Hello everybody, welcome to another wonderful, exciting, amazing episode of Hanging with Humans. It's me, your host, rj, and I am sitting in a tattoo shop by the name of Ink House Tattoo Art Gallery and it's off Monte Cristo Road in Edensburg, texas. And it's off Monte Cristo Road in Edensburg, texas, and I have another guest today. Hold on, I'm drawing a blank right now. Sorry, dude, I don't know why I forgot your name, freddie that's right. God damn it. Freddie Honda, freddie Honda. All right, freddie, freddie, freddy, freddy, freddy. What's your last name, freddy?
Speaker 2:My last name is Ramirez.
Speaker 1:Thank you for finishing that sentence, ramirez, and how?
Speaker 2:old are you, freddy? I am going to be 37 next month, so I'm 36. You?
Speaker 1:lie. Yeah bro, 37. I don't believe it 37 years old.
Speaker 2:yeah, People come in here and they're like I start telling them about my journey and my story and stuff and they're like bro, how old are you, how old do I look Like 26? Hell, no, I wish.
Speaker 1:People say the same thing about me. So what we're doing here today is I'm getting best bro tats with my other best bro, Freddy, over here Not this Freddy, other Freddie. I just met this Freddie and I thought it would be a cool idea or actually, Freddie thought it would be a cool idea for me to do a podcast while I get a tattoo, while interviewing other Freddie and I'm going to say it's actually the best idea Freddie's had in a long time. So thank you for that, Freddie. So what we do here on the podcast is I interview people and I let them paint a picture of what their life looks like, how it began, where it's going and everything in between. So, with that being said, Freddie, I got a bunch of questions for you.
Speaker 2:Where were you born? I was born in Matamoros, tamaulipas, mexico, which is a border town in Mexico, right next to Brownsville. Really, I got papers, don't worry, I got papers. I got papers. My uncle's a doctor over there. My mom was having complications. When I was a kid I had the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. The doctors here in the hospital said that it was just normal. So when we went over there to Mexico with my uncle he was like nah, he needs to get operated, like you need to get an emergency c-section because yeah, yeah, you're in trouble. So I started off life with a gamble.
Speaker 1:Paid off? I suppose yes it does. So you're born in Mexico, mexico, but I was raised in Brownsville. Okay, can you tell me a little bit about your mother and father.
Speaker 2:My father has a locksmith company called J&J Locksmith. He's had that company ever since I was born and my mother has always been like a house mother. But that's also helped my father like with his business and stuff. So I would say that my mom's job is, which is being like a house mother but cooking, cleaning, you know what I mean Doing the whole thing. So it's a job. It's a job, yeah. Shout out to my parents Do you have any siblings?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I actually have two brothers and a younger sister, and what do they do? I have no idea. I don't really talk to them Really. Yeah, it's more of a hide-by stuff. I know my other brother before my sister. He recently started tattooing and right now he's tattooing in san antonio. So he's doing that. I don't know what my, what my uh other brother is doing and my sister I don't know what she's doing. Anyway, you have a pretty big family, uh, just us, that's pretty much it. Um, we've never really been super family oriented. We've always just been us, so it's just really just been us. We don't really hang out with cousins or none of that in my family, so sad.
Speaker 1:So sad. I feel that so sad. You say you're 37 years old. I don't believe it, but if that is really a thing, is really a thing.
Speaker 2:So have you spent your entirety of your life in Texas? I've spent most of my life in Texas. I lived in Oklahoma, I lived in West Texas, I lived in Houston. So yeah, pretty much Texas. Just a few months that I lived in Oklahoma. That's about it. What do you love about?
Speaker 1:Texas. If you love it, do you love it.
Speaker 2:I love Texas because I'm from here, but I mean, there's a lot of things that I don't agree with that. I wish, like the laws on like marijuana and all that stuff. Right, I have to go to Colorado and out of state to be able to smoke comfortably and stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But other than that, texas is good. Texas has the most people in prison, which is pretty crazy, bro, too, and stuff, and that's one of the only things I don't really like about Texas those two things. Other than that, it's chilling, bro. I don't mind it.
Speaker 1:Does Texas have a death penalty? Yeah, oh, wow, huh, okay, so life growing up over. Did you grow up in Brownsville?
