Steve Aoki: Overcoming Racism To Top the Charts

Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
This week on the In Depth podcast, Steve Aoki.
In order to do what I do at the level I'm doing that, you have
to train yourself like an athlete.
When we caught up with the famedmusic DJ in summer 2021, we saw
first hand the passion and intensity he brings to each and
every one of his signature shows.

(00:22):
We then sat down at his Las Vegas home where he got
emotional reflecting on his career.
Love what you're doing, where you're at.
That's that moment, Scott. And revealed a nerve wracking
moment while going all in on oneof his hobbies, card collecting
and. I spent enormous amount of money

(00:46):
on buying a raw Pokémon card on a Japanese auction that could be
a fake card, and I actually forked over $420,000.
The son of Rocky Aoki, who founded the famous restaurant
chain Benihana, Steve also shared how his father's death
sent him on a journey of learning about the human body.

(01:08):
The end goal is finding a way tolive forever, and that sounds
kind of scary and crazy when yousay that.
But we began with the racism Aoki encountered growing up in
Newport Beach, CA. So I wanted to start by taking
you back to when you were a kid growing up first.
Loved your book, and you opened up about a lot of stuff in the

(01:31):
book. And I want to read a quote to
you because, you know, you were given a real hard time growing
up by your peers. You wrote you grew up eating
this up, food looking oddly different, always out of place.
And you convince yourself the girls in your class won't like
you because you have slanted eyes and your hair's not blonde.

(01:52):
And you start to feel separate. You move around like you are
somehow other or less than. Elaborate on that if you don't
mind. This is how I felt what at that
age. So it's different when I say I'm
talking about my own food. I I was not proud of my culture.
I felt like I shouldn't be. And kids said you were eating
worms. First of all, you bring a rice
bowl to school and you know, in a class that just doesn't

(02:15):
understand what that food looks like, I'm like, mom, why you do
that to me? They were like, I can't eat
this. Like I have to eat this in
private because I love like, that's why I grew up eating this
food. And Newport Beach, it's 96%
white. It's, it's very conservative.

(02:36):
And I, I say it like this, you know, when you look back, it
doesn't matter where you where, where you look at it.
If you go to a place that's 96% or largely, largely the
majority, one thing, then the small minority is going to get
some sort of under representation.

(02:56):
There's be largely not some sortof largely underrepresented and
kids growing up in that climate,they just don't have a filter.
And if they don't get checked orthey don't have education on
what, you know, the, the underrepresented are
experiencing, they might not even realize what kind of effect

(03:18):
it has on other people. And that's the issue is that
the, the peers, the teachers, the parents, they weren't
educating the, the large majority of, of these kids.
So I, I just feel like in those kinds of places, when I think
about in like a broad strokes kind of a macro point of view,

(03:43):
the education on diversity is soimportant.
You know, it's, it's so important to actually have that
more so in places like that. I was talking to your sister
Khanna, she recalls when you were on the playground that you
were talking to the ants. How did that feeling of like,
not belonging you think come outin you back then?

(04:06):
I mean, it's, it's a, it's, it'stough.
Like when I really like go back to me as a little boy in that I,
I remember even like what, why one of my class, like the, the
group I was in, it was the classI was in was there's only two
other guys and it was like all girls.

(04:27):
All I want to do is, is like be like the two guys and be friends
with them. But they definitely, definitely
did not want me in there. I wanted to, to, to be accepted
into their world. I remember following them and
doing whatever they did and theywere really into bird watching
and so I got into it. I'm like, like they're like
looking at birds and like, I cannever hang out with them, but I

(04:50):
would like go, Oh, that's what they're doing.
That's what the guys are doing. I got to do that too.
I remember like going backyard and like going, well, I'm really
into birds, like why you're intobirds?
I get these bird bugs. I was like drawing them and
stuff and they still like it. Just, I don't know, it's just
funny. I, I, you know, looking back at
what it felt like at that time and just wanting to fit in with

(05:11):
these guys and like, you know. What would they do to you in
terms? Of I mean, they would, they
wouldn't like, like push me around.
They just like I just, they justwouldn't let me in.
Yeah, like I would just, I couldn't be a part of their
thing. And, you know, I don't want to
sit like, The thing is I don't want to like put myself in the
victim situation, you know? Well, but you also credit it.

(05:34):
If not for that, you don't thinkyou would have gone on to have
the success that you ended up having, right?
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I think like later on in life,
but that was I was a kid. I was like a kid then.
I mean, he's just like, you know, going growing through
that. There's a lot of other things I
had to deal with that that that,you know, you would just have to

(06:00):
just kind of find your own thingto do.
And luckily I found music and. What happened?
Were you almost expelled once? I actually befriended this one
one kid we were really close andwe hang out all the time and he
he like befriended another friend and that guy did not like

(06:22):
me at all. I ride my bike over to his house
and he's just like, I like feeling things like being thrown
at me behind a Bush. And and then I hear like the
racial epithets, just like everything I'm like and I
realize it's my friend. I remember like so confused why
that was happening. I was crying and exciting just
didn't understand like I had I brought back his glasses like I

(06:45):
was boring his glasses. So I go when I broke his
glasses, I was so angry and I threw it in the trash.
And then the next day I confronted him.
I'm like, like what? Like what happened?
And then his friend was there. The guy doesn't like me.
And then they were just saying all kinds of stuff again.
And then we got into a fight. And that was my first, like,

(07:06):
fight, physical fight. And there's a playground.
And like, all these people were like, you know, surrounding us.
They're like fight. They're like, like encouraging
the fight. And we got into it and I beat
him up. I felt bad, though, like, I
just, like, was so scared. I just ran and hit in the Bush.

(07:28):
It bothers you even now. Yeah, I know.
I just remember like hiding in the Bush and it's like, I mean
like like the fights that I don't like them, but like I did
that moment like like feeling this kind of betrayal and like
and then and all this all these,you know, like, why would you
say all these negative? Like why would you say all these

(07:49):
racial things about me? Like now you don't like me
because I'm Asian? Like I don't get it.
I didn't understand like, you know, and like, you know, it
just, and then this makes me feel like that's the culture I
live in. It's normal.
Like Asians in that environment.We're, we are like not, we are,
we are so poor. And that's what I, I consider

(08:11):
myself at that point, like I'm not at the same level.
And that's just how it is. It's just sad to see that I got
like suspended or whatever from school.
And then I, I came back to school and I, I, I saw him, his
friend riding his bike in front of me.

(08:32):
And this, this guy like looked at me like a little, little
like, like he could kick my ass too, you know, he was, because
he was always talking to me. I think his older brother was
like a Nazi skin or something, you know, like it was like they
had like a family of racism, youknow, and I rode up to him.
I'm like, Yo, what's up? I don't want to say his name on
here but I was like Yo what's up?

(08:54):
Like And he just like took off and I was like, I was like, wow,
he didn't say anything bad and he took off and he tried to hop
the curb and I don't know if it's karma or something, but his
front wheel like came off the spoke and then he just like
rolled over his bike and I'm like, Oh my God.

(09:16):
I just couldn't believe that happened right at that moment.
Didn't your mom, in some of these situations like what you
do, apologize? She's like doesn't want to rock
the boat, she doesn't want to cause stir.
She's just like, like the Japanese culture is keep your
head down and just keep moving. Like don't, don't stand up,

(09:37):
don't be seen. And definitely like, you know,
don't create attention, negativeattention to us because we're
barely here. Like we're just hanging in here.
So don't do anything. So it's like she was apologizing
about, you know, if I if anything, I'm like mom, but
there's like, like he was like straight up just, I mean, it was

(09:58):
just not, not cool, you know, like what he was saying, what
they were doing, you know, like it like it's not about defending
me at the point. It's more about like just let's
just not cause a scene, like sorry, we're sorry, you know,
please leave this alone kind of thing.
Like, you know, growing up thereas any sort of minority, you're

(10:20):
going to have some level of discrimination.
In high school, I still like dealt with just just dumb
racism, you know, and like ignorance, of course you deal
with that. When you're a kid, it's harder
to understand that and you don'tknow who to turn to.
But in high school, that's when I was lucky to find music
because the scene that I got involved in, like the kids I was

(10:43):
hanging out with, they're all like either bullied or like
outcasted or like, you know, pushed to the side or, you know,
it's in some form or fashion. They were like, we don't belong
with the, with, like with the mainstream, whatever.
We don't belong with like the, the general majority of the
kids. So we're going to hang together
and we're going to skate and we're going to go to shows, punk

(11:04):
shows and, and, and the bands that are that we're playing,
they're singing about the same kind of concepts, the philosophy
of like, it's OK, we're the outcasts.
We don't fit in. Come hang out.
We're like our own world. Like, whoa, that's like my
world. And they're not Asian, but
they're but we have the same kind of understanding of like,

(11:26):
hey, we don't fit in anywhere. So we'll fit in together and
we'll give you, we'll allow you to give you a voice so you can,
you know, find the courage to like just be you.
How did you find music helped? Music, yeah, was my source to
express myself and to learn who I am and to be proud of because
I was. I was so like, ashamed, like my

(11:47):
face, my eyes, like my, like I'mJapanese.
I just like, I had a lot of shame in that.
And then like later on, I felt guilty about it.
And then I was like, I got to reclaim that.
I got to own this because it is who I am.
It's like, I want to be proud ofthat, you know?
And so I'd be able, I was able to find that through music and
then the empowerment around the people that were like allowing

(12:09):
me to just be me. Tell about the full drum kit in
Jessicas front lawn. Oh yeah, yeah.
So yeah, when you're a kid like.Creative ways to pick up.
Girls, Yeah, yeah. Like I, you know, I like, I
definitely was not good at, at picking up girls for sure when I
got to that age where I'm like, oh, man, I really like girls

(12:30):
now. Like, I don't know how to
express this. And, you know, there's a girl,
there's one girl and she was in my neighborhood and.
And they're like, OK, like this is going to be kind of like that
scene in like, John Cusack wherehe has the boom box over his
head in front of the the girl's house.
But like, I have my drum set. So I like, I like, put it like

(12:54):
right on the, the front lawn of her, of her house and like, I
don't know, like midnight or something.
And I'm like, I just started banging on the drums until the
lights on the House went on so that she could see me, like,
playing drums. And like, the family was not
happy. They were, they were, they, they
like ran out like, Oh my God, wegot to grab the drums, like,

(13:15):
like, like, you know, yelling atme and I'm like, I grabbed the
drums and I ran into the car with my friends and we just took
off. But that was that was just just
dumb. Did she ever say anything to
you? I don't know what happened
after. I think she started laughing
about it. She's she's like a, she's like a
like good-natured girl. She's just, you know, but like,

(13:36):
there's nothing ever came of it.Yeah, I kind of just like was I
I walked away with my head like,you know, down and like was
like, OK, that didn't work. How about your best memory from
K juice? Oh my God, K Juice.
Yeah. It was my first time actually
being a DJ. Maybe one or two people were
listening. Like, literally at UC Santa

(13:58):
Barbara, there is the radio station for the college
students. And K Juice is like for when you
started out before you become a real radio DJ.
I never ever became a real radioDJI lived in Cage Juice Land
where like it's only played intolike the library and who's going

(14:19):
to listen to the Cage Juice in the library?
Because I had all these records,I started collecting all this
vinyl and I would play these records and I was really playing
for myself. I would like play a set and
record it and like have like my set.
But it was going out and I was talking on the mic and, and, you
know, just just excited to actually like have a, a place to

(14:39):
broadcast this music and, and try to find out if anyone was
listening. And yeah, I would like go to the
Public Library and be like, yo, this is Cage Juice.
Just randomly ask people and they'll be like, what's that
Like? No one knew what it was.
It's just like, it's just like it wasn't there to exist for the
world, you know? So is there a practice?

