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The Matt King Show
037: Brent Pella | How Brent Pella Built a Career From Nothing | The Matt King Show
01:11:42
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- [00:00]
Interviewer
Most people spend their entire lives waiting. But what if that moment never comes?
- [00:04]
Brent Pella
I had a thing for a while where I was hoping that I would have like a paid opportunity to write a thing, or I would get cast in a big thing, or I'd get an opportunity to produce and direct a big thing. And then I just realized I need to make that myself. That's my thing.
- [00:20]
Interviewer
Brent Pella built a comedy career with no roadmap, viral sketches, Wild N out, all of it self made.
- [00:27]
Brent Pella
At the end of the night, I went up to Andy Samberg, who was in line to grab some food on the way. 22 years old, and I'm super embarrassed. I don't know what to say. And I said, what? I'm just curious. Like, I just graduated college. Curious what you did after college, you know, before you guys got on snl. And he was like, oh, well, actually I, I did stand up for seven years. And I said, really? And he said, yeah, I, I never really toured. I wasn't really trying to be a headliner, but it really helped with my writing and like, being on stage and stage presence. And the next day I threw myself up at an open mic.
- [00:57]
Interviewer
He didn't wait for the stars to align. He created his own luck. One cold call at a time. One sketch and one desire to get.
- [01:05]
Brent Pella
Better stemmed from a very unhealthy sense of competition from playing basketball my whole life, the encouragement from Andy and just hearing that he actually put in that kind of work. And then there was always this underlying energy of wanting to do something good, whatever that was. I had no idea what that was until I started really taking comedy seriously.
- [01:29]
Interviewer
This story is about what happens when you stop waiting and start betting on yourself. This is Brent Pell. When did you start this idea?
- [01:41]
Brent Pella
Like, have had the general concept for the movie for maybe two or three years, but I didn't start writing it actually until I moved to Austin last June 2024. That's when I, I landed out here. And the first big project I wanted to take on in this new environment with this new inspiration all around me, was to write this movie about a music festival. And it's gone through a couple iterations over the past, like, 14, 16 months. But it's really inspired by the community that we're in here. And like my upbringing, I grew up with a deadhead mom who brought me to Grateful Dead shows all the time. So it's like in my DNA. But yeah, started about a year and a half ago after being, after kind of realizing that no one was gonna Tell me to start it. You know, like, I had, I had a thing for a while where I was hoping that I would have like a paid opportunity to write a thing, or I would get cast in a big thing, or I'd get an opportunity to produce and direct a big thing. And then I just realized I need to make that myself. That's my thing to make, so I might as well give all those things to myself. So that was the real catalyst for getting it going.
- [02:57]
Interviewer
It's funny because I think we struggle with this permission myth theory in today's day and age. We always think somebody's gonna ask us, somebody's gonna tell us, somebody's gonna give us the certificate, the diploma, whatever it is. And in reality, the only person we need is ourselves.
- [03:13]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [03:13]
Interviewer
But we always think that's gonna be these external forces. So for you, you finally have this awareness. You need to decide, you need to go, you need to make this move. What did the support system around you look like when you came up with this idea and you said, hey, I'm gonna tackle this? Like, was it family that said, hey, safe? Was it family that said, yeah, charge that hill, run for it? What did that look like?
- [03:34]
Brent Pella
You know, the support system I think I can best identify for this is, is mostly made up of the audience that I have. The, the, the people that I share things with online and in, in TV and film. My mom and family has always been super supportive. Girlfriend has always been super supportive. But the real support always come in the proof of a concept that I get, the reaction that I get from an audience. And I have kind of always been more in the self starter world and then always struggled with wanting permission, just like you said. But I've been better at balancing that in recent years. And the proof of concept that really gave me the confidence that I would be able to do this was the reception and reaction to videos and smaller projects that I've done within this realm over the past couple years. So it's a psychedelic comedy set at a music festival, Right. That's the movie. And I've partnered with festivals for the past, like five or six years to make original content with them and tell the story of the festival experience through comedy videos and characters. I've done like 50 to 100 of those and they've really popped. Some of them have really launched off and got, gotten me like bigger following and, and a lot of engagement, which in turn has allowed me to elevate other partnerships like branded content deals or show rates and ticket sales go up. So so it all stems from the audience reaction and the community reaction really to, and receptivity to content that I put out in that field. So that that response and reaction to all those videos acted as kind of a proof of concept to me, which in turn created this support system in my eyes that gave me the confidence to expand on that shorter form work into a longer story, which has always been the goal, to evolve and expand from short form Internet content into the bigger TV and film world to make projects that last and have lasting power and more cultural impact.
- [05:53]
Interviewer
So what I hear you saying is you almost use proof of concept or testing grounds as your online presence. Like, let's see how this resonates with people, let's see how this responds.
- [06:03]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [06:04]
Interviewer
And then based on those responses, you determine if you've got something or you don't have something.
- [06:08]
Brent Pella
Yeah, totally.
- [06:09]
Interviewer
So what were the responses when you started sharing, you know, the comedy at these festivals, at these psychedelic festivals? What were the responses that gave you that confidence to go pursue the bigger project?
- [06:19]
Brent Pella
Dude, a lot of reactions that were like, this is for us, you know, like a lot. Because there hasn't really been a lot of festival related psychedelic related comedy content, especially not in the social media age and also not in film. Like there's no movie set at a music festival. There was a movie on Netflix that had like a segment at a Coachella type music festival. There's documentaries, but there's never been a long form narrative feature film that tells the music festival experience. And there's never been an outlet like, like my channels that has had, that has given people an opportunity to see themselves in short form video content. So I would see a lot of messages, DMs and comments and also just regular high engagement around that content. And the general energy was that people were seeing this type of stuff for the first time. And I was stoked on that because it felt like I had kind of uncovered a new way of telling stories that are not just funny, but also representative.
- [07:26]
Interviewer
Right.
- [07:27]
Brent Pella
And, and represent an underrepresented demographic of people. And I am in that demographic. I'm totally that demo. Like I was the hippie kid running around eating applesauce with no pants on. I was that kid. My mom was like 23 when she had me. And yeah, we went on tour to see the Dead and all these things. And so I, I came back into the transformational festival space after college and started having more experiences with psychedelics and with the, the transformational experience that a festival can bring. And I was just very like, Fulfilled and excited when people latched onto it and really gave it momentum through their engagement. And that's what told me that there's something bigger here that can be done. Because the viral videos, it pops and then it's gone within a week. But, you know, a movie, once you make a good movie, it's good forever.
- [08:18]
Interviewer
Yeah. What. What were the haters saying? Like, were there a lot of people going like, oh, psychedelics are bad, or just another hippie chick, Hippie, dude, hippie, whatever.
- [08:27]
Brent Pella
You know, after 20, in 2020, I started doing political stuff, like during the madness of COVID and my audience got pretty diverse in viewpoint. Yeah. Like, pretty diverse. So now every once in a while, I'll put out a video related to psychedelics and I'll have somebody be like, psychedelics are just the pathway for the demons to come in, you know, And I love those people. Like, thank. Like, thank you for expressing yourself. But the. The vast majority is positive because I don't allude to psychedelics or touch on psychedelics in a negative way. It's always with an air of respect or reverence, even if there's comedy. Because I so respect the power of psychedelics and what they can bring to people, and I really want to help destigmatize as much as I can. But the. Yeah, the. The vast majority has been positive. There's been comments every once, every once in a while that are like, hey, man, make something besides festival videos. And I do, but it's. It's. Yeah. Overwhelmingly positive. Yeah.
- [09:36]
Interviewer
It's fascinating to me how polarizing people's perspective or opinions can be based on whether it's their childhood, whether it's the news that they focus on, pay attention to. I mean, you look at politics, if you're left, you're left. If you're right, you're right. And, like, those two sides are getting further and further away. If you're into the psychedelics and you see that as a means for, I would say, like, transformation inside of humans, you're like, hey, this is powerful for what it can do. And of course, if used too much, can take you to a dark place.
