#163 - Unlikely Friendships

Summary

Podcast Summary: Man of the Year — Champions of Friendship

Episode #163: Unlikely Friendships
Hosts: Matt Ritter & Aaron Karo
Date: December 16, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the world of “Unlikely Friendships”—connections that cross the traditional boundaries of age, background, profession, race, or other social divides. Comedians and self-proclaimed “friendship experts” Matt Ritter and Aaron Karo use both humor and insight to explore why these unconventional friendships matter, how they develop, and how they benefit our lives. The conversation blends cultural observations, personal anecdotes, and listener questions, maintaining the duo's trademark banter and practical outlook.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Defining “Unlikely” or “Unconventional” Friendships

• Opening Challenge (00:37):
  Aaron quizzes Matt about historical/cultural pairs—Lincoln & Douglass, Chaplin & Einstein, Stewart & Snoop Dogg, Bernie Sanders & Cardi B—which sets the stage for the “unlikely friendships” theme.

• Defining Terms (05:00):

  • Matt: “If I had to define what is an unlikely friendship, I'd say one that defies convention.”
  • Traditional friendships are usually based on shared demographics, jobs, lifestyles, and interests. Unlikely friendships cross these lines.
  • The guys agree “unconventional” is a more accurate term than “unlikely.”

2. Why We Gravitate Toward Sameness—And Why Breaking That Mold Matters

• Friend Group Homogeneity (05:30):

  • Most people, including Matt and Aaron, admit their closest friends are pretty similar to themselves.
  • Diverse or unconventional friends usually fall into “secondary” circles but add valuable variety.

• Benefits of Different Perspectives (07:31):

  • Engaging with people outside one’s bubble is “horizon-expanding.”
  • “It's just more interesting to talk to someone with a different background…just hearing a different perspective.” – Aaron (07:31)

3. Examples of Famous Unlikely Friendships

• Age, Race, Gender, Occupation (09:19):
  • Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart (“across three lines that defy whatever conventions” — Matt, 09:35)
  • Entertaining quiz on their ages; surprise at Martha Stewart being 84 (10:17).
  • Discussion of friendship pairs like Sanders & Cardi B, and reminders that celebrities, regardless of difference, often still share a world.
  • Brief tangent on celebrity plastic surgery and “new faces” (10:47–12:24): Playful, irreverent commentary.

4. Listener Question: Navigating an Age-Gap Friendship

• Question Segment (15:31):
  • A 50-something listener befriends a teen neighbor over a film project. Asks: “How do I keep the friendship positive and appropriate while still being supportive?” (15:54)
  • Key Advice:
    • Engage in the other’s interests; “We don’t share cultural references” is a choice, “You can watch five movies and you get a whole generation.” – Matt (18:50)
    • Encourage cross-generational learning; interacting with people of different ages has tangible positive effects for both.
    • Be transparent and “interface” with the teen’s parents for openness and safety (21:47–21:59).

5. How Unlikely Friendships Form

• Opportunities for Connection (29:02):
  • Volunteering, sports, and hobbies as fertile ground for friendships that cut across age, SES, gender, politics, etc.
  • “All the third places…are good, like your run club. You could find people at a cross section of ages and genders and politics and religion and socioeconomic status.” – Matt (29:11)

6. Challenges, Pitfalls, and Cultural Observations

• Falling Out of Touch (29:41–30:13):

  • Some unconventional friendships fade as life circumstances change (e.g., gym friends drifting apart).
  • Musings on how unlikely it is for straight men to be included in queer women’s friendship circles, and vice versa.

• Filling Gaps with Complementary Friends (31:54):

  • “There's something nice about having somebody that…fills a bucket that you do not.” – Matt
  • The practical benefits of friends with different skill sets, resources, or perspectives.

