Patch Boyz x Iovany Galindo | EP.127 Shoot Every Day: Photography & Creativity In West Texas

We sit down with Iovany Galindo owner of Mes Lab Studio a West Texas local photographer to trace a creative life built on daily practice, from cancer and welding to oilfield MRT photography award, viral moments, and a fast-growing slots channel. A clear theme runs through every story: shoot every day, stay authentic, and own your craft.

• meaning of shoot every day and how practice rebuilds creativity
• starting over after cancer and learning through early YouTube
• oilfield photography, drones, and shaping scenes with flash
• competition, pricing pressure, and the power of client connection
• phones versus cameras for content and the importance of light
• brand deals, authenticity, and keeping your voice
• casino filming rules, RTP realities, and future slot tech
• New York collaboration culture versus West Texas gatekeeping
• viral Matthew McConaughey quince story and media rights
• travel lessons from Japan, Italy, and Guadalajara wedding
Iovany Galindo Links: https://www.meslabstudio.co/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@iovany_meslab?si=SHyT9MJ2wT-TVU2T

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/iovany_meslab?igsh=MWkyb3R3MmttZTl0bQ== https://www.instagram.com/meslabstudio?igsh=MXBxN3Fpc2lpOWMxNA== https://www.instagram.com/team_lots_of_slots?igsh=dGN3Z2FqNW5mYndo

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/iovany_meslab?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=c70b8e50-af1b-4571-8318-5ab534aa9388
Sponsors:
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Transcript

Sponsor Shoutouts & Opening

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hey guys, uh we just want to see out there uh hit up our sponsor, uh Underdog Wire Line. They're killing it, they're uh they're supporting us, they're doing everything they can. Uh we appreciate the offer of completion, production, pipe recovery. You need a whole um perforator, you need a whole log to give these guys a damn call. You know what I mean? They got all kinds of stuff going on from uh emergency shower trailers to cooldown trailers. Uh do what you can, give them a call at 432-247-1033. Branded 14 hot shot service, guys. Let's check them out, man. Don't forget about them. They're out of side of Midland. You're probably seeing them running around in and out of the field, alright? They offer any type of hot shot work you need. ESP spooling, ESP tech. They even got heavy hauling with semis, guys. All right. So, you know, if you need something hauled, you need some uh ESP work done, give these guys a shout out. It's at 432-638-1755. Check out the links below.

Meet Giovanni: Brands & Creative Identity

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Titan Sales and Services uh is one of our new sponsors. They're a relatively new company, so we want to back them up like they're backing us up. Uh they're running out of crane, Texas, and some of the stuff that they have available is uh Russ About maintenance and construction crews, uh, trash trailers, porta potties, combo trailers, forklifts, and they're adding new services and rentals every day. Uh so give those guys a call at 432-307-1960. Hey, what's up, everybody? Patch Boys back again. Uh, we got some special guests. We're gonna we're gonna let him introduce himself and what he does. Um so wait a moment, man.

The Meaning Of “Shoot Every Day”

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Hey man, thank you first of all for uh for having me. You know, this is actually my first podcast with somebody else. So uh my name is Giovanni, Giovanni Galindo. Uh I am the owner of uh a couple things, I guess you can say. Um Mesh Lab Studio is one of uh our main thing. Meslab studio is M E S L A B. It's making events special because everybody always asks. They always want to be like, what'd you say? Like Meth Lab? Like, no, it's Meth Lab. MES LA B, Making Events Special. Um my wife also owns Hola Bonita. So I'm just the maintenance man there. So that is her business. That's what she does. And then we do a couple of other stuff, man. We do a whole lot of YouTube, uh, a whole lot of social media is is what I do. Um we have like a slot channel on YouTube. I've had that for for a few years now. And I think like this year we've uh barely started paying more attention to it. It was always like a fun deal. Man, I just I gamble, yeah, and I do video and I do photo, and I was like, shit, why not just put this together, you know? And it started off really good. But this year, um, this past year, we we started paying more attention to it. So that's lots of slots. You can find us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. You can find us there. And um, so Mess Lab Studio is my company. I do have employees that help us out, man. Shit, I wish I could do it all, but we do have employees, and then I have pretty much like my brand, which is Giovanni, and that is um, I really push like the shoot every day, is is really what I push. So I I it's not a company, but it's just more of a brand identification on what Giovanni is, and it just kind of ties in to everything that we do from there. And then we got a bunch of little other, you know, endeavors here and there that that we're into as well. But in a nutshell, that that's kind of who I am and and what I do for a living. So I mean, and first of all, I did bring you uh guys' caps from shoot every day, and then I'll explain what shoot every day means just right off the bat. So shoot every day, it is kind of geared towards photographers. Um, I even got it had it on my hand, and this is um my camera hand, so when I see it, and it's just a reminder, man, that uh practicing your craft every day is what makes you better. And no matter what you do. Um I mean, if you do hair, if you do, you know, podcasting, it even if uh you know, whatever you're you're you're in, whatever your craft in, the only way to get better is like literally doing it every single day. And pretty much that's what shoot every day means. A lot of people think that I'm into guns, and it's like, bro, you like shoot every day, you collect guns. I mean, and I actually don't own any myself, yeah. Um, but I do have a lot of people that you know they get the caps, they're like, Man, shoot every day, I love this. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, that's not the meaning it can be if you want it to be. I mean, if that's your craft, right? You shoot every day, yeah. Yeah, if you shoot every day, if that's your craft. But you know, um, I did go through a time period where um I Mess Lab Studio is we we started Mess Lab 2 uh studio in 2009, um, which is going on 16 years now. Wow. And back then, I was married back then, and we would do photo, video, um, decorations, invitations. We had a party bus, we had a photo booth, so it was like everything.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Full entertainment.

Losing Creativity, Divorce, And Rebuilding

SPEAKER_02 5:30

It was like a full entertainment, one-stop shop kind of deal. Um, but what happened there is I got so much into um being more of a business owner, being more of running the company, that I wasn't a photographer, that I wasn't doing so much video myself. I was shooting, but I had editors. I had, you know, I was running the business and I was losing my creativity. And I've always been a creative kid. Man, shit. I know we got an hour, bro. I mean, we got a whole bunch we can talk about, like starting from day one. I'm like starting at like half of the story, but um like I had all these people and I wasn't shooting every day, and I I I just lost that creativity. Um, I did get a divorce, and I at that time, like I felt a little lost, you know, like shit. I did keep the photo video side. My ex-wife kept the decorating side uh of the business. We kind of let some stuff go. And I I was just a photographer in a video, and I was like, man, like I I I I don't know, like I I knew how to run a business, but like I kind of forgot how to be a photographer, like a good one. And that's when I decided to um start going more on my photography stuff, started doing more training myself, and that's when I decided it's like, man, if I'm gonna get good at this again, like I gotta shoot every day. You know, I I gotta keep pushing, uh educate myself because I mean we can never be educated enough, especially with the way technology moves in whatever field that you have, even like in the oil field, the way that that's like changing, yeah, like bro, you gotta stay on it or you're gonna be left behind, you know? Um, I do also do a lot of oil field photography. I was actually the uh oil field photographer of the year at the MRT this past year. So I do a lot of that as well. I'm telling you, bro, we we we do a whole whole lot. I'm just all over the place. But basically, that is what shoot every day means is you know, I got it tatted on my hand, on my camera hand, just to remind me every single day, like, bro, you you you know, you gotta work on your craft every day or you're gonna be left behind. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

I mean, what it shows with you, I noticed like just because of your photography, the way it looks, you know, and you did Aidens, and they were really well. Like, and and I think that's one thing my wife, she she does photography too, but she always loved the way your photos looked and your lighting and all that stuff. And you know, for me, I didn't really understand lighting, like you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

But like now that you're here with the podcast, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

I realized because if you see our first videos, they're busted. They're so fuzzy and everything, you know. Even the photos, we did one with the first mayor, or whatever. It was all grainy, bro. I was like, oh my goodness, you know, but but no, I think your photos really come out well, especially and then you do stuff with drones too. I've seen it.

Oilfield Photography & Awards

SPEAKER_02 8:23

I do a lot of drone work, like uh the drone work we do a lot of uh in the oil field. So I've been flying drones before um drones even had cameras, like we had to attach a camera to it, like a GoPro. Like it was a big freaking drone, and then you had to figure out how to uh attach your camera. These things wouldn't fly on their own like they do, you know, right now. Right now, you can put one in the air, you can buy one for like 500 bucks, and I mean they'll fly themselves. Yeah, but I started flying these like even before. I love drone work, but again, like I'm just so busy. Like, I want to get into the FPV ones. I don't know if you've seen those. So they're like really small, bro. They're the ones that like fly through things and yeah, and like gives you and like they'll do flips and all that, but man, that's a whole nother animal in in learning. Yeah, I just I I couldn't, but um, I do do a lot of drone work, um, especially in the oil field and some real estate stuff. I really don't do a whole lot of real estate, yeah. Um, but oil field for sure. I I freaking love being in the oil field. A lot of people think um I'm a bit of a handyman, I'm a bit of a I'm the maintenance man at Ola Bonita. So um I I I love it. I used to be a welder, bro. Um I was a welder for almost six years. Wow. When I was uh from like 18, and then I was diagnosed with cancer. A lot of people don't know that. Yeah, a lot of people don't know that I was diagnosed with cancer. Um that was like the bust of 2009 when I had cancer, and cancer actually started my business, which is kind of crazy because when I got sick, it was the bust of 2009. We all got laid off. I was sick, I had cancer. Uh I was going to MD Anderson through chemo.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

I got it cut out right here. You can see I had the uh the tumor. I got a big old cut right here.

