Film Hustlers
Filmmaker Mark Roberts (Meet Me Next Christmas, Strangers with Candy) and aspiring filmmaker Rod "Tuddy” Rinks discuss in detail how to navigate the treacherous world of filmmaking from pitching, financing, casting, securing rights, post-production, distribution etc. We cover it all!
Film Hustlers
CONCRETE - From Street Hustles to Hollywood Dreams
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On this week’s Film Hustlers, we get real with Concrete — a true artist who’s been through the trenches. From losing everything in a theft to grinding behind the scenes in music, acting, and comedy, his story is about hustle, resilience, and never giving up. He tells us about his new Comedy Collaboration with Mario Lopez WEY OUT LOUD! and his new role in The Christmas Spark. Don't miss it!
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#FilmmakingJourney #ActorLife #MusicAndFilm #indiefilm #TheChristmasSpark
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Film Hustlers. I can't I don't have a natural bone in my body, but uh I want to uh welcome all of the listeners every week, the hustlers from all over the world, because dude, uh second to the United States, Germany listens to us the most. What really?
TuddyYeah, the Banja?
MarkYeah, and I'm like, wait a minute, Germany. So anyway, if you're if you're listening and you're in Germany, would you send uh IG, what do you call them, messages? IG messages. Oh, I'm sorry. The D. The pigeons, you got the pigeons. Don't get into that. Uh but yeah, if you're in the day yet. If you're in Germany, send us a DM. I want to hear where you live and you know why you listen to the show. Are you a filmmaker? Like, whatever. Uh but I'm very curious because it is it is second to the United States, and I find that fascinating. There must be something we're saying that makes sense out there in Germany. So you were number one in Peru at one point. Remember that? That's correct. Peru? Peru. They got bored. They got bored. They got bored. I don't know what happened. They got all preachy and they're like, forget this, but today we're good we're welcoming a very special talent uh creator. Uh his name is Concrete. What's up?
ConcreteWhat's up, Con? What's up? What's up?
MarkUm you know, the show is all about like the journey. It's more about like content creating. You know, it's not really a uh filmmaking or TV making or you know, it's uh it's all kind of created one thing, and you're a really good example of that. I saw you recently, uh, but a few months ago, I went to a show called Way Out Loud that Mario Lopez hosted, that you are also a partner in. And it was at the Laugh Factory, and you were amazing. The whole night was amazing. You hosted the thing and you killed it, and there was DJs and there was drinking and there was food. It was amazing. Uh, it was a really cool night. And then after that, you worked on a movie, A Christmas Spark, which is now called The Christmas Spark. And I was like, wait a minute, this is the guy from the comedy show, and then you killed it as an actor, which you were fairly serious, right?
ConcreteYou were playing like a Yeah, yeah, you were Yeah, it wasn't a comedy role for sure.
MarkHow did you approach that role? Like I'm telling you, if you guys haven't seen uh Conquer, you gotta go. This is a full-on experience. You're an experience, you're not just a comedian. But how do you switch to acting after that?
ConcreteI mean, realistically, I I always wanted to do more serious roles and drama roles. The comedy thing was obviously, I mean, it's always that like I've always had a funny bone, and I've always been, you know, my you know, my parents are really funny, they've always played comedy. I I grew up watching nothing but comedy on TV from the SNLs to the there's Mexican movies called Rizan Bacaciones, which were like all like sketch base comedy shows, um, you know, down to like, you know, down to like mad TV and Living Color, like all that stuff was like always prevalent to me watching stuff, you know? Yeah. Um, but also I always like knew that I wanted to do more serious stuff too. I mean, you know, I mean, growing up, I was like, from the moment I was like nine, eight, nine, I knew I wanted to be entertainment. There was nothing besides me wanting to be in the NBA, which was another crazy dream, right? You never know, foo. But you know, but I yeah, you know, but once uh you know that once I didn't I didn't make the varsity team in 11th grade.
TuddyWell, I was maybe once it speeds up to eight. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ConcreteYou know, like where's the size that you can do? Yeah, I was like, this is it, you know. Uh I decided to really just take it, you know, take it in there. But uh I mean it's one of those things where it's it's I always wanted to do serious, you know, serious roles, and whenever like whenever those are presented, I'm I really like to to really hone in on it and and really show that I can that I can really put it on the code.
MarkWell you're you're an amazing uh comedian. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen anybody like command a room the way you did that night, you know. And then you had a whole bunch of other people to bring on, and then you did sketches. Um I mean there was a lot of stuff. He did uh you dressed up like different characters. Yeah, there was a lot of a lot of stuff going on. And then and then when you came on the movie, and we had a little fun at the end, you know, where you played the DJ too. You took David Daves' uh job on the phone. Um but no, that that also showed a lighter version of you and really gave the character an arc. But you were great, you were great in both. I I want to hear how you started and how you got to where you're at.
ConcreteUh I I started really it it could have been ninth, tenth grade. I um, you know, the easiest way was like to become a DJ and to kind of get my foot in the door.
MarkAnd you grew up where?
ConcreteI I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, uh specifically in San Fernando and Orlita. Um, you know, I started DJing really young, like at 12, 13. I started doing like quince and yarnas and weddings, had no business doing it. You know, I had no business being out there till midnight, one o'clock DJing. Uh, but you know, just to make a little extra money for the fam, that's what we had to do. So uh I started I started producing, I started making beats. Like I told my dad, I was like, Dad, I'm done. I need you to help me get this MPC, this this Akai MPC. It's about two grand.
MarkAkai, that's funny.
