Steve Aoki: Overcoming Racism To Top the Charts

30:31You know, like we've just adopted autism into our foundation as another way to help out with different orgs that are supporting families or research or whatnot in autism. But we're also doing, we've been doing stuff with Alzheimer's and dementia. And my passion is in what's in the future with brain technology. where can we go to not only just optimize our lives and advance what we can do with our output, with our creativity, but, you know, the end goal is finding a way to live forever. And that sounds kind of scary and crazy when you say that, but it's not scary and crazy when you actually start inching what that looks like.

31:22At one point time, we would live to my age now. I'm 43. And it's natural to die around this age. That sucks. Imagine that. Like in your 40s, it's like, hey guys, we got five more years left. You know, like we're naturally going to die in the next five years. That would suck. And now people are living to 70, 80 and older. My mom's 78. I want to see her live to 120. I I always say, Mom, you have another 50 more years left. And I want to see her live a happy, healthy life to that point. She was telling me the other day about how you've wanted for a while for her to commit to freezing her brain. And she's like, I don't want to do it.

32:06Your sister said the same thing. But explain where the Alcor Life Foundation comes from. Yeah, so Alcor is a facility that deep freezes your body. You die, okay? So once you die, you're dead. And you're doing your whole body as opposed to just the head up. I'll put it this way. Once you're technically dead, you're either going to go in the ground or you're going to be cremated, right? I mean, unless, like, you're lost at sea, okay? Like, there's two options. You're either going to have worms crawling through your body and you're going to be composted into the ground or you're going to be sand.

32:47or in this case, you're dead, but you're like Kelvin temperature, deep, deep, deep, cold Kelvin temperature frozen with zero degeneration. If I'm so lucky to die in a hospital situation where they can move my whole body and quickly get my body, my brain, most importantly, into this deep Kelvin temperature. And when the technology is ready to bring me back, which sounds crazy, but if there's technology to actually bring you back, then I could come back. But, you know, it's like the sad thing is I don't want to come back and, like, my whole family's gone. You know? That's why I'm asking my whole family, at least all do it together, you know?

33:38Look at it this way. People die, right? People have died and come back to life. can you can you agree with me on that yeah sure like your heart stops and you and they come back like well you were actually technically dead for a minute or two minutes whatnot like the the oxygen stops into your brain and the longer time that you don't have oxygen in your brain your your brain degenerates to the point where you could come back and like you're actually brain dead you know and You're still alive, but your brain's not functioning. That happens too, right? So there's a potential where if my brain isn't degenerated so much, where it's almost very similar to coming back as if I just, you know, my brain stops degenerating at the same moment of, say, one minute or two minutes or three minutes.

34:28If it gets to this temperature where it's, like, frozen, if I was to come back, it's almost very similar technically as if I was out for three minutes. So, that's where I'm like, where people are like, well, that's just weird. But it's not weird to bring someone back to life if they die and they just come right back in three minutes, right? I mean, at the end of the day, all this stuff, all these organs, your skin, your body, they're all going to fail. It's like we're all going to degenerate over time. But imagine, and we're already doing this. That's the thing. People don't get it. We're already doing this.

35:09We're doing heart transplants. We're doing organ transplants. When it fails and you have a life, if you say, hey, do you want to get like a clean liver to live? I'm assuming most people would say yes so they can continue living. Right. In our lifetime, like which is zero to 80, right? There's going to be a point in time where the normal lifespan might be zero to 160. So at like 140, they're like, hey, everything's working good because we've changed out everything in your body now. Like we have a different heart and it's actually not even human. It's like an AI or whatever heart. Like it's some sort of technologically like where it doesn't degenerate.

35:55And all of a sudden, we are essentially sidewalks at that point. You know, like, if you inch your way towards where technology is going, where we can live longer and have, like, healthy lives and happier lives, most of us will take that route. And we already do in those kinds of dire situations where your loved one or someone you care about. because sometimes, you know, I'm saying this about myself, but it's more about the people. It's easy to answer this question when you think about something you care about, something you love so deeply that, like, is your life. And you're like, I will do anything to save them.

36:40Just, it's easy. You're like, your wife, your sister, your brother, your mother, your father, your daughter, your son, they're in a situation where you're like, I can save them by giving them a robotic heart, by doing this and they can have a life, you're going to say yes. These are all steps to what I believe in the future will eventually get to the point where we can, we might potentially live forever in our lifetime and have that conversation and be like, wow, people used to actually die. That's like, that's possible. And I hope it's in our lifetime. time. So with the foundation, I want to help out researchers and orgs and people that have that same thought process that are doing real work, that are going down that path, that are finding, finding ways to like, you know, one, first of all, we got to, we got to find cures for all degenerative brain disease.

37:41That is, that is a big one for me to lose your mind. This thing is so important to your whole living. We got to find cures for all brain degenerative disease, period. One. Two, we got to find avenues that lead to the place where we can do what I'm saying. Live longer, healthier, happier lives to the point where we can live forever. COVID, I understand kind of a tough transition for you because you go from literally being yanked off what was then your biggest tour ever to, you know, coming back here and everything comes to a grinding halt like it is for everybody. But how hard of a transition was that for you initially?

38:30I didn't believe it would last this long. I read Yuval Harari's book. He's also my favorite author. He's also on my album, too. I reached out to him. He wrote this book called Sapiens and Homo Deus. Sapiens obviously has been my favorite book I've ever read. I'm a sociology major. Like, I'm a sociologist in general. Like, the way I think about study of people, why they do things, culture. I love history. I love understanding, like, why the bipedal species has, like, become the Homo sapiens species. Why they exist. Like, how did we get here? What brought us here? Like, where did religion come from?

39:04Where did like these things, like, you know, all these things are really important. He does a great job kind of storytelling that. It's beautiful. It really is. And he also, in Homo Deus, he talks about the future of where he thinks we're going. Now, he has more of a bleak future than what I believe in. He, you know, with AI and technology kind of, you know, doing more of the Terminator route. But like, I don't want to put words in his mouth. But when it comes to disease, basically what he says in the future or now moving forward, it's pretty much eradicated. Because we have all the technology and science.

39:43Like we stopped SARS. We stopped it at the butt. You know, like before, 100 years ago, it would kill like tens of millions of people when you have a plague. Like now when it happens, you can isolate it. And like, of course, people die. Like 1 ,000, 10 ,000, 20 ,000 people die, but not like millions. When I read that book and when I heard about COVID, I'm like, it'll be controlled. We'll know if scientists will get involved. And that's at the end of the day. We need more funding to the scientists. They need the funding, not like these conspiracy theorists put the money with the scientists so they can find out, you know, like the cures and the vaccines and things that can eradicate these issues.

