December 1, 2025 • 48 mins
Tom Frank, Bun B, and Jeffrey Sledge sit down with Soufiane “Souf” Bernoukh — the mind behind Halal Wrist and one of the most original voices in sports entertainment today.
Souf shares how a childhood full of jokes, a late start in basketball, and the hustle of Division III ball shaped his creative path. He unpacks the creation of his signature trick shot, the midnight hotel-shift videos that ignited his rise, and the Ramadan clip that went viral enough for Drake to reach out.
The conversation dives deeper into identity: how Souf navigates stereotypes, represents Muslim culture on a global stage, and uses comedy and craft to build connection. He discusses the growth of the Halal Wrist brand, lessons from running (and pausing) his restaurant, and the launch of the Helal Wrist Foundation — a mission to build courts, uplift communities, and create opportunity worldwide.
With laughs, honesty, and plenty of basketball analogies, this episode explores how faith, culture, creativity, and brand storytelling come together in one of today’s most unique creator journeys.
Tap in — when the prayers go up, the buckets come down. This is Unglossy.
"Unglossy" is produced and distributed by Merrick Studio and hosted by Bun B, Tom Frank and Jeffrey Sledge. Tune in to hear this thought-provoking discussion on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you catch your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @UnglossyPod to join the conversation and check out all our episodes at https://wearemerrickstudios.com/unglossy-pod.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Last week on Unglossy.
SPEAKER_04 (00:02):
You could imagine just like Bum B performing out
in in front of the crib beforeyou pull up, Snoop outside.
Yeah, Rob McTick just outsideplaying the piano on the, you
know what I'm saying, before youpull up.
Like, that's I wouldn't be madat that.
Yeah, I couldn't be mad at it.
SPEAKER_06 (00:15):
I think what you could do is find out who your
neighbors' favorite artists areand invite them to the porch.
From the top.
SPEAKER_02 (00:29):
I'm Tom Frank.
SPEAKER_05 (00:30):
I'm Jeffrey Slate.
SPEAKER_06 (00:32):
And I'm Buzz D.
Welcome to Ungloss.
SPEAKER_02 (00:34):
Real stories, unfiltered dialogue, and the
voices moving culture beyond thegloss, pipe, and headlines.
So buckle up on Glossy StartsNow.
SPEAKER_06 (00:46):
This is gonna be fun.
This is gonna be fun.
I'm actually a very big fan.
SPEAKER_01 (00:50):
Like it means a lot, man.
You're a legend and you know,coming up, listening to your
music and stuff like that beforelike pregame and basketball.
So it's like it's an honor, youknow.
I love it.
I love it.
SPEAKER_03 (01:02):
This is gonna be fun.
We're gonna start with someother things, though.
First, Bun.
I got some things for you.
Okay.
All right.
So hey, we are back for anotherunglossy.
Hey guys, we got our firstlistener question that came in.
Okay.
And it kind of cracked me up alittle bit.
Really?
So I thought I thought I'd readit to you guys.
It says, and I and I quote, Whyis Tom the only one who's always
(01:25):
wearing Merrick merch?
SPEAKER_05 (01:27):
Yeah, dead ass.
SPEAKER_03 (01:27):
Dead ass.
Where is Bun and Jeffrey stash?
SPEAKER_06 (01:30):
Dead ass.
I don't know.
I cannot answer that questionfor the most of them.
Because Tom has made his merrickgear, and Tom hasn't made
Jeffrey or I our own separatemerrick gear.
But I feel like he should begetting us some shortly.
SPEAKER_02 (01:46):
I believe it'll happen.
SPEAKER_06 (01:48):
It would help us push the line.
Jeff and I were ready to pushthe line.
SPEAKER_05 (01:52):
Yeah.
And I've asked a couple times,like, yo, what am I sure?
He's like, no, no, I'm gonna getyou some.
I'm gonna keep it from the back.
I'm gonna keep putting it back.
SPEAKER_03 (01:59):
I'm gonna go with something.
I thought it was funny thatsomebody noticed that.
And I and you know, I wasthinking Christmas.
Christmas is coming up theholidays.
You know, maybe a nice littleholiday present.
SPEAKER_05 (02:11):
So I'm cool, man.
SPEAKER_06 (02:12):
But it does say that they're a consistent watcher.
If you only watched it once ortwice, you wouldn't probably
wouldn't have picked it up.
But if you watch it week afterweek after week, you're like,
wait a minute.
One of these things is not likethe other.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (02:29):
Nothing.
I do also want to say this.
This will come out the day afterThanksgiving.
So A, I want to say thank you toyou guys.
We've embarked on a littlejourney here together, and I
want to I want to heartfully saythank you to you guys that we we
dove in together to do not onlyUnglossy, but Merrick Studios.
Things are flying high.
We got to say thanks to all ofour hosts, all of our listeners.
SPEAKER_05 (02:51):
Absolutely, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (02:52):
It's been good, and we got, man, we are just
scratching the surface on what'sto come.
SPEAKER_06 (02:57):
Yep.
Yep.
No, no, I think we're gonna havea very, very, very, very
interesting 2026.
We're gonna close out 25 with abang for sure.
Strong.
We got some very, very top-notchtalent, top-notch talent, as
well as some interestingannouncements that hopefully
we'll be able to share with youguys by the end of the year.
But we're very excited about thefuture of not just the studio
(03:19):
and the network, but the levelof talent that we've not only
been bringing, but the level oftalent that we may potentially
be bringing in for next year.
We're super excited about thegrowth potential of this
network, uh, these podcasts thatwe're happy to host.
And you guys, we, you know,we've none of this is possible
without everybody that's tuningin and watching us and
(03:41):
appreciating the work and makingsure that we have the right
t-shirts on for the job.
So thank you.
Thank you all from all of ushere at Merrick Studios here.
SPEAKER_03 (03:51):
And then the one last thing.
Now, Bon, you can you can give alittle tease of this to whatever
degree you want.
But our next show, which will beafter Thanksgiving, is gonna be
a little sneak peek into anannual tradition that you have.
Yes.
Yes, so you can only tell onlywhat you want, but I I think
what you're doing is absolutelyfascinating.
(04:12):
And I can't be, I just I'm soexcited to just even just get a
little glimpse of what's gonnahappen.
SPEAKER_06 (04:17):
I agree.
Well, we've already made like apublic statement about it for
the most part, but but thosethat have been watching and been
a part of it, um, the TrailStatic series, which Static
Collector and myself started umabout four years ago, um, it was
just an experiment, one in timeand two in culture.
So we started an idea that wecould create an album in a day.
(04:44):
And so Static Collector providesall the production.
I do a lot, a considerableamount of the rapping, and then
we bring in different artists,you know what I'm saying?
Guys that many people know, guysthat we're friends of, some guys
that we feel that are on thehorizon of success that we want
to expose to people.
And it allows me as an OG tokind of test my metal against
(05:04):
everybody and kind of showpeople that I still got it.
Um, and so we've done four fouralbums under the Trail Static
title.
This year is about to be TrillStatic 5.
Um, we're gonna do it live fromMiami during Art Basil.
And now that I have thisplatform to present to people
and all the things that I haveinvolved, which these guys are
(05:25):
like, yo, you know, it's alwaysgood to have good interviews and
good guests, but Vun, you gotsome cool stuff too that we
think the American audiencewould be, you know, interested
in seeing.
So we're gonna do a specialunglossy episode live from Trill
Static 5 in the midst of therecording.
The guys are gonna uh get to seeexactly, and we're gonna get to
(05:45):
share exactly how we put ittogether.
It's you know, it's it's amulti-camera thing, so there's
gonna be cameras in differentrooms in different places.
We have some special celebrityguests who are gonna be in the
building actually recording withme at that time, and we're gonna
we're gonna share it with you.
We're gonna share it with youall.
So we'll we'll definitely bemaking announcements on the
(06:08):
episodes leading up to uh TrillStatic, but also the week of.
So if you're not following, makesure you're following Jeff,
following me, and you'redefinitely following on Glossy
and Merrick Studios.
Um, so you'll make sure and getthe update so you'll know
exactly what time to tune in andget to see all the fun.
And I guess I could say this isyou'll get to see how the
sausage gets made.
(06:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (06:29):
Yeah.
Behind the curtain.
Behind the curtain.
SPEAKER_06 (06:31):
I hope I hope for those of you that are fans of
myself and or those of you thatwould just be interested to see
how a hip-hop album gets made,make sure to tune in.
We'll be giving you the theofficial announcements, dates,
and times shortly.
So just stay tuned to us onsocial media.
SPEAKER_03 (06:48):
That's right.
We got some exciting stuff, andtoday we also have some exciting
stuff.
I get to I get to introduce aguy that that I've been a fan of
for a while.
So today's guest is a man whotook mini hoop, a prayer, and a
whole lot of audacity, and builta universe out of it.
We're talking about Sophane.
Let me make sure I get thisright.
(07:09):
So Faini Bruno.
Sofion.
Sofion.
We're talking about SofionBrunk, also known across the
internet as Halal Wrist.
He's a former Furman collegehooper who turned one signature
trick shot into a full-blowncultural lane.
Since then, he's stackedmillions of views, blended humor
(07:29):
with faith, and built a brandthat's somewhere between ESPN
Top 10 and Friday Prayers.
He's a content creator, anentrepreneur, a fashion guy,
dabbled into the restaurantbusiness.
Basically, the only man you knowwho can drop a no-look, reverse,
fadeaway into a mini hoop andserve you a halal mill right
afterwards.
(07:49):
That's it.
What I love about this guy, hedoesn't just fit neatly into a
box.
He's a sports guy, a faith guy,a creator guy.
He decided to do all of them atonce.
And that's exactly the kind ofstory we get excited about on
Unglossy.
Bun, Jeff, buckle up.
Today we're talking culture,identity, hustle, and how you
turned viral magic into reallife empire.
(08:12):
So, welcome to Unglossy.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
Man, that was a appreciate you guys for having
me.
It was a legendary intro.
I'm gonna need that clip too.
You can have that.
Yeah, yeah.
I need some of those lines.
SPEAKER_03 (08:24):
So we gotta start at the beginning here.
You know, before the trickshots.
Like, I, you know, where'd yougrow up?
SPEAKER_01 (08:30):
Where, where, how what role did hoops and faith
play in shaping who you are?
Um, I grew up in Alexandria,Virginia.
Uh my parents are from Morocco.
Uh they came here in like the80s.
Uh, but my brother was born inMorocco.
I was born here in Washington,D.C., uh, but I grew up in the
Alexandria area.
Sure.
Um, and then I went to a schoolcalled Jeb Stewart.
(08:53):
Um it was a it was a schoolmixed with a bunch of, like, we
had so many Muslims there, somany, it's just so many, it was
like a melting pot of differentpeople.
Um, started there, and I startedplaying basketball late.
I played basketball in eighthgrade.
Uh, that's when I really startedtaking it serious.
Uh, tried out for the team.
I was played freshman, then JV,and then varsity for two years.
(09:18):
And before basketball, I wasalways like like the class
clown.
I got actually voted class clownand all that.
So I was always like joking andthings of that nature.
So I already had that in me.
SPEAKER_03 (09:31):
And then you went on to play Division III basketball,
too.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
Yeah, I went, I didn't know where I was, I
didn't get recruited.
Um, so I just picked FarhamCollege.
I went there and I was workingout every day to just, I was
like, yo, I have to make it.
And it was, it was two spotsopen for uh, and it was like 40
people trying out.
Wow.
And it was uh one point guardspot, one center position.
(09:54):
But I was like, I was workingout when people were going to
homecoming and all that.
I was in the gym just putting upjumpers, it's working.
SPEAKER_06 (10:02):
And in this point in your life, there was never any
issues with the representationof your religion and your
adamacy to be successful inathletics.
There was no conflict for familyor anything at that point?
SPEAKER_01 (10:14):
Nah, nah.
I mean, my religion was justlike, you know, it was since I
was born, I was always likeMuslim, and then it I never
really had to mix the twotogether.
