Dweeb Cityy
Hi There, Story-Tellers, Dwellers and Nerdy Connoisseurs !
My name is Star Jackson. I am a Professional Voice Actor, Content Creator, Singer, Consumer, Vtube/Streamer( and now podcaster) and more! all my socials are @starjackson369( In case ya wanna join in on the crazy fun journey haha).
I made this podcast to feed and share my extreme curiosity and love for all things Storytelling, Media, Consumerism, Creation ! That includes yapping about hot topics in the industry whether its anime, video games, manga, culture, relationships, food, hobbies you NAME it! I love learning new things and sharing the excitement of the craft of art with others while yappin about interesting topics :D
In this podcast we will be chatting about Voice Acting ( tips, tricks and fun kicks along with motivation speaks) while conducting interviews with not only other Voice Actors but creators of all sides of the entertainment industry! Animators, Manga Artists, Musicians, Streamers, Writers, Directors, Engineers Producers and SO much more. In a fun, silly, exciting and entertaining environment!
We get to have the opportunity to be able to take a deep dive into the world of storytelling and nerdish ( just made that word up lol). We will also be discussing hot topics going on in the anime industry like movies and series reviews, cons, art, vtubing and more!
I'm so excited to have you along on the journey, Now. Lets get to yappin!
I will also have visuals on our YouTube Channel which you can find under the username @dweebcityy ( yes thats with two y's lol).
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT <3
Dweeb Cityy
Electric Voice | Austin Griffith | Metalist Voice Actor Interview
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Hi there, ROCKSTSARS!!! or should i say dweebd haha, Welcome back to the Ciyy!! In todays episode we have a very special guest in the CItyy. AUSTIN GRIFFITH!!!! WOOO! with a rocking voice, kind hearted spirit and a passion for music, Austin and I dive in to the craft, his life, voice acting and more and it was SUCH a treat speaking with him, we hope you enjoyng listening as much as we did recording because babbyyy this was one story to tell!! woot woot thank you Austin!!!!!!! ENJOY :D
Hi guys! Welcome and welcome back to another episode of Dwayne City, where nerdism thrives and storytelling thrives with your host, me, Star Jackson. In today's episode, we have a very special guest in the city. We have Austin Griffith. Austin is a musician, metal artist, voice actor, mental health advocate, cool person, and all around just awesome and more. In this episode, we talk about so many things and bounce off of each other's energy, and it's just indescribable. I loved talking to Austin about voice acting and what it means to really be in the moment as a voice actor and to use our craft for the good of sharing love and communication. We also talk about how important mental health is. We also talk about fun stuff like stuff we grew up on, Austin's life, and so much more. Now, without further ado, let's talk to Austin. Hi guys, welcome and welcome back to Dweep City. It is your podcast host, me, Star Jackson. I am here today with a very special guest in the building, voice actor, vocalist, mental health um enthusiast, and an awareness advocate. Um he does covers, loves Stardew Valley. Actually, seen them um and in concert I saw at their biggest orchestra. Loves doing gigs with fans, very expressive with their personality. Um, loves really and have an amazing, amazing voice, and I'm so excited to talk about music with them. I have Austin Griffin!
SPEAKER_04Dude, thank you for having me on. Like, I I love the the I love the vibe, I love the show, I love just you as a whole. Like you're just like this ball of sunshine and energy, and I love it.
SPEAKER_02So much! Uh oh my gosh, I've been wait with waiting for this. Like, cause you, I believe you're our first vocalist or a musician on the podcast, so I would I uh I'm so excited. Well what what really got you into uh music?
SPEAKER_04That's hard. I think as a kid, my sister used to love Green Day. Like I used to annoy my sister, she's two years older than me. So I'd listen to her. So you guys are because she didn't like it. Yeah, exactly. She hated that I would like the same music, and eventually I actually did end up liking Green Day. Um but later on I started listening to like louder things. Like I wasn't into metal all the time. I listened to like rock and hard rock, so like Lincoln Park, Green Day, like Simple Plan, like those are my jams. That's that's kind of what I started listening to on my own terms, other than like Britney Spears, Jimmy Buffett, like stuff like that. Because those are classics. You can't go wrong with that.
SPEAKER_05You cannot go wrong with that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I went to my first concert for a band called Escape the Fate. So they're not metal, well, I guess they're metal, metal core. So they sing and scream. They do a little bit of both, but they do more singing than screaming. And I was like, alright, I can live with that. And that's kind of what set it in stone. I was like, I want to do that. Like, that's what I want to do.
SPEAKER_02So the concert, you were watching them and you did you how did you feel when you were there? Like, did you feel like any chills? It's crazy.
SPEAKER_04Like, so I wasn't a huge metal person. Like, I love the raw, I love the singing, I love the the hard guitars, the drumming, all that jazz. But I wasn't into screaming at the time. And then as I was at the show, I could physically see how they were reacting, how they were singing, how they were like just dancing, if you want to call it that. Yeah. Um, and the vocals or the lyrics. The lyrics is what set me in stone. I was like, that's what I want to do. And that's kind of what being like that's that's what it was for me. Was that like it was so passionate, it was so heavy, so deep, because it was stuff that like it was personal, it was something that you could relate to, but it was also like a to a broader audience, and it was amazing.
SPEAKER_02I feel like one thing about metal is I I hate that like it well, it's not like a lot of people are like a little scared of it because it's like screaming and like uh like but it has so much emotion and expressive like in it, and it you just really feel it. Like, especially when you said Lincoln Park, that's really what got me into it too. Yes, it's a classic. It really like a gateway.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02It really gets you like like it's it's so hard whenever you hear like songs like that to not feel anything. It really just opens up like your your heart to it. You just gotta like be more some people like just be like, you know, like just feel it and you hear the the be lyrics and music and it will it will change your life, dude.
SPEAKER_04Like it doesn't matter who you are, how old you are, what age you grew up, it does not matter. You put on Lincoln Park and everyone is like their inner emo 12-year-old is coming out, bro. Like, it does not matter. It does not matter.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, with the skinny jeans and all.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely. What could you go wrong with that?
SPEAKER_03You can't. And the vans, I remember the vans, the skinny, like the reason, and then the chains. Oh my gosh. I remember seeing my Yes!
SPEAKER_04I had a chain wallet as a kid, dude.
SPEAKER_02Yes! Oh my gosh. I remember seeing like my first, like, first time seeing ever like a person, like a an alt person, like a group of alt people. I remember being like a little kid, and then I was like, oh my gosh, they're so cool.
SPEAKER_03And I was like, I want chains like that.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I was scared as a kid.
SPEAKER_03Yeah?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, dude. I was the opposite, and I was like, oh now I get it. As I got older. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02This is so crazy. Like, you wouldn't, as some do you do you even feel like you you're when you were a kid, do you you're a kid, you'd think you would be like how you are now.
SPEAKER_04No, not a chance. I was so and I'm still this way to some degree, but I'm an introvert and I'm not like the most social person all the time. But with the right people I am, or like I have a social battery for sure. So I didn't expect to be like so excited and doing music and voice acting and like meeting people and dressing the way that I do now because I just dress like a kid, just like the standard polo and like jeans or whatever. And now I'm like, alright, I wear a lot of black. My fair color is pink, and I have a pink jacket in my jacket or in my closet. I take a three.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Oh like three? Oh, yeah. Are you in your closet right now?
SPEAKER_04No. Well, oh this works. I was like, I kind of want to see.
SPEAKER_03Gotcha, gotcha.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, that is so so so cool. So, um, when when you were like in school, did you do any music or anything like that? Or did you just come across it when you went to the concert?
SPEAKER_04I was terrified, to be honest with you. I was listening to music a little bit. Um, I was for sure. Uh I would listen to bands like I Set the Kill, so still on the heavier side, but not quite my thing. I'd still listen to Weekend Park, I'd still listen to like Simple Plan, uh Three Days Gray, stuff like the classic, like edgy music back in the day, and some of the harder stuff, but not too much of it. Um and my friends were like, let's go see Escape the Fate. They're playing with Attack Attack, who at the time I either did not know or did not like, I can't remember. Um with um who was it? Escape the Fate, Attack Attack, um three other bands, I can't remember. But Ta Attack Attack was the one that's I'm like that too.
SPEAKER_02I'm like, I know who they are. Like, it just doesn't come to my head at this moment. It's like I get that so much.
SPEAKER_04That's where I found out like three of my favorite bands from that day alone was Secrets, Bear Tooth, which is X Attack Attack, and then uh Escape the Fate. Which they're not my favorite anymore, but I do I do still love them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And that's that's what it was. So it was those five. Um and Caleb Schomo gets up onto the stage and he's giving like so he's known for like you know being passionate and being like outspoken and just kind of like being like out there, right? Um so I didn't know who he was. I didn't listen to his band because it was hardcore, it was literally metal core at that time, uh, not post-hardcore, so it was a lot harder. And he gets on and they were playing, and I did look up them up. Uh I did look them up. I looked them up before I went to go see them. Um and they have a a song called Um I think it's the Prophet. No, it's not the prophecy, but I do love that song. I can't remember. It's off that last album with Caleb though. Um and they're starting to play it, and while they're doing the intro introduction to it, the uh instrumentals, right? Caleb is giving this passionate speech about like do what you love, love what you do. Like if something scares you, chase it because you know you're gonna just give up losing it. And now he was one of those people that like inspired me to do music, to start writing. Like I did poetry at the time, but I wasn't really like I didn't know what to do with it. Yeah, so one turned into the other essentially.
SPEAKER_01Oh wow.
SPEAKER_04And Caleb Shaw was like one of my biggest inspirations for all my music for sure.
SPEAKER_02Ah, so you were doing poetry before?
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_02Like he inspired okay, okay. And then that whoa, that's so cool. And then like with your poetry, is it like, um, did it transition from that to being like a lyric? Like you you make your own music, right? Like you write it and everything. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So that um did it transfer over to that, like the poetry mixed in together, or it was a little hard at first because I knew how to listen to music and I knew what it should sound like, but when I was writing it myself, I was so confused because I was like, I don't know how to write choruses, and then like I can do like verses and verses, but there's gotta be a repeating chorus, there's gotta be a breakdown, there has to be like this section that stands out. So that stuff of stuff I didn't know at the beginning. Obviously, no one knows about it.
SPEAKER_02How did you learn? Because I've I've struggled with that too, because I've I've been wanting to wait make my own music for like um almost a decade.
SPEAKER_04I have to. I would love to collab with you.
SPEAKER_02Yes, oh my god, yes, yes, yes, yes, we're doing it. We're gonna do it.
SPEAKER_04Oh dude, I would love to. I'll show you some messages after this.
SPEAKER_02It's just so like, yeah, let's do it.
SPEAKER_03Let's do it.
SPEAKER_04We have well now we have to.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we have to. It's a like especially oh my gosh. Don't don't get me sorry. I got goosebumps already.
SPEAKER_04Oh dude, I'm such a sucker for music, regardless of genre. Like that's my that's my thing. Like I grew up with like weird music and then I transitioned into metal, but like as an adult, I would only as a kid, as a teenager, as like early college, I would only listen to metal. Now I'm listening to lo-fi, uh dance. Everything pop, punk, hip-hop, you name it. Yeah, I love everything. Well, not country.
SPEAKER_02Especially like, oh yeah, you country country, country's. Country is selective for me as well. Like a lot of country music is very emotional. Um, and I I'm like a sucker for emotion. So um, whenever I hear, like, um, I know there's this one song. Um, it's called like um, it's like Baby Turnum North Eternal.
