Love More "How Pink Socks bridges gap one pair at a time."

Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_04 (00:13):
Welcome to a podcast like No Other.
Get ready for insightfulconversations, diverse
perspectives, and a touch ofinformation.
This is Ask Naomi, within theGap Podcast.
Join your host, a dynamic Naomidance as she delves into the
heart of various topics with arefreshing blend of curiosity
and wisdom.
Each week, Naomi is joined byspecial guests to bring their

(00:35):
unique stories and expertise tothe table.
And let's not forget about theone and only dog by adding the
flavor and together.
From thought-provokingdiscussions to moments of
laughter and joy, that's Naomi.
Bridging the Gap Podcast offersa space where great topics meet

(00:58):
amazing guests.
So, mark your calendars, setyour reminders, and prepare to
be entertained and delighted.
Join Naomi Banks and Dog PoundMike Weekly for an unforgettable
podcast experience.
Get ready to bridge the gap,expand your horizon, and immerse
yourself in the world of AskNaomi.
Subscribe now and stay tuned fora podcast journey like no other.

SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
All right.
Hey, my beautiful people.
Well, welcome to X NaomiBridging the Gap Podcast.
This is where we're talkingabout love, sex, relationship,
cultural differences, and somuch more by bridging the gap
between them all and teachingthe world on sex language,
attitude, and a little bit ofspiritual uplifting.
Well, I am your girl, thegoddess Naomi Banks, and I'm

(01:42):
here with my boy Dog Palm MikeMike.
What's going on?
Yes, yes, yes.
And you know, my voice mightsound a little cracky right now,
you know, because I'm stillgetting over a little cold, but
I am back.
I am, we are back.
We are back.
I want to say hey, hey, to myBTG crew.
I see y'all all out there rightnow.

(02:02):
But you know what?
You know, I had to take a littlebreak.
I know y'all like, Naomi, whereyou been?
I had to take care of my body, Ihad to take care of my health,
but we are back.
We are back and we are backstrong.
So we are definitely in threemonths in 2026.
And I know some of y'all like,okay, are you here to stay?

(02:24):
We are here to stay and we ain'tgoing nowhere.
And if you listen to the lastshow, remember I told y'all
about me doing a pivot?
Well, we're here and we arepivoting.
Ain't that right, dog on my mic?

SPEAKER_00 (02:34):
Yes, we're pivoting.
We're making a movement a wholenew direction.

SPEAKER_02 (02:38):
Uh yeah, a direction, but not all the way
new, but not all the way new.
We don't want to get it tootwisted, right?
But we are back, we are back,and tonight we got something
special.
I, you know, it's so funny.
I think this is the best way forus to come back is come back and
showing love and how showinglove in a different type of way,
and how we can truly connectwith one another, truly connect

(03:02):
with one another.
So tonight's show is different.
Tonight, we're not talking aboutdating drama or relationship
problems.
Well, we're gonna get back tothat.
So don't worry, we'll be backwith that.
But tonight, tonight we'retalking about something that
literally bridges the gapbetween everybody, between
strangers, between differentcultures, between different

(03:24):
communities, between people whowould never normally connect.
And we got a guest in thebuilding who's doing the work in
the most beautiful and simple,most powerful way.
So, what I want y'all to doright now before I bring this
special guest to the stage, Iwant you to drop a heart in the
chat if you're ready for somegood energy tonight, all right?

(03:45):
I want y'all to drop me somepink hearts in the chat right
now.
In the chat right now, don'tfail me right now.
Drop me some pink hearts in thechat right now to give me some
good vibes and welcome me back.
Come on, let me hear it.
Let me see it.
Let me see them.
There you go, there you go,Charmaine.
I see you, baby.

(04:06):
Let me go.
Come on, let's bring them tohim, bring it to it.
All right, all right.
Can you see him, Dollpa Mike,Mike?
All right, all right.
All right, yes, keep droppingthem.
Keep dropping them.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Yes, keep dropping them.

(04:29):
Because you know what, it's beena long, it's been a long few
months, huh?
It's definitely been a long fewmonths, and I'm just truly happy
to be back.
I know right now, if you'relistening live, we're live on
several simultaneously.
We on Facebook, I see you guys,we on Instagram, I see you guys,
we on X, I see you guys, I seeyou all over.

(04:50):
And I love seeing you, seeingall of you here, and it feels
really good back to be here withthe BCG family because honestly,
you all held me down.
Thank you for the ones whochecked on me.
I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 (05:02):
I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 (05:04):
So before we bring out our guests, Mike Mike, I
want you to tell them just alittle about what we got going
on um for them tonight, if youcan.
And I'll jump in if you need myhelp.

SPEAKER_00 (05:14):
You you know it's been a while, but uh you know,
tonight we'll we're doing thegiveaways.

SPEAKER_03 (05:19):
Yes.

SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
So we decided to give away uh the pink socks to
six lucky people tonight.
Yes.
So we're coming back now.
We bring back gifts.

SPEAKER_02 (05:28):
Yes, I'm bringing back gifts.
So we don't want to give themtoo much.
Well we'll give too much, but wewe went, but it's something that
you, the listeners, you the BTGcrew, that y'all gotta do
because we ain't giving nothingfor free and you ain't showing
up.
So we gotta show up and showout, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (05:42):
So we we we gonna track this engagement throughout
the show.

SPEAKER_02 (05:45):
Yes, we are.

SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
We're gonna track your involvement, yes, we are
sure and show our guests somelove.
Yes, yes, and at the end of theshow, we're gonna choose these
six people that we're gonnadeliver these shots to.

SPEAKER_02 (05:56):
Yes.

SPEAKER_00 (05:56):
So be ready.
We have all a system ready.
Just drop uh, we're gonna dropin your emails and your DMs, and
we're gonna select the peoplewho've been active in this show.

SPEAKER_02 (06:07):
Yes, yes, yes.
Sure enough, sure enough.
All right, and like um he said,we got some pink socks, and I
don't know if I should besending it to you or not, but
I'm gonna explain what it meansin a minute because I don't want
to talk too much because I'mtelling I'll be telling it all,
and I my guests won't be able tosay nothing.

