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Coffeez with Joe Shalaby
S2 Ep. 3 | Building Creative Spaces ft. Vince Ricci | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby
00:49:32
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- [00:00]
Host
Some people dream of building a creative empire. Vince Ricci actually did it. From working with the biggest brands in the world to redefining what a creative space can be, he built Hubble Studios into a powerhouse for photography, fashion and content. But success didn't happen overnight. It took hustle, vision, and knowing exactly how to sell creativity as a business. So how do you go from an idea to, to a multimillion dollar studio that brands and artists fight to work with? That's what we're breaking down today with the man himself, Vince Ricci, creative hustler, badass. Welcome to Coffees.
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Co-Host
Welcome, brother.
- [00:44]
Vince Ricci
That was some, that was some entry.
- [00:45]
Co-Host
I appreciate, I appreciate the patience and the retake.
- [00:48]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [00:49]
Co-Host
Vince, I'm blessed and honored to be sitting here with you in your beautiful studio. An incredible, incredible facility, and you're just such an incredible guy. You know, really, really, it's an absolute blessing to be sitting with you here right now. I like to start the show off with a general question I like to ask every founder that I get to sit with. And what is Vince Ricci's morning routine?
- [01:10]
Vince Ricci
Oh, my morning routine. I wake up around 6:15. By 7:15 my wife's breaking my balls. And then, you know, it's the rest of the day after that. I'm joking with you. I wake up in the morning. Since we have a new child, we split our routine in the morning, but we wake the baby up together. So we go, I wake up about 6:15, start getting ready at 7 on the dot. We go in and we wake our daughter together so that you know, she gets very secure with the both of us. We wake up with positive energy. We go in smiling, super happy. She's happy and she's excited to start the day. And then after that I change the baby, dress her up. My wife gets time to change and get ready and then we take a walk to the coffee shop together. We talk about whatever's going on that day. Since my wife is the director of Hubble Studio and we obviously work together, so we get to start the day. We're talking about what's plans for the rest of the day, things we need to address, hot topics, anything like that. We sit down, we have a cup of coffee because the coffee shop's within walking distance of my house. I walk back, give my wife a kiss, my daughter kiss, and I head to work.
- [02:18]
Co-Host
Nice. I mean that's a blessing to get the opportunity to work with your wife. And she's like not only your life partner, but pretty much your business partner.
- [02:27]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
So That's. That dynamic is fluid. I mean, it seems like you guys rocking the same shoes.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
You know, you guys, true best friends, have a relationship I really admire.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah. Well, I pick what we wear. Not joking. My wife's beautiful. So it's funny, when our first date, I asked her how, like, how many sneakers do you have? She was like, you mean tennis shoes? She's like, I don't really wear tennis shoes like that. And I said, oh, that'll change.
- [02:51]
Co-Host
And then you got them. You wear them in a certain fashion. I like that.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
Shoes untied and.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
You know, that's pretty cool.
- [02:59]
Vince Ricci
Thank you. I think you know what it is because we call it a decade of culture here because we're behind the scenes of everything that's happening. Like just yesterday we were shooting Represent. It's a brand, it's super prominent brand from the UK that's in LA now, and they're doing a lot. And we're so blessed to see what happens before it's happening. That I felt like my interpretation of culture and fashion and art and design was what I was seeing before the whole world was seeing it.
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Co-Host
Yeah.
- [03:27]
Vince Ricci
Talking to people, getting to talk to directors, producers, designers, creative directors, art directors, everybody. Directors of photography, photographers, videographers. And understanding how the creative mind works. And then with understanding that, I was able to look into that lens and then a reflection of myself and say, well, what do I like? What do I want to take on? And not manipulating what I seen for myself, but creating my own style and running with that, which is very simple. So the things that I actually like are not usually what I wear because I dress very simple. But knowing how to design for others, knowing how to curate for others, writing treatment for different companies, because we really do see what the mood is getting set, you know, what trends are starting from typography, the color theory on set to everything. And I mean, it's been a lot of fun, man.
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Co-Host
You're at the forefront of everything from fashion to art to music. I mean, everything. You're like the hippest dad.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah. Oh, man, I can't believe now I'm saying to myself, I'm a dad. I'm like, oh, my God, about to be a dad of two.
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Co-Host
I know.
- [04:38]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
But, you know, maintain that level of relativity into their, like tens, twelve when they're fifteen, and be like, man, my dad's a cultural icon.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah. I actually ran into Mike Amiri the other day and I remember our first photo shoot here was when I first started. And now he's literally probably one of the most relevant designer brands out there. I think he just beat Saint Laurent in global sales. And I seen him that last week having lunch. I said, damn. He told me how old these kids were because we were talking about my daughter. And I was like, damn, you're looking great. And he was like, you know, consistency, because we follow each other about the gym. And I'm like, you know, this guy will always be relevant. He'll always know what's going on. He'll always stay ahead. He's just got it. And we have this whole era of TikTok and all these other new trends and TikTok dances and whatnot. Like we talked about the 11 year old to 20 year old relevance. But then there's those real shapers, those real industry leaders that do set the tone for what's going on. Do you remember the scene in Devil Wears Prada?
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Co-Host
Yeah.
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Vince Ricci
With cerulean blue. Do you remember that scene?
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Co-Host
No, no. Remind me.
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Vince Ricci
She. She said, well, I'm not really into fashion. She said, but yeah, because. Because you don't know why you bought that secondhand sweater. But it was. Who was it? I forget the designer. I don't know if somebody could tell me. But you guys don't remember either. But it was Bottega Veneto, somebody that set the tone the season before and then went down and went down and went down the line to now a secondhand shop of why you're wearing that color. And these high end people who do make decisions really do set the tone and they're always gonna be relevant and fighting to stay there.
- [06:19]
Co-Host
Exactly. Now, what age did you start in the creative space?
