Broke Boyz From Fresno
Hey everyone it's Martin from the Broke Boyz From Fresno Podcast, my goal here is to entertain, inspire, and uplift our community. I'm all about keeping it real, sharing my daily struggles, and motivating others who might be going through the same. Join me as we navigates life’s challenges, supports one another, and builds a stronger, more connected community together.
Broke Boyz From Fresno
What If The Best Investment Is You
We share the real path behind Grizzly Talk: skipping the traditional route, learning sales, building a podcast with intention, and leaning on community and partners to grow. Mike opens up about burnout, boundaries, love, and the full-circle real estate deal that changed momentum.
• betting on sales over college and trusting commission income
• early big guest nerves and learning to pivot live
• burnout from nonstop sessions and the value of a strong team
• vetting guests, avoiding politics, and guarding brand fit
• family restaurant roots shaping service and work ethic
• a supportive relationship as an actual creator advantage
• separating personal life from content with structure
• imposter syndrome and embracing culture and identity
• partnering with Culture and connecting with Fresno pioneers
• real estate strategy, loan assumption at 3 percent, and retirement planning
• practical risk taking, contingency plans, and long-game thinking
Stay tuned for our three-part Grizzly Talks series—next guest drops soon
Go follow them @grizzlytaks @mike.on.the.mike
Follow us @ brokeboyz_ff on Instagram and TikTok
Intro Music by Rockstar Turtle- Broke Boyz (999)
Christmas Intro Song by Nico
Welcome back to another episode of The Broke Boys. I'm Martin. I'm DJ. And today we got a special guest and a most influential podcast out here in Fresno as well. Please introduce yourselves, bro.
SPEAKER_00:Man, I'm Mike on the mic here with Grizzly Ty. We got the boys right behind me. What is going on, guys? This is Firefilms, and we're here on set.
SPEAKER_01:And I'm just I'm just David.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, you didn't you didn't do the introduction? David Alvarez F under F. I'm David Alvarez F underscore.
SPEAKER_01:It's been so long since he've done he's done it.
SPEAKER_00:A little rusty. Yeah. A little rusty. A little rusty, man. Well, thank you guys for having us on today, man. It's uh it's a pleasure to be with you guys, man. And um, man, I'm excited to be here, honestly.
SPEAKER_02:Excited to have you, man. Absolutely. So uh with that being said, uh, tell us about what you do.
SPEAKER_00:So uh I guess me, I guess with Grizzly Talk, right? I'm uh I'm I'm the host of Grizzly Talk, right? Right. Uh I do a few things on the side as well. So I'm an insurance agent. I also uh have rental properties, so I do that, invest in rental properties, and then um what else is in my bio on Instagram? It's Tinder Profile. It's like Tinder Propile. I'm an insurgent, I'm an insurance agent. I invest in uh real estate. Uh and then damn, what's the last thing? I don't even know what I oh, and I'm a host on Grizzly Talk Podcast. The most important one. The most important one.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, can't forget that. Heck yeah. So, and with that being said, always remember to invest into yourself before anything else.
SPEAKER_00:100%, man. Yeah, I'm I mean, uh in investing in yourself is the number one thing. I remember for the longest time I felt stuck, bro. I know we're kind of talking about that, right? And kind of finding out what's gonna get me to that next level. And um, I mean, bro, as you keep aging, keep aging like you think you're gonna be somewhere, right? And for the longest time I was stuck, and um it just took one real estate uh transaction to like I'm I felt like I was back on track. I was like, okay, now I'm doing something with my life or doing something right, or getting towards where I want to be.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. And so you you went to school for real estate or what?
SPEAKER_00:No, uh I went to I went to Clovis North, bro. I get like um, you know, I I feel like I got really great education there. I never went to college or did any of that. Um and I always knew that if I didn't go to college, the number one way to make money was through sales. Right.
SPEAKER_02:So I just went straight on uh on sales. Yeah, dude. I'm not gonna lie to you, that is the biggest investment in trust in yourself that you can have. I think a lot of people always have self-doubt. Like obviously, I know the job market in Frasno and the Central Valley, it's kind of rough right now. But when people see that, oh, commission only, they're like, nah, bro, I'm not doing commission only. I need this, I need flat rate pay. And taking that leap to go into commission only takes a lot of self-trust and ambition. Because now it's on you to make that bread. Now it's on you to make sure your bills are paid and make sure that you can make ends meet. So I think that takes a lot of level of self-trust and knowing that you can do it, you gotta do it. So that's amazing, bro. That's that's very inspirational to me because I'm also one of those people like, damn, can I do it? Like, am I gonna be able to make ends meet doing this? And I've had jobs that were commissioned only that didn't end up working out, not because of me, but because of the industry that I was in. Yeah. Uh so that's that's amazing, man. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, just it's just betting on yourself, you know. Like you can stick to an hourly, and I mean, that's that's for sure. Yeah, but if you want to get to the next level, you gotta you get there's gotta be some risk involved, right? Right? There's gotta be some risk involved. Exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's just like going to the casino, right? You gotta you gotta risk and reward. Risk and reward. That's how much you want to risk in it. Don't be like me and hit the casino and be 1600. Man, you're just one win away from winning everything back.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, you only lose when you quit. Right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so don't ever give up, continue gambling.
SPEAKER_00:Exactly, exactly, man. I mean, one thing I've always said is like I'm definitely a de like a degenerate, you know, with everything. So it's like being a podcast host and then being like involved in the community. I'm like, sometimes I'm like, I don't know if I'm the best influence, you know, but I mean I have a good time and I do my best to to provide for everything that I have I want and have, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:No, and you have you're a great conversationalist. Yeah, like you have great conversations and just getting to know you and getting to talk to you, you're amazing, and and it's great to see the the stuff and the milestones that you guys have accomplished. Thank you, man. You know, so you know, I want to reflect on on the whole podcast. When was it where you guys all kind of got together and we're like, you know what? We had so many late nights, junk conversations about doing this. I'm excited. When was it like the first initial start?
