years with me.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
So you've got to treat them well to stick around.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Yeah, I mean we've had the ups and downs together.
We've had the good times andthe bad times and I mean you're
great people and they've they'vesupported me and pushed me and,
you know, made me grow in areasand I can't thank them enough
for, you know, my success.
But I always just try tore-motivate them back to be
great.
You know, I knew where I wasgoing since 11.
(32:23):
That's exactly what I knew at11 years old.
I knew I was going to dosomething great and I started my
marathon and I always knew Iwas going to get to where.
I didn't know it was going tobe the Rolls Royce and the Suns
and 50 and the whole shebang.
But in my heart I just knew itwas going to be something and I
was going to put my, you knowpedal to the metal.
I was just gas pedal and I waslike I'm not stopping and nobody
can deter me and nothing,nothing.
(32:45):
It's just me versus me and I goevery day and I just go as hard
as I can and I leave it all outlike game seven so then, what
do you do, or what are you goingto do now to help yourself get
better, like how?
Speaker 1 (32:56):
I mean, do you feel like you've hit a certain place,
but I need to get here, arethere books to read, are there
seminars to go to?
Or you think you're just goingto do it?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
I mean I just have a passion to do it.
But I am like I mean now in myolder, as I keep getting older,
I'm starting to listen a lotmore.
I I just pay attention more thepeople that I see that are
doing things the way I like, Idial into them a little bit and
I just see what makes them go.
And you just asked me what'syour day?
Look like.
You know what I'm saying.
I try to pick apart, pick thebrains, guy Fieri being one,
(33:26):
when I'm with him.
I was on a Triple D set and Iwatched him go.
I mean, this man is like amachine.
He's literally, you know, he'sgot everything set up.
He's boom, boom, boom, boom.
He doesn't stop.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
So you pick his brain a little bit.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
I do.
I definitely as much as he'll.
Let me you know what I'm sayingand really just observing,
because I'm one of the ones thatcan just notice what I'm it.
Put it in my own pot of gumbo,mix it up and make you know what
I'm saying.
Some good soup.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
You're freaking, fascinating dude.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Appreciate you, bro, yeah but that's really what it
is.
It's like just picking littlepieces from everybody, putting
it in your own pot, making yourown formula.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
But are you working on another store or another
project or a video or a store orsomething Right now?
Speaker 3 (34:08):
I'm is my three-for-three project right
now.
We did San Fran was February,we just launched Scottsdale last
month and now I just purchaseda building to move the print
shop.
So finally have some ownershipafter all these years, I
purchased a building, so I'mvery excited about that.
(34:29):
So we purchased like a6,000-square-foot building that
I have to build out from prettymuch scratch.
I gotta put ac, I gotta putelectric plumbing, all this
different stuff, and then wehave to move all our machinery
to it so but is your print shopgoing to be?
Speaker 1 (34:42):
are you opening up the business for other things or
just your stuff?
50 stuff, sun stuff?
Just yeah for no for anything,for anybody like if some
companies watching this rightnow, they go, man we want to use
it for shirts.
Yeah, geo print and do you havea deal with good shirt
companies?
Do you use like next level oreverything?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
everything we use, next level bella, canvas, la
apparel, t style.
You know we we have any, anygarment you want, and the thing
is I've been working on it inthe 13th hour of the day or the
80th hour of the day.
I'm I do a lot of manufacturingoverseas.
So in portugal, china, you knowI do a lot of manufacturing
overseas.
So in Portugal, china, you knowI do a lot.
I can make you a garment fromscratch.
I can make you a pants, shirt,shoe, hat, lanyard, keychain,
(35:20):
belt, wallet, I mean whateveryou want really can make it from
scratch.
What time do you go to bed?
That's usually because overseasis usually about, you know, 9
to about 1 o'clock in themorning.
I'm usually working, you know,sending WhatsAppapps going back
and forth doing different cuts.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
You know materials dying like there's, there's,
that's such, it's such a process.
Dude, your hustle is real, realmad respect.
Man, appreciate it, mad respect, I mean that's.
Um, I knew a little bit aboutyour story but I'm just
completely blown away by yourwhole package, man.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Man, I just you know continued success to you.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Ryan.
That's unbelievable man.
Unbelievable is your.
You're married, I am married.
Does your wife?
Speaker 3 (35:51):
work she does.
What kind of work, man I justyou know.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
continued success to you, Ryan.
That's unbelievable manUnbelievable.
You're married, I am married.
Does your wife work?
She does.
What kind of work does she do,she?
Speaker 3 (35:58):
is a travel nurse oh, no way, yeah.
So she's the one that takescare of everybody.
She's the you know, she's theheartbeat to what we got.
That's unbelievable man.
She does a hard job.
I mean mine's creative, but Imean I feel for all them nurses
and then they go and see sometraumatic stuff and they have to
like, do real life and and comeback home and turn it off.
(36:19):
So I salute them.
They, they do really work hard,you know um in town.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Here just real quick, I'm just like what are your
favorite restaurants in town?
Speaker 3 (36:26):
oh, you know um rah-rah room, since I'm a nice
member over there you gottashout them out etta et Etta in
North Scottsdale.
