Why Vulnerability is the Key to Humanizing Your Brand with Luke Combs

Summary

Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Title: Why Vulnerability is the Key to Humanizing Your Brand with Luke Combs
Podcast: The GaryVee Audio Experience
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Guest: Luke Combs
Date: March 23, 2026

In this episode, Gary Vaynerchuk and country music superstar Luke Combs dive into the significance of vulnerability, authenticity, and mental health—both personally and in building a relatable public brand. They explore the challenges that come after achieving massive success, the responsibility of influence, and the ways in which true self-expression resonates with audiences and fans. The conversation is peppered with humor, real-life examples, and practical ideas—especially around mental health advocacy and the creation of content that has meaningful impact.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life After Major Success: The Next Chapter

• Reflection on Success:

  • Luke shares that at 35, he has reached “the 1% of the 1% musically, success-wise” [00:00].
  • Both discuss how the world perceives this pinnacle as the end goal, but maintaining or reinventing success is actually much harder.
  • Gary: “Everybody out there...think the hard part is this part. It’s actually the next part.” [07:54]

• Opportunities & Authenticity:

  • Gary points out Luke’s immense array of opportunities:
    “You're crippled by opportunity. Oh, you could literally do anything.” [06:57]
  • The real challenge is identifying what’s truly authentic to oneself—especially if it risks fanbase expectations.

• Memorable Example:

  • They joke about launching “a direct-to-consumer diaper brand,” highlighting how some authentic pursuits will confuse most people [02:23, 06:22].

2. Authenticity & Brand-Building

• Gary’s Personal Experience:

  • Describes feeling compelled to make “garage sale videos,” even when his business reputation was at its peak [03:06].
  • Notes that courage to follow authentic interests—even unpopular ones—creates a stronger, more relatable brand.

• The Courage to Be Seen Differently:

  • Quote: “How tapped into your fucking soul are you that you want to actually do authentic things that are in the face of conflict to the fan base or where you’re currently at is the great fucking question.” [04:47]

• Examples from Music:

  • They reference Lil Wayne’s largely rejected rock album as an act of creative bravery [06:00].

3. Vulnerability and Mental Health

• Personal Stories:

  • Luke opens up about living with OCD since childhood and how discussing it publicly generates the most engagement and personal stories from fans [12:03].
  • The link between creative gifts and personal struggles:
    Gary: “It’s your gift is your curse 100%?” [13:14] Luke: “In some ways, yes.” [13:17]

• Platform for Good:

  • Luke expresses a desire to use his influence for positive impact: “I would like to use my platform for good... mental health for young people.” [10:45]
  • Gary presses Luke to distinguish what “good” means personally vs. what others expect [10:09].

4. Concrete Next Steps: The Mental Health Podcast

• Idea Generation:

  • Gary suggests a monthly podcast (12 episodes a year) focused on mental health, inviting artists and celebrities to discuss their struggles openly [11:05].

• How It Works:

  • Episodes can be recorded anywhere, easily producing hundreds of content pieces, with significant ripple effects on fans [11:20].
  • Luke is enthusiastic: “I mean, I think it's a wonderful idea. And... using some of what you already have to facilitate the things you want or the impact you want to have would be, for me, the opportunity...” [11:28].

• Impact on Audience:

  • Luke recognizes the dual impact: helping young people directly and further humanizing big-name artists [15:28].
  • Gary: “A two and a half hour conversation about it… someone’s gonna say something that is literally gonna save someone’s life.” [16:12]

5. Other Passions and Future Plans

• Sports & Hobbies:

  • Luke talks about his love for football, being a Carolina Panthers fan, and wanting to coach his kids [18:19].
  • Humorous aside about becoming an “Olympic powerlifter” [17:53].

• Influence & Community:

  • Gary shares his involvement with the Bojangles board, jokingly thrilling Luke [20:22].