You know, sports in Islam isactually encouraged, you know.
Taking care of your body isactually like, is like your your
temple in a sense.
So it's like you taking care ofit is gonna take care of you,
(10:35):
and you're gonna be able to domore things, whether it's like
giving charity back or whateverit is, you can get up and pray,
you can you can do more thingswhen you take care of your body.
SPEAKER_06 (10:45):
So I know sometimes, you know, when culture is
involved, um, as far as thebalance between culture and
religion, specifically withIslam, um growing up in modern
times, you have to be verycareful not to embrace things
that could be seen as haram,right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
For sure, yeah.
Or like doing things that thatyou're around that can be haram,
uh like haram, like um you're inthe wrong setting or m
intermixing with certain thingsand that those like this like
being in sports can can take youtowards.
But uh everything is intention,everything is like what you're
(11:23):
doing it for.
So if you have the rightintention and pure intention,
then it's it's between you andGod that's like um He knows He
knows what you believe and howyou feel.
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_05 (11:34):
Wait, wait, wait, so like you you played point.
SPEAKER_01 (11:37):
I played point guard, yeah, yeah.
It was nice?
I was nice, but I I didn't playthat much, but like uh I was
nice.
I mean, to make college is likeit's a small percentage.
Hey, I think it's great.
SPEAKER_03 (11:49):
And I'll tell you what, we were talking yesterday,
division three basketball to me.
I'm I'm a big division threebasketball fan.
I do a I do a podcast for aDivision III college juniata um
up in Pennsylvania.
And I I spent a lot of time likeyou know watching them play and
everything.
And to me, the differencebetween Division III and
Division I is certainly not theheart.
It's certainly not some of theskill.
(12:10):
Some of it is just God-given.
Like Division I guys are 6'8 andcan jump through a game.
Um, you know, the the theDivision III guys just don't
have some of that God-giventalent, but still work hard,
still have the skills.
And and to me, it's sometimesthe purest form of basketball
because you're not getting agiant scholarship, you're not
getting all this NIL money,you're playing because you love
(12:31):
to play.
SPEAKER_04 (12:32):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_05 (12:33):
Yeah.
So who's sometimes?
No, go, go ahead, go ahead.
I was gonna say who's yourfavorite, who was your favorite
uh point guard, uh, point guardsin uh when you were growing up.
SPEAKER_01 (12:44):
I mean, I used to watch Steve Nash a lot.
Um, I remember he used to dothis like tennis ball, uh
dribbling with the tennis ball.
He used to dribble with thetennis ball, uh Jason Kidd, um
LeBron.
Like I remember his passing.
I used to watch his passing alot.
Um yeah, those those are likethe top point guards that I used
(13:04):
to watch.
Okay.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (13:09):
So I I know a lot of times you do talk about
stereotypes and assumptions.
I mean, how did you face any ofthat in terms of maybe height,
religion, like where you fit in?
Um, you know, how did that playkind of a role?
SPEAKER_01 (13:24):
I mean, I just at the time I used it like it was
like fuel to the fire.
I used it to just, you know, I'mgonna use it to make me better
or I'm gonna prove I'm wrong.
Uh and actually, like after isnow, it's like, you know, comedy
is pain.
So now I use all the com thestuff that I was dealing with
back then.
I use it now in like the comedyvideos and stuff like that.
(13:47):
Like I had like coaches tell me,like, uh, if you want to play,
you'll have a better chance ofnailing jello to the wall.
Um like so many differentthings.
Like they used to even jokeabout like the religion, like
um, so I just took it as fuelfor the fire, but now I'll just
use that to put into like thecomedy or make fun of it, you
(14:08):
know?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (14:09):
I'm curious, like, because it's such a great
mixture of it, I'm curious as towhat did you realize you were
good at first?
Playing basketball or your senseof humor?
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
It was the sense of humor first, because I was
always like the class clown,like joking around.
I like in middle school, I wasalways in detention, getting
people in trouble, like stufflike that.
Like, sneak I was always likedoing pranks, but it just wasn't
social media back then.
SPEAKER_07 (14:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
Because I I graduated in 2009.
And then even in college, whenwe were doing basketball, we
would do like videos, but therewas no, it was like only
Facebook, and the quality washorrible.
So we couldn't really post atthat time, but we we if we had
Instagram back then, we probablywould have gone viral quicker,
but um everything comes in duetime.
(14:59):
Yeah, so it was comedy, thenbasketball.
Got it, got it.
SPEAKER_03 (15:03):
So, so how did it happen?
Like, like you have the kind oflike the signature trick shot,
right?
That I see everywhere.
Like, how does it even start?
Like, what happened first?
Like, what what what's the firstvideo that you put out there?
Or how did it happen?
SPEAKER_01 (15:20):
I mean, I was putting out a lot of videos
before, and then the craziestvideo um was it was like during
Ramadan.
And then I started mixing likethe sayings like when you throw
like a shot up, uh, I wastelling you this yesterday, Tom,
but um, like when you throw ashot from far in basketball, you
call it a prayer.
(15:40):
So then I was like, yo, when theprayers go up, the blessings
come down.
And then I just started talkinglike random.
I was like, yo, that's thathella risk.
And then it just exploded.
Uh bleach report posted it.
Um everybody was ESPNeverywhere.
Then Drake started following me,and the first thing he said to
(16:00):
me was like, Haler Risk is goingcrazy in Calabasas.
So once he once he said HellaRisk, I was like, yo, there's
something.
I went immediately, I got atrademark.
I got it, I got a trademark, Istarted this like our merch.
We just started building off ofthat.
SPEAKER_06 (16:16):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (16:17):
That's the same, same kind of like uh what's
funny is like same as like Buns,kind of like, you know, trill,
trill burger and stuff likethat.
Like, we we built on like hellarisk.
We we knew that that has to fallin the realm of everything.
SPEAKER_06 (16:30):
Whose idea was it to wear the traditional clothing?
Yeah, I was gonna ask that.
SPEAKER_01 (16:35):
So we always had it, like I I have pictures of me
like in high school rocking,like the Koofy.
I always, it was something thatI always like rocked.
Like, and even in in likeMoroccan culture and and Arab
culture a lot, like especiallylike if you go overseas, you see
all the Saudis and like uh theEmirates and stuff like that,
they're all wearing like thobesand stuff, so it's just
(16:58):
something I always wore.
I always like the Kofi, I justwanted to wear something
different, um, like on aday-to-day basis.
Usually a lot of the Muslimsthey'd be wearing that on
Friday.
So I was like, yo, let me juststart wearing it every day, you
know.
SPEAKER_06 (17:11):
Now from a cultural, from a cultural aspect, if we
were to go in predominantlyMuslim countries and we saw
people playing basketball, theywould be dressed as you would be
dressed as they would playgames?
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
No, no, no, no.
Not even on a Friday, not evenon a Friday.
Maybe if they ain't have noclothes or something like that.
SPEAKER_06 (17:32):
So I just want to be clear because I want I want our
audience to understand that thisis a unique thing that you came
up with.
SPEAKER_04 (17:39):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_06 (17:39):
Right?
I don't want it, I don't wantpeople to be confused that maybe
this is a cultural thing, thatyou were just the first to kind
of you know apply social mediato it.
But as far as like giving boys,like giving boys that work in in
that garb, that's all you.
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Yeah, it's like the people be saying, like, I I
gotta I uh I be scoring so quickthat I gotta go to prayer right
after.
SPEAKER_05 (18:06):
It was you and the those um I never got their
names, it was these girls.
Um I think they're familiar.
Yeah, from the Minnesota area,and they were saying they had
the they had the Muslims, butthey were like, ah, yeah.
Behind the back, oh, they werekilling cats.
I was like, yo, you know, yeah,we're like going crazy.
I was like, and I was alwayswondered, would those girls be
(18:27):
able to play on different levelsbecause of their religion and
whether would they be kind ofheld back because they you know
they probably can practicecertain times or can do things,
but they were like they would goto the playground and just
destroy cats, like destroying,yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:41):
Yeah, they had the videos that they were posting,
and Jramad is really cool, likereal close friend.
Um, we made countless like viralvideos together, and she's nice
on the court.
And it was actually funnybecause me and her were the
first people, like back inaround around like between 2017,
2018, you didn't really see alot of Muslim influencers like
(19:02):
that.
And me and her were were likewearing the taw and and the
koofy, and she's wearing the thehijab and stuff like that, and
we were making videos, and Iremember people were like you
didn't see that, and then peoplewere like like trying to see
they were like why is he wearingthis, why is he doing this, and
then it just went viral.
Now you see everybody doing itnow and rocking the clothes, and
(19:26):
more of I I like it because it'slike we kind of pave the way,
it's like you know, yeah, justlike in rap or anything, you're
like the the OG of it in asense, you know.
Yeah, before we move on.
SPEAKER_06 (19:37):
You guys are aware you're ushering in like a new
generation of Muslim, right?
Yeah, not necessarily a newrepresentation of Muslim, let's
say um Muslim representation,right?
Yeah, and and bringing a levelof normalcy to seeing Muslims in
non-traditional places doingtraditional things, you know?
Exactly.
You don't have to compromiseyour religion to do what you do
(20:02):
for a living.
SPEAKER_01 (20:03):
Exactly.
Exactly, exactly.
And that's the the whole thingthat's throughout my life is uh
I'm Muslim, but this is what Ihappen to do.
I I hope I'm a comedian, and itdoesn't compromise because I am
who I am.
SPEAKER_05 (20:18):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, yeah.
Well Bun said exactly what I wasgonna ask.
Like you you opened up the doorsfor like said not being having
to hide your your you know yourlove of your culture and your
religion because like, oh whatthe guy what are they gonna say?
You know, like you guys fullyfully dressed in the in in in
the in the in what you what youwear and the koofies and all
(20:39):
that, but like, but you stilllike she's still getting busy.
SPEAKER_03 (20:45):
And we'll be right back.
SPEAKER_06 (20:47):
Welcome to Merrick Studios, where stories take the
mic and culture comes alive.
SPEAKER_03 (20:51):
We're not just a network, we're a family,
bringing you smart, soulful,unfectured conversations.
SPEAKER_05 (20:56):
And this season, we're bringing the heat, but our
biggest lineup yet.
Whatever you're into, music,sports, business, we got you
covered.
Merrick Studios, where theconversation starts and keeps
going.
SPEAKER_03 (21:08):
Check out our full lineup, including Unglossi with
Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, andmyself, Tom Frank.
Now streaming atwearmeritstudios.com.
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SPEAKER_02 (21:36):
And now, back to the show.
SPEAKER_06 (21:37):
So here's a question I got from as far as basketball
is concerned, right?
I can understand that you were agood basketball player, got a
scholarship, went to DivisionIII school.
All of that makes sense, right?
I can understand the ability.
Obviously, we've seen from menand females, the ability to hoop
in traditional gear is not aproblem.
(21:59):
Here's my question.
Being a division threebasketball player, right?
Shooting under standard heightuh goals does not lend itself to
mini hoop supremacy, right?
So everybody that's really goodin the gym, shooting a
(22:21):
traditional basketball shot, arenot automatically good at mini
hoop basketball.
SPEAKER_05 (22:27):
That's true, man.
SPEAKER_06 (22:28):
How did you develop that very specific skill set?
SPEAKER_01 (22:32):
Very specific, yes.
What's funny is my boy had uhum, he was my uh teammate.
He's actually uh one of mypartners in in the clothing.
His name is Keith Crump.
We used to have uh in his dorm,he used to have like a he used
to have like one of those littlemini hoops, but it was like real
like metals.
It wasn't one of those likeflimsy mini hoops.
(22:54):
And we used to be in there justshooting from far competition,
just shooting, playing games,and then from there I was just
like doing it like I took abreak um from the mini hoop.
It's not like I I made it athing.
So the whole story behind themini hoop is we were trying to
(23:15):
figure out what what we wantedto do, like as far as like
merch.
We didn't want to just doclothing, like uh we want maybe
we released some shorts or someuh shirt.