SPEAKER_03 (06:23):
There you go.

SPEAKER_02 (06:23):
You know, my guests won't be able to say nothing,
right?
But the thing is that you haveto stay engaged.
You have to stay engaged, youhave to stay in the chest if you
want to participate.
And the thing is that it's justnot the pink socks.
This is all about being in thecommunity, this is all about
showing love in so manydifferent ways.
Because not only do you get thesocks, but you something that

(06:45):
you have to do.
It's something that you have todo with the pink socks.
But we're gonna describe, we'regonna tell all of that later.
And speaking of community andconnections, let me tell y'all
something.
We are getting excited becauseMay is just around the corner,
right?
And you know our love and mentalhealth series is returning.
Yes, yes, y'all.
Y'all remember last May we did awhole month series dedicated to

(07:06):
mental health awareness month.
And we had therapists, we hadDr.
Will, we had conversations aboutlove and mental health, about
relationships and healing, andabout how mental health affects
our intimate connection.
Well, baby, we are bringing itback this May, a whole month,
long series dedicated to mentalhealth awareness.

(07:28):
So I want y'all to mark yourcalendars and I want y'all to
tell y'all friends because it isgoing to be a very powerful
series, a very powerful series.
But let's get back to tonight,because tonight we're talking
about love and action, we'retalking about kindness, we're
talking about on how one man andone simple idea has created a

(07:50):
global movement that touchedthis.
Listen to what I say this, over300,000 people around the world.
My mic, you ready to bring themout?

SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Let's bring them out now.

SPEAKER_02 (08:03):
You ready to bring them out?
You wait, you you ready to bringthem out?
Hey, Nick!

SPEAKER_05 (08:08):
Hey, it's good to see you again.

SPEAKER_02 (08:11):
Yes, it is.
How are you?

SPEAKER_05 (08:14):
Oh, I'm great.
Yeah, it's so good to see you.

SPEAKER_02 (08:18):
Yes, it is.
It's so good to see you too.
I truly appreciate you coming onthis on this platform right
here.
I know with our lastconversation, we had such an
amazing, great time.
And I knew what you were doinghere with Pink Socks.life.
I said, no, I have to have youhere on Axe Naomi.
Um then I told you there was alive show and stuff like that.

(08:39):
And I said, we have to get youon the music.

SPEAKER_05 (08:41):
Hey, listen, I love you rocking that love more
hoodie.

SPEAKER_02 (08:43):
Oh, yeah.
Oh, see, there you go.
Yes.
Yes, that yes, yes, and I loveit.
And I got the socks on too, butI I can't show because we only
heads up.
I'm I'm not that well.
There you go.
Well, yeah, there we go.
No, I want the short on my legs,it looked a lot better on my
legs.

SPEAKER_05 (09:04):
Just gotta show up with love and kindness.
It's so simple.
What are we gonna do?
We're gonna love more.
That's it.

SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
Exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly.
Well, you know, um it's allabout the nonprofit that you got
moving in.
And and I love to hear about the3,000 um pairs of socks that you
give to just spread the kindnessaround the world.
And also, he authored a book,Pink Socks on How to Pair.
I got those pink socks too.

(09:31):
This is what I love.
I love when I have amazingguests that give me the goodies,
the goodies, goodies, goodies,they give me the goodies.
So, as y'all see, I have the umthe sweatshirt, is it's amazing.
It feels good to my body.
I got the socks and I got thebook, and I got the book.
Yes, and I am loving all of it.
I am loving all of it.

(09:52):
So, what I want to do right nowfirst is this I want to tell
them a little bit aboutyourself, Nick, because I I know
everything because you alreadytold me, but tell them how did
you start with um how did youstart with the pink socks?
How did all of that get started?

SPEAKER_05 (10:06):
Yeah, so I tell you in 2010, we're gonna we're gonna
dial it back to 2010.
And I was living in Nashville,Tennessee, which I'd lived there
for most of my adult life.
I was a healthcare executive, aCO of a national healthcare
company.
And let's see, in 2010, I was 45back then, and we were trying to

(10:31):
decide what to do with thecompany.
Some major decisions werehappening, whether we wanted to
sell it or merge or acquire thisthing or take on more debt,
whatever.
And I really, you know, didn'thave an answer, but I said, I'm
gonna I'm gonna go to this thingcalled Burning Man in the desert
in Nevada um for a week, andI'll come back with an answer.

(10:53):
And so I went to the Burning Manand you know, I learned about a
gazillion things that week.
And one of them was, you know, Ireally wanted to change the
trajectory of my life that lifewasn't right, life really wasn't
a series of if-then equations.
It's you know, life isnonlinear, it's always just

(11:15):
spiraling in and out.
And I said, Well, you know, whatif you let go of the way you've
been living life for 45 yearsand try something different?
And trying something differentis being present in each now,
being intentional with showingup with love and kindness,
sharing hugs, riding my pinkfurry bike, you know, just being

(11:36):
in the now.

SPEAKER_03 (11:37):
Right.

SPEAKER_05 (11:38):
What you know, what could I do with that and where
would that go?
And you know, Burning Man isthis social experiment, if you
will.
It's more than a festival in thedesert, it's more than a giant
rave.
Um, it's 70,000 people fromaround the world coming together
to experiment and say what canwe do if we all show up and we

(11:59):
agree to these 10 principles.
And one of those principles isgifting.
And that's the Pink Sox movementis really built on this ethos of
gifting, you know, how fun it isto give a gift, how fun it is to
receive a gift.
Um, you know, there's magicbeing the gift giver, there's

(12:20):
magic in being the giftreceiver.
And there's a there's awonderful book by a woman named
uh oh my gosh, Robin.
I'm forgetting her last name.
Uh, but the name of the book isBraiding Sweetgrass, and she's
an original inhabitant of thecountry, she's a Native

(12:40):
American, and she's teachesbiology at SUNY in New York.
And one of the one of thepassages from her book that that
really I think speaks best toRobin Wall Kimmerer.
Thank you.
That's her whole name.
Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Braiding Sweetgrass is the nameof her book.

