As the heart of St. Louis pulses with a complex beat, Jayvn Solomon (mastermind behind), Juwan Rice (business owner in Downtown St. Louis), and I (business owner and creator in the city) peel back the layers of the city's evolving narrative. We tackle the stark realities of urban decline, known as the "Doom Loop," and the impact it has on the community, set against the backdrop of the city's more vibrant past. Listen closely as we share candid insights into the dramatic sale of the AT&T Building and its implications, weaving through the conversation our personal experiences and the tug-of-war between staying in and leaving the city we call home.
The episode takes a turn as we probe the influence of tech behemoths like Block and Worldwide Technology, contemplating their civic roles and the untapped potential of the creator economy in St. Louis. Could this be the key to keeping our local talent grounded? Our banter serves as a soundtrack to a deeper narrative, one that spotlights the importance of investing in the arts and the struggle for recognition faced by local creators. I share my own leap from the corporate world into the creative sphere, highlighting the urgency for support and collaboration within our community.
Rounding out our discussion with a global perspective, we shed light on St. Louis's international allure, despite the internal challenges. We muse over the city's rich history, the need for family-friendly spaces, and how the right approach to dialogue can spark change. As we contemplate our own reasons for staying rooted in St. Louis, we affirm the significance of each voice in shaping the city's future. Tune in, and be part of an honest conversation that's as much about confronting our present as it is about crafting a vibrant future for St. Louis.
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Watch the visual version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@thisisntmydegree
Host: Original Dante
IG: www.instagram.com/originaldante
Guest: Jayvn Solomon
IG: https://www.instagram.com/jayvnsolomon/
Loutopia IG: https://www.instagram.com/stloutopia/
Guest: Juwan Rice
IG: https://www.instagram.com/chef_.jr/
As the heart of St. Louis pulses with a complex beat, Jayvn Solomon (mastermind behind), Juwan Rice (business owner in Downtown St. Louis), and I (business owner and creator in the city) peel back the layers of the city's evolving narrative. We tackle the stark realities of urban decline, known as the "Doom Loop," and the impact it has on the community, set against the backdrop of the city's more vibrant past. Listen closely as we share candid insights into the dramatic sale of the AT&T Building and its implications, weaving through the conversation our personal experiences and the tug-of-war between staying in and leaving the city we call home.
The episode takes a turn as we probe the influence of tech behemoths like Block and Worldwide Technology, contemplating their civic roles and the untapped potential of the creator economy in St. Louis. Could this be the key to keeping our local talent grounded? Our banter serves as a soundtrack to a deeper narrative, one that spotlights the importance of investing in the arts and the struggle for recognition faced by local creators. I share my own leap from the corporate world into the creative sphere, highlighting the urgency for support and collaboration within our community.
Rounding out our discussion with a global perspective, we shed light on St. Louis's international allure, despite the internal challenges. We muse over the city's rich history, the need for family-friendly spaces, and how the right approach to dialogue can spark change. As we contemplate our own reasons for staying rooted in St. Louis, we affirm the significance of each voice in shaping the city's future. Tune in, and be part of an honest conversation that's as much about confronting our present as it is about crafting a vibrant future for St. Louis.
___
Watch the visual version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@thisisntmydegree
Host: Original Dante
IG: www.instagram.com/originaldante
Guest: Jayvn Solomon
IG: https://www.instagram.com/jayvnsolomon/
Loutopia IG: https://www.instagram.com/stloutopia/
Guest: Juwan Rice
IG: https://www.instagram.com/chef_.jr/
They said you got into controversy with Darius is where I'm like. Whose perspective is this coming from?
Speaker 2:I think it's the people that are just in denial about the current state of St Louis. I feel like growing up in the early 2000s, people were always telling me, oh, detroit's such a rundown city, detroit's so bad and like. All these stereotypes are being said. But right now I'm seeing that stuff ring true for St Louis.
Speaker 3:This is my degree and this oh okay, it's not my degree, so that's why the corners are all dinged up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, standing up. No, that's I try, though okay if you couldn't tell. I was like if this stands up I'm doing it with the finesse, you know. I'm saying, uh, welcome to today's episode where I have conversations with creatives and give you a backstage pass into the life of a content creator. And today I'm joined by who wants to go first so hey, I'm jayven solomon.
Speaker 3:Are we doing titles or just names, or we're just gonna get into whatever?
Speaker 2:you want them to know I'm jayven solomon.
Speaker 3:We'll talk about more in a second oh yeah, we'll get into it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my name is you heard that right I heard it hey, brad, your speaker just spoke in tongues as jr was introducing himself bro, I'm like whoa, I thought lebron was like. This has affected my legacy.
Speaker 3:Somebody behind me like wow, because that was crazy.
Speaker 1:I Cause that was crazy, and then I look over and it's LeBron James and he's looking right at you too. That's crazy. No, uh, Juwan Rice. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Speaker 2:He can't let us have a moment in the spotlight. It always has to be interrupted by something.
Speaker 3:It always has to. Enough of an obstacle I don't got shit to do with this. Hey, do you curse on this podcast?
Speaker 2:fuck yeah we do, oh, we do, oh, look, nothing's off the table, and that's why today let me let me pull up some of these things I got ready for us today.
Speaker 2:Oh god, there's a list. Let me let me start. Let me start the episode with you know, whenever you really care about a loved one and like sometimes you got to sit them down and be like yo, you're making some bad decisions right now because you care, yeah, and you want to see them come to a better spot, like go back and bounce back to greatness or further than they were in the first place. That's that's how I feel about today's episode. Ok, because I know that. I know that the demographic that I am speaking to is going to be upset at something I say today I, it's gonna happen. Who is that?
Speaker 2:demographic the city of st louis oh, the whole city not county. I don't like st charles people. You're in this too. These hands are rated e for everyone. I got my switch dock back here ready to go, bro, I I'm going to read you guys some headlines about St Louis that I saw the past week and a half Wrong way driver busted in downtown. St Louis is eight years old, bro, but that's not the theme of today's episode, but I just thought that was like what.
Speaker 2:Eight years old. Eight years old, eight years old, busted driving the wrong way. Next title the real estate nightmare unfolding in Downtown St Louis and this should hit especially hard for you because you have a business downtown. Here's another one, and that one's from Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Fox 2 says Wall Street Journal. Have you not heard of this?
Speaker 3:What have you not heard of the Wall Street Journal situation no what happened?
Speaker 1:Oh, buddy, we're going to get into it. That happened.
Speaker 2:And then everybody else responded. But this, I think, is also part of that, but I'll leave you with with this little bit of information the at&t building, yeah, yeah, sold for about the same price as like a clayton home I did hear that. Yeah, it was like 2 million or something 2.3 yeah fox business then says st louis downtown, trapped in a doom loop marred by empty offices, break-ins and store closings.
Speaker 3:Wow, they also. They're probably quoting Wall Street Journal too, because they said doom loop in that article too Doom loop, doom loop is crazy.
Speaker 2:Doom loop is a wild term. Doom loop. I'll give you two more.
Speaker 4:St Louis Post-Dispatch said St.
Speaker 2:Louis firm is leading effort to sell downtown's Millennium Hotel. We all know about that building.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That should have been happened. Yeah, it should have happened like hellas ago.
Speaker 1:That building should have went for $2 million.
Speaker 2:That should have went for $2 million, they're asking $8.9 for it.
Speaker 3:That building is worth $8.9.
Speaker 1:It definitely is.
Speaker 2:But it just needs to be sold.
Speaker 3:Someone else needs to get get a hold of it. The same issue, not to cut you off, but I think the same issue that's happening with that's been happening with at&t is like having a car selling it and that car going through like multiple sellers. You know what I mean, because ultimately, the question is what's what? What's wrong with the, what's wrong with what's wrong with what's wrong with at&t is the exact same way, I think yeah, I see that it's.
Speaker 2:It's got a lot of problems and the seller's hella desperate.
Speaker 3:So I don't know that.
Speaker 2:It's about horrendous huh, you're that down. Horrendous you gotta be, why else would you?
Speaker 3:2.3 2 million you have to be down. Pretty bad less than what two percent of its value that building has been on the market for at least 11 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I was going to say. So millennium is just now hitting the market because yeah, which is eminent domain yeah, okay, let's, let's, let's get into it.