SPEAKER_04Everyone knows it. I think it's great.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so like that was I love it.
SPEAKER_04Um dude, how could you go wrong with that?
unknownYou can't.
SPEAKER_04If you hear certain songs, regardless of the genre that everybody loves that you can never get out of. Maybe metaboles, not so much, but the simple ones.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, that's true. Like more like Lincoln Parkish, like in the middle.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like hard rock. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02There's like Transformers when Transformers came out. Oh my gosh. I became like an epic fan.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely, dude.
SPEAKER_02It was amazing. Yeah, like it it literally, I I feel like it made a generation of alt like just from that alone.
SPEAKER_04A lot of kids were like being introduced to Lincoln Park at the time. A lot of the people that were already in that base were like so thrilled to see like a quote unquote mainstream band now. Like very clearly like out in the open, which is something really good in the beginning.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I feel like with um with like with music in general, it's a way to express yourself that isn't like really, you know, you don't really have to get I mean you get deep into it, but it's like you have like three or ish so minutes to explain like the premise of the whole entire like song that you're trying to create. And you do it through um, like you say chorus, and you do it through like there's like a a structure to it, which I always thought was so interesting that I'm still trying to learn to this day because I'm I'm trying to like make sure like I'm like doing it the proper way. I I know it's not really a proper way to make a song, but there's right, right, but there's always like a a structure to it, which I I adored, and also everyone who makes music goes by that structure, but also has like their own unique twist to it, their own way of doing it, and it it it it's it just makes it amazing just hearing different songs the way producers do their instrumentals, they they like to have like their tags and stuff. You can hear like oh, I know who this is, this is Pharrell because he always does a duh-duh, yes, so it is so so cool to me.
SPEAKER_04I love it, dude. Like just having signatures of your own and being immediately recognizable. I love that.
SPEAKER_03Right. Do you have a signature?
SPEAKER_04I don't think I do. Not yet. Not yet. Because I do, I mean, if you hear it, you know it's mine, but like it's not something that I created. It's something that I also do with metal vocalists. It's called pig squealing or um gutturals uh and growls and all our jazz. Can I hear one?
SPEAKER_01I hate to be that person, but I'm not gonna.
SPEAKER_04I'm gonna try to try because I didn't warm up.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay, okay. Don't don't don't mess because I know how that is too. Be like, do the voice, do the voice.
SPEAKER_04I'll do my friend and I have a bit. Um I've never seen the movie, but Shrek three or four.
SPEAKER_00Shrek the third!
SPEAKER_04Shrek the third. He comes up to me all the time and he goes, do the roar, do the roar. And I was like, I hate you. So I'm just like, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00That's so good.
SPEAKER_04The only thing I know about that movie is do the roar. Do the goal. It's so goofy. Well, the first two I love. I have not watched anything else.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I remember, I don't know if you I don't know if this is in the third one, the gingerbread man, where he's like laying on the table and then he was like, Eat me! And then he like threw like a little pebble at um Lord of Rarquard. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was like, Wrong with the first one. Oh my gosh. Mike Myers. Oh, dude, it's crazy.
SPEAKER_02Making a new one too. Another one. Uh so I'm excited, but I'm I'm just very curious.
SPEAKER_03I I I right. I'm sorry, I would love to see how they're gonna do it.
SPEAKER_04I gotta watch three and four so I can go see five now. Cause now that five is actually canon and like actually existing. I mean they're making the Incredibles three. I'm like, that's crazy. We got one 20 years later for a two.
SPEAKER_02Right! I didn't even think like two would even be possible. And then I saw three. Oh, dude, you know, Jack is overpowered. Jack Jack is gonna be like, I feel like he's gonna be like key to maybe to this movie coming up because anytime he pops in, he's always like, um, he does he saves the day pretty much.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Oh dude, I love the credibles.
SPEAKER_04I love the I mean classic Disney, classic Pixar movies. How can you go wrong?
SPEAKER_02Iki can't go wrong. It doesn't matter. Yes, especially like with the music in that as well. Like all of their um uh original soundtracks are like so captivating to me. And I've always wondered that too. Like, how do i is there a structure with that? I like like it's so amazing. Like you can listen to it as some songs you can listen over and over and over again. It's like listening to it for the first time. It's just so it's so captivating.
SPEAKER_04One of my favorites is Princess and the Frog, and they have a theme for each song, and it's so good.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, it's so good. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_04That's like the last 2D animated movie too. Like, I need more 2D.
SPEAKER_02Right! Need it, need it. Hopefully, like we get some more soon.
SPEAKER_04Like the movie's great, dude.
SPEAKER_02Um, what's your favorite part about it? What's your what are the scenes that really like gets you the most, you would say? I love more than that.
SPEAKER_04I really like the doctor. We've never had something like that before. Yeah, like his last scene is really, really cool.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, yes. And and um the voice acting. Amazing as well.
SPEAKER_04Like, I mean they had classic DAs in there, like Don Bluth.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes, and it's a it's a um unbeatable classic.
SPEAKER_04Dude, it's such a good movie. It's so underrated. I think it's because it was the last 2D animated movies, or people pushed it off because they didn't want to see the last animated 2D. I was like, dude, I'm one of those people. I waited because I was like, I don't want this to end. Because like I loved 3D, but I grew up with a 2D. Like the Disney Renaissance.
SPEAKER_03Why not we just take them and mix them and just throw everything in there.
SPEAKER_04And now we're getting like Moana like live action. I was like, who asked for this? Like, it's not bad, but I didn't ask for it. Go back to like you need to be.
SPEAKER_02I mean, like, it's cute, it's cute. You don't get me wrong, but like I would love to see more stuff, like newer stuff, and like more creative stuff from them. Like, like it used to be back in the day. I feel like I don't know, maybe it's like running out of ideas, or um, I know about the the writer strike was a big hit to them too.
SPEAKER_04Well, that's right. They were part of that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I'm good for them.
SPEAKER_02So hopefully, like we see some improvement from them so that way the writers can come back, bring some bring that pizzazz back, and you know, bring the passion. Yes, bring back the passion, the love, the the creativity. That's what really gets gets like frozen.
SPEAKER_04And um, you can see the love in that movie.
SPEAKER_02Yes, you really can. I it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. We're it's gonna it it'll happen.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely. Like, I'm all about the passion and love in into any work, like regardless of the museum. Like for me, I was in a band, and part of the reason why I left was because our bass player was like, I'm not doing this because I want to have fun, I want to make this a real job, and blah blah blah. And it's like, dude, so you're telling me that you're writing music because you have to, because you want to make this a job, not because you want to, because you're enjoying it. He's like, Well, I'm kind of enjoying it, but I was like, but you're not doing that's not your main focus, is enjoying it, just doing it as a job. He goes, Yes, I'm like, Alright, cool, I'm out. Like, see ya.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. That is the the base. It has to be like the the foundation has to be that you love it. So no matter what you're doing. Yes, you have to, no matter what, how much money you make, how many people, how many fans you have or followers and stuff, you you're doing it because you love it. Everything else will come into place.
SPEAKER_04That's your like that's your thing. Like, that's what you want to do. Not because that's what you're trying to turn it into. Like, if it happens to be a business, great, awesome. I'd say go for it. But you have to start with the basis of I like what I do. And I can't do that.
SPEAKER_02Things are gonna take time too. Yeah, like as human humans, I've um I remember reading this somewhere where so we are impatient humans uh humans are like impatient or something like that, where like we want the next quick thing, you know, and sometimes like right, yeah, yeah. And we have to realize like these things take time, and to like and having that love is the foundation and knowing that it takes time, but also enjoying the journey on the way, because eventually I feel like as long as you don't give up, you will get there. There's no doubt about it. If you try and put everything into trying, you're gonna get there eventually. If you stop, that's when you fail. Honestly. When you give up, that's over. Like you can't, exactly. So he did the right thing for you know, he for himself and for the band. Because if he he's doing it because he's not passionate about it anymore. He's lost so much because of it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, and we're like, well, suck to suck, we know why.
SPEAKER_02And then did you guys ever did you guys break up or did you get a new um uh was he a bass bass?
SPEAKER_04So he was the bass player and our our guitar player. They're still together, and they have a new drummer because me and the drummer left at the same time for the same reasons.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you left. Okay, you left and the drummer left. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_04Now they're doing nothing while we're all just doing our own thing now. Hey, I'm fine with that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because now like you're growing your brand and you and it's the the love that you made, you're getting from that. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_04Like I get to make it my own now.
SPEAKER_02It actually worked out really good.
SPEAKER_04Like, I have to do it.
SPEAKER_02It reminds me of um most bands are like not really most bands, but a lot of bands or uh groups in general. I hear about like boy groups, girl groups, like it it usually when they break up, it's because of that. Like um, either that or fighting to be like the the the main yeah, the main person, you know, and like and and and like it all stems from like that love that you have, you know, because it it can life can get in the way and like it can eat at your brain to say like you know, um it you forget kind of forget the love of it and like why you were in it in the first place. So I feel like it's always good to remember and like you know, instill it. So yeah, that that's so awesome that like you're doing your own. How does it feel now? And that how long has it been since you guys broke up?
SPEAKER_04Um, I left probably about three or four years ago now. So my first year, I just took it easy. I didn't want to do anything, I didn't want to write music, I want to just breathe, I want to be able to relax. Um, and then later on, I was like, I want to do some covers just because I'm gonna start writing my own music again. I'm gonna do some stuff while I do this. So I started putting out the covers, and surprisingly, people wanted to collab with me, and I was like, shut up, no way. I was like, I was in absolute disbelief. He's like, bro, I barely know what I'm doing, and I'm gonna go. And they're like, I don't give a shit. And I was like, great, let's go.
SPEAKER_03They was like, we're gonna work with you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly. And I was like, cool, let's do it.
SPEAKER_02So um how did it feel when they asked you? Were you did you you nerve were you nervous?
SPEAKER_04I was terrified. I was like not confident in my skills until I got into that band. And then while I was in that band, I got to kind of hone those techniques and skills a little better, so now I felt a little more better. But I felt good for me, not for I'm good enough to work with other people. So I was in that weird in between state. And someone's like, Oh that's not a thing. Oh, dude, it was crazy. Dude, I felt so like crazy that like people actually wanted to work with me and that certain people who knew who I was and stuff like that. Like, no, I'm not like famous or anything, but it's like in my in my small town, like everyone, like certain people know who I am now. I've gotten uh work with voice actors who are also singers now, which is crazy. Oh things I never got to imagine. Yeah, no, I love it. The collabs have been nuts.
SPEAKER_02How how has it been? Like, because that reminds me, because in my town is really small too. So whenever I'm like going some places, those I'll get recognized, and I'm just like, wait, how do you I didn't know you you wait, what?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like I'll go to a show and people are like, Oh, I remember you were in that band. I was like, Yeah, I was. And they're like, Oh, I still listen to your like I listened to these, I listened to that, I was listening to your covers. I'm like, dude, no way, what crazy.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_04I was like, what?
SPEAKER_02That is so cool. Oh, it's so funny to me because I never expect it. That's what it means, like your your love of it, and a lot of people will remember that. You're fans, and you never even know that they were fans in the first place, and they're still following you and listening to your stuff because of that that passion.