• Business & Brand Relevance:

  • A brief interlude with a conference attendee highlights the difference between awareness and relevance for brands:
    Gary: “They don’t have awareness issues. They have relevance issues.” [14:53]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

“Everybody out there... think the hard part is this part. It’s actually the next part.”
—Gary Vaynerchuk [07:54]

“How tapped into your fucking soul are you that you want to actually do authentic things that are in the face of conflict to the fan base or where you’re currently at is the great fucking question.”
—Gary Vaynerchuk [04:47]

“That's the thing that I feel the most passion towards, because something that has had... it’s been such a, like, cornerstone of my life, for better or for worse.”
—Luke Combs, on OCD [14:00]

“You being vulnerable will allow them to be more vulnerable. And both of you, in that story, someone’s gonna say something that is literally gonna save someone’s life.”
—Gary Vaynerchuk [16:12]

“No bigger win for an artist... to impact young people who have the same problems. Which is the number one positive of this potential idea.”
—Luke Combs [15:28]

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – Intros; Luke reflecting on reaching the top of country music
• 02:48 – Importance of authenticity in new pursuits
• 03:06–04:35 – Gary’s garage sale videos as a case of real authenticity
• 05:39 – Example: Pursuing unexpected interests (e.g., hunting or bow and arrow brand)
• 06:00 – Lil Wayne’s rock album as an example of creative risk-taking
• 10:45–14:28 – In-depth discussion of mental health, OCD, and public vulnerability
• 11:05–14:28 – Gary's pitch: monthly podcast for mental health with guests
• 15:23 – The value in humanizing artists through vulnerability
• 17:17 – Transition to potential professional and personal goals
• 18:19–20:24 – Football, team loyalty, and future hopes
• 20:22–21:29 – Gary’s business ties (Bojangles) and support for Luke’s ventures

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in self-exploration at the summit of success, highlighting why vulnerability and authenticity are non-negotiable for both personal growth and powerful branding. Gary pushes Luke to channel his platform into mental health advocacy, suggesting actionable ways to humanize celebrity and make lasting impact. Their candid banter and mutual respect make the conversation accessible and inspiring, especially for anyone wondering how to leverage influence for good while staying true to themselves.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How old are you?

[Luke Combs]

35. I've reached basically the 1% of the 1% musically, success wise.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

There's other things to scratch there.

[Luke Combs]

Without a doubt is.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So what are those things like real talk? Nothing can fuck it up. Nothing.

[Luke Combs]

Right. My brain's ability to come up with ridiculous ideas is also the thing that helps me write songs.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What the fuck do you most want to do?

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You've already done that once. Sometimes it's harder to do that again after the big win. Everybody out there who's watching right now, they think the hard part is this part. It's actually the next part. Yeah. Luke Holmes launches direct to consumer diaper brand.

[Luke Combs]

The diapers would have to be solid. You know what I mean? They have to be solid.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You have to understand why that's so easy. You have to do it 12 times a year. You could do it anywhere. It's a couple of hours. You're crippled by opportunity certainly. How tapped into your fucking soul are you that you want to actually do authentic things that are in the face of conflict to the fan base or where you're currently at is the great fucking question. I'm on the board of Bojangles.

[Luke Combs]

I've never liked anything more. That's the best thing I've heard in the last week. Probably because I've been preaching it for free for the last 20 years.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is the GaryVee audio experience. How you doing, brother?

[Luke Combs]

I'm good, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What, are you in town for this dude? No way.

[Luke Combs]

Press stuff, baby.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's awesome.

[Luke Combs]

You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. I got a new album.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You promote it? Yeah. When's it coming out?

[Luke Combs]

March. March 20th.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How you feeling?

[Luke Combs]

Good. Feeling great.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like it?

[Luke Combs]

Yeah. Just trying to get old. I got my third baby coming in February, so I'm trying to like, get ahead of it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

A big year.