Speaker 2:So I grew up in Brownsville, went to school in Brownsville Elementary, middle school, high school, graduated, went to college, did the whole thing and then from there, you know, I had my jobs and stuff and life took me a certain route, a different route, and I started getting in trouble. It's very hard to get in trouble, especially like at a border town. Yeah, because it's so easy to make money, bro, so easy Like you can literally like, just hey, these people need to be picked up close to the border and taken to another house. Chinese people, mexican people, russian people and people go and pick them up or like, hey, I need this, move this stuff, move to a different house or whatever. Blah, blah, blah. So it's, it's really easy to get caught up there if you're not, if you're, very weak-minded when it comes to, like you know, I mean a lot of people they struggle and stuff and they try to find, you know, a resort and doing stuff like that. So that's how I got caught up, yeah so I guess.
Speaker 1:So a lot of people end up in like gangs and stuff like that. Um, was that?
Speaker 2:not a lot of people, but it's because it already depends, like how you said I wasn't, I was raised in a getaway neighborhood. But I mean, just because you were raised there doesn't mean that that's how you're gonna end up. It's just really the people you hang out with. I saw people with trucks and I saw people like you know, doing their thing and stuff and I'm like man, I want that. You know, I was working a nine to five job but these guys were like chilling all day and then making three times as much as I was. So why not? You know what I mean. I had to run the hard way, I got caught eventually and you know I did time and stuff like that, but that's that. There's a lot of that down there, bro. You know what I mean a lot of young, uh, tex-mex, uh, latino guys. That's what they get caught up in and they end up ruining their lives.
Speaker 1:It's easy to fall into. Yeah, dang um. So you ended up doing that later on, but you said you went to school first. What was uh? What were you interested?
Speaker 2:so I was going to school for phlebotomy and then I just thought that it wasn't for me. So I started going to school for uh, auto mechanics. And then I ended up getting kicked out of school because I was dating this Philippine chick and I ended I caught her cheating on me and I punched the guy and he got, and I got a. I got a, um, kicked out of school, was suspended for a whole semester and then I just decided not to go anymore and that was it. And that was it, bro. That was really it. I came to that.
Speaker 1:What were you going to be majoring in?
Speaker 2:I was in auto mechanics and auto tech.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right, auto tech.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you venture out of that. What's your next move, career-wise?
Speaker 2:Career-wise is just tattooing, honestly, and music I have. I also do music. I'm in a band called popular loner. We do a little bit of rap, rock. Um, it's been great. We just have a year doing it and it's been an awesome adventure. I was in another group before that, which kind of sparked it. You know what I mean. Um started getting my reputation and the music world and you know, and once people heard my music and then they saw that I would tattoo, I started tattooing a lot of people as well. You know it already started because I was tattooing first but I wanted to get some type of promotion like out there, you know what I mean, and freddy would come all the time and we'll be flowing and you know the fucking just doing our thing and shit. And then I I got to the point where I was like you know what I'm actually, I want to do it for real, for real.
Speaker 1:You know what I?
Speaker 2:mean fuck it right yeah and and this guy would always motivate me he's like god, dude, we gotta take it day by day and you know, just give it our all best, or whatever. And yeah, I just fell for it, bro, and and ever since then I've just been doing music and it's been working for me.
Speaker 1:I love that man. Where does your inspiration for music come from, would you say?
Speaker 2:Since I was a kid. I grew up playing instruments in church Guitar, bass, piano, all that stuff so it kind of just stuck around. I played in several bands. In school I played guitar and I played in jazz band and then I started playing bands that I was playing, like Tool, slipknot, korn, all the good new metal and 90s and early 2000s. So the band that I'm in right now we basically that's the style that we got going on. It's like early 2000s. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of like that Houston sort of. What is it Like? Suicide Boys?
Speaker 2:Kind of like imagine, like a imagine like a Suicide Boys, but with rock okay, okay, with a little bit of guitar. You know what I mean. A lot of people do compare us to the suicide boys, but I like to say that we have a very distinct sound, um, when we have our, when we add our rock to it so I watched, uh, freddie me, and freddie watched two of your videos.