Drones, FPV Dreams, And Field Work

Cancer, Online School, And First Camera

SPEAKER_02 10:21

They took it out, and um that's when online school started. You know, that was like the time, yeah. I'm that old. Uh that's when online. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's when online, you know, classes started. And um I I said, fuck it, you know, I'm gonna uh I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go online and I got my graphic design degree. I took a photography class uh in it, and I was like, hey, this is cool. I mean, I was never that kid like that carried around a camera that um you know was always taking pictures. Like I would and I could like see the compositions and stuff, like even I was welding, I'd take like pictures, but we didn't have cell phones like we do now, you know, with the cameras. You know, I'd take like little pictures here and there. But when when I took my photography class, I was like, man, this is this is cool. Yeah, this is cool. Um and I remember I I got a I got a job, bro, at uh at Sugarts is what it was. It was a little photography studio in Odessa where on 42nd and like across Twin Peaks where Roses is. I think it's like Orange Leaf right now. There was a photography studio there. Oh, really? So I got a job there, bro. I was I wasn't getting paid nothing. I think it was like 12 bucks an hour. But I was a photographer, bro. I mean, yeah, you know, and I was working there, but they wouldn't teach you how to like really use a camera. And they had a guy go in there, one of the friends owner, and he borrowed a backdrop and he did like weddings. And he came in and he was like, Hey, I I need a helper this weekend. Like, um, have you shot a uh a quinceañera? And I was like, No, but I've been to a lot, you know. I've been to a lot of them, and um he came in and he was like, Can you know you want to help me out? He's like, I got a hundred bucks for you for for the day. I was like, 12 bucks an hour, and I was like, let's go. So I went, I worked with him, and you know, he let me borrow his gear, whatever, and I was like, man, this shit's pretty easy. You know, it's it's not bad. I've been to a lot of Kinz and yet. I was like, this is this ain't hard. So I remember, bro, like I saved up a little bit. I took those couple hundred dollars and and I had a little bit of money, and I went to Sam's and I bought me uh a camera at Sam's. That was my first camera. I bought it at Sam's, bro, and it was a Canon Rebel. All photographers from this era, we all started on Canon Rebels. Um I bought it, it was like 500 bucks. You know, probably nowadays, that's probably like what, eight, nine hundred dollars? Probably. Yeah, yeah. So I bought that camera and I posted it on MySpace. And I was like, yeah, I'm that old again. MySpace. I posted it on MySpace and I was like, hey, you know, I got this camera. Anyone need some pictures? Like, I got you, you know, you know, whatever. Started getting messages and messages and and and started growing just off of MySpace. And I I remember that um this this is a little story, this one's a little sad. I was like, yeah, I'm getting going, so I quit, you know, at the studio. I was there for a little while, I quit at the studio, and I remember it was Easter, and I was like, hey, I'm gonna do uh Easter pictures for free. You know, like everybody show up. I remember I took my little desk, I bought me a little banner, and bro, I sat out there, bro. Nobody showed up. Like nobody showed up, and I was like, fuck man, is this what I really want to do? You know, like nobody showed up. It was like it was free, you know, and I wanted to practice, I wanted, you know, um, if you wanted to donate, like I would be cool with that. Like, I mean, anything. I I wasn't not expecting money, I just wanted to do it just because I enjoyed it so much, and nobody showed up. I have that picture, bro. I was sitting there on that little desk. It was I I I look at that every time. I I do uh I do photography courses right now, and I show that picture every time, bro. And I was like, man, nobody showed up. Um and that that was like, man, I gotta work harder. I had to go back to work so many times. Like I was working two jobs, I was still trying to be a photographer, and I remember this lady, um, and I will always remember her, her name is Juana. Um, we were doing her picture, she contracted me to do her daughter's uh quinceanera. And she was like, Do you know how to do a video? And I was like, No, like absolutely no idea. And she's like, Would you do a video? And I'm like, I think I can. She was like, What if I bought you the camera and you do the quinceanera, you know, for the camera, I'll trade you. I was like, fuck it, let's do it. You know? She bought it for me, bro, and I spent like six months, dude, um, learning how to edit. You know, edit her video. Like, I remember I went to I would go to Best Buy. Like, I didn't even know how to use like, you know, Premiere, Adobe, like any of those softwares, you know, I was going to Best Buy. I was like buying like uh, I guess Cap Cut versions of you know, it was like$49.99, you know, softwares and they wouldn't work. My computer wasn't good enough. And back then you gotta think, I was trying to go through YouTube to learn how to edit, but YouTube wasn't the same thing what it is today. Yeah, you know, there that back then YouTube was like cat videos, you know, like funny cat videos.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Is different now.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Yeah, it's way different. You can look something up right now, you can ask ChatGPT right now, be like, hey, how do how am I gonna you know hook this setup up? And it'll give you step by step. Yeah, AI will do it for you. AI will do it for you, and back then, bro, and and I always that people are asking me, they're like, What'd you learn, you know, how to do video? And I was like, the school of YouTube, man. The school of YouTube. Uh still to this day, I am still on YouTube almost every single night trying to find something new to do or or to stay creative. I stay up, right, babe. Stay up every night, bro, to like 1 a.m. Yeah, just watching YouTube videos. I'm still a big YouTuber. I love YouTube.

SPEAKER_03 16:39

That's my favorite platform. Yeah, I love YouTube too, man.

From MySpace Gigs To First Big Breaks

SPEAKER_02 16:42

You learn a lot from it too, but like you're saying, you know. Yeah, bro. But back then I really I was like, dude, there was nothing. It took me forever to turn in that video, and I'm so grateful to her. I still see her every once in a while, or I'll message her on Facebook, and she always tells me, like, hey, I'm so proud of you. I'm like, man, this this was because of you, Juana. You bought me that camera. You know, you pushed me into it. Like, I was destined, not destined, but I was determined to turn in that freaking video. Like, I did not give up. That video sucks, by the way. Like, it sucks, bro. Yeah, and you're probably like, it ain't too bad. You please get it, but yeah. When I turned it in, I was like, hell yeah, this is good. But I see that video now, I still have it, and uh, I'm like, damn, dude. I was like, I I man, bless her heart. Like, for her to take that jump on me and that trust. Um, but there were so many great things that came out of that for sure. You know, it is what what I do today.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

And do you get stressed out? Like, you know, like what I mean, I'm sure you did, right? Yeah, I would think so, right? Because you're like, man, I should have got the lighting better, or I can't edit it good enough. And I know this because my wife, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I can see that.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Uh my, my, so I I've had my my company, I I've brought it down smaller. There was a time that I had at one point like five editors, um, I had an office manager, I had shooters um to help me out, and all of them would all of them can tell you this, even to the ones that work with me right now, that they're like, dude, you're never happy with it. Like, and I'm like, because there's always just that one little room of improvement, and I was like, I'm not telling you that this is bad. I'm just telling you, like on the next one, hey, if you think about it and we did it like this way, it'd be so much better. And I just feel that's just how we get better every single day.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

And I think media lends itself for that because like even for us, we can we go back and I'll listen or I'll watch one of the early videos and compared to what we're doing now, and the way that I speak, the way that we carry ourselves, that in every little detail, media when you do it, you can always go back and see the difference. Yeah, you don't really know the difference when you're doing it right then, but now compared to where we were, is insanity. And so I imagine you have all the videos, all the pictures of proof where you can be like, let me tell you why I think this way or whatever. So that's that's that's dope, man. That's what years of experience does.

Learning To Edit In The Early YouTube Era

SPEAKER_02 19:14

I mean, it's a lot easier for like I can see it now, but that just comes with experience. I mean, and just like not to sound cocky, but you just you know your job. Yeah, you know, and like whatever craft that you're doing, like you know, like you could just look at some and be like, hey, that's wrong. Just go ahead and switch this, switch this before we even start. You know? Um, well, like I said, you know, I do train, I've trained a lot of um a lot of good photographers, man, and a lot of uh good photographers that are good friends of mine. Like I've done classes, I've done one on ones with them just to just to help them out. I mean, and I still take classes, I still go work with other people because I know that and this is hard for me to accept because I'm a Leo, I was born in August. Like I know my way is not the only way. And then you can go learn from somebody else to you're not necessarily uh taking what they're doing, but you're understanding what they're doing, and then you could fix it up. You're like, damn, if they're doing it this way, and if I did it like this way my way, like that would work better for me.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

You know? I think uh and especially like the way you do your your I mean like I see the way you it's also like stressful because like as a photographer you gotta line up people right just for the right photo. And some people don't know how to do that, right? At least coordinate a group. And then I see how you do it with uh cars and stuff on locations and and then you have your lighting, so you bring your lighting in, it just it just magnifies a photo, it just pops it, man.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Yeah, it just is and that's one thing a lot of people here, and a lot of people are barely started learning it, is uh like flash photography. It's it's uh I love it because you can shape the light to what you want it to look like. Like you get to a location, like man, you know, uh like when we did Aiden's picture, for example, you know, he had his truck, he was up in the front, and there was a pump jack in the back. It's like, but we were taking this picture and they look good, but it's like the pump jack, like it's not popping out. So we'll put a light like just on the pump jack, and then one light like on the truck to make this part of the truck stand out, and then one of him, because like, yeah, he is the focus, but then there's also so much going on, and that's what I like about flash photography is you shape the light to what your vision is, yeah. And it is hard, it it is hard, it does take a while to learn, and it's a lot of practice in it. Um but it can be done, and a lot of photographers out here they are starting to see that that I mean, because man, West Texas, we ain't got the best weather. We really, really don't, like for real, you know, we'll have some crazy days, and then that way, you know, you can align it to what your client wants. Exactly. Deliver it how your client wants. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

And so how do you how competitive do you think the photography business is here in Middle East?

Standards, Iteration, And Training Others

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Bro, it is super competitive and it's gotten super competitive in a bad way. And the reason is is because at this point, photography right now, all cameras are good, bro. Yeah, this is freaking good. Yeah, this is freaking good. Right now, you can't tell, I was like, shit, was that taken on an iPhone, or was that taken or what what kind of camera was that? What kind of lens was that? So that's why I push so hard towards like the flash photography because it's not easy to learn and it's a style that cannot be replicated because you have other equipment other than just a camera. So it's really competitive that there's a lot of good people, but to be a good photographer, bro, like it's not just also your your camera. It's not, it's not, it's also who you are in the connection that you have on who you're shooting, how I make you feel. I mean, because if you're comfortable, you're like, yeah, like what are we doing? You're happy, your smiles are real, you know, you feel good, you feel, you know, um, like, you know, I'm feeling this. Like, yeah, take more pictures of me. Like, I have this a lot with guys, like, say we do like an engagement, you know, the wife is all like, yeah, you know, I look pretty, and the guy's like, bro, like whatever, like, let's get this done. You know, I'm here because my wife brought me, you know. Um, but you make him feel good, and he was like, Oh, hell yeah. Like, I damn, I look good. I I get a lot of guys, um, especially um, you know, a lot, I got a lot of hiring clients sometimes, and they'll be like, hey bro, uh, can you after this, can you give me like a good LinkedIn picture? You know, like a good LinkedIn headshot because they feel good, you know. They're like, hey, I like what you're doing, I like the way you make me feel, and can you get me a shot over here by myself? Like I need a new, you know, LinkedIn profile big, you know, and that's what I'm saying. Like a good photographer is not just your gear, it it's it's how you make the people feel. You know, it's like making that connection and like rolling with the person. And it is very competitive in that aspect, you know. Back to your question, is it it is very competitive in a bad way that the prices have come down a lot. A lot because there's you know, you're just starting, you're in, you've been in it for a year, a year and a half, and your pictures look good because your equipment's good. And but you gotta survive to pay your equipment off, say for example, or you're just doing this on the side and you're like, no, well, shit, I'll do it for 200 bucks or 150, or I want some practice, and it and you come to me and I'm charging my price, you know, 700, 600 bucks or whatever, and you're like, you just see it on paper and you're like, man, he charges 200, his pictures are good, he charges 600, they're good too. But let's go with the 200 one. You you know what I mean? But that that's just what I'm saying. Um it just goes to the connection too. Some people just don't can't can't give that connection. I've met a lot of photographers that I've worked with, like, they won't even show you how to pose. You know, they're just like, hey, stand right there, do you, and then you know, and they're they're taking pictures, and then you're like, what do I do? Hand on the hip, you know what I mean? You know, so um it is very competitive, bro. It is very competitive, and and I I believe it's for that reason. It's just all equipment's good equipment nowadays. All of it, all cameras, especially.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Yeah, dang, that's all man. And so when you vlog in, do you use your phone or do you use a camera?