SPEAKER_00:So I remember uh me and David, we had probably one episode in, right? And me and David, we used to live together. So uh we had a conversation, it was like, let's start a podcast. And then years later, he hit me up and he kind of pushed it, you know, and I was like, all right, let's do it. We got all the equipment, we got one episode in, and um, and then we posted something. I remember Luis hit us up, and he was like, Oh bro, you're starting. He's like, I was about to start a podcast too, uh, with his cousin, right? But some stuff was going on there, and so I remember I had a UFC fight at my house. I host a lot of fights. Yeah, you guys gotta come through for one for sure. I'm down. Yeah, but uh, but we were there, and um, I mean, of course we're we're drinking and everything, having a good time. And uh we tell Luis, we're like, hey, you should like be a part of the podcast, right? And because David said he's like, I don't know if I want to host or not. So we're like, all right, let's get Luis to host, right? And then he was working on all that stuff. He's like, all right, I'll let you guys know in a week because I don't know if my cousin we're gonna end up starting this. And so David was like, Nah, you gotta tell us right now. And he agreed to it. And then literally, like that following week, I gave him maybe like an hour, two-hour notice. And I was like, hey, we got a podcast like in an hour or two. I was like, You want to come through? Right. And he was there, and I mean the rest was history, man. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So who's uh somebody that you guys had that was like your guys' first, like, oh fuck, this is like someone big, we have to get ready.
SPEAKER_00:Man, I would say it was Anthony's tacos. Okay. I remember they were uh, you know, they're very well known. I mean, they have great tacos and everything like that too. And um, I remember we got them on and they had like I they have over 20,000 followers. And I remember that was like the like like that moment. I remember I was I was sitting there and like the light, I was still fresh, right? Camera starts rolling, and I'm like, damn, like it's all quiet and everything, right? And I'm looking at them and I'm talking to them, and it and it's crazy because we had a game plan, we're gonna get their story, we're gonna do this and this and that. And then they sit down right before we start. I remember Bianca was saying they're like, Yeah, we've done like two podcasts, but they just always like uh ask us the same questions.
SPEAKER_01:You want something different?
SPEAKER_00:And I was like, I was about to ask those same questions, right? Yeah, so it was like boom, audible. And um, luckily it was it was great that Bianca was there because instead of going into like we got Anthony's story, but we also went into Bianca's story of how she even um like got together with Anthony, right? And she kind of talked about it, and it was it was it was pretty funny what they did. But I remember at one moment in the podcast, I'm like looking at him, yeah, and he's like, he's like, How you doing, bro? You good? And I'm like, uh yeah, yeah, I'm like, hold on, I'm the I'm the one with the questions. Don't ask me nothing. I was like, damn, bro, I was so nervous, bro. It was it was crazy. But I feel like right after that, I think all of us believed we're like, okay, we can we can do something with this, you know. We can we can we're going somewhere and we got this guest, so it's like every guest gives you a little bit of more juice to go and get the next guest, right? And then we just kept it going from there. But I feel like that was the like a big guest for us at that time. We were like excited to get them.
SPEAKER_02:Man, what was one of your uh one of your most humbling moments, I should say.
SPEAKER_00:Man, one of my most humbling moments. Um that one's hard, bro. That's a hard question. There's been a few, but I think it's just been in um it's been in fighting the burnoff, honestly, or the burnout.
SPEAKER_02:It's a good one. Right?
SPEAKER_00:Because it's like, man, we're running, we're running, we're running, we're running. And at one point we're doing what, like two, three podcasts a week, four podcasts a week, and then we're we're we kept running, we kept running, and then it's like, man, you hit that burnout, yeah, and then it's just like, damn, bro, it's not as easy as you thought it was.
SPEAKER_02:It's not to fight it, to get out of it after you've reached that level of like, all right, now you gotta jump back in. And it's just like you're fighting those boundaries, you're fighting that urge to just be like, all right, but we still got this, we still got this. Like, how do you get out of that pocket? That is one of the hardest things. So, was there something that kind of sparked into you to get out of that burnout?
