The Art of Becoming: Perri Young on Music, Media & Creative Identity #051

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instagram.com/planetperri
instagram.com/massfxmusic

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https://veraclub.myshopify.com

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https://www.perriyoung.com

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https://massfxmusic.com

Over the last year, many of you have gotten to know Perri through the Vera House Podcast — the conversations, the humor, the production, the music, the creative direction, and the personality behind of and in front of the camera.

But this episode is different. Today, we sit down to properly ask about the story of Perri Young.

From growing up in Richmond and navigating ADHD, to working jobs he hated, discovering nightlife and DJ culture, developing his creative lens, traveling through Japan, diving deep into media and technology, and ultimately helping build Vera House from the ground up — this is a conversation about creativity, curiosity, identity, and evolution.

We talk about:

• Richmond nightlife and music culture
• MassFX and DJ life
• ADHD and Dyslexia growing up
• Bartending and searching for direction
• Fashion, aesthetics, and building taste
• Japan and its creative influence
• Entrepreneurship and freelance video work
• Podcasting, personal branding, and Vera House
• What it actually means to build a creative life

Quick interjection to invite you to Vera House Studios. If you are a local Richmond business, entrepreneur, brand owner, or service provider—and you know you need to create better content to get your products and services in front of the right people—we can help.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to the Vera House Podcast. Today is a very special episode. Over the last year, a lot of you have gotten to know Perry through this podcast, all of the Richmond stories that we tell, the conversations we've had, the friendship between us both, the production, the humor, the perspective. But today we are sitting down to tell Perry's story properly. Perry is somebody who strongly represents the creative culture of Richmond. And before him and I ever became friends or business partners, I already knew who Perry was. Everywhere I saw him, he was surrounded by people. He had a strong presence, a strong influence, and over time I realized that that was the result of years spent deeply embedded in music, nightlife, media, creativity, and culture here in RVA. Perry has spent years as one of the city's most recognized DJs. He performs as the resident DJ here locally at Loso. He has shared the stage with the likes of Carl Craig, Chromeo, DJ Holographic, even Skrillix, and many more. But music is not the full story. As years went on, his obsession with media, production, storytelling, and sound design, videography, technology, and creative culture only grew stronger. He worked inside professional media environments, sharpened his skills behind the scenes, and eventually took the leap into entrepreneurship to help build what ultimately became VeraHo. Today he's the co-founder of VeraHo Studios and producer of this very podcast. He's a filmmaker, content creator, and talented freelance videographer who's worked with clients including NASA, Markel, Swedish Match, Berkeley Mid-Atlantic, Genworth, and many others locally and nationally. Whether it's music, content, podcasting, fashion, technology, motorsports, or really anything, when my boy Perry gets interested in something, he dives all the way in. So for this episode, we're going to get to know the person behind the camera, behind the production, and behind the personality that everyone's gotten used to, seeing every single week. With that being said, welcome to the show, my friend and co-host, Perry Young, aka Buddha Perry, aka Sir Pericles the Third, aka DJ Percolator, aka the Periodic Table of Elements, aka Chairman Perry, aka the Green Tea Sense. I like that one, aka Podfather Perry, aka Steven Spiel Perry. Oh my goodness. AKA Perryance. Alright. Planet Perry, Lord Perius Maximus, Sir Perzilot, and the Neon Samurai. Welcome to the show, Perry. Yeah, my favorite was the periodic table of elements.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

So good. That's so good. Well, it's as usual.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

It's a pleasure to be here. Yeah, man. Welcome back to the Vera House Podcast, dude. We've wanted to do this for a long time. And it's cool to like reflect on how long we've been doing this. Yeah. We don't know for sure if this will be episode 50 or not, but we've been doing this for coming up on a year.

SPEAKER_03 3:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

And we've gotten to know each other as like friends, business partners, and it's been really cool to like learn a lot about the creative brain, like the creative brain behind Perry.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

You know?

SPEAKER_03 3:22

This is it is kind of crazy. Time flies, as they say, but it really does when you're having fun. And not all of this has been fun 100% of the time, but like 95% yet. It's been fun. And we've been fortunate in that regard that yeah, we just like doing it. And if you like something, you'll like me, you're similar to me in this regard. We'll dive head first into it. We'll learn everything we can about it. We'll try to be the best at it as possible. And yeah, you're being podcasters and being studio owners and business owners, it's just like another day, man.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Yeah, it is. It's like, you know, there's the cliche of if you find something that you love, you'll never work a day in your life. I don't know if that's entirely true, but um but it's accurate. It is, you know, and yeah, when like working together and just working on this project has been super cool. But obviously, you do a lot outside of just this podcast. So when you and I first met, I think we already kind of knew of each other, but we didn't know each other. We never had hung out, like we had never really met, which is kind of funny and interesting because we probably crossed paths like a million times prior to actually becoming friends. Yeah. Um, obviously we met through mutual friends, and our friend was like, uh, yeah, you guys know each other, right?

SPEAKER_03 4:41

And we were both kind of like, uh, like, no, maybe I don't know what's your name again. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

And our friend was like, you guys would totally be friends. Like, how do you guys not know each other? And we're like, all right, well, good to meet you, dude. And then we hung out at this little get together, and sure enough, swap numbers, and we've literally been friends ever since. Yeah. It's kind of funny, like how that works.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

You know, normally, and I guess we this is like the one instance where we can both say it was that that started it, because people will always ask me, like, how did you guys meet? Like, to like meet, you know, between me and some of my you know longtime friends. And it's always like, Man, I don't really know. It was just like one day we looked up and we were hanging out all the time. Yeah, this is not that. This is like, yeah, we were at a mutual friends, the gathering, didn't really know each other. That person was like, You guys should hang out, and then we did, and then we became friends. Yep. So it's like, can market timestamp it? It was that moment when we knew we hadn't effed up.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yeah, yeah. And it was just the other day when we were talking about how Richmond is very clickish, especially from like a third party per like point of view. Yeah. And people feel like there's these clicks in Richmond and it's hard to make friends sometimes. And I do think as we get older, that does become more true because you just, you know, you have your established friend group, and it's hard to introduce new people into that group, or vice versa, get out of your normal friend group and go explore and do different things. And I think I can only speak for myself, but I I think maybe we're in similar situations where as we get older, it's like, yeah, you're looking for new friends and to do different things. And I've always thought of you as like a socialite, you know, like everybody knows Perry, Perry knows everybody. Even if Perry doesn't remember your name, he's like, I know that person, and vice versa. Every even if Perry, even if people are like, I don't know that guy's name, they're like, That's Mass Effects, or that's this. You know, it's like they know who you are.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Um, and I was one of those people as well. I'm like, I know that guy. I'm like, that's just the guy with all the hot chicks hanging around, and he's like a DJ and he's like cool and he like does creative stuff. And I'm like, I don't know what he does, but yeah, he's uh what what was the nickname? It was uh Steven Spiel Perry.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

That those names are incredible. I'm like, I have a couple of like nicknames or have been given a couple of nicknames over the years, and those are none of them, so those are all those are all new. I got a fresh batch.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

I'm gonna send you this list so that you can pick your favorites. I personally really like DJ Percolator. DJ Percolator is too good.

SPEAKER_03 7:08

It was like Pericles. I've heard Pericles before.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

Yeah, I've got I've got a few nicknames.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Peryance.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

That one, you know, we're gonna have to workshop that.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Lord Perrius Maximus.

