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Matt McCusker
I try to make the argument that selling drugs is addictive in itself. Did it for, like, 15 years. I quit, embarrassingly, not that long ago.
Mark Yagnon
Did you ever get robbed?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, for sure. I got robbed at Club Point one time in West Philly trying to buy Percocets. That was embarrassing. A guy just busted out a billy club. Like, I'll smack your head.
Akash Singh
Club Point.
Matt McCusker
Dude, I was the last guy to get robbed of Club Point.
Akash Singh
You have been caught.
Matt McCusker
Oh, yeah.
Mark Yagnon
By your wife?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, for sure. We were, like, dating, and I was in her apartment.
Akash Singh
Where in the apartment?
Matt McCusker
I was in her bed. Hold on. I want to get, like, a guy in an office hard.
Akash Singh
Hey, yo.
Matt McCusker
What the. There's, like, a light kidnapping. I was like, you're not going anywhere until I get my money. I take him to the T Mobile store, and we walk in there, and I'm like, yeah, he needs a new cell phone. He's just sitting there, just, like, looking at his feet. And then at one point, he goes, help. And I was like, shut the up.
Akash Singh
Bad Bunny's the biggest music star in the world. I'm a fan about, like, his being.
Matt McCusker
Like, horny for his aunt or something.
Miles
You literally have a bit in your special about wanting to your aunts.
Matt McCusker
No.
Akash Singh
What's up, everybody? Welcome to flagrant. Hello, hello, hello. It is great to be back. I'm very excited for this first episode back that we have a hilarious comedian, successful podcaster, a shaman of sorts, a man of many talents, of radio play in the near future.
Matt McCusker
It's coming. It's coming.
Akash Singh
I would love to talk about that. And a Netflix comedy special, a humble offering coming out on a date that you specifically.
Matt McCusker
I did not ask. They were saying, we're going to do it in January. And I said, all right, I'll take January. That's a while's out. And hey, we might do it in October. I said, that'd be great. What's the date? Like, October 7th. And I said, that's. Hey, we'll do what we have to do.
Akash Singh
That's what they said.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. I mean, you know, it's funny. Cause I'll, like, bring it up to people. I'm like, they gave me October 7th. And they're like, so what? And I'm like, remember that thing? Like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Akash Singh
Just so long ago, dude.
Matt McCusker
It's not really. That was, like, last year.
Akash Singh
I know.
Matt McCusker
That is a while on the year anniversary.
Akash Singh
You know what's funny is I saw you promote it, and I. I did not forget the date.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
So I Wonder if this actually is, like, working out in your favor. It's like, October 7th is going to work twice.
Matt McCusker
It'd be a horrible thing to come up on. Yeah, it'd be a horrible thing to work. Bend in my favor actually worked out pretty well for me, so.
Mark Yagnon
But people need to cheer the laugh.
Matt McCusker
You know, they do need a laugh.
Akash Singh
They'll be happy.
Matt McCusker
They need a good laugh.
Akash Singh
True.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, true. We.
Akash Singh
That's what we need right now. We need a good laugh also. I just want to say.
Matt McCusker
And some water.
Akash Singh
You're welcome to the Puerto Ricans. Okay. The Puerto Ricans have been. I also think you shaved your face just to look more Puerto Rican.
Mark Yagnon
This is the actual Bad Bunny.
Akash Singh
I never thought you were Puerto Rican until yesterday when I saw this goatee. Let's go, my people. Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Thank you.
Akash Singh
I did. But can you explain to this. So basically what. I told you this earlier, but like, a few months ago, I had this take where I was like, there's no way that Bad Bunny's the biggest movie music star in the fucking world. Like, there's no way that he can do the Super Bowl. And it's because he's. And Robbie said this really well. He's actually, like, too universal. And, like, football is an American thing.
Matt McCusker
Right.
Akash Singh
And I said he was incredibly wrong.
Matt McCusker
He was doing this two months ago.
Akash Singh
No, I had no clue. That's why I said it. I was like, why would they.
Miles
He's just always wrong.
Akash Singh
Yeah. I called Bad Bunny. Definitely perfect for the Super Bowl. He's definitely big enough to be on the Super Bowl.
Mark Yagnon
I don't know if you said that.
Akash Singh
I did.
Matt McCusker
I said all that. Yeah.
Akash Singh
I never said he wasn't big enough. He didn't say, did he?
Matt McCusker
No, No, I didn't say he did.
Akash Singh
Somebody made this video.
Miles
I'll only get Puerto Rican when Bad Bunny gets brought up.
Akash Singh
Sometimes. JLo, you know, I like. Listen. I don't know a single song of Bad Bunny, but I like him as I like him in wwe.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah.
Akash Singh
I'm a fan. Yeah. But the guy doesn't have a song in English, so I thought it'd be difficult to do.
Matt McCusker
Did you ever translate his lyrics and actually read them?
Akash Singh
So I've just started out with Hitler, but I'm going to jump to next. Bad Bunny is definitely next.
Matt McCusker
They're very graphic. I've. I've, like, translated his lyrics to see what he was up to. And it's pretty wild, isn't he? A song about, like, his being, like, horny for his aunt or something.
Akash Singh
Oh, ants.
Matt McCusker
There's a song about.
Akash Singh
I'm sorry, you literally have a bit.
Miles
In your special about wanting to fuck your aunts.
Matt McCusker
No.
Akash Singh
Literally, in the first 10 years.
Matt McCusker
I was thinking when I was a boy. Yeah, you just think about what your uncles get to do, and you're like.
Akash Singh
But some of those aunts aren't related to you.
Matt McCusker
And they're not related exactly.
Miles
Yeah, but he literally said, I didn't know which ones are related and which ones my.
Matt McCusker
One of my uncles was dating. Dude, one of this. One of my uncles.
Akash Singh
You do research on this pot, bro. Come out of here.
Miles
To take a moral stance on that specific.
Mark Yagnon
He's trying to get ahead of it. He saw the tape, girlfriend.
Matt McCusker
They weren't like, your real aunt. It was like. Like, my uncle had an aunt when we were, like, little. Like, real little. And she was so hot. And me and my brothers, we'd all, like, line up and hug her. So you, like. We try to hug her, like, three times. I would talk to my brother like, yo, how many times you hug Aunt Janice? She's like, I got two. I'm like, I'm gonna One.
Mark Yagnon
He's boxing you out.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Girlfriend answered. Oh, man.
Mark Yagnon
Is she still in the mix? What happened to her?
Matt McCusker
It didn't work out, unfortunately, but damn.
Akash Singh
Yeah, yeah, we got. We'll figure it out.
Mark Yagnon
Your cousin swept it. Stole her away.
Matt McCusker
No, no, no, it didn't work out.
Akash Singh
Anyway, we were talking about this earlier, but with. With the bad bunny thing, which is like, I. I think. And I was saying this to you. This is a gift that I gave for the Puerto Rican people.
Mark Yagnon
Okay, hold on. How is that?
Akash Singh
If I say something and I declare it, the opposite will happen. Okay, I said this. This is like. This is how. This.
Miles
This is a power you need to use wisely.
Akash Singh
Yeah, I've been trying my best.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Yeah.
Akash Singh
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Netflix. I said, Netflix is dead. And then it becomes the biggest streamer, and then I end up getting the Netflix special. Right? Like, so if I declare, I said to my wife, I'm gonna get you pregnant. That fucking did not happen for a long time until I was like, I don't even know if I could do this.
Mark Yagnon
And then you.
Matt McCusker
Boom.
Akash Singh
So, like, whenever I say it. So I put that out there for the Puerto Rican people that I care deeply about.
Matt McCusker
We appreciate you.
Akash Singh
Thank you.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, we appreciate you.
Akash Singh
Thank you. At least you acknowledge. Make some more claims about Puerto Rico. Well, I know for a fact it's not going to be a good super bowl performance. That's Going to be clipped. I already know it's going to be, I have to say, amazing. He's not going to have a good performance. I love him. And Happy Gilmore, I think he's phenomenal.
Matt McCusker
Bad bunny and Happy Gilmore.
Akash Singh
Yes.
Matt McCusker
He's really good.
Mark Yagnon
That's how good an actor is.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Dang, dude, he's great.
Mark Yagnon
He plays an older Jew.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Miles
You thought they cloned Marcelo Hernandez, but actually.
Akash Singh
Yeah, Marcelo's in it too.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they're both great.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Okay. So listen, we're positive.
Matt McCusker
Thank you. Yeah, we're pumped on Puerto Rico.
Akash Singh
We love Puerto Rico, don't we?
Matt McCusker
Yeah. I'm a big fan.
Akash Singh
Big fan.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
And we've. And we've helped out. Alex, you donated. You donated electricity. Yes, I shot some paper towels. Yeah, of course. Yeah, we did that growing up.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
And what happened?
Akash Singh
Saw tits.
Mark Yagnon
You hugged McCusker's aunt.
Matt McCusker
Almost hit.
Akash Singh
Anyway, my boy, we're back. So listen, the special is coming out. Very excited for you on that, but I really want to know about this radio play.
Matt McCusker
Dude, it's should be out soon. So I just thought it was funny to do a radio play because, like, nobody does them. They're like the things in World War II and like, you know, London was like bombed out. You just sit by a radio and like, listen to a story and I. I came up with a story about the idea was to take like Sons of Anarchy and like something like traditional tough guy stuff.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
But interject it with like weird gay stuff. So I always wanted to do like Imagine Fast and Furious of like the Rock and Vin Diesel. Just like kissed at the end. It just be funny. So I did it. I thought it would be funny. But I did. I did a radio play about it.
Akash Singh
I like how you do it on the radio so you don't have to actually act it out. Exact not gonna be that guy.
Matt McCusker
Just you and your boy.
Akash Singh
Just kiss louder. Kiss louder.
Matt McCusker
But I. The. The dream was too. Cause there is also lesbians out. Everyone's is very inclusive. And the dream was to have a very long audio lesbian sex scene that somebody at work would just be listening to at headphones with headphones on. That just went on like forever. Like, I want to get like a guy in an office hard as a joke.
Mark Yagnon
As a bit.
Matt McCusker
As a bit.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, it's a bit.
Akash Singh
Isn't that funny?
Matt McCusker
Bad Bunny probably gets dudes hard in the fucking Amazon.
Mark Yagnon
On this podcast. It happens all the time. Dude boners around the world. Think about that.
Akash Singh
Oh, by the way, I've Adjusted my take on Bad Bunny, by the way.
Mark Yagnon
Since when?
Akash Singh
Since like maybe 25 minutes ago. I thought it didn't make sense, right, because the guy doesn't have a song in English and football's only played in America, like, I guess in Canada, but.
Miles
Like, they play games in London every year.
Akash Singh
He's just the biggest streaming artist this year. No, no, no, no. I've already acknowledged he's one of the biggest artists in the world in history. I've never said anything about that. I've never been critical about the music. What I'm saying is I didn't think it made sense branding wise. So I'm like, why don't you put a some right? But then we were talking. I was like, oh, the NFL is just trying to be an international brand. They're doing the games in London. They're doing a games that in Mexico City. Like, they're trying to expand as much as they possibly can. Brazil. So Bad Bunny might represent all the people who don't watch the Super Bowl. So you actually inserting him at the halftime show might be the perfect thing to do because you'll get all these people who would never watch the super bowl to come watch, and then they might like some of the gameplay. So I think it actually more people tune in for the halftime than the actual game. Is that true? Yeah, it goes up. Really? There was more people that saw Kendrick's performance than that actually saw nobody watch that. There we go. Dude, is this the Police? I don't know about that.
Matt McCusker
I don't know about that.
Akash Singh
What am I holding? Yo, this is crazy.
Matt McCusker
What is that for?
Akash Singh
Yo, McCuzer, what is this flag, bro?
Matt McCusker
I don't know.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, that's a little sketchy. I don't know how I feel about that.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, what's up?
Akash Singh
Yeah, I think I gotta stay with this one.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I gotta.
Akash Singh
Shot a big pun, bro.
Matt McCusker
Oh, I never. I never got to finish the. So the. The radio play is about a group of bikers who create a meth. They create a meth so powerful.
Akash Singh
I thought he was done. I just want to get a guy hard and works, bro.
Matt McCusker
That's a sub joke. It's about a gang of bikers who create a meth so powerful it turns them all gay. So they're like. They're just like, you know, like stem fapping.
Akash Singh
Stem fapping?
Matt McCusker
Stem fapping. No, it's stem fappings. Like guys will take, like, meth and there's like chem sex and stuff. Like, gay guys take. Take meth and they have, like, gay sex for, like, three days straight.
Akash Singh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt McCusker
And there's guys who just do it on Adderall and stim Fap all day.
Akash Singh
Oh, fapping.
Matt McCusker
Like, but that was the whole idea. It was just like, why did they.
Akash Singh
Say stem, stem, stim, stimulant, Stim Fapping, and then Adderall is a stimulant.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Okay. Got it, got it, got it, got it. Big thing. A lot of guys online do it. They, like, just stay up for, like, all night and just.
Akash Singh
Are you big? Are you big?
Matt McCusker
No, I don't actually swore it off.
Akash Singh
Yeah. What made that change in your life?
Matt McCusker
Just putting down my phone and going, Jesus fucking Christ. Alone in the hotel room.
Akash Singh
I wish that, like, I wish I could be there at the moments in your life where you make these, like, monumental changes, you know, where you go, I don't think I'm gonna be a drug dealer anymore. That's a great radio play where we just go through these like, Forrest Gum. I could be a kingpin in this. Or maybe I'll just stop and then, like, cold turkey, you just stop.
Matt McCusker
It was. Honestly, I. I've tried to make the argument that selling drugs is addictive in itself.
Akash Singh
Talk to me. It is.
Matt McCusker
It's like an absolute, like, adrenaline high, and it's genuinely an addictive thing. I, like, I brought. I was in social work school, like, only during COVID like, right before COVID and I was still selling weed in social work school, and I was trying to make the argument that selling drugs is addictive. And they're like, that's bullshit. And I was just like, guys have a semi successful, successful podcast, and I still can't stop doing it. I quit, embarrassingly, not that long ago. Dude.
Akash Singh
It is a weird thing that, like, I get why, like, Alex sold drugs. You know what I mean? Allegedly.
Mark Yagnon
Petty stuff back in the day. I wasn't moving, like, you.
Akash Singh
No, you were moving.
Matt McCusker
Crushing it, man. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
I mean, you had the social work pipeline. You would find people that needed help and then be like, hey, I got it.
Matt McCusker
I was chilling.
Akash Singh
Were you selling to the. To the clientele?
Matt McCusker
No, no, not. Not when I was. No, no, no.
Akash Singh
Okay.
Mark Yagnon
Too much money.
Akash Singh
Oh, no.
Mark Yagnon
Principle.
Matt McCusker
I was, you know. Oh. I was. I just did it for so long that, like, I don't know, like, it became legal, and it was just kind of like, this is.
Akash Singh
This is a thing that I think.
Matt McCusker
Is, like, 15 years.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
It.
Akash Singh
And you weren't in a situation where you had to do it, but, I mean.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. So I Can avoid, like, an office job, but. Yeah. And I didn't have to. I didn't want to. Yeah.
Akash Singh
But I. I can't begin to explain how common that is. Like, I had a lot. Like, I. Weirdly, I went to, like, Spain, and I was like, we should. We, like, bought a half a pound of weed, me and three guys, and I think I made €17 total, because we just smoked for, like, a whole half a semester. But. And we just gave it out to everybody. But, like, there is. And the friend that I was there sold drugs, and he's a kid who, like, grew up with kind of, like, money. And so there is this thing that's kind of exciting about it.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
And I'm trying to understand, like, where that comes. It's not lazy. It's usually smart kids, too.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Like, maybe I don't want to do this dumb job. Have you, like, kind of reverse engineered? Why?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, for me, it was just like, my whole family does construction. I would do that. I was actually. I was just bad at it. Like, I was like. They'd be like, cut a piece of wood, you know, 40 inches and three quarters. And I would just be sitting there with a tape measure, like, for an hour. So I was like, all right, this isn't for me. And then I was in an office for, like, three weeks, and I just had, like, a panic attack. I was like, this is insane that people do this. And then. Yeah, I was just like, I'll just start selling weed. And then I was so good at it. A lot of people who sell drugs are just, like, they. They don't function well at all.
Mark Yagnon
You're kind of a more pure drug dealer, though, because, like, you had a way out, and you were like, no, this is for me. Like, guys that grew up in the hood, they're like, this is my only option, you know?
Matt McCusker
That's.