SPEAKER_00:Uh, I I think so. Honestly, it's just a team, you know, when you have the team around you, yeah, it's a lot easier because whenever I'm not at 100%, they go 150 or they go 200, right? Right, and that just keeps everything moving forward as well.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think we uh we definitely had a fair share of that. I mean, going through dog days, art hop, the content even after that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I talked about it with Bike too, and on his platform. If you guys haven't checked it out, go check it out. Yeah, uh, that interview was amazing. And uh, and like I literally said, like there would be days that we would be working back to back, and then we would still have to come back here to the studio, yep, record with the artist, we would be done conversating, networking, and then it'd be midnight, and then I had to go to work the next morning at 2 a.m. Like, yeah, that's just like the sacrifices, the beauty of the sacrifices, because hey, we love doing this. Yeah, this is something that we enjoy to do, and I'm pretty sure you've had those moments as well where you're just like, oh, it's all worth it, no matter what. The sacrifice, the love, like it's all just worth it.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely. I remember uh one time we had um we had just done Hoggirl Halloween, and that was another big like staple moment for us, right? Like that was huge for us, and then just the connections that we got from it, right? And uh one of the biggest, you know, videographers in the city is Stunagram at the time, right? We really looked up to him and um you know, shout out to Stunna. He dude, he's been amazing, bro. Like he's he's helped us out a ton and um always supported us, right? And we got him on the pod, but I remember we didn't really know him at the time, right? Right, but it was right after Hot Girl Halloween, and we went and ate at uh some pizza spa. Some what what was that place called? Uh um it's some Indian uh the curry pizza. It's not the curry, it's uh Tandori Pizza. Tandory, okay. That place is fire. Bro, so far, but right after that, uh we had like we went and ate there with like all of K Rich's team, and then we went and did Stunner right afterwards, and we probably started the pod at like 11 or midnight. And I remember we were it was like one, it was like one in the morning. That podcast never dropped. We gotta run it back with Stunna for sure. But uh we were drinking a little too much, and dude, that was a yeah, that was a hilarious. There's some hilarious things that happened, but shout out happy dad. Shout out happy dad sponsor us on. Um, but I remember we we uh had him on, and yeah, dude, it was like till two in the morning, three in the morning, and bro, I had work the next day at like 9 a.m. So it was like those sacrifices, but it's like when you're running on that high, it makes things so much easier.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yes, yes, and it's so easy when everybody's in energy is genuine. Now, with that being said, have you ever had to run a podcast where you kind of had a difficult client, like somebody you were just like, okay, we're not running it back with this person again?
SPEAKER_01:Name drop. Name drop.
SPEAKER_00:I won't name drop, but I mean, yeah, it's probably in the entire time that we've been doing this podcast, we have only not dropped, I think, two episodes, two episodes probably. One being Stunna, which wasn't like it wasn't an issue or anything. It was just like drunk convo. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and then just some things happened. Like we like we had like a I think in the middle of the podcast, yeah, Stunner like dropped a whole beer on me. Oh, drum alpha. But there was this other one, and um, you know, we we had him on, and it was like uh we we took shots before. Right. Uh, and we had smoked a little bit, and then when we got into the room to start the podcast, it just um like it was just like less than a like a few word answers for everything. So it was just like I think it was probably the shortest podcast we had, it was like 20, 30 minutes, maybe. And at the time our average one was going for like an hour, hour 30. Dang, you know, so that it was a little bit difficult, and um, I mean, we haven't ran it back since. So right, right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and I think that's the biggest thing, uh, the biggest controversy is sometimes podcast episodes don't always go the way that we we like it to. You're taking a risk every time you choose a client to do a podcast with, every episode. Yeah, um, and I think that's one of the things that we even weren't expected to see or notice was that you have to analyze your client before you bring them on. But even then, like you might think like, oh, this is gonna be a great episode, and they might steer in the wrong way that you might not even anticipate. Um, but I think that overall, you know, people are people, people are humans. At the end of the day, people make mistakes. Yeah. Um, and at the end of the day, I think it's a learning process for everyone for people who are barely starting out a podcast, and for people, it's maybe their first time being on a podcast and in front of a camera.
SPEAKER_01:Um because I think that's also another thing that people love. Like out here, especially in the Central Valley, they're like, What the fuck? You have a podcast, and they start, you know, thinking like, Oh, let me get on. I want to talk about X, Y, and Z. You know, and it's just like we're just selective of like who we're gonna have on. Because I'm not, you know, like we've talked about it. Like, I don't want to get into no politics, right? I don't want to get to no city politics either. Like here, we know we grew up in Fresno, we know some of the silly city politics. Right. Um, so again, it's like you you pay attention to some of the things and some of the issues within the environment, and you're just like you select on who you want. Right. So I do dive into a little bit deeper on certain people, and certain people where I do like I notice them, I know who they are, right? Then there's no issue. Right. But it's when somebody that you don't know, right? You definitely do have to do like a almost like a your own background check like who these people are, and also like what's the benefit? Why do you want to be on here? Right. What is your goal? Right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and oh go ahead, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:We we've definitely had people that like message us and and tell us, like, hey, I want to come on and talk about X, Y, and Z, or like, I mean, we've had certain episodes where it's like, hey, I want to come on and talk about this. We've had people hit us up and like, oh, like, I want to talk about like basically like talk shit on my baby daddy. Like, it's like, all right, maybe this isn't isn't the platform, but like kind of like how you said people like are intrigued by the podcast and everything like that, but when it's your first time on camera, you get shy, yeah, you get nervous, and then so you can't talk, right? It's like harder to talk on all that sort of stuff. So it it definitely plays into there for sure. Yeah, I get you on that.
SPEAKER_01:I understand that. So I want to steer away from the from the platform for a little bit. Okay, um, and I want to ask more about you, your story, your background. So I know that you guys all met and you guys created something beautiful, but what made you how was it like growing up in the Clovis area?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh honestly, I I always uh am very thankful for my for my upbringing because I feel like for the years that it mattered, I had it really easy, right? And then life didn't get a little bit more difficult until probably I mean, right as I turned 18. But I mean, I'm always grateful for everything that I've like lived through and everything like that. I had great parents, um, came up in a good home and everything. And so I'm actually like kind of like an only child in a sense because I'm the only one from my mom and dad, right? But I have uh half siblings on both sides, yeah, right. And I'm also the youngest, so my parents are older, so like I was kind of like like my closest sibling is five years older, and then from there is 10 years plus. So I mean, by the time I was 10 years old, I mean all my most of my siblings were already out of the house and everything like that, right? But my parents owned a restaurant growing up, so I was always in the customer service industry. Since I mean, I I could do anything, I was busting tables, I was washing dishes, I learned the kitchen a little bit, um, learned serving as I got older and everything. So I'm really grateful for that time because I was able to build a really great relationship with like my mom. Because I remember when I graduated every morning we were serving lunch together and we're like your breakfast and all that uh sort of stuff, right? So that's kind of the background I I come from. And um, you know, when I was 18, my parents ended up uh selling the restaurant. So when they sold their restaurant, they ended up deciding to move to Mexico. So that's when life got a little bit more tougher for me because it was like I just had to figure it out. Yeah, right. And so they left and they're like, here's three months' worth of bills. After that, like, figure it out. Right. Basically, right? They didn't say that exactly, but yeah, that was it.