Eddie, Eddie North Zagari.
He's got to be one of the bestfoodies in Arizona, so that's
great.
My top Thai Rama, 15th Avenue,Camelback Thai Rama.
Best Thai food in Arizona.
(36:47):
I stand by it.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Oh man, maybe we'll hit that on the way home.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Hey, tell them I sent you.
Oh man, maybe we'll hit that onthe way home.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Hey, tell them I sent you Dude you're unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
They're amazing.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Look, I've been messing with you for a while
trying to get you on thispodcast and I'm grateful you
made the time.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate your love I reallydo.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So let's just go over your locations real quick.
So when you're watching you goto it's Guestless in Scottsdale
floor upstairs by Dior.
Okay.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Then we have Arizona Mills, which is located between
entry three and four at ArizonaMills mall.
Then we also have guest listprint, which is located by Tempe
marketplace.
Then we also have one takestudios, which is our studio 25
different film sets.
You can shoot small film, videocontent, whatever you want.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
We should have gone there to do this podcast.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
Yeah, we can do it, so we do have a podcast room as
well too.
So that's good there.
And I have a partner, jacobOwens, that's great at
photography and videography.
He's one of the goats in thegame, so me and him partnered on
that, and that's right byArizona Mills as well too.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
I could see like in the future like you going on
tour doing motivational speaking.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Dude, I mean, it's an amazing story and the success
you had is fantastic.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
I think that's one of the things too.
I do love giving back the gameand like teaching and, like you
know, again, I'm relatable, evenlike me, and you like you can
look at me, I'm relatable.
You can say like, damn, he didit, so I can do it.
So I love passing the game.
The only thing I just got totell you is just hard work.
You got to be ready to sleepthat's the problem, that's it,
you got to be,
Speaker 1 (38:15):
willing to put the work in right, because a lot of
people don't work yeah and again.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
Like you just pick up a mic in your hymn, you just
pick up a t-shirt in your me.
You know what I'm saying likethat's not it that's not it.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
It's not gonna work.
That's it.
I can't even pick up a mic.
It'd be me, what huh?
All right, anything you wantcome on what?
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Huh?
All right, what are you?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
talking about?
Come on, Nothing.
I just want to say good job,Dutch.
I know it was the first timeyou've been on camera with me.
Anything you want to askBecause we're going to wrap it
up- man, I don't even know.
Right now.
What is the most expensive shoeavailable right now?
We?
Speaker 3 (38:45):
have like a Louis Vuitton Air Force 1.
That's like about $5,000.
We have like an Off-WhiteJordan 1.
That's like $7,000.
We have a coupleplayer-exclusive like from
schools, like we have these UCLAPE Jordan 4s.
They're like $5,500.
We have a Michigan Jordan 6.
(39:05):
That one's worth like aboutthree grand.
So they vary.
There's some what's yourfavorite, my favorite shoe yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
Ever is.
Lebron 1 Zoom Generation islike one of my favorite shoes,
but you'll wear those daily.
Yeah, I will.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
You'll wear it, yeah, I probably have like 12 pairs
of that.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Don't tell anybody.
Are they comfortable?
I can't wear any shoe like I doin Air Force One.
I just started with these.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
I kind of bounce around.
I mean I love Travis's.
Travis's are definitely one ofthe things that rolled me into
the hype because Jordan 1 Lowswere never popular back in the
day they would clearance down.
I mean you could get a Jordan 1Low back in my day when I was
working at Foot Locker.
They'd be like $39.99 on thewall, 99 on the wall and then
(39:50):
now, these are 29, 99 like 2999to buy a low top jordan one,
which is just mind-blowing.
You ever met jordan?
I've been in the room close,but I've never got to meet him
like shake his hand.
I met bron kobe, you know so,but never might have you ever
had a paris dunk.
Never have I touched the pair II've held, but I've never had
one in my collection.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
We saw one in Hawaii.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Oh, in Truist.
Yeah, truist, hawaii, we werethere.
Do you remember that?
It's a great store?
Yeah, great store.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Is that the one that was in Honolulu?
Speaker 3 (40:15):
kind of in town a little bit.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Yeah, it's on like King Street yeah they're like a.
They're crazy stuff.
Speaker 3 (40:22):
They're for the culture store.
They're definitely dope.
They've been there for a lot ofyears.
They actually just had Travis,or they had Travis in there a
couple years ago they did yeah.
He pulled up, signed a shoe forhim, everything.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
And good relationships.
It's so smart when celebritiesdo that.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
It's dope to see celebrities outside their
element.
You get them as real humansbecause, like you know, you only
know them from doing the courtor doing the field.
So like, when you get them outthere, they're normal people.
You know what I'm saying?
Right, but when?
Speaker 1 (40:48):
they go above and beyond and do something.
I mean, this is a differentexample, but like I remember one
time Miley Cyrus was in townand my partner, rich and I were
broadcasting outside of thearena.
She had sold out over at StateFarm Stadium or at glendale and
she came out and hung out whilewe're outside and within three
minutes there were 10 000 peoplearound us and it was absolute
(41:10):
chaos.
