0:00

I had to be enough, and it

0:02

wasn't about adding all these extra layers

0:04

and all these mechanisms

0:07

in which to try to people please or

0:09

to gain approval. It was like I had

0:12

to trust my instinct, my taste

0:14

and make things that I thought were compelling

0:17

and that I was joyful when

0:19

I was doing it. So much of my life

0:21

has not been about going

0:23

backwards because I have

0:26

had to grow. What do they say,

0:28

let go or be dragged?

0:31

Right?

0:31

Relentless growth has been

0:33

the through line throughout my life. Throughout my life,

0:35

Do out my life, Do out my life?

0:38

What if I told you there was more

0:40

to the story behind game

0:43

changing events? Get ready for my new

0:45

podcast, That Moment with Damon

0:47

John will jump into the

0:50

personal stories of some of the most

0:52

influential people on the planet,

0:54

from business mobiles and celebrities

0:56

to athletes and artists. Today's

0:59

guest stole the show as a childhood actor

1:01

locked in a reputation as a business

1:03

savvy but still organically entertaining

1:06

influencer, and parlayed his experiences

1:09

into a top ranked podcast.

1:11

You've seen My guy in Drake

1:14

and Josh Red Dawn twenty

1:16

twenty three. He's heard highest

1:18

grossing movie Oppenheimer.

1:21

That thing is like three hours long and

1:23

so much more. And if you're han't guess

1:25

yet, yep is my guy, Josh

1:28

Peck who I'm going to have one today and

1:30

I cannot wait to have the listeners

1:32

listen and give access to them in

1:35

a new way. Let me step back first

1:37

and give you a quick overview of his career.

1:39

Josh grew up in New York City with his mother, who

1:42

encouraged his acting passion and

1:44

moved them to Los Angeles

1:47

after he secured their part on Nickelodeon's

1:49

The Amanda Show. He continued getting

1:51

parts in TV and movies

1:54

before landing a lead role in

1:56

Drake and Josh. Josh became

1:59

more of a household name than anybody

2:01

else at this point, in locked in more

2:04

and more acting gigs and voice

2:06

acting roles, which is extremely hard

2:08

to do. Simultaneously, Josh

2:10

started to focus on social media and

2:13

tapping into the ability

2:15

to connect with fans and build

2:17

a following on a more personal

2:19

level. Let me tell you how personal that level is.

2:21

He currently has seventeen million

2:24

followers on Instagram alone, and millions

2:26

across his other channels too. His

2:29

fans have also been able to learn

2:31

more about him through his memoir

2:33

Happy People Are Annoying and

2:36

his top ranked podcast Good Guys,

2:38

which he hosts with Ben Soffer.

2:40

Josh is an amazing example

2:42

of how being authentic and vulnerable is

2:45

the best way to build a true connection

2:47

with your audience and supporters. And I

2:49

am excited, very very excited

2:51

to introduce my guy, Josh Peck. I

2:55

did not necessarily

2:57

do my homework on Josh because

3:00

I know Josh. I know Josh, I feel like I know

3:02

well. I've been on

3:04

his stuff, he's been on my stuff.

3:06

We've been debuted each other, and I

3:08

felt very comfortable, and I've been rushing

3:11

to get to this,

3:14

this meeting of

3:16

the minds, and I didn't do a lot of homework

3:18

because I just felt that it would be good. The same

3:20

way I don't get any zero

3:22

information people on startak. I

3:25

want to have this conversation with Josh,

3:28

So you're gonna hear me go down a rabbit hole with

3:30

Josh, and more importantly, I'm just gonna

3:32

have a conversation

3:34

about those moments. So prior

3:37

to getting on here, I was saying to

3:39

Josh man I saw Oppenheimer. It was kind

3:41

of in the background when I was looking something

3:44

and you are on Oppenheimer. Now,

3:46

first of all, I don't know people

3:48

have the same challenge I have. I knew

3:50

Josh is a very serious he's

3:53

fun. He's serious, but he's a dad, dad,

3:56

a five year old and one year old. God bless him.

3:58

He's a grown ass man. And when

4:00

I say arm, those guys were those

4:02

whole cool shuits just

4:05

looking all well, I'm just so cool,

4:08

Josh. You know, you know, you know or you

4:10

give them us so much joy, whether it is your podcast,

4:13

whether it is your IV, whether it's

4:15

your constant content of

4:17

so many different ways, and you're giving me so much

4:19

joy. Serious role up in timer,

4:21

Was this your first serious role?

4:23

Well, first, damon, thank you, and

4:26

I'm just call me period piece

4:28

Peter. Now you know what I'm saying. I'm

4:30

gonna play that one of the founding fathers because

4:32

Benjamin Franklin was thick like

4:35

me, you know what I'm saying. So I think.

4:39

Ben Benny franks You

4:41

know, Benny brightened a little husky.

4:43

He liked the beverage I heard too. You know, back

4:46

then it wasn't called alcoholism, it was called having a

4:48

good time. And

4:52

I want for anyone who's watching the pot, not

4:55

watching the pot. I want you to know that Damon just removed

4:57

a necklace of that might be the GDP

4:59

of I mean, it was at

5:04

a fault, but I

5:06

appreciate Damon. I love you, and you've been

5:08

very good to me. And then you're an

5:11

unofficial mentor of mine. I look up to you,

5:13

and uh so I'm always happy to chat. And yeah,

5:16

Oppenheimer was very very

5:18

cool, And it came as a surprise

5:20

probably to other people who have not been

5:23

privy to my inner monologue to

5:25

belong to the long goals

5:28

and journey that I've been on, because

5:30

people don't really see the day to day right,

5:32

they only see the major marks. But

5:36

for me, Oppenheimer was a bit of a

5:38

culmination of a lot of hard work,

5:40

a lot of addressing some

5:42

bad habits of mind, a lot of having

5:45

to really boil down what I wanted and believe

5:48

in myself. So it was a wonderful

5:50

culmination of all those things.

