Tough Love and Tender Hearts: The Paradox of Street Wisdom With Vince Ricci

Raw, unfiltered, and straight from the heart—Vince Ricci's story of transformation from Bronx street survivor to creative powerhouse will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about forgiveness, resilience, and what it truly means to protect those you love.

The founder and CEO of Hubble Studio doesn't just share his success story; he rips open the vault on his tumultuous upbringing where survival meant discerning friend from foe, where trust could get you killed, and where the most feared men were sometimes the most tender-hearted. His candid reflections on growing up surrounded by violence, addiction, and chaos reveal how these experiences forged his uncompromising approach to both business and family.

When armed intruders threatened his home, Vince's split-second decision to engage in what became a viral 75-second gunfight wasn't just about self-preservation—it was about an absolute commitment to protecting his family at all costs. "That outcome was a million percent better than letting them in my house," he explains with chilling clarity. Yet perhaps most surprising is his matter-of-fact forgiveness toward those same attackers: "He's doing what he knows to do...what do I need to forgive him for?"

This paradoxical ability to be both unflinchingly tough and remarkably compassionate defines Vince's approach to fatherhood, business relationships, and personal growth. He's built Hubble Studio into a creative juggernaut that's shot hundreds of Vogue covers and worked with countless A-list celebrities, while simultaneously honoring his mother's memory through charity work that transforms lives.

Whether recounting street confrontations or explaining how he teaches his young daughter both fearlessness and security, Vince delivers hard-earned wisdom with unexpected vulnerability. "If you dwell on shit, you're going to live in that shit," he states plainly, revealing that his approach to forgiveness isn't about moral superiority—it's about freedom.

Ready to challenge your own perspectives on healing, protection, and what it means to truly move forward? This episode will leave you questioning where your own capacity for forgiveness ends, and whether your past is defining your future more than you realize.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Vince Ricci
• 3:15 Growing Up in the Bronx Streets
• 9:13 Street Discernment and Trust Issues
• 17:06 The Home Invasion Gunfight
• 24:05 Forgiveness After Violence
• 29:35 Dealing with Betrayal and Money
• 37:50 Teaching Toughness vs Compassion
• 42:35 Building Hubble's Creative Legacy
• 47:46 Honoring Family and Finding Peace

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome back everybody to the truth about addiction. Today's episode is from a live interview from my most recent monthly LA event, heart Conscious Creators, that I was so fortunate to host a gorgeous space in downtown LA called Hubble Studio. The interview is with the CEO and founder of Hubble and I am so excited to read his bio. It's unbelievable, and so is the conversation. It's really fascinating. It really speaks to what we've lived through and how our upbringing. Our upbringing informs our lives, our behavior, our coping patterns. And I'm not going to lie, I was hoping in the talk to have a moment with Vince Ricci of exquisite vulnerability, and it happened to some extent, but not quite in the way I wanted and and I think it makes sense for the life he's lived and the way he's had to armor up and protect himself. So I'd be curious to know what you guys think. Please drop a comment, share it with somebody you know and if you have a chance and you're in LA to stop by Hubble, especially when he's hosting one of his charity events, you absolutely should.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Vince is a Bronx-bred entrepreneur who landed in Los Angeles with nothing but a dream. 10 years later, that dream became a reality because Hubble Studio, the very one we are in today is thriving. His life and brand went viral after he survived an armed home invasion, protected his family and turned that harrowing 75-second gunfight into a masterclass on decisive leadership. Media coverage of the incident vaulted him onto stages where he now distills street-honed grit, combat training insights and boardroom experience into unforgettable lessons on courage and execution. Vince's mission ignite founders, executives and creators to pull the trigger on bold moves before fear, doubt or bureaucracy steal their momentum. Let's dive in.

Speaker 1: 2:43

Vince get up here, give this man a mic. Give this man his own mic, his literal mic Right.

Speaker 5: 3:05

What's going on? Hi vince let me silence my fucking phone before somebody aggravates me.

Speaker 1: 3:13

I shut it off but then can't you just forgive them?

Speaker 5: 3:16

no, absolutely not.

Speaker 1: 3:22

I actually. So, vince, I came to Hubble about a year ago having no clue who you were, what Hubble was. I'm sitting up living my suburban life and I'm not coming to downtown LA very often and I'm like what is this unbelievable place and what is this charity? And started to understand the depth of work that you do and who you're surrounded by. And really only recently this year, we've seen a little more of each other and we got to spend a little more time together, and you've been so gracious to let me come here tonight, so I just want to say thank you, and I think you're amazing.

Speaker 5: 4:05

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 4:14

And other than what I read in the bio. Do you want to say anything else before we try to dive into this very interesting topic of forgiveness?

Speaker 5: 4:18

No, I usually start the bio. Every time I start talking, I say my name is Vince Richie, I'm an Italian American from the Bronx, New York because I feel like that kind of paints the exact picture of who I am. Maybe not exactly who I am, because I'm fucking crazy and do a lot of other things.

Speaker 5: 4:34

Yeah, I mean, but that's my culture, that's where I'm from, that's where I was born, that's where I was raised. That's where my heart is. I have a love and hate relationship with New York. Fucking hate it most of the time. Why do you hate? It, because it sucks.

Speaker 1: 4:49

Why does it suck?

Speaker 5: 4:51

I don't know, it's a long fucking story. Queens all day. Queens all day. I get you.

Speaker 3: 4:56

Hey, Brooklyn in the house.

Speaker 5: 4:58

Queens is like the forgotten borough. Queens is no, BX is theuffer guy the ex-stuffer Outside of Queensbridge. Nothing good came out of Queens, jamaica Queens.