SPEAKER_02 25:43

I use any any um any camera I can I I can reach. I got you. Any camera I can reach. So, for example, a lot of people told me too. Um, I get this question a lot. They're like, hey, I want to start, you know, uh not necessarily volume, be like, I want to post some good content on my Instagram. Like, what what fancy camera do do you recommend? I tell them your cell phone.

SPEAKER_04 26:09

Yeah.

Flash Photography And Shaping Light

SPEAKER_02 26:09

Or your cell phone. Your cell phone will get it right now. I have this argument with Oyuki all the time. She's like, babe, I want my content like even better, you know. And I'm like, babe, your phone is like it's the most convenient. You can like post to it instantly. Because if you if I tell you, hey, all right, your budget,$2,000 for a camera, buy this camera, buy this lens, but that's just the camera. You still gotta deal, you gotta get you a decent laptop or a decent computer, and you gotta learn how to take it, that memory card out, put it into your computer, and you're gonna edit it however you want to on the computer, and then you gotta take it out, then find a way to send it to your phone and then post it. Like I always tell them, I was like, Are you gonna go through that? I was like, just use your phone, get you on a good lighting spot, get you a good microphone, you know, not even a good one. It was like a little hundred dollar little attached microphone, and you're good. Dang.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

That's wow, man. Yeah, I mean, I and I believe it because we've done that a lot too with our stuff. Like it's been like uh crazy. It's like I know like when we started off, we were our phones were like, I had an older phone, it didn't look good. So I had to get a newer phone, and everything jumped up after that. Yeah, so it just kind of changes a lot of stuff, you know.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

I always tell people like anything over an iPhone 15 right now, 15, 16, 17, if you're on the iPhones, like they're good. They are so freaking good. And I mean, you can even get to them, you can shoot them in raw if you want to, if you want to get like that technical, like you can shoot them in raw, you could change the colors on it, um, you can attach like extra memory to it now. Um this thing, I mean, I've seen people shoot short films and stuff with this phone, and you're like, dude, I can't even tell if that was a that that was a freaking cell phone. Yeah, like it's crazy.

Competition, Pricing, And Client Connection

SPEAKER_03 27:52

This episode is brought to you by underdog wireline. Um, these guys handle everything in Wireline. We've been talking about them every week, and we mean everything we say. We appreciate their support. And if you need anything in Wireline Works, you give them a call at 432-288-0395. Appreciate you guys. Brandon 14 Hotshot Services LLC. Uh, they offer Hotshot work, ESP spooling, ESP Technician Service, and Heavy Holland Sandmice currently. Um, you can give them a call at 432-638-1755, another local company backing us up. So back them up. Thank you. Titan Sales and Services uh is one of our new sponsors, and we wanted to shout them out. Um they're working out of Crane, Texas. If you want to get in touch with them, it's gonna be 432-307-1960. Uh some of the stuff that they offer is uh uh rustabout, maintenance and construction crews, uh trash trailers, porta potties, combo trailers, uh forklifts, and they're adding more rentals as they speak. So as I speak, so any anything that you want and need, we give them a call. You never know, they probably have it, and I know they have competitive pricing. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

So, like I was talking about, so we do have our our our slot channel, our gambling channel, which has lots of slots. Um that channel has been nothing but pretty much a cell phone. Yeah, and we have like 40,000 followers on on YouTube right now. We have we just started our Instagram back in September and we're at like almost 30,000. Uh Facebook, we literally started that like a month and a half ago, and we're like at 12,000 followers there. Our TikTok is almost at 10,000, bro. And everything on that channel, I mean, if we've gotten brand deals, like I I mean, it's to the point that it's a business. Yeah, I will say it's a business. Um, we get brand deals, and it's all being recorded on a cell phone. Sometimes, you know, we mic up. I have this, I do have a a DJI Osmo pocket. I don't know if you've seen those. It's like uh it looks like a little stick with a camera on it, so it has like a little gimbal. You use that in New York. I use that in New York.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

I saw you when you're pushing it out.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

I have it in my backpack. That thing don't leave me. I that on my everyday carry. I have that. I have uh a Fuji uh, I forgot the name. I went blank. X X X or V V100 100 V or something. I forgot the name. Um that's my picture camera, and I always have my laptop with me.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Always dang. That's another thing, bro. I live in my truck. Yeah, I live in my truck. That's awesome. I heard about your gear. You like how you carry your stuff when I was like rigged up um the way that I want it. I got a s like a slide out in it. I got everything that I need in there. Um, I work in there, I edit in there. I love my office, but I just love being out. And I think that's just like being the like the handsy person that I am. I can only be like in my office so long, I'm like, fuck man, I gotta get out. I gotta get in the I gotta get out. I'll go like work in my truck and I'll sit there, I edit in my truck, like answer phone calls in my truck. Um but I I would say my truck is my office more than more than anything.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

And I think a lot of guys can relate to that, you know, especially in the old food. Like, you know, I got a computer, I got a printer, I got everything in there. And I just and like if I have some going off for work, I'll be in the front of the house, parked up and just getting everything together, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 31:28

So that's how we are when we both meet Oyuki when we get out, dude. By the way, Oyuki does all of her social media. A lot of people think that I do it. She does it all, she's fucking amazing, dude. She does all her videos. I she I give her tips. I do um I light her stuff, like the salon um where she's at. We have it all lit up to where it looks good. It's still never good for her, but uh, we got it lit up. We got like professional lighting, and she does everything on her cell phone, and we'll sit in the driveway. We both get home, and when she's in her car, and like I'm in my truck, and we're there for 30 minutes, like still on our phones, until like one of them get, you know, one of us gets off, and it's like, hey, you coming inside yet? You know?

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Yeah, and congratulations on y'all's wedding. Oh, thank you, man. Thank you. Thank you. And so, one thing about y'all is out y'all are just straight up content creators, you know what I mean? Like, Oyuki makes me be bro.

Phones Vs. Cameras For Content

Sponsor Midroll & Channel Growth

SPEAKER_02 32:23

Oyuki makes me. I I'm not gonna lie. So I uh part of my company is we we do content for for companies as well. Um, we do a lot of content, and it it's hard, bro. Like when you're creating content for other people, and then you're like, shit, I gotta make my own content. I have so much stuff, bro, that I have not ever released because I just it sometimes I just don't want to, I'm not gonna lie. Um, or we just don't have the time, or we are already on the next project that I totally forgot about that. Like when I moved to New York, I have so much content from New York that I was not able to post at the time because when I was working with New York, um, we were kind of under NDAs with a lot of companies that we work with because we were working with big brands. So we couldn't release any content. I got in trouble one time for releasing some content. That that's when I knew. And by the time like that was over, like, hey, that stuff was released, you know, you can post whatever you want. Yeah, but I already forgot. Like, you know, it's all just stored away. I'm like, I'm already on new projects, but I have so much stuff from when I moved to New York on the projects that we got to work on. I got to work with some amazing people over there with some amazing artists. That was like such an eye-opener to what I wish West Texas would be. Yeah, as far as the creative platform way, I believe it's getting there. I also say, and I'm not talking bad about West Texas, I'm just saying, like in the creative aspect in the creative world, fashion, um, you know, trends. I always say we're we're like three years behind everybody. Right now, more than that, honestly. I think now it's gotten better with the internet, but I always said that, like, we're like two or three years behind trends, yeah, you know, for people picking up, bro. Like when when when the first time I went to New York, um bro, it was like eye-opening, it was crazy. Dude, we'd be walking by, there'd be like a freaking photo shoot going on over here, and you're like, What? You see, like this dude vlogging over here, and then you'd be walking by and you're walking through a movie set. You you wouldn't even know. Like, there was one time, like there was like this scary dude coming out of the side, and there was like this girl there, and we're walking by, like, what the hell? And then as we went further, the camera crew was right there, they were recording it, and we were like in the movie, you know. That's crazy. So to see that, and then the way out there, like all the creators would like get together um and like create stuff. Here, I do feel everybody kind of you know Yeah, we don't collaborate as well. Either don't collaborate as often, or we um, you know, gatekeep a little bit to like not like, hey, I don't want to work with you because I'm scared you're gonna steal my clients, or you know, yeah, you know, a little cutthroat that way, versus like, hey man, we could get together and we could create something. Both win. Both win. You know, let's just create something, like even for fun. And I I've seen some people try to do it, and I think we're getting we're getting there, and we're starting to realize out here, man, West Texas, there's there's enough for everybody. Yeah, yeah.

Mobile Office Life And Gear

SPEAKER_03 35:40

And I think I think it's something that we're trying to do as well because we know it's the same thing. We're trying to do the same thing, but it is difficult. I think on our side, we're trying to get if somebody wants to be a podcaster or likes to podcast or whatever, we try to get them in or talk to them or message them or whatever. Because like Nino, for example, Nino came in and he started, and that guy's that guy's marketing-wise for himself, he's a genius, bro. He's a genius, bro. And uh, and he's just he even off camera, but even during the interview, just feeding us little tidbits and stuff. You could tell it's oozing out of him. He wants he wants to show people and all that stuff, but I think people get in their own way and are like, well, it's Nino trying to show who gives a shit, really. He's he's a creator. He's a good idea. And he said it on our on he said it on our podcast. Like, yeah, I'm a creator, I have to make things, you know, consumable. Yeah, basically. Um, and so he gets the views. Oh, he no, the guy marketing-wise, like marketing himself and what the content that he does, like he's he's super like if we could share, we won't share, right? The stuff that we talked about off off camera, but yeah, man, just the stuff that he was telling us like damn, we didn't we didn't think of half of the shit that he was doing, right? It was it was you know very smart the way that he pushes it out. Um, so man, uh shout out to Nino, you know what I mean? He's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 37:07

He's doing his thing and working. He knows how to get attention. Yeah, for sure. I mean, he gets the views and the context.

SPEAKER_03 37:12

You take a little pinch of this, a little pinch of that, and like you you start to learn different things. I know Rick's always you know getting in people's brains about what cameras or angles or lighting or stuff like that. That's his deal, you know.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Yeah, and honestly, what gets me is uh the blog like the vlogging. Like, because me and him have done a couple, and it's and honestly, it's a little awkward for us.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

Like it's hard, like it's different, it's hard, bro.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Yeah, yeah. And that's why I'm like kind of curious, like for y'all, like especially when you're in New York, like I've seen you doing a lot of it over there. Like, is it a good thing?

SPEAKER_02 37:39

Bro, because in New York it's funny, I just talked to uh to Yuki about this yesterday. Um so in New York, it's normal, bro.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

That's what I was gonna say. I'm sure you feel like it's it's a normal part of life there.

