How Snapchat Stars are Making Millions: Insider Secrets | Van Oakes DSHH #859

Summary

Digital Social Hour: How Snapchat Stars are Making Millions: Insider Secrets | Van Oakes DSHH #859

Release Date: November 5, 2024

In episode #859 of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in an in-depth conversation with Van Oakes, a seasoned entrepreneur and former Chief Marketing Officer for the popular TV show "Diesel Brothers." The episode delves into the lucrative world of Snapchat stardom, Van's personal journey through mental health challenges, and his innovative ventures in the tech and investment sectors. Below is a comprehensive summary of their discussion, highlighting key points, insights, and memorable quotes.

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1. Transition from Television to Social Media

Van Oakes reminisces about his tenure with the "Diesel Brothers," emphasizing the seamless shift from television to e-commerce. He highlights the show's success on the Discovery Channel and its evolution through social media platforms.

Van Oakes [01:09]: "It was the number one TV show on Discovery Channel in history. Launch."

He explains how the "Diesel Brothers" leveraged their social media presence to dominate platforms like Snapchat, ultimately surpassing traditional TV revenue streams.

Van Oakes [02:02]: "When you go to YouTube and you transition to, you know, 3.5 million followers, you get 100 million views. Just the CPMs alone pay 100 grand."

2. The Financial Power of Snapchat

The conversation shifts to Snapchat's resurgence and its financial advantages over other social media platforms. Van underscores the platform's superior monetization models, particularly for influencers.

Van Oakes [02:25]: "Snapchat's paying Snap stars, you know, and all. All you got to do is just post because it serves your ad every... like, in between. Every two stories, three stories, and you get paid every time."

He contrasts Snapchat's revenue generation with platforms like Instagram, highlighting the significant disparity in earnings despite massive engagement.

Van Oakes [02:33]: "It's unbelievable. With Snapchat's paying Snap stars, you know, and all."

3. Success with Paid Advertising on Snapchat and Facebook

Van shares his expertise in media buying, particularly his success with Snapchat, where he earned accolades for his substantial ad spend and effective campaigns.

Van Oakes [03:01]: "I won the Snap Star of the year in 2019, and I don't think it was. I was the best media buyer on the platform."

He contrasts this with his experiences on Facebook, noting the platform's lack of engagement despite significant investment.

Van Oakes [03:26]: "Spent over a hundred million dollars on Facebook. They don't give a shit. They don't even know who I am."

4. Innovative Marketing Strategies: The Giveaway Model

Van introduces his agency, Goat Media, and elaborates on the unique "giveaway model" they employ to drive engagement and reduce customer acquisition costs.

Van Oakes [05:05]: "It's like every dollar you spend on our merchandise get you entered to win a truck or a Lamborghini or something like that."

This strategy not only incentivizes purchases but also ensures higher engagement rates, making advertising more cost-effective.

5. Personal Struggles and Overcoming Trauma

The conversation takes a poignant turn as Van recounts a life-altering accident that profoundly impacted his mental health and personal life. He details the harrowing experience and the subsequent financial and emotional burdens.

Van Oakes [07:32]: "I was out with the family. I had my whole family in a Polaris Razor, and I actually rolled my vehicle. One of my daughters was ejected, and the other had to undergo brain surgery."

Van opens up about his battle with depression following the accident, highlighting the inadequacies of traditional therapy and pharmaceuticals in addressing his mental health needs.

Van Oakes [09:19]: "And then I realized, there's significant, significant evidence that MDMA is extremely helpful for PTSD induced depression."

6. Alternative Medicine and Mental Health Recovery

Seeking solutions beyond conventional medicine, Van explores alternative therapies like MDMA-assisted therapy, psilocybin, and ayahuasca. These treatments play a crucial role in his recovery, helping him overcome severe depression and regain his emotional well-being.

Van Oakes [12:01]: "I did the MDMA therapy, I did the psilocybin therapy, and then I did ayahuasca. Twice. And I swear to God, it's never came back."

He emphasizes the transformative impact of these treatments, advocating for their broader acceptance in mental health care.

7. Redefining Priorities: Family and Presence

The accident serves as a catalyst for Van to reassess his work-life balance. He shares practical strategies for staying present with his children, such as dedicating two uninterrupted hours each evening.

Van Oakes [15:31]: "I'll put my phone on my nightstand by my bed and I just leave it there until I put the kids to bed at 8:00."

This intentional separation from digital distractions underscores his commitment to family and personal relationships.

8. Embracing Biohacking and Health Optimization

Van delves into his passion for biohacking, discussing the critical role of sleep and physical health in overall well-being. He shares insights from Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep," highlighting the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation.

Van Oakes [18:21]: "It's linked to everything. Leading cause of cancer, leading cause of autism in children."

He details his personal regimen, including the use of advanced sleep technology like Sleep Number beds and wearable trackers to optimize sleep quality.