Speaker 2:so the other the other day, jayven was. He was out having the meeting and he said yo, so I saw you did this interview with this Darius guy. What's the deal with that? So then I was like, listen, honestly, you just need to see the episodes, because that's that's probably the best way to get that information, which I did.
Speaker 3:Which you did, which you did.
Speaker 2:Because I remember when the first one came out last like September was it Was this I had people approaching me at events that week that said yo, I heard you got into some controversy with darius bro, and I'm like how am I just now hearing about this?
Speaker 1:what controversy am I in to me?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm like this is the first time I'm hearing about this. What controversy am I in? So you? You obviously were there for both of them, yeah and you you also have an episode with him which highly encourage you check out. Rated tk podcast. Yeah, um, do you think what we did was offensive to who? You think offensive to who? Do you think that the information and the things that were said in that podcast episode all of them were enough to like for people to feel heard about?
Speaker 2:I don't think so I don't think so either yeah, I don't think so yes, you think so, I do. Okay, why do you? Why do you feel that way?
Speaker 3:uh well, so I don't feel that way. I just know that it's. It's got enough to upset people, because the truth hurts really is the simple answer yeah, yeah, and that's not saying upset who?
Speaker 1:yeah, because darius wasn't upset. So the fact that they said you got into controversy with darius is where I'm like whose perspective is this coming from?
Speaker 2:I think it's the people that are just in denial about the current state of St Louis. True, Because I said something to you the other day that I I feel like growing up in the early two thousands people were always telling me oh, Detroit's such a rundown city, Detroit's so bad, and like all these stereotypes are being said yeah, but right now I'm seeing that stuff ring true for st louis facts. Are we headed down that same path? I don't know, sometimes it feels that way. I'm not even gonna lie, but you know what though?
Speaker 1:the same economic developers that developed detroit are now here in st louis. Yeah, so I would like maybe, but detroit did have a turnover point.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm trying to figure out when st louis's I think we're there so I think the question honestly is should be less focused on are we there? Because if we're, if we're asking this question, chances are yes, yeah we are there, yeah, that's, that's yeah but at the same time and bro, I can, just I'm I'm trying to fight back like this real big, like verbal run that I want to go on right now, but I'm like we'll get into it.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna temper it down a little bit.
Speaker 3:We got time um, if we, if we got to ask this question, we're already here, I think, and bit, we got time. But if we got to ask this question, we're already here, I think. And what we're not asking is what can we do to bolster this? Because I've heard a ton of Detroit comparisons, as recent as what, is it now? April something?
Speaker 4:Late April, mid-april, like a month and a half ago. Yes, 20 minutes ago, but also like a month and a half ago yeah yeah, somebody from detroit like, oh yeah, I've been to san luis.
Speaker 3:It reminds me a lot of detroit. I'm like, okay, well, knowing what I know about detroit's glow up and I think that's still happening. To be fair, like I don't think they're there yet, absolutely but like as far as I've heard and I think you and talia might have talked about detroit and san luis being like sister cities for some shit I think that's an actual thing because, like I think there's a lot of big businesses there yeah they got gm yeah we have big businesses here too.
Speaker 1:But it's like, yeah, the big businesses are not really what runs the ecosystem, it's not what sustains the ecosystem it's so interesting, though, because you got centene build a bear boeing enterprise anheuser-busch anheuser-busch um energizer rawlings tom's happy birthday bear bear yeah, slash monsanto.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, uh, I know it's danforth.
Speaker 2:Wash U, oh yeah, wash U, edwards Jones, edwards Jones.
Speaker 3:So that's 12 companies with oh Block.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Facts, facts Billion dollar companies. Facts Multiple yeah.
Speaker 1:So, Stiefel. Worldwide technology, worldwide technology, worldwide technology.
Speaker 3:So let's just round up to 20.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, technology. So let's just round up to 20, because I feel like, yeah, I think nga like we can definitely round up to like 20 multi-billion, if not trillion dollar businesses.
Speaker 3:Jack dorsey, who started twitter, is from st louis. I'm gonna count twitter, even though it's in under new ownership now yeah yeah, right, yeah but, um, I digress right. So there's a shit ton of money here, facts, and we always think that, or like I've been guilty of thinking, like oh well, they're not doing shit until you see an article, until I see an article by like business journal st louis, like centene's thinking of relocating. These are the implications for taxes. And I'm like what?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, this is what they're doing here.
Speaker 3:So it's just, it's all very interesting, but, like we dante, what was the root of your question? After, like, are we where detroit is like? Where were you going with that?
Speaker 2:I think that we're at that point where it's like, okay, we need to take actionable steps, like now, yeah, like like really like years ago like I'd say like right before the pandemic is really whenever we needed to take steps, but now it's like okay, what are we doing so?
Speaker 1:we as in small businesses, or we as in these multi-billion dollar businesses that we just listed. I think it takes all of us.
Speaker 3:I think the multi-billion dollar businesses are doing their job. Yeah, honestly, and I'm not saying it's a good thing whatsoever, yeah, yeah, yeah, right, just to preface with that, um, but I, I mean they're here in st louis like they occupy space.
Speaker 1:Here they pay taxes in theory, they pay taxes here, and all of that right as
Speaker 3:far as we know, and it's not our business, right, but like they're here and I'm not, I think it is ultimately a bit of both. But, like my question, my question about, like, if it were the big businesses, like, what do we expect them to do that's not already being done?
Speaker 1:That's true. That's true, yeah, because realistically, I think that the expectation is people are expecting them to do what our city should be doing.
Speaker 3:Now, that is the conversation.
Speaker 2:That's the conversation that's the.
Speaker 3:That's the conversation. I'm loving this already because it's tricky right. Like you put, like when we expect I don't know when you're, when you're dependent on, like a big business we saw this with the rams like they can just say fuck you and get up out of here and we got no say in it. Exactly. So how? I like I can't help but wonder how much should we put into this outside of our just general consumer behavior, you know? Yeah I don't have an answer to that.
Speaker 1:Like, I think it's an interesting question yeah, because I mean realistically when you think about it's like cool, we have blocked this downtown. Why are we leaving them responsible for taking care of our homeless community that's around their building?
Speaker 3:And like and to that. Like, imagine yourself in that position, which it sounds like you already are, just based on how you even said that, Like, if you're in this position, do you want that on you, Right? You know, what I mean. Sure, you got billions of dollars. You also got I don't know. I don't want to say too much because I want to make like a tremendous case for these like big corporations yeah, they got their role in. They have their role in in things, but it's just, it's all very interesting, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it is. I think one thing that these big corporations could do is, I'd say, help out small businesses more.
Speaker 3:So Brandon, who's not on camera, or Mike said, and creators? I think that St Louis is like low key slash, it's a low key superpower to the powers that be, I think, because they just don't know. But like we know, like we can go to people that are in the creator economy. People who are in the creator economy no, I mean most of us, if not all have got like national, some level of national reach, right.
Speaker 4:Or regional.
Speaker 3:Yeah, in terms of the Midwest Right, reach right, or regional, yeah, in terms of the midwest right. So we know, and that, like, my theory is honestly, that creative culture will rebuild the city, both st louis and every other one.
Speaker 2:so I would agree with that. 100, yeah. Yeah, I think the creative culture is really like it's really what st louis has low-key, like you said, because if we think about all the talent that comes from here, which sucks to say, because it's like that means that they've left and it's like they have to leave almost so that they can get certain opportunities, like I've thought about leaving st louis a lot, specifically like being a youtube focus creator. Yeah, I, I have helped so many of my friends pack up their apartments, their houses, to go move to bigger cities. Yeah, and then I see what they do and I'm like damn yeah, so what's kept you here?
Speaker 1:wait real quick before we jump into that, though real quick, I will say the only company that I have seen that has actually taken an approach to incorporate creators is the St Louis city soccer team, cause. I feel like they use a lot of local creators and and like really focus on that. I don't know what their approach was for that, but I, from an outsider perspective looking in, they unfollowed me, did they really?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they unfollowed me.
Speaker 1:You see that sticker right there. I have a nice, I mean.
Speaker 2:I still support because they they've supported people in the community and I think it is a good thing for our city, you know.
Speaker 1:But yeah, you know but, like I said, that's an outsider's perspective. Yes, so I catered for them once that was like when they first, like first launched.