- [10:07]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [10:08]
Interviewer
But the people that come out yelling, saying, psychedelics are bad, you're crazy. This is the way, you know, for the demons to come out, like you said, are the same people that are going to McDonald's and overindulging, like, so everything has a good and a bad. But it seems like you're very good at just being open to seeing how something can flow through you or something can benefit you and the people you touch. How do you have such an open perspective? Is that come from the childhood touring with the dead or your mom?
- [10:35]
Brent Pella
Or is it comes from psychedelics, Matt? Comes from mushrooms for breakfast. They are kicking in. You know, I really was, I was, my mom was super open minded. She's always been a teacher. She taught college, teaches college now at UC Davis. And she really encouraged a lot of open mindedness. She even, she would like encourage me to read a book about religion. She was raised Italian Catholic, but she raised me to have a more open mind, which I'm super grateful for. So through her influence, you know, that kind of set the foundation. And then really working with psychedelics was huge. That really like kind of cracked my brain open to navigating different modes of thinking in new ways, like wrestling with problems or frustrations or challenges in career, relationships, friendships, creativity, you know, microdosing psilocybin for the past eight years, on and off really helped kind of create new, new, new ways of navigating dot patterns like that. And then in 2020, you know, when co hit we couldn't go on the road anymore as, as comedians. So I, I had a tour pull just like a lot of my friends did. So I couldn't tour tripled down on videos because I wanted to stay writing, I wanted to stay fresh and, and in doing that and tripling down on the amount of content I was putting out, I was constantly consuming. I was constantly consuming media, consuming news, consuming opinions. And in that evolution in spring and summer of 2020, I, because of the amount of content I was consuming, started to find and figure out what my personal perspective was in a way that was different than I had ever found figured out before. Because before I wasn't consuming as much, so I wasn't watching Infowars and then watching Rachel Maddow, you know, which I, which I did because I wanted to see every side of everything so I could try to form an opinion to put into a video to express how I felt about this terrible situation that we're all in. And so in that chapter I think I really uncovered my personal perspective which ended up being very open to multiple different perspectives. And what naturally came through was the absolute ridiculousness of how tribalistic people had become and just how insane that was. And so that ended up being like kind of the, the core theme of a lot of the content I was Putting out in 2020 wasn't pro left, wasn't pro right. It was pro like logic and it was anti inflammatory rhetoric and anti tribalism and, you know, like, a perfect example is I made this video called Masks vs. No Masks, where two guys, like, are having an argument on the street, making fun of each other either for wearing or not wearing a mask. And then a third guy comes in and tries to calm them both down, and they just laugh him, and he runs away, laugh out of the picture. And so that kind of best represents the frame of mind that I was coming to. The. The. The thought pattern that I was establishing in my own brain, which is like, to not jump on a team's bandwagon immediately, that which everybody else seemed to be doing. And that kept me, like, healthy. I think it kept me, like, mentally healthy.
- [14:11]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [14:11]
Brent Pella
Because I had so many friends that were planting flags in different areas and on different sides of. Of the aisles. And I just. I found it much more logical to, like, take a breath and relax and just make fun of how hysterical people had become. Yeah. And. And that ended up creating, like, a much more open. A much more, like, receptive state of mind to. To different ways of thinking about issues at the time.
- [14:43]
Interviewer
Yeah. Covid was fascinating.
- [14:44]
Brent Pella
Like, it was nuts.
- [14:45]
Interviewer
Where were you during COVID I was here in Austin.
- [14:47]
Brent Pella
Okay, cool.
- [14:48]
Interviewer
But I was the idiot that was traveling nonstop.
- [14:50]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [14:50]
Interviewer
I mean, it was like flying private Southwest. You were like one of five people on the plane. It was like, literally flying private on a giant jumbo jet because everybody was afraid.
- [14:58]
Brent Pella
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [14:59]
Interviewer
So we actually. We only had one kid at the time. We have three now. We took my wife and my daughter up to Wisconsin, and they were going to stay in Wisconsin for as long as we needed to. Both of my in laws weren't working because of COVID My father in law had just retired. So I was like, hey, you'll have constant support, constant help. I'm still going to an office. I'm like, no traffic in Austin. It was glorious. And I'm like, I'll just fly back and forth, like, what's there to be afraid of? I understand that Covid has killed people, and I also understand that smoking has killed people. So I'm not going to stop living my life because of this one potential virus that I do believe was created to try to destroy America and the economy. I'm not going to let that stop me. But it was fascinating to watch humans in that phase of life. I'll never forget one of the first times I was traveling, there was a guy, he looked like something from Breaking Bad. Like, he had the full rubber glove.
- [15:53]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [15:53]
Interviewer
Full hazmat suit. And he's you know, he's eating, he's sitting at the airport eating. So his mask is down. And I'm thinking to myself, like, okay, like, let's, let's think logically here. You're on one side of the spectrum, your actions are time, you're very worried, and you're trying to protect yourself. I respect that. I'm not here to judge. On the other side, you are taking food off of a fork that is being exposed to the air and putting it in your mouth, which doesn't have a mask on. Like, okay, so let's think about that. Then he proceeds to take his phone that was on the table, sitting on a table, a germ infested table, and puts it to his ear to talk with nothing on his face. So I'm like, okay, so let's think about this. You got the rubber gloves on. That's badass. But now you just took this phone and like, we lost all capability to think logically as humans.
- [16:42]
Brent Pella
Totally lost all reason.
- [16:44]
Interviewer
I don't get, I just don't understand. And to you, to your point, like, we are very like, tribalistic, but I also think there's a herd mentality with, with humans. Like, we're here at the ranch, we have a herd of longhorns. If one longhorn starts to move, the rest of the herd will start to move wherever they go. Like, they want to be together, they want to follow the pack. And humans for some reason are the same exact way. And Covid proved that to us totally. But also content has proven that to us. Like, I mean, if you watch like the virality of a clip, right. If you see a clip sent to you and it's got two views, your perspective of that clip is very different than if the Same clip has 2 million views.
- [17:26]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [17:27]
Interviewer
So how do you navigate that conflict of self? Because you're producing content and I'm sure you're very critical. You, you wanted to do, you want to do the best your jokes, you want to be the best, you want to make people laugh, you want to leave an impact with them. So on one side you're critical, trying to become better. But it seems like there's a razor fine line between self criticism for improvement and self criticism, which becomes self sabotage. How do you navigate.
- [17:53]
Brent Pella
Yeah, there is. How do I navigate that again? Drugs. I used to have a, a big issue with like perfectionism for content. I still, I still definitely do. But during that chapter, man, when I, when I was really like pumping out multiple pieces of content per week, I didn't have Time to like criticize myself. I had to just put it out. Lorne Michaels at Saturday Night Live has a, has an awesome quote. He says we don't go on air because we're ready. We go on air because it's 11:30pm and that always, that always stuck with me because you can't, you can't be perfectly ready every time. You know, if, if the world, if you feel like the world needs what you're creating and needs your voice, then you gotta just put it out and trust that what you're doing is what the world needs. And that's like that. So that's what I've tried to, to use that, that mentality to not get caught in the, in the trap of, of perfectionism or self doubt or self sabotage. Yeah. And it's, it's, it'll kick in even more with this movie because it's like the biggest, most high stakes thing I've done. So, you know, it's if, if I, if I've prepared and I've executed in the best way that I can, then I know that the outcome is going to be what the world needs. And sometimes it's not. Sometimes a video bombs and that sucks. But it sucks less and less the more you do it. You know, it's like building up a thick skin to micro failures that at the end of the day you can either put a bunch of weight on them and make yourself feel like a failure or you can use them as just chips on your shoulder to fill in by getting stronger for the next thing you know.