Speaker 2:Um, they're uh wow, so it's you, and uh, you have another yeah, so my, it's me and my brother troy, oh, my brother, right from another mother, but my brother troy, uh, we, uh, we're the ones that uh started popular learner that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Um, there was one thing it paused at the very end of the video and then you guys say something super funny and it it was like hilarious. What was that, freddie? I can't remember. This is a trip. Oh, this is a trip. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No this is a trip. No, the way that thing was done, man, and it was amazing. It was an amazing video.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and that one. I took a puff and I don't have any tattoos and all of a sudden my tattoos appear and stuff with the weed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember that one, I was like very impressed, like I mean everything Music amazing. What do you have like future plans with that? Oh?
Speaker 2:we have a lot of future plans. Actually, you say you have a concert soon. Yeah, so we have a. We're going to be at the viper, at the, at the viper arena, um, here in and in, uh, here in edinburgh, and uh, it's gonna be on february 14th, on valentine's day. But the good thing about it is, before anybody said, well, that's valentine's day, look, you're gonna go enjoy a badass basketball game, a badass concert. They're gonna be giving out roses, they're gonna be giving out like candy, you know. So they're, they're. They're making it like really, really badass basketball game, a badass concert. They're going to be giving out roses, they're going to be giving out candy, so they're making it really, really badass there for the couples and stuff. It's a great way. The tickets are only $8. They usually go for like $25, sometimes more. The tickets are only that much, bro. That's awesome. On.
Speaker 1:Valentine's Day yeah, vipers Arena, that's where you go for you watch those basketball game, right? Yeah, um, your brother, uh, from another mother, troy. Can you tell me a little bit about him and how you guys came to be and uh? Uh started doing music together?
Speaker 2:yeah. So I hit up his dm, I slid through his dms and now, um he, uh, basically we contacted each other and I had seen him, like, made up, make a song, right, and I told him, yeah, bro, you got some, you got some badass uh uh music. Yeah, you know we should link up one of these days or whatnot. And he was like, yeah, so one day we ended up linking up and we ended up doing I don't know if you saw that video that had like AI in it.
Speaker 1:Freddie, what was the first one we watched? The second one, the first video? Which one was that one?
Speaker 2:The green lowrider oh, gtfo. Yeah, that bitch, get the fuck out of here. Okay, that was more like our rap stuff, yeah, Okay. Okay, that was more like our rap stuff, yeah, okay. So we actually kind of blew up with that song and with the one I'm telling you that has like AI in it. The one that has AI in it got us into the news. No, they hit us up from the news Channel 4, channel 5, you know, the Spanish channel, and then GTFO opened doors up in the hip-hop world and so every time there's like a hip-hop artist or whatever, they hit us up.
Speaker 1:That's what's up, dude, and this is just all off of YouTube.
Speaker 2:YouTube and all social, all platforms, yeah yeah, we're everywhere. We just I think the last concert that we had was with mexican ot. We opened up for mexican ot and, uh, we pulled up in a green lowrider to the stage. We just try to be different than everybody else, bro. We try to put on a show, yeah that's.
Speaker 1:That's amazing man. I'm pumped for you guys. I am pumped for you guys. I am pumped for you guys. Straight up Popular Loaner. How'd you come up with the name?
Speaker 2:The name. So my friend Troy already kind of had the name and he was like, look bro, I wanted to do this clothing brand and call it Popular Loaner. And then I was like, nah, fuck that, let's just make it into a band. And at first it was just me and him, and then from there we just we started adding more guys, which is the guitar player and the you know, shout out to Ozzy. We recently are getting a new drummer and a new bass player, so we're just waiting on that and we have our full band again.
Speaker 1:That's awesome man. So from a band, question real quick uh, what does it take to put together a song like produced all the way and like you know out there, or maybe a video too like so.
Speaker 2:So the way we do our songs is, um, we get together and sometimes I'm having a bad day, sometimes he's having a bad day. We get one of our beats that we already have there and we just kind of, we, we put our feelings in it. So every single song that you heard from us it's a, it's like a heartbreak song, because we were both going through a heartbreak time him with his girl, me with my girl. You know what I mean, and it was a lot of inspiration.
Speaker 2:So we will go to the studio and just create these things and sometimes we would hear it and we would sometimes we'll tear up because we're hearing our lyrics, but they're they're not like, okay, this sounds good, let's say this. No, they're actually coming from us and it's, it's been an emotional ride, it's been, it's been cool. So whenever you hear our songs, you're hearing my story, basically like in my relationship, in my mind, going through addictions, going through, um, feeling like. You're hearing my story, basically like in my relationship, in my mind, going through addictions, going through feeling like you're alone, depression, and all that. So I have several songs that, like they talk about that.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, man. I think there's a need for that, like transparency, in the world right now.
