“I GOT SOBER TO YO-YO”

Summary

Podcast Summary: Therapy Gecko – Episode “I GOT SOBER TO YO-YO”

Introduction In the July 27, 2025 episode of Therapy Gecko, hosted by Ryan Reynolds under the iHeartPodcasts banner, listeners are taken on a journey through Washington Square Park in New York City. The unorthodox host, donned in a gecko suit, engages with strangers to explore their personal stories, focusing on themes of sobriety, self-discovery, and community. True to the show's quirky premise, this episode emphasizes real-life interactions over traditional phone call interviews, offering an authentic glimpse into the lives of everyday individuals.

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1. Interview with Archie – Journey to Sobriety and Yo-Yoing

Timestamp: 02:05 – 19:19

Background: Archie, a 23-year-old man, shares his transformative journey from addiction to sobriety, intertwining his passion for yo-yoing with his professional role as a mental health and substance abuse counselor.

Key Discussions:

• Path to Sobriety:

  • Archie discusses his struggle with multiple addictions, including amphetamines, ketamine, alcohol, and cannabis, which began in his early teens.
  • At [04:35], he emphasizes the critical turning point: “I got sober four years ago, so I guess that was like one of the first things that sort of was like a bid to make my life more stable.”
  • The challenges of maintaining sobriety are candidly addressed, highlighting the ongoing effort required to stay clean.

• Professional Life and Community Engagement:

  • In his role as a counselor at a sober living home, Archie dedicates 90% of his work to helping clients rebuild their lives and find community.
  • “Community is like, if you are trying to get sober, trying to make a major change in your life. I think, like, getting a community that's based on accountability and like working together is like gonna get you 80% of the way there for, like, maintaining sobriety that feels so nice.” ([13:31])

• Personal Passions:

  • Archie reveals his love for yo-yoing, magic, and Dungeons & Dragons, which serve as therapeutic outlets and sources of joy.
  • At [06:54], he shares, “I'm a professional yo-yoer, so I get. It's my favorite thing in the world. I love yo-yoing. And that's just something that, like, sort of in a very uncontroversial, easy way makes me happy.”

• Challenges and Support Systems:

  • Balancing his personal recovery with his professional responsibilities is an ongoing challenge.
  • Archie acknowledges the difficulty in not only achieving sobriety but also in sustaining it, especially when everything seems stable: “I think staying sober has been harder.” ([07:40])

Notable Quotes:

• “Living a life where I could go from very high highs to deep cavernous crashes... not being on that feels pretty wonderful.” ([04:11])
• “The 12 steps have been the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's awesome.” ([15:39])

Insights: Archie's story underscores the importance of community and personal passions in the journey to sobriety. His integration of hobbies like yo-yoing and magic not only provides personal fulfillment but also strengthens his connection to others, fostering a supportive environment essential for maintaining his recovery.

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2. Interview with James (Also Referred to as Jack) – Navigating a Music Career in NYC

Timestamp: 19:45 – 28:15

Background: James, a musician and aspiring artist from Texas, discusses his endeavors in creating music videos, managing a team, and the logistical challenges of commuting from Philadelphia to New York City for work.

Key Discussions:

• Music Career and Creative Projects:

  • James is involved in producing music videos for his friend Jack, focusing on pop music reminiscent of Justin Timberlake and Pharrell.
  • At [22:35], he explains, “We kind of used to have a different vibe going on. A lot of people are trying to bring back what's going on with early 2000s, hip hop, R and B... that's the same thing we're doing.”

• Team Building and Collaboration:

  • He details the spontaneous formation of his entourage, including roles like social media management and photography.
  • “We fell off for two of those years, and then we reconnected when he moved back into the city, and we've been locked in ever since.” ([15:44])

• Lifestyle and Relocation:

  • The challenges of balancing multiple jobs and the aspiration to establish a stable foothold in NYC are evident.
  • James shares his excitement about moving to Brooklyn and the cultural vibrancy it offers: “I'm gonna be in Brooklyn.” ([26:25])

• Personal Reflections and Goals:

  • Despite the hustle, James expresses a desire to achieve tangible milestones, such as making the finals of a national yo-yo contest.
  • “I also would like to make finals of the national yo-yo contest next year. So that's a more, like. That's a more physical dream that we can point at.” ([10:06])

Notable Quotes:

• “I felt connected to my inner child this morning. I haven't waited in line to buy a video game since 1979.” ([83:30])
• “I'm excited about the piano tuning pod. I'm excited about that. I'm excited about starting to teach voice lessons to kids.” ([81:10])

Insights: James' narrative highlights the intersection of passion and practicality in pursuing a music career. His commitment to both his art and his responsibilities underscores the balancing act many creatives face in thriving urban environments like New York City.

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3. Interview with Jason – Struggles with Family Court and Sobriety

Timestamp: 28:15 – 51:03

Background: Jason discusses his ongoing battle with the family court system over child support and custody issues, intertwined with his past addiction and current state of sobriety.

Key Discussions:

• Family Court Challenges:

  • Jason reveals the hardships of navigating family court, particularly in gaining access to his child while facing wage garnishment for child support.
  • At [29:01], he states, “And she made, like, false allegations. She says I'm crazy.”

• Addiction and Recovery:

  • His journey to sobriety began at age 19, following early drug use starting in his early teens.
  • Jason shares, “I used to be that guy...” reflecting on his past behaviors and the stark contrast with his current stable life.

• Coping Mechanisms and Lifestyle Changes:

  • To maintain his sobriety, Jason engages in physical activities like biking and running, avoids triggers, and focuses on personal happiness through hobbies.
  • “I just be riding my bike everywhere because I, you know, my license suspended.” ([31:21])

• Social Media and Content Creation:

  • Jason utilizes platforms like TikTok to create content about his sober life, blending dark comedy with his experiences.
  • At [38:27], he encourages, “Like, you can write something about addiction... make a funny sketch about attempts to get high.”

• Mental Health and Support Systems:

  • Despite his struggles, Jason emphasizes the importance of support systems and community in his recovery process.
  • “Staying sober has been harder... I have to make sure that I'm being of service to other people.” ([07:40])

Notable Quotes:

• “Living, I live, I don’t know if that helps out, but, yeah, I live over there by, you know, City Field.” ([46:58])
• “When you stop consuming and using, you realize that, oh, shit, I am lonely. Oh, shit, I kind of hate myself.” ([35:16])

Insights: Jason's story poignantly illustrates the complex interplay between personal recovery and legal struggles. His candid discussion about the difficulties of maintaining sobriety amidst external pressures serves as a powerful testament to resilience and the enduring quest for personal stability.

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4. Interview with Ellen – Life as an Elementary School Principal

Timestamp: 54:46 – 72:32

Background: Ellen, a principal of an elementary school and a graduate opera student, offers insights into her professional life, family dynamics, and personal struggles with OCD.

Key Discussions:

• Balancing Career and Family:

  • Ellen reflects on the challenges and rewards of managing a demanding job while nurturing a family of two children.
  • At [55:00], she shares, “I've been married for 14 years... Life’s going great.”

• Mental Health and OCD:

  • She discusses her battle with moral OCD, focusing on concerns about her actions impacting the environment and others.
  • “I used to be really obsessive about, like, plastic use... I'll never let myself drive anywhere just because I'm like, oh, but if I buy this one plastic thing...” ([71:05])

• Therapy and Coping Strategies:

  • Ellen advocates for the importance of therapy, particularly in dealing with OCD and the pressures of modern life.
  • “It's something that you put as crazy people... people don't understand the value of being good with yourself and going to a therapy.” ([84:11])

• Educational Insights:

  • As a school principal, Ellen observes that current students exhibit entitlement issues, a stark contrast to the less complicated childhoods.
  • “They're entitled. Yeah.” ([58:29])

Notable Quotes:

• “Communicate? Be honest.” ([55:22])
• “It's just, like, self-flagellation not being helpful is probably the most helpful advice.” ([75:04])

Insights: Ellen's dual role as an educator and a student provides a unique perspective on the intersection of academic responsibilities and personal growth. Her openness about mental health challenges emphasizes the importance of seeking support and fostering honest communication within family and professional environments.

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5. Interview with Yugi – Exploring Therapy and Personal Boundaries

Timestamp: 90:10 – 103:19

Background: Yugi, a 34-year-old from France, delves into topics of self-love, therapy, and maintaining healthy relationships, all while navigating cultural differences between France and the United States.

Key Discussions:

• Self-Love and Personal Boundaries:

  • Yugi emphasizes the necessity of prioritizing oneself to foster healthier relationships and personal well-being.
  • At [92:16], he states, “The better you love yourself, the better you'll be loved in your group and in your community.”

• Therapy and Cultural Perspectives:

  • Discussing the stigma around therapy in France, Yugi advocates for its acceptance and integration into daily life.
  • “I think it's still like something that you put as crazy people... they need to go because the duality between their lives in France or any country plus their origins...” ([92:41])

• Friendship and Support Systems:

  • Yugi highlights the strength of long-term friendships and how they provide a support network for personal and collective growth.
  • “We have to ask them... I'm trying to work them into it.” ([92:52])

• Parenting and Future Aspirations:

  • He shares his aspirations to provide a safe and communicative environment for his future children, learning from his own upbringing.
  • “I want to have kids... a safe place for them to share anything they want to share with me.” ([93:44])

Notable Quotes:

• “No one will do it. I mean, at some point even your parents think about themselves.” ([90:52])
• “Self-flagellation not being helpful is probably the most helpful advice.” ([75:04])

Insights: Yugi's reflections highlight the universal struggle between self-care and community integration. His emphasis on self-love as a foundation for meaningful relationships and his advocacy for mental health support bridge cultural gaps, offering valuable lessons on personal development and interpersonal dynamics.

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Conclusion The “I GOT SOBER TO YO-YO” episode of Therapy Gecko masterfully weaves together diverse personal narratives, each shedding light on the multifaceted journey toward self-improvement and community connection. From overcoming addiction and pursuing creative passions to navigating professional challenges and advocating for mental health, the episode serves as a compelling exploration of human resilience and the enduring quest for fulfillment. Through authentic conversations and heartfelt disclosures, listeners are invited to reflect on their own paths and the value of community and self-awareness in fostering a meaningful life.

Notable Quotes Recap:

• “Live one day at a time.” – Archie ([19:02])
• “You're only young once.” – Ryan Reynolds to James ([25:10])
• “Self-flagellation not being helpful is probably the most helpful advice.” – Nicole ([75:05])
• “The better you love yourself, the better you'll be loved in your group and in your community.” – Yugi ([92:16])

Final Thoughts This episode underscores the importance of sharing personal stories to inspire and support one another. Whether grappling with sobriety, building a career, or seeking personal growth, Therapy Gecko highlights that everyone’s journey is unique yet interconnected through shared human experiences.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile now. I was looking for fun ways to.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

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Of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra.

[Ryan Reynolds]

See mintmobile.com hello listeners of the Therapy Gecko Podcast. Welcome. My name is Lyle. I'm a gecko human, guy, thing, person. I'm a man. I'm in a gecko suit. It's really hot. I'm in a park in New York City. There's a lot of people around this park and I want to talk to them. I want to get lost in conversation. I Need to exit my own brain. I need to be in life. I need to be. I'm attempting to get into the flow state today by talking to people about their lives. So this is gonna be a no phone call episode. It's gonna be an in real life episode. For those who are unfamiliar, real life is when you have a conversation with someone and there's no technology involved in the interface between the two people. Direct from one person's mouth into my ear, my mouth into their ear, and then, yes, through technology, into your ears. So we're in Washington Square Park, New York City. That's it. That's all I have to say. Let's talk to some people. Hey, what's up, man?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

What's going on?