(15:00):
And I did that for like a few semesters and I think that was
it. I just, I was like, OK, I'm just
going to focus on being in my band and.
So your best buddy Dan told me you almost started D Jing out of
necessity initially because you just needed money.
You were going under the name DJKid Millionaire and you said you

(15:21):
were screwing up a ton initially.
The name DJ Kid Millionaire. People always ask like where'd
that come from? So the name, my first DJ name
was called DJ Cry. Like crying because the guy that
gave me my first DJ set ever wasthis guy named Kelly DeWitt from
Los Angeles. And he's a bartender.

(15:43):
And he knew I had like this insane record collection of punk
records and hardcore records. And next I was in bands and he
he would come see my shows and he was a hardcore kid.
But he's also a rock. He's just like an LA person, a
great person to know in LA. And he, he's like, Hey, you
should DJ at my bar and you can play whatever you want.

(16:04):
Like really like, I know you have a really crazy collection
of vinyl. Come here and play whatever you
want and you get a free bar tab.You just drink, you know, have
fun. And so I was like, wow.
So I, I would play like these like screaming hardcore records
in this, this like small bar called 3 clubs in LA and people
will just be like, what? The like they just, no one liked

(16:27):
it 'cause it's like, it's like hardcore in a bar.
They're like drinking at a, likeat the bar.
You know, I just want to hear like something called and I
mean, I only did that one time. He let me do it one time just
but like, I think it scared people, but he, he liked it.
He liked it. So and then he's like, hey, we
should start a group together called the Cry Babies and I'll

(16:50):
be babies. You'll be crying.
I'm like, all right, sweet. He just was like so nice to me.
I don't know why. And he was like one of your
early. Yeah, he was like my first LA
friend. Yeah, Cali.
And so we went by DJ Cry Babies.We never ever actually DJ
together, but I did use the nameonce.
DJ Cry and I opened for Sam Spiegel Goes by Squeaky Clean.

(17:11):
It was like another early friendof mine who let me open.
So I there's one flyer where it says DJ cry opening.
That was like the only time I ever use that name.
But I, you know, is loyal to thename because he he kind of gave
me the name to Callie. And then I was like, it's such a
weird name, DJ cry. I can't like, I'm like I got to,
I got to like use a different name.
So then. And you were doing gigs where

(17:33):
somebody pay you $50.00, but then they thought you were so
bad that they'd let you come back, but they were going to pay
you less. Oh yeah, that happened a lot of
times. I mean, I, I was lucky to even
get paid and then one gig I played, most of the time I was
playing for free just because I I need to get my head in the
door. Or if they paid you money, it'd
cost you more to actually get there.
There. Yeah.

(17:53):
Yeah. Put together the set.
So yeah, I remember playing one place.
And so this is the origin of thestory of the name Kim
Millionaire. I was playing this record called
Millionaire by Kelis featuring Andre 3000.
So I'm playing all kinds of vinyl.
I'd like. It's all vinyl sets.
And by the way, I was sucked as a DJ then like I could barely

(18:15):
mix. I was horrible.
But I'm surprised they even let me DJ.
I'm like, like, why we? I mean, I was like train
wrecking like because I didn't have a set, I would have to
practice at the gig. Like they just left the door
open. I had to practice there because
I didn't have like I didn't haveturntables at my in my
apartment. So I would practice before I

(18:36):
would show up for like an hour or two so I could learn how to
beat match before every gig. Not to mention those who knew
you best thought you'd end up going the A and RI.
Was always an A&R that was, thatwas my main thing.
That's why I even like maybe even got shows because we're, I
was signing acts to my label Democ at the time.
And so when I was playing this record millionaire and there

(18:59):
there was an MC that came up, Yo, I'm like, let me MC for you.
He's like, what's your name? What's your DJ name?
And I was playing Millionaire byKelis and there's a line right
when it was playing where where Andre Andre 3000 says Mama, I'm
a millionaire. So I said I'm Mama millionaire.
And he's like, you're not a girl.

(19:19):
Like your guy shouldn't be called Mama millionaire because
Mama I'm a millionaire. That's what he says.
I'm like, Oh yeah, you're right.Should be Papa billionaire.
So this is live. Like he's like talking to me
right now, like while I'm DJ INGand and I'm like Papa
billionaire. That's weird.
That sounds old. Call me Kid Millionaire, you

(19:41):
know, and that's really where kids like, yo, we got DJ Kid
Millionaire. I'm like, whoa, that sounds
actually pretty cool. I'm going to go with that one.
So that's where like that name came up.
That's where people always ask like, where did this name come
from? So anyways, I use I use that
name for that gig. I was doing gigs like you're
saying where I would be bringingin equipment.
It would cost like like $100. I'd ever rent it.

(20:03):
And then they pay me 50 bucks. I'm like, yo God, I'm losing
money. Right.
I'm thinking for four hours for you and I'm like, I'm like
literally out at 50 bucks. Can I, can I get 100 next time?
It's like, no, I'm going to pay 40 next time.
I mean, it was like, I don't know, it was OK.
You know, I'm like 40, I have topay $60.00.
Like I can't do this. This is not sustainable for me,
you know, because I was like, I was looking for anywhere to play
and that's just how it was at that time, you know?

(20:25):
Yeah, but I've been looking backon it, especially because it
worked out. I mean, you were investing in
yourself and. Yeah, exactly.
I was like, I, I mean, I could still cover the like, still like
pay to play kind of thing because I'm happy to play in
front of like whoever is there. And you know, playing front of
20 people is actually is was great because when I was in

(20:46):
bands, playing in front of 20 people was was like a sold out
living room. Your first time you played in
front of people in a band, you wouldn't look anybody in the eye
and like your friends. Yeah, there's like there's like
literally there's more people here than like the shows I was
playing. I was playing in front of like 5
to 10 people, right? You know, so it's hard to look
at 5 people in the eye. They're like they feel

(21:07):
uncomfortable already. So I'm going to jump around
some. I want to talk to you a little
bit about the brain. How did your father's death send
you on this kind of journey, figuring out the human body?
Yeah, so I when my father passedaway 2008, that was the first
time I really dealt with a deathso close to me and that was

(21:27):
really hard. I mean, we all were there in the
hospital room when he passed away.
It gave me a lot of closure but also opened a lot of doors for
me. Up until he died, I didn't
really believe that he could diebecause my father was this
invincible adventurer that literally survived more than 9

(21:48):
lives. Like there's so many different
ways that he was supposed to be dead and all the different
things that he did and he survived them all.
I'm like, he's going to survive this.
Even to the point when the doctor was saying, you know,
we've now pronounced him gone. I'm like, there's no way he's
gone. I just my mind couldn't actually

(22:09):
believe that he would actually leave.
You know, I was with him the night before and, and I remember
like he, you know, he, he like, he like took in, in the bed and
I was like, oh, it's, it's a good thing.
You know, it was right right before he passed away.

(22:30):
And I remember I was like, hey, guys, he like, you know, he, he
like relieved himself. Like that's a good thing.
Maybe like, you know, there's some something happening and
then that's, you know, doctors and nurses, they're like, so, so
straight up they're like, they're like, it's, it's now
it's time. It's like his, his organs are
failing. You know, that was that was

(22:50):
really happy to hear, really happy to hear that.
And then in the morning, we wereall all the family was there and
we were all around him. But after he passed away, I just
had a lot of questions on like what like what, what killed him?
Like what is cancer? You know, like how do you

(23:13):
prevent that? And like in what if I did this?
A lot of what ifs, really. Yeah, a lot.
Like if I did this, I could havesaved him.
You know, if I was able to sharethis with him, I could have
prevented this. You know, there's a lot of what
ifs and a lot of the what ifs now came to the people I could
potentially save at that moment forward, which is people I love,

(23:35):
my mom, my my family, my sister,my brother.
So like after he died, I picked up this book called Anti Cancer.
It was all about, it's all Eastern philosophy.
You know, it's more about prevent, prevention and
preventative philosophy, you know, like going back to like
the starting, what do you have to do with your body to prevent

(23:58):
yourself to even get to the point where it's, it's like
you're surgically taking things out, you know, because I, I am,
I am a believer of the, the concept of both.
You can't have just Eastern philosophy.
You need to have Western as well.
You need to be able to like knowexactly when to like do surgery
and pull the tumor out or do that at the very last minute.

(24:18):
But how do you prevent that? And so this book was actually
really, really incredible for me.
And I had read all those other books that he wrote this this
this great doctor actually, I wrote to him and that like did
that a lot. You know, if I read a book, I
would write to the authors and Iwould like to try to build a
relationship with them. Back then, most of these people
actually did write me back, but some of them didn't because

(24:41):
they're so big. But now it's like it's changed.
Now I actually can talk to some of these authors that that that
and collaborate with them, whichis great now.
And you've even travelled some in recruiting different doctors
or? Yes, of course.
Now it's like I have a platform where like they actually do want
to speak with me. So back then when I would write
to them and, and try to like, learn from them and, and like,

(25:03):
learn more about what I could doto share this information with
people I care about. Like, you know, that's what I
was, that's, that's what became my kind of like my, one of my
missions in, in learning to share.
I mean, at the end of the day, that's like, why, why do we
learn things to share it? I mean, it's, it's like you

(25:25):
learn it because you want to like go, Oh, I found something
like the meat of something. Now I want to share it with
someone that they could feel that too.
And if it's to to help you to live a longer, healthier,
happier life, like I would need to read more.
I need to learn more about that.And that led me down this path
of into nutrition, into mindfulness, and then into what

(25:51):
I got really excited about this world of science fiction and
between science fact, this worldwhere like, what can we do to,
to live a longer, healthier, happier life?
What are the things that are possible and that's exciting.
That's when the imagination kicks in.