Speaker 3:That was it but I don't know what that led to so I got a pretty good relationship and we've talked about this offline, but I got a pretty good relationship with them, uh, and I was part of that. Let's see, it was the kid reveal, like I did some other things with them, um, in terms of like murals and such, but I would say that, yes, like city sc has easily been like the, an archetype in terms of how, like, major entities can incorporate local culture so you get like mastermind and myself and like damon davis, to do some shit around the stadium, in and around the stadium.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the three of us alone are like you know. We operate in sort of different avenues in a way, but like for all of us to be able to contribute to this. And then, like you, bring in local restaurants, you know all this other stuff, and, granted, they weren't able to get to everybody and I really hope they do reach out to y'all. One of these days.
Speaker 2:I do, I really do Cause like remember that a live stream video I did of the kit reveal.
Speaker 3:Was that an unofficial thing?
Speaker 2:No, it was real it was real. Oh, Brandon's in.
Speaker 3:Now he wants to sit in the camera. Oh God, Brandon's in. Now he's in the camera.
Speaker 4:I was just going to pop one Just for a quick second. I mean, we have all these huge corporations, huge businesses in town. The creator economy as of 2023 was about a $250 billion industry and by 2027, they're expecting it to be over a $450 billion industry. We have the artists, we have the music. We have everything here. We have the artists, we have the music, we have everything here. We have the industrial buildings. We have all the talent here and we always see the talent leave this city. Influencer marketing, as of last year was estimated at $21.1 billion.
Speaker 4:St Louis we have over 3 million people in this area. Like, why are we not investing in the people that are here? Like, I understand, we see the big names, we think New York, we think big city and that's great. Like, I think you got to have that balance. But also, it's like we have a lot of talent here.
Speaker 4:If people ever listen to my podcast, I always talk about people like Metro Boomin. Right, we've talked about it. Metro Boomin has shaped hip hop the last 10, whatever 15 years. Right, st Louis shapes a lot of stuff. Jason Tatum he's right there at being the best basketball player in the world from St Louis. People like Brad Beal the list goes on and on.
Speaker 4:Like, literally, st Louis shapes music, but it's like we don't think we're good enough so we're not investing in the people that are here, and it's like crazy. So I had to jump on it because it's like in the business realm, the numbers have to make sense and we have it here by the time. Companies want to work with us. We can only do a watered down version of our true potential because they feel like they have to water down the art, the craft, the food, the vlogs. We have to water this down. So someone that has been in charge of St Louis for 40, 50 years so they can be sold on it.
Speaker 4:But, like my thing and my advice to any creator out there is like, if you're not getting that support from the city, start creating your own stuff, because when the numbers are coming not just on social media we know what it takes to make a viral video. When people are coming to your restaurant, they're coming looking at your exhibit, they're hiring you to make vlogs, you're traveling around the country, then hopefully St Louis will hire you. We're not seeing that just yet. We're seeing them hire the watered-down version of you, but they need to start hiring us because I get more love from outside of St Louis. Excuse me, I get more love from outside of St Louis. Uh, or, excuse me, I get a lot of love here, but companies outside of St Louis are the reason I'm able to, you know, leave my corporate job after 11 years, right, yeah.
Speaker 4:It's not the St Louis companies. I mean, I have great partners, uh, great clients, but it was really knowing that I can make a huge impact. Like people don't realize, a month and a half ago, this guy from St Louis, like the MLB front office and owners, were watching my videos Facts they don't realize there's this huge four to $5 billion company that they're showing my videos around. This guy from St Louis, bro.
Speaker 3:We are changing, yeah, we are changing things.
Speaker 4:So I had a hot point because, like bro, like that's how it just doesn't make sense. It comes down to like numbers. Bro, we have all the fucking talent here. These companies have the funds that could help us go to the next level. We don't have to water everything down and just make it basic. You're like no, we start this stuff. So sorry to uh jump in, but no, it's like the numbers, the numbers. Like that's what it comes down to. You can work with us like we want to see our city thrive and we don't want to have to always have to leave st louis. Then we come back and we get the acknowledgement like man, I knew you were, you were great, I was like but you had the funds to help sponsor us while we were here. Why do we have to go to, like chicago? Why do I? We have to go to new york? Why do we?
Speaker 2:have to go to other major cities in order to see our dreams come true and like be able to actually be at our fullest potential as old st louis man, and it's funny that you mentioned, like the whole watered down version, because, like they'll approach us with concepts where they're like, oh, we want to target like gen z, we want to target millennials, but then we give them a piece of content that's targeting those people because that's what really all of our audiences are. Yeah, and then they're like, well, the higher ups weren't a huge fan of this part, so can we change this? And it's like OK, but the Gen X people, the boomers, are not my target demographic, nor is it yours for this campaign. So why are we? Why are we changing the piece of content so that it caters to that audience?
Speaker 2:Whenever you told me that you're trying to target Gen Z, millennials, the people that are really rising up to be the next generation of decision makers, because boomers, gen X, they're exiting the workforce. Why are we targeting them? They're just trying to retire and enjoy the last bit of life they have left. I know that sounds morbid, but it's like once you retire, you just enjoy the rest of your life.
Speaker 1:You chill yeah.
Speaker 2:You coast, you go, travel, you go to the coast.
Speaker 4:Talk about the tourism. We're driving tourism.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean like, like we. I say this time. I've had people DM me on Instagram saying yo, I watch your YouTube for the past two years. I moved to the city because of the way that you paint it.
Speaker 3:Here's the challenge, though, is that we approach so many things St Louis and just maybe the western part of the world as a whole we approach challenges with, like this one thing is going to help. So if I, if I I followed dante, I saw everything on dante's podcast and I was really gung-ho about moving to st louis, so I moved to st louis, but then nothing happened, you know. So, like the, I think the challenge there is, like you can only take something.
Speaker 3:so far we can only take something so far from like any part of the experience right, and it's, while creativity has, like, hands down, been St Louis', like secret, not so secret weapon, collaboration is really and I've seen this firsthand over the past like year and some change, starting with City, yeah, but also like with stuff that I've been doing with Lutopia, but like collaboration with people of different disciplines and similar, but mostly like a diverse mix of collaborators is really was always and we've known that is the shitty thing like I I didn't lived around pretty much every single part of st louis my whole life, and unanimously.
Speaker 3:And it's not like it's a huge city, right, so it's not that different, but like wherever I go, unanimously when there's an issue, people like oh, we need to work together, we need to work together to support, to support, and we need to, we need to need to need to. It just doesn't happen. So we know that it's a key ingredient yeah, it's the real.
Speaker 1:it's really coming down to the culture, though it's the culture of there can only be one. There can only be one great creator, there can only be one vlogger. There can only be one social media influencer that makes it. That's not true.
Speaker 3:The irony of that, too, is St Louis is really big, as small as we are compared to the other cities. We're really good at duplicating some other shit or like taking somebody else's idea to the I'm. Maybe this is like a layer onto that can only be one, and I've heard it my entire life he referred to as like the crabs in a barrel mentality I don't think that's just for black people, whatsoever.
Speaker 3:I think that's for the entire region of st louis, and I don't say this to be negative, it's just my observation. I challenge anybody listening to and or watching this to say that that's not true.
Speaker 3:We are literally at euclid and del mar right now, are we not? If we look across the street, literally right. So like it's the disparities have like manifested into our physical land, and it's been that way. It's not like new. It's the disparities have like manifested into our physical land, and it's been that way. It's not like new, it's not sure covid like catalyzed it to some extent, but yeah it's been. It's been that especially on del mar. But like it's just an interesting mix of things and like we like to point blame because it's the easy thing to do.
Speaker 2:But like there needs to be accountability, though it needs to be accountability, though it needs to be accountability, and I I'm not just saying, like external accountability like internal, I think internal is is just as important.
Speaker 3:And I mean we. We like Brad and don't get off the couch now.
Speaker 1:Brad is going to have to take my seat in a couple of minutes, oh, yeah, we'll, we'll swap out. Like oh yeah.
Speaker 3:We'll swap out, like the episodes with Darius. What was most shocking and this is another thing we talked about offline what was most shocking was that he was able and the Wall Street Journal were able, to call these things out in an instant.
Speaker 1:Exactly. I think that's what show shocked people the most. Yeah, the fact that a person could just hop off of a plane, step into our city and be able to dissect and see what has been going on for years.