5:52

We would be a bad habit, that is, it's addressing

5:54

how can you address a bad habit as an

5:57

actor when you go and you and

6:00

the role of somebody else.

6:02

Well, I think that I

6:04

looked at myself. It was right before I got

6:07

married in twenty seventeen, and I'd

6:09

had so much success and been lucky

6:11

enough to work since I was fourteen years old

6:13

in this business. But I knew

6:15

that I wasn't getting the parts that I wanted, and

6:18

that I probably had some bad habits

6:21

and they had worked for me for a time. But

6:23

I had also grown into from

6:25

a young man into a man, and

6:28

that it was incumbent on me to face those

6:30

things. So in twenty seventeen, I

6:33

went back to acting class and

6:35

I pillaried myself. I put

6:37

myself on the chopping block and said do with

6:39

me what you will, because only two

6:42

outcomes were going to come from that. It was

6:44

either I was going to be a

6:46

better actor or I was going to have

6:48

to face the idea that maybe I was

6:50

never good enough. And that kind

6:53

of ego smashing

6:57

is a challenge, I think for

6:59

a lot of peace. But I knew that it had

7:01

to happen if I wanted to grow.

7:04

But where does it you know, as somebody who

7:06

is clearly a success and success

7:09

in front of the camera as in

7:12

you know household

7:14

name with some of the properties you've been

7:16

on, and then you will get over to a

7:19

podcast where you

7:21

are, you know, in control and listen.

7:24

I'm one.

7:25

I'm want to CEMBC thirty to forty times

7:27

a week. I've been on ABC fifth ABC for

7:29

fifteen years. I a one point four million followers

7:31

and you've got seventeen million, So you

7:35

know, I'm the Kardashians of CNBC and you have

7:37

more. So then why would

7:39

you turn around and sit there at that point

7:41

and reflect and say it was

7:43

the was the was the change of

7:45

what you deem success or maybe a bad abbot

7:48

saying I'm a dad

7:50

and I want to be taken seriously. I'm

7:52

an actor. I've done it a long time like

7:55

this, because you know, there's a lot of singers

7:57

who will nobody will take them

7:59

seriously for a pop song, but they're saying

8:01

some of the greatest

8:03

uh you know, operas

8:05

or movie songs ever. And

8:08

the reason why they're not taking serious

8:11

here or lightly here because

8:13

it's so great here. How dare

8:15

you question yourself? I

8:17

think that is the question, certainly.

8:19

I think if I'm speaking

8:22

to my lower desires or my ego, my

8:24

ego wanted to be respected. My

8:26

ego wanted to not only be seen

8:28

as the child star in quotes,

8:30

my ego wanted you to

8:33

take me seriously and not just see me as like

8:35

the sticky comedic

8:37

guy, the sitcom guy. But

8:40

my capital t truths, Like the thing

8:42

that I know to be true about me is that I'm

8:45

just an acting nerd, and I love

8:47

great movies, and I love great

8:50

theater and great TV. And

8:53

I knew that I wasn't getting the opportunity

8:55

to work with that kind of material and

8:57

those kind of great filmmakers and co

9:00

laborators. So you know, a lot

9:02

of people asked me, you know, you're sitting there and

9:04

you're in the scene with Killian Murphy and

9:06

being directed by Christopher Nolan, were you

9:09

terrified? And I said, you know, it was one

9:11

of the few moments where life really made

9:13

sense. It

9:15

just was the thing that I had wanted and

9:18

operating on that level, and I'd love to hear from

9:20

me and Damon, when you're with people that are that

9:22

exceptional, it feels natural.

9:25

There's no second guessing because you know it's

9:27

right.

9:27

I don't think I've ever been really

9:31

I don't think that common has ever been positioned

9:34

that way. You're right when you know I

9:37

put up I was on a social I put up a social

9:39

media post last night literally I was

9:41

having to be someplace and it

9:44

was we had a late brunch and Nori

9:47

from Queens a rapper.

9:50

What has oh yeah, legend, Yeah

9:52

he has a drink chancell on. I'm know Norri twenty

9:55

five years. Sat Joe shows

9:57

up. I know Joe thirty years. We've

10:00

been in rooms for literally thirty years,

10:03

off and on, and we you know,

10:05

with kids from the kids from the hood. Now

10:08

Nori smokes. Bob Marley

10:10

would look at morenco right,

10:14

he smokes so much. Fat Joe biggest

10:18

douky talker in history, and

10:20

he's fat Joe.

10:22

He's o zenpic Joe. Now, let's be honest.

10:24

He looks great.

10:25

He looks he looked great. He looks great.

10:27

I'm cool.

10:27

I'm I'm I'm myself with my

10:29

fifteen twenty twenty five year

10:31

old lingos. So it's coming out. I'm talking like I'm

10:34

back in the I'm not drinking. I'm

10:36

talking like I'm back there. But it feels

10:38

right in a certain room, whether I'm acting

10:40

and whether I'm in the room with Kevin O'Leary and

10:43

and Kilbin and we're in a we're in a room

10:45

talking about real, real matters at

10:47

the United Nations or in front of presidents

10:51

when they want to address us about economic

10:53

development, you know, rights

10:57

of people and and how how do

10:59

how do they stemy certain things? When

11:01

when you're in the right room with the right people,

11:04

it feels like the right thing because

11:06

you're not having to feel like anybody

11:08

else. You feel like I'm doing the

11:10

best I can in this room. My guards are down

11:12

because my talent is here, whether it is

11:14

my whether it is my talking

11:17

about equities and finance and

11:19

you know, the everyday blue collar worker

11:21

who needs a hand, or whether I'm talking about hip

11:23

hop and queens and and what are the

11:25

cases, or you're in the room with a family.

