Embark on a riveting journey with Sanya Hudson-Payne as she sits down with J. Alexander Martin, the innovative force behind FUBU and the For Us By Us Network, to uncover the rich tapestry of black-owned fashion brands and their place in the industry. From the origins of iconic labels to the personal branding that propels entrepreneurs forward, we uncover what it takes to establish and sustain a brand that transcends cultural boundaries. J. Alexander's profound insights and Sanya's fierce determination to redefine self-expression in a patriarchal society will leave you both enlightened and inspired.
This episode is a treasure trove for those seeking to understand the intricate relationship between black-owned businesses and the ever-evolving landscape of consumer culture. As we peel back the layers of black entrepreneurship, you'll learn about the unique challenges black designers face, the resurgence of interest in heritage brands like FUBU, and the delicate balance required when marketing products that align with racial identity. We also dissect the media industry's distinctions between black-owned and black-targeted platforms, unraveling the implications of ownership and audience targeting on the quest for authentic representation.
Tune in for an intimate look at the personal stories and professional insights of J. Alexander Martin. We explore everything from the importance of platforms like LinkedIn for professional networking to the vision behind the For Us By Us Network's original content and strategic partnerships. By the end of our conversation, you'll be privy to the complexities of black culture, the power of representation, and the potential of new media to truthfully portray the multifaceted lives of black individuals. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that notification bell for more stimulating discussions with exceptional figures like J. Alexander Martin.
Embark on a riveting journey with Sanya Hudson-Payne as she sits down with J. Alexander Martin, the innovative force behind FUBU and the For Us By Us Network, to uncover the rich tapestry of black-owned fashion brands and their place in the industry. From the origins of iconic labels to the personal branding that propels entrepreneurs forward, we uncover what it takes to establish and sustain a brand that transcends cultural boundaries. J. Alexander's profound insights and Sanya's fierce determination to redefine self-expression in a patriarchal society will leave you both enlightened and inspired.
This episode is a treasure trove for those seeking to understand the intricate relationship between black-owned businesses and the ever-evolving landscape of consumer culture. As we peel back the layers of black entrepreneurship, you'll learn about the unique challenges black designers face, the resurgence of interest in heritage brands like FUBU, and the delicate balance required when marketing products that align with racial identity. We also dissect the media industry's distinctions between black-owned and black-targeted platforms, unraveling the implications of ownership and audience targeting on the quest for authentic representation.
Tune in for an intimate look at the personal stories and professional insights of J. Alexander Martin. We explore everything from the importance of platforms like LinkedIn for professional networking to the vision behind the For Us By Us Network's original content and strategic partnerships. By the end of our conversation, you'll be privy to the complexities of black culture, the power of representation, and the potential of new media to truthfully portray the multifaceted lives of black individuals. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that notification bell for more stimulating discussions with exceptional figures like J. Alexander Martin.
This is not a video. When I was coming out, we had to go outside the city. We had to go travel, go out of town, beat down doors. This was the first time Bill has ever gone on this set.
Speaker 1:He said here comes the token. This is not a video. And out of my mouth I said F you, the fans are asking for positive women, you know, with family and business. It's like you know that's what we bring to the show and yet still it's like, oh, she's boring.
Speaker 2:It's my real story. This is really who I am. I build myself off a dollar and a dream, without a man's help without a basketball player.
Speaker 1:Particularly, the patriarchal box says white cisgender males have defined for us should be how we define ourselves. I didn't say it, that's what we're saying. It's free to have you and the bulletin. Welcome everyone. You're now tuned into another amazing edition of signing on air.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, sonia Hudson-Pain, and before we get to today's episode, I need you to do me a favor. I forgot to mention this early on in the last episode. Make sure you subscribe. Subscribe to sign you on air celebrity interviews where I unpack your pivotal moments and milestones. Sign you on your streams across every major streaming platform. If you're watching this on YouTube, not only subscribe, but make sure you hit the little notification bell. That way, every time I upload an all new sign you on air celebrity interview, you'll be the first ones to know.
Speaker 1:Now today's guest super, super excited because, if you caught the last episode, a focus of my conversation was about black owned versus black targeted. So to keep in line with that conversation, I have the CEO of the for us by us network. You remember that? For us by network, fooboo. He is also one of the co-founders of the multi-billion dollar brand fooboo. Let me just run off a list of his accomplishments, titles, accolades. Okay, like I said, his name is Jay Alexander Martin. He is the founder and executive vice president of the billion dollar apparel brand fooboo. He's a TV host and producer, public speaker, personal branding consultant, creative director, author, humanitarian and, like I said, the CEO of for us, by us. That's a lot. That's a lot. He's working hard. I want to be married. That's another topic. That's another topic. Okay, black man at the head of the business. What I'm really interested in knowing because, remember, fooboo was a leading brand in the 90s there were that was the error for black owned fashion brands. We have brands such as, like I said, fooboo, baby fat, cross colors. Who remembers cross colors? I wasn't a real fan of cross colors, but I digress. I need she loved, love, love, love and each a love that. I have a funny story about the Nietzsche brand, but I'll say that later. Another black owned brand was Carl cannot.
Speaker 1:What happened to those brands? Is it because the white corporations just say you know what, y'all make a little bit too much money and we just have to dismantle and dissolve and disenfranchise those brands? But now we're really seeing an emergence of black led designers, so there's space for us. But I'm wondering is the market becoming over saturated? Because we're at this point now where, if you're saying black owned, it just becomes like a buzzword. People are not trusting black owned brands. I just want to know why? Why? Why? If we don't support black owned brands, how can we lead narratives, conversations, set trends, be icons? So you know what the dissolve meant. And disenfranch, disenfranch, yeah, that's a SAT word. Disenfranchisement Is that a word? Of these black owned brands? What happened to them? Now going back to black owned versus black target, first of all, let me turn off my, because I don't know if you hear my phone going ding. That's the text messages coming through. So, black owned versus black target. So there are two leading. I don't know if they're leading, but yeah, when I talk to the black folks in them.
Speaker 1:There are two stream platforms that the culture is always talking about. The first one is Zeus. Yes, that is black owned by the Mel plumber. That's how you pronounce his name. Now, he's always been in the industry. His father was in television years and years and years ago. This is the fun fact. So the Mel plumber, his father, also started the Christian network with Jodecy singer. What is it, mr Dalvin's father? Did you know that? Yes, even though Mr Dalvin turned into a gyraton pelvic thrusting R&B singer, his daddy was heavily involved in the church, so that's a fun fact. So, on Zeus, you have shows such as baddies, east Jocelyn's cabaret or, in the word of the Puerto Rican princess Jocelyn's cabaret. Then you have Christian and blue face, crazy in love. Now, how many of you are paying every single month for streaming of Zeus?