7. Call for Listener Stories

• Close (32:41):
  • Matt and Aaron invite listeners to share their own “unlikely friend” stories.
  • “DM us some unlikely friend stories.” – Matt (32:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On unlikely animal friendships:
  “I like TikToks where animals aren’t just friends, where they've been adopted by another species.” – Matt (02:16)

• On friendship homogeneity:
  “Your close friends...usually exhibit homogeny. Like, you’re just very similar.” – Aaron (05:30)

• On the purpose of unconventional friendships:
  “They’re proof that you don’t need all that stuff to have good friendships.” – Matt (06:37)
  “It's very horizon expanding.” – Aaron (26:31)

• On bridging cultural gaps:
  “People who say things like, ‘We don’t share cultural references.’ That's a choice… You can watch five movies and you get a whole generation.” – Matt (18:50)

• On filling gaps in friend circles:
  “I think there's something nice about having somebody that... fills a bucket that you do not.” – Matt (31:54)

• On generational respect:
  “What do you think about kids when they say sir and ma’am?” – Aaron (22:30)
  “I like it. Respect.” – Matt (22:35)

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Important Timestamps

• Unlikely Friendship Theme Introduction: 00:37–01:10
• Defining Conventional vs. Unlikely Friendship: 05:00–07:20
• Celebrity Examples Segment: 09:19–10:28
• Plastic Surgery Side Tangent: 10:47–12:24
• Listener Question: Navigating Age-Gap Friendship: 15:31–26:00
• How to Make Unlikely Friends / Inclusive Examples: 29:02–31:30
• Skill Sets & Gaps in Friend Circles: 31:54–32:32
• Podcast Wrap & Listener Call-to-Action: 32:41–32:51

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Final Thoughts

Matt and Aaron deliver a fun, insightful exploration of why unconventional friendships matter and how they broaden our perspectives. The episode is peppered with inviting asides, relatable stories, and a sincere encouragement to seek out and celebrate the “unlikely” friends in our lives.

Closing Reminder:
“Always remember, be good to yourself. Be good to your friends. Love you, buddy.” — Aaron (32:51)

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Share your unlikely friendship story:
DM Matt and Aaron at @manoftheyearpodcast on Instagram

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Welcome to the number one friendship podcast in the country. I'm Aaron Caro.

[B]

I'm Matt Ritter.

[A]

And guys, make sure to go to audible.com the buddy system to check out our Audible original and go to manotherpodcast.com to grab our merch and. And watch our shows on YouTube. So Matt, what do the following people have in common?

[B]

I love these.

[A]

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein. Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg. Bernie Sanders and Cardi B.

[B]

They're all friends. Said something friendship and they have age gap. No, Douglas and Lincoln were the same age.

[A]

Ish.

[B]

Older, younger, black, white.

[A]

It's not that deep. It's. It's the topic of the pod. They're just. They're just unlikely friends.

[B]

Oh, there we go. Hey, Unlikely. Oh, I was, I was getting there. We were getting there. We were getting there. Unlikely friendships.

[A]

Yeah. You know you always. I always get served on tick tock. Like a dog became friends with a lamb or a rooster is friends of the hippo.

[B]

I absolutely love that when a rooster and a hippo just become pals. Especially since hippos are very aggressive.

[A]

I told someone about my algorithm the other day. It was actually in a meeting and they were horrified.

[B]

Told them that you only like pole vaulters and. And different animal species hugging slow motion.

[A]

Baltic female pole vulters and they're when.

[B]

The, when the thing slowly goes into the ground.

[A]

They were, they did not laugh. I was like, oh, I think I have wrong.

[B]

I think I'm in the wrong meeting.

[A]

Yeah, I'm sorry.

[B]

I'm in the meeting from 20, 2012. Acceptable to say things like that in general.

[A]

Well, I mean I like the pole vaulters but I also, as you know, I like tick tocks where people being nice to each other.

[B]

I like tiktoks where animals aren't just friends where they've been adopted by another species.

[A]

Oh, see, I thought you were going to go the other way. Where you're talking about like, is it called like ligers where they actually mate?

[B]

Oh no. Oh yeah. That's. That's too far for me.

