Engineered For Success Podcast
EFS podcast, for self starters and those willing to make the most of any situation. Hosted by D Burke w/ co-host Waldo Black
Engineered For Success Podcast
Be The Sponge
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, D Burke opens with his thoughts on Prolific, the latest release from Nipsey Hustle posthumously. he then speaks on what Nipsey meant to him personally as a fan. After he pivots to what's more valuable in the training industry, certifications or real world experience + more!
We ain't gonna waste no time. We're gonna get right into it today, man.
SPEAKER_06It might be a handy, spicy. We're gonna see.
SPEAKER_03If you know, you know.
SPEAKER_06Big nitp is your own experience. Big marathon.
SPEAKER_03Come along with me, man.
SPEAKER_06We're gonna celebrate today.
SPEAKER_03We're gonna talk about it when we talk about it. We just gonna enjoy it. I never really got on my nip shit for real, but today we you know, we might just go there.
SPEAKER_06Give your heart to stay strong.
SPEAKER_03One of the illness sauces in the game, gone too soon. RP Nipman. Get it.
SPEAKER_10Not too long ago.
SPEAKER_03We're gonna take you on a little ride today through the disconnect a little bit.
SPEAKER_10Wonder where my friends are go.
SPEAKER_03We got B sides too. We ain't really got too many the hottest nip records, man.
SPEAKER_10Knowing that these games are you late fans. But I'm knowing that this game should be changed. I should be afraid of a friend. Big nip fans since baby in the name 2010.
SPEAKER_03Take you on a walk through the discography a little bit today, man. Talk to him, fella. Turn this shit up to ignorant volume, whatever you at, whatever you listen to from. Thanks for coming around with your boy. We rockin' out today the big nit. Shit listen to the album, release again. We'll talk about it when we talk about it. Let's go on the panel. One more time and talk to him.
SPEAKER_05No feel. 20 in a year, one man on the real. I'm with you, bro. Shit, tears for the team. Choose the mic on the change, no nigga. I'm a little brother, I feel it's a dear. Real nigga tellin' on me, only time in a fit. Only time in a fit. Real nigga telling on me, only pain in a fit. Little niggas squizz on a top in the air. Lot of niggas squizz on a top in the air. Stop fucking telling that it got a nigga meditate.
SPEAKER_01Listen a minute. I try to take it. Listen to medicate. You ain't heard about it yet. You must live. Let's do it. One more time. Come along with me, man. Clean that rip up. Wind them windows down. Turn the energy up wherever you at, wherever you watch it from. Openseas.
SPEAKER_03One time for the West Coast today, man.
SPEAKER_01Might go a little long today. Might go a little long today.
SPEAKER_03Remember these tunes, man. From the pivotal, pivotal time in this man's career. Listen, man, we're gonna keep this thing going. One time for big niggas. One time for the nigga continues.
SPEAKER_01Take y'all back a little bit, man. Huh? Just go crazy to this back a little bit. Yeah. Still remember what this did when it's out.
SPEAKER_03One of the eldest man going to soon.
SPEAKER_10Turn up the lights. Turn up my mind. Is that shit you waited for some of y'all motherfucking light? Is that shit you waited for some of y'all my motherfucking life?
SPEAKER_03B-sides only today. B-sign is only today.
SPEAKER_10No tip niggas to see well. My QB.
SPEAKER_01Mixtape cuts. B sides. My man got one album out. But a discount for your mixtapes. It's enough to last a lifetime.
SPEAKER_05What's your problem?
SPEAKER_01Let's go be right. Like we come up, what's the goal? What's the mission? What's the plan?
SPEAKER_03This minute he was on the ball.
SPEAKER_01Listen.
SPEAKER_10Walking at the club with a hundred gums.
SPEAKER_01Make them bottles in the blue.
SPEAKER_10Moto bitch.
SPEAKER_01She's still in the fucking shoes.
SPEAKER_10Bring them home, girl, cause she comin' toast. Fast cars with them leather seats. Drop time, she a fucking freaks. Snip hustle the crate. Middle fingers in your face.
SPEAKER_03Talk to him. Talk to 'em, man. Y'all awake now, y'all alive now. Rock out with your boy, man. We're gonna keep this thing going. Wanna some nip shit. One of my favorite nip records of the early, early, early nip records. If y'all ain't get heard this record when it was out, man, go back and check it out. Go back and check it out. Do your research. Know who you dealing with, know who you rockin with. And just vibe with me. Again, we're going B size today. Only real nip fans know these records. Forever on some fly shit. You know.