[Luke Combs]

Oh, man, it's going to be crazy. For sure. It's going to be busy. There's no doubt.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Listen, I'm super flattered that you connect with the content, man. I just want to say thank you.

[Luke Combs]

Of course, man. Yeah. I'm glad to be here, man. I'm excited. Excited, yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Anything you want to jam on. Anything that's on your mind, dude.

[Luke Combs]

I'm with you, brother. Whatever.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So going into this chapter, how old are you?

[Luke Combs]

35.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's amazing.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, it's not bad. Not a bad age.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, it's a great age. Especially to have this level of professional success, family success, like, and have your whole life still in front of you. Yeah, I'm sure at Some level that's got you really thinking about things differently. Yes.

[Luke Combs]

Oh, tremendously so.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

Because you're kind of like, well, I mean, I can almost go anywhere from here at this point.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100,000%.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, you keep going down the road, or you could. I don't know. You know, not that I'm like, trying to do something crazy, but, you know.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, I think it's an end thing. Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

It's like, well, I can. You know, it's not like I'm just got my first hit and I'm 40. You know what I mean?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

A lot of my favorite artists growing up were. I mean, they got. The breakout year was like, when they were 36.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, of course.

[Luke Combs]

You know, I'm like 10 years in.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, of course.

[Luke Combs]

You know, it's crazy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Are you thinking about other things you want to accomplish and tackle?

[Luke Combs]

I mean, I think there's. It's always like, how could I, you know, stay somewhat in my lane, Right? Like, I'm a big fan of. Of that. Like, I'm a big fan of, like, authenticity. Like, being anything I do, feeling authentic is important to me. But it's also like, how can I. How can I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Is there anything that you're authentically interested in that you are concerned that if you do it, the world wouldn't think it's authentic, but is authentic to you. And let me tell you why. I'm asking you that. When I was red hot as a businessman and, like, people were like, oh, this is a serious businessman, right? I was like, fuck, man, I want to make garage sale videos.

[Luke Combs]

And people were like, huh?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I knew that the everyday man and woman were gonna fucking love it. But what I knew ended up happening, which was the bougie. 5% of the biggest players in the world were gonna look heavily down on it.

[Luke Combs]

Sure, of course.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And for me, like, v. Friends, like, trying to build a. Like, I do a lot of. I resonate with what you're talking about because I think I have incredible courage to do shit that my fans, the business world, and sometimes and oftentimes even my inner circle don't understand why I would do that. And the only reason I do it is cause I authentically want to.

[Luke Combs]

Right, right, exactly.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So the question becomes, like, how deep down the authentic tunnel do you want to go? Yeah, right. Like, if you. Like, I'll give you a silly one. If you collected miniature dolls, right? And you were like, I just fuck with them because me and my grandma did it. I fuck with them. Yeah, yeah, but you're fucking Luke comes in, you're like, fuck, man, am I gonna really go?

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You would see people. So I think that's the actual real question, brother.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, it's easy to say you want to go down, do authentic things.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What's hard is how tapped into your fucking soul are you that you want to actually do authentic things that are in the face of conflict to the fan base or where you're currently at is the great fucking question.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah. It's like where you're almost like you want it to be authentic. And that word. Sometimes in your mind, you think, we got somebody.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what is. No, we're fine. I think it's a super fan that's trying to break through the wall and meet people.

[Luke Combs]

But it's like, yeah, I think there's sometimes when you say, like, as an artist, if you say, well, I want to do this authentic thing, you may mean saying that I want to do something that I want to do without people pushing back.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Luke Combs]

That's what people assume authentically or fits into my brand perfectly. That it perfectly fits my brand that already exists.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're like, hey, I kind of fuck with hunting. I'm going to do a bow and arrow brand brand. And people are like. And everyone's like, yeah, but it's like, but it's the a thing you actually want to do, not the first thing.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

By the way, this is why I fuck with Lil Wayne so much. Weezy deserves the most question. At his height of fucking being cool and gay, he's like, I'm fucking making a rock album.

