Why Adversity is the Foundation of Success

29:49I didn't see that. Yeah, so I think, I could be wrong, I just crossed my radar the other day because of the, they were saying it was the last year of that, right? Bottom four teams with the worst records, they dropped down in the odds for the number one pick. Right, so now all of a sudden tanking is a whole different thing. If you're in the bottom four, you're guaranteed to get a top three pick. That's how I normally be. And it expands to 16 teams too. But see, that's what tanking coming in. People tanking. Now you can't do neither one of them. That's right. If you have a suck season, your ass just going to be able to suck next year.

30:22If the best odds are being the fifth worst team, you can't control it the same way. Yeah. I think they're doing a lot of stuff. Listen, my number one thing that I would love to see the NBA do, number one. If I had Adam's job tomorrow and I could, there's so much that goes into it. This was actually the next question. Really? Yeah, I swear. so literally literally the number one thing I think the NBA should do is start the season on Christmas Day let me tell you why if they start on Christmas Day then we're all hyped you know they own it that's opening day but then it goes into August and they would fucking own it they wouldn't have they would be they'd be away from the NFL you think we're locked into the NBA playoffs now could you imagine it's all of August when everyone's chilling yeah we ain't nothing to watch are you those ratings insane man i would just move it a little bit that shit would fucking cook right could you imagine august we would be chill it would fucking crush so just the just that extra 12 weeks or whatever eight weeks it would be from mid-october i think that shit would cook that would be the move would you still go 82 yeah i mean listen you know this is when you love it so much as a fan you want it you want to watch those games like the load balancing all that stuff i'm empathetic to like why people do it how they think about it i'm okay if they went to i don't want to see them go below 65 and this is just completely no rationale just gut answer to you um i'm thrilled with 82 like when you love something like i love when huck purdy is in there as much as like like i'll i love it i love watching my team i love watching mo and the rest of the guys develop and think about who they might be in three years so when you're a nerd and you fuck with it that heavy you like every part of it right it's like beauty right like when you when you think something's beautiful you love the blemishes as much as you love the things everyone else likes as a diehard i want i want a hundred you know like i just want to watch it but i but i also don't get all bent out of shape when somebody's trying to strategize to i'm all about win a ring over everything right of course i'm upset that's the goal listen i'm a i'm a very empathetic human being it breaks my heart with the thought of family saved up for fucking four months because they don't have financial status like that just to let their little son or daughter go see steph curry and curry's sitting that night that hurts i understand the emotion of that but as a knicks fan i want brunson and cat and everyone to sit as much as possible if that's what they think's appropriate because i want to fucking ring period and a story the future of linear television where are we at with that i mean i mean i know i've been on i've got plenty of receipts on this for the last 20 years we're on the last fucking breath where linear television is on some fucking And I fuck with the retirement home because I think wisdom is underrated.

33:31But like linear TV, it barely exists. Right. And by the way though, I don't get romantic about the distribution channel. Like YouTube and social and streaming. Like Netflix does not feel different to me than ABC. Like it's not like we're still in the 80s where you got to go up to the TV and move the dial. Don't know. Like, you know, like, like it's all the same shit. I mean, linear TV is, you know, I don't know for people that don't know. The reason I talk so much about linear TV is I've owned a very large advertising agency for the last 15 years. And all of my clients waste all of their money when they run television commercials outside of the Super Bowl, which is underpriced at eight to 10 million a pop.

34:16Because we all. Yes. Underpriced. Because I'll tell you why, Jack. Because I can't spend$8 million and I know how to spend marketing money on Facebook or TikTok or podcasts. I can't spend$8 million to get 180 million Americans to watch a 30 second video no matter when I'm at my AAA game. And so that means the Super Bowl is the best buy because you can get 180 million Americans. And we lock in. We watch it on YouTube the week before. We watch it on the morning shows the day after. We watch it. The important right now in this space of content to be winning in the social and the digital space. One of them right moves?