Speaker 1:Me, me, me, me, me, me. There are, I'm in love. I'm in love with ratchet TV, don't get me wrong, but you better believe that after that, I am listening to Roland Martin, I'm turning to the Rio network and I am just getting making sure that my mind is being and fuel. Let me tell you why I stumbled off the word fair, because it involves food and you know the foodie. I wake up like what am I going to eat for dinner? So anything that has to do with eating. Something happens where just times just stop and my mouth starts watering and I'm thinking about food, but I digress.
Speaker 1:So Zeus network, like I said, it is leading and black owned and also black targeted television. But what my concern is sometimes the lines become blurred. Now, for example, there's another streaming platform that is leading the streaming platforms for black targeted content, do be. Did you know, with all of the black content you could stream, my mama got an ebt card, my baby daddy got a new baby mama. Oh, dirty mattresses and pissy stairways All of that is on to be black targeted content. But did you know that to be is owned by a major white corporation? Now we know Fox is led, driven, shaped, by the Republican Party, so there is intentional messaging just to make sure that the content that they are producing for us is dummy down. It is a master designed plan and we cannot be fooled at all. Yes, to be owns is owned by the network I want to battle.
Speaker 1:Change how you now watch to be. Will you continue to support? I think that we have to demand better. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with this type of content, but I definitely want to see a balance. I got to see a balance. Just imagine, you know, if, all day long, the place of child in front of a television For an entire day, and then the same thing the next day for weeks, for months, for years, and all that child is listening to and watching is shoot them up, bang, bang, gotcha. That child is going to become the biggest scammer. Why might ask to scan me Apple MacBook? It is about the messaging, the conditioning that is happening with our brains. We have to be mindful. I think that once you get to a place that you can watch and unpack and know that that really ain't every single block in the neighborhood, it's okay to watch. But if that's all that you are digesting and processing, I got a problem. We can't be friends. We cannot be friends at all At all. So I just want us to do a lot better.
Speaker 1:When we talk about fashion and the black space in fashion, one of the key components of being successful as a black designer or a black content creator is having access. That means building your network. But once you have access and once you start talking about what can be fixed, what can be improved, what can be strengthened for the black culture, you are demonized, you are silenced, you are disenfranchised. Look at what happened to Dapper Dan If you don't know who Dapper Dan is, but if you are from NYC, like me, you definitely know who Dapper Dan is.
Speaker 1:Dapper Dan back in the 80s and 90s. What he used to do was take Gucci inspired clothing. He would use their logos and create these amazing outfits for entertainers, those who are rappers, those who are celebrity athletes, and also the local drug dealers too. They were wearing Dapper Dan, but as soon as Gucci found out that this man was tapping to the money bank, they silenced him. They silenced him and then they started copying off of his designs. The black community said no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I just had to do that. The black community stood up and Gucci could not deny it. Gucci then hired Dapper Dan I forgot the title I don't know if it was some sort of like creative consultant but they gave him his proper, they gave him his respect and then they started to look at his design.
Speaker 1:And once we start to stand up and demand better, the world isn't going to join us automatically, but then it becomes inevitable when they don't have a choice at all. So I'm really encouraging you all to really look at this space that we're in and ask yourself is this black owned? And I think that we have to be sure that there is a balance, because we don't want everything to look like the black. Now I'm going to say the black because you could live, you know, be a member of the HOA, the Home Owners Association. That's your block. Or you could be on 125th and St Nick, that's your block. I just want all blocks to be represented, because I keep saying, as blacks, we are not a model, there is not one singular experience. But leave it up to them, chad, leave it up to them. We are all just slow, singing and flowering and swing low sweet cherry. We are only one day removed from slavery. And how dare you? Just try to get ahead in life. How dare you? But we have the audacity, we have the fortitude to keep pushing, to keep challenging the culture. I encourage you to keep doing so. So we're going to take a commercial break with Instacart. Make sure you do all your shopping with Instacart, and we'll be back with Jay Alexander Martin.
Speaker 1:Can I just run off his credentials again? Let me get his black man his propers. He is the founder and executive vice president of the billion dollar apparel brand FUBU. Tv host and producer, public speaker, personal branding consultant, creative director, author, humanitarian and the CEO for us by us network. I'm going to be honest real quick.
Speaker 1:When I started watching well, not, I started watching his posts on Instagram. I follow Jay Martin Alexander on Instagram and I saw when he was launching for us by us network and I was a little concerned. I was a little bit concerned because it was just too much fisticuffs. It was too much fisticuffs and potential yeast infections. It was just too much for me.
Speaker 1:So I just want to know is there going to be a balance? What new shows is he thinking about launching? If we have people who are socially conscious and they are content creators, how can they deliver their content to you to vet and to place on the For Us by Us network? So we're going to have a very meaningful conversation in love. This is what we do as a people. Even though we have questions, even though we may disagree, we have to find the common place where we do agree and expand on that. On this show, while I unpack celebrity pivotal moments and milestones, I'm going back and forth with anybody. I have an opinion, you have an opinion and we're all smart and we can just exchange ideas and thoughts. So I'll be back. Stay tuned to sign your name and don't forget to subscribe.
Speaker 1:I'll be back with Jay Martin Alexander. Shop eligible items on Instacart and get $20 off, in order of $35 or more, when you check out using your FSA HSA card. You can do this all in three simple steps One add your FSA HSA card. Two, shop for eligible items. And three, check out with FSA HSA using the special code. Now let's get to shopping.
Speaker 2:Hi, Jay hey how are you doing, sorry?
Speaker 1:about that.
Speaker 2:How are you doing? Can you hear?
Speaker 1:me, oh no problem. Yeah, I can hear you perfectly fine. I was dealing with Wi-Fi issues on this end, so everything worked out just fine.
Speaker 2:OK great.
Speaker 1:Now, do you prefer to be called Jay or Jay Alexander? Which do you prefer?
Speaker 2:You know what's weird? Because people will not just call me Jay anymore. They just call me Jay Alexander, and it just got switched out of nowhere. So it's the history of my name. But you do what you feel, because people think my last name is Alexander, but it's really Martin. So they'll just say, or what they'll. Now. What they'll say is because it's just a letter, jay, they're like that doesn't make sense. So it must be his name must be Jay Alexander. Two words, so I love to say it or two letters. My first name is just the letter, so whatever it is.
Speaker 2:Really Whatever you feel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wait, your first name is just a letter. That's it, yeah, ok, what's the story behind that? Because I've never heard of that before. Like at birth, when your parents pick a letter out of a bed.
Speaker 2:OK, we're just going to name it Jay.
Speaker 2:No. So I was adopted and when I finally my family finally fully adopted me, I was going back and forth with my adopted parents, adopted mother. The father wasn't around. She was beating with the father. Long story short, she would put me in foster care, take me out, put me in. But the same family kept taking me, until the mother that I have now which that's why I called mom period. She was like look, you just stop playing games and you're going to take me or not? I'm going to take them, or you want them to stop because you're playing games? You don't want them? Just give them to me, I'll take them.