SPEAKER_01:They should have just said it like that.
SPEAKER_00:But you know, thank God that's when I ended up dropping out of out of college. I only did like a semester and a half, maybe. Uh, and I went straight into sales, bro. Kind of like how we're talking, right? Yeah, yeah. And um, I won't even shout this place out because I mean I didn't really like working there, but they did give me like a lot of foundation for everything that I needed to succeed in sales, right? So I will I will give them that credit. But uh then I started working for for AAA, and then you know, I guess the rest was was that man. I mean, every year has been a grind to be able to um you know survive and then get to a good place and then uh helping out my parents to them moving back and within a year they moved back. Um and I mean, yeah, that's that's kind of kind of where my whole story was was built. Yeah, there's a lot of of course little a lot of things I a lot of things, and I mean feel free to ask, but that's kind of the yeah, long story short.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So with your your partner, your girlfriend, how was that? How's your guys' love story? How'd you guys meet?
SPEAKER_00:Man, so that that's kind of crazy because so kind of like how you were saying I was always looking for something else. Yes, right. It's like I'm here, but what's gonna get me here? Exactly. Right. So I was always doing different things, and um, I don't know if you guys have everybody in sales probably at one point or another has dabbled into network marketing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Right?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And so I did this network marketing company and um made a lot of connections through it. Actually, honestly, doing that one company helped me create like a lot of connections that I have today.
SPEAKER_02:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:But one of those connections led to another connection, which was my my compadre, right? Shout out Ali. Uh I met him like January of 2020, right before the whole pandemic stuff happened. And um I had gone through like I had just got out like a super toxic relationship, probably like a year prior. And um, I was kind of going through it at the time, or not really going through it, but I was like out of it finally, right? Right. And um uh what happened? Um, I met Michael Padre, and then he actually, uh his wife is my girl's cousin. So they introduced us. It's kind of funny though, because like I always tell her, because she would uh her Michael Madre would always tell me about her cousin. She'd be like, you should talk to my cousin, this and this and that, right? And I was like, uh, this was right before I became the godfather to their son, right? Right. So I was like, I'm not gonna DM her because I was always staying away from like if you were related to anybody that I knew, I'm not gonna date you. Yeah, right? I just don't dip my toes there, right? That's huge. So I was like, you know what? I'm not gonna DM her. I'm just gonna meet her at the baptism. Well, by the baptism, she had a boyfriend, right? So she didn't even go to that. So I always I was like, I always joke with her. I'm like, nah, you were with some other dude.
SPEAKER_01:So what you're saying is you were the nine and shiny armor used to be.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. But um, but but yeah, I mean, she was dating some dude, and then you know, I dated some people, and then uh it ended up coming to her birthday, Michael Madre's birthday, and um my girl had just broken up with her dude before that, and then so I met her at her birthday party. Luis was actually there, yeah. And uh yeah, and so after that, we just started talking, talking and talking, and then I mean, um, yeah, it's we've been together now. I mean, April will be five years. So it's it's been a good amount of time, and uh it's definitely been the healthiest relationship and the most supportive as well. Because, like, man, shout out to my girl for real because like she's she's definitely my number one supporter, right? And it's like it makes life so much easier because we're working as a team. Like, yeah, she supports everything I do from all the work that I have to do at work, right? And then all the work outside of work doing all of this sort of stuff. I mean, like, shout out to her for real because like, man, sometimes we'd be out at like a shoot or something, or we'd be at an event. Right. I'd get home at one in the morning, two in the morning, and boom, she's there, bro. And she's like, I know you're hungry, bro. She literally at one in the morning, bro, she's she's handing me food to eat when I get back, you know? And I'm never worried about like I'm never worried about like, oh, you're dealing with the you're out too late or you're out this and that, and that sort of thing, you know? So man, that's been that's been huge for sure.
SPEAKER_01:That is huge, man. And and you know, it's a good thing because you know, I I always say my girls is my rock, she's my biggest supporter, she helps me out, she's she's the backbone uh of the relationship. And and when you have a partner that's that's able to to help you and support you and and uh you know almost like encourage you to continue going and doesn't make it a problem, it's like whole game changer.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yeah, because I could imagine I'm like, bro, last relationship, and sometimes even my sister my even my sister, you know, shout out to her, but she she's a little toxic or whatever, and she's like oh Toxica, yeah, Toxica for sure. She'd be like, she doesn't tell you nothing for being out that late, or she didn't. I'm like, bro, no, she's not crazy like you, you know.
SPEAKER_01:My sister says the same thing, and I'm like, don't influence that. Shut the fuck up. Like, don't tell Kat anything.
SPEAKER_02:And I can I can attest to that too. You know, my past relationships, and you've been a witness to that too, bro. Going out trying to hang out with the homies sometimes, and that toxic relationship is just always just blowing up your phone. Bro, I'm telling you, I I'm so grateful for the relationship that I'm in right now because it's like I'm still adjusting to that. Because it's like she literally just told me the other day, she's like, you don't have to update me and tell me like everything that you do, like you're good. And I'm like, okay, but like I want to, yeah, but I realized, well, that's because of my previous situation. That's your scar and being fixed to oh, I'm going here. Hey, I'm doing this, hey, I'm doing that.