SPEAKER_10Forever on some fly shit. I'ma draw the line. You niggas pick who you won't ride with. Simple ass, niggas happy cause they fuck my side bitch. But she just mad at me cause you.
SPEAKER_01Cause she ain't the one I vibe with.
SPEAKER_10Drop down to pick your heart up off the flow. Girl, and quit trying to convince me that your ass is not a hoe. Wonder why I'm not picking up my phone well the last twelve months.
SPEAKER_01I just travel around the whole world.
SPEAKER_10Still will got the extra clip for the Johnny Steel. Burner on my lap. Only difference is the wheel.
SPEAKER_01Murder is we going long today, I know. We goin' long today, I know. Sometimes you gotta appreciate the grape. That's the one they're not here no more. We vibing. We no nip back, one time for the West Coast. What type of crunch dog? What type of stuff? What type of all y'all out there on that left coast?
SPEAKER_10Never kill nothing. You just wait on it to die first. But it's gonna be the season that you're gonna do. Shout out black standards.
SPEAKER_03Going out there, fulfilling this mission, even while he's not here. That's a real nigga right there.
SPEAKER_10I'm revenge and a former success to all haters where I've been since a form of respect. Switch later. So it's fucking up their lives when she sees there's no control.
SPEAKER_03Listen, man. Listen, man. We're gonna keep this thing going, man. Take you through a couple more, man. I don't know how long we're gonna go. We're gonna take you through a couple more, and then we into it. Bye for now. Go back and check out the discography, man. A lot of gems all across years.
SPEAKER_10I ain't have a mic. I was in that Chevy.
SPEAKER_03B-Sides only today, man. We said it. We living by it.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03Let's talk to him. Over time, over time, have a mile.
SPEAKER_10I was in that Chevy playing savage life. Niggas looking like I had it wrong.
SPEAKER_01Now I'm looking like I had it right.
unknownRight, right.
SPEAKER_10They don't know about to sleep this nice. I'm looking for a reason nice. They say six degrees in life. Opportunity, preparation. They made us nice.
unknownNice, nice.
SPEAKER_10You see me up in demons, right? I'm trying to make you right. Listen, I'm alley in the sake of bitch. Looking like somebody that people like. Can't but help but think how fake it is.
SPEAKER_01This world and this music.
SPEAKER_10I just want all of us right up. So maybe I can try and change the shit. Maybe me, I'm doing bitches.
unknownMaybe me, I'm doing bitch.
SPEAKER_10Or maybe this a new dimension. Maybe they'll make two religious. Maybe they judge my intentions.
SPEAKER_03But either way, I'm on my own. I ain't gonna do too much talking right now. Just rock out to the words.
SPEAKER_10Like some bitch, lady, not my weapon. I rever you my lady, I'm your fucking nigga.
SPEAKER_01Over time.
SPEAKER_10I was in that Chevy playin' savage life. Niggas looking like I had it wrong. Now them niggas know I had it right.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_10They don't know about the sleepest nights. I'm looking for a reason nice. They say it's six degrees in life. Opportunity.
SPEAKER_03Type of motivation some of you niggas need out here, man. Get your heads right.
SPEAKER_01Get off y'all ass, get out there, make something out of nothing.
SPEAKER_10Shoot a box, catch the cheapest flight. If it lands like you, Jesus Christ, right? You ain't gon' get it till you see it right. It jump off in this legal life. Feel the pressure from your people, right?
unknownRight, right.
SPEAKER_10Still choose to lead it right.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_10Some time I rap about my feature, price, right, right. They told me don't believe the height. But I felt like this about myself before the mic.
unknownFor the mic, before the mic.
SPEAKER_10You know, you look like the movie industry.
SPEAKER_03You know, you don't like the streets at all, you know. You know, what's the gross? How much gross? Ain't nothing like a Nipsey hustle conversation on the phone. The bottom line is, you know, a Nipsey hustle interview. How much you gross? Nipsey hustle excerpt.
SPEAKER_07It's like the woman question over how you're over in the technical music industry. What's the best? And at least, you know, the people that answer intelligence they also answer.
SPEAKER_03So it's the grain type.
SPEAKER_07That's one of the most important things going on. Like in a city, they were trying to get the spectral. It was the right spectrum.
SPEAKER_03We ain't gonna get too deep on y'all. We ain't gonna get too deep on y'all. We got one more. And then we out of here. Thanks for coming along, man. If you're a Nick fan like me, just appreciate the moment. We rocking out to the last release before we was tragically slain. The single was ringing off.