Speaker 3:Because I tell you what and I don't say this like from a pretentious standpoint, but I have found that when I say this, people take me more seriously. But, like I was a speaker at South by Southwest in 2024. Rap, horn, rap, horn, rap, horn, rap horn no, it's facts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm going to add some sound effects to that, because that is huge. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:When I was down there, like I went down as a rep, you know talking about Lutopia ultimately yeah. And what I came to realize is that there are so many people down there at the peak. I'm thinking this place is like the Stark Expo, all this shit. I'm seeing you know, yeah, this place is like the stark expo, all this shit I'm seeing you know. Yeah, I get down there and everybody's talking about the exact same shit from, like wanting to see all of these things happen in their downtowns and cities.
Speaker 3:Even the big cities like la london, like new york city everybody has the same issue in the west and like personally, I've looked to Singapore for inspiration and like Taiwan and some parts of China, et cetera, like overseas Right. But I get there, everybody's talking about the same shit. I talk to them about Lutopia, like, hey, this is actually what I'm technically here for. And they're like oh, my God, this is like. You're from St Louis. St Louis is a really great arts. The first person I met down there I shit you not an hour off my flight, as close as I'm sitting to you right now, dante. She's from like she's probably our age-ish, like from San Antonio. She said oh, where are you from? I say St Louis. She's like oh, st Louis is really da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. They got a really great so-and-so. And this is the face that I made.
Speaker 3:But what I say out loud is and I literally like reach across the table, like I appreciate you, you don't have to do this, so like thank you she's like no really like st louis has a great art scene, they got this, that and the third, and starts listing off specific things and in that moment I'm like people know about st louis, not only people know about us, but like the first thing, she didn't say like the, she didn't say like gonorrhea or whatever, as the first thing.
Speaker 3:You know not to be like mean or anything, but these are the headlines that I see on a national level yeah um so and that's another, media plays a role in this as to not get terribly conspiratorial, but um, I talked to so many people after that for the next few days, ranging from Texas to England to France, greece, around the world, save for Asia, and, unanimously, everybody had great things to say about St Louis, which has really fucked me up, because it got me thinking and it like made me ultimately realize something that I kind of already knew, which was that it's definitely some kind of energy. Darius phrase it as a dark cloud. I don't disagree. I don't know if those are the words I would use, or I don't know if any of his words are the ones that I would use.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But he's he was definitely right in that regard like there's some sort of internal like based on all of our past traumas. You know we talk all this shit about the world's fair, which was 120 years ago yeah, that's actually on my 1904 was 120 years ago oh wow, it's 2024 was invented.
Speaker 2:Okay, what have we done since we're?
Speaker 3:talking about shit a century and a half ago, you know rounding up obviously quite a bit, but you know what, though, that brings?
Speaker 1:up a good point though, because if you look at what the world fair did, it brought people to st louis, yeah yeah but what's keeping people in st louis? And that's the thing that I think about when I look at downtown. Now, cool, we have the assets to bring people downtown, but what are we doing to keep them downtown? We have the soccer game. We got the Cardinals game.
Speaker 1:We're building more residential buildings, but what restaurants do we have to support that? What grocery stores do we have to support that? What activations do we have to support that to keep people downtown?
Speaker 3:And in my learnings research, professional expertise, blah, blah blah I've learned that what brings people to any space, let alone like a downtown center, is all the things you said, primarily, though, things that are family friendly so like not to be like stereotypical this is literal data, right but like when people see groupings of women and children and families, they think, oh, this is like, this is solid, I'm gonna come here because it feels safe, it looks vibrant, teeming with life, all of that. So like to that exact point, and I know who I'm talking to. Right, I know who I'm bradden's gone, but I know who I'm talking to yeah as great as our food is here, we need more than that.
Speaker 3:Like I'm, we can't stay at rated tk for four hours. Right't stay at Rated TK for four hours Right and you don't want nobody there for four hours Right. So what Like, how can, how can you send them across the street? You're at what 10th and Locust 11th and Locust 11th and.
Speaker 1:Locust Like yeah, and then Wachav, it's just this whole thing, man, and that's the closest destination to us is wash up. It's like our clientele. We can't necessarily just send walking down the street to wash up you know, what I mean, so it's like it puts us in this weird love to wash up, y'all know cool. These people have came from the county or saint charles or saint peters to come downtown and try rated. But what are they doing after that? There's no place they can go to get drinks.
Speaker 3:There's no place they can go to get a cigar, like where they feel safe and comfortable just to go shopping that too retail is tricky though, because, like st louis and malls, man like I was terrible, like I don't even understand has a really funny relationship with retail that I even I don't even fathom like. How could you not manage to keep a macy's downtown, you know? Like that should be the lock. Yeah, of like no effects. Macy's is probably keeping helping keep the gallery alive, high key in whatever other malls right but, uh 100.
Speaker 2:That's crazy. It's one of the anchor establishments. It's like people will go there for that and then they're like, oh well, this is here too.
Speaker 1:This is here too this is not only that. Most of the garments were produced downtown yep in the garment district.
Speaker 3:That's why it's called the garment district.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's like crazy to be able to say that we couldn't even sustain a macy's where some of the garments were literally being made up the street like that's crazy so I've been part of what?
Speaker 3:is it now april? So I've been part of at least four or five questions nationally pertaining to specifically like how we can revive downtown right starting in january, and I'm gonna tell y'all, I'm gonna tell y'all some key stakeholders that might be of interest.
Speaker 3:So, urban land institute uli, okay. Greater st louis we know sldc, we know the latter two to all y'all watching in st louis. Those are the folks who are driving, develop, helping drive development and as well as attract talent to the city of st louis for, like, economic prosperity. So those are the people in addition to the city, which, in addition to the city like that, developed these things. So a group of people from around the country, any big city you can name in the US.
Speaker 3:They were in the exhibit in January to kick off this week of like youimagining downtown, a specific, like main core of downtown, and they asked me like well, what do you think, like, what do you think of downtown? You do all this lutopia stuff. You put all this cool stuff on buildings. Like what are your plans? Are you planning on going downtown? And I'm like, honestly, I don't know, like it is out of my power, as to how downtown chooses to revive itself. I certainly wouldn't put it on myself to do that. Yeah, uh, if you gave me a trillion dollars I could probably make something shake, but otherwise maybe not yeah, yeah. But they asked me point blank, like what do you think of downtown? I said downtown is a ghost town now, this is the exact same sentence.
Speaker 3:This is yeah because you were part of that shit too. Yeah, so the like. So they had a series of interviews the next day, on a Tuesday, where they asked a lot of people like us, most of our peers actually Not most, but a lot of doers in St Louis and in all types of different avenues of life, like this question what do you think of this? That and the third Were we in the same? No, we weren't.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, we weren't in the same one, but they, they asked like four of us at a time, with other representatives from around the country in the room, and the unanimous like consensus was that like it's really great that they're asking these questions, but how many more surveys, how many more reports, how many more think pieces, how many more words do we need before you know? And like I feel like we might have talked I think you were going in when I was coming out- yeah, that's what it was, yeah, yeah so I I talked to a lot of people after that and I won't really name drop, but like entrepreneurs, city city workers, etc.
Speaker 3:And everybody's like this is great, but like what's happening with this information?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, and that's what?
Speaker 3:that's what it was.
Speaker 1:It's like okay, cool, we give you all the fucking data that you need to make it happen, but what's the next steps? We know that the money's in the bank account first of all. Yeah, we know there's billions of dollars that has been given to the city of st louis to make change, but what's?
Speaker 2:what's going to get the ball rolling? Where's the action that's being taken? Because, you have all this information so that you can develop at least an okay blueprint as to what to do next.
Speaker 2:Right, when are you going to do it? Yeah, when's the first step going to be taken? Because you can plan, you can plan, you can plan, you can plan, you can plan for the next hundred years. Can plan, you can plan, you can plan for the next hundred years. But during that hundred years, you're going to watch things continue to crumble, continue to spiral into the wrong direction, disarray, and you're it's going to be even more of a graveyard we also know that plans, famously thanks to 2020 through 2020, well beyond right is today today o'clock.
Speaker 3:Like we know that plans you can. You can lay them out as best as you want, but it's just exactly shit happens.
Speaker 1:I know the answer to the question, but I just don't know how it makes sense. You know what I mean. The answer to the question is why there's no progress is because they're waiting for people to step up to the plate and take initiative the doom loop.
Speaker 3:It's like a conversation that's a doom loop for your ass, exactly.