34:58Yeah. Volume. And this fucks with people. Matty, people get so mad at me when I talk about quantity. Because people want this dream of quality. They think that if you make a lot of content, it can't be good. They think there's a conflict between quality and quantity. this podcast that we're doing right now if i was running shit behind the camera we would have at least 40 to 80 clips from it it would be posted on 9 to 10 social networks we would transcribe the audio into written form and we would have a full sub stack and beehive about it and it would be posted on 40 other handles that are not your main handle that are alt handles because we now live in interest media not social media and a clip with us on a net new tiktok account that has no followers could get 2 million views and could lead to more subscribers which leads to more ad revenue which leads to a fucking business thanks for that you're welcome appreciate that i know why i'm here i know exactly why i'm here you've always been the head of the curve let's take a look at this clip from 2008.

36:11Oh man, this is crazy. You want to see something cool? Let's zoom in over here. We have 125 people watching me on YouTube. How many of you read the newspaper every day? Go. No, no, no, no, no. Hell no, no, no, no. Yes, yes, no, no. Gucci would be far better off going to every watch blog and buying ads there. Because not only are the prices and the ROI, CPM, CMOs, CTC, whatever, the value they get on the back end is so much higher. And here's a better one. They can track it. You don't have to guess what this meant. I don't see companies going away from online marketing. And when they start embracing social media marketing, it's really going to explode.

36:48And listen, that's a decade from now, but... In your bag. In my bag, man. That edge up. I just knew. You know when you know? Man, yeah. Back to when I talk about athletes. Do you know when you knew, you're like, fuck, I'm good at this. Whether it was 8 or 11 or you bloomed late. Like, I don't know how your guys journey, but at that point, that kid right there, I was like, I just know business and marketing better than people. You had, you had, you had like a serious energy about yourself right there. The confidence. Yeah. Like, yeah. Because what's crazy about that, and it's what I'm going to do now, I stay in my fucking lane.

37:27Yeah. When I talked about that, I wasn't talking about it in theory. I was doing online and social marketing to help build my daddy's business. I only speak, I'm not trying to guess out here. I ain't trying to let you fuckers clip something where I'm crazy wrong. Right. You know, this is why I'm so grateful that I'm not a talker. In an alternate life, if I didn't have entrepreneurial DNA, I would have been a very substantially popular sportscaster. But my timing would have been fucked. Because when I was growing up, you weren't pontificating your random opinions trying to fucking get clipped. Pontificating, write that down.

38:04You know what I mean? you were you were right you were facts oriented you might bleed a little bit into something but it was grounded in knowledge which is why i always listen to fuckers like you because you played it but now like you're forced to like just say random dumb shit you think like how do you think fucking people feel when their clip is showing that they said that iguador should be taking the last shot not steph yeah how do you think people feel when they're saying you know all the crazy clips we see of like worst takes ever. Clickbait. You know what I mean? And I'm empathetic to everyone on ESPN and other places.

38:40The culture's forcing you to do it. Yeah. What's your options? You either say some random shit that you probably kind of believe or you're guessing or you're not on. This is why this medium is the best. You don't have to worry about that dumb shit. Yeah. And all of a sudden, for me, I'm not trying to talk about live. I've been watching live shopping. There's another clip. I thought that's where you guys might go. Where I was talking about live shopping 15 years ago, I've been waiting every day. I've been watching China for a decade. I'm like, this shit's coming to the US. This shit's coming to the US.

39:12And then finally, two years ago, whatnot, TikTok shop. And then I got loud. I'm not trying to guess. Even Wemby, did you notice how much I hedged about injury? Like, it's hard. And so, but I'd rather speak from a place of knowledge. The reason you saw that confidence is, I wasn't guessing. I was living the benefits of it, and I could see it was growing. You knew your shit. Say no more pontificating today, okay? You know what that means? No, but I'm assuming he's doing it. I know he's doing it. Whatever it is, I know he's doing it. Whatever it means, you're guilty of it. It's just shooting from your ass for no reason.

39:54Oh, that's definitely him.