Creating For Clients While Creating For Self

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Like over there, like it's crazy. Like a dude's vlogging, and like in New York, it everybody thinks that in New York that everybody's rude. It's not that they're rude, bro. They got somewhere to be. Yeah, you know, fast paced. It's super I thought West Texas was fast. Oh, hell no, dude. Like in New York, you know, and you don't drive in New York, you take the subway, so you gotta hurry up and catch your train, or if not, you're gonna be sitting there another 10 minutes waiting on the next one.

SPEAKER_03 38:22

I couldn't imagine to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

Oh man, I I loved it. I loved it. I mean, you can want to move to New York like permanently. Um, but that I that's that's what I feel versus here. You go vlogging in the street here, and not so much anymore. Like I said, it's getting a little bit more normal. You'll be like, ah, that's the way me.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

People get upset. Hey, people get upset. Wait, we we we literally were talking about uh the taco fiend, one of the creator that's on TikTok, and he came here and right off the bat got shit. Right off the bat, he was setting up and people started talking shit to him. Really? The first thing when he was here, yeah, we talked about it on one of our podcasts, and uh we're just it's the same message that we're trying to give all of anybody who's listening, all of it like, man, let's be better, let's be better. Like, we who who gives a shit if somebody's filming it's somebody's right. Not not only is it fun, like man, you get to see something in Midland uh being consumed all over the place, right? That's badass in itself, but it's also everybody's right to do it, you know what I mean? Like, for sure. Why why are you gonna get all bent out of shape with it? We had a whole shit about it, and he he he pinned our video and all kinds of shit because it's just uh man, you can't have nothing nice, you know what I'm saying? That's a that was the feeling like we can't have nothing nice.

New York’s Creative Energy Vs. West Texas

SPEAKER_02 39:37

I can't have nothing nice, yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's what I was saying. Is I barely talked to Yuki about this yesterday. Is like when I came back to New York, I was vlogging here a lot. Like cause I was going to New York, like literally every two weeks. I'd be in New York, I'd come home uh because I had jobs to do here, I had my clients, I would work, and then I would go back. So I was creating a whole lot of content. Back then, but now that I've been back for a year and a half, you know, because because I I came back. Um I I I was telling her yesterday, I was like, babe, I I feel like even embarrassed. I was shooting a gym yesterday and you know, walking around with my light and with my equipment, like I felt like a little embarrassed, like people were watching, and I was like, I I I think we get this as creators anyway, you know, like that little imposter syndrome. Like, fuck, who do you think you are? You know, you're over here walking around with this lie at the gym, you know, and I was like, I I need to quit. So something that I'm doing now. I just now started this. I do this on my on my slot channel is uh daily mini vlogs is what I'm gonna start doing. Yeah, because again, we gotta shoot every day to lose that fear for one, and then it just makes you better at your craft again. Um, and to lose that embarrassment, because I felt embarrassed, bro. I was like, and I'm like, why? Like I'm getting paid for this. I'm like doing the content, you know, I'm doing this for my client. Like, why the hell am I embarrassed? Yeah, you know, and and I have I I I got good equipment, you know, to be like, I mean, my thing looks like professional, you know, the the rig that I had, you know, people would be like, oh dang, they're shooting something like versus I mean, bro, I just felt embarrassed, you know, like when you vlog. Yes. I I I felt it, and it's funny, I was just having this conversation with the Yuki, and she's like, boy, you need to stop. She doesn't that's how she does. She's like, Boy, you need to stop.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

But it works for you all. I mean, like, you know, absolutely. I saw your uh the slot thing when it first came out, and I was like, dang, it's blowing up. Like it's moving. And I'm gonna ask you this like, have you as much money as you spent gambling, have you made more of it? Oh, let's talk about the gambling thing. Oh, the money of the money of the money. Just barely catching up.

SPEAKER_03 41:56

That's the problem with it, too, is it's another one of those things where Texas is just catching up to this shit. To the gambling thing, bro. Let me do that. Around the US, like it's been a huge craze. Like, Steve will do it. These guys made it big to just sit there and watch him just piss away a million dollars, right? And they make it right back. It's it's that's what's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

Okay, so let's talk about money on the let's talk about money on the uh gambling. So you will never win gambling. You will never win.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

It's a rigged deal.

Vlogging Confidence And Imposter Syndrome

SPEAKER_02 42:27

It's it's rigged. The casinos are made for you to lose, even if it's a small percentage. Over time, I think um there's laws in uh like Vegas, like the ca the slot machine is obligated to pay you a certain percentage back. But that doesn't mean if you put a like say uh I I somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's like 85% or 82% is you know, the casino's always gonna make their 18%. Yeah. So if you bet a hundred dollars, you're gonna lose eighteen. But that doesn't mean you put a hundred dollars in and you go, you know, get your eighty out or whatever. No, this is overtime. You gotta keep Yeah, you gotta keep feeding that beast, you know. So have I won more money than I've lost? I think I'm winning a little bit. I think I'm winning a little bit. That's a big deal. But man, bro, like, but we play a lot. So what are the games like so we play slots? Just slots, yeah. So we play slots. Um that that is what our channel, that's what I enjoy doing, that's what we like playing. Um, slots have gotten very, very smart to where they know how to lure you in. I heard that coming, and this probably sooner, I heard like in the next two years that they'll integrate AI. Oh, so where like even when you like kind of touch the machine, it'll read like body temperatures and everything to see what your emotion is going through. Let's make them happy. Yeah, let's make them happy. Let's feed them, like let's give them a little bit of money, yeah, give them a little bit more, and then boom, they like you know, yeah, that they'll start reading that. They're also coming out with some crazy crazy ones like 4D kind of deal. They'll start bringing out smells, you know how there's like cherries or whatever, you'll start smelling that. Um, they're getting crazy. That's wild now. So, I mean, and they're very entertaining to do it that way. But the thing, I I've been doing the slot so long, um, casinos are barely now starting to come around to let you record. It used to not be a thing. I don't know if you guys like if you played tables, I would say like barely a year and a half ago, they started letting you record table games like 21, playing dice, playing craps, like you couldn't record. Like if you had your phone like this, it'd be like, hey, phone off. Oh, that's true, right? Yeah, they'd be like, phone off. Yeah, that's crazy. So a lot, not all of them are there. Uh anything in New Mexico does not allow you to record. Um, and it's a law. Um, Vegas used to not let you. There's still some properties that will let you, there's still that some don't. It's because they protect their high rollers.

SPEAKER_03 45:03

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:04

It's like, you know, some people ain't supposed to be at the casino. I don't care, you know, you know, they don't want to put it out there, but they're coming around because I mean we're recorded everywhere, anywhere we go at this point. Yeah. So a lot of them are starling.

SPEAKER_03 45:17

It's a lot of casino influence, like influencers now. Like those guys, Steve will do it, busting with the boys, Dana White does it a lot now. Yeah. And they film these whole high roller whole nights, and they're like just live. Live for 24 hours, they're sitting there just throwing money. It's it's crazy. Yeah, I've seen obviously haven't I don't sit through the whole 24 hours and be insane, right? But but I'm a I'm a big Steve Will Do It. Uh I love Steve Will Do It. Like he's one of the great men alive.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

I love Steve Will do it. I'm glad he's back on YouTube, bro. I barely discovered him. I barely because we went to Vegas and I was seeing his uh he had a lot of promotion.

SPEAKER_03 45:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:59

Like on the screens. He had a little truck driving, like I'm coming back on you. I was like, who the hell is this?

SPEAKER_03 46:04

Everything he makes, he pisses away. Yeah, he does. Uh with those vlogs. His money maker, which is in the background, is his alcohol.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:13

That's how he makes his money. And so that's brand new. Yeah, he has big brands.

SPEAKER_02 46:17

I don't know if you saw the uh like the podcast with Logan Paul.

unknown 46:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

Logan Paul was like on his ass, like, bro, how do you make money?

SPEAKER_04 46:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:24

And he was like, I'm a real, you know, he's like, I'm real, I'm a real, you know.

SPEAKER_04 46:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

He's like, that that's how I make my money. And he was like, no, like I don't understand. But what he was trying to say, he said it on one thing, and he says, When I get a brand deal and they ask me to do two videos, he's like, I give them 13.

SPEAKER_03 46:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

I give them 20. So his brand deals are huge. Yeah. So he can throw all of that money away and he makes it all back on that brand. And that's how a lot of these influence we're not there. Yeah. I'm still using all of my money. But some of the brand deals that that we get have been good. Um to where at least you know we we can play a little bit more. Um, and it just kind of makes up for the losses.

The Business Of Slots: Odds, AI, And Access

SPEAKER_03 47:07

Because I like to gamble too. So I know it's it people when people are like, man, but gambling, like, look, when I gamble, that same game that you're watching that doesn't have your team included into it, like the the Packers and the Bears, for me, I'm sweating it out. I'm sweating out that whole game. And so I might lose a hundred bucks on that game, yeah, but I just sweated out that whole game when you were like half paying attention to the shit. You know what I mean? Me, I'm deep into that game and I love football. Yeah, so gambling just enhances it another. It's crazy. Yeah, yeah. And I love playing cards. When money's on the line, I can tell you it's that much better. I'm focused. Pinchi Lotteria, you get on lotteria, vale madre, if it's you know, it could be a pestle, you know what I'm saying? One cent to us, man. You you want you want that one cent. It's not about the money. When when you like to gamble, it's not about the money. That's what people need don't understand.

SPEAKER_00 48:04

Yeah, I don't even bet this guy no more, right?

SPEAKER_02 48:06

Because he always wins, it's just the thrill. It's the thrill, yeah. It's what it is, and that's what I tell people too. It's like, because a lot of people are like, oh, you know, that's the first thing that hey has like, how much have you won? Like, are you winning over time? And it's like, for us, like it's that that's what I do for entertainment. Yeah, that is my entertainment. Um, and that's why I never took the uh the slot channel seriously, like ever, because I didn't want to take it seriously because it was gonna become a job. Yeah, you know, and but but last year it started doing really good. We got offered, you know, a brand deal, and I was like, oh whoa, that brand deal was like pretty good. Like maybe we should, you know, make it a job. Yeah, we went to Vegas in December. We went the last weekend of of rodeo, and how many days did we go, babe? Three days? Three days? It was straight work, bro. We recorded so much going on at that content. Yeah, like Oyuki loved it, she got to dress up and you know, put on her cowboy hat and walk down Las Vegas with her cowboy hat and uh you know, she made her content, and we were doing a lot of casino content because those three straight days, usually when we'd go to Vegas, you know, we'd record here and there, and it was party time, you know what I mean? But this time, like it was it was like work, and I mean it it was good, but now it's become a job, but it's it's becoming a good one. Uh I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it. That's good. Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_03 49:41

If you can enjoy it, it doesn't get that serious. It's the same thing for this for us because we love doing it, and we talk about the whole monetizing side of it, yeah, and we're always really wary about doing it because then we have to watch what we put out, watch our mouths, watch what we say, our political stuff. Uh, and we really don't want to do that right now. So we're that's middle of it.