(13:01):
Um, this line from BraidingSweet Gas Sweetgrass really
speaks to this ethos of gifting.
And in it talking about theoriginal peoples who lived on
the land here, um, she says thecardinal difference between
commodity exchange and giftingis that gifting creates a

(13:22):
relationship bond.
And so it does, right?
So it's different when you gobuy something at a store,
there's no relationship betweenus and the store or the clerk,
but when someone gives you agift, it creates this bond.
And so, you know, you'll lookback and say, Hey, I remember
when Nick gave me my pink socksor my hoodie, or you know, it's

(13:43):
on and on.
And so now over 300,000 pairs ofpink socks have been gifted all
around the world based on thatethos of gifting.
That once upon a time, someonesaw your pink socks or your
hoodie, or even just a stickerin the comments say, Hey, that's
cool.
What is that?

SPEAKER_03 (14:01):
Right.

SPEAKER_05 (14:01):
Well, what that is, Naomi, as you well know, it's
the universe tapping you in theshoulder saying, Hey, here it
comes.
Right.
Get off your phone, lay it downhere, stay on the train another
stop, stay on the bus, anotherstop, and say, Hey, I'm Naomi,
what's your name?
It's good to see you.

SPEAKER_03 (14:19):
Right.

SPEAKER_05 (14:20):
That connection, that is the real gift.
The gift of the pink socks,really just a token, a reminder
that once upon a time I saw thisawesome human being, and we had
this connection, which is thepuzzle piece, right?
So the the puzzle piece on thesocks represents the power of
connection.
Pink socks connecting people allaround the world.

(14:42):
But the real gift that we giveeach other in these moments of
connection is connecting.
And what I'd like to remindpeople is you know, there's a
difference between connectivity.
You know, this is connectivity.
Yeah, tons of that.
Like we're drowning inconnectivity.

(15:02):
What we're all craving isconnection, the difference
between connectivity andconnection.
And so we're using multipleplatforms right now to connect
with people, right?
And we're using thatconnectivity platforms to
connect.
So what you and I are doingright now, even though it's you

(15:22):
know, you're over in Nevada andI'm over in Portland, and here
we are, what we're experiencingright now is a true connection,
authentic connection.
I see you, right?
And so in these, man, in thetime of AI, right, is how fast
this thing's unfolding.
Yeah, it becomes even moreimportant for each of us that we

(15:46):
seek out true authenticconnection.
Hopefully in real life,one-on-one in person, but we
can't do that.
We use platforms like we'reusing now and say, Hey, it's
really good to see you, becausewe don't want to get lost in
this lie, if you will, thisdeception of trying to be

(16:06):
convinced that connectivity isreal authentic connection.
It's not, and as humans, youknow, we all crave this
connection.
It's it's hardwired in ourbrainstems back here, it's in
our DNA that we want to connectwith other people.
And so that's really what PinkSock's life is about.

(16:27):
It's just built on this ethos ofgifting, a celebration of
connection between two people,and a reminder that, as the
label on the pink sock says,that the world is full of good.
When you see it, you believe it.
Keep doing that.
It's all around us.

SPEAKER_02 (16:48):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (16:49):
And you know, whether we're standing in line
at the post office or thegrocery store or on the plane or
on the bus, there's always theseopportunities to set this down
and just connect and say, how'sit going?
That reminder that we're all inthis thing together.

SPEAKER_02 (17:09):
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, and thank you forsharing that because this is
beautiful, especially right now,that you know, with just what
the world is going through withwar and everything like that, is
that sometimes we we need this,we need a reminder about just um
humanity, just the human natureof just us just being able to
have a conversation, whether itis to stop and ask about those

(17:30):
pink socks, what's going on withthose pink socks?
And I remember a conversationthat we had back over there on
the season of self-love onthere.
And you was you you um wastalking about how you were in
Chicago, that's my hometown,where you, you know, you wore
something different just to bedifferent, and saw how that just
started off of a movement to doit that way.

(17:52):
So, how did it start from thatto being where you now give it
away 300,000 to being able toactually help fund different
organizations?

SPEAKER_05 (18:06):
Yeah.
So the first pair of pink sockswe gifted at the McCormick
Center, which is a bigconvention center, as you know,
in Chicago.
That was in April of 2015.
So we're just about to have our11th birthday next month.
And you know, we had no ideathat it would become a thing.
We just went to this conference.

(18:28):
I was one of the co-founders andthe COO of a of a company that
created some kind of cool techfor the medical space.
And, you know, I as you know,but I guess these listeners
probably don't know, I gave upwearing pants.
So I only wear kilts.

SPEAKER_01 (18:48):
Okay.

SPEAKER_05 (18:48):
Um, in 2012, I met a guy here in Portland who owns a
kilt company, and he said, Nick,have you ever worn a kilt?
And I said, No, he's going totry one.
I said, Yes, of course I do.
And so that was June of 2012,also known as the last time I
wore pants.
And day one, Naomi, you know,from wearing a kilt, I said, Oh,

(19:09):
shit, you got to wear fun socks.
You can't be that geek in theblack knee high dress socks.
And so I went out and bought allthe fun, crazy, funky socks I
could find, you know, T-Rexes,Pugs, tacos, unicorns, rainbows,
you name it, a chore full of funsocks.
Um, but it was the pink oneswith the handlebar mustaches

(19:30):
that really got the most, hey, Ilike your socks every time I
wore them.
So um another one of ourco-founders and chief technology
officer, Andrew Richards and Iwent to this event in Chicago in
2015, you know, 42,000 ITmedical folks and suits and
ties.
And I told him, I said, Andrew,look, you know, I don't even own

(19:51):
a suit anymore.
So um why don't you wear bluejeans and a brew pub t-shirt?
I'm gonna go get us a hundredpairs of these pink socks with
the mustaches on them.
You roll your pants up a little,and I'm gonna go roll in the
kilt, and you know, people aregonna just come out and say,
What's your story?
You know, what's what's the dealwith these pink socks?