11:27

So I agree upon that.

11:30

I think the question arises that how

11:34

many times have you not felt like that in

11:36

a room and

11:38

the moment is that you said you don't need to be in rooms

11:40

like that. I think maybe that's the question.

11:43

I find. I only have real

11:45

impostor syndrome when I'm an impostor,

11:49

Like when I've done the work and

11:51

I feel confident in that work. Granted

11:55

there's a little bit of luck is involved.

11:57

I mean, especially with what I do right

11:59

it's not. It's not a solo act,

12:01

right, it's not playing an instrument, it's not painting

12:04

a picture, acting artistry.

12:06

It is the ultimate team effort, and

12:10

you have to pray that all the pieces

12:12

come together. But regardless,

12:14

it's a moment

12:17

in which you're there and you have

12:19

to let go to a certain extent. And yet

12:22

the way I show up now is I go,

12:25

I know I've done the work that this

12:27

requires. I've done the forensic,

12:29

the not cute shit. You know, all

12:31

we ever see is in a movie

12:33

is the drunken writer who you

12:35

know, fills up his glass of wine and he's

12:38

having the keys all night, and suddenly

12:40

the masterpiece comes out. But what

12:42

really happens is it's ten months of

12:45

index cards and long

12:47

walks and naps and calling

12:50

your mom, Am. I enough, Maybe

12:52

maybe I should just return the advance. You

12:54

know, it's all that leg

12:56

work. But if you do the work required,

12:59

you get to show up on the day feeling red.

13:02

Well, you show up in the day. Everybody

13:04

has impostedve syndrome, and I find that the

13:06

best way that I've overcome having an impositive

13:08

syndrome will just lay it out. I realized, and

13:10

I said this a long time ago. You

13:13

know, you're never going to really, you

13:15

know, outdo or have more money

13:17

or more fame, or more

13:20

this and that by somebody else. You know, Mark

13:22

Cuban, you know, wakes up with my money, he jumping

13:24

out the window. And if Basil

13:27

wakes up with more Cuban money, he jumping out

13:29

the window. And but what I

13:31

do is I tend to go into the room and

13:33

I take the question out of the room. I

13:35

want to know if you do this as an actor wanted

13:37

to pass. Although I

13:39

walk home, it'll be people of extreme wealth

13:42

in the room, and we'll talk and they're talking. I

13:44

can see the testing me. I guess they're looking

13:47

at me and they they know I'm not a billionaire

13:49

and I have no problem and I and I will.

13:51

It depends on the room. If the

13:53

room is saying yeah, they're

13:55

talking and they're looking at me, and you know, you could tell

13:58

their guards up a little because

14:01

I'm perceived as Dame of John, I'll

14:03

say, you know, I don't play

14:05

on that game. That's it. That's that's a billionaire game.

14:07

I'm a couple of one hundred short you

14:09

know of getting to that game. And I

14:12

respect it I love it, and I always hear something like,

14:15

man, I don't even know how

14:17

you run forty thousand people and move them

14:19

in you this, and I would love to hear about

14:21

that. I read that room. Now

14:23

there's other rooms where people are of that type

14:26

of wealth and things of that nature and

14:28

there being assholes. Right, I

14:31

can say something like, you

14:34

know Old Jordan's story. You can try to get to anybody

14:36

you want. You can pay million of the billions, and you still

14:38

be a schmuck standing out side. I can pick up the

14:40

phone because I have access because

14:42

this is globally recognized all around

14:44

the world, and I don't have to

14:47

show those things to do that. It

14:49

all depends on the room. So do you walk in a room

14:51

and go yeah? Man? You know I'm

14:53

taking this to another level because you

14:56

know me, I'm the fun guy and I always will be

14:58

the fun of guy. But I'm challenging myself and I'm loving

15:00

people will give me the opportunity case I'm a fucking kill it.

15:03

I'm not stiller. You know how you do it or you do is

15:05

go you go? You know some people some people

15:07

would just it's me. I

15:09

can do anything. You know, which

15:11

one is it? You know.

15:13

I you know, I used to walk into auditions

15:16

incredibly nervous, and then I would

15:18

also make this fatal error, which

15:20

is I would try to I would try

15:22

to guess what they want. I would

15:24

try to think, what does this director want? What do

15:27

they need? Let me fulfill what they need, when

15:30

the real truth is I don't know what they

15:32

need. I'm there to solve

15:34

a problem for them. But what I'm really there

15:36

for is now as an actor,

15:38

and I know I'm in a privileged position because

15:41

my livelihood doesn't depend on the

15:43

yes, which is a real as

15:46

as you know, damon, like when you get to that point,

15:48

like the rest of it is just icing. Yeah,

16:11

But I walk in there, having done

16:13

the work. I have a take on it

16:15

with my style, my sparkle,

16:18

my little special thing that's unique to

16:20

me that no one can replicate like we all have.

16:22

I go, this is my take on it.

16:24

As you've given me the materials to prepare,

16:27

here's my take. And let's see.

16:30

Maybe I'm right, or maybe I'm doing

16:32

you a favor, and you can see clearly what

16:34

isn't right for you. But it's

16:37

no longer a don't you

16:39

need me? Can I give you what you want.

16:41

It's like, no, let's see if

16:43

this makes sense for what we're both bringing

16:45

to this thing. And if it doesn't,

16:48

then you know, I did my job and

16:50

you did your job, and I wish you a lot of luck finding

16:52

the next thing. Is

16:54

that relatable to your experience

16:57

gavement because you have such a value add but it's

17:00

specific to what you do.

17:01

Well, that's that's relatable to all businesses.