Speaker 2:So, long story short, as my father used to be called my father, that I have now used to be called Jay C or John or Jay the hey Jay. They would always say. So I was kind of, I wasn't of age, but I was of age enough to listen to a name and know how I want to change it, because my middle name, my name, was Alexander Proprier. Then he was like well, let's name you Jay, because people used to say, hey, what's up? Jay, when I was really, his name was really John. So I said I like Jay, but I don't want Jay. Why I just?
Speaker 1:want the letter J. I like it.
Speaker 2:Now I can't tell you today's world, you can't, I can't say why I didn't want Jay, because it rhymed with something and I was like I couldn't, I couldn't, you know I can't say that today. I couldn't say it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, back in the day. You know we're in the era of cancel culture. You can't sneeze Right, you can't right, right.
Speaker 2:You got to be real politically correct and, and you know, and especially with these, you know these podcasts. They get people to talk in and they regret it later. They get your likes and views, they get what they want, but in the end, is that what you really wanted?
Speaker 1:True, like we're not a salacious, you know streaming platform over here, so podcast, so that's you know.
Speaker 2:We just want to unpack your people moments and not you can put that, but least you know it's for me, as I have an understanding of today and I'm responsible. You know responsible dialogue. If you want to use, I could use that phrase. You know I'm responsible to understand. You know what's today and what's yesterday is the same.
Speaker 1:Yes, I just want to talk about it.
Speaker 2:You know, so it's all good. You know, so it's fine. What do you have?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's all good, but I like what you said, having responsible conversations or responsible dialogue. I like that. I like to navigate between each rooms. You know, the responsible dialogue, the ratchet dialogue. It just makes me the well-rounded Sanya that.
Speaker 2:I am today.
Speaker 2:You know, it's cool, it works. It works. I mean again, except when you started responsible. You know the truth is the truth. You know, regardless of what it is or what happens, or what happened or what I'm saying, it's the truth, that's what happened, that's why I said it. But you know you can't. There's no such thing, as you know how you say this. A lot of times people want to put their opinion in it and call that truth, and that's not true. Yeah, what you feel is it doesn't really matter. What's the truth is what's the virus? You know, so it is all good.
Speaker 1:So true, but this is an error.
Speaker 2:I was 10 when I said it. What do I mean?
Speaker 1:Right and they're still holding you responsible today. But we live in an era where opinions are translated into fact. No one's checking anything anymore. If someone said it, then they hold validity to it. But what I do know is true is that we both grew up in New York City. You're from Hollis, I'm from Queens. I mean from Brooklyn. No, I didn't just say I'm from Queens, I'm from Brooklyn. And growing up in an era such as the 70s, the 80s and the 90s, you couldn't help but be inspired by something. There were so many things pouring into the culture, from the music, from the fashion, from the television shows like Soul Train. Now, when you think back on the 70s, 80s or 90s, who or what in the culture inspired you to tap into fashion?
Speaker 2:So fashion, of course, is always around us. However, we took something and wore it. That didn't really mean like if you took, let's say, use the case in point of Western wear, or you took outerwear that you would go hiking with and we would take it and kind of transform it into us, Like we had stores, like Models and things like that and stores. It wasn't really super expensive as far as I was concerned, but we would take pieces and pieces and put it together and do it our own way. Or take the jeans and put the thin line down in the middle permanent curbs, permanent creases, things like that. We would just elaborate on each garment in our own little specific way.
Speaker 2:As me, growing up in Queens, I lived on the border between Queens and, I'm sorry, between Hollis and Farmers. So I was kind of inspired by the drug dealers and fancy cars and how everyone from all different boroughs would come to this place called the Rock and talk and I guess they would negotiate what they're doing or just kind of stand around and just be out there and congregate with each other. I think it was a little more business going on than just congregating, but it is what it is. So you would see that and you would be inspired like, wow, he has a fancy car and he has this and that. Now you can go home and say your mother, father, are responsible human beings and say, listen, don't even think about doing something like that, Because I know what you want. Every kid wants to be it or be a rapper, or be whatever, but you got to do it your way and you got to do it the right way.
Speaker 2:So long story short. I just feel that the culture as a whole, what you see, what people wore my deed is things like that. It just all inspired me in a collective Me changing my clothes three or four times a day, things like that, trying to get the hottest, the latest and latest thing. And again, I think it's innately in us to always want to market ourselves, brand ourselves and a light that we are all doing well. No one wants to show themselves not doing well. For looking good, Even if it's the knockoff of the hottest thing, you're still going to try to figure out how to make it look good and look good and be that. Because of that, you wasn't getting the girls.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. We weren't getting the guys either. We didn't look like, but with so much inspiration just channeling your vision and your goals, how did Fubu come about, and did you have any other names before you landed on the name Fubu?
Speaker 2:Well, so I never take credit for coming up with Fubu. I give that to the holy grail, to Damon John prior to me. Damon John, I'm sharp-tinked, he created names. I came home from the military. I was in Desert Storm. Desert Shield got out on a 50% disabled back injury. I got about $6,000.
Speaker 2:I went to his house because we were childhood friends. We went to college. I mean, we went to junior high school and high school together and he still lived around the way. When I came home I wound up hooking up with him. I went to his house. I remember it like yesterday he had this little green, this little counter as soon as you walk in the back door with the kitchen, and I was like, wow, we sat there. And he was like I sort of had sitting there. And he was like, oh, I made these hats. It was a type-type hat. It was in for a little while and it was out.
Speaker 2:But one of the guys around the neighborhood was in design school and he was a graphic artist and he wound up creating the graphic based off of the concept of them sitting around the table saying, hey, we need something that's for us, by us and since. That's how the name got started. And then when I came in, I saw it, I was like, ok, what are you doing with this? Oh, nothing, this is dead. And I was like, no, it's not dead, let me help you. Take it just to the next level. And he's like, well, how can you do that? Well, I have some money, here's some money. And two, I'm going to fashion school and I'm working at Macy's at the same time, so I really wanted to be in the business and it was just something like I just said look, I'm good at this, like I'm good at foreshadowing what people want to wear, and I'm good at dressing as well styling. So let me take a stab at it.
Speaker 2:I kind of knew that it was going to be what it's going to be, because I knew, I believed in myself, I knew what I could do.
Speaker 1:Got it. But that's such a layered conversation and experience Just talking about the process. But another part of that experience is the feedback that you received from your family and friends as a black man wanting to design and create clothing. What was the response that your friends and family gave you as a black man in Turing fashion?
Speaker 2:Well, again, most in those times, traditionally you were supposed to be a doctor, a lawyer or a plumber or something like that. But pick a trade, trade a lot of cars or something like that. One cars not really my thing. Lawyer, that's too much school and my father wasn't going to pay for that. So I just felt like I was more into the arts in some kind of way. I just didn't know which one it was going to be. At one time I just decided to myself hey, I'm really good at knowing what people like, so let me try to be a buyer. And after I was focusing 100% on it and it didn't cut into fruition, which is great, I want to do this football thing.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice. But what I do know and understand from talking to other black designers is that oftentimes that once we get into the room and we have access, oftentimes we become disenfranchised. Now I remember walking into Lady Dr J's specifically to buy Fubu gear, but I always thought about what was the process to get a brand like Fubu into these major retailers. Talk about that process.