Speaker 1: 5:08

See, don't put a bunch of New Yorkers in the same room. See what's happening, talking over each other? No, I'm just kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Speaker 5: 5:16

No, but the bio was fucking fantastic. Freddie's the man.

Speaker 1: 5:19

Yeah, that bio.

Speaker 5: 5:19

I fucking love this guy. If anybody knows who Freddie is, right there, raise your fucking hand, Hi Freddie.

Speaker 5: 5:25

Yeah, honestly, this guy first came around I was like this guy's a fucking idiot. He doesn't know anything and he completely proved me wrong. This guy's utilization of AI and everything around him has made him 10 fucking X. Honestly, that is the truth. I very rarely am impressed with somebody and this guy impresses the shit out of me. Where tonight, I'm like we're gonna do a business, I'm gonna send, we're gonna be partners in it and that's what we're gonna do. I don't have to steal him away from everybody else he's with, but that won't be too hard actually let's, let's just roll right from that.

Speaker 1: 5:59

Why do you typically judge people? Why did you look at Freddie and go, yeah, whatever, he's going to be the same as everybody else, full of shit.

Speaker 5: 6:12

Because I grew up in the street and when I tell people that and I don't mean like, oh, everybody grew up in the street, they did this or that. I grew up involved, heavily involved, in what was going on, heavily a piece of what was going on in the fucking drama, in the nonsense, it was always centered around me and the stupid fucking things I was doing. So I had to discern from a young age very equally were you wearing a wire? Were you trying to rob me? Were you going to set me up? Are you going to do this" and all the time, every time. And it's funny, I have a friend of mine, this guy, drin, I grew up with.

Speaker 5: 6:53

He sells insurance to like a high level. He does something. He wears a fucking suit to work in the city. I don't know what he does, really 100%, but he does pretty well. You know what I mean.

Speaker 5: 7:14

But whatever the case may be, drin was a street kid, 100%. Like if you go to the beach with him. You got stabbed like nine times, barely survived and then going back and stabbing the shit out of the other kid turned into a fucking war for years with these other Albanian kids from Arthur Avenue and like Drin was. My man Ended up going to college, having a really good life, because he escaped a situation in the diner where he was the only one to get away, but everybody else ended up going to jail on a youth offender charge where they all got four flat. So instead of Drin going to prison, he went to college. And we talk about it because Drin's like yo. I take meetings with these people all the time and I look at them and I know their bullshit from the minute they walk in and they have no idea what I've been through.

Speaker 5: 7:48

They have no idea and I could just tell how they walked, how they talked, their stupid fucking presentation. It's all facetious, it's not authentic. And he said I just laugh. And then I also know when I'm getting baited to be in a conversation that I don't want to be in, where I know this is going to turn into a lawsuit, so I just don't say anything. And he has that same discernment because he grew up a certain way and he grew up where not saying it was life or death all the time, but it was.

Speaker 5: 8:16

You know you could either go to jail, you can get hurt, you can get jumped, you can get like you get your head cracked open. It was always fucking serious and it was always tense. So you had to be very particular on the people you kept close to you and what you said and who you talked to. And amongst Italians and those type of people, it's so political, it's so annoying, it's so like you said this to this guy and this happened. Now you got to go talk to some fucking other maniac that did 40 years in jail and like all these stupid things that you don't want to do to avoid just because you could have said one thing differently but not done this. And now someone, worldwide, they listen to you. You weren't even a part of what was going on and now you're going to jail. And because, to avoid all that, you had to be very particular on who was around you and what you say and what you do.

Speaker 5: 9:09

And so, not saying that I judged Freddie at all, but I didn't 100% believe what he was selling. If that makes sense, it does. So I'm like this guy's bullshit. But he proved me wrong. He got a haircut, he started working out, he did a lot of things. He's a fucking good dude. You know what I mean. Don't disappoint me, freddie. I would really fucking get pissed off.

Speaker 1: 9:33

No pressure.

Speaker 5: 9:34

Straight up. I would be mad if you embarrassed me, but you really had to be. And that sounded like oh, bronx guy, I put on this thing. Doesn't that sound like? Oh, bronx guy, I put on this thing? Like that is the truth. Like if anybody's ever seen Bronx Tale, that movie is real. That shit goes on.

Speaker 5: 9:49

That's like it's just how you grow up and it's always serious and we tell stories. Sometimes we were with somebody else that like you know the guy I'm not going to say who the guy is, I'm not going to embarrass him, but he talks about his street pass and blah, blah, blah. And one night some of my friends from New York, we went to catch steak and we were just telling funny stories about the pass and he was like yo, you guys are fucking nuts. He's like I grew up rough but not like that and I'm like that was just like regular stuff, it just just happened, you know. I mean like I don't know it. Just it was always excitement, it was always tense, it was. It was kind of a good time because that's all I knew.

Speaker 5: 10:33

That's all I knew was never living normal. It was just always chaos and trauma and puerto rican girls and fucking, stabbing her ex-boyfriend and fucking this doing it. It's just always chaos. You know, I mean like a girl walks in the room just covered in tattoos. She look like she had trauma drama. I'm like right on my fucking alley. You know, I mean like this girl right here and I'm breaking your balls. But that's how it was all the time. Strip club bartenders, perfect girlfriend to date, perfect girlfriend. They come with all the trouble and they're not as bad as a stripper. You know what I mean. It's like right there but like you're still normal. You know what I mean. They're the best.

Speaker 1: 11:18

They are the best.

Speaker 1: 11:19

Okay, this is so good, Like this, when Vince was like, yeah, you want to host your thing at MySpace. And I get to know him and I'm like what are the chances that the topic is forgiveness? And I'm talking to this guy right now who's lived through things that force you into a state of such hypervigilance that the way to survive forget about forgiving is to be on high alert. You might fucking kill me, so I'm ready to kill you. I mean, we're far from forgiveness and yet you have a wife, you have two kids.