So we released some uh shorts,and then we were like, yo, let's
do a mini hoop.
Everybody can put it in theirroom, stuff like that.
And we created a mini hoop, weordered about a thousand of
(23:36):
them.
I thought they were gonna flyand sell, but they ended up
sitting.
So I was like, yo, how can wehow can we like like sell these?
And then I was I used to work ata hotel, and then I would check
people in, and I would put backin 10 minutes, lock the door.
This at midnight, it was like Iwas working overnight.
I would lock the door, we go ininside the gym, and we start
(23:59):
shooting scenes like theslow-mo.
And then I come back out, it'slike people lying, knocking at
the door, trying to get in.
I'm like, yo, I'm sorry.
I'm sweated.
Sorry, I just came from thebathroom, this and that.
And then from there, it tookoff.
Uh, maybe like six months, maybeless than six months, I quit my
job, and then we just went headon every day.
(24:21):
I'm like, I started even puttingup jumpers on the mini hoop,
like a real basketball player.
SPEAKER_06 (24:26):
So you're telling me that if you didn't work at a
hotel with a gym, none of thismay have ever happened.
SPEAKER_03 (24:32):
And the ability to say I'll be back in 10 minutes.
SPEAKER_06 (24:37):
Or working the fact that you got to work the night
shift.
SPEAKER_07 (24:40):
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (24:42):
There's another thing that I think is a is
another stroke of genius aboutthis, right?
Beyond the menu, the POV.
That thousand mile stair.
SPEAKER_01 (24:56):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (24:57):
With that POV.
Was it created so that theviewer could feel because I'm
gonna tell you how I feel.
As a viewer, I feel I feel likeyou're dunking on me.
I feel like you're working me,right?
Is that intentional?
SPEAKER_01 (25:11):
Yeah, it's like it's like a faces, it's like nothing
like this is nothing like andit's like you're looking at me
like giving you work is it'slight work.
That's the genius of it, Ithink.
Yeah, because it's not it's it'slike yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_06 (25:26):
And it gives a lot of like I could do this in my
sleep, bro.
SPEAKER_01 (25:29):
Why are you playing with me?
Exactly.
And and you know, the wholething, like I started reading
comments, like when the firstwent viral, people would like
the face, people liked um theshot, they liked different
things, like oh that theystarted realizing just like the
outfits, what are you wearing,the shoes.
So I was like, let me play moreinto that.
(25:49):
And then somebody told methey're like the best con
content you can kind of createis content that you're not
saying a word, but it canconnect with the world because
they just understand it.
You know what I mean?
So that's why like the face,people like the face, anybody
can relate to it, and you know,I just ran with it.
You don't have to speak Englishto understand to get more right,
(26:11):
like exactly, exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (26:13):
I like what you just said there because I hadn't
thought about it like that.
Is there are no words, it's justpure action, and it's that look
that says more than you couldever say with words.
So wait a minute now.
So you quit your job.
This is it, like this is whatyou do.
SPEAKER_01 (26:28):
I said I haven't worked since it's been like
seven years.
SPEAKER_03 (26:31):
Wow, seven years, and you do and and I I okay, you
gotta tell us some of the crazythings you've done.
Because I saw you at um at awizards game, right?
You did a wizards game, I sawyou throw it up to the mascot,
and like tell us some of thecrazy events that you've gotten
the opportunity to do throughthis.
SPEAKER_01 (26:48):
Uh man, we I was in um I was in the babies music
video.
Um we went to uh went to theLakers.
The Lakers game got close withPhil Handy, met some of the
players, uh uh talked to Drake,um, doing this here now, went to
(27:08):
Detroit.
I went to uh uh Atlanta.
A lot of NBA teams uh invitedme.
Just even being able to talk topeople that I grew up watching,
or just you know, people thatyou think they're you can't
reach is is just it's unrealbecause then you're like, wow,
they're actually fans or theylike the videos and they're
watching you the same way you'rea fan of them and you're
(27:30):
watching them.
So it's like it lets you knowthat it's attainable, you can
touch it, it's right there.
SPEAKER_03 (27:36):
What was the interaction with Drake like?
SPEAKER_01 (27:40):
I mean, like he said, he wrote Hilaris uh gone
crazy in Calabasas.
Uh I wrote to him.
I still he said he's down to doa mini hoop video, so I want to
see um how that would be.
Yeah, that'd be dope.
That'd be dope.
Yeah.
We gotta get Drake and Bun.
And then we do the Uptown song.
SPEAKER_06 (27:57):
I love it.
I love it.
Have you met anybody whose gameyou took a lot from?
Have you ever like met your likenumber one NBA basketball
playing idol yet?
And if not, how can we make thathappen for you?
SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
Uh I mean, I I was working with Under Armour for a
little bit, and then I did acommercial.
Uh well, I did like a um uh Iwas promoting Steph's shoes and
then he commented.
So I'd be taking Steph's uhSteph's game with the shooting,
obviously, and stuff like that.
Yeah.
Um Kyrie with the layups.
(28:33):
So I guess hopefully Steph forKyrie.
I mean he's in he's in uhDallas.
SPEAKER_03 (28:37):
So I was gonna say, you got Kyrie right in Texas
there.
SPEAKER_06 (28:41):
I I I got a connection, I got a backdoor
connection to Mr.
Irvin.
I'm gonna see if I can make thathappen for you, my God.
SPEAKER_01 (28:48):
Yeah.
Nah, I appreciate you, brother.
It really means a lot.
That's crazy, man.
Yeah, we we gotta come out thereto Houston and definitely try
out the restaurant and go to agame or something, you know?
SPEAKER_06 (28:58):
No, no, absolutely it.
You know what I'm saying?
And just have you come out andlike, I think people would love
to see you.
Like, you know what I'm saying,just in the city.
I love the fact that this thingis translating from social media
to the real world.
Yeah, yeah.
I do too.
You know what I'm saying?
That legal where do you see thisgrowing to?
Is there anything that uhaspirationally you and your team
(29:20):
are thinking of to try to growthis any more than you currently
have it?
SPEAKER_01 (29:24):
Yeah, um, we actually just came back from
Kenya.
We did uh some humanitarianwork, uh wow, uh working with
the or orphans and raising moneyfor them and and being out there
and seeing them.
A lot of the kids don't knoweven what basketball is.
And they don't have some of themdon't even have shoes or how
(29:45):
they walk, they walk miles in inthe dirt just to get to school.
But they have like the biggestsmile on their face.
So we started um HilarisFoundation.
We just recently got uh ourlicense.
Uh We're trying to do somehumanitarian work where we go
build basketball courts.
And what we do locally is we gofrom like AAU programs or to
(30:09):
schools.
We'll go shoot some mini hoopvideos with them.
They'll do some dunk contests,whatever, you try to give out
some prizes.
And then we sit and we talk tothem and tell them like our
journey.
How like, just because if youdon't make it in basketball, you
can still use basketball as atool to take you somewhere, you
know, further in life.
Because basketball, it taught methe best, uh, it's like the best
(30:30):
analogy for life.
You know, you use all thelessons, the camaraderie, the
teamwork, the hard work, you useit to propel you like for the
future and use those skills thatyou learn.
So that's what we love working.
SPEAKER_06 (30:44):
As a man of African descent, was that intentional
for you to bring that message toAfrica?
SPEAKER_01 (30:49):
Yeah, I want to uh what really sparked um what
really sparked my mind and meand my partner Amon's mind, we
we went with an organizationcalled Giants of Africa not too
long ago.
And they were doing um, theybrought teams from all over
Africa, 18 and under, and to seethat how many kids knew me.
(31:13):
And I didn't know that I had ahuge fan base in Africa, even
though yeah, I'm I'm I'mNorthern African in Morocco.
Um that like people from Ghana,people from Somalia.
It's crazy.
East Africa, and they they knowme.
Yo, I love your videos, thislike I'm like, I have to go back
and give back there becausethat's you know where I'm from
(31:34):
and and and this to see that.
I feel like now people are goinginto like they're shedding light
on Africa, but there's a lotmore work to be done over there.
I love the idea.
SPEAKER_06 (31:46):
I love that idea, man.
It's dope.
SPEAKER_03 (31:48):
It's it's so cool to me that like you know, you're
making these videos on social,but yet you go across the world
and there's so many people.
That I get, I mean, that's thepower of social media.
Like, there's there's a lot ofnegative to it, but there's also
a whole lot of positive to it aswell.
SPEAKER_01 (32:03):
Yeah.
And sports, sports connectpeople, you know?
True.
Yeah, people love sports, andand you know, it's like an
unwritten language.
And you know, even a lot ofthose kids they didn't even know
what basketball was.
When we were setting up the minihoop coming in there, they
didn't even know what it was.
So it's like, I want to go outthere and be able to build a
basketball court and have itthere and leave, leave a legacy,
(32:24):
you know, where we don't takenone of this stuff with us and
it's what we do, you know.
And one of the sayings when evenwhen I was shooting is like when
you give, you always get back.
So that's what I try to, youknow, live my life by.
SPEAKER_05 (32:36):
I want to ask you a little about the uh halal wrist.
Um, I obviously doinghumanitarian stuff.
Um, are you guys is there's readit, do you have a restaurant or
something like that, or a foodspot, something as well?
SPEAKER_01 (32:50):
Yeah, we had a restaurant in DC.
We had it for about three years.
Okay.
It was like chicken over rice,uh uh wings, fries.
Um it was going good, but it'suh I'm sure you can attest to a
bun.
It was it's it's a lot of work.
You know, you gotta be there.
You gotta be there, you gottayou gotta keep track, you know,
(33:11):
the bloodline of the business isdown to the penny.
Gotta keep track of everything,and and it was good.
And I still want to open up therestaurant.
We want to relocate to becauseDC's kind of like the taxes are
high, and um the location wewere at the parking wasn't that
good, so we decided not to renewthe lease, and we're kind of
take we kind of took a breakbecause it was taking so much
(33:34):
out of us.
Um, and we still got like theformula, the recipe.
So we want to when we're ready,we're gonna open it closer to a
more like suitable location.
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
I love the idea.
SPEAKER_06 (33:47):
I love the idea.
I think I cut you off.
Go ahead.
No, you got it, go ahead.
I I love the idea that I thinkthe underlying message of this
is to be yourself.
I come from an entertainmentbackground.
Jeff also comes from anentertainment background, and I
can tell you personally, as arecording artist, trying to
(34:09):
share your art with the world orwhatever it is that you do with
the world, there are gonna becertain things that people will
try to impress upon you that aretaboo and could complicate
connecting with people.
I love the fact that you've likesaid, hold my beer to the whole
philosophy.
You know what I'm saying?
And actually sent a message to anew generation of kids who may
(34:33):
have been raised to, you know, II've I've I've grown up in a
community where certain peoplehave been like, just be quiet,
stay low-key, try to assimilate,try to blend in.
And I love that this newgeneration is like, no, I'm just
gonna be me, right?
And because of social media andthe information age, you can
find more like-minded people.
(34:55):
A lot of those mentalities Ifeel come from that environment,
right?
Where the Muslim community orthe black community or the Latin
community is severelyoutnumbered, right?
So it's like, you know, whenyou're going to the store,
you're going here, be quiet,keep your head down, you know
what I'm saying, and just, youknow, just go through life, try
not to cause any ripples orwhatever.
(35:17):
But your art doesn't go to yourimmediate community, it goes out
to the entire world.
So it allows someone as brave asyou, right, to give this, to
give this a shot to find yourtribe.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
And not have to.
I've I've always been aproponent of people giving them
(35:39):
giving it the shot and notfeeling they need to compromise
anything about themselvesculturally.
You know what I'm saying?
You don't need to, you know, andI'm I just want to be
transparent on here.
You know, I was raised at a timewhere it was like, if, you know,
if you got to call in for a job,try to talk white.
If somebody call about buildingsomething, try to talk white.
Like, try to, you know, and Iunderstand that, I understand
(36:01):
what they meant, right?
Try to sound general.