Mark Yagnon
You loved it.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Well, no, it became really. You could start to box yourself in, because after, like, when years go by, you can't do anything else because you're like, dude, I used to make a thousand dollars playing Xbox for an hour. But the guy. I'm not gonna go to an office. So you kind of, like, warp kind of what you do, and you have, like, no marketable skills after.
Akash Singh
Yeah, it's like stripping. Exactly.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Once you touch that cash, it's just very difficult to go back into the main line.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. But it's also like. But the thing is, you eventually crawl. Because I was, like, a suburban kid then you cross paths with, like, dudes, from Phil. Like, you grew up in Philly, Especially like in like the inner city, like, north Philly.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And yeah, they'll like, they'll just take all your money with a gun. You're like, oh, these guys do this for real? Like, this.
Mark Yagnon
Did you ever get robbed?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, for sure.
Miles
How many times?
Matt McCusker
Three. But one of them was like, in a house with like a gun, all that stuff.
Akash Singh
Your house or theirs?
Matt McCusker
I was at someone else's house. I had a gun pulled on me in my house too. But that was over. Like some other thing. But like, it wasn't like, stop trying.
Akash Singh
To fuck my aunt. It's like a domino game. Let's go through each one of these.
Matt McCusker
Wrong also.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Miles
Afterward, I want to know what made you a good drug dealer. Because right now it doesn't sound like you're punctuality.
Akash Singh
Oh, I was.
Matt McCusker
I was punctual. I didn't do that. Where, like, everything's short.
Akash Singh
What are you trying to say? That's where I'm trying to say about the people who sell drugs. Are they a little tardy? Very tardy.
Matt McCusker
I'd be on text like, dude, you said you'd be here at noon. This is unacceptable. It's two o'. Clock.
Akash Singh
Where are you?
Matt McCusker
Show up with a gun and be like, give me your money. Like, ah, God damn it.
Akash Singh
Okay, okay, so first time you get a gun pulled out, did you grow up with guns? Was that like a.
Matt McCusker
Okay, so I grew up like, my dad's a big gun guy.
Akash Singh
Okay, so you're not like, you're. You have a fear of guns like any of us would. But like, simply seeing one might be terrifying.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I had a gun briefly as a. But. Yeah, but I didn't. Was it legally or it. I was like, it was someone else's. I just kind of borrowed it off them for a while. See, so that's not legally.
Akash Singh
But bodies on it.
Matt McCusker
No bodies on it. No bodies.
Akash Singh
But like, you had it in case you got into a bad situation.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, but then the penalty if you get caught with drugs and a gun, the jail time, just like, you probably go to jail for sure. But if you just have. Especially just weed, like, you didn't. It wasn't like a definite. You would go to jail. So it was just like, you know what? I'll just not have a gun.
Miles
Also, guys, the Generational Triumph Tour tickets are live. First of all, thank you so much. To Toronto, we sold out three shows in the first day, added a fourth. Vancouver, we sold out a show, added a second Dallas, my hometown. You stupid fucks. What are you doing? Oh, all I ever get asked when are you coming to Dallas? When you're not even friends and family comments.
Matt McCusker
Oh man.
Miles
Please come to Dallas. Every Indian, you cheap fucks. Buy a ticket. Akasing.com I'm tired of you. I'm tired of you. Only 50% of one show sold out in my hometown. I'm trying to bring my mom to that show. One show. We're gonna sell out, you fucking losers. Four shows at the Majestic Theater. That's what I need, four. If we only get four, I might not show up. Akashing.com what's up guys?
Mark Yagnon
I'm gonna be in Dubai. Nashville, Tennessee, Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans and a bunch of other places that I don't remember exactly right off the top of my head. I think Nat, I already said Nashville. A bunch of other spots. You can check them all out at Mark Yagnon live. Come on and see one hour of stand up comedy, no more, no less. And I'll see you guys at the show.
Matt McCusker
You know what?
Miles
Don't suck his dick. Don't.
Akash Singh
Thank you.
Miles
It's a standing that bothers me the amount of people. You don't deserve a dick suck.
Mark Yagnon
A guy, an indie dude came up to me afterwards. He was like, hey dude, can we just do a picture?
Matt McCusker
No, you cannot just do a picture.
Miles
If you're not gonna suck his dick.
Matt McCusker
You don't get a picture.
Akash Singh
Don't do that.
Mark Yagnon
I'll see you guys at the show. Bye.
Akash Singh
Tell what is happening in your life that you go, I think I need a gun. And then I also need to know the self reflection of you. Like I need to know you in the bathroom going, I just said I think I need a gun. Am I doing the right thing, dude?
Matt McCusker
So when I graduated college, me and my brother bought a house off this iron. No, no, no. My older brother Kevin, we brought a house off this Irish immigrant in West Philly for 27,000 DOL. That was a house handshake deal. He was like, I want to move to New York. Like if you guys just take over the payments, give me 500 bucks a month. I think he owned it outright. Give me 500 bucks a month and I'll just transfer you the deed when you're done. And it was in like a pretty rough part of West Philly. Like literally there was only four other houses standing on the block. And then I was on 37th Street. On 38th street was like an open air drug market. But the cool part was, is like you Know, I can live there for 250 bucks a month. Yeah. So it was not a. Like, a safe neighborhood at all. And I was selling drugs and growing weed out of that house, so I needed a gun.
Akash Singh
Were any of the dudes that were selling drugs in that neighborhood feeling like you were encroaching?
Matt McCusker
Oh, no, no, no. I was. I had learned that lesson a long time ago to, like. I just stayed completely out of the mix. I always had, like. I just rode a bicycle everywhere. I think they thought I was a cop, honestly, sort of guy, because I would ride a bike and I would, like. My neighbor across the street was this old lady, and I was, like, super friendly with her. I'd thought about sending weed packages to her house and then, like, getting them off, but I was like, that's. That's actually getting me the mail, too. I had a whole thing going there.
Akash Singh
Yeah, but would you ever go to.
Mark Yagnon
The drug farmer market, the one you're describing? The open air?
Matt McCusker
Oh, hell no, dude. That was.
Mark Yagnon
That was not for you.
Matt McCusker
The paddy wagon would come, like, once every two months and just snag, like, four of those kids, and then the next day, there'd be four more kids out there.
Akash Singh
How legit is the corners thing? Like, from the Wire. And you said you learned that the hard way. It's.
Matt McCusker
It's not that so much. It's like. So, like. Okay, so say you're like, Temple is like, a great example. Temple is in. Temple University is in North Philadelphia. You get guys up there, like, you know, like hippie kids. They're like, I'm selling weed, but they're living in North Philly. Yeah. So then there's guys out on the block, like, real drug dealers out there on the block. And, like, you know, they're smoking weed, and these, like, kids from college are like, hey, I got some weed, man. You want to buy it off me? And they're like, oh, that's awesome, man. And they. Yeah, let's come over. And they like, these kids think they're cool. So, like, we're hanging out with, like, like, gang bangers, and then they're just sussing out your setup. And I was always very good at, like. I would see that because I had already been robbed myself. So I'm going like, dude, I don't know if this guy's your boy. Like, that. He's probably kind of. And then, dude, they would, you know, tie people up, go through. So I had kind of witnessed that already. So it was like, like, a couple times, too. So I was just kind of like, yeah, dude, like, you got to be careful.
Akash Singh
So where was your clientele?
Matt McCusker
It was. It was, like, different colleges and different than the suburbs. But I was able to, like. I don't know, I had a couple connects that were, like. Like, there. There was time, like, when I did the pills and stuff. Big. I never did pills, but I was selling pills. And that was, like. I'd go to, like, a bar in West Philly that was, like. It was in the hood, but they. I was making people money so they would. You know, they were cool. They were cool with me.
Akash Singh
Did you ever feel guilt?
Matt McCusker
Not till later. That was because I was, like, 19, right, and I didn't do pills. And I had a friend who was like, no, they're cool, man. Everything. And, like, we just, like, take them. And then I, like, watched an apartment. Like, there was this apartment complex in Brookhaven that, like, there was, like, all these kids living next to each other, going to, like, different, like, local colleges. And I slowly watched how, like, up they became from opiates. And then I was like, never again. Because I didn't think they were that bad. I was like, oh, like, pills, drugs, weed, mushrooms, like, people having fun. And then I like, saw, like, oh, these are really bad.
Akash Singh
The pills, specifically?
Matt McCusker
Yes.
Akash Singh
The. The mushrooms and the weed is kind of guilt free.
Matt McCusker
It was for sure, right? That was. Right. You just don't want to do high school stuff. That. That was kind of grinding because it's the kids.
Akash Singh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But the pills and then you get into the opiates or even, like, coke, and then it's cut with weird. And then God forbid somebody.
Matt McCusker
I've never done coke either. I've never done coke.
Akash Singh
Really?
Matt McCusker
It's disgusting. Coke is so dirty and disgusting. Before the fentanyl, dude, people cut it with baby laxatives. There was guys like, oh, I myself, at work because I. I took coke with baby laxatives. It's like, dude, stop. Stop doing. But I had a conscience, though, man, because I. I sold coke for a little bit. People would come over and, like, it was really funny because they would come right back and be like, I need some more. And I'd be like, you did all that already? Like, what the wrong with you, man?
Akash Singh
I'm like, you felt the addiction?
Matt McCusker
Yeah. I would be like, dude, you have a problem with this stuff? So I, like, swore all that stuff off as, you know, again, like, 19, 20. I was like, okay. Like, I got to witness firsthand. Like, this stuff's bad.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And Then it was just weed and mushrooms from then on.
Akash Singh
And could you make good money on the weed?
Matt McCusker
The weed? Yeah. Coke is dumb. Like, you can't really. In my opinion, you don't really make that much money unless you're, like, the risk.
Akash Singh
So much higher.
Matt McCusker
That's what I kind of sussed out early on. I was like, dude, the risk of this is crazy.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Whereas, like, weed, you can have a couple pounds and, like, make way more money. Way low, way more low stress.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
But it also. It just. It is bad for you. I never. I never want to glorify it because it's like, it ruins your nervous system. Like, every time you leave your house, you're going like, who's that guy? Why is he outside my house? And you're just constantly adrenalized. And it's like. It's bad.
Akash Singh
Yeah, sorry. Sorry. Maybe that's the addictive quality that you're.
Matt McCusker
Talking about kind of is.
Akash Singh
At first, there's this excitement, like, every single day. You feel like you're living, and eventually there's this exhaustion that comes to.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
And getting cash, too. Like, at the end of the day, just being like, dude, look at all this cash.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
It all feeds into it.
Matt McCusker
It makes you a liar, too, because you have to lie to everybody. Like, the less people who know what you're doing, the better chances you have getting away with it. So then you have to start, like, lying to everybody in your life about what you're actually doing, because you can't be like, if you're, like, telling everybody, then they're going to tell people and you're just going to get in trouble.
Akash Singh
Did your parents know? Did your brothers. Must have known.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think my dad had. He was pretty hip to stuff after a while because, like, I was like. I was, like, paying for stuff. I never, like, was really flashy or anything, but, like, there was things I paid for that my dad was just letting, like, bro. Like, how. And I was telling my mom, I was like, I'm a blogger. I write blogs.
Mark Yagnon
More shameful than selling drugs.
Matt McCusker
I'd pay for, like, a whole wedding. I was like, I'm a blogger.
Akash Singh
What were you bringing in a year? What type of money are we talking?
Matt McCusker
It's always up and down, man. It's like you'd, like, at the. The best of. The best of it, I would make. There was a period where I would make almost like 4,500 bucks a week cash. And that's.
Miles
Dude, I was like, that's like 500k a year?
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
In my 20s. And it was just like. But then again, I'd have it all stacked up. I'd get robbed. Or, like, you'd mail out money for a package that would get taken and you. So I'd be like, I'd have 50 grand. I'd have zero bucks. I'd have 40 grand. I'd have zero. So I would bottom out constantly.
Akash Singh
You growing it or shipping it?
Matt McCusker
Tried growing it. I stunk. So I was. I, Dude, I grew the worst weed ever. I wrapped that up, and then I was just shipping it in or just buying off. People shipped it in, and, you know, it was. Yeah. At the height of it, I. I. Yeah, I would. I think, Yeah. I think legally I can't get in trouble for this anymore. It's been so long ago. But at one point, there was a summer where, like, I would get shipments where I'd split them with somebody of, like, 60 pounds.
Akash Singh
What do you put 60 pounds?
Matt McCusker
Storage unit smell like crazy. Triple vacuum sealed. And it still could smell a little bit. You'd have. There's a can of ozium in the unit. If you went in to get anything, the policy was you'd kind of hit.
Mark Yagnon
The ozium, check out, like, walk out.
Matt McCusker
With a giant duffel bag and be like, off the hockey.
Akash Singh
And how many people did you trust with the knowledge of the storage unit?
Matt McCusker
Me and one other person.
Akash Singh
That's it. Because if that gets out, forget it.
Matt McCusker
You're done. Yeah, you're toast.
Akash Singh
And this guy was like, good friend of yours, Somebody.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. You're selling.
Mark Yagnon
How hard is it to grow wheat?
Matt McCusker
So hard.
Mark Yagnon
Really?
Matt McCusker
It's so hard. Yeah, you. It's like. It's not. It's. It's. Yeah, it's. It's. It's a job. That was. My whole thing is like, I don't want to have a job.
Akash Singh
You've got a great job of your life. In your life of not having a.
Matt McCusker
Real job, I. Dude, it's my best.
Akash Singh
To make you radio plays.
Matt McCusker
I always had jobs. Whenever we.
Akash Singh
Whenever, like. I hear you talk right now. I'm talking. I'm like, wow, this guy is so smart and qualified to have a job. I could not do it.
Matt McCusker
But here's. I had a million odd jobs, though, because I would also, you know, like. Like, things would, like, you would know a guy close to you, they'd get in trouble, saying, you'd have to, like, chill because you're like, I don't know what this guy's up to.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
So there's so Many times where I have to leave that world and jump into a job.
Akash Singh
Like, what?
Matt McCusker
Just any dog walking. Construction. I was a private eye for, like.
Akash Singh
Those aren't real jobs. I worked so many jobs. I walk dogs. Did you solve it?
Matt McCusker
Didn't pay attention at all. I was supposed to sit outside a job and, like, dude, they gave me a grainy photo and just, like, sit there.
Akash Singh
Who talks to you? What guy talks to you? He goes, no, because it would be perfect for this. He just sit in the car, play his flute, and just watch this cheating wife take pictures.
Matt McCusker
It was so boring for that.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Who.
Matt McCusker
I know. I know somebody who does PI stuff. And he was like, yeah, you can work for me if you want. And I just. I didn't. You know.
Akash Singh
So you asked him. You were like. Like, to do.
Matt McCusker
I heard my cousin was doing. I'm like, dude, I want to be a PI And I just. I stand apart. I thought I was going to be like, have, like, a spy watch. Recording a conversation. I was just sitting in a parking lot, and they were like, we got to find this guy because we want to impound his car. And I was like, dude, this sucks.
Mark Yagnon
And it was just a grainy photo.
Matt McCusker
I sat outside of, like, a commercial kitchen. It was like a catering company. I sat outside just, like, staring at different guys, being like. Then the guys would walk by me like, I'm you. What are you doing?
Akash Singh
It wasn't very private. First day on the job, and I.
Matt McCusker
Would completely zone out and like, oh, dang. That was supposed to be a shift change. I missed it. And, you know, I was reading a book. I just sitting there, kind of like, is there no.
Akash Singh
Is there no job. Job that you now at this point in your life?
Matt McCusker
You know what? I actually liked what I went back to school for. I wanted to be a therapist. That was a job. And actually I worked in a high school briefly, and I loved it, man. I worked in high school in Philly doing, like. I wouldn't say therapy. It was like. Yeah, it was like, in, like, a. A. A guidance counselor with, like, a clinical kind of.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Like, tone to it, where you're like, you know, I. You get to bring in families and do family therapy. Oh, wow. It was cool. I, like, that was the one job I was like, I actually like this.
Akash Singh
And why'd you stop?
Matt McCusker
Because the podcast did well.
Akash Singh
So you were doing that while you were.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, it was still going well. And then it was like. That was. So as Shane was getting SNL or I think he got, like, you know what? It was. It was the birth of my first kid. He got, like, canceled right during that. And then I was like, it was coveted. Didn't happen yet. But I remember thinking, like, let me just try to do. You know, I always wanted to be a therapist since I was, like, in high school. And I. I just. I thought it'd be a cool job. And then I was like, I can't.
Akash Singh
Imagine there was a lot of therapy in your Irish family.
Matt McCusker
That's why I didn't become one, because I was going to school for psychology, and I. I told my. My family what I was doing.