[A]

That's too far.

[B]

If I like when they, when they orphaned and they just join another species and they don't even know that they're.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

Oh, I didn't know I was not a dog. I'm a. I'm a, you know, I'm a sheep.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. What do you think about people who have. Mostly I think it's monkeys who have these insane pets.

[B]

Oh, you mean like wildlife in the home Yeah, I don't love it. I don't love it for the animal. Like, I guess if you have a full giant, you know, like, if you're a drug. If you're a drug lord, I like it. If you're a drug lord and you have a tiger roaming around you, but you have hundreds of acres, I like it.

[A]

Well, you know that, like, because of. Oh, my God. Why am I. Joe.

[B]

Joe the. Joe the cat guy?

[A]

No, no, no. The biggest drug dealer of all time. Why am I blanking? Escobar. His hippos.

[B]

His hippos. Yeah.

[A]

Now there's, like, all these generations of hips.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, if they have room to. If they have a nice room. Room to bathe. And I'm. I'm all. I'm all for it. It's about the space.

[A]

I don't love the. Also, those monkeys, they. They rip your face off, and that's really effed up.

[B]

Yeah, the face ripping is not great. It's not a great thing. They haven't really solved for. We have a lot of plastic surgery, but they've never really quite solved a full face rip. I've ever seen a post face rip surgery. Hey, you didn't happen to have a monkey rip your face off, did you? Yeah, that's actually exactly what happened. How'd you know? I. Lucky guess.

[A]

The. Yeah, okay, let's not talk about the face ripping anymore. But anyway, we haven't. In all of our episodes, we haven't really talked about these unlikely friendships. And first, let's talk about sort of what that means. So I would say A would be. I think age. B, I think we might be class. You know, I think gender. Obviously not that weird to have a guy friend and a girlfriend, but it could be a factor also, maybe, like, occupation. You know, Cardi. B. Bernie Sanders. You know, I think that we. We often think of these things, like, in a romantic sense, but, like, I love a good friendship of two completely different people.

[B]

I would say if I had to define what is an unlikely. If I had to define what is an unlikely friendship, I'd say one that defies convention.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

I think what you're talking about is conventional friendship. Conventional friendship is people in your own socioeconomic status, people you work with, people your own age, people in the same phase of life as you, people who like all the same activities. And so sometimes when we see people who are out of that, you're like, oh, what is that? That's cool. What an unlikely friendship.

[A]

So we have talked about this at some point that, like, Your close friends and us included usually exhibit homogeny. Like, you're just very similar.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then your secondary friends are the more sort of diverse weirdos. Interesting, different, unlikely.

[B]

Right. Because I think at our core, we want our inner crew to get us on a really deep level where it's like our brains are on the same wavelength. We like the same dark humor. You know, we could send memes that have no text and just back and forth meming with no explanation necessary.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You want to feel like soul mates with your close friends.

[A]

Well, there's no reason you can't be a soulmate with an unlikely.

[B]

No, I'm just saying. But a lot of times that's based on all of your similarities and interests and background. And, like, there's just a lot of. That's why. I think that's why a lot of it is homogeneous is because of. There's like a lot of similar.

[A]

Well, it's also you're. You're with the people that you're in the same spaces, at same places you live, same colleges, whatever.

[B]

But yes, you can be very close. You could be very close with somebody who would. Wouldn't necessarily fit into those conventional boxes that we think create those friendships. Because I think the unlikely friendships are proof that you don't need all that stuff to have good friendships. We call them unlikely, but really what they're doing is proving that you can have those friendships.

[A]

Maybe we call it unconventional. Is that what I'm saying?

[B]

I think that's why I was like, it's not really unlikely. It's just on. It's just unconventional. It's just defying what our stereotypes, our stereotype is that it's, you know, somebody your own age you grew up with, and, you know, you work in similar space and you just talk about all the things that you did growing up or whatever.

[A]

Right. What is that? What does Tony Soprano say?