SPEAKER_04Because it's the love, it's it's what you put into it, is what you're gonna get out of it, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Oh, I wanted to ask you. Um, for so for the gutter guttural if I'm saying it right. Guttural sound the guttural sounds, is there a specific way that you get those out? Do you like I know you said warm-up. Is there something that like you put in your head to like really get that out or anything in your voice? I would love to know.
SPEAKER_04I can kind of do like a slight warm-up thing, if that makes any sense.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, let's see. All right, so one I love your cup, by the way. Horror.
SPEAKER_04Halloween horror nights in Orlando, Florida. How can I not?
SPEAKER_01Oh! I I saw that you're from Florida, so am I.
SPEAKER_04Oh dude, I love Oh, wait, you're from Florida? Dude, I'm texting you after this. I gotta figure this out.
unknownYes!
SPEAKER_02I was like, I was um when I was researching you, I I saw that it's you yeah, it said Florida in your Twitter. I was like, oh my god! Because um, I'm finding out like so many other voice actors are from here. And when I first started, I didn't know anyone, and I thought like it was it was so hard for me to to think that someone from Florida can come out, like do voice acting, and then now I'm finding right!
SPEAKER_04And you wouldn't think that it was in Miami, it was like what it was like you're in the south? I'm gonna go I'm gonna fucking travel to go see you.
SPEAKER_02Like, it's so cool, and I don't know why it was so difficult, like, because we're next to Disney and stuff like that, but for some reason they don't really like like come around here. We're all like Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_04It's crazy.
SPEAKER_03That's cool. Okay, oh dude, you're good.
SPEAKER_04I love your yapping, I promise. Because I'm you just make me so happy and giddy and excitable. Like you just like this ball of energy and just love and joy and prime. Like, uh just I love it, dude.
SPEAKER_03You I I knew this conversation was gonna be amazing.
SPEAKER_04I'm glad I'm so happy to have finally met you too.
SPEAKER_03Oh, you too, Austin.
SPEAKER_04So, this warm-up thing. It's gonna be kind of weird. I'm gonna do the breakdown and then I'll do like like a step-by-step kind of thing. Or like the demo and then I'll break it down. So I can go from like right, just regular breathing into uh kind of like that to that. So basically, the way one of my favorite vocalists is Will Ramos. So I have his um uh he the way he warms up is interesting because it's not what I used to do. I do it now if I have to speed run it. But um, he's like you'd breathe, and basically you're essentially using your diaphragm and putting in more uh more strength and pressure into your diaphragm because when you're singing or you're screaming, regardless of which one you're using, they're the same uh they're the same muscles, the same muscle groups. So when you're singing, you're using that diaphragm. Screaming is no different. Difference is most people have never tried it. So it takes a little getting used to.
SPEAKER_05When I first started doing it, I did these like whisper screams so I can kind of get the idea of what a rasp felt like in my throat.
SPEAKER_04So I did that. That's how I started, as weird as that might sound. And then eventually I started using more and more diaphragm to get louder, even though louder is not the thing you need to go for, but louder was what I needed personally. You need projection, you need to make sure that it's clear. That's all that matters, is that it's clear. Because you can turn your gain up like 100%, no one cares. As long as you can pull the game. Exactly. And it's the same thing goes for singers. You don't have to be loud, you just have to project. And voice acting is no different. Exactly. So the way that Will describes it, the way that I do it sometimes, if I'm like in a rush, I like a certain way, but this is the one I will follow if I don't have a ton of time. But he goes, you will basically sigh and then put more effort to it. So it should essentially go and basically just get from point A to point B. Like over time. This is over the course of like about a minute. You want to kind of like feel it out because you don't want to do it so fast that you'll shred your throat, but you want to make sure you're not doing it so fast that you're not using your diaphragm. So it's just like kind of like over time, and there's no right answer of how long to do it. It's more like what feels comfortable for you.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Oh, that's so cool.
SPEAKER_04So screaming. Yeah, exactly. So eventually, and I learned over time that I could transition one into the other now, which is not something I could ever do for a long time. So eventually I had to go from uh to her, right? So I now I can go and just kind of lead it in from nothing to a hundred now. Um, but that took a lot of time because I did not know what my range was. I didn't know my comfort time, I didn't know my strength, I didn't know my projection, I didn't know jack. So it took me a long time.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh! So like trial and error.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. I would say if you're gonna try it, do it in small waves. Please do not get hurt.
SPEAKER_02Don't wanna tear up your throat.
SPEAKER_04No, absolutely. Like it's a lot of fun because these same techniques that I use for metal screaming are some of the same techniques I've used for voice acting. Um at the time of this being aired, I'm sure it's already public at this point. Um, it is definitely public. There was a project I was in called uh Nova Mortis, right? And unfortunately it's cancelled, but I got to play a guy named Anthony.
SPEAKER_06Um I got to use my raspy voice where so like I'm using diaphragm and I get to be loud or I get to be like sadder and stuff.
SPEAKER_04But that's all diaphragm and I'm still using my throat.
SPEAKER_01I love your rasp. I'm gonna do that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so you get this blend of like screaming vocals but like acting at the same time, and it's really cool to see the two go hand in hand.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_04This is so good!
SPEAKER_02I love it! Oh my gosh. So um, is when um so the guttural sounds, is there like a difference between like a deeper or and a lighter, or like can you like do like waves of it?
SPEAKER_04I've never tried, but let's find out together. So, gutturals, those are gonna be known as your lowest range typically. Um I usually do better when I'm recording, like actual music, so I'm just gonna like play it by the books kind of recording. But um gutturals are your lowest, mids are kind of like your mid-range, this and that, and then there's pig squeals or highs, but some people, and there's correct terms. I know I'm gonna get a lot of flack for this. I didn't know those terms for a long time, so it's like um.
SPEAKER_02I never learned how to read music, so you were good music theory. I've I've sung, I've played instruments like um the clarinet, the the um viola, the um the cello, and never learned how to read music. So I I only listened to it and I could hear it and I could play it. So you are good.
SPEAKER_04I loved it. No, classic is like such a like without classic, we wouldn't have like I'm talking like Beethoven and like also like orchestral classic. Like without that, we wouldn't have even had the music we have today. It's impossible.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_04So I mean I have such a love for it too. It sounds pretty, is written so uniquely. Yes, that's just it's crazy, and it's so relaxing too. Absolutely. Like, I I've literally fallen asleep to orchestral music before.
SPEAKER_02Yes. It's so good. Thank God. Especially like if um, like when I was uh studying in school and stuff, like I feel like it's like a lo-fi is like a type of it, right? That's my favorite. It's so nice, it just feels like you're on a cloud. Yeah, dude, it's so wild. Everything is okay in the world.
SPEAKER_04It's calm, it's relaxing, it's just it's just a soft mood, bro. I love it.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Oh my gosh. Uh okay. So, um, to for what so you helped that with your voice acting. So did your music um send you down the voice acting route? How did you um discover voice acting?
SPEAKER_04Weirdly enough, I was friends with somebody at the time. Um, I don't know. Our relationship's kind of weird now, and that's fine. I don't care. I don't sleep. Um, but she was like, hey, let's go do this thing. I was like, I've always wanted to be try this as like a nerdy high schooler. And we we knew each other in high school, um, but we didn't talk much. Like we were friends, but we weren't like close, close. So she goes, Hey, let's go do this thing together. I was like, Bet, let's go. So we just go in her closet. We like I bought like a hundred dollar like AT 2020 plus uh the USB or no XLR type. Um, I had an SM7B, that's what we usually started with, because I was using that for music. Um start with this, and we're like, oh, this is fine, but it's not like bright. And that's kind of where we started breaking into condenser versus tube versus uh dynamic mics, and we could clearly tell the difference between the three. Um so we were using a dynamic mic and we're like, this does not work. This works for music, it works not for voice acting. So I went to go buy like a hundred dollar mic, and we just started doing stuff in her closet, and sure enough, like we landed some of our first big roles. No, I wouldn't say big, big roles for us.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. So were you was it from like watching anime, or how did you like w know that you could because I know a lot of voice actors, they're like, I didn't even know like you could even do this.
SPEAKER_04Mm-hmm. Yeah, we didn't know for a long time. We're like, what? Because we were weebs, we we loved cartoons.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so you were watching anime, and that got you wanting to see like, or was it anime or cartoons, or both.
SPEAKER_04For me, it was both. For her, it might have been more anime. But for me it was both an I grew up loving Tom Kenny and Tara Strong, but then I like my like I'm gonna date myself here, but my favorite anime of all time is Yu-Yu-Haka Show. That was the first one.
SPEAKER_03Yes! It's such a good anime. Is this that one? Doot doot do do do. Is that that one? Okay.
SPEAKER_04It's such a good one. That and Cowboy Devop were like classic.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_04Um, you Yusuke uh Yusuke being like the spirit detective and all that jazz and the bright green outfit, like the spirit gun. Like it's such a that was my first anime, excluding like DBZ and like Pokemon. I'm gonna classics. Like those are fine. They're they are good. Everyone knows them though. But if we're talking outside of the ones that everyone talks about, it'd you love the show for me.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it's underrated.
SPEAKER_04Oh, it's absolutely underrated. I love that show. And it's too so good.
SPEAKER_02Yes, uh, you never know. They might bring that back too.
SPEAKER_04I hope, dude.
SPEAKER_02I hope and you never know, you can be in it.
SPEAKER_04I hope. Listen, I can dream. I'm allowed to dream, and maybe those dreams come through us.
SPEAKER_03We could just clip this and then boom.
SPEAKER_04Just send it to the directors, like, hey, hear me out.
SPEAKER_02So Yu Yu Haka Show, then you guys got a mic, and then you got another mic, and then you started building on that.
SPEAKER_04When you were like um starting out, did you audition, or was it just um friend doing projects for friends, or for us, I think it was strictly auditions, um which is totally fine because even if we were like, oh, we can hire you because you're friends, we're like, no, we want to earn it. Like we had friends that were doing that. We're like, it's fine. Like, it's not that we were opposed to it, it's more like we wanted to earn our place. So for sure, we like we spent hours in that room, like just recording and auditioning and screwing around a lot. And turning out turns out screwing a lot a lot, screwing around a lot leads to like interesting things. So like being a goof, right? You'll find out like you have a certain tone that you didn't know existed, or like a pitch that you didn't know you could hit.
SPEAKER_02That is very true. Like, like that's the that's how you get to those stuff by trying it and and you know, and then it's so crazy because it's like I'm like l you when I first started, still like this a little bit too. Like, I'm like nervous to try different sounds because it might come out crazy. But how do you know if you don't try? Exactly. And then even if the crazy sound that you make, you could actually use that for a character.
SPEAKER_04So I did one for uh it was kind of like a gremlin-y voice, but I didn't realize it did it until I started just kind of playing with vocals, like maybe you should up here, maybe you should be down here, d-d.
SPEAKER_05Oh, we're like, wait, oh, this voice, this is how Anthony came about. It was not intentional, because he said it kind of like this.
SPEAKER_04Well, we always using like the back of my throat, and then I was like, wait, diaphragm, vocal metal technique, so I brought him down here, I made him sound more like a real person. And I was like, oh okay, that's cool. Yeah, it's expensive.
SPEAKER_03It's so fun when you discover it, too.
SPEAKER_04Like, oh, you're like, I want to try that. It's so fun.
SPEAKER_02So, like, what after um that happened, how did you know like you wanted to keep going and do it uh uh longer and more and get more serious with it?
