Where There's a Will, There's a Way with Will Packer

Summary

Keep It Positive, Sweetie – Episode Summary

Episode: Where There's a Will, There's a Way with Will Packer
Hosts/Guests: Crystal Renee Hayslett & Will Packer
Date: November 14, 2023
Podcast Network: The Black Effect and iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

This vibrant and deeply personal episode of "Keep It Positive, Sweetie" welcomes acclaimed producer Will Packer (whose wife is a real-life cousin of host Crystal Renee Hayslett) for a candid and inspiring conversation. The two reflect on their family connection, their years of growth in the entertainment industry, the power of positivity, navigating careers, relationships, and the challenges of living in the public eye—all anchored in purpose and faith.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origins of “Keep It Positive, Sweetie”

• How the Podcast Got Its Name

  • Crystal recounts a social media story where she was criticized for showing her closet; her clapback included the hashtag “#keepitpositive, sweetie” which struck a chord and blossomed into the show's guiding theme. (02:12–02:40)
  • Quote: “At the end of it, I said, hashtag keepitpositive, sweetie. And it just ran… They were like, no, that's the name of the show.” – Crystal (02:12)

• Finding Power in Positivity

  • Will commends Crystal for transforming negativity into a movement for healing and connection.
  • “I love how you took something that could have been negative… and turned it into this platform.” – Will (02:45)

2. Navigating Public Life and Mental Health

• Both discuss the weight of public scrutiny and fan expectations.
• Crystal shares how pressure built up to the point she needed to disconnect from social media for her mental health. (04:28)
• Quote: “August was a really heavy month for me, and I just had to delete my Instagram. I had to just completely detach myself from the world…” – Crystal (04:28)

3. Full-Circle Career Moments

• From Background Extra to Co-Star

  • Crystal tells the story of her first real “industry moment” as an extra in Stomp the Yard 2 when Will chose her for a featured part, making her feel seen for the first time. (05:01–06:49)
  • Quote: “That was the first time I actually felt seen in the industry.” – Crystal (06:36)

• Returning to Work with Will

  • Years later, Crystal lands a featured role in a Will Packer film, underlining faith, growth, and persistence.
  • “I started off as an extra, and then years later... I got my own role in a movie with Will Packer.” – Crystal (13:31–14:04)

4. Relationships in the Spotlight & Marriage Advice

• Keeping Love Strong:

  • Will and Crystal discuss building resilient relationships under public scrutiny.
  • Will highlights the importance of privacy, genuine companionship, and mutual support.
  • Notable Practice: Will and his wife travel together frequently and keep their bond off social media.
  • Quote: “If you really like the person that you’re with… of course I want to be around her, because she actually strengthens me, makes me feel better… You want somebody who is filling you up, not draining you.” – Will (20:21)

• “Enemy to the North”:

  • The couple frames external pressures as the “enemy to the north” (Game of Thrones reference), focusing on unity and not letting outside forces harm the relationship. (24:17)
  • Quote: “The enemy is to the north. You ain’t the enemy. I ain’t the enemy. The enemy is to the north… Don’t let that impact your relationship.” – Will (24:17–24:43)

5. Industry Wisdom & Career Building

• Stepping Stones Over Shortcuts

  • Will stresses the value of doing the hard work and embracing "the steps" toward success, noting his own journey through indie films before major hits. (34:44–35:00)
  • “I didn’t go straight from, ‘oh I want to be a filmmaker’ to Stomp the Yard… It was steps to get there.” – Will (34:46)

• On Persistence and Growth:

  • Turning rejection into redirection, and the importance of learning every aspect of the business (“I have literally done every job on a film set…”). (09:53–10:43)

6. Pride & Legacy in Black Excellence

• FAMU Roots & Giving Back

  • Will’s journey began at Florida A&M University (FAMU), where he majored in engineering due to scholarship constraints, but started producing films (“Chocolate City”) alongside friends; his career focus solidified there. (25:42–28:55)

• Paying It Forward:

  • FAMU later named its performing arts amphitheater after Will, acknowledging both his professional achievement and continued advocacy for HBCUs. (36:47–39:16)

7. The Oscars & Managing Crisis

• First Black-Led Oscars Production

  • Will recalls stepping into unprecedented territory producing the 2022 Oscars, a post-COVID live comeback (43:21–44:43).

• The Chris Rock–Will Smith Incident:

  • Provides an insider take: describes the unique stage setup, initial confusion about the slap (“I thought it was a joke…”), the impact of live TV, and viral escalation. (47:09–55:13)
  • Quote: “We thought it was a joke… and then it wasn’t… and then I just had this sickening feeling, like, not tonight.” – Will (55:30–55:42)

• Giving Grace:

  • Will closes the discussion by emphasizing giving people grace for their worst moments, not letting one incident override a lifetime of character. (58:00)
  • “Let’s judge people on who they’ve shown us to be… not just on their absolute worst moment.” – Will (58:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 02:12 | “At the end of it, I said, hashtag keepitpositive, sweetie. And it just ran…” | Crystal | | 13:31–14:04 | “I started off as an extra, and then years later... I got my own role in a movie with Will Packer.” | Crystal | | 20:21 | “If you really like the person at you with...she actually strengthens me. Makes me feel better now.” | Will | | 24:17–24:43 | “The enemy is to the north. You ain’t the enemy... Don’t let that impact your relationship.” | Will | | 34:46 | “I didn’t go straight from, ‘oh I want to be a filmmaker’ to Stomp the Yard… It was steps to get there.” | Will | | 55:30–55:42 | “We thought it was a joke...and then it wasn’t...and then I just had this sickening feeling, like, not tonight.” | Will | | 58:13 | “Let’s judge people on who they’ve shown us to be… not just on their absolute worst moment.” | Will |

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Advice Segment Highlights (59:00–66:30)

• Listener Letter: A woman seeks advice on supporting her husband, who’s struggling financially with his business.
  • Crystal: Encourage and be a safe space, but he needs to “swallow his pride and figure it out”—sometimes you have to do jobs you don’t want for the family’s sake. (60:09–60:51)
  • Will: Emphasizes the importance of support and belief. He cautions that offering job leads may unintentionally make a man feel even more like a failure; instead, stand by him, affirm your faith in him, and let him lead the recovery. (61:00–65:26)
  • Quote: “He is being harder on himself than you could ever be on him… Just be there, support your man, and say, listen, this is what we need…” – Will (61:00–65:26)

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“What I’m Going Through / Growing Through”

(66:30–69:16)

• Crystal: Feeling stretched in faith, daring new things, releasing the need for control.
• Will: Adjusting to an “empty nest,” evolving his marriage and relationship with adult children, and diversifying his career amid industry shifts.

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Closing – Keeping It Faithful & Consistent (72:00–73:02)

• Crystal: “Keep it faithful, sweetie”—Lean into faith during uncertain times.
• Will: “Keep it consistent, sweetie”—Consistency is key in all areas, not just positivity or faith.
• Warm, family-centric banter throughout, ending with uplifting calls for community.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–03:08: Origins of “Keep It Positive, Sweetie” & positivity as a movement
• 04:28–05:03: Weight of social media, boundaries, and self-care
• 05:01–06:49: Crystal’s career breakthrough as an extra in Will’s film
• 13:31–14:24: Full-circle moment—Crystal starring in Will’s project
• 17:26–24:43: Will’s marriage advice, “enemy to the north,” and relationship resilience
• 25:35–29:22: Will’s career beginnings, Chocolate City, and defining purpose
• 34:44–35:47: The necessity of taking steps and learning through failures
• 43:21–46:46: Behind the scenes producing the Oscars
• 47:09–55:13: The “slap” incident—a producer’s perspective
• 58:00–58:24: Importance of giving grace and forgiveness
• 59:00–66:30: Listener advice segment—on supporting struggling partners

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in turning adversity into inspiration, with honest, sometimes vulnerable sharing, plenty of humor and wisdom, insight into Hollywood and Black excellence, and deep relationship truths. It’s a must-listen for anyone seeking motivation, perspective on growth, or tools for a more positive life—sweetie!

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Hey, guys. And welcome to this episode of Keep It Positive, sweetie. I'm Krystal Renee Hayslett, and today I have with me my cousin. Oh, my gosh. Will Packer. I'm good.

[B]

We actually got, like, real cousins, you know, black people. Just everybody. But no, we actually. My wife is. Her maiden name is Heather Hazlett. Yes. So they actually are cousins. They're real family here.

[A]

Real family. That's right. Real cousins.

[B]

Not like all the rest of y', all, you know?

[A]

Cause y' all be calling anybody cousin.

[B]

Absolutely. Inviting everybody to the cookout. Everybody, y', all cousins. This fam for real right here. How you doing?

[A]

That's right. I'm amazing. How are you?

[B]

I'm really, really good.

[A]

Good. Thank you for stopping by.

[B]

Come on. Absolutely. You was down the street. I was like, what you doing?

[A]

Right?

[B]

We ain't playing none of this. I was driving by. I was like, what you doing? She like, pull up, Pull up. Put a mic on me and his light. So I was like, you know what? Let's do it. See what happens.

[A]

I love it. Thank you. I appreciate that.

[B]

I appreciate that.