Try not to sound specific, trynot to pencil yourself into a
particular group of people,right?
But I think in this day and age,people like you who are putting
these things out to theforefront, on its nose, out the
door.
This is who I am, this is what Ilook like.
(36:22):
If you're not rocking with this,you might as well, as they say,
you might as well swipe up,right?
SPEAKER_01 (36:26):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_06 (36:28):
But you've not only found success, I have to believe
that this is inspirational.
You know, as you said, meet kidsaround the world, kids halfway
across the planet, are findingyour content, being empowered,
looking at life in a differentway, bro.
And that's on you, man.
That's on you.
That's on you and Amy.
You guys should feel very proudabout that.
SPEAKER_05 (36:47):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (36:48):
Yeah.
Very proud.
Yeah, I always it's I alwayslike, I don't take it for
granted.
I I I want to be able to leavesomething when when the time is
is done.
Uh, I know that like I told you,you don't take nothing with you.
And uh my whole thing issomebody gave me the advice
before I had OGs and people liketelling me stuff at a time
(37:13):
where, you know, they didn'thave to do that.
So I always that that wassomething when I was brought up,
they instilled in me.
You know, wherever you go,whatever you do, give back.
You know, you got the game givesyou, and and you gotta give it
back.
So that's that's what I want todo.
And from that, we've beenblessed.
(37:33):
Um, we dream, and then ourdreams are bigger, you know?
SPEAKER_04 (37:37):
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (37:38):
So I'm I'm still like I'm wildly intrigued with
the fact that like you left yourjob seven years ago, and this
this is what you do.
Like, what are some tips thatyou would have for other
creators, right?
That are out there that arelike, man, I I love what this
guy's doing.
And, you know, I think a bigpart of it is obviously you've
been you've been authentic toyourself.
(37:58):
But like, what are some othertips for people who are who are
trying to do the same thing andfollow in your footsteps?
SPEAKER_01 (38:04):
Um, I I tell people it's it's ups and downs.
It's a roller coaster ride.
Um, whether you're on the up oryou're on the down, just enjoy
the ride.
Um because a lot of times theythink it's easy or they think
you're, yo, you just did this,you got a whole bunch of money,
you're good, you're set.
But it's not like that, youknow.
Uh you gotta stay consistentwith it every day.
(38:27):
Every day rent is due, you gottapay it, uh, and you gotta put in
that work.
You know what I mean?
So if you don't put in thatwork, is you're not gonna really
get anything out of it.
And there's people just likebasketball, there's somebody out
there working out right now, 6a.m., 5 a.m.
And you gotta just keep going,keep going.
If you really truly believe,you're gonna find a way.
(38:49):
Yeah, that's how I believe.
Like, it doesn't matter what,you'll you'll get it.
Just put in the work.
I agree.
SPEAKER_05 (38:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (38:57):
I agree, I agree.
SPEAKER_03 (38:58):
I mean, five years from now.
What what do you think?
Where are you?
SPEAKER_01 (39:05):
I wanna build Hell I Risk into a global brand.
Um, something that just exceedsbeyond me.
That everybody, everybody caneat, like family is giving back,
it's it's clothing.
You don't even know who I am,maybe in five years, you know,
but you know this brand, HellaRisk, it's like oh people are
wearing the clothing, people arewearing uh there's a foundation
(39:28):
is giving back.
So I think I'm here uh for abigger reason.
I'm just a small uh part that uhthat I'm playing in it, you
know.
SPEAKER_05 (39:40):
Yo, I got a question I want to ask you, and this is
this is like a little off thepath, but uh, you guys got these
pictures behind you um that areamazing.
And I've never had a chance toask um um somebody with a Muslim
faith like what it was like togo to Mecca.
SPEAKER_01 (39:57):
Man, it's it's amazing.
I mean, it's it's like seeingsomewhere the better I can
describe it is like you know,when you somewhere you want to
travel, yeah.
When you travel, it's like it'sliterally it's unbelievable.
You go there and then you seepeople like you see like four
foot eleven Philipp Filipinowomen pushing faith, like
(40:19):
they're just they just believeit's just it's just a it's an
unreal feeling, and and when yougo there, everybody's there for
one goal, um all for the samereason, and it's kind of just
like uh I don't I don't know howto explain it, it's just like an
out-of-body experience, youknow?
Yeah, that's what I've seen.
SPEAKER_05 (40:37):
But from what I've seen, it's gonna be of videos of
people going.
Um it's just like everybody kindof moving to the to the same for
the same purpose.
unknown (40:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (40:50):
Except for whatever part of the world, whatever
gender, whatever doesn't matter.
Everybody's there for that samepurpose.
It seems very powerful.
SPEAKER_01 (40:57):
Yeah, and you you got people who spend their life
savings just to come there,they're they're older and stuff
like that, just to feel thatthey don't know that if you're
you don't know if you're evergonna be back.
It's like making it to thefinals.
You gotta you gotta try to winthe ring now, you don't know
when you're gonna be back.
SPEAKER_06 (41:14):
Yeah, kids.
I I love you find a way to workbasketball into all of your
life.
SPEAKER_01 (41:23):
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
If you look at my if you look atmy phone, I got like thousands.
I write every day.
I'm writing all right, yo, thiswe're gonna do this video, we're
gonna do this, or like I'malways thinking.
That's dope.
That's dope.
SPEAKER_03 (41:35):
Bun, here's my thought on this.
Go for it.
We got we got our guy Nucci in aporch.
SPEAKER_06 (41:41):
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (41:42):
We're gonna have put you in concert on the Nucci's
porch, and then we're gonna allshow up with our guy here, and
he's gotta do one of the youknow, the no look throw with the
three of us guarding them.
I was gonna say, who's he gonnado?
Who gets to work?
SPEAKER_06 (41:56):
We gotta all get to work.
SPEAKER_01 (41:58):
No, no, no.
I gotta get in there.
I gotta do it on Tom andJeffrey, and then I'll throw you
the oop bun, and then you comeback.
All right, bun gets to put itdown.
SPEAKER_05 (42:09):
Yeah, all right, buddy.
I got I gotta get me and Tomgotta get to work, which is
crazy, but all right.
I'll I'll take it.
I'll take it.
I don't I already told him we'llbring some kids out.
SPEAKER_03 (42:19):
I told him my boys, both of them were like, we want
in there.
We will we'll we'll be the guyswho run at them and put us and
put our hands up.
SPEAKER_01 (42:26):
You guys gotta send me y'all address.
I'm gonna send y'all some minihoops.
Ooh.
Oh, that'd be dope.
That'd be dope.
That's a great idea.
SPEAKER_06 (42:34):
Yeah, man.
We need more guests that offergifts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (42:40):
Hey, just out of this show, you're getting a mini
hoop and you're getting a shirt.
I mean, it doesn't seem betterthan that.
I can't I can't be mad at that,my man.
SPEAKER_05 (42:47):
Who's your um who's your your favorite team?
Basketball?
You are you one of those guysthat goes by players and not
team?
SPEAKER_01 (42:53):
Uh I mean, I like the the hometown.
SPEAKER_05 (42:55):
Yeah, Wizards.
SPEAKER_01 (42:57):
It's it's hard to be a Wizards fan.
I'm a Wizards fan too.
I know, but hopefully, you know,like I said, there's you can't
be down for too long.
Right.
You know what I mean?
I've been saying that for a longtime, though.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
I don't know, man, but they'rethey're getting better.
You know, uh the managementcompany too, stuff like that.
Just I'm I'm mad they didn't getCooper Flag.
(43:19):
Oh, me too.
SPEAKER_03 (43:21):
I was so mad that day that Dallas pulls that that
out.
Hey, here's my philosophy onsports right now.
Bun, this is where we'rerelated.
I feel like DC is followingHouston in many ways.
Our football team, right?
Like we had we had a heck of ayear.
Now we're going through thatsophomore slump.
I, even though I told Bun itwasn't gonna happen, it's
(43:43):
happening.
Houston went through the kind ofthe same thing.
Basketball-wise, Houston did agreat job of getting a lot of
young guys in there.
And then they built that teamup.
They made some trades then,brought in some team.
I think we're doing the samething.
We're bringing in all theseyoung guys, giving them
experience, and then at somepoint they're gonna bring in,
you know, some older guys, andthis team's gonna take off, just
(44:06):
the way that Houston's doing.
SPEAKER_06 (44:08):
You know what I would love to do?
Show you how to win a chip.
That's what I would love to dofor you, Tom.
I would love for you.
SPEAKER_03 (44:15):
I want you to lead the way.
SPEAKER_06 (44:16):
I would love for this team to show the wizards a
path, a direct pathway to achip.
SPEAKER_01 (44:23):
Yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah, Houston got a nice teamtoo.
You do.
No, no, no, it's working.
SPEAKER_06 (44:30):
It's it's starting to gel.
You know, um uh coach reallybelieved that KD could fit in
this system.
That's proving to be a truth.
Um he's definitely another formof confidence for the younger
players coming up.
He leads by example.
You know, he's not a big, he'snot a big talker and that type
of shit, but but like he knowshow to get guys fired up, right?
(44:54):
And he knows how to tell guys,okay, it's time to go.
It's time to time to turn it upin this bitch one time.
And uh exactly.
And they can follow suit.
Like, they've got somebody thatshows them what it really means
and looks like to be clutched.
And people aspire to that.
Like, people aspire when youwhen you play with greatness
every day, you aspire to bethat.
You know what I'm saying?
(45:14):
Yeah, you want to save the dayone day like this, step like
that, step back three, right?
SPEAKER_05 (45:20):
And he got two rings, so he's won before, so he
knows what he's talking about.
SPEAKER_06 (45:24):
Yeah, and he's not gonna get too excited or too
worried when things get away.
Give him a give him enough, givehim a you know, four or five
minutes in the fourth, and wecan turn this shit around in his
mind because he's done itmultiple times.
So don't look at the shot clock,don't look at the scoreboard,
follow me.
Like that's what I believe KDbrings to the table.
So yeah, I hope you guys get oneof those.
(45:46):
I hope the one that we got getsus a chip.
You know.
We're looking good, though.
We're looking good.
I think for us to take OKC intotriple overtime with a a team
that hadn't really had muchexperience at all.
Like, by the time we and westill literally don't have a
proper pure point guard.
(46:08):
Let us fix that by all-star andyou gotta say, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah.
The worst is yet to come for therest of the NBA as far as I'm
concerned.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (46:16):
Well, you see what I did here.
I I brought up Houston Sports.
Bun could talk all day aboutHouston Sports.
That's good.
I see what you did here, Tom.
That was me.
Hey, you gotta tell everybodywhere can they find you, where
can they get merch?
Give us give us all your places.
SPEAKER_01 (46:32):
Um, my personal Instagram is sofs underscore
videos, and it's hella wrist.comfor everything, hella wrists
from the merch, mini hoops.
Uh, we got some, there's one ofour hoodies.
We got we got some new clothingabout a drop, some sweatsuits,
um, some hats, stuff like that.
So everything will be on eitherHalite Risk uh IG or uh on the
(46:56):
website.
Just want to say thank you guys.
This is honestly like like amilestone in my life.
It means a lot, and and Iappreciate you guys.
Keep doing what you guys aredoing.
Looking forward to coming backand actually meeting you guys in
person.
Absolutely.
And it's an it's an honor.
And you uh I'm looking forwardto watching you guys continue to
grow.
So I appreciate you guys.
(47:16):
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm ready.
SPEAKER_03 (47:17):
I'm ready for see you throwing up the bun.
SPEAKER_01 (47:20):
You can dunk it on there for that's fine.
What we gotta do, we gotta doone where I'm eating like a
burger in the air and I'm doinga layup.
SPEAKER_05 (47:27):
The chill burger joint.
That's pretty good.
SPEAKER_06 (47:30):
That's why you get it.
That's why you get the bigmoney, my friend.
That's a good one.
That's a good way to end rightthere.
SPEAKER_03 (47:38):
We appreciate you bringing the signature move to
Unglossy today.