Speaker 1: 12:03

This is, you know, we talk about parts, right? I'm talking about parts of who I am and the parts of my life that were running me into the ground and discovering that there is a softer part of me, that is a truer part of me before the world had its way with me, right? Even harder, if you grew up and you had to develop at such a young age such a strong defense mechanism to survive, to stay alive, how much of that is a part of who you are, versus who you are and who you identify to be today. And? And then, based on how you answer that, how are you able to show up as a father and a husband, because that requires such exquisite vulnerability.

Speaker 1: 12:54

I mean, parenting is the greatest surrender experiment of our lives. We send our kids out into the world. We have no idea what's gonna happen to them. You think you can control the dudes from your daughter and the. You know. You probably have all kinds of ideas about what you're going to do to protect them, but really good luck when they go out that door. So who's showing up inside of the walls of your house? And is it this Vince that grew up on the streets? That was really fucking tough. Which part of you?

Speaker 5: 13:34

I mean it's kind of an easy answer, I guess, because the guys that I really looked up to growing up Tina probably remembers this when we did that first girl event where we spoke to those on the Privileged Girls and Sierra spoke at it. Yeah, there was a woman who spoke before me at this. It was like a host of me and she spoke about Kobe and looking up to Kobe and how Kobe plays him. Now I do listen to things that Kobe talks about as tenacity, as dedication, as competitive nature, and the things that Colby talks about is tenacity, is dedication, is competitive nature. I looked up to gangsters, I looked up to killers, I mean because that was real. I remember vividly being at the Ujil. It's like a tiny thing where you build this fucking statue and haul them and you carry it and it's all street guys.

Speaker 5: 14:19

It's all different families and different. It's very political, not like politics, like the government, like different type of politics. And there was a guy that came there and I remember my boy saying, oh yeah, that's so. And so I think he just did 14 years. His sister's boyfriend smacked her and he went there tonight and killed him and his friend and ended up getting 14 years flat. Well, he got like 18, did 14 and I was like, oh, solid dude, like he's just a straight, did it right in front of people, walked in front of his ass, smoked the both of them and I was like he's just somebody not to be messed with and had a certain look, a certain just a way about him that he was eventually associated with other people and did his thing.

Speaker 5: 15:04

You know what I mean. But these guys that I looked up to were also the sweetest guys and a lot of these guys were in the program and since my father was in the program, I would see these guys at NA meetings. And my father's home group was a Thursday night meeting on Morris Paul Campion in the Bronx and they were called the gangster meeting because there was a lot of wise guys that went there and they were on recovery. So you would go there and these were guys that were in books. You know what I mean. If anyone had ever seen American Gangster, his connect with somebody who was associated with a group of people, three of the guys from that group would be in that meeting and they were all the men and they would hug and kiss you and they were so loving. But one of those guys got killed like seven years ago when they put in a newspaper that he was a suspect in 70 homicides. These were murderers but they were sweethearts. So there was like this sick way. I looked up to them in a way because they were capable of such extreme things but also so sweet and loving to women and they would teach you how to never disrespect your wife and never disrespect your girlfriend. You could cheat all over them, but you can't do it in public and you can't do other things, which was nuts, because it was like the craziest way you could like teach somebody. You know what I mean. But it was about being a man and you don't leave your wife and you go home every day and you take care of your family and the guy that your kids know is never the guy who has to exist on the street because you did that based on survival Like a lion.

Speaker 5: 16:34

There's a movie with Christopher Walken where he has a conversation about a lion and he says the lion, the cubs go and fuck with the lion and they paw on him and they bite on him. And then the lioness comes and fuck with the lion and they paw on him and they bite on him. And then the lioness comes and she fucks with him. She starts teasing him and smacking him and scratching him. He doesn't do anything. And then the jackals come and they start to get closer and closer and then, when they attempt to fuck with him, he gets up and he fucks everything up and he kills everybody because he's got to show everybody who the lion is.

Speaker 5: 17:06

You don't need to do that at home. I don't need to go home and show my daughters that daddy's a fucking maniac. I don't need to do that. I need to show them that they're loved. But I do sit my daughter down if she gets upset about things and she's only two and a half and I say daddy will kill everybody in the whole world for you, and she's only two and a half.

Speaker 5: 17:24

And I say Daddy will kill everybody in the whole world for you and Daddy will burn everything down.

Speaker 5: 17:27

And people may not agree with that, with how I say it, but that's what my father told me. And my father was in and out of prison my whole life and definitely was not around. He was a victim of addiction. But I knew this guy, no matter what, would do whatever the fuck it took to protect me, he was rock and roll for me, no matter what. He didn't flinch. He never had that self-preservation that he would more be concerned with himself over me. And my dad wasn't a big guy. He was 5'8", he was a little dude, but he was a fucking tough motherfucker and people feared him and I knew that if it came to me, it was never a question of him tearing up whatever it took, but he loved me. I mean, he kicked my fucking ass if I did something wrong, but that was just normal. He never took things out on me. He wouldn't be like that. He was just normal. You know he never took things out on me. Like you know, he wouldn't be like that. He was just a nice dude. I used to hear him speak at big events about addiction. He was so vulnerable and he was able to be so real. But he was also willing to do whatever the fuck it took.