(26:11):
That's when like people take theimagination and go, what can we
reverse engineer back to things that can happen now or in our
life's lifetime? And then that's when I, I
learned about Ray Kurzweil, who talks about this idea that we're
moving at this exponential rate of technology.

(26:33):
This technological curve is going so fast, faster than we
could imagine because as we, youknow, like if you, if you look
back and he explains it like this, we look back to like when
we rode horses 200 years ago to when we like got a, when we
started driving cars to when we went to the moon.

(26:53):
It's like 200 to 100 to 50 went to the moon like 50 years ago
and in, in, in like 30 years ago.
We did something extraordinary 20 years ago.
We like, we're on cell phones 10years ago, we're like, it's just
everything's going at this crazyfast curvature because as we
learn something like this vast, this vast output comes out and

(27:19):
we can like move much faster. So I think that the idea is that
like, especially people like Elon Musk and and scientists out
there that are really advancing the science, those are the
people I want to know, learn andlike talk to Brian Johnson, for
example. He's the head of Colonel.
He is a leading brain technologyin the world.

(27:42):
I got to meet with him. Those people mean what as it
pertains to what you're doing onthe philanthropic front.
Yeah, so I have a foundation, Aoki Foundation, and it's
exactly this idea to to like, learn and share.
And part of the sharing is funding.
You want to share this information in the world so that

(28:03):
people will help the scientists and researchers and the people
in the labs that do this work sowe can get to where we can go
faster to the point where we cando it in our lifetime, you know?
And you're most interested? In the brain.
And funding the people that aren't already funded by like
big pharma as. Exactly.

(28:25):
Yes, exactly. I mean, we do, we're very broad
when it comes to funding in the brain category.
You know, like we've, we've justadopted autism into our, into
our foundation as, as another way to, to help out with
different orgs that are supporting families or research
or whatnot in autism. But we're also doing, we've been

(28:48):
doing stuff with Alzheimer's anddementia.
And my passion is in what's in the future with brain
technology, where can we go to not only just optimize our lives
and advance what we can do with our output, with our creativity,

(29:08):
but, you know, the end goal is finding a way to live forever.
And that sounds kind of scary and crazy when you say that, but
it's not scary and crazy when you actually start inching what
that looks like. At one point in time, we would
live to my age. Now I'm 43 and it's natural to

(29:29):
die around this age. That sucks.
Imagine that like in your 40s. It's like, hey guys, we got five
more years left. You know, like we're naturally
going to die in the next 5 years.
That would suck. And now people have are, are
living to 7080 and older. My mom's 78.
I want to see her live to 120. I want to say, mom, you have

(29:51):
another 50 more years left, you know, and I want to see her live
a happy, healthy life to that point.
She was telling me the other dayabout how you've wandered for a
while for her to commit to freezing her brain.
And she's like, I, I, I don't want to do it.
Your sister said the same thing.But explain where the Alcor Life
Foundation. Yeah.
So Alcor, Alcor is a facility that deep freezes your body, you

(30:20):
die. OK, so once you die, you're
dead. And you're doing your whole
body, as opposed to just the head up.
Well, I'll put it this way once,once you're technically dead,
you're either going to go in theground or you're going to be
cremated, right? This, I mean, unless like you're
lost at sea, OK? Like there's 22 options.

(30:40):
You're either going to have worms crawling through your body
and you can be composted into the ground or you're going to be
sand or in this case you're deadbut you're like Kelvin
temperature, deep, deep, deep cold Kelvin temperature frozen
with 0 degeneration. If I'm so lucky to die in a

(31:04):
hospital situation where they can move my whole body and
quickly get my body, my brain, most importantly into this deep
Kelvin temperature. And when the technology is ready
to bring me back, which it sounds crazy, but if there's

(31:26):
technology to to actually bring you back, then I could come
back. But, you know, it's like the sad
thing is I don't want to come back and like, my whole family's
gone. You know, that's why I'm asking
my whole family. At least we'll all do it
together. You know, look at it this way.
People die, right? People have died and come back
to life. Can you, can you agree with me
on that? Yeah, sure.

(31:46):
Like your heart stops and you and they come back like, whoa,
you were actually technically dead for a minute or two
minutes, whatnot. Like the, the oxygen stops into
your brain and the longer time that you don't have oxygen in
your brain, your, your brain degenerates to the point where
you could come back and like you're actually brain dead, you

(32:07):
know, and you're still alive, but your brain is like not
functioning. That happens too, right?
So there's a potential where if my brain is, it degenerated so
much where it's almost very similar to coming back as if I
just, you know, my brain stops generating at the same same
moment of like say one minute ortwo minutes or three minutes.

(32:29):
If it gets to this temperature where it's like frozen, if I was
to come back, it's, it's almost very similar technically as if I
was out for three minutes. So that's where I'm like where
people like, well, that's just weird.
But it's not weird to bring someone back to life if they're,
they die and they just come right back in 3 minutes, right?

(32:52):
I mean, at the end of the day, all this stuff, all these
organs, your skin, your body, they're all going to fail.
It's like we're all going to degenerate over time.
But imagine, and we're already doing this.
That's the thing, people don't get it.
We're already doing it. We're doing heart transplants,
we're doing organ transplants. When it fails and you have a

(33:14):
life, if you say, hey, do you want to get like a clean liver
to live? I, I'm assuming most people
would say yes. So, so they can continue living
right in our life's lifetime, like which is 0 to 80, right?
There could be a point in time where the normal lifespan might
be 0 to 160. So at like 140, they're like,

(33:39):
hey, everything's working good because we've, we've, we've
changed out everything in your body now.
Like we have a different heart and it's actually not even
human. It's like an AI or whatever
heart. Like it's some sort of
technologically like where it doesn't degenerate and all of a
sudden we are essentially cyborgs at that point, you know,

(34:00):
like if you inch your way towards where, where technology
is going, where we can live longer and have and have like
healthy lives and happier lives,most of us will take that route.
And we already do in, in those kinds of dire situations where

(34:21):
your loved one or someone you care about.
Because I sometimes I, you know,I, I, I'm saying this about
myself, but it's, it's more about the people that it's easy
to answer this question to when,when you think about something
you care about similarly, you love so deeply that like is your
life and you're like, I will do anything to save them.
Just it's easy. You're like, you're your wife,

(34:43):
your sister, your brother, your mother, your father, your
daughter, your son. They're in a situation where
you're like, I can save them by giving them a robotic heart by
doing this and they can have a life.
You're going to say, yes. These are all steps to what I
believe in the future will eventually get to the point
where we can, where we, we mightpotentially live forever in a

(35:07):
lifetime and have that conversation be like, wow,
people used to actually die. That's like that.
That's, that's possible. And I and I hope it's in our
lifetime. So with the foundation, I want
to help out researchers and orgsand people that have that same

(35:28):
thought process that are doing real work, that are going down
that path, that are finding, finding ways to like, you know,
one first of all, we got to assist.
We got to find cures for all degenerative brain disease.
That is that is a big one for meto lose your mind.
This thing is so important to your whole living.

(35:51):
We got to find cures for all brain degenerative disease,
period 1/2. We got to find avenues that that
lead to the place where we can do what I'm saying.
Live longer, healthier, happier lives to the point where we can
live forever. COVID, I understand kind of a
tough transition for you becauseyou go from literally being

(36:16):
yanked off what was then your biggest tour ever to, you know,
coming back here and everything's at comes to a
grinding halt like it is for everybody.
But how hard of a transition wasthat for you initially?
I didn't believe it would last this long.
I read Yuval Harari's book. He's also my favorite author.
He's also my album too. I reach out to him.

(36:37):
He wrote this book called Sapiens and Homo Deus Sapiens
Stop has been my favorite book I've ever read.
I'm a sociology major. Like I'm a sociologist in
general. Like the way I think about
studying people, why they do things, culture.
I love history. I love understanding, like why
the bipedal species has like become the Homo sapiens species,

(36:58):
why they exist. Like how do we get here?
What brought us here? Like where did religion come
from? Where did like these things?
Like, you know, all these thingsare really important.
He does a great job kind of storytelling that it's beautiful
really is. And he also in, in homeless
Deus, he talks about the future of where he thinks we're going

(37:18):
now. He has more of a bleak future
than what I I believe in. He's you know, with, with AI and
technology kind of, you know, doing more the Terminator route.
But like, I don't want to put words in his mouth, but when it,
when it comes to disease, basically what he says in the
future or now moving forward, it's pretty much eradicated

(37:42):
because we have all the technology and science that can
like if like we stopped SARS, westopped, we stopped it at the
butt. You know, like before 100 years
ago, it would kill like 10s of millions of people.
When you have a plague now, whenit's when it happens, you could
isolate it and like, of course people die.

(38:03):
Like 1010 thousand, 20,000 people die, but not like
millions. When I've read that book and
when I heard about COVID, I'm like, it'll be controlled.
We'll, you know, scientists willget involved.
And that's at the end of the day, we need, we need more, we
need more funding to the scientists.

(38:23):
We need they, they need the funding.
Not like these conspiracy theorists put the money with the
scientist so they can find out, you know, like the cures and the
vaccines and things that can eradicate these issues.
So I thought like they would, itwould end pretty quickly.
I was very hopeful of that. So with that in mind, I'm like,

(38:43):
we're going to be back on the road in June, you know?
And like, I live on the road. I do 250 shows a year for 15
years straight. So I was kind of setting up for
that, you know, and I dropped myalbum during COVID.
I remember I was like, OK, I'm back home, OK, We're going to do
15 days of Aoki Boot Camp till my album drops.
And I was like, working out, working out, working out.
I'm like OK. You got like 8 or 9% body fat.