17:04

Right, you know, I'm I'm

17:06

doing this mean too right, right,

17:09

there's a me too product.

17:10

Right, I know what you need.

17:11

I know what you need and you will

17:13

get short rewards for that. And

17:16

a lot of times, where is there that moment

17:19

that you did that several times

17:21

and you realize, I just

17:23

don't like doing this. I don't get as much joy

17:25

because I'm not even though I'm an act,

17:27

even though I'm taking the role, I'm

17:29

not taking I know I could have done it elsewhere,

17:32

but you know, I some people may say,

17:34

listen, as an actor, I go in there, I get the

17:36

role and I swish it in there and say, hey, let me give you two takes.

17:38

What do you like? And I'll figure it out

17:40

because they're going to give me that freedom. But

17:43

it's the same thing in business actually

17:46

is probably worse if you go in. When

17:48

I the business that I was into, of

17:50

course fable. If I go in, what normally

17:53

happens is a buyer a buyer's job

17:55

to buy. Let's say a buyer from J. C. Penny's

17:57

argument sake, they have a job.

18:00

Their job is perlinear square foot

18:02

pack as many goods as they can get

18:05

it at this price, make x amount

18:07

for their division. If I walk

18:10

in and this is exactly what happened. Jenko Jeans

18:12

is selling with the twenty six inch

18:15

bottoms skill they

18:17

have the hottest thing in the world.

18:18

Well I had two pair, two pair.

18:21

There you go, and if fooboo

18:23

you, we want you to do that.

18:24

But you got to remember if I do that.

18:26

Those genes that they are selling

18:29

now, they were designed a year and a half ago

18:32

by Jenko. So by the time lines comes out, it's

18:34

the same Now. Hopefully that trend stays long,

18:37

but it's gonna be the same gene they have

18:39

today, but mine's will be out a year

18:41

and a half from now and it may have changed.

18:44

And that's what fashion does. Right now,

18:46

they're stuck. And I did that a couple of times,

18:48

and I said I'm getting

18:50

away from what fooboo is. You

18:53

know, I'm giving them what they're asking

18:55

for, and says, putting my spin on it.

18:58

It's a short reward because you what

19:00

happens is when you give them exactly what they

19:02

asked for. They asked everybody for it, you

19:04

get the immediate gratification of it. As similated.

19:07

Guy, I wasn't a great idea because

19:09

there was no it did the evoke emotion.

19:11

Now you sit there and I come in

19:13

with another pair of stuff

19:15

that I think is great, and they go, ah, let's test it. But

19:17

then all of a sudden it moves. What happens

19:20

is that emotion that the kid a

19:22

buyer perspective, or that director or somebody

19:24

else goes that's the new shit. That's

19:27

right. I didn't know all the look that's absolutely amazing.

19:29

So I guess to summarize that, it happens in all

19:31

of our businesses. Are you going to satisfy people

19:33

today by being something that you're

19:35

not for something they think they want,

19:38

or you're going to satisfy them for the long run

19:40

about being authentic to who you are and

19:43

if they like it. It was something

19:45

that was a discovery for both of you and

19:47

take it, take it much longer, and that's how you get basically

19:49

innovation.

19:50

Would you say, and you sort of already

19:52

answered it. But with your approach

19:54

to fashion, was it the Apple sort

19:57

of strategy, which is like, we don't

19:59

let the consumer tell us what they need, we

20:01

tell them what they're gonna want. Or is it the

20:03

Walmart approach, which is like we let

20:05

them, We let our consumer tell us

20:07

what they want and we give them exactly what they're

20:09

gonna need.

20:10

No, it was always it was always we're

20:12

gonna tell them what's hot, Well we

20:14

think is hot. We're gonna be wrong. Sometimes

20:17

we will make mistakes, but we're

20:19

coming from a place of authenticity. I'm

20:21

on the fat Joe set. I know that

20:23

video he's shooting. That stuff is gonna come out six

20:26

months from now. And prior to shooting

20:28

that video, he had

20:30

me come down and put him in it because

20:33

he's switching up his style. And as

20:35

New Yorkers and or at the time

20:37

right with music was dominated New York or

20:40

California, They're

20:42

they're faster growing city, so Middle

20:44

America would later on jump in. So I

20:47

have all the assts, like you said, I put it all the work.

20:49

I'm from the streets. I'm not designing this

20:51

from an ivory tower. I'm in the clubs at night

20:53

seeing what's going on, and I'm with the artist who is

20:55

dictating where the new music is going. I feel

20:58

good about this, amazing as well. I don't know. We

21:00

don't think you should do that type of stuff. Well,

21:02

if you thought I should do, if you thought you

21:04

knew better than me, there would be no opportunity

21:07

for me here any damn way. Yeah,

21:10

because Levi's would be doing.

21:12

Wow, that's so true. And for

21:14

me see's to ever be questioning damon John.

21:16

I mean maybe maybe blooming Dale she could

21:19

have a question, But Macy's what are we talking

21:21

about?

21:22

You know, I need some mistakes too, don't

21:24

get me wrong, and dest me. They may be paid

21:26

for it, but that's how it goes. So

21:28

let me ask you about some other things that you

21:31

know that I'm really curious about.

21:33

How is it now being

21:36

this? You know you're like that, But I think

21:38

about you as a dad one or five would Josh

21:40

Pecker is a dad you

21:42

have to be Are you the you're the new

21:44

age version of dad? I

21:47

would think like, oh, oh no, are

21:49

you the new a version of you still are you? Are you the

21:51

dads that I grew up with? Where, honey,

21:54

with's my pipe and slippers? And she goes, well, I don't

21:56

know where's my pipe and slippers? And you know

21:58

that's pretty much it. And you boring and dry

22:01

and you know you're you're strict. How

22:03

does Josh pick? All right? Uh?