Van Oakes [19:18]: "This bed actually regulates your body temperature... I've never had better sleep than I have right now."

9. The Importance of Exercise and Mental Clarity

Van advocates for regular exercise as a fundamental component of mental health, describing it as a natural method to release endorphins and alleviate depression.

Van Oakes [26:29]: "The most underrated thing that you can do for your emotions and for your physical well-being and mentally for your mental well-being is exercise."

He underscores the significance of consistency in maintaining physical and mental health, sharing his disciplined workout routine.

10. Future Ventures: Democratizing Venture Capital Investing

Towards the episode's conclusion, Van unveils his latest project aimed at bridging the gap between everyday investors and lucrative venture capital opportunities. His platform leverages AI to analyze investment portfolios and connect users with suitable deals, democratizing access to high-yield investments typically reserved for accredited investors.

Van Oakes [29:42]: "I'm making a marketplace that connects the fund with the investors and takes a percentage of the deal."

This innovative approach seeks to streamline investment processes, making venture capital more accessible and manageable for the average person.

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Conclusion

Van Oakes’ narrative on Digital Social Hour is a compelling blend of professional insights and personal resilience. From mastering the monetization intricacies of Snapchat to overcoming profound personal trauma, his story serves as both an educational resource and an inspirational testament to the human spirit's capacity to adapt and thrive. Listeners are left with actionable strategies for leveraging social media effectively, prioritizing mental health, and embracing innovative investment opportunities.

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Notable Quotes:

• Van Oakes [02:02]: "When you go to YouTube and you transition to, you know, 3.5 million followers, you get 100 million views. Just the CPMs alone pay 100 grand."
• Van Oakes [05:05]: "It's like every dollar you spend on our merchandise get you entered to win a truck or a Lamborghini or something like that."
• Van Oakes [12:01]: "I did the MDMA therapy, I did the psilocybin therapy, and then I did ayahuasca. Twice. And I swear to God, it's never came back."
• Van Oakes [18:21]: "It's linked to everything. Leading cause of cancer, leading cause of autism in children."
• Van Oakes [26:29]: "The most underrated thing that you can do for your emotions and for your physical well-being and mentally for your mental well-being is exercise."
• Van Oakes [29:42]: "I'm making a marketplace that connects the fund with the investors and takes a percentage of the deal."

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For those interested in maximizing their social media potential, optimizing their health, or exploring innovative investment opportunities, this episode offers invaluable insights and practical advice grounded in Van Oakes' extensive experience and personal journey.

Transcript

[Unknown Speaker A]

Xanax. One of the worst things you can take to go to sleep. I didn't realize how bad it was for you. I would just take it because it would help me sleep. It wasn't until like a month in, I went to my doctor and I was like, no, I've been taking it every night. But when I would take Xanax, my REM cycle, I would get good sleep, deep sleep, but no REM cycle sleep. Do you know what the worst one for your sleep period is? Alcohol.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Alcohol.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Alcohol.

[Unknown Speaker B]

All right, guys, got Van Oaks. It's been a while since you've been on a pod, right?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Dude, it's been a minute.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I was doing some research. You used to go on a lot. Like five years ago.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, yeah. I kind of tone back a lot of that stuff. But this is a welcome opportunity.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Jam with you. It's been a minute.

[Unknown Speaker B]

And you're up to new things now, so it'll be exciting.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, I'm excited.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Are you still doing the Diesel Brothers.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Stuff full time or so? I consult with them. I stepped away as the CMO there in 2021. Did some other stuff, so. But I still work pretty closely.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Nice. Yeah. That was your bread and butter at the time, right?

[Unknown Speaker A]

At the time. That was the big one, Right. It started out as just agency work and then morphed into, like a CMO position.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Took a lot of time.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I've never seen a TV show transition so well to E commerce.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Dude, it was the number one TV show on Discovery Channel in history. Launch.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, because I think because they had a social media following and then they came out with a TV show. It was a number one and it ranked up there for eight years until they decided they just didn't want to do.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Incredible. Yeah. There's only so much you could do, right? Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah. They were just, like, over. I think they were just over it. They realized that YouTube paid a hell of a lot more money than Discovery Channel.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Do that. Oh, dude, YouTube.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Oh, it's not even close. Close because they were getting paid. Reality TV show. People don't realize only the stars get paid. Everybody else in the reality TV show is not getting paid. So only the two main guys were getting paid. And they were getting paid, like, I don't know, 20 million or 20, 20,000 an episode. But then when you go to YouTube and you transition to, you know, 3.5 million followers, you get 100 million views. Just the CPMs alone. Not even integrations or anything. Just the CPMs alone pay 100 grand.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow. So Mr. Beast is making a million an episode.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Well, it ranges, so CPMs range from $4 up to 15 if your finance.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Right.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So, like, these Graham guys and all the finance guys. Crush.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah. And you were getting a ton of views on Snapchat too, right?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, we crushed the Snapchat for a long time in sn. Snapchat's making a big resurgence right now, too. Saw, like, all the influencers back because they're paying, so.

