Inside the Mind of Nick Dais: A Tale of Resilience, Sports Betting & Content Creation

Hey Fit & Frugal Tribe!

How does a street-smart New Yorker conquer the world of sports betting and digital content?

Join us for an invigorating episode as I sit down with the incredible Nick Dais, where he dives into the essence of life, Brazilian Jiu Jit Siu, resilience and content creation.

Nick Dais, a native New Yorker and now Las Vegas resident, is a multifaceted content creator in the realm of sports and sports betting. Known for his engaging platform, Veterans Minimum, Nick brings a unique blend of insightful sports betting discussions and a distinct New York flair.

His work ethic and experiences, influenced by his upbringing and industry icons like Cameron and Mace, have honed his skills in creating content that strikes a chord with his audience.

This conversation is more than just about sports betting; it's a deep dive into the experiences that shape our perspectives and drive success. From his Queens roots to the challenges of building a show without immediate financial rewards, Nick shares a raw and unfiltered look at his journey.

We dive into the behind-the-scenes stories of resilience, strip clubs, and the undying spirit of persistence and take an honest look at social media's influence and why there's a need to showcase true personality.

In a world where content is king, Nick Dais stands out for his authentic approach and unwavering grit. His experiences, insights, and personality make this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in sports betting, content creation, or simply seeking inspiration in their personal and professional lives.

Key Takeaways:
The significance of personal experiences and how they shape one's approach to life and work.
Insights into the intersection of content creation, sports betting, and personal branding.
The importance of forging authentic connections with an audience over merely boosting follower counts.
A critique of the "coddling" of the modern mind and the value of facing adversity for personal growth.
Perspectives on maintaining one’s individuality and integrity within the content creation landscape.

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Transcript

[TRANSCRIPT]

0:00:00 - (Nick Dais): I feel like you never know where those lessons are going to come from. And I'm a big experience guy, so if you tell me some shit and that I've never experienced, I'm not going to be like, oh, no, that's crazy. How could you do that? For you, it probably worked out.

0:00:15 - (Tawni Nguyen): That's part of not giving solicited advice too, because there's a lot of people that judge people based on what they do and they've never done it themselves. And lately, for me, it's like, would you take advice from someone that you wouldn't trade lives with?

0:00:27 - (Nick Dais): One or two things gonna happen. You're gonna show up Wednesday. Next time it's for class or you're not gonna do this again. I want you to be there for me when shit is bad, dude. Don't just come ride the coattail when things are cool. Like, I'm working alongside two dudes that I fucking grew up listening to in Cameron and Mace. I think, like, the coddling of the American mind was such a fascinating book. And I always, always reference it as probably my favorite book ever because it's like, yo, if you were coddled by your friends and your parents, then when you hit the real world, then people aren't going to be nice to you, dude. And it's one problem I find in the content space a lot that people do not show their personality.

0:01:07 - (Tawni Nguyen): Hey, guys. Welcome back to another episode of fit and frugal. My name's Tawni. Today I have here with me my friend Nick. He's going to introduce himself. But if you guys don't know now, you it.

0:01:17 - (Nick Dais): I like it. Nick Dais, born and raised New Yorker.

0:01:21 - (C): So if you don't know now, you.

0:01:23 - (Nick Dais): Know, moved out to Vegas about a year ago. And yeah, I'm a content creator, too. Got a sports betting show. Sports show. And thank you for having me.

0:01:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, of course. I think right before this, before we cut into being super appropriate, we were talking about cocaine and hookers and strippers and all of the good stuff that what Vegas is known for.

0:01:45 - (Nick Dais): Yeah, it does have a lot of misconceptions, though. I think Vegas, when I've been coming to Vegas since I'll be 33 in March. I've been coming to Vegas since I was, like 21. Right. But, like, doing dumb shit with my friends and bachelor parties and all that. And just guy strips and definitely have indulged in strip clubs. Always a good time. And I'm not a strip club guy either.

0:02:10 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, how so?

0:02:11 - (Nick Dais): Because it was always awkward and weird to me. But when I go on vacation, I'm all in. Kind of down with the strip clubs.

0:02:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:02:20 - (Nick Dais): But also, it got to be like a dope city. It can't be like Wyoming. No offense.

0:02:25 - (Tawni Nguyen): I've never been.

0:02:26 - (Nick Dais): That's not a city, that's a state. But for me, I've always, like, I go to Miami often. I come to Vegas often in New York. I went to one strip club one time, and it was by accident, and I ended up knowing one of the strippers. I went to high school, and I got thrown out of the place because you're not supposed to touch them. So she walked over to me and hugged me, and then within seconds, two bouncers just fucking yanked me off.

0:02:55 - (Nick Dais): She was like, no. And they kind of just. I don't know if they had, like, a hit out for me or something, but they just tossed me out. I was like, this is why I don't come to places like this. I don't leave my house, man.

0:03:07 - (C): I have a question. I have a question, though. What is the best city with the best strippers? Best strip club in general?

0:03:14 - (Nick Dais): You're asking the wrong.

0:03:16 - (C): Come on.

0:03:17 - (Nick Dais): In your experience. I love Miami.

0:03:20 - (C): No big booty bitches.

0:03:22 - (Nick Dais): I mean, look, I have a thing for spanish chicks. It's well documented. Anyone that follows me. Eleven is a really cool place. And that's another place that has, like, a huge misconception. It's like a nightclub. It's not just a strip club. And it's a pretty cool time there. We know some people that work there behind the scenes, not just, like, performers. And it's always a good ass time there.

0:03:47 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, I like eleven. I think I went there in 2016 before I went to holy shit. But I want to backtrack before I get all fucking adhd to acknowledge you that I like that you corrected that. Wyoming is a state, not a city. And oddly, one of the things that I quit when I was going on this whole dopamine detox was strip clubs. Because somehow before when I was drinking, I would always end up at a fucking strip club. Like, I look through my phone, I go to Atlanta. We're like, doing real estate stuff. Boom, end up at the strip club, popping bottles. Here I go to a mastermind. Boom, end up at fucking sapphires. So I'm like, where the fuck is all of my fucking money going?

0:04:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): I look through my phone, I have pictures of wads of cash, but then the next day, I don't fucking remember anything. I'm like, man, was I addicted to the alcohol or the strippers but for a guy to say that you didn't really feel connection going there, because I think most guys, when they look for intimacy and connection, they think strip clubs are, like, the easiest place to go to pull girls. And I'm like, no, you're going there to pay for attention.

0:04:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know what I mean? I think that's the hard, defining boundary between being a worker in the industry and being someone that likes the entertainment.

0:04:59 - (Nick Dais): I think strippers might be the best salespeople in the world.

0:05:04 - (C): Yeah, I completely, 1000% fucking agree. Just the simple fact that you said that, because I've said so many times, I'm like, me being a stripper has taught me more about business than I've ever learned from a businessman. I know how to sell myself and sell myself for a lot less than what they are expecting to get out of me. Yeah, that makes sense.