40:36So I thought like it would end pretty quickly. I was very hopeful of that. So with that in mind, I'm like, we're going to be back on the road in June, you know. And like I live on the road. I do 250 shows a year for 15 years straight. So I was kind of setting up for that, you know. and I dropped my album during COVID. I remember I was like, okay, I'm back home. Okay, we're going to do 15 days of Aoki Boot Camp until my album drops. And I was like working out, working out, working out. I'm like, okay. You got like eight or 9 % body fat. Yeah, yeah. I was like very disciplined at that moment. And then, you know, album drops.

41:10I'm like, okay, we got to like support the album somehow because the tour got canceled. So we're like, okay, in June, like, you know, what's going to happen? Like, we got to reschedule the tour. and I'm like, I'm going to be on the road again. So guess what has to happen? I need to use this time wisely and make music because whenever, before, when I was touring, I would have three days home and I'd be like studio time, studio time, studio time. We have deadlines. We have to get these records done. I'm going to work in the studio. I'm going to crank out music. So I was just like in the studio, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

41:47and then like a few months goes by and I'm like there's no shows lined up like what's going on I was just burnt out I was burnt out and I was like oh man I can't I was just like I'm just like I like every day you can't you can't do that every day after a while you know you need to take breaks and that's why I liked my life before I was like on the road studio on the road studio now I'm just straight studio but I got a lot of music done and was there a low point for you yeah I mean I mean, I don't really have like low points like that. Like I luckily built my dream home that was like meant for a pandemic.

42:28Yeah. I don't really need to leave my house. So we kept a very, very tight ship here. Like we're always, you know, testing people as they come in and stuff like that. I've got this crazy COVID door. You have to like walk through like it's like sprayed. I mean, we never actually use it, but I got the door. Like I was like prepared, like they're going to get sprayed down. They're going to get tested like the whole nine yards. And, um, and then like I found other hobbies, you know, and that's, that's when I found collecting cards and Pokemon and sports cards and, and getting back into novelty. I mean, the thing is not novelty, nostalgia, you know, like that's, that's the thing during COVID is that it happened to so many people around the world.

43:12nostalgia, going back to things that you loved to do when you were a kid, because that's what you did. You're a kid, you're at home, you're friends, you know, like, and like, and so I went back to nostalgia for me as cards. I just remember like, like going to the card shop and buying a pack of cards with my friends and, and being so jealous of my friend that had like 10 Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards in his binder, 10 Barry Sanders rookie cards in his binder and Michael Jordan's up the wazoo and I'm like, I just got one Jordan. I got one Daryl Strawberry rookie. I got like, I just have like a, like a pitiful collection to my friends.

43:47And I'm like, well, I have money now. I could actually buy some cards, you know? And you ramped that up pretty quickly. I did. I, I, um, I got, I got keyed into this, uh, group with Gary V and some friends and like, they kind of schooled me and taught me about investing in the cards. It's not just about collecting, it's about investing in the grading cards. I got queued in with PSA and Beckett and SGC. The hobby, the big players in the hobby really with open arms really accepted me. It was great because I was okay, I'm learning. This is summer of 2020. And I want to invest, you know, because I am also an investor.

44:39I've been investing in startups since, you know, 2010. Right when I started making serious money in like the 2010 period is when I started investing in startups and, you know, failing in a lot of them, learning, pivoting, adapting, and reinvesting in things that I believe in and failing again and learning and winning some, losing most, and also learning what my platform has that I can offer to, you know, things. So like I, you know, teamed up with different artists and we jumped in on different funds. And I'm like, okay, this is going to be another alternative investment. And so I treated it like that and went in.

45:30and I bought cards I knew and I loved. Michael Jordan rookie card. Mickey Mantle rookie card. You know, I was like, the Mickey Mantle one. I was like, I just remember that as a kid. Yeah. It's the card that, like, you will never, ever own. Ever. It's like, it's just impossible. It's the most iconic baseball card of all time. Yeah, but yeah, Jackie Robinson. Again, Jackie Robinson's rookie card. So yeah, I put serious money in. And then I got into Pokemon, and I'm like, okay, I got to just go for the grills. So I went in, and I spent an enormous amount of money on buying a raw Pokemon card on a Japanese auction that could be a fake card, could be damaged, could be a lot of things, a lot of coulds.

46:24And I actually forked over$420 ,000. It was so scary, but I was like, that is the holiest, holy grail of the biggest IP in its space. How did it work out? It worked out beautifully, but it was very scary. It's like the biggest gamble because it could be a fake. It could be inauthentic. It could be altered. It could be damaged. It could be like something wrong with it. so I got the card and had it float they flew it over and I graded it the next day the next morning went to PSA I got it graded graded PSA 9 I made an investment on that PSA 9 with the Aoki collection pedigree on the actual slap there's only a few cards with that and people care about the premium on that you know so with that if I ever do sell it I wouldn't sell for under you know 2.53 million dollars did I read you spent 10 or 12 million dollars during the pandemic on I don't know if I should put that out to the world I mean that's uh it's whatever you went in yeah let's not talk about numbers, let's just say that I went in heavy and I had a lot of time and it just like, it was like, I was day and night on eBay.

47:55I was on the auctions. I just was like full bore into card collecting. So, and I'm hopeful after the sit down, we can look at some of your cards, whatever you might have here but uh how did you go about figuring out when to get back into touring again because i know at some point during the pandemic you took some heat for doing a show i would imagine you're between a rock and a hard place because you want to get back going with your you know career and what you love while also trying to figure out how to be conscious of what's going on right yeah the only place that's really open right now is the united states it's a the shows are back doing my four shows a week now so it's vegas my residency is open i'm playing every weekend here i got vaccinated as early as i possibly could and after the vaccination i just felt i felt a lot safer and then i also follow statistics i don't follow tiktok conspiracy theories and that's what i try to tell people like look at the statistics When people got vaccinated and they were showing the numbers of how many people were getting vaccinated, like over half the population in the United States getting vaccinated, the COVID numbers just were dropping drastically, like majorly.

49:12Follow the numbers. Follow the statistics. You know, you can't, as long as they're not altered or doctored, they're real numbers. You could see right there. It's working. The vaccines are working in a way that we can live our lives. You hear about the Delta variant and you hear about these new strains, and that does worry me, does bother me. Of course it does, because it is affecting people that are vaccinated. And I'm hoping that they come with a new vaccine for the Delta or whatnot. Booster, yeah. Yeah, I mean, for me, if there's a booster, I'm in. Yeah. I'm going to do it. I'm playing these shows already.