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's your name?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Archie.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Archie. Nice to meet you, Archie. How's your day going?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Things are good. Things are good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Very nice. Why are things good?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Um, I don't know. I think things are very stable. Things are serene, things are predictable, Things are easy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Have they always been that way? No, I'm so. Please, please hit me. So things are. Hold on, I just want to recount. They were. They're stable, serene, and predictable, and they were not always this way.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think. I guess. What do I think? There's several reasons why they haven't always been this way. First off, I'm just entering a point in my life where, you know, I have, like, a job that's, like a career job. So I'm, like, working on that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Great.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

And, like, showing up to work. Every, like, shown up to work and just sort of being a worker and enjoying that part of life. I also think that, like, you know, so that's like. I guess the, like, everyone gets to a point in their life where, like, stuff gets predictable in that way.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

But, you know, my life used to be. I'm someone who is, like, so prone to chaos.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Like, I love working in the gig economy. I love. I love living a life where it's like, I could go from like, very high highs to, like, deep cavernous crashes. So sort of not being on that for, like, kind of the first time in my life feels pretty wonderful.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Interesting. And what. How did that change?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

How did that change?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like, did you use. Got it. You just got a job that's more predictable?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Well, I think. Okay, so there's like, I. I got sober four years ago, so I guess that was like, one of the first things that, like, sort of was like a bid to make my life more stable.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What inspired you to get sober?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Mainly cuz I was gonna die.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I was, like, pretty sure I was gonna die. Either from drugs or just killing myself. Yeah, yeah, something like that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What. Can I ask what drugs you were addicted to?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

A whole lot of things. Most. Most of everything, but primarily, like, amphetamines. Loved ketamine. Love drinking.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Love smoking weed.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What were you. And you're. And now you're gone from all those. You don't smoke, you don't drink, you don't do anything.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

No.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And were you, like, trying to get away from something?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Um, I think I. Well, I mean, getting away from myself, I. My friend actually sent me something recently that's like, the addict. Like, the addict lives away from oneself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

So I was completely empty internally because my entire life has just been just bids to try to get away from what it's like being inside of myself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So some. There was a kid who just sat down before you, and he was like, how you doing? And I was like, I'm gonna tell him the truth. And I was like, I just went in to buy a Nintendo Switch to feel something.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And then I was like, does that ever happen to you? And he was like, nah, he walked away. And I was like, oh. I think I was doing that to try to get away from myself. I mean, I've done that with, like, drugs too, but I was like, yeah. I'm just always. I'm familiar with the idea of, like, you're trying to get away from yourself in some sense, and then you want to try to make. What's the. What's the process for you been, like, of trying to make your brain a place where you don't want to get away from?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I think, you know, it's. I think part of it's my environment.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Like, figuring out, like, you know, what. What do I really, like, what makes me whole? What are the things in my life that, like, I need to, like, feel complete? And for me, that's like. I'm an extrovert. I love being around people. I charge around people. So I think that's one thing that I, like, try my best to, like, make attempts to, like, constantly feed that part of myself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

And then also just like, you know, there are just some things in my life that just make me happy. And if I can, like, do those with some frequency, yeah, I'm happy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What are those things?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Let's see. I'm a professional yo yoer, so get.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The fuck out of here. Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

It's my favorite thing in the world. I love to. Yo, yo. I love yo yoing. And that's just something that, like, sort of in a very uncontroversial, easy way makes me happy. I play a lot of magic. The gathering started getting back into that crow. Starting to crack open my Dungeons and Dragons hyper fixation. Like, all those things, like, make me happy in a very just, like, easy way. And they also all involve community and, like, the sort of larger, more conceptual ideas as to, like, what makes me feel whole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. So was it hard getting sober?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I think the getting sober was hard. Staying sober has been harder.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah. I think staying sober is a lot of maintenance, and it's a lot of things that I'm not always. Especially when things are, like, fine. It's just things that I'm not always, like, super inclined to do.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like what?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Without getting too into the details of what I do, I think, you know, like, there's a lot of things, like, I'm trying not to, like, break my anonymity on a very specific thing, but I do appreciate I have to, like, you know, keep in touch with people who are part of my support system, which is something I'm not always, like, inclined to do. If things are going well, I have to, like, make sure that I'm being of service to other people. And, like, I work as, like, a mental health and substance abuse counselor. So, like, I'm around early. Early addiction all the time, and, like, it's easy for me to, like, stay in the mindset of, like, oh, this is something I should obviously stay away from. But it's very easy for me to focus just on their problems and, like, completely forget about the fact that I suffer from the exact same problems. I'm just several years separated from those problems.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Can I ask how old you are?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I'm 23 years old.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Cool. And so you got sober when you were 19?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I got sober when I was 19.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And so you were mainly, like, in your addiction phase when you were, like, a kid? Yeah, no.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I started using when I was, like, 13, 14, and then things got bad around 16. And, you know, like, I am. I am someone who, like, crashes very quickly. So I knew I was an addict probably by the time I was 15 years old, and, like, was, like, very aware of that fact about myself. And my. My dad's been sober for years, so I've just been sort of always aware of the fact that, like, drug addiction and getting sober is something that I either would deal with or just have to do at some point in my life. And it was almost like an aspiration growing up because I was like, oh, I feel so terrible inside of my unmedicated, sober self that, like, obviously makes sense that I'd, like, you know, like, this is the thing that's gonna work for me. And it did for, like, years. Like, drinking, drugs. That absolutely worked for me until it stopped working for me. And, like, once it stops, like, things got. You know, things just. It was bad already, but you start to see how bad things are. And, like, I was just lucky enough to, like, see it enough that I had the moment to be like, all right, I'm done. Like, I'm out. Like, I can't do this anymore.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And so what's your. What's kind of your dreams for the future, man?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

What are my dreams for the future? Well, there's, like, big dreams and small dreams. Right. And I'm trying to, like, let go of the idea of, like, you see, I don't know what my life's gonna be. I don't really want to know what my life's gonna be. I've completely bought out of. I fired myself as, like, the arbiter of my own future.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I just want to be a person who helps other people. I want to be kind to other people. And whatever that leads me to, whatever vehicle in my life that allows me to do that most effectively, I would like to continue doing that. But I also would like to make finals of the national yo yo contest next year. So that's a more, like. That's a more physical dream that we can point at.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So. Great. Do you have, like, a. Like, can people follow you if they want to see your Yo Yo?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah, they can. My Instagram is a finite wizard. So, like, a wizard with limited capabilities.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The finite wizard.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Finite wizard. Yep.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Not the. But just finite wizard.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Finite wizard.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, wizard. And how did you get into Yo Yoing? I feel like that's very niche.

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Okay. I got into yo yoing when I was 12 years old. My little brother, like, got one, and I, like, picked it up, and I was like, oh, this is kind of cool. And I looked it up on YouTube, and I saw this yo yoer named Andrew Mater, who was the second best yo yoer in the United States in the year 2015. And I saw a video of him Yo Yoing online, and for some reason, something clicked to my head, where it's like, if I can do this, if I can do what he's doing, I'm gonna, like, I'm gonna be so happy with myself. I'm gonna Feel so whole with who I am as a person. And something about just the hobby made so much sense to me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Now. What do you think about. Have you ever seen the yo yo ball?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

The yo yo ball? Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you feel about the yo yo ball?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Bullshit. Fake ass yo yo. Fake ass yo yo. Get a real yo yo. Learn some tricks.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. When I was a kid, I used to love the yo yo ball because it's like the yo yo. But it's like. It's like if a yo yo had training wheels.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yes. No, exactly, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Y.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, do you have, like a particular color of yo yo that you like or do you like the like. What is it? What's the word for it?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

The.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The ones that you went. You know, the shit you scratch and it makes like a DJ sound.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah, like Rika.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Rika. Yeah.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Well, there's the one I have. So I have a signature colorway of a yo yo that's just silver with Kiss prints on it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Cool.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

But I like. On stage, I like using raw yo yos or like silver yo yos. Like raw anodized because I think it looks really good. But otherwise I like using like. I just like any color that's pretty. I don't like anything. Too busy. I like things that are simple but also pretty. My friend Remy made a yo yo with like, that looks like an Italian espresso machine with like red caps and stuff. It's cool.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Cool, cool, cool, man. That's awesome. So you work as a cat? As an addiction counselor?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yes, I do.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What kinds of things do you do to kind of help other people who are dealing with what you dealt with?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

So my job, like 90% of my job is. So I work at a pretty low level position. I sort of just started. So my job sort of. I'm like a concierge for people that live in a sober living home. So my job is just to sort of help people on like a day to day basis. Whether it's like, you know, just the nuts and bolts, stuff like handing out medication, you know, like conducting urine analysis tests, all that stuff. Making sure that the clients are safe. But in like a larger level, 95% of my job is helping people who have lived a very isolated life find a form of community.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Because community is like, if you are trying to get sober, trying to make a major change in your life. I think, like, getting a community that's based on accountability and like working together is like, gonna get you 80% of the way there for, like, maintaining sobriety that feels so nice.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It does feel. Yeah. We're getting hit by a little wave of wind from the fountain. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Community is really important. I mean, that's why, like, AA and all that stuff is very popular. Were you ever into any of those things?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah, no. I guess I'll just say I attend a frequently. It's like a super helpful program for me. It's like how I found the community that, like, how. It's where I found a lot of good friends. It's where I found the sort of, like, guidebook to what helps me stay sober one day at a time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What is the, like. Do you follow the 12 steps?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I do follow the 12 steps. I've done the 12 steps. I take guys through the 12 steps.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you. What are the 12 steps?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

The 12 steps are essentially a loose collection of suggestions designed to basically, like, give someone, like, a rubric for, like, what they need to do to like, make a, like, start. Sustain change in their life. So it starts with. It's sort of. None of them. It's not actually AA's own thing. Like, it sort of is like a mishmash of, like, things from various religions and various different sort of, like, spiritual movements up until the 1930s. So it starts with just like, admitting you have a problem. And then it starts with like, admitting that you are not going to be the one to solve that problem. And then it sort of goes into. I'm not going to go into the whole details about it. Probably I shouldn't have even said I was in a. Because, like, that's part of it, but.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, you're allowed to say you're in it.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I'm allowed to say I'm in it. Yeah. And I am. But, like, you know, I just. I think part of it is that, like, I never want to be a spokesperson for something that like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, I view you right now as being a spokesperson for your.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah, I am. And AA works for me. It has been the best thing ever for me. It's awesome. Yeah, it's. I've met some people who it doesn't work for and they have great sobriety and have been able to find perfect lights. But for me, it's been like the best thing that's ever happened to me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's really awesome. Yeah, that's so great. And I. I noticed you got a homie here. Who's. Who's. Who's this guy?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

This is my buddy, Caleb Seneca. What's up?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Very nice. What's up, Caleb? How do you guys know each other?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Me and Caleb met on a modeling set three years ago. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

And we fell off for two of those years, and then we reconnected when he moved back into the city, and we've been locked in ever since.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you still model?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Here and there. It's like my. It's like a. It's like a thing I keep on the back burner always. I. I enjoy the job. It doesn't add too much stress to my life. I'm apparently can still do it, so I enjoy it, but that's not, like, my main thing I enjoy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So you said that, like, yeah, that life is very stable now in a way that it didn't used to be. How are you enjoying that stability compared to what I assume used to be a more chaotic way of living?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

So if I think of my life's sort of goal and purpose to be as helpful as possible to other people when my life is stable, there's a lot less I need to focus on. Like, I'm not, like, constantly in, like, in, like, need to fix everything mode with myself. I need to just kind of, like, you know, like, let things. You know, I can like, let things sort of, like, work on their own in my own life, and that allows me to, like, be of service to other people in the best way possible. Like, you know, like, being able to show up for other people is, like, one of the first steps, like, making me feel whole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

In what ways do you try to show up for other people?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I mean, I think so. Like, my job, obviously, is some level of showing up for other people, but that also, I'm paid for it, so that doesn't feel necessarily like the same thing. But I think something as simple as, like, I like. So I. In the yo yoing community recently, I decided it'd be cool if I, like, helped yo youers pick out their outfits for when they go on stage. Like, if there's, like, a big, like, competitive aspect to it. And, like, that's been a really cool process. And it's a sort of, like, a dumb thing. It's like. It's objectively, ridiculously silly. But it is fun to, like, help people, like, you know, like, look the best they can and, like, feel really good in themselves. So that's, like, been, like, a most recent example, but also just, like, very simple things, like, you know, like, being able to be of counsel to my friends is one. But also just, like, I think there's a lot of small things that I try to do, whether it's just, like, being there to be just, like, A sounding board for my friends or being someone as simple as, like, if I'm able to do something that my friend maybe can't do or is in a position where, like, he just, like, physically can't do because of work. Like, recently, I'm in an apartment hunt right now, so being able to, like, you know, I have some free time during the day, so being able to, like, go on those tours and like, try to be of service in that way, you know, it sort of like comes up. It's super. Case by case.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, dude, it's been really nice talking to you.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Really nice talking to you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Name again?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Archie.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Archie. Archie. You've. You've inspired me today. Thank you very much.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I appreciate it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm inspired by the positive outlook you have on, on, on life and on yourself, and I'm gonna try to take that with me beyond this conversation.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I appreciate it, man. Thank you very much.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is there anything else you want to say to the people, the computer, before we go?

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Um, let's see. You know, like, today's a beautiful day. Every day. Live one day at a time. I don't know, like, that's the best way to do it. Live one day at a time. I appreciate it, man. Thank you so much.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thank you, Archie. I'll see you around the universe, man.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

I'll see you around the universe, dude. Thank you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Bye, Archie. That was a good conversation. I enjoyed, I enjoyed talking to him. I don't know if I'm trying to think if I have any post interview thoughts, but yeah, I was inspired by his message. I love a good life transformation. I love a good before and after, and I love that he's, you know, keeping on, keeping on. Oh, hey, what's your name, man?