SPEAKER_03 7:20

Yeah, dude, there are there's some gems in there. There's some good ones.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

The neon samurai. Yeah, I like it.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

It's so funny.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Yeah, we'll talk about your trip to Japan later.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

So tell us about DJ Mass Effects, right? I've been to many of your events. I think you're somebody who's probably uh one of the best like event curators, specifically when it comes to house music and DJ sets. Obviously, you're you're friends with some of the bigger DJs that are around here as well, and even beyond, like in the DMV area. So I know you've performed like in DC and some I didn't even know that you would perform with Skrillix before and some of these other things. You've remixed a Conditions song. I did. But we also had them on the podcast, so that's super cool. Conditions was one of my favorites when I was young. Yeah. So where did the name Mass Effects come from? And when did you start DJing?

SPEAKER_03 8:08

That's a that's a great question. Um, the name Mass Effects came from my, at the time, like just obsession with the video game called Mass Effect. It was the first video game of that kind on like Xbox, the first gen Xbox, I think. This is almost 12, 13 years ago at this point. I was honestly, I was like struggling to figure out what my DJ name was because I didn't want to be called DJ Perry. It doesn't really have the zing that I was looking for. So I just workshopped it and Googled and was on YouTube and just seeing what everybody else did. And a lot of other DJs were using like plays on words, and I liked that. And I I tried to force meaning into like what does Mass Effects mean? Little did I know that usually comes after some time of you kind of figuring it all out. But yeah, just Mass Effect was one of my favorite video games at the time. I removed the effect and made it FX so it looked better. It's not quite as long of a word or a name. And then the start to me DJing is like a weird story, but very on brand for a lot of the things that I've been drawn to and started to become involved in over the years when it comes to creativity and stuff. So I was friends with a group of guys back, I want to say this is you know like 12 years ago. Um we would go out to a place called Sahara. So hookah bar, we talked about it on the show. Yeah. Was on Gray Street, right on campus. And we would hang out there all the time, and we would go there after going downtown to Shaco Bottom. And in Shaco Bottom, there was a club called Lucky Buddha. And Lucky Buddha was a dance, a dance club, nightclub next to what used to be called Cha Cha's, just right in that that end of the strip before you get to like Canal Club. So we would go down there, we'd see, you know, our friends who were bartending and see a couple friends who would be DJing. And then we would go to the hookah bar afterwards, because they were open until 3 a.m. hang out there, you know, you know, let the alcohol wear off, have some some swarm, some raps, and there they had a little DJ booth and a little stage where people could like dance. And this is back when for technology, like there wasn't a lot of technology and DJing, DJing gear. This was uh either vinyl turntables or the top of the line was like the first generation of a CDJ or CD mixers, which is basically like two analog C D interchangers that you just had to like you put them in, you could cue and play and pause, and then you could take them out and put in another CD. That was it. And that's what they had at this little hookah bar. And for a time, the the owner's nephew would you know spin some tunes, if you want to call it that. And then he went on vacation or went back to I think Morocco is where they were from, and he never came back. And I asked the owner because we were pretty friendly at the time. We've been there going on months at this point. I was like, hey man, can I get up there and mess around? This seems pretty cool. He's like, Oh yeah, sure, go for it. Nobody was there, didn't matter. Yeah. And I was like, this is awesome. I love it. I went home, I burned a bunch of my own CDs, I brought it back, and I kept playing around with that stuff. I was like, okay, I like this. This is cool. Now, mind you, I'd already had an interest in music, loved music, dabbled in some like production software, never really thought about being a DJ. So months year or months, maybe a couple of years later, um I started to work at Lucky Buddha. I was bartending at Lucky Buddha and I kind of loosely had interest in like seeing what was up with the DJ, whatever they were doing back there. I knew it had something to do with CDs because that was the medium of the time. I asked the DJ then, I was like, hey man, this is a slow night. Do you mind if I like mess around and just kind of see what this gear is up? Like, what's up with this gear? I get up there and start messing around with the CDJs, and the mixing was like, oh yeah, I like this. And I happened to be pretty good at it. Like I I had a strong fascination and interest with technology and computers and mechanics. So turning knobs and pressing buttons was like second nature for a lot of a lot of things. And basically that was what the spark where the spark was. After I knew that I liked it and that I was actually pretty good at it, I just took it and ran with it. I started downloading a bunch of music, I put the burned them all on the CDs. I asked the guys if I could come and play a weekend. And shortly thereafter, a close friend of mine at the time offered to buy me my first DJ setup because I couldn't really afford it.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:46

So he bought all of my first gear, first DJ gear, a couple CDJs and a little mixer. And then I think that week or two later, I was playing at four different places for every every week for months. Wow. Almost a year, I was only DJing. I didn't even bar to any of the Lucky Buddha anymore. I quit. And I went straight full-time DJ. Wow. Because, yeah, man, like I was like I said, when you're interested in something, just obsessed with it, you just go ahead first.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Damn, that is cool. And it's it's it's cool seeing the difference like now um to like how far it's come because you'll have a show and people that I know are like texting me and they're like, yo, are you going to the Mass Effect show? And you know, and not that we just expect people to know that like we do a podcast together, but I'm like, yes, I'll be there, you know? Um and it does, it just cracks me up. But and it's yeah, it's cool to see those, the like dichotomy of like your life a little bit. Yeah. Um and I do remember you telling me about Sahara, RIP Sahara. RIP, man. Um, that's crazy. And so when does like you mentioned even like technology and just turning knobs and turning buttons? And I can relate a little bit to that because I always just took apart technology as a kid, but I would imagine that you were maybe similar. So when did your interest in things like video production, media, music, cameras, like when did that come into your life?

SPEAKER_03 14:12

I mean, honestly, that came into my life pretty recently. You know, really wasn't even until this was kind of on the table. You know, I think I had always had always had an interest in in those things. I'd had visual representations of it through media, through movies, and through stories that I was told, but I never thought it was something that I would do. And we kind of got in that lane or I started to get into those lanes. And it it's it's weird with the things that I became interested in. I used to think that they were really far out of my reach or that there were somebody else's interests or responsibilities, and I just had to stay on the path. And I didn't like the path, I just didn't really know what that meant. I was doing it and I was following along, and I was going to school, and I was watching the news, and I was going to the park, and I was like, well, this is seems pretty normal. But it never occurred to me that I like I should have been doing the things that I was watching, I should have been engaging with that stuff. And then when kind of like that kind of clicked is when I started to like really see myself doing these things. And then it's it's really hard to put a specific date and time on it. But I want to say call it five years ago, six years ago, I started to let's call it waking up. I started to see things from a different perspective. I started to see myself as the uh the operator and not just someone who was good at telling a story or observing it. There is one time specific time point in time that comes to mind now. And forgive me if this is a little off topic from the question, but just kind of reminding me during lockdown when we were kind of in our homes and and during COVID we couldn't go outside, we were restricted from working, and you know, working at a bar, all the bars were closed, couldn't make any contact with your friends, so all you could do is you know, zoom calls and and whatnot. In that first period before we started to get the stimulus checks and we started to get back into working, there was literally nothing to do. And what I and I'm looking back, I've got a clearer you know vision on it. But back then, something just struck me, like lightning, multiple lightning bolts. Like, I need to figure out what it is that I want to do because now I have nothing but time. I have no excuses and I have zero distractions. And it wasn't like I had to force it, I was genuinely interested in finding it out. Tried out a couple things. Maybe I'm a writer, maybe I'm an artist, maybe I'm an illustrator, maybe I'm a graphic designer. Turns out no. All that shit's real hard, and I didn't wasn't very good at it. And then it came into plays, you know, directing and and producing and getting more interested in and more in-depth into the filmmaking side of things and production. Overall production was something that I was extremely drawn to. And I dabbled in it, you know, I got my feet wet. I was like, okay. Maybe this is what I should be doing all along. And before I actually could actually get something going, I did actually attempt to make a short film. I had a cast together, I recruited some strangers, I got my best friend to help me produce. I hired, or not hire, but I recruited another buddy of mine to film it. And we filmed a couple of scenes. We were in different locations in Bird Park and in the fan. It was off to the races. And this is all during lockdown. Like nobody's working. Yeah. There's nothing to do. You know, maybe some bars are starting to open up with some distancing. And I once I had that taste, I was like, Yeah, yeah, this is I like this. Nice. But unfortunately, you know, we we got to a point where we were getting some momentum with the the production of that short film, and the videographer I was working with unfortunately had to leave town and we never finished it. But the hunger was definitely ignited and sparked and started there. And it also condensed a lot of free radical ideas into like a direction. Yeah. And I think a path that I could follow.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Yeah, and it probably felt like there was a like an itch that still wasn't scratched, you know. Very much so. It's still not scratched. Yeah. And I well, I remember you telling me that you kind of had this idea, and I think many creatives have this feeling when you think of people who work at like these big creative agencies and stuff, and it's like, oh, that would be like the coolest job, you know. And funny enough, when we really started to spend a lot of time as friends hanging out together, that was kind of what you were doing. Maybe not, you know, the Martin agency or whatever, but you know, you were working in media, like for a media company, essentially. Um, and I think for a lot of people, they would settle with that. And they'd be like, oh, this is an awesome job. Like, this is what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life. Is I'm gonna show up at this office. I'm gonna work on maybe not short films, but you know, maybe it's commercials or adverts or, you know, content or interview videos and stuff like that. Maybe that's you know the path. And I know that was a path that you traveled down at least for a little while, but you probably felt like you still hadn't scratched that itch and there was like something still like missing or that you wanted more, right? 100%.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