Brand Deals, Authenticity, And Audience Trust

SPEAKER_02 50:07

That that happened to us. Um we we did get a brand deal, and um I I I told Oyuki too. So I drink modelo, right? Everybody on my channel knows I'm always like, I got my modelo with me, you know, we're gonna play, I'm gonna drink a beer. And so a lot of people are like, you know, we'll get it in the comments, like you shouldn't be drinking and gambling, you know. And I'm like, bro, you're like, and then you cuss too much, you know. I and I'll get the the little comments where people are nice. It's like, hey Joani, I'm a long time watching her, I'm a little grandma, like watch your mouth a little bit. You know what I mean? That's cool, that's cool, you know what I mean? Yeah, and and I told her you guys like, hey, these brand deals are coming in. It's like, hey, we gotta kind of chill a little bit, you know. I didn't like it. I didn't like it. Like I felt forced. And I told her, I was like, you know what? And it's funny because that's when I saw this Steve video, and I was like, you know what? Fuck this. I was like, I'm gonna be me. These people have been watching us because they're watching for us and the way that we do things. And I felt watered down, and even my dad told me, bro, he's like, hey, my dad watches our stuff all the time. He's he's a big fan, he's in the videos sometimes. He's a big fan, and he was like, Hey, what's what's going on with you? And I was like, why? He's like, I feel you're not like betting the same. I feel your words are a little lost sometimes. Like, he's like, bro, you're boring me, and I'm your dad. Like, like I'm watching you because I love you for one. Yeah, he's like, You're boring me. He's like, that that's not you. What's going on? And I told him, Well, you know, we did get this brand deal, and um, you know, we had to make this video last. We had, you know, we had a budget to stay inside that video. It's a business.

SPEAKER_03 51:48

It's a business, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:49

Yeah, we had to stay in that budget, and I was like, you know, we we usually bet like on videos, we usually bet like from 15 to like$30 a spin. That that's that's that's our normal on the videos, and he's like, You were betting like five dollars, and it's crazy because when we were betting, because this was a live video, yeah, you know, we couldn't edit it. This was a live video, and we went down to like five dollars because we had like 20 minutes left and we were running out of budget, and I was like, Fuck, we're not gonna make the video. And he's like, just bring it down, and I was like, Fuck. So there I am. At five dollars, bro, I'm bored, you know, you know, compared to my rush, of course, you know, that I'm getting when I'm betting 20s and 15s and 30s, sometimes go crazy.

SPEAKER_03 52:32

People are trying to experience that rush vicariously through you, yeah. Right? Because they're like, shit, I'm not gonna spend the money, but I'll watch his spend the money and then be happy about it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 52:41

Or, you know, a lot of people say they watch me because they're like, I want to see how much money you put in, betting that amount, see what I could do.

SPEAKER_03 52:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:49

So I bring it down to five. The video's like a little boring. I'm like, fuck, you know, I'm just more in my head at this point. And we shut the video off. No, before we shut it off, a comment came through and I was I like I caught it. And then they're like, what channel am I watching? Am I on like on the right place? Like you're betting five bucks? Like, what's what's going on? You know, and that hit that stuck to me, and it's funny because I saw this Steve We'll do it video. He's like, I don't give a fuck. I'm back. Like, you know, I'm just gonna give me another line, give me another line of credit. 10 mil, 10 mil. Yeah, you know, and doing all his crazy stuff, and and I told you, I was like, you know what? I was like, we're it it's back to being us.

SPEAKER_03 53:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:27

And we went back on New Year's, we went to to Winstar for New Year's, nice, and we had fun. We had a lot of fun that time. Um, and our videos did so well. So well.

SPEAKER_03 53:39

People love the Wind Star, man. Around here, like that's the one. That's the spot. It is huge.

SPEAKER_02 53:44

It's it's the biggest casino in the world.

SPEAKER_00 53:46

I didn't realize it until I drove by it, and I was like, dang, this thing's so big.

SPEAKER_02 53:49

Dude, try walking it. It's a it's a peachy, it's a basic your resort, dude. Yeah, it's no, it is a resort.

SPEAKER_03 53:55

That's what it is.

SPEAKER_02 53:56

So I believe it's a mile and a half if you go from one side to the other and back, yeah. It's a mile and a half. That's crazy. And that's the only one I think that's one of the only casinos I've ever been to that doesn't do a circle.

SPEAKER_03 54:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:09

Yeah. This one you have to like walk over there. So if you're over there, bro, it's gonna take you a while to get back. Yeah, it's crazy. Because the hotel's like over here in their Pocentras, and then it does like an L. So if you're over here, bro, you gotta come all the way back. But I think that's how they get you. You walk all the way over there, everything on your way out. It's gonna take you a while to get back to your room.

SPEAKER_03 54:29

Yeah, they ain't crazy. They they they did that right.

SPEAKER_02 54:31

And the casinos, the way that they do the circle ones is so you get lost in there. So everything looks the same. Oh, yeah. So that's what they do. So you're like, where was I? Yeah, it's coming down the oh, there's a bar, oh, there's another machine, oh, there's another game. Oh, let me yeah, that's why they do it. But I think Winstar was smarter because once you make it all the way down there, you're tricking straight through everything.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

So, yeah, so we we do the uh the slot thing, man, and we we love it. It's growing, we're taking it, like I said, a little bit more serious, but we're having fun with it as well.

SPEAKER_00 55:04

You know, and one thing I wanted to ask you was uh about the Matthew McConaughey uh that that was really cool to see. Like, you know, and I we've I met Rooster one, right? It's Rooster. Yeah, but uh, you know, it's this Rooster's great, man. Yeah, yeah. And to see Matthew McConaughey was.

Vegas, Winstar, And Casino Design

SPEAKER_02 55:18

Bro, we got into a little bit of trouble with that, and I'll tell you a little story about the Matthew McConaughey. So um we got hired on, so we did Matthew McConaughey's niece, which is Rooster's daughter. Yeah, Rooster is a big oil field guy here in Midland. He lives here, he has his house here. Um they're half white, you know. I mean, the daughter is half white, he's married to a Mexican, so they are having a quinceanera. So that was like a big like in the social media when we started posting stuff, it was the comments were nuts. Like, why is Matthew McConaughey there? Why is he at a quinceanera? Why is he dancing cumbias? Like, but so the way we got hired is um they hired a um a a planner. They hired a planner. I work a lot with this event planner, so she recommended us and they hired us. Man, amazing family. Rooster and his wife, they're they're amazing. Um, he does drink a lot of Miller Light. A lot, a lot, because we did the daughters' pictures on his ranch, and he just kept giving me Miller Light the whole time. And it was it was cool. Like he made me. Like, I I don't drink, I don't, I'm not a I'm not a drinker and worker. Yeah, yeah, just slots I am. That's the only one. But like when I'm doing uh it's because I'm one of those people it's either I'm gonna drink or I'm gonna work. Yeah, I I can't do both. Like my dad, bro, he'll be cutting the yard and he'll be drinking a six-pack, you know, cutting the yard and doing stuff. I I can't. It's either I'm gonna do one or the other. So I was working and it was cool because Matthew McConaughey's mom was there. So she used to be a model. Yeah, so she used to be a model. So she was like giving her her granddaughter like little tips and like do this. So they made a stay for dinner. So we stayed for dinner there at their house, and we had a great conversation with the mom, told us all these stories. Like it was it was it was cool. It was um you know, a lot of stuff that that we got to learn from the family, you know, that's not not out in public. Yeah, or it may be, I just never heard it. Um so the Quincenna comes around at this time. I'm working in New York and I'm working here, so I'm going back and forth. I came down, I worked at Quincenna. Matthew McConaughey was late to the church. They have the church here on the south side of Midland, uh, a Catholic church. Um to where I believe Matthew McConaughey attends every once in a while, like when he's in town.

SPEAKER_04 57:47

Oh wow.

Matthew McConaughey Quince Story

SPEAKER_02 57:47

Right, babe? He does what church? I I forget the church name. I don't want to make what is it? San Miguel. San Miguel. Yeah, so yeah. So Matthew McConaughey attends church every sometimes when he's in town. Um so he shows up, bro. He showed up like in this old uh Yukon. Like big old uh it was a like a big old suburban, like an old one, like uh 2002, like they showed up. Um I remember like it got so quiet in church because they walked in late. You know when you walk in late to church, bro? Everybody's like turns around and looks at you, exactly how it was. And it was like Matthew, everybody just went, you know, like that's what everybody was waiting on. Yeah, that's what like everybody was waiting on. And it was mostly family. Yeah. So I mean it wasn't like a big deal, you know, to them. So they walk in, we do church or whatever. Um, and I always do interviews during the the reception during the comida. I always do interviews like of the guest. I got I do like the old school like reporter style. I got a microphone, and I'm like, hey, say something to the quinceañera, or you know, who are you? And it was crazy, bro. So we were walking around with the camera and we're inside La Hacienda. La Sienda's like fucking dark.

SPEAKER_03 58:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:57

So on the camera, we got this big old light looking like a real reporter, and he was talking there with um he's Rooster's like other business partner, the other guy that was on the show, that show that they had. Oh, the the investor show. Yeah. The other guy that was I forget his name. Uh too, but I don't know what you're talking about. So it was them two standing, they were at the bar. And so I'm like, hey, let's go ahead and tell Matthew McConaughey to say something to his niece or whatever. And I walk up to him and I'm like, hey, uh, Mr. McConaughey, uh, can I ask you some questions on camera? Boy, you should have seen that look on his face. Like, what he looked at me like, what the fuck? Like, like, you're gonna bother me to like he thought I guess like I was a reporter or something. Out of nowhere. Yeah, like out of nowhere, and he looked at me and I was like, no, no, no, no. Like I saw the look on his face. And um he was like, What? And I was like, no, no. I was like, hey, I just you know, we're doing the video for the quinceanera, you know, for your niece. Can you, you know, send her a little message? And he was like, Oh, oh yeah, for sure, you know. He's like, give me that mic. And he grabbed the mic and he did his little uh you know um he was like Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, Maggie. Yeah, that was her name. Um, so he did that, and that was great. So we um we posted that video the next day. Like we posted a little highlight. Not just that, like it wasn't about Matthew McConaughey.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:21

Like it was, you know, we still made the video. Um so it goes viral on our TikTok. Like I'm talking about like a million views 24 hours.

unknown 1:00:28

Wow.