(20:12):
And we really had no idea thatit was gonna take off the way
that it did.
We started using the hashtagpink socks at that event on
socials, all one word alwaysplural.
That went viral.
We took over the event, and ohmy goodness, uh it just kept
going and going and going.
And then I got invited to go toa TEDx talk in San Francisco in

(20:35):
2017, and that really just kindof blew it up.
And um, yeah, I mean, really, wethat first year in two, you
know, 2015 to 2016, Andrew and Iwere really just going to
different events around thecountry to try to socialize our

(20:55):
company, uh, that's this medtech company, um, and having
fun, you know, just playing onTwitter back when Twitter was
fun and taking pictures andgifting people their pink socks
and every little happy smiley.
Um, but then at the end of 2016,I was like, Andrew, we can't go
back to that same conference,which was going to be that next

(21:16):
year in Orlando.
I said we got to change it up,you know, do something
different.
And about the time I'm talkingto him on the phone, you know,
somebody sends me a DM onTwitter and said, Hey Nick, did
you send some pink socks tosomebody in the Netherlands?
I'm like, no.
It's like, oh my goodness,there's a guy in the Netherlands
that had sourced pink socks onhis own and was gifting them to

(21:38):
drive awareness for the workthat he does with Alzheimer's
and dementia care.
And it was like, and thenimmediately, like, this is in
real time.
Somebody sent me another DM onTwitter.
Hey Nick, did you send the pinksocks to somebody in Wales?

SPEAKER_03 (21:53):
Like, no.

SPEAKER_05 (21:56):
And there was a guy in Wales who had sourced pink
socks and was gifting them todrive away.
For the work he's doing withataxia, which is a rare disease.
Now, I mean, it's at that momentthat we knew that pink socks had
become a thing, that it had goneorganic, that people on another
side of the world were usingthese to do something.

(22:17):
And we just said, okay, uhthat's all dandrew.
It said we're gonna need biggerlittle, you know, the the first
conference we went to.
We I said, put 50 pairs in yourlittle backpack, and I'll put 50
in my little backpack.

SPEAKER_03 (22:28):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (22:28):
I said, Andrew, get a bigger backpack.
We're gonna need more socks.
And so uh that's what we did,and it just never, you know,
there never was a plan that thiswould become what it became.
Um, and now we're a 51c3nonprofit that helps support
other nonprofits and help driveawareness for the work they're

(22:49):
doing in their communitiesaround the world.
And along the way, we becameinvolved with schools in the
United States.
I don't want to spend, I knowwe've got a limited amount of
time, but I hope your viewersand listeners will go check out
the book, go into the storyabout how we got involved with
schools.
Pre-K through high school, we'renow in 34 schools in nine states

(23:13):
where teachers use pink socksevery week.
Every Monday, everybody wearstheir pink socks to school:
kids, teachers, cafeteria,workers, crossing guards, bus
drivers-I mean, everybody.
And each period has a day, um, aclass period that day on Monday,
teaching these attributes ofkindness, what they call the
social, emotional, learningcurriculum.

(23:34):
Teaching kids about kindness,empathy, compassion, connection,
anti-bullying, inclusion,diversity, you know, all the
things that grow good humans forthe world.
So we're very grateful to behelping those teachers teach
what really is the mostimportant lesson, the lesson
that has the most ROI, the mostreturn on investment, kindness.

SPEAKER_03 (23:57):
Yes.

SPEAKER_05 (23:58):
Yeah, and how these little humans will one day show
up as big humans being kind.

SPEAKER_02 (24:03):
Yes.

SPEAKER_05 (24:04):
Very grateful to be helping with that.

SPEAKER_02 (24:06):
And I love that.
I love that.
You know, the one thing is thatfrom the beginning of our last
conversation, it was connection,but even from the very first
thing when you talked about umfinding out about the socks
being in another country, and itwas the Alzheimer's.
And I said, oh my God.
Like, you know, my mom was, mymom was diagnosed with

(24:28):
Alzheimer's about four yearsago, and I'm our caregiver.
And I was like, oh my God, thisis just was divine timing right
here.
This was a connection thatneeded to be.
And I was like, okay, I'mlistening, I'm hearing.
What are we to do with this?
And just to keep moving on.
And as you were telling aboutthe school and everything else,
I'm like, all right, ifanything, we're to put this on

(24:48):
as many platforms as we can toallow, you know, for different
people to find ways to possiblyto create um an avenue of ways
for them to be able to raisemoney for their different
funding or different projects orwhatever it is that will help,
you know, raise money for, youknow, with sick as well or, you

(25:09):
know, homeless or, you know, orwhatever, you know, and I think
this is a great um, a greatthing that you that you all are
doing there.
And I just love it.
It really, and not only that,but even the kindness, just the
even the unique way with thepink socks.
And I'm just not saying becausepink is one of my favorite
colors, and I and I love it.
It's just even with the the thedescription and the the

(25:32):
representation of the puzzle,that is what bridging the gap is
all about, is about theconnection that we have in some
way, somehow.
You know, we might not be all onthe same, you know, thing or the
same color, but we connectsomehow, somehow, from you know,
from something.
And I love that.

SPEAKER_05 (25:50):
Yeah, the OG, the OG Pink Sox in 2015, the first, you
know, that we started givingaway, they only had the mustache
on there, the head of barmustache.
And people say, What is thatfor?
Well, because it makes peoplesmile, right?
The mustache looks like a smile.
And then when I did that TEDxtalk in San Francisco, that's
when we added the puzzle pieceto represent the power of

(26:11):
connection, pink socksconnecting people around the
world.
And, you know, as you just said,Naomi, you know, the the real
reminder in this for each of us,each day, each almost in each
now, is if we will giveourselves the space and the

(26:35):
self-permission to show up withlove and kindness, to show up
and share space with anotherhuman without any
preconceptions, any judgment,any biases, and just see that
person one-on-one outside of theteams, outside of the sides,

(26:55):
outside of the politics.
What we find, and know this tobe true, is that we are all so
much more the same, yeah, somuch more alike than we are
different.
Yeah, and that's where the magichappens in these connections,
one person at a time.