ConcreteI'm all like, but honestly, dad, I'm like, do me a favor, if you buy me this, I'll I I I won't I won't be in the streets. I'll just be in the garage, and you know, and that's exactly what happened. He and you know, I I ended up paying for it, payments and payments, you know, but um it got to the point where I was producing and I and I and I gave myself a goal when I was 15. I was like, in in in the next five years, I might have a song on the radio. Because at the time, in the you know, early 2000s, it was kind of like late 90s, early 2000s, it was like to have a song on the radio was a thing to do. You know, that was like, okay, you're on the right path, you know what I'm saying?
MarkIs that like uh like Jelly Bean Benitez sort of thing? No, I'm not familiar with him. He was a DJ when I was like 1920 shit.
ConcreteYeah, guys like Ludacris did it. You know, you know, guy uh Ludacris was a DJ, then he became uh like a like a vocal jockey, and then he became a rapper, and then he blew up. And that was kind of like the trajectory that I was kind of taking at the time. DJing producing, and uh, I ended up building my own studio like in my garage, and um, you know, I gave myself those five years, and at that time I was just producing for other rappers, um, and I was just I wasn't I wasn't finding like that right combination of from beats to the good lyrics or that voice, or and I decided to start rapping myself. And uh, you know, one thing led to another. I just kept recording, kept getting better. I found my voice, I found my persona and in in a way through the mic. And uh my first record was in 2002 when we got it on Power 106 here in LA, which uh it's it's one of the biggest radio stations here in LA. It's a it's a powerhouse, you know. Um no pun intended, but and it's all over the nation, too. And that's all over the nation too. So I mean that was one of like the biggest accomplishments, you know. I got I got signed early on to I, you know, I got signed by Steve Labelle, um, you know, to A to Z Entertainment. Me and me and Nipsey got signed the same week. Oh wow. You know, rest in peace. Me and Nipsey got signed the same week. I I I I remember going to uh to Steve LaBelle's house, and you know, I mean Steve LaBelle has managed from Mariah Carey to Bone Thugs and Harmony to, I mean, the list goes on, he's managed so many people. And um, I was one of like the first, you know, I guess, you know, Latino rappers here in LA that he actually took on. And I remember meeting him and he was like, yo, man, um, I love your record. I had this record called Industry Beefs that took off in the city. I was giving away the CDs, and and it just kind of took off, and and and that kind of gave me a buzz. And uh he was like, Man, I'm gonna sign you. But I also have this other kid, he's like, I have this song, and it's called Bulleting I know Names. I want you to hear his name is Nipsey. And I was like, Alright, cool, let me listen to it. And it was a great record. I was like, man, this is dope. And he's like, Cool, I mean, I'm gonna sign you both this week. You guys are on, let's do it.
MarkWow, that's big.
ConcreteLo and behold, never did I think, you know, uh none of us would would be where we're at now, you know. I rappers come and go, rappers are a dime a dozen. Uh obviously he went and created his brand and made it big and unfortunately lost his life, you know, due to gun violence. But, you know, and then I kind of stepped away and I went the other way, you know. Um You stepped away from rapping? From rapping in 2008. Um, my manager, my best friend, he was my hype man on stage. He passed away in 2008 of a overdose. And uh I I was I was devastated. At this time, we're already touring, we're out doing shows, things are going great. Like, you know, we were starting to book more and more shows out of the city. We were, you know, we were starting touring, we were on the Vance Work Tour for a little bit. We were we were starting to do big venues. Uh I was opening up for a lot of big artists at the time, you know, uh, from like DJ Quig, Two Shore, all like just you know, just a bunch of rappers. I used to do all, I did every club you can imagine right here on the Hollywood strip from the Key Club, the House of Blues, uh Viper Room, the knitting factory. Rainbow. I mean, Rain, I mean, all those, all those clubs there, I did them. You know, shout out to Sean Healy, too. He was one of the promoters, and I think he's still promoting uh to this day. Um, and in 2008 he passed away. And I decided just to kind of um I kind of felt like I I kind of felt like the rap game was a facade. It was like this, like none of this shit is real. And when it was going good, everybody was calling me, hey man, tickets for your show. We got the girls and we got the drugs and this everything. It's fun, bro. It's fun. And at that time, too, you couldn't tell me anything. You know, I'm what 21, I I'm getting money. I'm I'm you know, I'm getting three, four thousand dollars a night as a 21-year-old back in at those times. Man, by the time Sunday came, I had a show on Friday. By the time Sunday came, that shit was gone.
MarkReally? Oh, yeah.
ConcreteBecause I had no, like I had like I had no financial guidance. It was just kind of like, you know, and then you know, you got the ego part of it, you know, like my ego's off the roof, people can't tell me shit, you know. It was like so it was really rough. And then so I'm doing my thing, my buddy's doing his thing, so I couldn't tell him, like, don't be doing that shit, because I was doing my own shit. But you're right, give me some.
MarkHey, stop in.
ConcreteYeah, you know, like we just we just had different uh, you know, drug choices, you know, so he wouldn't tap into mine, I wouldn't tap into his, you know. Um and and and again, you know, so you know, so he loses his life. I I kind of feel like I don't want to be a part of this industry no more, but I wanted to stay within the entertainment industry.
MarkMusic or entertainment in general?
ConcreteEntertainment in general. I just didn't want to be a part of the like the the rap facade that I felt was just like fake, you know. So what was next? Um I decided to go back into like my you know my acting gig, you know, and and and really wanted to be an actor, and I was uh I was mildly successful. I mean, I ended up booking a few films, you know. I mean, I I I mean I booked a film uh my first my first feature was with me and Richard Cabral, which he ended up eventually getting nominated for like a like a Golden Globe or something like that.
MarkYeah, I love that guy, yeah, yeah.