[A]

Absolutely. No, I had. I called you when we were deciding to do season two, and I was like, well, I really wanted to have you on. You were like, I'm there. And I appreciate that. Absolutely. This whole series came about because my manager's like, we want. I think it's time for you to do a podcast. And I was like, is my voice. I don't really feel like I have that much to say because I don't really talk that much. I talk even saying to people I'm comfortable with, but, like, just talking to cameras, unless it's scripted, I really don't. Didn't feel like I had much to say. And it has been this amazing journey. So many people healing and laughing and all the things every single week. So I'm super excited about how it's come along. And I was like.

[B]

And can I ask you, keep it positive?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like, what is that about?

[A]

Tell me. So backstory. A little story time. Some of you guys may know this, but when I first moved into this house, I had a young lady who helped me organize. She organized my closet, and I posted it because I like to support people in their businesses. And this girl was like, instead of showing off all your bags and purses and all this stuff, you need to go buy some land and some other things. And I was like, who says I don't have that? So I had time. And normally I had. I had time.

[B]

Today that day I did okay.

[A]

And my little fingers got to texting. And at the end of it, I said, hashtag keepitpositive, sweetie. And it just ran like. All my fans were like, keep it positive, sweetie. Keep it positive. So we were gonna do just a segment of the show. Cause we were gonna call it Abundant Living with Crystal Renee. And I was like, we should do like, a segment. Like, Keep it positive just to spread positivity. And they were like, no, that's the name of the show.

[B]

I like it.

[A]

So keep it positive.

[B]

And I also love how you took something that was negative. Could have been negative.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That somebody was trying to be negative. Right. Somebody was trying to clap a little bit. Look at this platform.

[A]

Look. And to that, we thank you, little.

[B]

Negative sister, wherever you at or brother, whatever, you know, we appreciate you.

[A]

We sure do.

[B]

Helping to give birth to this, to a great idea for a platform. You already had the platform. I love the fact you are using your voice, though.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

And in the name of positivity, we need more of that.

[A]

We do. We live in such a negative world. And you get on Instagram or Twitter, turn on the news, everything is so negative.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, so just that light.

[B]

Especially in the position you're in. Right. And you know me a little bit, too, but you being, you know, like, out in front, consumer facing in front of the cameras, you know, me being behind. What I respect about you and your peers, you guys are constantly putting yourselves out there for judgment.

[A]

Talk about it.

[B]

Not just your characters, not just the roles, not just your shows and projects and movies, but also yourself personally. Because these days, you know, our amazing consumers and fans don't often know the difference, don't care to know the difference. Try to combine it all. One, you're just a Persona. Right.

[A]

That's it. Yeah.

[B]

And as you know, you and I know that that's such a complete separation. The roles you may play, the characters you play, which you may have to do to even, like, you know, promote a project, maybe very different than who you are personally.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But a lot of times folks don't give people like you grace for that.

[A]

They don't.

[B]

They want to be one thing. They want it to be perfect when they see you. They want to see you exactly the way that they see you after you've gone through hair, makeup, and wardrobe and reading scripted lines. That is exactly what they want in their minds.

[A]

That is it. And it gets so heavy, Will. Yeah, it gets so heavy. August was a really heavy month for me, and I just had to delete my Instagram.

[B]

Did you really?

[A]

Yes. I had to just completely detach myself from the world because all these, like, everybody needs something. Everybody's like, can you do this? Can you do this? Can you do that? Or it's all these opinions, and we need more of this. We need more of that. I'm like, oh, my gosh. I'm just one person.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's almost like they feel like they own you.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I want to talk about the time we first met.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I don't know if you remember this. Stomp the Yard two.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Really?

[A]

I was an extra.

[B]

You an extra? Stomp the yard 2.

[A]

What? I was an extra in stomp the yard 2. I feel like it was, like, November, December. It was cold, or it was early. Whenever it was, it was cold outside.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I was sitting under a tent. It was raining that day. All the extras were sitting outside under a tent. Just. We're just all sitting. I remember exactly what I had on that day.

[B]

Really?

[A]

I had on a burnt orange suede BB jacket.

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

Dating myself, but I had a BB jacket on. And this production assistant came outside and said, orange jacket, come here. And I was like, me? And he was like, yeah. And I was like, okay. So I walk inside. We're in Pooches Pooch Hall's house. Like, I guess the frat house. And you were. You and Rob Hardy were there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you were like, all right, we're going to use you as Pooch Hall's girlfriend. He's a senior in college. He doesn't have a girl. So everywhere we see Pooch from this point on in the film, you'll be there. And I was like, okay, cool. And that was the first time because I'd been just trying to get my foot in the door, just doing background work everywhere I could in the city. And this is when it. 2000. And what year was that? Was that 2012. 10 or 12? When did stomp the art?

[B]

Oh, 2000. You know what's crazy is that I had not too long started dating Heather.

[A]

Exactly. We're gonna get to that time. Yeah.

[B]

So that had to be 10, right?

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

2010.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I was trying. I was this. The industry was really just getting popping here in Atlanta. The film industry?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So I was trying. I was doing background work, just trying to get in. That was the first time I actually felt seen in the industry.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. I was like, okay.

[B]

It was that orange BB jacket.

[A]

Is the orange. Listen, I need to go find it. I Should have saved that jacket. But it was that moment where I was like, okay, there's something here. I can. If I'm getting asked to do this, I know I can do more.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then fast forward to Think Like a Man one.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

It was a small role in the beginning. Tika Sumter ended up doing it. But I had flew out to la. Me and Shayla had gotten cool.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I flew out to LA to audition with Hardin. Is it Kim Hardin?

[B]

Kim Harden.

[A]

Kim Harden.

[B]

She was the casting director. I was horrible. Were you really horrible?

[A]

I was so nervous.

[B]

Now you, you know, you at the level you at now, so you can look back and be honest.

[A]

It'd be like. It was mad.

[B]

What was it? I'm trying to remember.

[A]

I think it was when Michael Ealy was, like, trying to date girls or he kept interviewing. Like, the girls kept changing at the table.

[B]

Okay. And it was. One of them was Tika Soka. That's so interesting, because that was obviously. That was before Ride along and Tika was in Ride along.

[A]

And I'm trying.

[B]

I'm trying to remember.

[A]

Yeah. It was so short in the very beginning.

[B]

But it makes. It made the movie. It's in the cut.

[A]

It made the movie. Yeah.

[B]

All right.

[A]

It made the movie.

[B]

So after Stomp the Yard two and Shout out to Stompyard two and that crew. Ride Party and an rip to Twitch.

[A]

Yeah. Yes.

[B]

Amazing actor and choreographer who some of you, you know, may be aware, passed away. But after that, then you. When you flew to LA to audition, was it, like, did Kim request you to come? Was it open and you knew about it? You were like, I'm getting. Like, how did you end up.

[A]

I think that was Shayla. Shout Out. Shayla. Kamala.

[B]

Shayla. Shayla Kalmasteka.

[A]

Yeah. Cause I was doing music, and me and Shayla had gotten really cool. I feel like this is now.

[B]

Were you doing makeup then?

[A]

No, I was just doing music.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

Music and trying to act.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Got it. Okay.

[A]

And Shell's like, we have this small role. You should come.

[B]

Acting came before makeup.

[A]

Yeah. Makeup is just what I like to do.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

Yeah. I just do that for fun.

[B]

Gotcha. Yeah, Gotcha. Styling.

[A]

I should say styling. Yes.

[B]

I'm sorry. I apologize.

[A]

That's okay. Yeah.

[B]

Makeup came before you were styling.

[A]

Yes. Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. And I actually started styling because I was trying to be around what I wanted to do.

[B]

Smart.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Very smart, by the way. Listen to that. Right? Because it's not always that you can just jump in at the position that you, you know, want to.

[A]

You can't.

[B]

But you put yourself in the proximity, in the orbit.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You were excellent. You showed your greatness, which is a thing of mine. I always say, show your greatness. And so you showed your greatness, and, you know, look at you now. But you put yourself. Some people would have said, I don't want to do anything but this one singular vision that I have. And you didn't do that. And it sounds like that benefited, know, you.

[A]

It did. It really did. And working behind the scenes, doing costuming, costume designing, really helped me understand the entire production.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I have a different perspective as an actor. I understand the lighting guy. I understand the camera guy. I understand set deck. I understand the grips and everything that's going on. I understand what time they got that morning to make it happen for us, you know? Absolutely.

[B]

Because that was you. You had to be there before everybody else.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In the morning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're the best type of. Of actor and actress because you not just have empathy, but have a full understanding of what everybody else does.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I feel that same way. Like, I have literally done every job on a film set. I have held the lights. I have done craft service. I have boomed whatever it was in my early productions. I had to.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But it gives me a different level of number one. It makes me smart in my job and what I do. Right. Like, you know, you can't, like, get over me and tell me, you know, that these, you know, lights cost something that I know they don't cost because I was the one that actually rented the lights when I first started.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

But then also, it also gives me a better connection with the crew. And a film, you know, set is a crew. It's a family. Everybody working together. It's a team. And it's like any team sport. You need everybody working together if you're gonna win. So anyway, I just. You having that. That perspective absolutely helps you. Helps you as a performer. But also, I'm sure your crews love you.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Because I get it. I totally get it. Yeah. I get it. Yeah.

[B]

Yo, that's so crazy. All right, so stomp the yard. Which I did not know.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And then audition for Think Like a Man, which I did not know.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Today I learned. Okay. All right. And you don't think he did very well on that.

[A]

I was so nervous.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, I'm in Los Angeles on the lot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, going to this office, I'm like, what? How did I even get here? And my heart was literally pounding.