(39:05):
Yeah, yeah, I was, I was like very disciplined at that moment.
And then and then, you know, thealbum drops.
I'm like, OK, we got to like support the album somehow
because the the tour got cancelled.
So we're like, OK, in June, likelike, like, you know what's
going to happen? Like we got to reschedule the
tour and I'm like, I'm going to be on the road again.
So guess what has to happen? I need to use this time wisely

(39:28):
and make music because whenever before when I was touring, I
would have three days home and I'd be like studio time, studio
time, studio time. We have deadlines.
We have to get these records done.
I'm going to work in the studio.I'm going to crank out music.
So I was just like in the studio, boom, boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, boom, boom. And then like a few months goes

(39:50):
by and I'm like, there's no shows lined up.
I'm like, what's going on? I was just burnt out.
I was burnt out and I was like, oh man, I can't, I was just
like, I'm just like, I, I like every day.
You can't, you can't do that every day.
After a while, you know, you need to take breaks.
And that's why I liked my life before.
I was like on the road studio, on the road studio.
Now I'm just straight studio, but I got a lot of music done

(40:14):
and. Was there a low point for you?
Yeah, I mean, I, I, I don't really have like, low points
like that. Like I luckily built my dream
home that was like meant for a pandemic.
I don't really need to leave my house.
So we kept a very, very tight ship here.
Like you're always, you know, testing people as they come in

(40:36):
and stuff like that. I've got this crazy COVID door
you'd like walk through. Like it's like sprayed down.
I mean, we never actually use it, but I got the door like I
was like prepared, like they're going to get sprayed down,
They're going to get tested, like the whole 9 yards.
And and then like I found other hobbies, you know, and that's,
that's when I found collecting cards and Pokémon and sports

(40:58):
cards and, and getting back intonovelty.
I mean, the, The thing is not novelty or nostalgia, you know,
like, that's, that's the thing during COVID is that it happened
to so many people around the world.
Nostalgia going back to things that you love to do when you
were a kid, because that's what you did.
You're a kid, you're at home, you're friends, you know, like,

(41:21):
and like, and so I went back to nostalgia for me as cards.
I just remember like, like goingto the card shop and buying a
pack of cards with my friends and, and being so jealous of my
friend that had like 10 Ken Griffey junior rookie cards in
his binder, 10 Barry Sanders rookie cards in his binder and
Michael Jordan's up the wazoo. And I'm like, I just got 1

(41:42):
Jordan. I got one Daryl Strawberry
rookie. I got like, I listen, I just
have like a like a pitiful collection to my friends and I'm
like, well, I have money now. I could actually buy some cards,
you know. And you ramped that up pretty
quickly. I did, I, I, I got, I got keyed
into this group with Gary Vee and some friends and like, they

(42:02):
kind of schooled me and, and, and, and taught me about
investing in the cards. It's not just about collecting.
It's about like, you know, investing in the grading, like
grading cards. I got like queued in with PSA
and, and Beckett and SGC and, and you know, the hobby, the,

(42:24):
the big players in the hobby, really with open arms.
What really accepted me and it was great because I was like,
OK, I am learning this is summerof 2020 and I want to invest,
you know, because I am also an investor.
I've been investing in startups since, you know, 2010.

(42:47):
What, what right when I started making serious money and like
the, the 2010 period is when I started investing in startups
and, and, and you know, failing at a lot of them.
Learning, pivoting, adapting andreinvesting in, in things that I
believe in and failing again andlearning and winning some,

(43:09):
losing most, and also learning what my platform has that I can
offer to, you know, think so Like I, you know, teamed up with
different artists and we, we, wejumped in on different funds and
I'm like, OK, this is going to be another alternative
investment. And so I treated like that and

(43:30):
went in and bought like cards I knew and I loved Michael Jordan
rookie card, Mickey Mantle rookie card.
You know, I was like the Mickey Mantle one.
I was like, I, I just rememberedthat as a kid.
Yeah. It's the card that like, you
will never ever own ever. It's like, it's just impossible.
It's the most iconic baseball card of all time.

(43:51):
Yeah. But yeah.
Jackie Robinson getting Jackie, Jackie Robinson's rookie card.
So yeah, I put serious money in and, and then I got into Pokémon
and I'm like, OK, I got to just go for the grills.
So I went in and I and I spent an enormous amount of money on

(44:14):
buying a raw Pokémon card on a Japanese auction.
That could be a fake card, couldbe damaged, could be a lot of
things, a lot of coulds. And I actually forked over
$420,000. It was so scary, but I was like,
that is the holiest, Holy Grail of the biggest IP in in its

(44:39):
space. How'd it work out?
It worked out beautifully, but it was very scary.
It's like the biggest gamble because it could be a fake, it
could be inauthentic, it could be altered, it could be damaged,
it could be like something wrongwith it.
So I got the car and had it float.
They flew it over and I graded it the next day.

(45:03):
The next morning, went to PSAI, got it graded, graded PSA 9.
I made an investment on that PSANine with the Aoki collection
pedigree on the actual slot. There's only a few cars with
that and people care about the premium on that, you know.
So with that, if I ever do sell it, I wouldn't sell it for

(45:26):
under, you know, $2.53 million. Did I read you spent 10 or $12
million during the pandemic on? I don't know if I should put
that out to the world. I mean, that's.
It's whatever you wouldn't. Yeah, let's let's talk about
numbers. Let's just let's just say that I
went in heavy and I had a lot oftime and it just like it was, it

(45:50):
was like I was day and night on eBay.
I was on on the auctions. I just was like full bore into
card collecting. So and hopeful after the sit
down, we can look at some of your cards, whatever you might
have here. But how did you go about
figuring out when to get back into touring again?

(46:14):
Because I know at some point during the pandemic you took
some heat for doing a show. I would imagine you're between a
rock and a hard place because you want to get back going with
your, you know, career and what you love while also trying to
figure out how to be conscious of what's going on.
Right. Yeah.
The only place that's really open right now is the United
States. It's the shows are back doing 4

(46:36):
shows a week now. So it's Vegas.
My residency is open. I'm playing every weekend here.
I got vaccinated as early as I possibly could.
And after the vaccination, I just felt I felt a lot safer.
And and then I also follow statistics.
I don't follow TikTok conspiracytheories.
And that's why I try to tell people like, look at the

(46:58):
statistics when people got vaccinated and they were showing
the numbers of how many people are getting vaccinated, like
over half the population in the United States getting
vaccinated. The COVID numbers just were
dropping drastically. Like majorly.
Follow the numbers, follow the statistics.
You know, you can't. As long as they're not altered

(47:20):
or doctored, they're real numbers.
You you like you could see rightthere that's working.
The vaccines are working in a way that we can live our lives.
You hear about the delta variantand you hear about these new
strains. And that does worry me, does
bother me. Of course it does because it is
affecting people that are vaccinated and I'm hoping that

(47:42):
they come with a a new vaccine for the the delta or what what
not. Booster, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, for me, if there, yeah, the boost, if there's a
booster, I'm in. I'm going to do it.
I'm, I'm playing these shows already, you know, So I, I, it's
like it's their responsibility that I, I, I need to take.
I think entertainers in general should should think about that

(48:04):
more often. You.
Know most number of shows you'veever done in a month?
I know I've there's. I've done 32.
How about in a year? Over 300.
Describe the feeling of, just asyou put it, being tired, lonely,
and slapped around by the road. The road is not.

(48:25):
It's like it looks fun. The pictures, social media, it
tells one side of the story. I'm not going to put me in the
shower like, you know, like crying or something.
My story. It doesn't happen like that
happened at certain parts of of of tour life, you know, of just,
you know, but it's also like youhave to like it's all mindset.

(48:50):
If you're not in the right mind mentality, It's it's tough, man.
I know a lot of artists that like, they, they like get
popular from their music and they hit the road and they don't
last very long because it's tough traveling and moving and
being in demand and like you have to show up and you have to
put on your best face every single night.

(49:13):
You have to be able to mask any of the issues personal that
you're going through and you gotto entertain them.
And that that's that's very hardfor a lot of people.
I want to read a few different quotes from your book and kind
of get your reaction to each. But you wrote I am alone.
I mean I live in a big house, played a big crowds, live a big

(49:36):
full life, but end of the day itsometimes feels my life is
empty. Explain that.
I didn't know we're going to do a therapy session today.
I wrote this book. It's almost in a way that I
didn't have to explain these things.
You know, I'm like, you want to know about it?
Just read the book because I don't really like talking about
it that much. It it like brings me back to

(49:56):
like very, you know, I'm human. I.
Mean but the. Reality is too it's.
It's probably, you know, there are a lot of people who
everybody goes through their, you know, own stuff.
And when you see somebody of stature who has a lot of
success, who goes through the same sort of struggles that
anybody can identify with, that,you know, has a positive impact,

(50:18):
you know, on people too, becauseyou can identify with it.
Yeah, there's, there's a point where in those moments of, of
loneliness and sadness, I, I made a decision.
I did it instead of being at home and having, you know,

(50:39):
potentially a family, like kids running around, like I don't
have kids right now, you know, you know, if you're, if you're
in one place, you're, you're more likely to have a stable
kind of situation like that in, in the relationship sense.
I chose this life and I'm on theroad a lot.

(51:02):
So like whoever, whoever I end up dating or whoever becomes
part of my life, it's a very like they, it's a specialized
life. It's only meant for a certain
kind of person to be able to, tolive like this, you know?
When I was talking to your mom and sister, that was the one

(51:25):
time in in the call that both ofthem got emotional talking about
your schedule and kind of the impact it has.
I don't like them feeling that way, you know, I don't want them
to be because my mom, she's likemy emotion.
She's like my emotional support system.
So if like, if I feel sad, she'll she'll feel like 10 times

(51:49):
more sad. I don't like her feeling that
way because I want her to be happy.
So don't bring up anything like this to her, please.
Interviews. Yeah, that's like that's
important to me. But, and my sister's the same
way. They're both in like incredibly
empathetic. So I like it's I need to, I need
to keep them. Like for me, I need to keep them

(52:10):
happy and and healthy. You know, they're my rock.
So yeah, it's, you know, it's a,it's, it's not, it's not a
normal life. You said on the topic in your
book and you were like raw and seemed to be brutally honest in
it. In the movie of my life that's
been playing in my head since I was a kid, I always have a

(52:33):
family. I'm a father.
And yet, in my reality, it should have happened for me by
now. You still feel that way
sometimes, you know, we, we all Daydream, you know, we all like,
you know, like you see, like we see families rolling around you,
you know, people my age definitely have kids, majority

(52:55):
of them, you know, and I definitely want to have kids.
There's there's no doubt about it.
It's going to happen. But I'm a realist too.
But in my book, I, I want, it's exactly the point I want to be,
I want to be raw. I want to be real with it too

(53:16):
and share like some, some of thefeelings that I have about that.
But yes, yeah, I was thinking in, in, in the future.
I mean, I, you know, it'll happen.
To to what extent do you feel like the the schedule has to
change to allow for that? I think what like what I've,
what I've talked to, you know, my friends that before and after

(53:41):
they have kids, they change and they're like, it's just
something maybe it's maybe it's instinct.
Instinctively they change like once they have a kid, like
something in their body changes and they're like, I'm going to
put more time here. So I'm going to let my instincts
run the course of that instead of preparing already, you know,

(54:02):
so if I ever have a kid in the future, like, it will do what
I'll do what I'm. Supposed to do, it seems like
like those that are closest to you, you know, want to see for
your own sake, for you to ease up on the schedule some.
But on the other hand, you've worked your entire life to get
to the point where you know you're at the top of your

(54:25):
profession. I really am so lucky when I'm on
the stage. When I'm playing, there is no
greater high that I can experience in my life.
It is the absolute pinnacle. Drugs cannot reach the high that
I'm getting. I am completely sober.