[James]

My name is James.

[Ryan Reynolds]

James, nice to meet you. What's up, James? How's life going?

[James]

It's going well, actually.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah? Tell me why. Tell me more.

[James]

I went out last night in Brooklyn. It was fun.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah? Did you get totally, totally wasted?

[James]

No, I was having a good time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Jumping around.

[James]

Yeah, we're filming a video for this dude's music.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wait, you're. Oh, you're filming a video for which guy? Jack? Yeah. Oh, this guy? Yeah. Oh, what kind of music does he make? Pop.

[James]

And I mean, I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You want to say. You want to talk about your music? You said think Justin Timberlake and Perel. Okay. What? And so how do you know this guy?

[James]

Through him.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's my childhood best friend. Okay. My favorite. Just hold the mic.

[James]

He's my childhood best friend.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, okay.

[James]

These are his friends from college. And I know was this in the city? And he was like, yo, you're in the city. Come, come chill. We're gonna shoot this music video.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So what's the video about?

[James]

It's gonna be for his song. It's gonna be promoting for his song.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, okay. Okay.

[James]

Jack, do you want to come talk?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, have a. Have a talk. Come have a seat. We'll have the. We'll have the. We'll have the man himself talk. Nice to meet you, sir. Yo, what's up, man? What's your name?

[James]

My name is Jack.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jack. Nice to meet you, Jack. Oh, Jack, you me a favor. Just hold the mic. There we go. What's up, Jack? How's life?

[James]

I'm doing okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So you got a whole. You got a whole. You got a whole entourage, man?

[James]

No, we got. We kind of put a team together last minute.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What? So who's. Who all is in the team? Who are these guys?

[James]

I make music. He makes it with me as Zan. Jake's are like social media kind of head guy. Rocco's photography and co director.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Dude, you got a social media guy? You got a. You got a Rocco on the team? Yeah.

[James]

It took me a long time to find somebody named Rocco.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But how did you build this whole entourage?

[James]

Fell together.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. I guess.

[James]

I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And how long have you been making music for?

[James]

Long as I can remember. Probably started it around, like, 12, 13.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Very nice. Very nice. And how's. How's the lifestyle?

[James]

I'm exhausted. I live in Philly, and I commute to New York every day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, really? Wait, why do you commute to New York every day?

[James]

I worked. I worked a studio job for a long time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[James]

Got a second job. I teach music in Brooklyn now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, so nice.

[James]

So now I'm moving up here in about eight days.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Philly's a great city, man. I used to live in Philly.

[James]

You used to live in Philly?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I used to live in North Philly. I went to college at Temple University.

[James]

Oh, damn. Yeah, I went to Drexel.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Oh, you went to Drexel. Okay, so you're in the student debt. Dude, Drexel is so expensive. It's more expensive than, like, the Ivy Leagues. It's crazy.

[James]

And my program director's still talking about budget cuts to me, but.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So what is this video about today?

[James]

Colors. Bright colors. Outside having fun.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Being outside having fun. What. What inspires your music?

[James]

I just like dancing, and I feel like people don't play the kind of Music that I like dancing to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[James]

And it feels like we kind of used to have a different vibe going on. A lot of people are trying to bring back what's going on with, like, you know, early 2000s, hip hop, R and B, Pharrell, Neptune's kind of production, and that's the same thing we're doing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, so you're trying to make. So you're making the kind of music that I dance to it. My bar mitzvah kind of a thing that.

[James]

You know what? I'm going to go with that. I like Gecko bar mitzvahs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, no, you know, I mean, like, like, like, I got a feeling like you're doing that.

[James]

I don't know. I don't know. Less Will. I am more Usher.

[Ryan Reynolds]

All right.

[James]

Justin Timberlake.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[James]

I don't know. Something like that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So why. Why were you commuting for so long instead of just moving?

[James]

Because my rent was about to triple. Just for moving here?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, unfortunately. But you got all these guys. You're not living with these guys.

[James]

Well, they all. They're all. Aside from the Rocco unit, They're all.

[Ryan Reynolds]

From Philly, so they're all that we're moving with.

[James]

They all came up on a train this morning.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Couldn't you guys all. I feel like. Can you guys all just get one, like, giant ass place and each pay, like, 700 or something?

[James]

You know, I'm trying to work them into it. They keep trying to tell me they want to finish their degree, but, man, are you guys.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You guys should drop out. Go live the dream. You're only young once.

[James]

I'm trying to say I graduated, though, so I can't talk.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. And are you the only. What are your contemporaries doing? What are your. What are your peers doing?

[James]

What are my peers doing?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[James]

I got a roommate that works at Lockheed Martin full time now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. So you got to make a living somehow.

[James]

I don't know. He's making a living off the bombs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Very nice.

[James]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How's. How's your love life going?

[James]

Oh, I'm. I'm a flying solo, I guess.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[James]

I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Have you. I felt. Does. But just, like. I don't know. You're like a cool rapper guy. Do you not. Does everyone not, like, is our. Are there not line of people in love with you?

[James]

I would. I would think going to a bar and saying, hey, I'm a. I'm a. I make. I make beats. I make music might not exactly be my best. My best line, if I'm being honest.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Perhaps I've been.

[James]

I've been told I've been given negative reviews.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wait, tell me, have you. Have you tried that, though? Have you been at. Have you been at a bar and you're like, oh, I make music?

[James]

No, it's more often, like. I don't know. It's more often somebody will kind of drag me into something, like, oh, talk to him. He makes music.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, yeah.

[James]

A ball I have to pick up now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure, sure, sure. But that's. But that's the best of both worlds, right? Because you get to brag, but you also get to be humble.

[James]

Is it bragging if it's, like, my third and fourth job?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think so. Yeah. I think so. I think that the fact that you are doing something is inherently in and of itself, worth. Worth value.

[James]

I appreciate that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Depending on whether. I mean, not. Not necessarily dependent on whether or not you make money off of it. Fair.

[James]

I appreciate that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I agree. Yeah. I don't know.

[James]

I'm not making money off YouTube or Spotify, I'll tell you that. So are you all for the love of it at this point?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you going to miss Philadelphia?

[James]

Oh, my God.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[James]

It's so much fun.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I. It is.

[James]

I. I grew up in Houston, so, like, I've been in the Northeast for, like, five years, and, yeah, Philadelphia's got so much character. I. I'm gonna miss it a lot. I. You know, beer tastes different in Philly, I think.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, they got the citywide. They don't really have a citywide.

[James]

That's my thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Citywide is the. The beer, the. No, it's the. It's the shot and then the beer. Yeah. Special. Yeah.

[James]

And they'll do, I don't know, little themes to it. So the Corona Tequila, whatever.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, Yeah.

[James]

I don't know. It's fun.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I like it. What's. What's next for you, man? After your. After. After this music video, I got to.

[James]

Get back home because I gotta move. I'm trying to get approved in an apartment, and then I'm moving up here solo.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That'll be good. Do you know anyone else here?

[James]

I know a couple people, but they all got their own arrangements, and nobody wants to live where I want to live, so.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where do you want. Where are you gonna live?

[James]

I'm gonna be in Brooklyn.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, well, Bushwick, probably.

[James]

Bed Stuy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's right. That's around where I'm at. Bed Stuy.

[James]

Dang.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, man. There's a bunch of cicadas flying by all the time.

[James]

So you're looking for A roommate.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I already live in a place, but if not, you know, you're supposed to come. I'll come over. We can share a fridge. Okay. I can have some of the food that you put in your fridge sometimes. And then you can have my. You can have some of the food. I have some sriracha sauce.

[James]

You got sriracha?

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's all that's in my fridge, man. My fridge is. If you look at my fridge, two beers and a fridge. No, not. It's two. Two beers and a. And sriracha. Yeah. This guy just laughed a lot. Oh, thanks. That guy. That guy is over there. Yeah.

[James]

You got big fans.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well. What's your name again?

[James]

Jack.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jack. Jack. Jack. Give me something for the universe, man.

[James]

Something for the universe.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Something for the universe. You're an artist. You make music. Give us some hope. Give us something for the universe.

[James]

For the universe is crazy. Where are the Epstein files?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jack, Is this your name, right? It is. Sorry, I'm horrible with names. Well, my brain is melting, but Jack, very nice to meet you. I'll see you around the universe.

[James]

I'm honored.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And good luck, brother. I'll be checking out. You meet. You can plug yourself if you want.

[James]

My name is Jack.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Iris.

[James]

I make music. I'm from Texas. If you like, you don't have to call about Usher and Pharrell. Listen to me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Cool. That's it. Beautiful. Nice to meet you, man. See you around the universe. Later on. Later on, boys. Good luck. I'll see you guys. Of course. Bye, guys. Here, have a seat. What's your name, man?

[Archie]

My name is Jason.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jason. What's up, Jason?

[Archie]

Up, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, Jason, before you sat down, you said, I got a lot to say. I have a lot of resentments now.

[Archie]

I just feel like anything you ask me, I got to answer for.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You don't have to do anything. This is a public park.

[Archie]

Oh, you ask me anything, I gotta answer.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. What do you have resentments for? You mentioned having resentments.

[Archie]

N. Do I have resentments? Yeah, I think they left. They left. I'm all right. I'm all right. Sometimes they come and they go, you know? Yeah, I'm just, like, over here, wandering around West 4. Not much going on, riding my bike everywhere.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. What they. So the resentments, they come and they go.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's like a cycle.

[Archie]

Yeah. Now I'm. Matter of fact, shout out to family court.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What is family court?

[Archie]

Is where they decide if you can see a kid or not.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, okay.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah. And they, like, always pick the woman okay. It's like, really unfair over there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is that. What's that? You don't have to talk about if you don't want to.

[Archie]

Yeah, no, I could talk about it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Only if you want to. Yeah, yeah.

[Archie]

I'm like, dealing with that. They got me on child support, and then the, the. The girl, she wants. They garnishing my check, right?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, yeah, for child support.

[Archie]

And then she don't want to let me see the kid.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Archie]

But she's okay with taking the money, but she don't want to let me see the kid.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They garnish your wages, but you can't see the kid.

[Archie]

Like, they let me see him, but she's trying to take my rights away. And she made, like, false allegations. She says I'm crazy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where. Where's the kid? Is he.

[Archie]

And he's over here. I think they moved to Staten Island. Out of us.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, man.

[Archie]

All boroughs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm sorry to hear that, man.

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's just one kid.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, she said I'm crazy, but.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How old is the child?

[Archie]

He's eight.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's eight.

[Archie]

So I'm crazy to see my kid, but not to send 800amonth, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, how you been? I mean, how you know? So again, we can talk about it if you want to. How have you been?

[Archie]

I can talk about anything. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Well, how have you been, like, holding up? And what do you.

[Archie]

I've been acting a little Kanye. Kanye. Like, I've been storming the courts. They telling me a lawyer is like $15,000. I'm not paying a lawyer. I'm like, how can somebody change the results?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is that what acting Kanye is?

[Archie]

Oh, no, I've been, like, storming them. I've been like, harassing the courts, like, speaking my truth.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, like, this interview is not. This isn't going to be bad for. For you, is it?

[Archie]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

You know, calling the cops on the cops.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How do you call the cops on the cops?

[Archie]

Yeah, like, when the cops ain't behaving, I call other cops, just try to correct them. And like, then I go over there every day as soon as they open, and every conversation I have, I make sure they know this. This is serious. Yeah, but I don't know. You asked me, bro. I'm just.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you mean? Like, I mean, I. It's a difficult situation.

[Archie]

Yeah. But I'm good though, cuz I used to be like a drug addict.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. What do you. Are you offer drugs now?

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, I think I saw the other kid.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Yeah, there's another guy go to the same program.

[Archie]

Oh, you did?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Okay, cool.

[Archie]

Yeah. I don't know his story, but if you end up in that program, shit was not going well, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Are things going better for you now? I mean, way better.

[Archie]

Like, when you're not doing cocaine, things are better, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. What? Like, I mean, okay, I know it's hard. I know you're in a tough situation, but what's been. Has there been things that are positive that you're looking at?

[Archie]

Everything is actually positive. That's the only thing that's like a. A little inconvenience.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

But, yeah, like, I used to. I don't know if you know anything about addiction and stuff like that. I mean, like, you know, like the. The. The fentanyl epidemic.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I know about fennel. Yeah.

[Archie]

So it's like, when you addicted to that stuff is, like. It literally controls you, you know? Of course, you wake up, like, with these cravings and, like, you need to get it, you know? And now I just be riding my bike everywhere because I, you know, my license suspended. Yeah. And Queens. I live in Queens.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So how long have you been off of the fentanyl for?