40:00Let's get to the big three. I'm happy you're involved in the league. You invested in the big three. Tell me how that happened. And when you're 50. Triplets. When you're 50. Joe Johnson. Yes, sir. When you're 50 years old and you grew up in Edison, New Jersey, and you went to Martin Luther King Elementary School, and Ice Cube calls, you say yes. That's actually how that happened. You know, it was a good time in my life. you know Cube had good people around him as well that had a vision I'm very bullish on alternative sports I made a real bag in pickleball I was really right about that I wrote my brother and I wrote one of the first checks into Unrivaled the female version which is different because you know it's real players like that but you know Cube and them had a CBS deal so you know people see it I knew at that point social media clipping was about to explode so I'm like okay this could get more exposure I'm actually very there's actually I get to talk on this you got your championship too yes sir thank you but here's a fun one I'm gonna pitch you guys something right now this is really fun for me one of the other reasons I invested in Big 3 was because for years still as I sit here I'm about to pitch it to the world I have this thesis that if Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played one-on-one on pay-per-view and there was a gambling overlay like there is now on everything and they did a 24-7, like they did with boxing back in the day, where we watched Bird and Magic for eight weeks get into the best shape they can, that the ratings on that game would blow you away because I do not believe the world understands the value of nostalgia.

41:46I know everyone in this room would be popcorned up and watch the fuck out of that one-on-one. And so, you know, Joe and many others, like, nostalgia still matters. And good ball comes in different shapes and sizes. You know, back to me just being in Springfield, we toured the Hall of Fame before his game. There was a girls game. They were probably 13. We got captivated in that game. Me and him watched the full end because it was a tight game. And it was just like, that's what's beautiful about it, right? It's like fighting. We all love the best UFC and the best boxing match, but we loved watching Kimbo Slice fuck people up in backyard fighting too.

42:31So, you know, I think that there's a lot of room for not the best in the world at that moment. There's a little more room back to television. There wasn't enough channels back in the day. If you weren't on TV, you weren't known. But now, and so eSports, Pickleball, Slam Ball I'm involved in, Big Three. Hold on, what about Wiffle Ball? I invested in that as well. I found those pages. Those are so dope. They take me back to my childhood, but they got the feels and they're throwing that ball so fast now. No way I can hit that shit. No way. So let me go to Pickleball and then I'll explain. It's the same answer for Wiffle Ball.

43:14And I'm glad I said it earlier. Do you know why I think pickleball is working a little bit? It's got a long way to go. But it's because of Annalie Waters. We rep at VaynerSports and she plays for my team, the Fives, the New Jersey Fives. A 19-year-old girl who is the best player in the world. And she has the potential because of her personality. And she's the best. And unlike other sports, basketball and tennis, the best girls player in the world is the best player in the world. she's the best player in the world like when they go one-on-one with males because pickleball is crazy that's why your grandma can beat you it's like a sport that's designed to like level the athleticism playing field i felt like i could make her famous now she's on fallon now she's on mcafee like maha like we're all working together to build her up ryan harwood deserves the most flowers wiffle ball is gonna work if we can find our wilt our muhammad ali are Joe Namath.

44:17Let me just be a Jets fan for a minute. Joe Namath becoming actually famous, as famous as the Beatles, is one of the most impactful things that happened to the NFL. Boys, ladies, Super Bowl I, 30 ,000 empty seats in the Orange Bowl. Back to David Stern, NBA Finals, 1982, tape delay. 1982, NBA Finals on tape delay. They played golf on CBS when the Sixers and Lakers played and aired it at night. You've got to create heroes. You've got to create stories. In Wiffle Ball, all I got to do is find one person that feels like Babe Ruth, that feels like Sandlot, that feels like a celebrity. And I changed Andre Agassi for tennis.

45:04You guys know? When I say it like this, it makes sense. You're like, damn, Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor. Do you know what they did? That's why Dana White, Vince McMahon did it in Make Pretend with Hogan. But Vince McMahon, Dana White, and David Stern are all very similar. They created stories around humans that got us fascinated, that made us tune in. Do you know what wrestling was before Vince McMahon? It was a fucking circus on the side that your weird uncle watched. There was no Hulkamania. There was no The Rock. So, same with the NBA. Bro, the 70s were rough. Boys were doing that white powder.

45:46Shit was crazy. Like, the league was in a tough spot. And then Magic and Bird played that NCAA game, and they took that weight, and then Jordan came along, and it was over. What's your role? You have any role with the team, like on a day-to-day basis? No, the way that deal structure was more of an event. Like, every other thing I'm involved in besides Big 3, I have a much bigger role. Your coach is Dr. J? Yes. Yep. which is like got Joe Johnson on the team and Lisa Leslie in the past she's the coach she's the one coaches to the championship y 'all beat us in the championship here in LA of everything you invested in what's your favorite success story?