(27:16):
Like I say, in line at the postoffice or sitting next to you on
the bus.
These are the moments to notmiss, and that's the back label
of the pink socks, or theinstructions says, Hey, every
time you wear these, you'regoing to connect with someone
new.
Don't miss that.
Every time someone says, Oh, Ilike your socks, that's that
moment.
That's that here we go.

(27:36):
Here comes the gift for both ofyou to have this moment of
connection and to see oneanother in each other.
That's the humanity that we'reall craving.
We want it so bad, and it'salways right in front of us.

(27:56):
All we have to do is say yes,right?
Take these out, get off this andconnect.

SPEAKER_03 (28:05):
And connect.

SPEAKER_02 (28:10):
I love that.
I love that.

SPEAKER_00 (28:12):
Yeah, you know something.
One of the things that reallystruck me through it that you
came up with the idea of thesocks, because you talked about
the cell phone earlier, and mostpeople when they're on the
phone, which way they'relooking, they're looking down.
So they're looking down at theirphone and they see these pink
socks, they're gonna ask what'sthat's about because everybody's

(28:32):
looking down, so you will seethe socks.

SPEAKER_05 (28:34):
You know, that wasn't planned, but hey, you
know, it's like the universeprovides.
She plays a long game, she knowswhat she's doing.

SPEAKER_00 (28:43):
That's the world now.

SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
Everybody's looking down at them.

SPEAKER_05 (28:46):
That's so true, so true.

SPEAKER_02 (28:47):
Exactly.
So, what I want y'all to doright now, because the chess is
kind of quiet because I knowthey're listening, but what I
want y'all to do right now is Iwant you all to type love more.
Love more because that is whatwe need right now in the world
today, is to love more, not onlyone another, but really
yourselves.
You know, I always talk aboutself-love because that's truly

(29:09):
where it starts.
Because when you do self-lovewith yourself, then you're able
to show more love outside ofyourself.

SPEAKER_05 (29:16):
We're gonna love more and fearless.

SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Yes, there you go.

SPEAKER_05 (29:20):
Love more, fear, fear less.

SPEAKER_02 (29:23):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
You know, because that is thecore of the message of Pink Soft
Life is love more, right?
And I love that because it'sit's so simple, but it's so
powerful.
It's so powerful.
You know, Nicholas talked aboutwhat love more means, especially
right right now when the worldfeels so divided.

(29:44):
It feels so divided.
Like, how do we love more?
Where, like when there's so muchstuff happening, when people are
so different, when there's somuch conflict.
There's like so much conflict.
And, you know, I was speaking tomy my middle baby earlier today,
and you know, we're just talkingabout her just going to the next

(30:04):
level with her business.
And I she's like, you know, attimes, mom, I feel afraid
sometimes because I don't knowwhat the world is going to be
like.
And, you know, I just rememberbeing a 23-year-old woman and
just knewing that I was ready totake the world, that I was just
so fearless and and just seeinghow it is now that everybody is
so cautious or taking the takingtheir step into the world

(30:25):
because it's so chaotic rightnow.
And it was like, wow, if we canjust, you know, and I don't want
to say figure out, but if wecould just say, oh, just can we
just love one another?
Can we can we figure that?
Can we do that?
It and it and it's so funnybecause it's just a simple
conversation.
It's a simple conversation, it'sa simple like, oh, I like your

(30:47):
socks, oh, oh, I like how yourhair is, and not get offended,
you know.
Oh my god, like you know, justthose those simple moments to
stop and say, Hey, how was yourday?
You know, like that.

SPEAKER_05 (31:01):
Yeah, it's that simple.
And and Naomi, you know, I thinkif we can remind ourselves and
each other, our children orgrandchildren, you know chaos
and war and death and famine andall the bad things that coexist
in this life, they've alwaysbeen here.

(31:22):
These dark times are nothingnew.
You know, we've as a species,we've been fighting each other
from the beginning for thousandsof years.
So dark times are not new to thestory, and neither is this
message of showing up with love.
So dark times, war, death,chaos, all these things they've

(31:47):
been around.
So is the message of show upwith love.
Yeah, it's how we survive this,how we get through this.
This is what brings us backtogether, so that we won't get
consumed by the dark time.
So there's really nothing new inthis love more message.
It's been around, it's beenhanded down for millennia.

SPEAKER_03 (32:08):
Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_05 (32:09):
And we're just the reminders to each other of what
we know to be true, what ourhearts know, what our hearts
feel, you know.
But technology, social media,the algorithms, all of it are up
here, you know, playing with ourmind.
Our mind, you know, is beingcontrolled.

(32:31):
We're being brainwashed, if youwill, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 (32:34):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (32:35):
To not remember to forget what our heart knows to
be true.
So this this love more, youknow, this pink socks is it's a
it's a call to action to hey,give this a break, okay?
Yeah, come back to what you knowto be true.

(32:57):
Get off of social media for aminute, get off your phone, just
unplug, take your shoes andsocks off and walk out and put
your feet on the grass, put yourtoes in the sand, go hug a tree,
you know, just ground, breathe.
Yeah, you know, each know thepath already.

(33:18):
It's in here.
We just have to give this arest.

SPEAKER_01 (33:22):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_05 (33:26):
You know, we're sitting in it right now.
We're sharing in it, we'reswimming in it.
It's good.

SPEAKER_02 (33:33):
In there.
Um, I see them in there, strong,strong, strong.
I see them in there.
And he's not only talking aboutlove and kindness, but he's also
given a tool.
And the tool is the socks.
The tool in the socks in thesand, go and create connection,
go and bridge gap.
So, Mike Mike, have you ever hada random act of kindness from a

(33:54):
stranger that stuck with you?

SPEAKER_00 (33:57):
Yeah, actually, this this week, and it was uh it was
it was for both of us.
I was coming through the airportin Vegas, and I took my wallet
out to put it in the tray to gothrough security, TSA security.
Okay, and the guy was on theother side, he just made a
joking gesture like, oh, I'lltake that.