[Luke Combs]

Exactly.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like something that universally people fucking hated.

[Luke Combs]

Right? Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I watched that the whole time. I'm like, this fucking guy's the best in the game. Cause he just wants to live his. And by the way, that's narrow. He did that within his genre. Like, he did a music thing that was a little left field.

[Luke Combs]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm talking about like starting a peanut butter company.

[Luke Combs]

Right? Exactly.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, you know what I mean? Or becoming a late night host or a stand up comic. Or starting a diapers brand.

[Luke Combs]

Right, right, right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, if I read the headline, like, Luke Combs launches direct to consumer diaper

[Luke Combs]

brand, you'd be like, huh?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I would be like, that's awesome. I, Gary Vaynerchuk would be like, I fucking get it.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The 8 billion of them would be like, what the fuck are you doing?

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, the diapers would have to be. Would have to be solid. You know what I mean? Have to be solid, dude.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But anyway, I think that's where you're at, you're crippled by opportunity.

[Luke Combs]

Camo diapers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're crippled by opportunity. Oh, you could literally do anything. Certainly now the question becomes the delt. This chart of opportunity. You're at the height now, and I've sensed this from you through our interactions, through what I sense is happening here, what I'm passionate about happening here. There's the opportunity, you know that I know you want to go all in on authenticity.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I feel like, personally, my hunger in this moment is to push you even further down it, right?

[Luke Combs]

Like, chase the thing that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The actual real thing, as if none of this actually happened. It's day one. We went. We were just. You're my friend's younger brother and you're sitting here right now being like, I'm fucking 35, right? And like, I've got nothing going on. What the fuck do I do? And I say to you, what the fuck do you most want to do?

[Luke Combs]

What do you want to do? Right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The good thing is you've already done that once.

[Luke Combs]

True. That's true.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right? You actually pulled it off. That happened to you. You really did it like that. And you really did it like, you did it. You took it. So now I'm saying. And you might feel this, I don't know, you like that. Sometimes it's harder to do that again after the big win than even when you had, like, everybody out there who's watching right now is like, they think the hard part is this part. It's actually the next part, right.

[Luke Combs]

Like starting. Like starting anew. Basically correct. And yeah, for sure. Cause you're going, well, I'm in this situation. I've reached basically this rarefied air of like, the 1% of the 1% musically success wise that you can possibly reach.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And you can play that for the next 65 years, right? It'll ebb and flow.

[Luke Combs]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

In your 60s, you'll be playing the classics probably like everyone else. Maybe not. Maybe you have the capacity to reinvent, but there's other things to scratch.

[Luke Combs]

Oh, yeah, no, there, without a doubt is.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So what are those things? Like, real talk.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah. I mean, you know, it's like, what bounces?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It doesn't have to be fully clear. What are the kind of things that bounce in your head like, yo, that'd be fucking dope. Or I wish I could, because again, I think what's happening is there's this block of, like, here's the real thing you want to do. But I've watched you, like, everybody, like, from afar. I Know, because I see you differently. I know that you're smart. What I mean by that is the way I. No, no, but the way I like, I. Most humans on earth, when they analyze you, analyze you from a music place, I don't at all. Sure. I view you from a brand building, community building. That's my angle. Which means I know that when you're thinking about the best things you could be doing, you're being smart and thinking about how it impacts the music.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Because that's the fucking right. That's the cash cow.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm asking you to. To not do that for five minutes or five months and get into a place of knowing the truth that I know, which is nothing can fuck it up.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Nothing.

