Troy White: World's Worst Bank Teller to Marketing Trailblazer

What if your worst job became the catalyst for a legendary career in global marketing? Join us as we unravel the incredible journey of Troy White, who went from being dubbed the worst bank teller in Pennsylvania to a trailblazer in lifestyle marketing. Discover the secrets behind this HOWARD grad's astounding accomplishments, such as his pivotal role at SONY Music and his groundbreaking work in the music industry during the transformative 80s and 90s. With stories featuring music icons like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Sade, Troy paints a vivid picture of how culture and branding come together to create magic.

Our conversation with Troy takes an awe-inspiring turn as we navigate his entrepreneurial ventures. He shares candid insights into the birth of WYTEHOUSE Marketing and the strategic genius behind political campaigns for notable figures like Mayor Bloomberg and Barack Obama. Troy's innovative approach to marketing in diverse cultural landscapes, from Harlem to Nairobi, illuminates the transformative power of community engagement. Through his experiences, we explore how personal growth and adaptability can lead to monumental success in the ever-evolving world of marketing.

As Troy takes us from the bustling streets of New York to the energetic vibes of Nairobi, he imparts invaluable lessons on the importance of understanding cultural nuances. His passion for coaching and community involvement shines through, especially in his work with basketball programs for underprivileged youth. Troy's tales of international travel and cultural bridging are enriched by his humor and humility, offering a captivating narrative that celebrates the evolution of marketing and the boundless potential of virtual and augmented reality. Tune in for a laughter-filled, insightful episode that promises to inspire and entertain. Plus learn more about Troy’s upcoming Homecoming Kenya Trip 2025.

"Unglossy: Decoding Brand in Culture," is produced and distributed by Merrick Creative and hosted by Merrick Chief Creative Officer, Tom Frank, hip hop artist and founder of Pendulum Ink, Mickey Factz, and music industry veteran, 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 support the show at https://unglossypod.buzzsprout.com/

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Episode Transcript

TOM (00:00):
This week on Unglassy.

JEFFREY (00:02):
And what was the first big contract you had?

TROY (00:03):
It was Dannon Yogurt.

TOM (00:07):
How did you get Dannon Yogurt, so you're out on your
own for the first time, whiteHouse marketing.
And how did you land Dan andYogurt, the beautiful?

TROY (00:14):
thing about going to the Mecca is that when you go to the
Mecca everyone gets dispersedafter you graduate All these
very important places.
So you have connections, likethe white boys do when they go
to Harvard, yale or Princeton.
You know so.
I had a Howard friend was likeyo, troy, we want more black

(00:37):
people to eat yogurt.
I was like yo, I could do thatFrom the top.

TOM (00:43):
I'm Tom Frank.
I could do that From the top.
Yeah, I'm.

MICKEY (00:46):
Tom Frank, I'm Mickey Factz.

JEFFREY (00:49):
And I'm Jeffrey Sledge.

TOM (00:50):
Welcome to Unglossy decoding brand and culture.
I'm Tom Frank, partner andchief creative officer at Merit
Creative.
This is Mickey Factz, hip-hopartist and founder and CEO of
Pendulum Inc.
And that is Jeffrey Sledge, aseasoned music industry veteran
who has worked with some of thebiggest artists in the business.
We're here to explore themoments of vulnerability,
pivotal decisions and creativesparks that fuel the

(01:11):
relationship between brand andculture.
Get ready for athought-provoking journey into
the heart and soul of brandingthe unscripted, unfiltered and
truly unglossy truth.
Hello, hello, fellas.
Hey, it's been a minute sincewe've done a recording.
We took a little vacation.
We're back.

JEFFREY (01:29):
Yeah, we're back.

TOM (01:31):
We got some.
We're heading here into theholidays.
A lot of fun going on.

JEFFREY (01:36):
Happy holidays.

TOM (01:37):
Mickey Mickey's launching his new Pendulum Inc.
It's Mickey.

JEFFREY (01:41):
He's lit, he's lit.

TOM (01:43):
We got lots going on here, but we had a very interesting
guest on today.
I had no idea where this wasgoing to go Me neither but where
it went was very good and veryentertaining Very.

JEFFREY (01:56):
Yeah.

TOM (01:57):
We had Troy White, who you've known for a long time.

JEFFREY (01:59):
Yeah, for a long time.

TOM (02:00):
When did you guys first meet again?

MICKEY (02:02):
He did say we met in 90.
That's 34 years.

TOM (02:08):
34 years, mickey was barely out of diapers at that point.

JEFFREY (02:11):
Yeah, mickey was like in PS whatever.
I was eight years old, crazy, Iwas watching like Tiny Toons.
He was watching Tiny Toons.

MICKEY (02:22):
Tiny Toons.

TOM (02:25):
Tiny Toons was lit tunes, tiny tunes, tiny tunes.
I got, we got a lot of justfrom what I heard.
I I dropped my notes down as wego.
I got a million differenttitles for this, uh, for this
episode.
I'm gonna run a few by you guysokay we got episode title one
young cat stuck in cleveland.

MICKEY (02:43):
That was one good one.

TOM (02:45):
Okay, all right, best marketers in the world come from
the music industry.
That's a long title.
That's a long title.
Maybe these are more.

JEFFREY (02:56):
I think this should be Wakanda forever.
Well, that's a good one too.

MICKEY (03:03):
I like Ali, stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

JEFFREY (03:07):
Oh yeah.

MICKEY (03:07):
That was a crazy story.
That's a wild story.
B and you know we asked himabout-.
That's pretty good, that'spretty good.
We asked him about Sade, and hejust showed us a painting.

JEFFREY (03:16):
We just saw a painting.
Yeah, he said she was mad cool.

TOM (03:19):
And I kind of liked his story about he's the worst bank
teller in Pennsylvania, yeah.

JEFFREY (03:24):
Yeah, yeah, pennsylvania history.

TOM (03:26):
Yes, wow, it's a good one.

JEFFREY (03:29):
It's a real good one.
It's a good one.

TOM (03:30):
This will probably come out right around the holidays,
around Christmas.
So Merry Christmas to everyone.
Happy holidays.

MICKEY (03:36):
I'll gift to you.
I'll gift to you.

TOM (03:37):
We're going to be back next year, big and better.

JEFFREY (03:40):
Blasting.

TOM (03:48):
Blasting, blasting.
All right, with that, let'sdive into a wild conversation
with the one and only I believeI called him legendary Troy
White.
Troy White, unglossy is broughtto you by Merrick Creative,
looking to skyrocket yourbusiness's visibility and drive
growth.
At Merrick Creative, we solveyour brand and marketing woes
With big ideas, decades ofexperience and innovative
solutions.
We'll draw in your targetaudience and keep them hooked.