- [19:50]
Interviewer
So you kind of look at failure or a failed video or a failed joke as just a way to improve as feedback to get better. You don't dwell on it, you don't get lost in it.
- [19:59]
Brent Pella
No, I don't have time. I don't have time. Like even like, you know, Michael Jordan said the next day he wouldn't think about missing the game winning shot. He'd give himself that entire night and he'd probably punch a wall and he'd probably like be pissed the whole night. But then the next day it's back to, you know, it's back to basics. Back to what you, what you do. Yeah.
- [20:17]
Interviewer
Yeah. Tiger Wood said something similar like his father taught him when he missed a putt that he could dwell on it from the time he walked from the green to the next tee box. But on that next tee box, it was a new hole.
- [20:26]
Brent Pella
Yeah, it was over.
- [20:27]
Interviewer
Like he couldn't think about it anymore.
- [20:29]
Brent Pella
There's always a new hole.
- [20:30]
Interviewer
There's always a new hole. A lot. Yeah, a lot of. A lot of things you could think about that.
- [20:35]
Brent Pella
Always a new hole. Put that on a. Put that on a shirt.
- [20:38]
Interviewer
The thing that I always try to remember or remind myself of is, like, the greatest. Whether you look at Kobe, whether you look at Donald Trump, whether you look at Joe Biden, if you think he's like, the greatest, have the ability to not dwell on the bad stuff.
- [20:51]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [20:52]
Interviewer
Not to get lost in the bad stuff.
- [20:53]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [20:54]
Interviewer
But there is still bad stuff. Like, stuff still comes up. So for you with comedy, did you ever realize that your jokes, your comedy could hurt people? And if so, like, what experience showed you that comedy can hurt?
- [21:08]
Brent Pella
Interesting. Yeah. I have never really been, like, super edgy or, like, offensive. Like, it's just not my. Not me, naturally, a more silly guy. I definitely have pushed boundaries on jokes and topics, but the first act of my career, which was like, 2013 to 2019, I really wanted everyone to like me, really wanted that. So I stayed away from topical jokes, stayed away from politics, stayed away from topical stuff, stayed away from potentially divisive material. And then again, when Covid hit, I kind of pulled back those layers and I spoke my own truth, and in doing so, lost a couple friends. Like two friends from high school who just eat whatever CNN shits in their mouth. You know what I mean? Like, those things.
- [22:08]
Interviewer
And you weren't even taking aside.
- [22:10]
Brent Pella
Not taking aside, no. But when you don't take a side, you're taking a side, you know, of course, to some people. Yeah. So, like, it. It wasn't so much hurting people, but it was. I did see videos make people mad online or like, my. Make my friend leave a bunch of weird, mean, hope he's doing great, sending you love. And so I. I recognized that. And immediately the first thing that kicked in was being bummed, because that's not what I want to do. I don't want to put divisiveness, energy into the world. I don't want to put. I don't want to make somebody frustrated from watching my stuff.
- [22:48]
Interviewer
Right.
- [22:48]
Brent Pella
Or. Or hearing my voice or. Or. Or consuming the messages that I'm creating. I want people to be happy. I want people to have fun and have sex with each other and do all the fun things that people do.
- [23:03]
Interviewer
Another hole, right?
- [23:04]
Brent Pella
There's always another hole. Find another hole. But also what I realized in that same time was because I was making content that some people did not vibe with and, like, other people really with, like, really liked. And I was starting to find like, super fans. And I was starting to create a community of people that actually res. Didn't just connect with the content, but resonated in, like, a very deep way. And then I also started to see that and feel it. When I would go on tour after 2020, and people would come up to me after shows and really thank me for, like, helping them through Covet, which is a wild thing to hear. I helped you through the most insane period of all history that we've been alive. Awesome. That's so cool. And so hearing more of those stories of how. How some of what I was doing was personally helping some people totally outweighed the amount of, like, hurt or anger that other people were experiencing from a video. As silly as, like, making fun of people who wear masks outside by themselves. Right. And so that made it worth it. That made me not want to pull back, made me want to go even deeper into my perspectives and. And uncover more of my own truths and figure out more ways of integrating those truths through the vehicle of comedy. And in doing so, I've found more and more people that have really resonated with my stuff. And then the voices that don't resonate or don't like it have all, like, drowned away. And that is the beautiful thing of the algorithm. As crazy and terrible as the algorithm is, it's. Yeah, it's. It's. It's been awesome to witness that divide and then witness the rise of the people and the. The volume increasing of the people that have really connected with what I've been making.
- [25:02]
Interviewer
So do you have people that approach you in public settings and say, hey, I know who you are. Hey, I've watched your stuff. Because it. It's crazy. And I don't know this to be a fact. You're gonna. You're gonna validate this here shortly. But I was with my friend on Saturday, and he went to the Dripping Springs homecoming game Friday night. And he's like, dude, did you know there's, like, a famous comedian that lives in Dripping Springs? I'm like. I'm like, who is it? He's like, I saw Brent Pella at the. At the game last night. I was like, really? He was at the game? He's like, yeah, he was at the Dripping Springs homecoming football game. I was like, that's funny. He's coming to the ranch next week. He's like, he's coming to the ranch? Like, this guy was blown away.
- [25:43]
Brent Pella
That was awesome.
- [25:44]
Interviewer
Hell, yeah. And so I was wondering if, like, people come up to you in public and Is that, for you, a sign of, like, you've made it, or is that, for you, a sign of, like, your message is resonating with people and that's all that matters?
- [25:57]
Brent Pella
That's really cool, dude. Go Tigers. First of all, we went to the Dripping Springs homecoming game last year when we first moved here, my girlfriend and I, because we just missed high school football and just. It was fun. It was like a fun day night. So we came again. Awesome.
- [26:13]
Interviewer
Dude, they sold out.
- [26:14]
Brent Pella
They sold out. Like, they sold out. Students sneak into the home side because we didn't want to sit on the visitor side.
- [26:19]
Interviewer
Students couldn't even get tickets. Yeah, like, they sold out.
- [26:22]
Brent Pella
It's a big deal.
- [26:23]
Interviewer
Texas football.
- [26:23]
Brent Pella
Friday Night Lights, baby.
- [26:25]
Interviewer
It's different.
- [26:25]
Brent Pella
Friday Night Lights, dude. Yeah. Being recognized in public is, like, weird. It's always weird. It's. It's. I feel like if the day that. That becomes, like, normal, I think I will have lost part of my humanity. You know what I mean? Because that. You're not supposed to be recognized. Strangers.
- [26:45]
Interviewer
Right?
- [26:46]
Brent Pella
It's incredibly cool, and it's incredibly flattering, and it's an amazing way of affirming that what I'm doing is working to put good into the world. And that's. That's what hits for me whenever it happens. And it happens a lot in more. In some places than others, obviously. Downtown Austin, San Diego, all the time. I don't know about Wisconsin, but I gotta go back. I've only ever been to Appleton.
- [27:11]
Interviewer
Okay.
- [27:12]
Brent Pella
Really good fish fry. Yeah. But, yeah, it's a. It's a. It's a cool. It's been happening more and more for sure, as the years go by, which is awesome. At a festival, it's hard to walk. I feel like, Right. I'm Justin Bieber at a Best Buy. You know, it's nuts. Which, again, is, like, really cool. It's. It's. It's. It's affirming. Yeah.
- [27:31]
Interviewer
Yeah. It's funny because I. I said, oh, did you go say hi? He's like, oh, no, I didn't want to bother him.
- [27:35]
Brent Pella
Oh, he should have said hi.
- [27:36]
Interviewer
I'm like, so you're just, like, sitting there with your kids, fanboying, like, not even watching the game, Fanboying over a comedian that's watching Friday Night Lights just as a normal human being? Like, you should have said. I. It was pretty. It was pretty ironic. But it leads me to wonder, what did you get into comedy looking for? Like, have you always been the funny kid? Or was comedy, for you an escape? Was it for someone? For something? What got you started?