[Luke Combs]

Right. I think for me it would be, you know, I think about things that I'm passionate about or, you know, I like to, you know, I would like to use my platform for good, I think. Right. So that's a top thing for me.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So I think for there, what you need to do is define what you think is good versus what everybody else thinks is good. So for a lot of people come to me through the last decade as I've had a platform and they think what's good is to me talk on issues that they're passionate about. What I think is good is building up people's self esteem so that we don't fight about issues. Right. Hey, everybody. Hope you're enjoying the podcast right now. Make sure you follow the podcast. That's why I'm interrupting. Let's keep going on this show, but follow the podcast. It'll make my mom super happy. Everybody gets, you know what I mean? So you gotta decide what good is for you.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah. I mean, for me it would be. It would be like. It would be mental health for young people.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Great. How much content do you make about that?

[Luke Combs]

I mean, zero at this point. I mean, I've talked about it openly.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, A lot. So let's talk. We're jamming. You got your team here. I think the easiest thing, Layup City, is for you to start a podcast that you put out once a month.

[Luke Combs]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Where you walk in and you have someone else sit in and you kind of interview jam. Just like we're doing now. Right around this.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah. I mean, that's a great idea.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You have to understand why that's so easy. You have to do it 12 times a year. You could do it anywhere.

[Luke Combs]

Yep.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's a couple of hours, it gets fully filmed, but then you get hundreds of pieces of content. You put it into the world and you will massively impact people's lives.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I agree. I mean, I think it's a wonderful idea. And have the. You know, like you're saying is using some of what you already have to facilitate the things that you want or the impact that you want to have would be, for me, the opportunity to directly reach out to artists with a similar size platform of similar influence, have them open up to young people as well and say, well, look at what artists A, B and C were able to accomplish in spite of.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I would say, yes. And other people from other genres to broaden the conversation.

[Luke Combs]

Exactly, exactly.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

To.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what I mean?

[Luke Combs]

And it's like, I think I've heard so many people reach out when I've talked about my OCD stuff that I have battled since I was a child, basically. Right. Like, that's the. Some of the most engagement I get in my direct messages or comments is people saying, my child has this thing, of course, and you talked about it, or it's the child going, I have this thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Can I ask you a random question?

[Luke Combs]

Sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How much of that OCD do you think is also the magic that created all the success?

[Luke Combs]

I don't think that any of it is, but I think that it comes in conjunction with. Because the particular form of OCD that I have is predicated off basically, like, thoughts. Right. Most OCD is based off of just thoughts. Right. If not all. And so almost my brain can come up with these thoughts that provide me with stress and anxiety, and then it becomes an obsessive loop. Right? Yep. So those. My brain's ability to come up with ridiculous ideas is also the thing that helps me write songs. But it's like, in some cases, I think it's.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's your gift Is your curse 100%?

[Luke Combs]

In some ways, yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think in all ways, by the way.

[Luke Combs]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Personally, subjectively.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Who's someone who spent a lot of time of his life thinking about these things, researching these things? I think all of it. And then I think once one understands, notice what your natural quick answer was versus, like, my actual answer to it is all of it. Right. And then I wonder, once one puts that in their mind, that what that then does to when the darker or the negative or the anxious thoughts start to facilitate, when your relationship with it is that you love it because it gave you all of the things you most love. I wonder if it mitigates its momentum to get to a tougher place.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's I mean, I think there's. That's the thing that I feel the most passion towards because something that has had. It's been such a, like, cornerstone of my life, for better or for worse.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, it's foundational.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, I mean, it's like, it's the

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

foundation of your life.

[Luke Combs]

Part of my, My entire identity at this point is like, I could not

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

push you harder to do a podcast about it. 12 episodes, commit to it.

[Luke Combs]

No, I mean, I would love to do that, honestly, I really would.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it's the best. And by the way, who wouldn't. What a list celebrity, even let alone someone who's not. Wouldn't love to get an email that says, hey, would love to have you on the podcast. By the way. We could do it anywhere. You can meet us in the trailer at one of our shows.