Speaker 1:That's where the doom loop comes in, if me and Dante are staying in the same apartment and there's a bag of trash and he's like, hey, can you take the trash? I'm like, yeah, I got it. And then I ask him, hey, can you take out the trash?
Speaker 2:And we're going back and forth and that's what is happening that's the doom loop right there is looking at the city, yours city st louis st louis, there we go, city yours, the st louisians, for advice and what they should do.
Speaker 1:But then they're also looking at us to take initiative. When we're looking at them like hey, we gave y'all the fucking idea.
Speaker 2:It's time for y'all to take initiative we gave you the information because you asked us what we want to see. Well, how?
Speaker 1:we're feeling they hold the money, so it's like it's like what am I gonna do?
Speaker 2:like, oh, here's like a little bit of money so you can make a difference. It's like it's barely enough to cover a damn latte like damn god inflation going crazy inflation is going crazy.
Speaker 3:It is crazy um so and like this is you're absolutely right and I honestly have leaned into the whole like show me state ethos, because it's like fuck it, like that's absolutely the attitude of st louis for sure so like I. You know it's tough man because like as much and like I pay taxes all, not even allegedly like I'm literally going to do that, I'm a couple days late, but I'm going to do that after this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like I pay your taxes.
Speaker 3:I gotta pay your taxes bro, say what you will, you still got to pay them shits you know what I mean, so like uh, you know, I'd like to think myself a good enough citizen right so like having met with government officials, both like individually as well as just like going to town halls and all of that I can see.
Speaker 3:You can just see in their eyes. You know when you go like when you got a substitute teacher, some shit, or even a regular teacher, and you see in their eyes like today, I just got to make it through this day. You know when you go like when you got a substitute teacher or some shit, or even a regular teacher, and you see in their eyes like today, I just got to make it through this day, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4:Have you ever seen that in your teacher's eyes?
Speaker 3:Yes, I see that personally in a lot of like government officials eyes, it's fucking hard work. It's really like I don't envy anyone in any level of governmental position, down to the fucking postman Right. Like, yeah, I don't envy any of these people. However, this is the job that you took on, right. So it's not like somebody held a gun to your head and said do this. I said you're going to be a decision. You opted into this, so now you have to like follow through with this and like what I wholly disagree with, because, like yes, there's all of this. Like I said, it's easy to complain. I find myself even now like slipping into, just like that, that low frequency energy because it's so easy to do.
Speaker 3:Yeah it's true but like what I? What I would push back on both darius and this wall street journal d-bag and anybody else, all the other people who are like coming to st louis now and forever is like what they don't factor in. Darius used the word passion passionate, like about folks. You mentioned siblings and like giving them a stern talking to.
Speaker 3:So for me, st louis is like in a much older sibling or relative, right and sure this person's got their problems, but the moment you talk shit I don't care what city I'm in. If I'm in nyc, la london, of course they don't really know what st louis is for the most part in general, but like you know what's crazy is I?
Speaker 2:actually I don't think. Actually now that I think about it, it might have been switzerland. I was in switzerland on a train and the lady next to me asked hey, where are you from? And I said, oh, I'm from st louis. And she said, oh the the arch. Yeah, I'm like. And she barely spoke any english. It was mostly swiss german. I was like trying to decipher what she was saying, but like she said, oh the the arch. And then she pulled up a picture of it and showed it to me and I'm like yeah damn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have a great city we have a great city in the one of the biggest monuments in the the midwest.
Speaker 3:I think it is the biggest monument in the country yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure even more reason like yeah I'm pretty sure that is crazy and it's a pretty damn remarkable one
Speaker 3:it is, and I I say this with a little bias, right, and I used to work downtown um on pine, so like I would drive in and every day think like, oh my god yeah, I think it's cool. This is the most beautiful fucking and I still think that to this day same and I don't think it's fucking close, like statue of liberty is cool and all that.
Speaker 3:That's more of a historical thing yeah, the bean is I you know, but nobody's fucking with that arch and you can go inside of it facts who's going inside the bean? Who wants to go in this? Who wants to?
Speaker 2:who wants to? Who wants to do?
Speaker 1:that, yeah, no, what I'm doing. This little lagoon is hating us, yeah, no you said all chicago is hating us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just because we said that I don't care because we really I honestly think we need to like a lady from london revealed to me who came in through one of these efforts, right says to me, like you know, st louis has really has this like internal narrative issue and I think the challenge is like you all are trying to sell each other on how good the city is, when really you could be like sending this out to the world and presenting yourself as a global city, and that's what I've been trying to tell people I'm like the messaging is kind of split, I think, because there's there's then, you know old and new st louis Louis, sort of come to figurative blows with that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because we know, this yeah, yeah, but there are people who and rightfully so like we had deseg fucking 40 years ago, not that long ago, 50. Probably like 50 years ago, our parents give or take, like were part of the very first desegregated system of things, yeah, yeah, of the very first desegregated system of things, yeah, yeah. So you add that to all these fucking developers who have made these promises and who haven't done or who've done a myriad of not great things right, because it's a spectrum, that's a good way right um, leaving people in all types of economic despair.
Speaker 3:You got these fucking people owning spaces that aren't doing shit, like literally just letting them sit to rot. You got politicians who are going to jail left and right, redistricting, redlining, all this shit stacked against us and in time, I would argue, since the world's fair, maybe, or the last hundred years, like there's just been this gradual, just like culture of just like years, like there's just been this gradual, just like culture of just like um low self-esteem, I would say, like around the city and it's, it's clear, but now it's very different. So, like the challenge is and you should actually speak more to this like what I mean? What do you think of? Like st louis being presented as a global city externally?
Speaker 1:I think that we have everything that we need to do, that I think that there's a core problem and I know every city deals with it but it's racism. Honestly, like when you think about the way that the St Louis city has been set up and you think about the black communities and how there was a black community that got burned down and now they pushed us in this area, now they push us in this area and then they look at us and they put that mentality oh, there can only be one Negro from this neighborhood. That's successful. That has been instilled in us to this day. But it's like what do we need to do to switch that? How do we stop the doom loop? Like that's really the biggest question.
Speaker 3:Because there's a lot of conversation about St Louis needs to change its narrative. We need a whole story and, like the crime headlines. Bro, I have been presented with by my algorithm, my phone, whatever you want to call it. So many articles and headlines about just this. Like st louis needs a new narrative. This fucking morning, I gotta might have, wherever my phone is, screenshotted it. I sure did, sure shit did, didn't I y'all so?
Speaker 1:what it says.
Speaker 3:I am too, and I quote is that st louis needs a unified purpose yes what are you gonna do, you're?
Speaker 1:do, are you?
Speaker 3:going to plan for that? Are we going to have another town hall about, like, what is our narrative, what is our story? Or should we just like? It's so incredibly difficult to do novel things that you're passionate about. We're all freelance slash business owners here. We know this.
Speaker 3:It's hard as shit and there are people online who are selling us on these dreams, both locally and abroad, and it's you know, it just is what it is, but like there's several sets of stimuli that make us want to do things, but it's just terrifying to do. Right, we know we need it, but, holy shit, what do I even do? And it is so easy, like personally, to be able to pick any any reason in the book to be like, well, statistically, this isn't like likely, so I guess I would just go back to doing this thing and just hope somebody else takes it on. I think that is the general ethos, and maybe this is a humanity thing. I think it probably is, but we live here, damn it. So that's something that I've observed with a lot of folks. But what inspires me honestly is that we are actually answering this question without Sure.
Speaker 3:We're sitting here talking about it because, you know, I surmise this is break time for all of us in a way yeah, yeah, but like as soon as we part ways, we're on to get to doing something to just like represent, yes, internally, but also, I mean, st louis is just a difficult market, especially if you got a brick and mortar right, so, like you to an extent have to reach outwards. It's just the truth of things right now. But I think what inspires me for sure is there's so many of us, that is, representative of this new wave of St Louis, that are all doing it. I don't know, but then, like I can't help but wonder are these things necessary from external folks to like, uh, jumpstart the actual conversation?
Speaker 1:but it's also about the. It's also about the delivery as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so let's say for example, you have a sibling.
Speaker 1:They're older, they're not doing nothing with their lives. If you go up to them and say, hey, you're a fucking piece of shit and you don't do anything, that's a. They're gonna take that differently than saying, hey, bro, realistically you're not going to be successful if you continue to go on this same route that you're going on.
Speaker 4:That's going to hit a little bit differently than you know.