22:05

Your five year old boy? Girl?

22:08

Both boys?

22:09

Okay, all right, Josh,

22:12

I want you to I want you to discipline

22:14

me verbally. All right, I'm

22:19

out, I'm your little kid. We're

22:21

out right. And somebody

22:24

says, hey, what's your oldest son name?

22:26

Max?

22:27

All right? Max? And teacher

22:30

says, hey, Max, you know and you're right there,

22:35

Max, fella, you know I really need you to be better

22:37

in school? All right? Go fuck yourself? Now,

22:39

what would you say to me? He

22:42

just thought that in a commercial. He just thought on YouTube

22:44

somewhere somewhere, what would

22:46

you say? Yell at me? Like guy, the serious

22:48

joshpect yelling at Max.

22:51

I would say, Max, you've obviously been listening

22:53

to me talking to.

22:54

Your mother and that,

23:00

and I can talk like that, but not go.

23:08

We're getting absolutely nowhere with this one.

23:12

Oh man. I mean, look, thank

23:14

god, you're

23:18

gonna eat canceling with that man. Here

23:20

we go. That's it. It's all

23:23

over. I'm ready, you

23:25

know. Thank God for my wife,

23:28

who's Irish Catholic, and she

23:30

I always I always say, I'm this

23:32

hot blooded Jewish kid, single mom

23:35

over, I talk about everything at nauseum.

23:37

I always say that the wonderful thing about my wife

23:39

is her love language is silence, and

23:43

she has taught

23:45

me. I always thought that.

23:47

I'm like, you know, sometimes with a kid,

23:50

you have to man up and you have to show

23:52

them whose boss, and you have to like break

23:54

their will a bit. And she just said,

23:57

no, we're not gonna do that. She's like,

23:59

cause they're gonna mimic all that. And

24:01

I have friends who yell at their kids

24:03

like for everything, and

24:05

you see them reflect that behavior right

24:07

back to them. So my kid is far

24:10

from getting away with anything. And what

24:12

I love about my wife and her family is

24:15

how how it's

24:17

it sounds like a trite term, but

24:20

how polite they are, and when when

24:22

you dig in deep, like cause again, like

24:25

my mom, some of my friends and I will

24:28

just like where we come from, damon in

24:30

New York, you talk shit, you feel

24:32

free to offer advice when it hasn't been

24:34

asked for, right,

24:38

Like, that's that's how we that's

24:40

how we grew up. But my wife has

24:42

taught me how to take a moment

24:45

and to meet them where they are

24:47

and you know, and it doesn't mean. Look,

24:49

my son did not have his iPad

24:51

all weekend because you know, he

24:54

was not acting in the best way on a Friday

24:56

night. And that's okay, But I don't need to

24:58

like throw out this big boys his presentation

25:01

that he's gonna then wind up yelling

25:03

at his teacher or a kid at school or who.

25:05

Mass shuet, what did you do that you that

25:07

he has a you know, he lost

25:09

a little bit of ipies.

25:10

I'll tell you it was funny. We had family in

25:12

town and I noticed

25:15

or I was asking him. I said, Max, come over,

25:18

family's leading. Let's get a quick photo. And

25:20

he just was like, I don't want to be in

25:22

the photo. And I was like, I'll tell you what, I'm

25:24

not dying to be in this photo, but we're

25:27

doing it. It's family and

25:30

and he kind of sauntered over and he

25:32

wouldn't you know, he just looked

25:35

miserable in the photo. If we're being honest,

25:38

and I had a real conversation with him

25:40

after I said, he loves

25:42

podcasts like I do, and he listens

25:44

to kid podcasts in the car.

25:45

The Arthur Podcast,

25:47

And.

25:48

I said, Max, how many times

25:50

do we listen to the Arthur podcast? He's like, I

25:52

don't know a hundred And I was like,

25:55

I don't love the Arthur podcast,

25:58

but I listened to it because I know you

26:00

love it. And that's what being in the family

26:02

is about. It's about compromise sometimes

26:04

because the other person in the family

26:06

needs something. So when I asked you to be in a

26:08

photo, I understand you don't want

26:11

to do it, but you do it because I asked

26:13

you. They

26:32

say, what good parenting is when

26:34

your child has enough money to pay

26:36

for their own therapy.

26:39

Yeah. No, then my mother

26:41

was a great parent, you

26:44

know. So how do you get

26:46

and and you know, I want to I want to. I want to touch on a

26:48

little bit about about the guys and stuff

26:50

like that and why it is different. But what do

26:52

you think is your

26:55

recipe for having so much

26:57

success where people want to see you

26:59

so much on social media? I know I opened

27:01

up with the difference of my social

27:04

media your social media. I don't your

27:06

data and analytics side. At the end of the day too, What

27:09

is the success or the reason

27:11

why they are drawn to you? You believe because

27:13

I know you know, you know obviously

27:16

some of these things that are really

27:18

resonating. What is the reason you think?

27:21

I think that people married themselves

27:24

to me. The image of me was something

27:26

like Drake and Josh where I started, which

27:28

was so beloved, and people

27:31

invited that show into their home, and

27:34

certainly as I got into my twenties, I did

27:36

that as a teenager. It's not uncommon

27:38

for people to look back at certain things when they

27:40

were a teenager and go, I don't want to talk about

27:42

that ever. But I had to

27:45

embrace the power and the value

27:47

of what that offered and how much it meant to people,

27:50

and that was a huge springboard for me. It

27:52

with social media, I was uniquely

27:56

a depth. I would say it's social because

27:58

I knew how to be funny quickly, and

28:00

I think you're rewarded in the algorithm

28:03

from being quick. And

28:06

I also was able to accept

28:08

that even though it wasn't the

28:11

Scorsese movie or the cool

28:13

TV show that maybe I was hoping for,

28:16

and that there was a little bit of a more division

28:18

when David, when you and I first met, and to

28:20

your credit, because you have

28:22

always embraced new technology and new

28:24

trends like social media, there

28:27

was a big distinction between traditional

28:29

and social. Now, I would say it's

28:31

one, but eight nine years ago

28:33

when we met, it was a new frontier,

28:35

and so I would say being willing

28:37

to embrace it, being uniquely adept

28:39

at it. And I

28:42

would say, David, and you probably would agree,

28:44

is I have friends with a

28:46

following a tenth of my size,

28:49

but their engagement, the love

28:51

they get from their audience is far beyond

28:54

what the engagement I'm getting, and that value

28:56

is huge.