Akash Singh
They're like, what, are you nuts?
Mark Yagnon
Can't do that.
Matt McCusker
They talked me out of it. And I. I was like, let me. I'll go back to school for social work, because that is kind of a shortcut. Become a therapist and kind of like, you know, skip a lot of school, which they don't like to say, but it's like, yeah, it's true.
Miles
Yeah, if you want to be a shitty therapist.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. I had my master's in social work, dude.
Akash Singh
Or you could do the Psy D. It's called.
Matt McCusker
Psy D is probably even a little more intensive, I feel like.
Akash Singh
Yeah, it's just, like, you get the doctorate in five years, so you don't.
Matt McCusker
Have to do the master's in social with psychology. You got to take all these biology classes. Social work. You literally sit in a room, and they're like, did you guys read the article on Foucault? And everyone's like, nobody read it. Yeah. And everyone just, like, talks for five minutes. And, like, the truth is, we don't really know what the truth is. And you're like, sweet.
Akash Singh
That sounds sick.
Mark Yagnon
I was a psych major.
Matt McCusker
Were you?
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. I love psychology.
Akash Singh
Yeah, that's great.
Matt McCusker
So.
Akash Singh
But, yeah, it's great for college because you're just learning about these studies that make great conversation when you're at the bar with chicks. It's like, the perfect thing to talk about, actually. You know, we're deciding our personalities between the ages of 1 and 3. And that's probably why you're like this. And they're like, wow, it's. What is it? Astrology for men?
Mark Yagnon
What happened with the robbery?
Matt McCusker
Well, the big one. There was a couple. There was a couple. I got robbed at Club Point one time in West Philly trying to buy Percocets. That was embarrassing. A guy just busted out a Billy club. Like, I'll smack your head club, dude. I was the last guy to get robbed of Club I'd given him 200 bucks to get me Percocets. And he, like. He's like, I'll be back. And I just waited, like, standing on, like, a street corner for, like, 40 minutes. And eventually he, like. I think he came back, like, oh, you're still here There. He's like, get out of here. And I was like, I'm waiting for. You know, not until, like. And he just, like, pulled out a club with three of his friends. Like, I'll crack your head open. And I was like, all right. You went, I'm out. Keep it. But the. The big one, like, the one that really. This actually, like, kind of rocked me when I was. It was like this whole thing where, like, I went to someone's house, someone I knew, and they were. They owed. They both owed me money, and they were getting more weed off me. So there was, like. I was in his room, and there's, like. You know, he owed me, like, 15,000 bucks. There's 15,000 bucks on the table. I had, like, 4 pounds of wheat on me.
Akash Singh
$15,000.
Matt McCusker
It was like, 50. Yeah, because he's paying me back. Yeah, Yeah. I was fronting on the front, which is, hey, man, you gotta do what you gotta do. And then he was like, my friend's coming from Penn State, and he's gonna take four office right away. And I'm like, this is great. So I had four ready to go. And then as we're sitting there, he's like, oh, you know, doorbell, whatever. He goes downstairs, and I see him come back upstairs, and his eyes are like this wide. And I'm just sitting there, like, that's weird. And then I see another kid come in with, like, a weird look on his face. Then it's a dude in a ski mask with a gun being like, you know, give us your cell phone, slide him forward, all this stuff. So we slide our phones back. And he, like. He just did this all. He's like, who's Matt? Who's Matt?
Akash Singh
And I was like, they were specifically asking for you.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. And he. Because it was. It was all just orchestrated to kind of scare me. But they were like, if you guys look out the window, we have people outside. We're going to shoot you guys. Blah, blah, blah. And then. So then he looked out the window like this. No, no, dude. I was like, damn, dude, what the fuck? I'm scared. There's a gun in your right.
Mark Yagnon
If you look to your left.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, snipers on the roof. But no, he was. The whole thing with. I had made a YouTube video back then that went like lightly viral. Speaking of the super bowl is when the Coca Cola commercial came out. Years and years ago. There's a Coca Cola commercial where they like had Spanish in it and everyone like freaked out and like went nuts or, you know, whatever.
Akash Singh
Which I strongly disagree with. I strongly disagree with that. And I think that we need more Coca Cola, we need more Spanish representation at Super Bowl.
Matt McCusker
Like I made a video and they. That's how they got my name. Cuz the kid to be like, this is the what the kid looks like. Like you're using your own goddamn YouTube viral video. I thought it was the coolest thing at the time. Wow.
Mark Yagnon
Was it a funny video? Was it a party that was like.
Matt McCusker
I got 24,000 views, you know, I'm.
Akash Singh
Pretty pumped on it. Huge. What year is this?
Mark Yagnon
They were all drug dealers though. They were all 24,000 people.
Matt McCusker
When was this? This was like2011 maybe. It was a while ago.
Miles
That's a good.
Akash Singh
Yeah, that's huge, man.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I was pumped because I had been doing stand up too. I started stand up this whole time at 23. So I would do stand up for a little bit and I was going, you know, blah, blah. And so he comes in, he has like a gun in my face and he's like, you know, I should kill you guys, all this stuff. And I'm just like. The one thing that does happen when you have a gun put on you, like time, like you don't feel anything in the moment. Time just like stops. Yes, it does, right? And you just go like, like, whoa. And everything goes super slow. And you're like, you're very calm and relaxed. Like I think you're just overwhelmed. So he's doing all this stuff and the thing I was proud of, I did have $1,000 behind me that he was like, is that all the money? And I was like, yes. And I got to keep the thousand bucks about that.
Akash Singh
Oh, wow.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. That was 2014. We gotta watch it. This is where the guy nailed me from.
Mark Yagnon
And he just mashed you up with this image. He's like this. Yeah, he was a PI.
Matt McCusker
He was pretty. This is a video that got my likeness from. Hey, just got done watching that national anthem. Oh, they sung it. Yeah, something like that. Ain't no nothing national about that. It's nothing national about that. That thing is just like, that's a disgrace, man. I got robbed like four days later.
Akash Singh
Have you.
Matt McCusker
Can't have everybody in the national anthem. You know what I'm Saying, guys, you can't have that, man. That just ruins it, man. God damn. I mean, seriously, way to take my two favorite things in the world, National Anthem and Coca Cola, and just totally ruin for them, man. I can't get that image out of my head that. You know what I'm saying? I can't. Nah, man, I ain't. Cool. Guys, look, man, it took the Dunk Dynasty guy, Elvis.
Mark Yagnon
Now they're taking the national anthem.
Matt McCusker
What the hell's next? What are we just like, like the continental drifting, like, right into Europe, becoming some big state? Man, that ain't America. That.
Akash Singh
I know. This is the first time you've ever recorded something and uploaded it to the Internet. They're like, no other videos.
Matt McCusker
It's just this. It was like. No, this was pretty much one of my very first YouTube videos. I was, like, making fun of the uproar about, you know.
Akash Singh
Of course. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
And then got robbed.
Matt McCusker
And I go, they use my face from this big. This is the guy we're gonna rob. Yeah. How many Mexicans, you know that fought the Civil War? But people thought it was real and they, like, freaked out about it, you.
Akash Singh
Know, Today this video would be real.
Matt McCusker
No one thinks 49 dam is double.
Akash Singh
Okay, let's go.
Matt McCusker
But yeah, so they use that video.
Mark Yagnon
And so they just took all the drugs, they took all the money, and then they bounced.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, they took everything. But the thing is, here was the trick.
Miles
Thousand dollars.
Matt McCusker
Didn't know. They got. They got. It was. Yeah, like, four pounds and 14,000 bucks. Bucks. And so then that guy left. So the. The guy, the ski mask left, but he left the kid. That. What I think happened was that kid was on other drugs, and he probably fell into debt with, like, pill dealer, heroin type dealers and was like, hey, I know a guy. You know, that's kind of how it goes. And so they left him behind. And so I'm just sitting there. The guy leaves like, you know, you finally. All that, like, anger and all those feelings come back into you. And I'm looking at the kid I know, who's like. Like, mortified. And I'm watching this other kid. I'm like, this is like a bad actor. Like, he. He's not. He was in on that. And I just. I literally started, like, choking him. Just like I. I, like, snapped and started.
Akash Singh
Wait, you put it together?
Matt McCusker
I figured. Yeah, I knew exactly. I was like, this dude, he was like, oh, we've been watching. That was the whole thing. Like, oh, we've been watching you. You're over here. You're infringing on our territory.
Akash Singh
And they probably were all working together, most likely even the guy you.
Matt McCusker
No, I sort of. I guarant. I guarantee it. I could. I would guarantee. He was terrified. And this other guy was like, literally. Well, the other guy was like, oh. Another guy was like, for real, freaking out. And this other kid was just like, oh, what's going on? And I started just like, but that's a fair point. And, you know, maybe I'll call him. But he. But I started choking this guy, and he started just like, blah, blah, blah. And. And then, like, you know, my. My. Cause you're like, it's like a blackout anger.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And then the kid I knew was like, stop, stop. So then, like, I had this kid who had. I. You know, had set me up and robbed me, and it was like a. It was like a funny day. It was like a light kidnapping. I was like, you're not going anywhere until I get my money. I figure out, like, what's going on? And I had to take him to a T mobile store because they took all of her phones. He's like, oh, I swear to God, my friend from Penn State still coming. I'm like, well, if that's the case, he should be texting you like crazy. Let's go to the T mobile store and let's check your texts. So I take him to the T mobile store, and we walk in there, and I'm like, yeah, he needs to sell a new cell phone. And he's just in the lady's like, okay. And, like, he's just sitting there. It's like, looking at his feet. Feet. And then at one point, he goes, help. And I was like, shut the up. But I wasn't like, a tough, violent guy either. I was just, you know, at this.
Mark Yagnon
Point, I was just an angry dad.
Matt McCusker
And I, like, just kind of carted this kid around for an afternoon, like, you little. And he's like, just take you to my dad. My dad will pay it off. I swear to God, my dad will pay for it. I'm like, all right.
Miles
Right.
Matt McCusker
Which. That was a horrible idea.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
So I take him down to, like, a warehouse in South Philly. And again, when he had called his dad, I was like, don't be screaming or any of that. You're doing the T mobile store. At the end of it, he's like, dad, seriously, I need help. Like, so then, like, I drive down to this warehouse in South Philly. It's like, Italian guys, and, like, the dad's there with A ex cop with two guns on his side. And I'm like, dude, can this day get any worse? And he's just like, let me get this straight. Blah, blah, blah, blah. He's like, if I find out my son was responsible, I will pay you the money. I was like that dumb to be like, well, great, I'm glad we figured this out. You're gonna give me my drug money. And they never did. And then like me and this dad had a big back and forth and you know, we. That got. That was like a thing. And his like wife spazzed on me.
Akash Singh
And then this is like in the community or something. Like, how are you bumping into them?
Matt McCusker
I knew.
Miles
Well, you got text messages.
Matt McCusker
I, I got. I. Well, here's the thing. The wife claimed because they were like, sound Philly Italian. So the wife tried to be like, we're in a mob, we'll kill you. And then I hit them with a totally bluff, like dead man switch where I'm like, bro, I know your address. If anything happens to me, they're gonna burn your house down. Not true at all. You know, it worked enough to where we just did like a truce and parted ways. So that was like. That was. And it was. Yeah, it was bad. That was on my ex wife's birthday. So I had to then drive to her birthday in Atlantic City with no money. You know the Dave Chappelle half baked where like he's checking that wasn't the birthday. I was like, let's, let's take it easy, man. I didn't. I don't want to ruin your birthday if I just lost pretty much all of our.
Akash Singh
All right, guys, let's take a break for a second. Okay? America. Black rifle coffee.
Matt McCusker
Yes.
Akash Singh
They just pulled a full on takeover of Nespresso machine. I don't even know if it's legal. I don't even know if it's legal what they did, but they basically created the Black Rifle coffee capsules. They're compatible with Nespresso, I think. I don't even know if Nespresso is aware of this. This is full on regime change. It's unbelievable what they were able to accomplish. It is American badassery at its widest. Okay, you guys don't know what that word means. Look it up or pronounce it different. These capsules aren't just tasty, okay? They've got purpose. Every pod you pop supports veterans and first responders, the real American heroes. So right now, okay, there's a little bit more and I want to Tell you about it. There's a little tiny bit more and I really want to tell you about it. Okay. Black rifle isn't stopping at coffee. They've also got this zero sugar energy drinks. They got the badass mugs.
Matt McCusker
Yes.
Akash Singh
Shirts geared. The whole nine yards. Every single thing designed to make you feel more American.
Mark Yagnon
Than what?
Akash Singh
More American than wrestling a bald eagle wearing a pair of aviators? That's pretty American, dude.
Matt McCusker
Yep.
Akash Singh
Throwing a Mexican family over a wall.
Matt McCusker
It's too American.
Mark Yagnon
Dude.
Akash Singh
That's too much. That's too much. Yeah, that's too American.
Miles
It is pretty American though.
Akash Singh
Okay. But I have to turn back the American drone strike in a Venezuelan submarine filled with fentanyl.
Matt McCusker
All right. Oh, that's good.
Akash Singh
You're on the right side of it. That's a good one. You did a good one there. I like it. Okay, charging 100k a pop for Akash's cousins to get an H1B visa. Take valuable engineering and tech jobs away from hard working Americans.
Miles
Hardworking high school educated Americans.
Akash Singh
Is that a good amount of American? Yeah, I think so. What I'm trying to say is get your caffeine loving ass over to Black Rifle Coffee.com flagrant right now. Slap down the code. Yes. You better slap that code down like.
Mark Yagnon
The little badass you are.
Akash Singh
Yeah, if you want to be super badass about this, you slap that code flagrant for 30% off your first order. Order. That's blackrifflecoffee.com flagrant promo code flagrant. You also find out their pods, energy drinks and gear wherever badasseries sold, AKA grocery stores and gas stations.
Mark Yagnon
Okay, I'm trying to think of some badasser like where's the groceries?
Akash Singh
So many badass places that you can buy badass goods, but grocery stores and gas stations are super badass ass. Anyway, let's get back to the show. All right, guys, let's take a break for a second. Listen, this episode of Flagrant is brought to you by Kraken, the app you actually want when you're trading crypto or stocks. Okay, We've been on Kraken for a while now and here's why. When the market goes nuts, Kraken doesn't. It's fast, it's secure and it's trusted by millions of people. It is reliable. It's not going to shut down. They can go up and down with the crypto market and your cryptocurrency will be there. Listen up. For October only, Kraken's running something very well. They deposit Match only in the Kraken consumer app. This is literally Kraken putting extra on top of what you put in. Here's how it goes. You opt in, then make your deposit. You get an automatic 1% match, no questions asked.
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Miles
You're making 4, 500 a week. That's like 200k a year or two.
Matt McCusker
I was where I was working for my dad, too, doing construction.
Miles
Here's my question. You're paying 250amonth. You're not buying flashy things. What are you doing with the extra money?
Matt McCusker
Dude, I paid for a wedding. I paid for a wedding.
Akash Singh
Your wedding?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, my first. Yeah, I paid for that. That was a big one.
Akash Singh
I like that you said you paid for a. I know I did. It seems so benevolent, like you did.
Mark Yagnon
It for, like, a cousin who's going.
Akash Singh
Through a hard time. So you paid for your wedding that.
Matt McCusker
You had paid for two in my life.
Akash Singh
Oh, you paid for.
Matt McCusker
Remarried. I'm remarried.
Akash Singh
I know you remarried, but. So you paid for the second one as well? Damn, bro.
Matt McCusker
So all my. All my money went to just weddings. I just funded weddings. And then I just get. And then that day, another guy crapped out on me. And then I, like, got desperate with all the really bad. I got desperate with the gift money from the first wedding and mailed it to California that got snagged by the postal police. So I was really on my ass. Oh, wow. Yeah, that was another bad. That was a tough conversation. But.
Akash Singh
I wonder why. Marriage ending, divorce.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. You know, people are different. I was just a maniac. I was a fucking maniac. When I was younger. That was the problem. I was like, a nice person, but I was just like my wrist risk. I couldn't calculate risk. Really, I was just nuts. Yeah.
Miles
No risk aversion.
Matt McCusker
None at all.
Akash Singh
Which is helpful in this business.
Matt McCusker
It's kind of true.
Akash Singh
It's like a huge advantage.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. People are like, how do you. How do you, like, manage your nerves? Like, it's like I just, like, had a feeling in my body that I hated all the time and I just wanted to just, like, do something. Yeah.