[Unknown Speaker B]

They're paying the most.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy.

[Unknown Speaker B]

By far, too. It's not even close.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's not even.

[Unknown Speaker B]

My Instagram is a joke, dude, because I get, like, 30 million monthly impressions or whatever, and I get, like, 10 bucks.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker B]

It's crazy.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's. It's unbelievable. With Snapchat's paying Snap stars, you know, and all. All you got to do is just post because it serves your ad every. Like, in between. Every two stories, three stories, and you get paid every time.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Dude, if I got 30 million on Snapchat, that'd be, what, like, 100k at least.

[Unknown Speaker A]

These guys crush. I know. Like, Logan, Paul and all these guys were the ones that got the decent guys into it. They're like, dude, you got to do this.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, it's paying more than any of these other platforms.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Nuts. Yeah. Bryce hall at Dobrik, they're crushing it.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker B]

And you were the biggest spender on Snot in 2019, right?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, so I. I don't think I was. I won the Snap Star of the year in 2019, and I don't think it was. I was the best media buyer on the platform. I just think we were spending more than most people were spending. So they, like, got an award. They flew me out to New York. I did the whole thing. It was actually pretty cool. Like, not a lot of other. Like, Facebook's never flown me out. Spent over a hundred million dollars on Facebook. They don't give a shit. They don't even know who I am. Right.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That much on Facebook.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Oh, yeah. Over time. But Snap spent a lot less. And they're, like, flying me out. Like, they flew me out to LA last week for a meeting with Evan, with the owner.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Who literally spoke to 50 of us that were just D to C, like, advertisers. And he's just like, what do you guys want? What else can we do better? Like, he's actually working there.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's so cool.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Putting in the work right now.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I've never seen Facebook or Twitter or anyone.

[Unknown Speaker A]

None of them even give a shit.

[Unknown Speaker B]

LinkedIn yeah, yeah. Damn. 100 mil on Facebook and now are you still seeing success with paid ads on Facebook?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Oh yeah.

[Unknown Speaker B]

It's gotten more expensive.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's more expensive, but it's still the 800 pound gorilla in the room. It's still, it's, it's the necessary evil. Right. I would say most brands are like 60, 70% Facebook. You know, know most of my brands that we work with are like 50. And then the rest of it, it's kind of split up between other platforms. It's still, it's, it's still the primary driver for prospecting traffic.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Nice. And are you still doing the giveaway model?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, still. Right, well, so the Diesel brothers, they, when I stepped away in 2021, they've kind of, they do it occasionally, but they're partnering more with brands. They just don't have a ton of time with the YouTube channel. But my agency, Goat Media, that's what we do. We have a law firm in house so that people. And just to explain what the giveaway model is, it's like every dollar you spend on our merchandise get you entered to win a truck or a Lamborghini or something like that. And we actually give these away every month. Right. So inside the agency we have a law firm that licenses and registers and bonds this so that you're all covered legally. And then, yeah, we push traffic because when you're, when your offer is that good, you're selling a T shirt and I'm selling a T shirt. But if you buy my T shirt, you can win a truck. It's an auction based platform. I'm going to win all those auctions. So. So we find that traffic's usually three times cheaper when you're.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's insane.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Just, just the CPMs alone because the offer's so good and it gets a lot of engagement and people are like, holy shit. You know, this is crazy.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So it, it pays for itself.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's awesome. And I saw at one point you were getting 56x ROAS, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It was that, was that. Those are wild times. This, mind you, this is like 2019, you know, and that's, that was at lower spend. I think the biggest day we, we had a 1.46 million day.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy shit.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Selling shirts, selling T shirts.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's insane.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Selling T shirts. And, and the pro. The crazy thing about that day was that our daily spend limit, it was newer. You take a company from, they were doing. They had done 1.3 million before we came through, before I came through. And then we Take them up to, you know, 5 million in a month and 1.5 in a day. It's going to break everything. Right. So our daily spend limit, if I could have spent more, we would have and we would have done a lot more. But Facebook caps how much you can spend, you know, so it took, it took a while to get that up.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I feel now as you're making all this money, you're dealing with some mental stuff, right?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, yeah. I think always, I think always most of the people that are turned on, like, like you see him and you're like that guy's always at a 10, always at a 10. Those are kind of the people that in my eyes, you just need to ask how they are, you know. And it's most the time the people that nobody ever. It's the comedians, the, the life of the party. These types of people that are always going that, that typically kind of struggle with mental health.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Right. Because they're overcompensating.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Right.