49:56You know, so it's like it's a responsibility that I need to take. I think entertainers in general should think about that more often. Most number of shows you've ever done in a month? I know I've done 32. How about in a year? Over 300. Describe the feeling of just, as you put it, being tired, lonely, and slapped around by the road. The road is not, it's like it looks fun. The pictures, social media, it tells one side of the story. I'm not going to put me in the shower like, you know, like crying or something. Yeah. My story. It doesn't happen. Like that happened in certain parts of tour life, you know, just, you know.

50:44But it's also like you have to like, it's all mindset. If you're not in the right mind, mentality, it's tough, man. I know a lot of artists that like they they like get popular from their music and they hit the road and they don't last very long because it's tough traveling and moving and being in demand. And like you have to show up and you have to put on your best face every single night. You have to be able to mask any of the issues personal that you're going through and you got to entertain them. And that that's that's very hard for a lot of people. I want to read a few different quotes from your book and kind of get your reaction to each.

51:29But you wrote, I am alone. I mean, I live in a big house, play to big crowds, live a big, full life. But end of the day, it sometimes feels my life is empty. Explain that. I didn't know we were going to do a therapy session today. I wrote this book almost in a way I didn't have to explain these things. You know, I'm like, you want to know about it? Just read the book. Because I don't really like talking about it that much. It brings me back to very, you know, I'm human. I mean, but the reality is, too, it's probably, you know, there are a lot of people who everybody goes through their own stuff.

52:07And when you see somebody of stature who has a lot of success, who goes through the same sort of struggles that anybody can identify with, that has a positive impact on people, too, because you can identify with it. Yeah, there's a point where in those moments of loneliness and sadness, I made a decision. I did it instead of being at home and having, you know, potentially a family, like kids running around. Like, I don't have kids right now, you know.

52:49you know if you're in one place you're more likely to have a stable kind of situation like that in the relationship sense I chose this life and I'm on the road a lot so like whoever whoever I end up dating or whoever becomes part of my life it's a very like it's a specialized life it's only meant for a certain kind of person to be able to to live like this you know when i was talking to your mom and sister that was the one time in the call that both of them got emotional talking about your schedule and kind of the impact it has i don't like them feeling that way you know i don't want them to be because my mom she's like my emotion she's like my emotional support system so if like if I feel sad she'll she'll feel like 10 times more sad I don't like her feeling that way because I want her to be happy so don't bring up anything like this to her please yeah yeah that's like that's important to me but um and my sister's the same way they're both in like incredibly empathetic so I like it's I need to I need to keep them like for me I need to keep them happy and healthy.

54:13They're my rock. So yeah, it's not a normal life. You said on the topic in your book, and you were like raw and seemed to be brutally honest in it. In the movie of my life that's been playing in my head since I was a kid, I always have a family. I'm a father. And yet in my reality, it should have happened for me by now. Do you still feel that way? Sometimes. You know, we all daydream, you know? We all, like, you know, like you see, like when you see families rolling around, you know, people my age definitely have kids, majority of them. You know, and I definitely want to have kids. There's no doubt about it, it's going to happen.

55:00But I'm a realist, too. but in my book I want it's exactly the point I want to be raw I want to be real with it too and share some of the feelings I have about that but yes I think in the future it'll happen to what extent do you feel like the schedule has to change to allow for that? I think what I've talked to my friends that before and after they have kids, they change. And they're like, it's just something, maybe it's instinctively they change. Like once they have a kid, something in their body changes and they're like, I'm going to put more time here. So I'm going to let my instincts run the course of that instead of preparing already, you know?

56:02So if I ever have a kid in the future, like, it will do what, I'll do what I'm supposed to do. It seems like, like, those that are closest to you, you know, want to see for your own sake, for you to ease up on the schedule some, but on the other hand, you've worked your entire life to get to the point where, you know, you're at the top of your profession. I really am so lucky. When I'm on the stage, when I'm playing, there's no greater high that I can experience in my life. It is the absolute pinnacle. Drugs cannot reach the high that I'm getting. I am completely sober. I don't drink before shows.

56:49I don't do any drugs. I let the moment and the real raw connection I'm having bring me to that level. It's why I play so many shows because that energy is always different. The feeling is always a new synergy of emotions that's happening between strangers and myself. That's also what's so beautiful too. It's strangers, people I don't know that I'm connecting with in a very intimate way, in a really raw way. When you see someone like crying in the crowd and they're singing your song and they're in this moment of full like freedom, they've escaped whatever they've gone away from and they're in this moment where they're just ripping their emotions out.

57:52there's nothing more beautiful than that. And to connect with that at that moment gives me chills down my spine. It's just raw emotions coming out, like raw souls just connecting. We don't need to know each other's names or we don't need to know each other. We're connecting in such a raw spiritual way. It's incredibly beautiful and it's something that you can't replicate that. Like, you can, if I'm like a tech owner and I IPO, you can't find that feeling there. If I'm like breaking a box of cards, like get the Charizard, you can't find the feeling there. It's still a great feeling. I'm not saying like those aren't great feelings.

58:43They're great feelings, but for me, I'm just talking about me. I'm not like saying about anybody else, me. that is my ultimate high and I'm so lucky to do what I do and at some point in time I won't be able to do it anymore just recently in Newport Beach I was like bawling my eyes out playing why? just like you know you just go down the web hole of like how every moment matters and it makes me think about my mom every moment with her matters it makes me think about my friends that have passed away. And those moments matter because when they're gone, they're gone forever. So you better f***ing...

59:27You better just give 100 % love what you're doing, where you're at. Because after that moment, it's gone. What about it touches you so much now? Because I have people in my life that have gone away that I love.

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1:01:00When you were up there in Newport Beach recently, do you start thinking of? I think about my best friend that passed away last year, who gave his entire life to support me.

1:01:20every moment you have with people you care about you better give me 100 % of your time and all the times when I didn't I feel f***ing awful life is short because it goes so fast it goes so fast and then it's and it's gone and people go away forever

1:01:46and then you have just those moments. So you just gotta give 100%. Have you found you've gotten older and been in the profession for longer, you start to think about that more? Yeah, there's no doubt that as I've been doing this longer, you gain more wisdom into why. Why do you do all this? I do sacrifice time with the people I care about and I love, and that sucks. That's a really big sacrifice. But, you know, just having, like, some of the closest people in my life close to me, it's really, really special to me, and I'm really happy about that. So, at least I have that, and I could really do what I love to do.