46:23Micback Micback is a company that just sold Rachel Tipo big shout out to her I invested in company in three minutes only because of her I didn't even love the idea I loved it you'll laugh it was QVC for social media so it was live shopping a little bit but I didn't like the way she had it structured. But it's kind of like being a GM that drafts on talent, not at that moment. I just saw her. And let me tell you the number one thing about having a long career in the NBA and being an entrepreneur. Adaptability. Changing along the way, right? You guys know, you guys played along. Yeah, Vince Carter being a three-point shooter compared to the kid we saw day one, that's crazy.

47:03I'm still blown away by that. Like still to this minute, I'm shook. That man was fucking meek. He was dominicking it. If you told me 18 years later that motherfucker was gonna be in threes, I would have laughed you out of the room. Wow, what work ethic to be adaptable. Rachel pivoted Micmac multiple times. On its deathbed multiple times. I also wrote a check when I didn't have money like that to keep it alive so it's personal. To see her have such a significant, meaningful eight figure exit, maybe nine figure exit, like a real exit. Feels very fulfilling. Obviously, Facebook was crazy. Like picking that in 2007 was crazy.

47:44Twitter, Tumblr, Liquid Death. I wrote the first check into Liquid Death. He was my employee. That one actually is in my petheon because I actually didn't know if he could do it. I wrote that check only because I'm a good person. Straight up. He literally resigned from my company, VaynerMedia. It was like, I got this idea, Mike. And he's like, I got this idea. I'm gonna start this water brand. He's like, would you like to invest? I'm like, yep. He was a creative director. And I'm kind of like, I'm a stereotypical businessman who's like, oh, that's like the creative art person. They can't build a business.

48:20They just got ideas. So I didn't know him like that. I wrote that check only because I wanted to be supportive because I didn't want to be a hypocrite. If I believe in the entrepreneurial dream, I can't be holding down my employees. I need to build them up. So I'm gonna make real paper out of my biggest thesis, which is nice guys finish first, but the world's got you all twisted thinking they come last. What's the most important thing a company needs to possess to succeed? Resilience. Resilience. Yeah, man. Because there's going to be ups and downs. Yeah, man. This is where I get mad at people weaponizing lucky.

48:56I'm sure you guys heard this. To become a professional athlete, you know this, a lot of guys came up with you that were better than you. A lot of luck. A high percentage of them was better than that. That's right. A lot of luck. But what they don't understand is there's multiple other parts. There's this. There's this. And then there's work. The best athletes in jail. Yeah. Right now. I'm just keeping it funky. Yeah. That's just true, dog. And many. And then, you know, we're in a better world now where the kids from the streets are smarter because they got more information. But they may not be in jail.

49:27They just might be a fucking, you know, agent. Pay case. They might be a, or good. They're just selling insurance. There doesn't need to be drama like that. but they didn't put in the work like you guys did. There's adaptability, there's serendipity but when people weaponize luck, they're on some loser shit. That's their excuse. And so same with companies, man. None of them, not Facebook, not fucking Amazon, not Oprah. There's nobody who made it without resilience. This thought that someone had it easy, even when they shit on rich kids. you guys know this like we grew up in a way that's different than the benefits of our children but like i don't know how you guys are but like that's not always an advantage right starting behind is not advantage you know like like adversity is foundational to success like grit matters like when you're like going through all the circuits and you know you know You got a personal chef instead of eating McDonald's.

50:31White Castle. It's different. Plus, those kids have, I mean, that's why, bro, my flowers for Bronny are off the charts. I couldn't even imagine being LeBron James' fucking kid. Right. I know people won't get this, and I might get some shit for this. I think that's the most adverse shit. And of course, someone's in the comments like, yo, fuck you. I'd love to have, you know, that house. And like, I get it. I'm talking just about like, do you understand the emotional fucking damage you get? Like, you're just dealing with it. Always in the shoes. Everywhere you go, you're in your daddy's footsteps.