Concert Pits, Rights, And Respect

SPEAKER_02 1:00:29

I fly back to New York and I work there, like this video is just going viral. Going viral, a million and 24 hours. Um, and it was just climbing and climbing, and I was coming back because I just went and did a job, and I was coming back a couple days later, and I get a call from People magazine, and they're like, Hey, we want to use your video. Like, is it okay? And I was like, Well, I mean, it's uh let me get permission from mom first. I was like, you know, I do have the rights to all my work, it's in our contract. I do have the rights of everything that we do. I was like, but out of respect, um, let me ask mom if we can give it to you. I don't want to get sued. I was like, they got real lawyers, you know, you know, they got real lawyers. I was like, I don't want to get sued. So I talked to mom, and mom's like, well, let me ask Matthew, he's uh shooting. Um let me find out. So I don't hear an answer. People magazine, they're calling me like every four or five hours, bro. Like, hey, we want this story. There was another video somebody else posted that was there of him dancing with her, and that hers is going viral. So they kind of took that story, um, and the lady's like, Well, we don't want that story, we want yours. You know, we'll credit you, we'll do this, we'll do that, whatever. Um, they never offered me money. That's what a lot of people think. That we sold it, we didn't sell it. Um, the mom finally gets back to me and she's like, Hey, it's good to go. Like, yeah, you can share it with them. Like, it's cool. Um, I talked to People Magazine and they're like, Well, we already talked to Matthews people and we we already got the go. And I was like, Well, you need my go. I was like, That's mine. Yeah, and she was like, Well, can we? And I was like, Yeah, go ahead. I just need you to know. Yeah, I just need you to know. She was like, No, we're gonna credit you. Yeah, they ran the story and stuff, and um so we had some of the people like the their other coordinator, they had two. The other one was like kind of just the um kind of like the right-hand man of the mom for the day and stuff, and she was mad at me and she was like, Hey, did you sell that footage? I was like, No, and she's like, Are you sure we think that they and I was like, What's this we? I was like, Who's this we, you know? And I talked to mom and I was like, Hey, you know, I just want to let you know. I was like, we didn't sell anything. They approached us. I sent her screenshots of the email and the messages and stuff, and it was like, Oh, okay. She was like, Cool with it, you know. She's like, Well, I'm kind of glad. I was like, I got that kind of exposure, you know. Um so I mean, other than that, everything went really great. I personally I've I've got to work with a lot of artists, and I'm not that kind of guy, and I should be. I hate myself sometimes to be like, hey, bro, can we get a selfie or like you know, a picture together, and I'm not. Um, but I think I I I didn't do that. A lot of people were messing with him that day. Like he was dancing with his wife and his kids, like he was dancing kumbia, and people would be like, Hey Matthew, Matthew, like, can we get a picture? And to me, I think that's kind of fucked up. Yeah, you know, he's enjoying his family time. It's fucking like we're we're not on, you know, some kind of other, like he's you know, being private, yeah. You know, with his family, and people are like, let's take a picture. But he was he was good, man. With the people, he would stop. He seems like a real laugh with them and he drank his beer with them. They were scared he was gonna drink all the beer. That's what mom was saying. Yeah, they were scared. Yeah, um, but he did leave early. He they caught a plane. I think they left like around 11 and something. They had to head back because he was shooting. Um, but I do regret it, like not being able to go have that conversation, at least with them, you know. That's cool though, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:11

I mean, yeah, I think I think your work speaks for itself. So and it's respectful, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:17

You know what I mean? Because you could have been that guy and then you know what I'm saying? I could be that guy all the time, bro.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:22

Like with some of the people that I have worked with. So I've gone um like on tour, I did a tour with uh young Dolph.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:30

Okay, man. Before he passed, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:34

Like he was like on his come up. He did uh we did El Paso, we did Dallas twice, we did Houston, and we did San Antonio. So I got to do pictures and stuff. So I got brought on by another photographer here. Um that got brought on by his personal photographer, Young Dolph's personal photographer. So we got to do that. That was scary, bro. I got to go to strip club with young Dolph.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:54

Yeah, bro, that was scary. No, that's it's gotta be insane, bro.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:58

That was nuts, nuts. Um, I was single at the time. Yeah, I was single at the time, so I got to go to the strip club with with young Dolph and we came in through the back way. Yeah, bro. Like, these guys had fucking guns, like the securities and his security. And I'm not talking about pistols. No, they had like fucking AKs. Automatic weapons, yeah. Automatic weapons, dude. They would like we came in through the back, they secured the area, we were waiting back there. I got pictures of that. Um, they took us to the section. Bro, that section, you could not see the floor. It was just bills. That's crazy. It was like you could not see the floor. Like it was just stacked, stacked, stacked stuff. Um, I did do a few, uh I got a few pictures of Young Dolph. I did get to actually talk to him. He was he was a little into mid-80. Yeah, like he was he was a cool dude. Ah, he's a real gangster.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:53

Yeah, he was like gangster for real, for real. It cost him his life, but yeah, yeah.

Fame, Boundaries, And Being On Camera

SPEAKER_02 1:05:58

That dude, you know, back in the green room, like hanging out with him. I got to get some of those pictures with him. I thought that was pretty cool. Uh I got one of my favorite pictures, which is was done by uh by his photographer, um, which he's one of my favorite, which is shot by Spencer. That's him. He's one of my favorite photographers. He got a picture of me taking a picture of Dolph on stage, and I got that posted in my in my office. That's awesome. I got a metal print of that. That's one of my favorite pictures like of all time. Um, I thought that was pretty cool. Um, I've worked, I actually got in a fight, not in a fight, but an argument with uh Bad Bunny's uh manager. Oh wow, when he came here to Les Hands before he was like Bad Bunny, Bad Bunny. I don't know if you remember, like he came here like eight, seven years ago. Shh, no idea. Yeah, he came up, bro. Before he was nobody. So when you do like these uh concerts, a lot of times they only let you shoot three songs, which is the first three. Yeah. Because the reason they do this is because that's when they're the most hype. You know, they come out, they start doing, and they sing their best three songs. Right at the beginning. Right at the beginning. Oh, okay. So the crowd is hyped, and they let you. So I got hired by La Hacienda to shoot this. So I got to meet him backstage, like whatever. But back then, I mean, I was just like, who is this guy? Like, yeah, like you got one or two pretty cool songs. This is when like Bad Bunny was like gangster. Yeah, you know, he was like he was rapping and shit. Yeah, he was like rapping a little bit more reggaeton kind of deal. Um, and the guy comes and tells me, he's like, Hey, you can't be back here, like this and that. Like, who are you? And I was like, here, man. I was like, I got hired on by by the venue, we're getting pictures for him. And you know, if he wants some, you know, you're more than welcome. Like it was a sold-out show.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:48

Um, he was like, nah, you you you ain't doing shit. And this like totally disrespecting me. Uh-huh. And I was like, all right. The owner walks in, and I was like, and I was walking out, I was like, all right, I'm going home. Like, you know, I'm not gonna have this argument. So the the owner's like literally walking in while I'm walking out, and I was like, he's like, hey, where you going? I was like, hey, they told me I can't do any pictures. He was like, bullshit, you're not like nah. We paid for this, you you go do you, like whatever. And then I look at the manager and I was like, What you want to do? Like, you know, and he was like, You got three songs, that's it, and get out. And I was like, all right, cool. So I go, I get my first three shots, you know, I'm down at the bottom, because they give you like a barricade, they give you like about seven feet that you can be in front of the crowd. They put the gates and it's a crowd and it's a stage, you know. You got that, so you can be there. It's um you can take pictures there. That's for photographers. So I go do my pictures, do my third song, four fourth one is starting, and that guy's just watching me, bro. He was like, hey, he's like, get out. And I was like, all right, cool, I'm done, you know. So you know, at La Sienda, they have the top back. So I was like, oh, I was like, I let me get a full shot from the top so I can get you know full crowd. Yeah, like a crowd, like a full shot. So I go back there, I'm getting my lenses ready, I'm shooting like with a long lens, and the manager followed me. He followed me up there, and he was like, I fucking told you, like, get out, like no more songs, and I was like, dude, I was like, I'm leaving. He's like, give me your memory card. Shit. He's like, I want you to delete it. And I was like, you know, I was like, alright, you know what, I will. So I started looking through my memory card, and I had shot um the day before it was uh the country singer. What's his name? Cody Johnson. Oh I had shot Cody Johnson the night before. Yeah, he was in um at the horseshoe.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:51

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:52

The night before. So I had shot, and I was like, ah hell no, I can't delete my memory card. I was like, I still got this job that I haven't even turned in. You know, they're in the same memory cards because I work, you know, night to night or back to back. So I said, nah, bro, I was like, you're not getting my memory card. I was like, I'm already done. Like, I'm doing my job, like you gotta respect. He's like, I told you this and that. And I was like, what you want to do?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:11

Yeah.

Japan, Pachinko, And Travel Insights

SPEAKER_02 1:10:11

I was like, it's just me and you right up here. Ain't nobody up here. Like, what do you want to do? And he just looked at me and he was like, Get the fuck out of here. And I was like, Alright, I was like, I'm taking my work with me. So I took my work and I finished that. So I did do Bad Bunny. Uh I've done Cody Johnson. Um, I've done pictures for Maluma as well. Um, a lot of the concert stuff. Yeah, the concert stuff is just hard, bro. There's no money in there. No. Yeah, and they treat you like crap. Yeah, yeah, they treat you like crap.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:42

You would think they'd want you to make them look good or treat you better. Yeah. Fucking stupid.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:47

Yeah, I've seen a lot of photographers get their their like pictures stolen. Wow. Um, I know like Kodak Black had this issue. Like he I think it was Kodak Black. He uh he took a picture from a photographer, like they just took it off the Instagram and they they took the picture and they used it as an album cover. Dang. Oh shit. Yeah, and that dude sued him. Oh yeah, he so he's like, Hey, you that that's my picture, like you know, and you can prove it. Yeah, um, because your camera has an ID, like you can pull up the picture and it tells you like what camera, serial number, like everything. Awesome, so you know that it's like a negative. Yeah, it's like a negative, and it has all the info on it, and he approved it and he won that case. Dang. Yeah, so he he got paid for it. I think he got a couple thousand dollars off of it. But I just think you know, it's like the disrespect.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:29

Should have done it from the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:31

Should have done it from the beginning, just like reached out to him, like, hey, there's this dude who's like, I bet you they would have been like, hey, we'll give you a hundred bucks for that picture, and he would have been like, hell yeah, bro. That's correct. Yeah, you know, it's like yeah, I'll take it. Exactly. You know, I just hate the the way that they do treat photographers nowadays. Oh, I mean, uh for a long time, you know, that we're just like button pushers, you know.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:53

And I think it comes with the realm of like reporters and people having issues with like reporters and footage that you don't want to be leaked, being leaked, and like but I mean it's kind of is it's difficult in that sense because that's part of it. Like that part of media, it's it's it's part of it. It's it's uh it's part of being famous.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:15

It's part of being famous because that's what it is.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:18

You you're you're getting paid to put your image out there to put your you know talent, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:23

Exactly. I tell this to a Yuki, so we do get recognized, you know, a lot on the slot channel. Like we go to a casino, bro, people will be like, want to take selfies with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:30

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:31

Yeah, they'll be like, hey, I watch you, like, can we take a picture? It don't happen that often, but it'll happen at least one time to any casino we go to. Yeah. Like any casino that we go to, we'll have one person know. Like at Zia Park, bro, they already know, like the like the attendant and stuff. They're like, Oh, are you recording today? You know, you know, um, but we'll get recognized in Antellyuki. I was like, you know, we're we're we're we're not famous, yeah, but we do have people right. I was like, imagine the famous people, bro.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:00

Like that they can't even Oh, it's crazy, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:02

But it comes with the territory. It does. I I saw an interview one time with the J O P with Fuerza Regila. He's he's like, How do you deal with that, you know, um with that fame? He's like, bro, sometimes I like to be recognized, so I'll go if I need to go to the supermarket, for example, yeah, I'll go to the mercado. But if I'm not in the mood, I'll go to like freaking Costco or somewhere, you know, or Whole Foods, where you know, people ain't really gonna know who I am, you know. He's like just comes with the territory. I was like, you wanted this, you asked for it, and I mean you gotta deal with it. Yeah, you know, and then now, bro, we we're we're recorded everywhere we go, yeah. Everywhere. So it's Japan too, right? We went to Japan, bro. Cleanest freaking place in the world. If there's anywhere that I would eat off the floor, it's in Japan.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:56

And they sell cheap houses there. I saw on the city. I heard. Yeah, I don't looked into it, but that's crazy, man.