SPEAKER_01Took the nigga out. Career cut too short, but vibe with me, man. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_08Had a print almighty God, they let my dog out to kill him. When you get it straight up by the mud, you can't imagine it. Young, been focused on my check. Mm-hmm. Got a new coop wrapped round my neck. Mm-hmm. Tryna put the water on my protect. Mm-hmm. I got killers telling it left of me. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_10We just lurking on her. Ain't so no mercy on her. We just going back to back. We put a curfew on her. There was dark clouds on us, but that was perfect for us. We know you always crash and burn, but it was working for us. Let my tip the V12. Double check the details. Gotta cross my T's and dye my eyes, or I can't sleep well. Millions off of retail. Once again I prevail. Knew that was over from the day I dropped my pre-sale. Hold up, let the beat bill. See me in the street still.
SPEAKER_01And I've been fighting battles up a steep hill. We all battling with something.
SPEAKER_03Keep it going, one foot in front of the other.
SPEAKER_08I was riding around in the V12 with the rags in the middle. Had to pray to Almighty God, they let my dog out the killer. When you get it straight up by the mud, you can't imagine it. One more verse, and we out of here. One more verse, and we out of here, stay with me. Tryna put the water on my protect. Mm-hmm. I got killers to the left of me.
SPEAKER_10Look, under no condition. Would you ever catch me slippin'? Modercated shoulders plus the Mayback chauffeur driven. If they catch me with it, gon' send me off to prison. Judge ain't sympathizing.
SPEAKER_01Visual raps. July raps.
SPEAKER_10Chef ain't while I shop. Closing escrow twice this month, both commercial units.
SPEAKER_03Business raps.
SPEAKER_10Damn, I wish my n the fast was here. And I can't make you real beer. But I'll wipe him though. We just embrace the only life we know. If it was me, I'd tell you, delay your life and grow. I tell you, finish where we started, reach them heights, you know. Gas the V12 to the pipe.
SPEAKER_03Different kind of guy we dealin with, man. Different kind of individual we dealing with, man. Wake y'all ass up, man. We here. Another day above ground is a blessing. And as always, as we get to this thing, man, thanks for coming and join me. One more time. We are back for another audio occasion. This is a podcast for self-starters and those willing to make the most out of any situation. The EFS podcast is back. We got episode number 74 in the house. And as we get to it, man, let me load my shit up. We got one for y'all. Keep y'all motivated. Keep y'all in the right headspace, man. Because, you know, shit get crazy out here. Get a little bit thrown off course. But sometimes you just gotta stay in your lane, you know, as my god this one says. Stay in the pocket. Stay in the pocket.
SPEAKER_00There's really nowhere to go. You're doing bad. You have to improve. Stay in the pockets, Dan. You're doing good. You have to improve. You have to level up. Stay in the pocket. If you're doing bad, you have to stay in the pocket. You're doing good. You still gotta stay in the pocket. S ITP. There's nowhere to go. Stop moving. Stop trying to circle me. There's nowhere to go. You can't cut a corner. You cannot cut a corner. You can't duck and hard. There's no shortcuts. There's nowhere to go. You gotta face the hard work. You gotta face it! I had to face it! I thought I could still sell drugs! Do this, do that, and guess what? Always had to start all back over. So I'm saying to myself, it's better off you! You! You all stay in the park!