Akash Singh
Now does that change with kids?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, big time. That's when I stopped. That's when I stopped once I had kids.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
So I told my wife. I was like. I was like, I'm gonna have a pound of wheat on me forever. So. Because she'd be like, I don't really like it. And she actually became a cop. Cop. My. My wife now became a cop.
Akash Singh
WNBA player. That was great.
Matt McCusker
That's so good.
Akash Singh
I was so.
Matt McCusker
Dude, that I saw.
Akash Singh
Were you aware of it?
Matt McCusker
Yes, I saw the day before.
Akash Singh
She was like, she didn't know.
Matt McCusker
She knew Shane. We didn't. We weren't going to go until like, last minute. I was like, you know what? I think it'll be fun to go. And Cuz at first I was like, I'm cool. And she found out. She like, I want to go. I was like, all right, fine, we'll go. So like two days before, I'm like, hey, we're gonna go. And Shane's like, hey, like, you know, blah, blah, blah. Texted Brittany like, would you be cool with him this? And then I read the text and I was like, dude, that's so funny. So, yeah, that was really good.
Akash Singh
She was aware of it.
Matt McCusker
She didn't realize she was going to be like, front and center in that way. I just thought she was going to, like, he was going to bring her up.
Akash Singh
Oh, I thought she sold. She sold really well.
Matt McCusker
When we got there. When we got there, he was like, hey, you're probably going to be on camera. And she was like, what?
Akash Singh
That's great.
Matt McCusker
She did a great job. She did a good job. But yeah, there was a period because then, like, that was like the big fall. But then, you know, you come back up and, you know, I could still. It was never that big after that, but I could still make a comfortable list living. I did it for a while and then. And then I had kids. And yeah, it was just like the risk aversion was just like, dude, I'm gonna go to jail. That'd be free. Once I had kids, this is a big thing for me. When I had my first kid, I remember seeing the guy come into the hospital room just like changing the paper towels. And I was like, dude, I could totally do, like, I'll do anything. Just Give me a job. At this point, I don't give a what. Yeah. Before it was such a thing for me, where I was like, I don't want to do that every day. Now I'm like, I don't care. Yeah, I'll go shovel, you know, holes. I'll go dig holes, man.
Akash Singh
I don't care.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
It is interesting how that changed. Changes.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah.
Akash Singh
And like, like, your relation. I don't know about you, but, like, your relationship with money changes.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Yeah. It's not this thing that you're just lighting on fire. Like, you can do that when you're single, you're alone.
Mark Yagnon
You can even do that when you.
Akash Singh
Have a girlfriend, to be honest with you. It's like, okay, what is the big risk here?
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
They want you to.
Akash Singh
You're. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, like, with the kids, it's. Yeah, you just feel. It's like every. You. You make a big purchase, you take this, you know, risky, you know, you know, situation. You're like, oh, is that that college for them?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, that, that. And then they get old enough to talk to you, and then they like, that's the worst part when you have to confront you. Because I was also. I always had anger problems. So, like, I used to, like, break. Like, I was bad. Like, I, you know, with my wife. Now, like, we. I would, like, throw break in our house.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And then you have kids and you're.
Akash Singh
Like, can't be doing that.
Miles
Funny because you wanted to be a therapist.
Akash Singh
That's why I got work done.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
I mean, you don't gravitate towards psychology unless you either, like, have clinically depressed parents or you're dealing with something because you're like, I just got to figure this out.
Matt McCusker
I smashed a bottle of olive oil in our old house. And the state. You can never get that statement. So we'd be fighting and she'd be like, oh, yeah, great. I don't think now I've come. But the kids come and you're like, yeah, I can't have the environment be like that. And like. And when they get old enough to talk, it's. Dude. If I even, like, catch a slight attitude towards my wife, my daughter's like, you're being mean to Mom. And I'm like, fuck, you guys are right.
Akash Singh
Morris Caught than taught.
Matt McCusker
Like, if.
Akash Singh
If you look back and think about, like, how many things your parents taught you with their words, like, I don't know how many things my dad, like, said, hey, you're going to learn how to do this. Like, I. I distinctly remember him telling me the importance of apologizing, which now I know as a married man came from my mom, but moment I was like, okay, I guess you just do apologize. You just learn and, like. Or take accountability and allows you to move on. Like, I remember him, like, sitting me down and, like, teaching me that or whatever. Outside of that, like, I've learned everything about, like, who I am as a person from just observing him with other people.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
So it's great that you keyed in on that, because that's the expectation that they'll have for a relationship, you know?
Matt McCusker
No. Big time, man. And that was like. Yeah, you really. Yeah, that was. That was like. Like, kids def. I was already trying to, like, get myself together. I mean, the worst part is, at the time, before I had kids, I'm like, bro. I'm like. I remember I went when I was in social work school. They were like, you got to go to a therapist yourself. And I. I'd never been to a therapist. And I remember thinking walking into the office that I was about to just blow this lady's socks off, dude. I thought I was going to walk in, and she was going to be like, bro, hold on, dude. She's like.
Akash Singh
We all think that's. Switch seats.
Matt McCusker
That's funny.
Akash Singh
Hey, sweetheart, why don't you lay down today?
Matt McCusker
Dude, she just gutted me. She was like, wait, why do you think that? And I was like, what do you mean, what do I think? And then I started being like, oh. And I got devastated in the first. First hour.
Akash Singh
I was like, yeah. Do you miss the game at all?
Matt McCusker
You know what? It. It's like. You know what's funny? Like, I'll drive, and I'll still have a cop pull up behind me, and I'll go, yeah. And then I go, oh, I don't have to worry about that. And it's like a nice feel, healing. But my. Towards the end of it, like, I really didn't need to at all. The podcast was doing well. Yeah. But I had so many friends I sold weed to that I knew. And I gave him, like, a fantastic one.
Akash Singh
Let them down.
Matt McCusker
Well, it really. Because I was like, they're gonna get cooked, man. I'm like, they're gonna get cooked. I know. I can't have it. I can't have it.
Akash Singh
There's an injustice in this.
Matt McCusker
For me, the part was, like, gouged. Well, the wheat price just plummeted, dude. It used to be so high. And there was a point where it was like, it plummeted but there's a lot of people who didn't know it plummeted.
Akash Singh
You could take advantage of that arbitrage.
Matt McCusker
God, bro, you could.
Akash Singh
Oh, he wants back.
Matt McCusker
There were still 400 ounce guys that you'd be like, oh my fucking God, I can't believe he paid. But, but then I was like, you know what? It became like everyone. I became friends with people there was like, you know, when you do that, that's like the only people you're really talking to.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And then I was just like, you know, and I. The part of like being like addicted to it was like, I still love this. Of like when I go into a house and you get to pop open pounds of weed and like smell them and see all the different kinds and like, I want that one, that one, this one, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then you get the show and they're like, oh, this is awesome. Like, I, I just, I love a wedding.
Mark Yagnon
You know, you're tasting all the cakes.
Matt McCusker
It really is. But then it was just kind of like, you know, and they were just like, you know, you just deal with people for years and it's like, they're like, man, I just like dealing with you. I don't know what I'm gonna do. And some people like, you know, a huge chunk of their livelihood depended on it. So eventually actually, yeah, I just kind of handed it off. I was just like, you, you know.
Akash Singh
And did you give your Rolodex to us like someone you know?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Akash Singh
That's actually how I got in the gate.
Matt McCusker
Yo, here's everybody. It's all you guys.
Mark Yagnon
You just call them like on a cold call, like, hey, we've actually changed hands.
Akash Singh
Like they tell them like, hey, this.
Matt McCusker
Is my new guy.
Akash Singh
Now is it like when you go to a restaurant and like the waiter comes over, like my chickens over. So is actually going to take over for the rest. Wow.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. You have a tear come by. Like.
Mark Yagnon
It'S been great.
Matt McCusker
There was, there was this one guy who I met and I, I love this guy to death, but I, like, I never met him before. Like the first time, you know, it was just like a friend of a friend. Like, oh. So I had gotten rough directions to his house and he was an older guy and they were like, you know, blah, blah, blah. I called him, he's like, yeah, it'll be my house. And. But it was like a driveway situation with like multiple houses kind of like in the sticks a little bit and, and I pull up this driveway and I'm I'm terrible with directions. And I'm like, I think this is this guy's house. And I was just like, all right. So I like walk into this dude's house with a school bag with two pounds of weed in it, and there's a dude, another older guy outside. So I'm like, okay, like the older guy, you know, I'm like, hey, I'm looking for Vola. And he goes, the guy's hammered. He's like, he's in his bedroom. And I was like, like, it's weird for an old man to say another old man's in his bedroom. And I'm like, why the, why are they living together? And I walk up, I, I just knock on the door. No answer. And I open the door, there's a 12 year old boy in his room. Like, I was like, whoa, no, no, no, no, no. And I, I come out and I was like, oh. And I come out and the guys, I like, explained to him, like, hey, I'm looking for. And the guy, like, I got through, through his drunk, he was like, oh, dude, he's in the. I thought you're one of my friend's buddies. I'm like, like, Bro, I'm 30 years old. What are you talking about? I have gray hair.
Akash Singh
Dude, why the. Was it a 12 year old boy in the back?
Matt McCusker
It was his son.
Akash Singh
I was in the wrong house. Oh, my God.
Matt McCusker
I was, I just walked into the wrong house.
Akash Singh
I thought you walked into like a. Thank God I clarified that. Oh, my Lord.
Matt McCusker
I was like, oh, sorry, sorry. It was just funny.
Akash Singh
I had walked in the wrong house.
Matt McCusker
And we were both like, we just scared each other. He was just like playing video games and I was like, okay. Then I found the guy. Look at that.
Akash Singh
Epstein opened the door.
Matt McCusker
Sorry. I'm glad you guys asked that. Yeah. Sandusky.
Mark Yagnon
Did you ever get pulled over with weed in the car?
Matt McCusker
No, I got in a accident one time with weed in my car and I just like, told the guy. I was like, there was a cop over there. And I was just like, hey, dude, I'll totally. Don't worry, I'll take care of it all, blah, blah, blah. I took his information, was like, like, just bounce. Yeah, I, I, we, we, you know, I didn't like hit and run the guy, but yeah, I was just like, let's get out of here. And I had a, I had. One time I had an elderly Chinese man bump into me in traffic and it was like, it was like, it was really funny because we were going so Slow. And he just hit my bumper. And I was like, what the. And he got out, and he was like. He was like. Kept being like, it's no big deal. And I'm like, I mean, I guess, but I'm like, what the. How the. Did you do that? That was the same thing where I was like, man, let's just get the out of here. Let's, you know, let's just go. Because I had weed in my car, too. I was like, let's get out of here, man. We're good. No, I never got pulled over with anything crazy.
Mark Yagnon
Just an insane. I just couldn't handle the stress.
Matt McCusker
The stress is great. My feet used to shake. I'd be driving around, like.
Akash Singh
But you need it. Like, you need your brain to be occupied, I feel.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, exactly.
Akash Singh
That's the nice thing about having kids. Like, your brain is always occupied.
Matt McCusker
Exactly. It was hard. That was the thing too. Like, free time. I just float around. And when you're doing that, you're locked in all the time. Same with parenting, though. But I'm just like, what the Are they doing? What are they doing?
Akash Singh
Yeah, survivors.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I like it. But I used.
Mark Yagnon
I knew this guy who was a cop that was, like, a crooked cop. He was, like, being. Doing cop stuff and then also, like, stealing drugs from drug dealers. And he said that he had to quit because he would drive down the highway and half his body would go numb.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Just from stress. Like, he would just, like, guys were trying to kill him. Other cops were on his case, and he would just, like, he'd have to pull over because he couldn't use the brake because, like, his leg would just be full enough. He's like, I just can't drive.
Matt McCusker
Yes. It's really bad for you. It is. It's a bad. It's a bad thing to do. Turns out being wicked is bad.
Mark Yagnon
Sickest dude ever. When you have gray hair at 30.
Akash Singh
I wonder what it was. So. So what now? Like, how do you keep that? I guess parenting, obviously. It is so interesting with the kids when they start talking, like.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
The guilt that you can feel. Like, my daughter, she's. She's in Santa Barbara with my. My wife to visit her family, and we're coming back from Australia, and they stopped there, and I. I. I FaceTimed. And then obviously, I wasn't there. And then she goes. She goes, oh, she goes, dad. Dad movie. And, like, the fact that she had, like, a reason in her head why I wasn't there was, like, heartbreaking.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, dude.
Akash Singh
Like. Like, you're aware that I'm not around during the day or dad that work, and it's like, yeah, I have to work. That's my responsibility. And I. And I can like, justify that to myself for sure. But. Oh, man.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, that was. That was tough. My. My daughter. My oldest daughter hit me with that. I was like, I love hanging out with you guys. My favorite thing. She's like, no, it's not. It's working. I was like, yeah. I, like, made her. I'm like, no, it's not. Say that. You. You're. You're wrong, actually.
Akash Singh
Ra.
Matt McCusker
The worst. When we moved. When we moved to Texas, we were in Philly, and they, like, I didn't realize. They come take all your stuff like, two weeks before and put it in a truck and take it down there. Then you fly later. Yeah. Sweet. Our house was empty, and it was totally empty. And I was like, you know, I was. In my head. I kept being like, look, guys, we're moving.
Akash Singh
You could do this multiple ways. I like how you're like, this is how it's done. They come two weeks before.
Matt McCusker
You got to live in fresh pro stuff. Yeah. We had no stuff. And I remember, like, when they were taking our stuff, I'm like, look, guys, see, this is why I work. Because if we don't have any stuff, if we don't work, we don't have any stuff. And that's. As soon as I took all of our stuff, my kids were like, yeah. I was like, yeah, this is for my own ego.
Mark Yagnon
You're right.
Akash Singh
They don't want us to work at all. They really don't. I know.
Matt McCusker
Nothing I hit him with that's finally sunk in. I'm like, disney plus. And they were like. I was like, if I don't work, we don't have that. And they were like, disney plus is a good one back. Oh, you guys like Disney?
Akash Singh
Wait till they find out how to make 12. $12 a month. Oh, yeah.
Matt McCusker
So what do you.
Akash Singh
Oh, wow.
Mark Yagnon
Have you ever thought of a cover story? Like, your kids are one day gonna know about your. Your past, and they might ask.
Matt McCusker
No, I'll just. I mean, no, I'll just be open with them. I. I feel like I don't know. I. I have a lot of faith in them. They'll be way smarter than I was and, like, they'll know, like, yeah, this is. You guys are going to do good stuff.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Are you, like, an is parenting strategy with. With your wife? Like, is it honest par of communicate to them as adults? Almost Kind of like, I'll.
Matt McCusker
What I try to do if I. I try to, like, really kind of get on their level. And, like, if I ever raise my voice, I apologize. Even if they're doing something that, like, they shouldn't be doing. I always am like, hey, sorry I raised my voice. That. That's. That's wrong for. I shouldn't do that, but, you know, I need you to do this. Blah, blah, blah. And they're, like, really amenable. Especially, like, what you're saying about apologizing. That's, like, the biggest marriage hack ever. Because I. If my wife had a problem with me or something, I. I did, I would get angry and then be like, all right, I'm just gonna tell her why I'm right about this. Yeah. And dude. And I would. I would just not stop. And then one day, I was like, you know what, man? I'm sorry. I up and it was like, well, I forgive you. And I'm like, that's all I had to do, destroy you with logic.
Akash Singh
But you know what I. What I've realized about it is, like. And I can't speak for you, but I think a lot of the time is, like, fighting for our. How they perceive us.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
So it's like we do something that hurts them. Right. And I need to convince you that that's not who I am. So you keep loving me, and they're like, I'll just love you if you say, I'm sorry. I know you're a good guy. So it's just like, I'm fighting to be the knight in shining armor constantly.
Mark Yagnon
This is back to your Bible.
Matt McCusker
Take.
Mark Yagnon
This is why Christianity is kind of fire. Because it just starts off with being like, hey, we're both pieces of shit.
Akash Singh
This is a great fight.
Mark Yagnon
Adam and Eve ruined all of us. So we're both scumbags. I'm. I'm just being shitty, like I always am.
Matt McCusker
And it's also your fault. You kind of up.
Akash Singh
You ate the apple.
Matt McCusker
For one second.
Akash Singh
One second, dude. But, yeah, you had this great take. And. What is it?
Matt McCusker
What?
Akash Singh
You phrase it. You phrase it. But I was watching on. I was watching on YouTube yesterday, and it's like, 10 seconds.