28:57

Well, we don't know because it's not the

28:59

numbers, really is it. But

29:02

but I gotta tell you, you know your

29:05

your you

29:07

know the content you put out is not it's

29:12

not a car crash to me, And

29:15

I find that it's the ones with the car

29:17

crashes, or of course you have your uh

29:19

sexy and beautiful people or very

29:22

uh there's

29:24

there's some people who play a really fine line which

29:26

I like, which is very thought Bethany is a thought

29:28

provoking person that it's not

29:31

necessarily a car crash. But yeah, you can have

29:33

something to talk about tomorrow, yours.

29:36

When I look at you, it's it's humorous,

29:38

it's funny as quick, but you're also a warm

29:41

place. You're warm destination of

29:44

I feel comfortable here. You know. I'm

29:47

not sure if I'm looking to feel good

29:49

that day, but I know I'm not gonna feel bad. You

29:52

know, when I know that, it's just a warm

29:54

huk, right, you know, in a in a

29:56

way, a warm, joyful hug. It's like seeing

29:58

a friends like, oh man, how you doing. I

30:03

think you have probably a high level

30:05

of real, honest, engaged

30:08

people because I agree on the authenticity,

30:11

you know, So it's power.

30:14

I think there's a level you have to be willing

30:16

to grow and accept, right because it's

30:19

a young man's game, social media. And

30:21

yet I've allowed

30:23

my audience to tell me throughout

30:25

the years, like, you know, if

30:28

having had a bit of a very public

30:33

physical transformation journey,

30:35

I would have these, you know, initially some very

30:37

self deprecating humor,

30:40

and people eventually would be like, cut that out,

30:42

You're not that guy anymore, Like it

30:44

doesn't work for you, and I'd be like, okay,

30:46

message received. Sometimes I would need to get

30:48

the same comment for two years in a row to finally

30:51

change it. But I would And similarly,

30:54

you know, I'm thirty seven, I have two

30:56

kids, so they'll tell me like, you're

30:59

not nineteen, boss, you're thirty seven,

31:01

Like maybe don't do that trend, that

31:03

one's not for you, and I'll go message

31:06

received and then I'll do something that's relatable

31:08

to my life that I'm a follow.

31:10

Where it was that trend you being

31:13

not authentic, but you were just so fought

31:16

up and moving that moving not

31:18

the needle, but moving in your pace. Okay,

31:20

you know what yoh as in new saying going

31:22

on?

31:23

I really like it.

31:23

I could jump on that rocket and then you didn't

31:25

realize that it wasn't necessarily

31:28

on brand anymore to you. I'm curious

31:30

aware because knowing you that

31:33

you know, you just were very open about it.

31:34

Hey man, you know, I.

31:36

Want to do things that are authentic to me. Where

31:38

was that fine line is saying no,

31:41

you don't know that

31:43

that is still authentic to me or I

31:46

am thirty thirty seven. Where's

31:49

that fine line of listening to who's saying

31:51

it to you? Was it who says it to you?

31:54

I think it's certainly who says

31:56

it to me, and I feel

31:59

very lucky to be with someone who

32:01

you know, my wife is very candid and

32:03

we grew up very differently in that I

32:05

grew up with a lot of a lot of financial

32:08

insecurity and she was lucky enough to

32:10

not, so she's not really motivated

32:12

by money. And it's something we talk about in therapy

32:14

because it's not okay with me. No, I'm kidding,

32:19

but you know, I'm I

32:21

have a little bit of that child actor energy,

32:24

which is like, you want another one boss, like

32:26

bigger, faster, funnier.

32:28

Robert still like that Robert yorshek

32:30

is all.

32:31

Amazing and he just doesn't and then sometimes

32:33

he gos.

32:36

I licked a cat with a big tone

32:39

on Shark Tank in front of millions of millions

32:41

of people. I love it.

32:44

I'll never get that back.

32:46

And the cat was more offended than I was.

32:49

But he's sporadic.

32:51

It's you know, the thing that I've

32:53

learned the most over the last ten years

32:56

is additioned through subtraction,

32:59

and that that is you know. Felonious

33:02

Monk has that great quote of the greatest artist

33:04

is the one most like himself. Yeah,

33:06

and Miles Davis says it takes

33:09

a long time for someone to play like themselves.

33:12

And that's what I had to realize,

33:14

was like I had to be enough, and

33:17

it wasn't about adding all these extra layers

33:19

and all these mechanisms

33:22

in which to try to people please or

33:25

to gain approval. It was like I had

33:27

to trust my instinct, my taste

33:30

and make things that I thought were compelling

33:32

and that I was joyful when

33:34

I was doing it. What have you learned

33:36

new.

33:39

Or new angles about

33:41

yourself on social

33:44

that you didn't

33:46

realize or you didn't think

33:48

about, because I give you example, lately,

33:51

I've been doing like product reviews and

33:53

I just do them, and you

33:57

don't go on shark thing. If you don't like different

34:00

around and looking under the hood of a lot of products,

34:02

you don't become a Cereal

34:05

and Angel investor. If you don't like unraveling

34:07

the box of a lot of products. You have a

34:10

place filled with a bunch of stuff like I do right

34:12

now where I showed you previously. If

34:14

you don't have a lot of products and you don't do that for fifteen

34:17

years, but I never put a camera on it.