[Archie]

Three years. Three years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Yeah. And has it. Have you replaced it with anything that's, like. Like, positive?

[Archie]

So I. I can't, like. I don't really, like, sit. I don't watch TV because I don't know how to, like, sit down and, like, pause.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I feel you.

[Archie]

So as soon as I wake up, I make, like, my Nespresso coffee or I gotta start running or I gotta start go to the gym. I bike everywhere, you know, and I work now, and I, you know, I'm able to save my money, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Cool, man.

[Archie]

I don't save. I bought a bunch of shoes. You buy shoes, I buy shoes and clothes. Get unnecessary tattoos.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's okay. You gotta have. Listen, man, here's like, I'm. I'm. I am a strong proponent of, like, saving money, trying to be financially independent or whatnot. But sometimes when. When life takes its toll on you, you got to find those little things to make you happy. You know what I mean?

[Archie]

I look at it like, hey, you can save money, but you also could be doing cocaine and risking your life.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, like, right.

[Archie]

When I put it like that, it's always like, yeah, you know what? Yeah, I'm gonna buy this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, sure.

[Archie]

But this. It's weird. There's still always something left over. Like, you know, like, I save a little bit. Like, I Don't know when I want to, you know, but there's something safe, you know? I don't know if you got any questions, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I got plenty of questions.

[Archie]

I got you on Instagram. Oh, you do some funny stuff.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, thanks, man. I appreciate that. Yeah, I come here. I come here like, once a week now. I interview people and stuff. Well, I'm curious. I'm curious about a lot of things. So. Okay. So life is good because you feel you're sober?

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you do anything so, you know, no drink, no smoke, no Anything?

[Archie]

No. No. I don't even want secondhand smoke.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

Like, I always wanted weed to be legal. And I'm like, fucking make. Cancel that shit again. I'm sorry.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm sorry.

[Archie]

I'm like. I'm like. I'm not a lie. I became like a Karen about my sobriety because. Oh, yeah, you know, Karen's is not good, but it's like, sometimes that's the way I feel. It's not on purpose. It's just, like, serious to me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, let's talk about this. So the other guy, he was talking about escaping yourself, right? And he was talking about drugs or a use of escaping yourself. And I. And I'm. I've never been addicted to fentanyl or whatever, but I'm. I'm familiar with, like, doing things in some sort of attempt to, like, escape yourself. Right? Yeah. And so did you. Is that what you did? You find yourself trying to escape yourself?

[Archie]

So in the beginning, it was just like there was nothing to do. You know, you start smoking weed, drinking, and I never felt like. Like it was controlling me. But when the hard drugs came in, like oxycodone and. And cocaine, it got to a point where it was not an option no more, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right.

[Archie]

And at the very end, I realized you kind of realize what you're doing something for when you stop doing it, you know, because you're always giving yourself what you need, you know? Like. Like, let's say you always got a friend.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm sorry, bro, can you just hold the mic up? Right.

[Archie]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Realize you always got a fridge full of water, and anytime you need it, you just go there, right? But let's say you don't have no water for a whole week. You realize how thirsty you are.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

Why you drink water and stuff like that. So when you, like, stop consuming and using, you realize that, oh, shit, I am lonely. Oh, shit, I kind of hate myself. Oh, shit. I don't know how to be around social activities. Yeah, but it's not for everybody. Not everybody has to get sober, you know, you. But it's okay to. I feel like that's good to speak about it. Like me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

Because I'm. There's a lot that can't handle it and they just like, nah, this can't be me. I don't have to stop this. And it's just better like to just realize if you're the person that could use safely or drink safely than to like think you're not and keep ruining your life. You know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Reynolds]

So how'd you learn to. Do you still hate yourself?

[Archie]

Some, some. Not really hate. Some days I have like self pity.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

But it's not as, it's not as low, you know, it's not as low.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How did, how did it get not as low? How did it improve?

[Archie]

It's like, it's like more level or it's probably a couple hours or I probably just go for a run or I sleep it out and like it changes pretty quick. Not like before, like you withdraw and it lasts weeks and months, you know, it's like more human and stuff. But. Yeah, yeah, nah, but I don't want to make this depressing, you know. I'm a pretty exciting person.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Tell me more, tell me more.

[Archie]

Dominican.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

You know the only thing I miss about using drugs, I used to freestyle a lot, you know, I used to come up.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But you can. You. You haven't been able to free. You only freestyle.

[Archie]

Freestyle. I'm like, yo, something's missing here, man. I mean, I mean it's not the same, you know. Yeah, I used to be that guy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just.

[Archie]

Yeah, there's a lot of. I know they do that around here or Union Square. Yeah, just come to random people, like give me a topic, you know and yeah, they got the Dominican parade tomorrow. I don't know if you know about that. Yeah, yeah, that's a big parade.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So wait, so you can't. You don't feel like you can freestyle as well when you're not on drugs?

[Archie]

I could. It just, it just doesn't fun, you know, it's just like he's just. I just got my little vape. Like it's cool, but it's not. It don't hit. Like cocaine.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, sure, sure. No, a lot of great ideas I think were formed on cocaine. I mean like 99 of that's what they're all doing. Cocaine and fucking Silicon Valley. That's how they came up with Facebook.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah. And I miss being around The. The girls and stuff, you know, being in the night scene, you know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

Now I'm like, I'm around a lot of spiritual girls and stuff. They say they spiritual. I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you see around a lot of like, what are you out of?

[Archie]

Girls in recovery, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, yeah, sure, yeah, yeah.

[Archie]

They don't look bad, but you kind of got to respect the program.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, of course.

[Archie]

And respect, like your own sobriety, you know, it's like, it kind of don't look right because I do care about my sobriety and it's like, duh. If you kind of use your, your, like your recovery or your sober thing. Oh, to. To get at girls.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, sure.

[Archie]

It kind of looks a little. A little. A little hinge.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. I understand how you go to church.

[Archie]

And you're at church and you're there for girls.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I understand.

[Archie]

It's kind of disrespecting God.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, yeah, I understand. But you got a strong relationship with God.

[Archie]

It's there. Yeah, I got a relationship.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's that? What's that look like?

[Archie]

Yeah. I pray in the morning. I get on my knees every day and I do meditation. I do a gratitude list.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What was on your gratitude list today?

[Archie]

Oh, what was on my gratitude list?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, yeah, you have one today? Yeah, hit me. Yeah, please. He's pulling out the phone.

[Archie]

I gotta do a gratitude list because I got a lot of. To complain about.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

So I gotta at least start it with the things.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So do you do this gratitude list every morning?

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Yeah. Well, let me get. Let me hear this morning.

[Archie]

You know, it's pretty simple, you know, grateful to be sober. Grateful that I have access. I spoke at a meeting this morning.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

Like my, you know, my story.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

Grateful that I'm showing up even if I don't want to. For sleep, a place to lay my head, music, coffee, my son, my bike. Oh, and these stickers. I put those stickers on the bike.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is it the one that says Specialized now?

[Archie]

The. On the wheel. On the wheel.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, the one that says Robo.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I like those. Those are cool.

[Archie]

And I got a. I got a tick tock. I make like dark comedy. Yeah, dark comedy on sobriety. Like, we just kind of make like being an addict is pretty funny. Like the. That people do to get high.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

It's like you buy something for 300 in that six in the morning, you're like, yo, I'll give this shit for 40. I don't care right now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, can I. If only if you want to share. But what is. What's the funniest thing you've done to get high?

[Archie]

Oh, yeah. I got to think about it. I don't know if. To get high, but to prove that I'm sober, I think about this. So I had my rehab, and I had to get drug tested every week with my pee, with my, you know, urine. So somebody told me, you could. You could ask somebody for the urine.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

So I called my little brother. He was about, like, 12 years old. And I'm like, we have. I'm gonna give you $20 tomorrow. I need you. He's like, you need me? No, he's like, I'm like, I need your urine. And I put my brother through this. I was driving at the time, and I picked him up at, like, around 7 in the morning. Posey, if the piss is warm, it's, like, more legit, you know, you just peed it out. So we lived in Queens, and this in the rehab was. The outpatient was over here in the city. So I literally brought him with me so the piss can stay at a warm temperature, you know, So I gave him a cup, and I'm like, take a piss. I don't know. I find this funny, man. Like, you literally just kidnap your brother for his piss, you know, And. And he just, like, my little brother, he's like, this is my big brother. I look up to him and, you know, he pissed in the cup and he. He did everything right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Did you end up passing the test?

[Archie]

I passed.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

Passed. But I wasn't expecting this. I was high at the moment. Opiates, supposedly, they lower your blood pressure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

And the. The guy, while he's, like, taking my blood, he's like, your. Your pressure is like, I don't know, high or low, but it was what it was not supposed to be. And, yeah, I'm like, I didn't have this part of the test.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wait, how did you get the pe. Cuz don't they make you go into it? Like, how did you get the pee into the place?

[Archie]

The rehab wasn't too strict. They let you go to the bathroom by yourself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, okay.

[Archie]

So I had the little. The little cup, and I had it. I put it inside.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You strapped it to yourself?

[Archie]

Yeah, and then I just. 1, 2, 3, put it in the cup and I gave it to. Yeah, so I passed. And the guy looked at me weird, but he didn't give me a hard time because it's like. It was just blood pressure. I'm like, yo, I drink a Lot of caffeine, you know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right.

[Archie]

And what else have I done, man? Oh, you know, I don't even think it's probably some funny stuff, but there's a lot of embarrassing things, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

Yeah. But it's all good, though. It's all good, though. I, like, embarrassed, you know. It's like, everybody got a story.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

It's like human life. I just feel like people don't talk about this. So the TikTok I have, I kind of like every sound on TikTok. You could find a way to make it your own.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right.

[Archie]

And I just like. Like, make. Like, I write something about, like, addiction, you know? Like, when you're trying to get in contact with the plug at six in the morning, he tells you to meet him up at his house, and then when you get there, he don't pick up.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yep.

[Archie]

It's not a good feeling. What else is funny? My bad. You asked me some questions, bro. I don't know if I'm. I'm. I'm getting you bored.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No. No, you're not getting bored.

[Archie]

One time. One time, my friend, I called him at like 3 in the morning. He's like, I'm up. And then I get to his house to buy some stuff, and the desire they use to get high was so strong that I'm like, yo, I just got to this guy's house. He's not picking up. I'm blasting his phone, calling him on Facebook, Instagram, even MySpace, man. Like, I'm like, I need to get in contact. Yeah, guy, you know. And then he. He doesn't answer. So I try to climb. I climb through a big gate and I try to open his window, and his father comes in.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, Jesus.

[Archie]

Like, at seven in the morning, he's like, what are you doing? I'm like, your son. He's not picking up the phone, but he's like, what are you doing? Like, how you got back here? I'm. He's like, can you please leave? You know? And I left, you know? But now that I think about that's a little. I don't think that's normal behavior, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like, it probably wasn't, but I think part of, you know, that's. Part of looking back on past behavior is going, yeah, that probably wasn't. Yeah, yeah, normal. But, like, when you're. I think when you're in something like that, you have no. You have no discernment.

[Archie]

You got to do what you got to do to survive.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, when you. Yeah. When you're in something like that. You're like. They just have no discernment. You just are going through whatever it is that you're brain is telling you to do. And then you mature and you go, yeah, that was fucking stupid.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, but then you. That's part of life, I think.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and then this. This one is a little dark, but. Yeah, I'm telling you too much, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Only if you. If you want. I mean, I'm telling you, I'll disclaim. I put this on the Internet.

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Tell me if you want, you know, if there's other things. All right.

[Archie]

But, you know, in Queensland, prostitution is real big.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

And when you get on cocaine, you get real horny.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

You can talk about this like that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You. You talk about whatever you want.

[Archie]

You don't mind talking about, like, horniness and all that. Horniness, but, you know, people get horny, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, that. People get horny. That's part of life. Yeah.

[Archie]

Normal, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure, sure.

[Archie]

My bad. I'm cursing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. We're not on cbs, so when you're.

[Archie]

Okay, they're horny, but you. You can't get hard. So it's like you have the strongest desire to do something. And then this. It's gone. So there used to be this thing called, like, back Page. It's where you find, like, escorts. And every time you showed up, it was never the girl in the picture.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

So. And I knew it was never the girl in the picture, so I used to get a high just by calling the number.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

And having hope that is actually was her.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

And I will call, like, like 30 numbers in one night.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And you would never meet any of the.

[Archie]

Like, sometimes I would meet, like, if they keep. Sometimes they like, yeah, this is her. This is her. I'm like, this is the one with the. The pink panties.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

They like, yeah, it's her. It's her. And I will go over there. It was never her.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right?