1:02:43You know, at the level I'm doing it, and I hope I have a longer career. I hope I have a long career with it, you know. There's no expiration date for me on this, you know. I'm going to continue doing this as long as people care, as long as people are coming to the shows and being part of the experience. And I love making music. I love performing. I'm just going to continue doing what I love to do. And you've had to make personal sacrifices yet it's your hard work that's put you in the position to be able to take advantage of all these amazing opportunities and create an amazing life for you and your family and carry on the family legacy and so on.

1:03:38Yeah, in order to do what I do at the level I'm doing that, you have to train yourself, your mind, your body, your spirit, your mental state, like an athlete. I'm training for a perpetual competition all year long. And so when I do that, you have to prioritize certain things and sacrifice certain things in order to have the stamina and the endurance and the energy to put the 100 % in there. so for me as an athlete because I consider myself an athlete mindfulness meditation you know the ice bath certain things I prioritize I have two ice baths here I like you know like that's the thing about I'll put my money where that is I have I had two saunas at one point I put one on my mom so she can use it but I have like a really great sauna here.

1:04:52These things are really important to me. So I do them on a regular basis. So I'm like constantly at my peak performance. And, you know, I'm 43 now. So like, you know, if some of my joints and limbs are like having issues and I'm, you know, just doing what I can to make sure that like I'm at, as optimal as I can so I can perform at that level. And that requires not partying. I don't do drugs. Never actually really did them. I had one acid trip when I was 13. And I drank every show for a period of time. And then I stopped. And I still drink to celebrate, to taste, to enjoy. But if anything, I hate to say it, and it's going to be cheesy, but I drink responsibly.

1:05:51How do you think success affects you? Success is a very subjective word. I mean, most people, when they think of success, they think about money. Like, how much money did you make? That is absolutely not the right way to think about success. Success is how you feel about yourself. and success doesn't have to be this grand moment in your life because that just doesn't happen. There's no grand moment. They're all little moments and even the little moments after you have that success of whatever that may be, that project that you're able to finish on time or you're able to reach or the record that came out and it reached these kinds of people or the show that you hit or the success you have with your family or whatever it might be, the change that happens after isn't like, wow, there's a real change.

1:06:48Like the sky's opened up. It's gradual. You don't really see it until much later. You know, like you could stop back, you could stop at a certain point and turn back and go, okay, wow, you see it. But as you're growing, it's very much this idea that the road, the road, you know, what would they say? that like road less travels no no like where it's not about the the the goal but it's like the not about the destination of the journey yeah it's not about the destination it's the journey you know and and the success is i think success it's like at the end of the day it's what you make of it for me it's just it's it's just you know finding happiness within yourself what lesson do you think you learned from your arcade fire experience back in the day that's what i was too big for my britches.

1:07:39Dimock was, we were doing really well as a label. We were the indie label that all the majors were looking at because we would find artists and they would blow up. And we were on a roll. We were just consistent. I was signing artists that was like, okay, I definitely have a skill in A &Ring. I know what art's about to break. We sign them and something happens. And I was like, wow, I'm good at what I'm doing. And I'm not even with a major label. And major labels were trying to pick us up just so they can get all the artists that we have. And I was talking to like all kinds of labels at that time.

1:08:24And RK Fire, they were primed to release their new album, Funeral, the first album, Funeral. And they had this EP that they made, No Cars Go. and I heard the EP and I was like, oh my God, this is incredible. And this is like very early days of Arcade Fire and I saw them at the Troubadour and I was just so blown away by this band. I never even met them, never even talked to them. I was talking to their lawyer and the lawyer was like, hey, we have this EP, you can just drop it because that's what we did. We put out EPs and then a big label would come and do the album. I'm like, I need the album.

1:09:09It's like, the album's already signed. You can't have the album. I'm like, I need the album, and then I'll do the EP. And obviously, she's like, no. So she passed on that, and I missed the opportunity to release the No Cars Go EP, which it was in my lap. I'm just being so dumb about it, stubborn, and so egotistical. like thought that you know like i can get the album like no i can't i can't i wouldn't and the takeaway from that after the fact was what i mean after that i was just like i was just putting out every ep i was like i can't be like that that's just like i missed out on a like a massive opportunity for for dimmock even if like at the end of the day it's not like we're our bank account was just blowing up and it wasn't about money for me at that time for dimmock because all the money that would come in, it would literally get spent.

1:10:02And at that time, where we're crushing and signing these artists that were doing so well, and we're actually selling lots of records, even at that time, I was still negative$100 ,000 in debt because I did not know how to run my business. And all the money was coming. I was just spending it on marketing and promotion and radio and this, that, and the other. And then I didn't have a partner or someone working for me that was like, Like, Steve, you're spending all the money. Like, we made money, but we have no money now. We have, like, we've sold, like, you know, 10 credit cards, like, completely maxed out.

1:10:40And then I was like, s***, I might have to fold Din Mok. I mean, at some point, like, I was trying to get an 11th credit card. I mean, literally, I was, like, on my, like, the end of the line. And every label's looking at us, like, we're, like, this golden touch. It was like a crazy scenario for me because we were crushing it and yet we're completely in debt. And I was like, there's no way I could pull myself out of this. There's no financial way that DinBot can actually get out of this hole right now. And then I was DJing on the side and those$200 shows actually meant something. And in the end, I literally paid for all my debt, all the, what's it called when the debt piles up and then you have the on top.

1:11:28The interest? Interest, yeah. Sorry, I forget these words. So the interest was piling and piling and piling up. I paid off all the interest. I paid off all the debt, all from DJing. That was like the best feeling ever. Holy s***. I'll never forget that. Your friend Dan, who was actually your first artist you signed at Dimock said you're the most incredible salesman he's ever met. How about what you think your best skill is? My best skill, probably throwing a cake in your face accurately from pretty far distance. I would say I'm better than anybody else. You got a torn rotator cuff. Yeah I know but like it's good, I could do it again.

1:12:08You know, I need I need like the right cake, though, and I'll get you good. Yeah. What about the skills you lack and how you try and compensate for that with people on your team? Yeah. So that's that's an important thing as as a as a boss is understanding where your skills lie and where your weaknesses are. And and I have a very, very, very absolutely incredible team. Having a great team around you is so important. And I have, you know, I've over 20 years or 15, at least 15 years of understanding how to delegate and how to find the right people. To give the task to the right person that they not only are good at, but they want to do.