51:12Everything, everywhere, just everywhere you go. I mean, you have to be very emotionally strong. Like, big shout out to the parenting that goes on in that house. Has to be. I think one of the biggest things you said, like something I learned, I think it's one of the biggest things I learned in my lifetime. to make love to the good and bad times the same way because you had real adversity yeah you know at the time when that shit all went down in the palace like i don't even know where you were young as fuck man i can't imagine what the fuck was going through your head but now these little gray beard yeah you now know that's some of the best shit that ever happened yeah it's just the truth yeah like you don't know it at the time yeah you know when you're waking up that morning watching espn and like your boys are going like this shit is so fucked up and like you didn't know what the fuck was going to happen to your life you're a child when that went down yeah today you know first you know what the best part of having some real shit happen is you learn real quick who the fuck your friends are yeah yeah like one of the great things of going through some real shit is that shit exposes quick everybody right and both of you've been through some public shit you learn real fucking quick and two in hindsight now when we get to chop it up like this you're Like, that made me stronger.

52:24That made me learn how to tune out this. You go through some real, real shit where people say some things that really hurt you in your soul, especially when someone that you thought was your fucking boy, you start to learn how to calibrate words. Yeah. You know what I mean? That's the biggest vulnerability to everybody. Most people don't know how to calibrate words. Break that down for us, because I know people are like, what do you mean by calibrate? Most people are bitches. Yeah. Like, most people try to act tough, and then somebody says something, and they break down and want to fight. And that's fine.

52:54I like fighting. I grew up in that era. I believe in it a little bit. In fact, actually, I'm a little bit pro. Our kids need to fight a little bit more. I think the reason everyone's such a fuck face is people can say shit without getting punched in the face, especially on keyboards. So I'm pro fighting on the record. Meanwhile, meanwhile, meanwhile, if I call you, if I call, you know, like I think about this for a lot of tough guys I grew up with. I was like, man, this person thinks he's tough. I can say one thing right now and this kid will completely lose his shit over it like not having the emotional strength to be able to deal with judgment hot takes two sets people trying to tear you down that's real strength that's real man fucking hood you know and i listen i do think there's a time to like go there yeah but not on an insult like watch it bro real talk all these tough guys are on social media right now fighting like 13 year old girls like like girls like children like i don't know if anybody i promise you if we took this way back 40 years ago and people watched how people are fighting and i'm talking like i love steven a because i'm a knicks fan right like when steven a is fighting with whomever or even you got like fighting like on some real girl drama shit if it wasn't social media and they and they wouldn't get they couldn't get attention from a lot of people wouldn't be saying this stuff but let me say this social media is exposing yeah you know when we grew up this shit was just happening at dinner tables people crying about dumb shit people always crying about dumb shit we're just now being exposed by it yeah i don't think people are emotionally strong i don't think people understand that people's words are only a reflection of them you know why i like giving flowers because i'm good and i want people to literally i'm saying all this shit i can i can feel it in my body right now i'm like i hope they see it feels nice feels i'm sure i mean you guys when you get flowers you get plenty of flowers feels nice you're like that was nice right i'm glad they like you know it feels nice like wallow say you i've never heard nobody doing work doing better than me talking about me never it's so rare it's so rare it's just the way it is and like listen i get listen i spend my life thinking about insecurity versus real confidence, frameworks, mindset, perspective.

55:12Honestly, when people shit on me, I feel bad for them. Like real talk. I couldn't imagine spending two minutes going around the internet, looking at something, and then wasting my time trying to hurt someone. I do not, that's - That's the greatest shit ever, though. When you break it down like that, right? Like it's a really sad thing. Like it's like - Wake up thinking about it. You know, like really? You like took your time instead of building some shit for yourself. to go and try to tear someone else down. I don't hate them. I ain't mad at them. I fucking feel bad. Yeah, because it says life kicking you in the ass right now.

55:48Yeah, you're just in a bad spot. Exactly. You're in a bad spot. If you're trying to spit poison, you got poison in you. Tough to spit it when it's not in you. You got to demean somebody to get ahead. You ain't going nowhere. Nah, man. You ain't going nowhere. One of my favorite sayings, two ways to build the building in town. One, tear down everyone else's building and your little building looks good. Two, just be fucking talented enough to build the biggest building. Quick hitters, first thing that come to mind, let us know, five dinner guests, you plus five, dead or alive. Macho Man Randy Savage.