Speaker 2:And yeah, so it's a big reason why I do this is for mental health purposes, you know yeah, I believe a lot in mental health awareness and helping people to have mental health, because it's, it's, it's, it's real, bro, it's it's. People think, nah, it's all in your head, nah, it's, it's, it's real. Like this shit does come and attack you and some people are lucky enough to to face it and keep going another day and some people just give up. You know it gets to the point when people give up and and, um, it's, it's our job, people like us, it's our job to be able to help those people too. You know what I mean. That's why I'm very appreciative, like you, that you do your podcast and you go and you help people out and make up, understand that there's more to life than what they're living you know what I Than what they're going through, because everybody goes through something.
Speaker 1:So they're not alone.
Speaker 2:We just have to remind them that they're not alone and we're there to help them out.
Speaker 1:Thank you for putting it that way, because that's exactly how I feel about it, from beginning to end. Yes, sir, there are a lot of voices out there that just don't get to be heard, for whatever reason, and I think it's important for those stories, uh, for people to meet those people. Yeah, exactly, show that you can get through things. Um, um, I want to, since you know we're on the mental health thing um, a lot of people from depression can turn into addiction.
Speaker 2:They're running from what they're dealing with in their head or at home, and then they, you know, drugs can numb you or alcohol can numb you yeah, bro, like me in my story and and I I used to, I used to be not addicted but I used to run to like drugs, cocaine, crack, um all that type of stuff, and I would try to, and that shit would numb me for a little bit and it would stop me from thinking all these thoughts because I wasn't a very abusive relationship, like. I was always mentally challenged, like challenged with my emotions because, um, a lot of people they're like, well, not that my wife would hit me or nothing, but she would like, really like, get me through the emotional and and mental side. Yeah, and sometimes, even though we have our friends and even though we have people that back us up, sometimes, if we feel that there's we need more than that, so we run to drugs and it numbs our being for a couple minutes or for an hour and then but everything comes back and it comes times two, because now we're, you're not that, but you have all your friends looking for you, and then you have and all these things, cause it's happened to me. You know there's been times where Freddie had to go look for me you know what I mean Cause they would say they couldn't find me and and I do have friends that do look out for me and stuff, but we, we sometimes we're hardheaded and we don't just want our friends, we want some, which is the drugs.
Speaker 2:So recently that, um, I've been sober for for a good minute already and like thanks to, to, like my fellow peers and like my wife, like my fiance now, and like god you know what I mean I've turned my faith to god and he's helped me out a lot as well, and it's just, it's amazing, bro, it's it's, it's crazy how you feel that this is going to be true. You'd be your life, for the rest of your life, and things just change, yeah, like, from one day to another. You know what I mean, without you even realizing it. By the time you realize it, you're like, damn, like everything's cool. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:It's badass, though there's like a price that comes with not giving up. What do you think? Yeah, boy, that's dope. I love it. Thanks, bro. Hell, yeah, appreciate it. We're still going to interview and continue. Yeah, yeah, definitely, but now we're just switching dudes now. What do you think? Dope? Huh, freddie, that's nice. Yeah, I know how much are you guys paying me for this. Again Paying you with my friendship, because I'm such a good friend. Lebron.
Speaker 2:James University. That one you got to finish that one too right.
Speaker 1:Yep, I sure do that one. Let's see, half my back needs to be done. That's great. I need some shading done on my fat. I like that gait you're growing. Thank you, that's my day one. Autumn Hudson. She's like crazy good. But yeah, I am gonna need lots of work done. To be honest, if you could think of a moment or a chapter that was like a change of course for you in your life or a wake up call Shit prison bro Prison, having a daughter and uh and um, just caring about people's feelings or caring about other people.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, cause we do a lot of stuff without thinking and then we don't know. We don't know who we're hurting in the process.
Speaker 1:Being less selfish. Right, yeah, like less selfish.
