Walking in Your Purpose (feat. Justin Storey)

In this episode of Hard Wig, Soft Life Podcast, I sit down with my friend of nearly a decade, Justin Storey – digital storyteller extraordinaire and someone who's seen me through both hard wig and hard life moments.

Justin shares his incredible journey from teenage entrepreneur to creative powerhouse, sparked by his mother's stroke and a powerful moment watching "John Q." We get into how he built his business at just 17, making $32,000 while still in high school, and his evolution working with everyone from real estate professionals to celebrities.

The conversation takes us through the real struggles of creative entrepreneurship – the client who turned 35 contracted videos into over 100, the depression that followed, and how these challenges became the fertile ground for Creators Escape, a sacred community built from scratch.

We explore faith without being preachy, integrity in spaces that test your values, and navigating the industry as Black creatives. Justin's perspective on creating safe spaces where people can be vulnerable is exactly what inspired me to reboot this podcast after attending his event.

The episode wraps with Justin dropping wisdom on handling uncertain seasons: finding your one trusted person, seeking guidance, and knowing when to simply shut up and listen.

For anyone trying to walk in their purpose while protecting their peace, this conversation is your reminder that the path isn't always straight, but it's always worth it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Hey, everyone. Thank you so much for tuning in to Hardwigs Softlife, the podcast. I want to let you know that this podcast is brought to you by Blackstock Footage. Blackstock Footage is a stock video platform and production agency that's all about real, intentional black representation. If you're a creator or brand looking for visuals that actually reflect our people, our energy and our stories, this is it. They've got a beautiful library of high quality clips and they're building something that really centers us. Use my code softlife10 for 10% off a year subscription. And big thanks to Blackstock Footage for supporting Hardwig Softlife and showing love to creators like me. Hey, everybody. It's your girl, Melissa L. Atkinson, and we are on Hard Wig Soft Life, the podcast. Today, I'm with my friend, Justin Story. He is one of my most favorite digital storytellers, and I'm super amped to be here and to be interviewing him.

SPEAKER_00: 0:50

I'm so happy to be here. I'm so proud of you. You all should be so proud. Melissa, I have known her... For maybe, what, eight years?

SPEAKER_01: 0:57

I think we're at a decade. So I think I met Justin. I met you probably 2016. So we're almost there at a decade. And just for some background, I mean, like we met on

SPEAKER_00: 1:10

set. So true story. We were going to a Belk commercial. Belk, right?

SPEAKER_01: 1:15

It was Belk. I don't even know if they exist

SPEAKER_00: 1:16

anymore. All of them are running out of business. So we were on a commercial shoot. on the bus. Yes. And there was a bunch of people there that were talking, but you're the most chill, laid back, beautiful person that I felt that was on the set. And we just talked. Yes. Yeah. So we stayed in contact since then and you've evolved. I've seen you do different modeling gigs and acting gigs. A

SPEAKER_01: 1:42

girl is trying. I would like to say that I'm probably a retired model now. I know that at the time that I met you, I probably was going through the worst time in my life. I think it was more of hard wig, hard life at that point. So I'm really appreciative that you thought so highly of me, but I know we had such a great time and I just want to Like I know back then you were doing like a lot of like child acting stuff. So if you could think back to the time that we met back in like 2016, I don't even think you were out of high school. Would you ever imagine your career evolving in the way it has? And first of all, like just tell us where you are in your

SPEAKER_00: 2:19

career. Sure.

UNKNOWN: 2:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 2:21

Good stuff. So I own a digital marketing company. We do video. We do advertising. We do branding. That's our main thing. 60% of my clientele are real estate professionals, attorneys, doctors. The corporate pays. The

SPEAKER_01: 2:38

people with money. The people with money. That's your bread and butter.

SPEAKER_00: 2:40

And I think as an artist, though, sometimes it's hard to... figure out what you want to do, where you want to start, because the reality is most artists don't have money, right? Especially if you're just beginning. And even if you are a seasoned artist, people are not putting$10,000 into a project immediately. They can't. Sometimes it's a risk. And so for me, I have found in 2018, I have found this idea. If I could... work with people who have money, real estate agents. You sell a house, you sell a property, you sell a building, and you're gonna be able to get this, some of them,$20,000,$30,000 check, sometimes$5,000, sometimes$10,000. It was like this matter for me was like, yo, Go where the money resides. And so real estate was that thing for me in 2018. It really just blew into something where I was like on like the preferred vendor list on all these different brokers. So all these agents were booking me for shoots. So that was that thing. I got tired of that. I wanted to work with small businesses. So I started working with attorneys. I started working with doctors, dermatologists, you know, the mom and pop business out on the street, the restaurant, helping them with their videography, their storytelling. That's the kind of the... I would say our pitch and what we do very well, storytelling, gathering the story, telling it. But I start off as a graphic designer. Okay. Hence, all the graphics with Creators Escape. They were amazing, by the

SPEAKER_01: 4:02

way. So, like, I have to tell the listeners about Creators Escape. And it was in February. And it was probably the most magical event that I've been to ever. And I got to be a part of

SPEAKER_00: 4:12

it. And I'm grateful that you was a part of it. I'm grateful you killed your thing. She was... She did the panel. She was interacting with everybody. Everyone's still like, who's that? Who's the girl with the white outfit? She was, and you were dressed so good too, so.

SPEAKER_01: 4:27

Listen, I was like, I feel like a sausage in this. But anyways, I digress. That's just me being existential again. So you, okay, in 2018 is when you started with your digital storytelling, but what made you transition from Okay, being in front of the camera to now I'm behind the camera. Like, was there like a shift?

SPEAKER_00: 4:43

I'm going to give the story in like one minute. So I think... Growing up, I have a twin brother. Yes. And we both were trying to figure out how to leverage on our image and leverage on our name. My last name is Story. Love that, too. I was wondering. So we were like, let's be the Story twins. So I literally created an email, thestorytwins.gmail.com. True story. Hit up every agent in Florida, every model and talent agency in Florida, Orlando, Miami, Tampa. Hey, we're the Story twins. We want to do acting. Here's what we have done so far. All that stuff was just church stuff like that. At that point, we were doing like plays and stuff at school and church. Like, no, we got to like, let's get a headshot shoot. So we did a photo shoot and I was like the agent, my brother's my agent. Okay. So we're just booking all this stuff local. So we did Disney. We've done like extra work for ABC. We've done extra work for like different, different TV shows, reality shows, like random stuff. And our first like actual check was like$600. And I remember giving my mom 300 bucks from that. And I was probably like, I think 15 years old. And, and then there was this, huge moment of opportunity that came to us that was knocking on our door. Hey, we want you guys to audition for this show on BET. Which show was it? It never became a show.

SPEAKER_01: 6:00

No, okay.

SPEAKER_00: 6:00

Yes, it never became a show. So it never had

SPEAKER_01: 6:02

a pilot or anything?

SPEAKER_00: 6:03

It was a pilot. Oh, okay. It was a pilot. And so years of just doing different acting and stuff, it led to this moment. We auditioned for it, and then, well, they were recommending us to do it, and then it was a compromising thing that my mom was like, no, y'all ain't doing that. So then there was another opportunity. And

SPEAKER_01: 6:22

you guys were like 16 at

SPEAKER_00: 6:23

this age? 16, we were still in high school. And then there was another thing that came up for us to do some stuff. And I was like, I'm just tired of all these auditions. This one was with Nickelodeon. Doing these auditions, we drove to Miami, didn't get a call back. I'm like, screw it. And then my mother has a stroke a few weeks after that, I want to say. And it put me in this point where I was like, you know what? You got to start figuring out ways for you to make your own money. And I wanted to do things like, as any young person would do, go to homecoming, go to prom, you know? Get a haircut.

SPEAKER_02: 6:52

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 6:53

So I ended up starting my first business called Film My Story. Okay. And Film My Story was a video company to help, not really help people, it was just like to film weddings and conferences and stuff. Okay. My first client. This is like

SPEAKER_01: 7:05

the beginning.

SPEAKER_00: 7:06

We're planting the seed. We're planting a seed. Okay. I had this itty bitty camera from some, I think what store was that? PG Max or some store back in the day. It was like a cheap store.$85 camera. And then after that, I ended up getting another camera for$300. I told my aunt, hey, put me on a payment plan. I'm going to pay it back to you. And that's you had

SPEAKER_01: 7:25

a layaway plan with your aunt.

SPEAKER_00: 7:27

And so, feel my story. That was shooting events and weddings. And my neighbor booked me to do her wedding. And I actually used that money to pay back the camera that my aunt gave me the money for.