[Unknown Speaker B]

They're putting all their eggs in one basket.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's a lot, man.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah, it is a lot. Did you start having like anxiety attacks?

[Unknown Speaker A]

So. No, I think so. So I struggle. Let me back up. So I struggled with heavy depression. So I. In high school, my whole life, depression was not a thing. Yeah, yeah, right. Like, it was like, just be happy. Your friends are depressing. Like, no, just be happy. And I never understood it. I really didn't because I'm a pretty positive person. It just didn't make sense to me. So what had actually happened was. And I'll try to get through this without. I got in an accident with my family. And do you know what a razor is? A side by side, it's like a Polaris razor. It's like a four seat four wheeler with a cage.

[Unknown Speaker B]

So there's no like doors and windows.

[Unknown Speaker A]

No doors, windows. But it's got like a roll cage on it. And we were out with the family. I had my whole family in there. And I actually rolled my vehicle.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And one of my daughters was ejected and the other one actually got rolled up on.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And literally like I, I could, I found my one daughter after everything kind of said I couldn't find my other lift the thing up off my daughter unconscious. Long story short, they had to be life flown. She had to. The one that was rolled on had to get brain surgery.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And dude, maybe, maybe the darkest, darkest time of my life as a parent. If you're a parent, you'll learn really like your kids are Your life. And you don't really realize until maybe that's possibly going to be taken from you how important they are. So like we went through this thing. I'm an entrepreneur, so I didn't have insurance.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah, right.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, I self pay everything. So like with the life flight, with everything added up. Thank God they're fine. You know, they were. They all healed okay. Got them back. But medical bills, six figures, right? We're talking literally half a million dollars.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy shit.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Half a million dollars in medical bills that, you know, that puts a lot of weight on a person.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Oh, yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Having that much debt, like, I don't care how much money you're making. That's a lot of money. Right. So for the first year, we dealt with just the kids, make sure the kids are okay. And then after that, it, it put a damper on my marriage, like, because all we were focusing on were the kids. We had no time for us.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So then our marriage struggles. So then we worked a full year on the marriage. And then after the marriage, you know, counseling, did everything. We're good. I finally, two years later, got to step back and focus on myself and be like, dude, I'm pretty up.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, because that's my fault. I was driving, right?

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And yeah, it just put me in a really bad headspace. And what had, like, that was the first time that I actually started to experience depression. And it was like something I had never felt that took out like literally a chemical imbalance that I could not shut off. And I'd never felt that in my life that like go away. And it would not go away. And it just. The harder I. It would just get worse and worse and compound and compound. And it led me into a pretty dark spot, man. I tried, like, tried a lot of things. I'm good now, but like therapy, pharmaceutical drugs, all the things to try to help and none of it really helps.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

But we're good now. I did, I did a lot of alternative medicine is actually what kind of changed that for me.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker B]

And that's. That's something I want to talk about. Because that's something that's not really offered when people are going through situations like this. So that. How did that come about?

[Unknown Speaker A]

So what happened was so once again going to therapy. I hate therapy. Not for me. You're feeling this way because of this.

[Unknown Speaker B]

It didn't work for me either, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

I just had a hard time with it and I tried and it just didn't work. So then I went the route typical American goes to Go to the doctor and get drugs, right? So then I'm on antidepressants and I feel like a fucking like, like a wall. I'm like a walk walking around rock that has no personality, no anything. I was just so vanilla, right? Yeah, it was just a bad thing for me. So the medication didn't work. So then like, what else are you gonna do, right? I read a book called Stealing Fire. I can't even remember the name of the. It's Keller or something like that. Yeah, that sounds right. It's called Ceiling Fire. And it talked about like, how the top performing CEOs and Navy Seals, how they get into flow state. And it talked a little bit about MDMA and, and its effects on PTSD and the depression following. So like, then I looked into that, got into Huberman a little bit and realized that there's like significant, significant evidence that, that MDMA is, is extremely helpful for PTSD induced depression. You know, psilocybin therapy is great for just regular depression, but PTSD induced depression, which is what I had. They suggest MDMA therapy.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Interesting.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So I, Dude, I looked, I. I looked for doctor, I looked for. So I found a therapist, did that. I did the MDMA therapy, I did the psilocybin therapy. And then I actually like the last step, I did ayahuasca.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow. Full send.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Full send. Dude, I would. Like, when you're struggling with this, I'm talking like, and I'm not talking a little depression, I'm talking like suicidal depression.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, when you're in that state of mind, my answer to the depression was to the debt. Like, I got five, but I have a two million dollar life insurance policy. And I know this isn't right to think this way, but when you're going through this, it's like, dude, if I got in an accident, my family would be set. There would be no debt, there would be no anything. They, they don't need me anyways. I'm the one causing these problems.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So, like, dude, I had it all mapped out.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy crap.