SPEAKER_01 (47:42):
Yeah, no, I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_03 (47:43):
People gotta watch, people gotta listen to you.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
Um, thanks for everybody forlistening.
Until next week, you know, leaveus your comments, send us more
questions on the show atInstagram at Unglossypod or
YouTube at Merrick Studios, andspread the word, listeners.
Uh until next week.
I'm Tom Frank.
SPEAKER_06 (48:03):
I'm Jeffrey Splits, and I'm hamburger wrist bun B.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (48:11):
Unglossy is produced and distributed by Merrick
Studios.
Last week on Unglossy.
SPEAKER_04 (00:02):
You could imagine just like Bum B performing out
in in front of the crib beforeyou pull up, Snoop outside.
Yeah, Rob McTick just outsideplaying the piano on the, you
know what I'm saying, before youpull up.
Like, that's I wouldn't be madat that.
Yeah, I couldn't be mad at it.
SPEAKER_06 (00:15):
I think what you could do is find out who your
neighbors' favorite artists areand invite them to the porch.
From the top.
SPEAKER_02 (00:29):
I'm Tom Frank.
SPEAKER_05 (00:30):
I'm Jeffrey Slate.
SPEAKER_06 (00:32):
And I'm Buzz D.
Welcome to Ungloss.
SPEAKER_02 (00:34):
Real stories, unfiltered dialogue, and the
voices moving culture beyond thegloss, pipe, and headlines.
So buckle up on Glossy StartsNow.
SPEAKER_06 (00:46):
This is gonna be fun.
This is gonna be fun.
I'm actually a very big fan.
SPEAKER_01 (00:50):
Like it means a lot, man.
You're a legend and you know,coming up, listening to your
music and stuff like that beforelike pregame and basketball.
So it's like it's an honor, youknow.
I love it.
I love it.
SPEAKER_03 (01:02):
This is gonna be fun.
We're gonna start with someother things, though.
First, Bun.
I got some things for you.
Okay.
All right.
So hey, we are back for anotherunglossy.
Hey guys, we got our firstlistener question that came in.
Okay.
And it kind of cracked me up alittle bit.
Really?
So I thought I thought I'd readit to you guys.
It says, and I and I quote, Whyis Tom the only one who's always
(01:25):
wearing Merrick merch?
SPEAKER_05 (01:27):
Yeah, dead ass.
SPEAKER_03 (01:27):
Dead ass.
Where is Bun and Jeffrey stash?
SPEAKER_06 (01:30):
Dead ass.
I don't know.
I cannot answer that questionfor the most of them.
Because Tom has made his merrickgear, and Tom hasn't made
Jeffrey or I our own separatemerrick gear.
But I feel like he should begetting us some shortly.
SPEAKER_02 (01:46):
I believe it'll happen.
SPEAKER_06 (01:48):
It would help us push the line.
Jeff and I were ready to pushthe line.
SPEAKER_05 (01:52):
Yeah.
And I've asked a couple times,like, yo, what am I sure?
He's like, no, no, I'm gonna getyou some.
I'm gonna keep it from the back.
I'm gonna keep putting it back.
SPEAKER_03 (01:59):
I'm gonna go with something.
I thought it was funny thatsomebody noticed that.
And I and you know, I wasthinking Christmas.
Christmas is coming up theholidays.
You know, maybe a nice littleholiday present.
SPEAKER_05 (02:11):
So I'm cool, man.
SPEAKER_06 (02:12):
But it does say that they're a consistent watcher.
If you only watched it once ortwice, you wouldn't probably
wouldn't have picked it up.
But if you watch it week afterweek after week, you're like,
wait a minute.
One of these things is not likethe other.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (02:29):
Nothing.
I do also want to say this.
This will come out the day afterThanksgiving.
So A, I want to say thank you toyou guys.
We've embarked on a littlejourney here together, and I
want to I want to heartfully saythank you to you guys that we we
dove in together to do not onlyUnglossy, but Merrick Studios.
Things are flying high.
We got to say thanks to all ofour hosts, all of our listeners.
SPEAKER_05 (02:51):
Absolutely, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (02:52):
It's been good, and we got, man, we are just
scratching the surface on what'sto come.
SPEAKER_06 (02:57):
Yep.
Yep.
No, no, I think we're gonna havea very, very, very, very
interesting 2026.
We're gonna close out 25 with abang for sure.
Strong.
We got some very, very top-notchtalent, top-notch talent, as
well as some interestingannouncements that hopefully
we'll be able to share with youguys by the end of the year.
But we're very excited about thefuture of not just the studio
(03:19):
and the network, but the levelof talent that we've not only
been bringing, but the level oftalent that we may potentially
be bringing in for next year.
We're super excited about thegrowth potential of this
network, uh, these podcasts thatwe're happy to host.
And you guys, we, you know,we've none of this is possible
without everybody that's tuningin and watching us and
(03:41):
appreciating the work and makingsure that we have the right
t-shirts on for the job.
So thank you.
Thank you all from all of ushere at Merrick Studios here.
SPEAKER_03 (03:51):
And then the one last thing.
Now, Bon, you can you can give alittle tease of this to whatever
degree you want.
But our next show, which will beafter Thanksgiving, is gonna be
a little sneak peek into anannual tradition that you have.
Yes.
Yes, so you can only tell onlywhat you want, but I I think
what you're doing is absolutelyfascinating.
(04:12):
And I can't be, I just I'm soexcited to just even just get a
little glimpse of what's gonnahappen.
SPEAKER_06 (04:17):
I agree.
Well, we've already made like apublic statement about it for
the most part, but but thosethat have been watching and been
a part of it, um, the TrailStatic series, which Static
Collector and myself started umabout four years ago, um, it was
just an experiment, one in timeand two in culture.
So we started an idea that wecould create an album in a day.
(04:44):
And so Static Collector providesall the production.
I do a lot, a considerableamount of the rapping, and then
we bring in different artists,you know what I'm saying?
Guys that many people know, guysthat we're friends of, some guys
that we feel that are on thehorizon of success that we want
to expose to people.
And it allows me as an OG tokind of test my metal against
(05:04):
everybody and kind of showpeople that I still got it.
Um, and so we've done four fouralbums under the Trail Static
title.
This year is about to be TrillStatic 5.
Um, we're gonna do it live fromMiami during Art Basil.
And now that I have thisplatform to present to people
and all the things that I haveinvolved, which these guys are
(05:25):
like, yo, you know, it's alwaysgood to have good interviews and
good guests, but Vun, you gotsome cool stuff too that we
think the American audiencewould be, you know, interested
in seeing.
So we're gonna do a specialunglossy episode live from Trill
Static 5 in the midst of therecording.
The guys are gonna uh get to seeexactly, and we're gonna get to
(05:45):
share exactly how we put ittogether.
It's you know, it's it's amulti-camera thing, so there's
gonna be cameras in differentrooms in different places.
We have some special celebrityguests who are gonna be in the
building actually recording withme at that time, and we're gonna
we're gonna share it with you.
We're gonna share it with youall.
So we'll we'll definitely bemaking announcements on the
(06:08):
episodes leading up to uh TrillStatic, but also the week of.
So if you're not following, makesure you're following Jeff,
following me, and you'redefinitely following on Glossy
and Merrick Studios.
Um, so you'll make sure and getthe update so you'll know
exactly what time to tune in andget to see all the fun.
And I guess I could say this isyou'll get to see how the
sausage gets made.
(06:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (06:29):
Yeah.
Behind the curtain.
Behind the curtain.
SPEAKER_06 (06:31):
I hope I hope for those of you that are fans of
myself and or those of you thatwould just be interested to see
how a hip-hop album gets made,make sure to tune in.
We'll be giving you the theofficial announcements, dates,
and times shortly.
So just stay tuned to us onsocial media.
SPEAKER_03 (06:48):
That's right.
We got some exciting stuff, andtoday we also have some exciting
stuff.
I get to I get to introduce aguy that that I've been a fan of
for a while.
So today's guest is a man whotook mini hoop, a prayer, and a
whole lot of audacity, and builta universe out of it.
We're talking about Sophane.
Let me make sure I get thisright.
(07:09):
So Faini Bruno.
Sofion.
Sofion.
We're talking about SofionBrunk, also known across the
internet as Halal Wrist.
He's a former Furman collegehooper who turned one signature
trick shot into a full-blowncultural lane.
Since then, he's stackedmillions of views, blended humor
(07:29):
with faith, and built a brandthat's somewhere between ESPN
Top 10 and Friday Prayers.
He's a content creator, anentrepreneur, a fashion guy,
dabbled into the restaurantbusiness.
Basically, the only man you knowwho can drop a no-look, reverse,
fadeaway into a mini hoop andserve you a halal mill right
afterwards.
(07:49):
That's it.
What I love about this guy, hedoesn't just fit neatly into a
box.
He's a sports guy, a faith guy,a creator guy.
He decided to do all of them atonce.
And that's exactly the kind ofstory we get excited about on
Unglossy.
Bun, Jeff, buckle up.
Today we're talking culture,identity, hustle, and how you
turned viral magic into reallife empire.
(08:12):
So, welcome to Unglossy.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
Man, that was a appreciate you guys for having
me.
It was a legendary intro.
I'm gonna need that clip too.
You can have that.
Yeah, yeah.
I need some of those lines.
SPEAKER_03 (08:24):
So we gotta start at the beginning here.
You know, before the trickshots.
Like, I, you know, where'd yougrow up?
SPEAKER_01 (08:30):
Where, where, how what role did hoops and faith
play in shaping who you are?
Um, I grew up in Alexandria,Virginia.
Uh my parents are from Morocco.
Uh they came here in like the80s.
Uh, but my brother was born inMorocco.
I was born here in Washington,D.C., uh, but I grew up in the
Alexandria area.
Sure.
Um, and then I went to a schoolcalled Jeb Stewart.
(08:53):
Um it was a it was a schoolmixed with a bunch of, like, we
had so many Muslims there, somany, it's just so many, it was
like a melting pot of differentpeople.
Um, started there, and I startedplaying basketball late.
I played basketball in eighthgrade.
Uh, that's when I really startedtaking it serious.
Uh, tried out for the team.
I was played freshman, then JV,and then varsity for two years.
(09:18):
And before basketball, I wasalways like like the class
clown.
I got actually voted class clownand all that.
So I was always like joking andthings of that nature.
So I already had that in me.
SPEAKER_03 (09:31):
And then you went on to play Division III basketball,
too.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
Yeah, I went, I didn't know where I was, I
didn't get recruited.
Um, so I just picked FarhamCollege.
I went there and I was workingout every day to just, I was
like, yo, I have to make it.
And it was, it was two spotsopen for uh, and it was like 40
people trying out.
Wow.
And it was uh one point guardspot, one center position.
(09:54):
But I was like, I was workingout when people were going to
homecoming and all that.
I was in the gym just putting upjumpers, it's working.
SPEAKER_06 (10:02):
And in this point in your life, there was never any
issues with the representationof your religion and your
adamacy to be successful inathletics.
There was no conflict for familyor anything at that point?
SPEAKER_01 (10:14):
Nah, nah.
I mean, my religion was justlike, you know, it was since I
was born, I was always likeMuslim, and then it I never
really had to mix the twotogether.
You know, sports in Islam isactually encouraged, you know.
Taking care of your body isactually like, is like your your
temple in a sense.
So it's like you taking care ofit is gonna take care of you,
(10:35):
and you're gonna be able to domore things, whether it's like
giving charity back or whateverit is, you can get up and pray,
you can you can do more thingswhen you take care of your body.
SPEAKER_06 (10:45):
So I know sometimes, you know, when culture is
involved, um, as far as thebalance between culture and
religion, specifically withIslam, um growing up in modern
times, you have to be verycareful not to embrace things
that could be seen as haram,right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
For sure, yeah.
Or like doing things that thatyou're around that can be haram,
uh like haram, like um you're inthe wrong setting or m
intermixing with certain thingsand that those like this like
being in sports can can take youtowards.