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Vince Ricci
I think I've always been inclined because I'm from the Bronx, New York. And just being from New York, I feel like you were always led to have your own authentic style. And being from where hip hop started, where breakdancing started, where all these other places started was so big. Music was so relevant. I remember being in the third grade and knowing what songs came out. Like I heard songs on the radio that day and I told my wife I was in the fourth grade when the song came out. I was in sixth grade when the song came out. Like I remember specifically, and I don't.
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Co-Host
Know what it is with New Yorkers. Clinton Sparks was on the show last week and he's just so relative. Yeah, you know, you know Clinton.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah, of course.
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Co-Host
And did you know him from New York?
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Vince Ricci
No, no, no.
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Co-Host
So how did you get started in the creative space?
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Vince Ricci
Honestly, just, I feel like having Good style and being around a lot of creative people. People would always ask me, hey, would you want to come on and as a consultant for this company, you want to come on and just consult them from style perspective. And I originally came out, he had to help a company that was launching an apparel company, then being on set with a producer friend of mine and giving my advice, which led to then being in the industry.
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Co-Host
And then you took creative style and then converted just the creative style into entrepreneurship, which is pretty much like impossible to do. Yeah, I mean, who's gonna say I'm gonna make money with my creativeness and then start like a fashion empire?
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Vince Ricci
I mean, I think, I think always having understanding fiduciary duty to a company, understanding the well being of a company and having to make good decisions and led me to be a good entrepreneur because I was able to balance out whether this was a good enough risk, whether I was risking other people's money when I was risking this, and then saying, hey, but always staying true to myself and saying, do I think this is relevant? Would I buy this? Tom Ford talks about it. He says, I'm my number one consumer, I'm cultured, I have disposable income, I understand what I like. And those are the people I target when I design for. Because once they buy, they're in and then they lead other people to then come by and they pay attention to what they're buying. So it's got to be curated.
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Co-Host
So the entry point from entrepreneurship and fashion, when did that happen?
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Vince Ricci
Probably about 12 years ago. I was in LA and I started to realize that there were so many successful people that were launching brands that were doing things that weren't even showing up on time.
- [09:00]
Co-Host
They were like, they don't got that New York grind.
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Vince Ricci
It's almost unbelievable. I'm like, I don't even know how you survived this long, let alone successful. And then they would take money from people, raise money and do this and they didn't really care what was going to happen. And I would be like, well, it almost made me sick to my stomach. I'd be watching like, oh my God. And then you meet people like Dan, who's so authentic, Dan Fleshman, who we were talking about. And really Dan set the tone for a lot of things I was doing. I remember my first meeting with him, he was like, I got like 10 minutes and then we started talking and he's like, you know what, just join me for dinner. And then he's like, a friend of mine's coming and Steve Aoki walked in, and then a couple other guys walked in who were pretty well known. And then it's actually funny. My buddy who was just on a TV show at the Jersey Shore, my friend Ronnie was. Was coming to meet me, and I was like, that got. I got a guy who's coming that's a little famous, you know, I feel, like, have a little presence in the room, you know? And Dan elevated everything I was doing. He made me believe that it was possible. So anytime I was doing something, he'd be like, oh, I'm gonna introduce you to this person. Oh, we're gonna do this. Oh, let's do this. Through a friend of mine, Jeff, who was actually his barber at the time.
- [10:13]
Co-Host
So you met Dan Fleischman through a barber?
- [10:15]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
That's awesome. You didn't have to work that hard.
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Vince Ricci
No, thank God. And he's like, oh, I'm gonna introduce this guy Dan. He does a lot of stuff and blah, blah. Then I knew who he was, and I was like, all right, cool. That's awesome. And that was literally. Dan's been within text messages every day since then with me.
- [10:34]
Co-Host
What a blessing. And you met him through the barrier to entry. To meet him for you was like, whoa, that was a godsend.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah. I mean, that guy ended up becoming pretty famous himself, the kid. Jeff Barber. Yeah. Ended up doing his own thing. He was a big influencer. He's a huge influencer. He does really well.
- [10:48]
Co-Host
That's awesome. So what do you think? Some of the things that really distinguish Hubble Studios from other studios here in la? Cause you're the top. Are you the number one studio in la?
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Vince Ricci
I think. I mean, I owe a lot to Milk, to Milk Studios. We did a lot of work together in the beginning. They really let the forefront for the photo and film industry to create a culture. They created the culture in New York 30 years ago like nowhere else. It made it sexy, it made it fun. It made, like, showing up there somewhere. You evoked a feeling inside of you when you showed up, because you knew all this famous stuff had happened here. You knew these people were here. You knew these creative people came in, and it's like, you know, I would kind of imagine walking into the Oval Office of all the things that happened there. You know, not as serious as that, but, you know, on a different level. And I did a lot of work with Milk in the beginning, and they really helped me out and then took my own ability to make people feel first class, make people feel seen. I talk about it like the Beverly Hills Hotel. If anyone is ever fortunate enough to stay there, it's the best place in the world to stay because they are so loving, caring, considerate.
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Co-Host
You can't just go to Beverly Hills Hotel and stroke a check and go, yeah, I guess be invited.
- [12:02]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. No, I mean fortunate enough where it's pretty expensive or whatever, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, anybody listening? Like, it's an experience because they're so attentive and the hospitality is number one. So I think that what we separate ourselves is that we make everybody feel seen. And when you feel seen and you tend to be a little more vulnerable, then you're willing to open up. And when you're willing to open up, you're gonna immerse a whole different creative side of yourself. You're willing to do things you're not gonna want to do. Say you took an art class and there's a bunch of people in the class and you realize, like, wow, I'm the worst drawer in here. I'm the worst painter in here. It's cold, the music's too loud, no one's even paying attention to me. I wanted to draw something kind of crazy, but let me just stick to my stick figure sketch that I'm good at. You know what I mean? You're going to stick it to very limited stuff, and people feel like they're judging you or whatever. Or you walk in another class where they're really there to guide you and they're loving and they're open and they. And everyone's drinking wine, everyone's hanging out. Then you're just going to draw whatever wild thing your imagination can come up with. That's essentially what we do here. We make you feel vulnerable, to open up. And whatever crazy stuff that you want to do, we'll light it, we'll set it up, we'll produce it, we'll help you do everything you can to bring this imagination that you have to life.