ConcreteOr something like that, you know. And so me and him did our first feature and it was called Green Car Warriors. And that was with Vivek A. Fox. It was a really great film. Um it still gets played on HBO till this day. Like I'm you know, I'm I'm still seeing it. And um so that was a serious role at the time. Then, you know, like I was I was booking, um, I booked Wilfred with Elijah Wood, and then I booked a bunch of commercials, I booked a bunch of TV shows, like Tattoo Nightmare's and a bunch of stuff, and then my my big like one of my biggest commercials was I did uh I did this Arizona lottery commercial, and nobody believed me, but like I swear nobody believed me because I came home and I was like, guys, I just got the biggest commercial ever. Like, what is it? I was like, it's the Arizona lottery commercial. But if you went to Arizona, I was at the like the I was at the like you know like the quick trips, like you know, like the like board cutouts, I had billboards, everything. And nobody believed me, and I was like, man, fuck, I gotta go out there and rob one of those cardboard cuts or something, man, and bring it back. And um, you know, so around that same time that I'm booking all this stuff, you know, everything's coming so like it's not as consistent as as I wanted it to be, you know, like the checks, you know. I keep I kept wanting to go out to auditions, but it was just really hard to make ends meet on an actor's budget, on a on a struggling actor's budget, you know. I mean, we all know that to some degree, you know. And so I decided to, I was like, you know what? I I always wanted to film, I always wanted to get behind the camera. So I ended up I I got fired from my last job that I got that I conned my way into that one as well. Um I was doing um accounting.
MarkUh-oh. Hey, who's got my check? What? This is good. I can't wait to hear this one.
ConcreteI was well, you know, the way I got that job is like I remember going into like this. What the fuck? It's this place called Select, and you know, like they, you know, it's like a temp agency. And I went in there and they gave me like, you know, like they sent me down this computer and they were like, well, what do you know how to do? And I had a bunch of lists, and like just go ahead and you know, you know, just uh click whichever ones you want to do. And it's a like pottery and like you know, lawyer stuff, and paralegal. And I was like, I was just clicking everything. I was like, I need a fucking job. I clicked everything. And the last one was like accounting. I was like, that I want to, I know how to do that. And three days later they called me, they were like, We got you a position. I was like, let's fucking go. And they're like factory to you and Fallas Paredes, which are like big clothing chains, right? Uh like stores. Um, they were like, they're looking for an accounting position, opening up like uh a lower level accounting position. I was like, I'll take it. And you know, I go there with my fucking briefcase, my tie. I swear I had like a fucking peanut butter and juggle sandwich in that briefcase. I had nothing in there. And then they just started giving me all this paperwork, and I was like, fuck, what am I gonna do? How long did that last? I was faking it, man. I was just, you know, fucking just taking, you know, they used to give me like these stacks of papers, and they used to be like, a lot of the vendors used to be like, hey, they owe us like 90 cents. And then you have to call and and tell them if if they can take care of this. And I was like, 90 cents. So I'm fucking calling these these vendors. I was like, hey, you guys owe us 90 cents. Or like, go fuck yourself. Yeah, no, I'll do that, but you still owe me 90 cents, though. So I'm collecting a quarter here, 30 cents there, 90, 90 cents there, and then eventually I got to like the above 50, so you're like, I'm good. Yeah, yeah. The real accounting where I sort of had an input in the making, and I was, and then so the 90 days came up, and you know, the the dude was at the time they knew that I was trying to be an actor, and the manager, he's like, hey man, he's like, I like you. I I like you, man. You bring good vibes here, but um, you're not in accounting, huh? And I was like, nah, man. He's like, I know you've been fucking everything up, type of shit. He's like, Look, you want the good news or the bad news? I was like, well, give me the goodies. Like, the goodies is that I'm gonna pay you. The bad news is that you're you're fired. I was like, alright, alright. He's like, but just do me a favor, he's like, follow your dream. I remember he told me, he's like, follow your dreams, bro. Don't, don't, don't, don't do this shit.
MarkOkay, I want to take a minute to talk about the one thing that can sync a scene faster than bad ADR. Generic music. Let's talk about the library the big studios use and the networks we rely on. We're talking about tracks from Hans Zimmer's team, Grammy winners, and composers who score the shows that we all watch. But here's the hustle. You can get that A-less sound for your indie feature, your pilot, your film, your high-end sizzle reel, whatever you're doing, right at extreme music.com. Stop wasting time with cheap royalty-free loops that sound like everything else. Get to extreemmusic.com, find the track, grab the stems, get the license cleared, nail the tone. That's how you hustle with integrity. Extremesic.com for all your music needs.
ConcreteGo go be an actor, go be whatever you want to be. And and and you know, you like you know, you'll be right, you're young. And so I took the $800 check, man. I called my wife and I told her, hey, do you want the good news or the bad news? I got $400. I was like, we got $800. We can we can go to Kuraçao and get a camera. And then the other $400 will give it, you know, you know, because I at the time I was living um, you know, with her and her parents, and I was like, you know, we'll give the rest to your mom for groceries for the week and give me a week to figure shit out. She was like, fuck it. So we we we go to Kuraçao and we get the camera. Little DV camera, you know. And I started shooting like little pieces for all the rappers I knew. I was like, hey dude, let me do like a YouTube piece for you. And they were like, YouTube. I was like, yeah, I was like, I got the plug. I was like, if you give me $300 more, I'll put it on YouTube for you. And like people didn't know at the time, man. So it was just a hustle for me. It was just a hustle for me. I was like, I gotta make a little extra change. So I would charge them 200 bucks to do like a little like documentary piece, and I would do the voiceover, like it was like some fucking big time documentary type shit, you know? And then it went from it went from that to music videos, you know, to to to shorts. And man, I I ended up traveling the world doing it. Like literally traveling the world, seeing the world through a lens.
MarkUm but wait, so they would so you started doing these uh these pieces for the rappers, and then they would take you on tour with them?
ConcreteA lot of them would.