That itch is still there. And I think it's more less of an itch now and more of just the driving force. Yeah. But back then it was such a big goal that I wanted to achieve. Because at the time, you know, before lockdown and you know, over um the careers, the jobs that I was working in my early 20s and then into my early 30s, was in the restaurant industry, some retail here and there, and some odd jobs and still DJing. But I I kind of knew that I already liked production and creativity. And when I understood to a degree, or when I started to learn what working in a marketing firm or an advertising firm was like, I was obsessed when I heard about what you did at the Martin agency. I had a friend that used to work there. And when I heard that, you know, this is what people were doing to produce the commercials that I would see that I became obsessed with, it was like light bulb moment. It's like I want to do that. Whatever they're doing, I want in, I have to get in there. Not having any prof you know, accredited education is one hurdle. Not having any formal experience, but having delusional confidence was like the formula that I was working with at the time. And I remember I looked into applying for Apple. I looked, I definitely submitted a sh terrible resume to the Apple Corporation to investigate. I sent a resume to the Martin agencies, send a resume to arts and letters. I like I was putting myself out there but with zero credentials and with no legs to stand on. Because this is an industry that I was completely unfamiliar with years prior. But I was gonna try. And what happened was I did the traditional try where you look up their hiring email and you send their resume and you know, I make a resume and you know, I Apple Word documents, not really knowing that a really good resume takes time and effort, but having no idea what that even meant. Just, you know, shooting in the dark, seeing what I get. Lockdown happened, and I was like, maybe maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way. Like what if I produced my own film and used that as my resume? That was the logic behind starting to produce the short film. Because what a lot of these resumes were asking for was a portfolio. I didn't have one. I didn't have any experience. I'd never held a camera, never directed anything, had no clue how to edit. Didn't have a portfolio. I was like, Well, let me just let me start with the portfolio. So that was kind of the motivation to get this short film going. And the the itch there was big time and you know, backtrack a little bit. There are moments in and maybe other people can relate to this. There are moments in your life where you have that light bulb moment and you're like you look down, you look at whatever you're doing for work or where you live or your relationship or your circumstances, like why the hell have I been putting up with this? I don't like it. I'm I'm not satisfied. I'm not happy. I can change this. I need it's like you the you snap out of the days of the haze and you're like, all right, I've got to figure out something else. And at the time I was working at a restaurant I didn't like it. It was long hours it was decent money but it was slinging drinks and slinging food. And I just I didn't want to do that anymore. Yeah. I knew after seeing friends of mine do it and after knowing that there was an industry out there that kind of existed in the realm of things that I was interested in. I was obsessed with doing anything but bartending and doing things like that. And I had a friend I lived down in California and this is the same friend that I that I went and visited in Japan. I took a one-way ticket and I stayed with him at his house and the deal was that I could come there because he knew that I was interested in this I could come to California he can make some introductions and then he would let me stay there until I figured out how to live there. Whatever I needed to do. That was a humbling experience. I'm sure taking a one way ticket to Los Angeles sleeping on an air mattress in a relatively nice house. They weren't living in a small apartment they were in a nice house and with no experience no leads no tools so like no didn't have a fresh batch of clothes didn't have a car didn't have any money go forth and see if you can prosper. I was out there for three months winging it interviews on online on Craigslist looking for jobs. I actually submitted the final production of the conditions remix while I was there oh yeah because I was working on it at the time and I was like all right I got nothing else going on let me just wing that over send it over to Alex he's like label says thumbs up it's going on the record so I was like all right maybe I can do this. Yeah you know maybe just you know keep sticking at it keep going at it and uh this I've told this story a few times so it does kind of touch on some parts that you know maybe we're gonna get into but man um scratching the itch has been the driving force for sure. Yeah but the overarching theme is that no one was going to tell me that I had to do it had to do it the way that everybody else did it. Because I wasn't going to it was already too late at that point and I didn't feel the need to start from scratch when I clearly was confident that I could do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Yeah. Well in LA is like the belly of the beast right it's like not that your situation isn't unique but in some ways it probably isn't because everyone there's trying to make it right so it's like you got some stiff competition. It's like you're not the only person looking for jobs and trying to like sustain your passions and hobbies while also trying to make a living and support yourself. It's like if you're gonna pick anywhere that's like the toughest to do it like that's the place.

SPEAKER_03 25:12

I was completely delusional. Yeah and that was enough to get by and you know with support from my friend just moral support really you know that was enough to be there for long enough to get a job and for long enough to get a project. So in you know in all it's for all intents and purposes did I do the LA thing to a degree yeah I did. I got a job working on Venice Beach at a really nice restaurant and shortly thereafter I got asked to be a part of then was supposed to be like an internet game show. The project had since folded up but you can still find the videos online and I went to a soundstage and you know talked to some people about my life and my interests and then that was a YouTube video and then they invited me back for an award ceremony so I got I did the LA thing for a little bit and right through this the through the like near the end of my time there my buddy was like hey man I know you're trying to get into you know the production world and the advertising world I work for the company that does the ads for Apple why don't you submit a resume I can get you an interview I can't promise anything else that's all I could ever ask for go to the interview meet with the person don't even get past the the front row like the interview was done in like basically like the lobby and uh yeah she asked me some hard questions and we talked about my resume talked about experience and I was like I'm definitely not getting this job and at the time I'd been there for going on three months. I didn't have any money I'd spent all the money that I made from that project I was like I was eating food from a care package that my mom had sent me which was basically like crackers and like easy waffles and easy pancakes pretty much I lost like 15 pounds. I was super skinny and as I'm this is and this is why I have faith in things like you know talk about manifestation I d at the time I was like manifesting everything. I walk out of the interview and I get a phone call from my buddy who lived here and he says are you available in two weeks we're throwing a huge DJ event on Browns Island and we want you to open the show and I was like yeah sort of I'm in California and I think I can get there but I had a mind to figure some stuff out he's like um okay well do you want me to tell them you said no because you're gonna be opening for Skrillex I was like absolutely not wow the answer is 100% yes I will figure out how to get there and this the kicker I didn't have any money I couldn't afford a ticket my friend wasn't going to pay for it my mom wasn't gonna pay for it so I'm basically like stuck in LA but I had to be in Richmond in two weeks for this show I was DJing and I had been DJing pretty much as a resident at a place called Vintage on Main Street right across from Sticky Rice. Yeah yeah it was called Pearl at the time I remember that and I had been working for that group of restaurants they owned the Daily they own East Coast Provisions they owned Pearl they owned the hard shell I've been working for them either as an employee or as a DJ for forever so I messaged one of the owners like hey would you be able to spot me a plane ticket or half of a ticket to get back to Richmond. I texted a friend I was like hey I got 200 bucks can you give me the other 200 so I can get back and they paid my way back I played a show here for free and then I played the Skrillex show.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Wow yeah and I mean that's that entrepreneurship that's that entrepreneurial spirit you know it's like I'll figure it out I'll figure it out and that's a clever idea be like hey all right I've worked for these people before like yeah just advance me and then I'll and then I'll work it you know I'll work it off. Um pretty clever man so like yeah taking the leap is nothing new for you it's like you've you've taken a lot taken a lot of leaps.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