0:05:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): I said that about being a drug dealer. I was like, I think I've learned more about business when I was doing drugs when I was a teenager. More than, like, any of these ten.

0:05:32 - (Nick Dais): Years has taught me to give you some background on me. My dad, to this day, got a coffee truck in New York City. I was supposed to have a tattoo. I don't have any tattoos, but I'm getting my first one here. I'm really excited for it. I've always wanted to get a tattoo that had to do with New York, but I felt weird getting one while living in New York. Like, no knock to anybody, but why would I rep the city that I'm from when I'm living there? It kind of always just didn't sit right with me.

0:06:01 - (Nick Dais): I'm also a really weird dude. I want to point that out.

0:06:05 - (Tawni Nguyen): Maybe that's why you're on this pretty.

0:06:08 - (Nick Dais): Like, I tell people, like, yo, I have a running joke on the show. Anytime someone comes on and they use, like, a big word, I'm just like, yeah, that was a good word. Preposterous. Or, like, some shit like that. Listen, man, I'm pretty dumb, dude. I just work really hard, and I think I have a pretty dope personality. Everyone I meet gets along with me.

0:06:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:06:25 - (Nick Dais): And I don't take myself too seriously.

0:06:30 - (C): That's why you have a dope personality, because you don't take yourself seriously.

0:06:33 - (Nick Dais): Yeah, Alana's my girl. I'll give you that $50 later. Putting me over.

0:06:37 - (Tawni Nguyen): Am I going to get a finder speech just for being in this room?

0:06:41 - (C): You found me first.

0:06:45 - (Nick Dais): But I wanted to get that tattoo, and the reason why I'm saying it because it's Spiderman on, like, a New York City street pole. And the cross signs is 49th street and Park Avenue. That's where my dad has his coffee truck. For 30 years now. He's been on that same corner. And I say all that because I feel like I learned about business and how to work doing that. And I feel that if I didn't work. So I dropped out of college, right? I know I'm bouncing around a lot, but I dropped out of college because I fell in love with creating content.

0:07:22 - (Nick Dais): And if I didn't work with my dad for seven years while building out my show, I don't think I would have been able to ever leave New York and come out here and be able to do the things that I'm doing now and be able to maneuver and learn how to flow with everybody and talk to homeless people the same way I talked to the billionaires that come into the studio. And it's like learning how to talk to everybody. And my dad, the coffee truck, fucking learned how to work.

0:07:53 - (Nick Dais): Self employed, you don't work, you don't eat. Six days a week. I work six days a week, and I'm waking up at 230 in the morning.

0:07:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:08:00 - (Nick Dais): So I say all that because with the tattoo and how you were saying how you learned so much more in the last ten years, doing whatever you were doing and the masterminds and stuff, I feel like you never know where those lessons are going to come from. And I'm a big experience guy, so if you tell me some shit and that I've never experienced, I'm not going to be like, oh, no, that's crazy. How could you do that?

0:08:26 - (Nick Dais): For you, it probably worked out. I like to experience things, and then I'll be able to chime in, and if I haven't, I'll be like, oh, for you, it might work. I can't knock it. If that makes you happy or that helped steer you in a right direction, it's like, yo, do your thing, bro, as long as you're not hurting nobody. That's always been my take. Like, yo, if you're not hurting nobody, bro, go nuts.

0:08:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Because that's part of not giving solicited advice, too, because there's a lot of people that judge people based on what they do, and they've never done it themselves. And lately, for me, it's like, would you take advice from someone that you wouldn't trade lives with? And those are the people that's always going to be shitting on you. Like, oh, I don't like what you're doing, you should do it this way. And I'm like, well, have you done it?

0:09:06 - (Tawni Nguyen): They're like, no, but I've seen someone else do it. I'm like, well, you haven't done it. So unless you've succeeded the way I want to succeed, I don't think I'll respect your opinion, because everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But let me just take that a little bit backwards and draw the line from there.

0:09:22 - (Nick Dais): Yeah. I like coming on shows like this because every show I usually go on is like a sports show, right? Because that's what my content is, that's what my background is. So when I come on shows like this, we always have different conversations and kind of, it allows me to think and also show a different side of me. Like, when I went on Lana's show, I told her that I believe that I have a unique ability to be able to meet a dude.

0:09:46 - (Nick Dais): And within five minutes of talking to them, I could tell how they did with women growing up. Did girls fuck with you because you were cool and you had swag or you had charisma, or do they fuck with you now because you got money and you're successful? And I could sniff that out within the superficial flex. I could just tell right away, I'm like, yo, you were a cornball growing for sure, right? I say all that because you asked about trading lives with anyone. Would you?

0:10:19 - (Tawni Nguyen): No. I think back in my twenty s, I probably would have a cool answer for you. But lately, when I've been more empowered and stepping into my own life to be more present in my actual living identity, I fucking love it. And I don't think I would trade it for anything because I felt like I missed out on it for so many years. Like, I'm 34 this year, and I don't think I started living until like, six months ago.

0:10:41 - (Tawni Nguyen): Right? So no, I would not trade lives. Unless you're talking for superficial reasons, like the know. But would I trade lives with Elon Musk about his intelligence and his ability to innovate? Sure, I would like to know what it's like inside of his mind. But do I want all of his kids? Probably not. Because I don't think I'm responsible enough to trade lives to have like, eleven kids under me and trying to use me as a role model because I'm still developing that person. I'm still developing and nurturing that person that I know now. My childhood, like my inner child would feel safe with, but I was never safe with myself for, like, 30 something years up until now, that I'm like, wow, I'm finally becoming the person that I'm proud of, that I want to keep going and see where this person takes me.

0:11:26 - (Nick Dais): Yeah, that makes sense. And I don't think you're wrong. I naturally gravitate to people that have been through some shit. I need you to have baggage. Yeah, for real, though, because I want you to. That could be taken out of context, but what I'm going with is.

0:11:47 - (C): You sound toxic.

0:11:49 - (Nick Dais): No, what I'm saying is I have to know that you could go through adversity in any way. I got friends that the moment something goes bad, it's like the end of the world. The end of the world. It's like, bro. Yeah, fuck, dude.

0:12:07 - (C): Resilience.

0:12:08 - (Nick Dais): Yeah. Show me persistence. Show me that. That's another reason why I really like jiu jitsu, right? That's one thing. If I'm not at the studio creating content or I'm not playing xbox, I'm at the gym, I'm at Jiu Jitsu. And there's a lot of microcosms between life and that because it's like, yo, shit's going to take time, dude. You're going to show up often, and you're going to get your ass beat, and then, guess what? You're going to show up again and get your ass beat. And you might get your ass beat for, like, six weeks, and then eventually that, dude, that's been, like, fucking you up on the mat, you're going to submit them or you're going to end up dominating them, and then it's like, oh, shit. This is what happens when you put in work. It's like, if the first time I went to my jiu jitsu class, I got fucking violated by, like, a 15 year old, 130 pound kid.