Italy, Food Myths, And Culture Shocks

SPEAKER_02 1:14:02

It is one of the cheapest places that we've traveled to. Um it's super minimalistic, though. It's super minimal, bro. There's no trash cans anywhere. Damn. Like nowhere. That's right. Like, not in lobbies, like you know, you got a trash can right here. Yeah, like in the streets, there's there's no trash cans. And that's why it's so clean. Bro, it looked like they power wash the streets there, like every night. Like the streets are so black, there's no trash, not even a piece of gum, bro, like on the floor. Damn, it's crazy. They are so clean. The thing about Japan that I thought was so crazy is I got there, you know, and and this happened in New York too. Like, you know, we're Texas is the friendliest place in the world. We're friendly out here. Yeah, good morning, yes, sir, yes, ma'am. You know, respect is how you talk to people. You know, you wake up, you get in an elevator, and you're like, hey, good morning. You know, even if you're having a shitty day or even if you're still half asleep, good morning. You know, and when we got to Japan, everybody will just look down. And you're like, hey, come kill that, you know. Yeah, you better keep walking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how we felt. And I was like, I told I told Oyuki, I was like, nobody like everybody mean over here, you know? So I I Googled it. I was like, why does everybody look down, you know, when when in in Japan? So it's it's a Japanese tradition, it is disrespect to them to look somebody in the eyes, especially a woman. A woman is not allowed to look at a man in the eyes, it's a sign of disrespect. You think of Chinitas, they're always like yeah, yeah. So that was the thing. So I was like, oh, okay, that's cool. Like, you know, I I understood it then. And it's crazy, it's opposite for us. Yeah, here it's supposed to make eye contact. You're supposed to make eye contact with the people that you're talking to. But Japan was fun. I love, man, they had a train system. We got to go to uh Tokyo. We played their version of slots over there, their little underground slots over there, which is called Pachinko. I didn't know what the hell I was doing, but we went a little bit and it's crazy, bro. So over there, you like buy credits. It's kind of like the game rooms here. Game rooms here. Yeah, you buy your credits and then you cash out at the end, and you can go, they have a tiendita, like gum and food and lunch and merch, and you could, you know, with your credits, or they'll pay you in gold bars, bro. Like little gold bars. That's dope. Like little small ones, depending on how much it is. Then you go through this alley around the corner and they buy your gold bar. Yeah, and that's how you get paid back. Yeah, so I was like, okay, you know, they they they got a loophole because gambling is illegal, but pachinko is allowed. Um, so we played that. We went to uh we went to Osaka, we were supposed to go to Okinawa, not Okinaga, yeah, not Okinaga, Okinawa, which is where Mr. Miyagi's from. Yeah. We were supposed to go to that island, and that was like the tropical you know area that we were supposed to go to, but there was a huge tsunami, bro, and they shut down the airport. So we didn't get to go. Um, but we went to um Dumbo Tori, I don't know if I'm saying that right, which is like the New York version of Japan. They got that one was cool, and then we went to Kyoto, which is like where the ninjas are from. Do you know ninjas were farmers?

SPEAKER_00 1:17:27

No, I didn't understand.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:28

Yeah, bro. Ninjas were far. If you look at their weapons, there are a lot of them are like homemade. Oh, I don't know. Yeah, if you notice like a bow, it's like it's just a stick.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:36

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:37

Yeah, and then they made like nunchucks and stuff like that. So ninjas came from Kyoto and they were farmers. Dang. And then that's where they were trained. So we went there. That's wow. They had like the um the ninja museum and stuff. So we went there. It was awesome. We didn't get to go to um what's the Mount Fuji? We didn't get to go to Mount Fuji because the weather was bad, so it was like real um foggy so you can see it.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:04

So we went there, but we've been to like Italy. Italy was really fun. We did like a 10 days in Italy. That was yeah, that that that was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:13

And y'all use it like as content. It's content, bro. It's a write-off. Everything you do is cool, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:18

Everything you do, man. Yeah, it's a write-off. Yeah, as long as we're we're creating content, um, you know, it's it's that's that's the way that we use it. And we create content a lot. Um, we've been to um where did we go? Where it was called where uh Scotland. Dang. Oh, that's nice. Where Harry Potter's from. Yeah, they got that Harry Potter Street. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. We went to what was the city called?

unknown 1:18:45

Edinburgh.

Guadalajara Wedding And Family

SPEAKER_02 1:18:46

Edinburgh. Edinburgh. Edinburgh, yeah. So we went there, bro. It's cold and like it's like miserable weather. Yeah, well, that's what they say. Yeah, Scotland and Ireland is just it's just rainy. It just looks like a movie, bro. Like fucking Seattle. Yeah, yeah. It was just cloudy, and so we went there, but Italy, bro, we loved it. We went to Rome and then we went to Venice. Um then we went to where else? So it was Rome?

SPEAKER_04 1:19:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:19

I always forget that one too. Florence. Oh Venice. Venice is the one with the little canals. It's a little canal. Yeah, you ride in the you ride in the boat. Bro, it's expensive. Bro, like to get across the river, like it's like 70 bucks. Dang. Yeah, you have to take a boat taxi. Oh, and just to get on the boat taxi is 70 bucks. Jeez. Yeah, just to get like from one side to the other. But it's crazy. We didn't we we didn't shop, but they had like all the amazing like luxury stores. But it's cool over there because it's way cheaper. So it's like their flagship stores.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:52

So like Gucci and like all of that stuff, it's not like a lot cheaper, but it is cheaper. But it's like um, since it's their flagship. It's what they make, and it's only for that store. Oh, that's badass. Yeah, so it's like one of a kind pieces and stuff that you get, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:08

That's why people from here fly over there to go shopping.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:11

Yeah, so that's cool. And then we went down to Amalfi Coast, which I didn't know it was like that kind of Italy, which is like the beach. Oh. And so that's where they have like all the houses on the side of the mountain kind of deal. And that's where like Capri is. Oh, the voice place, right? No, that's like the island.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:28

Oh, my bad. Yeah, okay.

Gambling As Family Bonding

SPEAKER_02 1:20:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's like the island. That's like oh god, that's crazy. It's about a brush on my European countries. So the culture over there, also the artistic culture. So we got to go like to the Vatican. That's an asking. Yeah, that's right. We went to the which is in Rome. We uh we missed the Coliseum tour. So we hired this guy. Um, I think it was like on Uber or what one of those sites. I don't know if you knew this, but you could hire like tour guides like on some of these sites. So we hired a tour guide, but we hired a night tour of the Coliseum, which he was like a like a student scholar kind of deal studying over there, and he gave us more of the night side of like what really happened at the Coliseum in the surrounding area. Like all the scary stories, like he was telling us like there was this princess that got thrown into like I guess like one of the dungeon houses, but then she would call all the guards up there, you know, do her thing. Cause they threw her over there because you know, she liked to get around. Yeah, dang. So they like locked her up and she, you know, yeah and she would murder a lot of the you know, use them and then kill them. Dang. Black widow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There you go. I was trying to find the safest way to say it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're good, you're good. That's crazy, man. So and then we went through all the streets and stuff. I mean, it it was cool. It it it like uh got to see the Sistine Chapel. Oh, that's badass. Yeah, I uh so I'm I'm I'm really big into art. How I got into art was um I used to do graffiti. That's that that's that back in my this guy did too. His career didn't less a long man. Yeah, my career lesson. Like on my logo, uh I this I I I did it. Like I had written it, you know, with my letter, um, the ones on the hats.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:15

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:16

I do it. So I I that's how I started. Where's your work at at the park?

SPEAKER_03 1:22:19

Uh my I had to paint over my work.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:22

My mom my mom's fence is still painted. Yeah, yeah. So that's where I started. So I was into um, I mean, man, we can get into a whole nother subject about this, bro.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:32

How was it? How was the glad uh I want to know that how how did the the stadium look? How did it be?

SPEAKER_02 1:22:39

The Coliseum's awesome, bro. Um it's um being tore up. We didn't actually get to go inside the Coliseum because it was at nighttime. Yeah, but just seeing it, bro, like you could just feel the history. Like they're like, I mean, just to think, like, you know, there were soldiers here, there was wars here, you know, and you're walking through those streets, like you see statues, and the stories there are like um if you find like one of those local tour guides, you know, it's not like the generic kind, because like the one we did at the Vatican, it's like, oh, what's this? It's like the clean, yeah, yeah. You know, the clean history, you know, the stuff that was taught in school. But when you get these guys, the locals, you know, they tell you the stories, like the Black Widow one, you know. Yeah, you don't see that in textbook kind of stuff. Yeah, that's cool. Um, there was like haunted stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:28

So um it was awesome, bro. That's cool, man. It seems like you've done a lot of this past like what too few years you've been traveling, right? Yeah. I mean, that's cool, man.

Closing Reflections & Creator Advice

SPEAKER_02 1:23:37

I mean, that's and I gotta give a big thank you to to my wife now. She's the one she's always traveled. Um and when she got a divorce, she did a lot of traveling on her own, bro. I was like, bro, you were going to New York City by yourself. Like she went to the stairs where the Joker, you know, the Joker stairs when he goes mad? Uh-huh. She went to those stairs, and that is a neighborhood you don't go to in New York. Yeah, those like you don't go to that neighborhood. Yeah, y and the solar esta. Yeah, the taxi that she said the taxi guy that that she was with, she was like, Who who are you coming with? Like, who are you? He first of all, he he thought she was Ginny Rivera. He was like, Ginny, you can't come. She's like, I'm not Ginny. And and she says that uh the taxi guy even FaceTime his wife, he's like, Mira quién traigo y no me dice quien is. It's Ginny, and she's like, I'm not Ginny, and she's going to the stairs. And and the wife was like, Don't take her. Yeah. You know, and she went, so she did all that crazy stuff. So Minoryuki, we always say uh we take one trip a year. Oh we do one trip, and it's usually for my birthday or her birthday. Um and it's you know, like our seven-day, ten-day trip to where we want to go and explore um, you know, other cultures. It's not a party. We go to Vegas, you know, that's like our little party thing, but we're already freaking 40 years old, bro. It's like the party thing, yeah. You know, I drink my beers, but yeah, I don't see why let's go to the club. And buy a section, you know, that shit. Like, it's not the drinking gitar up. No, no, it's uh, we we like when we go on these, we wake up early. I'm talking about before sunrise. This is where I bring my drone out. I love to get sunrises, you know, like with my drone of the cities. Um, we go explore. Okay. I mean, you're talking about fucking walking. We did that uh walk up in Japan, that temple with the orange things. Okay, bro, that thing is like three and a half miles up. Wow, it might be further. That's crazy. We didn't finish, we didn't finish, it got dark on us, and then the monkeys, there were signs that saying be careful with the monkeys and the wild. Yeah, the monkeys are scary, dude. Bro, we just started hearing them in the bushes. Yeah. We're like, nah, bro, let's go. Like, we made it high up. And it's crazy. Their stairs are like, you know, we have higher stairs, they have low stairs. Wow. And the reason why is because the monks walk up and you know how they wear their I don't want to call it a dress. Gowns or whatever. You know, their gowns, and they can't take the long steps. Yeah, just so bro, it's like weird to walk. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:09

Yeah, Japanese culture is amazing, man. I've always loved that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:12

I like the sumo wrestling and the all the fighting, you know, the judo and stuff. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:17

Yeah, they've been, you know, uh, Japan's always been they've been always been warriors, man.