[Unknown Speaker A]

I had it all mapped out. I knew when I knew where I called, I raised my life insurance. So when you're in that spot, do you try anything? Dude, I was open to anything. So I, I did the mdma, I did the, the psilocybin therapy, and then I did the ayahuasca. Two rounds, two rounds of that with a shot with a full shaman and everything. And I swear to God, it's never came back. Like, I'll get, I'll get down, but when you've experienced true depression and like the chemical imbalance and you can't shut it off, that's never came back.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy crap. From Ayahuasca.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Twice. Two times.

[Unknown Speaker B]

What. What did you see specifically that gave you so much conviction?

[Unknown Speaker A]

So, like, if you want to go through the full journey, right, Like. Like my. Okay, I'll take you through a journey.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So we sat. We sat and you take the. I was. You've got a shaman there to kind of guide you through the process. It's not something that I would ever suggest you take recreationally, which I've heard of people doing, which made no fucking sense. Sense. Like, don't do that. But I sat with a. A shaman and we worked through this two day thing. You fast before you get your body prepared, you do this. And basically what had come was, I was. Long story short, I was in the galaxy in a glass box with God. And I sat in this glass box with him, and on the walls were trials and tribulations, and I had a little basket, like, you're in a grocery store. And I was just picking. I was just picking trials and tribulations and all these things. And God literally said, like, that's enough. You're good. And I was just like, I want more. I want to be stronger. I want more. So I just kept adding. And then he. He said that one in there basically pulled out the wreck and he's like, this is over. This is done. You can put it back on the shelf. So I put it back on the shelf. And then that was kind of. That was kind of the whole thing was that I had. I chose these tribulations. I wanted this, you know, I wanted to. I wanted to be strong. One of the things that I got out of this whole situation. Right. Was prior to the wreck, I have four kids, right?

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And during the wreck, I had three. And my wife was pregnant with the fourth dude. I was working. Like, will you grind, like, as an entrepreneur? Like, I'm sure, you know, oh, you're putting in seven, seven days a week.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yep.

[Unknown Speaker A]

You never stop. And this, this. And I have kids at home, but I'm just always turned on. When you do an online business, money never sleeps.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So I'd be home and I'd be like, working away my kids be like, dad, look at this. I'm like, yeah, cool. And literally one of the biggest blessings in my life was this accident because after that you just realize how. How fragile life is. It's fragile.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And it could be taken away at any moment. Right. So I kind of stepped back and I, I realized how important it was for me to be present with my kids. And ever since then, I've had a completely different relationship with my kids.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Amazing.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Literally, I, I get home from work the. And, And I suggest you, if you ever have kids. You don't have kids, right?

[Unknown Speaker B]

Not yet. I want them though.

[Unknown Speaker A]

You want them? Awesome. You're young though.

[Unknown Speaker B]

27. Yeah. I'm thinking 30.

[Unknown Speaker A]

You get in their 30s somewhere around that's about right. 30s. One of the things I suggest you do when they're old enough is when I get home at 6:00, you know, I put my phone on my nightstand by my bed and I just leave it there until I put the kids to bed at 8:00.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Two hours. That's two hours of your day that you're completely devoted to the kid. Because you'll learn with kids, you're on your phone and they're like, dad, look at this. And you're like, you're just not tuned in.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Right.

[Unknown Speaker A]

You're not really tuned in with them. So I'll put it on the nightstand. Ever since the accident, it's just the kids time for two hours where I just focus. That's the only time I have with them. I work full time, you know, so like though that two hours a night is the most valuable time to me.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Incredible.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Just spend with the kids with no phone, no interruption. Dude, social media will wait. Emails can wait, text can wait two hours. Business can wait two hours. Your kids can't. Your kids, when they grow older, they're not going to say my dad made a ton of money. They're going to say my dad was present. You know, my dad was always there. Right, right. So that's kind of the, the silver lining of the accident, the. All of that stuff. What's came out of that is my appreciation for my children and how fragile life is.

[Unknown Speaker B]

What a beautiful story, man.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's crazy.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That is nuts.

[Unknown Speaker A]

I actually got through it without crying, so that's pretty good.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah, I was, I was going to cry, bro. Holy crap. That's such, such deep trauma that you had to overcome, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's heavy, man. And, and, and now taking the step back now, hindsight, greatest blessing in my life.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Because prior to it, I was grinding and, and maybe, maybe I wouldn't have never got out of that. I would have never spent the proper time with my kids.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah. So it's almost like the universe had a plan for you to go do something like that.

[Unknown Speaker A]

No doubt. No doubt. Now, had, had it ended worse then I probably wouldn't be singing the same song. But my kids are great. Everything's great. And I just realized, you know, how fragile it all is.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow. Incredible, man. And then from there, you got super into biohacking and health too, right?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah. Yeah. There's, like, once again, once you learn how fragile this all is, you, you really appreciate what you have and especially your health. Like, I'm, I'm a freak. Like, and, and I think mo, a lot of the entrepreneurs that I know that really understand how your body works, they're. They're the same way.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Tony Robbins wrote a whole book on it.