[B]

I feel you. Can I tell you something? It was. We did a Think Like a Man. Cause now you're making me think about that process. And remember, Lala is in Think Like a Man also Think Like a Man too. But she comes in and she is. She's Megan Good's friend. Yeah, Right. She auditioned for that role. And I knew la and not sure if she knew the director Tim's story, but she and I were cool. We're much closer even now. But she was so nervous, and I actually haven't even told her the story. She was so nervous that she's auditioning and she's standing up in an audition that we're doing, and the producer directors are in it. So maybe she'd already done a round with the casting director, and now it was the round with me and with T him. And she's so nervous that her leg was shaking the whole time. So she's trying to read the lines and like it. Like, because she's saying her voice is like, her leg is going, so. And I just kept saying, baby, calm down. Right. I said, relax. You got this all. So my point is that it gets everybody because it's hard. You know, y' all see the end result, but it's tough. You got to go in a room in front of these people that are, in effect, judging you.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And just like that. Turn it on. Let's go. And if you haven't done it a million times, you know, if you're new in it, it's okay to be nervous. It hits everybody. So anybody watching this that's going through a moment, whether you trying to be an actress, actor, or audition or interview for a new job. Yeah, it's okay. The nerves will be there. You just do the best you can to fight through it. Like, how did you. What did you. How did you get over that whole nervous thing?

[A]

You know what? Honestly, it was acting classes, and it was just learning how to break down a character and taking Crystal out of it.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Cause I think what I was trying to do is bring Crystal to every character, and I had to remove myself from it and really just figure out who this character was. And when I did that, it was like, okay, this is way easier than I thought, you know?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But it took really, just learning how to break down a character and really turn into that person versus trying to be Crystal.

[B]

Got you.

[A]

Yeah, got you. And now it's easier. It's a. Like, I don't get nervous anymore. Like, you know what? I'm saying when I go to set, it's now. It's fun, you know, even, like, working on We. I worked on pre. Oh, this is how God work, y'. All.

[B]

Come on, tell it, tell it, tell it.

[A]

So last summer, I get a call and they're like, we got this role. Think you'd be great for it. It's a Will Packer movie. I'm like, you had me at Will Packer. What's it? And they were like, it's a first lady playing opposite of Mack Wilds. I was like, okay, that's my dog. Perfect. And so they, like, she sings too. And I was like, okay, let's do it. So this is how God works. I started off as an extra, and then years later, many years later, after I did the work, then I got my own role in a movie with Bill Packard.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Amazing.

[B]

Earned and had it. And they had to audition or nothing. And people just called you and said, do you want to do it?

[A]

Period?

[B]

But you earned that. Listen, years later.

[A]

That's amazing.

[B]

That is amazing.

[A]

When I say full circle, he is. That was a full circle moment. And working on set with you and your team. Shout out Shayla.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Shout out, Tina Gordon.

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

The cast of Praises, everybody. It was just so much fun.

[B]

Yeah, that was a fun.

[A]

It was a lot of fun.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So that's how we. That's how our. That's how I remember us meeting.

[B]

I'm so glad you said that, because I didn't remember. And I thought you go ask me where we met. I was about to make up something. I was definitely going to be like, it was probably Club 112 in the.

[A]

VIP where the play is doing.

[B]

We doing shots. No. Yeah. I did not know it was Stomped the yard, too. That's great. That's taking me back.

[A]

Yeah. And then Shayla called me one night, Halloween.

[B]

And that was Shayla's first time working for me.

[A]

What?

[B]

On Stomp the Yard two. So Shayla. I'm sorry. Yeah. Stomp the Yard two. Shayla was the extra. She worked in the extras department. Like, she was the PA that was saying, hey, orange jacket, come on. On Stomp the Yard one.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

On the first Stomp the Yard, that is where I met Shayla, but didn't really meet Shayla because she was a part of the crew.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But she worked in the extras department. And so after that, between then and Stomp the Yard too, she was working for somebody else. And, like, I would just see her around Atlanta. Then she was available and got hired. So that movie was also the first time that she was working for me as my assistant.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And now she's off and, you know, co producing the Oscars, baby.

[A]

Shayla is popping.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm so proud of her.

[B]

No question.

[A]

My girl is doing her thing.

[B]

Yeah, she is. She is her.

[A]

Yeah. That's amazing. She called me one weekend, one night. It was Halloween, and she's like, hey, what are you doing? I was like, nothing. She said, well, me and my boss and his girlfriend are going out, if you want to, like, come out with us. I was like, okay. So I dressed up as a boxer that night. I was. I remember. Yeah. You're like, you know, we all hung out on Halloween one night. This is when I found out Heather was my cousin.

[B]

Where was this? We got all this history. Spider. Out on film. So tell me about where we go in Atlanta.

[A]

In Atlanta, I feel like it was a club in midtown. We were in a section. I cannot remember the name of the town.

[B]

I don't remember this.

[A]

Yeah, I came in, and I was a. I feel like. Yeah, I was a boxer or a bunny. One. One of those.

[B]

Okay. Those are two very different approaches.

[A]

I think it was a boxer.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And we met. I met up with Shayla, and we went. And Heather and I were talking, and she was like, yeah, my name is Heather Hazlet. And I was like, wait, what?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And she was like, hazel. And I was like, that's my last name. And she was like, oh, my God. And that's when we found out we were related. I was like, oh, my goodness. And then you married her. And the rest is in history.

[B]

The rest is history. Changed my life.

[A]

She.

[B]

Listen, best thing that ever happened to me.

[A]

I love it. Y' all are so. Y' all just don't tell her I.

[B]

Said that, though, because she's permissive. So, you know, it's a lot. It's a lot, but she is the best thing that ever happened.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

Absolutely changed my life. That's awesome. But you knew us when. You knew us back when we was dating back.

[A]

Yes. Back when. Yeah. Y' all just celebrated eight years.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Anniversary.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

How do you manage? I know, like, in this industry, it's hard to manage relationships. You guys travel together. Always. Have fun. Dancing, laughing. What is the key that you could tell? Because right now, like, every time I turn on my phone, I feel like somebody's getting divorced. Like, what is the key that you can tell people to, like, help keep your marriage together and sacred?

[B]

Yeah, that's. You know, you are so on point, when you talk about the feeling of marriage is not lasting. And a lot of my friends, like, a lot of your friends who are folks in the industry, haven't made it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And this industry can be very tough. And part of the reason is what you and I were talking about before, which is that the public gaze. Right. It's one thing if you're in a relationship with somebody, you having your issues, and it stays in these four walls.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

These days, unfortunately, just like you have fans that feel like, oh, like, I. I have a right to Crystal Renee, and I want her to be the way that I want her to be all the time. People also feel that way about relationships. Well, when you have people who have built public Personas largely based on interaction with fans, it's difficult to then say, all right, I'm gonna take this part of my life and be private. And I tell people that I'm dating, you know, and, you know, because a lot of times people in the industry try to keep relationships private at first, but once you see them out at dinner and, you know, cameras are flashing and you don't address it, then it's like, oh, they gotta be. Something's happening. It's very difficult to build a healthy relationship with that kind of a foundation. So for me, for sure, it definitely helped not being in front of camera because everybody wasn't, you know, clocking my every move. But what I would say is that then going forward, we have, like, our relationship. You know, I say all the time, how you see us on Instagram is how we are in real life, literally. And Instagram is just literally 10%. Like my social media manager. Like, give me more. You and Heather, content. People really like it. That's exactly how she talked about. People really like it. Her name is Decca Deca Ahmed. People really like you and Heather together. Give me more of that. And so I'm like, okay, I'll try. Give us an idea for something to do. But for the most part, you have to catch it organically, because if we're doing it for the Gram, then it feels like you're doing it for the Gram. So, number one, we don't live our relationship on social media. Number two, you said that we go everywhere together. That's so true. And I will say this, and I definitely will say this to. To the guys that are watching this. Is that the best thing that happens for me? Number one, she literally is my best friend, so I like to be with her and be around her. But also, Heather, even when I'm like, okay, you know, I gotta go somewhere. And I'm gonna be gone for two weeks, you know, or a week. I'm gonna be gone for a week. I'm like, baby, you don't have to go if you don't want to. She always is like, nah, I'm gonna go ahead and go.

[A]

I'm gonna go.

[B]

And it lets me give her a hard time. Like, you always wanna go everywhere I go, but secretly I'm like, I love it. I love her being there. And it just strengthens our relationship. Because if you really like the person at you with, then what? Like, of course I want to be around her, because she actually strengthens me. Makes me feel better now. She's not draining. There's some people in relationships that are draining. And you're like, I really need a break. Not just that we've been together forever break, but I need just a break from that person's energy. Well, that's a red flag, right? You want somebody who is actually filling you up and not draining you. So we are together a lot. And now that our kids are out of the house, because our kids, our youngest is in college, so. So now they're out of the house. We really are loving this phase because, you know, I love my kids. I couldn't wait for them to get out the house. You tell them I said that. They know it, whatever, ain't ashamed. But it gives us so much more freedom at this stage in our lives. Whether you are in a relationship where you got young kids, older kids, travel a lot, don't travel a lot. What you really want to try to do is find those areas where you're both feeding each other. I've always said when I keep her smiling, she keeps me smiling. So my job is to make her happy, keep her smiling, because then she has everything that she needs to keep me smiling, keep me happy.

[A]

Right?