[B]

The lowest form of conversation. Reminiscing is the lowest form of conversation.

[A]

Remember when.

[B]

Remember when is the lowest form conversation.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I think it's also like, I. I think that the unlikely or unconventional friendships, it's just more interesting to, like, talk to someone with a different background, different, you know, especially since we're so siloed in our lives and our news. Just like hearing a different perspective.

[B]

I think it's phenomenal. I think everybody should have one unlikely friend.

[A]

Yeah. Do you. So I'm thinking. I'm trying to think of, like, my unlikely friends, and I think, who's your most unlikely friend? I mean, some of it is Age, because I have some. I have, like, my mentees. So, like, I. I wouldn't, you know, I'm friendly, I guess you'd say, with like, people who've just graduated college, which is kind of interesting. I feel like they're not great texters, by the way. That's a new thing I'm learning, which. You think they would be good texters.

[B]

Not to you.

[A]

Maybe not today. How come no one's responding to. We're in a. We're in an epidemic of ghosting. Just. And everything. I'm not even talking about, like, friendship, dating, work. Can't get email back.

[B]

Yeah. Time of the ghost. It's. It's. It's.

[A]

It's horrifying.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if mine are unlikely, though, because the ones I have that are older, just, like mentor level. Is that unlikely to have mentors? We know it's hard to get.

[A]

Well, I mean, but you are, like, in our business and mentors and friends. I mean, it's all blurred. I mean, how old? I. I know what you're thinking of. How old is your oldest?

[B]

I have a few that are in their 60s and 70s.

[A]

Oh, that's 70s. I mean, we're getting up there.

[B]

Yeah, right, right. So is that unlikely?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

But I think that, you know, another one is like. Was it Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart? I don't know why there's all. All many rappers in this list.

[B]

Well, because they're across race, they're across gender, they're across age.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Across three lines that, you know, are defy whatever conventions, but they. They seem to be genuine friends.

[A]

All right, can you guess how old Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are?

[B]

Okay, so I know Snoop Dogg is older than us, but not by much because he started. So let's just say his first album was in 91. And he was young. He was like 17 or 18. So I want to say he's like 70. He's probably 52 at most.

[A]

I'm very good. 54. Wow.

[B]

Okay, so he's 54. And Martha Stewart has been around a while. I'm going to say she's 76.

[A]

84.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Right? That doesn't make sense. Is that even right? Yeah, she's born in. Yeah, she's older than. Than our parents.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

It's insane.

[B]

She's. She's looking good.

[A]

Yeah, I. I was shocked by that. I was shocked.

[B]

Yeah. That's an unlikely friendship. But they're also both big celebrities in entertainment.

[A]

Matt, this is a Little side topic for thinking of how Martha Stewart looks. You and I have never discussed, like, the, the plastic surgery, like, trend of, like, people just getting new faces.

[B]

Does she have a new face?

[A]

No, but I'm sure she's had to work that. And that's not a diss. I mean, she looks great.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Why? Who has a new face? I. I don't, I can't recall anybody.

[A]

Who, like, specifically, I mean, like, Anne Hathaway has a new face. I mean, you know, has a new face. Oh, yeah. Bradley Cooper has a new face. Like, people just get new faces.

[B]

Do you think that was because a monkey ripped off any of their faces?

[A]

Like, I mean, I don't know. What do you, what do you think of just, like, showing up one day with new.

[B]

No, I know. I think. Well, first of all, I don't think that's the game plan. When they go under the knife. I, I don't think they plan on having a new face. I think it's a botch. It's a botch.

[A]

How could these people getting. These are the most recall.

[B]

This is the greatest case of a reverse new face. You know who that is?

[A]

Okay, wait, tell me what you mean by reverse new face.

[B]

Meaning they had a new face that was botched and then they did another new face and now they look amazing.

[A]

I have no idea.

[B]

One person that really qualifies.

[A]

I, I don't even know the Cole Kidman. Oh, I don't know. I don't recall.