(34:17):
You you ain't gotta put that inthe tray.
And as we went through security,the X-ray, and then it's not
getting paid.
You're working for free inVegas.
TS So as I came around, I justwalked up to him.
I said, Man, thank you, and Godbless you.
And his face just like, thankyou for saying it, because we

(34:41):
look at their situation rightnow where they're working for
free, and do everybody that comethrough to just say thank you,
you know, because they're doingsomething they don't have to do,
and it really made him feel goodand appreciated and made me feel
as well too, you know.
And I wish I had a wallet fullof money and gave, you know, but

(35:03):
it is.
That's that's just a random appthat happened to me the other
day.
It's like, you know, just saythank you to a person.
Say hello, just say God blessyou for what you're doing.
And it meant I can see it meantso much to them.

SPEAKER_02 (35:15):
Yeah, you know, those matters, um, those those
moments like that, they domatter, they matter a lot, you
know.

SPEAKER_05 (35:20):
They there's they're super important, yeah.
You know, these words, so thankyou for sharing your heart speak
in that story.
That's great, you know.
But these these moments ofsaying thank you, these moments
of showing up with gratitude.
Yeah, so I've started years agoa practice of of saying these
words.

(35:41):
It's you know, it's kind ofthank you on steroids, if you
will, is is these words.
I look at them and say, I'mgrateful for you.
Whoa.
You know, so many people will gotheir whole lives in this time
and dimension without anyoneever saying that to them.
What a gift that is when we tellsomeone, hey, I'm grateful for

(36:05):
you.
Whoa, it's life-changing.
I mean sticker.
I carry a little bag with me,and I try to have pink socks all
the time.
But if I don't have that littlebag, I always got stickers in
one of my pockets of my kilt.
I say, hey, listen.

(36:26):
I said, What's your name?
And I say, Well, I'm I'm like,hey Mike, I'm Nick, it's good to
see you.
You know, all we have to do isshow up with love and kindness
in each now.
You're already doing that, sowould you keep doing it, deal?
Boom, and I give them this, Igo, right, just keep doing that
love more.
I mean, you would think that Ijust gave them the keys to the

(36:46):
city.

SPEAKER_03 (36:46):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (36:48):
No, the gift is not the sticker, the gift is not
even the pink socks.
The gift is that connection.
So, so important for for all ofus.
Yeah, so way to go, Mike.
Keep doing that.

SPEAKER_02 (37:04):
Yeah, yeah.
You know, that was gonna be mynext question.
Yeah, we can I can hear youfine.
Yeah, it's his name, Mike.

SPEAKER_05 (37:11):
Off camera.

SPEAKER_02 (37:11):
Yeah, we can hear you.
We can hear you.

SPEAKER_05 (37:12):
No, but it's his name Mike.

SPEAKER_02 (37:14):
Is it Michael?

SPEAKER_05 (37:16):
Michael?

SPEAKER_02 (37:17):
It's Michael, yes.

SPEAKER_05 (37:18):
Michael, hey, I don't see you, but it's good to
hear you and your heartspeaking.
So thank you.
I'm grateful for you, Michael.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (37:29):
You know, the one thing is that I love is that I
love that the hunger for whenpeople have connection.
And one of my one of myquestions, but you already
answers that answered is thatwhen you do, you know, come up
to people and you give them thatpink sock or you give them that
sticker with that reaction is.
And I love that that thatreaction is that just that that
simple connection, because asyou said, you know, people

(37:50):
hunger for that.
People want that connection inany kind of way.
So, chat, here's a question fory'all Would you give pink socks
to a stranger?
Type yes or no, and if so, tellus why.
You know, tell us why if so,right?
All right, so this is what we'regonna do right now.
What I wanna do is I want totake a quick break, and then

(38:12):
when we come back, we're gonnafinish off because I know that
my my amazing friend right here,that I know he got some things
to do today, uh, on thisThursday.
Um, so we're gonna take a breakand then we're gonna come back
and then we're gonna finish off.
And right?

unknown (38:27):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (38:28):
All right, so it's your girldy goddess Nami Banks
here on Axe Nayama Virgin GapPodcast, and we will be right
back.
What are some common barriersthat prevent people from
expressing?
Hey, it's your girltigdess NamiBanks here from the Season to
Suffer Love Podcast.
Yeah, I would say remorse.
So shame and guilt is a verydivided emotional.

(38:51):
And these are one of the manyamazing conversations that we
have every day, Monday throughFriday, right here on the Season
of Suffolk Love Podcast withmyself, Naomi Banks, as well as
our resident therapist, Dr.
Will Washington of WashingtonWellness Institute.
Come by the reality of ourrelationship.
Come by.

(39:11):
A lot of times we're afraid ofhow people will look at us.
And so that compassion can'tenter us.
You can hit us on thewebsite.com.
All right, my beautiful people.
Well, welcome back to Axe NaomiBridget Podcast.
I'm your girl, you got thisnumbery banks here with Dogpa
Mike Mike.
Hey, hey.

SPEAKER_03 (39:31):
Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_02 (39:32):
And we are here with Nicholas Atkins from Pink Socks
Life, and we are having such agood time.
So before the break, we weretalking about the Love More
philosophy and how pink sockscreate connections.
And I know people are in thechat asking, how can I get
involved?
How can I get pink socks?
How can I bring this to mycommunity?

(39:52):
So, Nicholas, talk to us abouthow can people get involved with
pink socks life?

SPEAKER_05 (39:59):
Yeah, so thank you, Naomi.
You know, come to the websitepinksocks.life.life.
That's also our Instagramaccount.
If you want to see a bunch ofhappy, smiley people in their
pink socks showing up around theworld.
And Naomi, I want to give you abig shout out.
Um, I don't think we've ever hada better engagement on Instagram

(40:20):
on a on a specific post than wedid yours.
So thank you for making us acollaborator in that post that
you did.
I've just keep going.
And it's like, oh my gosh, lookhow many people have liked that
and viewed it.