0:12:52 - (Nick Dais): And I was like, about it. I was like, 28 years old, and I've been doing jujitsu now for four years, and this kid was 1415 years old. His name was Joey. And my coach at the time, Sergio de Silva, he was a fighter, fought in Bellator, and he was a black belt. He was our instructor. He was like, yo, you got to come do jiu jitsu. I know how you are. You'll fall in love with it. I don't want to say I have an addictive personality, but I do like doing.

0:13:20 - (Nick Dais): I'm a big routine guy. I wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends, I'm at the gym at a certain time at night, I'm doing the same thing, right? He's like, yeah, I think you would love it. So I showed up, and I'm like, what? I'm 28, maybe. Like, I was pretty heavy. I was like, 225 pounds. 230. I'm like, under 200 now, to put it in perspective. But he's like, yo, go with him. I was like, him?

0:13:46 - (Nick Dais): Come on, bro. His kids in fucking high school.

0:13:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): I'm going to wreck him.

0:13:49 - (Nick Dais): I outweigh him by 100 pounds, dude. He fucking just violated me. Yeah, he was only training, like, six months. It's not like this kid was a purple belt or something crazy. And I just got up, Deer in the headlights. Had no idea what's happening. He's like, yo, one or two things are going to happen. You're going to show up Wednesday. Next time it's for class, or you're not going to do this again. It's such a microcosm of life. Because going back to what I told you, like, yo, I need you to have some baggage. I need you to tell me. Like, yo, man, I had a three year stretch where I was going through some shit. I filed for bankruptcy, or I was unemployed. I was barely getting by. What if delivering newspapers or pizza? I was a pizza delivery guy, too.

0:14:32 - (Nick Dais): I'm like, yo, I need you to have some shit. My favorite people all have had some crazy struggle, and they've gotten through it, or they're getting through it, but to me, like, adversity, I think is sexy.

0:14:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Like, me and Lana, we joke about childhood trauma. Like, we can joke about it because we love the humility behind people that can actually bring out their traumas and not use it to project onto others, but just use it as kind of like a light. Like, we can joke about it. They're beautiful, and they're beautiful. They don't have to shape you, because that's not who you. It's just something that happened to you. It's not who you are. It's just something that happened to you. It's just how you choose to.

0:15:08 - (C): How you choose to take it, right?

0:15:10 - (Nick Dais): Well, on that point, I have a strong dislike for people that have their trauma be their whole fucking.

0:15:20 - (C): Their identity.

0:15:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:15:23 - (Nick Dais): That. I'm like, hey, man, look, bro, look, pull the curtain back. I wanted to kill myself a couple of years ago for a couple of months. And I know everyone watching. I know you're glad I didn't, because what would you do without the. I'm going to need that clip, too. In particular. I want to be here. You guys are welcome. But I went through some shit, too. I had a group of friends I was doing my show with at the time, and I wasn't star spangled fucking perfect, and I'll admit that. And I was going through some stuff. I was going to be a police officer, and my parents were pulling me in this one direction, like, yo, stability and job security and a pension. Like, dude, when you're 45, you'll be able to retire. And I was like, bro, all I want to do is fucking create content and shit. And then I was talking to some girl at the time, and I thought that that might be the one.

0:16:15 - (Nick Dais): The one, as I do air quotes because I fall in love really easy. That's another reason why I'm single, because I'm just like an all in kind of guy.

0:16:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): You wear your heart in your sleeve.

0:16:24 - (Nick Dais): Oh, yeah. So I had that, my fallout with my friends that I was doing my show with, fallout with another friend. And I'm talking about, like, childhood friends. And I owed money to bookies because I had, like, a crazy gambling addiction. Just a lot of shit. My family business was going down the drain because of construction going down. So our spot got moved from where I told you my dad's job was for 30 years.

0:16:50 - (Nick Dais): It got moved, and then before you know it, where you're making, hypothetically speaking, $100,000 a year, you end up making 30 over the next year. So it's like, I'm fucking going to loan sharks to get money to just fucking be able to survive. So I was going through mad shit, and then for a good three month stretch, I'd say from August to Thanksgiving, I was like, yo, I'm going to fucking just take my shit out.

0:17:19 - (Nick Dais): I'm going to just go like, fuck this. I was super depressed, and I was just going through it. And I think the only thing that saved me, honestly, was, like, the two days a week where I would go and I would record content, and I wasn't even doing jujitsu at the time, but it was just like, I was being pulled in so many different directions. And it's so much easier, obviously, to talk about it now because I turned it into something. But that same gambling addiction, now I get to talk about betting for a living, and that has helped transpire everything that I'm doing now.

0:17:49 - (Nick Dais): And then those friends that I had the fallout with and all that, now I'm cool with them again. At the time, I was like, yo, I'm never speaking to you again. It's like, bro, time heals all, dude. Eventually, time, shit. Will subside, and you'll be fine. And then it was like, that girl that I was fucking in love with. Haven't thought about her since. Until now. Because I'm telling this story. It's just like, you don't know, right?

0:18:14 - (Nick Dais): You don't know, so. And then I end up not being a cop, and my parents hated it, but now I'm making pretty. I'm doing pretty well for myself, and I'm doing, like, shit that I really enjoy. So going back, I know we went on a crazy tangent, but we always do Halana.

0:18:32 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:18:32 - (C): Every time.

0:18:33 - (Nick Dais): I call it controlled chaos, because I always know where I'm going to bring it back whenever I do my show, too. But I needed those fucking growing pains, dude. I needed to go through all that. And then you realize who your friends are and you realize who's really there for you. I want you to be there for me when shit is bad, dude, don't just come ride the coattail when things are cool. Now I'm working alongside two dudes that I fucking grew up listening to in Cameron and Mace, right? Like, I produce and edit their show. It is what it is. And it's like, one of the top sports shows going on, right?

0:19:08 - (Nick Dais): And I have a bunch of friends that have hit me up over the last couple of months that I haven't heard from in a while. And I am petty when I say I'm petty. I have a thing on my phone in my notes. It's literally called the menu. And it's everybody that has ever slighted me in any way, guy, girl, mom, dad, fuck everybody, whether good or bad. I've made note, like, oh, I'm going to remember that. And I'm going to tell you, too, you are entitled to your opinion, 100% if you think what I'm doing sucks and it's not going to work, cool.

0:19:44 - (Nick Dais): But when it does, I'm going to let you know.

0:19:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:19:48 - (Nick Dais): I'm going to be like, hey, man, remember what you said? Because I do.

0:19:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): September 19, 1998.

0:19:54 - (Nick Dais): It's not that crazy with the dates, but it's like, and, yo, I'll tell you this, and listen, I'll tell you this, too, and I'll give you a prime example. My buddy Dominic. I know him, 2020 years, one of my best friends. When I was going to go be a cop, and the fallout happened with the show, and I was going to take it over, he comes to my dad's Job in the city, 49th and Park Avenue, and he goes, dude, why are you even going to do your show anymore, man. You've been doing it four years.