Speaker 5: 18:38

We went to go buy a Husky. I was about six and we went to. I forget what part of fucking Brooklyn we went to. We went to uh, I forget what part of fucking Brooklyn we were in, but we were in some fucked up neighborhood in Brooklyn and we were walking into the projects and she would be able to tell you there's very New York is very, uh, not segregated I don't know how to say the word but yeah, and this is a whole nother neighborhood. There's people outside this and that and my father reaches in on that thing he puts a gun in his waist. He grabbed my hand. He said come on. And I'm like it's midnight, what the fuck are we going to get this dog now for? Like, what the fuck are we doing? But he was getting high and that was normal and that type of behavior was normal and that type of behavior was normal. That wasn't a crazy story, but I just knew.

Speaker 1: 19:32

I was good, no matter what, because he was going to take care of me, you know.

Speaker 5: 19:35

Is that what love means to you? Yeah, 100%. Because there's a lot of women walking around these streets that will never know what it feels like to be with a man who will do whatever it took to protect you. And there's a lot of kids walking around these streets that will never know what it feels like to be with a man who will do whatever it took to protect you. And there's a lot of kids walking around these streets that will never know what it's like to have a fucking mother or father where they lay their life down 100% to protect you.

Speaker 5: 19:52

That situation at my house happened and people asked me like do you have residual effects? I said no, because I made a decision on the spot. I knew I was 100% gonna get killed. But that Because I made a decision on the spot, I knew I was 100% going to get killed. But that outcome was a million percent better than letting them in my house.

Speaker 5: 20:09

Because if I did and I pissed it with my wife and I did whatever it took or whatever the fuck the case may be anything could happen how would I face her going forward? It would be weeks before she found me hanging in the garage. You know what I mean, because I want to be able to live with myself. I want to be worth it. You know what I mean. I'd rather die like a fucking man than live the rest of my life knowing I'm a punk and I let these people walk all over us and I made now my wife feel vulnerable. Now she walks around knowing no matter what Vince is going to do whatever the fuck it takes, he's going to do what he says he's going to do.

Speaker 5: 20:49

I don't want trouble. I don't go anywhere for trouble. I don't go to strip clubs anymore because I don't want no trouble. You know what I mean. I don't go places where I'm going to have trouble. Well, you know what happens on the way to night? Sure do, sure do. Yeah, shit happens. But if push comes to shove, I'm gonna do exactly what the fuck I said I'm gonna do, and that's cause I do it for the people I love have you forgiven the person, people who tried to kill you?

Speaker 5: 21:21

oh yeah, I fucking kidding. I mean, I forgave him right and I didn't have to forgive him. He's doing what't have to forgive him. He's doing what he knows to do. Like they try to like have an issue afterwards, like with people trying to extort me, and I said, listen, I ain't paying nobody. We can run it back if you want, but I'll give you my word If the kid does get arrested, I won't show up to court. I wasn't planning on showing up to court. I have.

Speaker 5: 21:45

Whether or not he goes to jail, what happens to him is not. He's a product of his environment. He knows what he knows. You know I've been arrested for robberies, I've been arrested for burglaries. Like it just becomes a thing that you do, and he's not robbing me, he just sees an opportunity Because that's all he knows. Think about it. Put it this way If the score was big enough and you brought it to me, I might hear the plan. You know what I mean, Like, and I'm fucking a very normal guy. So if this kid's given an opportunity, he's going to take it because that's all he knows. It's not me that he's after. It's the opportunity for to climb, to do something. You know what I mean. And then I fired at him. He fired at me, fucking. We fired back and forth 17 times and he got shot. I didn't. So what do I need to forgive him for? You know what I mean. Like he lost, I won. You know he's alive. He should be lucky to be alive. If he's upset, so be it.

Speaker 1: 22:38

I'm not upset you know, is there anything you haven't forgiven yourself for?

Speaker 5: 22:46

I don't know Fucking nine million things. Last night I waited outside someone's house for an hour To beat the shit out of them over money it was made. I fucking annoyed that I did that. Yeah, I don't even know why. I told you guys that story. But yes, I thought about it today. I said what the fuck was I doing?

Speaker 1: 23:02

Wait, wait wait, let's say Rewind.

Speaker 5: 23:06

What exactly?

Speaker 1: 23:07

happened last night, I said what the fuck was I doing. You know what I mean. Wait, wait, wait, let's say rewind what exactly happened last night.

Speaker 5: 23:10

This is great, this is real-time shit. You guys, some fucking jerk-off.

Speaker 1: 23:12

Okay, that came, so I own.

Speaker 5: 23:13

Hubble Studios. I'm the Hubble Studios. Hubble agency Owns a couple different types of brands a clothing brand this type of brand. One of them is a hub agency owns a couple different types of brands a clothing brand this type of brand.

Speaker 5: 23:25

One of them is a cannabis brand. I still have to do business development for that company, so I have to deal with a bunch of people and then I funnel them into our distribution. So I meet this kid after the shooting. He was involved in some other stupid situation too and he thinks he's kind of tough, he's a clown. But I meet him out at Catch Steak. He pays for my dinner and then I'm like, oh, blah, blah, blah, whatever. And he's like, oh, let's try to do business. I bring him down and somehow he ends up borrowing money from me, like 10 grand, I don't even know why. I said yes, and then the kids started ignoring me, this and that, and finally I was like, bro, I'm just going to fucking beat the shit out of you when I see you, like I don't even want the money back.

Speaker 5: 24:05

And push came to shove. Somehow we ended up making a deal. He was gonna pay me interest on it. Then he said he's gonna meet me. Then he didn't. Then he was like kind of like clowning me on the phone. So I was like you know what, bro? Like I'm just gonna, I'll just see you tonight. And so we both go over there and we just took a walk back and forth on the block for like an hour and a half and then somebody else called me. He's like come pick up the money. He was like somewhere else. And then the guy just laid it out and just squashed the whole beef. And then I'm like yo, what am I doing? I got home, what am I doing? I'm 39 years old.