[B]

And she knows, especially in our relationship, like, you know, I like to say she keeps me upright. She's like, okay, what do you need? I gotta give it to you. Keep it upright. Cause you're giving this to the family and to us. But she can't give it to me if I'm not giving it to her. So whatever your dynamic or your relationship is, needs to be that cycle, right? Another thing I'll say is that, you know, we kind of treat our relationship like. Like the crown. Did you watch?

[A]

Oh, I did.

[B]

So the thing about the crown is that no matter what was going on, they was get. They was gonna stay together.

[A]

Oh, yeah, right.

[B]

Listen, and it was a mess. Now, I'm not encouraging putting up with some craziness.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But the mentality was, it's us. Like, that's not an option.

[A]

It was not separating.

[B]

Divorce and leave is not an option. And I will give. I will give all props to Heather because I. My parents were together, you know, forever till my father passed. So I saw a relationship where it was like, they stayed together. So I definitely had that mentality. But I also am like most men where, you know, look, we're shut down. Men are not as mature as y', all, and we will shut down and be like, all right, well, you know what? You burnt the toast and you got mad with me, so I guess how we splitting the kids? What you want to do? What we doing with custody?

[A]

Burnt toast?

[B]

Like, dudes would just.

[A]

We'd be ready to be out toast over anything. Yeah.

[B]

What? And I could fall victim to that. But one thing I know is that my wife just. She ain't gonna let me go nowhere.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Right. Even when I'm on my immature silliness, she be right there like, well, you just gonna have to figure it out with me next to you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I know that we don't have any other option or alternative. So we figure it out. Once you make it an option to end, then inevitably somebody's gonna push the button. If there's a button of end it, somebody's gonna push it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But if there's no button at all, you know, and the last thing I'll say is, so two things that kind of movies that inspired the crown, because it's like them people stayed together. They're crazy. It was crazy royal folks. No matter what it was, like, that's not the option. So we got to figure it out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The other thing is Game of Thrones. I don't know if you watched that show. I did.

[A]

Listen, we got it. Yes. So good.

[B]

We connect. So Game of Thrones, you know, there's a scene. There's a concept in there about the White Walkers, these crazy zombie folks that were coming. And you had all these people that were fighting these various kingdoms fighting. But some folks would always say, the enemy is to the north.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like, we can fight all we want, but the true enemy is to the north.

[A]

Hello, Heather.

[B]

And I say that when we get into something and it's an external pressure, either she or I will always say, listen, baby, the enemy's to the north.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

This ain't the enemy. You ain't the enemy. I ain't the Enemy. The enemy is to the north. It's whatever happened with that external thing. And the same thing is true. So some of our celeb couples. The enemy is people on social media saying stuff, dropping stuff, trying to throw salt. They ain't got nothing better to do. That's the enemy to the north. Like, no, that. Don't let that impact your relationship.

[A]

I love that. The enemy to the north, that is.

[B]

Yeah, y' all.

[A]

Give it up for willpower. Javanese nuggets. Yes. The people needed that because it's like every time I. It's like what people you least expect, you're like, wait, what?

[B]

I know what happened. I know, I know.

[A]

We need to hear that.

[B]

There's different pressures these days on folks. Awful. You don't have to be a celebrity. Somebody watching this right now, trying to figure out how to make it through their marriage. You know, try to remove the external pressures, try to keep it internal and try to figure out if you can solve it internally before you get it. Sometimes external can be a mom that's trying to do well means well. Giving advice. I know what I'm talking about. They're not in your relationship. The best friend not in your relationship. The cousin not in your relationship. It's you and that person.

[A]

That's so good. Yeah, that's good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I want to know a little bit, and I'm sure the audience wants to know too, a little bit about your journey and how you even got started.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You know, they see Will Packer today. Will Power Packer today. But, like, what was the beginning beginning for you?

[B]

It was when I was at FAMU. FAMU, yes, absolutely. Shout out to them. Rattlers, Florida, A&M. And I did not at the time when I first came to famu, being a filmmaker wasn't a dream of mine. I wanted to be an entrepreneur. And I didn't even want to go to famu, honestly.

[A]

Really? Where'd you want to go?

[B]

I wanted to go to the University of Pennsylvania because they are an Ivy League school with a very well known business school, the Wharton School of Business. I knew I wanted to have my own business. That was very clear in my mind. Wanted to work for myself. I wanted to be the boss. I wanted to be the CEO. And so I was going to business school, but I got this big scholarship to go to famu, but it was tied to engineering and I knew I didn't want to be an engineer, but my math and science test scores and grades were very high. I've always been very good with that kind of analytical thinking. And my dad was an engineer, so I knew engineering and I got a scholarship to be an engineer. I didn't want to be an engineer, but my parents were like, listen, we know you want to go to that Ivy League school. How much money they giving you? I was like, well, they're not giving me any money, but I got in. They was like, how much money is FAMU giving you? I was like, well, they giving me everything. They were like, guess where you going to school.

[A]

I know that's right.

[B]

So my parents made a decision for me and it was the best decision made for me ever. And so I go to FAMU and I hook up with my lifelong friend and my lion brother, because we're both Alphas, the only fraternity that there is out there. Please make a note of that. And so he and I, he wanted to be a filmmaker. He very clearly knew he was inspired by Spike Lee and the Hughes brothers, the Hudlin brothers, like black filmmakers that had come before him. He knew he wanted to do that. It was very clear. And so I was really just kind of helping out my friend make a movie. And I helped him to raise the money to shoot the movie and I helped him to shoot it, and then I helped him to self distribute the movie. And that's how I got involved with it. We finished that little movie, it's called Chocolate city, set on FAMU's campus. Still to this day was the. It's the first movie shot by HBCU students at an HBCU to get national distribution. We shot our little movie and sent it out to Hollywood and Hollywood couldn't care less. Them people did not return? No. We invited them to the world premiere, Chocolate City, and we would send it to the assistant with the hope of at least telling us, you're not coming, at least giving us an RSVP something. That's why I try to like, you know, my amazing executive assistant is here today, Chantal Heslop. And I say, you know, let's always respond, let's reply. People invite us to do something. Because them people did not reply. Crystal could have at least said no. The assistant, the assistant's assistant couldn't say nothing.

[A]

Nobody could say nothing.

[B]

Nobody replied. Hollywood couldn't care less about that movie. However, at famu, it was a big deal amongst that crowd that we made it for, for and with. They really cared about that movie. And I realized, well, that's who I'm making my movies for. Not people who don't know me and don't care about Me, But I'm making movies for a very core, specific audience.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And that has served me well to this day. So that little movie we came out, shot it, made a little money with it and actually made a lot of money for broke college students. And that's when I said, I can do this. I've been looking for a business to start on my own. I helped raise the money, get the distribution. What is that called? What I did, I looked it up and said, oh, that's what, A movie producer. Yeah, I'm going to be a movie producer.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That's what I'm going to be.

[A]

I know. That's right.

[B]

Yeah. That's it.

[A]

Couch with you, the biggest movie producer. Okay. Out here doing it. I love that. So now that you. Now you're Willpack, like the willpower that everyone knows. And you've worked with Regina, Regina Hall, Idris Elba, Kevin Hart. You've done a lot of movies.

[B]

Kevin Hart. The rest are good. I made Kevin. A lot of people don't know that. But, you know, before Will Packer, Kevin just had a bunch of failed sitcoms. I mean, that's just, you know, you get credit where credit is due. I made Kevin Hart. So you put that on the quote at the bottom of this podcast.

[A]

I mean, Kevin Hart, doubt me, period. But what was it that made you keep calling them? Because I can imagine they're a lot of fun to work with.

[B]

The best. They are. They are. And I really enjoy working with folks, you know, who I know and who I know are going to give me something. And that's not unique to me. You know, Tyler does it. Look at you. All the relationship. Look at like Martin Scorsese, how he's working with the same actors, Judd Apatow. The thing about those folks you named Kev, Regina, Idris, I mean, first of all, they work hard. I know that I'm gonna get what I need from a work ethic standpoint because there's some amazing talents out there that it's not worth it to work with them. I hate to say that, but that's just true. There are some folks, and it is just so much that comes with working with these people. And life is short. And so, you know, that is something else. That's just a little nugget that I'll put out there. Relationships. Hollywood is not the only relationship driven business. Right. Most industries, people work with the people that they like to work with. And so if all things are equal and you got a certain level of talent, somebody else got a certain Level, but you hard to deal with. Don't nobody like working with you. Guess who gonna continuously get hired? And so I definitely have a great relationship with those folks because they always deliver for me. I know what I'm gonna get from them. And I was there at the, you know, start of Idris's theatrical career. He already had the Wire, so he's all. I mean, all these people were already amazing.

[A]

You made Idris, too.

[B]

I helped. Huh?

[A]

You made Idris, too?

[B]

I can't say I made Idris. What I would say is that Idris has always wanted to. To be me. That's kind of the thing. Because he's like, when I dress, when I wake up in the morning, how can I be Will Packer? Like, you can kind of see whatever he does. He's like, how can I be Will? Like, it's just, you know, whatever. That's not the point.

[A]

I see it. I totally.

[B]

Of course. Anything you like about Idris, you kind of look at me and it's like.

[A]

Oh, that's Will Packer.

[B]

There's the original, and then there's. Right. Somebody that's trying, but it's fine. I don't. I don't just be Spurch my brother. Good luck, you know, whatever. So with Dress, he was coming off the Wire, and his first. His first theatrical movie was a little movie I made called the Gospel. And it was.