0:20:27 - (Nick Dais): You got a cool thing here. Go open up your food truck and do all that shit. Fuck the podcast. And I just turned to him. I was like, hey, man, is it bothering, like, am I asking you for money for this? And what I'm doing, is it affecting you in any way? He's like, no. He's like, look, all right, man, let me know. Put him on the menu. That same kid. Same kid. When I moved out to Vegas, we went and grabbed the beer. He's like, yo, how's the move going? I'm like, dude, fucking August 16, they told me I got to move out to Vegas. September 1, I was out here, right? Like, this shit happened quick.

0:21:01 - (Nick Dais): Same dude. We go out, didn't even ask him for money. Didn't ask him for money on his own. Venmoed me a couple of. He was like, yo, give it to me. You have a year. Give it to me. I know you're going out there for a good thing. You're going for your career. You're not going to fuck around. And I know this is going to help you because I was like, dude, I maxed out a credit card. I got to ship everything out there. Got a fucking security deposit and all that.

0:21:26 - (Nick Dais): That same kid that doubted me, gave me money on his own, I paid him back. But it's like, yeah, just because you're on the menu, it doesn't mean that it's like you're slided forever.

0:21:38 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:21:39 - (Nick Dais): And then eventually, I just think if you're so locked into what you're doing, people eventually are going to co sign it whether they want to or not. It's like, at some point it becomes undeniable. Like, yo, you're a fucking persistent motherfucker, man. And that's how I describe myself when they're like, yeah, if you could use one word to describe yourself, I'd say I'm persistent.

0:21:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, because a lot of that, there's a lot of people. You've heard that quote, like, there's a lot of people that wants to be a part of the outcome, but they don't want to be a part of the process. But during the process, it's when you find out who deserves to be at your outcome. And going back to that, with the whole vulnerability thing, I just want to acknowledge you for even saying, like, you have a menu. Because I think a lot of men can't distinguish between what they want to use as revenge and that somewhere in the middle that you understand what forgiveness for humanity is, because in that story, there's a lot of humanity that reflects his goodwill and his seeing you for who you are. And he actually has the value. Like, he actually values you as a friend, even though he understands that he may or may not have wronged you. I don't know how ethical, moral other people might be right.

0:22:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): But in a way, you didn't answer it in an aggressive way to where he's like, what the fuck? Because you could have easily been like, oh, for sure. Like, fuck off, dude.

0:22:56 - (Nick Dais): And, yo, look, like I said before, I was around that time, I was very difficult to deal with because I was going through my own shit. And again, the experiencing that we were talking about, it was a big lesson for me that just because you're going through some stuff doesn't mean you have to lash out at those people. They have no idea. They had no idea, you know what I'm saying? So now, ever since then, I'm a little too open with my shit.

0:23:23 - (Nick Dais): I'm a little too out there with everything. So I don't have no skeletons in my closet. Everything's out there, bro. So if you come out and you're like, yo, I can't believe you said this. It's like, yeah, it's there. I don't hide behind it. You know what I mean? So with him, I hate using this word because people just throw it around too much. But I'm super fucking blessed with the people that I grew up with and him being one of them, where my group of friends, like, my core group of friends, they'll talk shit to my face, but then in private, they got me.

0:23:57 - (Nick Dais): You know what I'm saying? Those are like, dude, why'd you fucking wear that outfit? Like, yo, you look like shit, dude. Come on. You want to be on tv? Shit. Like, what the fuck are you wearing?

0:24:07 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:24:10 - (Nick Dais): I went back home for Thanksgiving, and every Sunday, I used to play football in this league. And a lot of the guys there know about Cameron and Mace, so I've been on their show a couple times, just making spots and whatnot. And a lot of the guys would come up to me and be like, yo, bro, that's so fucking cool. Like, New York legends. Like, holy shit. I can't believe it. And then my friend Finney, who's, like, one of my best friends, they're all, like, complimenting me. Like, yo, I'm proud of you, bro. Congrats. And he's changed. He goes, yo, he's a yo and just, like, walked away.

0:24:41 - (Nick Dais): But it's like, to me, that's our interaction. That's like our friendship. You know what I mean? Like, talking shit to me in public, but in private, when I'm not there, it's like, nah, I got you. You know what I mean? So I do have a question for you, because I said that I describe myself as persistent. What's one word you would use to describe yourself?

0:25:06 - (Tawni Nguyen): I think a lot of the time, I think from 2020 and everything I went through, I relied on the word grit.

0:25:12 - (Nick Dais): Okay.

0:25:13 - (Tawni Nguyen): I like grit because at one point or another, there's been a few times where I'm pretty close to the end too. But there's that something in me that wants to hold on, and I never understood that word until. You're fighting your demons. You're fighting yourself. I was fighting my alcoholism. I was fighting my addiction to drugs. I was fighting being in a really long term relationship that had zero potential.

0:25:38 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I think in that time, I didn't know why I was holding on, because part of you wants to let go, but you don't know that you're attached to something because of. I think when you brought up the addictive personality, I didn't know I had that. But when I was talking to my therapist and stuff, they're like, well, it's grit. Like, why you're resilient, because how your ability to tolerate abuse shouldn't have to do with your ability to be courageous enough to walk away.

0:26:05 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I think that word really stuck with me in the last four years, and it's that internal battle that you always have to wake up, and you always have to find a way to hold on to your own life. And I think that's something that it's really meaningful to me in the last few years. Would that word change in the next year? I think so. I just don't know where it is, because I really like the word persistence. Right. Because persistent and consistency is just doing something, even if you don't see results. Like you said, you did your show for four years, and I was telling Lana, I think during the 21st episode, after the 10th episode, I wanted to quit.

0:26:41 - (Nick Dais): Everyone does.

0:26:42 - (Tawni Nguyen): Everyone wants to quit.

0:26:43 - (Nick Dais): I think the number is, like, six or seven episodes.

0:26:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. On the 10th one, I'm like, man, I don't want to do this. I don't see any results. I just don't see it. But I asked myself, I'm like, do I love it? Does it show who I am? Like, Alex from Rosie was like, does this give me a stack of undeniable proof that I am going to be who I say I am. And I'm like, if I'm going to determine to do something, I'm going to fucking do it. And I'm going to fight for that person that says they're going to do it.

0:27:09 - (Tawni Nguyen): And just to talk to her, she was like, it's just about showing up, right? So you can't really show up in your life if you're not showing up for yourself. I think grit is something that it's really hard to explain, but there's just a really deep part of you that goes inward and fight all of the limiting beliefs of, like, what's my purpose? Why am I doing this for? What's the point of this? Because at any point of if it sounds to me like you've been through suicidal depression, too, it's rough.

0:27:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): Sit with yourself by yourself, and you realize no one really gives a shit. And it's like, how empty that feeling is. And if you don't have something to hold on to, it's much easier to let go of life than it is to hang on and to keep fighting.