I've taken a lot of leaps but I've also grown and I've also learned that yes taking the leap and it was it was a combination of like naivete like oh sure I can do that. Definitely couldn't but tried it anyway but then it was also now with with reflection no more leaps without something to land on yeah there's no reason that you have to make it hard on yourself. Yeah if you have dreams there's a way to achieve them young me didn't really see that. Yeah now I have some perspective and there are ways to get what you want there's steps to take to do that. You don't have to try and skip the line odds are unless you're chosen by the gods you're not gonna make it yeah but you know there's nothing wrong with a good try.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Yeah it makes for a great story you know what I mean dude a hundred percent I mean what was that like performing not only on Brown's Island like in your hometown but yeah with a huge artist like Skrillix.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

So we've talked about Richmond and like the the kind of things that happen in Richmond like some of the the intangibles that just kind of permeate the culture here. And one of those is distance makes the heart grow fonder. It has never been more true than in any city that I've ever been in. Richmond is a small town masquerading as a big city but the it really loves big city stuff. It loves big musicians it loves big bands it loves artists and mus and and creatives but it doesn't really nurture them past a certain point. Because simply I think this is just my theory the city just can't really facilitate it. So you think about any of the really big huge bands that have it that either started here exist here or kind of formed themselves here. They had to leave to get big and they had to come back to be appreciated. And I got a little taste of that wasn't gone for that long but I was DJing here at the time the culture aspect of knowing someone that leaves to go and do bigger and better things in a bigger and better city is like whoa he moved to LA and he's North California stuff big time over here. He's a hot shot now broke lost weight couldn't eat didn't have any transportation but no one knows that you don't see that on the internet and I come back and the first thing that I do when I get back here is play that show it was kind of a it's kind of a move. Yeah and uh it felt great at uh I can I immediately connected with my buddy Long Johns who's big time Squirlex collaborator has been for years.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

He's still out in LA doing big things and he like got me set up he's like all right look you're gonna need this you're gonna need this let's get you good went backstage to the show met Squirlex met the openers played my set they gave me props gave me some high fives and that was that yeah yeah man that's crazy dude very very cool and that's not the only time you've played on Browns Island right that that was the first time the second time was years later when RVA Mag hosted New Year's Eve New Year's yeah yeah yeah that's cool well you took another big leap doing this whole thing I did did I make a mistake I don't know I mean it seems it seems like it's going all right I think we're doing okay man I think we're doing okay well you know you talked about how um you've learned a lot since young Perry right like sure and I remember when we first started discussing this whole idea and kind of putting it all together you were one of the the probably the main rational mind in the room and you did a great job of really saying like okay what's the plan? Like what are we doing? Where are we going? We said we were going to do this did we do it? And I'm sure a lot of that pressure came from your previous experiences, you know, making sure like all right if I'm gonna take a leap I need to do it right and make sure I'm not just winging it or like totally winging it right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:15

Having faith in a project and having faith in people and having confidence in in you know really good idea is only the first step. Now you need to continue to have confidence but in my experience confidence and enthusiasm and excitement are the fuel but without plans and actions and structure nothing happens. Yeah. Nothing is done. I'm sure you know this all too well. Yeah so yeah man when when you were like hey I got a cool idea I was like well first off I like Mike he's got a good head on his shoulders at the time we had another partner and I was like okay these guys I think I think they're on the same page I think maybe we got some here but I was and you know based on experience hold the phone yeah let me see the P's and Q's let me see the the the the breakdown who's doing what where we're going where how much does it cost all that stuff. Because I didn't want to end up like I had been previously I was like you know I I'd aged a bit and you know with with age hopefully comes some wisdom and at the time I was already I was working in a full-time job so I and in that job was production so I had some experience in how to make things like this work. So I was like I'm ready to do it but let's talk about the nuts and bolts.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

Yeah. Well and like when we think about I think about what people say when they mention you to me about the podcasting they're like Perry's got the perfect radio voice. You know so like did you ever think of yourself as a podcaster like did you ever picture yourself doing something like this not even a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

I think okay that's not entirely true. I think you know drunken convos with my buddies over the years I think podcasting has come up but not because I think I had a podcast voice or you know had anything specific to say now that was before I worked in my previous job where I was producing a podcast. And like even then I was like this is a lot of work I'm not even sure if I'm like ready and willing to do this. I was producing it for some other folks and I saw firsthand what it took to make something like that happen to make it you know make it good make it worth watching make it worth doing so I was like all right I think we can do this but we got to get some things right first. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:37

But yeah man definitely never thought this is where I'd be yeah yeah well and I remember you saying I think it in that show they even gave you like your own little segment right yeah so you kind of got like a taste of it you're like oh okay maybe yeah man it's and like some people have natural confidence even in things that they've never done before they're usually like oh yeah you know I can I can nail that first try.

SPEAKER_03 35:59

Wasn't quite like that. I kind of had to build up the confidence to do it. Talking on the mic is one thing learning how to talk about what you're interested in is the other thing. Understanding how to tell a story understanding the flow of the conversation understanding timing. Some of those things come natural some of those things are definitely a study and practice make perfect type of thing. But yeah man when we the timing was kind of perfect. When you brought this to my attention I had already been looking for like the next thing that itch was not satiated. Yeah and I was I had scratched an itch in this previous company and then that role as a media producer and I'd gained a lot of knowledge but I was already ready for the next leap so to speak.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Yeah well and like if we think about the very first test episode that we did it was just you and I.

SPEAKER_00 36:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:54

And like you know you and I are perfectionists, right? We have a lot in common which is why we get along really well but we're also very different. But the one thing that was always important from the beginning which you'll take like you have full credit for is you always wanted this to like look good and be good. You're like if we're gonna do it, it's got to be good. You know like has to actually be good. Yeah and of course I'm on the same page and I agree but I know that that was something really important to you when you were coming into this and that you had put a lot of like time and thought and energy into if you're gonna do this and you're gonna take that leap that it has to be good. And we did a test episode in this room didn't pr you know it didn't look as good as it looks now. But um but it but the dynamic was good. You know and it's like we just sat down and I think like I think you had the headphones on and I think I was sitting over there and you were sitting over here and we did just kind of wing it because we never thought of it as a real podcast episode. It was like yes we're gonna record it we're gonna turn the cameras on we're gonna get the mics on and we're just gonna like see what we think and I think like from that episode it was like okay this is going to work.