1:13:00You want to bring on people that like care about what they do. Because they're not going to last very long. they don't really care about what they do you know because it's the same reason why i'm doing what i'm doing they're also doing that for their reasons they have to care about it and they and if they really like it and they love it and they're all good at it so just like you know and i've i've like you know i a management a great management team i got just a great team all across the board like you know from touring from my my life here in my house uh from the music side from all my investment sides, all the different businesses I have, the fashion label.

1:13:39I mean, there's a lot going on. It's like an octopus, just tentacles out of verticals of business. Michael Jackson. How well do you remember seeing him for the first time in third grade? That was my very first concert that I've ever seen. And it was Michael Jackson on stage. I remember Magician was before him, I think. I'm pretty sure Magician was before him. We were in the nosebleed seats, so we had binoculars. It was raining. I remember we had an umbrella and we had binoculars. We were looking out and seeing Michael Jackson in his sparkly jacket. I remember coming home. You're a kid. You just reenact what you see and what you love.

1:14:22I love Michael Jackson. I would try to do the moonwalk. I'd wear one glove in my hand. How do you think he influenced you? It was more of the, more of the, not necessarily his voice so much, but more about his presence. You know, his music videos, that live show, being on stage. The bar was too high for me to imagine me being on that stage. So I'm not ever going like, yes, I want to be on that stage too. That's not the way I think. I'm not like, even when I was a DJ, I'm like, I want to be the biggest DJ in the world. Like, instead of doing that kind of moonshot, which I think a lot of people, actually, it's great advice for people.

1:15:03Do the moonshot. That's not how I live my life. Yes, of course, I would love to go to the moon. Is that going to happen? Who knows? But I'm going to do little things in the meantime and focus on the moment. Going back to that, focus on the people in front of me, whether it's three people or 3 ,000. You know, that's how I can see myself getting to the stage of being on the stage, being maybe on the level, not on the level, but maybe potentially on the same stage that Michael Jackson will perform on. And I think also as pop sensibility unconsciously has a big effect on, you know, on me as a songwriter and as a producer.

1:15:47The hooks are what really sink in. you know and Michael Jackson was a hook guy. He was a hook master. And shortly after his death you worked with Motown on a Jackson 5 remix but then a few years after that you worked with Sony and you have the entire Michael Jackson catalog to work with. Take me through the process of doing that remix and then finding out it was lacking the wow factor. This was a big deal at the time because I was still very early with my production skills. But I definitely took it on. And there was bigger records I could have done, but I decided to do Dancing Machine because it was more like, it's a great song.

1:16:28And also in my head, I'm like thinking, I don't want to remix the biggest song. I want to remix a song I can imagine with my DNA in it. And I was like, okay, this one I can start wrapping my head around. And I brought that in my studio, which was in my, a small room in my house at the time, on Wonderland, Laurel Canyon.

1:16:52And I had such a struggle, like, finishing the production on that remix. And then finally I got to the point where I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go funk with it. I wanna create like a really funky bass line on this one. Change up the whole style, not try to go EDM so much. And this is pre-EDM, so I shouldn't even say that. It was like more electro. I'm not going to go hard with it. I want to make a palatable, listenable remix that's funky and fun. So finally I get there. I'm like, okay, I think I'm ready. And I dropped it. And it just didn't hit the nail on the head. It was fun. It was cool. I hear, I'm like, okay, for what it was, it was good.

1:17:32But it just didn't hit the nail on the head. And I felt like I missed that shot. Like what Eminem says, you only got one shot. And I missed it. I got that golden opportunity and I just failed on it. I did that before with Drake too. I remixed a Drake record that he gave me and I failed on that one. It just didn't last a test of time. But with the Michael Jackson one, after you got that feedback, you then go to your studio, I believe, and take me through this meditative reset that you did. I remember what was so kind of haunting and special and brought me back to when I was a kid was hearing all the ad-libs.

1:18:20Hearing him breathing in the microphone, him talking to the engineer, the drumstick clicks, like all these sounds. It's just as if Michael Jackson was in the room with me. Like no joke. Like I would hear that and I would just get, tingles it was such a special thing and it was so coveted it was like a you know like mission impossible like the the the stems will self-destruct after you finish like literally they're like you can't like no one can get the stems no one can ever have these sessions the fact that I was it was in my studio the pressure at that time was way too much and that's the time when I'm like I really need to just hone in on this one I really need to just stop being so starstruck about this and like stop, reset and meditate and like leave the studio which is what I do sometimes like there's many times when I'm stuck on a project and I just get to leave what I like to do is jump in the ice bath as a complete reset.

1:19:37I didn't have an ice bath in the Wonderland house back in 2008 or whatever that was. There was a period of time while you were working on the song where you didn't eat or sleep for an extended period, right? Yeah, the pressure when you have this kind of pressure it's a lot of anxiety. Everything stops because you have a potential to really break. You have a potential to really do something. It's like playing at Tomorrowland for the first time on main stage. I can remember playing at Tomorrowland. I didn't eat anything. It's terrifying to play in front of all these people. And your nerves get you more there than anywhere else.

1:20:25Yeah, Tomorrowland for sure. I mean, now it's different. but like the first time when I closed out main stage at Tomorrowland, it was the most terrifying experience. It's very similar to like having this kind of responsibility in your hands. You can't say no to it though. You have to take it. And the discomfort that's happening there, that's when the real growing starts. That's when you really are changing and adapting and learning. And I learned a lot in that. DJ AM, what was your reaction when he first started showing up to your parties? Well, DJ AM, he was the king of DJs. For what we did, there's no one bigger.

1:21:11When you have the greatest of what you do, walk into the room, it's like you're shook. He was the best. He was the biggest. But he was also incredibly humble. And I thought that was so cool. like the biggest and the best person in my world is humble and learning. And he came to listen, to learn about the electro world. You know, like he loved what he, like he's a DJ. So DJs, what we do is we want, we're like constantly listening. We are A &Rs. All DJs are essentially A &Rs. We're listening for the next thing. Not just for what's popular, but what's the next thing? What are like, what's brewing over here?

1:21:56What's brewing over there? If you had talked to any DJ, that's what they do. And DJ AM was doing just that. He was going to my parties and what we did was like more, we were a subculture. We did electro, we did like that whole world. But in LA, that world was indie, was hip hop, was rock, was electronic. It was what was brewing in our, like what we had going on. so he was coming to like see the artists and see the other djs and i just like i felt so like just honored to have him there and his humility allowed for me to become friends with him and then we became like best friends and we started a party together in the whole nine yards and it just was so special how did that evolve into banana split and some of the best young artists came to perform there.