0:28:01 - (Nick Dais): Yeah. And I think if I could give you any advice, I'd say, don't lose that word. I think grit is what me? I hope I never not describe myself as persistent. I did my show for six fucking years, didn't make a dollar. No dollar. Two episodes a week, every week. Six years. Yeah. Did I have a couple? And when I say, did it make a dollar? I mean, like a sustainable income? Did we have a one off sponsor come in and give us like $10,000 for the football season? But there were six of us that got split up. And then when you do the math, it's like, yeah, I really made, like, $20 an episode that football season, right?

0:28:42 - (Nick Dais): But you got that large sum of money when you haven't made shit all this time and you're like, oh, shit, we just got two k each. Let's go, bro. And then you get the follow up of standards and protocol, right? Like, oh, we got to do an ad read every week, every episode, each of us. And then you're sitting back and you're like, it's like $25 an episode, right? It's basically minimum wage, but it's dope. And it's the first time that you make money. And then I launch a Patreon, and then you have that core group of 150 people that give you money every week, every month, and it's like, yo, that's cool, too. And then you build relationships with them where, dude, if someone's giving you $40 a month, I think you should know their name.

0:29:28 - (Nick Dais): It's a gym membership. You know what I mean? I always think of the thing that has really helped me with everything I do. It comes down to these things. Do I genuinely love doing it? Sounds so cliche, but this is what helps me do. I genuinely love doing it. I'll find a way to monetize it. And three, I hope my perspective never changes. That's it. That's like. And get shit done. Like the showing up thing that you said you have to, dude, I put out two episodes a week for eight years, and the weeks that I didn't, the following week, I would put up three. And the one time that I didn't was when my friend Sergio, who got me into jiu jitsu, killed, so.

0:30:19 - (Nick Dais): And it's like, yeah, I can't go record. Then it was literally the day of. And it's like, yo, you got a man, like, persistence, discipline. I never want to work. I hate working out. I tell people this all the time. I hate it. I hate putting my body through that, but I have to do it because I also was fat at one point, so you know how there's a huge push with guys and girls? Like, the six foot girls need their guy to be over six foot. I'm a 510 white dude, and I say it with pride.

0:30:52 - (Nick Dais): I've never been six foot eight, and then I became 510. You know what I mean? I can't control that. I've been 250 pounds, and it's like, hey, I don't want to do that again. So, to me, it's like the showing up thing. Yeah, that's like the backbone of it, and I got that from my pops. Like I told you, I've never been on a family vacation with my parents.

0:31:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): Me neither.

0:31:13 - (Nick Dais): Never. My dad is self employed, my mom's a teacher, and she's off on the summers, but that's when my dad's busiest. So it's like, I work with some people. I've worked with people in the past where they're like, oh, my God. I can't believe I'm working five days this week. It's like, what?

0:31:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:31:32 - (Nick Dais): What do you mean you can't believe, bro? It's a Tuesday. You have to work. What is happening? So, to me, it's like, I would like one day off a week. My only request. And even then, I'm on my couch, I'm chilling, and I don't know if it's OCD. But it's like something with those, like, the acronyms or whatever. It's like I have to be doing something. But then when I do chill, I feel like I earned it. So my Sundays during the football season, I'm on the couch. Don't text me. Don't bother me. If you want me, come to the house.

0:32:02 - (Nick Dais): I'm not leaving. I have this little foot rest thing. I put my feet up. I'm chilling, but I feel like I earned it throughout the week.

0:32:08 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, but why is that? That you feel like you have to earn it with the amount of productivity that you have? Because you're obviously doing something meaningful. You said you love what you're doing, and it really shows because people who love what they're doing, they just radiate different.

0:32:22 - (Nick Dais): Yeah. It's infectious.

0:32:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): I know. I've been in rooms with a lot of people that are super rich, billionaires, whatever you want to call them.

0:32:28 - (Nick Dais): They're lame as shit.

0:32:30 - (Tawni Nguyen): They feel really miserable. But when they talk, it's just performance ego. Oh, I close this, da da da, this portfolio and this and that, and I'm just like, okay, but how do you really feel?

0:32:41 - (Nick Dais): Yeah.

0:32:41 - (Tawni Nguyen): And then when they really tell me after a couple of drinks, they're like, my wife's cheating on me. My kids don't want to talk to me. And it hurts me to hear that, because on a superficial level, that's why we call it the flex. Right? They look really successful. Their instagrams together, they drive nice cars, but they don't have a happy home. And even with that productivity thing, I feel like a lot of those men that I knew drove themselves into work because they don't have space, right? Because for men, I don't know if you guys are wired differently, but you guys are not taught to rest. And that rest doesn't need to be earned. It's just a part of you. And when you're productively resting, it actually recharges you, and it makes you even more productive not to where you're burning out, and then you're, like, dying.

0:33:27 - (Nick Dais): I hate that word. I hate burning out. Yeah.

0:33:30 - (Tawni Nguyen): Why? Tell me more. Why?

0:33:32 - (Nick Dais): No, the trigger word. Yeah. Burning out gets me pissed, because I feel like. So I have a lot of people because this is the busiest I've ever been. This is the busiest I've ever been the last couple of months. But it's also the most successful I've ever been from a financial standpoint. I made more money in the last quarter of 2023 than I did all of 2023. But I'm super busy. Right. And this isn't a flex. That's not my thing at all. But what I'm saying is, I've had a lot of people be like, dude, are you not worried about having no time for yourself? Are you not worried about.

0:34:13 - (Nick Dais): You're pretty much working every day. Are you not worried about. It's like, bro, just because you can't. Don't put that shit on me. I was like, I am a fucking dog. I'm a dog. I am going to get shit done, and I'll figure it out. And again, what I told you, the three pillars that I go back to, it's like, I genuinely enjoy doing it.

0:34:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:34:33 - (Nick Dais): And that's why I kind of do the same things over and over again.

0:34:37 - (Tawni Nguyen): And it's like the season that you've been waiting for, too, right? You've worked so hard to get here, and you know that this is not going to be the rest of your life like, that you're going to be this busy.

0:34:47 - (Nick Dais): Fuck, yeah. I want it to be like this all the time. Yeah, dude, are you kidding me?

0:34:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): What are you running?

0:34:52 - (Nick Dais): The same thing I'm not running from, yo, this is a big issue I have. And another thing that kind of just triggered me now.

0:34:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's like, yeah, let's do it. Lana, we did it.

0:35:02 - (Nick Dais): It really upsets me when people become successful and then just tell everybody that they're miserable about that. They'll be like, oh, I thought all this money was going to make me happy, but then I'm not happy. It's like, what, are you fucking crazy, dude? I used to have to work for 8 hours a day from 230 in the morning till eleven, flipping eggs and making coffees in fucking minus degree weather in the city six days a week to make $450.

0:35:35 - (Nick Dais): Now I make that in an edit on the couch in my boxers. And you're going to tell me that? That's why I said perspective.

0:35:44 - (C): I got a visual, dude.

0:35:46 - (Nick Dais): Yeah, me too.

0:35:47 - (Tawni Nguyen): What color was the boxer?