But uh everything is intention,everything is like what you're
(11:23):
doing it for.
So if you have the rightintention and pure intention,
then it's it's between you andGod that's like um He knows He
knows what you believe and howyou feel.
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_05 (11:34):
Wait, wait, wait, so like you you played point.
SPEAKER_01 (11:37):
I played point guard, yeah, yeah.
It was nice?
I was nice, but I I didn't playthat much, but like uh I was
nice.
I mean, to make college is likeit's a small percentage.
Hey, I think it's great.
SPEAKER_03 (11:49):
And I'll tell you what, we were talking yesterday,
division three basketball to me.
I'm I'm a big division threebasketball fan.
I do a I do a podcast for aDivision III college juniata um
up in Pennsylvania.
And I I spent a lot of time likeyou know watching them play and
everything.
And to me, the differencebetween Division III and
Division I is certainly not theheart.
It's certainly not some of theskill.
(12:10):
Some of it is just God-given.
Like Division I guys are 6'8 andcan jump through a game.
Um, you know, the the theDivision III guys just don't
have some of that God-giventalent, but still work hard,
still have the skills.
And and to me, it's sometimesthe purest form of basketball
because you're not getting agiant scholarship, you're not
getting all this NIL money,you're playing because you love
(12:31):
to play.
SPEAKER_04 (12:32):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_05 (12:33):
Yeah.
So who's sometimes?
No, go, go ahead, go ahead.
I was gonna say who's yourfavorite, who was your favorite
uh point guard, uh, point guardsin uh when you were growing up.
SPEAKER_01 (12:44):
I mean, I used to watch Steve Nash a lot.
Um, I remember he used to dothis like tennis ball, uh
dribbling with the tennis ball.
He used to dribble with thetennis ball, uh Jason Kidd, um
LeBron.
Like I remember his passing.
I used to watch his passing alot.
Um yeah, those those are likethe top point guards that I used
(13:04):
to watch.
Okay.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (13:09):
So I I know a lot of times you do talk about
stereotypes and assumptions.
I mean, how did you face any ofthat in terms of maybe height,
religion, like where you fit in?
Um, you know, how did that playkind of a role?
SPEAKER_01 (13:24):
I mean, I just at the time I used it like it was
like fuel to the fire.
I used it to just, you know, I'mgonna use it to make me better
or I'm gonna prove I'm wrong.
Uh and actually, like after isnow, it's like, you know, comedy
is pain.
So now I use all the com thestuff that I was dealing with
back then.
I use it now in like the comedyvideos and stuff like that.
(13:47):
Like I had like coaches tell me,like, uh, if you want to play,
you'll have a better chance ofnailing jello to the wall.
Um like so many differentthings.
Like they used to even jokeabout like the religion, like
um, so I just took it as fuelfor the fire, but now I'll just
use that to put into like thecomedy or make fun of it, you
(14:08):
know?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (14:09):
I'm curious, like, because it's such a great
mixture of it, I'm curious as towhat did you realize you were
good at first?
Playing basketball or your senseof humor?
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
It was the sense of humor first, because I was
always like the class clown,like joking around.
I like in middle school, I wasalways in detention, getting
people in trouble, like stufflike that.
Like, sneak I was always likedoing pranks, but it just wasn't
social media back then.
SPEAKER_07 (14:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
Because I I graduated in 2009.
And then even in college, whenwe were doing basketball, we
would do like videos, but therewas no, it was like only
Facebook, and the quality washorrible.
So we couldn't really post atthat time, but we we if we had
Instagram back then, we probablywould have gone viral quicker,
but um everything comes in duetime.
(14:59):
Yeah, so it was comedy, thenbasketball.
Got it, got it.
SPEAKER_03 (15:03):
So, so how did it happen?
Like, like you have the kind oflike the signature trick shot,
right?
That I see everywhere.
Like, how does it even start?
Like, what happened first?
Like, what what what's the firstvideo that you put out there?
Or how did it happen?
SPEAKER_01 (15:20):
I mean, I was putting out a lot of videos
before, and then the craziestvideo um was it was like during
Ramadan.
And then I started mixing likethe sayings like when you throw
like a shot up, uh, I wastelling you this yesterday, Tom,
but um, like when you throw ashot from far in basketball, you
call it a prayer.
(15:40):
So then I was like, yo, when theprayers go up, the blessings
come down.
And then I just started talkinglike random.
I was like, yo, that's thathella risk.
And then it just exploded.
Uh bleach report posted it.
Um everybody was ESPNeverywhere.
Then Drake started following me,and the first thing he said to
(16:00):
me was like, Haler Risk is goingcrazy in Calabasas.
So once he once he said HellaRisk, I was like, yo, there's
something.
I went immediately, I got atrademark.
I got it, I got a trademark, Istarted this like our merch.
We just started building off ofthat.
SPEAKER_06 (16:16):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (16:17):
That's the same, same kind of like uh what's
funny is like same as like Buns,kind of like, you know, trill,
trill burger and stuff likethat.
Like, we we built on like hellarisk.
We we knew that that has to fallin the realm of everything.
SPEAKER_06 (16:30):
Whose idea was it to wear the traditional clothing?
Yeah, I was gonna ask that.
SPEAKER_01 (16:35):
So we always had it, like I I have pictures of me
like in high school rocking,like the Koofy.
I always, it was something thatI always like rocked.
Like, and even in in likeMoroccan culture and and Arab
culture a lot, like especiallylike if you go overseas, you see
all the Saudis and like uh theEmirates and stuff like that,
they're all wearing like thobesand stuff, so it's just
(16:58):
something I always wore.
I always like the Kofi, I justwanted to wear something
different, um, like on aday-to-day basis.
Usually a lot of the Muslimsthey'd be wearing that on
Friday.
So I was like, yo, let me juststart wearing it every day, you
know.
SPEAKER_06 (17:11):
Now from a cultural, from a cultural aspect, if we
were to go in predominantlyMuslim countries and we saw
people playing basketball, theywould be dressed as you would be
dressed as they would playgames?
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
No, no, no, no.
Not even on a Friday, not evenon a Friday.
Maybe if they ain't have noclothes or something like that.
SPEAKER_06 (17:32):
So I just want to be clear because I want I want our
audience to understand that thisis a unique thing that you came
up with.
SPEAKER_04 (17:39):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_06 (17:39):
Right?
I don't want it, I don't wantpeople to be confused that maybe
this is a cultural thing, thatyou were just the first to kind
of you know apply social mediato it.
But as far as like giving boys,like giving boys that work in in
that garb, that's all you.
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Yeah, it's like the people be saying, like, I I
gotta I uh I be scoring so quickthat I gotta go to prayer right
after.
SPEAKER_05 (18:06):
It was you and the those um I never got their
names, it was these girls.
Um I think they're familiar.
Yeah, from the Minnesota area,and they were saying they had
the they had the Muslims, butthey were like, ah, yeah.
Behind the back, oh, they werekilling cats.
I was like, yo, you know, yeah,we're like going crazy.
I was like, and I was alwayswondered, would those girls be
(18:27):
able to play on different levelsbecause of their religion and
whether would they be kind ofheld back because they you know
they probably can practicecertain times or can do things,
but they were like they would goto the playground and just
destroy cats, like destroying,yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:41):
Yeah, they had the videos that they were posting,
and Jramad is really cool, likereal close friend.
Um, we made countless like viralvideos together, and she's nice
on the court.
And it was actually funnybecause me and her were the
first people, like back inaround around like between 2017,
2018, you didn't really see alot of Muslim influencers like
(19:02):
that.
And me and her were were likewearing the taw and and the
koofy, and she's wearing the thehijab and stuff like that, and
we were making videos, and Iremember people were like you
didn't see that, and then peoplewere like like trying to see
they were like why is he wearingthis, why is he doing this, and
then it just went viral.
Now you see everybody doing itnow and rocking the clothes, and
(19:26):
more of I I like it because it'slike we kind of pave the way,
it's like you know, yeah, justlike in rap or anything, you're
like the the OG of it in asense, you know.
Yeah, before we move on.
SPEAKER_06 (19:37):
You guys are aware you're ushering in like a new
generation of Muslim, right?
Yeah, not necessarily a newrepresentation of Muslim, let's
say um Muslim representation,right?
Yeah, and and bringing a levelof normalcy to seeing Muslims in
non-traditional places doingtraditional things, you know?
Exactly.
You don't have to compromiseyour religion to do what you do
(20:02):
for a living.
SPEAKER_01 (20:03):
Exactly.
Exactly, exactly.
And that's the the whole thingthat's throughout my life is uh
I'm Muslim, but this is what Ihappen to do.
I I hope I'm a comedian, and itdoesn't compromise because I am
who I am.
SPEAKER_05 (20:18):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, yeah.
Well Bun said exactly what I wasgonna ask.
Like you you opened up the doorsfor like said not being having
to hide your your you know yourlove of your culture and your
religion because like, oh whatthe guy what are they gonna say?
You know, like you guys fullyfully dressed in the in in in
the in the in what you what youwear and the koofies and all
(20:39):
that, but like, but you stilllike she's still getting busy.
SPEAKER_03 (20:45):
And we'll be right back.
SPEAKER_06 (20:47):
Welcome to Merrick Studios, where stories take the
mic and culture comes alive.
SPEAKER_03 (20:51):
We're not just a network, we're a family,
bringing you smart, soulful,unfectured conversations.
SPEAKER_05 (20:56):
And this season, we're bringing the heat, but our
biggest lineup yet.
Whatever you're into, music,sports, business, we got you
covered.
Merrick Studios, where theconversation starts and keeps
going.
SPEAKER_03 (21:08):
Check out our full lineup, including Unglossi with
Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, andmyself, Tom Frank.
Now streaming atwearmeritstudios.com.
SPEAKER_00 (21:17):
Master the art of lyricism with Pendulum Mink, the
first school for rap.
Learn elite techniques throughimmersive lessons, real world
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This is with MC shopping andskills and glow boldly on the
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Visit pendulummink.com and startyour journey today.
SPEAKER_02 (21:36):
And now, back to the show.
SPEAKER_06 (21:37):
So here's a question I got from as far as basketball
is concerned, right?
I can understand that you were agood basketball player, got a
scholarship, went to DivisionIII school.
All of that makes sense, right?
I can understand the ability.
Obviously, we've seen from menand females, the ability to hoop
in traditional gear is not aproblem.
(21:59):
Here's my question.
Being a division threebasketball player, right?
Shooting under standard heightuh goals does not lend itself to
mini hoop supremacy, right?
So everybody that's really goodin the gym, shooting a
(22:21):
traditional basketball shot, arenot automatically good at mini
hoop basketball.
SPEAKER_05 (22:27):
That's true, man.
SPEAKER_06 (22:28):
How did you develop that very specific skill set?
SPEAKER_01 (22:32):
Very specific, yes.
What's funny is my boy had uhum, he was my uh teammate.
He's actually uh one of mypartners in in the clothing.
His name is Keith Crump.
We used to have uh in his dorm,he used to have like a he used
to have like one of those littlemini hoops, but it was like real
like metals.
It wasn't one of those likeflimsy mini hoops.
(22:54):
And we used to be in there justshooting from far competition,
just shooting, playing games,and then from there I was just
like doing it like I took abreak um from the mini hoop.
It's not like I I made it athing.
So the whole story behind themini hoop is we were trying to
(23:15):
figure out what what we wantedto do, like as far as like
merch.
We didn't want to just doclothing, like uh we want maybe
we released some shorts or someuh shirt.
So we released some uh shorts,and then we were like, yo, let's
do a mini hoop.
Everybody can put it in theirroom, stuff like that.
And we created a mini hoop, weordered about a thousand of
(23:36):
them.
I thought they were gonna flyand sell, but they ended up
sitting.
So I was like, yo, how can wehow can we like like sell these?
And then I was I used to work ata hotel, and then I would check
people in, and I would put backin 10 minutes, lock the door.
This at midnight, it was like Iwas working overnight.
I would lock the door, we go ininside the gym, and we start
(23:59):
shooting scenes like theslow-mo.