SPEAKER_02 (40:33):
So you win.

SPEAKER_05 (40:35):
If there was you know, if there was a Pink Sox
trophy right now, I'd give it toyou.

SPEAKER_02 (40:38):
Well, thank you.
I hope they would be nice.

SPEAKER_05 (40:42):
Uh but yeah, pinksocks.life is the website
and the Instagram account.
You can also find the book viathe website, and I encourage
people to get the book.
It's a very easy read, and itwill be a collection of stories
of HeartSpeak.
Uh, it'll tell you a little bitin depth of the how this all
began and how it's unfoldedthrough these years.

(41:05):
But more importantly, that it'sa reminder of something you
already know, and that's to gofrom here back into what we
already know in our heart tolove more.
It's a reminder for all of us tokeep showing up like that.
So um, you know, I I often tellpeople, hey, if pink socks isn't
your thing, that's okay.
Yeah, find what is your thingand lean into that.

(41:28):
You know, maybe it's a hat,maybe it's pink hair, maybe it's
blue hair, maybe it's a flower,maybe it's growing your beard
out, you know, maybe it's notwearing pants.
I don't know what your thing is.
Maybe it's fun, funky earringslike those.
Whatever your thing is, do it.

(41:48):
Say yes to it, lean into it, goall in, just push all the chips
in.
And whatever that thing is foryou that sparks a connection,
helps you spark connection withsomeone else, that's your thing.
Do it, do it for yourself, do itfor that other person, is the
people that you're gonna connectwith, and do it for all of us,

(42:10):
for the world, right?
Those moments of connection iswhere the magic is, it's where
the healing is, it's where thelove is.
So if you trust isn't yourthing, that's okay.
If it is your thing, come on, wegot pink socks for you.

SPEAKER_02 (42:24):
Yeah, beautiful.
I love that.
Now, if you all is everyone islistening, go to pink
socks.life.
Uh, that's the website.
You can order socks there.
You can get the book.
Um, you can learn more about themovement.
And the book is also on Amazon,right?

SPEAKER_05 (42:39):
Yes.

SPEAKER_02 (42:39):
Um, but all the proceeds go to the nonprofit, it
goes to the live profit.
And I love that that um youy'all saw I had the book right,
and you're just not buying abook, you are supporting the
mission to spread love andkindness.
So, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike,could you see yourself walking
around Vegas with gifted pinksocks to people, just gifting

(43:03):
pink socks to people?

SPEAKER_00 (43:05):
Oh, yes, I can.
I can wear the pink socks, andbecause I got some orange suit,
shoes, and I got some whiteshorts.
I look a little crazy.
I can't do the cute with you.
I can't do the cute, but I cando some white shorts with the
pink socks.

SPEAKER_05 (43:21):
Definitely tag us on Instagram when you wear your
pink socks so we can see you andcelebrate you.

SPEAKER_02 (43:27):
Yes, I love that.
I love that.
The thing is that any, as theysay, anybody can do this.
You don't have to be a certaintype of person, you just have to
be willing to show up.
So, in the chats right now, youcan just drop me a pink heart in
the chats if you are inspired tojust spread love and kindness in
2026.
Just drop me some hearts.

(43:48):
Can I just want to I just wantto pause for a moment and just
drop me some hearts becausey'all have been very quiet in
here?
I see uh Miss Charmaine havebeen talking.
I can't see in the other onesover here because we closed off
over here, but show some.

SPEAKER_05 (44:00):
Love over here in the chats because I see a lot of
you out there just the thingabout pink socks when you when
you post pictures of of yourselfin your pink socks, your happy
smiley face in your pink socks,wherever you are around the
world, and you tag us onInstagram.
You know, most of social mediais hey, look at me, look at me,

(44:21):
look at how cool I am.
Pink socks is an opportunity foryou to help celebrate someone
other than yourself.

SPEAKER_03 (44:28):
Yes.

SPEAKER_05 (44:28):
Why we want you to tag us because we want to see
you and celebrate you, right?
We want to find you and say,hey, look at her, look at him,
look at what they're doing inthe world in their community
showing up with loving kindness.

SPEAKER_03 (44:41):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (44:42):
We need to find you.
We need to see you and celebrateyou.

SPEAKER_02 (44:45):
Yeah, I love that.
I love remember, y'all.
You know, the one thing is thatI'm if you can't do nothing
else, be able to support andjust love somebody.
These socks right here, when wedo do the giveaway later on
today and throughout the week,when we give you these socks,
we're going to give you twopairs, two pairs, and that's to

(45:07):
gift it to someone else.
Gift it to someone else.
And what we ask that you do isthat you take a picture in the
sock and you hashtag and you tagpink um pink socks.life and also
ask Naomi and put a hashtag inin there.

SPEAKER_05 (45:23):
Probably more important to tag you since
you're because whoever's runningthe algorithms for you, they
know what they're doing.
So all right.

SPEAKER_02 (45:37):
So before we get into the um to let me just say
one thing about that giftingthat's important.

SPEAKER_05 (45:42):
So uh it rarely works to go up to someone who
goes, Oh, I'd love to give youthese.
That doesn't work.
The very first day that you wearyour pink socks, first time you
wear these out, have that secondpair with you in your bag.
And literally, the very firstperson that comments on your

(46:04):
pink socks goes, Oh, I love yoursocks, oh, those are fun, those
are funky, that's cool.
What is it?
Boom.

SPEAKER_03 (46:10):
I love that.