Speaker 1: 24:50

What were you doing?

Speaker 5: 24:54

I don't know. I don't even know why I went there to do it, probably because I wasn't allowed kicking the fucking shit out of him.

Speaker 5: 24:59

But you don't know why you went there yeah, because 100% I don't care what anybody says when someone crosses you. And I had a conversation with my cousin on the phone today about this, about a problem he had recently, and he was like, bro, I didn't even want to do it because I didn't want to take all this shit inside of me right now for my divorce and everything. I'm going to take it out on this guy and he's 100% going to the hospital and he has no idea. I'm going to just channel everything into him. I'll tell you guys a story.

Speaker 5: 25:33

Tina remembers Sloppy. It's a kid who used to work here and he was this Puerto Rican kid from New York that came out here. He had issues in New York and he ended up coming out here to work for a buddy of mine. He got kind of abandoned so he worked for me full time and something ended up happening. He had a problem with somebody with money and chris neary remember the whole situation um, and we went over there and it ended up getting to a physical application.

Speaker 5: 25:59

But sloppy didn't really step up, so we were driving in the car next thing this kid's dad had died young and I got him really young. I got him at like 21 and I was trying to raise him into what I thought he was supposed to be was a stand-up dude, dude, a guy who could defend himself this and that. And we were driving in the front seat. He was driving and I was sitting in the front seat and I was just, I guess, trying to teach him the way I was taught. But I was taught at like 13 by the guys that I was around and you know, I think he was a little too old for this to like make sense. And I vividly remember being like yo, joe, like I'm not mad that you didn't do anything and I'm not disappointed because I didn't need you anyway.

Speaker 5: 26:45

But if you want people to respect you like, you gotta, sometimes you gotta step the fuck up. And I was like, and you gotta look at him like he's not a person, like he's just an object for you to take all this shit inside of you, all the hurt you got inside of you, and take it out on him. I was like, and you do it in front of everybody and people will know nobody's gonna fuck with you. And as I'm saying this, I'm explaining this to him. I could see it in his face that he is so like. What the fuck? I knew that he wasn't capable of doing that. And I looked over at him and I seen that he was like stressed and I'm like yeah, but you don't, but you don't also gotta be like that. You could just be a nice guy.

Speaker 5: 27:27

You have me in your life and I'll handle the other stuff. And I felt like I gave him a breath of fresh air, like I gave him a relief, you know, and I guess because that's all I ever knew was to be fucking nuts, to be able to flip the switch in a second and fucking hit somebody with a pool stick and do something fucking crazy. Where people are like, oh my God, don't mess with them, because it's just going to be crazy, it's going to escalate from zero to 100 immediately. And because I was willing to be like that, everything was going to be okay. I remember I was 19, I got bailed out of jail and the first thing my father said he was like well, you fucking did it. This time you are definitely going to prison. He was like you're definitely going to jail for an extended period of time and he was like, if you take, I remember, one of the officers were like seven years flat or something, and he was like look at it like a life sentence, because you're going to have to do whatever you got to do every day and you may stay here for the rest of your life, and that's just what it is, and if you don't do that, you're going to have a miserable fucking time and you're going to let people walk on you. And I approached that into life every day.

Speaker 5: 28:43

Everywhere I went, I walked in the street. Wherever I was, I was in the fucking candy store. I was somewhere dealing with clients here that didn't pay us that I fucking wanted to go to their house and fucking burn it down. Like what the fuck am I even thinking about you here that didn't pay us that I fucking wanted to go to their house and fucking burn it down. Like what the fuck am I even thinking about? You Didn't pay us $9,000 for an event. And I'm thinking all these crazy thoughts and I'm like that's not normal. That's not normal to be like that. But when you, when you take kids and you put them in chaos and to get someone broken who is going to pity themselves and victimize themselves, or you're going to get the total opposite, which is a fucking ravaged beast.

Speaker 1: 29:19

Isn't there something in between?

Speaker 5: 29:21

I have no idea, because I'm only making it up.

Speaker 1: 29:24

I'm going to invite you into that possibility that there is something in between.

Speaker 1: 29:29

Yeah, 100% Face down into trauma and in such a state of survival and protection that you will bypass any of those softer parts of yourself because you're going to do whatever the fuck you need to do to survive, right? And so, if I feel like part of your ethos is, you know this notion of radical responsibility? Right, you seem like a guy who's like, fuck, no, I'm not going to be a victim of radical responsibility. Right, you seem like a guy who's like, fuck, no, I'm not going to be a victim of my circumstances. Right, you can see you swung the other way If we go back to what started this part of the conversation, which was last night. In this incident, you said one thing and then you moved away from it really quickly. You said I don't know. I don't even know why I fucking gave him the money. Let's just press pause for a second. That's what you're fucking angry at.

Speaker 5: 30:21

Well, also also his fucking attitude, which I would love to break. Okay, yes, sure, sure.

Speaker 1: 30:28

Yes, okay, but for days and days we can say what a piece of shit he was and I believe it, I fucking believe it. Probably piece of shit. But also, have you acknowledged the part of you that was like Because, look, you tried to trust somebody. You tried not to be a product of your youth and your environment. You try to trust somebody and they fucking cross you again. See, vince, you shouldn't have done it.

Speaker 5: 30:59

You know, I thought about that and I went through that. But, just like Hubble, we've got to extend terms to certain people. I asked about Morphe today. They owe us 50 something thousand the makeup company and we still work with them and I said, just come back, we'll figure it out. So we both go over there and we just took a walk back and forth on the block for like an hour and a half and then somebody else called me. He's like come pick up the money. He was like somewhere else and then the guy just laid it out and just squashed the whole beef and then I'm like yo, what am I doing? I got home, what am I doing? I'm 39 years old. What were you doing? I don't know. I don't even know why I went there to do it, probably because I went along kicking the fucking shit out of them.