[Luke Combs]

You could do it on your computer from anywhere.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Entire world, if you want to. I think you should consider it.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Unknown Conference Attendee]

Gary, we were just at a conference in Vegas yesterday when you said these brands don't have awareness issues. They have relevance issues.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Unknown Conference Attendee]

All those people will join all of them. They need more relevance with the consumer.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right, yeah, of course. I mean, but I'm not even like, what's good for Luke versus others is like, he doesn't need this to be anything. This is not a monetizable event.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah. It's a passion.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

He can sell more T shirts in an hour on Shopify than the sponsorship on the podcast. This is a non. This is not from a business lens. This is an end consumer lens. I think this is an impact. Oh, yeah.

[Luke Combs]

But I think there's no. There's no bigger.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Everybody would want to do it because of his platform. But I think the subject matter, there's

[Luke Combs]

no bigger win for an artist. Because here's the thing is, like, you, right, like, you start out, quote, unquote, like, listen, I'm the same guy was when I started. I'm just in a different situation. Right. But there is a million people out there who see any. Any celebrity or musician or. And they're like, well, that guy, he's totally different. He's changed. It's like you. It's a. It's a way to one impact young people who have the same problems. Which is the number one positive of this potential idea.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. The selfless part is that.

[Luke Combs]

And the number two part is it also goes, what a better way to humanize yourself if you're.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

Lady Gaga or whatever it is. You know what I mean? Not that anyone talked about These things, but she's just an example.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, why podcasts are interesting is to your point, everyone, most people at some point along their journey will start to allude to it or tell you their truth. Most, to your point, what this new medium of podcast allows is a two and a half hour conversation about it, Right? That's, you know, this, you've done this your whole life. A 25 minute interview with Vogue or the Wall Street Journal or USA Today or Fox News or cnn. Like you can't get deep, right? And you're trained and you're thinking a certain way, but you being vulnerable will allow them to be more vulnerable. And both of you, in that story, someone's gonna say something that is literally gonna save someone's life. One of the biggest reasons I still make content is because I do that for people too.

[Luke Combs]

Right? Yeah, I mean, it's, I mean it's brilliant, to be quite honest.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, like, I come from a place of real love and like real hope to help.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And all you're saying is that right now.

[Luke Combs]

Exactly. And that's, that's the thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's awesome. So that's. Okay, so that's on the give back spirit soul. What about, what about being a builder and a grower? Like, what about from a, from more of a selfish, scratching your itch instead of giving back. Is there anything you want to accomplish in your career professionally, outside of music that you're pondering?

[Luke Combs]

It's outside of music, you're saying you don't need to.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm just curious.

[Luke Combs]

I mean, I don't know that there's anything that jumps out to me right now that's like, oh man, I would love to be an Olympic powerlifter lifter. You know what I mean? Like, there's nothing that's like right in front of me that's like, yeah, oh, yeah. This is the thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

You know what I mean?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But have you pondered Olympic power lift?

[Luke Combs]

No, that was, that was my, like

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

the glutes and the legs here.

[Luke Combs]

The legs are there at least. I need some, need some, some peptides, you know what I mean? AKA steroids, for sure. That's what peptides is. That's the new buzzword for that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What about hobbies? Like, what are your, what's your interest graph from like a sports travel food? Like, what's your world look like there?

[Luke Combs]

I mean, I'm a huge football guy. I would love to be involved in, you know, whatever sports my children want to do. I mean, as far as coaching, you know, obviously, like I'm not, you know, I'm not out to build some multi billion dollar.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What about when you were a kid, what was your favorite team?

[Luke Combs]

Carolina Panthers. That's like one.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I know you're a big fan.

[Luke Combs]

You're pumped. First time in 10 years in the playoffs.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

We're still 15 year draft for my Jets.

[Luke Combs]

It's tough times right now, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Literally. The jets have not made the playoffs in 15 years. The second biggest drought now that you guys made it this year is five. The jets haven't made it in 15. That hurts. All 31 other teams in the NFL have made it within the last five.