(54:47):
I don't drink before shows, I don't do any drugs.
I let the moment and the real raw connection I'm having bring
me to that level. It's why I play so many shows,
because that energy is always different.
The feeling is always a new synergy of emotions that's

(55:15):
happening between strangers and myself.
That's also what's so beautiful too.
It's strangers, people I don't know that I'm connecting with in
a very intimate way, in a reallyraw way.
When you see someone like cryingin the crowd and they're singing

(55:36):
their your song and they're in this moment of full like
freedom. They've escaped whatever they've
gone away from and they're in this moment where they're just
ripping their emotions out. There's nothing more beautiful
than that. And to connect with that at that

(55:58):
moment gives me chills down my spine.
It's, it's just raw emotions coming out like raw souls just
connecting. We don't need to know each
other's names or we don't need to know each other.
We're connecting in such a raw spiritual way.

(56:19):
It's incredibly beautiful. And it's something that you
can't, you can't replicate that like you can if you're, if I'm
like a tech owner and IPO, you can't find that feeling there.
If I'm like breaking a box of cards, like like get the
Charizard, you can't find the feeling.

(56:40):
There's still great feeling. I'm not saying like it's not
those aren't great feelings. They're great feelings.
But for me, it's talking about me, not like saying about
anybody else me. That is my ultimate high.
And I'm so lucky to do what I do.
And at some point in time, I won't be able to do it anymore.
Just recently before beach, I was like bawling my eyes out it

(57:05):
playing what just like, you know, he's going down the the
web hole of like how every moment matters.
And it makes me think about my mom.
Every moment with her matters. It makes me think about my
friends that have passed away. And those moments matter because
when they're gone, they're gone forever.
So you better, you better just give 100% love what you're

(57:33):
doing, where you're at, because that's that moment.
Scott. Scott.
What about it touches you so much now?
Because I have people in my lifethat have gone away that I love.
I miss them so much. When you were up there in

(58:03):
Newport Beach recently is do youstart thinking of?
I think my my best friend that passed away last year who gave
his entire life to support me. Every moment you have a people
you care about, you better give me 100% of your time and there

(58:27):
all the times when I didn't, I feel awful.
Life is short because it goes sofast.
It goes so fast and then it's and it's got and people go away
forever and then you have just those moments.

(58:49):
So you just got give 100%? If you found is you've gotten
older and you know been been in the profession for longer, you
start to think about that more. Yeah, there's no, there's no
doubt that as I've been doing this longer, you gain more

(59:13):
wisdom and into why? Why do you do all this?
I do sacrifice time with the people I care about and I love
and that sucks. That's a really big sacrifice.
But you know, I just having likesome of the closest people in my
life close to me, it's really, really special to me and I'm
really happy about that. So at least I have that and I

(59:37):
could really do what I love to do, you know, at the at the
level I'm doing that and, and, and I hope I could, I hope I
have a longer career. I hope I have a long career with
it. You know, I, there's no, there's
no expiration date for me on this.

(59:57):
You know, I'm going to continue doing this as long as people
care, as long as people are haveare coming to the shows and, and
being part of the experience and, and I love making music.
I love, I love performing. I'm just going to continue doing
what I love to do. And you've had to make personal
sacrifices, yet it's your hard work that's, you know, put you

(01:00:22):
in the position to be able to take advantage of all these
amazing opportunities and, you know, create a amazing life for
you and your family and, you know, carry on the family,
family legacy and so on. Yeah, in order to do what I do
at the level I'm doing that, youhave to train yourself, your

(01:00:44):
mind, your body, your spirit, your mental state.
Like an athlete, I'm training for a perpetual competition all
year long. And so when I do that, you have

(01:01:05):
to prioritize certain things andsacrifice certain things in
order to have the stamina and the endurance and the energy to
put the 100% in there. So for me as an athlete, because
I consider myself an athlete, mindfulness meditation, you

(01:01:32):
know, the ice bath, certain things I prioritize.
I have two ice baths here. I like, you know, like that's
the thing about I'll put my money where that is.
I have, I have, I had two saunasat one point.
I put one of my mom so she can use it, but I have like a really
great sauna here. These things are really

(01:01:53):
important to me. So I, I, I do them on a regular
basis. So I'm like constantly at my
peak performance. And you know, I'm, I'm 43 now.
So like, you know, if some of myjoints and limbs are like having
issues and I'm, I'm, you know, just doing what I can to make

(01:02:15):
sure that like I'm, I'm at, at as optimal as I can.
So I can perform at, at, at thatlevel.
And that, that requires, you know, not partying.
You know, I don't do drugs, never actually really did them.
I, you know, I, I had one acid trip when I was 13 and I drank
every show for a period of time and then I stopped and I still

(01:02:39):
drink to celebrate, to taste, toenjoy.
But I if anything I I hate to say it and it's going to be
cheesy, but I drink responsibly.How do you think success effects
you? Success is is a very subjective
word. I mean most people when they

(01:03:01):
think of success, they think about money.
Like how much money did you make?
That is absolutely not the rightway to think about success.
Success is how you feel by yourself, and success doesn't
have to be this grand moment in your life because that just
doesn't happen. There's no grand moment.
They're all little moments and even the little moments after

(01:03:25):
you have that success of whatever that may be, that
project that you're able to finish on time or you're able to
reach, or the, the record that came out and it reached these
kinds of people or the show thatyou hit or the success you have
with your family or whatever it might be.
The, the change that happens after isn't like, wow, there's a

(01:03:47):
real change. I've like the, the Sky's opened
up. It's gradual.
You don't really see it until much later.
You know, you like, you could stop back.
You stop at a certain point and turn back and go, OK, wow, you
see it. But as you're growing, it's very
much this, this idea that the road, the road, you know, what

(01:04:09):
would they say that like? Road bus travels.
No, no, no. Like where it's not about the
the the goal, but it's like the.Not about the destination, but
the journey. Yeah, yeah.
It's not about the destination, it's the journey, you know, and,
and the successes. I think success, it's like at
the end of the day, it's what you make of it.
For me, it's just, it's, it's just, you know, finding

(01:04:30):
happiness within yourself. What lesson do you think you
learned from your Arcade Fire experience back in the day?
That's what I was too big for mybritches.
Dimmock was we were we were doing really well.
Like we as a label, we're we were the indie label that all
the majors were looking at because we would find artists

(01:04:52):
and they would blow up and we'reon a roll.
Like we were just like consistent.
Like I was signing artists. That was like, OK, I definitely
have a skill and ANREI know whatRs about to break.
We sign them and something happens.
And I was like, wow, I'm good atwhat I'm doing and I'm not even

(01:05:13):
with a major label. And I was major labels were,
were trying to pick us up just so they can get all the artists
that we have. And I was talking at like all
kinds of labels at that time. And Arcade Fire, they, they were
primed to release their new album funeral, the first album
Funeral. And they had this, this EP that

(01:05:33):
they made no cars go. And I, I, I heard the EP and I
was like, Oh my God, this is incredible.
And, and this, this is like veryearly days of Arcade Fire.
And I saw them at, at the Troubadour and unlike or just
like was so blown away by this man.

(01:05:56):
Didn't I never even met them, never even talked to them.
I was talking to their lawyer and the lawyer was like, Hey, we
have ACP. You can just drop it.
Because I mean, that's what we did.
We put out EPS and then a big label to come in and do the
album. I'm like, I, I need the album.
It's like the album's already signed you, you can't have the
album. Like I need the album and then
I'll do the EP. And obviously she's like, no, so

(01:06:19):
so she passed on on on that and I missed the opportunity to
release the No Cars Go EP, whichI it was in my lap.
Like I'm just being so dumb about it and stubborn and so
like egotistical, like thought that, you know, like I can get
the album. Like no, I can't.
I can't. I wouldn't.
And the take away from that after the fact was, was what?

(01:06:42):
I mean, after that I was just like, I was just putting out
every EP. I was like, I can't be like
that. That's just like I missed out on
a like a massive opportunity for, for Dimmock, even if like
at the end of the day, it's not like we're, our bank account was
just blowing up. And it wasn't about money for me
at that time for Denmark, because all the money that that
would come in, it would literally get spent.

(01:07:03):
And at that time where we're crushing and signing these
artists that were doing so well and we're actually selling lots
of records. Even at that time, I was still
negative like $100,000 in net because I did not know how to
run my business. And I was all the money's
coming. I was like just spending it on
like marketing and promotion andradio and this, that and the

(01:07:23):
other. And I'm like, and then I didn't
have like a partner or someone or someone working for me.
That was us. Like Steve, you're spending all
the money. Like we made money, but we have
no money now. We have like, we're like, we've
sold like, you know, 10 credit cards, like completely maxed
out. And and then I was like, I might
have to fold Denmark. I mean, at some point, like I

(01:07:46):
was getting, I was trying to getan 11th credit card.
I mean, literally I was like on my like the end of the line and
I'm and every label's looking atus like we're like this golden
touch. It was like a crazy scenario for
me because we're crushing it andlet yet we're completely in
debt. And I was like, there's no way I
could pull myself out of this. There's no financial way that

(01:08:10):
Dimma can actually get out of this hole right now.
And then I was DJing on the sideand those $200 shows actually
meant something. And in the end, I literally paid
for all my debt, all the what's it called when like the debt
piles up and then you have like the on top and the.
Interest. Interest.