0:35:49 - (Nick Dais): I get red boxes. And again, I think it starts in the home, right? I think it starts with my parents and my group of friends that I had around me. Perspective, I think, is everything. Like, if you don't have perspective, I feel bad for you. And if you don't have people that fucking tell you when you're being a piece of shit, I feel bad for you. Also. I kind of put people through testers. I set them up to give me the answer I don't want to hear. And then I'm like, yeah, I can't fuck with you.

0:36:23 - (Nick Dais): I'll tell them something to see if they agree with me, even though I don't want them to agree with me. Do you follow what I'm saying?

0:36:31 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:36:32 - (Nick Dais): I'll set them up, in a sense, to see if they're really looking out for me or not. And my parents, from day one, have always just been like, yo, bro, it's going to be hard. When I dropped out of college, my dad was like, yo, the only thing I'm going to do for you, I'm not going to even hand over the business to you, because this was my shit. The only thing I'll do for you is you could work with me. So you'll be able to make some money. You'll be able to get by everything else. Just figure it out. So I'm a big figure it out guy as long as I'm having fun doing it.

0:37:00 - (Nick Dais): And my mom, I called her, like, two weeks before all this shit started in the football season. I was like, dude, I'm going to be so busy. I don't know this. And like, yo, you used to edit for free. Now you're going to make money for that, and you're going to complain. The fuck's wrong with you?

0:37:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love your parents, yo, the best.

0:37:18 - (Nick Dais): Shout out to mom and dad. Tony and Kathy. You know what I'm saying? I wouldn't be like that if it wasn't for them. And she's like, are you fucking crazy? You're going to make more money than me. My mom's a teacher. Make more money than me in your boxers. You can play xbox while doing it. Like, what the fuck is wrong with you? So when you said the burning out word again, we went on a tangent because that word drives me fucking crazy. Like, nah, yo, just because you can't operate the way I can don't mean that you got to put that shit around me.

0:37:45 - (Nick Dais): My friend Josh that I work with yesterday, he's like, yo, do you feel like you get burnt out? I was. No, no, don't say that. You're not just because you're not built for it or you're soft and you haven't been through some shit going back to. We were talking about before, Lana, about, you got to go through shit, man. My favorite people have all been through. Like, they got let off their job, they bounce back.

0:38:09 - (Nick Dais): They got divorced. They bounce back like a girl broke their heart. It's like, yeah, man, I don't want it all sunshines and rainbows. I need that grit I need that persistence. It shows me that when shit hits.

0:38:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): The fan, they're the ones to call.

0:38:22 - (Nick Dais): You're going to be all right.

0:38:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, I joke about it, too, when I talk about in a zombie apocalypse, who you're going to call. Because I feel like when I was teaching college kids, I don't want to offend anyone. But you know how now they joke, Gen Z's are so soft compared to us. Like, back then, when I was growing up, when I was 21, I was working like fucking 60, 80 hours a week. Like three, four jobs. Because one, I was running from something that I later found out in therapy, but it wired me differently to where a lot of girls now. That's why there's no offense to only fans and stuff. When I quit the bar, all of my patrons, they were literally like, set up an onlyfans. Like, we got you.

0:38:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): But I was so fucking high in my ego, and I'm like, you know what? I'm going to move to Vegas. I'll figure it out without becoming a stripper. And then when I got here and I couldn't get a job, I was like, okay, maybe I should become a stripper. I got to do something right. But going back to that, I think it just builds character differently, and it builds you with substance because there's a lot of condiments. People out there, they tell you what you want to hear.

0:39:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): They're all like, oh, my God, you're amazing. This and that. And I just think it's not the right kind of softness. There's softness that comes from being really empowered and really embraced in knowing who you are and living authentically to your integrity. And they're soft, as in, like, if you throw them in a fucking little situation, financial is the easiest one to measure. And they'll crumble. They'll crumble like, they'll crumble in a breakup. They'll crumble under pressure. But when you brought up that whole chaos thing, which is kind of good, because I do see both side of the perspective because I thrived in chaotic environments, too.

0:39:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): Part of what we love is childhood trauma, but I think it just wires us differently to where we actually don't crumble and we actually sustain our energy and we see things differently versus people that's never been through adversity. They're like, oh, my God, I'm so anxious and all this stuff. I'm like, I'm anxious every day. But when you put me in the middle of some shit, I'm like, I've been more never calm than ever.

0:40:19 - (Nick Dais): And I think a lot of it had to do with athletics growing up. And then again, my parents, man, fuck, I'm so happy they raised me the way they did. And I did after school Greek for twelve years. So Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I would go for 2 hours to after school Greek. I fucking hated it. I mean, hated. Now I could speak, read, and write Greek fluently to the point when people meet me and I speak Greek to them, they're like, you were born here.

0:40:49 - (Nick Dais): I don't have the accent, so now I know a second language and it's like popping, right? And sometimes to troll my friends, I'll be like, yo, you know that they say people that know two languages are smarter than people that only know one. So I'll be like, yo, y'all can't fuck with me. No way. Just to be an asshole.

0:41:09 - (C): Yeah, all three of us can.

0:41:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): All three of us?

0:41:11 - (C): Yeah.

0:41:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, if I didn't speak English, I think I would be fine. Except how I looked in Vietnam. I looked like a whitewashed Asian when I went to Vietnam. But once I spoke, if I'm on the phone, they can't tell.

0:41:22 - (Nick Dais): They can't tell. Yeah, that's dope. That's so dope. And my mom, you're talking about childhood trauma. I didn't really have any, but they were tough on me, though. My mom would be like, yo, listen, man, one day you're going to get older and ain't going to be fucking.

0:41:36 - (C): But see, that's also perspective.

0:41:39 - (Nick Dais): Perspective?

0:41:39 - (C): Yeah, that's perspective. Some people will look at their parents being strict as childhood trauma. Like, you hit me, you yelled at me, you put me in a corner. Whereas we see it as like, my parents raised me, right?

0:41:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:41:51 - (Nick Dais): Fun fact, my mom never laid her hand on me until I was 23 years old.

0:41:55 - (C): What did you do when you was 23?

0:41:57 - (Nick Dais): I went away for the weekend and I didn't let her know. To this day. To this day. Text me when you get there. That's it. When I went to Columbia in August. Just text me in the morning. I just want to know that all your fucking limbs are intact, there's not a kidney missing. Just text me in the morning. Text me when you land. You ever seen the meme where it's like I'm 32 years old, but I text my mom when I land in the airport and the girl is on the phone just like texting. Like, yo, that's how I am, right?

0:42:23 - (Nick Dais): So I went away for the whole weekend. My friend Espo has a summer house in Connecticut, and one night, it was, like, Friday at midnight. We just got in the car, and we drove to Connecticut, and we called it the woods. So we would have service, but we would tell our parents we didn't have service and shit. We would kind of just chill on the dock and water tube and all that. Chill on his boat and just get fucking hammered, right?

0:42:49 - (Nick Dais): And I get back home Monday morning, my mom's like, where the fuck were you just yelling at me? I was like, ma, come on. I'm 23 now. So she went to himmy, and I grabbed her hand. I was like, that's not happening. She's like, all right. Three days later, I come out the shower. She backhanded me.