(04:09):
Remember, creativity is key tosuccess.
Partner with Merit Creative andunlock your brand's potential.
Learn more at meritcreativecom.
And now back to the show.
On this episode of Unglossy,we're joined by the legendary
how do you like that?
Legendary?
Troy White, a Philadelphianative I love Philly Howard

(04:30):
University graduate who's beenshaping the world of lifestyle
marketing for over 30 years.
Troy's career is a masterclassin cultural impact, from leading
marketing efforts for SonyMusic and working with icons
like Michael Jackson, sade,snoop Dogg, to founding White

(04:51):
House Marketing, a Harlem-basedagency whose client roster reads
like a who's who of globalbrands, from Adidas to Obama.
Troy's journey didn't stopthere.
In 2015, he took his expertiseacross the globe to Nairobi,
where he's been drivinginnovation as the Senior
Creative and Event director forAfrica's largest experiential
agency, exp.
From sneakers to spirits,street teams to presidential
campaigns.
Troy's career has redefinedwhat it means to connect brands

(05:13):
with culture.
Welcome the legendary TroyWhite.

TROY (05:19):
I need to carry you around .

TOM (05:21):
I'll just walk around with you and I'll introduce you when
you walk in the rooms.

MICKEY (05:24):
That's what I do.

JEFFREY (05:26):
Don't gas him up like that, bro.
Come on, chill out.

MICKEY (05:30):
That's kind of lit Jeff.
Yeah, he cool, I don't know man.

TOM (05:34):
I mean I'm impressed already, like we could stop
right now and I'd be impressed.

JEFFREY (05:38):
Yeah, he was cool.
He moved from Harlem and becamea sucker.
Wow, he was cool.
He moved from.

MICKEY (05:44):
Harlem and became a sucker.
Wow, wait a minute.

TOM (05:48):
We got to start here, though.
We're talking to you live fromNairobi, Kenya.

TROY (05:52):
Nairobi, Kenya.
I've lived here in thisbeautiful country for 10 years.
10?
Has it been 10 years, bro?
Yeah?

TOM (06:02):
I mean.
Jeffrey, if you listen to myintro.
I said in 2015 yeah, dang there, bro.

TROY (06:08):
Um, it'll be 11 next july um, and I love it like love it,
love it, love it, love it, loveit.
You ain't never come up inphilly, went to school, dc,
lived around the states, livedin in London for four years,
been blessed to travel the worldand I will take Nairobi, kenya,
over any fricking city, anycountry in the world.

MICKEY (06:32):
Wow, that's saying a lot , that's a lot.

TOM (06:36):
Huh, I've only I've only been to Africa once and I ended
up in prison.

TROY (06:41):
Well, Dale, what the freak was you do?

MICKEY (06:44):
You got to love how the world works.
Right, what do you mean?
You gotta love how the worldworks.
Yeah, man.

TROY (06:53):
The black man moves to Africa he gets a penthouse
apartment.

JEFFREY (06:57):
The white men go to Africa and get locked up.
Yeah, I guess that's what it is.

TOM (07:05):
I like to start at the beginning Philadelphia.
I'm a Pennsylvania boy as well.
I'm from State College,pennsylvania State College right
where Penn State is.
What's it big?
Penn State?
I did not go to Penn State, Igrew up there.

TROY (07:17):
Okay.

TOM (07:18):
And then I left.
I went to Virginia Tech, butI'm a Penn State fan and I'm a
Philly guy.

TROY (07:22):
Nice, nice, nice.
I love Philly.
Jeff will tell you, I was alone Philadelphian in New York
in 1988.
And there was nobody in theindustry around in New York that
was from Philly other than,like Troy Shelton and Craig
Davis, gal Musgrove.

(07:43):
God bless you bro, all theseguys did props to the old Hays
Like I would literally literallyalways say Philly has the best
DJs and rappers in 88.
You know, we had the best teamsand everything.
We had the best, even if wesucked.
I was always talking crap In awomb for the New Yorker, Like I

(08:08):
was never one of those cats thatmoved to New York and was like
yo, I'm a New Yorker and shit yo.

JEFFREY (08:14):
I mean once from.

TROY (08:17):
Philly, always from Philly .
We just happened to live in NewYork.

MICKEY (08:22):
It's too much pride for a Philly guy to say he's from
New York.
I can respect that.

TOM (08:26):
Well, and Philly people, let's be honest, are a little
bit nuts especially when itcomes to their sports team.
I can say this because my wifeis from Philly Ah, and she is
the craziest Philadelphia sportsfan you'll ever meet.

TROY (08:46):
You all are crazy, bro.
It must be.
We could go 0-16 and I willstill talk shit to a giant fan
when we had Bobby Hoyne and CoyDetmer and Ty Detmer as our
quarterbacks.
I was still losing moneybecause I would always bet.

JEFFREY (09:02):
Bobby Hoyne is crazy.

TOM (09:03):
I forgot about that.

TROY (09:03):
Bobby Hoying is crazy, that's you know.
So when did you?

JEFFREY (09:10):
When did you graduate, howard?

TROY (09:11):
I graduated Howard in 88.

JEFFREY (09:13):
You graduated 88, okay, and you moved right to New York
.
I graduated.

TROY (09:17):
Mother's Day weekend In May.
That Saturday and that Monday Iwas in New York.
Don Eason had me, don Eason hadme, lovey don uh.
Don eason had me um working innew york literally two days
after I graduated and you, youonly worked at epic, right, you
didn't work at other labels onlyepic in red air later.

(09:38):
Yeah, with uh ruben, god blessyou yeah, ruben, yeah, so how?

TOM (09:46):
did you get that?
I mean, what made you dive intomarketing?
How did you get to Epic?

TROY (09:50):
Well, it really started when I was at Howard, the mecca
of all universities in theentire galaxy.
Chill In the entire galaxy.

TOM (10:00):
You know what that means.

TROY (10:01):
That means if there's a university on Mars.
We're better than them.
Ok, that's why I say the galaxythe galaxy.

MICKEY (10:12):
So, relax, relax.

TROY (10:14):
Love Chrissy Murray.
You'll hear me drop a lot ofnames because there's no Troy
White without people helping meget to every place I've ever
been, without people helping meget to every place I've ever
been.
So I was in, I was working atWHBC that's how it's AM station.

(10:36):
I was a music director and thenbecame program director and had
a radio show.
And Chrissy Murray, also aHoward grad, was a year ahead of
me and she was interning at CBSRecords at the time and I used
to always bug her like everyonedid Yo, I want your internship
when you graduate, I want it.
But she literally came to meone Saturday and was like Troy,
you used to tell me you alwayswant my internship, do you still

(10:58):
want it?
I was like, yeah.
She's like yes, I'm graduating,I'll get you in touch with my
boss, jim Chiato, who is thebranch manager for CBS Records
in Beltsville, maryland, andliterally went in for the
interview, got it.
It was like a five-minuteinterview and that said Howard,

(11:18):
shit, like he was like Chrissyspoke very highly of you.
Come on, man, just tell thestory, bro, just tell the story,
bro, tell me.

JEFFREY (11:23):
Tell the story, bro, let's tell the story.

TOM (11:25):
It was that, allison.
Hey, but I will agree with youthe Mecca.
You just said Beltsville.
I'm sitting right in Greenbeltright now.
Ah, this is the Mecca, that'sright.

TROY (11:34):
We are the Mecca.

TOM (11:35):
I'm starting to agree with everything you're saying with
this dude on the show, bro Dude.