And then I come back out, it'slike people lying, knocking at
the door, trying to get in.
I'm like, yo, I'm sorry.
I'm sweated.
Sorry, I just came from thebathroom, this and that.
And then from there, it tookoff.
Uh, maybe like six months, maybeless than six months, I quit my
job, and then we just went headon every day.
(24:21):
I'm like, I started even puttingup jumpers on the mini hoop,
like a real basketball player.
SPEAKER_06 (24:26):
So you're telling me that if you didn't work at a
hotel with a gym, none of thismay have ever happened.
SPEAKER_03 (24:32):
And the ability to say I'll be back in 10 minutes.
SPEAKER_06 (24:37):
Or working the fact that you got to work the night
shift.
SPEAKER_07 (24:40):
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (24:42):
There's another thing that I think is a is
another stroke of genius aboutthis, right?
Beyond the menu, the POV.
That thousand mile stair.
SPEAKER_01 (24:56):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (24:57):
With that POV.
Was it created so that theviewer could feel because I'm
gonna tell you how I feel.
As a viewer, I feel I feel likeyou're dunking on me.
I feel like you're working me,right?
Is that intentional?
SPEAKER_01 (25:11):
Yeah, it's like it's like a faces, it's like nothing
like this is nothing like andit's like you're looking at me
like giving you work is it'slight work.
That's the genius of it, Ithink.
Yeah, because it's not it's it'slike yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_06 (25:26):
And it gives a lot of like I could do this in my
sleep, bro.
SPEAKER_01 (25:29):
Why are you playing with me?
Exactly.
And and you know, the wholething, like I started reading
comments, like when the firstwent viral, people would like
the face, people liked um theshot, they liked different
things, like oh that theystarted realizing just like the
outfits, what are you wearing,the shoes.
So I was like, let me play moreinto that.
(25:49):
And then somebody told methey're like the best con
content you can kind of createis content that you're not
saying a word, but it canconnect with the world because
they just understand it.
You know what I mean?
So that's why like the face,people like the face, anybody
can relate to it, and you know,I just ran with it.
You don't have to speak Englishto understand to get more right,
(26:11):
like exactly, exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (26:13):
I like what you just said there because I hadn't
thought about it like that.
Is there are no words, it's justpure action, and it's that look
that says more than you couldever say with words.
So wait a minute now.
So you quit your job.
This is it, like this is whatyou do.
SPEAKER_01 (26:28):
I said I haven't worked since it's been like
seven years.
SPEAKER_03 (26:31):
Wow, seven years, and you do and and I I okay, you
gotta tell us some of the crazythings you've done.
Because I saw you at um at awizards game, right?
You did a wizards game, I sawyou throw it up to the mascot,
and like tell us some of thecrazy events that you've gotten
the opportunity to do throughthis.
SPEAKER_01 (26:48):
Uh man, we I was in um I was in the babies music
video.
Um we went to uh went to theLakers.
The Lakers game got close withPhil Handy, met some of the
players, uh uh talked to Drake,um, doing this here now, went to
(27:08):
Detroit.
I went to uh uh Atlanta.
A lot of NBA teams uh invitedme.
Just even being able to talk topeople that I grew up watching,
or just you know, people thatyou think they're you can't
reach is is just it's unrealbecause then you're like, wow,
they're actually fans or theylike the videos and they're
watching you the same way you'rea fan of them and you're
(27:30):
watching them.
So it's like it lets you knowthat it's attainable, you can
touch it, it's right there.
SPEAKER_03 (27:36):
What was the interaction with Drake like?
SPEAKER_01 (27:40):
I mean, like he said, he wrote Hilaris uh gone
crazy in Calabasas.
Uh I wrote to him.
I still he said he's down to doa mini hoop video, so I want to
see um how that would be.
Yeah, that'd be dope.
That'd be dope.
Yeah.
We gotta get Drake and Bun.
And then we do the Uptown song.
SPEAKER_06 (27:57):
I love it.
I love it.
Have you met anybody whose gameyou took a lot from?
Have you ever like met your likenumber one NBA basketball
playing idol yet?
And if not, how can we make thathappen for you?
SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
Uh I mean, I I was working with Under Armour for a
little bit, and then I did acommercial.
Uh well, I did like a um uh Iwas promoting Steph's shoes and
then he commented.
So I'd be taking Steph's uhSteph's game with the shooting,
obviously, and stuff like that.
Yeah.
Um Kyrie with the layups.
(28:33):
So I guess hopefully Steph forKyrie.
I mean he's in he's in uhDallas.
SPEAKER_03 (28:37):
So I was gonna say, you got Kyrie right in Texas
there.
SPEAKER_06 (28:41):
I I I got a connection, I got a backdoor
connection to Mr.
Irvin.
I'm gonna see if I can make thathappen for you, my God.
SPEAKER_01 (28:48):
Yeah.
Nah, I appreciate you, brother.
It really means a lot.
That's crazy, man.
Yeah, we we gotta come out thereto Houston and definitely try
out the restaurant and go to agame or something, you know?
SPEAKER_06 (28:58):
No, no, absolutely it.
You know what I'm saying?
And just have you come out andlike, I think people would love
to see you.
Like, you know what I'm saying,just in the city.
I love the fact that this thingis translating from social media
to the real world.
Yeah, yeah.
I do too.
You know what I'm saying?
That legal where do you see thisgrowing to?
Is there anything that uhaspirationally you and your team
(29:20):
are thinking of to try to growthis any more than you currently
have it?
SPEAKER_01 (29:24):
Yeah, um, we actually just came back from
Kenya.
We did uh some humanitarianwork, uh wow, uh working with
the or orphans and raising moneyfor them and and being out there
and seeing them.
A lot of the kids don't knoweven what basketball is.
And they don't have some of themdon't even have shoes or how
(29:45):
they walk, they walk miles in inthe dirt just to get to school.
But they have like the biggestsmile on their face.
So we started um HilarisFoundation.
We just recently got uh ourlicense.
Uh We're trying to do somehumanitarian work where we go
build basketball courts.
And what we do locally is we gofrom like AAU programs or to
(30:09):
schools.
We'll go shoot some mini hoopvideos with them.
They'll do some dunk contests,whatever, you try to give out
some prizes.
And then we sit and we talk tothem and tell them like our
journey.
How like, just because if youdon't make it in basketball, you
can still use basketball as atool to take you somewhere, you
know, further in life.
Because basketball, it taught methe best, uh, it's like the best
(30:30):
analogy for life.
You know, you use all thelessons, the camaraderie, the
teamwork, the hard work, you useit to propel you like for the
future and use those skills thatyou learn.
So that's what we love working.
SPEAKER_06 (30:44):
As a man of African descent, was that intentional
for you to bring that message toAfrica?
SPEAKER_01 (30:49):
Yeah, I want to uh what really sparked um what
really sparked my mind and meand my partner Amon's mind, we
we went with an organizationcalled Giants of Africa not too
long ago.
And they were doing um, theybrought teams from all over
Africa, 18 and under, and to seethat how many kids knew me.
(31:13):
And I didn't know that I had ahuge fan base in Africa, even
though yeah, I'm I'm I'mNorthern African in Morocco.
Um that like people from Ghana,people from Somalia.
It's crazy.
East Africa, and they they knowme.
Yo, I love your videos, thislike I'm like, I have to go back
and give back there becausethat's you know where I'm from
(31:34):
and and and this to see that.
I feel like now people are goinginto like they're shedding light
on Africa, but there's a lotmore work to be done over there.
I love the idea.
SPEAKER_06 (31:46):
I love that idea, man.
It's dope.
SPEAKER_03 (31:48):
It's it's so cool to me that like you know, you're
making these videos on social,but yet you go across the world
and there's so many people.
That I get, I mean, that's thepower of social media.
Like, there's there's a lot ofnegative to it, but there's also
a whole lot of positive to it aswell.
SPEAKER_01 (32:03):
Yeah.
And sports, sports connectpeople, you know?
True.
Yeah, people love sports, andand you know, it's like an
unwritten language.
And you know, even a lot ofthose kids they didn't even know
what basketball was.
When we were setting up the minihoop coming in there, they
didn't even know what it was.
So it's like, I want to go outthere and be able to build a
basketball court and have itthere and leave, leave a legacy,
(32:24):
you know, where we don't takenone of this stuff with us and
it's what we do, you know.
And one of the sayings when evenwhen I was shooting is like when
you give, you always get back.
So that's what I try to, youknow, live my life by.
SPEAKER_05 (32:36):
I want to ask you a little about the uh halal wrist.
Um, I obviously doinghumanitarian stuff.
Um, are you guys is there's readit, do you have a restaurant or
something like that, or a foodspot, something as well?
SPEAKER_01 (32:50):
Yeah, we had a restaurant in DC.
We had it for about three years.
Okay.
It was like chicken over rice,uh uh wings, fries.
Um it was going good, but it'suh I'm sure you can attest to a
bun.
It was it's it's a lot of work.
You know, you gotta be there.
You gotta be there, you gottayou gotta keep track, you know,
(33:11):
the bloodline of the business isdown to the penny.
Gotta keep track of everything,and and it was good.
And I still want to open up therestaurant.
We want to relocate to becauseDC's kind of like the taxes are
high, and um the location wewere at the parking wasn't that
good, so we decided not to renewthe lease, and we're kind of
take we kind of took a breakbecause it was taking so much
(33:34):
out of us.
Um, and we still got like theformula, the recipe.
So we want to when we're ready,we're gonna open it closer to a
more like suitable location.
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
I love the idea.
SPEAKER_06 (33:47):
I love the idea.
I think I cut you off.
Go ahead.
No, you got it, go ahead.
I I love the idea that I thinkthe underlying message of this
is to be yourself.
I come from an entertainmentbackground.
Jeff also comes from anentertainment background, and I
can tell you personally, as arecording artist, trying to
(34:09):
share your art with the world orwhatever it is that you do with
the world, there are gonna becertain things that people will
try to impress upon you that aretaboo and could complicate
connecting with people.
I love the fact that you've likesaid, hold my beer to the whole
philosophy.
You know what I'm saying?
And actually sent a message to anew generation of kids who may
(34:33):
have been raised to, you know, II've I've I've grown up in a
community where certain peoplehave been like, just be quiet,
stay low-key, try to assimilate,try to blend in.
And I love that this newgeneration is like, no, I'm just
gonna be me, right?
And because of social media andthe information age, you can
find more like-minded people.
(34:55):
A lot of those mentalities Ifeel come from that environment,
right?
Where the Muslim community orthe black community or the Latin
community is severelyoutnumbered, right?
So it's like, you know, whenyou're going to the store,
you're going here, be quiet,keep your head down, you know
what I'm saying, and just, youknow, just go through life, try
not to cause any ripples orwhatever.
(35:17):
But your art doesn't go to yourimmediate community, it goes out
to the entire world.
So it allows someone as brave asyou, right, to give this, to
give this a shot to find yourtribe.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
And not have to.
I've I've always been aproponent of people giving them
(35:39):
giving it the shot and notfeeling they need to compromise
anything about themselvesculturally.
You know what I'm saying?
You don't need to, you know, andI'm I just want to be
transparent on here.
You know, I was raised at a timewhere it was like, if, you know,
if you got to call in for a job,try to talk white.
If somebody call about buildingsomething, try to talk white.
Like, try to, you know, and Iunderstand that, I understand
(36:01):
what they meant, right?
Try to sound general.
Try not to sound specific, trynot to pencil yourself into a
particular group of people,right?
But I think in this day and age,people like you who are putting
these things out to theforefront, on its nose, out the
door.
This is who I am, this is what Ilook like.
(36:22):
If you're not rocking with this,you might as well, as they say,
you might as well swipe up,right?
SPEAKER_01 (36:26):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_06 (36:28):
But you've not only found success, I have to believe
that this is inspirational.
You know, as you said, meet kidsaround the world, kids halfway
across the planet, are findingyour content, being empowered,
looking at life in a differentway, bro.