[Archie]

And I was like, I'm not doing this last thing I'm gonna say, this might be funny or. I don't know. They supposedly like a mafia cartel with these people, you know, they traffic people and all that. And they send me. So I cancel a girl, right? Like, they brought her to me, okay. And I'm like, that's not the girl, bro. No, they got upset. They're like, you wasted our time. And they sent me pictures of people's heads cut off.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, Jesus.

[Archie]

And like. Like slaughter. But you could tell that the pictures were, like, probably in Mexico. You know, they do that type of stuff.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

And I was a little scared. I'm like. And they started harassing me and telling, you got to pay us their money.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What did you do?

[Archie]

I basically, I wasted their time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, I mean, like, did you pay them money?

[Archie]

No, no. It's like, you didn't. You lied to me. You, you gave me a menu, and when you, you know, I asked for a burger, you brought me a vegan burger.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So how did you. So you were at a point where you were like, I'm done. I just come and fucking kill me.

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But now you want to live?

[Archie]

Oh, yeah, I want to live now. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How'd you get there?

[Archie]

You know, it's like, I don't wake up miserable every day, you know, Like, I actually got a lot of things to look forward to. I got a lot of shoes to wear that I haven't had time to wear. Yeah, it's weird, things like that, you know, like they say material things that, like, it's not the most important things, but sometimes you, who knows, you got a new game, you might want to play that game before you die, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, yeah.

[Archie]

Things like that. And I never really wanted to die, you know, but the way I was living when I was living like that, it could probably get you there, you know, if you like wasting your house, your whole life and wasting your check that quick and like, you don't have self respect for yourself, you look at yourself in the mirror, you look unhealthy and all that, that could probably get you to that point, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Archie]

But, yeah, I live, I don't know if that helps out, but, yeah, I live over there by, you know, City Field.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No.

[Archie]

Corona. By the Met Stadium.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, no.

[Archie]

Baseball.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, I, I, I don't, I don't, I'm not a baseball guy, but I know what the Mets are.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I live by their stadium.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, by the 7 train.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So what's, what are you looking forward to in life these days?

[Archie]

Right now? Right now? I don't really know, man. Like, things are good right now. The thing is, yo, like, I feel like a lot of stuff is a scam right now. This thing is like, built for us to lit to failed, you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's, what's a scam?

[Archie]

You know, it's like one job, can't even get you an apartment. You know what I'm saying? It's like all these things. Yeah. I don't really know what I'm looking for, but I think this Generation has a lot of. What I'm not saying you. But a lot of us, like, it just, it's kind of hard out here, you know, But I'm not, I'm not like really like struggling. Like I, I could go eat, do whatever, but not like, like real big goals, like real, real big achievements. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think our generation is definitely like.

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Having problems, like, you know, whatever. Having wanted to have a kid or.

[Archie]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Get married or have a house or do all these things.

[Archie]

There's this guy, this Dominican dude in Spanish, he's like, he made it sound like he's like, you know, I could go to my country today, you know, and, and I could live for the rest of my life only if I die by tomorrow at 7, 7:30am yeah. So basically, yeah, he can live the rest of his life. So it's like one of those, you know, you kind of just get used to it, you know, you just kind of. But things are way better, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like good.

[Archie]

Things are way better, you know. And yeah, I'm, I'm a. I don't know. You deal with social media. I'm going ask you a question.

[Ryan Reynolds]

All right, sure.

[Archie]

How bad? Cuz I got this tik tok and I got like, I managed to get like in 2022 when I wasn't working, doing the dark comedy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

And I managed to get like almost 13,000 followers and like 166,000 likes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

But like the, the shame or something of over, like the overthinking of knowing that even though I'm.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're being perceived.

[Archie]

Yeah. Like your videos are being watched. And then when I saw like people that know me in real life see my videos, like I was cool with people that I don't know, like talking about all this and seeing my. But when I saw real people, I saw like a little. Yeah. I don't want you guys to see it, but I don't know how you deal with it. Like you kind of got to be yourself, you know, how, how you deal with like some days, like at night, you know, maybe you had too much caffeine. Then you overthink about like, yo, what.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I. Oh, so you're basically asking me, how do you not overthink?

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah. About the social.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, about social media.

[Archie]

Like social media and the content always being out there. Cuz like, I did it. But like, I mean you, you, you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Put your phone down, man. You walk outside, you just let, let the videos spin. Yeah, yeah. I mean you can't overthink it. I mean, I, I Do overthink it plenty. But, like, I don't know, man.

[Archie]

Believe me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Archie]

Coming from the outside is not that deep, is. Is. Believe me. Like, I. It's. I think it's in. It's in the person's head. Like, I see other people doing content. I don't think anything bad. I'm like, this is great.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, also, like, nobody cares about you. Really. Nobody cares. Nobody. It's a.

[Archie]

It's both.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's both. It's both Tragic fact and a beautiful fact that nobody really cares about you.

[Archie]

This guy was literally screaming. It really matter.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No. Nobody care. Yeah, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Nobody cares. Nobody listening to you. Nobody. Everyone has their own life. Everyone's doing their own thing, so, you know. What's your name again?

[Archie]

Jason.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jason. Jason, dude, thanks for. I really appreciate your. Your vulnerability and your honesty. I appreciate you sharing your story.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

With us here. I hope it was a positive experience for you.

[Archie]

Yeah, no, I appreciate you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is. Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we get out of here?

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah. Right now, bro. We're here. We're here. Just follow my TikTok. Sober facts.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sober facts.

[Archie]

And. And my Instagram. I'm doing content. Like, I ride my bike like real crazy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure.

[Archie]

Like, really get into traffic and all that. You know, I've still got to do crazy stuff and extend, you know, like risk my life and stuff.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Archie]

So I got a little content about.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, you always. You always, you know, replacing it with some.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah, I got the GoPro. I put it on.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Yeah, yeah.

[Archie]

Now I appreciate you, bro. I don't really got much to say, you know, I'm grateful we're here in. What was this? Washington.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Washington Square Park.

[Archie]

Yeah, yeah. Shout out to Corona, Queens. You know, hopefully this video goes up. You know, we're here.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Rock and roll.

[Archie]

Reveal.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jason, nice to meet you, man. Stay, Stay safe. Okay, don't, don't. Don't crash your bike and kill yourself or anything.

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[Ryan Reynolds]

Hi, what's your name?

[Ellen]

My name is Ellen.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ellen, Nice to meet you. Lyle.

[Ellen]

Nice to meet you, Lyle.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How's life going?

[Ellen]

Life's going great.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wait, tell me more. That was such a. That was like an instinctively positive answer.

[Ellen]

I'm on vacation with my family. We're having a great time with friends.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's so awesome. How, like, how long have you had a family?

[Ellen]

I have a 10 year old and a 12 year old and I've been married for 14 years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Was any of that difficult? Yeah. Was it all, was it worth it?

[Ellen]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Would you do it again?

[Ellen]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you have any advice for someone trying to like start a family or like, who's like just started a family?

[Ellen]

Communicate?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Interesting.

[Ellen]

Be honest.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Has your like, communication with your family gotten like, like better over time?

[Ellen]

Yes, it has.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How are your like, children? I have a question, because you have like kids, right? Your kids are like a little older, you know, like, are you, are you worried about the future or do you think everything will be alright?

[Ellen]

I worry.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you worry about?

[Ellen]

I worry about that there's too much access to things.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Tell me more.

[Ellen]

With the Internet, with social media, I worry about their mental health.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you, do your kids seem like they have like good mental health?

[Ellen]

Yes, but I seemed like that too. And then, you know, it gets. Life gets hard.

[Ryan Reynolds]

When you were 10, what do you remember about your life for, like when you were your kid's age?

[Ellen]

When I was 10, it was easy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Life was easy.

[Ellen]

Life was easy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you think life was easier for you then than it is for your kids now?

[Ellen]

I don't know. Maybe it was less complicated.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What era of your life has been the least complicated?

[Ellen]

Probably my childhood.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Does right now feel complicated?

[Ellen]

Oh yeah. You gotta work and take care of your work and take care of your family. Yeah, yeah, it's complicated.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But see, you seem like you're having a great time, like things are nice.

[Ellen]

Oh, there's my family.

[Ryan Reynolds]

There's your family. Well, I'll let you go. Unless if you want to keep talking.

[Ellen]

I'm just talking about life.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, we're talking about life.

[Ellen]

About life.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Is that your husband?

[Ellen]

That's my husband and my daughter.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How'd you had you and your husband meet?

[Podcast Host]

At a bar.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You guys met at a bar? Duh. Don't you ever think about, don't you ever think about crazy? Like, oh, if I just stayed in that night, my whole life would be different? Yeah. Isn't that crazy?

[Ellen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What did he first say to you at the bar, do you remember you're.

[Ellen]

Too old and too smart.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He said that to you? Yeah.

[Ellen]

He only dated young girl. Oh, my son's really wet.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, it was your son who's playing in the.

[Ellen]

He only dated young girls and I was getting my master's degree, so he said I was too old and too smart.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He said you were too old. Were you not offended when he said you were too old?

[Ellen]

No, I just showed him that I. I was better than all those girls.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, very cool. And what was it like a. Is it like in a college town.

[Ellen]

Or was it in Hermosa Beach, California?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hermosa Beach, California. Yeah. Very nice. What was your first date after the bar?

[Ellen]

Do you remember a restaurant by her in Hermosa?

[Ryan Reynolds]

What made you fall in love with your husband? When was the moment. Oh.

[Ellen]

Oh, there's Danny. His honesty.

[Ryan Reynolds]

His honesty. I guess. I guess the fact that he came up to you and immediately said you are too old is an indicator of some form of honesty.

[Ellen]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, this is your whole family?

[Ellen]

No, we're heading to Cooperstown. Oh, I got the baseball boys here.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, you got a whole clan?

[Ellen]

I got a whole. Oh, there's more.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are they troublesome or are they well behaved? They're.

[Ellen]

Well, I'm a principal of an elementary school, so they're well behaved.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you the principal of an elementary school?

[Ellen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Whoa. Really?

[Ellen]

I'll mess those kids up if they mess around.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really? Yeah. Have you. Do you. Do you rule with an iron fist or do you rule with compassion?

[Ellen]

Compassion.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's nice.

[Ellen]

And honesty.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's the number one. What's the. What's the number one issue that, like, kids are facing these days from.

[Ellen]

From what you observe at the school I work at. They're. They're entitled.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Ellen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You think more so than, like, when. When. When you were a kid? What's.

[Ellen]

What do you think parents are? Lawnmower parents like to plow down all the obstacles in front of them so they don't have to deal with adversity.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Interesting.

[Ellen]

And then they don't learn how to deal with struggles.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Interesting.

[Ellen]

So. Okay, I got to go.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Well, it was. What's your name? Ellen.

[Ellen]

Ellen.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ellen. Very nice to meet you. And thank you very much for chatting with a gecko. You have a great life, too. I'll see you around the universe. What a nice. What a nice guest appearance from a. From an elementary school principal. That was a good interview.

[Podcast Host]

Hi, I'm Nicole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Nicole. Nice to meet you.

[Podcast Host]

Nice to meet you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's up, Nicole? How's it. How's it going? How's life? What's. What's happening?

[Podcast Host]

Life is great. Life is great. Well, I was just watching people waiting around in the fountain without shoes on. Yeah, I've seen so many people watching, washing their gooches, just squatting over the. You know, the stream. Yeah, I get reels of that all the time, but I haven't seen this fountain in person. So I was just kind of like waiting to see. See if somebody would pop a squat. But so far no luck. Only people waiting around without shoes on, which is also a choice.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you live around here?

[Podcast Host]

I do, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And what do you go to school?

[Podcast Host]

I do.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you go to school for?

[Podcast Host]

I'm a grad student in opera.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're a grad student in opera?

[Podcast Host]

Opera, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So are you like an opera singer?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Cool.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You seem embarrassed about it.

[Podcast Host]

It's a very niche interest.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Extremely niche.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, extremely niche. But I am a master's level.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's amazing. How's your. How do you keep your voice in check?

[Podcast Host]

You know, I try not to smoke very much. I try to do vocalise, like warm ups and stuff. I try to. I try to keep a regular practice schedule, but it's the summer so things are a little bit loosey goosey.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Now what's the hardest part about being an opera singer?

[Podcast Host]

About being an opera singer? Probably. I think it really depends on what kind of opera singer you are. For me, like, I'm a soprano and so, you know, most opera singers are sopranos, but if you're a tenor, if you're a guy, you've got a lot more opportunities.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So you are in a area with a lot of other opera singers, which is great.