MarkIs that how you got to see the world? Yeah. Oh wow, that's great.
ConcreteAnd then or or I would get hired by different companies. Like I used to work too for uh for Tito and Rock Nation. They used to send me out to do pieces for different artists. I did one for Yandelen, I did one for Yandelen Puerto Rico.
MarkUh so they know uh so behind the scenes and like everything and videos, everything.
ConcreteAre you stepping up your gear at this point? You still got the little hands. Oh no, no, no. By this point, we got the red cam. We got all the people. Oh wow, you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? We got you know, we got some nice glass, we got the whole deal.
MarkRed cam's kind of a big deal. That's the thing.
ConcreteAt the time it was a big deal. Now it's like we still rent them. What are you doing with that brick? You know?
MarkThey still rent them.
ConcreteYeah, they do, they do, you know, and obviously, I mean, I around around 2014 when I got my first big gig. I got my first big gig. Um, this rapper uh by the name of Black Chill, he he he's he uh he had a big hit in the 90s, and it was like, I'm like Romeo and Juliet. I don't know if you guys remember, but it was a big hit in the 90s, and I was excited to work with him. And they call me, they're like, hey man, we want you to direct this video. Uh Black Chill saw some of your work. He's like, he knows that you work on budgets, and I was like, I do. Like, I was known for the guy that you would give him $2,000 and you had a $20,000 music.
MarkYeah, the boot the booty budget. That was your accounting, dude.
ConcreteThat was like, yeah, I was like, you know, I would, I would, I would take, I would, I would take nothing and make it make it something big. Squeezing that 90 cents. Yeah. Yeah, bro. And um, so uh, so I go to this meeting, and I remember they're like, yo, we're gonna do it at Chili's, and I was like, fuck, I never been to Chili's. I fucking got dressed up for it, dude. I literally threw on a fucking nice shirt, slags, and everything. Again, I have my briefcase with nothing in it, type of shit, you know? And I get there and everybody's like in fucking sandals, and I was like, oh shit, you know, I had never gone to Chili's, bro. This shit was new to me. And uh, and I'm sitting there and they're like, cool, man, we're gonna give you a budget, and they like, you know, so we're gonna give you 10 G's for the music video. And I could, I was like, I almost fell out of my fucking chair because I had never gotten that, but I was getting a thousand dollar music videos, you know, and I was like, 10 G's. I was like, fuck. You want 10 of them? Yeah, and then they were like, and then, and then, and and then, and then so so the executive producer was like, and we're gonna pair you up with Anthony Cook. He's gonna be your first assistant director. I said, Cool, what the fuck does he do? I didn't know what the fuck he did, right? And and Anthony Cook saw me, and he and and he was just he was like, Man, I can't wait to work with you. You know, he saw my work, and then so we get to the first day on set of the music video. We're we're shooting at some stages in downtown. First time ever me working on stages. There's a bunch of sets. I have a crew of about 15, 20 people, and I get there at 6:30 in the morning, and and everybody's like, Alright, cool, man, you ready? And I was like, Yeah, yeah, what are we doing? I had my little script of what I wanted, you know. I always knew what I wanted, I always knew what I wanted to see. Yeah, and it was and it was easy for me to just see it visually and and and explain myself, but I didn't know terminology. So the beginning morning meetings like, hey, so you're the director, you gotta talk to the crew, uh, let them know what we're gonna do. And I was like, all right, cool. He's like, hey, what kind of light do you want? I was like, uh bright one right there. No, but do you want tongue stain or do you want daylight? And I was like, what do you think? You know, what do you think? Oh, you know what? I think we should do this. Yeah, that looks good, you know? Throw a little smoke over here, do this. And then like during lunch break, he's like, Anthony put me to the side, he was like, hey man, um, hey, you don't know what the fuck you're doing, huh? I was like, I don't know what I'm saying. I know what I'm I'm I know what I want. He's like, okay, I'm gonna help you. You tell me, and I'll relay it to the crew. Because I didn't know about like C stands or flags or a C47 or terminology that I just wasn't, you know, uh knowledgeable. And you actually don't need to know about that.
MarkIf you're a director, you don't need that. I just I just I just knew what I wanted, yeah, you know? That's your that's your DP, yeah. You know, you tell them your vision and they execute, right?
ConcreteAnd I didn't even know I was a DP because I was I was structuring the shots and I was structuring everything. The DP was more like my camera op at that point, you know? And and so I knew what I wanted, but I just didn't know how to communicate it. And then, you know, so we shoot the music video, we edit it, it comes out beautiful, everything's dope. And Anthony calls me, he's like, hey man, he's all like, um, you're really good at what you do, man, for not having no education. He's like, what if I he's like, I'm an instructor at the at the New York Film Academy in Burma. He's all like, I can get you in, I'll give you the answers to the test, and you'll be a TA. And all you have to do is sit in the back of the class, shut the fuck up, and just learn. Do you want to do it? I said, Yeah, let's go. He's all like, good, because it's a fucking hundred thousand dollar school, like semester type of shit. And I was like, let's go. And then so my first instructor was Anthony B. Richmond. You know, he shot the Sandlot, he shot man of honor, and he really like nobody wanted to work with him. Nobody wanted to be his TA because he was kind of tough. He was a little, you know, he was a little, you know, he's an older gentleman, you know, no, no bullshit kind of guy. And I would just sit there, man, and I wasn't asking no questions, and then it went from like, can you give me my coffee? I got you. Can you uh go, you know, you know, can you bring my car to the front of the I got you? You know, hey, can you come to my house and pick up some stuff that I got in the I got you. And take care of my wife, I got you. And then it went from from little simple tasks to him like breaking down how he shot this, you know, how he shot this and how he shot this scene, and how it was working here, and and how he how he used to shoot the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and all this stuff. And I mean he taught me some really, really good fucking jams that I I I wouldn't have gotten even if I was a student, because he wouldn't have these conversations or like these are lighting techniques. He was teaching the basic, he was teaching the curriculum, yeah, you know, but he was teaching me the stuff that you don't get from a school, bro. He was teaching me like the the grid and the stuff that you go through unless you go through it, you know what I'm saying? Um, and that was really cool, man. That was that you know, that had a blast. And I was there for four years, man. I basically I started with the class, and I and and and when the class graduated, when they were upstage getting their diplomas, I was like, I got mine too. I got mine too. I didn't get a diploma, but I kind of felt like I graduated with the class because as soon as it graduated, I left too. I was like, this is it, man. I got my master's.