SPEAKER_01: 7:39

Very

SPEAKER_00: 7:40

nice. Fast forward. Now I'm working with this very well-known financial advisor in Florida and I'm doing some stuff for her. I'm still in school. Mind you, I go to school with her niece and she's like, boy, you better not screw this project up. I'm scared as hell. Of course. It's

SPEAKER_01: 7:59

a lot of pressure.

SPEAKER_00: 8:00

It's a lot of pressure. And I'm literally, I think, 17 at the time. So going through all of that, I'm working with people four or five times my age. And then truthfully, I had this contract with my church. Anyone stars in church? Thank you, Lord. I had this contract and they were paying me pretty good for my age. I was making$250 a week. Okay. So my first year in business, like... from my church and then doing other things. I made$32,000 in high school. I was still in high school. I was a senior now.

SPEAKER_01: 8:36

I want to be like Justin's story when I grow up.

SPEAKER_00: 8:39

And made$32,000. And I was like, man, maybe this could be your way out. This could be your thing. And little did I know, it became what it became. So that's the start of how it all evolved and why. And I will also say too, there were two things that really was my defining moment. When my mom had a stroke, I was like, this is like another full circle moment. There's a movie called John Q with Denzel Washington and Kimberly Elise. Yes, I've never seen it, but I'm actually familiar with it. You've got to watch the movie. I hated the movie growing up with a passion. Part of it was because my mother had a heart condition growing up. I'm sorry, you guys. My mom had a heart condition growing up. She had to open her surgery. She's a fighter. She's just been through some stuff in life. Fighter. In the movie, Denzel... is trying to save his son's life by giving him a new heart. So basically, he goes to this hospital. He's like, I'm about to basically hold these people hostage. They're going to give me a heart today type thing.

SPEAKER_01: 9:42

Yes. I remember the trailer. He was raised in hell

SPEAKER_00: 9:45

in the hospital. And apparently, he needed$100,000 in order to give his son a heart. So what he ends up doing was he didn't have that money. So he ends up going to the hospital, telling them, y'all going to give my son his heart. And he's basically already playing that he's going to kill himself to donate his heart to his son.

SPEAKER_02: 10:02

Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 10:02

Jesus. Right? He goes to this doctor. Doctor, let's set this up. Bottom line is, that life, that story was part of like my reality. So the movie was just, it hit too close to home.

SPEAKER_01: 10:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 10:15

So it's a full circle moment. I'm almost done.

SPEAKER_01: 10:18

No, no. Listen, we're on your time and I'm hearing your story. Like, this is my first time. I don't know any of this. So it hit close to home.

SPEAKER_00: 10:26

Yeah, the movie hit too, the movie was too close to home. So that's why I didn't like watching it. So... I said, I need to make$100,000 of my life so that if my mom ever needs a heart, I can pay to give her a heart. That was the foundation to why I wanted to start so young. If I can have$100,000, then I would be able to afford to give her a new heart. And so I think with that being the desire, but Beyond that, there was the gift. I was talented. I'm a pretty good communicator. I know how to connect people. I always knew how to do that. So naturally, I'm like, let me use all these different gifts and use it for whatever good that it could become. Still going through things. Still a young kid trying to figure out my journey. Of course, you're learning yourself. Still trying to figure out. But I would say I put a lot of pressure on myself at such a young age. And I realized... Now, like, wow, like there's a lot of things I didn't miss out on because of just, I had to drive. I had to zeal. I was very arrogant at times. I wanted to do it my way or no way type thing. I was humble, but I was always humble. My mom would tell you that, you know, my friends would tell you, very humble. But I also had this thing where no was not an answer for me. I'm going to go and I'm going to make it happen. And so my mom's like, are you going to college? Are you going to military? What are you doing? My brother went to theology school. I was just going to

SPEAKER_01: 11:56

ask, where's your brother?

SPEAKER_00: 11:57

He's in finance now, but he went to theology school. My sister went to military. I'm like, I'm starting a business. You're starting a business? How are you going to start a business? You're literally still in high school. You're going to graduate. You're about to graduate in a couple of weeks. So I kind of, my senior year, I kind of gave my mom some hell because- I bet. Dual enrollment came. Well, I had the opportunity to do dual enrollment and I would go to school for two classes, went to Orlando Technical College for the rest of the day, like did my courses there, like just trying to get out of this thing. Like I want to get into industry right now. Leave there, start doing shoots. I'm sending invoices in class, you know?

SPEAKER_01: 12:33

That is wild.

SPEAKER_00: 12:35

And naturally though, Jordan and I, we always were involved in SGA and student government stuff. We were always leading in some fashion. Not because we wanted to. It just naturally happened. It wasn't something I was even trying to pursue. So full circle moment. Go back to the whole John Q movie. So that movie was a huge, huge, I would say, reality moment for me. Like, Justin, you've got to make some money. Years later, this is like now I'm kind of established in my business.

SPEAKER_01: 13:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 13:09

Maybe seven years in and six and a half years in. And I'm watching a simple movie online.

SPEAKER_01: 13:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 13:18

No, on Netflix. It's a Tyler Perry movie. I was just going to ask you what movie. I was watching a Tyler Perry movie.

SPEAKER_01: 13:23

Which one

SPEAKER_00: 13:24

though? Valerie and Mad Black Woman. Okay, okay. And I wasn't, I didn't even pray about it. I was just like, I want to work with her one day. the main actress, Kimberly Elise, who's also in John Q.

SPEAKER_01: 13:35

Yes, I remember you just mentioned that.

SPEAKER_00: 13:37

I said under my breath, it wasn't something I really went into prayer about, or I was fasting about it, or I was trying to pursue it. I was like, I'm going to work with her one day. I had worked with some pretty cool people before then, but I just wanted to work with her. Three weeks later, I end up connecting with her daughter, And literally like, hey, we're looking for a videographer. We literally did a whole project in LA. You manifested it, the power of the tongue. Yeah, it happened. And about a couple months after our shoot and we got pretty close, I had told her like how full circle this moment was for

SPEAKER_02: 14:09

me.

SPEAKER_00: 14:09

I said, there was a movie you did a few years ago. I hated the movie with a passion. Yeah. But, you know, your heart and who you are as a person is so like warm. And so it gave me this moment, like this person, gave me, in a way, affirmation or confirmation for where I need to be and why I'm here.

SPEAKER_02: 14:31

Yeah,

SPEAKER_00: 14:31

it's synchronicity. Yeah, it just became real for me. Storytelling is what I do, Melissa. And we have worked with so many small businesses beyond celebrities. I enjoy working with small businesses, helping them tell their story, helping them maximize their influence, their potential. A lot of times people just don't start anywhere because they're waiting for a moment. They're waiting for the right time. And I'm like, well, no, you are the superstar. Like you are, regardless of what level you're at, you're a superstar. You're not a superstar because of, A moment, it's already in you. A singer doesn't sing when they're at the Grammys. They're singing because they're a singer. An actor doesn't act when they're at the Oscars. You're an actor. A preacher doesn't just preach on a Sunday. He preaches. So my uncle told me that years ago. So don't wait for a moment. Make the moment. For sure. And so for me, it's like, if we can help small businesses to maximize that, regardless of what level you're on, where you're at in your journey, your career path, your success, it will really empower other people to realize like, I could be doing a whole podcast just like this and I could, tell my story. I can bring other people along and that's what we do.

SPEAKER_01: 15:38

I feel like that's your gift. Innately, that's your gift is to make everyone feel like their gift is to just embrace that gift that they have within themselves. That's part of the reason why we're here. Along with that, just a quick question. You go on this journey. You're in high school. You start your business. You have any doubts or setbacks at any point?

SPEAKER_00: 16:00

Of course. Tons of setbacks and doubts. I think one of the biggest doubts for me was I felt like people aren't going to believe in me because I'm too young, you know? And sometimes young, your youth comes with immaturity, but it doesn't mean that you're also not wise, right? And someone will look at someone and say, because you're not, you're not, you ain't grown yet, then how am I going to trust you with my money or how am I going to trust you with my vision or whatever? So there were those doubts. And I think on top of that, when you're already faced with the reality of life, right? So you're this young Black man trying to create this business that's going to change the world. I didn't see Mogul then, but I see it now.

SPEAKER_01: 16:49

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 16:50

And...

SPEAKER_01: 16:51

Speaking into

SPEAKER_00: 16:54

existence. I see mobile now. Absolutely. That was always spoken around me through my peers. You're going to need this big time mobile. I can see it. I can see a whole office somewhere in California. People would tell me that. And I would always just try to imagine that. Keep that on my screensaver. Keep that around me. But the doubts were definitely my age. And I would also say failure. I hate failure. People who know Justin, I hate to let people down. So when I was letting folks down, sometimes a project just went left and I didn't want it to go left. Natural things, you know, I'm five minutes late to this meeting. Like simple things. That stuff would eat me alive, Melissa. I

SPEAKER_01: 17:34

know. I believe it. I mean, I know that even when you were getting Creators Escape together, I kept telling you, you are one man.