Speaker 2:Music's my other source of income, pretty right there. Why should we be asking you, since you're getting it first?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's perfect. Yeah, cool, we got two music yo, is there any? Because it's it's kind of just getting to know you, um. But I guess the way I explain the podcast is uh, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, so I just started traveling, not knowing where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do with my life, so I just started traveling, not knowing where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do, um, so I moved state to state to state to state to state for the last 14 years, something like that. Yeah, and I made so many friends and relationships all over the place that I can pick up my my life and move it to any state I wanted to right now, oh yeah, and so I take that everywhere I go and for whatever reason, people open up to me very easily and, um, and I haven't done a lot of people dirty in my life yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2:When you have a good reputation for yourself and like it depends on your character, like I, I feel like if you have a good character or if you have positive energy, it reflects upon other people. So as soon as you walk into the room or like, let's say, right now, like you throw this positive energy and it's not an awkward feeling or it's not like something like damn, like I don't know something feels weird. You know what I'm saying. I like to consider myself like that I can go anywhere and like doors are always open, but because of humbleness you know what I mean and the way you communicate with people and like it and just it doesn't matter how you look. Like I mean, I'm tired from the phase you're all tatted. You know what I mean. But they say that the people that are most tattooed, those are the nicest people ever bro yeah, it's a lot of people like to stereotype, but then it's like total opposite you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:That's a huge. One of the main reasons why I started doing this is because that I've moved to so many different places where sometimes people don't look like me. There, right like montana is predominantly caucasian, like across the board, and I got there. There's not a lot of tattoo, yeah, you know. So it took a while for people to warm up to me, but now I consider that place home because I've changed so much and grown as a person there more than anywhere else, and I've learned about other people there. Like it's crazy, like we're all uh different but we're all so alike in most ways.
Speaker 2:If people would just sit down and talk to somebody, yeah, of course, but you know, judging a book by its cover, yeah it's because this, and people told me, it's because, uh, I have a lot of friends that are tattooed also or like just very antisocial. It's because everywhere I go, bro, it just feels awkward because you're not going and talking to nobody, you're not engaging, you're just literally just there and you're just like bro, engage, hey, what's up, bro, like I like your shirt I don't know what the fuck that is, but I like your shirt, type of shit. You know what I mean? Just engage, and from there you start building. That's why, everywhere I go, bro, like everywhere I go, I tell people, look, we start talking. And then, as soon as they tell me, so what do you do for a living, I'll be like well, I do tattoos. Oh, really, and everybody wants tattoos. You know People that are in music is like oh, I do music, I do music too.
Speaker 2:It's like, oh, yeah, for reals. And I show them my music and they're like what the fuck? Like that's cool, yeah, you never know, right, yeah, and it just opens new door, opens doors. Like it doesn't matter what type of music you do, like if you have a strong, good character, bro, like it opens doors anyway something that can be taught, or do you think it's just something that you're born with?
Speaker 2:I feel like some people are just naturally like that. You know what I mean. But there's some. I've known most. I've known people that have been super, super quiet, people like they're all like yeah to themselves when, when they were younger, and then right now they're like pastors or something yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So I feel like you just grow into it.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. So I feel like you just grow into it. You know what I mean. So since I was a kid, like I've always played music at church and opened up services and like I used to work at a coffee shop. So I have a lot of like customer service experience and talking to people. You know I used to do my morning influentials in the morning, you know on live and people would tune in. And you know on live and people would tune in and you know, so I, I uh, I'm already kind of like used to it a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no stage fright. Yeah, exactly, I perform on stage and I just go out there and do my thing, bro, and most of the time, like I'm just high, honestly, you know, I mean it's not like a, I don't, I don't do it to to like, oh, I want to go party and shit.
Speaker 2:You know, sometimes I get out of work and I'm just like frustrated and I'm like man, I just want to get paid. You know I mean I'll take a dab or something, right, but most of the most of the time I'm high because it just keeps me calm and I'm just saying people don't understand that and do you think it's a because it's illegal here?
Speaker 1:do you think there's more of a looking down on it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, everywhere you go, people smoke, bro, and right now, like you go, I have a friend and his name is Trevor from Real CBD. He has a CBD store and he has stuff that's like legal but like you see it, and it looks just like the real thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, smells like the real thing, feels like the real thing. Yeah, yeah, smells like the real thing, feels like the real thing, so it's like it trips me out. Right, but are you ready?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, um, like a delta eight, delta nine like a delta nine, but I don't know, bro, like that shit, just it hits. But, um, yeah, I guess it's more acceptable because, look, I'll carry my pen with me everywhere I go and and it just outside of the parking lot of Walmart or whatever and I just boom and relax and I just go in and it just keeps me from like people, like because people stare at me because of my face tattoos and when I'm high, like I just really don't care, you know. I mean like, yeah, you.