Speaker 2:I mean the process all starts with the actual buyer or your salesman. I mean, coming into this business, we had this kind of crawl before we walked. It wasn't about having sales of up to now, $6 billion of sales. It was hey, listen, we have a great item, please take it and put it on consignment, which means if it sells, you've been in money, I've done the sales, I've given you the back.
Speaker 2:But it was all about the marketing and pushing the brand and to the point where, of course, llkj helped us with the work very much in that feat and getting it out to the stores and letting people know that this is the hottest thing, getting the music video and with that, all marketing, because we were very good at marketing getting it out there.
Speaker 2:With that it became a desire to where our salesman would take it and just kind of hand it up and say listen, this is the order we're going to give you. This is the order we're going to give you If you sell you 100, sell you 100, sell you 100, sell you 100, sell you 1000, sell you 1000, sell you 1000. And that's it. We would give people credit. Most would have credit to be able to buy our goods and they would pay net 16, net 19, net 30, or whatever it is, or you'd have to come and pay cash. We would go to some because the magic sales and all the buyers would come there and we would showcase our stuff and then we had a sales force all over the world, regional as well and regional as far as the US and Europe and those guys would go out there and just sell, sell, sell, sell for all the major retail.
Speaker 1:Wow, OK, well, you described the process and for someone listening they may say, oh, I could do that. But let's talk about the number of knows that you received. Did you receive a lot of knows before you got a big one?
Speaker 2:yes, Well, we were lucky. My knows wasn't necessarily when it comes to selling. My knows came when it comes to actually manufacturing, in the beginning of just trying to figure out the business. Again, there wasn't the internet, there was just going to school, actually teacher or read a book and that's it. So you had to go in there and really and I say this to say that I failed a lot of classes because I did it one way and it worked the school would say, oh, this is where it worked, this is why it was supposed to happen.
Speaker 2:I mean, we go back and forth and fight, but again, I guess, mike, there's right, mike, that's right. So I can probably teach now because I want to tell everybody. But I guess, really, to really focus in on your question, there really isn't really a memory in the nose because again, our product was we made it so hot that we had to have that product. We had it in shows that, oh wow, I really want that. And then we held it back from the consumers to where everybody was clamoring for it. So when we finally let go and got a Samsung, that was just a business car point vehicle, then we would get everybody Everybody was like I've probably got it. We're not even going up from the bottom.
Speaker 1:Wow yeah, everyone had to have football. I mean, like I said, I would faithfully go.
Speaker 2:It's almost like you limit your distribution. You limit your distribution to create cars.
Speaker 1:Mm, that makes sense. That definitely makes sense. But then we talked about how Fubu was so hot and it was flying off the shelves and we saw LL Cool J and then other rappers wearing Fubu, and then we didn't see Fubu anymore. What happened when we didn't see Fubu on the shelves?
Speaker 2:Well again, I mean, after a while, just like business, like business, things go up and things go down, burko, but it goes up and goes down. It's life and in any business you have, you're never going to be going up, up, up, up and keep going up. It's going to stop somewhere. Yeah, and that's kind of what happened. I mean, our customers grew with us and to the point where they grew and then maybe that kid didn't turn around and say I want to wear my mother, father wear. They want to do something else. And it became a more evangelistic viewpoint when it came to our fashion. But for the Treasury too, other brands, as far as the high end brands and we were high end just as well as they are and we have the same amount of sales as they are too but people just didn't make that correlation at one point. I think that we transcended more, so with us as our name.
Speaker 2:As far as bias concern, I think that turned and that kept going. But the focal point is the only part kind of slowed down, although we still would never miss the beat when it comes to overseas. It's just if you look at the marketplace and demographic side graphics of the actual African-American community. They own something today, own something tomorrow. So it's going to take. It's taking now. As far as now, my business is actually flourishing a lot more than it was years past, because I think there's a renaissance of people wanting to actually live. That for us, bias mantra, as we had have had it years ago and then a lot more. At one time there was tons and tons and tons of other African-American brands, and since then they've kind of fell to the wayside, although we're still standing here, not necessarily that skin to our teeth, but reintroducing ourselves to that younger customer and hoping that we can do what they like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I did think maintaining that older customer that understands the vintage and what we used to do and how we used to do it.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, I definitely agree with that. I have a daughter. She is 28 years old and I remember seeing Fubu at Forever 21. And I was like, oh, wow. And I had the conversation with my daughter about Fubu shaping my era, my heyday, when her mama was in the street and introducing Fubu to her now. So it was like cross-generational conversation, cross-generational fashion. So it was great to introduce Fubu to my daughter. And we don't see those other brands Baby Fat Well, baby Fat is starting to make a reemergence, but those other brands Carl Canag we don't see them this generation talking about that fashion.
Speaker 1:So Fubu has really become a cultural phenomenon?
Speaker 2:Cultural, yes, definitely. And again you bring up Carl Canag. Baby Fat looks like that Carl Canag I've seen recently. He's still out there, still doing some stuff. But again, we was able to. Our marketing was just beyond comprehension. It's just that good. I mean again to us to the point where we're in museums and we have wax figures of ourselves and we're in textbooks and things like that. No one has ever as of us has been able to do that since then and probably won't.
Speaker 2:But again, we've been in business for 30-something years. So to beat us, you've got to be in longer than that and doing it in a consistent way. Not necessarily if you're just still here and you're selling a few items here and there, but you're popping up every once in a while when people in Black History Month, or you're popping up when somebody wants to do a, let's say, a party and with a 90s theme or something like that. No, I'm talking about consistently there, providing goods every season and being in the business.
Speaker 2:But a lot of times, a lot of people if you see a lot of these brands that came in where they had a spokesperson and it was like maybe this rapper's line or that rapper's line. A lot of times that was just a company that came in and said, hey, let me use your name and license your name or whatever, and it will call up your line. So it's really again, always go back to telling people it's the fashion business and I was actually in fashion, I actually went to school for fashion, so I'm invested differently. You can't just say it's not about just going online and going, ok, I want to start a line, ok, yeah, you can try to do that. But again, that's like me giving you the answer to the test but you can't prove your work.
Speaker 1:Right, right, right, right right. You mentioned something about black designers and then people now saying I'm just going online, I'm just going to launch a podcast, so I'm going to launch an apparel brand. Do you think that the black market for black ownership has become oversaturated? And I ask that because I recently went into a clothing store and also a cosmetic store and the first things they both said the salespeople was let me show you this black owned brand. And I was like wow, these people never said these things before. Do you think the market is becoming oversaturated?
Speaker 2:Well, again, I don't want to say it's a bad word. Again, you're entitled to how you ask the question, but I personally would like to say, hey, here's a brand you might like and just leave it at that, because again, I don't want our recognition and that's giving us our recognition.