SPEAKER_01:Three rolls of toilet. I'm using three, three twice.
SPEAKER_02:And I think it's uh it's something that is definitely hard to adapt to, but I think that's an amazing thing to have, man. I think it's an amazing thing to have because it's such a supportive uh background because you don't need that level of stress while you're already stressed out about, okay, I'm running behind on this episode. Oh my god, I gotta do this, I gotta do that, and then you got work the next day. Like having that peace of mind is everything, bro.
SPEAKER_00:It's everything. It's a cheat code, bro. It's a cheat code for sure. I'm like, it'll be editing sessions or we're in meetings or whatever, and it's just like I don't gotta think about like food or yeah, you know, yeah, clothes or or whatever. And it's just like, um, you know, so that's what pushes me even harder to provide everything that I can for her is at the same time, you know. So it's just like a it's a push and a push, you know. It's not even a push and pull, it's just you know, getting even further for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, absolutely. That's an amazing relationship to have, man. And I'm grateful to have that relationship now because I'm telling you, after that last situation we had outside, I was stressed out. I thought it was gonna be around two, bro.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I was stressed out about it too. You stressed me out. Just because like I've known DJ for for years, yeah, and I remember you know, the most toxic one was that. Like he was literally like we would be doing something, chilling, talking, and having a conversation. This was DJ, bro, stressed, sweating, just like having a text and arguing, and it was all just because they were hanging out with the boys, and it's it's it's hard, and I can't I can't imagine that. And I get it, you know, people are getting into toxic relationships and they're stuck in la costumbre, you know, uncomfortable in the relationship, and it's just like, man, like when you find somebody that really respects you and really loves you and really encourages you to be the best version of yourself, you really level up with that person, exactly.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, because especially doing this, it's like, bro, you got a whole situation going on right here, right? But then you gotta perform here, yes, right? And it's like, damn, it's it's a whole different like energy to like suppress all that, yeah, and show up right here, you know?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, man. That was my next question is how is it to separate your life from content creation?
SPEAKER_00:Honestly, it's it's it's been really easy because it's like when I'm on, I'm on, right? And we got the set times, we got everything right. Um, and then when we're off, we're off, you know? And it's just like, all right, like boom, we got this job done. Now let's I mean, do everything else.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, get back to your personal life and all that. Yeah, clock in, lock in. Yeah, yeah. I'm struggling right now having to try to separate the two before it was like that where I was like, cool, I'm good. Like, once we're done, we're done. But it's like every chance, it's always something, it's always like, hey, I want to do this, or hey, can you do this? And it's just like like I'm stuck on my phone when I'm having like family events or I'm going to family, and that's the hardest thing is like I don't want to turn off my phone, yeah, because a lot of people ask questions, they a lot of people want to do stuff, and it's just like you know, well, I can't miss opportunities, right? And it's a hard way to to I would say like guiding yourself and separating everything. So do you do you ever felt like you felt having imposter syndrome?
SPEAKER_00:Definitely, bro. Ever since I started, I mean, before before I started doing any of this, like I'd post once or twice a month, right? But my whole life I feel like I always like dealt with imposter syndrome just because like I never felt like I was truly like um where I was supposed to be, in a sense, right, right? Just because I went to Clubus North, right? And it's like a primarily white school, preppy school type, type of thing, and I never like really fully fit in there, yeah, right. But I always tried to. Yeah. And it wasn't until like I started another job, and I remember it was like everybody there. You couldn't work there if you didn't speak Spanish, right? And then like that's when I fully started like embracing my culture and embracing uh like everything, right? And I was like, damn, that's when I was like, okay, this is who I am, this is where I'm I'm supposed to be, you know. But just with this, like, even sometimes I think I'm like, damn, you know, like uh I don't know if I should be talking to people or I should be like I said, you know, like I'm not the best influencer, like I'm just me, you know, that's that's it. Like, I don't think that people should be doing everything that I'm doing, right? But it's just like, how am I gonna portray that outside? And I guess the only way I could do it is just being fully open and be like, hey, I'm like, I'm not proud that I'm a degenerate uh gambler or drink or you know, this sort of stuff, you know, but like one thing I am proud of and that keeps me going is that like I like I work my ass off to provide and to have a future for myself, right? You know, before I go and do all this other stuff.
SPEAKER_02:And I think that's also one of the best benefits of being in that position, like feeling like a degenerate, but you're still in a position where you're like, okay, but look what I provide. Right, look what I can bring to the table. Yeah. And that's the biggest come up is like nobody can take that from you, nobody can take your pride from you. Like you coming from a situation where you never really felt like you fit in, and then you took upon a public platform where you have to speak about how you feel about certain things, you have to present yourself as a public figure. That's one of the boldest moves you could have made. And then on top of that, and again, investing into yourself with property management, investing into yourself and in and different aspects of life. I think that um I think there's a lot to benefit from that. I think it's crazy because it's just like I'm a degenerate, I'll admit it right now, bro. I take I take a 2004 hoop dee and I spend$1,000 on it just to make it look cool, scrape on the ground and spark up and sound loud and shit. My parents do not fuck with that shit. They're like, bro, you could have gone to college with that money. But at the same time, I mean, look how far it's gotten me. It's something that I enjoy doing, it's something that I love. And it gets you to different places, regardless of what people portray you as, and regardless of what it looks like, if it makes you happy, if it brings out the inner you, if it supports who you are as a person, do it, bro. And you're inspiring other people while you do it, whether you know it or not.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's that's I think that's one of the things it's like hearing the outside noise, and when you think like people actually think that we're doing something, you know, and it's like that's where the imposter syndrome is because like, are we doing anything? Right, right, right, right. But then you get these outside, it's like, you know, people are uh saying that we have clout, and I'm like, yeah, do we have clout?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I know that, but I know that I know that, man.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but you guys, you so you guys is like biggest move from what I've witnessed is you guys are now with partnered up with culture. Yes, how did that become?