34:20

I just never thought of it right, And

34:22

then I started putting a camera on it with no agenda.

34:25

But I love going to trade shows and walking

34:27

up the boost. I love, you know, Thank

34:30

god I stopped drinking because when I when

34:32

I was drinking, I mean every morning, the Amazon

34:34

boxes, I have to order two, three of them. Oh my god,

34:37

I can't believe that does that. And

34:39

I started to just post these things.

34:41

I don't know the company to have no agenda

34:44

with it, and people have been just

34:46

really going nuts over it, just nuts,

34:51

And I realized this is what I like

34:53

to do and I will never stop doing. I don't care what camera's

34:55

a on me, cameras all, it doesn't matter. You

34:57

know, I went I use

35:00

before storage wars are out. I used to

35:02

go and find those storage auctions because

35:04

I just want to dig around the people. Shit.

35:06

Wow, yeah, I just like it. I like

35:08

auctions.

35:08

I have a whole but I have two hundred agors and I

35:10

got a whole bunch of stuff that I overpaid

35:13

for.

35:13

And I will never use.

35:15

I just like that type of stuff. What

35:18

have you discovered about yourself on social

35:20

media? Because you know, as I look at my social

35:22

media, I say, okay, where am I talking about

35:24

the show? Where am I talking about empowerment?

35:27

Where am I still you know, being

35:29

recognized and letting people know there

35:32

are social issues in there because I'm a girl

35:34

dad and want you to make sure you understand

35:36

that challenge women go through. I'm on

35:38

the pet Co board, I'm African American,

35:41

you know, and what you know, when am I talking about

35:43

the everyday man's plight or whatever it

35:45

is? Right? Education, finance?

35:48

So I try to carve those things up. But when I started

35:50

doing this other stuff, more

35:52

people got to you know, more people really responded there.

35:55

What have you ever hit points

35:57

like that? We said, man, this, oh

36:00

look, this is just me. Yeah

36:02

it works.

36:04

Oh, I mean having a family and being

36:06

a dad will help to strip away a lot of

36:08

your vanity. But I think it's

36:10

having a faith that the audience

36:12

is actually incredibly smart

36:14

and they're ahead of you in a lot of

36:16

cases. And so you

36:19

know, I have been able to sort of transition.

36:22

I look at things that I made

36:24

seven years ago. I look at my book that I

36:26

wrote three years ago, and I cringe sometimes

36:28

really, but it's a healthy cringe. I'm

36:31

proud of it.

36:32

But you've grown, You've grown, or you did.

36:34

Right, it's a growth cringe.

36:36

And so yes, the more that

36:38

I've embraced the fact that like, this is just me

36:41

now, and I could put together some false

36:44

projection and praying that it's

36:46

relatable and that you like it. I

36:48

know some people who are uniquely gifted

36:51

at creating things that are for

36:53

the people, and they're going to love it. I don't

36:55

know how to do that. I only know how to make

36:57

things that I think make me laugh or

37:00

that I think are entertaining. And the

37:02

more that I'm true to that voice, usually

37:05

the more success I have. And I

37:07

have this buddy who he

37:10

got a cooking show. He's a great chef, and

37:13

he had this social media presence that

37:15

was so in conflict

37:18

with who he was. It just

37:20

was very generic. Sacharine

37:22

just like, hey, folks, like happy Monday.

37:25

Here we are, like, do you have

37:27

a case of the Monday's comment below? I'm

37:29

like, I was like,

37:32

you knocked out a guy in front of the

37:34

Venice Sphere two weeks ago because

37:38

he rode his surfboard over your foot

37:40

in the water, and

37:43

I'm like, you don't have to, you know, challenge

37:45

people to a fight. I was like, but that

37:47

that sparkle, that that grit,

37:50

that flavor, that's you, babe.

37:53

And that's attractive. You know, if

37:55

you figure out just the way in which you can

37:58

release it in a way that won't.

37:59

Get you canceled. I totally

38:01

I couldn't, you know. I have a lot

38:03

of people in my life who are trying their best to be

38:05

on sofa and not because they want to beat

38:07

stars, but they want to be They

38:09

know that they need to do well. They believe they need

38:11

to do more, so they just can grow with the times

38:14

and that you know, you know that that that not being

38:16

authentic when they're just a totally different person.

38:18

Because if people don't realize the driest,

38:21

boringest looking type of person

38:23

is hilarious, you know, you don't need to put

38:25

that on.

38:26

I'm following this guy on TikTok right now. He

38:29

literally goes out into the wilderness

38:31

in Freezing Adventures and

38:34

he's building. I mean, I grew

38:36

up in a studio apartment in New York City.

38:39

I've never even I look at a campsite

38:41

and I break out of eives. It ain't happening for me, But

38:43

I'm fascinating because he's so uniquely

38:45

himself that I can't I

38:48

can't.

38:48

Stop watching well

38:50

with this ability, and I mean right

38:52

now. I think you've been you

38:54

know, you've been doing this over twenty years

38:57

as an actor and bringing people so

38:59

much joy. Dep how much producing do you do at

39:01

the moment. I don't

39:04

you know, I don't do a lot of your own shows.

39:05

Obviously none,

39:08

I would say, you know, not much.

39:11

With them bringing back so many things would

39:14

and I'm sure you've been offered this, Why

39:16

because of such a below show? Why would

39:18

you not executive producer and bring back

39:21

you know, Drake and Josh and Fine

39:24

because with the seventeen million followers

39:27

and find the new Drake and Josh.