[A]

Oh, I used to love that movie.

[B]

You remember the Gospel?

[A]

Yolanda Adams was in it.

[B]

Yolanda, all my gospel. Good. Victory.

[A]

That was that movie.

[B]

Remember that song?

[A]

I didn't know that was you.

[B]

How about. Do you know Snoop Dogg wanted that song Victory? If you go back, I want everybody to hit pause for a second and play Victory on your Spotify, your Apple Music app, whatever that song. You could also hear a hip hop version of that song. And Yolanda got it, but Snoop wanted it. Cause it's a dope track. So I got the Victory. Yolanda Adams. Anyway, we put that song in the gospel, right? Kirk Franklin did the soundtrack.

[A]

Yes. So good.

[B]

Fred Hammond was in it. Donnie McClurkin, like.

[A]

Yes. That was a good OGs of gospel.

[B]

Yeah. And Idris played a Southern pastor. And Boris Kojo, Idris Elba, like, you know, Nona Gang. It was a great cast. Great cast. And it was. Because what happened was, after I did Chocolate City, I then made a movie with Kenya Moore called twa, and it was an erotic thriller.

[A]

I was.

[B]

Now, don't put that frame face. Don't listen, people. The people know. The people know. Okay, all right.

[A]

I've been delivered.

[B]

The team was twin it up, wasn't she? She was. So I made this rock thriller called Twice Y'. All. Some of y' all remember that. And then Hollywood will only let me do other twas. I got pigeonholed for a hot second.

[A]

We like, we want this.

[B]

So I did TWA1, TWA2, TWA3, Pandora's Box. And I. And my mom said, baby, now you know that, like, you grew up in the church. Stop playing. You grew up in the AME Church, Bethel AME down here in St. Pete, Florida. Give me something that I could take my missionary sisters to, right?

[A]

Cause you embarrassing me right now. Well, they can't watch me.

[B]

Well, here's the other side of that story, Chris. She was taking her missionary sisters to see all my latoi erotic thriller movies. And they weren't complaining.

[A]

They loved it.

[B]

All my mama's older church ladies was going to support all my little erotic thriller movies.

[A]

I bet they were.

[B]

First weekend. And so my mom was like, well, give us something else that we can go to. Right? Cause we don't have to sneak in the back. I said, I got you. I had wanted to do a faith based movie anyway.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I made this movie to gospel. And that was Idris's first movie after the Wire. And that's the one that really kind of got. Because, you know, everything is a stepping stone. You talked about you being on the set as an extra of Stomp the Yard, too. I'm sure you had done other extra things. And then now you and I working together. And you, you know, one of my main actors in that movie praised this, but it was steps to get there. It's always steps.

[A]

So it took steps.

[B]

I didn't go straight from, oh, I want to be a filmmaker to Stomp the Yard, which was my first number one movie. I went to the Twas and then I went to the Gospel. And the Gospel was successful, and that opened the door to allow me to make Stomp the Yard.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So a lot of times today it feels like people just want to get right to it. I want to skip the steps. I want to be just successful immediately.

[A]

That's it.

[B]

We live in a society of immediate gratification. We live in a society where you do have some people that, you know, come up with a tech idea and somebody you read and somebody bought it for a billion dollars. It's like, well, I want that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I just want to go and get straight to being a billionaire. Be a thousandaire.

[A]

Hello.

[B]

Like, hold on.

[A]

Learn how to manage that first?

[B]

Absolutely. Because I look back, honestly, Chris, and I look at things that I got told no, like movies that I was trying to pitch and get made, and I got told no. And it was the best thing ever. Because if I had gotten the budget for that movie early and I didn't know what I was doing, like, I know now I'd have messed it up. And now I'd have been the guy that wasted that $5 million.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Now I would never get a $10 million movie, you know? So I worked and I had that. First movie was 20,000. The next movie was 200,000. Next movie. Like, I didn't get to a million dollar budget till later in my career, but by the end, I knew everything about it, what I was doing, knew how to work all the positions on a set. And so I had a different. I was ready for it. So sometimes God is saving you for things you're not ready for and you don't even know it. It feels like rejection, it feels like failure, but it's growth.

[A]

Oh, that's good.

[B]

Yes. That was a bar.

[A]

That was a bar and a sermon.

[B]

Will make Kevin Hart and put that quote under the thing and then in parenthetical, will also made Kevin Hart and Idris Elba wants to be him. So just. I'm just trying to tell you how to market this episode.

[A]

I love it. I love it. You talked about your parents basically making the decision for you to go to famu, and I heard that recently they named their performing arts amphitheater after you. How crazy.

[B]

Let me tell you something. If I was nothing else in my life, I got a. I got a building with my name on it, period. So y' all need to figure out what y' all doing, because I'm straight. I don't have another little hit movie, TV show, nothing. No, it's amazing. It's. It's a. It's crazy because that school means so much to me.

[A]

We know you. Like when I say you yell FAMU to the mountaintops. Like you love. If anybody don't even know anything. No, it's not at all. I love it.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Good answer. We wasn't gonna be friends if you fam. You people would get on your nerves. HBCU people in general. And I can say it. Cause I'm one of them. We would get. Look, why you not. The cinematographer is back there like, yeah, they get on your nerves. We will. I ain't gonna even lie. We love our little schools representatives. So maybe like, okay, enough. We get It.

[A]

It's the pride. I love it.

[B]

It is the pride. It gets ingrained in you during those four, five years, the best years of your life.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

FAMU meant so much to me, is where I really kind of found myself, found my voice, honed so many of my skills that I use to this day. So, yeah. To have my name, you know, on a building at my alma mater is everything.

[A]

I love that. That's amazing. Now do you get to go. I know you always. You're always there. Do you have some kids? Is any of your kids at the family?

[B]

All right, let me tell you something about my four little ungrateful children.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Tell you about these children. I fed them and gave them they little privilege. Sales started to cuss. But I don't want to do that because we got sponsors on this podcast, and none of my kids. I got. My kids are all amazing. They all are.

[A]

Harvard, whoa.

[B]

Howard, North Carolina, A&T, and now USC.

[A]

I know. Wow.

[B]

But ain't none of them gonna FAMU Christmas.

[A]

That's the problem. Not one with famu. Not one was like, I got you, Daddy.

[B]

All these talent, supported them and everything.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, I feel like, honestly, my kids didn't really want to be Will Packer's kid. Fmu.

[A]

Fmu. That's a lot. Big shoes to fill.

[B]

You know, I guess, in theory, would have been a lot of eyes on them, but, you know, I understand that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm still just a little. It stings a little bit.

[A]

I can imagine.

[B]

I've always given them the grace and the freedom to be like, you know, be whatever you want to be. You don't have to be in Daddy's industry. You don't have to go to Daddy's alma mater. You do whatever you want, find it on your own, and they're finding it. That's all right. I got FAMU to myself. I love it.

[A]

There you go.

[B]

I love my famu.

[A]

I love it. Yes. That's amazing. Congratulations on that. That is huge. Because a lot of people can't say they have their name on a building at their alma mater.

[B]

That's true. No, most people can't.

[A]

No, I don't take it for granted.

[B]

Really. Sincerely.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did you go to college? Yeah, I went to see my parents, went to tsu.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

So I know all about the hbcu.

[B]

You know about that. Annoying parents.

[A]

I wanted to go to homecoming.

[B]

You want to go to tsu? Yeah.

[A]

I grew up going to homecoming every year, and I just fell in love with the School, the energy. So in high school, I was dating a guy who was, like, two years older than me. He ended up going to tsu. So when it was time for me to graduate, my parents made the choice for me not to go.

[B]

But you ain't following him.

[A]

You ain't going.

[B]

Was it because of him or just.

[A]

Oh, they were like, yeah, you're not going there.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. They liked him, but they just did not want us, like, out of town.

[B]

They didn't trust that.

[A]

They didn't trust that. They was like, nah.

[B]

So where'd you go?

[A]

I went to the University of Tennessee at Martin in my hometown. Yeah.

[B]

Okay. They wanted you close.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Did you want to be close, or were you, like, trying to get out?

[A]

I was trying to go, but then they got me because they told me I couldn't take my car with me. My freshman. And as a kid, I'm 18 years old, I'm like, what am I gonna do without my car?

[B]

You didn't need that car.

[A]

I did not need my car. I should have left.

[B]

Your parents were right.

[A]

Yeah. But I stayed so I could keep my car.

[B]

So you can keep your car. So you put the car over. Is he still alive?

[A]

I hope he's alive, and I guess he's well.

[B]

Oh, okay, Cool. So that was in the. Tell you something interesting. My wife, your cousin Heather, also wanted to go to tsu. She wanted to go to hbcu, too. And her parents was like, no, you're not.

[A]

See, I think it's a Hazel thing.

[B]

They was like, you ain't ready for that. You gonna be up there partying. And knowing my wife, they was probably right. She probably needed to go. So she went to, like, UT Chat and then went to Christian Brothers.

[A]

See? Oh, yeah. Perfect. Yeah, that is fun.

[B]

Y' all ended up exactly where y' all was supposed to be.

[A]

We did.

[B]

Cause FAMU ain't for everybody. HBCU life ain't for everybody.

[A]

Yeah, I would have. I know I would have been wilding. I was wilding on UT Martin campus. I know if I had with tsu.

[B]

It'D have been over. Yeah. You might have had the building named after you for the wrong reason. This is where Crystal was turned up in here. Crystal Renee building, y'. All. Friday night. She was partying.