SPEAKER_03Listen, man. We're gonna cut it right there, man. Shouts to that one. You don't feel that on the way in. You must be asleep mentally. But we're gonna get this thing rocking, man. Couple air horns. Ring them all. Wake it up out there, man. Get the energy going. We are back. Let my theme music run. A couple more. Drop my shit. Let's get to it, man. And if you made it to the audio slash visual occasion, please do not forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe. It's an EFS podcast. Back for episode number 84 with your boy, the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. 1% 2 Time, Mr. Big 40, Mr. Everything, EFS. And that's just what it is, man. EFS over everything. EFS versus the world. And if you came, appreciate you coming to check me out. Tell a friend to tell a friend. We love the love over here at the EFS podcast. And as we kick this thing off, we'll fade out the Steam music and we will get to it. Your boy, the man, the myth, the legend, D Burke is back in the house. Big Leo energy still. It's still Leo season. You know, you know how they say the Leos they want their shit to last forever. But so we're gonna just bask in a little bit longer, you know? Shout out to all the Leos on online, you know. You know the algorithm push certain shit your way, you know. So all the Leos who who I haven't seen a post pop up in over a year, shit popping up online now. So I'm gonna make a big shout-out to all the Leos out there living in the living in the energy, basking in the in the moment, you know. Sunny, sunny times, you know, hot weather, big Leo energy as we get into the dark days of summer. Um, but either way, man, thanks for coming to check us out. Um if you came along for the pre-pod, the audio, you know, the audio journey I took you on, and definitely appreciate you checking checking it out. And then of course, you know, bearing with me as I go through my uh my big nipse moment. Um and as we get to it, I mean that'll be the first real thing who opened up for today, just cause if you haven't heard the scene, then the album uh Prolific, which is uh I always fuck this word up for us, so bear with me if I mess it up a little bit as far as the pronunci the pronunciation. Uh post human album, like uh, you know, albums of people who've passed away and then the music gets released after. Um so album is out and the prolific album is here. Uh I actually took a few days before I decided to even dive into the album. Like I intentionally did not listen to the album, you know, outside of a snippet or two I heard hear it before it was released. Uh, but being able to take in the whole project, and I ain't, you know, and we ain't just going to shade Bean O Riddle, uh, 'cause he is, you know, a collaborative person on the album with Nick Nipsey Hustle. Uh so shouts to him too, but you know, it's a Nipsey Hustle album, like this is why most people was anticipating this, and you know, I don't think that he feels shaded by that in any in any, you know, sense. Just because he's contributing to the legacy, so you know, that as my disclaimer. So both of the albums that has been released are prolific and uh got off track, but um I did take days to listen to the album just because I wanted to give myself an actual moment to take it in. Uh while we'll dive into a little bit more on that as we, you know, move forward. But uh the album itself for me is a representation of, you know, a lot of things that make him a solid individual. Um and how you feel about the album itself, I would say, you know, you can feel how you want it as an album that was released after a person has been, you know, taken away from us on this earth. Uh him, of course, tragically slain outside of his his store in LA in two nine two thousand nineteen. Um, but with that said, the album, you know, comes at a point where he was basically ascending, you know, very, very rapidly in the hip hop industry, um, and his life was cut short. So the music he was choosing to make at that point wasn't gonna be like the next groundbreaking album for for him. You know, he just came off the marathon. Um and from there it was just a great, great reception to that album. Grab me nominated. Um, and that one, you know, was a literally a smoker, so it's not like he was not, you know, doing well in the hip-hop industry. But had more plan to make music and I think this album where it fell in place because they didn't know whether it was gonna um release the album. But, you know, it was it wasn't basically gonna be his next best thing, I think. Uh obviously he was a lot of his music and I like the album itself. Uh I do think that it's a great little piece of music, you know. I do I think it's one of the best albums released this year. I ain't gonna say that, but for me, uh I wanted to take a moment to actually take it in, you know, with my full like attention and full ears and really, really dive into the album in a deep way just because, you know, I I've been uh connected to Nissan Hustle's music for a long, long time. Um and that being said, it w it was it was great to see. I think it's a progression of I I'll say this, I think uh it showed a progression of uh the level of artistry he was starting to tap into, you know, with the success coming off of the album that he had, you know. And leading into this mixtape or sorry, album, excuse me, leading into this album. Uh it was like him kinda exercising different pockets lyrically that I've you know, I've heard. hip from him a little bit, but you know, really leaning into them more and like cleaning up a lot of things about his flow. Um, just the way like his his just his the the way he was rapping on his album, I really liked it, you know. And I'm just I'm just gonna say that. I think he showed the progression of artists that he was going to as far as, you know, musically. And I have no doubt in my mind that he would have been one of the best rappers in the game had he continued along the path that he was. And just seeing that with this album just gave me even more confirmation of that. Just again off off the career he had shown up to that point. But shouts to the album being out but it made me kind of have to take a moment to you know take a few days to kind of reconsider and like look into some things with myself just because everybody ran to the album when it was first out but then I'm like listen like I can't even listen to it yet like I don't want to and you know and for me it's like damn like why do I feel that way um so I took some time to like you know do some mini soul