39:30

I would say again,

39:33

I mean, so much of my life has

39:35

not been about going backwards

39:38

because I have had to grow.

39:41

What do they say, let go or be dragged?

39:44

Right?

39:44

Relentless? Growth has been

39:47

the through line throughout my life. So I

39:50

for me, I've always felt like I

39:52

don't want to mess with something that meant a lot

39:54

to a lot of people, and it doesn't

39:57

terribly interest me. But

39:59

you know I've I've done plenty of remakes and some

40:01

have been good, some less good, and they've

40:04

meant a lot to a lot of people. So I

40:07

hear where you're coming from. I'm just not sureying to be very

40:09

interested.

40:10

You know, I wouldn't call it a straight question. People ask

40:13

me to bring back Booble when I go. You

40:15

know, there's certain people who may or may not be able

40:17

to look at a solution and turn that solutionto

40:20

thirty billion dollars annually. I

40:23

love my brand.

40:24

I only ran out four.

40:25

I have three other great partners and it's

40:27

done certain ways, but I can't look at

40:30

that FB again in so many

40:32

ways. I can license it and as

40:34

part of the culture, but for me

40:36

to go and I think, whether it's podcast, whether

40:38

it's music, and often fashed unless you're

40:40

talking ladies fashion of mine. So it's a young man,

40:43

a young woman is gay, right, you know.

40:45

And it's moving so fast.

40:48

But I just want to know where you were with that, because

40:50

yeah, it's the same thing. I love my brand

40:52

and it's so near. Dear, He's got me so many plies, but I

40:54

can never I say embraces to the

40:56

point where I'm going hard every day all

40:59

day and look in the new co I need young

41:01

blood and I am well going

41:03

forward. There's so many people going to be listening to us right

41:05

now. Where that is about friends, that's

41:07

about family, that's about business, that's

41:09

about all kinds of relationships they have, or

41:12

it's about careers, like like, well we have. I

41:14

wonder how many understand

41:17

you can't go backwards.

41:19

I would say probably

41:21

less than we would hope. But that's

41:23

why I like love Andre three thousand,

41:26

who is like, I'm fifty, I don't have much

41:28

to rap about, but here's this fluid album.

41:31

I'm like, that's break.

41:33

He's still Andre and

41:35

I have no idea what you know? When that was

41:37

talking.

41:39

Most depth, yeah, yeah see yah

41:42

seen bag.

41:44

And you know, and obviously hip

41:47

hop origin is a very homophobic

41:51

you know, or and hip hop the origin

41:53

of it is battles, right, legendary

41:55

iced ty and Coke iced Tea against

41:58

ll cool J and Kris

42:00

Swan and Biggie obviously Biggie

42:02

and Puck and all that. And they said, you're

42:05

like, you know, there's two people they know never

42:07

want to battle. You never want

42:09

to battle. First of all, they all know

42:12

that Andre three thousand, you don't want to battle

42:14

a guy who's gonna beat you in a blouse.

42:17

You just don't want that to happen. That's

42:19

awesome, and then believe it or not as much as

42:21

there's poppy songs. You never want

42:23

to battle pit Bull because he's a street

42:26

rapper and he may want to do the oh

42:28

tell bo bo bou,

42:32

but he will rip your ass apart.

42:34

And I thought about how amazing and

42:37

legendary Andre three thousand his

42:39

and that he did movies. But what did he go?

42:41

Why did he just decide I'm a chill

42:43

with that, I'm not even gonna do movies. What

42:46

happened? I know it goes totally all

42:48

the topic here, but.

42:49

What happened I don't know.

42:52

I mean, his last album is

42:54

arguably one of the greatest albums

42:57

but hip hop albums of the last

42:59

thirty years, and you

43:01

know, high respect. I love when

43:03

people go I don't need to

43:05

be saturated.

43:08

You know, I can pick my spots. I can

43:10

come in and out of celebrity in the

43:12

public life every five to ten years as

43:14

I am inspired. And

43:17

he just seems like a guy who waits to be inspired.

43:19

I'm a fan. I met him once I was sixteen,

43:22

and I just had all the bravado of a sixteen

43:24

year old kid star, all hyped up on carbs

43:26

and hope, and I was like, I

43:29

was like, mister three thousand I

43:31

am a big fan and he couldn't have been calling.

43:34

Now.

43:35

Listen, man, it's always been cashing up with you, and I

43:37

love tim moments that you share with us as being

43:39

a dad being, you

43:42

know, and people take it too lightly about being

43:44

authentic about so challenge yourself

43:46

and checking yourself at the highest level of

43:48

somebody and saying, you know what, I

43:51

either didn't show up in the past wrong or

43:53

you know what, it's my ego. I'm gonna smap all that aside

43:56

and I'm going to humble myself. And now

43:59

you're an op and eye. I'm you obviously have

44:02

this amazing podcast, and then

44:04

you're a good buddy of mine.

44:06

We don't speak each to each other often. I think

44:08

we follow each other from Afar and

44:11

I love to see how you growing and I

44:13

wish you all the best and I can't wait to get into another conversation.

44:16

Maybe see you when I'm out in California.

44:18

Appreciate you, Damon always. I feel the

44:20

same, and come on, good Guys podcast. We

44:22

would love to have you.

44:23

I would love to man, I would love to go. Thank

44:25

you later. That

44:28

Moment with Damon John is a production of

44:31

the Black Effect Podcast Network

44:33

for more podcasts from the Black Effect

44:35

Podcast Network, Visit the iHeartRadio

44:38

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

44:40

you listen to your favorite show and don't

44:43

forget to subscribe to and

44:46

rate the show. And of course you can't

44:48

all connect with me on any of my social media platforms.

44:51

At the Shark, Damon

44:53

spelled like Raymond, but what a d