Speaker 2:You can't want the recognition but did not want it.
Speaker 2:So you do want them to say that, but you don't want them to say that. So it's a fine line between love and basketball, like it's a fine line between I want everybody to know what it is, but then now I'm stuck in that bubble of only being black because you'll never get any other customer and because there isn't the bias like it used to be, you don't have enough customers to sustain you, so they only walk it in. When you walk in, you're only asking for a person that's black, so you're not asking for anyone else and just saying let us stand alone on the fact that it's a great product. Because you walk in and say, oh, that's a black designer, that's a black brand, ok, well, put it up next to white brand, but that black person will go off in mind a white brand. And but the white person is not going by the black brand.
Speaker 2:So again it just pigeonholes us into that. But then again we still want the recognition. So it's a really fine. It's like a hamster where it's going to go around and around and around. It's never going to be a great definition to it. It's always going to be some type of question mark.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I know every time I walk into, let's say, like a Walgreens or Dwayne Reed, when it comes to hair care products or bath and body anything, there's a black section. And I'm just like, yeah, we do want the recognition, but I want it to be aligned and streamlined with everything else, Because this is culture, it's not just black culture, but you also mentioned something, go ahead.
Speaker 2:I might add one other point. A gentleman said this to me years ago and I kind of modified it a little bit, but it's almost like this If you're culturally, it's like this we don't necessarily have a full fledged culture Like we're ad-libbing, we're going along as we're going along To where other ethnicities really have a full fledged culture, where they're going back for histories, because I was being splintered so much. So if you walk down a block and you see an agent sign and you see another agent sign, you see a building and it's an agent sign. You know it's an Asian neighborhood. But then if you go down, you see a Latin sign, it's a Spanish sign, another Spanish sign. You know it's a Latino area. But if you keep going down, you see a store, another store, another store. You see a building. You don't know what the area is because we don't have an identity. So it's like, ok, this is giving us an identity, but it's like a false sense of identity Because we don't have an identity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's so true.
Speaker 1:Other cultures come into our neighborhood and they create our identity, ie by the liquor store, the check cash in place and a laundry mat Always in, and also Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard.
Speaker 1:That's always in the black community and, once again, it isn't us shaping our experience, it's other nationalities coming in and telling us what our culture is. And what I want to talk about next is and something that you tapped on is black owned versus black targeted, and I think that we are in an era where we need to start to understand the difference and unpack the residue of each, and I feel that the streaming platforms and television specifically when it comes to black content, it is becoming entertainment, is becoming anger tainment, and I'm really not liking the direction of it, and I'm specifically talking about the Zeus Network and Tubi. So, for example, tubi a whole bunch of black content, but it's not black owned and I don't think a lot of people know that Tubi is owned by the Fox Network. So, transitioning into your new streaming platform for us, by us, is it black owned or is it black targeted?
Speaker 2:OK, so I am black owned and black targeted. I guess I'm going to take both of those flags. I've always been, you know. Now here's the thing. Now some people may sit there in question in certain situations. You know, a lot of times in our world we can't get financing. I'm not talking about me, I'm just saying in general. A lot of times you may can't get 100% financing. So you'll team up, partner up with another company or something like that, and in turn it'll be, you know, you'll have to do 51, 50, or sometimes you do 49, 51, because they put up more money, but it's still black in spirit, because there's the black people that are actually running it, but it's the white person that helped them fund it. Now, and that's a thought in the question about you, Is that black owned to you?
Speaker 2:No, if we have, let's say, like a white CEO or founder, and the content is just You're a black CEO, black CEO founded, black CEO founder, but a white funded.
Speaker 1:I think it depends on the equity of the partnership. If the partnership is more of the black owned, then for me, yes, it's black owned, but if that white partner is coming in and they are owning about 75%, no, it's no longer black owned for me.
Speaker 2:Right, no, and I actually only use what I actually. That because and I'm glad you said that, I wanted to get that out there Because a lot of times I think when people have these conversations, they have these conversations in the vacuum and most people just suck up to suck up what they hear, but don't really understand what they hear. They don't understand what they just going off and going, oh that's what such a subset and they would aggruditate it, and they don't really understand what they mean. So when you own a company, if you own more percentage, then you are the owner, you're the primary owner period, that's it. So I just wanted to make sure that that was a point made For me. For my streaming platform. We have three partners, I am one and we all stood up our equity.
Speaker 1:So that's the problem.
Speaker 2:But when it comes to content, I have to do what people want. One. I have different demographics of people. It's called forced bias. So with different demographics, people want different kind of things. So people want to have them. We shall overcome. Some people want power, some people want and I have to. Some people want sports and entertainment. I have to do it all because that's what I'm stuck in For us by us world. That's what I will be until I die. Some people may go, oh, I don't like that program. Ok, well, I have other stuff for you. But this is what I hate about what we do with each other. I don't like it.
Speaker 2:Did you watch it? No, I didn't watch it. I just don't like it. No, I heard the name. I don't like it. Well, did you watch it? Did you even see it? No, it's like this how do you know? Did you watch it? No, I didn't watch it. Well, do you know I have 50 other movies? Do you know I have feature film coming in? Do you know? Oh, I didn't know that. Well, you didn't tell me. Well, I didn't know you were still in business. Did you look? Right? You don't say in film.
Speaker 2:You don't do your job. You just listen to what somebody is saying and it's undisciplined Knowledge. Mm-hmm, you're giving out undisciplined knowledge because you're not really a, you're just saying stuff, just to be saying stuff, and I think you're just saying stuff. I think social media is killing us in retrospect because, in theory, when you were supposed to be, everyone's a commentator and everyone has a voice, but back in the, you know when someone really does have a voice and they're all the news and they're speaking. In fact, check it. You know they just stuck to just spew out anything just because, and that you know, cut without any decimation. So I can go on about it.
Speaker 1:I get it. I get it. I definitely said that I was going to give the For Us by Us network a try. But however, like I, I did leave a comment on one of your social media posts about one of your shows I believe it's the side chicks of something, I'm not sure and I did have a visceral reaction because I was associating For Us by Us and I was thinking that there would be a little bit more socially conscious content. So when I saw the side chicks, I was like what is this? Like? I said, it gave me a visceral reaction. So can you explain for myself and also for my audience, what shows do you have streaming on the For Us by Us network?
Speaker 2:Well, again, yes, I do have a show called Side Chicks of LA and Side Chicks of Charlotte, and then I have a series of more of them coming. But that is for a certain demographic, that is for the people that love Zeus, but it's still not a Zeus. No disrespect, and I respect that man as far as what he's doing, because, again, I would never bring another company down to try to bring my company up, although he has, you know, racy content. Mine isn't as racy because I'm just a little more. It's just not me. I try to put some type of guard rails on it. Not necessarily every second goes.