56:18Oh yeah. I snap it to that Slim Jim and I tell you this bit that I'm gonna go to the top of the jump rope and I'm gonna jump down. Macho Man is gonna do it, yeah. y 'all the reason macho man is who he is is literally everyone's got their version of i love the macho man he was the best my number one macho man they weren't just powder in the 70s i guess no they were they were both of my grandfathers i didn't get to know them i actually met my mom's dad i knew him until i immigrated from the soviet union to the u.s when i was three he died right when he was starting to immigrate over which was devastating but i don't remember him which is crushing because my mom tells me I have a lot of him in me.

57:00Jim Henson. Muppets. So check this out. This is, I'm in my Jim Henson era. I have something called V Friends. So I'm building the next Pokemon. I'm putting that on wax. I'm building the next Pokemon. It's called V Friends. 250 characters. Tenacious Termite. Patient Panda. Right? You know, respectful raccoon. Entrepreneur elf. Rare robot. Very, very, very, very lucky black cat is the logo because I'm trying to change perceptions. Why's a black cat got to be unlucky, by the way? Think about that one for a minute. Anyway. Everything black is bad. That's what we were talking about. Bro, you think, trust me, I was leading the witness.

57:38Everything white was right. It really fucks with me that black cats are unlucky. My whole life I felt that way. And so I made the logo. My Pikachu, my Mickey Mouse, my Kermit the Frog is the very, very, very, very lucky black cat. Anyway, I'm building this world. When I started it five years ago, I'm like, oh I'm Walt Disney, Vince McMahon, like that kind of stuff. But then when I was going through it I was like damn Jim Henn, because for VFriends for me is the most selfish and most selfless thing I'm doing. Selfish because I'm gonna build a billion dollar company, sell it and buy the Jets, win a Super Bowl.

58:10Selfless because I'm writing comics, kids books, putting out content, teaching resilience, resilient red devil. I'm doing a really big play for girl dads. If you're a girl dad out there please go check out V friends. Two of the 10 biggest characters in my world are Fearless Ferry and Ambitious Angel. And she's a nice little brown girl that's gonna build the biggest company in our world. And so I'm doing these stories to real self. I'm trying to help parents. I grew up in the 80s when we watched He-Man. Remember this? He-Man would, Adam would come on in the end and be like, and remember guys, be nice to your sister.

58:42I'd be like, oh, nice to my, like now we got all this fucked up content. And parenting's hard as shit. I'm like, I'm gonna build a world, do the Gary V thing. Cause listen, I know that a lot of people fuck with me, but I know a lot of people don't fuck with me. They don't like the cursing. They don't like the energy. They don't like that I'm a white dude. I don't know what, like I can't be the vessel for all eight billion people but these 250 characters can. So Jim Henson would be number four because I'd love to pick his brain. Do you know what Fraggle Rock, do you guys remember that? Jim Fraggle Rock.

59:08Do you know what Fraggle Rock's brief was? When they invented it, they create a framework. It's called a brief. Usually it's very long. You explain, you know what a brief is. Do you know what Fraggle Rock's brief was? Mm-mm. End war. Wow. Yeah, the homeboy that look like one of them characters. I used to call them them fraggles. But real talk, though, for a second, right? Real talk, like, end war. So for me, I would say number four is Jim Henson. I'll leave number five to think through, leaving on the side. You just said something, but a lot of people like me fuck with you because you don't give a fuck.

59:45I think that's why a lot of people relate to you, because you don't give a fuck. You're going to keep it raw and real at all times, And that's what the world is scared of. And from a good place. Yeah. You know, a lot of people keep it real, but they're real pieces of shit. Yeah. You know what I mean? And like a small group likes them because what they're doing is they're demonizing another group. And they're like, yeah, I like that guy because he's shitting on that. There's a ceiling on that, though. But I think with me, I am not scared, which is the only way to keep it real. Right. But I'm coming on some real love shit, bro.