SPEAKER_00:So we we got hit up by culture uh quite a while ago, and so they just asked us to start doing content for us if we can do videos and and things like that. And so Luis actually went out and uh talked with them and actually took over their social medias, right? Because what Luis does now is he does content creation. I mean, guys freaking born for it, right? Right, right. But uh, so he he went out and he talked to them and uh secured a contract to be able to uh run all their social medias and all that sort of stuff, so we kind of took over everything. So I mean, that's kind of how we got more and more involved uh with them. And then so he's running all their social media page. Shout out him and and Adri. Um, and then I just run the the podcast portion of it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, that's completely different. I saw that and I was like, that's an amazing idea, dude. Like keep it going. Like I I love seeing when people do different things and new things that no one isn't doing. Right. Like I think that's more influential than what's going on now. Yeah, like people that do you know TikTok dances that that's you see thousands, you know, trends and stuff like that. I feel uh trends are quick as quick as they come, quick as they go. Yeah, so it's like seeing something that you guys are leaving behind, you guys are leaving something that's imprinted. Right, it's not it's not here for a bit and it's just gone. No, it's imprinted because then people are gonna be searching up, you know, like weed maps or anything like that. That's all gonna be associated with culture. Yeah, then your faces are gonna go on there, then everybody else that you guys have been introducing, everything is being like a landmark that you guys are creating.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, one one of the biggest things about culture is Reggie, which is the owner, right? He's from Fresno, right? Like born and raised, and now he has his own dispensary in here. We got a lot of names in dispensaries here, but it's like locally owned. Yes. So that that's huge in itself because like whenever we became a platform, we wanted to highlight Fresno business, Fresno uh business owners, and everything like that. So, you know, that that was huge, and then especially just because he's he's such a cool dude, you know, like such a genuine guy. You ever I mean, you guys gotta gotta meet him, right? Super cool dude, and um, and then also like just the different relationships that we're able to build from that. Like what one thing that we had always wanted to do when we started this podcast. I remember we wanted to get Fashion on, yeah, right. And then you mentioned it on the last podcast, is is the mayor, Jerry Dyer. Yeah, right. That was that was Luis's. I was like, the the mayor, bro. Like, all right, like we'll we'll take it. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:No, when I told DJ that too, DJ said the same thing, like, are you sure you want the mayor? And I was just like, but we represent Fresno, yeah. I was just like, regardless of the politics, I was like, he is uh the face of Fresno right now.
SPEAKER_02:Man got the keys to the city, man.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly, of course, and anything that we can do, like like milestones or anything in the future. Like, I do hope one day to get the key of Fresno and then we can celebrate and do bigger things. That's the ultimate goal, right? Right, yeah, and so that's why I don't see it like as a political move to do anything like that, other than like, hey, I'm showcasing the city, and that's what what I represent.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. Well, it was it was dope through culture. Um, you know, shout out to Evan. I don't know if you go guys know um Evan, Grizzly Nep. No, I didn't. No, well, I mean, truly like a pioneer in in the in the Fresno culture, right? He's the one that was behind um Grizzly Fest, right? Or him and his his partners, uh, right? But he's he's behind the scenes on so many uh like festivals, events like here in the area, right? Yeah, um, and through him, he actually brought Fashon to culture, no way, which was, I mean, dope, bro. Like, I remember I didn't even know he was gonna be there. I just know that we were gonna be shooting a podcast with Evan. Right. And I walk in the building and I see Fashan there, and I'm like, holy shit, bro. I'm not prepared for this at all. But I mean, I didn't end up interviewing him there, but there's been so many people that have told us, like, uh, hey, we can help you get him on, and and this, and I'm like, you know, the the right time will come. Yeah, the right it's all in the right timing, like we're not one to push on anything, and it's like, hey, we're not gonna push for an introduction or anything like that. It's just like we've crossed paths a few times, and it's like on that last, it's like now we have his contact info. Yeah, yeah. So now we can we can get to that that goal, right? Um, but I mean, Evan's been a huge part. I mean, shout out to to Sam, Sam from FTK. I don't know if you guys have met him, but we should definitely introduce you guys. But dude, Sam is another pioneer here in Fresno.
SPEAKER_01:Sam the dude that that does the Chansey, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:He he's uh he's a um he's part of marketing for chansey. Right, but he's been there for a long time. Uh he's the one who who helped us get Derek on, the president of the Grizzlies, right? Um, but Sam has been a pioneer from like I mean creating here in Fresno. I mean, he's done um like he's done um merchandise for Kanye West. Dang like way back when uh right the Bear logo and all that sort of stuff. That's that's Sam. Dang uh and so Sam has always showed us love from the beginning, man. Uh when we first started, we got Taco Truck Throwdown, when Taco Truck Throwdown was going, because he's one of the ones that came up with the idea. And then he introduced us to Mike Oz, which is Fresno Street Eats, which they're he's them two are the ones that kind of pieced everything together to make that event uh happen.
SPEAKER_01:But I mean, yeah, huge, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Big pioneers for sure. Something I wanted to ask you, this is gonna dabble back into just you as a person. I remember earlier you spoke about you did do a semester of college.