Matt McCusker
But, well, it was really, like, me and my wife, specifically, my wife, like, really likes church, and I like it, too. I grew up going to church. My mom's, like, very Catholic. We went to Catholic mass every Sunday. But, you know, like, you get older and you're like, oh, yeah, you don't really go. So, like, my wife has like, expressed a desire to go to church, and I'm like, you know what? Like, yeah, let's just go black church, white church. So we've done both. We've, like, black church, way more fun. Black church is sick. I just feel like I'm kind of ruining it. Like, just a white guy, a black church. I feel like they're like. I feel like they can't go as hard, you know, I don't know. I just feel like I'm kind of a damper on the environment. Like, it.
Akash Singh
Like, do they look bad? Is this what they think we do?
Matt McCusker
And it's also like, you know, I come from Catholic. The Catholic church is, like, the biggest church. Sometimes you get a black church, and it's kind of still a startup. You're kind of like.
Miles
But the environment's more fun.
Matt McCusker
It's so fun. It's a lot more dynamic. Yeah, a lot more dynamic. A lot more interaction. But we've, like, met in the middle kind of. And, like, we just go to, like, kind of like a Christian, almost mega church kind of thing.
Akash Singh
Yeah, yeah.
Matt McCusker
So. Which is. It's a nice format. A lot of people hate mega churches, but it's like, whatever. People are there, like, trying to work on themselves. And what I don't, like, do it however you got to do it.
Akash Singh
You feel amazing.
Matt McCusker
You feel good.
Akash Singh
You feel amazing. Like, you cannot deny the feeling you have when you walk out.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
You know, it's great.
Matt McCusker
And it's also. You sit down and it's like they're tackling issues from a point of ultimate authority that, you know, my wife respects me, not so much, but if I can get the supreme creator of the universe a little bit on my side, I'm kind of like. And, like, they'll hit points, and she'll be. I can see you're like, that's fair. And I'm like, save that. Well, I missed that part. What are you saying?
Akash Singh
Serve your husband.
Mark Yagnon
Interesting.
Akash Singh
I'm married to God.
Matt McCusker
But, you know, it's. That is like a. It's like a touchy subject. But there are like. Because then, like, now, where it's kind of like, you know, like, whatever. There's no difference in gender. It's like, okay, fine. If you're two college students, like, you know, riffing on gender stuff, it's whatever. Once you're raising kids, you're like, yeah, they're kind of are. And it's like, not everybody's exactly the same. Like, not all women are like this or all men are like that. But yeah, when kids get hurt, they tend to run to their mom and like they tend to want their mom. Like my, before I left for this, my daughter, because my wife went away for like a weekend trip, came back because I'm going to be gone for a while and my daughter was like, I can't wait till you go on a trip. And mom's here because they just, they like if my wife's gone, they're like, they freak out. Fuck is this? But if I'm gone, they're kind of like, I wish that guy was here. But they're fine.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Yeah.
Matt McCusker
So I don't know, it's just, it's just. And it's nice to have like, you know, contextualize that in a way where it's not just like, you know, you're being like, make me a sandwich. But it's also there's, there's some reality to like the roles in household and raising kids. Like, yeah, just like the team roles and everything. Like if you're tall, you're a center in basketball, you know what I mean?
Mark Yagnon
Like you've got milk in your titties. The kids like them, you know, I mean that's how it is.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I just, you know, but so it's good to kind of like otherwise too. It's like you do have to root yourself in something and it's like religion is, it's like you go to weddings where it's like we're just going to read like, you know, modern poetry and it's like, okay, this is nice but like you rooted in a real, whatever beautiful faith based perspective, it is just deeper and more enduring.
Akash Singh
You know what, you know what gets me at church is this submission, like seeing people submit to a higher power. Like I get emotional every single time. It's like that the, the music is on and they're singing and you can tell like they're fully submitted to this higher power.
Miles
And this guy just likes when people submit.
Mark Yagnon
Dislike.
Matt McCusker
I don't know.
Mark Yagnon
For the same reason.
Akash Singh
How do we harness this? No, but like, is this. I don't know, I feel like there's something, it's something beautiful about it. You know, there's just this idea that like you're not going to try to control every aspect of your, your life.
Miles
The idea that you're not the biggest thing in the world.
Akash Singh
Yeah, like, like you're humbling yourself.
Miles
And in such a narcissistic society, it's nice to see this pocket of people or this place where everybody remembers, oh, there's a much bigger thing out there.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Miles
It's like, now my one piece of pushback is I do think if you are married, Islam is probably the best religion as a man.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Miles
And I. I formed this opinion when we were. We were doing shows in Malaysia. I think I had line one weekend after you had line or something. And I asked about Valentine's Day or something. And then everybody got quiet. And then I said, what's going on? They said, we don't celebrate Valentine's. I said, why not? They said, I don't know, it's haram. And I was like, what does that mean? And they were like, what's against God's will? And I was like, isn't that convenient.
Akash Singh
The day for them?
Miles
Everybody's like, you know what? God don't like it.
Akash Singh
God don't like it.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Miles
And I was like, that is fire.
Akash Singh
That is awesome. I mean, the real reason they don't sell because it's St. Valentine.
Mark Yagnon
Right.
Akash Singh
I like the way that you look at it. You're just like, they hate Jesus is.
Miles
A prophet, but we're going to draw the line of St. Valentine.
Akash Singh
Well, they don't count the saints. They just count the prophets.
Miles
Christmas ain't haram.
Akash Singh
Christmas is haram.
Miles
I went to Malaysia, saw Christmas decorations everywhere.
Matt McCusker
We went.
Miles
Christmas time.
Akash Singh
Yeah, but it's still haram. But there's still.
Miles
There's Christmas decorations everywhere.
Akash Singh
Yeah, you can't celebrate Christmas. It's haram. You put enough decoration. They're giving gifts. They're doing. You can celebrate the birth of a prophet. Yeah, that's not haram.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Miles
They might not go to church and pray to St. Valentine, but you give gifts in the same way. They won't go to church on Christmas, but they'll give gifts. But because it was like, this day is for them, and it's a lot of pressure on us.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Yeah. We're done with that.
Akash Singh
Yeah, they're. They're people, too.
Matt McCusker
I can respect that.
Akash Singh
You know? Like, I think that's what I've learned is, like, they're also people, you know, like, they're human beings.
Mark Yagnon
Been in therapy, dud at the end.
Akash Singh
Of the day, you know, like, as long as they apologize and submit to me.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, they're human beings. No, that is a sick move, though, to be like, yeah, man. We're just not with the whole. You know, that's. I try to be like. It's just. It's like a Hallmark holiday, and my wife's like, pick up the gym.
Akash Singh
But if you're like, hey, God don't like it. Now what you going to do? Yeah, you can't really.
Matt McCusker
God. Yeah.
Miles
Sit down.
Akash Singh
The Jehovah's got that down. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
They do that with birthdays too.
Akash Singh
They do with birthdays. Christmas.
Miles
Women love their birthdays.
Mark Yagnon
Y anniversaries, probably.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
I don't know. I'm just. Birthdays, really. Birthdays. That's a tough one to stop. Women love their birthdays.
Miles
I can't. I didn't. I got in a massive fight with.
Mark Yagnon
My wife on a cross.
Akash Singh
That's brain work. He's like, hold on. What type of. Sounds impossible.
Mark Yagnon
Can you fact check?
Akash Singh
Jehovah's Witness? I don't think this is a birthday. They don't get presents. You can celebrate. Like, you can say happy birthday to one another.
Mark Yagnon
They avoid celebrations with roots and pagan customs.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Oh, all right.
Akash Singh
You can't celebrate anybody but God.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Take away. Actually, that's a slippery slope because I would like to take away Valentine's Day. But then you do Christmas, Halloween. Thanks. Thanksgiving, Cool.
Mark Yagnon
Probably not.
Akash Singh
It's not.
Matt McCusker
You could do. You can do Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving. Can't dress up. Yeah, you can't do. Yeah. A ghost on Halloween. Yeah.
Miles
Sometimes you gotta give up something to get something. You know what I mean?
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Not bad.
Akash Singh
All right, guys, take a break for a second.
Mark Yagnon
Listen.
Akash Singh
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Miles
They're delicious.
Akash Singh
They're absolutely incredible. I mean, this, like, there's copy that I have to read, but I would just tell you right now, it's the best tortilla chip I've ever had in my entire life. I don't even know how it's possible. Maybe it's possible because they got that beef tallow back up and that corn.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
And it's nixtamalized.
Akash Singh
Yo. The nixtamalized corn is. I remember I was eating some corn, it was a nixtamalized the other day and I could just like, like I was repulsed. Yeah, yeah, I was repulsed.
Miles
Un nixtamalized corn.
Akash Singh
What are we doing? I can't even do it. Anyway, listen, if you're ready to give Masa a try, go to masachips.comflagrant and use the code flagrant for 25% off your first order. That's masachips.com flagrant and the code flagrant for 25% OFF your first order and don't feel like ordering online. That's fine. Starting in October, Masa will be available nationwide at your local sprout supermarket. Stop by and pick up a bag before they are going gone. Now let's get back to the show. All right guys, take a break for a second. Listen, it's time to stop sleeping on shitty bed sheets, okay? The girl that you bring home, the girl that you're dating, she doesn't want your rough bed sheets. She wants something good, something comfortable. And that's where cozy earth bed sheets comes in. They are temperature regulating naturally, wicking away heat and moisture from your body helping you sleep several degrees cooler. They also have a bubble cuddle blanket. This blanket offers a combination of comfort and style with distinctively textured bubble design. Intricately woven from ultra soft fibers, these sheets and blankets are guaranteed to give you a comfortable night of sleep. If you don't believe me, they have a hundred night guarantee, try them out. If you don't love them, return them hassle free. They also have a 10 year warranty so you won't waste money buying new bed sheets multiple times a year. This is an absolute no brainer. So head to cozyearth.com and use our promo code FLAGRANT for up to 20 off. And if you get a post purchase survey, make sure you let them know you heard about Cozy Earth. Right here is the flute stuff.
Matt McCusker
Native American, the flutes, everywhere that's been. But the ones I was, they were like native flutes. Yeah, but it's just native to here.
Akash Singh
Or native to South America.
Matt McCusker
I think. I think it was like native to America. It was just the, those native flutes are just a pentatonic scale and they're just five notes. So like, like you're just only playing within the scale. But every like they have the Asian flute, they have the Celtic flute. They're just like slightly different.
Akash Singh
Right?
Matt McCusker
Every society has pretty much a flute somewhere.
Akash Singh
We had the flute of phone.
Matt McCusker
What was the flutophone.
Akash Singh
This is like this ghetto ass instrument they gave us public school kids to like make it seem like we were the recorder.
Mark Yagnon
I've never heard.
Akash Singh
I got a recorder.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
What is that?
Akash Singh
The flutophone, bro.
Mark Yagnon
That's the one. The Squidward, I think that's.
Akash Singh
That's the Squidward. That is more the F. Flutophone.
Matt McCusker
Wow. So that's probably amazing.
Akash Singh
It was the spork of instruments.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
You can't play it wrong. Whatever you're dealing with, it is the right thing.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
You ever try to sing to your kids and then realize you don't know any of the words and you're a terrible singer and they get pissed. Personal story.
Matt McCusker
Early on. Early on.
Akash Singh
You ever trying to. You ever try to have sex with your wife and you hear your nanny reading Llama Llama.
Matt McCusker
You ever do that? You ever do do that?
Akash Singh
No, Just me.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I. I pushed. I've pushed for if. If. Yeah, we. We have a. A baby. I call her a babysitter, but she's a nanny, but she's there during the day. But yeah, if I try to have sex while she's in the house, my wife's like, absolutely not.
Akash Singh
Can't do it.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, she can. She won't do it. What do you.
Akash Singh
How do you like. How do you do that?
Matt McCusker
What?
Akash Singh
Have sex with your wife. Like, how do you like.
Matt McCusker
How. How did that done? That's literally the like the overarching thesis of my entire special, which is how to find wife. I sort of got. It's a trick, man. There is a trick to it, man.
Akash Singh
Okay, tell. Break it down.
Matt McCusker
Yo, this is. I swear to God, I. I stopped ma. Well, I do my best to stop masturbating. I've been pretty successful.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
So I told her, I said, look, you like you obviously you hate if I watch porn. Totally valid. I'm not even going to jerk off anymore. And she's like, that's awesome. I'm like, but it's your. It's your thing now.
Akash Singh
I'm passing the responsibility.
Miles
You're doing a godly thing now she got to do.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I'm like you.
Akash Singh
I don't want going to control Gaza, but now we have someone else.
Matt McCusker
But I kind of just told her. I don't know, I was just kind of like. I just. You know what it was? And it's not even like true reverse psychology. I was like, I'm kind of trying to retain. I Was like, I'm more into retaining. I feel stronger, like, because before I just be begging her, begging her.
Akash Singh
Second she heard that.
Mark Yagnon
I'm going to destroy you.
Matt McCusker
And I kind of. Honestly now I like the feeling of, like, I just kind of let it ride. I don't. Like, I used to get, like, it was like, I felt like it was a thing that was being done to me personally. Like, if I'd want to have sex and she wasn't in the mood, I'd be like, how the Would you not want to do that? I don't like farting everywhere. I've been mean to her for three days and farting everywhere. I'm not even all the way hard.
Akash Singh
What is this woman crazy? She's been breastfeeding children all day, and.
Matt McCusker
I'm here with a hard dick, and.
Akash Singh
She doesn't want to handle that.
Mark Yagnon
I did a podcast for two hours, came home working hard.
Matt McCusker
I'm tired too. All right.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, we're all doing it.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. And I just. You know what? I was just like. It was like a vicious loop because then you get, like, mad about it, you get cagey about it, and I was like, you know what, man? I'm just like. I just, like, got to the point where Was like, I'm just not going to worry about it, man. When it comes, it comes. When it doesn't, it doesn't. And it just like, once I let go of that whole thing, I just feel like it's just. It's just more and more now. And it's nice, too, when you. They can tell, too, when you're, like, gooned. When you've been, like, watching the porn and all that stuff. They know, dude. Like, they can feel the difference.
Akash Singh
What do you mean? What do you mean by that?
Matt McCusker
Goon. You know a goon?
Akash Singh
No, of course I know a goon.
Matt McCusker
Is like, they can. They know when you're not gonna.
Akash Singh
Been in California the last three years. Very familiar with.
Matt McCusker
They can tell is like, dude, Patrice joke.
Akash Singh
Like, I'm surprised my drain not pregnant. You.
Matt McCusker
You, like, you hit a gear. Especially if you're, like, watching porn all the time and jerking off. Yeah, you like. Like, your boner is just, like, different. You have a different. You have a goon boner. Once you remove that. And you're just like, seven days of just nothing at all. Yeah, dude. Like, you'll catch. I'll catch. Like, my wife's like, bra. And do that. You like you had horny like you did when you were younger. Yeah. And then you break her off with that. And she's like, whoa, dude, this is crazy.
Akash Singh
You break her off with that.
Matt McCusker
You break her off of that drug deal.
Akash Singh
So this radio play is going to be phenomenal. I got to cross my legs and I get stiff right now. Let me break it over some. This.
Matt McCusker
This guy's so horny for retaining.
Akash Singh
He's like, what if lesbians just recorded it?
Matt McCusker
I wrote it. I wrote it when I had, like, first stopped watching porn.
Akash Singh
I know.
Matt McCusker
Like, dude, just watch porn. Just jerk off. He's like, this is wrong.
Akash Singh
This is wrong.
Matt McCusker
Because he's like, you're in your. Because I have an apartment I use as an office. He's like, you're just in your apartment getting yourself hard. Stop. The other thing, though, with the. The porn stuff in marriage is like, well, for me, if I get into a little funk with my wife, I do. I'd, like, slither away and be like, she'd fall asleep, like, I'm gonna drink. And you get, like, a little parachute. And it's helpful to take that away. So now it's like, we gotta hash this out.
Akash Singh
We gotta work it out. We have to work it out.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. But the thing I found is, like, don't be too hard on yourself, because, like, you know, sometimes you do just have to relieve the pressure valve.
Akash Singh
Yes. You know, so what do you do in those circumstances? Says a little nocturnal in mish.
Matt McCusker
I mean, I know you just gotta. You gotta just. Sometimes you just gotta slither away. But it's like, you know, but if that's. If you start doing that all the time. All the time. I think it just kind of. It just, like, waters you down a little bit.
Akash Singh
I. I subscribe to this.
Matt McCusker
Especially as you get older. Dude, all these guys on boner pills, it's like, bro, stop.
Akash Singh
But. But you need to. There's another thing that happens if you don't for a while. I feel like you can get used to not.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, right.
Akash Singh
For me, which is like. I think being. I think, like, doing it more consistently is better. Like, it allows. Like, it, like, tells my body, like, hey, we need to continue building this.