- [13:21]
Co-Host
I love that you invoke vulnerability because that's truly how creation happens. And you know, I'm in a space where there's not a lot of creation, right? Like, I'm one of the few big, big creators in our industry, the mortgage industry, a financial industry. And people, like, look at me like I'm crazy because I'm in a financial sector. Like, the hell you doing? Creating. Yeah, but creating brings a whole new element to a dynamic. Whatever it is, whether it's boring or whether it's fashion's, you gotta be a creator. But the financial space, like there's Not a lot of room for creators, but like, even for me, I'm asking just for my own development of creation. Like, how are you invoking creation?
- [14:08]
Vince Ricci
I think by making people feel seen, they gotta feel seen, they gotta feel loved. And I don't want people to leave here with an impact that they were like, oh, they're egotistical or they're elite or they're, you know, when someone just like gives you that look that you're wasting their time. We make everybody come in here and you don't know what they went on that day in their life. You don't know how bad their morning was or who they just lost in their life that they loved. It could be the worst day of their life. But you walk in here and when someone greets you with even a smile and they're willing to help you and they're willing to do this, they're going to leave and say, you know, I just love the way they make me feel. I love the way they make me feel seen. And I want to create and I want to, you know, take this idea and cook it up and then toss it in the air and make it live on its own. And people start to focus on that, whether it was a video, a song overlay, a picture, just a design. And then that inspires other people, you know, and it's got to be immersed from a feeling inside. But that's got to be a human to human connection. And that's why I care so much about that.
- [15:12]
Co-Host
That's awesome. Now there's a lot of people, young people that want to get into the creative space and obviously they have forces against them. What advice would you give to a young person right now who wants to get into the creative space?
- [15:31]
Vince Ricci
As much as it sounds crazy, you got to care what people think you do. It's not that you have to win over everybody or you just need to be an influencer, but you got to care if nobody likes what you're making, if you're not here to entertain or please anybody, nobody's gonna really give a. Give a damn what you're doing, you know what I mean? And you're not really impacting anybody else other than yourself. So you do gotta care. And I think there's keep on a certain level of authenticity, making sure you're not copying every single thing that's on TikTok, you know, and doing what you say you're gonna do. So many people fall into this, this zone of like, oh, we have a tightly coupled company which is a manufacturing company or something like that. Or a loosely coupled company, which is a creative company, tech company, where we could kind of make our own decisions and do what we want. We have our own autonomy in our position. It's not so loosely coupled that nothing is together, you know what I mean? And they start to believe that it's. That it's so loose coupled. I don't need to show up on time. I could work remotely from Arizona or Nebraska for a job that's in New York City or wherever it is that I don't need to wake up on their schedule. You know, you still gotta fall to some normality, some like some sort of schedule, some sort of thing where, like, you're dependable. Like I say, you know what? I can count on this person. They're very dependable. They do what they say they're gonna do. They're accountable. Even though it's creativity, you still have to be accountable. And that's where you're starting to see the people who are super creative, but they're dependable, really succeeding. And the people who are so artistic and out there and eccentric, they're kind of becoming not relevant. Because you could just go to AI and make something crazy and not need somebody who's kind of a pain to deal with.
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Co-Host
Yeah.
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Vince Ricci
You know what I mean? That's what I would say.
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Co-Host
I mean, piggybacking on AI. I have two questions to follow up. Do you think AI is impacting the creative space to improve it, take away jobs, enhance it. What's your opinion on how AI is impacting your space?
- [17:29]
Vince Ricci
I think that it's getting rid of a lot in monotonous jobs. I think it's getting rid of a lot of jobs like that. People who just write copy, different writers and different things like that. I think that you're going to take somebody who's highly ambitious, who utilizes everything that's willing to keep being progressive and moving forward and paying attention to what's coming out and engineering in a forward perspective. And they are going to crush the world. They're going to do phenomenal because they're able to just put things together. I was in a meeting in New York with somebody pretty big, and the guy's a billionaire. And he said, all right, write a proposal for that and write it off a letter. Call your lawyer. Write it off a letter right now. I text my lawyer. He didn't answer my, oh, my God, like, I got to get this done right now. While I'm in this office. Like, I cannot. I'm sitting out sweating this is about a month ago. I texted my wife, I said, you need to go to AI right now to ChatGPT and I need a legally binding offer letter right now for this. And within three minutes she had it back. It sounded amazing. I said, check your email, it's in there. Didn't impress the guy at all. Like that was just what was needed to be done.
- [18:39]
Co-Host
That was a requirement.
- [18:40]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, that was what needed to be done. Do I think that he thought I used AI? I highly doubt this 69 year old guy thought I was using AI, but it got done. And for all the people out there, for other kids from the Bronx or from here or from there that have a nothing, if you've got a ChatGPT account, you got everything. You don't have to pay a lawyer, you don't gotta pay these people.
- [19:00]
Co-Host
And you saved 500 bucks right there.
- [19:02]
Vince Ricci
Oh, easily $500 and about three hours of annoying conversations. Then my lawyer talks at a slow, slow pace.
- [19:08]
Co-Host
They saved like three grand.
- [19:10]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, literally, probably. But for the people who use it, they're gonna take over the world.
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Co-Host
Yeah, it's gonna be, I mean, a whole new world to see what our kids are gonna do, what AI is going to do in the next couple years.
- [19:25]
Vince Ricci
It's going to set the path of like going from running a six minute mile to running a three minute mile. You know, the person who's going to be ahead that could use it is going to be so far ahead, they're going to be able to outperform so much more.