[Unknown Speaker A]

They're all the same way, right? You don't realize how important your sleep is. Like, I, I, I. So as not once again, as an entrepreneur, I was the type that's like, sleep when. Sleep when you die, right? I need five hours sleep, max. May. You know, four and a half I can do. And I was just always, go, go, go, go. I read a, I read a book called why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is what it is, bro. You want to read a book that'll scare the out of you? Read, Read. Why We Sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Really?

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's linked to everything. Leading cause of cancer, Leading cause of, of autism in children.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy crap.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Lack of REM cycle sleep while their mom's pregnant.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So let's say the mom's up drinking caffeine all the time and not sleeping properly. Your baby can't get REM cycle sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Oh, my God.

[Unknown Speaker A]

The leading cause of autism in kids.

[Unknown Speaker B]

So when the mom sleeps, the baby sleeps. That's how it works?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, if you. Well, once again, if she's stimulating herself with caffeine and all this stuff and like, not giving proper rest to herself, the baby's not resting either, right? So, like, it's really important. Sleep's, like, the most important thing to you. Like, the leading. Yeah, the, the third leading cause of death in the United States is medical malfunction. Bad practice from lack of sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

What doctors.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Oh, my third largest killer in the United States is doctors malpractice because of lack of sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah, I see you got the aura ring, right? So you track your sleep.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Aura, whoop, you name it.

[Unknown Speaker B]

You got both.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Dude. Dude, I'm a dude. I got. So I got a sleep number bed.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Okay, what does that do?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Sleep number Won the CES award two years ago for the technology. The leading technology in the world was a bed. Why? Because this bed actually regulates your body temperature. Like, if you're too hot. So to get proper sleep, your body temperature needs to drop 2 degrees. So it'll actually cool your body and warm your feet.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Whoa.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So your feet need to be warm, your. Your body needs to be cool. And then this body, this bed actually will, like, harden and soften depending on how you're moving during the night. So if you're moving too much, it'll like, soften up so you stop moving and it'll harden up and then it can sit up if you're snoring. Like, it knows if you're snoring, it'll like, sit you up six inches so you don't. So, like, I do that. I do the oura ring. I do the whoop. I'm tracking every second of REM cycle and deep cycle sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I love that I'm have to get one of those mattresses, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

They're rad. They're really. They take a little bit to get used to. Give them time. Because it's like a glorified air mattress and it's not the most comfortable the first couple times you sleep on them. But give it some time. I've never had better sleep than I have right now.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I could see it.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, there's. There's a lot of stuff that goes into that, though, too. Like, prior. Like, no phone time, two hours. Like, do you sit on your phone in bed? Most people do.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah. But now I turned on the blue light blocking, and now I could sleep way easier.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, no doubt. Blue light block. If you're on your phone in your bed, wear the blue light blockers. Change your phone so that it's not. So that it's in the red light or the.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yellow light, whatever it is. And then try to cut down the lights. So heavy LED lights in your house, cut down all that stuff and then just kind of wind down before bed. And then your circadian rhythm, it's always the same. Like, the best time for you to sleep is really like nine until 8:00. They want you to get eight hours of sleep. There's very few people that. Actually there's the people that. There's only 5% of the population that need less than five hours of sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

And wow. How do you find out if you're one of them?

[Unknown Speaker A]

There's a test. There's a test. And I forget what it's called, but basically they run your blood or whatever and then they'll know whether you're one of those 5%. But I run into people all the time. It's just like Oh, I. I only need five hours. Literally only 5% of the nation needs that, dude. Everybody else needs a full eight hours of sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I remember they asked all the sharks about, like, how long you sleep? And Damon John answered, like, four or five hours. I was like, what the hell? And then I don't want to jinx it, but he got cancer.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, leading cause of cancer.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah. I don't know if there was a relation there.

[Unknown Speaker A]

No, there definitely is. Read, read. Why we sleep. It's all data, factual information that they've ran tests on leading cause of cancer. Once again, heart attack. You know? Do you want to know what the number one day for heart attack in the United States is?

[Unknown Speaker B]

Is it Monday?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Nope, it's the day after daylight savings time. Oh, because you lose one hour of sleep and it just spikes heart attacks because people that. They're so used to that. And when you cut a full hour off asleep from a whole nation, that's the. That's the highest day for heart.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy crap. I could see it, though, because when I have early flights, I feel like the whole day always, always.