SPEAKER_04I don't want to throw certain friends' names out there because I love them. Yeah, yeah. Um, but I auditioned for a huge project that we didn't know was huge at the time. We had genuinely no idea. Um and then we were like, alright, cool. And then we met some really cool people in there who two of which I'm friends with now, one I'm closer with than the other. Um and we were like, man, this sucks. Like, we're not getting any roles, and like we haven't learned anything, and like we have to pay for classes and um stuff like that. Like, we didn't have to, but that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right. You want to get you know stronger with the craft. Like I understand completely. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, because I was not a theater kid. Well, yeah, I was not much of a theater kid. Uh neither one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um but he did you do theater any at all in high school or middle school or uh elementary? Anything similar-ish?
SPEAKER_04I'm not gonna say who, because I a certain like people who know me know who it is, and I'm not gonna say publicly. But I was bullied out by somebody from choir and theater, which is why I kind of dropped them for a long time. Um and then I picked it up again when my friend, like post-college, was like, hey, let's go try voice acting. And I was like, let's go. And we were like, Well listen, we're gonna look stupid, and that's fine. That's the only way we're gonna get over it.
SPEAKER_02That's the thing with it. It's just like it's like it's okay to I don't know. It's like, it's like I remember at open open auditions, like a lot of us were afraid of getting there, of like like going the extra mile and doing all like and like making a fool out of ourselves. But I remember um like uh the one of the hosts that was a previous wimmer winner of the auditions, um he was giving us some really good advice saying don't worry about like anybody like judging you or anything like that. Put yourself like into the character and give that character like what it needs, and don't worry about what you look like because that what you like you going through um the the performance that will get you there and then nobody is gonna nobody's looking at you like that, and even if they do, like you know, don't worry about it and and just you and plus your performance will be so I like different and unique and outstanding that nobody's gonna worry about like if you blinked like this or you know you did something like go crazy because you're good, you're good at what you do. So yeah, it can it's it's very nerve-wracking, especially in high school and middle school. Like though those are times where kids like make fun of you and judge you over like any little thing, especially back like in like the 2000s and stuff like that. I don't know if it's um getting better. I hope it's getting a lot better because anime and stuff, right? Right, because it's anime and stuff is getting more mainstream now. Like, um, so I've been seeing a lot of kids with like backpacks with it, doing Naruto runs together. Like, I would never have thought this when I was a kid growing up. So I'm so happy, like, right, I was so happy it's more open now. So um, I'm so sorry that happened. Do you? Oh, that's fun.
SPEAKER_04Well, I mean, I wish I knew then what I know now, because I probably would have like blown it off. But like as an adult, I was like, I don't care. I'm planning on looking stupid and enjoying it at least because I can say at least say that I tried, right? I didn't got scared because somebody was judging me because I look stupid or that I sound weird. I'm like, yeah, I do. I don't care. Whatever. What are you gonna do about it?
SPEAKER_03Exactly. I'm not gonna change it.
SPEAKER_04What am I gonna change? Like just being normal, like I'm good, dude. That's boring.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. And then you never know. Somebody is always watching you, and like you never know, you could be inspiring them for doing that too. So like it's just like it's it's really mind-blowing.
SPEAKER_04You never know who's around, dude.
SPEAKER_02Never know. Like, I and like the I remember like it to this day, like the first time I went to the auditions. I remember I have to tell him this, because I don't think I ever told him. Um, the winner from 2023, there was like people talking, saying, like, oh my gosh, can you believe like he did like he was like he's like very out there, you know, to get the character out right. Yeah. And and I was listening to them, and then I was like, he's gonna win. I was like, he's gonna win because because he's doing that and he locked in and didn't care and did the character, like, did the character every single thing. He put 1,000 movie like he was it was like cap so captivating to watch. And some people on my on one side was like, you know, like that's weird, blah blah blah. And then some people on the other side was like me. I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. And guess what? He won!
SPEAKER_04So and it clearly shows that he cared.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. So just goes to show you do it, be passionate, and you know, like it's it's it's so bipolar.
SPEAKER_04100% for me. I was a scare actor with said person that I was. So that's kind of where we started getting the idea of like it's okay to look dumb, like it's okay to be silly looking and sound weird, right? Because you know, haunt actors, yeah, exactly. Like a scarecrow might sound weird, but like I have the whims and stuff, right? You don't know. So we were like experimenting that and we felt kind of weird at first doing it. Being, I mean, yeah, it's weird because it's we've never done it. We've never like we were very like, we don't want to be judged. Meanwhile, all of our f our now friends were like being the goofiest people ever, like let's go follow them. So then we started doing it. We're like, all right, cool.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it makes it so fun.
SPEAKER_02Go with it, just roll with it, dude.
SPEAKER_04If it feels weird, do it again. Maybe hard.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and it's so freeing, honestly. It's like it's I it's indescribable.
SPEAKER_04No chains, no shackles. Yeah, dude. Like, it's it's so nice to be able to like breathe and be like, hell yeah, I may not have gotten the role, but that was fun to audition for. Like, I've done that so many times.
SPEAKER_02Is that how you get through um rejection's as well? Like you just go go like you just like uh, you know, I I did that. Like there's nothing else I could, you know, and then sometimes um I spoke about this with um with a previous um guest, like you know even though so like like you didn't get a part that you necessarily wanted, sometimes they they save your your performance because you did so well and come back and and choose you for something else. That's why it's always good to just go with your best foot forward.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, no, there's a project I'm currently in. I don't know if I'm allowed to say it or the can't I can't say it's a good idea.
SPEAKER_03Okay, we can be vague.
SPEAKER_04One of my my friend is like in the project, I've known him for a couple years now, and uh their VA dropped out for a certain role, and he hits me up and he goes, Hey, remember that that PBDD voice? So it's like it was pretty dang close to getting picked. However, your recent audition for this role um was really sick and they want to have you. And I was like, what? Like the world I own I really wanted um back in the day, I was I had no clue what I was doing. I still barely know what I'm doing, but it was fun. It was just like this really high-pitched, like goofy dude. I don't want to like blow up my speakers. Let me see his thing.
SPEAKER_06He was like, he was like way up here and like super goofy, like, heck yeah, bro.
SPEAKER_04Right? So he was like that. So my friend hits me up and he goes, You almost got that role because of that voice. And I was like, Let's go!
SPEAKER_03He sounds adorable.
SPEAKER_04Oh, dude, it was so goofy. The guy who does it now is not that far off, too, which is really funny.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that is so cool.
SPEAKER_04So he hits me up and he goes, You remember that dark emo voice that you did for the other audition recently? Yeah, we want you. And the director loves your TV DD voice and was like, Let's go.
SPEAKER_02So cool. And and and then when you do get the when you do book it, it just makes all everything else worthwhile. And I always feel like anything that comes to you is for you. Cause then like you look back on like the stuff or that you did you audition for and you book, and you're like, that is like really like accurate to what the character is. So it really just shows you if it's fit, you're fit for the character. Like, there's so many projects, so many characters out there that need a voice, and and you just gotta like throw yourself out there to see if it's just you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_04You have to accept rejection, like it's gonna happen. No one gets booked for everything, right? Like, even like your favorite voice actors like Tom Kenny or like um or like Tara Strong or something, right? Like Phil Lamar, right? I promise you, they were all rejected in the beginning. They probably still be rejected now.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_04Like I guarantee it.
SPEAKER_02For sure.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Cause it's just it just wasn't meant for them. It doesn't mean like they're not, you know, it doesn't mean they you know there's something wrong about them or they're acting, and they're probably they're amazing, you know. It's just not the specific voice or for typic part they're looking for, you know?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02And I also feel like there's always room, there's room for everyone to do. Do this. So anyone can do this. And that's what you gotta push through the rejection to get to the selection.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. Like for me, like there's roles that I still I mean, I save all my auditions because if I need inspiration or I want to try something different, I'll look back at those and go, all right, cool, I have an idea, right? But for me, like there's and I there's certain roles that have hit me where I'm like, dang, this sucks, but you know, I'll get I'll get over it and I'll move on. And I don't yeah, like I don't stop anymore. I'm just like, well, I'm gonna keep auditioning for other stuff. Because at the time I would just like kind of sulk and be like, man, this sucks. I'm so sad. Right. Now I'm like, man, this sucks. Anyway, I have other stuff to audition for. Now, right, but there's like I loved those auditions, they were fun. That's what mattered to me. Yes. There's like the PvD D voice, the high pitched guy, right? I didn't I didn't get him, but I I had a blast with that voice. It was so fun.
SPEAKER_02And you learned from that too. Like you had learned that you could yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's gonna be public in like a couple hours, so I can say this, because I don't think this video is gonna go up at the time. So I'm basically I'm telling you and no one else. But I got the role for uh Rikoto for a project called Systems Trial, right? Um, and he's like this grungy emo kid who's just like kind of sad, kinda angry, right? Um and I would not have landed that role if it wasn't for a previous role. Because in that previous role, I learned to cry, I learned to scream, I learned to kind of like be like just like typical like I'm sad and emotional, right? But also be like kind of like, oh, this is fun. Ha ha. Like it's like this that one role brought me forward dramatically. And I would not have been able to do that because I learned it.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, through that.
SPEAKER_04Point A to point B. Like there is no set path of how to get from point A to point B, right? It's impossible. But you learn from your friends, you teach yourself, you pick up books, you take up classes. It's fun. As long as you're enjoying it, that's really all that matters. Because like, I wouldn't want to be a voice actor because it's a paycheck. Like, that's so boring. There's other things I can do.
SPEAKER_01Because maybe it's not much.
SPEAKER_04I promise you, it's not a high-paying job, but it's a fun job. Yeah. I want to enjoy my job. Yeah. Right. Music is no different.
SPEAKER_02And hopefully, like one day I would love to like do it full time, but I've been doing it for seven years, and um, you know, it most of the projects that I'm in I've done, um, they were either unpaid or weren't that much. But I I love it. I love doing it, and I love helping create stories with directors and hubcon content creators and um and project creators to because like they spend pretty much maybe like most of their life, like years and years on creating stuff like this, and then like uh it takes a lot behind the scenes to actually make a project, but like get the stuff for it, like the music and and animator as if it's animated, animation animators, all this type of stuff. And then to right, all these things. Finally get it out, right? Right, all this stuff, and it takes a lot. It takes literally like a team, uh, a crew, a team, um an army. It's not a simple job. Yeah, it is it's so hard, even though it's fun, it's one of the most passion project.
SPEAKER_04That's exactly what it is. You're doing it because you love it, not because you're expecting like praise for your work or because like you want to get noticed for it. Like you're doing it because you love it. That's really how that matters because like while all these fangan projects are fun, right? A lot of them are unpaid, they're meant to be unpaid, and that's totally fine. But we're doing it because we have fun. Like, I've been doing a lot of these projects because I've made a lot of friends doing this, just being a goofy dude.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and that makes it even more fun to do it with friends and with new friends, and all my friends that know me now, and a lot of the ones that have started to learn who I am now, like more too.