[B]

Originally she had a new face and everybody's like, what is that now? And then, like, I think she had or sometimes I think the new face has to settle into your bones.

[A]

Yeah, right. Yeah.

[B]

I think the new face has to layer properly and like, you know, like, you know, I'm total recall when I'll like, wear that fake face and then first it has to, like, mold itself to him.

[A]

Huh.

[B]

I think. And then it only, like, lasts for like a couple minutes and then explodes. I think that's sort of what happens.

[A]

How old do you think Nicole Kidman is?

[B]

58.

[A]

Yes. Are you looking these up?

[B]

I'm looking right at you. What do you mean looking?

[A]

I don't know what you got. I can't tell what you've got going on over there.

[B]

Right at you. Can we.

[A]

Let's take a listener question and come back to this. Okay, guys, we'll be right back.

[C]

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[C]

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[A]

Okay. This is asking for a friend. If you have a friendship question or ethical dilemma, send it to us on Instagram and we will answer it on the show. Okay. Dear Mad Cairo, first of all, love the audio original, the Buddy system. I'm going to leave a review. I'm going to leave a review.

[B]

Going to. Oh, hold on, hold on. Well, leave the review.

[A]

Okay, this is. This is from a guy I've gotten really close to, a teenage neighbor after helping him with a school film project. Even though I'm in my 50s and we barely share any cultural references, but we chat on the porch about movies, music, and his plans for college. How do I keep the friendship positive and appropriate while still being supportive?

[B]

Oh, that's cute. It's a neighbor. That's a neighbor friend. I like that.

[A]

Yeah. Someone brought up the. The age old question of why Marty McFly was friends with Doc.

[B]

Right, right. In another movie. Right. Like you could create a different dark version of that movie.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Well, that's good. I mean, first of all, I mean, the guy's only in his 50s, so it's not like he's that old. Yeah, but have you ever seen. Because I get on my tick tock. Not the bulk, the pole vaulter side, the other side. Like little kids going to nursing homes.

[B]

No, but that's very cute.

[A]

Yeah, I love the. Because, you know, I think there's so much to learn from our elders that we probably don't.

[B]

My brother was really good, has always been really good at that. Having these like really old. They're not even mentors, just older men that he would befriend.

[A]

I think, I think you've mentioned this before, that he's a coterie of just older gentlemen.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, think about how like many pitfalls we could have afforded in our lives if we just had an older. Any mentor but an old man advising us.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Well, we don't. You know, my old building, I had a few unlikely friendships, by the way. This was sidetracking me from the question, but I had a lot of. You remember, like Andy and Gladys. There were a bunch of older women in my building.

[A]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I guess you. I guess they did come to your parties.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And all the like dog park people, older women, dog. Now I don't have a dog. It's like, I guess I have less surface area for unlikely French. I just realized now that I'm in this like Deep young kid phase, very low surface area for unlikely friendships to form.

[A]

Yeah. If you met an older couple, you'd be like, I don't have time for this.

[B]

It's just. It's just not in the cards right now. Anyway, sorry. Back to the question of is. First of all.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Your neighbors. You know, like, that's great. And I'm sure he's getting a lot out of it. Let's remember that.

[A]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I have no. This doesn't say whether the. The older guy is married or has kids or whatever, but I'm assuming he doesn't have kids because then he'd be. He'd be mentoring his own kid. I don't know. I think it be. I think a good way to be a good friend for the older guy is to try. First of all, question asking is always good, but try to engage with. He says, I don't. We don't share any cultural references. Well, why go watch K Pop Demon Slayers.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Hunters.

[B]

Right.

[A]

One of those two and talk to the kid about it.

[B]

That's a good point. You know, Kira, I think you bring up an excellent point that people who say things like, we don't share cultural references. That's a choice. They're out there. Like, you're not born with cultural references.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, this is not baked into your DNA. You can watch five movies and you get a whole generation. Right?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

What are our five? I just made that up. Like, what are our five? If you had, like, five movies to define our generation, that's.