- [28:01]
Brent Pella
Yeah, it was. The seeds were planted. In high school, I was making a lot of funny videos with friends in our, like, video class in junior year, sophomore year, and then college. In college, the Lonely island guys were huge. Andy Samberg and Yorma and Akiva. On Saturday Night Live, they did I'm on a Boat, My Dick in a Box. And that's when they were, like, at their peak when I was in college. And so a couple friends who also did, like, fun videos in high school with their friends, we decided to make some comedy music videos that were heavily inspired by the Lonely island guys. And so the dominoes were starting to line up. Like, these seeds were starting to grow a little bit. And then I transferred from Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz, where I played basketball, to UC Santa Barbara, where I ended up being sports reporter on the newspaper and, and got into the film program. And as reporter, I started setting up, like, on camera interviews to get more familiar with cameras. And there were just, like, bigger seats now, like, like the, the. The dominoes were starting to fall, but there was no, like, real vision yet. It was just, I was around cameras, I liked talking to people. I loved comedy music videos. I started producing and directing videos for local rappers in the Santa Barbara scene for, like, 500 bucks, which was hilarious. Like, these underground rapper dudes.
- [29:27]
Interviewer
Any good ones? Like, any. Anyone's?
- [29:28]
Brent Pella
They were. I liked them. They were cool. Doja. Shout out. Doja. Slander. Shout out. Slander. I hope these guys are still making music. And. Yeah, and so I made more comedy music videos with friends. Started, like, working as a PA on student film sets. And then when I moved to LA after graduating, I found myself working at the Cheesecake Factory. Then totally, like, lucked into a PA job, actually for the Lonely Island. There's actually a cool story. I'll tell you the story. Can I tell you the story? Yeah, I'm gonna tell you the story. This is the next hole that we've been looking for. So moved to LA was, like, thinking of doing open mics, but, like, always too scared to do stand up. Was heard about improv class, but was always too scared to get on stage. One day my friend sent me a photo of a flyer on the wall at Loyola Marymount University that said, extras needed for a Lonely island music video shoot. And I saw it, and in the corner was the production company logo. And I thought, after working on set, I know how they treat extras. I don't want to be herded like cattle. I'd rather get in on the back end and try to get a job with the production to try and learn from these guys, see what they do. So I cold called the production company and I said, hi, my name is Bruce Johnson. I have a student of mine who just recently graduated from college that would love an unpaid internship if you have any availability in an upcoming shoot. And they bounced me to like two different people. Finally, somehow, I got the number for the production coordinator. Her name was Michelle. I called every single day. I texted every day for like a week because the shoot was coming up and I really, really wanted to be around these guys. And I called and I was super nice. I left voicemails, I sent texts, super polite. No response, no response, no response. Then on the night before the shoot, I call again. I just on a whim, I was like, one last time. Let's just see if she answers. She answers. She says, hello. And I said, hey, is this Michelle? And she goes, yeah, is this Brent, my newest stalker? And I was like, yeah, I'm so sorry. You know, I'm new. I just moved to town. I just graduated. I'm wondering if you might have, like, an unpaid job or like a PA role? And she goes, yeah, well, you know, you shouldn't really do this, Brent, because this is not really how this business works. But I'm going to give you a job as an unpaid intern, and I need you to pick up four Starbucks travel jugs at 4 in the morning, meet us at this location, and then go get this and this and this and this. And I was like, yes, I made it. I'm in. So I go to this, I go to the shoot, and I'm on set all day. And sure enough, they're hurting extras left and right. But I get to be near the guys, and I get to be sitting in on their meetings because I got to take a coffee order. So I'm sitting in on the meeting, and I'm listening to how they work, and they're working very similar to how I work with, like, on my comedy music videos. I thought I was going to learn something new. I thought I was going to see this whole new process. But instead I got kind of affirmed that the process that I had naturally created to just riff with friends, try new angles, redo certain things, add a prop. All of, all of these ways of creating that I had established with my little ecosystem is what they were doing just on a bigger scale. So that was really cool. So at the end of the night, I went up to Andy Samberg, who was in line to grab some food on the way home. And I'm 22 years old, and I'm super embarrassed. I don't know what to say. And I'm like, hey, man, good job out there. And he was like, yeah, thanks. And I said, what? I'm just curious. Like, I just graduated college. Curious what you did after college, you know, before you guys got on snl, you know, did you take classes? What. Just what'd you guys do when you were my age? And he was like, oh, well, actually, I. I did stand up for seven years. And I said, really? And he said, yeah, I. I never really toured. I wasn't really trying to be a headliner, but it really helped with my writing and, like, being on stage and stage presence. And the next day, I threw myself up at an open mic, and that was the first open mic I ever did. And it was awful. I did so bad. But I was inspired by what he said. And then in researching all my other heroes, I saw that they actually put in the work. They went to class, they went to theaters, theater classes, and they put themselves up at open mics. And the desire to get better stemmed from a very unhealthy sense of competition from playing basketball my whole life, the encouragement from Andy and. And just hearing that he actually put in that kind of work. And then there was always this underlying energy of wanting to do something good, whatever that was. I had no idea what that was until I started really taking comedy seriously. But I always wanted to, like, just do a good. Put a good energy into the world, because the world is so up. There's so much a dark world that we're in, dude, but it's just as light. You can find just as many pockets of light as dark. And that's the beautiful balance. And I always thought if I could just add light to that balance, then I will have left something behind that's good when I leave. And that's when I recognized comedy as the vehicle and tapped into my own work ethic and, like, sense of competition with myself to get better and simultaneously following the path of all the people who I really looked up to.
- [34:50]
Interviewer
That's such a cool story because I tell people all the time, service is the Trojan horse to knowledge. And everybody always says to me, like, how do you serve? Like, you just ask. And most people ask once. You know, most people would have called Michelle. Was that her name?
- [35:03]
Brent Pella
Yeah, yeah.
- [35:04]
Interviewer
Once Michelle ignores it, and then they're like, yeah. She didn't answer. I knew that wouldn't work. Right. But you weren't going to accept that. And the ironic thing is Michelle's like, you shouldn't do this. This isn't the way this industry works. And yet I need your help. Like, go do this, this, this, and this.
- [35:19]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [35:19]
Interviewer
So has your path crossed again with Andy? Like, have you had the opportunity to share with him what his message?
- [35:27]
Brent Pella
Not personally. Not personally. Would love to one day.
- [35:30]
Interviewer
Not yet.
- [35:30]
Brent Pella
For sure. Not yet. Yeah. You know, my. My management and team is friends with his folks, so as soon as we have a project that. That syncs up, we would share it because there's already that cool relationship. Yeah.
- [35:45]
Interviewer
What would you say to him today? Because now you wouldn't be the nerdy, awkward kid.
- [35:48]
Brent Pella
Yeah. Yeah.
- [35:49]
Interviewer
What would you say today?
- [35:50]
Brent Pella
I'd tell him that story and I just say, like, thank you, dude. Thanks, man. Thanks for, like, talking to me. It might have been, like, annoying at the end of the day, but, you know, you. You have no idea what kind of butterfly effect, momentum. One thing you say is going to add to a complete stranger's life, and then how that stranger's life is gonna affect millions of other people. Because I don't know what I. What I would have done after that shoot if I hadn't talked to him and if he hadn't said that, like, if he was too tired, if he was like, oh, man, you know, just keep doing it. Yeah, you're here, so, yeah, just keep coming back, man. Keep doing. Keep doing your thing.
- [36:25]
Interviewer
Or if you said, hey, like, I don't have time.
- [36:27]
Brent Pella
Yeah, like, say, hey, sorry, I'm meeting a burrito. Yeah, I got no time. I can't talk during a burrito. You can't talk on planes. Can't talk during burritos.
- [36:33]
Interviewer
Did Michelle ever call back?