[Podcast Host]

Like, that is the best part for me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hold on. There's these park ranger guys. I'm wondering if they're going to. I've never ever in my life getting kicked out of this park. But I'm curious. Wait, they're walking past us.

[Podcast Host]

Have you done a lot of interviews in this park?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, this is the one. Every single other place I go to in the world to do this, I end up eventually getting kicked out, but never at this park.

[Podcast Host]

Well, I mean, just look around. There's a woman behind us with like two parrots sitting on her shoulder, right?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Holy shit. There is a woman behind us with two parrots sitting on her shoulder. Okay, I gotta go talk to her after this.

[Podcast Host]

You got it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This is myself. We don't even have to record it.

[Podcast Host]

Like I said I was just wandering. I wandered in, like, waiting to see something crazy going on.

[Archie]

So the.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, I remember I was gonna ask you the opera scene, like, the other people there. Are opera singers cool, or are they, like, theater kids? What's the demo? What's the vibe? What's the scene?

[Podcast Host]

You know, a lot of. There's a lot of crossover, a lot of opera. Sing as theater kids. Because, I mean, in your hometown, is there an opera. Is there an opera stage? Probably not, but there's probably community theater, so there does tend to be. The Venn diagram is almost a circle, I would say. Yeah. Which might be a controversial take.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You used to be a theater kid.

[Podcast Host]

Yes. Yes, I did.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you still identify as a theater kid?

[Podcast Host]

I think a part of me does. I think a part of me really does. Especially being back in New York, I'm like, there's something. There's, like, a part of my child self that, like, is extremely excited to be here. Just for the clout, I would say. But also, realistically, in my adult brain, I'm like, I'm just paying a lot of money to live here and, you know, exist. And so there's that. But it is great. It's a great city. I do love it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Does singing opera hurt?

[Podcast Host]

It shouldn't, but sometimes it do be hurting, and when it do be hurting, you got to stop.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're. What happens if you get, like, a cold?

[Podcast Host]

You just get. You just got to either take steroids to try and suppress the symptoms to get you through whatever you're getting through, whether that's like, a show or if you can. You just got to take time off, unfortunately.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you get grades? Like, do you have, like, a person who's like, do you sit, stand. Do you sit in a room and you sing and then someone go, like, checks or box or whatever?

[Podcast Host]

That's literally what graduate opera school is like. Yes, like that. That is. The majority of my classes is getting up. I mean, we have to take theory and history and all of that good stuff that does. You know, that's a separate thing. But a lot of the classes are a person of the profession, and they give you their hot takes, and it's very funny. Like, the final for singers is called a jury, and you stand up in front of a room of older, like, musical people, and they give you feedback. But you'll have one person give you the feedback of, like, oh, this song you sang was great in your voice. Good job. Just work on this little thing. And then the next person will be like, that Song you chose was terrible for your voice. I don't know who let you sing that. Girl, you are doomed to failure. And then the next person will be like, everything was perfect, except you mispronounced this word in English. But everything else was great. The feedback is wildly different, and so it's kind of hard to take something away from it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So what's the ultimate goal is to, like, be in, like, the New York Opera?

[Podcast Host]

Well, I mean, that would be wonderful. I actually enjoy higher education, so I do hope to be a professor someday of music and to carry on. Carry on the legacy of teaching this very niche interest.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This might be a stupid question, but is. Can. Can. Can the voice be taught? Is it not just something that one has it.

[Podcast Host]

It's both. I think our anatomy plays a large part in kind of where we start. Like, if. You know, some. Some. For some people, singing comes naturally. I think we can all. We all know that, right? Like, there are some people that we grew up with, they just seemed like they could always sing kind of thing. And then some people struggle more. So I think if you enjoy music and you enjoy singing, there's a lot that you can actually improve on. But we all come from different starting places, and I think generally, the people who gravitate to opera, they usually were like, you know, like the theater kid, they got a lot of praise for their voice when they were younger, and so they grew up to pursue this thing. Like, you don't usually see people pursuing opera who maybe, like, are just in it for the love of the game.

[Ryan Reynolds]

People who sound like Abraham Lincoln, people.

[Podcast Host]

Who sound like shit, but are in it for the love of the game. Usually not so much. Usually that's more like casual, but. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you do outside of opera singing? Do you have hobbies of some kind?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I. I am learning how to tune pianos.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So I go.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I go, do you tune them with your voice?

[Podcast Host]

Kind of. It uses, like, similar muscles, I would say. I would say, because you have to. You have to recognize when something's out of tune, which most people can do that. Like, you play a piano and it sounds like shit. Like, oh, that needs to be tuned, you know? Same with singing. You hear someone saying out of tune, and you know that that's happening. So there's, you know, it overlaps for sure. But, yeah, I like to go in there and. And take the guts out and fiddle around and try and put it back together and. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And do you plan to stay here in New York City, or would you go somewhere else to do your opera.

[Podcast Host]

I really want to stay here. There's a lot going on.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Totally.

[Podcast Host]

I'm talking to you in Washington Square park and you know, there's a lot to do. There's a lot of people to see. There's a lot of Gucci's to be washed in public fountains. Like, where else are you gonna find that?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I do really want to dive into this fountain. Do you want to go next, sir? Oh, you wanted to. You want to photograph my hands? Oh, okay, well, wait, give me. Give me one. Give me one moment and then we can. We can figure that out.

[Podcast Host]

You have beautiful hands.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, yeah. There's a gentleman who wants to photograph my hand. Nobody's ever asked me to photograph my hands before.

[Podcast Host]

Low key. That might be like kind of a fetish thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You think it's a fetish thing? I don't care. I don't mind. Someone can photograph that.

[Podcast Host]

I just have to ask, what are you gonna do with the photos?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, yeah, what? You just enjoy doing it? Okay.

[Podcast Host]

I can't deny that those are very lovely. They're very ergonomically shaped. You could hold a lot of different objects with those fingers.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you photograph a lot of people's hands? Yes, I do. Really? It's wonderful to see a possible story within those hands. Okay, I'm gonna. I'm gonna have to let. I'm gonna. I'm gonna have. Would you. Would you be willing to sit down and tell me more about this hat? You don't want to sit down? I. I gotta know. I gotta know more about this hand photography business. Just short. I mean, I'm happy to show you one I did yesterday or the day before. It's up to you to do. Construct a story of that person. Wait, who's the last person whose hands that you. I don't know anyone. I just do it. And do you just. You go up to random people in the park and you ask them to. If you can photograph. I'm walking on the street and other places of the city. Yes. Can I see the most. The best picture of hands that you have.

[Podcast Host]

You're gonna end up on wiki hands.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The best is the last one. Yeah. Wait. Show me the last picture of hands that you took. Give me a second. Okay. All right. All right. In the meantime. Okay, I'll. We'll chat while he's pulling up a hand picture. Has anyone ever asked you for a picture of your hands?

[Podcast Host]

I've tried to sell pictures of my feet, but I had no buyers, I had no takers.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Podcast Host]

So if you know anyone.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Have you actually tried to sell pictures?

[Podcast Host]

I have. Maybe it's because I have fat bunions. I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where did you. Where did you try to sell these?

[Podcast Host]

You know, I had like a private Instagram account where I tried to sell, but again, like, I don't think I was. I'm not tech savvy enough to like, get into the right crowd, you know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. I wonder. Yeah. Because there's definitely a. There's definitely a business to it.

[Podcast Host]

Well, if any is really interested in asymmetrical bunioned feet, I can. I have what they're. I have the goods.

[Ryan Reynolds]

If you genuinely want to, you can plug your private feed Instagram if you really want to.

[Podcast Host]

I. You know, I think I deactivated the. I let the dream die.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

But you're reigniting the dream.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

I'm. I'm wondering if he's going to ask for some. Some feet pics as well as hands.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You can take pictures of my hands if I don't care. Let. Let you know what. Let the universe use my body in whatever way is helpful to him.

[Podcast Host]

That's what I'm saying.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't care anymore. Just like, let. Let.

[Podcast Host]

Your body is your art.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, my body. I don't know if my body's my art, but my body is definitely. My body is resources. It's carbon. Yeah, it's something. If someone can use it to whatever. Their own, to further their own. To further that. Like a gen. If this guy. I don't know why he wants pictures of my hands. If he really wants to like, take pictures of my hands to, you know, But I don't care. I would do whatever. Who cares about my life.

[Podcast Host]

I'm a little offended he didn't ask for a photo of my hand, but I mean, I get it. I get it. You got something special. I'm Nicole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Nicole.

[Podcast Host]

Nice to meet you, Nicole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is there anything. It's been lovely talking to you. I'm looking forward to seeing your. All your hopes and dreams come true.

[Podcast Host]

Thank you so much.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is there anything else you want to say to the people, the computer before we go?

[Podcast Host]

Wow. I guess like, I would like to say go to therapy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

With the gecko.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, no, real. Do the real therapy go to real therapy or chat?

[Podcast Host]

You know, just talk to Chat. GPT.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you talk to chatgpt for therap therapy a lot?

[Podcast Host]

Oh, I mean, it's. I would say it's a supplement.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think I use it as a supplement.

[Podcast Host]

I need. You know, I have ocd so sometimes I just need the computer to tell me to stop.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right, right.

[Podcast Host]

Like, I. I find that it's useful for that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How does your OCD manifest itself the most?

[Podcast Host]

Oh, I have, like, moral ocd.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Moral.

[Podcast Host]

Moral. Like, existential moral OCD and relationship ocd.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wait, what is existential moral OCD Fake?

[Podcast Host]

Doesn't it sound like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, it doesn't sound fake at all. No, I'm big on existential crap. Hit me.

[Podcast Host]

Well, I. So it manifests for me as, like, worrying about everything I do negatively impacting either, like, the environment or other people.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, sure.

[Podcast Host]

Like, I used to be really obsessive about, like, plastic use, and I used to not let myself drive anywhere just because I'm like, oh, but if I, like, buy this one plastic thing, like, it's gonna exist in the universe forever, and it'll be my fault, and I'll just, like, spiral out about that stuff. But. So, yeah, it's like that. Or like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, you've heard the phrase. You know what I'm gonna say. No, guess what? This. There's a phrase that is the answer to this.

[Podcast Host]

I don't know. Tell me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

People throw. There's no such thing as ethical consumption.

[Podcast Host]

Yes, of course I know. And that is sort of. Yeah, I. And I didn't find that comforting.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, that was a comforting no. When I heard that, I was like, I'm buying a Switch 2 right now.

[Podcast Host]

You're like, get me on. I'm logged into Amazon.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. I'm like, I'm getting Amazon prime immediately. I'm getting two of them.

[Podcast Host]

Them. I'm. Yeah. Ordering everything from Amazon. Yeah. No, that's really fair. That's really fair. I think what helped me was medication and nothing else, honestly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Sure. What kind of medication?

[Podcast Host]

Oh, I'm on. I'm on Celexa, and it's a ssri. And I'm on Wellbutrin as well.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. I gotta give that Wellbutrin a try.

[Podcast Host]

It'll make you sweat. I don't know, like, that. This, what you're wearing now, already looks a little bit warm.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I'm already sweating too much. I. Yeah, I'm sweating too much.

[Podcast Host]

Well, aren't frogs supposed to be a little bit soggy? Like, frogs are notoriously wet creatures.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm a gecko.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, shit.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's on the side.

[Podcast Host]

It's on the sign. Edit that out. Don't put that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Hey, what's up, man? This. Look at this guy. You're awesome, man. This guy's sick.

[Podcast Host]

I feel like I'm hogging your time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You're not hogging my time. I. Wait, you know, I. Like I said what, My time. Who cares? Who cares about anything, dude? Okay. Existential morality.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, existential morality.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Have you. Have you. Do you. Have you solved it or do you still feel.

[Podcast Host]

No, I still feel that way. It's just not as debilitating because the meds, like, make me focus on other stuff more.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, now hearing you say that is making me feel like. It's making me feel good. Because I'm like, all right, maybe the meds could help me not fixate on fucking. Whatever.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, the hand, hands gentleman is leaving. You're not leaving, are you? We gotta talk about hands. Okay. All right, we'll come. It's a maybe. Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Did he end up taking a photo of your hands?

[Ryan Reynolds]

He didn't end up taking a photo of my hair. I wanted him to come talk, and he talked a little bit, but he didn't. He didn't want to.

[Podcast Host]

I guess he's brave enough to ask for hand.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm kind of curious now if he's walking around to other people asking to take pictures of their hands.

[Podcast Host]

I bet he is. Keep an eye on that, man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, yeah, you can take my photo. There's a. There's a young lady with a silver nose. Wow, that looks interesting. Moral. You know, I've thought about that before. I've gone. I've gone into my head and I'm like, is there any way for me to exist that isn't horrible, that isn't.