1:22:51Exactly. So like we had the Dimock Tuesdays going on and that was purely like, you know, I mean, we had like Kate Cuddy there with like boys noise and like the Ed Banger crew and, and Daft Punk, you know, DJing without their mask, which was like an epic, epic night. And then when, so we're doing our thing every Tuesday. Consistency is key with, with stuff like this. Consistency is key with all life. You know, any business you do, if you're consistent and you're being, you're providing great service to people that care, you're going to be successful in that world. So we're doing that. We've been doing that since for, I mean, we did that with a party for almost 10 years.

1:23:35Am and I were like, we should do another party on Sundays at his club at LAX in Las Palmas. It's like, we're going to do something similar but different. We're going to still bring in the same DJs, and they would end up playing on Sunday and Tuesday. So when Lady Gaga's first tour came through, she played at Banana Split and at Denmark Tuesdays. You know, and it was so cool. But with AM, he brings in a whole different, you know, list of people. He is the celebrity guy. He brings in the pop world. Like Paris Hilton was always going there, Lindsay Lohan. Like the L.A. socialite circle of what that was at that time, they were all going to Banana Split.

1:24:21So he brings in like pop culture, bringing more of the underground, and that combination made it like this one plus one equals four. In what way did he kind of grow to serve as a mentor and life coach? Yeah, I mean, the thing is, is like outside of just being an incredible DJ, he was just an incredible human being, period. And he was a big AA advocate. And with that philosophy comes just this nurturing attitude towards others. And that's what he was. He was always available for the people that he cared about. So I can call him at four in the morning, he'd pick up the phone and be like, hey, everything's all good.

1:25:05and having a friend that actually did that was very rare. I didn't know anyone else that would actually do that. And then you find out this person that's doing that is literally the biggest DJ on the planet. And he's now your best friend, your close friend. How do you think it helped you? Well, for sure it grounded me, you know, like seeing that. And it just, obviously, it made me, like, when someone's there for you all the time, you know, you pay it forward. You know, you learn and you share. Just like what I was saying before. You have to always learn the things that move you, that change you.

1:25:50And what do you do after you learn? You want to share. What about his death do you think caused you to cut back on the drinking? Yeah, so after he passed away in 2009, I just made kind of a self-awareness check on my lifestyle. And my lifestyle wasn't consisting of drug usage. I never got into drugs. But I was drinking every show to get that liquid courage to just put on a great show. And it's fine when you do it here and there. But when you're doing every show, and then you go back and you count how many times you drink through the year, you're like, pretty much, you're just drinking all year.

1:26:32And it's so normal, you don't realize it until you stop and look back. And two to three drinks started becoming three to four. Yeah, and I was just like, and my show was a full-on physical show. I'm going ham. If you see a Steve Aoki show, it's like I am not just standing in the DJ booth. Back then I was like crowd surfing and I was in the crowd. I was jumping on things. And, you know, like I was just very, I was bringing the punk element of what I used to do, you know, when I was in bands. And I brought it to the DJ set. And it's a show. People loved it. But when AM died, not related to drinking, I just was like, I need to stop and think about my life, my future.

1:27:17And I can't do what I was doing. This is a full stop now. So at that moment, moving forward, I just didn't drink. And now I've brought it back because, you know, I like to enjoy the time with my friends. I don't go overboard. Like, you know, I've found that balance in my life. Before when I was DJing, when I was drinking and DJing, I would never drink alone. I never got to that point. But I would drink purposefully. I would drink to, like, party because I was playing and I needed to perform. I needed to get this energy out there and be, like, live. and that purpose is gone now I didn't need to drink to perform.

1:27:57I can't imagine you know getting drunk and performing now you know it's been like since 2009 you know that's the last time that I actually drank before I before a show. And a number of people in your family are allergic to alcohol right? Myself included Oh really? Yeah Japanese people Asians in general are allergic like if I have a shot I am red as a what's a fruit that's red? Strawberry, I don't know I'm red as a strawberry You didn't even have a first drink until after college Yeah, I was a straight edge until after I graduated college and then when I moved to LA I was at the bars at the clubs and that was the life I was in So I started drinking, and I was like, okay, this is fun.

1:28:53And then in 2009 I stopped, and then I just don't drink before. I haven't drank before a show since 2009, so it's been like 11 years. So your dad, and first your grandfather, he was a choreographer, dancer, Tokyo Stage Productions, he owned a jazz club. Then your dad was a wrestler in the Japan, I think, 1960 Olympic team before obviously creating the successful Benihana restaurant chain. You said he was kind of like the Richard Branson of his time. How so? He just did everything. He's like, he was of the motto, there's a will, there's a way. With Benihana as his platform, he was able to host these offshore boat races, but then race in them.

1:29:50He was able to get into a hot air balloon and break a world record going from Japan to the United States. He did so many things where he broke the traditional rule of how to do them by just doing it. You know, of course, he had experts around him to make sure that he could get it done. but I love that idea and I always looked up to him in that way that like he might not be the expert of that field but he will put his life to the test just to do it and I think I definitely have been inspired by him to also push myself outside of my own comfort zones to experience life at that level not nearly at where he was at.

1:30:39But, you know, in fun things I do, like cliff jumping and whatnot, that are like, it's definitely a little bit outside the comfort zone. But I want to experience that high, you know. Three comments you made about him that I thought were interesting were that he was all about the thrill. His whole life was like a string of impulse moves. And he was most at home when he was out of place. Explain that. Yeah, I mean, that's exactly, he's a thrill seeker, adventure seeker, adrenaline seeker. And when he's sitting still, it's like something's off. You want to experience him? You got to move with him.

1:31:21Like he's moving and I'm like, dad, hold on, hold on. He's like, I'm going. He's like, you better jump on. And I'm on. I'm like, okay, I made it. All all right, cool. We just go, you know? And then like, I'm like, I got to go home now. See you later. He's like, all right, see you later. And you come back around. You're like, he's like, I'm coming. Like, hold on, dad. All right, all right. All right, sweet. All right, this is, you know. So what he gave me was a life of experiences through his crazy world. Like I was blessed and spoiled by those experiences. How was he the most determined person you ever knew?