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Co-Host
Yeah. Now, I wanted to ask this prior, but what mindset do you think one must have right now to win in this environment, in the creative space?
- [19:52]
Vince Ricci
Killer execution. If you're not executing, you're not doing anything. People went from buying two shirts a year to two shirts a week. You know, it is completely different. That's just apparel. But the amount of content that needs to get put out is unbelievable. You just need to keep executing, keep executing, keep executing, keep thinking it and, and don't gloat over your wins and don't worry about your losses. Just keep making, keep creating, keep moving forward. And that's it. And that's the mindset you need to have. But that's the exciting part. Like if you're not creating, it's like I was just thinking about it. I was listening to a podcast yesterday about somebody moved to Montana and I said, oh my God. I mean, Montana is going to be beautiful, but there's nothing to create there for me. I need to be in the middle of it, you know, no matter how well I do New York, you've always.
- [20:41]
Co-Host
Been in the middle of it.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah, I love it.
- [20:44]
Co-Host
Yeah. I mean, now you're in la, you're in the hub.
- [20:46]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
Literally creative hub. Well, I mean, I think New Bronx is. Actually. Might be in the same line League of Creativity now.
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Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
Right. Because you also have a place in the Bronx still.
- [20:57]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, I own some buildings in the Bronx and I still stay in New York when I'm there in the city on 54th Street. I lived in 54th Street. I just moved out. Now I'm going to move downtown.
- [21:06]
Co-Host
And how does New York compare in terms of, like, the creative space to la?
- [21:11]
Vince Ricci
I think that LA is beautiful, the weather's beautiful. You know, they're both. You know, they're both going through their own growing pains right now, I would say. But I think that New York, you just. When you show up, you know, there's no time for nonsense. I have people there to work. Everybody in the world comes there because they want to succeed. It's like Hong Kong, New York and London.
- [21:35]
Co-Host
I don't know why we don't have that grit here in la. It's too beautiful from a different cloth. Every New Yorker I know out hustles anybody here in la. I love hiring New Yorkers.
- [21:47]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. I think there's. You hold no punches. That's it. Tell it how it is.
- [21:54]
Co-Host
Now, how do you balance the strong creative vision of. Of all the different celebrities that are coming in here with what Hubble Studios is distinctly known for? You got all these celebrities coming in here demanding this and that.
- [22:08]
Vince Ricci
I think because we're known, we're a blank canvas, and you could splash paint, lights, this, that, everything you want all over it, and then we just wipe it all clean and do it all over again. And we're here to create whatever you want. It's like going to the art store and buying a canvas. You don't know what the next. Who's the next Basquiat or who's gonna create the next greatest thing, you know?
- [22:30]
Co-Host
Yeah.
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Vince Ricci
But we're there to provide for you.
- [22:33]
Co-Host
Who are some of the biggest names that you've worked with that you like the most?
- [22:37]
Vince Ricci
I think everybody's great.
- [22:39]
Co-Host
I mean, dude, it's hard not to like you, though.
- [22:41]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [22:41]
Co-Host
You love everybody.
- [22:42]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. I think. I mean, listen, when people come here, whether they're pissed off or whether they're, you know, they ignore someone that's there for whatever it is, or they're great or they're a Pleasure to work with. They're here to work, and I understand that. So I take it with a grain of salt and I say, listen, we're here to help these people create. And you don't know where they're going through. There's a lot of celebrities that come in and they are so shy or they don't have makeup on, and they make sure that they don't want to be seen, and they're insecure deep down inside it. But then when the camera turns on, they're a whole different person. These people are their own human. You know, they still suffer from the human condition, and they still, you know, have their own things that aggravate them, their own triggers. So none of that ever pisses me off or bothers me. I don't take it personal. So I genuinely love doing what I do so much. That good or bad, I think that everybody here is a creative, and I respect them the same way, and I like them kind of the same way.
- [23:39]
Co-Host
Love that. Now, congratulations are in order for you. You got a baby coming on the way, and you already have one, so you're going to be a father of two. Now, one thing I've said this already repeatedly, is I really admire your grit, your hustle. You've been like, you know, you've built a big organization, very successful entrepreneur, and you've been fortunate enough to be cut from a different cloth, which is, you know, you didn't start this way. Now, I'm also a father, come from poor roots like yourself. One thing that I always ask, and this is good parenting, you know, advice for those listening and even for myself as a father, is how are you going to instill that same level of grit that you have right now into your children?
- [24:27]
Vince Ricci
I think about this every day. Accountability. If I say no, it means no without doing it without yelling and, you know, letting her fall and letting them get back up on their own. And when the minute we start walking, we ain't crawling, we're back on our feet, you know, and it's like, you do these things and you almost expect them. It's not really going to happen. But I kept saying, back on your feet, on your feet, on your feet. And she didn't crawl. One day after the day she took her first step, it's almost unbelievable. And then I can continue that for the rest of her life and holding her to a higher level, and she's Italian American, and. And that means a lot. And we're the last of a dying breed, and we gotta show up and.
- [25:10]
Co-Host
You'Re also a man of faith.
- [25:12]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
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Co-Host
You making sure. How are you instilling that level of same faith? I mean, you got St. Mary on you.
- [25:18]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [25:18]
Co-Host
You know, in this crazy world, especially la, where, you know, the influences are next level, you know, to take away that, you know, that level of faith from your family.
- [25:33]
Vince Ricci
I mean, I grew up one way. Oh. I'm Roman Catholic, you know what I mean? And I feel like Italians take a lot of pride in that. Who are Catholic. True believers. My mother put it on myself when I was a little kid. God is in your heart. Yeah. I mean, and people that don't possess religion, I'm not saying they're bad people at all, but you lose a certain level of integrity. Like, you know, God's always watching. Well, I can't throw a straw wrapper on the ground. I know he's gonna screw me later on today, so I'm gonna pick it up. You know what I mean? Something's gonna happen. I'm gonna get a ticket or whatever. But once you start to comprehend that. That God is always in your heart and you gotta follow, you know, if you can't make it to the bathroom one time, you gotta pray to God that you make it there. Cause you can't have that happen at work. You know what I mean? But every single thing. But even as silly as that. But you say you pray and you ask God for his guidance and forgiveness. And it just. I mean, the reason why I'm still here, I'm 38 years old. I had a long life, and I'm just scratching the surface of being successful. And I thank God every day and ask him for guidance and I think instilling that into my children and whoever has something to say, that's great, that could be for them, but they and us.