TROY (11:42):
She got me the internship, I interned, got the gig in my
sophomore year and so I was atCBS Records for three years and
then it was like maybe 300.
They had the biggest collegedivision in all of the record
industry at the time, during the80s.
It was literally like 200college reps and they hired that

(12:06):
year.
Out of all of us they hiredthree and I was one of the three
and it was Don Eason who hiredme and brought me into Epic.
And my first job was secondarymarketing manager for Epic,
where I was in charge ofinfluencing the billboard charts
and, as you can tell, I got agift to gad.

(12:28):
So, uh, I was able to uhpersuade billboard reporters to
record our records veryfavorably so this was your
actual job, that was my, my job.

TOM (12:43):
Just make them listen to us .

TROY (12:48):
And freaking call 500 billboard reporting stores a
week and they didn't even know.
I had to build the rapport overthe phone and make them.
And then of course I had help.
It wasn't just my unbelievablepersonality, you know something.
I had to use CBS records at thetime.
Course I had help.
Wasn't just my unbelievablepersonality, you know something,
actually cbs records at thetime so we could take care of

(13:09):
things for them.
So they we ported our recordsvery favorable yeah, you know,
yeah, you had some.

JEFFREY (13:15):
You had some uh, some uh leverage yeah we've with my
action and char day and babyface, yeah you Vandross.
So on and so on.
You got a little leverage youknow I get it.

TROY (13:28):
They be like yo, troy.
Nobody's buying Michael JacksonAlbies anymore.
Shit's been out for six months.
All the black people havebought it up.
I'm like yo, Yo, I need this toreport a number one this week.

JEFFREY (13:45):
Exactly, exactly, it's Michael man.
Stop playing, stop playing.
So wait.
So we met in, I think, like 90.
We met in 90.
Yep, yeah, we met in 90.
Yeah, I was a wild pig you weresomewhere else.
No, I was a wild pig, you weresomewhere else.
No, I was a wild pig, wild pigs, and you were at Epic.

(14:09):
Those other promo guys at thattime pretty much knew each other
.
We were all kind of doing thesame thing, you know.
So we kind of really crossedpaths a lot and knew each other
at conventions, yeah.
So we met in like 90.
I remember you were workingwith Mike.

TROY (14:24):
Burrell, yes, mike was my assistant director there for the
rap division.
So literally after I did thesecondary marketing position for
like a year and a half theymoved me out to Cleveland to do
um secondary marketing.
I mean not secondary marketingbut regional marketing for Epic
Records for Ohio, michigan andupstate Pennsylvania and upstate

(14:44):
New York to make sure that allthe records got played at the.
Not secondary marketing butregional marketing for Epic
Records for Ohio, michigan andupstate Pennsylvania and upstate
New York to make sure that allthe records got played at the
records radio stations and allthe tours that went through
there.
I had to handle.
Video shows weren't really bigback then so videos weren't
really my responsibility.
But press was in that regionand just persuading all the

(15:07):
program directors to play all ofour records All the records
exactly, and I did that for ayear, based out of Cleveland.
And then in 90s Sony purchasedCBS Records and they wanted to
get into the rap game.
Uh, don eason was like yo, weneed to bring troy back from the

(15:29):
midwest and have him run therap division.
Um, and I was like yes, get meout of cleveland.
I love cleveland, no diss toanybody, but he, you know I was
a young cat yeah, and itfreaking snowed from like
september to may you know yeahso um.
They brought me back to new yorkto be the um um, the vice

(15:54):
president of alternative musicand rap, um so rap was jammed in
with alternative music.
It was progressive music andrap, not alternative Progressive
Wow, progressive music, becauseI handled a lot of remixes and
stuff like that for the R&Bartists that we had and that was

(16:16):
the first major to have a rapdivision.

MICKEY (16:22):
Really, you were the first.
Yeah, we were the first.
Who were the artists that youguys had up there?

TROY (16:28):
oh my gosh bro, I don't know why you asked me that shit,
cause they were horrible.
I was like I was expecting himto say like the my first, like
three or four artists that wehad, I didn't have anything to
do with them.
So you know there was someolder cats picking the music,

(16:51):
picking the artists in A&R olderwhite cats.
I just had to make sure that DJsplayed the shit and we got
exposure and I did that verywell until we got some good
records, like Snoop's Deep Coverrecord, which is the first west

(17:11):
coast record to ever get playedon New York City rap radio
stations with Red Alert, chillOut, all-city 2, all them Cacks,
you know, um Clarkark, uh, godbless bro.
Yeah, um, the first sneak sneakand what broke it, jeff, and I

(17:32):
don't know if you remember thisother than my expert promotions
course, but public enemyperformed at the apollo theater
I was at the.
I think I don't know if you gaveme tickets, but I was at that
show and they came out to thedeep cover beat and people were.
I don't remember that, but Ibelieve it, and there was no

(17:54):
social media back then, but thatshit spread like wildfire.
I was talking to DJs that weekin LA and it was like yo and
they heard about it.
He came out on stage.
There was no social media atall.
It's just crazy.
It was straight word of mouth,you know um, and that helped out

(18:15):
tremendously.
We're getting that recordplayed in new york, philly
boston, connecticut, you know um, where they were kind of like
eh, west Coast, eh, you know,you couldn't deny that song,
that song and then that openedup doors for Compton's Most

(18:36):
Wanted and Above the Law and abunch of other West Coast
artists that that's like y'alldid a deal with.

JEFFREY (18:44):
Ruthless.
Yes, yeah, that's right.
That's like y'all did a dealwith Ruthless.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, yeah, we're above the lawon all of them, that's right.
Before we move on to the otherthing I just want to tell give
us one quick, if you can, onequick Michael story and one
quick Sade story if you got him.
I mean like meeting him and allthat type of.

TROY (19:02):
Thing yes, this isn't even directed towards Mike, but we
had a big dinner for him in thattype of thing.
Yes, this isn't even directedtowards Mike, but we had a big
dinner for him in DC with allthe program directors.
Muhammad Ali was there.
Muhammad Ali actually wasgiving him the award Huge,
freaking dinner.
So my girlfriend at the timesitting there at the table you

(19:26):
actually know her, jeff.
You met her several times, I'msure I didn't say nothing.
So I get up to do some work fromthe table and then Stevie
Wonder.
I come back to the table likeabout 30 minutes later and she's
like yovie wonder wants me toleave with him wow, stevie,

(19:58):
trying to be a girl he's like,yeah, his bodyguard came over
and was like stevie would liketo, you know, take you out after
, out, after you know.
The event is over.
The dude waited until I got upfrom the table to approach my
girl.

JEFFREY (20:13):
Oh wow, Stevie wanted a scumbag on the low.

MICKEY (20:19):
So he can see.

JEFFREY (20:21):
So he can see.

MICKEY (20:23):
Slightly slightly.

JEFFREY (20:25):
That's funny.

TOM (20:26):
That's my, my like that's funny, that's funny, that's my,
my, like that's your michaeljackson story about tv any other
?