- [36:35]
Brent Pella
I worked with Michelle after that many times. So that was my first ever PA job. Production assistant. And I worked that job and at Cheesecake Factory for like, three years simultaneously and then started getting enough gigs as a PA from Michelle and a couple other cool people on different shoots and projects that I was able to step away from the Cheesecake Factory.
- [36:58]
Interviewer
How long did it take you to learn the menu at the Cheesecake Factory?
- [37:01]
Brent Pella
I was actually a host at the Cheesecake Factory and I was about to start server training, and I got super crazy anxiety because I knew I would have to learn that menu. And that's when I knew it was time to just bail.
- [37:14]
Interviewer
It's like one of my all time favorite restaurants. My wife, like, refuses to go, dude.
- [37:19]
Brent Pella
It'S got so much butter.
- [37:21]
Interviewer
Cheesecake and Olive Garden, like, yeah, you can eat breadsticks and then the cheese. I just loved the Cheesecake Factory.
- [37:28]
Brent Pella
It's like, it's incredibly good.
- [37:30]
Interviewer
But I mean, what isn't good with butter, sugar dropped in a fryer and put on a plate?
- [37:34]
Brent Pella
Totally.
- [37:35]
Interviewer
Everything is good.
- [37:36]
Brent Pella
Totally. Every sauce is split. It's. Yeah. It was a hell of a place to work.
- [37:41]
Interviewer
They built an incredible machine, though. And you probably watched that machine in action. But then also hosting it got you comfortable with talking to people, dealing with unhappy people, dealing with pleasant people, trying to brighten their day, trying to brighten their mood. So it sounds like you've done a good job of whether it was conscious or subconscious, putting yourself in a position to constantly refine your craft and your skills.
- [38:03]
Brent Pella
Yeah, totally. And you know, when I was a host at Cheesecake Factory, during lull hours, I would write jokes and concepts on the back of receipt paper. And so I was just. There was always any empty space I had in my life I was filling with, trying to get better in any way possible. That came from my basketball coach in college. Just any, any shred of time that you have to get better at your craft, take advantage of that. Because if you don't, somebody else is.
- [38:33]
Interviewer
Yep, somebody else always is.
- [38:34]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [38:35]
Interviewer
So as you are going through your journey, right, you're a host, you're a Starbucks runner, you're doing some stand up, you're getting your own gigs, you're doing, you're doing your thing. What beliefs about yourself did you have to let go of? And which one of those were the hardest? Because I think people watching this, hearing you, seeing where you're at today, are like, oh, he just always had it. Everything was always going to be good for him.
- [38:56]
Brent Pella
Crazy.
- [38:57]
Interviewer
But in reality, like, they don't see the 10,000 hours of no's, the 10,000 hours of defeat, the 10,000 hours you had to put in. So as you've navigated that, what beliefs about yourself have been hardest to let go of?
- [39:11]
Brent Pella
Yeah, they're all. I'm still working on them, still working on them. I think part of the journey for some people, myself included, is to chip away bit by bit and piece by piece. You know, some people might have a big experience and they're able to fully let go of something. Me personally, it's a, it's a constant effort. It's a, it's, it's consistent, constant, conscious effort to try and reduce limiting beliefs. Some of the most toxic that I've fallen into have been like toxic comparison to others. It's very easy to do in probably every field and in the entertainment space when you're in front of cameras and you're on people's screens and a big part of creating a career and having a lasting impact is getting people to like you and getting a response from people. When you see other people getting more than you, it's, it becomes very toxic if you, if you think about it the wrong way. So thought patterns like, why does this person get this? Why didn't I get that? Why did they get a yes and I got a no? Then their following is this, but mine is only this. They're working with this person, but I don't get a response from that person. They got this audition, I didn't get that audition. Or they got further than me on this opportunity. I didn't get as far as they did on this opportunity. And it's actually like for me, been a very spiritual practice to, in those instances, really believe that what's best for me and my journey and my output is, is not getting that thing or not working with that person or not getting that opportunity, because I've been on the opposite side of that many times. I've gotten incredible opportunities. I got on Wild N Out, like all by myself. You know, I got commercial gigs and, and just starred in a movie back in August and, and now I have this movie and I've got a production company I'm launching. And, and so I, I, it's, it's like a very spiritual practice to revert my perspective from the don't have to. The have. And I, I still get caught. I still get caught and I still have to consciously, like, move shifts back toward that more positive outlook. So that's been a big one. And then also just like, imposter syndrome is a crazy thing. It's a crazy thing. It's crazy to have imposter syndrome, like, throughout, you know, multiple decades. And again, it's like for me, been a very spiritual practice to develop a sense of self confidence and a sense of trust in myself and my abilities to, to know that I got this far using all my own faculties and all my own abilities and developing my abilities. And so I'm looking at the next thing that I'm doing and imposter syndrome kicks in. Like, that's too big for you. You've never done that before. You can't do that. That. And I tell myself, well, I said that about all these other things in the past, and I did all these other things. I got a tv, I did this, I did this. So I don't think you're right. Weird voice in my head. I think you're wrong.
- [42:21]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [42:22]
Brent Pella
And so it's, you know, I have my own spiritual practices and physical practices that. That really help facilitate on getting unstuck from that type of thought pattern. But those have been the big ones. Yeah.
- [42:39]
Interviewer
Gobundance is a community of over 800 high performers, entrepreneurs and investors with a combined net worth of over $5.7 billion. But look, it's not just about the money. We're about building lives of abundance. If you're ready for a tribe that challenges you to achieve a higher standard for yourself, visit gobundance.com tribe that's G O B U N D A N C E dot com T R I b e to apply today. What I've found is everybody, regardless of the level of success that they've. They have achieved, if they're telling you the truth, will tell you that they struggle with some sort of limiting beliefs, some sort of sense of imposter syndrome. And what I've experienced on my journey is that voice, that little weird voice that. That doesn't go away, can't be turned off. You can become really good at turning the volume down so you can't hear it, but it's always there and it chirps at the worst times. I guess I would say, like the worst times, it's chirping when it chirps for you. You said you have a spiritual practice, you have a physical practice. What does the physical side of your practice look like? Is it working out? Is it walking? Is it. No phone, no music, Pure silence? What's that look like?
- [43:56]
Brent Pella
Yeah, so I play basketball through college, so I've always been an athlete and my workouts have always been pretty hard. So today when I get into these modes of feeling stuck, they typically line up with me having not worked out hard for a period of time, Whether I'm nursing an injury or just way too busy for three or four days in a row to go on a run, I'll clock that and immediately just force a workout in. I'll clear my afternoon. I'll go hit the court, I'll run three miles, I'll hit the hills. And I attack the hills as if I'm attacking, attacking that voice. And yeah, I'll really push my body like, as. As hard as I possibly can. And in doing so, I just feel like I've really. I'm moving energy out through my sweat, through movement, and coming back in the recovery later that day from that workout. That voice isn't there anymore.
- [44:52]
Interviewer
Yeah. You know, it's gone. Yeah, it's gone. And I love that you said you. You look at the workout like you're attacking that voice. Like, you pick the enemy, you pick the target. You're like, I'm going to work this out of.
- [45:02]
Brent Pella
Yeah, I'm gonna run you down.
- [45:03]
Interviewer
I'm gonna run you down.
- [45:04]
Brent Pella
Totally.
- [45:04]
Interviewer
And you know that you're gonna win because you want it bad enough.
- [45:08]
Brent Pella
Yeah. Yeah. And that voice, to me, too, is like, it's. Who said this? Maybe Alan Watts or somebody gave me this framework. I'd love to take credit for it, but it's really like. I think of it as a. Not a voice that lives in. In here. It's. It's. It's a guest. It's a house guest. It's a passing guest. House guests don't stay unless you give them a bed and meals forever. And so I don't feed it and I don't make its bed, and then I know at some point it will go on its way. And that's also super helpful because it allows me to not get stuck, and it allows me to look at that voice or hear that voice from a different perspective and almost just be like, yeah, okay, you're talk. Talking still. When are you. When are you gonna be done? When are you gonna be done?