SPEAKER_00: 17:39

You

SPEAKER_01: 17:40

cannot do everything all that way. I'm learning that actually. I mean, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 17:44

I used to let failures and mistakes eat me up. And now I embrace it. Now I want to post it, share it. I use it now for my advantage. And then someone wants to, you tell your story before someone else tries to tell yours, you know? And in ways where like, and sometimes, for instance, I had this, you know, the business has had highs and lows, it's had successes. But there was a particular client that I did and I was so happy to work with them. It was a corporate contract. Okay. And let's just say I didn't have the proper legal things in place to protect me and protect the type of workflow that happened, the process, the deliverables. We had a certain amount of videos that we were supposed to produce, ended up like quadrupling that amount. So the contract said 30-something videos. We ended up producing 100-something, 35 videos. Within what

SPEAKER_01: 18:37

time frame?

SPEAKER_00: 18:39

Literally, like, it took a year.

SPEAKER_01: 18:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 18:41

And so, doing this project, it was... The project was supposed to take six months. The project ended up taking a year. It was supposed to be a six-month process. It ended up taking a year. Okay. And... Why was

SPEAKER_01: 18:56

it taking so... It was just because they were being a pain in the ass?

SPEAKER_00: 18:58

It was a couple things. That, too. Okay. But it was because... So, they were saying that they didn't want to pay more money because of the... they felt like the agreement was still in place regardless of how much more videos was produced. Imagine us shooting this podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 19:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 19:15

And your company that you hired ends up producing, you tell them, hey, I just want two episodes out of this footage. Okay. Right? But you're reading a script and your script affords you to have 10 episodes out of this recording. We end up producing... the 10 episodes out of the footage, but contractually, you're saying you only want it two. Correct. However, let's say you have a script. The script is a product. It's a course. Right. Essentially, this is a course. So we're producing all these videos for the company, and she's selling a course. It's a group. They're selling a course. And so... The contractually, we had 35 videos. We ended up producing a hundred and something plus videos. And they felt like we were responsible because we had the footage.

SPEAKER_01: 20:08

This is sounding to me like two different people having two completely different conversations, not understanding one another. Because if contractually we're only doing two episodes and I make you 10, okay, so either we need to change the contract to make it to 10 or you need to condense your stuff into two. Like, I mean, the math got a math

SPEAKER_00: 20:26

here. And the thing is, the thing about it was there's no way to do it because, well, in their regard, because the 35 videos was just like not even half of course one. This course has 18 courses. So you would have to pay more money to get to the end.

SPEAKER_01: 20:41

What are they teaching? Real

SPEAKER_00: 20:43

estate. Okay. Remember I told you, I wrote about real estate. So that project was a lot and I went through depression. Anybody would. I went through a hard depression to the point like, okay, do I refund half of this deposit? How am I going to get this deposit? When you're an entrepreneur and you're like, you know, this was the most money I've gotten at one time. I've charged, I've billed a client 50K over time. Right. Like in a 10-month span, but not like, you know, I'm billing this client 20,000 at one time. Mind you, I had a mentor like, sir... This project should have been like 60K easy for a wall that you did. Like I learned a lot from it. This was like now, you know, almost a two year project ago. But I went through a hard depression, Melissa, and it put me in this weird place. So I was like, I was hiding. I was like, once the project was, I was working on it. There were days I didn't want to get up. There were days I was just like done with it. And then I had no money. anymore to hire editors to finish the project. It was like everything now got on to Justin to finish because I had to finish this thing. Because this client was also a high reputable client, you're dealing with that. Then I'm also high reputable in my career as well. So you're like- You don't want

SPEAKER_01: 21:53

anything to

SPEAKER_00: 21:53

tarnish your name or your brand. I don't want anything to tarnish my brand. But we both have a level of influence in our industry. It's

SPEAKER_01: 21:59

just the optics aren't really in your favor

SPEAKER_00: 22:01

because- It's not. I'm glad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 22:03

Yeah, like

SPEAKER_00: 22:03

you're young. She has money. She has status. She got this, whatever. Something

SPEAKER_01: 22:08

already kind of like... This sounds like it was an uphill battle to begin with, with this... million course, like video, like thing. And then it's like, okay, well, yeah, you gave me the money, but now I can only, it's just too much. Like, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00: 22:21

And then when I did talk to them, I had to have a hard time. I would say too, there were parts too, like a lot of you, there were parts where Justin, the moment you saw things were going left, you should have been a faster communicator.

SPEAKER_01: 22:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 22:29

That's one thing I had, I did not do well. You

SPEAKER_01: 22:32

don't know what you don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 22:33

I wasn't, when I was now deep into the project and I realized, damn, we're on video 40 and I'm looking at the script and... Video 40 is in module one. There's 18 modules. So I should have spoke faster. And then finally, the project got done. I took a trip to Jamaica with my mom. As

SPEAKER_01: 22:55

you should.

SPEAKER_00: 22:58

And when I went out there, I was just like, Lord, I just need this moment. Like, just... I needed to know what's going on mentally, emotionally. I was dealing with some things personally, and that's when Creators Escape was rebirthed out of, because I already knew about Creators Escape three years ago. Okay. procrastinated. I put a pause on it. I'm not ready for it. I don't feel prepared. And then I got into several different big projects that was like taking over my time. So there was no way I could give Creators Escape my full attention. But September went to Jamaica and, you know, I would just randomly go to the beach and just listen. And I just, I knew I had to do it. And so, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 23:37

So the dealings with this client, that you had, it wasn't that long ago. No. No. Okay. And so Creators Escape came to you like, you want to say like 2021? Like that was an idea of yours?

SPEAKER_00: 23:48

Creators Escape came to me 20... Okay. So the idea came to me in 2021, but the name of the event did not come to me. So initially Creators Escape was supposed to just be a retreat with some friends. We were going to take a trip, start the new year. One of my friends, she is a violinist and we actually took a trip. I was on my way to LA for a trip. We became friends. We're just how, you know, we became friends in some weird moments. You got to check her out. Her name is Chelsea Green. She's an artist, but she's like performing at the Grammys. The weekend I was heading to Los Angeles, she was heading to Los Angeles, I fainted on the plane. Yes. I fainted on a plane.

SPEAKER_01: 24:33

Is it stress related?

SPEAKER_00: 24:35

No, I was fasting and I didn't eat for like days.

SPEAKER_01: 24:38

Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 24:38

okay. And I was like, no, it's your, a flight from Orlando to LA is like six hours.

SPEAKER_01: 24:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 24:44

So, you know, I didn't eat for a whole, a whole day.

SPEAKER_01: 24:46

You're not intermittent fasting. Like explain.

SPEAKER_00: 24:48

I was fasting for like, every time I do something big in life, I always just take this moment to like fast. For how long do you set? Sometimes just three days, sometimes a day. Sometimes it just all depends.

SPEAKER_01: 24:58

And so when you fast, you just don't eat anything the whole, like the 24 hours or 48 or 72

SPEAKER_00: 25:03

hours? I think for me at that time, I'm more mature about it now. At that time, I'm just going to go cold turkey and just do it fast. I'm doing this big project. I want to be focused. I want to also get my spirit uplifted. So I end up fainting.

SPEAKER_01: 25:19

I feel like I'm going to pass out listening to it because I'm like, what?

SPEAKER_00: 25:23

So I'm on the plane. And she's like, we're talking and all that. And she's like, yeah, you don't look good. I'm like, yeah, you think so? So she's like, I'm going to go and get the phytoncide. By the time the phytoncide came, I'm like this. And they all remember they were like, hey, we're going to put a cold pack on your back. They gave me a banana and something to take. But like instantly. Maybe two minutes later, I was like, back to normal.

SPEAKER_01: 25:45

Yeah, you needed to put some fuel

SPEAKER_00: 25:47

in your body. Once I landed to LAX, went to the nearest Wendy's, got me a burger, and I was like, yeah, screw it. But Chelsea Green, we became good friends since then. And she was actually on her way to perform with Lizzo.

SPEAKER_01: 26:02

Okay,

SPEAKER_00: 26:02

very nice. But she's like you and I. She works a job. She works at a college, and she's an artist. She's really cool. So I was like, yo, let's start the new year going on a trip. I'm going to invite some friends. I'll tell some friends about it. And then I told some other friends about it. Like, hey, we're just going to start the new year. Go somewhere. Okay, bet. So at this point now we got a photographer, we got a violinist, we got like an actor, we got all these different people just like, I wanna be part of this retreat with you. So that was three years ago, nothing happened to it, nothing. was set in stone. Someone recently told me about this yesterday. I made it out of the chat. What's that called?