searching and I was just realizing I'm just like listen you got a different connection to this guy just because he had everything that he's meant to you personally. And I would say that Nipsey hustled throughout the time of listening to him as a fan like a real real fan like you know I'm I'm the person that bought the mixtapes you know spent money to support his his things that he was putting out I bought the t-shirts you know I bought Bud from uh when I went out there so like me I'm a marathon supporter and I have been for a long time but I say that to say with uh the whole me needing to take a moment thing I'm just like listen this guy has meant so much to me and given me so much motivation in my own life and my own like career and things that I was going through personally like I could not just take it in just quickly just in a passing moment or just you know riding through you know riding through the streets and not really paying attention to it which you know can be cool in the car or not but I wanted to take a moment and sit down and like listen to the album for real top to bottom. And that's really just because like this guy has been someone who's been really really high on my list of individuals outside of even artists for a long time. And my connection to Nipsey my you know fandom of Nipsey started back and I wouldn't even say fandom because I was first introduced to him on a song he had with Drake way way back and I think it was maybe like 2009 or 2010 when I first heard it. And then diving into his first uh his first mixtape that I had heard which was the marathon back in when it was first released really and just coming into like actually listening to the whole body of work from him it was like yo this this nigga's like kind of fly like you know you're on some West Coast shit. I was always a person who like West Coast artists is like game you know even back to the 90s you know like I was a person who had a more like I was East Coast nigga but I I fuck with certain artists on the West Coast and he was like one of those ones for me like in my early early adulthood you know just leaving college and starting to play overseas um so from the marathon mixtape I really just dove into all of his music that he released after that just because of the person that I saw you know like growing in front of me you know um and as an artist and someone who preached like ownership you know of his business of like you know his brand all of that stuff for me at a time where I was as a basketball player thinking like yo maybe I want to you know brand something for myself own something for myself you know this is now fast forward years later to where I'm at now like these conversations were what he was putting out in his music at that point um and then everywhere he went like his interviews like you could literally take a Nipsey hustle interview and clip up maybe 50 moments of it and put out as individual quotes just because everything he said was so informational everything he said was so educational or motivational like all the things that he you know he put out there to the world it just like breathed life into people in a different kind of way and you know I was one of the people that you know was going along a journey with him. So got into a big fan of Nipsey I would like literally tell my niggas like yo you got to listen to this Nipsey guy you got to listen to this Nipsey guy like you know and really put my niggas on Nipsey to the war to the point where it's like okay like this now artists that they fuck with too um and I know some of my niggas is probably annoyed with me from as as hard as I went from as early as I did. But then again they got into it was like they they kind of felt the mission maybe not as much as I did you know as a person who like followed his career closely um but you know for me it was all about like listening to a person and watching the person grow into the the artist that you see in front of you little by little by taking steps you know um and again not skipping steps and you know taking risks like I remember when he put out the mixtape uh I think it's a Crenshaw mixtape excuse me where he was charging people an exorbitant amount of money for what people would think would be a mixtape but again people support it uh just because he kind of left a mark on the industry at that point of like yo this nigga's doing shit different and we salute that and you know even outside of that the music is good you know it's not like just like someone who has a great business mind but the product they're putting out is bad like he got slaps you know like hustler slaps he got girl slaps like he got all kind of music uh and I think the people that were feeling him on the rise up just became more and more of a crowd of people that just got on board with you know the American continues the the you know the the the slogan of you know what he lived by you know the the the emoji to check of flags like all that stuff was like a movement that was off of him you know so all those things kind of affected my life in a really really good way leading up to the point where he was tragically slain um at a point in my life where I was actually at one of my lowest um so going back to 2019 I think it was April 1st actually when he was gunned down um and I never really talked about this publicly I made like notes to it you know and spoke about Nipsey on other people's podcast shout to my boy Punch um I was did a little segment with him years and years ago uh at this point I think twenty two thousand or something like that where we got into my first like real public conversation about Nipsey but nothing really this you know this in-depth um but some people know in my life my close friends know like around that time uh I was going through a lot in the final year of my career overseas um to the point where I was kind of depressed playing the game of basketball kind of like angry playing a game of basketball and just not really feeling like the best version of myself uh as an athlete you know I would say best version of myself as far as the things I I put out there on the court like while my physically my physical shape was good I feel like my my skills were as great as they were gonna get at that point you know and I really honed in on what my game was going to be and mastered what I thought I was as a player. But in my career at that time I really was feeling like super super low and we've told these stories go back to like episode one or two where I started talking about some of the things I was