Speaker 2:As soon as you walk in, everybody's fighting. No, I don't have that. There's more dialogue. There's always cattiness. It's a little more real because that's a lot of times, women do get in the room and they get a little cattie and it's happening. And then you have that one little one woman that just she's wanting to be the boss and they want to fight and it's going to happen. But then again there's always the kumbaya moment when there's bigger heads prevail. So it's just life. But I try to do that. Life isn't. If somebody walks in the room, everybody's fighting. That's WWE. And I think he rose up. Are you still there? Okay, nope, you're not, I'm going. Hello, well, I'm not sure if I'm still talking or I'm in the audience or I'm in the dungeon, but I guess I need to take over the show, because I'm taking over the show because I don't see her. I'm back.
Speaker 2:I was about to take over the show.
Speaker 1:You can any given day. You can. I give you full permission. But I'm going to repeat the question, because you really just spoke about the side chicks of what. Is it LA or Charlotte? Now I, you know I recite any type of biggie lyric, but I'm a Coretta Scott King too. Is there content for me? You know, when I want to kind of make sure that I'm feeding my soul and my mind and having these conscious conversations with my daughter before I turn back on biggie, can I expect content like that?
Speaker 2:Again. See and this is going to sound how I take it when someone says it, and no disrespect to how you say it what you're asking me is this is a network. So it's a network with multiple pieces of content that's growing and growing, growing, growing, growing, growing. Again, there's nothing that I'm going to do. That's not going to have some type of arc story arc where there's conflict and there's results and there's a result to it, and then there's a, a rep repent, and there's nothing. That's not going to have any type of thing like that. So, again, you wouldn't watch something that didn't have that because you'd be bored and you'd be like, okay, I don't want to say anything, right? So, again, I have to do what I have to do when it comes to content for some people to be engaged. Now, my first show that I came out with is that. Now that's not the only thing I have. If you go on my platform on Cineverse uh uh, fubu and you see all the other content, there'll hold another other movies out there that we have that await, that are not in that genre. But my point to the matter is, when you see a, you just get stuck and you can't get off it. It's not going to happen. I knew it was going to be polarizing at least the name, but you know what's doing it's going. Oh, hey, let me go at least see what they're talking about. Now I don't think anybody's going to hunt this internal way, because if you really actually watch it, there's an episode in there that really teaches women hey, what are you doing? You talking about you want this high value man and you're not even high value. And if you, if you really want to get with him like, I'm not going to tell the whole thing, but you know they talking about how, okay, well, you, well, I want him to help me start a business. Well, spell business, right, I'm not saying the whole thing about business, but I'm just right, spell it. Okay. Well, did you ever map out and say, hey, this is what I have here, this is the whole rank I did, this is what I did. Then maybe he'll go. You know what they'd hear, not, you know.
Speaker 2:So she, she breaks it down to the point, one of the women's crying in it because she's really realized that I'm that's not how it. And and and promoting it's not necessarily promoting, you know, uh, uh, someone being a side chip. It's really to be honest, if I really think about it, it's the anti. It's not even that they talking, it's the anti If you really get into the show. They're not really talking about. They're just talking about how do I get a man? So they can't. They not necessarily getting men that that for themselves, right. And if they get the man, he's left. And how do I keep the man? So it's a lot of it's a lot of jewels in it that really help help in women, but they can't get past the name Cause you thinking it's a side chick and this guy still, this girl's still in my man.
Speaker 1:No, got it, so I'll look out for the overarching themes on this.
Speaker 2:It's almost like it. It's somewhat of a clickbait.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it.
Speaker 2:But now a few of them are some side chicks they are.
Speaker 1:You know. So what we can, can we expect to show you know about the, uh, the older men who cheat, who don't take care of their kids Since we want to talk about women who can't spell business without the Z, um, well, honestly yeah honestly yes, we will. Yes, we will.
Speaker 2:No, you wouldn't, Because men, women, women, women, demographic.
Speaker 1:What's a women watch 70% more than the men TV, yes, so a show about cheating men, men who don't take care of their children, women would.
Speaker 2:Well, first of all, I wouldn't see. Now that's. I'm not see again. I'm not highlighting you're going to the point. I'm not highlighting women that are side chicks. I'm not. So if I was, why would I highlight men that are?
Speaker 1:doing wrong Cause maybe they go into college too. So that's the overarching theme. Yeah, I'm challenging you, mr J, I was saying they're men.
Speaker 2:They're men in the show. There are men in the show that are that are not right.
Speaker 1:I get it. The only reason why I'm asking this line of questioning is because, with this whole reality shows, docu-series, these streaming platforms, it is always putting women at the forefront of these nuanced issues, but we don't see men, you know, just unpacking their nuances. That's the balance.
Speaker 2:Not a market for that we really want to see on television. There's not. There's not a market for it Really, yeah, no, I test. The only market for men, for shows, if you look at, tell me one now. Think about that. Tell me, in history, what men's men's show has ever been on TV that they started? That's been on more than one one, one season.
Speaker 1:No, I can't name one, but I will give a reason why I can't give one is because a lot of these networks are run by men. It is a very masculine driven society and men don't want to put their garbage in their nuances.
Speaker 2:That's not the answer. It just doesn't test well. The only thing that men like, that men go 100% for, is sports.
Speaker 1:Whenever I go west I go watch some men's show. I get that and I don't disagree, but to a point is that what it's like?
Speaker 2:I get that. Think about Disney. Think about Disney. The new CEO of Disney is a woman. All of the new Disney Marvel characters are all women. Okay, but now here's the catch Men watched Marvel more than women.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, I get it.
Speaker 2:If you turn it around, it's not working very well.
Speaker 1:But will we get to a point where we will say it may not have worked then, but let's try it out because it may work. And I still firmly believe that it isn't working, because men are making the decisions behind what they will produce and curate.
Speaker 2:No, I'm telling you, it's not, it, it just doesn't sell.
Speaker 1:Okay, it doesn't. So if a person is looking to be placed on the For Us, buy Us Network, what type of content are you looking for to place on your streaming platform?
Speaker 2:As long as it's African American content and it's of quality.
Speaker 1:Period. So if it's just pure, I have cooking shows.
Speaker 2:I have cooking shows. I have a cooking show with a former NBA basketball player. Okay, I have everything. It's just not up yet, like we just started actually populating the whole channel. So everywhere we start our YouTube channel and populating stuff. We have a talk show called the Buzz coming out. We have a podcast coming with, you know talk podcast for entertainment to politics, but we have it all. It's just slowly coming out. But the first thing I know was side chicks to get the draw. Got it. If I came out with, if I came out with Peralta, scott King goes to church.
Speaker 1:ain't nobody bought it?
Speaker 2:What's called Black voices? Oh, it's a show called Black voices and people there and we're all talking about, like right now, did anybody Russian to come? Oh my God, I can't go. Wait, wait to watch this. No, yeah, you're right, you need a balance, just like you said. And again I'm like I said, one. It all goes back to. I always use just some, just some, just analogy and I say people always look at the shiny object, but they don't know how that shit got shiny, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The point is, when you're saying to me well, why they don't have men shows because you know it's men oriented, if I'm a man, then why, if that's the case, women would do women shows. Because they want women stuff, because they want to talk about women stuff. The men, if they run at it, men would do want to do men shows. You think men don't want to do men shows? I'm dying to be on the show. Really I'm dying to be on the show. This like look at my partner, when Shark Tank they had to, they took that too many men. They took off one and I'd have two women all the time. Because it's for balance? Yeah, because nobody, because people don't want to watch just the men. How many women talk?