Speaker 1:I guess, but.
Speaker 2:I've learned to accept that. Hey, it's gonna happen, bro. People who get tattoos in their face, I mean it's gonna happen. People are gonna look at you regardless, regardless, so you can't get mad about it, yeah, unless they're literally like just yeah, absolutely I've had ladies like I'm walking and I've had ladies like hold on to their purse tight and shit, oh shit, it's like yeah, I mean, I don't know, maybe it's just something passed down from their, you know, family, parents, you know, just like.
Speaker 1:Hey, that's a thing we think. People covered in tattoos are not good people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's just how they were raised.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how they were raised, I'm ready. What is your favorite?
Speaker 2:childhood memory. My favorite childhood memory was sitting down every Saturday to watch Ninja Turtles on Saturdays cartoons that was my favorite part love the Ninja Turtles too.
Speaker 1:Who's your favorite Ninja Turtle?
Speaker 2:Raphael but why? Because it's his attitude, bro. He has a very distant like attitude, like ignorant attitude, like. You know what I mean. I feel like that's how I used to be. I feel that.
Speaker 1:I feel that as you can see, I'm fucking on my seat, oh man. How many times have you said that? Huh A million. I haven't said it in two years. That's good for you.
Speaker 2:Oh, that huh, I've nailed it. I said it in two years it's good for you.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, two years off the sauce. I'm proud of you, bro, congratulations, congratulations. And how long for you, freddie?
Speaker 2:uh, I've been sober for I want to say like going to two years.
Speaker 1:Nice, I'm at like a year and a half or less like a year I did drink when I went to louisiana.
Speaker 2:But it's because I don't drink, bro, because when I drink I think I'm allergic to it, because I started getting like itches on the bottom of my feet, on my hands, any kind of alcohol, like anything. Like when I would go to the bar with him, like sometimes I would like I would drink a little bit, but then I had like that shit, and then I'll start feeling like shit. So, uh, I, I just didn't do it anymore, damn yeah. But when I went to Louisiana since they were free and we're in the, in the slot machines and shit, they, they would bring me the drinks and I was like, fuck it. I had one, nothing happened. Then I did another one and nothing happened. When I was about to order my third one I started feeling it. So I stopped, oh dang. But I got pretty buzzed with those two.
Speaker 1:That's funny. Where's your happy place? In the sky when I'm high.
Speaker 2:Me, too. That's one of my happy places. The other happy place is being with my kids, spending time with children, playing outside with them, because in my heart I still feel like a child, so I drop down to their level and I just have fun. It takes me back like, if I'm doing it, when I was younger We'd go outside, play with the fake guns and go play soccer and shit like that, still living. Your kids Fall. These kids fall, hurt themselves and they start crying and I tell them man up, man up, it's going to go away. And then boom, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So I'm trying to do everything that I didn't have growing up. I had my mother and my father, but my father wasn't really the type to like, well, let's go play outside or anything or anything. He was always at work. So I'm trying to balance that. You know, being a dad and being like doing this music thing and the tattoo thing and stuff. And it's hard, bro, because sometimes you just get focused on one thing and it's like, damn, like, like you lose yourself in it and then you're like you snap back to reality. You're like, wait, oh shit, I got my family over here or I got my kids. I gotta you know what, instead of going and going to the studio or instead of getting that extra tattoo that I could probably I can do tomorrow, I'll just take my kids to the park or some shit you know what I mean like, yeah, it's easy to get tunnel vision on something it does.
Speaker 2:Bro, it don't get me wrong. It's a real good thing to have tunnel vision and what you're doing, tunnel vision and what you're doing and stuff, but um, it, um, it's also not. It's also good not to forget. You know your other responsibilities Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what? Uh, besides smoking weed, what helps you find that balance? Is there any other?
Speaker 2:thing God, god helps you find that balance. Uh, my fiance makes me, uh helps me find that balance, like my kids, you you know like support and stuff, so love that um, what about your fiancee?
Speaker 1:your uh, would you mind so?