SPEAKER_04So typically when I look at projects, I make a big list and then I send it to everybody because I want to work with people, I want them to get into certain roles, even if they're not for me, stuff like that. So I send this list around. Oh, dude, I love it. Yeah, I've sent my friends like some who work for current roles, like, this is not my role, but please audition for this.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I love I do I love that, and um the same with me. Like I do like I get receive some from friends and I push out some like most of the time, I don't even like I won't sometimes I don't tell them, I just recommend them, and then sometimes I'll see them in projects that I recommended them from, and I'm just like, yeah! I'm just like, that's my boy, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I love doing it. It's it's a beautiful thing. Like it's uh it doesn't have to be about you, you just have to enjoy it and enjoy like be proud of your friends, dude. Like if you didn't get the role, but your friend did, you gotta be happy for them, dude. Like, you gotta give that huge like pat on the back and like just give them a big old hold and be like, damn man, you worked for that.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Oh, I love it.
SPEAKER_05That's the love that we need to share, not well, I didn't get it in, so I'm gonna be sad about it. Like, damn.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and and it's okay to like like we're human. It's okay to be sad, it's okay to feel it. But you you wanna yeah, don't let it stop you. Don't like take it personally and like use it, learn from what what you did from it, and grow and keep going and keep pushing. And and I always support the projects, even you know, like even if I and don't get it, because the projects are amazing, and I'm trying to support as much as we can because especially ND projects. Um, because like like we said earlier, there's so much that goes into them. Um, and it's just it's just a beautiful thing to see um to see the groundwork from it to getting it actually posted and getting it out. It's it's really awesome.
SPEAKER_04Like I've texted friends, I was like, listen, I don't need to be a VA for you, but I will happy I'm happy to help you scout for VAs, I'm happy to like help you write, I'm happy to help you direct, basically anything that helps you get to your end goal. Because like it's not about me, but I want to help you. Like I like being part of a team, whether I'm involved for like front facing or not. Like I don't need to be, I don't care. But like I want to be able to help. Because that's the thing. Exactly. Like that's what happens with being able to be a land, like a helping hand in any project in any sort of manner.
SPEAKER_02And and that's why that's when it gets to levels that it gets to from support like that. Um and from everyone or anyone that comes across it. So I always wish any project that I come across like the best and try to like do what I can to like help push it up to to links that that we didn't know imaginable or w did know imaginable because they're so passionate and and want it out and the you know about it and stuff like that. Like stuff like Amazing Digital Circus.
SPEAKER_04I cannot believe that's huge.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I cannot believe like the link that it is now, like in uh like any project can can do that. So it's it's amazing.
SPEAKER_04It's crazy that this little indie project, D Digital Circus, the Amazing Digital Circus was like this cute little like 10-minute video on YouTube from a company called Glitch that some people knew from Murder Drones and all that, and they were great. Yeah, but it's still an indie thing. Now we're talking about putting this indie company, even Markiplier too, into theaters. Like Markiplier's first movie into theaters. Glitch is going into theaters. Those are things that you probably would have been laughed at ten years ago.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you wouldn't you would never think it would be like imaginable. And then like now, like it's it's possible.
SPEAKER_04Like, yeah, we're breaking the ground all the time because we're experimenting, we're playing, we're having fun with it, dude.
SPEAKER_02It it's a and I think and that's what it is. It's because they're like all of us are like having fun with it, just doing it, just trying and pushing it. And that's what goes from from point zero to point whatever. Is that like you it all starts with that passion.
SPEAKER_04You have to start with rejection, dude.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_04You learn from your failures and you grow. It's kind of like learning from history, like, well, I didn't get it because of this, let me try something else. Or like, I did this and it sort of works, so let me do that again, but a little bit harder now.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_04Like you're always learning as a as in any sense of the word. Like you're always learning.
SPEAKER_02That is true. And you're and you have to be like wanting and willing to learn as well, and to not be like closed off because like you have to like in order to grow and and not to take um criticism too harshly, especially if somebody is coming at a a positive, like they're not like doing it. They're not like right, yeah, they're trying to help you to grow and see. Because I love criticism. I like I I crave it. I'm like, I I'm always wanting to get better. Exactly. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04You have to be able to accept criticism to the point where you're like open-minded about it because they were like, Oh, I didn't like it because of this reason, not well, like it was bad. Like, there's two different types of criticism. You have the ones that are trying to help you and explaining why it didn't work out, and then you have the ones that are just knocking you down, and those are the ones you ignore.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you just put those in the in the stuff.
SPEAKER_04You have to take criticism with an open mind and an open heart because you have to be like, well, they're saying it because they they care. It's not because like I didn't get them right because they don't like me. It's because like I didn't fit for these reasons, and you understand what those reasons are, and you take that with you to heart and go, cool, I learned something from this. I can push that forward now.
SPEAKER_02Right. And especially when they take out the time to like really tell, like, this could work better, or this can do that. And here's some resources. You know, they'll even send you links. Like, that's how you know, like, oh, they really like actually like really you know want me to get there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. And even if like the advice isn't necessarily like what you will actually take, you know, there's a lot of advice that could sometimes it doesn't really work out, or sometimes it does. It's always good to still soak it in and still see if it works, and then use what you what that advice, uh, what you can from the advice that you have, and then uh keep that in your head, and then if you see someone else who's going through something, or um you learn from that, and then you push it forward and tell the next person, then the next person, and then we all grow together.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. You're always learning from your friends, your co-workers, like your projects. You're learning in every sense of the way, uh in every sense of the word, whether you realize it or not, like you're learning from your friends, because you know, you're goofing off with them, but you're also picking up what they're what they're doing. They're learning from you, and then at the same time, you're learning from like your directors, your people that are in your projects, maybe from the outside world, maybe from classes, and that that wealth of knowledge gets shared around.
SPEAKER_02Right. It really does.
SPEAKER_04Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02And it it's such a beautiful thing too, with uh, especially in the the community. Um where like seeing everyone come together and push each other up and support each other, and it just it just really makes you it just like it's just such a a beautiful thing that you don't really see much of in in life, and that's what I really adore about this community. So like having each other's backs is it's just a beautiful thing.
SPEAKER_04Sharing the love, sharing the passion. Like we want to see everyone succeed, not fail. Right. Like we pick each other up when somebody doesn't get like a certain role, and that's okay. We're like, ah, dude, oh don't worry about there'll be next time.
SPEAKER_03There'll always be next time. Just don't give up.
SPEAKER_04There's always a next time.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So is there any so do you play instruments? I think, right? No?
SPEAKER_04I tried. I tried to I did play piano as a kid a little bit, but I dropped it because I was bored. Because at the time I didn't like music. That was the thing. I did not used to be a music person, and then by high school I was like, alright, I love music now. Um what made the switch?
SPEAKER_06Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_04You know, I don't know. I I don't know where the switch is, actually. I think it was just more like I hadn't heard anything that like stood out to me or that I was like, oh, you're committed to this, or like, oh, this is neat. It's just like, oh, this is cool, that's fine, whatever. And then later on I was like, Wait, I love this.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that is so crazy. It's interesting. That's cool. Actually, really cool.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's always interesting to see how your hobbies begin.
SPEAKER_02Right. And then like there were maybe there's like something that happened that maybe clicked and and you know, it like switched instantly.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Like I have a friend that makes bracelets and she's like, Well, I was just kind of goofing off with yarn one day. It was just kind of making silly little patterns, and now I make bracelets. And I was like, that's cool.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Uh that is really interesting.
SPEAKER_04She's a great artist now. Like, she's amazing.
SPEAKER_02Oh, our artists are so like it's just amazing what you could do with like a pen. I'm just like, how? I I only do stick figures.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was like, I'm not an artist, but I love I appreciate your work because it's amazing.
SPEAKER_02So much.
SPEAKER_04Like I followed Instagrammers who make like crochet stuff, and it's so cute. And I was like, dude, I'm gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, yes.
SPEAKER_04Like little crochet bees and ghosts. Oh, it's so cute.
SPEAKER_02I've always wanted one of those um big, big blanket quilt type things. I want one of them blankets. Like the really big ones. Oh, I went on the ball.
SPEAKER_06Oh, I love those quilts.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. I want one, like this real fluffy one, but I want it handmade. I want it made with love.
SPEAKER_04No, absolutely. Like I want to see every stitch in that knitting.
unknownRight!
SPEAKER_04Seriously, I could just go to Target and buy one, but where's the love in that?
SPEAKER_02Right exactly!
SPEAKER_04There's nothing in that. You gotta do something because you love it, because you had fun doing it, dude.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. There's like, um, there's this uh a guest that comes at my um my one of my jobs. I have like three of with voice acting.
SPEAKER_04Oh it's exciting.
SPEAKER_02Crazy. But she does um like the little she does like little stuff. So let's say like it's Valentine's Day, she'll make like a little heart um out of like out of like thread, and then she'll put like um a pen behind it. So she'll like give us one and then we'll wear it as a pen. Like she's so creative, and it just it's just so cute how like you can just like we have the creativity in us ever since we were little, you know? And then when life comes in, um it kind of diminishes a little bit. Well, maybe a lot of it of yeah, but and with voice acting and like getting back into what makes us happy, we can grab that creativity back and tenfold and make stuff like you know, Mizzy Diddle Circus, anime, you know, like it's just it's just really cool to just like just open it back up and and be vulnerable and have fun.
SPEAKER_04No, I completely agree. And I was talking to somebody about this the other day, I think on Thursday, right? Um she was like, Why do you choose to do music and voice acting? And I was like, you know, I hadn't really thought about it, it's just something that I enjoyed. She goes, What kind of prompted that? And I was like, I guess it's like healing my inner kid in a sense. I get to get away from being meme, which is fun, but I also get to express myself in terms of music. I get to try something new as an actor, I get to just experiment to be like playful and joyful and just be like unique in every sense for it. Because I'm not set in stone on what I can and cannot do.
SPEAKER_02It's like you're you're a kid, you're like fully.
SPEAKER_04I'm like a kid in a candy store.
SPEAKER_02Yes! It's like that's the definition of a dude. You don't have to hold it back, like you don't have to be like m uh mature. I mean, I guess mature per se, but I don't know. You just get to be free, man.
SPEAKER_04No, I'm not gonna say his name, but I had a friend. He does work for a professional company, and I didn't know him at the time. So he comes into our server, he's being all super professional. I didn't know he who he was, I didn't know who he worked for, nothing. Right? He comes in, we're all just goofing off because he's part of a new cast. And uh I was like, oh man, that's cool. He's like, Where'd you go to school? And he goes, I went to Wizard Harvard, I migrated in pirating. I was like, What? And I love this dude. And then he leaves call to go, yeah, like that guy who works for Crunchyroll. I was like, What? No, shut up.
SPEAKER_02Instant icebreaker. Yeah, I was like, What? No, that's crazy.
SPEAKER_04This goofy dude is professional. I love him.
SPEAKER_02I love that's happened to me a couple times too. And doesn't it make the class or the the setting way more easier to to like like the nerves just instantly go away? It's just like when somebody when you're going into something, it's like right, and like the director even says they're nervous. They're like, oh, whoo, okay. Yeah, they're human.
SPEAKER_04Shoot this person a message. I'm like, bro, it's just another person at this point, but it's also like a professional, but it's like they're a fun professional. That's the fun thing. Yes, like just uh the nerves are gone. You just get to enjoy like working with other people who's also just another guy. It's so nice to see that too.
SPEAKER_02It is, it's so refreshing.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02So like I wanted to get um more into like um do you have any hobbies or anything besides your music and voice acting?
SPEAKER_04Um, it's probably gonna be I don't have too many.