Speaker 1:shows are there. There's a lot of women talk shows. A lot, a lot, yeah, but there's certain.
Speaker 2:I get that, men. If I'm right, there's one talk show by itself. That's it. But do you ever see a whole list, a whole four women, four men sitting and talking?
Speaker 1:If the content was right and men were leading that content, I think that women would watch.
Speaker 2:They try it. It failed and it's failed and failed and failed. Just doesn't test well.
Speaker 1:I just I'm gonna keep hope alive, but it's like low hanging fruit for me. It's really telling the audience that we don't have a high EI in order to watch, digest, process and share that type of information, that higher level thinking of information, and I just want us to get to a place where it isn't white noise. But you mentioned something about people just focusing on the shiny coin and not really understanding how long it took to be polished. Before you even launched the full as bias network. It was 13 years in the making. Is that true? Yeah, something like that. Yeah, what was happening in those 13 years of work before you were actually able to launch full as bias network?
Speaker 2:Well, I've launched it. Under Fugue, about 13 years ago, westwood Steaming was just becoming streaming and that was VLD channels, video demand channels on Verizon and Comcast. To this day I still have the Comcast one. No, the Verizon one, sorry. No, the Comcast one. Right, okay, and that's how I actually got started in the business and then I started understanding that streaming was becoming something.
Speaker 2:As you know, again, it's hard to get content, it's hard to get anything. So I was getting random pieces here and there, but just to get it going and flowing. It was hard to get advertisers and that was one of the primary things. To make any money, you're buying or you're leasing content, or you beg bar and stealing content and you're not making any money because you can't get any advertising, because you can't get it up enough, get the viewership enough, because of CPM is close to 1,000 and you only got 1,000 people watching. Now, eventually, you start getting better, better content, you start getting your views up. Okay, but then you still would only, they still would limit you, they would limit your viewership, but you really couldn't get that many people watching. So you can never really get any advertising. But if you got advertising, you would get wouldn't get primary ads. You would get ads that you'd have to place and you get a thousand dollars here and $1,300 there a month and that's it Like. What is that? That's not even doing anything public, it's not even paying my bills, right, it's hard, it's hard to keep going.
Speaker 2:And then I went up teaming up with the company overseas and we were gonna merge and that didn't work out due to negotiations and financially just didn't work out in certain favors, whatever, and one side wanted, you know, astronomical feed for for license and other ones like this and work, and that didn't work. So then, fast forward to that, I hit team with one of my guys that was in the space of reality TV. We partnered up and then we changed the name from Food to Forest Byers and then we started actually creating, you know, reality shows, but we wouldn't put them on. We weren't putting them on any streaming platform, we weren't actually debuted on IG. So every week, rather, you would see a new show or a new episode, a new clip and you would think that, oh man, maybe I'm missing it, but you know it's coming out. But we actually reviewed and played it all through IG. So that's how we actually got started. We just go wow, what is this, what is this, what is this? And again, it always goes back to the food booth. Way, you know, we did what he was had. We just do things differently, like we went out there and not the traditional way that anybody does stuff, and as we got, went forward, we started making strategic alliances with different companies. The booth went out here, and now we're really out in a big way.
Speaker 2:Prior to that, you know, I was there. I was there. You know, I got some noise. I made a little noise with a few of these shows that were supposed to come out. Actually, it never came out. We would just you take this out and get the buzz, buzz, buzz, but we didn't actually launch, really, really launch, like we wanted to launch what we're doing now coming so, now, because, again, we didn't have the right boxes in place to really because what I'd like to do something, I'd like to do it in a big way. I don't like to do, you know, things small. I just think it's the food booth, you know.
Speaker 1:Got it, got it. But I'm glad that you talked about that process with the Forrest bias network and also the process behind FUBU, because in this digital space of social media, you have a lot of the younger generation thinking that things happen overnight. They don't work as hard as we did back in the day, they don't want to work as hard to get the benefits that we are now seeing today. Something that you said in a past interview. It really resonated with me and it made me think differently about how I project or manifest. I learned that you don't create goals, you just have a vision. What is your vision for the For Us by Us network?
Speaker 2:Again, you know I'm back to the concept of vision. I can tell you what's happening because I'm always in space and I'm out of body. I'm doing something, but I don't, it's just flowing. When things just happen, it's because I'm doing the right thing. I don't know if that's spiritual. I guess, bob, you believe party is spiritual. So vision is just moving forward into what you're doing. You're doing, if you say I'm going to be in this business and it starts to grow and it's growing and it's growing and it's expanding and it's scaling the things that you wouldn't even think about doing because it just wasn't even in your mind, that's when you know you're in the right vision. For instance, I think this week I should be going to Canada, new Jersey, to work on the finished work and on this deal to build a film studio in Canada. So you know that's kind of quiet as cap but it's not totally done yet, but it looks like everything is going to come along.
Speaker 2:But again, when I first came into this business, I wasn't thinking about a film studio, I just was thinking about getting. My whole thing about doing this was the fact that I needed someone, I needed a platform to get my clothes out and put it on artists and put it on TV and do commercials and put it in and things like that. That's it. I just needed a way to advertise because everything was saturated and I just needed an alternative way and I never really thought I don't want to say I never really thought, but I knew that this was going to happen. But I didn't know that these other though, right, I had.
Speaker 2:I just I signed last year a deal with BMG for record label, joint venture, record label BMG to do shows, to do theme music shows for television. I also consigned artists. I also have a publishing deal, huge publishing deal with them. Like so, no, I did not think that was going to happen, because I'm only thinking I'm just going to make you know, I'm just going to get content from people and then, very eventually, I can do, you know, my own series or something like that. But no, that's when you have vision, where you have a goal, my goal, what it just thought, just to do a and I had to stop. That's why I say vision.
Speaker 1:You've given me a lot of food for thought, especially about, you know, men being at the helm of the decision-making and what they're creating and curating and placing on television. And then also redefining, setting goals and just having a vision, because the vision is much more expansive than the goal. So you've given me a lot of food for thought. J Alexander, thank you so much for this conversation. A man like you just doing amazing things, you're telling my book, your book. What about your book?
Speaker 2:My new book, the Strength of Forrest Byers. Talk about that real quick. So the Strength of Forrest Byers is basically explaining what actually Forrest Byers means and giving you examples of time from our history In our history that explains what Forrest Byers and how we've been able to achieve what we have achieved, and given an explanation of how we've been using Forrest Byers for all this long. Well, we just don't know it.