going through in my career. But super super low feeling not really just the the best time of my life and and really just listening to his music at that point was kind of getting me through um and then coming off of the album which was released a year before that you know still vibing still rocking that like literally playing that album maybe every other week or you know songs from that album in my my consistent rotation and stuff like that my playlist etc etc and then to see him like get gunned down and really think it was a April fool's joke when I was you know seeing all this like coming in like live like it's like nah not this nigga like nah not one of you know my favorite artists not one of the people that I draw motivation from in that way and again just a genuine good nigga from all you know accounts that you've seen of him outside of you know his past whatever but that's we ain't talking about none of that shit. We're talking about the person who he was becoming the person he was growing to be uh but gun down just like that so for me I took it hard and I don't really you know cry and get emotional over celebrities and all that stuff like that but when Nipsey passed I think it was a like real moment in my own personal life and again feeling like that kind of artist got taken away from us it put me in a real emotional state like I ain't gonna lie I cried you know and some of my niggas clowned me for crying etc like but I I I really was it it hit me hard but they also didn't really know what I was going through at my life in in that moment. So I think that around that time it put me in a really really crazy space just to say like I the person who was one of my favorite artists I'm not gonna say my favorite rapper in that sense but my one of my favorite artists again people uh was now just gone you know and really took me into a point where I I was like listen my own life is in shambles almost with a lot of the things I was dealing with at that time. Let me use and lean on some of the motivation that he's putting out there in the music and I maybe went through like a week or two where all I listened to was Nipsey music front to back album to album or just inconsistent rotation. I wasn't listening to nobody else after he died for a little bit. And again just putting my own life against the music and just trying to put myself in a position it's like all right well I can go one way in my life currently or I can go another way in my life and going through that time kind of put me in the mindset to where I am now you know so after that left the game of basketball came home and now I have worked myself into a point where I have grown my own business my own brand you know kind of off of the the the the seeds that he put in the soil for others to kind of you know draw from and not to say that he's the only one that does that I'm just saying he's one of the people in my life that connected to me in that way. And now having my own business having my own brand you know the way I give it up now it's like EFS over everything. It's kind of like that same same you know mentality you know and not to say that it's not something that a bunch of people do or feel like sure but again my personal story to it and my personal connection to it is uh you know different for me and just wanted to share that with y'all here. So uh shouts to the team marathon team black Sam all y'all like it is beautiful to see y'all go out there and kind of live out this man's legacy uh without him being here and some of the things y'all have done some of the things y'all put out there uh the documentary I hear is coming uh I literally can't wait to see that documentary you know I um I'm looking forward to it maybe even more than this album just because I know the album is just them putting out stuff that he already had you know and you know in some way trying to monetize off it I know they said they would put it out for free uh but you got to live off it you know and if other people can eat off of what he's done in his life I don't feel like he it would be any kind of a stain to his legacy in order for that to be you know put out there to the world and it's not the first person it's put out there have been verses from him out of rappers he's collaborated with and stuff like that. But again man shouts to y'all just because it's beautiful to see y'all carrying on a legacy um the way that he would want to you know and uh with that said man check the album out if you haven't yet go ahead go for it if you have let me know how you feel about it you know I I I enjoy the album um I would say again I think that it's a great progression of him as an artist at where he was at in his career at that point and you kind of have to know that to know you know what you're looking at as that as far as that body of work. But listen man moving forward we're gonna pivot a little bit pivot but still kind of stay in the same lane I guess mentality wise for me just because as a person who has been going through some life shifts and life changes you know over the last decade or so a lot of things have come into consideration for me about you know what I want to do for you know the long haul and you know pivoting off of what I just said about now building my own brand uh building my own like my own thing you know to to the point where I'm leaning into the entrepreneurial ship heavy you know um and come into an area and a business and a uh a lane now that you know I've embraced which is you know the being a performance coach being a personal trainer being like I live that now like it is what I do to bring you know this is how I feed myself and my family. And I support it because I really you know I really feel passionate about the industry in itself um but kind of coming off the last conversation we had with the whole Nipsey thing getting into this whole fitness industry was not my original plan you know and uh pivoting to the point where I decided to step away from a game of basketball you know after Nipsey passing and then getting into you know my own personal life transitions of move moving from one thing to the next like my initial plan was always like I EFS EFS EFS how do I do that you know I really got to get home and I got to learn you know from an industry that I could see myself getting into um so I'm not that heavily into that part of training right now but my goal was uh when I was leaving the game to come home and become a skills trainer like a basketball specific skills trainer uh with the the ability to then give a little bit of the