0:43:04 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I mean, butt naked and wet.

0:43:07 - (Nick Dais): I just had the towel on. She backhanded me. I fall back on the toilet, dick and balls out, towel down. Just so fucking vulnerable. That's trauma right there. Your fucking balls and dick out in the toilet. Your mom just slapped the fucking life out of you. And she's like, yo, you could turn 50 years old. I'll still fuck you up. And just walked away. Damn. So, like, yo, I didn't get hit growing up. I didn't get hit.

0:43:35 - (Nick Dais): But the way my parents disciplined me was like, yo, I loved playing sports, right? So I would wait all week to go play my soccer game on Saturday. Go play football with my friends. Like, yo, you're not allowed to go. Wow. I would beg for ass whoopings. I'd be like, yo, hit me. Let me go. Say, nah. I'm going to hit you where it hurts. No Xbox, no PlayStation. You can't go to football practice. And then I remember one time, I'm trying to think of stories.

0:44:00 - (Nick Dais): Fifth grade, I told my mom, yo, miss so and so don't like me. She's like, who gives a fuck? Not everyone's gonna like you. It's April. In June, you're gonna graduate, go to a different school. You won't see her again.

0:44:12 - (C): Nice.

0:44:13 - (Nick Dais): Tough it up. You'll be fine. And I just think about, like, nowadays, your kid comes up to you. Yo, the teacher don't like me. Netflix special. We got to get this chick out of here. Not little Nick. Nah. Little Nick is a piece of shit, bro. Sometimes that's the answer, too. You can't do nothing to a shitty kid.

0:44:35 - (C): Oh, God. Yeah.

0:44:41 - (Nick Dais): The trauma stuff.

0:44:42 - (Tawni Nguyen): Processing the dick and balls out on the toilet.

0:44:44 - (C): Bro, that's a clip. I just wrote it down. I was like, no, this is going.

0:44:48 - (Nick Dais): To tag my mom, too.

0:44:49 - (C): I'm a tag my mom tag the mom, bro.

0:44:54 - (Nick Dais): She slapped the shit out of me.

0:44:56 - (C): I love that.

0:44:56 - (Nick Dais): And yeah, I felt like that was like 23 years of wanting to put her hands on me.

0:45:02 - (C): She's like, you're old enough now. It's not child abuse.

0:45:04 - (Nick Dais): Backhand.

0:45:05 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, I actually really like that parenting thing. I took away a lot of stuff that I feel is really calling to me because I think before I had a whole thing of how to raise children and how to embrace vulnerability without being shown vulnerability. Because we talk a lot about our parents not being emotionally mature and dealing with us. But now I see it from a different perspective as a grown up because I'm like, they're just people. They're going through our shit. Because I'm like, imagine me at this age. If I had a kid right now, I would fuck that kid up. Or actually, if I had the kid in my twenty s, I would fuck up that kid's life.

0:45:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I'm glad I never knock on wood, like, got pregnant by the wrong person or got married to the wrong person.

0:45:45 - (Nick Dais): Because, dude, I think that's a lottery. Yeah, it's a lottery you're going to hit. My parents been together 37 years and I recently asked them when I went back for Thanksgiving. No, it was in the summertime. We went out to dinner and I asked her, I was like, yeah, of the 37. 36 years at the time, how many were great? Snap answer. She said three. I was like, for real? I was like, how many were shitty? She's like, twelve.

0:46:09 - (Nick Dais): And then everything else was kind of like coin flip. And she's like, yo, that's a problem with your generation. Again, adversity and shit goes south. It's like if us two are dating and you do something I don't like, it's like, I'll fuck this bitch. I can't be with her no more. It's like, bro, my mom was like, yo, there's a guy I love. I've been with him all these years. Yeah, it's not always going to be pretty.

0:46:33 - (Nick Dais): It's going to be some foul shit.

0:46:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:46:36 - (Nick Dais): Another thing, I don't trust people that agree with me on everything.

0:46:41 - (C): Oh, that's.

0:46:45 - (Tawni Nguyen): Being disagreeable is hot because.

0:46:47 - (C): It'S like, have your own mentality. Have your own not.

0:46:52 - (Tawni Nguyen): You have a fucking echo chamber.

0:46:53 - (C): Yes.

0:46:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, yes, ma'am. Good idea.

0:46:56 - (Nick Dais): Again, I don't really talk to girls on shows like this, so I love hearing perspective. I'm not married to my opinions ever. Like, I might come in here with one thing and you'll be like, nah, yo, it's like this. I'll be like, okay. I can see it, right?

0:47:10 - (C): I see your perspective.

0:47:11 - (Nick Dais): So I've never understood.

0:47:17 - (C): People who, when.

0:47:19 - (Nick Dais): Girls describe guys as controlling. Now, here's the thing. I've never controlled any girl. I've been like, yo, I don't want you to control me either. Girl I was talking to before I left to move to Vegas, my friend Joey calls me. He goes, yo, Josh's bachelor party is in July. We're thinking of Vegas or Scottsdale. He's like, can you help me book? Because I'm known as, like, that guy. I take initiative.

0:47:48 - (Nick Dais): If I don't pursue it and book a room or some shit, it's never going to get done. So I was like, yo, I'll help. The girl was with me. You were watching a movie on the couch. She's like, what was that about? I was like, oh, Josh's bachelor, probably. Josh is one of my best friends. She's like, you're going to go? I was like, of course I'm going to go. She's like, no, you're not. I was like, there's no way you're being serious, right? She's like, yeah, you can't go on it. I was like, what? Yo, I'm 30.

0:48:10 - (Nick Dais): My parents haven't told me what to do in, like, 20 years. I was like, we can't have that. We just can't have that. So is that controlling? I would say so.

0:48:22 - (C): That's not controlling. That's boundaries. Yeah, that's completely different.

0:48:25 - (Nick Dais): Right. So my question to you is, how would you describe a guy that's controlling?

0:48:32 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, to back that up, I think that's just her insecurity getting rejected. She is controlling, but you don't know where the insecurity is stemming from because there's a misconception. If it's not a trusting, it's not about you. Because there is a thing that guys that go on bachelor parties, it's hookers and blow and all of these things, right? So if it's a trusting, then it is about your relationship. But if it's just her insecurity of you being around other hotter women in Vegas, then that's her own thing. So until you get to the root of that, which a lot of women don't know why or how they're insecure and how they're projecting it and how they're bringing those baggage into the relationship, they project that as controlling, but it's really a hurt little girl that doesn't.

0:49:09 - (C): Know how to take no for an answer.

0:49:13 - (Nick Dais): What a misconception bachelor parties are. Because, dude, the bachelor party we went on, we spent 4 hours in the pool fucking 16 guys, just one handing, catching a football. But I'm saying, like, yo, everyone thinks it's like this outrageous, crazy shit and hookers and all that.

0:49:34 - (C): It's like, no, let me plan a party for you.