MarkYou went for four years?
ConcreteYeah. Wow. So I used to work at the at the Universal Backlot right here. Yeah. You know, so to be doing this shit now, and to be, say, at in this building and be in the behind the scenes, um, it's weird because I used to teach the kids right here. I mean, I used, you know, we used to see the you know the trolley go by and people fucking waving at us, and we're over there in the back lot. Like, I'm teaching the kids how to how to use cameras and how to do all that good stuff.
MarkThat's pretty awesome. Um that was the LA Film School?
ConcreteThat was uh New York Film Academy. New York Film Academy. Yeah, so the New York Film Academy had a contract with the Universal Backlot. Yeah. I remember that. Yeah, yeah, where they would teach classes in the back. That's the one right on that corner, right? Yeah, it's right on the and there's another building off on the other side where like Warner where the Warner Brothers stuff.
MarkYeah, that's pretty great. Uh it's amazing that you, after doing all the work that you did uh in rap, you know, in music, um in music videos and all that stuff that you were doing, that you actually took the time to spend four years doing that. That's amazing. You know, you made it when there's like stories out there about you that you don't even know about, and people tell people. Because I heard a story when I heard that he was gonna host The Way Out Loud, I was all concrete. I don't know who told me, like, oh yeah, dude, he used to work construction and he was funny. And so they told him like he was an electrician or something. Hey, you're funny, foo. They're like, you should do stand-up, and I was like, they're telling me, I forget who told me. Somebody told me this.
ConcreteSomebody they know, no, and that's funny because people always ask me, like, why concrete, you know? And so I used to go, when I used to rap, I used to go by a beretta. And the reason I was beretta is because when you a beretta has 16 bullets, and when you write a verse for a rap, it's 16 bars. So that was my correlation to it. It was deep. I never shot nobody, man. I never killed nobody, that wasn't me. But the persona in the studio was there. Yeah. In the studio, I I was murdering motherfuckers every day. Yeah. I was killing motherfuckers, you know. Um Heart Street's a Burbank. Yeah. And when my boy passed away, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't want to hold that negativity. Like, I didn't I didn't want that anymore. I wanted to get away from it as far as possible as much as I could. And when he passed away, you know, I think anybody that you have passed away, like close to you as a friend, maybe we're gonna you know when you're that young. At least for me, it it it uh like it matured me immediately. It was like it it woke me up. It was like, hey, get your shit together. I could be you, bro. You know? And I kind of felt in a way like man, he he sacrificed his life to show me what, bro, you gotta stop what the fuck you're doing. It's either you stop or you're gonna end up like me type of shit. And I wanted to change my name too, and and and so just like you know, just you know, just like concrete, you know, uh you know, like it hardens and and and it becomes you know solid, and then you can build on a solid foundation. And that's why I decided to go with concrete, because I became solid. I was able to build on that foundation. Not the sexiest name, but it's something that just kind of meant something. It means something, yeah.
MarkIt's like you can go con for sure, which how you got in that accounting position. Yeah, yeah. I laugh about that because there's stuff that I've when I was looking for jobs too. I'm like, can I do that? Should I put it? And you said, yes, I can do that shit.
ConcreteYeah, dude, yeah, dude, you know?
MarkAnd then and then when did you get into comedy? Like, how'd that how'd that happen?
ConcreteSo I got into comedy in 2018.
MarkOh, that's recent.