SPEAKER_00:What were you gonna major in? So my idea, right? Always looking for more, right? Was um, well, when I graduated, when I was about to graduate high school, um really the only influence that I had that was like successful was my brother, one of my brothers, right? Yeah. On my mom's side, his name's Cell. And I always looked up to him because he had the like American dream life. Yeah, right. Yeah, he had a government job, stay-at-home life, the white picket fence type, right? Life, right? And um, he was doing very well for himself. So I remember I wanted to, my my idea was to graduate high school, go to college, be a bank teller, work myself to like uh a banker or whatever, and then in two years buy a house, graduate college, and then like live my white white picket fence type life, right? Yeah, um but I always wanted more, right? Right, because that's just like the regular like work into your 65 type shit. Right. So can I cuss on here, my buddy? Of course. I was waiting for somebody to do something. We don't restrict nothing. We don't restrict nothing. I always tell them, I'm like, bro, we're not we're not big enough to fucking do deal. Uh but but anyway, so I was like, I went into uh college for uh computer science. And my my idea was like, I'm gonna go through computer science, I'm gonna learn coding, and then I'm gonna like create an app and be rich. Yes, right, and that was like the plan.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, that was crazy is I actually did Google IT, which is funny because I told myself I wouldn't go to college, but I ended up taking Google IT courses for the same thing. I wanted to get into IT because I was like, okay, I mean I can be stay at home, make my bread, and then I can invest that money into my business. Right. Listen, I'm glad you didn't go that route. Because I mean there's money in it, but look at how far you've gotten outside of that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. I mean, um sales, bro, sales, you can if you're good at sales, you can make surgeon money, bro. Yes, you can make surgery money.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I've met real estate agents that uh I actually grew up with and just seeing the difference in our lifestyle. I was just like, dude, I don't. I wish I would have taken that route. Like, I didn't, I didn't go to real estate school. I didn't do anything like that. I planned to. Um, but at the same time, I'm also depending on like, all right, well, I want to start a towing company. I don't think I want to go into real estate from knowing the politics in real estate alone, too. Um, it's just something I've been kind of in and out about. But I think it's crazy because the lifestyle difference of someone who's successful in real estate and seeing the homies pull up in their Porsche, the homies pull up in their new BMW M4. And I'm like, dang, bro, we went to the same school. Yeah. And look at the different positions that we're in. But that's what happens when you invest in yourself. That's what happens when you dabble into the job marketing of sales. You know, if you invest in yourself, you believe in yourself, you take that risk, this is the outcome. This is the lifestyle. And you don't always have to go the traditional route. I think the misconception of life is that you have to go to school to be successful. You have to go to school and get a degree. And you know, again, the white picket fence lifestyle of stay-at-home wife, have a family, work a job until you're 65, retire, and then you know, enjoy it. But I think that in our generation, that misconception is being kind of twisted and turned a little bit more. And I think social media is a huge part of that. Um, you know, local social media influencers making bank off of certain moments, like people like i Show Speed and people like um Streamings and all that. Yeah, and taking that advantage of investing in yourself is big. So I just want to say to everyone in this room, I think that we have taken that step, that risk, and take that shot in the dark to really see what we can make out of. And we are one of the most successful podcasts in the Central Valley. I mean, look how far we've come. The people we've interviewed, the people that have been on the platform, uh, whether it was just one time or multiple times, bro. It's a beautiful outcome for the city of Fresno. And uh I don't doubt that we'll be able to make Jerry Dyer on the on a podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, no, I believe in you guys for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Honestly, I even you guys, like you guys have such uh power as well. Like I don't uh talking to DJ and talking to everybody in my team, like I told them I was just like Grizzly Talks is influential. Yes, I was just like it doesn't matter, like uh numbers don't matter, yes, but just the image is what I see. The image of who you guys are and what you guys represent, what you guys do. You guys are huge, yeah. And I give full respect to anybody that does anything, content creation, videography, YouTube, streams, all of it because I know what it takes to sacrifice so much and to risk so much and not not knowing what you're doing, yeah, and being confused and being having that like self-doubt sometimes. Yeah, so it's huge to see that you guys are so successful and you guys can be super influential, and you guys are super influential that you guys are gonna have big names and you guys are gonna continue growing and continue blowing up. I love seeing that.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you, thank you. Yeah, it it still blows my mind to this day, you know. Like, never imagined it getting this far. And it was like, you know, we we never I never thought it was gonna be as serious as it is now. I just thought, like, hey, I have fun talking to people because I'm in sales, right? I talk to people every single day. I have to find a way to connect with them, I have to find a way to make conversations with them. So I was like, why can't I just do that with people that I actually want to talk to? Right. And that's kind of where this whole idea came. But I mean, kind of going back to what you were saying as far as like social media puts this um lens on like you have to be like uber successful in all this and that, right? And like I always wanted that, like I always followed that, and I'm like, I gotta be like, you know, driving Lamborghinis or doing this and that, making millions and all this and that. And like as I've gone further in my life, it's like you always do want to aim for that, right? But you want to take the right steps to be able to uh have a proper future because like I see it every single day, man. Like people walk in uh to my office, and I'm in insurance, right? So people walk into my office and like they're elderly, they're on social security. Um, everything's a struggle, bro. Everything's a struggle, bro. And and right, and one thing that pushed me towards real estate was like I see the people that come in and they pay, they're happy, they pay their year in in full, and like they don't complain and they're just like in a great life, and then they just take off. What's the difference, bro? They have rental properties, yes, right? So they have income on top of their social security. So, like, one thing I always said was like, yeah, we want to shoot for the stars, but you should also take those steps to make sure that you have a solid um future when it comes to your retirement plan.