Speaker 2:she's on her way right now, but she, she, so she works. She's a director at the hospital, like she works for um, for all the marketing and all that stuff at the hospital and big support bro. She has, uh, four kids and all those kids like like I've been knowing her for four years already so we already have an establishment. When I got you know how I was telling you that I didn't really have a lot of like cousins. I would hang out with her family. We're really close with her family. It's like the opposite, like all her family loves me. So like cousins, aunts, uncles, you know what I mean. So it's another. It's like a mean my mom and my dad are always going to be my mom and dad and I really love them a lot. But that's like my family, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like it's just, it's a crazy experience, bro.
Speaker 2:It's amazing, no.
Speaker 1:I'm always so appreciative that you know the other side's family can bring you in. You know like cause there's, you know like because there's you know other times, or that's not a thing, yeah, so, oh, what is the? What's your favorite thing about your?
Speaker 2:career. I get to hurt people every day. You're sick, I'm just playing. No, oh, it's just.
Speaker 2:My favorite part is just, um, meeting you people every day, bro, like you guys and shit. It's a blessing meeting you guys um, I already know Freddie, right, but meeting you and stuff and homeboy over here and just hearing people's stories like kind of like what you do and you're hearing everybody's story, you know what I mean. And hearing the stuff that people go through or why they're getting tattooed, like it's just it's never boring, bro. It's boring when they bring, like whenever people want to come and get like a butterfly tattoo or like you know shit or whatever the fuck.
Speaker 2:But I guess meeting the person and like, especially if they're more open and they talk a lot, it makes up for it, because you get to hear, like, whether it's a fake story or non-story. You're just hearing new stories every day. It's kind of like prison, bro, prison. I remember when I was locked up, um, I would hear all these fucking people stories like like oh, I should do this, I should do that, and some were like believable, some were like oh, my god, like yeah, bro, whatever, you know what I mean, but it's it's, it's fun, bro, I like that yeah, you don't know until you know, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, two pet beavers, oh, two pet peas. What's some shit. You just cannot stand.
Speaker 2:Shit, I can't stand. I can't stand cocky people. I like to hang out with humble people and do shit like that.
Speaker 1:That was weird.
Speaker 2:The most humble guy, this guy's ever met yeah this guy's pretty humble. He might look like a little cocky prick but yeah, he's humble. I know he's always had my back and he's always come through, bro. And I hate avocado, Avocado. I fucking hate avocado, bro. I hate avocado, I know, but I hate avocado.
Speaker 1:He's not coming to the barbecue, then my guacamole. I got not coming to the barbecue, then, wait, my guacamole. I've got to make the home. I've got a barbecue tomorrow at 6.
Speaker 2:What do you mean? Just because of that, I'm going to show up. Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:All right, we still live in the same house.
Speaker 2:We still live in the same house. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:I got you In the gay community, he community. He's done well for himself. Very proud of you, buddy. So those are his questions. Those are good ones, bro. I think you have a future in this prison. Can we talk about prison? Yeah, um, how did uh, how did you? How did you end up there?
Speaker 2:I ended up there first like nah. So so I was a good kid bro, like literally like I. I like, I mean I grew up in the neighborhood or whatever and I would do my shit, but like I was, I was a church kid, you know what I mean and I would do like some bad stuff just so people could think I was cool, like my friends and shit, like we'll spray, pin a war, some shit. You know what I mean. But then, um, I started smoking at a young age, like like bud after, like after school and stuff sorry, mom and um and like from there it's, like you said, the people you hang out with. That's the type of shit.
Speaker 2:So I got caught up. I used to sell coke and I got caught up not selling stuff but like punching a guy because he didn't pay me the 20 that I sold him. So I got an assault with body injury and then I started sending weed up north to mail, to fedex and stuff, and I got caught up with that as well and I went to the feds for that. And then the third time I had gone to prison it was, um, I used to sell crack and a crackhead just came up to me and I was about to sell it to him and then a cop was coming, so I kind of just booked it and he kind of followed me and I threw the shit through to him. And then a cop was coming, so I kind of just booked it and he kind of followed me and I threw the shit through the window and then, just, you know, I ended up crashing at the courthouse in Bronzo and I got sent to prison for that too.
Speaker 2:So it was just because it was the house. I didn't need to do it, but it was easy money. You know what I mean. I just got out of prison. I didn't want to do shit, like you know. I mean that's a tough transition, but you come out thinking you're gonna do right, and it's just this. All this other stuff comes to you and they're like man, this is easy as fuck. I can do this, like I'm good at it. You know I mean, um, and yeah, bro, from there I I just did my time, I did my whole time and just got back out in society in 2019. I got out and I've just paid my dues to society and just been you know as been who I am now.