- [45:53]
Interviewer
It's like an Airbnb guest.
- [45:54]
Brent Pella
It's Airbnb guests.
- [45:55]
Interviewer
They come, they go, they come, they go.
- [45:57]
Brent Pella
They leave some trash behind. But you know what? That's fine.
- [45:59]
Interviewer
Yeah, they can leave a review.
- [45:59]
Brent Pella
Not gonna burn the house down, then. You're not gonna squat. Yeah, there's no squatting in my brain.
- [46:03]
Interviewer
Squatting in your brain. That's beautiful. And do you read? Do you still consume a lot of content? How do you protect that Airbnb, that is your brain, to keep it the safe space for you?
- [46:13]
Brent Pella
Totally. I do read. I need to read more. I have way too many books I bought on Amazon that I'm not reading right now that are just really cool books on my shelf, but I'm working my way through it. I'm reading the Bruce Lipton book Biology of Belief. I'm reading that right now, along with Think and Grow Rich.
- [46:32]
Interviewer
It's a great book.
- [46:33]
Brent Pella
It's a fantastic book.
- [46:35]
Interviewer
One of my favorite theories about reading. So I have a library at home. I'm, like, obsessed with books, but I'm not obsessed with reading the books. I'm obsessed with having the books. Like, I know that if I have access to the knowledge. So this year Literally, I started reading just the first three chapters of a book because after the first three chapters you pretty much get what they're going to say. I mean, there might be another couple nuggets sprinkled throughout it, but like, you get the concepts, you know how you can apply it. And what I found in reading, as much as I like to read, like different topics, my mind gets so overwhelmed with all of the ideas and all of the things that I don't possibly have enough time to actually implement them all. So then I have this huge giant notebook of notes that I want to do and I look at it a year later and it's still a giant list of notes that I want to do. So I started reading just the first three chapters of every book. And it's amazing how much more energy you have when you start a book versus when you finish. Yeah, like totally. You get to especially self help books. And like, this is one of my biggest pet peeves. Like it could have ended at 130 pages. Like, that was the perfect length. But I know the publishers, they want like the 200 they want, the thicker book they want on the shelves in the airport. Think and Grow Rich. Probably one of the most impactful books I've ever read. It's either that or as a man thinketh. Those are the two.
- [47:47]
Brent Pella
As a man thinketh.
- [47:48]
Interviewer
As a man thinketh.
- [47:49]
Brent Pella
What is that about?
- [47:50]
Interviewer
It's all about how you think. And it's all about like the conscious and the subconscious mind and how you can program the subconscious mind. And we are programming the subconscious mind more than we're truly aware of. I believe the author is James Allen Cool. And I, I literally. That book was given to me by a mentor when I was 23 years old. And he said, I keep this above my visor in my car and when I'm at a stoplight, I pull it out and I start reading it. And my first thought was like, that is really fucking dangerous. Then my second thought was, how many people beep at you? And then my third thought was like, if that's what successful people do is consume content to make their mind sharper at a stoplight than what you just said earlier, which is somebody's doing the work at all times. Like, why shouldn't I do the work? And so I read that book. I read it once a year. I have sticky notes. I have. I mean, like, I could go back. There was a time I read it, I was probably 25 or 26, where there was a chapter of the book that really resonated with me in that moment of time. But I didn't have any paper. So literally in that book to this day is a ripped paper towel with my hand notes scribbled on the paper towel.
- [48:58]
Brent Pella
Hilarious.
- [48:59]
Interviewer
For you, what's been the book that's changed your life, left the biggest impact on you.
- [49:03]
Brent Pella
That's awesome. The book that's changed my life and left the biggest impact on me probably. Oh, the places you'll go by Dr. Seuss. That's a classic. It's really freeing. It is really freeing. It's mind expanding. It's trippy as fuck.
- [49:17]
Interviewer
It is. It's weird reading it to kids.
- [49:20]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [49:20]
Interviewer
Like I haven't read it in a while. I have a six year old and a four year old and the six year old, when she was born, my wife's aunt gave her that book as her baby shower book or whatever.
- [49:30]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [49:30]
Interviewer
Stupid activity they do at those things. And I've read it to her hundreds of times.
- [49:36]
Brent Pella
Cool.
- [49:37]
Interviewer
And she's finally getting to the age where she's like starting to understand some of the concepts. And to your point, it is really trippy as an adult to read that book.
- [49:43]
Brent Pella
Super trippy as an adult.
- [49:45]
Interviewer
Very interesting.
- [49:45]
Brent Pella
Yeah. I grew up reading a lot of creative books. I mean, they sound like kids books because they are, but that, that is real. Like all the places you'll go. Or Shel Silverstein as where the sidewalk ends. Harry Potter has a massive Harry Potter guy. It was such a cool. Like I. I love getting lost in a story and Harry Potter when I was growing up, was that for sure. Breath by James Nestor was really cool. That changed a lot of my perspective toward like health and wellness. Thinking Grow rich is probably going to end up being the most impactful book I've ever read. Read. Yeah. It's a really good book. It's really good. Yeah.
- [50:25]
Interviewer
Yeah, that's. That, that. It's amazing how coming through Covid, there was a point in time where these books that had such an incredible impact were in this cancel culture.
- [50:35]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [50:36]
Interviewer
I mean it was, it was.
- [50:38]
Brent Pella
Was that one.
- [50:39]
Interviewer
That one wasn't. But like Dr. Seuss was.
- [50:41]
Brent Pella
Dr. Seuss was. Yeah.
- [50:42]
Interviewer
Shel Silverstein was.
- [50:44]
Brent Pella
Yeah, yeah.
- [50:45]
Interviewer
Pulling them from libraries, that's so crazy, man. Pulling them from bookstores, that's so nuts. It's just sad.
- [50:50]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [50:51]
Interviewer
It's just like you said, this world is a very dark place. But I do believe that the world we live in is a dark room with blinds. And if you can find the way to raise those blinds, there is a Beautiful world at your fingertips, like there for you to grab. It's like just asking for you to grab it actually. But most people just enjoy looking at the blinds. Like it's way easier.
- [51:13]
Brent Pella
Most people like just a little dull sunlight coming in.
- [51:16]
Interviewer
Yeah, Like, I don't want to get, I don't want to wear sunscreen, I don't want sunglasses. I'll just sit in this deep, dark, sad, boring place.
- [51:24]
Brent Pella
Like the allegory of Plato's Cave. Yes. You know, yes, it's very similar. That just feels like exactly what, what we're in right now. A bunch of people watching bullshit against the wall, not knowing it's the shadows from like the light and the fun that's happening outside of the real world. That's right. Yeah, that's right.
- [51:40]
Interviewer
So one of probably the most viral pieces of content you've done is the alien stuff.
- [51:45]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [51:46]
Interviewer
Tell me a little bit about how you come up with this idea to dress in an alien costume and start recording.