SPEAKER_02I know I see you I seen you dye your hair before on your on your Instagram. It looks really cool. I love like your your clothing, like your aesthetic. Do you like do you like buy things off of like Amazon and stuff, or do you uh thrift or put stuff together? Because I really love when you're your your look.
SPEAKER_04For me, it was like I had friends that did hair for a living. I still do have friends that do hair for a living, and then cool for a long time I didn't like my hair. That's why I used to dye it, and then I was like, well, I love my hair, but I also love the rainbow colors because it was fun. I got to have fun with my hair. So I just kind of did it all the time. And then as I got older, I was like, I don't know, I want to try normal hair and see what that looks like. I'm like, eh, it's fine.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I love your hair. Oh, what color?
SPEAKER_04If I if I can figure out what I want to do with it, it'd be black and green in in in certain some some way.
SPEAKER_02Uh I have a friend, um, their name's Marcus, and they dye like uh their beard. I tried. Yes!
SPEAKER_04Yes, I can find a way to do this because I want to do that for like holidays, like 4th of July, Christmas.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yes, like red, white, and blue.
SPEAKER_04Oh man, bright yellow for Easter, do something fun. St. Patrick's Day have a bright green beard. Dude, I want to do that so bad.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh. Talk about a showstopper. I know, it's just fun.
SPEAKER_04Like, you gotta grow back. If I hate it, it'll grow back.
SPEAKER_02Wait, right. Like, if you don't like it, boom. You got to.
SPEAKER_04Like, I've seen like it's too short to be serious.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and I've s and what really like inspires me, I've seen like um people like um 80, 90 year olds doing this. Um I even saw like my my grandma's church. There was a 90-year-old that got like they literally made an announcement on it. It was so funny. She got her belly button pierced. That's crazy. Right! So, like, it just shows us so you you don't have to, and I've seen like stuff, yeah, no age on being expressive.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, absolutely. That's why I like music and voice acting, is because I get to express myself in such a goofy way.
SPEAKER_03Right, and it's so fun.
SPEAKER_04With the clothes, it wasn't intentional. I just kind of like I barely shop anymore. Most of my wardrobe is like band shirts, but every now and then. I gotta shop. Oh, I'm the same way.
SPEAKER_02So I I donated most of my clothes, so I just I have to like I really wanted to get more alt clothes and like my my my fashion's all over the place, but um that's the most I feel comfortable in, is like dad, like combo is they're so comfortable. Yeah, they are they really are, dude. And you can't go wrong with black.
SPEAKER_04No, I mean black fits everything. I learned that the easy way, thankfully. And pink, yeah, it's true. Pink goes with everything, dude. Everyone's yellow, pink and blue, pink and green, pink and black, pink and white. Dude, you never know.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, I love a pink and blue.
SPEAKER_04I know, dude. It's so pink.
SPEAKER_02A little bubble gun.
SPEAKER_04Pink jacket, a little blue shirt underneath.
SPEAKER_02Yes! You can really have fun with the the vests, like, and have like something underneath a vest. Oh, and then a nice belt with some jeans. I always love that combo.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. Like, yeah, you get it. Like pink is my favorite color, so of course I want to experiment with that the most.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, what if you dye your hair pink? Like, I think.
SPEAKER_04I did actually one point. Yeah. It was long and it had cotton candy hair, it had pink and blue. It was one of my favorites. I also had rainbow hair and I kind of miss the rainbow hair, I'm not gonna lie. Yeah. It was so fun.
SPEAKER_02It taking it all in. Did it like cause I know with like semi-permanent hair, I it it did it get on everything? Because I remember I dyeing my hair and it used to get on my pillow all the time.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. All the bright colors will, for sure. Oh, like I remember seeing like pink and blue pillowcases.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Oh my gosh. I probably gotta buy like a pillowcase that you know is like you won't be able to do it.
SPEAKER_04When you're not gonna wear wounded yeah. I did that for a towel. I was like, all right, this is the towel I'll have to use every time I've had dye hair. Oh, absolutely. That thing was like a tie-dye mess by the end of it.
SPEAKER_01Tie-dye! I love it.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I loved that towel because it looked so cool. It's not something you could replicate. Yeah, it was cool. It was like this is my towel. This is cool.
SPEAKER_03And it was made with natural, I mean unnatural, natural hair dye.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. You're like, dude, we didn't even have to do anything. Absolutely. I had a pair of pants the same way. Whenever I'd go pay uh like do work outside, I was like, I love these pants because like I kind of made them.
SPEAKER_03Yes, like oh absolutely. Oh my gosh, you gotta show me a picture if you have one of the phone. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04I'm sending you a text after this of like my pink jacket and like my if I have the old towel. I don't think I do anymore, but I'm gonna see if I have took a picture of it.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I hope I hope one day maybe they'll make like more permanent, like dye. That would be cool.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely, dude. I would love to have permanently pink hair. Are you kidding me?
SPEAKER_01Oh yes. I would dye it in the definitely see that like at the top. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_04There's like a pink streak grid up here or one down the middle, something.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that would look so tough.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely. Like the reason why I didn't go with pastels is because there's so much maintenance and I love pastels. They're my like pastel pink is such a pretty color. But it's so high maintenance.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. It is. I guess that's the the the main reason. Same. Because I used to do like do dyes, but it would just it would come out like two weeks later. I'm just like, man, I worked so hard on it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly. Like it'll be a month and it'll be like, well, I'm back to boring, or I'm back to boring. Right.
SPEAKER_02And then it like it like Yes! And then it like um once the it fades a lot too.
SPEAKER_04And then
SPEAKER_02Your hair starts growing back too, on top of that.
SPEAKER_04You see all this weird mixed mash of colors. That's absolutely like that's such the truth. Whenever you dye hair.
SPEAKER_03Man, it's but when you first get it done, you're just like you're like, I don't care, I'm fabulous.
SPEAKER_04Oh, dude, all the time. I wouldn't wear hats, I wouldn't wear my beanies, I would just be like, yeah, my hair's out.
SPEAKER_03Yes, dude. Yes, flawed it.
SPEAKER_04I loved it. You kidding me? When my hair was long, I never even put it up. I just left it like flowing down.
SPEAKER_03Yes!
SPEAKER_04Oh dude, I loved it.
SPEAKER_03Now I now I want to dye my hair.
SPEAKER_04You gotta. You have to at least once.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I'm gonna do it.
SPEAKER_04You have to. You gotta do your favorite color first.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. I think it red. I think red. That'd be so pretty. I love red. Oh, I would love to see it.
SPEAKER_04I wanted to do red and I never did red.
SPEAKER_02Ooh.
SPEAKER_04I did black and blue for my first.
SPEAKER_02Yeah? Like, was it like under blue and black?
SPEAKER_04No, I did the full thing. I did the whole thing black with like a blue streak in it. That was my first time ever dyeing my hair.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. It's such a fun feeling though. Like when it's done. And then like you get it's almost like painting, too. It's just like you can do like your own thing.
SPEAKER_04That's why I like these creative things. It's like you get to express yourself in so many different ways. Tattoos, piercings, hair, coloring. Oh, yes! One of my favorite things to do on my downtime is like coloring. Like coloring both. Oh, yeah. We'll throw on some lo-fi or candle and we're good. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02So I I I like the color with um like a darker marker or not either a marker or a crayon, and I'll do like an outline of the coloring. Yeah, yeah. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_04I love that actually. I use crayons and colored pencils mostly. Markers scare me because I was like, I take too long and it bleeds and really.
SPEAKER_03It bleeds through so heavily. I hate it. That's why you're like, I can't. Exactly.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I should try highlighter, actually. That's a good idea.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Oh, a highlighter could work.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I kind of want to play with that now.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yes!
SPEAKER_04Cool. I want to try that now.
SPEAKER_03Let me know if it worked.
SPEAKER_04Oh dude, I'll let you know immediately. I'll send you a picture.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes! Did we just come up with something? Highlighter, outlighter.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. Highlighter coloring.
SPEAKER_02And then your tattoos, so Yeah, same. I'm almost fully done with my sleeve. I have like a legend.
SPEAKER_06I'm not even close. I'm so sad.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_04I have a lot of negative space.
SPEAKER_01So Oh, dope.
SPEAKER_02And then I love it. Oh, that one on your arm right here.
SPEAKER_04This one, the demon? Yeah. It's one of my favorites. And then I have one on my leg.
SPEAKER_02Where did um what uh did this one come from? Uh did you just see Yeah.
SPEAKER_04This boy. So he was part of a project that I was on. Actually, there's two of these, and people will know immediately what this is if I can get this upside right. There you go. Pim. They're from the same project.
SPEAKER_02Is that Sasuke?
SPEAKER_04No, it's my I guess it's no, it's not an OC. Um so there was a project that many of us were in called Tacho Donk and Rampa. I'm sure you know the fallout about that. Yeah! I was uh Kamimura's VA. Um that's one of my favorite rules, which is why I was able to land Rikoto so easily, because it was like I learned a lot playing uh Kamimura. It was great, dude. I loved it. It's still one of my favorite rules to this day, regardless of the fallout and all this other jazz, but that's a whole other conversation. During the during r production, um at some point one of the characters has like an AU design or an alternative universe design of like a demon on her leg to mono uh symbolize one of her friends, Hama Hama Ran, right? Um So I was like, I want that piece. I don't care if it looks goofy or whatever.
SPEAKER_05I was like, dude, it looks sick.
SPEAKER_04Whereas in his words, it looks badass. So I was like, dude, I want it. And I got it because for that exact reason, like it just looks dope as shit. Like it replies.
SPEAKER_02It popped out as soon as you put up your arm.
SPEAKER_04I was like, what Yeah, the second I saw it, I was like, dude, I want that. I was like, please. Oh, dude, I love it. It's one of my favorite pieces.
SPEAKER_02What's another favorite piece you have?
SPEAKER_04I'd say probably the same hand, actually. I have a whole like this whole arm unintentionally is like mental health. Like calm before the storm for the hour class. I have um positive mental attitude attitude. Come on, camera.
SPEAKER_01I love that.
SPEAKER_04There we go. From Jack Septiguy. Um, stained glass heart is a whole conversation in itself. Um Beartooth is one of my bands, is one of my favorite bands of all time. This whole band arm is music. So I have NSP, I have Starbomb, I have Amity Affliction, Ice Nine Kills, Secrets, uh, This Wildlife of Mice and Men. And then on my leg I have Pokemon. Yeah, you know what I don't have to.
SPEAKER_03Anime, got it, got it.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god. So I've leaver, um, I did like something for um like mental health a little bit, like love yourself.
SPEAKER_04That's so pretty. The bright red.
SPEAKER_02I I literally, I was like, cuz I just did just the red, and then I went to my actual, like, because I just got this done like randomly one day, and I was like, I just need it for some reason. I just need it on there. And then my um tattoo artist, I went to him and I told him about it, and then he was like, dude, let's put something around it, yeah? Just let it pop out stuff. Yeah, and he did that, and but so this one is pretty much the anime arm. I love it. So I have like Dio, um, the Ant King from Hunter Hunter, and then uh Pochita from Teeth Summon, and um Jojo and uh One Piece and um start One Piece, dude. I know I need to start it, I get so much every everybody just like it's a lot of people, like I was one of them. It's just like so hard to start because of so many episodes. And when you Yeah.
SPEAKER_04But it was like when you think about it, it's not as long as you think. Because like I promise you, all the anime you have watched is longer than the all One Piece alone, bro.