Speaker 1:It's about the approach and the delivery. That's really what it comes down to, and I think that their approach and delivery was not accurate, but I think that the information that they were saying was accurate, and so we get so blurred at the fact of the approach that we forget about the true message of what they were actually saying. But there's. That's why people get defensive, and so that's why I'm like these types of conversations has a different delivery that I think people will be more willing to listen to and more willing to accept of like hey, they not just yelling at us and telling us what we're doing wrong, but they're actually giving us solutions to the problems that they're bringing up as well. And that's another key thing. You can't you can't just say and complain about the problems and not give a solution I.
Speaker 2:I try to do that just in everyday life, like I don't like to bring up problems with anything unless I at least have a concept of a solution exactly exactly, and it's a hard thing to do, right like it is it's very challenging.
Speaker 3:It's a really hard because it's. It's just. We have so many tools that make it easy enough, these included to just like sit here and rant for a little while and, you know, build a a lackadaisical or however you say that word community around, just like our lacrimosity, if that's a word, just sadness and and emo-ness. I wasn't threatening violence to you, darius, just to be clear. People were pissed bro.
Speaker 2:People were mad. Yeah, people were really upset. I mean, they were mad at us, they were mad at apparently controversy yeah, I'm like they're controversy.
Speaker 1:Oh, you serve that man food. It's like what he what was he was he.
Speaker 3:You asked him how would he describe the food scene and what was the word that he used oh, what did he say?
Speaker 1:despicable I have. That may have been in one of the words, yeah, one of the words. I wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was, it was in that space it was like something like tragic or something, something like he's. Yeah, he said it was a synonym of what we said yeah, were you asking him about the black food scene specifically?
Speaker 1:it's because he was here on a black food, black restaurant tour so that was for the first trip yeah, for the first trip so that was directed towards the black restaurant community.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it's just a little disrespectful, is all. Yeah, the delivery it's the delivery.
Speaker 1:The delivery, yeah, because the second trip.
Speaker 2:He was just like I'm just just going to try food.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:He should have found what he wanted. It just wasn't in black restaurants. Yeah, but it brings up another conversation how do we hold our people accountable?
Speaker 3:We have to be, we have to lead. That is the question that. I hate. Well, I don't hate it, but it's just the truth of things, like people we can tell. I can tell you to do one thing as long as I would like, and you could just stare me in the eyes and it's just gonna go right out your ears out the window, but because until you ultimately take the step to do the thing and even then, like, what are you referencing?
Speaker 3:what is your frame of reference or excellence locally that you can look at, because it's, I mean, it's really hard to everybody doesn't have the money to travel, everybody doesn't you? Know, there's, there's, privilege exists everywhere, right, and a lack thereof. So like everybody can't fucking go to not not pointing to you, right, but like everybody can't go to chicago or new york, just on the spot, right? Yeah just you know to to do the bear thing right and like study all these other restaurants.
Speaker 2:I do think that even just if it's a weekend trip, people need to like do whatever they can to at least visit another city, bro, because within. A within a five mile rate, or not five mile? Wow, that'd be crazy.
Speaker 3:Within a five hour radius of st louis, we have cities like nashville, memphis, chicago kansas city kansas city, okc ok, like indiana, no, yeah, well, that's like maybe six, yeah, yeah, but like still that's another destiny.
Speaker 2:It's like we have so many other places that you can go to, yeah, and a train ticket's like 40 bucks round trip.
Speaker 3:Yeah, not even joking, bro, even if you take. You can take a train to san francisco right now it'll go denver to san fran, but even so I think that's maybe without a sleeper car. That might be a couple hundred bucks, which beats the shit out of a flight of course it'll take three days to get it to get.
Speaker 1:It'll take it a little longer. It's an experience, yeah it's beautiful. Yeah, like travel oh god, it is so pretty out there san francis has to be like on the top list of like if I retired, that's where I'm moving.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's to san francisco yeah, I love.
Speaker 1:I mean I love san francisco.
Speaker 2:When I was there, I enjoyed it too but, like it's, it's going through its own shit right now too, and it's quite literally there is an app on your phone you can download to find shit on the street like, quite literally, feces.
Speaker 1:What's it?
Speaker 2:yes, like actual human shit. What's it called? I can't remember the name of it, but it exists. Like you can open the app report. Like us, there's poop here and you can it really? Yes, I'm not even sure.
Speaker 3:So the thing is, I'm not like that's 100 real so I, I absolutely, and I'm not like super keen on travel, but it's, yeah, it's very important, especially considering like so many things are a train ride away. If you can't get there from here, you can go up to Chicago and really, but you know what though?
Speaker 1:You know what's even crazier, so we can travel through this. Thanks we don't necessarily. We don't necessarily have to pick up our shit and go you got that inspiration no, that's funny, but like I don't, I don't necessarily have to travel to get inspiration that's real on new food techniques. I can go to Instagram or TikTok and do some scrolling and get inspired. So there really is no room for excuses at all.
Speaker 3:You said it bro.
Speaker 1:You said it, not me, why, seriously?
Speaker 3:You said it and it's like again, I don't want to discount Because you see so many people online, it's easy. Why don't you just get up because you like, you see so many people online, it's easy. Why don't you just get up off the couch right now it's 20 for a class because, like again, that's also the easy thing to do. But I mean not, but it's. It's just, it'd be remiss if I didn't continuously say, like, how hard it is to just have the discipline. You know, in the age of where, like, we have all these devices ready to ready for us to look at, we got all this, whatever um vice, you know chasing us like making it easy for us to do things.
Speaker 3:So yeah, it's difficult, but that's like the necessary thing for sure I'm gonna train to trade with Brad in a few minutes.
Speaker 1:Brad in.
Speaker 2:Let's do a pause, then let's do a pause.
Speaker 1:Hold on I got one more thing before I go I would love to see these multibillion dollar companies that are housed in St Louis to do things on a smaller approach.
Speaker 1:So like for example, like Anheuser-Busch can spend $100 million on an ad. Example, like anheuser-busch can spend a hundred million dollars on an ad, but how about a hundred thousand dollar ad that uses local talent that then works their way up to that hundred million dollar project? That's what I would love to see, because we know that they have the money but they're not using the local people on those smaller scales.
Speaker 3:So this is the thing that I am personally advocating for and like doing, not even advocating for, but like the, the lutopia exhibit is a representative of that. So, like, block sponsored it as well as rack and missouri's own uh cannabis shout out to y'all for the edibles but um lit.
Speaker 4:I mean, yeah, that's we'll do a special segment special segment on that.
Speaker 3:But like that is definitely something that, like I actively do my best to demonstrate is, like you can, these people that are here, you don't have to just tap into monsanto or the basic folks. Right, there are people who spend a shit ton of money on things that we judge hard, yeah, yeah, all the time. So what happens when we, like, make a proposal or make a pitch? It might be hard, it might be work, you might not get paid for it, but like somebody's got to take that step to be like this is the idea that I've had please, you know, figure out a way to keep it between y'all or whoever sees it, and be like can we do this? Yeah, y'all did this for a hundred million dollars, I just want 20 yeah, yeah, like 20, not 20 million.
Speaker 3:I would love 20 million dollars 20, 20k.
Speaker 2:Not gonna shy away from that no, absolutely not.
Speaker 4:And if you're watching and if you got, to change the coins. Let's talk all right, so right.
Speaker 3:So I just want 20 to 30 K. That's all I'm asking and I'm going to do it for this. You know timestamp, these are the details. This is the rough budget and I'm not going to say that's easy, but because it's. You know, it sounds easy to say but like we got chat GPT, that can fucking get you there.
Speaker 3:You know, like all you need is, I think, at this point, like the idea and to be able to sort out the details and then present it to whatever the people that I mentioned earlier, or whatever like billionaire company, because like yes, there are people looking to take those steps, like looking to invest in the local folks who want to take those steps.
Speaker 3:I think part of the challenge is, you know, while we like to point to think, part of the challenge is, you know, while we, while we like to point to the top, another challenge is, like going back to this question. Yes, it is us who needs the, those of us who know anyway to, it's our job to be able to, like take those steps, because what's gonna?
Speaker 3:happen, bro, and it's already happening, to the point of the the developers in detroit coming in. Yeah, there are a myriad of reasons that I believe people will be moving to st louis. I don't love doing the whole I predict thing, but it's a proven fact though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a proven fact and they're there.