TROY (20:33):
mike stories were just like regular shit, because he
was a regular dude literally inperson.
I don't have anything fantasticto say other than he's like the
michael jackson that you wouldsee on television and videos and
the shy guy and all that kindof stuff.
In person, one-on-one or in agroup where he knew everyone, he

(20:57):
was just like a regular dude.
It was like really regular catlike you would.
Just he was not the number oneartist in the world, he was just
a regular and very cool.

MICKEY (21:11):
Your Michael Jackson story involves Muhammad Ali,
stevie Wonder and StevieWonder's bodyguard and your girl
and your girl.

JEFFREY (21:26):
Damn, they're sliding off with Stevie.
That's crazy.

MICKEY (21:28):
Wow, let's talk to us about Sade.
I'm sure we're going to hearabout Whitney.
Give us a quick Sade story.

TROY (21:36):
I literally had this thing up in my.

TOM (21:44):
We're getting a tour of the crib right now.
Oh.

TROY (21:49):
Yeah, I have to have that up because to me she's the
numero uno female artist of alltime, like of all time, all time
.
Um, and I respect her immenselybecause she's cool as fuck,
loves hip-hop.
Um, her band, like they, lovehip-hop.
Um, even back then, likeeverybody in their band and her

(22:15):
listened to hip-hop wheneverthey would come to the office.
They would always come to myoffice to get all the rap
records, all stuff.
If there was a show in town orwhatever, they would want to go.
And if you listen to her music,the back beats are freaking
smooth-ass hip-hop beats.

(22:36):
Like if you listen to a lot ofwho was that?
John, oh, fuck.

JEFFREY (22:46):
But it was a B-side joint that she did with the
guitar.

TROY (22:51):
It was a B-side that she did.
That was strictly allinstrumental and that shit was
all freaking.
Just anyone could have rappedover that shit.
Super Bean Total, that's thename of it.
I can't believe my fans hadpicked that up.
Super bean total super beantotal yeah, it's an all

(23:15):
instrumental joint to smooth andfly as shit.

JEFFREY (23:19):
But um so she's your all-time favorite.

TROY (23:21):
Yeah, she's my all-time fame and enjoyed working with
her immensely.
Very creative, always had atight ass band, always had a
tight ass crew around her.
Um, just humble, um, no divashit.
Um, if we had to do a gang ofradio stations in the morning, I
didn't have to go banging onanybody's door or anything.

(23:44):
They would meet me downstairs.
Ready to go.
That's interesting, you knowwho, the number one cat, though
I'd have to say at being themost professional cat I've ever
worked with on the music side,jabba Ranks.
Really, moxie Priest and Jabba,we'd have him out.

(24:05):
You know, because, doing allthe nighttime shit, you do a
concert, you're in a club.

JEFFREY (24:10):
The clubs.

TROY (24:11):
He's drinking flowing.
I'm like Shabba, let's go back.
He's like no, I'm having a goodtime.
We would literally go from theclub to do the 6 am, then a 7 am
, then 8 am, then a 9 am, then10, 11.
And then at 3 in the afternoon,his ass wouldn't even be tired,
he wouldn't be like oh true, Ican't do anymore.

(24:34):
We were up all night.
He's like what else can we do?
Like what?

JEFFREY (24:39):
can we do Wow?

TROY (24:40):
that's impressive.
No sleep, that's why he's stillaround Like no sleep at all.
He out of any artist, literallyto me, was when it came to
schedules, being on time andjust being, never bitching and
complaining about shit.
Shabba, I would say, is newmoon.

JEFFREY (25:02):
Wow, what year did you leave, epic I?

TROY (25:05):
guess why.
Why did you leave Epic?
What year did you leave Epic?
And I guess why.
Why did you leave Epic?
I left, all right.
So Don Easton was my first bossand then Hank Caldwell came in
and he was my second boss andthen Don went out to LA to do
Quincy's label Quest, yeah, soHank was there, quest.

(25:25):
So Hank was there.
And then Hank left In 95-96 Togo to Death Row.
That's right Let the deck workBecause he needed some
professionalism.

JEFFREY (25:41):
Yeah, he needed some structure, some structure.

TROY (25:46):
Stories he's told I can't even imagine, um.
But when he left there werechanges that they were doing
there and I literally started tosee the light in regards to
seeing the radio stations beingbought up by, like these huge

(26:08):
conglomerates, huge, and thenconsultants started becoming
really big in the late 90s.
You know, um, where you had acat that didn't even jeff you.
You know if you would, if youonly go see your cousins down
south or whatever.

(26:29):
When you're driving throughevery city, every state, you
hear different types of music.

JEFFREY (26:34):
Changing the station.
It's like oh, what were theyplaying?
Were they playing in Virginia?
Were they playing in NorthCarolina?
I've never heard this songbefore and that shit changed.

TROY (26:41):
You know, and the consultants fucked all that shit
up.
You know because they didn'tlive in these cities.
They're just doing theirresearch and saying, okay, these
10 stations that I work for,even though they're 10 different
demographics, different states,different cities, are all going
to play these same freaking 30records.
You know, it took a lot ofcreativity out the game and I

(27:07):
clearly saw that I was like,well shit, all these white
companies are buying up allthese radio stations, black
radio stations, and then they'reputting in white consultants to
program those radio stations.
They ain't going to need abrother to go into the radio
station to deploy a relationship.

JEFFREY (27:26):
Yeah, because they just get the call from up high, Like
this is the third records we'replaying this week.

TROY (27:31):
I was like they ain't going to need my ass anymore.
I was like and then, you know,the record labels started doing
the same thing after the radiostations, you know, and all the
small independent labels startedgetting bought out and all that
kind of stuff and all thesemergers, and I was like shit,

(27:53):
they ain't gonna need none of ustoo.

JEFFREY (27:57):
Wow yeah.

TROY (28:01):
I literally moved, and I say this proudly in front of
guys that have got advanceddegrees in marketing and have
read all the 50 books onmarketing and all that kind of
bullshit.
The best marketers in the worldcome from music industry.
Because we were taught to breakrules.
We were taught to think out thebox.

(28:23):
There were budgets made forbail.
There were budgets made forbail.
There were budgets made forfines.
They didn't give a fuck aboutrules or regulations or anything
, and if you came up with acorny ass idea or a gray area
idea, people will shoot you down.
So you will always be hard tocome up with the wildest,

(28:45):
craziest, freaking idea to gainattention to your particular
artist or record, like thewilder.

TOM (28:54):
The wilder the better.

TROY (28:56):
Yeah.
So I was like oh, I'm an out ofthe box cat, I'm a creative
thinker.
If I can market a record, I canfreaking market a beverage.
I can market a politician.
Can freaking market a beverage,I can market a politician.
I can market a car company, Ican market anything.
And literally using street teamtask tactics that you know,

(29:19):
jeff, and I did, you know, withsome neighbors and doing that
shit from the early 90s withstreet teams, um, bringing that
method to corporate brands wasbeautiful because nobody else
was doing that shit on thecorporate side and I love
creating my own niche.

(29:39):
Um, and that was, it was nocompetition, it was great, the
money was amazing.
Um, and I literally left themusic business and then went
into, uh, doing branding for,for, um, marketing for for
brands, and we'll be right back.

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TOM (30:17):
And now back to the show.