(01:08:30):
Yeah, Sorry, I I forget these words.
So the interest was piling and piling and piling up.
I paid off all the interest. I paid off all the debt, all
from DJ. That was like the best feeling
ever. Holy, I never forget that.
Your your friend Dan, who was actually your first artist, you
signed it did Mock said you're the most incredible salesman
he's ever met. How about what you think your

(01:08:52):
best skill is? My best skill, like throwing a
cake in your face accurately from pretty far distance.
I would say I'm better than anybody else.
I would rotator cuff. Yeah, I know.
But like, it's good. I could do it again.
You know, I need, I need like the right cake, though, and I'll

(01:09:14):
get you good. Yeah.
What about the skills you lack and how you try and compensate
for that with people on your team that you?
Yeah, so that's that's an important thing as as as a as a
boss is understanding where yourskills lie and where your
weaknesses are. And and I have a very, very,

(01:09:34):
very like absolutely incredible team.
Having a great team around you is so important.
And I have, you know, I've over 20 years or 15, at least 15
years of understanding how to delegate and how to find the
right people to give the task tothe right person that, that they

(01:09:58):
not only are good at what they, they want to do, you want to
bring on people that like care about what they do because
they're not going to last very long.
They don't really care about what they do, you know, because
it's the same reason why I'm doing what I'm doing.
They're also doing that for their reasons.
They have to care about it and if they really like it and they
love it and they're all good at it.
So just like, you know, and I'velike, you know, a great

(01:10:23):
management team. I got just a great team all
across the board, like, you know, from touring, from my life
here in my house, from the musicside, from all my investment
sides, all the different businesses.
I have the fashion label. I mean, there's a lot, there's a
lot going on. It's it's, it's like a octopus,

(01:10:44):
just tentacles out of of verticals of business.
Michael Jackson. How old do you remember seeing
him for the first time in 3rd grade?
That was my very first concert that I've ever seen.
And it was Michael Jackson on stage.
I remember Magician was before him, I think.
I'm pretty sure Magician was before him.
I was, we were in the Nosebleed seats.

(01:11:05):
So we had we had binoculars. It was raining.
I remember we had an umbrella and we had binoculars.
We were like looking out and seeing Michael Jackson is like,
you know, sparkly jacket. I remember coming home.
You're a kid. You just like reenact what you
see and what you love and I loveMichael Jackson.
So like, try to do the moonwalk,you know, wear a glove in my

(01:11:27):
hand, one glove in my hand, you know?
How do you think he influenced you?
It was more of the more of that that not necessarily his voice
so much about, but more about his presence.
You know, his music videos, thatlive show being on stage, the
bar was too high for me to imagine me being on that stage.

(01:11:50):
So I'm not ever going like, yes,I want to be on that stage too.
That's not the way I think. I'm not like even when I was a
DJ, I'm like, I want to be the biggest DJ in the world.
Like instead of doing that kind of moon shot, which I think a
lot of people actually, it's great advice for people, do the
moon shot. That's not how I'd live my life.
Yes, of course I would love to go with the moon.
Is that going to happen? Who knows.

(01:12:11):
But I'm going to do little things in the meantime and focus
on the moment, going back to that, focus on the people in
front of me, whether it's three people or 3000.
You know, that's how I, I, how I, how I can see myself getting
to the stage of being on the stage, being maybe on the level.

(01:12:33):
Not on the level, but me being maybe potentially on the same
stage that Michael Jackson will perform on.
And I think also as pop sensibility unconsciously has a
big effect on, you know, on me as a songwriter and as a
producer. The hooks are what really sink
in, you know, and, and Michael Jackson was a hook, hook guy.

(01:12:54):
He was a hook master. And shortly after his death, you
work with Motown on a Jackson 5 remix.
But then a few years after that you work with Sony and you have
the entire Michael Jackson catalog to work with.
Take me through the process of doing that remix and then
finding out it was lacking the wow factor.
This was a big deal at the time because I was still very early

(01:13:17):
with my production skills, but Idefinitely took it on and I,
and, and there was bigger records I could have done, but I
decided to do Dancing machine because it was more like, that's
a great song. And also in my head, I'm like
thinking, I don't want to remix the biggest song.
I want to remix a song I can imagine with my, with, with, you

(01:13:37):
know, with my DNA in it. And I was like, OK, this one I
could, I can start wrapping my head around.
And I, I brought that in my studio, which is in my, a small
room in my house at the time on Wonderland, a little Canyon.
And I had such a struggle like like finishing the production on

(01:13:57):
that remix. And then finally I got to the
point where I'm like, OK, I'm going to go, I'm going to go
funk with it. I want to create it like a
really funky baseline on this one.
Change up the whole style, not try to go EDM so much.
And this is pre EDM, so I shouldn't even say that it was
like more Electro. I'm not going to go hard with
it. I want to make a palatable,
listenable remix that's funky and fun.

(01:14:20):
So finally I get there. I'm like, OK, I think I'm ready.
And I dropped it and it just, itjust didn't hit the nail on the
head. You know, it, it was fun.
It was cool. It is it like I hear I'm like,
OK, for what it was, it was good, but it just didn't hit the
nail on the head. And I felt like I missed that,
that, that that shot. Like whatever Eminem says, you

(01:14:41):
only get one shot. And I like missed it.
Like I got that golden opportunity and I just like
failed on it. I did that before with Drake
too. I remixed a Drake record and
that he gave me and I and I failed on that one.
I just didn't sound like it justdidn't last.
A test of time, you know. But with the Michael Jackson

(01:15:01):
one, after you got that feedback, you then go to your
studio, I believe, and take me through this meditative reset
that you did. I remember what was so kind of
haunting and special and broughtme back to when I was a kid was
hearing all the ad libs, hearinghis, him breathing in the

(01:15:23):
microphone, him talking to the engineer, the drums, the
drumstick clicks. Like all these sounds.
It's just as if Michael Jackson was in the room with me.
Like, no joke. Like I would hear that and I
would just get tingles. It was such a special thing and
it was so coveted. It was like a, you know, like

(01:15:46):
Mission Impossible, like the, the, the stems will self
destruct after you finish. Like literally they're like, you
can't like no one can get the stems.
No one can ever have these sessions.
The fact that I was, it was in my studio, the pressure at that
time was way too much. And that that's the time when

(01:16:08):
I'm like, I really need to just hone in on this one.
I really need to just stop beingso starstruck about this and
like stop reset and meditate andand like leave this, leave the
studio, which is what I do sometimes.
Like there's many times when I'mstuck on a project and I just,

(01:16:31):
you have to leave. What I like to do is to jump in
the the ice bath as a complete reset.
I didn't have an ice bath, you know, in the Wonderland house,
you know, back in 2008 or whenever that was.
And there was a period of time while you were working on the
song where you, like, didn't eator sleep for an extended period,

(01:16:52):
right? Yeah, the pressure, what do you
have this kind of pressure? It's it's a lot of anxiety.
You know, it's like you everything stops because you
have potential to really break. You have a potential to really
do something. It's like playing at
Tomorrowland for the first time on mainstage.

(01:17:13):
I can remember playing at Tomorrowland.
I didn't eat anything like I was.
It's so it's like terrifying to play in front of all these
people, you know? And your nerves get you more
there than anywhere else. Yeah, yeah, Tomorrowland for
sure. I mean, now it's different, but
like the first time when I closed out Mainstage at
Tomorrowland, it was the most terrifying experience.

(01:17:36):
It's very similar to like havingthis kind of responsibility in
your hands. You can't say no to it though.
You have to take it and the, thediscomfort and the, that that's
happening there, that's when thereal growing starts.
That's when you really are changing and adapting and
learning and and I, I learned a lot in that D.

(01:17:58):
J AM, what was your reaction when he first started showing up
to your parties? Well, DJ AM, he was the king of
DJs for what we did. He was, there's no one bigger.
When you have like the greatest of what you do, walk in the
room, it's like you're shook. You know?

(01:18:19):
He was the best, He was the biggest, but he's also
incredibly humble. And I thought that was so cool.
Like the biggest and the best person in my world is humble and
learning. And he came to listen to learn
about the Electro world, you know, like he loved what he

(01:18:41):
like, he's a DJ. So DJs, what we do is we, we
want, we're like constantly listening.
We are ANRS. All DJs are essentially ANRS.
We're listening for the next thing, not just for what's
popular, but what's the next thing, What are like, what's
what's brewing over here, what'sbrewing over there?
If you got to talk to any DJ, that's what they do.

(01:19:02):
And DJM was doing just that. He was going to my parties and
we we did was like more we're a subculture.
We did Electro. We did like that whole world.
But in LA that world was indie, was hip hop, was rock, was
electronic. It was what was brewing in our
like what we, we had going on. So he was coming to like see the

(01:19:24):
artists and see the other DJs and I just like, I, I felt so
like just honored to have him there and his humility allowed
for me to become friends with him.
And then we became like best friends and we started a party
together in the whole 9 yards and it just was so special.
How did that evolve into Banana Split and some of the best young

(01:19:49):
artists came to perform there? Exactly.
So like we had the Denmark Tuesday is going on and that was
purely like a, you know, I mean,we had like Kid Cudi there with.
Like boys noise and like the Ed Banger crew and and Daft Punk,
you know, deejaying without their mask, which was like an
epic, epic night. And then when so we're doing our

(01:20:13):
thing every Tuesday. Consistency is key with with
stuff like this. Consistency is key with all
life. You know, at any business you
do, if you're consistent and you're being, you're, you're
providing great service to people that care, you're going
to be successful in that world. So we're doing that.
We've been doing that since for I mean, we did that.
We had a party for almost 10 years AM and I were like, we

(01:20:37):
should do another party on Sundays at his club at LAX in
Las Palmas. It's like we're going to do
something similar, but different.
We're going to still bring in the same DJs and they would,
they would end up playing on Sunday and Tuesday.
So when Lady Gaga's first tour came through, she played at
Banana Split and at at Denmark Tuesdays, you know, and it was

(01:20:58):
so cool, like, but but with AM, he brings in a whole different,
you know, list of people. He is the celebrity guy.
He brings in the pop world. Like Paris Hilton was always
going there, Lindsay Lohan, likethat, like the LA socialite
circle of what that was at that time.