ConcreteYeah, wow. 2018. So um I was doing a music video in LA at the Fairfax district over there where uh where the Miracle Mile lights are at. And um I was doing a music video, it was the last scene, and I was like, you know what, let's let's go shoot the scene real quick. Just a quick little scene at Miracle Mile, just you two guys walking, and we parked the truck like right across the way, but you couldn't really see from the miracle mile. Yeah, you couldn't really see the streets because it's kind of like adjacent to the other street. And we you know we parked the truck with all the gear. We had two cameras, I took my camera, I took one lens, but I left everything else in there lighting, uh laptops, every everything, everything. I had hard drives in there, brother. And then so the shot wasn't no more than 10 minutes. We came back and everything's fucking everything is fucked, everything was fucking dude, and and it wasn't like just my shit, but it was also rentals that I had got. Like I remember I rented this fucking Sony, uh, you know, the Sony monitor worth a hundred thousand dollars and shit, and they ended up like dropping it a block away because it was too heavy. They were like, So they just kind of chucked it, they're like, fuck this shit's too heavy, you know. They didn't even open it. Hence, they wouldn't know it was a hundred thousand dollar monitor, they probably wouldn't do that. Um so I lost everything, dude. In fact, I had hard drives in there that I had music videos that had just recently shot in and in in Honduras. I had just shot irreplaceable. Gone. Gone. I had to call. I remember calling Danny Tere. I had a music video when it gets Danny There was an artist. I had to call him and be like, hey, this is what happened. You know, the tough ones were the Puerto Rico stuff, the Honduras stuff that I was still editing. Yeah, I just wasn't finished with it yet. And I had those hard drives just because I had them in that backpack for whatever reason that day, and I just I didn't leave them at the studio at the office. And they just probably hucked those in fucking garbage. They just chucked them, bro. Like didn't even give a shit, you know? And I lost everything. And to me, at that point, like I remember me and my wife were crying because we had invested all our money. Like everything that I was making, I was investing it. Marty was the one that invested in me early on. You know, he gave me five grand to buy my first red card. Who's Marty? Who's Marty? Marty Marty's right here. Yeah, no, I know that probably. Yeah, so yeah, yeah. So Marty, you know, so so so I met Marty back in 2014. He was managing an artist by the name of Angel Lopez. He used to sing on this group called Song by Four, huge song in the 2000s. Uh, and so he was so managing him at the time, and I met him through a publicis, through my through my wife's publicis. Uh, and and and so Marty was like, hey man, you want to come on tour so we can, you know, so you can shoot my my artist. I was like, yeah, let's go. So we went and he took me everywhere, took me to Miami, all kinds of places. And so at the time, Marty, you know, like we we just we became really good friends, you know? And I asked him, I was like, hey man, I need some money. Like I want to see if we can invest in, you know, I like I need this red camp too. Like, I'm not gonna move up in the industry if I don't get this red cam. I'm trying to compete with redcam people, and I still I'm still on a DSLR, I'm still on a Canon. And he was like, Yeah, let's do it. And I remember he he made me do this fucking presentation portfolio. I went to fucking King Kos and shit. He was like, You gotta present you present. Did you put back on the button up on the slack again with the briefcase? He was like, present your plan of execution, and I was like, fuck. So I think me and my wife are sitting there like, what are we gonna do? Yeah, yeah, you know, so yeah, man, he ended up investing in me. And um again, man, it's you know, people that come in your life that just kind of change your trajectory of life and where you're gonna go.
MarkWell, I think the thing that we can all relate to is you know, you sometimes you hit bottom, you lost everything, all of your equipment, other people's equipment, uh probably payment for the jobs that you had done. Oh, yeah. Yes, I mean that's that's devastating, right? Especially with your wife. So once you once people hit bottom like that, it's like almost like a phoenix, right? You rise out, you rise up, people show up. So the next move was. To get a camera, but then how did you get into comedy?
ConcreteWell I ended up at this at this point I I was I was bartering an office space for like work, yeah. And I ended up getting another camera, like I ended up, you know, just getting a credit card and getting another D little DSLR, and I was like, okay, let me just let me start from scratch. But at that point, I was already like, I don't want to do all this shit again. Like, I don't want to go through this shit again. I already fucking did it.
MarkHow long did it take you to accumulate all the equipment and eight years, man? Eight years, yeah, it's a lot.
ConcreteEight years, you know? Yeah. Um and then so, you know, I'm at I'm at this office that I'm bartering for work, and I'm like, man, what the fuck am I doing? Man, I'm just I'm just in the desk and no work is coming in because everybody knows that my shit was stolen. I put it on Instagram. I was I did a little video on Instagram and I was in black and white, too, for dramatic effect. And I was like, if anybody has anything, any news, or anybody out there that knows like I just need the hard drives. Just give me the fucking hard drives. Fuck the cameras, fuck the laptop. Just give me the hard drive. And nothing came out of it. And one day I'm just sitting there, man, and I'm like, fuck, dude, this sucks, man. I don't know what to do. And I remember I went and got like McDonald's. I'm just sitting there watching YouTube videos, and I and I see this video of this lady getting dragged out of a liquor store. And it's like POV of her getting dragged out of the liquor store. And you know, the you know, the guy in the liquor store is like dragging around because she caught she was caught stealing, and I was like, I was like, that that liquor store looks resembles the gas station liquor store down the street. I said, what if I put myself what if I stitch myself in that in that video? And because and and I remember I waited, I waited all day for the right time and the right lighting because I knew that if in order for this to work, I have to get the right lighting, the right angles, the right color tone, and everything. And I was like, okay, cool. I need to wait till the sun is coming down. Okay, perfect. And then I waited till like 5 p.m. And then I went in there and shot it. And the clerk was like, What the fuck are you doing, Chris? I was like, dude, I'll be back in an hour, I'll show you what the fuck I'm gonna do. And then so I stitched the video and I'm acting like I'm like I'm scared, and I'm acting like, oh my god, behind the chip rack and shit, you know? And I put myself in the video, and then so I I went and showed it to the guy. He was like, That's incredible, that looks amazing, dude. Like, it looks like you're actually there, and I was like, I know, all right. And then so I posted it on my Instagram, and then it was like, I just put my phone. I remember just I posted, I was like, Oh, that's so embarrassing. What's gonna happen? And then I look back and it's like 30 comments, and I'm like, dude, before I used to like, I used to travel the world, bro. I would only get four comments. My mom, oh, have fun, be careful. You know what I'm saying? Mira, mi ho you made it, you know, you know, uh, and now I'm like 30 comments, and I'm like, 30 comments. Oh my god, this people are this is hilarious. I've never seen shit like this. It's funny. What the fuck? Concrete, keep going, and I'm like, and then I put it down 150. I was like, what the fuck is going on? And I called my girl, I was like, I was like, babe, she's like, I see it. Keep going. I was like, keep going, are you sure? Yeah, keep going. And then it was kind of like a snowball. I feel like I just kept I like I just I remember leaving the store. I I grabbed all my shit and I'm like, Edub, I'm out of here, bro. Thanks for the opportunity, but I gotta figure this out. And and I just went home and then I started just, you know, my little laptop, my my my phone, and I just started creating videos, bro, just creating videos. And it just it just bubbled up up until the point where I told my girls like, do I embarrass you by any chance? Me doing this shit. We're married. Like, do I embarrass you? Because I'm a 33-year-old dude at this point. I'm not a fucking 21-year-old kid trying to make it in the industry on social media. Social media is a young man's sport, yeah, right? So I said, Do I embarrass you at all? She's like, nah, you make me laugh. I said, say no more. I don't give a fuck what anybody else says. I don't care what anybody else says. And then it went from doing those kind of videos to now I'm starting to create characters, I'm starting to bring back, like I remember I did Stevie B. He got mad at me for making fun of him. We ended up clearing it out. And you know, so I started making fun of him.