But people don't do thatanymore, right?
You know what I mean people.
So people don't do like like atravis scott doing that like 50
cent yeah people.
They're like outliers, they'relike different.
You know, that's, that's verycool man, that's another,
another dope one that I had.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
I had chris paul in in the with his son and we're
real cool and it was just greatto have him out.
He enjoyed the experience somuch, he's like because you know
he's been an, A athlete for 20years.
He's like I ain't even reallybeen able to just come to the
mall in a long like because wejust, you know, had him come in.
He came to Mills, he walked in,had a blast, you know I'm
(41:43):
saying shopped and left and waslike bro, this was dope, like I
haven't done this in a year.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
People can catch.
They probably go.
There's no way.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
Chris paul's here I mean, there was definitely
people around and definitelypeople like you know what I'm
saying but it was like I mean,he and he's he's one of the best
humans ever, like really a goodhuman.
So yeah, but it was dope, youknow, like seeing them just
enjoy an experience that'snormal to us.
I go to the mall every day.
I've been in the mall since Iwas 16.
You know what I'm saying andthis dude's like he's almost
(42:11):
breaking down.
He was almost in tears Like Ifinally got to be normal.
You know what I'm saying?
It's great.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
You know Luis Gonzalez from the Diamondbacks.
Yeah, we were in Tucson and himand I were walking through the
mall and they just won the WorldSeries and within 30 seconds
couldn't get that dude out ofthe mall fast enough.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
It was crazy, he's a GOAT too, One of the best to
ever do it in the D-backs.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
Yeah, man, he's great , he's great, we'll get him into
your shop.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
Yeah, let's do it.
How about I'll flip it to youreal quick?
What's your favorite celebritymoment you've had like through
all these years of just beingmeeting everybody?
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Well, you know, I met Michael Jordan, Okay that's a
great one, that was pretty sick.
I was an intern.
I was on my way up and I wasworking at a sports station and
I remember he was coming.
I was in San Diego at a sportsstation, okay, and there was a
guy that played for the Bullswho was from San Diego I can't
remember like Cliff Robinson orCliff, I can't remember his name
played for the Bulls and theyput together an all-star game in
(43:11):
San Diego and I was an internand I helped set up the press
conference.
So I was in this room oops, Iwas in this room with a long
table and a lot of microphones,you know, like a press
conference.
I had set it all up and I'llnever forget.
I'm walking out of the room andI'm pretending like I'm all
alone and I'm like that's enough, fellas, no more pictures, no
more, thank you.
(43:31):
And I turn and boom, I hit himchest to chest and he puts his
hand on my chest.
He goes do you want to do thisinterview?
I'm sick of this shit.
And I was like what the hell?
And what the hell?
And I go, yeah, I go, can I geta picture?
And he goes I don't, probably.
And it was like and the guy thattook the picture?
And I tell him I go, I'm anintern for sports station,
(43:52):
whatever, and and I'll be at thegame tonight, and the general
manager of the radio station wasthis woman named Judy and she
said to conference, she goes.
Here are my tickets.
They're on the floor, centercourt.
She goes.
You can have them for the firsthalf she goes, but then I need
them back the second half.
And I had my dad with me and Iwas like absolutely, thank you
(44:13):
so much Because I didn't getpaid right, so I'm sitting down
center court.
The lights go out, they startthe all-star game you know that
song that the Bulls were usingand they bring out, they start
introducing the players and alsothis Michael Jordan place goes
freaking nuts.
He sees me and he walks overand high-fives me in front of my
(44:35):
dad.
And then walks and that was likeone of the greatest moments, a
father and son moment for methat I could have.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (44:42):
Like it was great, that's pure pride and I got the
picture a father and son momentfor me that I could have you
know what I mean Like it wasgreat.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
That's pure pride, and I got the picture.
Every once in a while I post itbecause I stumble on it.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
I'm like oh my God, that's definitely got to come up
right here on this, On thepodcast.
Here's the picture man, me andMichael.
Speaker 1 (44:54):
Jordan.
I'm 19, 18 years old.
That's super cool man, sothat's amazing that he's, that's
he's amazing, mine was great,same with I met Magic Johnson, I
mean, you know.
But I mean as far ascelebrities, you know, they've
all been really cool.
Kanye, I mean I know Kanyecalled my show three times.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
He was fantastic yeah he was one of the best
interviews ever and one of theone of the most culture shifters
ever seen in the culture,streetwear, fashion industry,
sneakers he's a genius you knowa lot of guys these are his
brand, no the the pants yeah, no, these are his, oh, those are
his pants see, genius.
Speaker 1 (45:35):
Anyway that, thanks for asking me a question.
That's cool.
Um, anyway, all right, let'swrap it up.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Man, thanks, man, thanks hey thank you guys, so
much for having me all right.
Congrats to that firstinterview many more let's go,
man, let man, let's go.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Let's go, all right good stuff Appreciate y'all.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Thanks, man.
All right, that's my podcast.
Okay, so welcome to our podcast.
This is a little bit differenttoday, because this podcast is a
spinoff of our radio show.
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