SPEAKER_02And you binge it like crazy when you start it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly. Like Yo, Yu-Gi-Oh! Pokemon, Bleach, Dragon Ball, right? All of those are longer if you have watched them together than One Piece is. So it's like it's not as long as you think it is.
SPEAKER_02It's not, because like once you get in into it, you'll you're already on episode like 800 and something, you're like, wait, I thought I just watched episode five. And it's so good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02The biggest thing for me when I first started was also the animation, because it was a little bit older. And I was like, uh, but once I I I I actually I actually like older animation, it's just it's nostalgic. So yeah, it's so good. What I was worried about because it it just made me feel like more I felt more at home anyways. So it like One Piece is one of my like it's a classic. I mean you can't go wrong with it.
SPEAKER_04Like if you love it, you love it, if you like it, you like it. But no one really hates it per se. Nobody that I know, they're like, I don't like it. And I was like, that's fine, but like no one's like, oh, it's the worst anime ever. Like, I've never heard that opinion.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. And and um, um, I'll also with the with your the mental health thing, because I really wanted to get into that too. Absolutely. Um uh I did that the tattoo when I was like um going through I went through uh like a lot like in high school, um um middle school, was bullied and you know, especially because of like my voice and other things, and it it's really hard to like um get through uh things like that, and you know, and getting through depression and anxiety and and things like that. And I just wanted to, because I saw a little bit about your story on Instagram, and I wanted to like um talk more about it if you're okay with that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, by all means, I'm a completely open book about it now.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, I would love to get into that and like share your story about that and others who may be going through like you know, similar things and and and yeah, yeah, that's exactly what this actually represents is the stained glass heart.
SPEAKER_04I know everything is upside down, but it looks so cool.
SPEAKER_02And I I love is that a semicolon on it? A heart? A stained glass heart?
SPEAKER_04Oh so the stained glass heart, the semicolon, and the fact that it's stained glass specifically all represent kind of like the picture as a whole. Sorry. Um Yeah, yeah. So when we fall apart, when anybody falls apart, when something breaks, you can put it back together in any shape, way, or form that you choose to do so. I chose a heart in this case because I wanted to remind not only myself but everyone around me, like even when things are hard, you are loved, you are important, and that you matter, which is also where the semicolon came from. It's like your story's not over. And I chose stained glass specifically because I like colors. Because when you were in a church, right, and you look at all those stained glass, you're like, wow, that's really pretty, or like, oh, this is something I'm gonna remember. So for me, it was like just that important, like anti-suicide, like mental health pretty way to do it. And I wanted something that no one else had ever had before. No one in the world.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I've never seen that.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. So I was like, I made this design with a friend and my tattoo artist. And it's one of my favorite things to this day.
SPEAKER_02I love it. And so was there a specific reason why you put the placement um here?
SPEAKER_04I chose that spot because I wanted it to be like very obvious and very big. Like I could have used my wrist, but it would have wrapped a little bit. This one does wrap a little bit, but not that much. But I like this one because it's always gonna show.
SPEAKER_02I love it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I like whenever you like you're getting something or like. Oh, if I'm like reaching up, you can kind of just remind yourself too, right? You see it and other people see it. That's why I put mine here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And then same reason with the the smiley face. Oh my gosh, I love that one. They're all relating to mental health. Oh my god. That was never the intention, but I kind of like it. Yes, I love it. Yeah, I was like, I was never planning to get random mental health tattoos, but I was like, listen, I'm not opposed. I love it actually.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I love what tattoos with meaning.
SPEAKER_04That's what I try to get. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I think same, same. I think maybe one or two. Just like, I just like it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, just like I like it. Oh, actually, you know what? Three, demon. He's not he has a meaning, but I love him. He's cool.
SPEAKER_02So cool. That's a meaning right there. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_04It was like, listen, the meaning is that it looks awesome. What else do I need?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely, dude.
SPEAKER_02So you've been um ever since you were ten, right?
SPEAKER_04Like you've been like I think that's when it really started, yeah. Ten years old.
SPEAKER_02Um, so um, so how did like you get like over that or how what got you through everything that you would think or or to be honest, it took it took a lot, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_04It started at 10 because I had a rough childhood. Like I'm adopted, so I come from like this very rough background. My sister and I are thankfully blood related, but we both also agreed we would never be adopted separately. So that's my sister with me. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_04Can't separate the family. We were the last of all we had.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I mean, truth be told, in high school and in college, and even sometimes post-college, I had a couple of attempts. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. Um but what really helped was uh For me it was music, which is why it's probably like the most important thing to me. Because and I've said this, and that's why I have this specific tattoo. This is of mice and men's logo, right?
SPEAKER_00That is so cool.
SPEAKER_04And the perfect circle. Exactly, and then it's bright and colorful and it's super cute, and I love it. Um, but they wrote a song with their previous vocalist, uh The Great Handowski. Um, and that's I was very grateful, very scared, but very lucky to be able to cover it actually recently. And it's my favorite song. Yeah, I'll send you the low, I'll send you the demo.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01Congrats uh on the cover.
SPEAKER_04Oh my gosh! I'm proud of it personally. I love it. Yes, but that's one of my favorite songs, and that's I would argue that's one of the songs I think in college that's when I kind of figured out what that song was or what it was. I had heard it in high school, but it didn't have a lot of significance at the time. But in college, the lyrics are uh don't speak that way, um, you're too young to live this way, just look around and see that life is beauty. And it's just like this deeper meaning of like life can get hard, but like it's not the end and it's not all you have.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. And it's one of my favorite songs, and that helped me through a lot, honestly.
SPEAKER_02Would you listen to it a lot, like over and over?
SPEAKER_04Oh, I had it on repeat constantly. Sometimes I still have it on repeat because it's such a good song. Like, not only is it a good song as a song, but it's great as a message. It's like a win-win.
SPEAKER_02Right. And it really speaks to you songs like that, and then like like um and hearing it over and over. Like it and I love what like you can like decipher some things that you didn't hear the first time. And like, yeah, it's so beautiful. And thank you for the side.
SPEAKER_04I was like, oh, I never caught this.
unknownYeah!
SPEAKER_02Same! Still to this day. So many songs that I heard as a kid. I'm just like, oh, I didn't even know it meant that. Like or or I didn't even know, like your it's like your brain un like unlocked, you know?
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. Yeah, there's it's like this inner child of you is always exploring. And it's like you're working on something new, it's cool.
SPEAKER_02It it really is. Growing up, it it's it's it's hard and it's tough, but it also it's pr pretty fun at the same time.
SPEAKER_04At the end of everything. Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02For sure.
SPEAKER_04I consider myself like a huge mental mental health advocate for sure.
SPEAKER_02Same, same. Because I feel like um it really doesn't like get talked about as much as the should be. Depending on who you talk to. Exactly. It is very touchy. It's so touchy, and and but I feel like it sh it needs to be talked about because a lot of us, most of us probably, go through a lot. And it's hard to like go through that and in, you know, experience things and and feel like I know like with me, it just felt like I I was like nervous to tell anyone because you know I don't know why. Like I was I went through depression and I have really bad anxiety, I have anxiety disorder, so it I would feel like nervous about telling, you know, others about it and like wanting to get therapy or wanting to seek help because you don't you don't wanna you don't wanna be like feel like something's wrong with you per se, at least for me. And then but there comes like a time where you're just like, you know what? I re like I like there is light at the end of the tunnel. Like I know it's hard right now, but I know it'll get better in the future. I just have a like a feeling that it will, and I just need to like unlock on that, share with who I trust, share, share with like somebody I trust, and and really talk. It's like talking to someone about it is so so important, I feel like, and just really like letting go and talking to someone you trust. And um and um and getting therapy does really help a lot too. Um I still have to go get the therapy. Uh I finally got some an insurance, so I can finally get some. So it's just um it's it's it's really helpful to just, you know, just and and working on yourself too, and um doing things that you love and are passionate about and and self-love and so much other stuff, I feel like is is just really important and um and everyone is deserves to be loved and is loved and and should and should feel love and yeah.
SPEAKER_04No, I completely agree. Like I would I would say pretty much the same thing. You have to be okay with learning to be alone, you have to be open, you have to be accepting. Like I I agree with you. When I got insurance recently, like as of last year, the first thing I did was I went to therapy. And it's okay to like go to therapy and ask for help because it's not a sign of weakness. And it's it's it's important to know that like you matter, everything that you're dealing with that matters. You have to be open and be willing wanting to see the change that you're trying to get. It can't just be given to you. So you have to work for it too, and that's fine. Like, it's not gonna be easy, you're not gonna get it tomorrow. You might not get it next week or next month. But the fact that you're working on it shows that like there's clearly growth.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. And it's strength. It's honestly strength doing all of that, you know?
SPEAKER_04That willpower, yeah. It's hard, it makes a huge difference.
SPEAKER_02But like just and then I also like imagine like what would I be in the future, like coming out of this. Like, I I would never like when I was younger, I don't have like the self-respect that I do for myself now. Like I used to be a big people pleaser, so and like I was a very empathetic person. So very empathetic. So it was it was uh it was hard to like have a lot of like confidence and self-respect in myself, and but through tr unfortunately like trials and and errors and like really um talking to myself, giving myself pep talks about like getting better. Um you just grew and been and been able to you know just just be more open and and even not more open, just just loving literally loving who you are as a person and growing to be a better person and having fun while doing it.
SPEAKER_04You have to love yourself, yeah. Yeah that's something I'm personally still learning, honestly. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna lie. Like it's something I agree with you, like I was a people. It's so hard. But now I still I would still that I say that I try to be, but I don't I no longer make it my priority because I would always try to put everyone else before me. And I still sometimes do that, but I also have to stay take a step back and go, Well, this isn't good for me, so I'm not going to Right.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. It is it's it's so tough, especially for empaths. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Like I'm an introvert, I'm very like, I try to make everyone happy and all that jazz. Oh, and it it shows in most of the things that I do. But for a long time, I didn't take care of me. I didn't care, which is why it kind of shows. But yeah.
SPEAKER_02I I honestly feel that so bad. It's just like now that I'm looking back on it, I was like, I really did not value myself as a person. It made me sad. It really made me sad. It's painful to to see. And then like it just makes me think about all the other people that may are are maybe dealing with the same thing. Yeah. Yeah. And then like I feel like there's and then I see other people who are they my sister, it's complete opposite. She she is so strong and so confident, and she is herself through and through. She does not care who who doesn't like her. And I'm I like I look up to her. She's my little sister. And I'm just like, I I will I want to get like that. And she was telling me recently, she's like, no, I'm looking up to you. Like you, you do stuff that you're afraid of doing all the time, and you you just go for it and don't care about anything else. And like, you know, it's just like feeding off of um other people's energy. Yeah, it's um it's it's really like a lot of discoveries through life, and it just it just makes you want to like jump out and do more and try more harder.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and the love that you're getting too. Well, you're giving it out to everyone else who also needs it. That's true, yes.
SPEAKER_03Yes! Right! It's like the sort of the circle of life, like the line cut. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I was literally talking about the tree of life with a friend today.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we were just like, oh, that's such a pretty like it's a pretty design. The meaning behind it is so like so important, to be honest with you. So we yeah, we've got to be.
SPEAKER_02It really is.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and this is no different. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. Oh my gosh, I love this conversation. So do I. Thank you, Austin.
SPEAKER_04Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_03Oh, thank you for coming on. Like, it's the first one.