- [26:43]
Co-Host
And so you're raising her Catholic? All the sacraments, 100%.
- [26:46]
Vince Ricci
She's baptized.
- [26:47]
Co-Host
Awesome. Yeah, awesome. I mean, you know, we're fortunate enough to have all those sacraments. And I'm, you know, it's such a.
- [26:54]
Vince Ricci
Blessing, I feel like, for people who don't have that. I almost don't understand. But I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about it because I'm not really concerned what they're doing. I'm concerned what I'm doing. God has sent me signs to show me he's there. You know, in my worst days, he was there. My best days, thank God, he protected me and got me there, and that's where my family will follow.
- [27:16]
Co-Host
Yeah. I mean, one of the Biggest pillars. Right, One of the biggest pillars now because it's a blank canvas here. Do you have any like restrictions or policies for like shoots or. It's just a total blank slate. Every single time.
- [27:33]
Vince Ricci
We charge a smoking fee for $1500.
- [27:37]
Co-Host
Oh, there is, yeah.
- [27:38]
Vince Ricci
But I also own a cannabis company and we gift some celebrities weed, but then we tell them they're not allowed to smoke it here.
- [27:45]
Co-Host
But if you give it to them, you charge them 1500 bucks.
- [27:47]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, there you go. But if you smoke it. Yeah, you gotta give me fifteen hundred dollars.
- [27:53]
Co-Host
So vents out easy then.
- [27:55]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, we haven't vented out, but I tell people all the time that's probably the number one thing is because you don't want to leave something that intrudes on the next person that's coming in. Ability to.
- [28:06]
Co-Host
Yeah.
- [28:07]
Vince Ricci
To create. And when you smoke, it smells.
- [28:09]
Co-Host
Yeah. You know, like weed session in here and then the church comes in after.
- [28:15]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [28:15]
Co-Host
Sets up for Sunday night.
- [28:16]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, I gotta charge 1500 a person. Not even one time smoker fee. Every time I catch you, it's 1500. But we get to wave. We wave that a lot. But that's probably number one. One of the number one things. I'm pretty open minded to, to most things. But other than that, nothing too crazy has crossed my mind that's happened. People being disrespectful. We had to shut it down a little bit.
- [28:41]
Co-Host
Yeah. You know, it's a beautiful facility. So have you had anyone get really crazy? Do these rappers get crazy or these celebrities?
- [28:47]
Vince Ricci
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. We had a. We were doing a YG video shoot one time and I guess somebody was hooking up in the bathroom, broke the sink off the counter. And then it was probably about 1:00 in the morning and they called Tina to come in there or Tina had to go and look and they were surrounded by all these people and they said, oh, we were just leaning on it. And she goes, it's pretty awesome. Somebody's butt mark is still on the sink.
- [29:15]
Co-Host
Oh my God.
- [29:16]
Vince Ricci
But he's a great guy. He actually is a super good guy.
- [29:19]
Co-Host
Yg.
- [29:19]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. Super cool. And I love having him back.
- [29:24]
Co-Host
And this is something my team wanted me to ask, but what's the craziest idea you've pitched here? It could be PG if it's too crazy. You don't have to say it. But what's the crazy idea? Craziest idea you've been pitched here at Apple Studios.
- [29:39]
Vince Ricci
Oh. Oh, yeah. That was pretty nuts.
- [29:43]
Co-Host
I think I almost expected that answer.
- [29:45]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. For Jared Leto's birthday party, album release party, they did a live. And they also wanted a 120 ton tank inside here, parked inside. And they were going to paint it, like do just like a live painting session, a real tank. And when it rolled up, I couldn't believe it was a real. Like a huge army tank right here. Literally, I was sitting here, actually. These cracks are because of that tank. And I had just did the floor for 100,000. So I was pissed off about that.
- [30:11]
Co-Host
They just covered the build up.
- [30:13]
Vince Ricci
No, no, but. And then they had. Right behind the tank was people behind the screen screwing the whole time. And I was like, wow, I was impressed. They were going for hours and. But they were putting their hand on the screen. People touching was like. I was like, this is pretty interesting. It was pretty. There was a lot going on in, like different directions, you know.
- [30:34]
Co-Host
Wow.
- [30:35]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [30:35]
Co-Host
Jared Leto's crazy.
- [30:37]
Vince Ricci
He's cool.
- [30:38]
Co-Host
Yeah, That's a crazy idea. Tank Lifeboard.
- [30:42]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. We were here that night and we would. They had a dunk tank and yeah, they had Trump sitting on a thing and they were dunking him. Well, those aren't the real Trump, but. And I get up to do it and I'm looking around, there's nobody doing it. I was like, I'll do it. I was with the guy Jeff, and all of a sudden somebody walks up, they're like, you're gonna get it the first try. And I turn around and shot a letto. I'm like, oh, crap, this guy's gonna watch me do this. And then his brother comes over and I know his brother. And all of a sudden a bunch of people come over. So the other kid goes, he misses. Somebody else goes, he misses. I come up, I'm like, I better hit it. I nailed it the first time. And he jumped to my back. And I was, man, this is a great moment. This is a great moment.
- [31:20]
Co-Host
Yeah, that's cool. You get to see some pretty interesting. Some pretty interesting stuff here. Now, looking forward, because this industry continues to evolve, what are you really envisioning for Hubble Studios in the next, let's say, five years?