SPEAKER_01: 26:44

Oh, when the group trip makes it out of the

SPEAKER_00: 26:46

chat. We all did make it out of the chat, unfortunately. And so, yeah, now fast forward, June, well, let's backtrack. A year ago.

SPEAKER_01: 26:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 27:00

From a year ago, I had told a friend of mine, a client, Um, Dr. Marceline Gurley. I told her about it. I think you remember. I

SPEAKER_01: 27:08

absolutely remember Dr. Marceline

SPEAKER_00: 27:10

Gurley. I had told her and her husband about, uh, me doing this, this idea. I want to do a Creators Escape retreat. I want to do a retreat for creatives. I didn't have the name yet. So Creators Escape was not a name yet. It was not a name until September, um, of last year.

SPEAKER_02: 27:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 27:26

But a few years, um, yeah. What year were you in? Yeah, 25. Yeah. So, um, I ended up telling her husband about it. They're like, we want to be a part of it. They literally hit me up all the time. Like, when you're doing it, Justin, like, we're ready. We're ready to go. He passes away in a car accident in June of 24th. So when that happened, I was like, man, I can't allow something that I told someone I'm going to do leave this earth and I don't fulfill something that I told them I'm going to do. And when I watched his homegoing service, I was so inspired. All his friends, family members, wife said, yo, everything my husband said he's going to do, he did. There was nothing he said that he was going to do that he did not do. Okay. left earth completely empty. Everything that he told his kids he's gonna do, he did it. Every business idea, everything. I said, I wanna be that type of person. I don't wanna make excuses. I don't care what's going on. We're gonna make this thing happen. And so literally, that was June, September, finished this project, went to Jamaica, The idea came to me. I had texted Jay Boland that same day. I texted some friends. I had told some folks along the way, hey, this is my idea. They're like, Justin, I'm in. Let me know what's going on. You know I'm there. And then, yeah, Creators Escape happened.

SPEAKER_01: 28:42

Wow. Okay. So thank God for that woman who had a million and one videos. And obviously, like, you know, shout out to Dr. Marceline and her husband, of course. You know, may he rest in peace. Because obviously, they really, really believed in this project.

SPEAKER_00: 28:59

They did.

SPEAKER_01: 29:00

And poured into

SPEAKER_00: 29:00

you for it. She kept reminding me all the time. Every time we go, I'll dodge. Oh, I see her at an event, you know. Hey, let me know. My husband's ready. We're ready. Every now and again, Justin, like, let me know. Like, He actually told me, send me an invoice so I can pay a deposit.

SPEAKER_01: 29:18

It

SPEAKER_00: 29:18

was one of those things where I was like, man, I don't feel ready for it yet. I did that for a whole year, Melissa. That goes back to

SPEAKER_01: 29:26

what you were talking about. A singer is a singer, a preacher is a preacher. They're doing these things. There's not a moment. The moment happened, I guess. The passing of Dr. Marceline Gurley's husband, but We're here. Yeah. You did it. You should have done it before. You know, I'm never going to let you live that one down. You should have been doing it

SPEAKER_00: 29:48

before. Yeah, facts. I should have. But

SPEAKER_01: 29:50

we're grateful that you did. So I know that like faith is a really, now that I'm hanging around you more, I realize how big, you know, your faith is in your life. Has that always been like that? Or is that something that you kind of grew into?

SPEAKER_00: 30:05

No, faith was something introduced to me as a kid. I think by the time I was born out of my mom's womb. But I would say as I've gotten older, I've realized what religion looks like and what faith looks like. And so I'm grateful for my... upbringing in church. I'm grateful for a foundation. I think that protected me from a lot of things. I think it gave me some grounding and some morals and some standards. Heck yeah, for sure. But as I've grown into my own person, my own experiences, meeting different people, you get to realize religion separates people from God and faith brings us closer to God. And for a long time, I thought that, well, religion is what like binds us to who God is and our existence in him and all those things. And I realized that so many people, I would meet folks who have their own paths, different domination, you know, different ways of how they express their belief. And I didn't understand why someone who I would meet that is the truth, you know, go to church, love God, but live certain ways that like contradict what they say. Nobody's perfect though. I'm far from perfect, but it would be like, maybe religion is like a facade, you know, maybe religion is this coverup or maybe religion is this way of like, or sometimes maybe religion is this way that we express ourselves, but really like, we don't even know what we believe type thing. And I would just, I would just go on this journey. Like I would ask questions and my faith, I love Jesus. I'm saved. I have a relationship with God. But I also say that there are ways that people express their faith. And it doesn't mean that your way is the only way or your way is the worst way or the best way or the whatever way. I have seen God move in some crazy ways. And this was a reality moment for me. I had a business one time, downtown Orlando. Actually, I had a studio. And that's part of the... I went through this depression because I had to close my first brick and mortar studio down. That's big. There was a woman who came in there one day, homeless woman. And she literally was like, hey, can I help you? Whatever. And we let this woman in. A good friend of mine, Evelyn, was there. And she was just sitting there. And we had some food in the refrigerator. And this chicken was probably like four or five days old. And this woman literally went in the kitchen. I was like, ma'am, I'm ordering you something. No, she went in there, ordered this food, and, like, ate all the food. I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. You're good.

SPEAKER_01: 32:59

I mean, okay, so you're closing down, and a homeless woman just comes in. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 33:04

And you're like, can I help you? At this time, the studio was still, like, fairly new, but we're, like, now the studio's closed. But, like, at the time, I was fairly new in the space. But she was helping me. Like, you know, I don't know. There was a contractor painter there, I think it was. And then he came with her. Somehow the woman got into the space. And so anyway, so she was, you know, we were looking at her and honestly, there was obvious signs of some sort of like abuse, substance abuse or something, right? So I was kind of like low key like, what? What are we going to do? You know, there's anyways. Anybody

SPEAKER_01: 33:46

would be sketched

SPEAKER_00: 33:46

out. I mean, if you're a stranger. You're downtown. It's already whatever. You know, and I see how, you know, her presentation was already kind of like, you know, what's up? But I'm like, God is like, show her the love. Show her love. Show her grace. She came in there and she's like, man, you're going to go so far. This woman spoke life into me. That's probably needed at that

SPEAKER_01: 34:07

moment.

SPEAKER_00: 34:07

She spoke life into me. I don't even know her name. And I knew God was talking through her. And the Bible talks about that. Like the rocks will corral. He'll use a vessel. He'll use a jackass, right? Like he did in scripture, right? So it was like this woman, her not, you know, it was just weird how it happened. So she spoke so much life into me. And I'm looking at her in her eyes. And then she goes, she's like, I know you're looking at me like, who am I? And she tells me her whole life story. I was a school teacher. I was full figure. She showed me a picture. I'm like, no, this is you. Now this woman's probably like 150 pounds less. Like, no, this is not you. She's like, this was me, Justin. And she tells me her story about how God saved her. And she's like, you know, she was like talking about, she was praising, she was putting her music on. And I had this moment like, man, Justin, like, This is not in a church. This is not in your traditional church space. But this woman is low-key preaching facts and we're edifying each other's faith. And she said, God saved me one night, Justin. I was being raped by a lot of men. And she said, I was somehow in this ditch. And for days I was there. Oh, that's so sad. And she said, God, if you get me out of this, like I would, I would like, I would do better. I would serve you. I would, you know, all these things. She said, Justin, one day I ended up getting out of this dish. She doesn't even know how she got out. She said, Justin, I was running so fast and almost like I was flying. And other people, one of her friends was like, girl, we saw you the other day. You were flying. She was like, I was flying. Like she doesn't even remember what happened. Right. I'm like, man, could it be even at times when we're, under the influence, or we're going through these moments in life, or maybe we're having these like, we're hallucinating or whatever we're going through, whatever it is, whatever it is. And God could still speak to the heart and speak to the soul. He knows how to do that. The spirit of God knows how to do that. So it's like, I said, man, like religion, would have separated me from this girl, this woman, this conversation. Yeah, because you would have

SPEAKER_01: 36:23

just judged her from the outside.

SPEAKER_00: 36:25

Correct. And it wasn't even a church space. Like it was like, it was at a studio. So it was like, for me, I'm like, man, I'm done with this whole thing of, mind you, I'm still a church boy now. But for me, it was like, I could care less about what someone presents. I want to, where you come from. I've been around rich people, poor people, broke, busted, disgusted, Drug addicts, like, I mean, I know it's all of that. And in this industry, you're around it. A few months ago, I was at this event. Well, we were leaving an event and we were at this executive of this company's house. Very wealthy people. Of course. All the house, cars and all this stuff is laid out. And at this event, they had, like, they had coke.