1:00:16I can't comprehend why I wouldn't want every person that I'm looking at right now. To win. Why wouldn't I? And if they're better than me, listen, fuck it. It's why I fuck with sports. You guys did the greatest thing in the world. You did something that no one could fucking cheat. It was 114-109. You won or you lost. It's why I love business. It's the second closest thing. Either you build a business or you don't. Either this podcast gets ratings or it doesn't. You either get sponsorship or you don't. It's the next closest. You can fuck around a little bit with taxes and all the bullshit. Sports is just, and it's why I really love UFC and boxing.

1:00:56With sports, as you guys know, there's a lot of pieces to what y 'all did. Coaching, ownership. Hand to hand combat. When you go in the fucking cage and it's you and the other person, that shit is the realest shit of it all. Ain't no tagging. Oded Weinstock. You know what that is? I do. Because I beat him in a fight three out of four times. He got one. I'm still bitter about it. He kept coming back though. He got heart. Bro, we had a straight Ali-Frazier rivalry from second to seventh grade. And we had the apex. Just like the thrill in Manila, we had the apex. Marcos Hill, outside of John Adams Middle School.

1:01:31The buildup was crazy. Fucking 25. The buildup was super crazy. Here's why. I was 2-0. I beat him in second and fourth grade. Beat his ass. But then he got bigger. Remember I told you I was really good in second, third grade. But then he got bigger. He went up weight classes. And in sixth grade, I talked some shit. I talked some shit. I turned around. This motherfucker pushed me into the locker. I'm a skinny ass little fucker. And the fucking, you know the fucking. Lock? Thank you. That shit caught me in the ribs and didn't feel good. And then he got me in a sleeper. Teacher came in, broke us up.

1:01:59It was before homeroom. So I thought it was minor. By lunch, everybody in sixth grade was like, oh, dad, beat up Gary. And I'm telling you, besides when my sister started swimming three seconds before me, because I was scared that I was gonna die swimming and I jumped right in because I couldn't have her swim before me. There was no other time that I knew I had to do something more than I had. And I, out of like an 80s movie, got up in fucking lunchroom, walked over to Oded and said, me and you, Marcos Hill, after school. Like, scream. 3.30. And, you know, there was probably 17 to 29 people there.

1:02:35When I tell the story, there was 40 ,000 in attendance. And it's crazy. he was like a real fucking scrap in before homeroom was like yeah this was a real stand-up shit and he's winning early and he's on top of me like really on top of me and i'm like on some straight like just dodging shit not catching a real one to this day i'm 50 years old that was like the most apex moment of my life i knew that if i didn't figure something out quick it was whole life was over so i started doing the you know and i finally somehow somehow because fucking fucking god thank you somehow got him off and i fucking kicked this dude in his face and through like i was like a little like you know some people thought i actually hit him his fucking face exploded bleeding and he got up and thank god oded was a bitch and he cried and ran off.

1:03:35Stop panicking. I saw that blood. It's the best. I'm so glad I got to tell that story. They probably picked it up. Thank you so much for the platform. But the reason I tell that is like, that's just it. Oded can't run around and tell that story. That was it. I know you're trying to get me out here, but this Oded story is my life. I don't have this. This is it. Y 'all, nothing I will ever come. I'm going to buy the Jets and win a Super Bowl and it still was better to beat Oded on Marcos Hill in 1986. Three and one. Three and one. One guest you want to see on All the Smoke. Ooh, that's good. You haven't had Pat on.

1:04:10McAfee, we haven't. No, no, Ewing. Oh, Ewing. That's the only Pat. Ewing. I think Pat, with all the Knicks stuff going on right now, I think it's time. And he's a complicated dude. Yeah. There you go. He's interesting. It's funny you said that. He's interesting. He came up to me at the Knicks game. Did he? Yeah, said, what's up? He said, like what we doing. Listen to me, I'm Pat. I know, I get it. Don't worry. Respect. but I'm telling you on the Pat thing he's interesting he'll give you that Jamaican fucking parents upbringing Massachusetts a lot of racism Pat went through with Georgetown he went through it a different way was really tight against players union guy the Jordan relationship like Pat's interesting very educated by the way he might be very hard the reason I want to see it is I don't know if you can get him to open like that but if Pat ever opens I think we can Pat I think we can Pat you got it G appreciate you thank you thank you Thank you so much.

1:05:06Hey everybody, if you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this journey. See you later.