MarkSpring glove got pissed. Yeah, Spring Glove.
ConcreteBut his daughter was the one that's like, Dad, yeah, he's making you relevant. Exactly. I was about to say. So then it just it just kind of bubbled from there, man. And and I I never meant for it. What what once I knew what I was doing, I was like, you know what? I'm not gonna go audition. Instagram's gonna be my fucking audition page. Yeah, and I never wanted to do stand-up because I always felt like I was just a comedic actor. I'm just an actor. I just I'm just doing comedy. I kind of saw myself as a Will Farrow, like, I don't do stand-up, I'm just a comedic actor, which is a big difference, you know. I didn't want to disrespect the craft because I was like, you know, you know how long it takes for motherfuckers to really get into stand-up? Like, it's not that easy, right? To just go up there and do a bit and hope it works, right? And it wasn't until uh Jerry Garcia hit me up and he's like, hey bro, I heard you did stand-up. And I was like, Yeah, I tried it in I tried it in Vegas, bro. I I fucking bombed. It was it was really bad, it was really bad. I remember getting off the stage and and some and some dude was like, hey, hey man, you'll get them next time. And I was like, what the fuck? Well, because I thought I thought I did pretty good. Like my ego was like, you did great, buddy. Yeah. And then and then some other dude was like, hey man, you can't win them all, dog.
MarkYou can't win them next time.
ConcreteAnd motherfuckers are just passing me and they're like, getting me, and then and then and then I finally get to my girl and I was like, babe, she was like, she's like, babe, let's just have fun tonight. Let's just have fun tonight. Let's just go have fun tonight. Let's forget about it. I was like, forget about what? I was like, babe, you sucked. No, she kept it 1,000. She's like, babe, that was really bad. Are you sure you want to do stand-up? I was like, I don't know. I was like, I don't think it's for me. She's like, it's okay, just keep doing your music, you know, your you know, your comedy skits, and it's fine. And then Jerry fucking calls me. Jerry Garcia calls me. He's like, hey man, we're doing this tour, Carlos Stokes, he calls it me, Jesus Púlveda, and Creeper. Uh, and I was like, okay. He's like, we want you to host it. I said, brother, listen, man. He's like, no, no, no, no. Look, we just want you, don't do, don't do stand-up. Don't, don't, stay, stay away from that. Don't do stand-up. Just do your do whatever you want. You can do your characters, you could do those bookies, you could do whatever you want. Don't feel like you have to be funny doing stand-up. And I was like, all right, say less. So the first one we did was the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Uh no, in uh the laugh factory in San Diego. My first comedy ever show ever. I fell in love with it instantly, man.
MarkSo just switch, so just switching the POV of what you were doing on stage ended up making freeing you up to be funny and to find your own.
ConcreteYeah, and then eventually I found my voice and I started finding the timing and through hosting and through just going up there, and just really I started finding the timing. And that was that was just in 2023, 2023, 22.
MarkSo this is all recent because you dude, it feels like like when I started 48 months, bro. It's been it's only been like two years. It feels like you've been doing it your whole career, like that's amazing.
ConcreteAnd uh, and then and then it went from me being the host of of the Toxicos to like now I'm now I'm I'm be now I'm the headliner. Now I'm like it went from like people are actually here to fucking see me, dude. This is this is crazy. Like, okay, fuck, we're selling tickets. Dude, like we're selling three, four hundred tickets. Fuck, we just sold 900 tickets, fuck, we just sold a thousand. What the fuck is going on? What is going on? And then it was I had no choice but to learn on the job, bro.
MarkYeah.
ConcreteI had no I had no time to write. I had no time to go and get better. It was like you're selling tickets, get on stage, motherfucker.
MarkYeah. Is your is your routine or is your act uh different every time, or is it is it an act?
ConcreteDo you have like it's well what what we're doing at Way Out Loud is not really what I do in my stand-ups.
MarkUh wait, so you're doing stand-up now? Yeah. So you so you went from hosting, now you're now you're doing stand-ups.
ConcreteYeah, so what I'm doing right now. Were you scared to do that? Basically, what I'm doing right now is how I started.
MarkYeah. What you bombed with your wife said, babe, let's just have fun tonight. It's just that now I got a lot better at it. All right. So you went from hosting, which is like introducing and kind of doing your skits and having fun, to now you go up there and you'll do like a five-minute set or do an hour. Yeah.
ConcreteYou'll do an hour? Yeah, easy.
unknownJeez.
MarkThat's amazing.
ConcreteYou'll get them next time. Keep your head up. Comedy is hard, man. Yeah, so the first time my wife saw me, I did a five-minute. And it was just me up there, the mic. It was in the middle of the summer in Vegas, outside. It's fucking disaster, dude. It was a fucking disaster. Like, I'm not, I should you not. The lady in the wheelchair rolled the fuck away between my five minutes. She was like, I'm fucking out of here, dude. Let's do half of this shit. And then I started, and then when I started hosting with Jerry, I introduced my characters. Yeah. Which is essentially what I'm doing now for Way Out Loud. Yeah. Um, you know, but really when I tour on my own shows, I'm just doing straight stand-up. There's there's no character. Obviously, I go into my acting because a lot of my comedy is physical comedy. Yeah. A lot of it. Yeah, yeah. You know, I have this bit about an orangutan. I start walking like an orangutan and people love it. You know, so a lot of my comedy is is really more uh I you know, from what I've heard, it's like people are like, yo, you I can visualize what the fuck you're talking about. You're a good storyteller, yeah. I can visualize it. And and and and and so that's what I try to bring to it. It's not just a bit. I try to put people into like, you know, at a movie theater, and if I could, it'd be a fucking play, you know? Yeah. Uh which is that's why I love doing the stuff, how we're doing at Way Al O because it lets me it lets me like I feel like I'm in a theater back in the 1920s and I'm just doing my act outs and it's fun, and I can be a fake magician or I can be a wrestler, I can I can do whatever I want. And that's the fun part. That's where I can I I I think that's where I shine. You know, that's where I can really show people what I can do going from different characters and you know, not just giving you a one-dimensional character.