[Luke Combs]

So who's the. Who's five? Who's the other team?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

There's like six or seven teams that are five.

[Luke Combs]

Raiders.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I think Raiders is one. Honestly, I'm like.

[Luke Combs]

So Giants.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Giants. I think. Are there Giants?

[Luke Combs]

It's probably.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I get Mendoza. What's that? No, we're not. We. We may. I actually don't want him. I like the kid, but I don't. I have a feeling I don't. I think his. Yeah, no, I, I saw. I mean I'm so pumped for you.

[Luke Combs]

She's going, bro, she's going right after this.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Guys. If I went to the University. If I went to University of Indiana and like this has been the last 30, 40, 50 years of the program. Obviously there was that golden era in basketball, but never in football. I would walk to tonight's game.

[Luke Combs]

You can't overstate. The turnaround is like so happy for you. You can't overstate.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And by the way, that's why I'm happy for you with the Panthers or the Browns or the Lions, these franchises that don't have anything, they're the ones that are always easy for me it's the ones like for example, the Bulls, they've been bad for a long time, but I'm still not over how good they were in the 90s. I want them to be bad another 30 years. You know, like the Patriots. I'm so patient. Pissed about this Patriots thing.

[Luke Combs]

Hey, come by.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's just this Drake May thing. He's nice. He went to unc, right?

[Luke Combs]

He is Carolina. He was a Panthers fan growing up. I mean I love Bryce, but we rep.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I have a sports agency. We rep a lot of football players. We repped Matt Paradis who played center for you guys for a couple years. We have your left tackle, Nicky.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, he's an awesome dude.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. So we have your left tackle. So I like, I'm also. Oh, you might like this. I'm on the board of Bojangles.

[Luke Combs]

I've never liked anything more. That's the best thing I've heard in the last week, probably.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, listen, this is the beginning of a great friendship. I'll give you my number. You guys, you know, I know you've been. You guys have, but. And Mike always does represent my truth. However, I don't need people in between. We're just doing that because of how busy I am. But if there is anything, the new album, if you get serious about the podcast, like, how help you find people, random shit. You see something in your feed that I'm a part of that you're intrigued by or want to learn about. I'll give you an example. Right now, I'm going ballistic. Talking about live shopping on social media. So the QVC stuff on social. If you guys were talking about, like, hey, we need to figure that out because we do want to sell unlimited merch that way. Because we don't like the way it's going now. I expect after today's meeting that we get the first call, and I'm happy to give everything I got.

[Luke Combs]

Sure. Well, I appreciate it, man. Thank you. Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, yeah. Let us help.

[Luke Combs]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

We know it uncomfortably well.

[Luke Combs]

I like that. Because, you know, who doesn't?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Are you going up? Are you going. Are you too busy, or are you going to try to go to the playoff game?

[Luke Combs]

Yeah, I gotta go home, beat the kids.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Nice. What do you guys have?

[Luke Combs]

We got the Rams, but we beat the Rams already this year. But listen, that scares me.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm happy. So.

[Luke Combs]

It's tough to beat a team twice. It's tough to beat a really good team twice. Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Tough to be the team that, like, has a real shot to go to.

[Luke Combs]

Super.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right?

[Luke Combs]

For sure. Like, the team with the potential mvp.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I love it. I love their qb.

[Luke Combs]

He's such a good kid. Dude, he's.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I mean, forget about how he plays.

[Luke Combs]

He got benched last year. Yeah. And came back. It was like a different guy. It was like a different guy stepped

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

onto the field and he's small. Like, he's like, it. You have to re. Like, Breeze, too. Took a few minutes.

[Luke Combs]

I mean, dude, Breeze was small, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

I met Breeze and On a golf course in California, and I told him he ruined my childhood because he was on the Saints.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Luke Combs]

And I was like, you guys just beat us all the time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Pleasure, everybody. If you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this journey. See you later.