SPEAKER_01: 37:13

They had party favors.

SPEAKER_00: 37:14

They were ready to go. They were ready. They had, like, they were ready. And I was like... You know, for me, it was like, Justin, this is normal, especially in industry. And anywhere is normal, right? But specifically in industry. Yeah. And no judgment to them. I just didn't want to do it. I wasn't going to partake in it. It wasn't something that I wanted to do. And so I say this story to say is because sometimes in life, I think... For me, I've always been that person to say, I want to be that person to have morals, have dreams, have standards, have a certain path of how I want to do life and live life, not judge people, not make people feel judged, not make people feel like what they do is like the worst of the worst in the world. I want to be an example in my own way, in my own creative way. And if you think my way is something that you feel interest to you, then cool. If not, we can still be good friends. You know, we can still kick it, you know? And so me being at this, this, this person's house, um, they noticed when I left. Was it an

SPEAKER_01: 38:27

Irish goodbye?

SPEAKER_00: 38:28

What do you mean? What is that?

SPEAKER_01: 38:29

You don't know? No. Okay, so first of all, like, shout out to the Irish people. March 17th is St. Paddy's. But they also invented my favorite way of saying goodbye, especially when you're just trying to be out of there. It's a silent goodbye. Like, you don't even say it. You just leave.

SPEAKER_00: 38:44

No way. Well, I guess I did that. So I didn't say nothing. I had called my Uber. Called the Uber. I was like, it's time for me to go to Back to the Airbnb. So while I'm there, I said, I had one of the friends, one of my girl friends that was there, I say, hey, I'm gonna leave. She's like, oh, okay, great. It's like, but don't tell, I did tell her, don't tell nobody else. Like, don't mention it to no one. And she's like, okay. And I ended up just getting the Uber and I left. And then the next day, one of my friends was like, everyone was asking about you when you left. They're like, where do you went? Where do you went? Where did Justin go? And that's when I knew that something was, that moment was actually defining, defining for me and for them.

SPEAKER_01: 39:27

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 39:28

Why? I'll tell you why. You don't have to preach. You don't have to, you don't have to do much other than be who you are. Me saying, no, I'm good. It wasn't judgy. It wasn't like, it wasn't like you're in the wrong. I just don't want to do it. But they still wanted me, they still wanted me to be around them. And that's when you know you are light. When you're light, when you have a light inside of you, you could be having a good time. Like, I like to have a good time. I like, like, we will have a good time. We're going to have

SPEAKER_01: 39:56

a good

SPEAKER_00: 39:56

time. I like to have a good time. But I also know what type of spaces I want to be cognizant of my experience, of my standards, of what I believe. And so I would say for me, when you're in the devil's playground, Hollywood. I was just going

SPEAKER_01: 40:17

to ask, what is the devil's playground?

SPEAKER_00: 40:20

Or industry, anything. Even what you do in real estate and business, I feel like sometimes people think that in any secular space of work, whatever you do for work, you're going to be dealing with some issues that are beyond your control. You're going to be dealing with compromising People are going to ask you to do certain things for a gain for them or gain for you. And you're dealt with all type of cards like, do I do this and it's going to help me further or it's going to push me back? Could I compromise? And is this compromise going to... Allow me to, am I going to be happy about this decision or am I not? You know, that's why some folks do all types of things to get further ahead. And so I would say for me, I've always wanted to be that person in my particular industry to say like, I got here with at least some sort of integrity.

SPEAKER_01: 41:15

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 41:16

With at least some kind of like humility. And I don't ever want to compromise the space that God has given me to be in my shoes. And so... But I'm far from perfect. I make mistakes every day. I made a mistake this morning. I make mistakes every day. Far from perfect. I'm never going to tell someone I'm perfect. Far from that. And part of why even doing this podcast with you and how I did Creators Escape, everything was done with intentionality because I never... want anyone to feel in any space that I curate or space I'm a part of, that there's one person higher than them, that I have some level of power over you or authority. We're all the same trying to figure this crap out. Literally, we're all putting one foot in front of the other regardless of title, status, money. We're all just trying to figure this thing out. Here's my thing. If we could go back to basics, community. building community with people, talking about, yo, this is what I got. This is what I'm going through. This is how I got through it. We're testifying. We're letting folks know like, yo, I went through X, Y, and Z. And this is, I'm not telling you that you're gonna do the same thing, but I'm telling you what I did. And now it's like, it creates this space where vulnerability happens. And folks now want to tell you their truth and what they're dealing with, what they're struggling with. So now you've created a community where what they say, we overcome by the word of our testimony. And we also help other people overcome. So that's what it becomes. So that woman did that for me. When she came into my studio, regardless of where she was at in her current state, she was testifying. And that gave me faith to believe that, man, I can do what I'm doing. God, you got me.

SPEAKER_01: 42:53

Absolutely. I really like how you... said, hey, I want to get through this and I want to do it with integrity and how you lead by example. You know, in case, oh my goodness, I can't even speak. Case in point, that event that you went to where you Irish goodbye'd, you know, first of all, you weren't missing anything, honey. Been there, done it, tried it. All it does is make you go to the bathroom in 20 minutes. It's so disgusting. So you're not missing anything. But honestly, I think that it shows a lot of growth too when you say, okay, yes, I have my faith and I stand by it, but I'm able to still navigate in some of these spaces and reconcile that with your work in a way that you're not compromising yourself or your integrity. So I admire that because it can be hard and it can be easy to just fall into stuff.

SPEAKER_00: 43:45

Listen, there's been compromising situations where I'm like, oh, I could probably do this. No one will ever know about it. I could go to this party and... But I think about one thing too, I must say, I think about my future a lot. You should. And I think about, thank you. I think about, do I want this to be a problem? Do I want this to hinder my growth? If I put myself in this compromising position, how would it interfere with what I'm trying to build? So I think about that a lot. And I think that came from the grounding and the foundation of, I guess, being in church and having, having that foundation. And I think too, going, the other thing I talk about my mom's health. So like my mom is the, she's the pillar of our family. Like anyone who needs something, she's going to help them. Like my mom's help. She's done help people with their mortgage, help them with their car. No help them with their life. Like she's just that person with her family, her, her, her friends, her peers. Like, and it's one of those things where You know, it's that strong person who's always been strong, single mom, black mom, do this thing. And health has always kind of been a challenge for her, you know? Having twins though, we, you know, giving birth to twins gave her a heart condition. And so it put a strain on her heart. And then, so then she had a stroke like 16 years later. And then like, so she's always had some things, you know, going on, but by the grace of God, like, she is still here. I was

SPEAKER_02: 45:20

just going

SPEAKER_00: 45:20

to ask you. Oh, mom's rocking and rolling here doing... different business ventures in Jamaica. Was she

SPEAKER_01: 45:26

at Creators Escape?

SPEAKER_00: 45:28

She was not at Creators Escape. My mom was in Jamaica at the time. You never heard. Yeah. Side note, mom has a store and my mom has a store in some, if you want to know, she has a store in some real estate in Jamaica.

SPEAKER_01: 45:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 45:39

So that's why she goes. That's why I'm always there. You

SPEAKER_01: 45:41

know, you said earlier that you were Jamaican. I didn't even know you were Jamaican.

SPEAKER_00: 45:44

Yeah, my mom's Jamaican. Born and raised in Jamaica. So did you speak Patois? Did you speak Patois? No, I don't speak Patois. I think when I'm around my family, my uncles and stuff, I turn it on. But sometimes, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 45:56

Okay. That's kind of like me with my Spanish. Well, I do speak Spanish fluently.

SPEAKER_00: 45:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 46:00

But if I'm like in an environment where like I have to speak Spanish more fluent than usual. Yeah. Yeah. Like I'm not dying

SPEAKER_00: 46:07

of hunger. The thing is the cool part about it for you, I feel like because you were around it a lot often, I'm sure. Yes. For me, I wasn't. Got it. So my mother didn't speak Patois naturally around the house unless she was pissed off or mad. Okay. And then when her family would come in town, my grandmother, my grandfather, like uncles, cousins will come visit, then she'll turn it on. And then when you're back in the motherland, oh yeah, that thing's turned on to the 10. So spending three weeks in Jamaica, you're going to start speaking a little bit of Patois. It's just starting to actually come out. I'm too white for that though. Unfortunately. You're a black boy with white boy swag. You

SPEAKER_01: 46:44

remind me of my brother in that way, which is probably like why when we met, I was like, wait, how old are you? Oh, oh my God, my brother. So my brother is, he has a valley accent actually. No way. On God. So when people meet him and then they meet me, They're like, you guys are siblings for real? And then they meet my mom and my mom is like, hello, nice to meet you. My name is Maria. So people are like, well, what happened here? So for us, we're six years apart. I learned Spanish first, that my parents really didn't speak a lot of English. And then when Anthony was born, we're all practicing English. And my parents divorced when he was very young. And my mother remarried American. And so there was no reason for us to speak Spanish in the house. So my brother unfortunately missed out on that. I don't know where he got the valley accent from, but, and then of course, like I haven't a very, I don't think it's a thick accent, but it's definitely there. You're

SPEAKER_00: 47:39

like, you know, girl, where are we? You can hear New York, you can hear this, you can hear your Spanish roots, but you can also just like hear, you, it's like, Miami sometimes, like, you have this, like, it goes. It comes and goes. It comes and goes. So

SPEAKER_01: 47:54

I always tell people, like, it might sound a little off sometimes. One, because I do know how to put it away. So if I'm being very conscious, I can do it. That's how I made it through corporate America for, like, a decade. But then also, yes, I'm originally from New York, but I grew up here in the South. So I feel like I do have, like, that's probably where it's like, oh, well, you sound like you're from Miami. No, I sound like from Tampa.