[A]

That's a tough one. Because our. Gosh. Because we're. We're older than, like, you know what I just watched, I watched.

[B]

Right. We're not the Social Network generation.

[A]

Right? Yeah.

[B]

We're also not the Wall street generation.

[A]

Right? Yeah. What? Because we're also Zennials in between.

[B]

I'm saying, like, like, like the people who really grew up in the 80s. Wall street defines them that, like, you know, that era.

[A]

Right. Or like singles. No, Reality Bites. Reality.

[B]

Reality Bites is great, but that's like, slightly older than our gen. Yeah.

[A]

God, that's a good question. Is it early? Because it's like, early 2000s stuff.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, it's definitely Fight Club. It's definitely Pulp Fiction.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

I'm not sure what the social commentary one would be, because Reality Bites would be like a closed social commentary, but it's a little too early.

[A]

Ferris Bueller.

[B]

Yeah. Again, but that's not really our gen. I mean, I love it, you know, but The Breakfast Club is not our gen either.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, let's see the Matrix.

[B]

The Matrix, Office Space. Office Space. That's the best one for like culture defining of who we are. The others are just like the movies that we. That really defined our era.

[A]

Garden State, maybe.

[B]

Garden State. Pretty close.

[A]

Like the first generation. Just like depressed and medicated and Garden.

[B]

State and Office Space are definitely closer and it was definitely a good prescription. My point is, wouldn't that be a good prescription for an unlikely friendship of different ages where you were like, yeah, we just don't share any cultural references. Okay, here's your homework. Five movies or like here, one album. Now you get them.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Could we just do go back to the digression real quick? Crazily enough, I'd never heard of this rowdy. Rowdy Piper movie you mentioned a couple episodes ago.

[B]

Did you watch it?

[A]

Just brought it up.

[B]

Again.

[A]

I didn't watch it.

[B]

No. They live.

[A]

It's rowdy. Rowdy Piper is like a post apocalyptic like, like warlord type thing. I don't know.

[B]

No, just aliens are everywhere and you can only see them with these special sunglasses.

[A]

Right. Sounds so stupid. Yes. I love a little movie club. Do you think that the, the neighbor, the older neighbor should be interfacing with the parents?

[B]

Yes, as a sort of like I'm always like safety first. Let's clear the air first. You know, let's just make sure everybody who should be on board with this needs to be on board with it.

[A]

By the way, kids like teenagers. He's got this older friend. Those are always the nicest, like well adjusted kids.

[B]

Absolutely. Teenagers that can engage with grown ups.

[A]

Yeah, Yeah.

[B]

I have found that wanting and I'm a little concerned. I. I feel that's a pretty good.

[A]

Way to judge somebody if, if they're young and have older friends.

[B]

Not older friends, but being able to engage with adults.

[A]

I don't know if we ever talked about this. What do you think about kids when they say sir and ma'? Am?

[B]

I like it. Respect.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Fraud. You think you need bs?

[A]

I love you. You projecting a little bit. I read something, I'd have to look it up that like, I think maybe the ma'. Am. I don't know. I think people don't like the ma' am of it all.

[B]

I'm not sure women like being called ma'. Am.

[A]

Right. Like, like. But you know, I love when like a dad says to it to a son, like, you know, you're gonna be at school tomorrow. Yes, sir.

[B]

Like I agree. If women don't like that. I'd love that. For our WIN listeners to let us know, is there a term that you do like that's deferential and respectful? Because I think that's why we love sir.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

But if you like aging you, is there a respectful term that you would like to just be like?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Respect was just given to me by this teenage punk.

[A]

Right. I don't think miss or madam.

[B]

Right. Maybe madam. Maybe it is madam. I'm not sure. I have no idea. That's why I'm asking if our female listeners could message us on that one. I'd love to just list the ones that we got back as responses for that.