MarkThat's pretty awesome. Tell us about Way Out Loud. David, they've part you're part of Way Out Loud. You show up every Wednesday, right?
ConcreteYeah, yeah, dude. Well, Way Out Loud, um, uh they you know, uh, you know, we got into contact maybe about a maybe a few months ago. And at the time, I was I was already doing something similar called Class Clowns, where I was bringing a bunch of different comedians, and you know, we were doing different sketches on live on stage. So we were doing a lot of these sketches, but on a grander scale. We had like props and all kinds of stuff, and then in between we would throw in comedians, and then so uh when they called us about we're allowed, it was you know somewhat of a similar concept, and I was like, well, let's why don't we just join forces and kind of do it together? I'm like, this is this, you know, this could be bigger than what it is now. Um and and so we started doing that, and and and uh, you know, right now we'll we're on our third, fourth show, and you know, we're just you know, you know, with Mario being you know, like spearheading this, I think it's good because it it just kind of shows people that you know people in position are not gatekeeping and they're trying to put people into a position to win, you know. Like I always tell people, like, Mar doesn't have to do this, like he's worked his ass off to get where he's at. Like he has you know. So you're talking about Mario Lopez. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mario Lopez. He doesn't owe it to any of us, he doesn't owe it to me, he doesn't owe it to any of his. He's he's he's built his own on his own way under his own terms, and he's done a fantastic job at being successful, keeping his nose clean and doing the right thing, right? So he doesn't he doesn't have to do it. It's it's awesome that he's able to reach back out to us and and and to want to pull us up and be like, hey, use my name, use my platform for some notoriety. And I think that helps, you know. And in return, we hope that we can bring uh good comedy and do well under his name, you know, because at the end of the day, it's it's up to us to make him look good in a way, you know. Imagine if he brings out nothing but dudes that are fucking bombing, that's not gonna work, you know. So, you know, it's it's like I feel like it's a fair exchange. You know, he helps us out in notoriety and and and gives us a name that people recognize, and I and and in return, we we put on a good show and make everybody look good, you know.
MarkThe shows are killing too. It's every Wednesday night at the Laugh Factory on Sunset Boulevard.
ConcreteYou're gonna reinvent yourself once again. Really, like when I'm when I look at my career and who and who I want to be like, it's it's it's it's definitely someone like Jamie, you know, someone that's been successful in almost every aspect of entertainment, you know. We want to do movies, man. We want that's that's a natural progression for anybody doing standard. You want to do comedy movies, you want to get out there and become the Kevin Hart of the world and the Eddie Murphy's of the world and to do big blockbuster films, you know.
MarkWell, I think I think it started as an actor, you wanted to be an actor. This is how comics that I know, they start like that. And then comedies, they go into like groundlings or like you know, Second City or some improv crew just to kind of sharpen up their acting skills, and then they're funny, so then they say, Oh fuck it, let's just go do open, you know, and it's a natural progression, but they initially start off wanting to act, right? Right, right. Comedians go up and they try something and they commit, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. You know, and then you kind of you gotta move on, right? You gotta move on from the oh that that didn't happen.
ConcreteYeah, you can't, yeah, you can't let it bug you. You know, you can't let it bug you sometimes. You know, when it hits, oh, it's like amazing. Oh, dude, it's orgasmic. Yeah, yeah. Better than any drug? Uh dude, it's it's it when once it hits, and that dopamine is easy. Let's go.
TuddyIt's like getting a home run at this point. Yeah, yeah.
ConcreteOh, dude, it's a drug, dude. It's a drug. Like as soon as you make people laugh, you're like, it works. Yeah, it fucking works. And when you bomb, it's like you want to go into your car and just fucking drive out of that motherfucker off the fucking cliff. You know, like there's been times where I want to go home and just be like, I'm done. The fuck, it's what am I doing?
MarkUm, the one thing that I was thinking about and that I asked AI about, I was like, hey, so are stand-up comedians immune to the AI generation? And AI was like, yeah, probably comedians are the one area where AI is probably not gonna come up with new stuff because it's about how you deliver the joke, not the joke itself.
ConcreteYeah, no, yeah, there's delivery, and I think with with with with that, I mean, there's there's a sense of connection when you go watch a show, right? Um I think it's kind of like magic in a way, like you gotta see it there to believe it. Like it's different for me to see magic on television than for me to be there and just showing me the magic. It's it's it's a different connection, and I don't think AI can technically take life experiences and turn them into comedy as a person.
MarkNo, because it doesn't matter. You can't even really read a script and and understand like where the comedy is in the script. You know what I mean? Yeah. Well, no, thank you guys, man. Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here. Thanks for inspiring people, thanks for telling people your story, and um, yeah, we'll come back and tell us more. When you get the big job, you gotta come back and tell us about it. Shit, like he's starting with Jamie Fox and Jim Carrey in his next one. All right, well, thanks for being here, and we'll see you guys next time on uh Film Hustlers. Good job, Robert. You know what you know what click my list is for one.