(01:21:19):
They were all going to Banana Split.
So he brings in like pop culture.
I'm bringing more of the underground and that combination
made it like this 1 + 1 = 4. In what way did he kind of grow
to serve as a mentor and life coach?
Yeah, I mean, The thing is, is like outside of just being an

(01:21:40):
incredible DJ, he was just like incredible human being, period.
And he was a a big a, a advocate.
And with that philosophy comes just this nurturing attitude
towards others. And that's what he was.
He's always available for his the people that he cared about.

(01:22:02):
So I can call him at 4:00 in themorning, he'd pick up the phone
and be like, Hey, everything allgood.
And having a friend that actually did that was very rare.
I didn't actually, I didn't knowanyone else that would actually
do that. And then you find out this
person is doing that is literally the the biggest DJ on
the planet. Like it's any, any.
And he's now you're like best friend, your close friend.

(01:22:26):
How do you think it helped you? Well, for sure, it grounded me,
you know, like seeing that and it and it just obviously it made
me like when you, when someone'sthere for you all the time, you
know, you, you pay it forward, you know, you learn and you and
you share. Just like I was saying before,

(01:22:47):
you have to always learn the thethings that move you, that to
change you. And what do you do after you
learn? You want to share?
What about his death do you think caused you to cut back on
the drinking? Yeah, so after he passed away in
2009, I just made kind of a self-awareness check on my

(01:23:08):
lifestyle and my lifestyle wasn't consisting of drug usage.
I didn't never got into drugs, but I was drinking every show to
get that liquid courage to just put on a great show.
And it's fine when you do it here and there.
But when you're doing every showand then you, you, you go back
and you count how many times youdrink through the year.

(01:23:29):
You're like pretty much you're just drinking all year, you
know, And it's so normal. You don't realize it until the
you stop and look back. And two to three drinks started
becoming 3 to 4. Yeah, and like, you know, it's
just like, and my show was a full on physical show, you know,
like I'm going ham. Like if you see a Stevie Oki
show, it's like a like I am, I'mnot just standing in the DJ

(01:23:52):
booth. I am back then I was like crowd
surfing and I was in the crowd. I was jumping on things and you
know, like I was just very, I was bringing the punk element of
what I used to do with, you know, when I was in bands and I
brought it to the DJ set and it's a show.
People loved it. But when AM died, not related to
drinking, I just was like, I need to stop and think about my

(01:24:15):
life, my future and I can't do what I was doing.
This is a full stop now. So at that moment, moving
forward, I just I just didn't drink.
And now I've brought it back because, you know, I like to
enjoy the time with my friends. I don't go overboard.
Like, you know, I've found that balance in my life before when I

(01:24:36):
was DJ, when I was drinking and DJ ING, I would never drink
alone. I never got to that point, but I
would drink purposefully. I would drink to like party
because I was playing and I needto perform.
I needed to get this energy out there and be like live and and
that that purpose is gone now. I didn't, didn't need to drink

(01:24:56):
to to perform. I can't imagine, you know,
getting drunk and performing now, you know, it's been like
since 2009. You know, that's the last time
that I actually drank before I before a show.
And the number of people in yourfamily are allergic to alcohol,
Right? And you even myself included.
Oh, really? Yeah.

(01:25:18):
Japanese people, Asians in general are are allergic.
Like if I have a shot, I am readas a what's the what's the
what's the fruit that's red strawberry?
I don't know. I'm read as a strawberry.
Then you didn't even have a first drink till after college.
Yeah, yeah. I was a straight edge until I

(01:25:39):
was till after I graduated college and then I moved to Lai
was, you know, I was, I was at the bars, at the clubs.
And that's Elliott. You know, that was the life I
was in. So I was, you know, I started
drinking and I was like, OK, this is fun.
And then, you know, in 2009, I stopped.
And then, yeah, I just don't drink before.

(01:26:00):
I haven't, I haven't drank before a show since 2009.
So it's been like 11 years. So your dad in first, your
grandfather, he was a choreographer, you know, dancer,
Tokyo Stage Productions, you know, to jazz club.
Then your dad was a wrestler in the Japan, I think 1960 Olympic

(01:26:20):
team before obviously creating the successful Beniana
restaurant chain. You said he was kind of like the
Richard Branson of his time. How so?
He just did everything. He's like he was of the motto,

(01:26:41):
there's a will, there's a way. With Benihana as his platform,
he was able to host these offshore boat races, but then
race in them. He's able to get into a hot air
balloon and break a world recordgoing from Japan to the United
States. He did so many things where he
broke the traditional rule of how to do them by just doing it.

(01:27:06):
You know, of course he had experts around him to make sure
that he could get it done. But I love that idea.
And I always looked up to him inthat way that like, he might not
be the expert of that field, buthe will put his life to the test
just to do it. And I think I definitely have

(01:27:26):
been inspired by him to, to alsopush myself outside of my own
comfort zones to experience lifeat that level.
Not not nearly at where he's at,where he was at, but you know,
in, in fun things I do like Cliff jumping and whatnot that
are like, it's definitely a little bit outside the comfort

(01:27:47):
zone, but I want to experience that high, you know?
Three comments you made about him that I thought were
interesting, or that he was all about the thrill.
His whole life was like a stringof impulse moves and he was most
at home when he was out of place.
Explain that. Yeah, I mean, that's exactly.

(01:28:09):
He's a thrill seeker, adventure seeker, adrenaline seeker.
And when he's sitting still, it's like something's off.
You want to experience him, you got to move with him.
Like, he's moving. And I'm like, Dad, hold on,
hold. He's like, I'm going like, you
better jump on and I'm on. I'm like, OK, I'm in it.

(01:28:30):
All right, cool. We just go, you know?
And then like, I'm like, I got to go home now.
See you later. He's like, all right, see you
later and you come back around. You're like, he's like, I'm
coming, like, hold on, dad. All right, All right, sweetie,
this is, you know, So what he gave me was a life of
experiences through through his crazy world.

(01:28:51):
Like I was blessed and spoiled by those experiences.
How was he the most determined person you ever knew?
He put his work at the top priority of the list.
I couldn't believe in the dock there's a video clip of him
saying his priorities were business, health and family.
Yeah, and that's he's not kidding his blunt in almost a
very funny way. It's like he's he's cracking a

(01:29:13):
joke about it because he knows how savage it is to say that in
the moments that we were together, when we had special
quality time together, he, you know, he was there and and that
was important to me. And I won't forget those
moments. In one of the more unusual
stories, the boat racing accident and how you found out
about your other siblings. I was so young I don't even

(01:29:35):
remember it. I just like.
It's more from what you've been.Told what?
Yeah, What I've been told in retrospect, it's it's crazy, you
know, I'm sure in the moment, I,I feel bad for both of the
women. You know, the way my dad tells
it, he wakes up and his. After an awful accident.

(01:29:58):
Really like you know, where he actually did die and they had to
resuscitate him. Then he wakes it back up and he
sees, you know, my mom, his wifeand then his mistress, you know,
who eventually becomes his second wife.
And like I love all families. We all became really close.
And that's one thing that my daddid with his families as he put
his all his kids together and we're like, you guys be friends.

(01:30:21):
You guys are brothers and sisters.
But yeah, that the moment he wakes up and he sees both the
women in his life and he just, you know, he just has a story
like to to people all the times.Like, it's like, I just want to
die because I just want to die. You know, it's like funny now,
but wow. Lung cancer, diabetes, hep C,
cirrhosis of the liver, pneumonia.

(01:30:42):
You make the comment that you never got so close to him as you
did when he was passing away. Why do you think that was?
Well, just like I was saying before, he was always moving.
Yeah, at that time he wasn't moving.
You know, he was, he was still and.

(01:31:03):
And there was a lot more of a heartfelt exchange there.
And he really, he really got to see how much he cared about his
kids then he's always concerned about Kyle and he's always
concerned about Echo and, and all his kids.

(01:31:25):
He's always like making sure like, is everyone doing all
right? You know, And at that time I
finally crossed the threshold where he got to see a glimpse of
my success, of what it means to him, where I think the most
important thing is like, I'm stable.

(01:31:46):
You know, I think every parent, that's all they care about is
like, as long as my kids are stable and they're going to have
a sustainable longevity, I'm OK.Finally he's accepted like I'm
all in on music and I this DJingthing actually panned out, Dad.
It actually did. I actually making money.

(01:32:06):
You wouldn't believe it. And he's like, OK, I don't have
to worry about you. There's like really special
bonds of that that that I got toexperience.
How cool was telling him you were playing in Coachella in
2007? Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's
not even just about that, just about he doesn't know what
Coachella is. You know, he doesn't.
He didn't know. He didn't.

(01:32:27):
To him, it's like, I just want to know you're you're like,
you're really legitimately goingto be OK with like it's not
going to be like the carpet's going to pull out from under you
and and you're basically living in little bars playing still
your two year old, you know, andit has like that's what you do
playing little bars, you know? Because he had wanted you to go

(01:32:49):
to Business School and become anexecutive in Benihana and you
understandably wanted to. He he he was more understanding
that like, I don't necessarily have to follow in that footstep.
He's not a nepotistic father where it's like, OK, I'm going
to swing you in here and you're just going to get like fast
track through you ever financially supported us for

(01:33:11):
one? Well, you did pay for half my
education. So I have to give him that.
He supported my mom when they split and supported his, you
know, but like he wasn't like, you know, birthdays here as a
check. I mean, actually, I never get
many birthday presents. But that's not the point.
The point is, is that he was more like you need to learn on

(01:33:32):
your own so when you fall, you can learn how to pick yourself
up. Because if I pick you up, if I
throw you the lifeline rope whenyou're in debt, which I was,
when you're in a hole, you're never going to learn and you're
going to get in debt again. If I pay for the debt, which I
can, you will figure out how to make another debt.

(01:33:55):
And it's just an endless loop ofnot learning.
You have to figure this out. You have to think outside the
box. I never even asked him for help
on the debt. I knew he would say no.
That's his style. He would never pay.
Just because he's rich doesn't mean that he's going to pay.

(01:34:16):
That's the Japanese work ethic. That's a Japanese traditional
father. There's no lifeline, maybe to
the point like if I go to jail for something like I have to go,
it's not going to bail me out. He's he's a very like hard
edged, tough love father. I'm grateful for that.