[A]

Have you ever had someone like, you know, refer to you not like yes, sir, but sir, like, like, like you're an older person?

[B]

Yeah, it's starting to happen more and more.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, I guess when you. Oh, I'm like, bro, here's your.

[A]

With your kids.

[B]

I get it. With the car, the valets do it. The young valets do it.

[A]

Yeah. By the way, because of your advice, I recently tipped of LA on Venmo.

[B]

Gotta be.

[A]

I'm glad because you said, quote, your Venmo is only valets.

[B]

It's only valid. It's only twos and fives.

[A]

Yeah, Twos and fives.

[B]

You like that? It's only twos and fives.

[A]

Twos and fives. Yeah. What is your normal valet tip?

[B]

I think it's just two.

[A]

Does it, does it matter to you when, you know, when they go get the car and it's like right there.

[B]

I still give him a two, but I give him a five at the hotel. Does that make sense?

[A]

No, I mean, but I get what you're saying. If they're going somewhere to get it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, they just give you the key. Sometimes I'm like, yeah, no, no.

[B]

How about. How about this? Sometimes you already have the key.

[A]

What?

[B]

No, that doesn't make any sense.

[A]

No. Okay. I thought you're about to blow my mind with some.

[B]

You're right. When the car's next to the valet and it's just sitting there and they go, here's your key. Well, they did. Did they park it or you put. No, they did park it.

[A]

No, they did park it.

[B]

They did park it, but they moved it three feet.

[A]

Okay, so I think we probably answered this. We want, you know, interfacing with the parents. I loved your pitch of learning some cultural references. I think that I'm trying to think from the kids perspective. He's getting wisdom. What about the kids, parents. Is he going to be like, why are you hanging out with. Like, what about us? Why don't you hang out with us?

[C]

Right.

[B]

But maybe they're not around when these, you know, like he's, maybe he's at the house, like after school, after school, they're working. It's time thing. Often it's just a proximity thing. Right. What I was going to say is too, like, you know, learning from people, growing through these connections. I think we're underestimating.

[A]

Underestimating what it's like to have an unlikely friend.

[B]

Well, the g, the positive nature. Not just like, oh, this is interesting. Not just that it's interesting that it's a benefit, that it's, it's beneficial to have this, that you, to absorb, you know, life experience, wisdom, knowledge, just cultural differences, age differences, you know, the way people interact differently. I think you just, you soak up a lot of positive things from it.

[A]

It's very horizon expanding.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, like for, for all your positive traits and there are, you know, increasingly not as many. But I think I've learned all there is to learn from you. Right. I mean, I'm not. That was, that, that sounded bad, but I'm just saying, like, there's nothing else I can. Affair juice to squeeze.

[B]

Ditto. Only if I make more friends that are different and bring them into the group.

[A]

Yeah, that is true. What do you think about bringing in a likely friend and colliding the world a little bit? Wait, should we talk about, should we talk about what just happened with, with our friend Brian and, and my friend?

[B]

What just happened?

[A]

I had a friend visiting from another country and you. Oh, maybe he didn't tell you this. Well, then it's not going to make any sense. I, I, I had a friend visiting who's a little, she's a little religious and he was like, Brian was like, oh, let's co out with me and Matt on this double date. I'm like, she, she doesn't want to do that. I'm talking about like, like five days ago.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you said no?

[A]

I said no. He's been making fun of me. He's like, why not? Why not?

[B]

Yeah, why not? Yeah, yeah, why not?

[A]

Going out with my two best friends and their wives who I've known for 40 years is not a fun, you know, dynamic for certain people.

[B]

What people? Who would that not be fun for? We're, we're, we're open and welcoming. That's crazy. I think you deserve some scorn. Now, now that you mention it.

[A]

All right, thank you for this question. And let us know how this unlikely friendship evolves. And if you have a question, send it to us on Instagram. Man of the Year podcast. Okay. As we're wrapping up here, I don't know that there's been many that examples in this episode of friendships across class.

[B]

Right?