1:31:57He put his work at the top priority of the list. I couldn't believe in the doc there's a video clip of him saying his priorities were business, health, and family. Yeah, and he's not kidding. He was blunt in almost a very funny way. It's like he's cracking a joke about it because he knows how savage it is to say that. In the moments that we were together, when we had special quality time together, he was there. And that was important to me. And I won't forget those moments. In one of the more unusual stories, the boat racing accident and how you found out about your other siblings. I was so young, I don't even remember it.

1:32:36It's more from what you've been told. Yeah, what I've been told. In retrospect, it's crazy. I'm sure in the moment, I feel bad for both of the women. you know um the way my dad tells it he wakes up in his uh after an awful accident really like you know where he actually did die and they had to resuscitate him he wakes back up and he sees you know my mom his wife and then his mistress you know who eventually becomes his second wife and like i love all families we all became really close and that's one thing that my dad did with his family says he put his all his kids together and we're like you guys be friends you guys are brothers and sisters but yeah that the moment he wakes up and he sees both the women in his life and he just you know he says a story like to to people all the time like it's like i just want to die because i just want to die you know it's like funny now but wow lung cancer diabetes hep c cirrhosis of the liver, pneumonia.

1:33:42You made the comment that you never got so close to him as you did when he was passing away. Why do you think that was? Well, just like I was saying before, he was always moving. Yeah. At that time, he wasn't moving. You know, he was still. And there was a lot more of a heartfelt exchange there.

1:34:10and he really got to see how much he cared about his kids then. He was always concerned about Kyle and he was always concerned about Echo and all his kids. He was always making sure, like, is everyone doing all right? And at that time, I finally crossed the threshold

1:34:35where he got to see a glimpse of my success of what it means to him where I think the most important thing is that I'm stable. I think every parent, that's all they care about. As long as my kids are stable and they're going to have a sustainable longevity, I'm okay. Finally, he's accepted. I'm all in on music. Like, and I, this DJing thing actually panned out, Dad. It actually did. I actually was making money. You wouldn't believe it. And he's like, okay, I don't have to worry about you. There's like really special bonds of that, that I got to experience. How cool was telling him you were playing in Coachella in 2007?

1:35:17Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's not even just about that. It's just about, he doesn't know what Coachella is. You know, he doesn't, he didn't know. He didn't, to him, it's like, I just want to know you're like you're really legitimately going to be okay with like it's not going to be like the carpet's going to pull out from under you and you're basically living in little bars playing until you're old you know and it has like that's what you do playing little bars you know because he had wanted you to go to business school and become an executive in Benihana and you understandably wanted to he was more understanding that like I don't necessarily have to follow in that footstep.

1:36:01He's not a nepotistic father where it's like, okay, I'm going to swing you in here and you're just going to get like fast-tracked through. He never financially supported us for one. Well, he did pay for half my education, so I have to give him that. He supported my mom when they split and supported his, you know, but like he wasn't like, you know, birthdays, here's a check. I mean, actually, I never get many birthday presents. But that's not the point. The point is that he was more like, you need to learn on your own so when you fall, you can learn how to pick yourself up. Because if I pick you up, if I throw you the lifeline rope when you're in debt, which I was, when you're in a hole, you're never going to learn.

1:36:45And you're going to get in debt again. If I pay for the debt, which I can, you will figure out how to make another debt. and it's just an endless loop of not learning. You have to figure this out. You have to think outside the box. I never even asked him for help on the debt. I knew he would say no. That's his style. He would never pay. Just because he's rich doesn't mean that he's going to pay. That's the Japanese work ethic. That's a Japanese traditional father. There's no lifeline. maybe to the point like if I go to jail for something like I have to go it's not gonna bail me out he's he's a very like hard edged tough love father I'm grateful for that that's the only way you learn is you pick yourself up there was a moment um but I think you guys were in the the hospital room you really hadn't been alone with them before what about that time made it so powerful to you?

1:37:51It was just the quietness. It was a bit awkward a little bit in the beginning, and then, like, my heart just opened up, and I was holding him and crying, and I never cried like that. I never cried around my dad. That moment, I just, all of it came out, and, you know, he was just telling me he's going to make it through.

1:38:22And I really believed him because he was just a survivor. He survived everything. But I'm so glad I had that moment with him. I was really... I'm glad I got to be able to share that. Looking back now on it, it means even more. Yeah.

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1:40:00Oh, he, my sister. Okay, so my sister, Devin. she was really successful when she was like 14, 15, 16, like when she was really young she was crushing in modeling and she started, then she became an actress by like when she was super young and my dad would just pick her up and just, you know, and she was a baby of the family so So it was just great to see that. It wasn't jealous. It was more like beautiful to see that moment. He loved to see that and loved to cherish it and pick up those moments. And I was so happy for Devin to have that kind of bond because she had such a great bond with him. And, yeah, I miss those moments that could have been like that.

1:40:53you know, it could have had like some really special moments there. And it's just, you know, I'm not going to cry again. So we're just going to keep it going. If not for him, do you think you would have had your same level of determination? All that stuff is unconscious. It's subconsciously part of me. I can't deny that. All of his kids, all of us, we all have some of him in us. And you can't take that away. I want to, as we wrap, I want to ask you a little bit about money and then close talking to you about your mom. But first, on the money front, because you cramping up. Yeah. First on the money front, because you brought up the period of your life where you were really in debt.

1:41:51How did you end up getting out of it? Slow and steady cash grabs from DJ sets at bars and clubs. My total cost of living,$450 for rent. My girlfriend was paying for the other$450. It was$900 a month. My phone bill is, let's just say$150. okay like my little small phone so that's 450 plus 150 that's 600 my car insurance is let's just say it's 150 so that's six seven fifty right and my food expenses for the month i don't know maybe like let's just give it 500 bucks that's 1200 dollars 1200 dollars is my like raw cost of the of my month. If I make$200 to$400 a show, I'm playing, I'm trying to play like four times a week.

1:42:44So let's average it at$300 times four. $1 ,200 in one week. I just pay my raw cost in one week. As long as I manage my food, everything else is constant. So as long as I keep my food cost down, the next three weeks, I'm making$3 ,600. $3 ,600. Where am I putting that money? I'm paying off my bills. How did you avoid letting it whack you out, though? I'm a cheap guy. I'm like a goldfish. I'm in a little goldfish pond, so this is all I can do. I'm not going to go and buy something I can't afford. I have to pay this s*** off. Wait, that's what Dan Bilzerian told me even with you today. Like, you were super frugal.