Speaker 1: 31:50

You don't know why you went there.

Speaker 5: 31:51

Yeah, because 100% I don't care what anybody says when someone crosses you. And I had a conversation with my cousin on the phone today about this, about a problem he had recently, and he was like, bro, I didn't even want to do it because I didn't want to take all the shit inside of me right now for my divorce and everything. I'm going to take it out on this guy and he's 100% going to the hospital and he has no idea. I'm going to just channel everything into him. I'll tell you guys a story.

Speaker 5: 32:22

Tina remembers Sloppy. It's a kid who used to work here and he was this Puerto Rican kid from New York that came out here. He had issues in New York and he ended up coming out here. He had issues in New York and he ended up coming out here work for a buddy of mine. He got like kind of abandoned. So he worked for me full-time and and something ended up happening and he had a problem with somebody with money and Chris Neary remember the whole fucking situation and we went over there and it ended up getting to a physical altercation. But sloppy didn't really step up.

Speaker 5: 32:50

So we were driving in a car next in this kid's dad had died young. I got him really young. I got him at like 21. And I was trying to raise him into what I thought he was supposed to be Was a stand-up dude, a guy who could defend himself this and that. And we were driving in the front seat. He was driving and I was sitting in the front seat and I was just, I guess, trying to teach him the way I was taught. But I was just, I guess, trying to teach him the way I was taught. But I was taught at like 13 by the guys that I was around and you know, I think he was a little too old for this to like make sense.

Speaker 5: 33:25

And I vividly remember being like yo, joe, like I'm not mad that you didn't do anything and I'm not disappointed because I didn't need you anyway do anything, and I'm not disappointed because I didn't need you anyway. But if you want people to respect you like, you gotta sometimes you gotta step the fuck up. And I was like and you gotta look at him like he's not a person, like he's just an object for you to take all this shit inside of you, all the hurt you got inside of you, and take it out on him. I was like and then you do in front of everybody and people. You know nobody's gonna fuck with you.

Speaker 5: 33:55

And as I'm saying this, I'm explaining this to him, I could see it in his face that he is so like what the fuck? Like I knew that he wasn't capable of doing that and I looked over at him and I seen that he was like stressed and I'm like, yeah, but you don't. But you don't also gotta be like that, you could just be a nice guy like you don't also gotta be like that, you could just be a nice guy. Like you don't.

Speaker 5: 34:16

You have me in your life and I'll handle the other stuff, like nobody will bother you. And I felt like I gave him a breath of fresh air, like I gave him a relief, you know, and I guess because that's all I ever knew was to be fucking nuts, to be able to flip the switch in a second and fucking hit somebody with a pool stick and do something fucking crazy, where people are like, oh my God, don't mess with them, because it's just going to be crazy, it's going to escalate from zero to a hundred immediately. And because I was willing to be like that, everything was going to be okay. I remember I was 19. I got bailed out of jail and the first thing my father said he was like, well, you fucking did it. This time you are definitely going to prison. He was like you're definitely going to jail for an extended period of time and he was like, if you take, I remember one of the officers was like seven years flat or something, and he was like, look at it like a life sentence, because you're going to have to do whatever you got to do every day and you may stay here for the rest of your life, and that's just what it is. And if you don't do that, you're going to have a miserable fucking time and you're going to let people walk on you. And I approached that into life every day.

Speaker 5: 35:31

Everywhere I went, I walked in the street, wherever I was, whether I was in the fucking candy store, I was somewhere dealing with clients here that didn't pay us that. I fucking wanted to go to their house and fucking burn it down. Like what the fuck am I even thinking about you? You didn't pay us $9,000 for an event. I'm thinking all these crazy thoughts and I'm like that's not normal. That's not normal. That's not normal to be like that. But when you take kids and you put them in chaos and you put them in this thing, you either get someone broken who is going to pity themselves and victimize themselves, or you're going to get the total opposite, which is a fucking ravaging beast.

Speaker 1: 36:08

Isn't there something in between?

Speaker 5: 36:10

I have no idea, because I'm only me.

Speaker 1: 36:13

I'm going to invite you into that possibility that there is something in between. I have no idea because I'm only making it. I'm going to invite you into that possibility that there is something in between.

Speaker 1: 36:18

A hundred percent Face down into trauma and in such a state of survival and protection that you will bypass any of those softer parts of yourself because you're going to do whatever the fuck you need to do to survive, right? And so, if I feel like part of your ethos is, you know, this notion of radical responsibility, right? You seem like a guy who's like fuck, no, I'm not going to be a victim of my circumstances, right? And so you swung the other way. If we go back to what started this part of the conversation, which was last night and this incident, you said one thing and then you moved away from it really quickly. You said I don't even know why I fucking gave him the money. Let's just press pause for a second. That's what you're fucking angry at.

Speaker 5: 37:11

Well, also his fucking attitude, which I would love to break his jaw yes sure. Sure.

Speaker 1: 37:17

Yes, okay, but for days and days we can say what a piece of shit he was and I believe it. I fucking believe it. Probably a piece of shit. But also, have you acknowledged the part of you that was like because, look, you tried to trust somebody. You tried not to be a product of your youth and your environment. You tried to trust somebody and they fucking crossed you again. See, Vince, you shouldn't have done it.