JEFFREY (30:20):
And what was the first big win you had, and this way
before you?

TOM (30:23):
jump to that.
This was called then WhiteHouse Marketing, right, and this
was your company that youstarted in 1994-ish.

TROY (30:33):
I'll do White.

TOM (30:33):
House Marketing, because my last name's White and I rented
out my house.
Oh, there's that.

MICKEY (30:36):
That's simple, I like it Nice, I'm not mad at that.

JEFFREY (30:41):
No, and what was the first big contract you had?
It was Dan and Yogurt.

TOM (30:46):
One of my boys, dan and Yogurt.
How did you get Dan and Yogurtso you're out on your own for
the first time?
White House marketing.
And how did you land Dan andYogurt?
The?

TROY (30:54):
beautiful thing about going to the Mecca is that when
you go to the Mecca, everyonegets dispersed after you
graduate All these veryimportant places, so you have
connections, like the white boysdo when they go to Harvard,
yale or Princeton, you know.
So I had a Howard friend whowas like yo, troy, we want more

(31:18):
black people to eat yogurt.
I was like yo, I could do that.
I was like yo, come up withsomething.
I was like he was like why notgive you Harlem?
I was like he was like why notgive you Harlem?
I was like I'll take you.
I was like I'll make, I'll makeyogurt hot in Harlem.
And literally what I did streetteam method.
Got some dope ass SUVs with Idon't know if they were 20s back

(31:42):
then, 20 inch rims and tires,shrink-wrapped vehicles with the
yogurt on the outside.
Got some beautiful brandambassador women to go into the
bodegas and sample the yogurt topeople that were walking into
the bodegas.

TOM (32:01):
There you go.
I mean, it's the basics rightthere, but it works.

TROY (32:03):
Two-month campaign.
They saw uptake and yogurt inHarlemlem was like yo, can you
do this around the country?
I was like, yeah, gave me 15markets boom and there was mayor
bloomberg um his first uh, whenhe ran for um mayor, and we

(32:26):
ended up breaking a record forAfrican Americans and Hispanics
turning out to vote forRepublican.
And the wild shit is that Ididn't want to dig because I'm a
bleeding heart tree huggingliberal.

TOM (32:41):
Yeah.

TROY (32:42):
After meeting with him I was like yo, this cat's cool as
shit, yeah right.
And he literally told me he waslike the only reason why I'm
running as a Republican isbecause I would lose as a
Democrat.
So he ran and as soon as he gotin because, remember, he was
our mayor after Giuliani Blackpeople, black politicians, black

(33:05):
pastors didn't get a chance tomeet with any of Giuliani's
people during those eight yearsBloomberg his first meeting met
with every black leader,Hispanic leader, met with
everybody.
And I was like, OK, that was agood call on my point, on my on
my side, um, but we ended upbreaking a record for

(33:27):
african-americans turning out tovote for um a republican in new
york for mayor, uh, wow.
And then we did his secondcampaign when he became an
independent, and then we did histhird and that's yeah he was
there three times he went threetimes, but as an independent the
last two times right, is thatright?

(33:49):
Yeah, wow.
And then I got into politicsbecause the money was unfreaking
believable.

TOM (33:54):
I did politics for years and I used to call.
I used to do a lot of directmail and to me direct mail was
crack.
I could produce direct mail sofast and they would pay me so
well for it.
I would sit around for a week.
They just direct mail come in,design it, put it back out,
design it, put it back out,design it, put it back out.
And campaigns were greatbecause at the end of the day

(34:21):
you either won or you lost, andso it.
There was a high to it.
Right, like you like, if youlost, it was depressing.

TROY (34:27):
I've only lost one campaign no, you did better than
I did, and that was JohnKerry's campaign.
And the only reason why he lostis that his people didn't want
to freaking listen.
They knew every damn thing.
That is the only campaign I'veever he lost to Bush, right, yes
, yeah, but they didn't want tolisten.
They didn't want to do.

(34:47):
Like campaign I've ever he lostthe Bush right.
Yes, yeah, yo.
But they didn't want to listen,they didn't want to do.
I did Claire McCaskill'scampaign in Missouri.
She was the first womangovernor of Missouri and they
listened.
I took her to all the clubs andbars.
Now this old white lady lookedlike somebody's grandmama.
I had Claire at every barbecue,every club, strip clubs, like

(35:13):
every place.
Claire was little security.
I was like when we go in theseblack spots, you can't be
surrounded by a bunch of people,you can't be secret serviced
out.
You can't do that, no, no.
And she was like okay.
Her management was like okay,great, so they listened to
Secret Service doubt?
You can't do that, no, no.

TOM (35:27):
And she was like okay.
Her management was like okay,great, so they listened to you
yeah.
She freaking warned how did youget that campaign?

TROY (35:34):
Well, actually this wasn't a Howard connection.
This was Emmett Dennis Jeff.
You know Emmett.

JEFFREY (35:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, emmett, put that together.

TROY (35:44):
Oh okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, let me put that together
with the Claire McCaskill,because I did the Bloomberg
stuff and I'm not sure ifHillary was before or after
Claire, but her senatorial runsin New York.
I did those campaigns also.
My biggest campaign was Obama,you know, when no one knew who

(36:07):
the freak he was.
Now wait a minute.

TOM (36:09):
Did you do Obama in Chicago when he ran for Senate or as
president?

TROY (36:14):
I did Obama when he was running for Senate and I did
marketing for him in New York,fundraising New York,
philadelphia and DC.

TOM (36:24):
I worked on that same campaign when he ran for Senate,
because I can remember theycame up to me and said Barack
Obama?
And I was like, are you kiddingme?
There's no way a guy with thename Barack Obama is ever going
to win anything.
Green will win the rest ofIllinois.
Yeah yeah, I did a lot ofdirect mail for him in that

(36:46):
first race.
Yep, wow.

TROY (36:50):
Yeah, that's my world.

JEFFREY (36:53):
So then, when did you end up moving to London so well?

TROY (36:58):
that's skipping Kenya, because we came to Kenya.

JEFFREY (37:03):
Wait, you came to Nigeria, Didn't you go to
Nigeria first?

TROY (37:07):
Hold on.
So it was my ex-wife's job thatbrought us to Kenya.

JEFFREY (37:12):
Yeah.
I remember that I remember thatBecause she had the whole
Africa territory, correct?

TROY (37:16):
She was handling all of that for advertising and we were
here for four years and thenshe got a promotion and we moved
to London.
But at that time I was workingfor Temple and I was like, okay,

(37:36):
well, let me commute back andforth in between Nairobi and
London every couple months, youknow, and I did that for four
years Living between London andNairobi so you never lived in
nigeria no, never lived at.
The temple was based out ofnigeria, out of oh, I knew there

(37:58):
was a nigeria connectionsomewhere time.
I've been to lake 20 times, okay, um well, yeah, they actually
tried to give me nothing,nothing against my I don't know
if I jump on my head but theywere trying to get me to move to
nigeria to run theirentertainment division.
And if I would have gone fromnairo, if I would have gone from

(38:20):
new york harlem to nigeria, tolegos, I could have done that
and I would have enjoyed it.
But you can't go from new yorkto kenya, to Lagos, because the
energy like New York energy andlasted in Lagos and would have

(38:40):
been fine Because it's socity-fied.
But come to Nairobi.
I run at 75% here and I'm stillrunning faster than everybody
because the lifestyle, thepeople, the energy are different
.
East Africans are more smoothand more laid back than the West

(39:01):
Side.
It's almost something betweenNew York and LA cats.