Final Thanks & Sponsor Reminders

SPEAKER_02 1:26:21

Yeah, they've always been warriors, and that's something that I always tell uh I always say this, that I always wanted to be a ninja like when I was little, but my parents wouldn't fucking put me in karate. I always wanted to be a ninja, bro. Yeah, so that was my pick. I did pick Japan. Um, and it's funny, everybody's like, why why why do you pick Japan? You know, our friends and and our coworkers, it's like, where y'all going? I was like, we're going to Japan. They're like, Why? The food, the food's gotta be amazing. Food was good. Italy, horrible. Really? Horrible, bro. Freaking Italy. But we're used to American Italian food. Olive Garden is not Italian, bro. No, you know when you go out of town and you gain a little bit of weight because you've been eating all this stuff. I lost weight going to Italy. Dang, bro. I'm serious. They don't really eat meat. Meat's not a thing. You know, we're from Texas. We eat steak. I would order a steak, bro, and the steak was all they season with is salt and a little bit of salt and a little bit of pepper. It ain't Olive Garden, bro. You know, this food got you know all kinds of spices. They don't even have crushed red peppers, bro. They call it peppericino, which is crushed up red peppers like pepper.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:26

Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:28

Bro, and you put I'm like, that no. Dang.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:30

Yeah, it's a whole different spice palette, right? Like yeah, the food was not good.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:35

Uh Japan was really good food. I I loved it there. Yeah. Yeah. Um badass meals out of vending machines and shit.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:44

Yeah, they're they're they're living in another world. We're we're barely catching up. Yeah, yeah. Dang. This the this last year we really didn't take a trip um because we did have our wedding. We did do our wedding in the house. We had our wedding in Guadalajara, um, which is about it's it wasn't in tequila. It was like an hacienda next to uh to Guadalajara. So you have Wallajara and then you have Tequila, which is about an hour and a half away or so. We're like right in the middle and it was in a rancho.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:16

Um, we have no family in Guadalajara, we just really liked it there, and that that's where we chose. Yeah. Um, and we wanted it real Mexican style. Um because you know, like when you go on vacate brothers, just uh not because I'm Mexican, but you know, we've been a lot of places, but the the help of the Mexican like you're we knew our dollar was gonna go so much further. Absolutely. With with the help and the amenities that they put in, we were able to have a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful wedding. Um it was a lot of fun. We had it was mainly family. We got a huge Oyuki got a huge family. I got a decent sized family, you know. We Mexican. Yeah. We had like 220 people at our wedding. Uh, everybody went out there. Thank you to everybody that went out there. We have posted everything on that wedding. We hired a content creator uh for that day, just followed up and mainly Oyuki, but followed us around through through the whole day, recorded everything on the cell phone, sent us that footage like the next day. So our whole wedding is is online pretty much. We like literally just got our wedding pictures like yesterday, which is you know, our wedding was back in October. Wow. Um But it was a beautiful, beautiful wedding, man. Um, and that's why we chose we chose Mexico to do it. Uh Wallajara.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:41

And it's beautiful down there. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:44

It is freaking beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:46

It's like taking a step back into old Mexico.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:48

Bro, for real. And the people there were just so so nice. Um, we I think last year, bro, we went like six times down there. Damn to to go down there. So we you know the area pretty good. Um well the tourist area anyway. We knew the area really good and we love it. We we love Wallajara. Like it was it was beautiful. Strongly recommend it. Anybody getting married, I could you know direct you to a you want to have a wedding in Wallahara? We got a very amazing wedding planner. Wow, amazing wedding planner. It looked nice, it looked nice from what I saw. It was it was beautiful, and uh, I hope Boyuki got the wedding of her dreams.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:24

Um I'm sure she did. I'm sure she did. It sounds amazing.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:28

Yeah, so I hope she got that wedding of her dreams. I I know it was mine. Um it was amazing, you know, having all our you know friends and family. It's very important to us. We are very uh close to our immediate family, very close to them. Um we go gamble with our parents outside. Like my parents, so I don't have kids, right? I don't have kids. I'm not able to have kids because I got cancer really young. So I'm not able to have kids. So like my brother and my sister, you know, they got nieces and you know, my nieces and nephews, they go with my parents, hang out with them. And then I'm like, hey, when y'all done, I'm gonna take my parents to the casino, okay? And my parents already know that. Like, you know, that's our family time, yeah. How we do it. My yeah, it's our way, you know, that that I hang out with my um with my parents. My my in-laws, my they're they're they love gambling too, so we go hang out with them. So I mean, it's sad. I don't know, I'm not gonna say sad to say, but we're a gambling family. That's awesome. And it's our form of entertainment. Yeah, it really is. And we bond. Like I have videos where we do like family group pools, like we all put in like a hundred bucks. Oh, and it's like, let's go high limit on this, you know, like$50,$80 spins, and let's see what we win. We haven't won, but my in-law and my brother-in-law, man, they uh my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law, they've hit like 20 grand twice.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:50

That's crazy, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:51

Yeah, like 20 and 30, you know, and they just split it. I'm like, man, why don't you invite me in on this one? I didn't bring y'all, man. So it's awesome. You know, we we do a lot of family bonding and stuff like that. That's good, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:04

That's great, man. Well, shout out to them, man. Before uh it's been a great conversation, man. We really appreciate you being here and sharing so much stuff of your personal life and of course your your professional life with us.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:16

Bro, whenever you guys want to have me back on, I'm down. Maybe if I get my podcast going, I want to have you guys on so we can let us know. You know, there's a lot of subjects that I did want to talk on, but you know, just because of time, um, just something really quickly. Uh, for the creators just out there, um I know it just sounds so cliche, but like really follow your dreams. I've been through a journey. I come from uh a Hispanic family. Um, my parents are really old school. Um, when I wanted to be a creator, they didn't want me to be. Uh I was an artistic kid. I mean, I was painting on walls or whatever, but I wasn't like art classes. I did have a uh a scholarship to go to the art institute in Dallas. My parents didn't let me go. They were like, what are you gonna do? Paint pictures for a living, you know, for people. And my next big, you know, best thing is like I became a welder because I needed to get a man job. Yeah, and I and I love being a welder. It was good. I wasn't a good welder, I wasn't, um, but I was smart enough that I had welders under my team. I was more of the fitter, I knew how to read blueprints and all of that stuff. I became a smarter one, and I had my guys, and I really loved it. But when I had the opportunity, when I got cancer, I was able to restart my life and really live my life for me. Your way. My way. I went back to school, I became a photographer. Cancer started my business, and I really started living for myself at at that point. I had some with you know, some some some little setbacks here and there. I always had to have two jobs for a very long time to really support my dream. Um, but it's something that I wanted to do, and I thank God to this day that I get to do what I love every single day. I don't ever work, I'm doing what I love every single day, and it's crazy because even when I don't want to go to fucking work, yeah, I still go to work and it's okay. Yeah, you know, and that's what I tell people. You can make a living being an artist. You know, I just wanted to close it out with that. Don't let nobody tell you I'm not the richest, but I'm the richest at heart because I have everything that I need and I get to do what I love every single day. That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:41

Yeah, great way to end it. It's a hell of a way to live life. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:44

It really is, man. And you know, I really appreciate you guys having me. I really freaking enjoyed it. Um, like I said, if I get my podcast going, if I freaking find the time, you know, I I do want to bring it back. Um, I do have some of my old uh episodes. You can go and check that out. It's on my older YouTube channel, which is Iov A N Y underscore MessLab. Um, it's on YouTube. You can follow me on our slot channel on YouTube, which is Team Lots of Slots. We got YouTube, we got Mess Lab Studio, that's where we post all our weddings and kits and yetas. You can find us on all social medias on anything. Anyone need anything? Um, just give me a holler, man. We're we're we're super easy to find.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:28

Yeah, and I'll I'll have everything on the bottom of the link. So yeah, man. Yeah, I know. Thanks again, man. It's been really entertaining and really nice to you.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:36

Thank you very much. And and to your wife who sat through this whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:41

Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:42

Man, she she's she's my backbone, she's my support. She's sick, and you know, she would have been on here if she was feeling well.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:49

Episode two, episode two pending, right? And uh, and we'll all four of us.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:54

Dude, you'll have a full conversation with her. I think you should have her on by herself. You'll have, I mean, she's true, motivating, the hardest worker I know. She makes me be her. I'm nothing compared to her. She's super hard worker, business owner, beauty, her own content creator, bro. Brands, she has that's what's up.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:14

So we're gonna, yeah, we're gonna make it happen, have episodes.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:18

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:19

Yeah. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:21

But not for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:22

Yeah, so man, thank you very much. Thank you for the time. Y'all are busy as hell. As everybody that watches and listens to the episode is gonna, you know, find out, man. So thank you very much for the time, man. And thank all the listeners, all the sponsors, man. Appreciate you guys.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:36

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:37

This episode is brought to you by underdog Wire Line. Um, these guys handle everything in Wireline. We've been talking about them every week, and we mean everything we say. We appreciate their support. And if you need anything in Wireline Works, you give them a call at 432-288-0395. Brandon 14 Hotshot Services LLC. Uh, they offer Hotshot work, ESP spooling, ESP Technician Service, and Heavy Holland Sandmice currently. Um, you can give them a call at 432-638-1755, another local company backing us up, so back them up. Titan Sales and Services uh is one of our new sponsors. They're a relatively new company, so we want to back them up like they're backing us up. Uh they're running out of Crane, Texas, and some of the stuff that they have available is uh Russ About maintenance and construction crews, uh, trash trailers, porta potties, combo trailers, forklifts, and they're adding new services and rentals every day. Uh so give those guys a call at 432-307-1960. If you need anything, uh I know their pricing is gonna be competitive. Uh help them out. Thank you.