SPEAKER_03 38:00

Yeah yeah and then you know we we talk about this now and we kind of talked about it after we had started to get going we are fortunate I think no I don't think I know it's like we are definitely fortunate that we already have a good relationship good banter good chemistry just conversationally it's rare I would say and I've I've worked with some people that have and I've I've listened to some podcasts where it's just not there. So I think we are definitely fortunate but that is also just a testament to who we are as individuals and who we are as as a team you know we we sat down and we're like I think we're good at this. Let's give it a go. Yeah which could have gone the other way.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

It definitely could have it definitely could have yeah and you know many people even people who know or are in the know and know us really wouldn't know this. But like a podcast wasn't really the idea at the forefront when we really got together. You know a lot of what we were doing just revolved around this building and we knew that podcasting would be a part of it but really the core business idea and which by the way people didn't even know that we were starting a business they really just thought we were doing a podcast. They didn't even realize that like this was our studio. Yeah. And the idea was a little bit different than how it looks today. And many people wouldn't know that. And it involved a lot of other stuff the world of content creation and helping creators and using this as a a rental space for people to make content and maybe do podcasting if they wanted to and it slowly morphed into us doing a podcast. And now the podcast is really at the forefront of everything we do. You know we meet every week to do this sometimes multiple times a week and yeah podcasting has been a it's become a huge part of both of our lives. Yeah and who would have thought you know it's like so yeah it's funny but yeah it's like you said it's fortune but like clearly to some degree this is like what we're meant to be doing in in one way or another I think or at least that's how it feels.

SPEAKER_03 40:09

It does it does and it it's right in line with my kind of the path that I've carved out and the trajectory that I've been on and you know I think I know this has a lot to do with my experience and and things that I've wanted for my own life but uh as I've grown and learned about learned more about myself especially over this last year but you know more recently just learned about myself learned about you know some of my preconceived notions and some of the things that I'm more biased towards and some of my tendencies specifically this just makes sense. It really just lines up with the things that I've been doing and it is very much a culmination of all of the stuff that I've done up until now the music the production the creativity the performance it's just kind of a a nicely packaged version of all of that.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Yeah well and I was gonna say that package you know and and you may feel differently but I always think of that package as Planet Perry. Like that's Planet Perry. So can you talk a little bit about um and this is something that I think is a little more new in your life over the past year or two the idea of having and being a personal brand and thinking about like yourself not, you know, not as like a public figure, but in a way like you're a creative, you're an entrepreneur, you're a podcaster, you're a DJ. And so yeah anybody like replace you with whoever else that person would still be seen as their own brand right so it's like you have that and I know that that's something that you've been exploring even on your own and just kind of like learning at your own pace when you do have the time exploring things like YouTube and content creation and you have a whole new Instagram now that you've set up called Planet Perry and just kind of documenting your journey as an entrepreneur. So can you talk about how has that been and like are you enjoying it? Like is it another aspect of your life that you feel fits into that that package yeah it's interesting man.

SPEAKER_03 42:11

When we talked about this a while back you know starting the Instagram and starting to do YouTube was at your encouragement because one you you saw that this was working this was working for us but also working for me and kind of feeling a need but you also could see the the potential benefits of me trying these things and not just like monetarily like you know the monetary benefits from doing things on social media and doing things on YouTube but the benefits of growth the benefits of experience the benefits of expression and to be frank I I thought it was all bullshit. I think a lot of people think that which is fine that just leaves room for people that don't yeah and now I understand that. Social media is is an interesting topic it's so multifaceted and it is way more complex than anyone any one person can really comprehend. And if at face value if that's how you perceive it you don't perceive it as something that has any sort of inherent value other than entertainment then that's fine. Then that's what it's for but for me I was also in a place where I was looking for other outlets. This was an outlet beginning to freelance as a videographer was an outlet and then exploring the idea of turning what is just the freelance guy into Planet Perry the brand completely changed my perspective. I never thought about it from a marketing perspective because that's not my background. But you know working with you and talking with you about it flipped that on its head and I can clearly see the benefits now. Now I'm not quite as far along as some bigger creators but I do feel like The progress that I've made in the time that I'm doing it has been enough fuel to say that it's definitely worth it. Even if you don't get anything like d like tangible out of it, what you get and what you've preached, and I think you preach this to other folks, but what you mentioned to me is you get experience points, you get trial and error points, you get cumulative points. Right? You get to try something you thought was a good idea and see if it works. Then you get to have the conversation with yourself whether or not you want to do it again, which is a step in any direct in the right direction, no matter which way you go. Because a lot of what you do as a creative person has everything to do with who you are and what you are willing and capable to do. That in itself is a conversation. And you have to make a decision with yourself whether you're going to go this way or go that way, or do this, or do that, or do that, or don't do that. Because at the end of the day, if you don't do anything, then nothing gets done. This isn't like where you clock the, you punch the clock card and you go to the office and everything is laid out for you. Your desk is there, your computer is there, you switch it on, you punch in some codes, you do your work, and then you go home, you make dinner that you got delivered, and you cook a meal and then you watch TV that somebody else is producing, and then you go to bed and you're happy. Every aspect of being a creative relies entirely on what you can do and what you're willing and capable of doing. So when it comes to like content creation, is like, what are you willing to do? What are you capable of doing? What are you willing to tolerate? Because it's not going to all be beautiful, it's not going to be pretty. But I'll tell you what, man, the journey through the parts that you think are going to suck and coming out on the other end, realizing it was just a Tuesday and your world didn't implode when you posted something that you don't like and nobody liked it. Enough of those will build your confidence in what you're willing to do faster than anything that I've like currently experienced. Because it's like, oh yeah, I can post on here and like it'll be cool. And then it's not cool, and nobody likes it. And then in my case, I was like, I kind of need this to work. I need the podcast to work, I need the videography to work, and I kind of need people to like engage with my with my account because I need to get some work going and all this kind of stuff. I was kind of like scrambling. But I was like, and it logic, current logic from anyone who works in 9 to 5 would tell you not to waste your time with it.

SPEAKER_00 46:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:34

It's like, don't do that. Get a job. I don't want a job. Or you need to get figure something out.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

It's like, well, content.

SPEAKER_03 46:41

I was like, I don't think that's gonna work because there's no proof. Like there's no tangible evidence in the beginning. But once you get past it at a certain point and you you kind of you can see how it's working and how it works for you, and you have more control over it, there's really no price you can put on that.

SPEAKER_01 47:00

Yeah, yeah. Well, developing a personal brand is personal development, right? It's like social media is one of the ultimate personal development journeys. And it's easy for somebody on the on the outside to like kind of scoff at that and laugh at that and be like, bro, gets paid to just talk into a microphone. Like anybody could do that. It's like, sure, it's, you know, I can understand the perspective, right? Because it does look that way from the outside. Yeah. You know, it's like, well, yeah, what's stopping anybody from buying a microphone and talking into it? And like that's kind of the point, right? Because if it were easy, then everybody would do it. And yes, there are millions of podcasts, but not all of them are successful. The vast majority of them fail. You know, it's a recurring theme that we talk about all the time. Like, most people fail at most things that are worth doing because they're hard. Um, and yeah, building a personal brand and putting yourself out there on social media is one of those things. And yeah, we like to think that our friends and family are always going to be the first people to support something like that, but that's often not what happens. Yeah. You know, it's like often the people that support us are just random strangers on the internet. Yep. And like that's the thing where you're like, oh, because you have to be able to see, you have to be able to reach people outside of your sphere. And then it kind of all clicks, you know. Um, but I know that's been a fun journey for you, you know, seeing like the creators that you take inspiration from, and then learning how to like implement that look and that aesthetic feel and that kind of stuff, like into your own life, you know. Yeah, and then you there's a lot of barriers that we face along the way to overcome. So yeah, planet Perry. I love it. Yeah, man. Like I I'll I'll I can't reiterate it enough.