- [51:51]
Brent Pella
Yeah, sure. So once again, drugs. No, we. In 2021, I think the US government or the Pentagon released a bunch of declassified materials about UFOs and UAPs and, and crafts in our upper atmosphere. And they said basically, we don't know what these are. We don't know who makes them. It's nobody that we know of. And so you think, okay, the Pentagon knows of everybody. So if it's somebody else, it's got to be not from this world. So a buddy of mine and I, Blake Weber, we decided to be those aliens that were cruising around in the upper atmosphere. And we did this first video that's like a five minute video, mock doc style, where we shared our opinions of humanity as interdimensional aliens experiencing human culture for the first time. And it popped. And we realized at the time that we had an opportunity to be a mirror toward humanity with a very unbiased lens. And we could talk as much shit as we want. And we can make fun of everything because we weren't two white guys, we were two blue humanoid aliens. So whatever we said, like, didn't have to work through the filter of, of humanity and, and person, because we weren't people. And we loved that because we both had very similar beliefs toward the hysteria and madness of COVID and other ridiculous, like, political things. And so we started to pump out content as these aliens with the intention of like, providing people a different perspective toward all their silly human bullshit that they were dealing with, while also like highlighting some of the unsung awesomeness of the human Experience. So that really popped that, that, that, that series, like continued to pop and we still do it today. It takes three and a half hours to put the. An insane process. We developed it into a TV series that we just pitched to a bunch of streaming services this past month, hoping to hear back within the next couple of days, actually. So that could be a really cool thing. But regardless of that, we're just going to keep developing the characters and the storylines and figure out new ways to kind of reflect the madness back at people. Because I think we just need more of that. And I saw a lot of love and positive reception for that, similar to all the festival related stuff, because I think people want that. People want more call outs, they want to be called out more, they want our culture to be called out more. They want the ridiculousness and the absurdity to be talked about openly and publicly, and they'll agree with it. But oftentimes people are a little hesitant to put it in their voice, you know, as private citizens or whatever. Luckily, aliens are not private citizens. So I've found that we actually, through doing these comedy videos about anything from crypto to health insurance to politics to whatever, we're actually giving people a voice and, and creating content that's bringing people together from multiple sides because we're tackling issues that aren't necessarily political toward one side or the other.
- [55:07]
Interviewer
What's the crazy experience you've had with the alien costume while in, While in blue?
- [55:13]
Brent Pella
The craziest experience, dude. We shooting as these aliens is like it. So it takes three and a half hours to put the makeup on. And when we shoot in the summer, it gets so hot, like, so hot, and we can't see out of the eyes.
- [55:31]
Interviewer
Really?
- [55:31]
Brent Pella
Yeah. So if you, if you watch the content, we have these, like, blue. These. They're blue, they're bald. The makeup goes down beneath our shirt all the way to our chest. The eyes are like sunglass lenses, but they're so blurry that we can't see out of them. So we always have to have a spotter, like holding us and telling us where to go. But in the early shoots, we didn't have a spotter. It was just us and our camera guy. So we're banging into. I rammed my head into a stop sign and I had like a full Harry Potter cut on my forehead. My buddy got lost at Venice Beach. He was just lost because we. He turned around, we walked the other way. We thought he was with us, but he wasn't with us. We end up on the other side of Venice beach. And it's me and my camera guy and he's just like spinning around looking for us. Just a blue alien, totally lost.
- [56:20]
Interviewer
Which is how aliens.
- [56:21]
Brent Pella
The character. Yeah, yeah. Made it way funnier. Yeah, yeah. So it's. But it is really fun to like embody these characters and, and kind of allow for a. Our voices to, to come out with no filter and no hesitation at all.
- [56:36]
Interviewer
Do you think aliens are real?
- [56:37]
Brent Pella
Yeah. 100. There's no way we're the only people or the only living people. Have you seen? Are you an aliens? Are you an alien guy?
- [56:46]
Interviewer
I think they exist.
- [56:47]
Brent Pella
You think they exist, but you don't go down rabbit holes.
- [56:49]
Interviewer
I, if I do, it's too dangerous for me because I'll get like obsessed with it.
- [56:52]
Brent Pella
Okay, cool.
- [56:53]
Interviewer
So like, I'm like, okay, there's a hole. I know I'll fall in.
- [56:56]
Brent Pella
Like, there's always another hole.
- [56:57]
Interviewer
Yeah, there's always another hole. I mean like when they started putting out news that chocolate does the same thing to your brain that cocaine does, Like, I went down, I went down such a dark hole. Like I had so much chocolate. I like, I was just obsessed with trying to understand these concepts. So like, I definitely believe that there are aliens. I actually was getting into an argument, not an argument, but a discussion with Corey before this actually, like literally this morning because his argument was that aliens are on this planet. Which I'm like, I don't know if they're on this planet. I think they are in this universe. I think they are somewhere, maybe Mars, maybe somewhere else are they on this planet? I mean, maybe it could be.
- [57:40]
Brent Pella
Maybe they could be. Dude, we've only explored such a small part of the ocean. Yeah, an incredibly small part of the ocean. But what's even crazier is I'm a big alien guy, always have been. I love space. I think it's. It's just. I'll watch a full space documentary and just be wide eyed, bug eyed the whole time. So.
- [57:57]
Interviewer
Do you think we walked on the moon?
- [58:00]
Brent Pella
I don't know if we landed on the moon. I have watched a lot of spooky documentaries. I think it's very plausible that we did. And I think it's, you know, arguable that we did not. And I am split and I would love for somebody to convince me one way or the other. But the reasons for us faking it and the way we could have faked it, it. Some of them are very convincing and don't. And the debunking doesn't hold Up. But there are some things that are very easily debunked too. And like the radiation belt. How do we make it out of that radiation belt? Only that one time, but never again. Like, that's all right. Aliens definitely gonna get some DMS from that. So with a, with, with the thought toward aliens existing, there are so many stories, so many credible stories from credible, reputable people that are not crazy Looney Tunes people. That's the first thing that makes me.
- [59:11]
Interviewer
Not at the festivals.
- [59:12]
Brent Pella
No, at the festivals you get a lot of stories. You get mantis, praying mantis and entities and all kinds of. But, you know, I, the, the amount that we've explored in space is like on this table, this, like, you know, three by four foot table that we're at. The amount of space that we have searched is like if you put a pin on the table and that pinhole is like the amount of space that we've searched, maybe even a fraction of that pinhole. So we haven't searched like a lot at all. And we might very well be in like a void of space with nothing for just such years and years and years, years, like billions of years, millions of light years away. And that to me, it drives such a level of curiosity, which I think is lacking in culture. I think a huge thing that, that our modern day culture lacks is curiosity. And that's a big intention behind. A lot of the stuff that I put out and a lot of the ways that I tackle subjects or talk about subjects or craft content or characters is really to spark curiosity and stuff. Whether it's a video of Aaron Rodgers drinking ayahuasca instead of Gatorade at practice. And then, you know that my buddy saw that and he started asking me about ayahuasca and boom, catalyst for curiosity. Now what is that going to do for him? Is he going to learn about plant medicines and go down a new path that's going to change his life? So with the alien content, the curiosity that we're always trying to spark is like curiosity? Yeah, for aliens. And what else could be out there, but also curiosity for the human experience. And if we can show these aliens living life as humans with like a driving curiosity and an edge to them, how can that in turn affect viewers and encourage them to have a deeper curiosity about some of the subject matter that we're touching on? Right. So curiosity has always been huge, a huge part of what I've done. And the aliens kind of lead that charge of all the things that I do. But I do hope that they're Real. And I hope that we get to see them in our lifetime. Because of all the crazy that's happened in the past couple years, you would think aliens are next. You'd think they're like, like really, like on deck.
- [61:41]
Interviewer
It's gotta come, they gotta show up. It's gotta be here.
- [61:43]
Brent Pella
We're ready.
- [61:44]
Interviewer
Yeah, we're ready.
- [61:44]
Brent Pella
You know, we're ready. Yeah. And I hope they're nice.
- [61:48]
Interviewer
So I'm gonna ask you a deep philosophical question because this is ironic. This is what I've been wrestling with right now, actually, in my journal, which. At what point does curiosity become knowledge? And if we allow curiosity to become knowledge, are we then stuck in that, that fixated knowledge and awareness forever? And is that limiting? Like, do we as humans allow curiosity to drive us and never get to the point of knowledge? Because once I feel like somebody said, oh, I know that, or I learned that that's the only box they can ever see. Like, that's their ceiling. That's their limiter. So from your perspective, you know, is there a point at which curiosity becomes knowledge or is curiosity always the driver?