Speaker 1:Yes, we have been using that for so long, to the point where it is just gaining so much momentum that it's becoming hashtags. You know Forrest Byers, black owned, black led, and I'm loving this space. I'm glad that you wrote a book about it. Where can people purchase the book?
Speaker 2:Amazon. You go to Amazon or your local bookstore.
Speaker 1:You have a lot of moving pieces to your life, J Alexander.
Speaker 2:Are you?
Speaker 1:married, are you?
Speaker 2:married? No, I'm not married. No kids.
Speaker 1:You looking for a wife?
Speaker 2:Look, you know what's funny. What I always say after that is no kids are the wedlock? That's my, that's who I am. I have no kids out of wedlock. I'm not married. I'm having kids.
Speaker 1:See, we need a show like that, okay.
Speaker 2:That's called. What's that called? That was the dating show's called. Oh, that's what that's called. That's the only man-based show you can have.
Speaker 1:That's sells. That sells exactly. See, I just gave you an idea. Look Well, j Alexander, is there anything else that we haven't covered that you would like to share with my audience before we close out this conversation?
Speaker 2:Oh, I guess. Well, you can find me J AlexanderMartincom, the letter. J AlexanderMartincom has all my social media, but just to tell you, I guess the primary social media would be IG, which is J period Alexander Martin, or, you know, facebook Jax and the Martin, linkedin Jax and the Martin, and I always mention LinkedIn because I think that that's not used enough in our society and our community and I think that that should take over the IGs of the world, because that's what we really need to be focused on more. So, instead of entertainment, or just balance it off a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Because that's the boardroom. Ig is your magazine and Facebook is your glorified email.
Speaker 1:You better talk about it. You know I'm an educator for over 20 years, working with high school students, and I do a lot of professional branding for them. I'm always taking professional headshots and also helping them create a LinkedIn account, like that's one of the milestones that they have to obtain before they graduate. So I'm so glad that you didn't just mention Facebook, thread, tiktok, instagram, but you also mentioned LinkedIn. So thank you for dropping that gem, jay Alexander. I really appreciate you All right. One more thing, too, I forgot to share with you. There's a show that you have I'm not sure if it's out already. It's about a family. I believe they're in Texas Williams family.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's my daughter's friends.
Speaker 1:That's my daughter's friends.
Speaker 2:Are you kidding me? It's me small world. Oh, can I play that one though? Is that one fun for you?
Speaker 1:We'll talk online. I saw the fight in the living room. No, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm with the college, with my daughter. And then he called on the phone. Yes, small world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know, it's family, it's families, that's family, that's the real family, that's how it works it is.
Speaker 1:I like the premise of that show because it reminds me of my family. If my family gets together, somebody's going to get hit with a tire, somebody's going to get cursed out, somebody's going to the emergency room. It's all love. It's all love, it's all love. Well, jay Alexander, thank you. Thank you so much. This has been an honor. I'm so full from this conversation and even meeting you, because you have been so inspirational to so many people, starting from me in the 90s, going to ladies, dr Jays, and getting my fooboo gear. Continue blessings to you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:No problem, take care Bye-bye. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, jay Alexander, martin, waiting to get to the part of the conversation. Well, I was really questioning the For Us bias network and there are so many things. There are things that I'm like OK, I agree. Yet there are things where I'm saying let me think about that a little bit more. One thing that I definitely can't agree with is yeah, we see the shiny coin, the shiny penny, the shiny quarter, whatever it is, and we just focus on that without really unpacking what it took in order to become a shiny coin. People will dangle that shiny coin in front of you and it distracts you. So on Jay Alexander's Instagram page, he was dangling the shiny coin and just like Get Out, I got caught in the Matrix, I got caught in the trap. Is this the only content that I'm going to see? And this is why I invited him on the show, because I really want to have the conversation about how can the full us by us network just be about Shanae, naboo, quisha and Raheem? But I'm glad that he has additional content that really unpacks the different layers of the black experience, the different layers of our culture. We just got to go in and see all that is available for us. So we did mention you know to be. We did mention the Zeus network. I don't want to discount any black person's work of creating, of infiltrating a system that often denied us access, but I just want us to be more socially and civically minded, just to make sure that it isn't low hanging fruit. So I'm glad. And another thing that I'm definitely going to be thinking about and having conversations with friends about is and I'll impose this question to you Would you like to see a show about black men unpacking their nuances?
Speaker 1:And I don't mean to be stereotypical, but the shows about black women, they're very stereotypical. So can we see shows about black men, about you are in a relationship for 10 years and you have 2011 kids and one day you just woke up and said I ain't coming home and have them kids and then you go off and you start a relationship with someone else. Or you're in a relationship with her, her, her and him to, or you just don't. You don't want to take care of them damn kids. I want men to start unpacking their nuances for all of the world to see, but on the flip side of it, I want to see the black man go into college. I want to see the black man marrying his, his girlfriend, and then having a kid.
Speaker 1:I want to see the balance of that, because I really do feel as if women we can we get a bad rap. And then, when we walk into spaces that don't look like us, that weren't created for us, they're watching these shows and they think that that's us. Sometimes I go into these high end stores and I don't care how impeccably dressed I am, they will still follow me to. I'll say it again I don't care how impeccably dressed I am, I turn around and secure me Because they think that we are all the same. So I just need to see the balance of shows.
Speaker 1:So, lamelle Plummer, the CEO and founder of Zeus, I just want to see the balance of it all. I don't have a problem with Jocelyn's cabaret, have no problem with that. Have no problem with that is East, no problem with it. But I also want to see another part of black culture. I want to see women in the room talking about business ideas and creating partnerships and banding together To collaborate in order to strengthen their brand strategy. I want to see that, in addition to the Tom Fulery, because we all deserve a little white noise every now and then, but I don't want it to be the driving force that's shaping our culture. So another great conversation, this time with Jay Alexander Martin.
Speaker 1:Let me just run off this black man's credentials again. Get my paper, I'm going to get this right. He is the founder and executive vice president of the billion, billion Did you hear me when I say billion Billions dollar apparel brand Fubo. He is a TV host and producer, public speaker, personal branding consultant, creative director, author, humanitarian and the CEO of for us by us network. I'm talking on a copy book that explains for us by as we've been doing this for so, so, so, so, so, so long.
Speaker 1:But you know what happens. We create things and then people just take it from us and remove our names as if we never created it or had a part in creating it. So we've been doing this for so, so don't even let me talk about the things that came out of slavery, no, about how they gave us a scraps and we turn those scraps into cuisine. Sometimes I go. Sometimes I go to Sylvia's and Harlem. I love their vegan collard greens and I'll be standing online with the fluorescent beige people. So my class and candy yams, let me go before I get into trouble. This is another amazing addition of Sonya on air with my special guest, jay Alexander Martin. Make sure you subscribe. And if you're watching this on YouTube, not only subscribe, and make sure you hit the notification bell. That way, every time I upload an all new Sonya on air celebrity interview, unpacking their pivotal moments and milestones, you'll be the first ones to know. And that's it for today. Thank you for watching.