Matt McCusker
I see what you're saying. Yeah. I ran into that early on where I was like, dude, is my dick dead? Like, I haven't. Like, no one's touched it in.
Akash Singh
Yeah, two weeks.
Matt McCusker
And I think it's dead now.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
That you're. You're all right about that, but I do think you.
Akash Singh
And then, like, two days later, you're like, I really. I need this again. Like.
Matt McCusker
Right. Yeah. Yeah, it's a tricky thing. I just try to. Because a lot of people become like absolutists about it. We're like, I'll never do it ever again. But it's like for me, like I try my best not to.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And I try to stack like months at a time where I don't. But like, eventually I'll head it. I'll get a night where like, you know, I've had too much coffee that day, my wife's asleep, I'm awake and my whole body is just vibrating. And at that point it's like, dude, just rub one out quietly catch a quick imagination beat and just go to bed.
Akash Singh
I was getting, I was getting, I was getting. What is it called? Nocturnal missions. What is it? Wet dreams.
Matt McCusker
That's the best.
Akash Singh
Like regularly.
Matt McCusker
Never had one, dude. Really?
Akash Singh
Really getting those, bro.
Matt McCusker
Amazing.
Akash Singh
It is. I mean it is, it is fantastic.
Matt McCusker
That's so fantastic.
Akash Singh
It's guilt free. It's like. And it's always weird. Like you always come like, right? But like I don't like, I'm not like this stallion in my wet dream.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Like I like just put my dick in the girl's mouth and immediately I've apologized In a wet drink. I said I'm sorry. And then I wake up and I just come all over my boxes. Like it's always fast, but the buildup is amazing. That is cool.
Matt McCusker
I. Every time I'm having a dream like that, it just ends. Maybe I. Maybe it happened once. But like, dude, it like I don't get them. I. I'm always like, please.
Akash Singh
Oh, pretty much.
Matt McCusker
That's like every time I go to.
Akash Singh
Bed, I'm like, gotta hide your underwear. Like a sl. Try to come into the underwear and then I hide it in the hamper.
Matt McCusker
They get chilly. Those un. Get chilly quick. They catch the wind, man.
Akash Singh
No, I don't like it cuz it.
Miles
Ruins my sleep a lot of times. Cuz once I come and I'm changing.
Akash Singh
Boxes, I'm up, I'm up.
Miles
I'm not going back to sleep.
Matt McCusker
Wait, you should have wake your babe up and be like, I just came.
Akash Singh
I just came breathing in her air. That's what they love.
Matt McCusker
My body just forced it out of me. That's how long it's been. You ever been caught?
Mark Yagnon
That's always embarrassing.
Matt McCusker
Yes, I've been caught too many times.
Akash Singh
Wait, really?
Matt McCusker
Oh yeah.
Akash Singh
What do you mean? What do you mean?
Mark Yagnon
Call your wife?
Matt McCusker
Yeah, for sure.
Akash Singh
Like, where are you?
Matt McCusker
Like I've been busted and like I. I got busted. We Were, like, dating, and I was in her apartment beating off, and she caught me.
Akash Singh
Where in the apartment?
Matt McCusker
Like, I was in her bed. She, like, ran out. I don't think she'd be back. Got called the shower a couple months ago.
Akash Singh
You guys are just dating? You're in her bed? Is she also in the bed?
Matt McCusker
No, I thought she was gone. She, like. I had gone. I think we, like, were, like, loosely kind of living together or staying there a lot, and she left, and I thought, she's gonna be gone for longer than she was. And I was just, like, sitting on the edge of her bed face. And she even, like, she replicated it. She came in. You're like. And I was like, don't ever do that. Yeah, she's busted me.
Akash Singh
Hold on. So she walks in the phone and, like, cover yourself.
Matt McCusker
No, I didn't hear her come in because she does like to, like, sneak up and scare me. And so she, like, slipped in quietly. I'm just on the edge of her bed just watching the hub beating off. And she was like, what are you doing? I was like, busted me. You just got to take it. Like, yeah, you got me.
Mark Yagnon
But now you're embarrassed with it. Just full rock.
Matt McCusker
I was humiliated, bro. I was just bricked. I was completely bricked up. And, you know. So, yeah, she's got. She laughs. She's got me a couple times. She just thinks it's funny. I'm like, it's not funny. I feel so humiliated. Yeah, she can get me, man. She's. She's light on her feet.
Akash Singh
She doesn't like the. You watch the porn, huh? No, my wife doesn't like that either. What do you think that's about? I mean, where does that come from?
Mark Yagnon
Like, I'm.
Akash Singh
I'm trying to. I guess maybe I'm just so detached from them actually being, like, human beings. Like, they're not, like, real people to me. Like, it's like a cartoon. It's like, I don't think they have, like, souls or anything. So, like. But maybe they think that we're, like, really attracted to these people.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I. I think it's just like.
Miles
Am I not enough? I think is.
Matt McCusker
Sure. And also, too, like. Like, imagine. I've said this before because guys, like, especially back in the day, it was like, oh, dude, like, lesbians hooking up porn. Like, imagine if your wife was watching, like, two dudes, like, slam each other. You'd be kind of like, whoa, yeah, what the are you doing?
Akash Singh
That'd be weird.
Matt McCusker
And if your wife was watching the oh yeah. Like yeah, because if you caught your wife watching porn, you'd be like, what the are you doing? Yeah, that would bother the out of me. Yeah, I'd be so upset. But I still think I should be.
Akash Singh
Able to double standards.
Mark Yagnon
Don't be weird about it.
Miles
I'm staunchly in favor of double standards.
Mark Yagnon
The funniest jerk off related thing is is tributes. Have you heard of this? Yeah, this is the funniest thing in the world to me. Have you heard of that?
Akash Singh
This is.
Mark Yagnon
Dudes will do this and they'll post on like Twitter or Reddit and they'll basically just like print out a picture of like a hobby hot girl. Like they'll print out like a picture of like Sydney Sweeney and then they'll jerk off onto like the paper like black and white. And then they'll post a picture and be like, just did another one. Boys.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, posting is crazy.
Mark Yagnon
Share with like their internal crazy. These guys that just jerk off on paper.
Akash Singh
It's so funny to me cuz it's a tribute to the girl and girls.
Miles
What a crazy existence Sydney Sweeney has. It's so fun to be like, oh yeah, there's guys who print out pictures, pictures of me, jerk off on them and then put them online every now and again.
Mark Yagnon
You'll see a warrior that just jerked off on his MacBook Air and you're like, dude, that's, that's, that's a real machine.
Akash Singh
That's wild. Dude, how did she become like such a player in the culture war?
Matt McCusker
I. I mean, yeah, but I guess even before the jeans thing, wasn't she kind of. Oh, it's like her parents I think are pro Trump maybe. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
There'S like a Trump flag behind.
Matt McCusker
Her parents were a piece of on a political whim and now she's.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, she were like the hot girl who like doesn't think what I think.
Matt McCusker
I'm mad. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Because all the hot girls are like also have to have my same politics.
Matt McCusker
Exactly.
Mark Yagnon
If I'm watching porn, I'm like, dude, she has to believe in like health care. That gets fundamental.
Matt McCusker
So evil too. To be like, denounce your parents. The 2016 election, it's like, dude, it'll be over in two weeks. He raised you. Yeah.
Akash Singh
Okay, that makes more sense now.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, that was like the first like, you know, rumor of it. And then yeah. The jeans commercial came out and which is so ridiculous. People got so dumb.
Mark Yagnon
Like people, people already were mad though. And then they saw something that like.
Akash Singh
You know, they can. Yeah. The feeling has to exist. And then you just attach more and more things onto the feeling.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
But now she's part of this conversation. And she will be in perpetuity.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
You know, some movie's going to come out. There's going to be some line of the new season. Euphoria is going to. It's going to have some line. Oh, what this really means is she's trying to interject politics into blah, blah, blah.
Matt McCusker
Well, dude, I think they figured out too. Because remember, like, they figured out at one point maybe like the 90s. We're like, oh, let's like show cool people in a commercial and then we'll be like, I'm cool if I buy. That was like a big marketing hack.
Akash Singh
They figured out 90s. Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Like, they started figuring out, like, how to like, you know, or maybe like earlier we're like, we'll show a beautiful person.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And then they'll associate, like, the desirability with that product. That was like a thing, like a psychology trick for marketing. They came out, let's just say, a long time ago.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And now I think they really know, like, if we can just get these people pissed, it doesn't matter what about who's mad or why?
Akash Singh
Oh, the marketing is the rage.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Just get them furious and then we'll sell more toothbrush.
Mark Yagnon
Oh, that's a Cracker Barrel thing. I just saw an article on Gizmoto that's. It was like, mostly bot driven.
Akash Singh
So this is fascinating.
Mark Yagnon
Did you see this?
Akash Singh
50% of the tweets about the Cracker Barrel, like, changing the logo were bots.
Matt McCusker
From where?
Mark Yagnon
I don't know.
Akash Singh
So it's. It's one of these things where it's just like, obviously we know it happens in music, right? Yeah, like, so this is like, pretty. It's not even pretty proven. It is proven, right, that like, they used to do the payola with the radios where they pay them to play it, which is like a version, but then you're still playing the song and people are still listening to it. This is like bots are listening to music. So certain artists that we think are in a certain size really aren't at that size. Right. So there's just like, like fake listening to their. But it gives the illusion that they're the number one or they got a huge record, blah, blah, blah. But the fact that this is also happening with, like, social trends and, like, you pump up a story. So the Cracker Barrel thing goes crazy. Then these, like, TikTok journalists see that something's trending On Twitter. So they make their video reacting to the thing.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
And then reaction channels react to these people and then, then it becomes truth. Like something that's completely fabricated and astroturfed becomes the reality. It was this, somebody said this. So I don't wanna take credit for it, but it's like there's the Fox News, the New York Post pipeline. I don't know if you've heard about this, how you essentially launder information into a real story. And I'm sure the left does this as well, but it's like a op ed piece on Fox News. This is what I think. Then later, the reporting from the news reports on the op ed and then by the next morning it's on the front page of the Post and it is truth.
Matt McCusker
Oh yeah, that's really weird.
Akash Singh
So like how much of that shit is happening? Yeah, how much of that is happening on a regular basis? Like how, how much of the things we're seeing are just some random person curating an idea of something and that being repeated non stop and algorithmically fed to us until it just kind of becomes reality?
Matt McCusker
Yeah. And then it's like people parroting it. It's not even about it being true. It's like, can I increase my like virtual space self worth through this? And it becomes this like, almost like a mold, like growth.
Miles
And the algorithm is going to reward the more extreme opinions.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, that's because there's been a bunch of weird political going on. It's like, you know, all this, a lot of the passion, my take on like a lot of this stuff is like, it's not even so much about the politics or anything. It's like people like almost like a bug attaching themselves and being like, yes, my follower counts rising. And it's like, like just makes me feel really weird, man.
Akash Singh
It's like, oh, 100%.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
And I wonder if they're able to like, I wonder if they're able to reflect on their need for that attention. Like sometimes things feel good and you don't attach the feeling good to the behavior. So for example, like an, an actor starts dating another actor and they get all this publicity for dating that person and they want publicity, they want attention. Like that is part of the game. So they might think they really like that person, but in reality they like the outcome.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, I didn't think about that.
Mark Yagnon
But they might not be able to tell the difference.
Akash Singh
And that's what I'm saying. It might not be nefarious. I don't know what's worse.
Matt McCusker
Like, it just, it's sad.
Akash Singh
It's sad and it's up. But like, maybe they're not self reflective enough to go, like, I don't really like this person. I like the outcome. Outcome of being with this person.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, that's true.
Mark Yagnon
Like people in the political space, they're like, they don't know that they're not a liberal. They just love attention. Or they don't know that they're not a conservative. Or like, that's not the most important thing. They just love the feedback.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Akash Singh
But yeah, yeah, you see people like making that their identity and like, I wonder if they think like, maybe it's so short sighted that they're just, they're going like, oh, this is what's getting attention right now. And it's tough to get attention in this economy where there's content everywhere and people are eyeballs all over the place. So they're doing a thing that's getting attention in the moment and they think that that will be like their career marker, their designer. And they don't realize, like, in three months nobody's going to care.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Literally not at all. It's like they're like, you don't remember. You don't even remember. I think like, like some overwhelming percentage, like 90 something percent of the things you were worried about three months later, you don't even remember like what they were. And it's like, let alone news stories are like, yeah, yeah.
Mark Yagnon
I forget which comic had this joke, but he's like, the news is just gossip.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Like, it's just gossip. Like, it's just like, did you hear that this guy in your town did this?
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
And that's just like a headline. And everyone's like, whoa. A lot of people are saying this thing.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
You're like, what?
Akash Singh
Really?
Matt McCusker
I, I really don't consume the news that much. It doesn't. Well, yeah, it doesn't matter. Like, it doesn't really affect you because eventually someone will be like, hey, did you hear about this? And you go, oh, I didn't hear about that. What happened? And they, they tell you. Then you get to filter out all of the other stuff.
Miles
Patrice had a bit 10 years ago, before social media, algorithms, whatever. And he was like, the news is important because it tells you what's to care about. It's really smart because it's like, all we care about is what they tell us to care about. And now it's tik tok bots, potentially China just telling us, oh, this is the thing. That matters and dividing us more and more.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Akash Singh
And we were talking about this earlier, but like, before the pod. But like, that algorithm, you'll see four or five people talking about a thing, and you'll believe that that thing is more important than it actually actually is. Because there's like an inescapability.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, yeah.
Akash Singh
You know.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Well, newspapers used to do this before, like, the algorithm stuff. Like, you know, if there was like a. A big car crash that would get. You'd write up a story and that would be. Oh, man, that got a lot of coverage. So then other papers would be like, yo, let's cover this car. So, like, it would make it look like they're happening more and more, but they're just the same amount. But they're being reported on.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Because that Fed somewhere. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
That train crash. And all of a sudden it was like, dude, there's a train crashing every week.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. And then you look it up, it's like, they will. They just happen all the time, but nobody reports on it. Yeah. It's really weird. Yeah.
Akash Singh
I mean, it makes sense, right? Like, they're trying to sell.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. But you're going, dude, we're having, like, an episode of just. Why is it? What's happening? People start connecting all these dots. It's like, nah, man. This is just what was happening.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Planes sometimes crash.
Matt McCusker
We had a lot. We had all those plane crashes for a while.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Non stop.
Mark Yagnon
And it was like, then stop. And we fixed it.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, we're done.
Akash Singh
Yeah, we must have fixed it.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Trump kept him in the air. Somehow he came in, it was like, dude, stay up there.
Akash Singh
No, there was a good six months. Months where it felt like the Boeings were just falling out of the sky and it made itself into jokes. Did you notice that? Like, like, falling apart like a Boeing jet kind of became a tag almost in comedy jokes. Like, that's how I know something is really in the zeitgeist when it becomes like, taglines and comedy. Because we're really downstream. Like, we're attached to culture, but for it to be a punchline, it has to be ubiquitous.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Right. Like, the audience has to be, like, really aware this thing and. Yeah. Wow. I don't know. I'm just like. I'm just, like, really interested in, like, the information consumption and, like, how, like, how we're viewing the world and. Yeah. It's like, it's kind of up. Like, what are my. Like, I have these opinions about aoc, Right. I don't even know her. I'VE never listened to a whole speech, you know what I mean? Like, I don't really know anything about her. Like, and I. And I have to, like, talk back. Opinions I have, for sure. And I'm like, who gave me these? Like, what did I consume? What was served to me, not even from people I follow, like, what. Which is just thrown onto my phone that gave me this version of a human being that kind of, like, stripped the humanity from her.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, it's true. Yeah. If I see. If I even see that she's about to talk, there's a part of my brain, like, what the, dude? Like, I actually never met her before.
Akash Singh
I actually think that that that's gonna. Like, if she was to run, I think that that would really negatively impact her chances because she has 100% face recognition, meaning 100% of. Not 100%, but, like, a very high percentage of the people who vote in America have a strong opinion about her already.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Obama came through on some, like, who the fuck is this guy? So he got to. You got to form your opinion on.
Matt McCusker
Him in real time based on his campaign, which is nice. It was really nice. I'm actually the man. You're like, yeah, he is, right?
Akash Singh
And I remember in the moment being like. I remember I saw him, like, do a speech. I was like, oh, my God, that guy is amazing. Like, yeah, he should probably wait a little bit so we learn a little bit more about him. Like, there was this idea, like, oh, he was a junior senator or whatever. Like that. Wait a second. And now I'm like, don't wait at all. Like, just.