Speaker 3:There's existing documentation out there that says people are already moving inwards.
Speaker 1:For one, cities like san fran and nyc unaffordable I going to say the cost of living alone of St Louis compared to the New York is crazy and I what I see with the articles, like WSJ did, is like hey flag, there's cheap real estate here, come by now.
Speaker 3:That's what I'm seeing, when this shit happens is on the front page of wall street journal. Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:That's insane.
Speaker 3:That is crazy. Why happens? It's on the front page of wall street journal. Yeah, that's crazy. That's insane. That is crazy. Why else would you do that?
Speaker 1:other than to say somebody come invest in this, please. No facts. Facts I want to. I'm gonna head off, but I want to yes I want to talk about another point that you said. We also have to make sure that our local creators are where they need to be like, if you're working with anheuser-busch, you're not going to send them a fucking cash up request for $20,000 to work on their project.
Speaker 1:Yes, so you have to have the means and show up to the table with the expectation of you getting that deal Like set up. Set up yourself for success. That's all I got to say.
Speaker 2:I know that both of you have time commitments in the next seven minutes. No, mine was my meeting started at 12.
Speaker 1:It's 12 or 7, so I'm going to head out. So actually, I think we'll go ahead and wrap up the episode.
Speaker 3:Hold on, because I still got 10 minutes.
Speaker 2:Let's have our final.
Speaker 1:He has 10 minutes. I don't know if Brandon wants to tap in for the last 10 minutes.
Speaker 2:Well, brandon, can you tell me how we're doing on that mid-camera storage, because I think it's almost full? Five minutes, five minutes, okay, so we have five minutes.
Speaker 3:We got five minutes. Alright, peace out bro.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining us on the podcast we have five minutes of stories left, so we're going to make the most of it. Braden has been brought in and we are going to here comes a new challenge.
Speaker 2:One thing I do want to revisit is earlier you asked me what keeps me in St Louis, and I'm also going to ask both of you the same thing, but I'll answer first. The thing that keeps me in St Louis, I would have to say, is there is part of me, because the easy thing would be to move to, like LA, new York, chicago, some other city that has an established creator economy for what I want to do and make it. That would be the easy thing to do. But there is some part of me that this motherfucker is interrupting my mom, get your air pods out of here.
Speaker 2:all right, there's some part of me that really believes in st louis and that we we're at that point where we need to start taking actionable steps. But I see us doing it. I feel like we're going to do it. I believe in that because we have people like us that are going to be the catalyst for change. Unless y'all are about to tell me you're dipping out, then I might be out too, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I think about it.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've thought about it as recently as yesterday. I'm like, hmm, if in the next year, where do I? Where do I see myself? Do I want to like move to a different part of the city, or do I just want to like move to a different city? You know, but I think it's really the people that keep me here, the people for sure.
Speaker 2:I think it's the people, the people in the costs and the costs. But even the cost is getting outrageous, not compared to these big cities. Well, I'm talking about like, let's not look at them, let's look at what's going on here. Let's look about how hard we have to fight at least me personally, I have to fight to get 500 bucks on a project. Yeah, these places are. Yeah, no, it's, it's crazy. It's crazy. People don't value video services. We should, yeah yeah, we could.
Speaker 1:We could talk about that.
Speaker 3:That's a whole nother conversation, but it's like there.
Speaker 2:But then you have these new developments popping up every three months, yeah, that are gonna charge you for, basically, cardboard boxes, yeah, two grand a month, that are just like shadily built because they're being built in three months, um, and it's like there's so many of these establishments popping but like two grand a month. Two grand a month for a one-bedroom apartment. It's the amenities With some amenities that aren't even that great.
Speaker 4:That's it.
Speaker 2:It's setting the tone for like, not great standards of quality.
Speaker 3:What keeps me here is all of this, and you know, I know we say we can't look at it, we shouldn't look at other big cities, but that's who's about to move here, like in the next, within the next five to ten, for sure, years. Uh, so, honestly, like a level of FOMO keeps me here because, yes, I have faith in all of that. I also, like I know some people, like I've met some folks in a few different ways, um, on the, on the city official and development, and to know for sure like it's up, like people don't invest billions of dollars into a geo, a geographic location, for no fucking reason. I know that if I want to move to new york, I'm moving back soon because I don't want to pay for this shit and I'm. There might be some type of climate emergency and this is what keeps me away from all the fucking coasts.
Speaker 3:Facts that's real and st louis isn't exempt, right, and I, you know, definitely don't want to speak on that, but that was drywall, not wood. Um, like yes, all the reasons that you said, and then thank you, and then just like it's up, so like if I might be pissed off about this place now, or a year ago, or in a week, but I know that I'm gonna be even more pissed off when I should I leave and like come back to see, like oh, this wasn't even like this like and we see that already with like the grove and shaw and probably delmar here.
Speaker 2:We didn't even touch on other neighborhoods because like yeah downtown. Maybe not its best, but there are great neighborhoods in St Louis, like right now we're in Central West End. I love Central West End. Then you have places like, I mean, the Hill Fantastic atmosphere, fantastic food. You've got the Grove Excellent up and coming midtown, lots of investment happening there.
Speaker 3:South City. Like there's a lot to talk about and the North Side investment happening there, south city, like there's a lot to talk about. North side is really just the last frontier, which is also already happening. Yeah, right, but like to get back into focus, right, like I, I yeah all the things you said. I just like I very clearly see the potential in st louis, like I in a way, have made a bit of a profession out of it in a way.
Speaker 3:Right, but also being a bit more actionable, but also that is like there's work to do. So what the fuck am I going to do? Let other people come in and do this, like when we are perfectly able, bodied and minded, you know? No, absolutely not.
Speaker 4:So for me, I think about this almost every other day. It's what Murphy Lee said. You know, I was like you know, why did you guys wear the jersey backwards? He's like. You know, we stand for the people more so than the team. So you know, they're representing that player and I was like man, okay, and I think for me, I've come to realize as much as I was doing and I'm always doing things for the city it's the people that keep me here. I was doing, and I'm always doing, things for the city. It's the people that keep me here, because there's it's the people we talk about that you know, we see numbers, companies see numbers, but it's actually the impact.
Speaker 4:Think about how many people have seen your murals. Think about how many people have seen your videos. Yeah, this one video goes viral a hundred thousand million views, whatever. And then your next one is like a thousand. You're like dang.
Speaker 4:You know it's weird how that kind of stuff works Algorithms, Algorithms. But it's like people keep pushing me. That you know, and I understand the significance in what I do. St Louis is very weird, um, and maybe this is just how the business world works, but it's like I've seen so many concepts and ideas that I have pitched to companies and places here, like, hey, let's, let's do this, literally three, four years ago, and they're just now starting to do it. And it's just like they don't reach out to me, like, hey, brad, and we finally have this spot, like, let's do this. You know, you reached out to us and they'll just reach out to somebody else with a whole concept. And so that's really where I've learned to not give out those ideas, because those ideas I was giving out just was, you know, innocently, during COVID, to try to help them. I'm like I want to see maybe this hotel or this restaurant like to do well, and they're like, oh, we can't do it at that time which is crazy to me because it was like no one was spending a dollar in that place Um, I think it. It was like going down on a trip that you know was fully paid for, being in the hotel as, like a basketball player, I grew up watching the greatest of all time.
Speaker 4:You know have being treated like you know what, hey, what you do, you're, you're, you're valued, you know we respect you, we appreciate you and you're you're just treated on a whole nother level than you are in your own city when you're looking to help out these places, it's always the people that that that keep me going. St Louis just keeps moving in a weird direction. It's like I was like I'm here to help you, right, you know, with without people like us, lando the creator scene of what it is right now, where everyone, everyone wants to do what we're doing and I'm all for having all different kinds of creators, I'm all for growing that and, like you guys talked about earlier on the on the show is like St Louis only sees it as one. So that's like one of the biggest problems we have is they see it as one. But it's like they see what we do. We're, we're innovators and we're trailblazers and we're really trying to do our best to put on for the city. But we need the city to help and put on for us, whether that's, you know, for applying for, for grants, like they.
Speaker 4:It's so crazy when people know you, they know what you do, they watch what you do, even like on your Instagram stories. Hey, you know, keep that up, or actually they don't even do that. Um, but some people don't even do that. They have the opportunity, but instead of giving you that opportunity. It goes back to making a watered down version. For me it's uh, you know my family's here. Watered down version For me it's you know my family's here, I think just that passion of being here.