strength and conditioning side of it too um i e the Mike G's uh i the um uh Paul John Fabriz like you know who who was James Harden he's worked with his biggest client I guess uh he's done the strength and conditioning with James Harden but he's also done like the basketball side of like actually training him so I was someone who saw myself being able to do a little bit of both um one being someone who trained myself for the most part and you know did what I needed to do to put my own body in a good space for as long as I could with what I knew at that point I would say um so coming home and diving into like just EFS EFS I'm like listen I I really gotta learn more about the fitness side of things too and just you know lean into that and learn more about the human body do my certification study so that's when I got into you know studying my per my first personal training certification which was the NASM uh CPT um so this conversation kind of goes into the whole search uh and like the education you are you know seeking as a trainer versus like the actual experience you are getting um now that said my first certification was a NASM CPT I came home I studied it because when I wanted to add it to my own business uh but uh it also created a lane for me to uh get into a job with the last company I was working with uh to where I could it kind of like learn fitness like firsthand like you know and just be out there coaching people was doing group fitness at that point and just learning what I could from you know my my seeking of knowledge through certifications or just through whatever I was like was taking in and reading uh and then actually being in front of the people um and being able to train them uh while still training basketball players until the pandemic happened and you know back and back and back go back to those episodes and then you'll hear that story but uh fast forward into you know getting into the whole training thing actually getting to learn the human body um and then studying certifications to where you had to be you know recertifying every two years um and continuing education you know as a personal trainer fitness trainer um whatever right uh so at this point now in my life I have uh moved forward to the biggest certification I'm probably gonna ever study uh which is gonna be and I kind of talked about this before but we'll dive into a little bit more today this is the NC NSCA excuse me the National Strength and Conditioning Association this is the big dog you know this is the one that all the NBA trainers have this is the one that all the college trainers have um this is the like the gold standard basically for um personal training and being a uh strength coach or personal performance coach like that kind of you know lane of leaning into things so uh I'm into that now and the goal for me is to try to finish it by first quarter of next year just because this is a like whole undertaking uh with a schedule that's pretty busy and packed for me in the first place um just because now I run and own my own facility. So um still learning still growing and still trying to be someone who's a sponge for fitness I think that it is a great journey for me just because uh I like the I like the stats you know and I'm gonna be honest about that and I also believe in you know doing the work like studying the material um making sure that it is a quality piece of education that you're taking in and again just learning the most that you can to be the sponge um so with that it's uh it's dope getting into it again but it's also kind of reinforcing a lot of the things that I've known already uh again just from my time and my experience and then and again just seeking other things and other knowledge outside of the um the stuff that I was given just to like you know learn about the human body and learn how to train people you know and I still got a lot to learn. I'm not saying that I am a master trainer in any kind of sense like I'm a guy that came home at a point in my life where everybody else was ahead of me. So I just dove into as much of the education as I can uh just to be a person who can really like figure out what they're doing faster so they don't you know end up being 50 and you know can't have a lane for themselves. So search versus uh the the experience side of it um because the conversation really is important just because a lot of players a lot excuse me a lot of trainers will lean into certifications and study study study study and then at the same time not really have as many hours in front of people to where they know how to train people properly or be able to adjust things properly or be able to you know just do think outside the box as a trainer which you oftentimes have to um so for my side of it I think that my experience gives me a little bit of a different you know lens on it because a lot of the people that get into being a trainer is they study, study, study, studied first uh and then they got into it after um while you know still seeking more education of course uh but got into their man hours after they had a piece of knowledge at first and had to figure things out on the fly. The job that I was at last in group fitness kind of taught me you know the educational piece of it as well because they had supporting you know education to go along with your tenure, your employment with the company. But it also put you in front of so many different people with the group fitness thing uh that you kind of had to learn how to coach, adjust and just be on point with things on the fly. One to keep everybody safe to to keep you know everybody on quote unquote their goals of the things they're trying to achieve um and just be able to just manage things from a fitness perspective. And I'm not gonna take any part of that experience for granted just because it did literally help me get to the point where I am at now um to where I feel so confident uh while still learning and while still growing and while still you know again being the sponge um it give me more it gave me more confidence to be able to be like all right cool like I can do this on my own. I don't really need to lean into a company just because I've taken so much from this experience that I don't feel like I'm lacking in the like trainer part of it. You know business that's a whole nother thing just because I'm learning growing in that to begin with like on my own again so that's a work in progress but as far as being a great trainer I think that I got a lot of it down pat um just because of the experiences that I've