1:43:29I'm the cheapest. I don't want to say rich guy, but I'm a cheap guy. If I don't need it, I don't want to spend on it. Unless it's an experience that I love. That's why I spend so much on my house. Because I experience this all the time. I'd rather buy a foam pit in my house than a Bugatti. Well, maybe that's too expensive. Maybe like a low-end Ferrari. You know? because I love the fucking foam pit. I'll experience that more. I do have a Lamborghini, but that's because I've made enough where I can afford that. But in any case, at that time, I'm the goldfish. And if I do it correctly, this is where my business has started kicking in.

1:44:12If I do it correctly, I'll be able to pay everything off. And then Dimock money starts coming in and that'll help pay that off. But I stopped. once I found out I was maxing everything out I was able to pay it all off Dimock started making more money I started hiring employees that became a self-sustaining business eventually over time and then I made enough money where I paid off my stuff I had$20 ,000 of cash I bought my first car on my own I think you're 28 years old I finally paid off all my stuff I'm in debt all the way until I'm 28. I have$20 ,000 of like dirty$10,$20 bills, $5 bills crinkled up in a bag.

1:45:00I dump it all on the table and I buy a Prius. I had$18 ,000. The Prius is$20 ,000. Guys, it's$18 ,545. You're going to take it? We spent like an hour counting this out on the table. They're like, this has never happened before. We don't know what to do with this. I'm like, either take it or leave it. That's all the money I got. You can have all the cash I made. I'm a DJ. They finally talked it over. They're like, fine, take the Prius. And I got the Prius, you know,$1 ,500 off and drove off with my first car that I bought because I had issues with rodeo. My mom bought an auction for$7 ,000 and I drove to the ground.

1:45:42My mom has been my support structure. Like, financially, she's the one that, like, supported me. So I have to give that to my mom. We have a moment in the show. The most creative way, before you found success, the most creative way you were able to save money to get something special for yourself or somebody else would be what? The most creative way? Yeah. Buy my mom a home so she can be right here. That's the most important thing. I mean, it's selfish for me. But that way she has a nice home that she can build. My mom and my sister live there. yeah we're gonna build a bigger home for them now I want to I want to give her like the dream home before you found success how did you find smart ways to save money for yourself to make it financially I didn't have any money to save before you know I just like I had to worry about real real issues problem is when you're a DJ and you have all this cash it's easy to spend it because is cash.

1:46:45That's why personally I don't like having cash around me. I'd rather have it in the bank. I don't want it around because it's so easy to spend and so easy to lose. So that's one of the best advices. Don't carry cash. Smartest financial move and worst financial mistake? Smartest financial move. The way I invest my money, I have like it's supposed to be like a triangle and your safety is right here. You know, the bulk of your money should be in the things growing at like what, like five to seven percent. Safe money. And private equity is up here. And like alternatives is up here. This is the way it should be structured.

1:47:29Do that.

1:47:33I kind of do this now. It's not smart, but it's more fun. Why do you do it? I have money where I can invest in things that I really believe in. A lot of those things are tech startups. A lot of those things are things that are very speculative. I love being speculative in ways where there's higher growth potential, but it's higher risk. You go to the casino, you win big. You only talk about your big win. How about all the times you lost? Be real with it. At least one thing I can say as advice, be real with yourself. If you're afraid to tell people how many times you lost, Don't tell, but at least know how many times you lost.

1:48:14Yeah. Because I've lost on so much of this coin. You know, I went in. I went on Doge. I went on some of this stuff late. I got to GameStop one week before it went to the moon. I mean, I crushed on that one, but then I got on Doge late. So it balances itself out in the end, you know? And I invested in Shiba and these other coins, and like, I don't know what's going on with that, you know? What's your worst one? The worst investment? Yeah. I invested in this one tech startup that was literally, I got interviewed for because it was the biggest Kickstarter tech startup of the year. It blew everyone away.

1:48:57So I'm like, I got in early, guys. And everyone's like, Steve, tell us what happened. How did you get in early? Tell us about this company that's about to blow up. It's the biggest Kickstarter. I was doing interviews with tech companies or tech magazines. I'm like this thing's like literally impenetrable. It's just gonna blow up. And they just like, they got all the money in, and they tried to develop it in time, and for whatever reason they, it's like they spent all the money, and they couldn't get it out to market, and it just fell off, and it just, I lost all the money there. But that happens, you know, I'm not faulting them.

1:49:33Strangely enough, F &B, they say that 9 out of 10 restaurants close, so it's the most difficult business. Food and beverage and clubs are very, it's just tough, tough to make money in those. One diner I invested in, LA, never received, I invested 100 grand, I received 80 bucks. Or 800 maybe, I think it was 800 bucks. So what I say is always invest in the people, not the company. So I was investing in another guy that opened up a few restaurants. Nick Mathers from Australia. And the first restaurant we did was a restaurant called Evoli. It's on Sunset Plaza. And then that did really well. Then we opened up a New York restaurant called Dudley's on Brimble and Orchard.

1:50:22And it's still crushing. Then we opened up a small restaurant called Cassie. And then we opened up, before COVID, Elefante in Santa Monica. And they're all, like, It's been my greatest ROI. It's just incredible how well he operates. He puts so much attention to detail in the ambience, the environment, the food. And whatever he does, I'm in. I'm just in. I'm in with him. Nick Mathers, he's got an idea. I'm in. I want to end talking about your mom, who's kind of the unsung hero in all of this. How would you best explain the role that she's played in your life? She's my rock. She's my heart. She's my support structure.

1:51:09She's been there day in, day out since I was born. She's my biggest fan. She's just there. She's always there. She's my sun. She's my moon. And I'm just so lucky to have her in my life. I was going to say, what does she mean to you? You ask these questions and I don't want to cry, man. I'm just like, I love her. I'm just going to, I don't want to get emotional like this. I don't like it. I just, I love her. She's everything to me. It works. Yeah, okay. I wasn't trying to make you emotional. I know, I know, but like, get there, you know, I don't like it. Thanks for doing this. Yeah, no problem, man.

1:51:55That's it for my chat with Steve Aoki. to check out a tour of his elaborate and interestingly designed home and a look at his rare sports and Pokemon card collection. Go to youtube.com slash Graham Bensinger. And of course, while we were there, I participated in Aoki Staple getting caked and jumping off his roof into his pool, which I might add he bailed on shortly beforehand because he was a little under the weather. And I might also add I was quite concerned after I jumped that I might have overshot the pool. If you care to watch for yourself, youtube.com slash Graham Bensinger. If you get a chance, give us a rating and review.

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