Matt McCusker
Just wait.
Akash Singh
You don't want them to know things about you because the things they know about you aren't even who you are. It's what people say about you, and.
Miles
It gives them time to find a thing, to make a story.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, you got to come out of nowhere.
Matt McCusker
Jumper. That's kind of crazy.
Miles
The thing I didn't know because Trump, we knew. Biden, we knew. But to your point, Zoron, we just. We. He just came in, like, a voice.
Akash Singh
And it's like, we were talking this earlier, but it's like, even with Zorin, it's like there. There are multiple versions of who this guy is. Like, and none of them are who he actually is.
Miles
Yeah, right.
Akash Singh
It's like they're these, like, flattened 2D versions of him. So he's either a fucking communist, he's an anti Semite, or he's like a liberator, and he's going to help the people Of New York City. And like.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, People believe.
Miles
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
One, three. Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
He's a rapper from Uganda. That's who he really is.
Akash Singh
He used to rap and he grew up in Uganda.
Matt McCusker
What? Yeah, he's Uganda rapper.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
I didn't know that.
Mark Yagnon
He's like, burnable, dude.
Matt McCusker
How.
Mark Yagnon
I mean, the raps are decent.
Akash Singh
I haven't listened to that. With the accent from there.
Matt McCusker
What?
Akash Singh
Yeah, that on De n. He does. How's he talks like that?
Matt McCusker
How long has he been in office for here?
Akash Singh
He has. Hasn't won yet.
Matt McCusker
Oh, he hasn't? I thought he won already.
Akash Singh
Even. He won the. He won the primary.
Miles
Derek Adams dropped out of the general. Trying to get him to lose, because I think him and Cuomo were eating off each other. So we'll see what happens.
Akash Singh
But there's a perfect example. It's like, this is not on your radar, because it doesn't need to be on your radar. Like, you don't live in New York City, but, like, in New York City, you have all these, like, billionaires were freaking out because they're gonna have to pay 2% more in taxes or whatever. And they're just like, we gotta find a way to get this guy, God forbid, bid. I have 2% less of the money I already don't pay in taxes. Whatever. I mean, there are other problems I see with it. Whatever. But, like, is it that big of a deal? It's not going to affect your life.
Matt McCusker
I'm all about the experiment. I'm like, dude, we're. This country's an experiment. Toss in an experiment, you know? And again, if I don't have to live in the city, even better. Let's see how it works. Maybe it works. Maybe it works. I don't know. If it doesn't, then you'll go, yeah, we did. We tried it.
Akash Singh
And it's pie on his face.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Like, that's one thing I would ask him. Like, what if it doesn't work? And, like, it's actually really negative. Like, how will you. It flip you feel about. How would you feel about, like.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Like, not as, like, a gotcha, but more as, like, would you, like, feel horrible that, like, people ended up being in a worse position? And, like.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Like, I wonder if.
Miles
Are you comfortable with that risk? Are you taking some.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Like, I wonder if politicians think about that. Like, what are the. Do they not.
Mark Yagnon
I think Mao at the end was like, dude.
Matt McCusker
That'S why Hitler shot himself. He said, you know what? Not the move, actually. Yeah. He killed himself, didn't he really.
Akash Singh
He killed, like, his wife.
Matt McCusker
That's the.
Mark Yagnon
That's a story.
Matt McCusker
Allegedly. So I don't get in trouble.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, you can't be coming in here with that story.
Akash Singh
Where's the body?
Mark Yagnon
Like an alternative reality over here. Yeah, he's in Argentina.
Matt McCusker
Right.
Akash Singh
I feel like you could have snuck.
Mark Yagnon
Him out of there easily.
Matt McCusker
I mean, probably. Honestly. Yeah, it's amazing. I feel like we're just, though, coming to grips with it. The fact that, like. Because it, like, you know, Covid especially, like, it. That whole, like, just the narrative and feeling around Covid, like, tore families apart just from, like, how you per. How you put. Perceived it. And I think I'm hoping younger kids are able to, like, see it and be like, oh, okay. They get more kind of aware of, like, this is what's. Because I was, like, aware enough to read the news when I was in college and be like, yeah, but this. There's interest behind the news. I remember I was on a construction site, and, like, this guy was, like, reading the paper, and he's like, dude, I can't believe. Blah, blah, blah, blah. He's freaking out about an article. I'm like, yeah, but, you know, like, that's because people have interests and they promote certain ideas for. And, like, the guy was just looking at. At me like, no, this is reality. What are you talking.
Miles
Yeah, you're ruining a good time.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. And I had to be like, oh, there's people that don't understand, like, literally, like, critical think. Well, this is how this works. They're just like, no, this is it. This is. That's the words, and that's. That's what they said happened, and that's what happened. What the Are you talking about?
Akash Singh
That's. That's literally all of us.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, that's what I think we're figuring.
Akash Singh
Out now about something.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Like, the things like that are absurd, we'll look at and laugh at. And then there are certain things that I won't question at all. And someone would look at me and be like, that's ridiculous. How could you not question that? You know? Like, it's. It's. I. It's ain't. I'm talking to, like, a conservative buddy who's like. Which is too much government, you know, over. He's too much government influence on things. Like, we need to reduce government. Like, just let business do its thing. And I'm like, you know, Kellogg's will put poison in the cereal. Yeah, they'll do it, right? They did it. And that's why we got the don't put the poison in the cereal commission. Like, it didn't start as the don't put the poisonous cereal. Someone put it in. Yeah, right.
Matt McCusker
Like, exactly. Yeah.
Akash Singh
And then we're like, okay, we gotta make a government company here to stop them from doing it.
Mark Yagnon
You think North Korea feels bad for us? Like, I wonder if a North Korean's like, dude, you guys don't know what to believe. Everyone believes different things.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Like, they're over there. They're over there doing. Being like, dude, we all believe.
Akash Singh
If they weren't hungry, it would be the life. So maybe there's. It's Club Med.
Mark Yagnon
Maybe.
Akash Singh
Maybe they're living it up. Maybe they are.
Mark Yagnon
And our government's like, no, this sucks over there.
Akash Singh
No, they might be living.
Matt McCusker
Sending. You ever hear about the balloons they send to South Korea? South Koreans have been sending them, like, you know, like, cool technology over to North Korea to, like, hey, guys, by the way, there's a whole other world and North Koreans have been. I guess the government's been responding with their own balloons just. With shit. They just send balloons that just fall out of the sky, and they're just a fucking turd from what a great government job.
Akash Singh
I need you to shit in this balloon. I'm going to need to eat for that. No, you don't figure it out.
Matt McCusker
Or she's like, it's like a basket being carried by a bunch of balloons, and eventually they pop and just turn.
Akash Singh
Wow.
Mark Yagnon
Wow.
Akash Singh
They shit.
Matt McCusker
They're like volcano bags. It's filled with.
Akash Singh
Wow.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, man.
Mark Yagnon
I mean, that's wild.
Matt McCusker
That's pretty.
Mark Yagnon
But on this specific issue, I think they might be happier just on this specific part.
Akash Singh
Yeah, it.
Mark Yagnon
It actually, on the information part, it.
Akash Singh
Makes me question all this because it's. It's like, okay, so we have this idea. We live in this, like, free society where there's all this information, and then. But, like, 10 years ago, we would have never questioned, like, what the New York Times wrote or, like, what, you know, CNN or Fox News or anything. And then we live in this age where we're like, oh, maybe mainstream media isn't exactly telling you the truth. And it's like, but if a tiktoker posts it, then it must be real, right? So it's like we've shifted our trust to people who are arguably less trustworthy. Yeah, like just some random. Random person on the Internet that's doing, like, a video where, like, he's imposed in front of a picture.
Mark Yagnon
No, that's convincing, though, bro. Green screen capabilities involved.
Matt McCusker
Especially if you walk into a news station, you're like, oh, Jesus Christ, it looks like so cheap. You're like, this is. Where are all the official information.
Akash Singh
This is how we decided to go to war in Iraq.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I do. Yeah. That's theater. A play theater. Yeah. It really. The. What I think, honestly, is, like, we'll eventually realize that, you know, there's. We're not gonna, like, there's not, like, any brand of logic or thinking that's going to ultimately conquer, you know, like, reality or life in a way that's going to deliver us to some, like, better life. You know what I mean? Like, Republican way is not going to do it. Democrat way is not going to do it. Yeah, there's been, like, a huge push in philosophy from, like, I don't know, the 1500s on where, like, dudes out of nowhere because they used to believe in, like. Like, vampires and demons in the medieval times. Times. And then at one point, these guys started being like, yo, if we just use pure reason, we can, like, figure all this stuff out. And they tried that for, you know, till now, and it's just. It's not working. So it's like, because people are building atom bomb and then, you know, computers. But it's like, if I. I really think if people just start, like, chilling on the political stuff and be like, let me just try to be nice. I'll. I'll read what I read. That's fine. But I'm gonna try to be as nice as possible own garden. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's like a good father.
Miles
Be a good. A lot of y' all screaming about political stuff. Your family hates you.
Matt McCusker
They hate you. Oh, dude, it's.
Miles
You're shouting so and so down for xyz. Your son hates you.
Akash Singh
Yeah, yeah.
Matt McCusker
It's. It's just. It's a complete distraction. It's like, dude.
Mark Yagnon
You know, but it seems into everything, though. Like, the worst is with parenting. Like, my. My girl will send me a tik tok. She's like, yeah, dude, the son is bad.
Akash Singh
Oh.
Mark Yagnon
And I'm like, well, did you get to the end of the video? Because I think at the end, they try to sell you something, and in all these parenting videos, it'll be a.
Matt McCusker
A mom.
Mark Yagnon
Like, what's up, Mommy's. The sun is evil. It will kill your kid. Also, I'm selling baby sunscreen. And it's at the end, and I'm like, you got to see if they're selling it. You don't have to Listen to it.
Matt McCusker
And there's a chance that person's literally AI.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Miles
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
I got tricked. I got. Look, no one's perfect. I got tricked. Recently, I bought a copper water bottle. The doctor being like, if you have your water and copper, it charges it.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
They finally sent it from China. It was stainless steel. On the box, it said material type stainless steel. And I took a magnet to test it, because copper, it's like, it won't. It doesn't have Hold a magnet.
Miles
The copper thing is an ayurvedic thing. Is it really water out of copper?
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
So it turns out it is true.
Matt McCusker
I just got Google. Google even verified it. So I was like, I'm in the clear. And then, like. But it was like, I think it was a fake AI doctor. And they just sent me some stainless steel thing. If you can hook me up, bro.
Akash Singh
I almost got caught with that on TikTok with bonsai. I was getting into bonsai, and I would watch, like, just endless bonsai videos, and I was like, I think I'm gonna buy one.
Miles
This is when I knew he was in a bad place emotionally.
Matt McCusker
Been there, brother. I had a bonsai tree die in my basem.
Akash Singh
Why would you put it in the base? Wait, when did you get into bonsai?
Matt McCusker
Shane bought me a bonsai tree, like, a couple years ago, and I'd already been, like, blabbering to my wife, like, I'm gonna get in a bonsai garden down here. I'm gonna put the youth. Because, like, outside, you can't really control the environment.
Akash Singh
So that's why I wanted to.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. And then I. It was. It was doing all right. Then I was like, I'm gonna put it outside. So the leaves.
Akash Singh
What type of. Do you remember what the tree was?
Matt McCusker
I had a elm. Some sort of elm.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Dude, I was so sad it died. Yeah. It's awesome.
Miles
How'd it die?
Matt McCusker
I was taking care of it.
Akash Singh
Were you wiring?
Matt McCusker
I put it outside.
Akash Singh
Were you doing the wiring and everything?
Matt McCusker
No, no, no. I had it. He got me the bonsai, and then I was trying to, like, just grow it and, like, just control it and trip.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
It got shot by.
Matt McCusker
You were growing up doing it from, like, seed, basically.
Akash Singh
No, no, no. I didn't even buy one. I was just watching. Again, this video is about. I'm like, I want to kind of get into this. I don't know what was going on emotionally, but something that I needed control because that's really what bonsai is. Like, I'll make this tree Go where I want it to go.
Matt McCusker
I'm going to be so much bigger. Compared to.
Akash Singh
It looks big, but it's small. Like, that's the whole concept. It looks old, but it's tiny.
Matt McCusker
They look awesome. Those videos are so cool.
Akash Singh
And the guys that are into it, it's like, I know, I know, I know. But you're eventually going to go through it, and then you're going to get hit by the algorithm by a fucking Banzai video, and you're going to text me, you go, I understand.
Miles
I look forward to that, actually.
Mark Yagnon
How'd you get duped, though?
Akash Singh
This seems all. I almost bought it because I was like, I'm going to buy one. It looked amazing. Amazing. And then I. The comments popped up and they were like, did it? It was horrible. Doesn't look anything like this. And it was a guy who was me, but, like, two weeks ago.
Matt McCusker
And.
Akash Singh
I was like, all right, phew. Thanks, bro. Like, I just want to reach out personally. Like, he came back to the video.
Mark Yagnon
Wow.
Matt McCusker
It was like, yeah.
Akash Singh
He's like, you're not gonna get more people. This one's now. Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Do you garden at all? No. No. You guys garden?
Akash Singh
No. Tell me. I have a. I have a garden that I've. Other people garden, but, like, no. Yeah, I'm big into landscaping.
Matt McCusker
Like, I. I mean, I love it. If you had the bonsai itch start.
Akash Singh
A garden's really nice, but you're actually curating the garden.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I just plant this stuff. I like. Yeah. I go in. I grew, like, a little bit of food. I have, like, a tiny space to do it, but I grew a little bit of food. Then you start learning about, like, I have a flower bed that I like. Plant different flowers and stuff, and it's just. Man, it's amazing.
Akash Singh
It is.
Matt McCusker
Gardening's really, really nice. I have a sego palm. Now, it's. It's just like a house plant, but it was around since the dinosaurs.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Sega palm. It's not really a palm. It's a cycad or something. And they've been around since the dinosaurs.
Miles
Miles knows all this.
Matt McCusker
I don't know. I. I found that out. They're really poisonous for dogs. You got to be careful. But, dude, I've been, like, just burging on my wife, like, you know, that's been around since the dinosaurs, right? She's just like, I. I don't care.
Akash Singh
I tell you guys something about this. Like, bro, I've been in Australia shooting this morning movie for the last two months. Okay. A Week ago, I'm with my wife and we're watching a movie on her on laptop and a message comes up on the laptop and it says, aviva, dog sitter. And I literally turned my wife and I was like, oh, we got a dog. I forgot we had a dog. I don't know what that says about me. I don't know if it's because like, like I have a child now or something, but like I literally, I saw dog sitting. My first reaction was like, the. Is a dog sitter texting? Like I thought she was cheating or something like that. She Pizza Hut or whatever, but I forgot.
Mark Yagnon
It's kind of beautiful though, cuz then you got to come home.
Matt McCusker
You're like, oh, you're here.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, that's kind of nice, you know.
Matt McCusker
Oh my God. What kind of dog you have?
Akash Singh
Golden doodle.
Matt McCusker
Oh, man.
Miles
This is what nobody warns you about.
Akash Singh
With the doodle mix price.
Miles
The high energy. Also super high energy. And if it's big, not the price.
Akash Singh
To buy them, to maintain them, they're just like big.
Miles
And high energy is a lot. Our dog is a half poodle, but he's eight pounds. So when he gets high energy, it's like adorable, a little annoying. When they're 80 pounds and you got a one year old kid, it's a different, It's a different high energy.
Mark Yagnon
Our kind of dog is a bonsai.
Miles
Jumped on my dog's back. My dog used to like his dog and now he hates it.
Akash Singh
She almost killed him. Respect. Respect. It's a she. My dog's a she. I forgot that until right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt McCusker
Wow.
Mark Yagnon
A couple ladies at home.
Akash Singh
I forgot about this dog. What's up, Miles? I have a question.
Mark Yagnon
If we.
Akash Singh
Yes, can.
Mark Yagnon
When you were doing this radio play stuff? I love radio plays.
Akash Singh
I think they're really cool.
Mark Yagnon
I tried to write one once.
Miles
You weren't horny enough.
Mark Yagnon
I wasn't.
Akash Singh
It was a podcast murder mystery. Oh, nice. Cool.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Akash Singh
Did you ever look at crazy the boss died.
Miles
Give this man a raise.
Akash Singh
What happened before you getting murdered? Oh, I didn't even put that together.
Matt McCusker
Still think about the dog.
Akash Singh
We got a podcast. Oh, no.
Matt McCusker
What?