had. And again I'm still always looking to be the sponge and I can grow even more in my role now currently which is why I dive into the education as much as I do. But I do think that for a lot of people the education and just leaning on the certs is like a is a little bit of a handcuff just because you have to be able to get in front of people to be able to coach them effectively or train them effectively. And I think that that is where like the most fulfilling thing that I'm going through on my own personal journey as an entrepreneur is that part being able to like sharpen my toolkit and be more like of a be more of a great trainer in the way in all the different ways you know um and it's been really great just because now without having people support me with education and feed me what they want me to know as far as the training side of things I've had to literally go out there and pull from different places while still you know looking to study the big cert and all that stuff but pull from studies uh pull from different like articles and things like that to kind of learn the more uh the most that I can while now having to be in front of people who may have to you know cause me to have to adjust on the fly uh I shout my one client all out all the time but one of my clients has suffered from um a like bad spinal injury um and you know had to get surgery to the point where he was pretty much immobile from the waist below for a long time. And he came to me in the he's been with me for about a year now actually. And when I first got with him I was like dead scared to want to take on a client like that because it's like damn I never really worked with anybody like this before. But looking at it as an opportunity to grow in my confidence as a trainer and grow in my ability of the people that I can actually work with and help them progress, I dove into it's like listen, you gotta go outside the box here. Like you don't have all the the information on this one but we're gonna figure it out and make sure one this person stays safe at the same time but also we can help progress them and just really really like help them grow. And the person's been with me to this day and I think they're gonna stay with me because you know he literally calls me his superhero not to pat myself on the back but that is what he's called me multiple times because of the place where he was at before um and now being able to be mobile enough and you know strong enough to do certain things that he hadn't done in years. So a person who just leans heavily into the one the the certifications um and then not into like being actually out in front of people which is a lot of the knack that a lot of these online trainers get is just Because they are great at the cookie cutter shit because it kind of fits the whole population in a sense. But the outliers, the people that aren't your typical client, you kind of cut yourself off from them. And some of them is doing great. So I'm not shitting on the way anybody makes money. I think that those kind of trainers don't really have the best perspective on what it's like to actually work with people. So whatever you do is what you do in your career. I'm not saying to, you know, be someone who is only about the certifications, only about the online game, only about, you know, just being in front of as little people as possible. But I'm also telling you not to bust your ass and, you know, trade time for money and train people who are, you know, in front of you hours and hours and hours and hours, and then, you know, take time away from yourself. I'm still on my journey as far as figuring out where that perfect balance is for me, but I'm also having a blast doing it just because now I am in front of so many people. And even more specifically now, which is my next transition and next like phase of my career, being in front of so many athletes that I feel like the things that I'm conquering little by little are just like giving me the validation I need to keep on going. Um, and that said, I still got a long way to go. I'm not again skipping steps, but at this point in my life and my career, um, again, leaning back into the whole Nipsey hustle thing, like the marathon that I've been on to get to the point where I'm at now, uh, has been so amazing to see so many different highs and lows and the way I've weeded myself through them. Um and still going through them now. But, you know, we remain perseverant, we remain, you know, steadfast throughout all of it, and you know, we just figure out a way, you know. So that conversation is what it is as far as the whole fitness industry part of it. But I think it kind of a big thing for me currently, just because I'm still in the middle of figuring it all out, you know. And I know there's uh in the fitness industry, there's a lot of misinformation. Uh, there's a lot of people who really have like a lot of high-ticket clients and a lot of high-level clients, and they don't really know shit. Um, but there's also a lot of people that know all the most, and then, you know, they they don't really have a great client base to work off of to where they can't really feed and support themselves. So, you know, I think uh everyone should have a certification who is a personal trainer or a fitness person, yes. Uh, but I also think that you are cutting yourself short if you think that's gonna be the thing that, like, you know, catapults you to the top. Um, and that's it, man. Just my perspective on it, just my take. I ain't gonna spend too much more time with y'all. Thanks for coming to join the episode and you know, wherever you watch it from, wherever you're listening from, spread the word. We love the love over here at the EFS Podcast, especially if you've made it this far into the episode. Please make sure to follow. Please make sure to subscribe. Do all the things that are gonna help me out as far as that goes. Uh, you gotta tell the people sometimes, because sometimes y'all don't realize that your support means more and more to us because it's one more person to help join along to whatever our goals are, you know. Um, and shouts to y'all if you've really been listening. You know, I know that my my my following isn't the biggest, but you know, I do appreciate everyone that listens, taps in, all that stuff. You guys mean a lot to me uh again along my path and along my journey. So uh that said, as always, guard yourself mentally, physically, spiritually, and all things in between. Uh until the next time, the EFS podcast, episode number 84, is out. Peace.