SPEAKER_00: 48:16

Yeah. But... How long have you been in Tampa for?

SPEAKER_01: 48:19

Since I was five. Oh, wow. I'm a Tempeño. Like, I'm from here. So when people go, where are you from? Yeah. And I go, I'm from here. And they go, really? And I go, okay, okay, okay. So you know Tampa. What? Like, the back of my hand.

SPEAKER_00: 48:31

You know what? Where's all the clubs at?

SPEAKER_01: 48:33

Clubs? There's no clubs in Tampa.

SPEAKER_00: 48:35

I know. But I went there a few months ago. And you didn't say

SPEAKER_01: 48:40

nothing

SPEAKER_00: 48:41

to anybody? No, this is probably like months, months, months, like before we even reconnected. Okay, I was about to be offended. This was like, this was, when I say months, I'm talking about not this past year, but like a year before that. So maybe a year and a half. What's that strip called? Ybor? Ybor. Ybor. People crave about Ybor, like Ybor is like the thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 49:04

No, I used to, okay, so back in my day, and like, Sabrina and Imani met me back in my day. No way. They met me back in my day. Melissa was a wild child, like, but I used to walk Ybor by myself. I knew all the DJs, the promoters, I just knew everybody, you name it. So I would walk up and down that strip by myself, in my heels, and people would like catcall at me, and I'd be like, Have a great night. Be safe. And I told someone that the other day and they were like, not you telling predatory men in the street to be safe, but it is a defense mechanism was what it was. So I don't know how crazy the other person is. I don't know how drunk they are and I don't know how crazy they are. So if you catcall to me and I ignore you, you can attack me for ignoring you. If you catcall to me and I insult you, you're still going to attack me. So if you're that crazy. So if I'm gracious and I smile and I walk my skinny ass real fast and I wave, okay, bye, have a good one they'll say oh thanks you know okay bye baby girl

SPEAKER_00: 50:02

what and we keep it pushing so so you're young skinny

SPEAKER_01: 50:08

yeah

SPEAKER_00: 50:09

like skin

SPEAKER_01: 50:10

you know just outside like I'm a retired party girl now

SPEAKER_00: 50:13

okay

SPEAKER_01: 50:14

um you know I'm inside now but

SPEAKER_00: 50:16

there's two things I want to say so what is the whole um um cigar association with Ybor?

SPEAKER_01: 50:23

So Cuban people are the ones that basically built up Ybor. And so kind of like how, you know, in Miami, they call it like little Cuba, basically little Havana. Ybor is known for that. There was a lot of Cuban people. And I just think that... It's really sad the way that the city has, I don't even want to say developed, because it's like a lack of development, honestly. So it's like, you have all these places to party, yeah, but then they... the culture is gone. And so now we have this effort where they're trying to clean up the city, I guess, but you feel like the culture is lost of Tampa. And then there's just a lot of crime in that area. That's

SPEAKER_00: 51:04

why I always say this. I don't go to Tampa often. Every now and again, I have like a project there and I happen to like stay there for a night and I'm like, you know, just have a good time or whatever. But I never felt comfortable in Tampa. Like, I'm not gonna lie. So you have, maybe you're gonna be that spark that's like, okay, Justin, there's more to Tampa than Hard Rock. Like, you know, like, I don't know. Like, I don't know. I hate

SPEAKER_01: 51:23

to disappoint. And I love my city. I love my city.

SPEAKER_00: 51:28

But

SPEAKER_01: 51:28

no. They've got this new area called

SPEAKER_00: 51:31

Water Street. You make it look nice though on Instagram.

UNKNOWN: 51:34

You do.

SPEAKER_00: 51:34

It's my

SPEAKER_01: 51:35

digital storytelling. I love my city, but it's just, and they have like gentrified a lot of the areas. So, I mean, obviously that's like a double-edged sword. Sometimes it's great. And then in other ways, it's not because it's displacing other people. And obviously the culture is lost. But there are some cute like little restaurants on this area called Water Street.

SPEAKER_00: 51:55

Tampa is technically kind of big because there's St. Pete, right? Is that part of Tampa? So, no. So,

SPEAKER_01: 52:00

oh my God, those are like fighting words for people from St. Pete and people from Tampa. Tampa because I personally love both for different reasons. So St. Pete has a much better art district. There are more places to go out in St. Pete as well.

SPEAKER_00: 52:13

I went to St. Pete in December of last year. I went to like this some big Christmas thing they were doing and then they went to some restaurants. Was

SPEAKER_01: 52:25

it the light thing?

SPEAKER_00: 52:26

Yeah. But it's weird. It's so whack. And you spend like$200 on that crap.

SPEAKER_01: 52:32

It's

SPEAKER_00: 52:32

so weird. It was so bad. And like, there's

SPEAKER_01: 52:34

like church people outside of it. I don't know if we're talking about the same one, but there is like a light.

SPEAKER_00: 52:39

There's a huge light show thing and it's expensive, but they do it in different cities. Like, they do it all around the world.

SPEAKER_01: 52:46

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same. The one I went to was just very strange.

SPEAKER_00: 52:49

Okay, no. Mine was at... And St. Pete at the baseball stadium.

SPEAKER_01: 52:52

Okay. Oh, yes. I know exactly what you're talking about. Yes. Yeah, there's not much going on in there. My husband took me to that. So Ryan used to live in St. Pete.

SPEAKER_02: 53:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 53:01

We have a property. He has a property still out there. It's like a rental property. But that's where his first house was. And so when we first started dating, he would... And I didn't have a car at the time. So he'd come from St. Pete over to Tampa, pick me up. and then take me to St. Pete with him. So anyways, we went one year to that thing. How long was that transit? Oh, this is how I knew he loved me because it was like, how long is the transit? So it's, From where I lived to where he lived, it was like 30 minutes. But if you're driving both ways, it's an hour of driving after you're already getting off of work. And then we would go out to eat twice a week for like the first nine months. So I was like, oh, you really like me because this is crazy. And most people would get fed up. They'd be like, you need a car, girl. Like, what's going on?

SPEAKER_00: 53:45

When you told me the story, I don't know if Melissa ever told you guys a story. When you told me the story that he's planning to do this date with you and you're like, Like, no, my hair ain't together. Listen, hardwigs stop lying. Listen, I'm not going on this date. He's like, no, it's okay. He's like, it's okay. I guess you end up going to the date somehow.

SPEAKER_01: 54:03

I went with a head wrap. So I didn't, when I met him, I had a weave. So he's actually the reason why we named this podcast the way we named it. Wow. And I know I went into like, My first episode, I talked about it a lot. But basically, like, my hair was on its last leg when I met him. You know, white people, they don't know no better. Like, white men, they love to see a black girl with a bad weave. I don't know what it is about it. Well, I do know what it is, actually.

SPEAKER_00: 54:29

All the rich black women with a white man always got bad weaves. Listen, like,

SPEAKER_01: 54:33

I ain't gonna say we're rich. You know, we okay.

SPEAKER_00: 54:36

No, I'm just saying, though. No, have you noticed, though, if a black woman is married to a white man, most times her wig is whack.

SPEAKER_01: 54:44

Yes. So here's... Here's what it is. I asked him, I said, why do you guys like hair like that? He goes, it just looks really lived in. Like it looks, it's like, it looks natural, you know? And I'm like, no, it looks like shit. Like it looks like shit. So it was on his last leg and then I didn't have enough money to get my hair done. And through Saito, we were on a date and I'm like, yeah, like I'm just going to show up in a head wrap. And he's like, I like your bandana. And I'm like, Honey, get it right. It's a head wrap. This is not a bandana, you know. In my mind, I was like, that's strike one already. But anyways, we made

SPEAKER_00: 55:15

it through the day. He wasn't cultured yet.