Akash Singh
Honestly, when you said that, I thought you been like a podcast murder mister. I thought that you were just replacing radio show with podcasts.
Mark Yagnon
No, no, no, no.
Akash Singh
But like you're saying a murder takes place on a podcast, who done it?
Mark Yagnon
And the host is really abused by his boss.
Akash Singh
Watch him, watch him, watch him.
Mark Yagnon
Did you ever look into like how Orson Welles did the War of the Worlds 1. Did you ever look into that? That's the alien one, right? The alien one. That's where they are.
Matt McCusker
I've heard of that. I never listened to it.
Mark Yagnon
It's an awesome listen. It's also very fun. Like, basically, in the late 30s, Orson Welles puts out a radio play and.
Akash Singh
Didn'T really do a lot of placements.
Mark Yagnon
In it where he's like, hey, this.
Akash Singh
Is a radio play.
Mark Yagnon
So people are listening to the radio, thinking it's news and it's a war of the worlds. Aliens are invading across America. They're tuning in to different live people across America.
Matt McCusker
Louisiana. Is getting attacked.
Akash Singh
New York, whatever.
Matt McCusker
And.
Akash Singh
Oh, this is when people actually believed it was the aliens.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah. And we're like, steve in Times Square. What are you seeing?
Matt McCusker
Steve?
Mark Yagnon
And he's like, there's a ship above me.
Akash Singh
But do you actually. I don't like. Do you believe that people really felt that way?
Miles
Well, that's apparently.
Matt McCusker
So this is.
Mark Yagnon
This is a fun thing about, like, the whole media narrative.
Akash Singh
Yeah. Nobody actually believed.
Matt McCusker
Dude. My. My mom's aunt watched. My mom's aunt watched Apollo 11. My mom called my. Her aunt one time. Her aunt was from Ireland. She was living in the. And my mom's like, hey, Aileen, how you doing? And she was like, oh, I just feel so bad for. Those poor astronauts are stuck in space. My mom's like, what are you talking about? She's like, they're on right now. They're on the. It was just the movie. Apollo 11. She thought that some dude was 13.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, yeah.
Matt McCusker
She thought the dude was really stuck in space. She was, like, freaking out with my mom. She was praying for them. She was saying a rosary for this guy. This is a movie. She thought it was.
Mark Yagnon
And then she sees Tom Hanks in another movie. She's like, dude, he made it back.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. It's amazing.
Mark Yagnon
Ran across America.
Matt McCusker
It could have been early dimension.
Mark Yagnon
So there were people that thought it was real. Yeah, we got duped by AI.
Akash Singh
Nobody thought it was real.
Matt McCusker
I guarantee they did.
Akash Singh
Five people thought it was real. But the way that they tell the story is, like, everybody was out in the streets, like, the aliens are coming.
Mark Yagnon
This is the fun.
Miles
Why.
Mark Yagnon
Why newspapers the next day, put out a bunch of things were like, this was a mishap.
Akash Singh
And because newspapers getting eclipses, clips by radio. So they wanted radio to be bad and put more regulation. Regulation on radio. So I was right.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
But there were people that did freak out.
Matt McCusker
But it.
Akash Singh
But this is sort of your news media. Yeah. I gotta give him some. I gotta give him some stakes for this radio podcast. Okay, but I'm just saying, was I right or was I not right?
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, you're right.
Akash Singh
I'm rarely wrong about these things. I was right about Ben Carson. What about Ben Carson? You know, that didn't do.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, the heart doctor guy?
Akash Singh
No, the Siamese twins.
Matt McCusker
But you had a Siamese twin. No, the black Republican guy.
Akash Singh
Yeah, he cut them apart.
Miles
He's one of the greatest surgeons in the world.
Akash Singh
That's what they say. But in reality, he just sliced them in half and they died a week later.
Matt McCusker
What?
Akash Singh
Yeah. So he's not good. And I was like, of course, obviously.
Mark Yagnon
But they normally die in one day and then they live seven more days.
Akash Singh
Pretty good.
Matt McCusker
Wait, they die? Why do you cut them in half then? If they die, why don't you just let them be?
Miles
I think they were separated at the hand head like that.
Akash Singh
Oh, yeah.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
And it was hard for one of them to balance.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, true. That makes sense.
Akash Singh
Also, you got your brother nutting all over you when you're upset.
Matt McCusker
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Is it raining?
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Mark Yagnon
The whole thing.
Matt McCusker
That's so difficult, man, having. Yeah. Having your kid just two kids with their heads lumped together.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
I mean, hard.
Akash Singh
Two kids with their heads separate is very difficult.
Matt McCusker
I know. Stuck together. Like, man, this. What kind of. You have to like, V out of bed. Two beds, dude.
Miles
Attached at the head is crazy. Like, I mean, like here, not here. I'm pretty sure it was like here.
Mark Yagnon
But he tried his best. And he's mad at him for trying his best.
Akash Singh
No, I'm not mad at him trying his best, but I'm just like, this is. Yeah, he's just. We're astroturfing this.
Mark Yagnon
But then he also did some hard stuff that was fire.
Akash Singh
What he do was hard.
Mark Yagnon
Like, he did like the first, like.
Akash Singh
Heart transplant or something.
Mark Yagnon
I didn't read his book. Akash did.
Akash Singh
But you read his book.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I read his book.
Akash Singh
Holy hi Hands or whatever.
Miles
Gifted Hands. Yeah, Yeah, I read it like 15 years ago. My cousin told me it was a basketball player.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, this.
Miles
Before he got political. This is legit. Probably like 20 years ago.
Matt McCusker
He was just.
Miles
My cousin was entering med school, read the book and was like, this is a great book. You gonna read it?
Matt McCusker
It's quick. Nice.
Akash Singh
Oh, okay.
Mark Yagnon
It was quick.
Matt McCusker
He was like, yeah, what do you do? That was good.
Miles
He just came from, like, humble beginnings. And then he. He doesn't tell you the. I don't think. He says the kids died seven years later. But he Talked about all the prep that went into it and all that stuff. And again, it's a fairly forgettable read. But you walk away being like, wow, this guy's a nice surgeon. Nice at that.
Mark Yagnon
First neurosurgery on a baby in the womb. There you go.
Akash Singh
First neurosurgery on a baby in the womb. Wow.
Matt McCusker
How do you get in there? Yeah, I'll pull up a double fist.
Akash Singh
See, you got to look into these doctors.
Mark Yagnon
It's also a good surgery because you don't know what the before is.
Akash Singh
You know what I mean?
Mark Yagnon
So the baby comes out, he's kind of dumb. You're like, nah. But he was always dumb.
Akash Singh
He was going to be dumber.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, think about that.
Matt McCusker
That was tough. When he took the stage, I don't think they were ready for how big of a nerd he was going to be politically.
Akash Singh
What?
Matt McCusker
When he took the political stage, he was such a nerd.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
I think, you know, because John Hopkins, neurosurgeon, of course.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah. But they thought it was going to be Republican Obama.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. They thought they need a cool black guy. And they're like, we got. The old white guys were like, just you wait and see what we get.
Miles
They did that with Bobby Jindal. Do you remember that Indian? They brought him out and it was just like, what the are we listening to?
Matt McCusker
Wait, who was that?
Akash Singh
Bobby Jindle.
Miles
He was like, after Obama's second election, I think everyone re election, they brought him out to respond to Obama's State of the Union or something. His name is Bush Jindal, but he went by Bobby. He converted to Christianity. He was from Louisiana, had this wild ass accent.
Matt McCusker
Like I remember.
Miles
And it was just a brutal. Like everybody. Indians hated him. And white people were like, what the is this thing?
Matt McCusker
It's just.
Miles
It was a real nightmare.
Matt McCusker
That's why I gotta check them out. They're trying stuff out.
Mark Yagnon
Yeah, exactly. You guys just throw stuff at the wall a little bit, you know, olive oil, you know, just see what happens, you know, give it a spin, dude. Nothing wrong with that.
Akash Singh
Wait, before you.
Miles
I know you have a hard out before you go, there's a great clip of you just ripping. Just shredding on a guitar. We saw that clip. Mark Agon brought a guitar.
Matt McCusker
What?
Mark Yagnon
Oh, I could play.
Matt McCusker
I could play a little bit. That'd be nice.
Miles
I mean, it was awesome.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I've been playing since high school, but I've never. I didn't really learn how to like read music or anything, but I kind of like my brother's really good. So he kind of showed me the chords and stuff.
Akash Singh
I have a question about guitar. Piano. Like, I understand, I understand like the organization of it. With guitar, like would you say like you fluently understand the instrument?
Matt McCusker
Not fluently, but I know where like the main. A lot of the main chords and notes are and you just, you just memorize them up and down the string. So like piano is nice because it's laid out flat.
Akash Singh
It's very simple. But I feel like I can, I can play things on the piano that I can't play, but I can kind of sound them out and I can.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, you can find your way around.
Akash Singh
I do not feel that way. And I took like guitar lessons. I was younger, but I've never felt that with guitar. So can you.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, I can. I mean, you know, like the basic chords. Like this is E, right? This is like a core. So this is the A. So he's kind of. It's like either F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A. So you just kind of like these are your bar chords. You kind of like find your root note and then you can like. So this is E. The scale is going to be around the chord and then it kind of goes all up and down.
Akash Singh
What does that mean? The scale is going to be around the chord.
Matt McCusker
So like this is A, right? Yeah, that you can start in like the pentatonic around this chord shape and just kind of go like.
Akash Singh
Oh, all of what you're playing is A in that when you're individually picking. Yeah.
Matt McCusker
And that's the minor. So if I'm in A, I can even shift back here and play A, like a major sound like.
Akash Singh
And then.
Matt McCusker
Come back into A minor.
Akash Singh
What makes something major or minor?
Matt McCusker
Just the sound like this is A minor is like kind of sad sounding sound. A little nervous, but it's so hard to play on the spot.
Akash Singh
Oh, hell yeah.
Miles
Fire.
Akash Singh
Take this away, my boy.
Matt McCusker
So I just like mess around in my office.
Akash Singh
So is this you riffing? This is like. This is not a specific song you're playing.
Matt McCusker
Play. So you can learn how to kind of go like.
Akash Singh
Little Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, a little.
Akash Singh
Yeah, I like that.
Matt McCusker
The different chords.
Akash Singh
Can you play some Bad Bunny?
Matt McCusker
I don't have no idea.
Akash Singh
Do you play for your lady?
Matt McCusker
I don't really play for her. I'll just kind of. She'll usually be like, stop ignoring her and the kids. So like if you learn like this is like. So if I'm an A, you can sit here and then you go to like the, the 145 is a pattern. If you want to play the blues, you literally just go like. So you can stay here and go, go the next one and you're back to the thing.
Akash Singh
And how many different chords are you playing in that?
Matt McCusker
Just three.
Akash Singh
And where you play the chord on the. What is this called? Fretboard. The fretboard, like where you play, does it affect the chord itself or is the arrangement of your fingers always the same chord no matter what?
Matt McCusker
No. So like this is an A here.
Akash Singh
Yeah.
Matt McCusker
Then you can play the other. Like these are like the cowboy chords up here. This is also an A cu. This is your A root note.
Akash Singh
And you go, that's. So that's the same chord.
Matt McCusker
Yeah, but this gives you more like versatility. So you can go like.
Akash Singh
The other is a bar chord. Cuz you're holding the whole.
Matt McCusker
Oh yeah. Then you can go. You know what I mean? So it's like, you know. And then you can play the minors, like.
Akash Singh
And what about using your thumb? Is that controversial?
Matt McCusker
They say not to, but if you want to play like. So if I want to solo and play, I can go. So you're in like a. I'm doing like an abbreviated version of this. But you can kind of play.
Miles
I haven't understood a single thing you said, but it sounded awesome.
Mark Yagnon
I feel like if you knew this while you're getting robbed, it would have really helped. It was like, let's just all take a breath. Oh, thank you.
Matt McCusker
Yamaha myself. But yeah, you know, just while away the hours. Kind of nice.
Mark Yagnon
Do you know what we can sing along to?
Akash Singh
Oh yeah.
Matt McCusker
What song would you know that you can sing along to? I can maybe find it.
Mark Yagnon
Just anything, Just something that just kind of symbolizes the power of friendship.
Matt McCusker
Yeah. Oh, hell yeah.
Mark Yagnon
Early in the morning Rising to the street Light me up that's cigarette. And I'll strap shoes on my feet Got to find a reason reason things went wrong Got to find a reason why my money's all gone I got.
Akash Singh
A dalmatian I can still get high.
Mark Yagnon
I can play the guitar like a.
Miles
Riot.
Matt McCusker
I used to know the solo. I forget. Well, either way.
Akash Singh
Make sure you check out Netflix special October 7th. Obviously. Listen to Matt and Shane's secret podcast and look out for the radio play coming in the near future and books and many other creative endeavors.
Matt McCusker
Thank you.
Akash Singh
Thank you so much for taking us.
Matt McCusker
You guys roll, bro.
Akash Singh
Thank you. Thank you, bro. Appreciate that.
Podcast: Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant with Akaash Singh
Episode: Matt McCusker on Bad Bunny Super Bowl, Life as a Drug Dealer, + Schulz is Back
Date: October 1, 2025
Guest: Matt McCusker (comedian, podcaster)
This episode dives into the unfiltered life and comic mind of Matt McCusker, acclaimed comedian and podcaster. The hosts (Andrew Schulz, Akaash Singh, with frequent input from Mark Gagnon and Miles) explore Matt’s years as a drug dealer, his transition away from that life, his perspectives on parenting, therapy, and religion, the cultural significance of Bad Bunny as a Super Bowl act, and an eclectic mix of riffs on pop culture, relationships, and society.
“I try to make the argument that selling drugs is addictive in itself. Did it for, like, 15 years. I quit, embarrassingly, not that long ago.” — Matt McCusker [00:00]
“The big one...this actually, like, kind of rocked me...It was in a house, owed me $15,000, four pounds of weed on the table, then a guy in a ski mask with a gun...” — Matt McCusker [30:57]
“Not till later...I slowly watched how fucked up they became from opiates. Never again.” — Matt McCusker [21:02]
“So I told my wife. I was like, I'm gonna have a pound of weed on me forever...But then I had kids...Once I had kids, this is a big thing for me.” — Matt McCusker [45:15, 46:13]
“I went to a therapist...I thought I was gonna blow this lady’s socks off…She just gutted me. She was like, ‘Why do you think that?’” — Matt McCusker [49:45]
“But then we were talking. I was like, oh, the NFL is just trying to be an international brand...So Bad Bunny might represent all the people who don't watch the Super Bowl. So you actually inserting him at the halftime show might be the perfect thing...” — Akaash Singh [08:48–09:52]
“The fact that this is also happening with, like, social trends...reaction channels react to these people and then, then it becomes truth. Like something that’s completely fabricated and astroturfed becomes the reality.” — Akaash Singh [85:00]
“How much of the things we’re seeing are just some random person curating an idea of something and that being repeated nonstop and algorithmically fed to us until it just kind of becomes reality?” — Akaash Singh [87:06]
“I stopped masturbating...I've been pretty successful. So I told her, look, obviously you hate if I watch porn...so I'm like, that's awesome. But it's your thing now.” — Matt McCusker [72:54]
“Once I let go of that whole thing, I just feel like it’s just more and more now. And they can tell, too, when you’re, like, gooned. When you’ve been, like, watching the porn...They know, dude. They can feel the difference.” — Matt McCusker [74:53]
“If I ever raise my voice, I apologize...That’s wrong for—I shouldn’t do that, but, you know...you need to do this.” — Matt McCusker [58:43]
“Now does that change with kids?...Yeah, big time. That’s when I stopped.” — Akash Singh & Matt McCusker [45:10–45:12]
“Black church, way more fun. I just feel like I’m kind of ruining it. Like, just a white guy...I feel like they can’t go as hard.” — Matt McCusker [61:02]
“It’s about a gang of bikers who create a meth so powerful it turns them all gay. They're just, like, you know, like stem fapping.” — Matt McCusker [10:23, 10:29]
“I've been playing since high school...You just memorize them up and down the string. Piano is nice because it’s laid out flat.” — Matt McCusker [114:07]
This episode is a wild, honest ride through Matt McCusker’s unconventional career arc, exploring the real highs and heavy costs of an outlaw-adjacent lifestyle, why and how people change, and the comic absurdity of modern media, masculinity, and parenthood. The Flagrant crew’s energetic, sometimes chaotic, always authentic banter ensures there’s as much laughter as insight—whether on getting robbed with $15k on the table, rethinking what counts as a “real job,” or why going porn-free might be the ultimate marriage hack.