SPEAKER_04Hold on, I'm gonna see those nails.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I just got them like done.
SPEAKER_02Thank you! The nail artist did her thing.
SPEAKER_04I missed being able to have colored nails.
SPEAKER_02The last time I did them were Oh, I wanted to talk about that too. I wrote it down because I saw um I saw you did like candy cane nails. I think it's crazy. Oh, yeah, the person ever did my candy. Candy corn nails.
SPEAKER_04I was like, they look really cute. Oh, dude, I missed it.
SPEAKER_03Really? Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_04And I was like, damn. I know. We can do whatever we want to our hair, we can have most piercings, doesn't matter. Nails, no. I was like, dude, I know. And it was like, I used to bite mine, which is why I painted them for most so long. Yes, that's a good idea. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Uh I I was a biter too, like with the anxiety. And I was like, okay, I need to stop. Because, you know, like sometimes it'll get like so bad where it's like to the meat and it like hurts.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely, I still do that. Are you kidding me? And I can't paint them anymore.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that is a good idea to just paint them, and you know, and to like, uh, that'll help with that. Your job lets you do that.
SPEAKER_04I know, I miss it. And that's part of the thing that I loved about painting nails, is again, it's another way of expressing yourself and another creativity. Like, you can make them whatever you want, whatever color, whatever design. You don't, you name it. It does not matter. I was gonna do grandma objects, honestly. Ooh. I was scared to start painting my nails because I was like, oh, people are gonna judge me as like I don't care anymore. Whatever. Exactly. I should have had pink nails. I was like, dude, I don't care.
SPEAKER_02I love I love it. Anyone with nails and I like I just like it, like you said, it's so expressive. And I'm so glad like you did that and and not care, you know. And I've been seeing seeing a lot of like um uh like men do that, and I and I love it.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I do straight up many petties.
SPEAKER_02Yes, like that was my jam, bro.
SPEAKER_04I love it.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_04It was so fun.
SPEAKER_02I I hate when you uh sometimes or the last time I got a pedicure too, and um they were doing like the feet portion and it tickles me so much.
SPEAKER_04But Fred almost kicks somebody and I was like, Kara, you're gonna scare them away.
SPEAKER_03Oh, it is so much self-control.
SPEAKER_04It's just like it hits that one nerve and you're like, Yes!
SPEAKER_03I'm like gripping the seat, the massage cheap for dear life.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I know.
SPEAKER_03And then they go rob too. They don't they don't let me know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, they don't they don't like they don't do gentle. They're like, alright, we're giving you like the wheel.
SPEAKER_03It makes it so much worse.
SPEAKER_04It's so good and so bad at the same time because you're like, you know it's gonna be beautiful, but you're scared something's gonna happen in the process.
SPEAKER_03I was like, just give me the baby soft smooth feet.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and I have rough feet, dude, as a guy and somebody who is always like running around and like just And especially, I don't know if it's for you as a Floridian, do you walk barefooted a lot? Oh, all the dude, I hate shoes. I straight up hate shoes. I'm not even wearing shoes in my studio right now. I'm just like, dude, if I don't have to wear shoes, I'm wearing flip-flops if I have to wear the bare minimum.
SPEAKER_03If I don't have to go wear shoes, I do not. I walk barefooted everywhere.
SPEAKER_04I almost wish it was legal to drive barefoot because I probably would.
SPEAKER_03Right!
SPEAKER_04I straight up would.
SPEAKER_03Sometimes I actually do. Like I'll take off my shoes.
SPEAKER_04I'm like, uh my dude after work one day. He was like, no one's on the road, who cares?
SPEAKER_03Right. I drive with my big toe. So I just like to try that. I learned that for SpongeBob. There's like an episode where he like uses the big toe.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the driving episode. I love that episode. Oh, dude, it's so good.
SPEAKER_03Oh, Spongebob is just like classic. Honest classic. Like the especially the movie. I laughed all the way through.
SPEAKER_04Of the original. I didn't watch the other time. I'm gonna be so real, but I did watch the original one because that's the one I grew up with, and I love it. Same to this day.
SPEAKER_02It was it was honestly the perfect ending. If Spongebob had to end the water, it's a really good.
SPEAKER_04That's what they were playing for.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right, right. And we're it would be not like that that would have been perfect ending. Um I I think they're yeah, I think they're still going.
SPEAKER_04It's kind of like over 30 years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, insane, but it's really cool. Like, cause like you what something you grew up of, and like I've been seeing that too with Pokemon and and um I've been seeing the kids use Pokemon cards. It's so cool to see like adults and kids like grow up on the same stuff.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the non-scalpers specifically, the ones that actually enjoy it for the game and for the joy of like the cards and the art. Like, that's the best.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Uh or Sonic, like the Sonic franchise.
SPEAKER_04So I always send them Sonic shade if I see it. I'm just like, dude, you would love this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you gotta cop this.
SPEAKER_04Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Yes, uh I just feel like it's such a a beautiful thing to connect through through those levels, like different forms of media and just right. And I I hope like um it continues for a long time. Uh or like even if it's something new.
SPEAKER_05Because I feel like Yes!
SPEAKER_02I need to get the the whole series eventually, and like I want to get the DVD though, so that way it's in my hand, tangible, like yes.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I need to go look those up.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh. We need to bring DVD players back.
SPEAKER_02Like, I know they're still exist, yeah, but stream I know streaming is like the thing now, but you never know what could happen with that. You want to have it like in your hand.
SPEAKER_04Hey, PlayStation still has a Blu-ray player.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay, good.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was like, listen, it's not going out of style at my house.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes, period. Absolutely nah, dude.
SPEAKER_04I love physical discs.
SPEAKER_03Me too.
SPEAKER_04And I own vinyls and CDs still.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I love vinyls. Oh, cool. I've seen I've actually seen someone one time like recently, like they had like a little cassette player with the the headphones.
SPEAKER_05I was like, Oh, it's like there's still right in the world. Yeah, that's what's up.
SPEAKER_02I was like, oh, that's like I love seeing that.
SPEAKER_05Dude, I love that.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, really random segue. I that reminds me, like, I saw Tony Hawk. I don't know if you've seen the trend going around where it was like, hey dad, what were you like in the 90s or something like that? Oh my gosh. Me too! And I wasn't even a skater.
SPEAKER_04I was in the kid. Like as a kid, I loved Tony Hawk, and then as an adult, I was like, man, he's still doing stuff. I love him.
SPEAKER_02He's so good. Like, I rem I seen um I went on his profile from that and I saw he did his very last um, I don't even know what move it was, but he did it for the last time because 2080. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something like that. And he did it for a f somebody who had his skateboard, but it blew like it, like his house got on fire. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and he did it. Um, he got another skateboard for him, did it on that skateboard, and signed it. And I was like, oh my gosh, that is so like amazing.
SPEAKER_04He's one of those people that pioneered what skateboarding is today.
SPEAKER_02Yes, he is a freaking legend.
SPEAKER_04He's a living legend, dude.
SPEAKER_02He was in rock, I don't know if Rocket Power did like a thing on with him.
SPEAKER_04Like, I love that episode.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04I saw I watched Rocket Power so much as a kid when they were like, oh yeah, Tony Hawk's in it. I was like, bro, I love it. Rocket Power is one of the most underrated shows. It does not.
SPEAKER_03It really is. We are riders.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I love Squid, didn't we? I related to Squid so much and Otto and Reggie.
SPEAKER_02Yes, oh my gosh. And they were I I love like Tito. Yes! You don't really see stuff like that anymore. I really hope. I I'm praying like we get more stuff like that in the future.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I hope so, because like that's such classic media.
SPEAKER_02Yes. I honestly feel like that generation of like cartoons for like Nickelodeon Disney was the best error. Like everyone like you couldn't, we were no wonder we were so glued to the TV. It was so bad that Nickelodeon had to do like the I don't know if you remember the the day of play where they stopped all the time.
SPEAKER_04Yes, the entire box crazy.
SPEAKER_02They made us go outside. Like it was that it was that good.
SPEAKER_04Like you would, honestly. I need to bring him back. Like, man, go outside, go play basketball. Here's some trunk.
SPEAKER_02Right. Do something, yes.
SPEAKER_04Seriously, that's like dude, do what we made when we were kids. We weren't glued to our TVs all the time. We were, but like we also went outside. Wait. Like we knew what your house felt like. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03At least for a couple seconds, touch your with your feet like, hey, okay, I'm good. Going back to watching TV.
SPEAKER_04We weren't afraid to get scabs and mar messed up. We were like, yeah. Yes.
SPEAKER_03I got scars for days. Yeah, seriously.
SPEAKER_04Are you kidding me?
SPEAKER_03That's how you know you got a good child.
SPEAKER_04My legs may as well be broken, but I'm still on them.
unknownI'm still there.
SPEAKER_04But did you die? Yeah, but did you die? That's the exact quote. Did but did you die? Did you die? Exactly. No, no, you're fine. Go outside. Rush your grass and girl.
SPEAKER_03Just get your knee some more.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03My gosh. This has been such a pleasure talking to you, Austin.
SPEAKER_02I I would love to have you on again, honestly. And and get like an update video on where you are now and with your music. And um, and I oh yeah, speaking of your music, um, is there anywhere that uh anybody can listen to your music? A YouTube, um um Apple Music, Spotify, where can they find you at? And you're also your usernames on your social media so we can keep up with you on your journey.
SPEAKER_04Um, most of my music is quiet right now, but I do have two uh one cover up and two versions of it on my YouTube. Um I can't remember. I'm gonna be so.
SPEAKER_02No worries, I will put it underneath here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like I know I have the YouTube link somewhere, but uh my Twitter is uh I'm known as the short loud guy for the obvious reasons. Yeah, exactly. I'm I'm I'm literally five feet tall and I do metal locals. It could not be more to the point.
unknownOh, cool!
SPEAKER_04And then my Instagram is uh music nerd365 because I'm like, well, I like music, it's not always just metal now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and broaden your horizons.
SPEAKER_04Don't be afraid to try a new genre. Trust me.
SPEAKER_03Yes, oh, I'm so excited to see it.
SPEAKER_04Dude, I'm stoked.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, thank you so much for for coming on. This has been such a pleasure talking to you. I uh I adore it. Oh my gosh, so refreshing! And uh thank you guys for listening. Um, don't forget to follow Dweep City on anywhere you listen to your podcast, YouTube, and that's Dweep City with two wise. And um, if you guys like what you see, you know, don't forget to give us a five-star rating uh underneath uh this video, it really does help us out a lot, and I am so excited to to share Austin's journey and continue it and follow him with it. Um, and thank you guys so much for listening. Um, and also if you want to see me on my journey or anything like that, mine is at Starjackson369. And um, yes, guys, thank you, thank you so so much for listening. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be able to do these with friends and and just talk and yap and have some fun. And I hope you guys enjoyed as much as we did re-recording it. And we will see you in the next video. Bye!
SPEAKER_04Bye everyone.
SPEAKER_02Thank you guys so much for watching. We really hope you enjoyed the episode. And if you did or in any other previous episodes and want to see more, don't forget to give us a five-star rating on wherever you listen to the podcast. And you can watch the full video on YouTube at Dweeb City, and that's with two wise. And if you want to see me and follow me on my journey of self discovery and etc, etcetera, my ad is at Star Jackson369. Thank you guys so much for listening, and we'll see you in the next one.
unknownPeace.