[Podcast Host]

Harmful to other people?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I think. I think. I think. I honestly hear. My thought process is that there's so many ways to be actively evil.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. There really are.

[Ryan Reynolds]

There's so many ways to be. Oh, thank you so much. Oh, thank you. That's so kind. She took a Polaroid or a little. A Princey thingy. That's so kind.

[Podcast Host]

That's beautiful.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I guess. Unless. I guess unless if you're trying. I mean, there's people who are actively attempting to be evil.

[Podcast Host]

To be evil. Yeah. You know, but do they. In their minds. Do they think of it that way, you know, or do they just think like. Well, there's no ethical consumption of their capitalism, so why even try? You know?

[Archie]

I guess.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, I don't know. Like, what. Like, what do you. I mean, you sing opera.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's like you're not. You're not fucking, you know, going around beating the shit out of people. Like, what, what? What? It's not that bad.

[Podcast Host]

That's true. I do Try not to do that. I try to be a good person. But, you know, I think there's.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think there's strong value in the attempt of attempting. I think you do. I think you do your best. And then once you. Once you start getting your own brain and just trying to kill yourself over it, it's like, what are you even doing at that point? Who are you helping by just.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, no, exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

By just shaming yourself forever.

[Podcast Host]

Self flagellation.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, it becomes self flagellating.

[Podcast Host]

It's not helpful. I think that that is more helpful than saying there's no ethical consumption. I think that the self flagellation not being helpful is probably the most helpful advice. Just reminding yourself of that. But I don't know. For me, it's the meds. That's the only. That's the only real, real help that I've found.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm thinking. I'm thinking. I've been talking about ketamine therapy for a while. Okay. All right, all right. This interview just got way longer because here's the thing. So I was. I went through some, like, existential depression and I was like. And then I. And then I started taking Vyvanse. And then for one month, I felt amazing.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

In the month of June was the best I had felt in my entire life.

[Podcast Host]

Good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I went on. I, like, saw my friends. I was like, oh, I'm finally back. I finally. After just years of insanity.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Finally I've achieved people who, you know. You know the phrase, oh, there's no there. Life is continuously rolling a boulder up a hill. Not for me. I rolled the boulder on the hill. The boulder's on the top of the hill. It's going to stay there forever. The month of June. Everything's going to be amazing forever. And now it's July 20th. Whatever. And I'm like, fucking fuck. My fucking fuck.

[Podcast Host]

Are you still taking the Vyvanse or did you like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I still take the Vyvanse, but I'm like, oh, no. And so now I'm like. And so I was. I was feverantly researching ketamine therapy before this.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And so now I might go back. How was your ketamine therapy?

[Podcast Host]

I. It was very interesting. I loved it. I don't know. So I'd already.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Did it solve all your problems forever?

[Podcast Host]

Shockingly, no. But I think it did help. You know, what it did for me, it wasn't like an immediate fix to my depression, but it did shake up some things that I think I was not wanting to look at. Like it definitely brought that to the surface. Do you want me to tell you about, like, the whole experience?

[Ryan Reynolds]

If you want. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Like, so I did. Yeah, like a ketamine therapy that took place over the course of, I think like three months where I would go into a clinic twice a week. So I would K hole twice a week.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I would take time off work to K hole. My boss would let me go early from work to go K hole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And it was. I would go into a cozy little room and administer. Self Administer the nasal spray.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

And then I would just lay back on a couch in a dark room and think about my life. Except I wouldn't really be thinking. I was more like falling. And then things that I feel like myself, my subconscious needed me to examine more closely would come to the surface and then I would have like a trip that was centered around some issue that I wasn't like, I wasn't examining enough in my non K hold state. Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Interesting.

[Podcast Host]

And I did that for three months. But I know there's a lot of variety to ketamine therapy. Like, I've heard of people who will take a really low dose of it and go to and like have a therapist there and basically have like a talk therapy session with a really low dose of ketamine. Yeah, that's not what I did. I was just. They. They locked me in a room and said, see, see you in an hour. So I didn't necessarily have the like, guidance of like, yeah, I want the.

[Ryan Reynolds]

One with the person that I talk to.

[Podcast Host]

But you know what I did? I found a way around it. So I would schedule my therapy sessions for right after the K hole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, very smart.

[Podcast Host]

I would have the K hole and then I would talk about it with my therapist after. And she said that those sessions are some of the most productive we'd ever had.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right. So how are you doing now?

[Podcast Host]

I'm doing much better.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Good.

[Podcast Host]

Doing much better. There's. There's really something to be said for stability, even fleeting stability.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The little do you feel stability. Stable?

[Podcast Host]

Yes. I just moved out of a really toxic roommate situation. So I have a one bedroom in New York City and I'm paying a thousand. Three hundred and fifty.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You pay a thousand?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, girl.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hold on. How the do you pay 1350 for a one bedroom in New York City?

[Podcast Host]

I negotiated the rent down and it was not. I did not use my feet picks to do so. That was not a bartering chip.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I can't believe you pay. You have a one bedroom for 1350.

[Podcast Host]

In New York City.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's insane.

[Podcast Host]

It was listed for really cheap too. It was listed for under 2k, which is still good for a one bedroom here in Manhattan. Here in Manhattan, Yes. Which I love. I love Inwood. Yes. And yeah, it's really north. It's really north. It's basically as north as you can possibly get while still technically being in Manhattan. But it's, you know, it's along the one line. It's nice.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

But yeah, I, like, I met the guy, he's. I think he's from, I think he's from Russia. And he, he listed the apartment for like under 2k. And I went to visit and I was like, I'm not totally sold. And I told him I had another offer for like 1,300. And he was like, if we match that price, would you come and live in our building?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Did you have an offer for a thousand three hundred? All right, well, it's too late now. If he sees this, the truth is out.

[Podcast Host]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but the lease has been signed. So.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So, okay, what else is stable with you now?

[Podcast Host]

What else is stable? Well, I think so. I mean, just having my own space, that's a, that's a, that's its own stability. Like, I'm more comfortable in isolation, I think just because of like the way my brain works. I think I function better when I have a lot of alone time. So that for me is like a good source of stability. I am in a lot of student debt, but I mean, that's consistent in like money coming in, even if it is loans that I'll probably never be able to pay off on a professor's salary. But, you know, it's all good. So, you know, I have the financial stability. I just, I have a lot of, a lot of stuff in the works. I'll say that's great. There's a lot of things bubbling. There's pots.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You got a lot of pots boiling. Which are you most excited about?

[Podcast Host]

I'm excited about the piano tuning pod. Yeah, I'm excited about that. I'm excited about. I'm excited about starting to teach. Teach again. I'm excited about that. Teach voice lessons to kids. What else am I excited about? I don't know. I'm excited to be in the city in the summer with a place of my own, and the only responsibility I have today is installing a shelf.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, I'm, I'm happy to hear that things are going well for you. Everyone, pretty much everyone who sat down to talk today seemed as though they were up.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, it's an.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's an update.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, like, this is the. If you're going to have an update in New York City, like, this is where all the people who are up are going to come, I think.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, well, this is a place where you go to get up.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, well, I was just planning on walking through here. I wasn't even, to be honest. I was sort of lying to you at the beginning of this, saying that I came for the gooch exposure, but I actually was not.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I didn't think that you came here.

[Podcast Host]

To look at people's gooch. Oh, you weren't. You didn't take me literally.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, no, that was. That was an exaggeration of the truth. I did. I did recognize this fountain and I said, oh, that's the fountain where the guy was washes his gooch at.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, I thought this was the Friends fountain.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, you know, a song by any other name.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's your name again?

[Podcast Host]

Nicole.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Nicole. Nicole, this has been a great conversation. I very much enjoyed talking to you. I hope that I said this already when I. When I was first going to end this conversation, but then you start talking about ketamine.

[Podcast Host]

I hope you try it out.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm going to try. I think I'm going to try it out. We'll see what happens.

[Podcast Host]

I don't think you'll have a bad experience if that's what's been like. You've not wanted to fully.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, that's not been the main reason. There's a bunch of reasons. I would not mind full of it, but I'm going to.

[Podcast Host]

You want.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, well, I don't know right now. My, my, my, my. My main form of SSRI right now has been this switch two. So I'm gonna see how that works.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I haven't tried that one yet, but I've heard good things.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Dude, I don't know. I wasn't gonna get it. I was. I thought that I looked at Kong game and I was like, who is this guy? This is not my guy. This is a different guy. This is not Donkey Kong.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, yes, I've heard, because they redesigned.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It, but now, now apparently, I don't.

[Podcast Host]

Know, because Donkey Kong woke.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is he woke now? Him. I don't. I don't know. Maybe he's woke.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He. He looked a little like. Actually, actually he's less woke. His eyes are smaller.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Smaller eyes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Smaller eyes.

[Podcast Host]

Conservative.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So he's. I don't know, but I don't know. Apparently, it's good. So I'm going to. Tonight. I'm gonna.

[Podcast Host]

I'm surprised you were even able to get a Switch 2.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I waited in line this morning.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, this morning?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. I felt connected to my inner child this morning. I was like, I haven't waited in line to buy a video game since 1979.

[Podcast Host]

I don't think ketamine's gonna top that experience for you. I'm sorry.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's not. Well, I mean, I don't know. Maybe I'll do ketamine and play Donkey Kong and. And that'll work.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that. You know, I never tried that, but I think if I tried that, that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Might actually, that's how the guy from friends died, so I don't want to do that, but.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, really? I didn't know that. Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He was playing, actually. I don't know if I don't know what he was doing, but he was doing Cat. He was doing ketamine outside of some form of record, outside of a medical.

[Podcast Host]

Are you being for real?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, wow.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. Okay. But, you know, well, yeah, I advocate for the safety use of ketamine.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, me too. I advocate for all safe, good things.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine. Everyone in this park is gonna be fine. Everyone's up. So everyone's good. We're all getting switch twos. We're all getting beautiful families.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We're all getting a wonderful, fulfilling careers.

[Podcast Host]

Yes. Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We're all getting $10 million.

[Podcast Host]

We're all getting our bunions shaved off.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We're getting our bunions shaved off.

[Podcast Host]

Have you ever looked at what that surgery is like? No, I haven't either.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's Crocodile Dundee, dude. Check this guy out. Oh, never mind. Never mind. I said. Sorry. I said. I said, it's Crocodile Dundee. Check this guy out. Because you looked kind of like you had the. Oh, thanks, man. I love your fit. Of course. Hey, you too, man.

[Podcast Host]

I think that guy was trying to wrangle you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's trying to wrangle me?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He looks like the crocodile. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I would watch.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I didn't have the hat.

[Podcast Host]

There's a lot of predators around here. I've noticed. Like, there's been two people who've come up to you while I've been in this chair who've wanted something from you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Dude, I don't know where the hands pick guy is. I gotta find them. Or maybe I don't.

[Podcast Host]

Just. You should be safe, you know?

[Archie]

I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I promised him A hand pick. I feel bad now if I don't give him my hands. What's your name? One more time.

[Podcast Host]

I'm Nicole. I'm so sorry.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You don't have to be sorry for anything. No, I don't have anywhere else to be.

[Podcast Host]

Such a yappy mood right now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Me too. I started. Honestly, honestly. Can I. At the very, very, very beginning of this podcast, I was like, fuck. I don't think I have the energy to talk today. But I, I, you know, we're gonna try. But towards. And you. Normally what happens is the first half, I have no energy, though. The first half, I have a lot of energy. The second half, I have no energy. Today's podcast was different. Today I had a lot of less energy. The first half margin. The second half.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But now I feel good.

[Podcast Host]

Good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know what, Nicole?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Everything's fine.

[Podcast Host]

Everything is fine. Everything is going to be fine. And I really feel that today. I feel like there's an energy in the air. Sorry. I just caught a glimpse of, like, the shoe underneath the gecko foot, and I feel like I just saw, like, a peek behind the Curtain.

[Ryan Reynolds]

$35 on Amazon. These are my shoes. They break in one month. I buy a new one every month. I should just get a nicer pair of shoes that don't break down. But I'm lazy and I.

[Podcast Host]

Is there a specific reason why, like that pair of shoes from Amazon, I.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just go on Amazon, I search shoes. I'm not a fashion man.

[Podcast Host]

You could have fooled me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, because of the suit?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I wonder if there's a guy over here. He's holding a box of cookies. I'm wondering if. If I let him sit down, if maybe he'll give me.

[Podcast Host]

I think.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think he will do well.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I think you should take a chance.

[Ryan Reynolds]

All right, I'll test it.

[Podcast Host]

I'm so enjoyed.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Nicole, is there anything else you want to say to the people. The computer before we go?