SPEAKER_03 48:37

Like the the barrier to entry, the the these words, barriers and and guardrails and steps and levers, they're just words. They're like literal mental constructs. And I'm marking this 12-month period because it's there were so many drastic changes in my life. And you know, the biggest one, there are a lot, there are lots of big changes that have happened, and we can get into that. But I think the biggest one, and this is there's no way to get around it, there's no way to skip it. The only way is to go straight through, deal with all the stuff, and then look back and realize it wasn't that bad. And that's so hard. Like, kind of hard to really contextualize how difficult it can be. Things like your circumstance, your preconceived notion about who you are as a person may be tied to your position, your your status. I know for me it it is to a degree, uh being a person of a certain status may mean having a job, having a nice car, having some money in the bank, having the ability to travel, having a good, you know, community and friend group to to exist and be around in. But when all that stuff is taken away, who are you at the end of the day? And if you haven't had that conversation, it is a long journey to get through. Because there are the things that you could easily or used to maybe easily deal with or handle become monumental mental issues that personal experience, I spent days sometimes navigating with no help because there are there are lifelines. You can talk to your therapist. I you know, I have a therapist that I talk to, I have friends and family. I talk to you from time to time. No one's gonna do anything for you. It always comes down to what you are capable and willing to do. And I'm like really thankful that I've had the opportunity to do that. At the time, it sucked. I didn't want to do it. After hindsight, of course, is 2020. It's invaluable, you know, and and it's a lot of change can happen in a very short period of time with that regard.

SPEAKER_01 50:58

Well, and it sounds cliche, but like of course, the journey is always like better than the result. Yes. You know, it's like we we fight the whole way to get the result, not realizing that the journey was the best part of it all, you know? Yeah, man. And I mean, I'll I'll you know, put it into context, you know.

SPEAKER_02 51:17

The June of last year, I turned 40.

SPEAKER_03 51:22

And we had a party at the rooftop. You guys came through, had a good time, my family came out. You know, we used to call that over the hill. Because it used to be your halfway point because people were only living until 79, 78.

SPEAKER_02 51:37

So your life is technically half over. And yeah, turning 40 is definitely like a notable age.

SPEAKER_03 51:47

But as I've learned and seen and been experienced or exposed to different ways of thinking from different parts of the country, different parts of the world, yeah, age is just a number, but but it is a pat that mark the passing of time. But it doesn't have to mark any sort of definition or any sort of permanence. And last year, right before my forty my 40th birthday, I quit the nine to five job that I had. And shortly thereafter, I think right before that, we had just started to to do the podcast studio. So I decided to take a leap at the time I did have a job. Shortly thereafter, I quit that job, and then right around the same time I turned 40.

SPEAKER_02 52:36

Right around the same time of us starting the studio, I quit drinking.

SPEAKER_03 52:41

And right around the time I turned 40, I started to have to deal with what turning 40 means. Some health issues creeped up, some things that maybe had been put off for a while needed to be addressed. And I can I was committing to starting a business, to being sober, staying sober, to getting healthy, and to try and figure out what I was going to do for the next half of my life. All in the same like four or five month period. And this is going into the spring and fall or the summer and fall of 2025 in Richmond, Virginia. Then we go into winter, we're going to the holiday season was right around the corner. And looking back, I was like, I don't know if I should have done all of that at the same time, but I did it anyway. Was it easy? Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_02 53:31

Did I make it look easy? Debatable. Yeah. Maybe. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 53:36

But and I don't really know where I was going with that particular tangent, but the the development, the personal development journey that I kind of gave myself the opportunity to do it, this the time and space to do it by not having a full-time job and the necessity to do it by committing to something that had a monetary and professional obligation attached to it that I couldn't really run away from. Yeah. And maybe that's not the healthiest way to do it, but I definitely I gave myself really high like benchmarks and measuring, measuring points for me to kind of make sure that I was hitting on a regular basis. Cause like otherwise I probably wouldn't have done it.

SPEAKER_01 54:23

Yeah. Well, you know, pressure, pressure makes diamonds, I suppose, right? Last year was a lot, though. Like last year, last year was a lot.

SPEAKER_03 54:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

So I understand that pressure of like, oh man, if I don't get this figured out, I'm probably cooked. But uh, like you said, it's a journey. And for you, I know it's been one that's mostly been here in Richmond, right? So, like, what was young Pericles like, right? Like, you've divulged some things with me and here and there on this show talking about topics like ADHD and dyslexia and stuff like that. And those are things that maybe people even close to you like don't know about or that you haven't really shared. Did you did you struggle with those things when you were young? And like when you were a kid, what stands out? Like, what do you remember from being young? Like, what would you in what were you interested in? And where did you think you were going when you were young, when you were a kid?

SPEAKER_03 55:09

It's an interesting like topic in general. So, like ADHD and dyslexia. Never diagnosed with dyslexia, was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in elementary school. I think it was like fourth grade. So really young, all things considered. And this is in the 90s. Not as nearly as much, you know, data and research had been done on it. So the first uh response to an ADHD diagnosis all backing up to get taken to a physician to be seen for ADHD was the result of being a hyperactive young man or young boy. Period, point blank. You know, you're call it eight, nine, ten years old, bouncing off the walls, doing all kinds of wild stuff. Mom's overwhelmed. To the doctor, he goes, Riddling prescription in your hand. And then, you know, back then I think I very distinctly remember not liking being on medication. And I I specifically in school, I had a terrible time concentrating on anything, remembering things, doing my homework. I'd never wanted to do my I hated doing homework. So the medication made it easier to focus and you know, kind of get those things done. Obviously, there are side effects, you know, weight loss and just general numbness and just kind of dull um emotionally. So I didn't really care for that. So after high school, I I went to middle school or after uh elementary school, I went to middle school, and I decided that I didn't want to take the medication anymore. So I just didn't. I didn't go back for another evaluation, I just stopped taking the medication and I tried to just do my best. And I did. All things considered, I did pretty good. Um the dyslexia thing never crossed my mind until three years ago, four years ago, when I was, you know, kind of getting into the more professional aspect of my last job, and there was a lot of reading involved, a lot of contracts, a lot of um plant briefs and specifics that needed to be, you know, accurate and emailing, a lot of emailing that needed to go back and forth. And one of my colleagues mentioned is like, I'm noticing a pattern. Have you ever been tested for dyslexia? I'm like, no. So I'm not saying this is you know a problem, but I noticed that here you're like misspelling this word, but you're misspelling it very specifically in like the same way. Yeah. And I it never occurred to me, I was like, that explains why it's hard to read stuff.

SPEAKER_00 57:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:41

You know, as a kid, I didn't like reading because it was embarrassing that I read slower than the other kids in the class. You know, when you do a group reading exercise, the teacher would say, Read along with me. She'd be reading along, and I'd be like three sentences behind, and then I would just stop. Or if you needed to read in front of the class, like, hey, read this paragraph, I'd be a lot slower than the other kids that were also doing that. So I didn't like it. But then it occurred to me, it's like, it's not gonna, I'm bad at reading. It's that I have a particular way of processing the words on the page that make it a little challenging for me to read it the way that other people do. So there's lots of dyslexic tendencies, dysmorphia and dyslexia, they're kind of in the same vein. But for me, I would read from the right to the middle and then from the left to the right. So not from left to right and then left to right and left to right, like you would normally read it. I would start somewhere in the middle of the page by default, and read the last half of a sentence and like crap. Back to the beginning, read the whole thing, and then okay, got it. Next sentence. And then when it comes to typing or writing, I will misplace like maybe the first and the last letter or the last two letters will be flipped. Textbook dyslexia.