- [31:38]
Vince Ricci
I think consistently moving in the direction of our own production company. So we obviously have Hubble Agency. Well, we don't obviously, but we developed Hubble Agency a few years ago because we were producing for so many people then we had so many in house brands that we were either taking a part of or taking over writing treatments for doing production, everything top to bottom. And as a creative hub, I think production is going to Go in more direction, more people getting cut out that are just sole production companies that don't do a lot of other things are kind of gonna like, kind of go away. And we're gonna step in as a full service. Like you have an idea, you have a budget, we run the treatment, we do the pre production and we run it. And then I go to people like Eric from Hawk, and I think he's one of the greatest digital marketers out there right now. I think he's one of the biggest. And he understands. He understands how to move forward and he's a great partner of ours.
- [32:38]
Co-Host
So when you say you're going to be a full agency, are you saying you're going to find the talent, you're going to mold the talent, you're going to outline the creative direction for the talent as well?
- [32:46]
Vince Ricci
Well, we're not going to find the talent. So many people come to us to do it.
- [32:49]
Co-Host
Well, you find them right here at your studio.
- [32:51]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, exactly. They come to us all the time.
- [32:53]
Co-Host
And they want to select the talent.
- [32:54]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, we work. We shot a full campaign for Nike and we actually got hit up recently, about a month ago when they said, do you have an on staff day of producer? Which turned into us producing the whole thing. And that's more the direction we're gonna go in and actually coming in and bringing the treatment to life way more. Because we did it in the past a lot, but it was more bespoke. If you knew, you knew. And now we're gonna market that a lot more.
- [33:21]
Co-Host
Can you explain what treatment means? Cause when I'm thinking treatment, I'm thinking like drug rehabilitation treatment.
- [33:26]
Vince Ricci
Oh, treatment from everything. You have an idea. And then we put the whole treatment together with the storyboard. Looks like inspo images, other images, the whole thing down the line of how we do it.
- [33:38]
Co-Host
Direction.
- [33:38]
Vince Ricci
That's creative direction.
- [33:39]
Co-Host
Yeah, that's creative talk treatment, you know?
- [33:41]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [33:42]
Co-Host
For the listeners, they're thinking something else.
- [33:44]
Vince Ricci
Oh, yeah.
- [33:44]
Co-Host
I gotta really, like define treatment.
- [33:47]
Vince Ricci
No, it's not that. That wouldn't make us any money. Literally. Yeah. Being able to bring your idea to life.
- [33:54]
Co-Host
Okay.
- [33:55]
Vince Ricci
If you wanted to shoot a whole different way to shoot this, the show, and you wanted to elevate it and you wanted to hang them and then spotlight one feature on the person, how would we do that?
- [34:06]
Co-Host
Yeah.
- [34:06]
Vince Ricci
You know, and then we put a whole treatment together, what we think that.
- [34:08]
Co-Host
Looks like when the show's big enough, you know, top three, four in the world, then I'll be coming back.
- [34:13]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, I think you'll be bigger than Joe Rogan, hopefully.
- [34:16]
Co-Host
Yeah, we're ranked in the top 100 now. So what is he? He's number one.
- [34:20]
Vince Ricci
Oh, yeah.
- [34:21]
Co-Host
Well, we're both Joes, so we're both winners.
- [34:23]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [34:26]
Co-Host
Now, any particular projects right now that you're excited about?
- [34:34]
Vince Ricci
I think we're working with a couple of outside cannabis companies in ours that we're rebranding and relaunching because federal legalization is kind of right there. It's going to happen.
- [34:45]
Co-Host
We were talking about that, and you were saying federal legalization is coming in the next couple years. And you said it with a lot of conviction. Like, why do you think that?
- [34:55]
Vince Ricci
I just think that that's the direction we're gonna go in. And I think that we have, like this height and it's gotta level out. I think the country is just gonna kind of develop its own. They got a lot of separate states that are doing it, so it's within the state. I think that it's gonna become like a national market, and you're gonna have certain states that are developing for the rest of it that are cultivating for the rest of the country. I think it's gonna be Florida, Jersey and California. And I think that, like everything else, the federal government's gonna want that involvement.
- [35:26]
Co-Host
Yeah, I mean, that might solely. That one legalization might help eliminate a lot of the national debt.
- [35:34]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. I mean, I think we're. Some good things could happen in the next year or some bad things could happen in the next year. I think we need to figure it out.
- [35:42]
Co-Host
I mean, sir. So at the federal side, but you don't have any additional insight besides just the way the trend is going and business is going, and that's where you're putting your eggs right now.
- [35:52]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, that's where I would focus on the direction of those companies. I'm putting my ideas behind that. I think it's exciting, I think how we're marketing it, how we're doing it. And I don't use cannabis, but I think there's a lot of people that benefit from using it.
- [36:07]
Co-Host
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a treatment for those who are using real drugs.
- [36:14]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [36:14]
Co-Host
You know, like, I was watching so many documentaries about what's that drug that kills all the people?
- [36:20]
Vince Ricci
Fentanyl.
- [36:21]
Co-Host
Fentanyl?
- [36:21]
Vince Ricci
Yep.
- [36:21]
Co-Host
I mean, they were putting fentanyl in these cancer patients. Yet these cancer patients can use marijuana.
- [36:26]
Vince Ricci
Yep.
- [36:27]
Co-Host
You know, can you imagine how crazy dangerous fentanyl is? And they put it at the same level as weed. It's not even Like a fair one kills you and stops your heart.
- [36:39]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. And they have. Cannabis is schedule one, which is crazy. And I think that it's got so out of hand since really 2017, when we really started talking about it, when Trump was talking about it. I think it's got so out of hand that people are just using fentanyl now. It's not like things are getting laced with fentanyl. Cut with fentanyl. People are just using fentanyl. I think we're gonna have a real problem with the war on drugs in the next couple years, you know? And I'm sober. I'm not sober because I was sober. I'm sober because I've been sober my whole life. But I do believe in sobriety. I do believe in that way of living. And I think that we're gonna have a lot of problems moving forward.