(01:34:38):
That's the only way you learn isyou pick yourself up.
There was a moment, but I think you guys were in the the
hospital room. You really hadn't been alone
with them before. What about that time made it so
powerful to you? It was just the quietness.
It's a bit awkward a little bit in the beginning.
And then and then like my heart just opened up and I was holding

(01:35:02):
him and crying. And I never cried like that.
I never cried around my dad thatmoment.
I just, all of it came out and, you know, he was just telling me
he's going to make it through. And I really believed him

(01:35:24):
because he's just a survivor. He survived everything.
But I, I'm so glad I had that moment with him.
I was really, I'm glad I got to be able to to, to share that.
Looking back now on it, it meanseven more.

(01:35:45):
Yeah, what of? What do you think he'd have to
say about all the all the success you've now had?
Oh, he my sister. OK, so my sister Devin, she was

(01:36:07):
really successful when she was like 14/15/16.
So like when she was really young, she was crushing in, in
modeling and she said then she became an actress by like when
she was super young and, and my dad would just pick her up and
just, you know, and she was the baby of the family.

(01:36:28):
So it was just great to see thatit wasn't, it wasn't jealous.
It was more like beautiful to see that moment.
He loved to see that and loved to like cherish it and like pick
up those moments. And I was so happy for Devin to
have that kind of bond because she had such a great bond with

(01:36:48):
him. And yeah, I missed those moments
that they could have been like that, you know, it could have
had like some really special moments there.
And just, it's just, you know, I'm not going to cry again.
So we're just going to keep it going.

(01:37:12):
If not for him, do you think youwould have had your same level
of determination? That all that stuff is
unconscious. It's, it's subconsciously part
of me. I can't, I can't deny that all
of his kids, all of us, we're all have some of him in US.
And you can't take that away. I want to as we wrap, I want to

(01:37:35):
ask you a little bit about moneyand then close talking to you
about your mom, but first on themoney front because you cramping
up. Yeah. 1st on the money front,
because you brought up the period of your life where you
were really in in debt, how did you end up getting out of it?
Slow and steady cash grabs from from DJ sets at at bars and

(01:37:58):
clubs. My total cost of living, $450
for rent my girlfriend was paying for the other 450 is $900
a month. That my phone bill is like let's
just say 150, OK? Like my little small phone.
So that's 450 + 150, that's 600.My car insurance is let's just

(01:38:20):
say it's 150. So it's 6750, right?
And my food expenses for the month, I don't know, maybe like
let's just give it 500 bucks. That's 1200 dollars $1200 is my
like raw cost of the of my month.
If I make 200 to $400.00 a show I'm playing, I'm trying to play

(01:38:42):
like 4 times a week. So let's just average that 300 *
412 hundred in one week. I just pay my raw cost in one
week as long as I manage my food.
Everything else is constant. So as long as I keep my food
cost down the next three weeks I'm making $3600.
Thirty $600. Where am I putting that money?

(01:39:05):
I'm paying off my bills. How did you?
Avoid letting it whack you out though.
When I'm I'm like, I'm a cheap guy, Yeah.
Like I don't need like when I'm,I'm like a goldfish, I'm in a
little like, you know, little goldfish pond.
So this is all I could do. I'm not going to go like buy
something I can't afford. I have to pay this.
Off. That's what Dan Bilzerian told

(01:39:26):
me. Even with you today like you
were super frugal. I'm the cheapest, I don't say
rich guy, but I'm a cheap guy. If I don't need it, I want to
spend on it unless it's an experience that I love.
That's why I spent so much in myhouse because I experienced this
all the time. I'd rather buy a foam pit in my
house than a Bugatti. Or maybe maybe that's too

(01:39:49):
expensive. Maybe like like a low rent
Ferrari, you know, because I love the foam pit.
I'll experience that more. You know, I do have a
Lamborghini, but that's because I've like made enough where I
can afford that. But in any case, at that time,
you know I've. I'm the goldfish and I, if I do
it correctly, if I this is wheremy business has started kicking

(01:40:12):
in. If I do it correctly, I'll be
able to pay everything off and then Dimmock money starts coming
in that'll help pay that off. But I stopped you know, once I
found out I was maxing everything out, I was able to
pay it all off make Dimmock started making more money.
I started hiring employees that became a self-sustaining
business eventually over time. And then I made enough money

(01:40:36):
where I paid off my stuff. I had $20,000 of cash about my
my first car I. Think you're 28 years old?
Tell about walking into the Toyota.
Dealer 28 I finally paid off allmy stuff I'm I'm in debt all the
way until I'm 28. I have $20,000 of like 3010

(01:40:57):
dollar $20 bills, $5 bills crinkled up in a bag.
I dump it all on the table and Ibuy a Prius.
I had 18 grand. The Prius is 20 grand.
Guys, it's $18,545. You take it.
We, we spent like an hour counting this out on the table
like they're like, this has never happened before.

(01:41:19):
We don't know what to do with this.
I'm like either take or leave it.
That's all the money I got. You can have all the cash I
made. I'm a DJ.
They finally talked it over. They're like fine, take the
Prius. They got the Prius like, you
know, 1000 to $1500 off and drove off my first car that I
bought because of the I, I had issues of rodeo.
My mom bought an auction for seven grand and I drove to the

(01:41:40):
ground. My mom has been my support
structure, like financially she's the one that like
supported me. So I have to give that to my
mom. We have a moment in the show the
the the most creative way. But before you found success,
the most creative way you were able to save money to get
something special for yourself or somebody else would be what?

(01:42:04):
The most creative way to buy my mom a home so she could be right
here. That's the most important thing.
I mean, it's selfish for me, butthat way she has a nice home and
she build my mom, my mom, my sister lived there.
Yeah. We're going to build a bigger
home for them now. I want to, I want to give her
like the dream home. Before you found success, how

(01:42:28):
did you find smart ways to save money for yourself to make it
financially? I didn't have any money to save
before, you know, I just like I,I had to worry about real, real
issues. Probably is when you're DJ and
you have all this cash, it's easy to spend it because it's
cash. That's why personally I don't
like having cash around me. I'd rather have in the bank.

(01:42:50):
I don't want it around because it's so easy to spend.
It's so easy to lose, so that's one of the best advices.
Don't carry cash. Smartest financial move and
worst financial mistake. Smartest financial move.
The way I invest my money I havelike it's supposed to be like a
triangle and your safety is right here.

(01:43:13):
You know, the bulk of your moneyshould be in, in the things
growing at like what, like 5 to 7% safe money and private
equities up here and like alternatives up here.
This is the way it should be structured.
Do that. I kind of do this now.

(01:43:36):
It's not smart, but it's more fun.
Why do you do it? I have money where I can invest
in things that I really believe in.
A lot of those things are tech startups.
A lot of those things are thingsthat are like very speculative.
I love being speculative in wayswhere there's like higher growth
potential, but it's higher risk.You go to the casino, you win

(01:43:59):
big. You only talk about your big
win, how all the times you lost.Be real with it.
At least one thing I could say as advice, be real with
yourself. If you're afraid of telling
people how many times you lost, don't tell, but at least know
how many times you lost. Yeah, because I've, I've lost on
so much of this coin, you know, of like, you know, I went in, I

(01:44:21):
went on Doge, I went out like went on some of the stuff late.
I got to GameStop one week before it went to the moon.
I mean, I crushed on that one, but then I got on Dodge late.
So it balances itself out in theend, you know, And I invested in
Sheba and these other coins and like, I don't know what's going
off with that, you know? What's your worst one?

(01:44:42):
The worst investment, Yeah, I invested in this one tech
startup that was literally, I got interviewed for it because
it was the biggest Kickstarter tech startup that it like of the
year. It like blew everyone away.
So I'm like, I got in early guysand everyone's like, Steve, tell
us what happened. Like how'd you get in early?

(01:45:03):
Like tell us about this company.It's about to blow up.
It's the biggest Kickstarter. I was doing interviews with like
tech companies and like, or techtech magazines and like this
thing's this thing's like literally impenetrable.
It's just going to blow up. And they just like they got all
the money in and they tried to develop it in time and for
whatever reason, they, it's likethey spent all the money and

(01:45:26):
they couldn't get it out to market and it just fell off and
it's, I've lost all the money there.
But that happens. You know, I'm not faulting them.
Strangely enough, F&B, they say that 9 out of 10 restaurants
close. So it's the most difficult
business like food and beverage and clubs are like very just
tough, tough to make money in those.
One diner I invested in LA neverreceived I, I, I invested 100

(01:45:51):
grand. I received 80 bucks or 800 maybe
I think it was 800 bucks. So what I say is always invest
in the people, not the, not the company.
So I was investing in another guy that opened up a few
restaurants, Nick Mathers from Australia.

(01:46:11):
And the first restaurant we did was a restaurant called Evelee.
It's on Sunset Plaza, and then that did really well.
Then we opened up a New York restaurant called Dudley's on
Broom and Orchard, and it's still crushing.
Then we opened up a small restaurant called Cassie, and
then we opened up before COVID, Elefante in Santa Monica, and

(01:46:33):
they're all like, it's been my greatest ROI.
It's just incredible, like how well he operates.
He puts so much attention to detail in and the the ambience,
the environment, the food and whatever he does, I'm in.
I'm just in. I'm in with him.
Nick Mathers, he's got an idea. I'm in I.

(01:46:54):
Want to end talking about your mom, who's kind of the unsung
hero in all of this? How would you best explain the
role that she's played in your life?
She's my rock, she's my heart, she's my support structure.
She's been there day in, day outsince I was born.

(01:47:16):
She's my biggest fan. She's she's just there, she's
always there. She's my son, she's my moon, and
I'm just so lucky to have her inmy life.
It's going to say, What does shemean to you?
You ask these questions and I don't want to cry, man.
I'm just like, I love her. I like, I'm just going to like,

(01:47:37):
I'm just going to, I don't like,I don't want to get emotional
like this. Like, I don't like it.
I just, I love her. She's my.
She's everything to me. It worked.
Yeah, OK. I wasn't trying to make you a
movie. I know, I know.
But like it. Get there.
You know, like I don't like it. Thanks for doing this.
Yeah, no problem man. That's it for my chat with Steve

(01:47:57):
Aoki. To check out a tour of his
elaborate and interestingly designed home and a look at his
rare Sports in Pokémon card collection, go to
youtube.com/graham Bensinger. And of course, while we were
there, I participated in an Aokistaple getting caked and jumping

(01:48:22):
off his roof into his pool, which I might add he bailed on
shortly beforehand because he was a little under the weather.
And I might also add, I was quite concerned after I jumped
that I might have overshot the pool.

(01:48:44):
Do you care to watch for yourself youtube.com/graham
Bensinger? Do you get a chance?
Give us a rating and review. Thanks again for listening.

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