Speaker 2:It took a long process to become the person I am now. But I mean, I don't regret it, bro. It was an amazing journey and, like I said, I've met a lot of badass people along the way and stuff, like freddie and a whole bunch of my other friends and stuff and like it's all lead me to being the person I am right now. And like even the shop, bro, like everybody here's family, we all fuck with each other. We're all like, hey, man, this is a unit, like we're all together and stuff, like yeah, I put my, yeah, I put my whole faith in the whole tattoo family that we have here at the shop and it's, it's. It's crazy, bro, like you know, I mean a lot of people think that you can never change, or, oh, he's never going to change, because a lot of people go to prison.
Speaker 2:They just go back and they go back and they go back and they go back. But because they get used to it, they're like, nah, this is not the life for me. They put themselves in that situation. You know what Life doesn't accept me. I need to be in prison, and that was started to be. Yeah, you know like, ah, fuck it, I'll just get locked up, I'll do a little bit of time and I'll get out again. But that's not the way to live, because your family starts missing you.
Speaker 1:Like everybody starts missing you and it's just. It's. Some people don't got family like that too. And then they're just like what other options do I have? Um, so what was the the biggest wake-up call? That was like all right, we ain't never going back, we're out for good, like when I had my son with my first marriage.
Speaker 2:That made me change my mental, but things weren't helping because of the person I was with.
Speaker 2:And then I had my daughter and it made me change a lot as well with my daughter.
Speaker 2:But slowly that positive and that wanting to change started leaving me little by little because of the place I was at you know what I mean, the relationship I was in and all that stuff, and it was just leaving. That relationship really like opened my eyes and realized that everything that I've been praying for, when I thought like God wasn't listening to me, like came to life. Like you know what I mean. He's like I needed to prepare you for this. You know what I mean and that's I needed to go through that storm and that preparation. So that way led me to what I have now, which is to me as a gift from him, you know, because this is what a coincidence like I prayed for a family, he gave me a me family. I prayed for her family to like me they all like me, you know for peace, for love, for you know I mean for a job, for constant work, and it happens, bro, so you got it pretty happy about that.
Speaker 1:I love that bro, I love that. Where do we have? We got your music. We got tattooing um valentine's day. We got a's Day. We got a concert right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got a concert on Valentine's Day and we also have a show this Friday at the White Rhino downtown McAllen White Rhino, downtown McAllen. It starts at 10. It's nothing, but if you like rock metal, you know death metal, like all that shit. They're going to be playing all that shit Live music. You recently hung out with the Mexican OT right, yeah, that's my boy right there, man, yeah, he's doing it big right now. I've opened up for him. The first time I opened up for him was like two years, three years ago, in Plainview, texas, and then I did it again in Houston, and then I did it again, and so after seeing me for the second time, he was like yo bro, I know you.
Speaker 2:And started chopping it up. This is before Diddy, before like all this, before Johnny Dang, before all that shit Like this was like when he was barely starting, bro, and you know I was blessed to have chilled with him. We brought, they had brought him down over here in far Texas. We were chilling with him there and then we that's when we opened up this last show with him. That's when we came out. We came out in a low rider, so it was pretty, it was pretty badass. That's awesome, it was pretty cool. There's the camera right there.
Speaker 1:So for the last, I guess we'll finish up with. Do you want to do any shout outs?
Speaker 2:Shout out family. Shout out to my wife, my kids, no. Shout out to troy. Shout out to the whole uh ink house, family. You know, all the artists, um, my parents, and to everybody that's watching who's going through like depression or like mental health or thinking that you know there's no escape from the issues that you're having. There is always an escape. There's always someone there, you know. And if you feel that there's not just you know, all you got to do is, you know, pray to god up there. Don't I'm not encourage you to be a bible hugger, but just, you know, have a relationship with god and he's there for you. And call your friends up. Tell them, hey, bro, I need you. Come fuck around with me there.
Speaker 1:You go find yourself. You'll know who your real friends are. Absolutely, absolutely freddie. Thank you so much for your time, brother I I really appreciate it. And thank you, freddie I think you're other Freddie now because this Freddie's way cooler and thanks everybody and goodbye, bye, goodbye.