[Unknown Speaker A]

It's so important, man.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Like, I.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like, I cannot emphasize. And muscle recovery way more than so retaining what you. So there's three, two cycles of sleep. You got deep sleep and then you got your REM sleep. Right? Right. And then you got light sleep. But, like, deep sleep is where. So during your day you learn everything. Deep sleep is where you actually filter out what you learned and say you're like, yeah, this is good. No, this is not. Like, yeah, this is important. No, this is not. And then REM cycle sleep is where you internalize that.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So if you're getting shitty REM cycle sleep, you'll. You won't remember all the stuff that you learned during the day. That's what internalizes. Right. So you should be getting quality at least over an hour of both deep and REM cycle sleep to properly learn and retain what you learn during the day. And there's a million things that you can take to sleep, like sleeping pills. Horrible for you. Really bad for you. Xanax, one of the worst things you can take to go to sleep. I used to, like, I got prescribed Xanax during this wreck because I had crazy anxiety and I didn't realize how bad it was for you. I would just take it because it would help me sleep. I would pass out. Right. And then it wasn't until like a month in, I went to my doctor and I was like, no, I've been taking it every night. And he's like, let's not.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

I was like, what do you mean? He's like, it's a control, a substance, like one of the most addictive substances there are. Let's not take Xanax. But when I would take Xanax, my REM cycle, I would get good sleep, deep sleep, but no REM cycle.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Damn.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So my brain, my REMs, I wasn't retaining anything. So like I would measure all of the stuff, you name it, all the drugs, all that. I could tell you what they all do to your sleep. Do you know what the worst one for your sleep period it is?

[Unknown Speaker B]

Caffeine. Alcohol. Alcohol.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Alcohol, Alcohol. Caffeine. You need to stop after like it has like a six hour like lifespan to it. So you stop after like 6pm you should be cool. But alcohol is by far and away and it's not even close to the worst thing that you can do for your sleep. So the myth of a nightcap. I'm going to take a little nightcap and go to bed. No, it completely shuts down all your REM cycles.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Holy crap.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Shuts it down. So like you'll sleep. You think you slept but you don't remember anything from the day before retain any of this stuff. So. So yeah, I pay attention to that.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah, that's good to know because there's college students that pull all nighter studying and then they don't remember.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Oh, dude. Dude. So you know what residency is?

[Unknown Speaker B]

No.

[Unknown Speaker A]

For doctors. Oh, doctors that do residency. That's basically where you go and you work for like, I think it's 72 hours, like three days straight, no sleep. Right. Everybody does it in college. That's what you do. You go to residency, you go, you work three days, no sleep and then you take three days off. Whatever. So the whole practice of residency was created by a doctor that said this was good for you. And there hadn't been any studies. They later found he was addicted to cocaine.

[Unknown Speaker B]

What?

[Unknown Speaker A]

The guy who invented residency was addicted to cocaine. And they didn't realize how bad this was for you by like not sleeping. So once again, one in 20 doctors will kill a patient because of lack of sleep. One in 20, right. So it's, it's, it's really prevalent. If you're going into a doctor, if you're going to have a surgery, ask them how much sleep they have. You have the right to know. You have the right to know.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I would have never thought to ask that for.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Dude, one in 20 people killed because of lack of sleep of a doctor. Right. So that, and then when you're studying, you know how people cram for and study all night and they don't sleep and then they go in to take their test. They retain none of that. The most important part of studying and learning is the sleep following. Like you need a full eight hours of sleep so that you're rent so that you can internalize what you learn. Because if you don't get that sleep, it's just in one ear out the other.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yep. I've split tested it with podcasts where I'm like traveling early in the morning and I've barely slept. I'm way worse.

[Unknown Speaker A]

No doubt.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Like it's not even close.

[Unknown Speaker A]

No doubt.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow. That's good to know about the surgeon. If I ever get surgery, I'm asked for. Or a sleep score, bro.

[Unknown Speaker A]

What's your sleep score? What does your boob say?

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's nuts. What other biohacking do you do other than the sleep stuff?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Man, I do like the red light therapy. I've got a sauna, I've got ice baths. I do like. Do you know the PMF mat?

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah, I just started doing that.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Oh, dope. Yeah. So I have a, I have a sauna with PMF mat in.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Oh, it's in it.

[Unknown Speaker A]

In it.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Red light in it. So I've got the infrared PMF and then the infrared light as well.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's cool.

[Unknown Speaker A]

All in one spot. So I'll do that. I'll do the ice bath. I go to the gym. I, I, that's the one non negotiable I have in my life. Is the most underrated thing that you can do for your emotions and for your physical well being and mentally for your mental well being is exercise. Like I, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for depression. That was the one thing that, that would always help. Like when I feel that way. Go work out. If you can get your heart rate, you know, up for 15 minutes a day, it releases endorphins into your brain. That makes you happy.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And most people don't realize it's literally faking happiness by working out and getting it done. So then I'll go to the gym. I do that every day except Sunday. I take Sundays off. But literally I don't think I've missed. And yeah, that's my number. Even when I travel.