Speaker 4:But I will say that I am definitely open to exploring other cities. I'm still going to live here. You know, maybe this is my vacation house one day, but it's like I can't keep moving at this. You know, we're always behind as a city and here in the Midwest and my mind is thinking a hundred miles an hour. I'm thinking of the like creative stuff and I pitch it to somebody. It takes them several years to adapt to it and it's like I have nothing else to show you. Like this social media scene that you guys are seeing, and like the different forms, like we talk about it all the time. We'll try something, we'll tag something and then next thing, you know, bam, everyone's doing it. I've sat down with the travel boards or tourism boards here in St Louis to be like hey, like, let's do this. This is what I'm naturally doing. I've been ghosted by them. I've been. You know, it's like I always have to remember I'm doing it for the people. So the people.
Speaker 2:It's wild that that happens.
Speaker 4:It happens all the time, dude, I remember posting I'll even call it out by name.
Speaker 2:I went to Sado, one of my favorite restaurants in the entire city, and I made a video because it was like for happy hour. I'm like cool, I'll just make something simple with my phone, color graded a certain way, put text over it, whatever. And then two weeks later I see a big page here in Stis do the same video, the same style, same shots. And it was just the same shots, the same warm color. Look, and I'm just like dude.
Speaker 2:And that happens like it happened more than I like to admit, because and that's that's one of the reasons I stopped making st louis content is because my stuff would go this far. But then all these other bigger fish would be like oh, that looks really good, we should do that. So then they do their watered down version and they get all this. So why am I gonna just like work for the scraps that are left behind whenever the bigger fish are done eating? Why and that's just with content creation, like I know that can be translated to probably any facet of life, but like this content creation game is too much fucking work to be fighting for scraps and then, now that there's so many other creators, we're all having to fight for scraps and it's like bro so motherfuckers, gotta team up really and that's the other thing is like people need to collaborate, people need to be recognizing that there are other people doing this stuff a lot more people would be receptive to this than you might think.
Speaker 3:If you think that's, I hope so, because I know so it's. It's bro. People have brought your name up to me and like have you considered dante? I'm like, I know dante. If I wanted dante, we would be working with dante. It's not really an issue of this, that or the third. It's just like what makes sense for what situation? Right, but like, this is to say people have brought you up to me, so it like people know who y'all are and you too then stop being strangers and actually work with us.
Speaker 3:That's what I think is like the curious thing right, because it's like and it's the same shit like this. Like I have no problem admitting that. Like when we were here about this time last week, I was like like hey, can I be on the show please? Can I please be on your show?
Speaker 2:That's not how I said it obviously, but like which obviously I've wanted you on here for a minute, but it's got to be no.
Speaker 3:This is not that kind of situation.
Speaker 2:Right, this is not Totally.
Speaker 4:This is not why I bring that up.
Speaker 3:But, like for a am in a position where I like have to be a bit of a people watcher for one. I have two kids, same right, so there's that and I'm not like super outside, like I was never like super outside.
Speaker 3:I stopped going out in st louis when I was fucking 17. Every party ended in gunfire. That's not a joke. So, um, for a few reasons, a couple of which were just named, I just like have been watching folks. I've been meeting a lot of folks because I'm of the belief that, like, relationships are kind of everything. Just, you know, this is not my fucking degree, right, how'd you get here? I'm guessing to some extent. Relationships, yeah, yes.
Speaker 2:No, maybe, so no 100%. I was able to quit my full time job to be a freelancer full time because of the relationships I built.
Speaker 3:Same, so this is to say, and maybe all those relationships weren't in st louis, but at least like a nice mix. We know there's money here. We know there's hella talent here, like I've I've been to this day like still reach out to folks like, hey, I would love to work with you I don't know what that thing is, but can we get some coffee? That's how brad and I connected. Honestly, like that's probably how I know most of the folks is either they reached out or I reached out. It was some combination and because my consensus that I've gathered from all of this is we all want the same shit, just for different avenues. So I thought of y'all for some content, shit on the way here which we'll talk about off camera.
Speaker 2:No free game.
Speaker 3:Nope, which we'll talk about off camera, but like no free game, just think nope, everybody pretty much our age, just above our age and below is, like hella, receptive to it. Anybody who's not is either getting ready to or has already left st louis for atlanta, chicago, la new york, and that's fine. They'll be back as soon as them bills go up a little bit. They'll be back Talking about oh I can't believe I left, type shit. But what will St Louis look like by then? I'm hoping a ludopia of sorts cultivated by us, instead of being priced out by these developers like we've seen and are seeing in some capacities, in some ways around the corner from here, quite literally, yeah, quite literally around the corner from here.
Speaker 3:Uh, I think it's here, though I also will not. I will not lie as hard as shit. It's incredibly difficult. This time last year, just before the whole conversation about the exhibit, I went to new york thinking like I could live here. I just don't want to pay rent here, like at all. But like I've recently had been thinking about leaving St Louis and it's like, nah, it's just like there's something that, like it's just like keeping you, but you're like you go somewhere else and you see the possibilities, you see like, oh, that's the thing I've needed to like be the next step in whatever I'm trying to build.
Speaker 2:Then you're like St Louis though.
Speaker 4:I think you know, like think about all the people that own the properties, the real estate, downtown, wherever in St Louis, and then they just let it rot Right. But now we have a lot of people coming from outside of St Louis and investing in it and we're like, oh hmm, Something suspicious. Why are you investing?
Speaker 3:I mean right, so like we're like, oh, hmm, something suspicious. Why are you in? I mean right, so like, okay, well, and to add to that, the people who have let those, some of those like millennium hotel, doesn't?
Speaker 4:they don't live in st louis, they're in a whole different continent. Yeah, I know that, literally.
Speaker 2:Yeah and that's not.
Speaker 4:That's not an exception to the, to a lot of other spots in st louis, but that's it but yeah, you know, and it's like I've had partnerships from a lot of companies outside of st Louis and so at this point, with where I'm at man, I've tried to work with the local brewery, actually most of them. I've tried to have them work with me. I've tried to I'll be a little vague with it, but like I've, I've tried to do things here and now, at this point, if there's an of out-of-state company that wants to sponsor the work I am doing for st louis to support the city, there's nothing wrong with that, let's do it and it shouldn't be looked down upon from people in st louis like why are you working with somebody that's not local?
Speaker 2:like are you really like not st louis, like pro community?
Speaker 3:and then you say, well, you give me five, you give me a thousand dollars.
Speaker 2:Then, exactly, it's like we have to do what we can so that we can make this stuff happen.
Speaker 4:People do that.
Speaker 2:And if that means other people have to step in and help and contribute to make that stuff a reality, don't get upset Because they see the potential.
Speaker 4:We've tried. They see the potential here, yes, but our own city's not seeing that potential. We've tried.
Speaker 3:So sometimes you know, we gotta, we gotta do what we gotta do.
Speaker 2:I mean it's. I wouldn't even look at it from a guilty perspective it's not at all, but like there are people out there that would. They'd be like oh, you're not for st louis, because, like, whenever I said I was gonna stop making st louis content, people were like oh, so you don't love the city anymore. I'm like I don't know how how many calories did you burn? Jumping to that conclusion.
Speaker 3:And how quiet were you up until this point. How much money have you contributed to this or connected you?
Speaker 2:to people. Yeah, we ran out of storage, we ran out of a lot of things and, honestly, are you almost?
Speaker 2:15 minutes overdue. Yeah, I got to go. Yeah, he got to go. So thank you for tuning into this episode of this is in the Mind. We're going into this episode of this in the mind. We're gonna. We're gonna have to run this back. We're gonna have to run this back because this is more to. This is a much bigger conversation. I feel like we were just now that you're in the conversation. It's taking a whole shift. We got it. It's going to be an ongoing thing, so don't forget to subscribe. Ring the notification bell, rate the show like the show, subscribe whatever, hit download so that you get it downloaded to your queue every single friday at 6 am central time and if you're in st louis you might die in five minutes, so you might as well just go ahead and try to do this thing.
Speaker 2:Do it now, please you know it sounds jarring, but he does have a valid point. It's factual. I mean, like no minute is guaranteed to anybody. So hit, subscribe, hit, all that stuff. Lando keeps kicking my damn camera. I'll see y'all later, peace.