JEFFREY (39:06):
You know what I mean.
Okay, okay, okay.

TROY (39:10):
You know the East Coast is more energy than the West Coast
in the States.

TOM (39:14):
Yeah, so that's how it is in Africa, but opposite.

TROY (39:16):
But it's split.
The West Coast has more energythan the East Coast.

TOM (39:22):
That's because they're on the Atlantic.
It's the Atlantic Ocean waterthat's what it is.
That's what it is.
We just figured it out, folks.

TROY (39:28):
It's just more smooth and I prefer at my age to be running
at 75% than 120.
And older, every two secondsand thinking somebody's trying
to get me and all that kind ofshit.
I'm too old and living here.
I always say the quality oflife is amazing, wow, amazing.

TOM (39:51):
Wow, I stayed away from Legos.
Legos scared me a little bit.
A white guy in Legos, not good.
I was in Abuja, the whole timeIn Abuja and then around in
different villages.

TROY (40:04):
Abuja's nice, it's nice.

MICKEY (40:08):
It's different, though.
Then I got locked up abroad.

TOM (40:12):
I'm alright now, Don't worry folks Alright so you're
back and forth, and then you.
Then I got locked up abroad.
I'm all right now, Don't worryfolks, All right.
So you're back and forth.
And then you.
So how do you, how do you endup hooking up with EXP?
And that's where?
Is that where you're at now?

TROY (40:25):
No, no, no.
Exp was my first job when Icame to Nairobi.

TOM (40:29):
Oh, okay, okay.

TROY (40:30):
Time was the largest marketing company in Africa.
It offices 15 differentcountries throughout Africa and
I was a creative marketingdirector.
So I got in grabbed like theirbig clients.

(40:54):
Safaricom is like their versionof Verizon, and then EABL,
which is East African breweries,so they handle all the liquor,
so did all the marketing andstuff for them, and coming up
with really cool creativemarketing strategies.

(41:15):
So I did that for like threeyears and it was beautiful
because it got me into theculture, a combination of that.
And then, jeff knows, I'vealways coached like kids and the
first thing I did when I came,when I moved to Harlem, was to
join the Harlem Jets and theHarlem Little League.

JEFFREY (41:38):
Harlem Jets, yeah, yeah yeah, Harlem.
Jets.

TROY (41:41):
And you're in a different neighborhood or different
community.
It's the quickest way to get tolearn the community and build
relationships and know how tolearn the community and how to
move.
And I realized that coachingopened up Harlem to me.
To this very day, dude, I walkdown the streets in Harlem

(42:03):
Freaking after not living therein 10 freaking weeks.
Every day I step on the streetsin Harlem.
I run into people.
I know Coach, you know.
So I was like yo, let me startcoaching when I first get here.
And that's a basketball programwhere we went into the slums and

(42:23):
taught kids how to playbasketball and once we got them,
we got them scholarships intoprivate schools in Kenya.
We got them scholarships intoprivate schools in Kenya.
So we were taking kids thatweren't even eating, sleeping on
the floor, sleeping outsidePrivate school, three meals a

(42:51):
day, a bed, getting a goodeducation and all a free ride.
So literally over the past 10years we've gotten over 350 kids
, you know, out the slums andinto private schools.
We've got 20 kids into thestates, um, in private schools,
uh, and two college graduates.
That's dope that's dope.

JEFFREY (43:12):
So, yeah, I mean you're right, the best way to
infiltrate a community isthrough the kids and through the
women, because you'll reallyyou can learn how, how shit
moves and where, and becauseyou're gonna learn different
neighborhoods or she lives overthere.

TROY (43:27):
Yeah, that's definitely the way to do it many of my
kenyan friends ain't never evenbeen to or don't want to go to,
because they're in the slums.
You know, and I'm verycomfortable there because of my
background Growing up in Philly,yeah.
Living in Harlem, yeah, neverbeing really afraid to roll in
To move wherever yeah.

(43:48):
And you know, hood mentalityworks everywhere around the
world.

JEFFREY (43:53):
Absolutely.
I'm always comfortable when Igo somewhere.
You know Not to say I can't getgot, but I'm always comfortable
anywhere.
But you know you got to payattention, but I'm not like I
ain't going over there, I'm likewhat are we talking about?
Let's go.
You know, whatever, detroit isa perfect combination of like a
real bougie-ass nigga and a realhood dude.

(44:16):
At the same time.
He's both in one.

TOM (44:20):
The true unicorn, if you will.

JEFFREY (44:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's mad bougie.
The first time I went toMartha's Vineyard I went with
him.
That's not bad.
He's all of that Jack and Jilland all that bullshit, but then
he's crazy ghetto at the sametime.

MICKEY (44:37):
I love Martha's Vineyard .
I don't know.

JEFFREY (44:39):
Yeah, martha's Vineyard .
No, it's fine.
We had a blast, except for yourman waking us up early.
But whatever, we had a blastthough.
You know what I'm saying.
And your man stole my CD.
I'll never forget that, bro.
Your man stole my CD.
What CD was it?
It was a Howard Melvin and theBluenose CD, but with the long
versions of like the Love I Lostand the long versions, the

(45:01):
remakes.
And he stole your CD, his manJames stole my CD bro.
Where is my CD?
I had to go through Troy to getmy CD back.

TOM (45:12):
Wow, you hold a long-time grudge right there.

JEFFREY (45:15):
No, because that was a rare CD, you couldn't find it
and as man James also.
We got up there, we drove, weleft with Troy's crib we both
lived in Harlem, he lived around, we were walking this is for me
and we left him in his crib.
It was like 2, 3 in the morningor something, to get our ferry
and we drove up all night.
So we got there, we got upthere, we got the ferry.

(45:37):
It was beautiful.
We got to the crib I can'tremember, but you know it was
late, so we fell asleep.
His man James is banging on ourdoor at 7 am.
Everybody get up.
We're having breakfast.
I was like my man.
Are you crazy?
Wow, crazy, fam, I'm onvacation.
You can't tell me when I'mhaving breakfast and then he

(45:58):
stole my CD, he stole your CD.

MICKEY (45:59):
I had to take it.
I had to take it, it wasnecessary it was crazy.

TROY (46:03):
I'm Jeff.

JEFFREY (46:06):
Yeah, we've had a lot of amazing times together, man,
you know what.
I'm saying he was right in thecorner for me so he would always
have these parties.
Yeah, he'd have these SuperBowl parties.
Troy had a huge, beautifulbrownstone on Hamilton Terrace.
It was a famous block in Harlemthat a lot of famous people

(46:27):
lived.
It's still real.

TOM (46:28):
It's gentrified now, but it's still real.
It's a beautiful beautifulblock.