Speaker 5: 37:48

You know, I thought about that and I went through that. But, just like Hubble, we gotta extend terms to certain people. I asked her about Morphe today. They owe us 50 something thousand the makeup company and we still work with them and I said, just come back, we'll figure it out. You know what I mean.

Speaker 5: 38:09

And in business I can't just be like, oh, this guy didn't give it to me so I can't fucking do nothing for nobody else anymore. I got to give terms to people, I got to do things and I told Roy because my partner didn't want to do it, and I'm like, bro, the kid does a lot, he needs to borrow it. Let him borrow it and we'll figure out. Maybe it's an investment, it opportunity to either give him an investment into him where he'll be loyal to us and work without company, going forward consistently well, fuck us. And I'll fucking smack the shit out of him. When I see him I'm like who cares? That's just as much fun Either way.

Speaker 5: 38:40

But I don't get down on myself because I made a decisive decision by giving him the money. It wasn't enough money to really break the bank. His attitude is what pissed me off. Like it wasn't, like I gave him $100,000. And now I'm really pissed off about it. You know what I mean. It was like, honestly, if the kid would have just strung me along, he probably could have strung me along forever. If he was just nice about it, Like, oh man, you know, I'm really fucked up. I don't have to worry about it, Wash my car, I don't know, I would have probably let it go. So I know what you mean. Where it's like am I mad at myself? No, because I'll do it again next week. I'll let someone borrow it. In life, you're going to have people who disappoint you.

Speaker 1: 39:25

Are you always going to beat them up?

Speaker 5: 39:27

No.

Speaker 1: 39:28

Good.

Speaker 5: 39:29

If you fucking give me a fucking attitude, I will, but you're going to have people that disappoint you. You're going to have women that cheat on you. Does that mean don't date a woman? So you're going to date guys? If you're a dude, you know what I mean. You're going to have to do it again and again. Like you date a girl from a strip club that's a bartender and she screws you, most people would say don't go to the next strip club and do it again. Me, I'd do it all over again, because they're not the same person. I mean, she's not going to fuck you also, and she probably will, but it's going to be a great time. But it's the truth. You can't let. I'm not going to get down on myself every time I make a decision. I will make a decision, just like I tell people I'm willing to break certain violations and do certain things, but nothing that's that detrimental to my life.

Speaker 5: 40:22

Nothing that's going to take me away from my family for a substantial amount of time.

Speaker 4: 40:30

Like I'm definitely not a compliant guy if you could tell you know what I mean.

Speaker 5: 40:33

I'm like the law is very skewed in my eyes. I park wherever I want. I never pay the meter. I park in the red Like, yeah, yeah, I do whatever I want, but not to a point that, A I offend or hurt innocent people, I will not take advantage of nobody and B I will not do anything going forward that will take me away from my kids. You know, this is California. You could shoot at somebody and get away with it. I highly doubt I was going to prison for beating the shit out of this kid in front of his building, like most likely not, so I think I would be pretty safe, but you know, what I mean.

Speaker 1: 41:12

This is epic.

Speaker 5: 41:14

It's funny because we were in the car with my buddy and he's like we're going to tell him to give us his watch, but if he doesn't give us the watch and we fucking hospitalize him, don't take the watch after, because it's a whole different charge. I said, of course, drew, I'm not a fucking dummy, but it's crazy because what I'm saying sounds like a fucking, like comedy. That was yesterday. I'm a successful guy. It's 39 years old. I have multiple companies, we have a huge revenue stream. There's like 150 people that work here.

Speaker 5: 41:49

And I still make stupid decisions. But I avoid those problems and I try to avoid them as much as I can. And I know every single day is a gift. And every day that I'm free and I'm not in jail is a gift. And every day that I move forward. Those kids didn't shoot me, they shot all around me. They didn't get me. That's not the first time that somebody tried to kill me. I'm fucking thrilled every day I wake up. Every day I wake up is an opportunity to honor my parents that they're no longer with me, to honor my name, to build Hubble into this fucking, creative, fucking gym. We've shot a hundred covers for Vogue. We've shot some of the most we shot. What was Broad's name that we shot? What was Broad's name that we shot in the fucking lingerie? Billie Eilish, really everything.

Speaker 5: 42:37

We've shot such epic things. Cardi B wore a Hubble bomber on a Vogue interview when she cancelled her Instagram before Beyonce. She was wearing a Hubble sweater. Like we've had every single A-list celebrity wear Hubble clothes. Like we've done such cool, creative shit. This is where the magic happens. We've done such, and every single day we get to come in and create is like a fucking new opportunity. But that chaos, that chaos that my life is, is what creates this glorious fucking thing, this creative thing of why so many people want to work with us.

Speaker 5: 43:11

Not because I'm fucking waiting outside somebody's building I'm definitely not telling them that but because I have passion, because I want it all. I want to do the best. I don't want money. I definitely want money, but you know what I mean. I don't want. The reward is not money, it's what we're creating, what we're doing, and I give 100%. You know I'm 39 years old. I train seven days a week. Like you commented on my Instagram, I have not broken. I don't feel I'm not hurt. I push my limits and if one day that ends my life, you know my daughters will be able to look back and say there was never going to be another man like my father. He is 5'9", 170 pounds, and people will revere him like he's 7 feet tall. I don't fear nobody. I live my life every day as an opportunity to do great and give back and impact people in a positive way. I know we talked about the charity. The charity is named Trina's Kids Foundation, after my mother, and every single day that somebody says her name, she's alive.

Speaker 5: 44:14

And every single time someone says Trina's Kids and Trina and Trina and Trina, it's like she's still here. And then I look at my daughter. She looks just like her and I'm like, oh my God, with all these great things going on, with all this fucking magic that's happening here. Tina's been with me through the whole thing. She left on her own for a little while and then I dragged her back With all these great things that are happening.