- [37:20]
Co-Host
Why do you feel like that?
- [37:22]
Vince Ricci
Just because of what's going on with the opioid crisis. And then now we have the stronger, more concentrated version, which is fentanyl. And then I think there's a new one now. I forget the name of it, but the fact that people are now not using cut stuff anymore, which was obviously using heroin, is just using fentanyl. It's like it's gonna get stronger and stronger.
- [37:44]
Co-Host
They say 80 times stronger than.
- [37:46]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, which is crazy. I was driving on La Brea recently, and I seen some kids on the corner. It had to be, like, 18 years old. I said, what are you guys doing? Just thinking they look drugs. And I'm like, wow, that was some response. I said, what are you doing? They said, fenty. And I couldn't believe that. Now it's like, that's how common it is. And I think, like, I have a daughter. Like, this is, you know, 15 years. She's going to be kind of at that age gap. And I'm like, how am I going to keep her away? But also, too, what are we going to do as a country? We're the greatest country on earth, you know, And I truly believe that. And I think that we need to focus, really take accountability of what's coming over the border, what people are bringing in, and how do we focus on not letting this get worse?
- [38:31]
Co-Host
They don't need to come in from the border. They're doing it here. They're making it here, literally. And these pharma, These pharmaceutical companies, which. I was with a doctor yesterday, a cancer doctor, having dinner, and he was saying, these pharmaceutical companies are the biggest. They're. They're. They're Stronger than any politician.
- [38:47]
Vince Ricci
Yep.
- [38:48]
Co-Host
You know, they're running politics, so. And him being in oncology, which is basically the reason for making these crazy drugs. And they do work for cancer patients, a lot of these drugs. But how are they getting in the hands of kids?
- [39:04]
Vince Ricci
I don't know. I think that obviously, we know it's happened in two ways. From the pharmaceutical companies that happen here, then also getting brought in, but somehow it's getting let out there. And there's so many other cures for cancer. Just a different diet, just promoting a different lifestyle. You know, I had two parents that died of cancer, so I believe very much in that. That is one of our focuses. We talked about fasting. You could fast for five days once a year, and it kills your chances to catch cancer by like, 97%, you know, and we don't promote those type of things because it's not financially beneficial to a lot of these big companies. Why would we advertise that?
- [39:39]
Co-Host
Yeah, just feed them McDonald's.
- [39:40]
Vince Ricci
Exactly.
- [39:41]
Co-Host
Processed food. Never talk about fasting or diet. Let them all be obese. They're just killing themselves.
- [39:47]
Vince Ricci
It was like, Covid, it's a respiratory illness. Strengthen your lungs. You have a much better chance of fighting it. So what do we do? Covid happened. I started running every day, and I never caught it. And, you know, why was that not talked about? And that's what I don't understand as a country, how we have to focus. Like, we focus on being an entrepreneur. We focus on making money. We focus on followers, we focus on clout. How do we make more of an influence? We don't focus on health and influencing in that way. And those are the things that I choose from my personal brand to then focus on. If you follow me on Instagram, you see I post working out every day. I work out seven days a week. What I eat, how I ingest, what I ingest. And then also pushing other people to be the best version of themselves. I'm not a trainer, but you better believe that if you spend enough time with me, you got fitter.
- [40:37]
Co-Host
Yeah, I train seven days a week, too.
- [40:39]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [40:39]
Co-Host
Every day. That's how I clear my mind. Literally, you know, get ready to dominate the day, pre and post, morning and evening.
- [40:48]
Vince Ricci
Exactly.
- [40:49]
Co-Host
We're not. If we're not doing something productive, you and I, you know, there's. We're not productive.
- [40:55]
Vince Ricci
No, exactly. And I think what is the most productive thing I could do right now? Running to the gym. I burn more calories. Running to the gym and then driving to the gym Gym, it's the same amount of time, if not faster. And then I run, workout, swim, run home and do the same thing every day.
- [41:11]
Co-Host
Yeah, that's awesome. Now, what do you think? What's the best piece of advice that you've ever received?
- [41:26]
Vince Ricci
The best piece of advice? I was 8 years old. My father told me that nobody cares. And that's the best piece of advice I ever received. And it basically meant that I had to do it myself. Told me that if I was walking down Tremont Avenue, my pants on fire, that people wouldn't even stop to help me. And I don't think he meant it in intention to hurt me. I don't think he meant an intention to break me. I think he meant intention to really make me aware. You know, my mother was sick at the time. He was going through his own stuff. And just like that, I went from being a kid to an adult.
- [41:58]
Co-Host
Eight years old.
- [41:59]
Vince Ricci
I was eight years old. I remember what I was wearing. I remember where he told me what I was wearing.
- [42:03]
Co-Host
What were you wearing and where were you?
- [42:05]
Vince Ricci
These baggy brown jeans that my cousin gave me that I thought were super cool, and they were like super oversized and a stupid Nike T shirt. And then I was with my friend Mikey Vocia. I was standing on the corner.
- [42:17]
Co-Host
Why do you think he told you that?
- [42:20]
Vince Ricci
I think he told me that because it was the right thing to tell me. It was what needed to get said because I needed to take care of myself.
- [42:27]
Co-Host
You're eight years old. What eight year old takes care of himself?
- [42:30]
Vince Ricci
My mother was sick. She was terminally ill. And he was actually facing. He was fighting a case that he was gonna go to jail. So I was like. I guess he thought that that was the best thing to tell me, you know? And that was probably the best advice I ever got. And you know what? It's true. It's not true in the sense that nobody cares. People do care. I care. When people come in here, I really do care. But ultimately, you gotta take accountability for.
- [42:57]
Co-Host
Yourself because that's why it ties back to what you wanted to teach your daughter from the beginning.