- [62:33]
Brent Pella
Immediate thought is. Curiosity can push, can push you toward knowledge. Knowledge can be gained. That fills curiosity. But I, I think even when knowledge is gained on a topic that you're curious about, the curiosity doesn't just go away just because you know about that topic. Right. Like, an example could be aliens. I, I also, I also would, would add to that question with, Is there ever an end to knowledge, like, about any particular topic? Do you, do you, have you ever reached a point where you really, like, are done learning? Maybe you've stopped yourself. But isn't there always further to go? And therefore isn't the engine of curiosity always theoretically on. So a couple examples, like basketball, you know basketball. I love basketball. I was curious to see how good I could get. Right. Or maybe a better, maybe a better one is health and wellness. Let's talk about that. So health and wellness. I have like an immense curiosity for health and wellness and the ways that I can make my body better, attract more longevity and, and live a longer, healthier life. And so I'm super into all these crazy biohacking things and I've learned all types of things about heat shock proteins and regenerative ag and, and I know all of these things now. Like, I have a working knowledge of regenerative agriculture. That was that, that I, that I got or built because of my curiosity for health and wellness. But that knowledge, like, isn't, it's not done. Yeah, you know there's so much more to learn about regenerative agriculture, but I stopped myself. But the curiosity for health and wellness is continuing to charge me forward. So I think curiosity is an ever present, like on switch that you have the ability to turn off. And knowledge is gained through curiosity. But it's almost like running a hill. You know, you're curious to see if you can get to the top. You get to the top, now you have the knowledge of how to run that hill. But if you're really curious, there's another hill. Yeah, there's always another hill. So, yeah, that's, that's my theory toward that.
- [65:07]
Interviewer
That. Yeah, where I landed on it. I didn't want to give you my perspective before you shared your perspective.
- [65:10]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [65:11]
Interviewer
What do you think where I've landed on it is? Curiosity yields awareness, and awareness opens the door for more curiosity.
- [65:19]
Brent Pella
Cool.
- [65:20]
Interviewer
Like, I, I wrestled with this question for like a day and a half and I was finally like, knowledge is like the ego saying, like, I got this. So for me, I'm not pursuing knowledge, I'm pursuing awareness. Because once I have awareness, then I have choice as to what I want to be curious about. To your point, like regenerative agriculture, I literally had an hour and 15 minute phone call yesterday about that exact topic. Learned way more about it than I ever thought I needed to know.
- [65:46]
Brent Pella
Cool.
- [65:46]
Interviewer
But it led to me being more curious because now I have this new set of awarenesses of, like, what do you mean? They have cattle and the sheep follow the cattle and the chickens follow the sheep and they move them every single day and they rotate them every single day. Like, wait, what? Like how? Why? What? When? Where?
- [66:01]
Brent Pella
Yeah. Yeah.
- [66:02]
Interviewer
Oh, yeah. What they didn't realize is that, like, they would get all additional products unintentionally. So, like, we're gonna have chickens follow the sheep. And like, oh. A byproduct of that is like, the chickens lay eggs. So now we have eggs and like, oh, the sheep. We have to shear the sheep and then we can sell it first. Like, I learned a ton about that the other day. And what I've recognized is that curiosity is gold. Like, for me, it's everything.
- [66:27]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [66:28]
Interviewer
And I'm always, I'm always using curiosity as a tool to gain awareness. Because once I have awareness now I can be curious as to what I want to choose next. Whether it's more curiosity towards that subject or to your point about the regenerative egg, you're like, hey, I feel good in that box. For now, I'm not going to close it forever. But I'm still curious about the health and longevity. I have more awareness about this side of it. Let me go pursue something else.
- [66:49]
Brent Pella
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Curiosity is a driving force for me personally. It's, it's, it's. It. It allows me to interact with the world in a way that I feel like. Makes me a better person.
- [67:03]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [67:05]
Brent Pella
Because I. Yeah. Seeking. Seeking knowledge, you know, doesn't feel like a job. It feels like. It feels like. It feels like a biohack, dude.
- [67:14]
Interviewer
It feels like it's an adventure.
- [67:16]
Brent Pella
It's an adventure. Yeah.
- [67:17]
Interviewer
It's an adventure to space, whether it's gonna land you on the moon or not.
- [67:20]
Brent Pella
Right.
- [67:20]
Interviewer
It's up for.
- [67:21]
Brent Pella
It's up for debate. Yeah.
- [67:25]
Interviewer
So the film that you're launching.
- [67:27]
Brent Pella
Yeah.
- [67:27]
Interviewer
How can people find out about it? When will the project be announced? How can people support it? How can people not be treated like a herd of cattle?
- [67:36]
Brent Pella
Oh, yeah, it's gonna be much different than that. So we aim to film in April 2026, just outside of Austin, Texas. We're gonna be launching a crowdfunding campaign probably right after New Year's. And we're really the. The project is driven by the 10 principles of burning man that manifests in front of and behind the camera in different ways. So, for example, one of the principles is decommodification that will be represented by no logos or brands being visible in the movie. I really want it to be like a timeless piece that doesn't get commodified and labeled by any brands or anything like that. And then another one of the principles is communal effort. So that's going to be the biggest driving force of the project. And we're going to be calling on support from community large and wide in the form of resources and infrastructure, art, cars, RVs, shade structures, lighting, art, installations, props, wardrobe, tents, camping gear, artists, live painters, and eventually people. Because we really want people to come out and be represented in a movie that is about them. And that's how I want to maintain the authenticity and the integrity of the story is by having the people the story is about and for in front of the camera as much as possible. So we'll probably throw an event sometime in mid April that's going to be like a proper music festival. And we're going to invite a bunch of people out. So. So all formal announcements and timing and dates and stuff will be on my Instagram. Brent Pella or BrentPella.com sign up for the email list and if you want to invest, we're almost there. Hit me up. Brentpella. Mail. But we are just really stoked, dude. It's a dream project to make something that is so core to who I am as a person and that represents a community that I love, like, deeply, deeply, deeply love. And ultimately, this project, alongside the Alien project, like I told you before, are the foundation for the production company that I'm developing that to date has done quite a bit of branded content and commercial campaign collaborations. But into the future will be for narrative TV and film development. So these two projects are the foundational elements of that bigger vision.
- [70:12]
Interviewer
Yeah, I'm excited to see it come to life, man. I think one of my beliefs is that the wealthiest place on Earth is the graveyard, because most people die with their dreams and their goals. And the coolest part about this conversation for me is you will definitely not die with your dreams and your goals. Like, you're gonna chase them, you're gonna pursue them. Whatever happens is gonna happen, but you're not going to leave any stone untouched in pursuit of what you.
- [70:36]
Brent Pella
I'm gonna call Michelle as many times as it takes.
- [70:39]
Interviewer
I was gonna ask, is she gonna be on? Is she gonna be the production assistant?
- [70:42]
Brent Pella
I should. I should bring her on.
- [70:44]
Interviewer
You should bring her on.
- [70:44]
Brent Pella
I should bring her on. Yeah. Startle. Yeah. A producer on that shoot that I was on, not Michelle, but somebody else who was just helping with the production, is currently my production partner with my production company. I reached out to her a year ago and gave her updates. She was like, oh, that's so cool. I want to work with you. And I was like, dude, yes. Oh, my God. Are you kidding? So Sarah is now my co producer on everything and runs my production company. Company.
- [71:09]
Interviewer
Well, maybe Sarah can call Michelle, because you can't call Michelle. Michelle won't answer your question.
- [71:13]
Brent Pella
She will not. She will not answer.
- [71:14]
Interviewer
Sarah could call her and get her. I really enjoyed the conversation. Thanks for.
- [71:19]
Brent Pella
Bro, thank you so much for having me, man. I really appreciate what you do and how you do it sincerely.
- [71:23]
Interviewer
So thank you.
- [71:24]
Brent Pella
Yeah.