SPEAKER_05 (46:11):
You just found who you're gonna gift your pink
socks to.
And and the way it goes is likethey're like, oh, don't just say
thank you and keep walking.
Say, hey, thanks.
I'm I'm Naomi, what's your name?
And they go, Oh Mike, hey Mike,it's good to see you.
Wait, oh, I think I gotsomething in my bag for you.
And you reach in here, you'relike, these are for you, and
their mind just goes, those arefor me, and like, yeah, they're

(46:31):
for you.
And that's who gets your pair ofpink socks.
That's the gifting magic.
So yeah, it never gets old.
I mean, which is why we providepink socks by the dozens on our
website.
You'll be getting them by thedozens because it's not just
wearing pink socks, we want youto gift pink socks.
That's how this has grown aroundthe world on this ethos of

(46:53):
gifting.
So I promise you you'll have funwith it.
It never gets old, and there'llbe days when you don't have pink
socks or you don't have stickerswith you, and someone's gonna
comment on your stuff and you'regonna go, Oh God, I wish I had
something to give you.
Like, here, just give me a hug.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (47:11):
I love it.
I love it.
All right, so let's do thisbecause I I need to I need to
talk about our sponsors realfast.
I need to talk about oursponsors revibe.
You know, you know, we talkabout connection tonight, about
showing up, about loving more,and that includes intimate
connections with your partner.
You know, We Vibe, WeVibe makeshigh-quality pleasure products,
vibrator couple toys, and designto help you feel more connected,

(47:34):
deeper with your partner.
They got the goal, they got theGod app control options, body
safe materials, already makingpleasure a priority.
So if you are ready to bringmore connection into your
intimate life in 2026, check outRevibe.
The link is in the chat, and itwill also be in show notes.
All right, so y'all ready to goto the to the to the to the

(47:58):
giveaway?

SPEAKER_00 (48:00):
We got a giveaway.
We we know the first person onthe list.

SPEAKER_02 (48:03):
We we know the first person on the list.
We know the first person on thelist.

SPEAKER_00 (48:07):
Yes, that's Charmaine.

SPEAKER_02 (48:09):
That's Miss Charmaine.
Where that little sound at?

SPEAKER_00 (48:12):
Oh, I'm so sorry, Charmaine.

SPEAKER_02 (48:14):
Yeah, he he already he already just gave it out
already.
Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 (48:24):
It was so much interaction the other day.

SPEAKER_02 (48:27):
It was what so much interaction.
Yeah.
All right, so um we're gonna gether information and then
throughout the time, we're gonnago through after the show, we're
gonna go through and lookthrough some more from the other
um the other platforms becausewe got other platforms working
here, and I can't see them all.
I only got a few eyes, and I Ican't see them all.

(48:48):
So we definitely will be lookingat all of that, and um, we will
be DMing everybody then fromthat forward.
So, for you, for Nicholas, doyou have any last words that you
want to say before you um youleave us tonight?

SPEAKER_05 (49:03):
Yes, and so now me and Mike, I'm grateful for both
of you, yes, for letting meshare the pink sock story with
your audience and beyond.
And let's let's remind ourselvesthat we cannot we cannot always
control governments andpolitics, yes, but what we can

(49:27):
control, yeah.
What we can control is how weshow up and interact with each
other one person at a time, onesmile at a time, one pair of
pink socks at a time.
Yeah, let's keep doing that.

SPEAKER_02 (49:44):
Deal, deal, deal.
I love that, I love that.
One more time, tell us wherethey can get the pink socks
from.
Give us, give it, give us, giveit to us, give it all to us.

SPEAKER_05 (49:53):
Come to the website, pink socks.life, pink
socks.life, l-i-f e, right?

SPEAKER_02 (49:59):
L-i-f e.
Yeah, pink socks.
That's P-I-N-K-S, Pink Socks,S-O-C-K-S.life.

SPEAKER_05 (50:08):
Pink like the color, socks like you wear on your
feet, dot life.

SPEAKER_02 (50:12):
Exactly, exactly.
As always, uh, Nick, Nicholas,thank you so much for joining us
here.
It's been an amazing, amazing,and we will talk soon.

SPEAKER_05 (50:22):
We will talk soon anytime.
It's always good to see andshare space with you.
So thank you.
I'm grateful for you.

SPEAKER_02 (50:28):
Thank you.
Have a good one.
All right, have a good one.
Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00 (50:32):
Have a good one.

SPEAKER_02 (50:34):
I want to thank you all for justjoining me here today, here on
Axe Naomi Bridge and the GapPodcast.
You know, I miss you guys somuch.
I really have.
Um, we are set to have um someamazing guests that's coming up
next.
And I'm just so glad that wewere able to just share this
moment with Nick coming on here,you know, um, during this time,

(50:56):
um, and just show up, you know,show up and show out.
I see a lot of you, you know, onhere right now.
I can't see everybody here onthe other platforms, but I want
to thank you all for justshowing up and just just showing
and being here.
Um, Charmaine, thank you forjust being active in this right
here.
That I see you over here.
Um, and everybody else thatshowed up, because I see you

(51:17):
all, but I don't see you knowtoo many of the things because
again, we're not branched out.
Again, and we're back.
Well, we got um in May comingback up.
I'm looking over here.
We got May coming back up, andI'm excited about that uh for
the the love and mental health.
Dr.
Um Will will be back, and weactually have an amazing
comedian that's coming in andjoining that conversation as

(51:39):
well with us too.
Um, and don't forget, I have umTalk to Me Tuesday that is back.
That is back, yes, it is back onTuesday.
Talk to me Tuesday, so make sureyou guys um watch that is always
delivered on on Tuesdays forthat.
And don't forget to check out umthe season of self-love on
Mondays and when uh Mondays andWednesday for Mindset Mondays

(52:01):
and um Wisdom Wednesday, where Ihave amazing guests.
Uh, every month there's a new anew topic, difference.
We all about reclaiming andunashamed this year in 2026.
Um, do you have any last words,um, Dr.
Mike Matt?

SPEAKER_00 (52:14):
No, I'm glad to be back.
Great show.
I'm a little rusty, but I'll getback into it.
And every Thursday we'll see youon X now.

SPEAKER_02 (52:21):
I got that's there it is.
Again, as I always say, be goodto one another in yourselves,
and always keep it sexy.
I'll see you all next week.
Have an amazing, an amazingweekend.

SPEAKER_01 (52:38):
Hey, Instagdess Naomi Banks.
And I hope you enjoyed that lastepisode of Axe Naomi Bridging
the Gap.
And if you did, please like,subscribe, press that
notification button, as well ascomment.
I'll see you next week.
Keep it sexy.

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