Speaker 5: 44:38

I do not have time to look back and wonder what if my father wasn't shooting dope in these things? I just don't think about it like that. I'm happy. Sometimes I want to blow my fucking brains out because I'm fucking stressed out about it. Like that. I just I'm fucking, I'm happy. You know, sometimes I want to blow my fucking brains out because I'm fucking stressed out. But you know what I mean. That's everybody. You know. If you haven't pushed it to the limit, to the point where you're upset or you're stressed out, and you find your way out of it, you're not pushing it. And this life you got one life. You got one opportunity to be the best person you could fucking be. Like you commented on my thing. I push myself every single day. I train.

Speaker 5: 45:18

I push myself. Every single day. I go home to my daughters and I think how could I be the best dad, how could I sit Sophia down and tell her, like daddy is a fucking lion and you got nothing to fear. You jump off the pool deck because I tell you it's okay, because I'm in here waiting for you.

Speaker 5: 45:35

We were at a pool in anaheim and it was a pool deck like three and a half feet above the regular pool when I was walking her around and the guy to own the house was big ass house, it's 20 million dollar house in, uh, the hills and wherever that was, I guess it's like the biggest house there. He said she, she's not going to do it because Sophia wasn't even two yet and I said alright, I jumped in the water and said go to the edge. And I said three, two, one, and she just jumps right in. He goes your fucking daughter is brave. And I said because she got a gangster with her, because I tell her this is okay If I say it because she got a gangster with her, Because I tell her this is okay If daddy says it's okay.

Speaker 5: 46:14

it's okay. You know what I mean and that's the way we're going to be raised and that's why my father raised me. If I bring you, it's okay. And then my father brought me when I was eight years old to fight three guys that were calling my house, pranking my sister, and I remember he said call your buddy across the street to come. And Mike Ivoce came with a baseball bat. We were eight, you know what I mean. And my father said go ring the bell. I live on the first floor. Tell him to come outside. He said you're going to fight all three of them one-on-one.

Speaker 5: 46:45

Because I also knew that my father was there. Like what is really going to happen? Yeah, dad, my father was there. Like what is really going to happen. You know what I mean. I vividly remember him come back and said put a tighter sweater on. And he walked out and I'm like this guy is fucking nuts.

Speaker 5: 47:00

But because I swallowed my fear and I went and did it, they backed down and I was and I knew that he was with me. You know what I mean. I knew that he would do what he said he was going to do. He's never going to. Let me get my ass kicked that bad. You know what I mean. He's going to you know whatever, but he backed me up and when you instill courage in somebody, you say I'm going to take care of it. They're willing to push limits further and they're willing to do things further.

Speaker 5: 47:29

And I know this is about forgiveness and you know my father what wasn't the best, but he did the best he could and I don't even got to think about forgiving him because it's just natural. I love them and and I have his name, and my son will have his name. That's gonna be born in January, which I'm fucking thrilled, yeah, which I'm fucking thrilled about. Oh, my God, I'm so relieved, so fucking relieved. I don't have three daughters. No, I love my daughters, don't get me wrong, but I definitely wanted a son. Yeah.

Speaker 5: 48:04

But if you live with that well, you have to wonder whether or not forgiveness is an option. It's not an option, it's an obligation. We live our lives where you forgive and you make mistakes and you want to be forgiven and you just got to forgive, like this kid. I don't give a shit about him. Last night I was upset. Six months from now, I'll probably lend the money again. I hope not Until somebody else triggers me and it blocks him out. Then, all of a sudden, I like the guy again. But that's what life's about, just like how I spoke about Freddie and how I changed my mind about him. I forgive you for disappointing me in the beginning of Freddie, thank you, thank you, but that's what it's about. If you dwell on shit, thank you, you're forgiving, thank you, but that's what it's about If you dwell on shit, you're going to live in that shit.

Speaker 5: 48:58

If you really think about it, you're going to stay there. I can think back of the shit my father dragged me through, running from the police with me, all this other stuff, telling me when I was eight years old that nobody cares about me and you've got to take care of yourself. I vividly remember that conversation and I don't blame him because he did the best he could. He was telling me what he thought I needed to hear to protect myself. He did the best he could and I don't know how if I was in a situation that I wouldn't say the same thing, because he was right that I wouldn't say the same thing, because he was right.

Speaker 1: 49:32

Well, that was something. Give it up for Vince, you're amazing.

Speaker 2: 49:58

Thanks for Waking up. I hear the desperation call. I turn my back and hit my head against the wall. Don't need a crucifix to take me to my knees. I'm whipping my mistakes to jump over the grief. Breaking the circuit, making it worth it. Oh, sick and tired of the voice inside my head Never good enough. It's leaving me for dead. But perfection's just a game of make-believe. Hey, gotta break the pattern. Find a new reprieve. Breaking the circuit.

Speaker 3: 50:42

Making it worth it. Oh, hiding red to make a change, hiding big, bigger than my pain. There's no deep inside. I gotta let the light.

Speaker 2: 51:05

I can be brave and afraid at the same time. Practice self-compassion, compassion, start to calm my mind, taking tiny steps to loving all of me. Just the process, cause it's gonna set me free, breaking the circuit, making it worth it all.

Speaker 3: 51:31

I am ready to make a change. I am bigger than my pain. There's no deep inside. I got the the life. Gotta gotta gotta break it. Let the light Gotta gotta gotta break it or fake it till we make it. Gotta gotta gotta break it. Come on, woo. One, two, three. I am ready to make a change. I am bigger than my pain. There's no deep inside. I got to live the life. I am ready to make a change. I am bigger than my pain. There's no deep inside. I got the the vibe.