[Podcast Host]

To the people of the computer, be boop, boop, bop, beep, boop, boop, bebop.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They'll know what that means.

[Podcast Host]

They'll know what that means. Computers. I speak computer. And yeah, I think all computers will understand.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'll throw that in Google Translate later.

[Podcast Host]

Good. You should.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Nice to meet you, Nicole. I'll see you around the universe.

[Podcast Host]

Take care of those hands.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I will. I will. Apparently, they're worth money.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

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[Podcast Host]

No problem.

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[Ryan Reynolds]

What'S your name?

[Yugi]

Yugi.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yugi?

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yugi. Nice to meet you. Sorry, Yugi, I actually don't know if I have time to. Oh, well, let's do a quick wrap up, shall we? Okay. One thing that you want to say to the people listening to this podcast before we go. Anything.

[Yugi]

Think about yourself. First and only.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, now I want to talk to you about more things. We don't have enough. How much power batteries on this guy? 17%. Okay, cool. All right, we're chilling. Yugi. Yeah. Why, why should we only think about ourselves?

[Yugi]

Because no one will do it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yes, it is.

[Yugi]

I mean, at some point even your parents think about themselves.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I know.

[Yugi]

And they, they should also live their own life.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I know.

[Yugi]

Because I need to understand that they also need to be like themselves.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Yugi]

And continue their lives at some point. And so you need to cut down when they don't.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Yugi]

No, it, so you need to do it yourself and think about yourself for, for your future life and etc.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It is very true. I, you know, I don't know. I, I think my, my most of my life I thought of myself as like a staunch individualist where I was like, I got to make sure, you know, I'm really like mainly thinking about my own life. And then I was like, no, the key to life is community and like how you want to integrate yourself with other people and you want to. Your life is only be as good as the other people in it. And then I flip back and forth and I'm like, well, shit, you know, it's true. You, as you get older, you start to realize, okay, your parents love you and that's great. And you, and if you're lucky, you grow up. That being the default. Your parents love you, your parents care about you, but as you get older, the amount of people who are like, you can have friends and you're gonna have people in the peripheral of your life that you see, but the amount of people who are in your life starts to decrease and you start to slowly realize, like, you're the only one in your life. So you got to make sure. Unless if, you know, you have a wife or kids or something like that. But.

[Yugi]

And I think the better you love yourself, the better you'll be loved on your group and on your community.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Yugi]

Because you will like put the limits and all the boundaries that you want.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Yugi]

And it will be like health, healthier relationships. Which means that you first think about yourself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Yugi]

And for that I will encourage everyone to go to a therapist. I'm from France and I'm like, this is not something that's cool yet over there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, therapy is not cool in France.

[Yugi]

No, not yet.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Why not yet? It's going to become cool.

[Yugi]

Yeah, of course. I mean, at some point people will go crazy and you will have to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Go, why do you think therapy is not cool in France?

[Yugi]

I think, I think it's still like something that you put as crazy people. Yeah. For real. And people don't understand the value of being good with yourself and going to a therapy. I'm a teacher. One of the things, every time my students come to me like with issues, blah, blah, blah, go therapists, especially like immigrants, children, blah, blah, blah, they need to go because the duality between their lives in France or any, any country, plus their origins or parents origins, it's a messing up moment over their lives. That's.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you go to a therapist?

[Yugi]

Of course.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What are you and yours, what do you talk about with your therapist?

[Yugi]

My parents.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Yugi]

Mostly because I think this is the, the main issue for everyone.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The main issue for everyone is their parents.

[Yugi]

Yeah, of course.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, how, Tell me how.

[Yugi]

So, I mean, because the parents lives their life for the first time as you are, so they don't know how to drive sometimes their life and they have to learn with you and when they do it, and they were not like us now with all these elements that you can have on the Internet and everything. So they learned not good on a good way.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. So. So everything starts with the parents. Because you learn from your parents and how your parents treat you is kind of how you feel.

[Yugi]

Exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Sense. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Do you have good parents?

[Yugi]

They try.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Do you have kids?

[Yugi]

I don't have yet.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Do you? But you want to have kids. Yeah.

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What are you gonna, what do you want to impart upon your children?

[Yugi]

To love themselves, to be confident enough to be like in a loving environment where they can share with me. Because I think I was not able to share with my parents when I was not like feeling good or when something was not good for me, and they didn't know. So I cannot blame them because I was not on a safe place to share.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Yugi]

So I want to have, like, for my kids, if I have ones, a safe place for them to share anything they want to share with me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So, yeah, I feel bad because you're, you know, you're really being very vulnerable. You're being very vulnerable with me right now. And I am, like, I'm very engrossed in this conversation, but there's at least, like, 10% of my brain that's like, I wonder. I wonder if he's gonna let me have a cookie.

[Yugi]

Yeah, of course you can. You can have them.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Because we didn't like them, but you didn't like them.

[Yugi]

No, because we had, like, to test it because we are visiting, so we had like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Can I see what. Can I see what you got in there? Okay, so you tried the. You didn't like it anymore.

[Yugi]

It was one with lemon, and I don't even know which one.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, this is like a. That's like a cream. Yeah.

[Yugi]

We didn't, like, bid on him, so you can try it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. That's pretty good.

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Here.

[Yugi]

Well, no worries.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Why didn't you like him?

[Yugi]

I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But you're visiting from France.

[Yugi]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Here, I'll put. I'll put this down. Okay. But are you. How long are you in New York for?

[Yugi]

Oh, so we arrived on, like, last Wednesday, and we are here until next Saturday.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you observe about New York?

[Yugi]

Oh, so. So loud.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where in France do you live?

[Yugi]

Paris.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. All right. But how do you compare New York to Paris?

[Yugi]

It's so loud. People are, like, always screaming or stuff like this. But more generous and more friendly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

People are more generous and friendly here.

[Yugi]

Of course, I'm from Paris, so, I mean, we're the less friendly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

First time in New York?

[Yugi]

No, second time.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Why'd you guys come to New York?

[Yugi]

It's only live in Tampa, so I come often in the U.S. yes. And it has been three years now, so I wanted to come back.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Very nice.

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do the French think of Americans? Do they think that we're stupid? You can say yes if that's the truth.

[Yugi]

I don't think that they're. They can't think about this. Because we're that stupid. As much as American could be. I mean, France is not that good. I mean, we almost elected a guy who never worked in his life. Yeah, but for real, like, never in his life. He's famous for probably shitting in his pants on this only year of college that he did.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's famous for shitting in his pants.

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's this guy's name?

[Yugi]

This is the rumor that we have, and he has been the first runner of the European election last year.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Really?

[Yugi]

Can you. So we are.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's not Macron, right?

[Yugi]

No, no, it's not Macron. It's Bardela.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, yeah, but. And who did you vote for? Him?

[Yugi]

No, of course not.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is he like the. Is he like the French Trump? Trump?

[Yugi]

I. I can't even say he is the French Trump or he's far right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, that's.

[Yugi]

That's it. I mean, this is not the same way that it works because we have so many political groups and everything does.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do your friends go to therapy or is it mainly just you?

[Yugi]

No, no, some of my friends goes and hopefully most of them will go at some point.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Yugi]

I'm doing this lobbying for them to go because I'm paying now for them.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, you're. But you're paying for your friends because.

[Yugi]

They come to me to have like therapy conversation.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, you're the therapist. Exactly.

[Yugi]

So they have to pay either of me or someone else.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay. Yeah. So are you a good person to go to for, for therapy?

[Yugi]

I don't know. I'm not gonna judge myself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Yugi]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do. Do a lot of people. I mean, if you're. If a lot of people go to you for therapy, it means you're probably good at it or else they wouldn't come to you.

[Yugi]

Like we have to ask them. I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do. Do a lot of your friends go to you. For. What kinds of things do your friends ask you for advice about?

[Yugi]

Mostly with their family because we all struggle with this energy we don't have with our parents and immigrant parents. My parents are from Turkey. They came to France. So it's not the same way that we see etc and everything. So we mostly have the same issues. All of them.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, so you guys all have very similar, like family lives.

[Yugi]

Exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

How old are you?

[Yugi]

34.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay, and so all your friends, like, and your friends are all kind of same age?

[Yugi]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And so you're all like from like, similar, like generation.

[Yugi]

Exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Okay.

[Yugi]

The 90s. We grew up with Internet coming phones and everything.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you still friends with. Are you still not friends? Of course you're friends with your friends. Are you, are you still like close with their friends? You get to see them very often.

[Yugi]

Yeah, of course.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do they all live in Paris?

[Yugi]

Yeah, we live all on the Same area.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's so fucking nice. How long have you been friends with these people?

[Yugi]

15, 20 years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ah, it's so nice, man. Yeah, that's a real blessing. I wish I, you know, I have a group of, like, there's nine of us, and, like, you know, I've been friends with them for a long time, but, you know, we all kind of. I mean, we're all, like, in the same, like, east coast, but, like, if everyone, like, lived in the same neighborhood, I mean, that would be beautiful.

[Yugi]

Yeah, I think we try to live in the same neighborhood because also when you're in France, it's not like here. You have to live in Paris to have better jobs and everything. So it's all mostly on the same places. So then you choose to be still with them. I have some of them living in other cities, but it's mostly all in Paris.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What are you most excited for in life? Moving forward?

[Yugi]

I think having kids at some point. Yeah, I would love having kids.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you feel like you've learned a lot from your own parents that you can either either what to do or what not to do?

[Yugi]

Exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Exactly. Yeah. Okay. How. How often do you talk to your parents?

[Yugi]

Almost like every two days or. Every day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Damn. Yeah. I can't be honest. Like, all right, you sat down and you were like. You were like. You have to be. You must be.

[Yugi]

It has been like six years now that I'm working on this. So now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, I guess the way you said when you said that, and you were like, you, man can only rely on himself. And it's like you have a. You have a great community. You're very. You have a wife, you have. Of your pet friends all around. You have. You know, you don't seem to rely. Be. I mean, you know what I mean? But, like, you seem like you have a lot of people in your life. Yeah.

[Yugi]

With boundaries that I fixed, and now I'm okay with it. It's better now.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Yeah. That's great, man.

[Yugi]

Cool. Thank you so much.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Of course. What's your name again? Yugi. Yugi? Yeah. Yugi, thank you very much for sitting down and talking to me, man. I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you want to say to the people before we go?

[Yugi]

Jule is the best rapper in France.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Who is Julie Jewel. Nice to meet you, man. Later, Yugi. Well, folks, I think that was it. I think those were our interviews for the day. I think they were pretty good. Who do we talk to? We talked to the. Yo, yo, man. We talked to the elementary school principal, we talked to the opera singer lady, we talked to the general, the other, the gentleman with the bike talking about getting sober as well. That was a good, that was a good group of people. This was a good episode. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm debating, oh, this guy left his cookies here. I'm, I'm debating if I should eat a stranger's half eaten cookies. I'm not above it. I'm really not above it. I'm really, really not above it. I'm, I might be above doing it on camera, but I'm, I'm, I'm not above it. So I might do it. So anyway, thank you guys for listening to this. If you're, Tomorrow I'm gonna drop my, my. Well, if you're watching this on YouTube, it's already on here. But if you're listening to this on the podcast, tomorrow I'm gonna drop my Tijuana Dance Battle video on Spotify, so you should check that out. But anyway, that's it. What another beautiful day of talking to people. Say, say words in the comments if you enjoyed these conversations. I want to hear what people have to say. I sit down here for, for, for a bunch of time talking to people. I want to hear what people have to say. I'm curious if you guys have thoughts about the conversations. You have thoughts about live your life. Give a, like, give a comment, give a, subscribe, Spotify comments, YouTube comments, whatever. Okay, that's it. I don't have anything else to say. I'm a gecko. I'm getting out of here. I'm gonna go play my Switch 2 and eat a stranger's half eaten cookie and try not to think. All right, Geck bless. Thank you very much. See you around the universe.

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[Ryan Reynolds]

Whenever I go to my specialist, he.

[Podcast Host]

Mentions the R word Remission.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is it possible? Like, is it over? But also knowing it's never really over, but just being able to say, hey, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Stay the course.

[Podcast Host]

Don't give up on yourself.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Every single person living with the autoimmune illness has a life worth living, and.

[Podcast Host]

It'S up to you to define that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To capture that, and to go guns blazing.

[Greenlight Advertiser]

Follow and listen to Untold Stories on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Danielle Fishel from Pod Meets World. Parents, Quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest level snack and he traded it for a Mott's Applesauce pouch. I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no Sugar added applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They're made with real apples packed in a super easy pouch. Perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus, they're a good source of vitamin C and kids love them. Win, win. Make sure your kid wins. Snack time with Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn [e-mail] this is an I Heart podcast.