[A]

Listen. Couldn't wait. Listen. That was me freshman year. I had a good time. Cause I was very sheltered growing up.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So when I went to college, I was like, finally, the freedom. Freedom. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, we all did. That's all of us. Part of that Is the growth part of. That's what college is all about.

[A]

It really is. Yeah.

[B]

Except for my kids. I'm watching y'. All. Okay.

[A]

I need y'. All.

[B]

I'll be doing whatever I did.

[A]

Got our eye on you. Yeah, we're watching y'. All. Harvard. That's amazing.

[B]

Yeah, my oldest went to Harvard. Yeah. Yeah, he did.

[A]

Usc, North Carolina, nt, and great.

[B]

They all ended up at great school. I'm very, very fortunate, very blessed, because, you know, parenting is tricky these days.

[A]

It is.

[B]

It's very different raising kids with the pressures that they have today than we were under. Not that we were not under pressure.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But we didn't have, you know, the options, the words to verbalize what we were feeling. The eyes of the world via social media on us. Like, there were a lot of things that were just different in the way that we grew up and the way kids are growing up today. And some of it is much easier, much more access, much. You know, they have. They have. They have power and agency that we didn't have. But some of it, the pressure is crazy. Like, if there was literally a camera around everywhere that we went when we were growing up, like them freshman years of college, you and I had. If everything was on the phone, like, bruh, thank you. Stop playing. Exactly, exactly. So, you know, yeah, it's different, but my. I'm very fortunate. My kids are doing great.

[A]

Yeah. That's awesome. Something a lot of people may or may not know. You were the first African American to lead production for the Oscars. What was that like coming out of COVID Because, you guys, that was, like, the first time people could actually be back. Was that one of the first.

[B]

No, it was. It was, yeah. The year before us, it was a much more limited. So my Oscars was 2022. Right. And then, you know, obviously Covid was 2020, and so the 2021 year was a much smaller. So this was that we had, like, everybody back in the Oscars.

[A]

What was that whole process like? Were you nervous? Were you like, oh, my gosh, this is the.

[B]

I was. I wasn't nervous. Wasn't the word I would use, but it was. First of all, it was a very long process, right? You know, people think the Oscars is one night, which it is, but literally there's six, seven, eight months of work that lead up to that one night. There's so much that goes into it. Because it's such a big show, right? It's a, you know, multi hour show. People from. From all over the world are watching you know, you have. All of Hollywood has an opinion about the show, what it should be, what it shouldn't be, because the show has become, you know, something of a lightning rod. And so it was. I definitely felt pressure, but I was excited. Honestly, I was excited. It was more work than I thought. So even though I knew, I thought it would be like producing a movie. It was like producing 10 movies at one time. It was that level. Now I had a team, a full team of people, but there was a lot producing that Oscars.

[A]

I'm not gonna lie to you. Crazy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

10 movies. I couldn't imagine, like, yeah, getting ready for one is a lot.

[B]

It's so. I mean, you got the musical performances, you got the presenters. Like, people think, oh, it's just. It's an award show. It's not. Because I'm literally flying people in from all over the world to do this show. The music, you know, pieces are like their own thing. Yeah, you always have, like, you know, tributes. My year, I had tributes to, you know, big anniversaries that were happening within the industry. That's just a whole nother thing in and of itself. Like, we did a tribute to. To James Bond. Right. And so just even getting all the clearances necessary to do that, getting the right people to present it, it was the. The. I think it was the 50th anniversary of the Godfather.

[A]

That was all. Huge year.

[B]

It was, you know, that was big. And getting the folks that were involved with the Godfather on board, it just. It was just a lot. And of course, my year, because we were the first black all producing team, you know, I was gonna be diverse. My Oscars was just gonna. It was gonna have flavor.

[A]

It did.

[B]

It just was.

[A]

It did.

[B]

So whether it was the, you know, the black conductor, you know, d nice DJing, you know, the trophy presenters from HBCUs, like, we. We really went above and beyond to make sure that it was a very diverse Oscars. And it was.

[A]

It was. I love that. So, you know, I had to ask.

[B]

You, I was going to say, is that. Is that we going to stop on Oscar talk or you just going to keep going, keep going, Sip this feed.

[A]

Let you get a little sip of.

[B]

Ask me anything. What you want to know.

[A]

Were you backstage like, the whole time? So what.

[B]

I'm literally right by the. Like, what is staged, right? So I am, as presenters are going on and coming off, they're right next to me. We have a producer station. I got all the monitors for every camera. I'm on the headphones talking to the whole crew about what's going on, talking to my director, you know, listening to what's happening. And I'm also greeting people as they go on and off the stage. Right. So, you know, Chris Rock was going on to do his thing. My God. You ready? Let's go. Go do your thing, baby.

[A]

You know, excited.

[B]

We had rehearsed the show a bunch of times. We knew everything was gonna happen. So, you know, I dapped him up. He went on stage. And so I remember about that night.

[A]

That's all you remember.

[B]

Did something happen?

[A]

Something happened. All right.

[B]

I just want to say something interesting, seriously, because you asked about it being the first time that everybody was kind of all back because we were in the. It's called the Kodak Theater, the Adobe Theater now, but it's where the Oscars are held. And it was the first time we were back in that venue since COVID And we had an idea to make the stage feel like it wasn't up so high like it normally is. Because normally in, like, most concert venues, the stage is kind of raised and it was low.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Seat in the front are lower. And we wanted it to feel like almost like a lounge club atmosphere. And so we had the traditional seats in the back of theater, but in the area right around the stage, there were like, you know, loungey banquette type seating, and the stage was lower. And so everybody was kind of on the same level. And it was to make it feel that way, look that way. And also so, like, when people would come up from the their seats to accept their awards, they would just. They could just walk right to the stage, not have to walk around the wings and climb up high. Like, we wanted that feel and that energy. Now that did something very interesting.

[A]

It did. I mean, created.

[B]

It created real easy just feeling of being right there, right there. Like you could just go out, like reach out and touch somebody on that stage.

[A]

Reach out and touch somebody.

[B]

So, yeah, part of. Part of everything that happened that night was. Was because we had changed that stages out, you know, after the fact. You think about all the stuff that went wrong, like, if I hadn't had him in that moment, you know, and then me, you know, because the ratings were the. It was the first time in years that the ratings increased. But it had nothing to do with. Yeah, with the slap. Yeah, because the slap happened too late in the show to affect the ratings.

[A]

Right.

[B]

The slap was in, like, you know, fourth or fifth after the show. And I remember thinking, like, if I known this, I'd have Put Chris up front. Because if I'm gonna go down, I'm gonna go down with these radio.

[A]

Hello.

[B]

If it's going to happen, might as well bump it. Like, let's go.

[A]

But what did you say, like, when you saw it? And they're like, what were you like?

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

What just happened?

[B]

No, I thought it was a joke. I thought it was.

[A]

I did, too, at first. I was like, oh, that was. I thought y' all scripted that in the show.

[B]

At first I thought it was. Cuz, remember, because it's such a big show and it's live, you literally run through the rehearsals of the actual show and everything that's going to happen, like, four or five times.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Like, you literally went through the whole show. You got to get. Get your timing right, because again, it's a live show. So we had rehearsed everything. Chris had gone up and rehearsed his jokes, and when he came up, he immediately was off book. But if there's anybody in the world that you're not worried about going off book, it's Rock.

[A]

It's Chris Rock.

[B]

Yeah, Chris Rock. You know, he's gonna do his thing. It's gonna be funny. And so the first time that I, you know, knew something was, was that I got a little nervous, I got a little bubbly stomach was when he made the joke. And, you know, we cut to Jada, because that's what you do. That's just, you know, like a tennis match. You're just getting, you know, Crystal says somebody's name and go to that person's name, that person. You go back, like, you just. That's what you do. So we didn't know this joke was coming, but we knew where everybody was positioned in the audience. You know, exactly where everybody's sitting. And you have to be ready to move on the fly.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So he made a Jada joke. We go to Jada.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

So Jada's reaction was the first time that I was like, ooh, that joke ain't land. Right.

[A]

Yeah. Because she was like.

[B]

And you know this because you.

[A]

You.

[B]

You do comedy, you're professional. Like, comedy is reactions. If you and I here and we're filming us and I tell a joke, the laugh actually comes when you react or when other people react. Right. When you're editing a comedy movie for the young filmmakers out there, it's all about the reaction.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So he told the joke, and then the reaction tells the audience how to feel about the joke. And the reaction clearly, was that it was not funny to the person who was the subject of the joke. And so that's the first time I was like, oh, get off her. Go off of there. Like, go somewhere else.

[A]

Did he have an earpiece scene?

[B]

Or like, chris aboard mission, no earpiece. He was just out there. He was just outside butt naked. No butt booty. No. No. I could not talk to this man. Nothing. He told it. And then we went to her. She clearly did not find it funny. And so it was like, all right, let's keep going. Like, that was awkward, but cringe moment, but keep going. When we went on stage, we thought this was part of something they had done. Because it's not unheard of that people go off script or that these are actors in Hollywood. They do all kind of little stuff that they think is cool and funny. And sure enough, it happened. And the first question I said to the director in the microphone was, did he. Did he. Did he hit him?

[A]

Right?

[B]

Like, did he actually.

[A]

Like, what did that just happen?