- [43:01]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, you gotta take accountability for yourself. I have a few things. I am an Italian American from the Bronx, New York. I carry that with me everywhere I go. And I represent that everywhere I go. And I am the last Richie. So I represent that everywhere I go, but it falls on me. Nobody's coming to save me. You know, people try to. You know, people. You're in Los Angeles, at some point you will get robbed. You will get Stuck up. If you spend enough time here, nobody's coming to save you.
- [43:31]
Co-Host
This is why I live in Newport Beach.
- [43:33]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, that's a lot better place to live.
- [43:36]
Co-Host
You don't get robbed there.
- [43:37]
Vince Ricci
Yeah.
- [43:39]
Co-Host
What's your favorite quote?
- [43:40]
Vince Ricci
From what? Oh, Winston Churchill. Success has gone from failure to failure at loss of enthusiasm. That's my favorite quote. I feel like that that represents me to the core.
- [43:55]
Co-Host
And I got a couple last questions. The next one's a three pronged question. Okay. What's a personal goal that you have for yourself? What's a family goal that you have for the family? And what's the goal that you have for Hubble Studios?
- [44:09]
Vince Ricci
Oof. To keep growing Hubble. To keep growing bigger and bigger and every day and striving forward and continuing to do it day after day. And I do it day to day for that family. Go keep growing my family and raise the best kids around. Have a son, you know, pass everything off onto him so he can take care of his mother for me, Success, and that's it. To be more and more successful.
- [44:37]
Co-Host
How do you define success?
- [44:40]
Vince Ricci
Making sure that I never go backwards. I'm from the Bronx, New York. I love it. I love that it raised me. But I will never go back. I'm never going backwards. I'm going to continue to move forward. And for all the other people that come from where I'm from, or feeling second class or feeling a certain way, that if they work hard enough and they continue to do it and they continue to strive to keep moving forward, find little competitions with people, love to be doubted, you know, keep moving forward and inspire people that, you know, you're not beholden of what you were born into. You can go further and further and further and keep moving forward and to have more and more impact. You know, I care. Trina's Kids as our charity. It was named after my mother. Keep growing Trina's kids and that will go with success and that will go with having an impact and having more of an impact.
- [45:32]
Co-Host
We didn't actually mention Trina's kids. You want to mention Trina's kids? Talk about it real quick?
- [45:36]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. What me and Dan first worked on was Trina's Kids foundation, and we are a nonprofit. We do three to four annual events a year. The biggest one is our Christmas drive, and we do. Last year, we did 10 cities in 10 days.
- [45:53]
Co-Host
I think it's one of the big. Is that the toy drive that Dan does? Yeah, that's with you?
- [45:57]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. It's called world largest toy drive. We named it ourselves.
- [45:59]
Co-Host
Guinness Book of World Records.
- [46:00]
Vince Ricci
Yeah. Toy Drive. And then we also filled SoFi Stadium two years ago. Filled the whole field with toys. That was great. Very stressful, but it was great. Keep growing Trina's kids, because I love hearing my mother's name get repeated all the time, you know?
- [46:15]
Co-Host
Amazing.
- [46:15]
Vince Ricci
Yeah, I love it. And I don't do it just for that. I do it because people need to realize that change happens on a local level. And if you want to make change, there's so many entrepreneurship, so many people. 65% of the country right now is employed by entrepreneurs. You are located in some area that within a mile, there's a underprivileged or disenfranchised area near you. Help where you are, work where you are. You want to give money to Africa, great. You want to give money to here, great. You want to do that, great. You want to build a well in New Zealand or whatever the hell they need it. That's fantastic. But why don't you help across the street from your house? You know, there's people in your neighborhood that need help. There's kids in your area that need help. Help them. Jamie Dimon, CEO of Chase, says, change is made on a local level, and I truly believe that. So when we do these type of things, we bring all these entrepreneurs in, we influence them to go do it themselves. We influenced to give them the keys to, like, all right, you could do this yourself. You could get your staff. And when we do these events and our staff and the people around us and our clients, they come together. It's so much more rewarding to give back, you know? And you do got to give back. I was at an event about 10 years ago that Diddy spoke at. There was only like, 40 people there. And I remember, I felt like he was looking at me. Not that Diddy's in the best light right now, but he did say something great. Ron Burkle was a mentor of his, and he was like, just give a little more. Give a little more. And he said, no matter what I gave, he would just give a little more. You gotta keep giving back. And he said, well, when's it gonna end? He said, well, it doesn't. And he laughed and he said, and every time I gave, I got more back. And every time I gave a little more, I got more back. And that's the goal, you know, what do we do this for? You could grow this podcast. I'd be the biggest thing in the world. But if you're not affecting people in a positive way. What are you doing?
- [48:06]
Co-Host
You know, our whole life is to give back. The more we give, the more God gives.
- [48:13]
Vince Ricci
Yep.
- [48:13]
Co-Host
There's just no. There's no magic behind it.
- [48:16]
Vince Ricci
It's a simple formula.
- [48:18]
Co-Host
My spiritual mentor told me is like, as long as you do God's work, he always does your work.
- [48:25]
Vince Ricci
Yep.
- [48:25]
Co-Host
Keep doing it. You God's work, he just does your. And I've been fortunate enough to always just repeat that all the time in my mind. And it's just manifesting. One last question to close this out. When you're in front of the pearly gates, what do you think God's gonna tell you?
- [48:44]
Vince Ricci
I hope he's gonna let me in number one. I hope he just says you did the right thing. That's it.
- [48:56]
Co-Host
God bless you.
- [48:56]
Vince Ricci
That's all I want. Thank you.
- [48:58]
Co-Host
I appreciate everything you're doing here. Keep dominating Hubble Studios. Keep growing it. Keep embarking more vision for this organization. And I hope Hubble Studios grows to be the biggest city in the world.
- [49:09]
Vince Ricci
Thank you, man. Appreciate you. Thank you. There's an ocean between us.