[A]

I mean, Snoop and Martha, huge celebrities. Cardi B and Bernie are celebrities.

[B]

You mean like a blue collar person and a wealthy white collar, White, wealthy person?

[A]

Yeah, I guess so. I don't know. Is that.

[B]

Yeah, I guess. Look, I mean, I think part of it is like, where do you come into contact with people to be friends in the first place? Like, how do you make unlikely friendships?

[A]

Right?

[B]

They form, I guess they could form, you know, unlikely ones could form it. Like you could be volunteering and find somebody who cuts across a lot of different boundaries from you. You could be doing it at a sport thing, right? At a gym. You could find people. I mean, honestly, all the third places that you find people at are good, like your run club. You could find people at a cross section of ages and genders and politics and religion and socioeconomic status. So I think they're all kind of ripe for unlikely friendships if you were seeking that out.

[A]

You know, when I was in my CrossFit stage, I had a lot of lesbian friends.

[B]

Yeah. Had what? You just stopped becoming friends with them?

[A]

It just. We. They've sort of fallen out. I mean, just, just a lot of the CrossFit. I mean, it's been six years now, five years. But I think, But I don't, I don't.

[B]

I don't shun my, my, my friends just because I stopped working out at the same gym.

[A]

But that was. I'm not even engaging with you on this because. Shut up.

[B]

I know. I remember. They're all good, good peeps.

[A]

But. But if you think about it, I mean, this is a real generalization, but it's kind of true, I think. I think it's pretty safe to say that many. And they've told me that many lesbians or queer women don't have a lot of straight male friends. I just don't get. I think that's somewhat unlikely.

[B]

I never thought about it because I have a lot of lesbian couple friends that we know. And I never thought like, oh, am I their unlikely friend?

[A]

Yeah, well, how many lesbian couple friends do you have?

[B]

We have a few. I mean, you know, we've one that's up in the bay that's actually going through a divorce, but we Had a few words. We had a few from West Hollywood in our building.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, no, I think you are. I mean, I. I think as a. As a bro. As a proto bro. As a pro bro.

[B]

You think I'm. You think they bring me around going, look at this unlikely friend?

[A]

Yeah, I think they, you know, meet us at Kit the Cat and Kitty or whatever. By the way, did you know there's no lesbian bars in Los Angeles?

[B]

An article about how they're. They're going down in numbers.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. And by the way, the. The sort of. What's it called, the trope that, like, you can go to, like, a gay bar as a straight man, pick up the women, because there's a lot of women, straight women there because it's a safe space and there's no other guys competing. Completely untrue. I've never, like, talked to a woman at a gay bar and watch Hollywood, but I was like, get away from me.

[B]

Yeah, that's. It's like one of those things that you. You hear about or read about, but you don't really know people that have actually experienced it. It. I was gonna say this about unlikely friendships, too. You know, I think the one thing that could be nice about it that we didn't really get into is you have complementary skill sets or, you know, kind of fill in the gaps. You know, when we talk about friend circles and you kind of need a friend for different things.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I think there's something nice about having somebody that, you know for sure fills a bucket that you don't. That you do not.

[A]

So you're like, oh, God, the Subaru broke down. Get me a lesbian.

[B]

Really? Something. Something along those lines.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was thinking more. Oh, my God, I can't afford to pay this bill. Thank God I have a rich friend.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Got it.

[B]

I got my mentor can cover this tab.

[A]

It sucks being so blue collar, but thank. Thankfully, the. The man whose elevator I run or service can help me. Yeah, fair enough. All right, great. I mean, I think I'd love to hear from our listeners. I'd love to hear, like, a really good, unlikely, unlikely friend story.

[B]

Yeah, I want to hear. Tell us your DM Us some unlikely friend stories.

[A]

Yeah. Instagram man of your podcast. Okay, guys, thank you so much for listening. Always remember, be good to yourself. Be good to your friends. Love you, buddy.

[B]

Love you, buddy.