[B]

And then I was like, oh, y' all gotta clean this up, like, quick. Like that. That. That ain't that funny. So, yeah, forget the other joke. That was cringy. This is really cringey. Like, whatever y' all are planning, get to the punchline.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, I'm literally thinking that Chris and Will have planned something, and it was not. I'll be honest with you. The whole thing happened. We. We. We had, you know, Will say what he said. Keep my wife's name out. You know, everybody's seen it now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I've had people say, like, why. Like, why did you show that? But again, you don't have. I didn't have anywhere to cut to.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like, in the moment, people, first of all, everybody's faces in that audience was worse. Like, the people wanted me to go to Gwyneth Patro, and she was like. Like, I would. What do you want me to cut? That's the whole audience. It was 7,000 people in there.

[A]

Like, what?

[B]

So I didn't have nothing to. I would have had to cut to, you know, the Hollywood side right outside the building. So, right, you cut to Will. Cause you. You know that you're just following the action. It's just going according to normal procedure. Once he said what he said, it was like, okay, this is not a joke.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, it's real. And then when Chris got off stage, I was the first person to talk to him. You know, Quest, Love. Shout out to Quest. He won.

[A]

Love him.

[B]

He got off stage. And the first thing I said, I said, did he hit you.

[A]

I said, did he?

[B]

Did he really hit you? And Chris goes, yeah, I just took a punch from Muhammad Ali. Like he was joking.

[A]

Immediately.

[B]

Automatically, he immediately told the joke. So then Chris and I go off and backstage. And I took him into my office. He went into my office, backstage, right off the stage. Everybody's still aghast, by the way, if you. The reason it truly, truly went viral so immediately is because there was a feed and I think Australia, that they did not bleep out what Will said. So. Because what happens is in la, we're sending a feed out to all the domestic, the us, ABC affiliates, but you send it out to the world and all the affiliates that are picking it up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And. And they have different sensors in different. Each country is responsible for their own sensor sensors. And so I think it was Australia in that feed. They didn't edit out what he said, so you can hear it all clearly. And so that's the clip that went out on the Internet. So it really went super viral in the moment fast. And my phone exploded.

[A]

Oh, I know it did.

[B]

I'm back. I'm literally, by the way, as it's happening. Before Chris got off the stage, my phone just started smoking. Like, it was like, everybody, like, my mama was like, baby, that ain't funny. Like, thanks, Ma. Appreciate you. I'm in a. I'm in a disaster right now.

[A]

Thanks, Mama.

[B]

That ain't funny. By the way. When you coming home again? Like my mama, that's what she'll do. She definitely is. Detect something irrelevant in the wrong moment.

[A]

Right. It's so funny.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Shout out, Mama, you got me. Gotta love it.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Wow. I always wondered what that was like in the moment, behind the scenes.

[B]

We thought it was a joke. We all thought it was a bad joke. And then it wasn't. And then it was like, oh, my gosh. And then I just. I just had this sickening feeling, like, not tonight.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That's what I felt of all the nights. And it had been going so well. And I still am very, very proud of that show. Everything about that show I'm very proud of. You know, my amazing ladies with their hosting job. They were doing great. I'm still proud of it. Everything had been going pretty much according to plan. And I just remember having a sinking feeling of why tonight? Why. Why not? Not like this. That's what I was saying. Like, not like this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Let something else happen. Let somebody let the wrong envelope get red or somebody tripped walking up the stair. Like anything like this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Don't let this be the. The legacy of my little show. But it wasn't.

[A]

That was not.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What kind of.

[B]

I now have, you know, I'm at peace.

[A]

Good.

[B]

You know, I've connected with all involved, and I'm at peace, and I've moved on.

[A]

I love that I dressed Chris Rock. He was in. What movie was that? He did a movie for Tyler. And when I say he was one of the most kind, gentle spirits I've ever met in my life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I had his costume, his wardrobe pulled out, and I said, hey, Mr. Rock. He's like, hi, how are you? And I was like, well, these are the options. He goes, whatever you need. And I was like, I'll step out so you can change. Okay. And then I will say thank you. Like, my pleasure. Like, so nice. I'm like, oh, my goodness. Like, and then to see that happen. And I love Will, too, and, like, have such a high regard for him. Still love, you know, saying both of them people are human. I just feel like that was one of them days where I had that moment where I got time today. He just had time.

[B]

You know, what I will say, and we can leave it alone, is that the pressures of. As you know, the pressures of folks on folks in our industry is unbelievable.

[A]

It is.

[B]

If you're not in the industry and, you know, you don't know what it's like to constantly have eyeballs on you, constantly have somebody analyzing every word that you say, and you don't, you know, we don't give grace for mistakes now. You got to be perfect all the time, and nobody is. There is a. It takes a. An unbelievable toll and strain on people. So that's what I will say. And I just am somebody that believes we have to evaluate people for who they've been.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You know, for a lifetime. For decades.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Not on a really, really bad moment.

[A]

Just a moment.

[B]

And that's. That's. That goes for anybody.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

Everybody makes mistakes. And so it is unbelievably difficult to be in the public eye these days. And there's going to be people who say do and act the wrong way constantly. It will continue.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Let's judge people on who we. Who they've shown us to be for the vast majority of their lives or careers or what have you, and not just on their absolute worst moment.

[A]

I love that. And, you know, Will, I think that's the perfect note to end on.

[B]

There we go.

[A]

That. I literally love that. That's great. Give people grace.

[B]

Give people grace. We all deserve it.

[A]

Everybody.

[B]

And give yourself grace. You deserve a little bit, too.

[A]

I try to tell ourselves now we are right.

[B]

Give yourself a little grace.

[A]

Yeah, you're okay. So true.

[B]

Keep it positive, sweet.

[A]

Keep it positive, sweetie. I love it. Okay, so we're about to end the show. What we do is positive outcomes where our listeners write in a letter and we give them advice. Okay, so I'm going to read it off and we're going to see what we can tell her.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

She goes. Hi, Crystal. Let me start by saying I absolutely love your podcast. I've been with my husband for 21 years. I know him as a go getter and a provider. For the past eight and a half years, we've been going through it financially. I can see that he is frustrated and very down about his business not flourishing the way he wanted it to. I try my best to help him and be positive in a safe space, but when I try to suggest jobs that are hiring, he brushes me off and gets very defensive. I've always been by his side through thick and thin without judgment or pressure. We have a family to provide and care for, which requires steady paychecks, which is why I try to help him find other jobs so that we can take care of the family that we made together. How can I get my point across to him without making him feel less of a man? And I think, being that you are a man, I feel like you may be able to speak from that man.

[B]

I have a strong opinion. I feel like you should go first on this one.

[A]

Okay. All right.

[B]

Cause she doesn't say what he does. It feels like it was entrepreneurial.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

He was working for himself.

[A]

It's not. His business isn't flourishing the way he wanted it to. So it has to be entrepreneurial.

[B]

And we think she works based on this letter. All right, what's your two cents?

[A]

I would tell her one. I mean, you have a family, so he has to figure it out, you know? But there is a way to be that safe space for your man, to not put him down when he's not doing well. But also if he's a go getter and a provider, he should already have that mentality like, I gotta do what I gotta do. You know, you shouldn't have to, like, all right, baby, you need to go find something else to do so we can eat this week. I feel like as a man, he should be trying to figure it out and if it means going to do something that he doesn't want to do, because I can attest to me doing jobs that I didn't want to do to get where I wanted to be.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

So I feel like that would be a thing that he needs to swallow his pride. But there is a way to do it without making your man feel less than.

[B]

Yeah, I agree with everything you said. I'm going to give you a different perspective.

[A]

Yes. That's what I want.

[B]

Okay. I think that you are absolutely right in that we're talking about a family, and his job is to provide. And so ultimately, it is on him. Right. I believe in that. I believe that. And it doesn't have to just be the man, but I believe that there is a head of a household whose job it is to provide. And it definitely sounds like in this situation, he is assuming that role. At least he wants to. So. Yes. And I am somebody that believes that. You know, brother, you got to do what you got to do for your family. Period, point blank. Now, here's what I want you to hear. My sister, and you, too, Crystal, and all my other sisters, you cannot believe how unbelievably painful it is for that black man to be failing in his family's eyes and his in his own eyes. So whatever you're saying to him, she'd been with him 21 years. She's referencing the last eight. So I have to assume that he's a good brother. He ain't just a, you know, somebody that ain't ish. Right. He's somebody that has provided before, and now the business is not working out. Right. He is being harder on himself than you could ever be on him. And so when you say, hey, here's this job, it compounds his feeling of failure and insecurity, and he feels like not only am I finding it hard to believe in myself, but you don't believe in me. Okay? Now, I'm not saying that you wrong in doing that, sister. What I'm saying is, for him, all he hears is, you don't believe in me. You telling me to give up on my dream and do this other thing that underlines that I'm failing, that I'm not doing what I'm doing, which I'm beating myself up about all the time. I am waking up. You go to sleep every night. I'm looking at the ceiling, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. Right. So what I would say is that, number one, you got to understand that he's in pain and he's hurting because there's nothing more difficult for a man who Considers himself the head of a household. To not be providing the way that he wants to doesn't mean it's not his responsibility. But your role is not. This is where I differ. Your role is not to say, here's a great job. You can find that job. He got the same newspaper and Craigslist and Google job. That ain't. I appreciate that effort. Yeah, but that's not it. In this, y' all better go to 21 years. I just want you to be right there with him and ride with him. That's what I want. I want you to say, okay, this is the budget for the month, and we are, you know, $5,000 short. I got my $2,000 on it. I believe in you. You are my man. You're the head of the household. I love you. You tell me what we doing with the other three. You just tell me. And I'm like, don't. You're trying to be helpful, but you're exacerbating and compounding his already awful feeling of insecurity and not providing by saying, here you go. Here go these jobs. And I know your intention was good, so I'm not attacking the sister at all. But just from a man, if he's the type of man that a lot of men are, he is already at his lowest point. And so what you say is, this is. This is where we're short. This is what I'm like. You tell me, yeah, I believe in you. I believe in you. We're gonna get past this. The business is gonna turn around, all of that. I believe in you. If you decide to get another job, I'm back you another job if you can figure it out. Here, I'm backing you with that. I'm backing you, period. Point, blind, back. Tell me what you need. Do you want me to go help? Do you want me to help look for jobs you don't like? Whatever. Like, say that. Because when you say when you lead a little job, listens around, you email him, because it's like this negro need to get to work. And I don't even know. I could be a nice white lady. I don't know. But whatever it is, you are unintentionally reminding him of his shortcomings and failure and making him feel like you don't believe in him.