[Unknown Speaker B]

You've inspired me because I've been slacking.

[Unknown Speaker A]

On the gym, dude, it's, it's the most. And even for your mental clarity, like it really is. Like if you, if you get into Good. Working out and releasing the endorphins into your brain. Your, your brain fog just completely eliminates wow. Right, Right. You think clearly, your, your day starts better. You don't go work out before bed. That's bad for your sleep.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Is it?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah. Anyway. Because it raises your body temperature. Right.

[Unknown Speaker B]

So how soon before bed would you say three.

[Unknown Speaker A]

If you're gonna work out at night, work out three hours before you go to bed.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Got it.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Right. But I would prefer, I, I would suggest working out in the morning because of the endorphins that are released and you go into your day just on fire.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Got it. So I'll start waking up an hour earlier and working out.

[Unknown Speaker A]

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is. Like it's changed my life dramatically. And do it early because if you wait until the middle of the day to go work out, life happens, dude.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Right.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Like you got a call, you've got this fired, you got to put out. But if you'll go at like 5:30 in the morning, before business, before everybody even wakes up, you're done at 6:30 and then, then life starts. So nothing will ever interrupt that. And you can get in that habit of it. Man, that's amazing.

[Unknown Speaker B]

I love that. And what are you working on next and where can people find you?

[Unknown Speaker A]

I'm working on a really dope project, dude.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah. You talk about it or not?

[Unknown Speaker A]

Yeah, yeah. Like the most excited I've ever been about a project. Like I've always, let's put it this way, I put 10 out of 10 effort into a lot of projects that are like three out of 10. I've got my agency, it's great, you know, but the exits, minimal. Right. I've got Tough Ring, which is a silicone ring brand. Right. But it's an e Commerce exit 3x multiple. Yeah, right. I stepped into the VC world for a minute and then I wasn't for me. But I realized there's a big gap. VC funds are trying to raise money from anybody. And anywhere they're like, hey, do you know anybody that has 250 liquid and is an accredited investor? It's like, it's all referral based really. And then I've got investors or friends and family reaching out to me saying, hey, I got 100 grand. Where do I end up? There's nothing to connect these two. There really isn't there, there's nothing like it. So I'm making a marketplace. I've got the MVP model down. We'll start raising money for it next week. And then basically what it's going to do is it's going to connect, it's going to go through your whole portfolio and say like you're heavy on residential, you're light on stocks, you need, you need this, you need that.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Here's an investment for you in all. Our platform will connect them with the fund and then we take a percentage of the deal.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Each one of these.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's brilliant, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

So they can't access the investors? Investors can't access them. Once the deal's done, they'll know. But like until then, we facilitate.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Dude, I'd love to be an affiliate for that actually.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Dude, you got it.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Because I, I'm the same as you. I have both sides, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And there's also so like a lot of these VC deals, like you have to be an accredited investor and you have to have $250,000 liquid and then you can get this wild ass deal, 18% over two months.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker A]

But your normal little investor could never even get access to those deals.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

One, you don't know the people. Two, you're not accredited and you don't have enough money. But this website will be able to make what's called an SVP to where people can this. Let's say you want to go into that. You got 100 grand, I want to go into it, I got 150. It'll form an LLC for us together and then we'll get really. And invest into these deals. So it opens up VC investing to your average day job.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's great because people are fighting for 8% a year, dude.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Fighting for it. And there's deals that are. Would blow your mind that these vc, VC guys get. But you just never hear about it because you're like. Or I don't ever hear about it because I'm not accredited.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And so forth. And now we can get.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Dude, that's incredible. Because when you factor in inflation, taxes and everything, all of it, 8% of yours, like 2%, all of it.

[Unknown Speaker A]

And then last, last part of it is it will be managed by AI. So like you'll upload your full portfolio and then it'll look through your whole portfolio and say, listen, you need more stocks or you need more resident residential real estate and it will find the deals for you and wow. You don't have to pay. Like normally you have to pay a fund manager 10%.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Everything that they're doing for you. Right. You don't have to pay, you just eliminate part of the fee.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Two, that's brilliant.

[Unknown Speaker A]

AI sees that stuff in real time. So as deals come through and deals come in, they see it immediately as to where most VC fund. Like a fund manager wouldn't even know that that deal came out. They couldn't even tell you about it. As like an investment advisor, they couldn't even tell you about it. AI.

[Unknown Speaker B]

That's incredible, bro. Can't wait to see that. We'll link it below if it's out by the time this airs.

[Unknown Speaker A]

For sure.

[Unknown Speaker B]

Awesome, man. Thanks for coming on and I appreciate it. Yeah, you killed it, man. Inspiring story. Thanks for watching guys. As always. See you next time.

[Unknown Speaker A]

Thanks.

[C]

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