SPEAKER_01: 55:16

Now he knows. It's his joke though. He goes, when I put on my little wrap, he goes, I like your bandana. I'm

SPEAKER_00: 55:22

like, don't play with me. How was it, if you don't mind me asking, how was it when you're getting... or install or something.

SPEAKER_01: 55:29

Wait a minute, what? What

SPEAKER_00: 55:30

are you asking? When you're getting like done or something. Does he know? Does he know? Does he know what's going on?

SPEAKER_01: 55:36

So yes, he is very well aware of like He knows what a quick weave is. He knows what a sewing is. Currently, the braids that I have, which for me, it took a long time to get used to it. Thank you. It took me a while to get used to it because I'm not a braids girl. You never have been. But I did it because, I mean, he's white. He likes to do activities. He wants to go hiking. He wants to go swimming. And I can't be like, oh, like my tracks and my hair is getting sweat out. So I got braids. And he's obsessed with them as of now. So he's like, yeah, like just keep this in like forever because... Yeah, he understands black women's hair. I did have one more question. You're good, please. Now that we're on the topic of black and white,

SPEAKER_00: 56:19

right? We got time, right? I don't have my watch, but we have time.

SPEAKER_01: 56:24

All right, cool. So this is going to be our last topic, and then we'll hit the Spitfire questions. But obviously, we're talking about black and white. I mean, you are a black man. Mm-hmm. who walks in his purpose and in his faith in this industry. Tell me about navigating, like have you come, I'm sure you've come into some kind of like challenges as a black man in this industry. But yeah, like what is one that stands out to you most?

SPEAKER_00: 56:50

I think there's, and this may be kind of like a wowsing moment for people to know. There's times where I'm actually highly accepted from people like white people, right? How they accept it. Maybe it's how I talk. Maybe it's how I carry myself. Maybe it's experiences of, we may have an experience that connects us. Hey, I know this. I know I'm aware of it. It doesn't change the fact that I know what I come from and who I am. And, you know, I've witnessed some struggle in my life. You know, when is my mom being a single mom, like working really hard? We never experienced, you know, growing up, never experienced like, you know, poverty ever. But not because it could not have happened. It was because I saw a single mom work her butt off. And I think I owe her a lot because how we were raised, just certain morals. We had a tutor. After school, we were always doing something. And we... We actually wanted to do certain things. So my mom was like, okay, y'all going to get your license at 14 or your pre... She was always trying to make sure we were on certain things.

SPEAKER_01: 58:12

It makes sense. She's trying to make your life better, probably, so that way you don't have those struggles.

SPEAKER_00: 58:17

Yeah. And so... But to go back to your question, I think as I got older and I was trying to go into this career and work with people, I never wanted to be a Black-owned business. I never promoted myself as that, ever. I never promoted myself as a Black-owned business. Now, I connect with folks in the community and we do different things, but I've never wanted to be labeled as Black-owned because... I may be Black-owned, yes, but my reach is for everybody. And I never wanted to limit my reach because of that. Now, I know the game I'm trying to play. You know what I'm saying? I know the bag I want to secure and what I want to do with those resources and how I want to help the community. But there has been moments where I'm highly accepted, but there's also moments where I'm completely not even looked at. you're not someone that we want to work with regardless of your portfolio, regardless of your corporate portfolio, regardless of what you have done. And then I would also say for our community at times, we have to give Black-owned businesses, businesses in general, another chance and opportunity because I think about it, there's a lot of times where Someone may give an example. I heard a story because you're a real estate agent. I heard a story of a client telling me when they had a realtor that was selling their home or helping them with their home buying process. And like, she just screwed it up. Like, we'll never work with her ever again. And there was a black realtor. And the woman was very, I was shocked because I'm like, I know she's very wise. She's on her stuff. But I also knew that she was going through some hell at home. You know, she was in transition and trying to figure out some life decisions. And so I'm like, man, like, for this person to kind of like blast this woman online and like, I'll never work with her again. I think we have to do better as a people, as a community. We give McDonald's another chance. We give Popeye's another chance. We give Chick-fil-A two billion chances. Someone, you know, they messed up your order. The point I'm trying to say is, your question is, it's more than just a thing of like a... someone believing in you or someone not believing in you. I think oftentimes we are trained as a community that someone owes me something or we want to negotiate someone's price. We want to bring someone's prices down. We got to stop doing that. We also have to see ourselves as successful. So that way, even when you're doing something on a budget, don't say that you could do something on a budget and still not make it look like it's on the budget. And then on top of that, when failures do happen in business and someone doesn't happen, their heart is right, their intentions are pure, but maybe something just goes left. Sometimes they were late. Sometimes natural things happen that are beyond their control. It's okay to not want to work with them. That's okay. But definitely... Don't think of it as a thing where this is the worst person in the world. You're never gonna work with them again. I have seen that. And so even in my career, there's been moments where I have witnessed other photographers and other people that have said, bro, like, I feel so defeated. I would never want to do this again. And like a friend of mine called me the other day, bro, I lost some footage at this project. I'm like, bro, breathe. Pick yourself back up. You got this. Call the client. Tell them I learned from my mistakes. Don't wait too long. Be straight up. Can we reshoot this? What can we do? Can I give you this? Like, but some folks go through these things in life and it feels like my whole life is over. And so I would just say like. Yeah. Hope that answers your question. No, it does. It

SPEAKER_01: 1:01:53

actually leads into like, I mean, as a community to just like mental health, you know, we feel like we have to come in at our best and we can't even like, we can't fail. Right. Because like, you know, maybe like Jessica, Margaret and Stacey can come in and like half-ass something, but I can't. And the minute I make a mistake, you know, I can't, I can't get away with it in the same fashion. Perhaps.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:14

Like this is the teaser. Yeah. I was telling a friend the other day, like, unfortunately, sometimes people, like us, we can't make a mistake. We can't. No. The repercussions of it is completely different than other people. And we're not given the same grace. We're just not.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:33

No,

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:33

unfortunately. We're not, even from our own people.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:36

Even from our own people.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:37

I think as a community, I mean, like, and you're already on that path of, like, kind of rectifying that, you know, even within your community. And so...

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:45

What I've decided to do, Melissa, is this. So if I were to... kind of like give hope to this type of conversation is vulnerability should fuel not only community, but creativity.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:59

Agreed.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03:00

Right. And, you know, beyond me building my main business, J Story Media and all of that, I have, I think all of those failures I went through gave me hope. I was looking for a community that could support Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Creators Escape is a community to help everybody. the mom and pop business, the person who's at home right now playing video games, doesn't know what their purpose is. It's for the high functioning creative who is in demand, who's working for Essence and working for Vogue and all these different platforms. It's for the person who's in this waiting period where, hey, I've done all these things in my career, but right now I'm kind of at this pause and I don't know what's next. I'm waiting. It's for the person who is that high ranking, 1%, whatever. And they just need a helping friend. They need someone to cry on. They need someone to talk to. They need someone they can be vulnerable with. And we have seen, I saw this thing on Instagram. It said, this is what depression looks like. It had Robin Williams, Chesley Christ, who was the Miss Universe. And it had all these really well-known people in this collage. Twitch was on there, the dancer, Ellen. And when I saw this thing, I'm like, man, And I've lived that life. I have been around a lot of successful people who have been vulnerable with me. Melissa told me like, bro, I'm suicidal and you got like 2 million followers. Hey bro, I got$700 to my name and I got 7 million followers on Instagram. I've had these vulnerable conversations with people. And I think I've also been in in those shoes before. I have had moments where like, I'm giving my last because I believe in something. I've given, I've had moments where I didn't have anything other than my gift to give, you know? And so there's moments in life where like, man, if we just put all the titles away and we can come to a safe space, I think you and I talked about this after the critics escaped, like I want, I can, I imagine a space where people from all walks of life all career paths just come to a space together, community, and we build community, we build vulnerability, we help each other. And I don't know if it's a matter of, like I can see it like different chapters, this is how I kind of see things. I can see like chapter Atlanta, I don't know, Miami, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Zimbabwe somewhere. What is it becoming? So it's becoming a safe haven for entrepreneurs, for creatives, for visionaries. If you have a vision for something, you are creative. You don't have to be a photographer or a content creator to be a creative. And so... What Courageous Escape is going to become is like a safe haven for anyone who wants community. They also need access and resources to mental health therapists. You need a financial advisor. Hey, you need a graphic designer. You need someone to help you. I want to be able to have folks, when they have an idea for something, this can manifest itself and happen within a couple of weeks, couple of days. Sometimes we have ideas, like we just really just need someone to help. You're a photographer. You're a graphic designer. You're a videographer. I have this idea. Can we do something like right now? I want to be able to create this space where folks can just have access and resources. And so we'll have a vetted list of professionals that can help you do X, Y, and Z. We'll do monthly events. We'll do quarterly events. We'll do different bigger events, retreats. You'll be a part of it, obviously. And we're just going to build this thing. And I... Classes, hey, Photoshop classes, Canva classes, business classes, sales classes, marketing classes, how to pitch yourself, how to brand yourself, how to start, how to shoot, how to shoot content, how to formulate your business, do you do LLC, do you do INS? Just want to have all these different... And then mental health clinics where like, yo, we're going to do an hour, power hour on... We always do... Happy hours. Why don't we do happy hour on wellness? Like, yo, we're just going to spend an hour. We're going to go to this beach. We're going to go to this park. We're going to, you know, just release. We're going to pray. We're going to recharge. And being intentional. That's the feeling that