JEFFREY (46:32):
Yeah, fat Friday lived right around the corner and you
don't say, yeah, it was great,so we'd have these, he'd have
these parties and cookouts andyeah, I mean I've seen his kids
grow up.
We had blast man when he moved,when he moved, I can't.
I was a little sad, you know.
I'm saying I was real sadbecause I was like damn my man
moving, like the brownstone goneand like all that.
We had a good time.

TROY (46:52):
It was a beautiful time it was, and I'll say this because
I wanted to say this in thebeginning, because I didn't get
a chance to say this shit, butout of anybody that's my age
that I met in the music industryover the last 40 years, f
Sledge is the realest cat thatI've ever met in the music

(47:13):
business.
My age Wow, he's true to thegame.
He's true to his birth.
He was never a dude to fuck youover, never a dude to talk
behind your back, never.
Nah, if you needed help on someshit, jeff was there to talk
and to help, even though we wascompeting.

(47:34):
Yeah, we were competing, butstill.
But Jeff, we never had like he.
I always say that Jeff is therealest cat I've ever met in the
music business.
My age Ever.
Numu Uno and I had no problem.
I appreciate that man.
I appreciate that he's a giantfan, that he's an unbelievable

(47:57):
dude, you know, uh.
And then I want to give a shoutout because we were talking
about harlem.
My ass would have never been inharlem unless len brunette who
started landing.
Uh, I was living on 43rd and11th in a big, beautiful yep in
that, in that apartment, yep onthe 24th floor view of the

(48:20):
empire state building in theworld trade center, in the river
and shit.
One day he was like you need tobuy a house in harlem, this is
four.
And I was like brother, youcrazy.
I'm living in this dopeapartment.
Women love it.
Like I don't have to do shit, Idon't have to fix shit, I don't

(48:42):
have to do anything.
My car is right below.
I call Car is waiting for me.
As soon as I come downstairs Iwalk in the lobby with my girl.
The dude's like Mr White,welcome home, home.
I was like I ain't leaving thisshit.
And he said, troy, you'remaking some us rich.
I felt so dumb when he saidthat shit I was like, wow, okay,

(49:05):
I am wasting my money and shit.
Good point.
He's like give me two hours inhar Harlem this weekend and I
promise you you'll buy a housein Harlem.
And this was actually September94 and I ended up buying a
house in Harlem.
Three months later, in Novemberof 94, bought my house and when

(49:31):
Harlem Best investment you evermade, like it wasn't sexy at
all, like it wasn't Bill Clintonhadn't come up there.

JEFFREY (49:38):
No, none of that.
It was still raw.
It was still raw, I mean, whenI moved to Harlem.
That's when I moved in 92, soit was a couple years before
Troy.
But like that's when Brooklynwas popping Because they had,
you know, a member living singleand the Cosby show were based
in Brooklyn.
So Brooklyn was popping.
I remember Living Single andthe Cosby Show were based in
Brooklyn, so Brooklyn was thehot shit.

(49:58):
When I saw people I was movingto Harlem, they were like why
are you moving to Harlem and notto Brooklyn?
I was like I don't want to,because I had my son at the time
.
He was young.
I was like I want to be able toget to my son.
It's a much closer drive fromHarlem to White Plains than from
Brooklyn to White Plains.
I said I'm going to do Harlem.
But like Troy said, harlem backthen was it was still super raw

(50:19):
.
It was still like drugs, crimeyou know all that.

TROY (50:22):
It was bad, but the energy was there, jeff, and that's
what.
It wasn't even the house thatsold me, it was the energy, like
when lenny and I was walkingdown the streets and shit,
people were talking hey, what'shappening, brother, old ladies,
hi, baby, how you doing when wegot little.
You know restaurants we want togo eat in.

(50:43):
You know, hey, mr lenny, howyou doing cats talking to.
I was like yo, I live on 43rdand 11th and only know two
people in my building.
You know like, and you walkaround the streets in harlem and
people were speaking and I'mthat type of cat, I'm a hugger,
shake your hands.

JEFFREY (51:01):
I got up to everybody and walking down the streets in
harlem, man, that's what sold methe energy up in that joint yep
, and because harlem is harlemis a real neighborhood, like
when you live there, you'regonna know people, you're gonna
know your neighbors.
You, when you live there,you're going to know people.
You're going to know yourneighbors, you're going to know
the super, you're going to knowthe man who stands on the corner
every morning in front ofDunkin' Donuts.
You're just going to know them,people, and you're going to

(51:22):
speak to them.
They're going to speak to youand you become connected to it.
It becomes part of your DNA.

TROY (51:30):
And they're know.
Look out for your kids, lookout for your.
I never in the.
I was maybe 15, 15, 20 years.
Never had a problem, not one inHarlem, never, not one Because
of the love.
As a friend.

(51:52):
I always say I don't like NewYork, but I love Harlem.

JEFFREY (51:58):
I'm a leader in New York, shit.
Oh boy, oh boy, we ain't got alot of time.

TOM (52:02):
We are running out of time.
I got four things.
I got to ask this guy, I got tobring it back around.
Number one marketing today.
Has it changed since youstarted when you were originally
decorating those SUVs withDanon stickers?

TROY (52:19):
It's changed dude Social media.
But the word of mouth, like wewere responsible, like Jeff and
I, for getting people to talkabout our shit.
Word of mouth Same shit associal media.
Getting people to repost yourstuff, to talk about your event,

(52:39):
talk about your brand on theirsocial media profile.

TOM (52:45):
It's the same, all right, same thing.
Different medium, differentmedium.

TROY (52:49):
Medium and, but it does the same thing.
Yeah, and things spread faster.
Now you can put some shit up ina day today.

TOM (53:02):
Just in one day, you can One tweet and you can hit
everywhere in the world.
It doesn't limit yourselfanymore.
So what advice?
What advice do you give to ayoung cat coming out right now
who is in your shoes from 40years ago?
What advice do you give to ayoung cat coming out right now
who is in your shoes from 40years ago?
What advice do you give them toget into the game?

TROY (53:20):
not necessarily just getting in the game.
I was literally just tellingsomebody the other day a young
cat working your blessings, I'ma firm, I'm a, I'm a religious
cat, so I believe in in Jesus,god.
I'm riding on that team, so Ibelieve that God.
I don't care if you're I guessthe proper word now is little

(53:42):
people or if you're homeless orif you're slow I don't know what
the appropriate word for thatis these days but it's all these
appropriate Special needs, notspecial needs.
There we go.
I don't care what your issuesare.
God has blessed every personthat has ever been born with
something special about that.

(54:03):
You're better than everyfreaking body that you know at.
You can do the eyes closed.
Yeah, I believe that 50 otherpeople it would take them hours
or days to do this shit and youcan do this shit with your eyes
closed.
I believe that everyone isblessed.
You just gotta find what.

(54:24):
And I was lucky because I wasnever the smartest cat in the
world, but I've always had agreat personality.
So I knew I couldn't be abanker.
I knew I couldn't go to lawschool If I'd be a dope lawyer.
If I didn't have to go to lawschool, I knew I'd be a doctor.
You know I had to work withinmy blessings.
I'm extremely freaking creative.