SPEAKER_01 58:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:58

No idea until you know three years ago.

SPEAKER_01 59:01

It's so strange because even like just becoming friends with you, I've just out of curiosity from having our conversations about it, I looked into it and we were even talking the other day about how they make like specific font for like that is easier to read a little bit. And it does. It has a lot to do with like the shapes and the formatting of the actual text, especially when it's typed text, not like written text, right? Yeah, for sure. So yeah, it's really interesting. And so I know that you are very interested in like STEM, right? Like science, space, all that type of stuff. Like, when did you first become interested in that? Or do you remember like what sparked your interest in those topics?

SPEAKER_03 59:40

I don't think I remember specifically what sparked it, but I remember as a young kid, young, very young, five, six, being obsessed with. I think we my mom got us the first Nintendo as a kid. I was a tiny kid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:57

This is incredible. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:59

So liked that. Um, watched a lot of sci-fi TV, watched a lot of sci-fi movies, um, and somewhere along the lines, the concept of space camp. I was obsessed with space camp. And then the the NASA shuttle program was a lot more active in the early 90s. Like going to the moon, fly into the space station. That happened all the time. So I loved and was fascinated by space. Watched Star Trek and Star Wars and all that stuff. So I loved space and then astronomy became a part of my dad's life. So my dad became an astronomy teacher for the Math and Science Center. And I learned a lot from being in some of his classes. So it was kind of all was around and just generally liked mechanics, technology, cars, just love cars, engineering, you know, but not really knowing what that was, you know, really entailed. But the space theme and the astronomy theme was a big consistent or a big constant through my life. I remember in my teens, in like high school, I would rent this is back when VHS was the medium. I would rent VHS cassette tapes from the library and watch documentaries about the solar system, about space in general. There was a public access show called Nova on PBS, was obsessed with that show. And then the world decided to bless us with Neil Dugrasse Tyson. He is the holier than now space lord, science lord. Space Lord. Um, but you know, my my uncle was actually an engineer as well. My my uncle used to work for a computer company, was an engineer, loved science and technology, loved cars, so it was kind of in our family.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:50

That's super cool. Yeah. It's also cool to see how those things have like developed your like creative taste and stuff like that. Like even just connecting the dots of the Mass Effects thing through video games, like even the name Planet Perry for your brand. I also think you take a very like rational analytical kind of engineering approach to like your thoughts and your ideas and your philosophies and even how you think through things and even getting into the business world and stuff like that. I think it's all super cool. And obviously, a lot of it involves technology, you know, sound, sound waves, frequencies, temperature, color lighting, like you know, all that type of stuff. Like, I think it's super cool to see how that's sort of developed. I know another thing that you've shared with me is the time that you spent in Japan. And I think that that probably plays into it too. Um, like whether it's your fashion sense or, you know, I made the joke at the beginning. I think I called you the uh the green tea sensei. The neo and sample.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:48

I love some green tea, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:49

Yeah. So what was that like? Like when did you go to Japan? What was that like? Because obviously that's a totally different culture. Yeah. And how does that fit into like kind of developing your creative sense?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:01

So this is such like a multifaceted story. Um, my dad is a Buddhist. Oh, yeah. My dad and pretty much everyone on his side of the family practices Buddhism to some degree. And my parents were divorced when I was young. So on Sundays, I would go to church with my mom, but when we were with my dad, we would go to prayer sessions. They weren't called church, and we didn't go to a temple because this is this is Virginia. So we would go to prayer sessions. It was a Buddhist community, and you would chant. You'd read a tiny uh booklet, which is essentially one long prayer. So you'd read that prayer from beginning to end, and then you would oftentimes or sometimes share an experience. And I got to experience a little bit of this on my extended family side when I went to California because I have some family there. Did a shared experience um meeting with them as well. And in addition to, you know, sci-fi movies, I loved Kung Fu movies. I liked Bruce Lee, like a lot of young guys and young kids. Power Rangers was obsessed with that. So I liked martial arts, I liked Asian culture, was just kind of fascinated by it because it was so different than anything that we did here. And having a tether to that via my dad and this practice was formative. I didn't really know what I was going to do with it when I was younger. I participated or we participated in it, my brother and sister and I, but we were too young to really grasp it. And we were also, you know, going to Bath Bath uh Beth, what am I saying? Baptist church. Baptist, yeah. Yeah. Uh I was gonna say Catholic and Baptist at the same time. Batholic. Um, so we were going to church. So we were conflicting religions, and as I grew more interested in the Buddhist side of things, I also saw myself drifting toward that ideology to a degree. So it was just kind of fascinating. And I had the opportunity to go because I had a friend that was living there for work. And uh a couple friends of mine from here decided to go because we were offered a place to stay. And back then a plane ticket to Japan was $600. Now it's like $1,500. Yeah. So it was probably it really wasn't even a question. It was like $600, and we have a free place to stay for a week. Yes, yeah, we're going to Japan. Yeah. So I was already just excited, super stoked to go there and just experience it. And anyone that's been will probably say something similar. It is one of those places that will forever change how you see the rest of the world. And it's not an exaggeration. There there are things there, there are aspects of their culture, aspects of the architecture, aspects of just the way of life there that make sense in a way that's kind of hard to describe, that you embody relatively quickly because as a Transi or as a visitor, you do want to adapt, you want to be a part of the culture. So you participate in these things. But they linger because they make sense and because you sort of uh embody them or bring them into you as who as your character built when you're going through these experiences. And one of those things was obviously the way that they treat people and respect, uh being, you know, cordial and greeting people, the way that they structure their just like their gift shops and their stores and their retail and their their cities. From the top down, there's just this overarching layer of uh intentional respect and efficiency. You know, Tokyo in Japan itself is relatively small, but it is the biggest city on the planet. It has more people in a that spark geographical area than any place on the in the planet. And I got to go to a Buddhist temple, I got to see some Buddhist monks pray while I was there, and then I got to live my metropolitan dream. I got to go to uh Shibuya Circle, which is if you've ever seen any videos to you know, Tokyo Adrift or any movies or TV shows where there's this massive crossing of like thousands of people across an intersection, that's Shibuya Square. So I got to go there and like do that and you know, eat great food, eat some sushi, took a bullet train. It's like being on another planet, man. Things there are so far ahead of the way that anyone here thinks about stuff. And that actually ties into you know who I became as a person, but it also just kind of maybe solidified or reinforced the way that I've been thinking about the world. And this all plays into the way that I go about doing things and the way that I've decided to take a non-conventional path to, you know, business or careers, or the way that I've I try to expose my friends and my peers to things that I know that they won't ever, ever get to be exposed to by DJing and playing music that I like, that I know that maybe people don't hear, wearing clothes that I like, that I know that I've seen is pretty fashionable in other places, but maybe definitely not on a regular scale here. And you know, articulating my thoughts in a way that is educational, but not like, you know, you know, trying to beat someone over the head with like, hey, this is an idea that you should adopt. It's all from a place of the world is incredibly diverse and incredibly massive, so much so that it almost defies comprehension to a degree. And we are fortunate enough to be exposed to it. You just have to kind of go out and do.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:47

Yeah. You know? Well, I know that it reminds me of times that I've heard you play music, and obviously, you know, maybe you're not playing, you know, Japanese music, but just like you said, I'm sure it's something that you take with you from that experience, right? I remember you even telling me that maybe, maybe not most, but like a lot of DJs when they're curating their playlist or the soundtracks that they're gonna play, that they're always staying within certain tempo ranges and stuff like that, and that you just always took an un like unorthodox approach to that. Right. And so, sure, maybe that doesn't fit into like Japanese culture, but it's like this it helps you think outside the box. It makes you realize, like, okay, I don't have to do things just this one way. And you can pick things from different ideas and cultures and concepts and philosophies and um and implement them into your life as you go and as you get older, right? Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:40