[A]

Oh, that's so good.

[B]

That's my opinion. Maybe unpopular, but I would say, just be there for him. It ain't your job to get him the new job. Your job is just be there, support your man, and say, listen this is what we need. Now, I'm not saying sit there and starve with your kids, but just say, hey, this is what we need. You tell me how you're gonna do it. You tell me how we're gonna get it. And I believe in you. And I don't mean, like, tell me what you gonna do. That's why we show. I don't mean that. I just mean, like, hey, I'm here with you. So this is the budget, and this is what I got on it. And you just tell me how I can help. Can I help in any way with what you're trying to do?

[A]

Do?

[B]

That's what I would say.

[A]

I love. That's good. You just. Well, okay. I like that perspective, Black man.

[B]

My whole life.

[A]

Yes, Yes. I love that.

[B]

Get good at it one day.

[A]

Teach us.

[B]

Oh, my gosh. Sisters and brothers, we need to be having these conversations. We need to talk through these things.

[A]

Then we can help each other. Yeah.

[B]

100.

[A]

Yep. I love it.

[B]

I don't see too much, like, vitriol amongst, you know, folks online. You know what I'm saying? Within the same community, within the same gender, within the same orientation. Like, I just. It's just too. This is a lot of negativity. You know what I'm saying? We in it together.

[A]

We are.

[B]

We in it together. Like, let's talk it through. You know, let's talk about it. Like I said, I'm not attacking that sister. She did it, you know, the way she wanted to. I'm just giving you another opinion from a man and an entrepreneur, you know, whose life hasn't always gone the way I wanted to go.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm not attacking this sister at all. Like, he needs you. He's only at where he's at cussing you. But now he needs something different.

[A]

Yeah. He doesn't need.

[B]

Like, this is a job that's hiring anyway. Right now. He just needs you to support him and believe in him, and then you allow him to tell you how he's going to turn it around.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

All right.

[A]

I'm taking notes myself. So the next thing we do is what I'm going through and what I'm growing through. And I'll start off right now. What am I going through? I am going through a. I feel like this is a stretching phase for me in my life this season. I am in. I feel like God is stretching my faith, trying different things as far as business ventures that I don't know are going to succeed. So I'm really like Stepping out on faith in different areas and growing through, having control of everything. Because I'm such a control, I like to know what's going to happen. Okay. This is the variable that I know for sure, and just being open to the possibilities of things that are unknown to.

[B]

To me.

[A]

So that's what I'm going through.

[B]

Wow. That's good.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So the practice. This part, you didn't tell me when we asked this. Okay. All right. So I would say I'm going through a new phase in my life where now my kids are out of the house.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so it's a different dynamic for my wife and I and also a different relationship for myself and my kids because they. My babies.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But they're now all young adults. And so it means that we're redefining our relationships. We're recalibrating our relationships in a different way than we have before. So it is. It's an amazing amount of freedom that my wife and I have. But we also get to know each other in different ways because as a parent, you're always constantly sacrificing for your kids. Now I don't have that excuse anymore. Now it's her and I, so we're getting to know each other in a different way, and I'm getting to know my kids, and I have to accept them as young adults, and they also have to accept me as a father. That's not just like, you know, their primary caregiver. I am somebody that is, you know, more of a. Of a friend, honestly. So that's. That's. That's different. So that's what I'm going through. What I'm growing through is my own career and the next phase of my career. As of the recording of this podcast, we are still in the middle of a strike, and hopefully that would be, you know, over by the time it comes out. But regardless, it's a different phase in my personal career, and I'm also looking to diversify myself, my focus, my ambitions, and my aims. And so I'm growing through that. Right. I have to. You know, I've been. I've been very, very fortunate. I'm very blessed. You know, the strike hit everybody differently, so I'm very fortunate in how I've been able to weather the strike. But it also shows me, though, that I need to be in a position where I have a diverse array of things that I'm doing.

[A]

Same.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And that's what the business ventures are, because I realize I can't put all my eggs in this acting basket.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, you never know. I want things like this to happen. I'm like, I'm good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I have other things going on. This is not the end all be all.

[B]

So what you gonna sell on Instagram? Waist trainers.

[A]

No, I need to wear one. No, I can't tell you. I'll tell you.

[B]

Bathing suits. No, it's bathing suits. Weave and waist training. Now, I don't know that. I don't know the Instagram market as well as some people, but in my Explorer. That's what I said.

[A]

That's what you see.

[B]

That's what I see. People selling his hair, his weight. They still doing waist trainers.

[A]

Still doing waist trainers.

[B]

I feel like everybody got to swim.

[A]

Swim line, everybody.

[B]

But, you know, I'm not doing none of those. All right, so we're gonna do something different.

[A]

Yeah, something different.

[B]

Yeah. I feel like we should pitch Crystal Renee businesses. Y' all call in and write and say, what should she be selling? Yeah, diversify. I feel like we got something, though. I feel like whatever it is, I'm excited. Candles. No prayer candles. But they smell like feet. So then. Because that'll make you want to pray if, you know, you gotta get your.

[A]

Prayer smell like Jesus feet.

[B]

Feet gonna keep burning. Listen, I'm not gonna talk about Jesus feet. I feel like. Yeah, you gotta watch.

[A]

You gotta get on prayer.

[B]

How about that?

[A]

With her hair dry. With her hair. You know, they said in the Bible.

[B]

Uber for dogs take people. Animals. See y' all laughing.

[A]

I don't even like dogs like that.

[B]

When I'm going Shark check, you don't get no percentage. Cause you hate.

[A]

Okay, okay, okay.

[B]

Uber for dogs. When you gotta get your dog something.

[A]

Let's do it.

[B]

Take it to the park and somebody picks them up.

[A]

Oh, that's actually genius.

[B]

I'm just saying I haven't thought it.

[A]

Through because we already got this idea.

[B]

Let the dog out. We need to figure out.

[A]

Somebody needs to be there to get the dog. Yeah, I guess the driver could be.

[B]

Like, now there is a thing. I have a friend has somebody who works for my company, and their dog gets picked up for grooming. There is a doggy bus.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And they come and pick up your dog.

[A]

You are kidding me.

[B]

I promise you. And it's a bus with all these dogs in it, the way it's been described to me. And takes them to the groom and then drops them back off. That's pretty good.

[A]

Not a doggy.

[B]

Just saying.

[A]

That's smart, though, because we don't have time.

[B]

You Know anything that helps people with their time. That's the.

[A]

All right.

[B]

Those are my ideas, Chris. That's all I got. I gave them. I'm just giving them to you.

[A]

You are giving to you. I appreciate that. Mental notes.

[B]

Think about the feet candle. See, a lot of people, you know, they have candles that smell like everything.

[A]

What does that smell?

[B]

You know what? Those are my feet.

[A]

I got my feet scented. Oh, my God. Will, thank you so much.

[B]

This was awesome. Come on. Anytime. Thank you for having me.

[A]

Absolutely. All right, so another thing we do is keep it blank, sweetie.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And for this episode, I'm gonna say, okay, we talked about so much. Keep it faithful, sweetie. I know, like, what I'm going through it now is definitely stretching my face. So keep it faithful, sweetie, is what I would say.

[B]

Yeah, I like that. So my first answer to keep it crusty probably is not the same energy that you did. So, like the feet, I feel like yours is more inspirational. So I'm a go. All right. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to say, keep it consistent, sweetie. That's what I'm going to say. A lot of us have challenge with consistency, right? It's not about just being good in some areas and not in others. It's not about us being following through one time. We gotta follow through every time. Keep it consistent. That's what I would say. So as you're keeping it positive, as you're keeping it prayerful, faithful, faithful. Also keep it consistent. Try to stay consistent. That will bode well for you.

[A]

I love it. I love it. That's good. Guys, thank you so much for tuning into this episode of Keep It Positive, Sweetie. If you want to write into our positive outcomes, listener letter, write into keepitpositivesweetiemail.com and that's Sweetie with an IE. You can follow me on Instagram and all the platforms at luvcrystalrenae will tell them where the people can find you.

[B]

Usually on the Corner of no. WillpowerPacker. ILPowerPacker on all the platforms.

[A]

There we go. All right, Will, thank you.

[B]

Anytime.

[A]

This was fun.

[B]

This was good. Sa.