SPEAKER_02:And not only that, but I think a solid plan B, right? Like, if let's just say it doesn't work out, okay, what's gonna happen if this doesn't work? What can I fall back on? I think a lot of people don't prepare themselves for that enough. And that's why we see so many people end up falling in line with the okay, now I gotta work this nine to five for the next 30 years until I can retire, and they're miserable because they're not happy with where they're at. You you have to take the time to really set a foundation for yourself. If you're taking that risk of, okay, I want to invest in this, okay, what all do you have to do? What mistakes do I need to avoid? Who can I use as a mentor to guide me through the process so that way I don't have to make those mistakes? Um, I think risk assessment is a very important when it comes to that because if you can't assess how much you're risking by taking that leap, you'll never know how far, how far you're going to fall. You'll never know how far you're gonna have to catch back up after you take that risk. Um, and I just I think that seeing someone like you in the position that you're in, after taking those risks and again still being as humble as you are, still knowing that there's things that you have to learn, still trying to make things work in your favor, that the grind doesn't just end when you get to that point. Like, oh yeah, I own properties. Well, it's not just that, there's still more to it. Um, like even though you do own properties, you may still have higher heights that you want to reach.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um, I think the biggest goal is to remember that you have to keep making more milestones. Yeah, there's more milestones you got to keep reaching.
SPEAKER_00:I I think the hardest part for me was always being a hundred percent sure on the risk that I was taking. And um, another shout out to my girl, the first property, rental property I ever got. I don't think I would have got that property if she didn't push me so much. She was like, Have you made the offer? Have you done this? Have you done that? And I was like, no, and she's like, We'll do it. And um, dude, by the grace of God, I don't know how I ended up getting that property. That deal was such a beautiful deal, bro, because I was able to assume the seller's loan. And he had it at a 3% interest rate.
SPEAKER_04:Wow.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And now it's like at 7%. So it's like it wouldn't even be profitable at that point. Right. Right. But I had to end up coming up with the money to be able to buy it because in order to assume the loan, I had to pay the previous owner um his equity. Right. Right. And so, like I I always feel like it was a full circle moment because kind of like how I told you is like, I feel like some people like it's you know, maybe they don't have the best upbringing or whatever, but then they get a break off and they just worry about themselves. Yeah. Right. And that's it. Right. Me, I had a good upbringing, but then once life kicked in, I not only had to worry about me, but my family as well. Right. Right. And um, I always felt like it was kind of a burden in a sense, right? Uh I took over like my parents' mortgage and um insurance and car payments and and everything, right? Phone bills. And um, like I always felt like, damn, I'm like kind of stuck here, but I was able to use that home because I was actually on the loan because um my parents they ended up separating, right? Right. And when they separated, um, we refinanced the home into mine and my mom's name. Gotcha. Right. And so because of that, I was able to then use their equity to get a home equity loan to be able to buy that property.
unknown:Dang.
SPEAKER_00:So I remember for the longest time, I was like, I'm pouring into here, I'm pouring into here, I'm pouring into here. What about me?
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And I was like, damn, I missed the low interest rates, I missed the the booming, and and like I could have poured into that, but then it but then I got this deal, and it's like none of that even mattered because I'm still getting that interest rate. I wouldn't have been even been able to do this if I didn't do that, right?
SPEAKER_02:Exactly.
SPEAKER_00:Right. So it was kind of like a full full circle moment.
SPEAKER_02:It's crazy how that works, isn't it? Yeah, so it's God's blessings, bro.
SPEAKER_00:It's God's blessing, it's all in his plan, it's all in his timing, and like I I I couldn't be more grateful, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I'm a I'm a huge believer in that God already has your path. You just gotta learn to take it, follow, and trust the path, no matter how many obstacles are gonna be in the way.
SPEAKER_02:And no matter if you can see it or not, sometimes you cannot see that path at all. Yeah, and again, that being the situation, you're like, oh dude, I missed out on the interest. I mean, like everything out of nowhere, you're like, oh, wait a minute. It was a full circle moment. I wasn't maybe it wasn't meant for me. I think that's the most beautiful part of life, honestly. Yeah, is getting there and being like, oh, that's why I didn't get at that point in time.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. Well, before we wrap this one up, Mike, it's been a pleasure getting more, getting to know you more, getting to have you open up and talk about you guys' beautiful platform and and talk about you and your upbringing. What's something that you would love to have the listeners know more about you or some encouraging words?
SPEAKER_00:Man, I would just say um one thing that I've learned through this process is like just go out and do it. You know, like you never know where the journey is gonna be taking you, but I mean, you learn along the way, and you're not gonna get anywhere if you don't take any risks. Right. Right? So take those risks, and if you lose, you lose, right? But at the end of the day, that loss is gonna get you a little bit further, even though if you don't notice it, even though if it sets you back for a year or whatever the case might be, you gotta go out there and do it. If you want to get further, right? You gotta take those risks. And I think that, you know, just me as as being more of like a shy person or being a little bit more to myself is like, don't be afraid to get yourself out there because never know where it'll take you, and you never know what it'll develop you into, exactly as well, you know. So I mean, thank you to you guys for for having me on. I mean, shout out to Luis and David. Um, they definitely helped me develop a lot in this process. Shout out to my girl bro, because like I don't know where I would be without her and you know, all my family, all my siblings on both sides. I love all you guys. Um, you know, whether we talk or not. Um, but man, shout out to everybody that's listening and everybody that uh has been a part of Grizzly Talk. Like, I really owe you guys a lot and really love you guys, and you know, I give thanks all the time.
SPEAKER_02:Heck yeah, man. Wholesome, wholesome. Heck yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's been a pleasure. Um, we're introducing this uh three part series called the Grizzly Talks, diving deeper into them. And uh so stay tuned for the next uh guest that we got going on. Much love. Peace. Peace.
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