(54:46):
I do come up with creativestrategies sitting on the toilet
or in the shower, you know, orpartying or doing other things
like some of my best creativestrategies, just like a writer
or producer, when, when beatscome to them in their heads,
it's the same thing Like ideaswould just hit me out of the
fricking blue.
It's a blessing that I have andI can do it with my eyes closed

(55:09):
and I can do it for 72 hoursstraight and think about it for
72 hours straight and thinkabout it.
Um, and I and I'm a peopleperson, so I've always used my
relationship abilities or mycreativity and worked in that
and anytime I've worked out ofthose blessings I've failed.
Quick story advice one summer,sophomore year, I was an intern

(55:34):
for PSF that says PennsylvaniaSavings Bank.
I was a bank teller.
They hired 100 of us.
They invited 99 of us back.
I was the one person out of 100that they wouldn't invite.
That's funny.

TOM (56:00):
Bank teller in the history of pennsylvania.
That is a good one right therebut I was working outside my
blessing you're outside yourblessing horrible so what?
What is next for troy?
What are you up to right now?
What's next?

TROY (56:15):
I mentioned to you earlier that I'm always trying to
create my own lanes.
So the past couple years I'vebeen working with this virtual

(56:43):
reality and augmented realitycompany that's based out of
London, creating events andopportunities for museums and
safaris and brands and artistsand all that kind of stuff to be
able to have virtualexperiences when people can just
sit at home.
Just think about it During theregular day, a museum is closed,
closes at seven o'clock, butthat same museum can still make

(57:08):
money at 10, 11, 12, 1 am 3 amwith a virtual reality tour open
during safari time.
They had morning drives andthey have evening drives.
But say, if that company had 30people that day, they could
have a thousand.
Do virtual.
Yeah, you know that's wherewe're headed, so I'm I always
try to stay like just ahead ofthe game.

(57:31):
Um, so I'm doing a lot ofvirtual and augmented reality
stuff and still doing mymarketing, coming up with
creative marketing strategiesfor brands.
I have a holiday party comingup on the 20th and then a New
Year's Eve party that I'm doinghere.
I've literally been doingparties since I was in high

(57:52):
school.
That's just one of my gifts.
I love having parties.

JEFFREY (57:57):
Yeah.

TOM (58:02):
Man, that's some amazing stuff.
I didn't know where we weregoing to go with all this stuff,
but I think we came somewherethat I found fascinating.
Thank you, can I say?

TROY (58:13):
one quick thing you absolutely can.
I'm always jumping around andshit Right now, thank you.
Can I say one quick thing?
You absolutely can, alwaysjumping around and shit Right
now?
A partner of mine and I, herbLong, who also went to Howard
with me, who's visited Kenyathree times, three or four times
, and now this is like hisfavorite country.
He and I put together last yeara trip strictly for Howard grad

(58:34):
grads.
It was called bison in kenya,and we had 10 people come, uh,
last march, and it went so well.
We want to do it again this yearand hopefully we'll have around
the first 30 people who sign up.
That's what we're going to do,um, but it's a dope trip and
it's not just for howard people,it's for everyone now.

(58:55):
So, um, and it's a beautifultrip.
It's 10 days.
You come, we spend a coupledays in nairobi, in the city.
You go out to the nicerestaurants, clubs, bars, get
the nightlife experience, andthen from there we go to the
masai mara, which is the bestsafari in the world, and we do

(59:17):
that for three days, and thenfrom there we go to the coast,
to some of the best beaches inthe world, to a place called
Watamu, and we'll also spend alittle time in Malindi, which is
another really dope, sexy,unbelievable coastal place,
which is another really dope,sexy, unbelievable coastal place
, where we'll spend like fourdays in between those two spots

(59:39):
and then come back to Nairobi,have meetings for people who are
interested in startingbusinesses here, investing in
property and things of thatnature.
So we're trying to make this funbut also a business trip and
then every year just grow it, gofrom 10 to 30, 30 to 50, 50 to

(01:00:00):
100, you know, and grow it thatway.
But it's really really, reallydope, like we had an
unbelievable time go.

(01:00:23):
Maybe you can put our, um, ourwebsite, but it's a
wwwbisoninkenyacom and they cango on to the website.
They can see videos andpictures and people's
testimonials from um, ourprevious trip and, uh, look at
the venues where we'll be going,where we'll be staying.
They're all five star spots andthis is a dope trip.
This is a dope, dope, dope tripand Kenya is a great country.

(01:00:44):
So, and everyone that I knowthat's ever come here, like over
the past 10 years, I'd say I'veconvinced maybe 300 to 400
people to come in 10 years andnot one freaking time have I had
someone say it was all right,troy, thanks for telling me to

(01:01:06):
come.
It was cool.
Everyone has said, oh my gosh,this is the best place I've ever
been in my life the people, theweather, the opportunities, the
vibe, the energy, therestaurants, the clubs, the bars
they're just like whoa.
And the quality of life.
That's the number one thingthat I love about this place is

(01:01:28):
the quality of life, and peopleget a chance to see, experience
the quality of life and the vibeand the energy and the food and
everything of the people here,and it's addictive and it's
really freaking.
A lot of people would be givingthat sunshine call.

JEFFREY (01:01:48):
I like it.

TOM (01:01:48):
I like it.
Jeffrey, are you going to go?
I could see you in Kenya.

JEFFREY (01:01:53):
I mean, Troy's been trying to get me over there for
a couple years now, so I'mdefinitely going to.

TOM (01:01:58):
I don't know why you're going there, maybe a live
podcast on the safari.

JEFFREY (01:02:02):
Come on, yeah, or on the beach, on the beach.

TROY (01:02:06):
Crabs and lions and elephants and stuff behind you
Like come on bro.

JEFFREY (01:02:11):
That would be kind of fun.

TROY (01:02:12):
Yeah, bro.

TOM (01:02:13):
That would be kind of fire.
Yeah, yeah, we'll talk aboutthis.
We'll talk about this.
New year, new trips, yeah.

JEFFREY (01:02:18):
Yeah, new year, new trips, yeah Home to the
motherland.

TROY (01:02:22):
Home to the motherland Sounds good to me.

TOM (01:02:26):
Carrying the flag for Kenya right here.

MICKEY (01:02:29):
Look at your guy.
He look like he from Kenya.
He look like a from Kenya.

JEFFREY (01:02:35):
He look like a Wakandan .
Your man ain't got no sleeveson he look like a Wakandan chief
man.

TOM (01:02:41):
He kind of does.
Yeah, kind of does.
All right, hey, troy, thank you.
Yes, sir, Thank you so much forall the advice, for all the
knowledge, for carrying the flagfor Kenya.
We should have you in theOlympics in four years.
All right, folks, that's ourshow.
Tune in to Unglossy, the codingbrand and culture on Apple
Podcasts, spotify or YouTube,and follow us on Instagram, at

(01:03:04):
unglossypod, to join theconversation.
Until next time, I'm Tom Frank.

JEFFREY (01:03:09):
I'm Jeffrey Sledge.

MICKEY (01:03:12):
Smicky.

TOM (01:03:13):
That was good.