Man, you're even reminding me of something. Two things. Well, the unorthodox approach is definitely how I've decided to live my life. Clearly, this is not the orthodox approach to doing anything.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:55

That's exactly why it's fun. That's exactly why I'm drawn to it, and that's exactly why, even though I tried the traditional path college, job, family, house, retirement, it never felt right. It never lasted for very long. I always felt like I was ready to do something else, something more interesting, something more engaging. And this feels right. Is it for everybody? Definitely not, but it definitely works for me. And I know to a degree, it's kind of the same reason that you chose a path like this. But I'm also reminded of when you mentioned cultures and like teachings and and the uh unorthodox approach there. I think about it in a way of can combining all of the knowledge that I've gained over years and all of the wisdom that I've gained over the years, and things that I've enjoyed and kind of studied and formed my own opinions about, and like creating something sort of new, right? That's essentially how I operate in lots of facets of my life. But I'm also remembering a person that did this in the 80s, Bruce Lee. He created a martial arts style that hadn't been created because there wasn't one that allowed him to practice all of the different disciplines. Because in Japan and in China, the martial arts disciplines are very, very specific. The teachings are very specific, and the practitioners are not allowed to practice multiple disciplines. Mixed martial arts wasn't a thing. This is 70s and 80s, and it was extremely frowned upon if you practiced Taekwondo and then you went and fought in a karate tournament and then you did kung fu. Bruce Lee was like, F all that. I'm the best at all of them. I'm going to practice all of them, and I'm going to teach you my version of martial arts. And he called it Jeet Kundo. And it allowed him to like reinvent martial arts, the film industry from the ground up. And it's that type of thinking that I've always been fascinated by.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:03

Yeah, I mean, I think Bruce Lee, when I think of him, although I don't know the inner details of like his martial arts career, he's also a philosopher, basically. You know, he's like, yeah, he's he was very much like a philosopher. And I always just think in my head, I think of him saying, be like water.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:19

You know, be formless, be fluid.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:21

The moment you become rigid and solid, you'll break.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:24

Yeah. Yeah. Go with the flow. Yeah. And uh yeah, you've definitely embraced that, you know. So I know like most people, right? So you're turning 41, it's your birthday. We're both Geminis. Yes, sir. Uh, we're both ADHD superheroes, right? Like ADHD is kind of a hidden superpower. It is, man. It is. And um, I think most people that are like entering their 40s or, you know, over the hill, as you said, a lot of people just kind of accept their circumstances, right? They don't, they lose that childlike nature. They don't explore their creativity and their passions and their hobbies for one reason or another. And it's sad to say they typically just, you know, give up. Or again, even if it's not giving up, they just like accept their fate in some ways and just fit into the mundane routine and just do the same old thing or try to hang on for dear life and just make it to retirement or whatever. And that's clearly not the path that you've accepted or chosen for yourself. Um, so what helps you like embrace the chaos and just go with the flow and be like water? Like, you know, because yeah, we've taken an unorthodox approach, and especially you in particular, like venturing into these different journeys all the time, like finding new things, new topics, new hobbies, new career paths to kind of add into this bubble that you have. Like, how do you continue to reinvent yourself and do that?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:50

Hmm. I take the approach. Well, I guess I say I take the approach, but oftentimes I'm just guided by my gut. And I did have my tarot cards read recently, and they told me she did tell me to trust my gut to get out of my own way.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:11

Every time that I've had this thought, and I've had this thought, I can't countless times. Maybe I should get a regular job. Maybe I should go back to school, maybe I should sell all my DJ gear, sell the car that I pay too much for, and live a sensible life.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:30

That would be a little stress-free. I'd have some more of the things that maybe I wanted, like a home and a family. It would definitely take the pressure off my mom. She could stop freaking out about me every other week. But then I look at people that are doing exactly what I want to do. And there are thousands of them. You can thank social media for that exposure. And then I hear people talk about how they didn't get their big brick until they were 65 and how they are in their 70s and they're really starting to feel their full version of themselves come to the surface. And then I also look at people that I know personally that have consigned their life and their future to a certain path. And again, no judgment. And to a degree, the normal life, the the house and the kids and the dog and the family and the job, that looks great. You know, there's a lot of aspects of that that world that I do envy because I don't have them. But I don't think I would give that up or give this up for that. It wouldn't even be a competition. And every time that I've tried to, something always pulled me back.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:46

You know, it's either getting fired on purpose, quitting, or finding a reason not to do it. And maybe that is the ADHD. And as we've done research and I've done my own research on it, I've come to really understand more of it. And trying to use it, like you said, as a superpower is definitely a goal of mine because it's not going to go away. It may even get worse. And embracing or even reframing the things that were maybe hindrances and maybe hindrances in the normal regard or normal way of doing things is a way that can maybe give you some relief. Maybe give you a reprieve from you know beating yourself up about it. It's like, oh man, I'm ADHD. I can't focus. I can't concentrate. I don't want to do this. I have struggle, I struggle with systems, and I I I'm inconsistent. It's like Yeah, you're inconsistent when you're over here. You struggle when you're over here. You have a problem with this type of stuff. But when you're here, you're locked in, laser focused, and no one understands how you did it that way. So that just informs me that I kind of have to be over here because that doesn't even work. If I even if I tried it, it wouldn't work. So I'm kind of consigned to this freeform, you know, obsession-based uh creative lifestyle. And that didn't really click until very recently. Like I was I was actually listening to a podcast today. It was Conan O'Brien's podcast. Been listening to the guy for years. He's been on TV since the 70s. Yeah. And he said today that he had the idea that he was going to do this and be this goofy, creative, funny guy on TV in like 1978 or 1985. I was born in 1985, and this guy is still doing it and could not be sharper than attack. Right? He's still at the top of his game. He's in his 70s now. He's got one of the biggest podcasts on the planet. He had the one of the biggest nighttime TV shows careers on the planet. He's one of the most recognizable faces ever. And he still seems relatively humble. He's still sharp as a tech. He still likes to have fun. He's still goofing off like a kid. So why couldn't I do that?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:05

Yeah. Dude, I agree a hundred percent. And that that is like the entrepreneurial spirit, right? And if you did somehow choose the standard path, your gut and your intuition would tell you that it's the wrong thing, right? Well, I think, yeah, from the moment that I've gotten to know you, I've always, and even prior to that, I've always thought of you as just like this creative person, you know, like you have this person in your mind of like the guy who runs like a creative studio, and it's like, what does he do? And it's like, we don't know, you know. Um, you've always sort of like fit that mold to me. And the one thing that that I know for sure is that like everybody that I know or that I talk to that, you know, mentions you in passing or you know, asks about like, how's Perry doing, or what's Perry up to? You know, everybody is always like, dude, Perry's like a great guy. And um, and I feel the same way. It's been an honor to like obviously build our friendship, to co-host this podcast with you, to build a business with you, and to sit here every week and just have ridiculous conversations together. So thanks for like hanging out, telling your story, talking about all the things that make Planet Perry Planet Perry. Thank you, dude. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:16

It is an honor to be a part of this venture, part of this journey with you as well. Thank you for taking the time to uh to kind of peel back the layers and you know give me some room to to go on a little rant here and there and you know, share a little bit more about what's going on and you know what makes me tick. It's it's it's very cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:35

It won't be the last time, dude. Yeah. Oh no. We've got more to talk about. Definitely. That's for sure. You're the goat.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:44

This podcast was recorded at Vera House Studios in Richmond, Virginia, and produced by Perry Young and Mike Metzger.