And that's on you, man.
That's on you.
That's on you and Amy.
You guys should feel very proudabout that.
SPEAKER_05 (36:47):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (36:48):
Yeah.
Very proud.
Yeah, I always it's I alwayslike, I don't take it for
granted.
I I I want to be able to leavesomething when when the time is
is done.
Uh, I know that like I told you,you don't take nothing with you.
And uh my whole thing issomebody gave me the advice
before I had OGs and people liketelling me stuff at a time
(37:13):
where, you know, they didn'thave to do that.
So I always that that wassomething when I was brought up,
they instilled in me.
You know, wherever you go,whatever you do, give back.
You know, you got the game givesyou, and and you gotta give it
back.
So that's that's what I want todo.
And from that, we've beenblessed.
(37:33):
Um, we dream, and then ourdreams are bigger, you know?
SPEAKER_04 (37:37):
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (37:38):
So I'm I'm still like I'm wildly intrigued with
the fact that like you left yourjob seven years ago, and this
this is what you do.
Like, what are some tips thatyou would have for other
creators, right?
That are out there that arelike, man, I I love what this
guy's doing.
And, you know, I think a bigpart of it is obviously you've
been you've been authentic toyourself.
(37:58):
But like, what are some othertips for people who are who are
trying to do the same thing andfollow in your footsteps?
SPEAKER_01 (38:04):
Um, I I tell people it's it's ups and downs.
It's a roller coaster ride.
Um, whether you're on the up oryou're on the down, just enjoy
the ride.
Um because a lot of times theythink it's easy or they think
you're, yo, you just did this,you got a whole bunch of money,
you're good, you're set.
But it's not like that, youknow.
Uh you gotta stay consistentwith it every day.
(38:27):
Every day rent is due, you gottapay it, uh, and you gotta put in
that work.
You know what I mean?
So if you don't put in thatwork, is you're not gonna really
get anything out of it.
And there's people just likebasketball, there's somebody out
there working out right now, 6a.m., 5 a.m.
And you gotta just keep going,keep going.
If you really truly believe,you're gonna find a way.
(38:49):
Yeah, that's how I believe.
Like, it doesn't matter what,you'll you'll get it.
Just put in the work.
I agree.
SPEAKER_05 (38:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (38:57):
I agree, I agree.
SPEAKER_03 (38:58):
I mean, five years from now.
What what do you think?
Where are you?
SPEAKER_01 (39:05):
I wanna build Hell I Risk into a global brand.
Um, something that just exceedsbeyond me.
That everybody, everybody caneat, like family is giving back,
it's it's clothing.
You don't even know who I am,maybe in five years, you know,
but you know this brand, HellaRisk, it's like oh people are
wearing the clothing, people arewearing uh there's a foundation
(39:28):
is giving back.
So I think I'm here uh for abigger reason.
I'm just a small uh part that uhthat I'm playing in it, you
know.
SPEAKER_05 (39:40):
Yo, I got a question I want to ask you, and this is
this is like a little off thepath, but uh, you guys got these
pictures behind you um that areamazing.
And I've never had a chance toask um um somebody with a Muslim
faith like what it was like togo to Mecca.
SPEAKER_01 (39:57):
Man, it's it's amazing.
I mean, it's it's like seeingsomewhere the better I can
describe it is like you know,when you somewhere you want to
travel, yeah.
When you travel, it's like it'sliterally it's unbelievable.
You go there and then you seepeople like you see like four
foot eleven Philipp Filipinowomen pushing faith, like
(40:19):
they're just they just believeit's just it's just a it's an
unreal feeling, and and when yougo there, everybody's there for
one goal, um all for the samereason, and it's kind of just
like uh I don't I don't know howto explain it, it's just like an
out-of-body experience, youknow?
Yeah, that's what I've seen.
SPEAKER_05 (40:37):
But from what I've seen, it's gonna be of videos of
people going.
Um it's just like everybody kindof moving to the to the same for
the same purpose.
unknown (40:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (40:50):
Except for whatever part of the world, whatever
gender, whatever doesn't matter.
Everybody's there for that samepurpose.
It seems very powerful.
SPEAKER_01 (40:57):
Yeah, and you you got people who spend their life
savings just to come there,they're they're older and stuff
like that, just to feel thatthey don't know that if you're
you don't know if you're evergonna be back.
It's like making it to thefinals.
You gotta you gotta try to winthe ring now, you don't know
when you're gonna be back.
SPEAKER_06 (41:14):
Yeah, kids.
I I love you find a way to workbasketball into all of your
life.
SPEAKER_01 (41:23):
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
If you look at my if you look atmy phone, I got like thousands.
I write every day.
I'm writing all right, yo, thiswe're gonna do this video, we're
gonna do this, or like I'malways thinking.
That's dope.
That's dope.
SPEAKER_03 (41:35):
Bun, here's my thought on this.
Go for it.
We got we got our guy Nucci in aporch.
SPEAKER_06 (41:41):
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (41:42):
We're gonna have put you in concert on the Nucci's
porch, and then we're gonna allshow up with our guy here, and
he's gotta do one of the youknow, the no look throw with the
three of us guarding them.
I was gonna say, who's he gonnado?
Who gets to work?
SPEAKER_06 (41:56):
We gotta all get to work.
SPEAKER_01 (41:58):
No, no, no.
I gotta get in there.
I gotta do it on Tom andJeffrey, and then I'll throw you
the oop bun, and then you comeback.
All right, bun gets to put itdown.
SPEAKER_05 (42:09):
Yeah, all right, buddy.
I got I gotta get me and Tomgotta get to work, which is
crazy, but all right.
I'll I'll take it.
I'll take it.
I don't I already told him we'llbring some kids out.
SPEAKER_03 (42:19):
I told him my boys, both of them were like, we want
in there.
We will we'll we'll be the guyswho run at them and put us and
put our hands up.
SPEAKER_01 (42:26):
You guys gotta send me y'all address.
I'm gonna send y'all some minihoops.
Ooh.
Oh, that'd be dope.
That'd be dope.
That's a great idea.
SPEAKER_06 (42:34):
Yeah, man.
We need more guests that offergifts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (42:40):
Hey, just out of this show, you're getting a mini
hoop and you're getting a shirt.
I mean, it doesn't seem betterthan that.
I can't I can't be mad at that,my man.
SPEAKER_05 (42:47):
Who's your um who's your your favorite team?
Basketball?
You are you one of those guysthat goes by players and not
team?
SPEAKER_01 (42:53):
Uh I mean, I like the the hometown.
SPEAKER_05 (42:55):
Yeah, Wizards.
SPEAKER_01 (42:57):
It's it's hard to be a Wizards fan.
I'm a Wizards fan too.
I know, but hopefully, you know,like I said, there's you can't
be down for too long.
Right.
You know what I mean?
I've been saying that for a longtime, though.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
I don't know, man, but they'rethey're getting better.
You know, uh the managementcompany too, stuff like that.
Just I'm I'm mad they didn't getCooper Flag.
(43:19):
Oh, me too.
SPEAKER_03 (43:21):
I was so mad that day that Dallas pulls that that
out.
Hey, here's my philosophy onsports right now.
Bun, this is where we'rerelated.
I feel like DC is followingHouston in many ways.
Our football team, right?
Like we had we had a heck of ayear.
Now we're going through thatsophomore slump.
I, even though I told Bun itwasn't gonna happen, it's
(43:43):
happening.
Houston went through the kind ofthe same thing.
Basketball-wise, Houston did agreat job of getting a lot of
young guys in there.
And then they built that teamup.
They made some trades then,brought in some team.
I think we're doing the samething.
We're bringing in all theseyoung guys, giving them
experience, and then at somepoint they're gonna bring in,
you know, some older guys, andthis team's gonna take off, just
(44:06):
the way that Houston's doing.
SPEAKER_06 (44:08):
You know what I would love to do?
Show you how to win a chip.
That's what I would love to dofor you, Tom.
I would love for you.
SPEAKER_03 (44:15):
I want you to lead the way.
SPEAKER_06 (44:16):
I would love for this team to show the wizards a
path, a direct pathway to achip.
SPEAKER_01 (44:23):
Yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah, Houston got a nice teamtoo.
You do.
No, no, no, it's working.
SPEAKER_06 (44:30):
It's it's starting to gel.
You know, um uh coach reallybelieved that KD could fit in
this system.
That's proving to be a truth.
Um he's definitely another formof confidence for the younger
players coming up.
He leads by example.
You know, he's not a big, he'snot a big talker and that type
of shit, but but like he knowshow to get guys fired up, right?
(44:54):
And he knows how to tell guys,okay, it's time to go.
It's time to time to turn it upin this bitch one time.
And uh exactly.
And they can follow suit.
Like, they've got somebody thatshows them what it really means
and looks like to be clutched.
And people aspire to that.
Like, people aspire when youwhen you play with greatness
every day, you aspire to bethat.
You know what I'm saying?
(45:14):
Yeah, you want to save the dayone day like this, step like
that, step back three, right?
SPEAKER_05 (45:20):
And he got two rings, so he's won before, so he
knows what he's talking about.
SPEAKER_06 (45:24):
Yeah, and he's not gonna get too excited or too
worried when things get away.
Give him a give him enough, givehim a you know, four or five
minutes in the fourth, and wecan turn this shit around in his
mind because he's done itmultiple times.
So don't look at the shot clock,don't look at the scoreboard,
follow me.
Like that's what I believe KDbrings to the table.
So yeah, I hope you guys get oneof those.
(45:46):
I hope the one that we got getsus a chip.
You know.
We're looking good, though.
We're looking good.
I think for us to take OKC intotriple overtime with a a team
that hadn't really had muchexperience at all.
Like, by the time we and westill literally don't have a
proper pure point guard.
(46:08):
Let us fix that by all-star andyou gotta say, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah.
The worst is yet to come for therest of the NBA as far as I'm
concerned.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (46:16):
Well, you see what I did here.
I I brought up Houston Sports.
Bun could talk all day aboutHouston Sports.
That's good.
I see what you did here, Tom.
That was me.
Hey, you gotta tell everybodywhere can they find you, where
can they get merch?
Give us give us all your places.
SPEAKER_01 (46:32):
Um, my personal Instagram is sofs underscore
videos, and it's hella wrist.comfor everything, hella wrists
from the merch, mini hoops.
Uh, we got some, there's one ofour hoodies.
We got we got some new clothingabout a drop, some sweatsuits,
um, some hats, stuff like that.
So everything will be on eitherHalite Risk uh IG or uh on the
(46:56):
website.
Just want to say thank you guys.
This is honestly like like amilestone in my life.
It means a lot, and and Iappreciate you guys.
Keep doing what you guys aredoing.
Looking forward to coming backand actually meeting you guys in
person.
Absolutely.
And it's an it's an honor.
And you uh I'm looking forwardto watching you guys continue to
grow.
So I appreciate you guys.
(47:16):
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm ready.
SPEAKER_03 (47:17):
I'm ready for see you throwing up the bun.
SPEAKER_01 (47:20):
You can dunk it on there for that's fine.
What we gotta do, we gotta doone where I'm eating like a
burger in the air and I'm doinga layup.
SPEAKER_05 (47:27):
The chill burger joint.
That's pretty good.
SPEAKER_06 (47:30):
That's why you get it.
That's why you get the bigmoney, my friend.
That's a good one.
That's a good way to end rightthere.
SPEAKER_03 (47:38):
We appreciate you bringing the signature move to
Unglossy today.
SPEAKER_01 (47:42):
Yeah, no, I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_03 (47:43):
People gotta watch, people gotta listen to you.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
Um, thanks for everybody forlistening.
Until next week, you know, leaveus your comments, send us more
questions on the show atInstagram at Unglossypod or
YouTube at Merrick Studios, andspread the word, listeners.
Uh until next week.
I'm Tom Frank.
SPEAKER_06 (48:03):
I'm Jeffrey Splits, and I'm hamburger wrist bun B.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (48:11):
Unglossy is produced and distributed by Merrick
Studios.
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