SPEAKER_01: 1:07:48

you provide, too. Because I literally left out of there. I cried. And creators escaped. All the prayer. I was like, what is happening? At this point, I feel like you're almost like the consultant for the creators. Yeah. You know? Don't

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:02

say the corporate word. Let's go with something else. Ah! Maybe like, yeah, but I see what you're trying to say though.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:07

And it's kind of like, there was something that you said that stood out to me that I can, I just, I think about this often. So even my podcast, I feel like, I'm creating a safe space for others to come and listen, but also those who are listening to me are creating a safe space for me to come and talk. And so you're creating a safe space for creatives to come together, but also those creatives that are coming together for you and for the greater purpose are creating a safe space for you to continue on in your journey. So it's

SPEAKER_00: 1:08:36

one of those exchanges. One of the things that I would say after the event, and this is how I knew it was meant to happen, Everyone said, Justin, I didn't think I belonged. Some folks came up to me and said, I didn't think I belonged at this table. I didn't think I had anything going on for me to sit at this table. And I've always said, man, God put me in a place where that person who's at home, a lot of folks just need hope. They just need hope. And if I can give folks a little bit of hope, that you deserve to be a part. You deserve to be seen. You deserve to be heard. You deserve to be known. You deserve to be thought of. You deserve to, it gives you that oomph of confidence that, yo, I do belong at these, on these panels. I do belong at this table. And I was intentional. Like when we did our VIP reception, I was intentional. Like everyone was making their plate. I don't care who, who's on his lineup. Y'all making your own plate. You know, I was so intentional with everything to the, to the point of, you know, what, the itinerary, the schedule, the flow, the panel I wanted. And I love that at the very end, the actual conference event, at the very end when everyone was collaborating and everyone was like, yo, I'll be the producer, I'll be the driver, I'll be the... That stage,

SPEAKER_01: 1:10:00

all of us, we created a project in 10 minutes. Not even 10 minutes, I'm sorry. Within a minute or two. And everyone was collaborating. And at the end of Creators Escape, all of the audience was sitting on the stage with the panelists. That. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00: 1:10:16

Wait, that was a moment. That was a moment. It was. That was a moment.

SPEAKER_01: 1:10:22

And here we are today because I was so inspired from the creator's escape. I was one of those people that had imposter syndrome all the way up until the actual creator's escape. I kept telling my husband, I don't know why I'm going to this. I don't know why I'm invited. I don't know why I'm the panelist. What am I going to say? Because I'm always downplaying my own achievements and aspirations. And I left there with a newfound sense of purpose. And I told myself, okay, I'm going to reboot this podcast, Hardwick Self Life, and we're going to do it the right way. and all of that jazz. And here we are. And I got to have you now. I have a few questions, just like quick spitfire.

SPEAKER_00: 1:10:58

I'll be quick.

SPEAKER_01: 1:10:58

Questions. All right. You love

SPEAKER_00: 1:11:02

to tell a story.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11:03

So I know that you are all about manifestation, right? So if you could have, if you had one dream collaboration that you could do, what would it be?

UNKNOWN: 1:11:17

Hmm.

SPEAKER_00: 1:11:17

Well, I always wanted to do a movie. So I think one day, not think, we've got to change our words. I will be doing a movie one day. I guess collaborating, I don't know who I want to collaborate with, but I definitely want to, if I were to collaborate with someone, it would be one of those like high-ranking actors that's like in Hollywood that you're like, wow, like this would be in history books, like something like that.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11:43

Top three. Top

SPEAKER_00: 1:11:45

three

SPEAKER_01: 1:11:45

actors.

SPEAKER_00: 1:11:46

Hmm. Will Smith.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 1:11:52

Will Smith is one of them. I will also say Denzel. And transparently, I love, those are, you can say you're A-list actors. I also love those who are not like, like, popularly known. Like the underdogs. Like the underdogs. So like lately I have been like really thinking about those people who are like, you've done some great work in your career, but you're just not acknowledged like that. Right. So there's a whole list of them, but I would say probably an actor that I feel like has done a lot of great work. They're just not as visibly seen would probably be like, well, she's gone, but like Cicely Tyson was like someone who I felt like wasn't represented like that way you know even recently with the passing of Angie Stone like that's another thing too I've always wanted to be the one of those people where like I can help really folks who had like our friend Gio people who had their they've had their prime right and maybe like it's just like times have changed right and it's like how can we also keep them going and keep their ideas going you know and so I would love to help folks like that, but yeah, so. Dream collaboration would probably be something with Will Smith to do my own movie one day.

SPEAKER_01: 1:13:09

Okay, it's lit. Hopefully, if I get to, well, one day, I'll get to a point of stardom in some way. I'd like to do a movie about my life. So, Justin, you can run a point on that. I know mental health and faith and purpose are very, very important to you. And so, obviously, those are phenomenal things. But if you were in a season of uncertainty because nobody is perfect, how do you handle that season? What do you do?

SPEAKER_00: 1:13:33

That's the perfect question. And I think that's the perfect way to close this thing out. When you are in a season of uncertainty, you gotta shut up. You really do. And I'll tell you why, because when you're uncertain about what's next, where it's coming and we're talking, sometimes we're talking out of anger, sometimes we're talking out of disbelief, sometimes we're talking out of belief. And even in times we're talking about out of belief, but we're talking to too many people. And when God is like trying to do something in your life, but you don't tell everyone what's happening, what's unfolding, it creates honestly unnecessary like, issues and challenges and warfare that you don't know how to deal with. Like, you don't tell all your friends and family, and sometimes they'll project their belief or their disbelief onto you, but now you don't tell them your whole dream. You really going to do that, Melissa? You really going to buy this house? You really going to move? You know, Melissa, you're really going to do, you're going to write this movie? You're going to do this podcast? What are you talking about? Like, you know, you should be splitting your money on something else. Like, people would literally project their insecurities or their beliefs and try to make you believe in what they believe in. So, when you're in a season that uncertainty, you got to like, you got to shut up. That's number one. Don't tell everybody your dream. Don't tell everyone what you're dealing with. Find that one person you can trust.

SPEAKER_01: 1:14:47

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 1:14:47

That one friend, that one person that's a purpose partner. That's someone like you can tell them the good, the bad, the ugly. They're not going to judge you. They're going to stay in faith with you. They're going to believe in it with you. Ride or die. If one person shows up, we doing it. If two people show up, that person for me was Nakia. She was helping me run the show of the event. And so like when you're in that season, Shut up. Number two, find that one person. I think number three, it's okay to ask God for wisdom and ask God for vision. Right now, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know what's next. I need signs in my face. I'm tired of waking up in the morning and I don't know what's next. I need signs. Show me that there's purpose to my heartbeat. And he'll do that. And he's done that through visions, through dreams, through movies, through visuals, through a prayer. And he'll do that. And so... Those are the three ways I think if you're in a season of uncertainty, you do that, trust and believe, it will always happen. The

SPEAKER_01: 1:15:45

past will present itself.

SPEAKER_00: 1:15:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:15:49

We did it. We did it. It's over. Justin, no, it's over. That sounds very ominous. We're just getting started. How about that? We're just getting started. But I want you to tell the people, where can we find Mr. Justin's story?

SPEAKER_00: 1:16:01

Okay, so of course I'm on Instagram, on Facebook. I'm probably going to delete Facebook soon, to be honest, though. Like, low-key, I'm thinking about deleting Facebook. But Go on Instagram. I am just a story. And definitely please follow the Creators Escape community on Instagram and Facebook. And then also we have some things coming up. So just stay tuned. I'm in. I'm changing some things with the business. We're building the community. Melissa is going to be a part of some great things. Y'all want to stay tuned for that. Stay tuned on the Creators Escape dot com. That's where you can find out all the amazing events that we have coming up. And that's it.

SPEAKER_01: 1:16:33

Yeah, we look forward to seeing everybody there. So thank you all for tuning in.