0:49:38 - (Nick Dais): Look, we had our fun too, but I'm saying it's not the craziness that everyone always thinks. It's just really not. And maybe because my group of friends were like, dope, we don't do anything stupid like that, but I think it's a companion.

0:49:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): And it's just about the connection too, because not a lot of dudes can be vulnerable with each other and actually hang out.

0:49:58 - (Nick Dais): Yeah, we've had the same group of friends for, like, all chugging beers and.

0:50:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): Being all macho, and I'm probably going to butcher masculinity, but it's just that false sense of security on the outside. But if you have a group of genuine dudes that actually got your back, that's why I really respected when you said that you love the friends that talk shit to your face but actually support you. Those are the friends I wish I had because I had the opposite. I had everyone that was nice to me to my face. But when shit fucking hit the fan.

0:50:25 - (Nick Dais): Myself, and I commend you because I'd expect you to be way softer then, and I don't get that from you when you said the grid thing. For Real? No, I mean, we were talking about the generations and shit, right? And I think a lot of that comes from the coddling. Great book. I'm not a reader, but I did read this book. Want to get him on my podcast? Still would love to get him on. It's called the coddling of the american mind, and it coincides with social media. Boom.

0:50:53 - (Nick Dais): And now everyone's depressed, everyone's suicidal. Everyone's, like, popping pills to negate that. And a lot of it had to do with cancel culture. Like, when did cancel culture really happen? It's around the time when social media emerged, because now people have a voice. And I don't want to shit on social media. It's giving me everything I have, right? So it's always a gift and a curse when I approach social media conversations, because for me, for a business standpoint and career, it's fucking amazing.

0:51:22 - (Nick Dais): Personally, I wish I didn't have to use it because I'm way more of an in person guy, right? I'm way cooler in person than I am on social. Even though everything you see on my social is like the same thing. I don't come off as one thing or another, but I say all that because I think the coddling of the american mind was such a fascinating book. And I always, always reference it as probably my favorite book ever because it's like, yo, if you were coddled by your friends and your parents, then when you hit the real world, then people aren't going to be nice to you, dude, that's just how it is.

0:52:02 - (Nick Dais): Ain't nothing wrong with that. That's just the reality. Not everyone's going to like you. Not everyone's going to be your friend. And not everything is for everybody. I know my content is not for everybody. I know your content is not for everybody. It's like, it doesn't need to be. I just let it be. And you could carve out your own lane and be successful in it and that could just be it. I love hip hop and rap, right? There's so many dudes that are known as mixtape legends and they have dope mixtapes, but I'll mention them and they'll be like, who the fuck is that? I'll be like, what? You don't know them? It's like, yeah, well, they never went mainstream.

0:52:37 - (Nick Dais): You know what I mean? They're huge underground, but they're huge and they've built a career with those million people that fuck with them. They've made them successful.

0:52:45 - (C): Kendrick Lamar was underground for five, six years before he ever went mainstream.

0:52:50 - (Nick Dais): Dude, I saw J. Cole open up for Mayno, see in Buffalo State in 2010. Mayno high hater, he opened up for him and young jeezy. Think about that now. Think about that now.

0:53:02 - (C): Yeah.

0:53:02 - (Nick Dais): J. Cole's like a legend. It's like Drake, Kendrick and him as like the last 15 years of Don. He opened up for Mayno and Young Jeezy and it's like his mixtape was like a thing and he built this audience and community and that was it. Rip Mac Miller, the same thing. He built this community and it got him to fucking stardom. It's like, yo, you don't need a hundred million people to like your shit. Would you like to? Yeah, that'd be dope. Don't get it twisted.

0:53:31 - (C): But dude, do it for the little bit of people that are following you now.

0:53:36 - (Nick Dais): I get about 1000 to 2000 people to listen to every episode.

0:53:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:53:40 - (Nick Dais): And that's gotten me this far.

0:53:41 - (C): I know I get excited over. I'd be so excited. I'm like I get like 50 views on my podcast.

0:53:48 - (Nick Dais): But perspective, dude.

0:53:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): Getting started.

0:53:51 - (C): I know.

0:53:52 - (Nick Dais): Perspective, though.

0:53:53 - (C): I'd be excited as fuck. Every time I get a view, I'm like, I'm growing.

0:53:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): Where did you download from? I'm stalking. I'm like, Wyoming.

0:54:02 - (Nick Dais): Perspective.

0:54:03 - (C): Perspective is fuck. Yeah. I remember when I was super excited when my podcast got 20 views, my episode, because they had like, zero for a long time. Just like you said, don't give up. You guys were saying something. I literally wrote it down because I was like, I had never wanted to stop doing my podcast ever. I remember I was posting for like two, three months. It was probably like, for like two months where I wasn't getting any views at all. Like, nothing. It was like.

0:54:30 - (C): But I was still posting, still posting, still posting. When I had 20 views on my podcast, I thought I was a shit, bro. I was so excited. When I had 50, I was like, oh, we popping now. It's like 300 an episode. I'm like, oh, yo, it's growing.

0:54:45 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's growing.

0:54:46 - (Nick Dais): Yeah. I'll tell you this, and I won't mention the athlete on air for privacy, but I'll mention it to you guys off air. I was hanging out with this athlete. Big fucking name athlete. You know what his guilty pleasure is?

0:54:56 - (C): What?

0:54:57 - (Nick Dais): He watches call of duty streamers on twitch, and it's like five or less people watching this streamer.

0:55:06 - (C): Really?

0:55:07 - (Nick Dais): And he'll just sit there and watch. And I'm like, why? He's like, hey, bro, you never know. So think about it, right? So you got 20 views?

0:55:15 - (C): Yeah.

0:55:16 - (Nick Dais): What if it's fucking the caller daddy chick watching you? Or what if it's Rogan, right? I'd rather give me five views and it's them two watching than give a.

0:55:31 - (Tawni Nguyen): Thousand people judging you type shit.

0:55:33 - (C): Because I'm like, I mean, people are.

0:55:34 - (Nick Dais): Going to judge you anyway, dude, you got to get that. That's another thing. I know my content is good from there. I can't figure out what the algorithm is. One video does 10,000 views, the next one does 120. Like, whatever. I believe that the content is good. I'll put it out there and then whatever happens. But it's a big body of work. Again, every opportunity I've gotten, people are blown away that my following is what it is. It's not like hundreds of thousand.

0:55:58 - (Nick Dais): I think I just got over 9000 followers. And I've had my instagram since 2010, you know what I'm saying? And I'm putting out persistence, but it's fun, dude. It's super fun. And that's really what it comes down to for me.

0:56:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): I think I want people to follow me for the right reasons, too, and actually just genuinely support me as a person because we're always evolving and we're not in a niche to where we stay the same. Like with you, you have the sports thing, right? Sports always changing. But sports is sports. There's a niche around it. But let's just say if you were to go do something else, they still love Nick for Nick, because that's your legacy of being a good person. They're still going to follow you.

0:56:42 - (Nick Dais): Absolutely. And it's one problem I find in the content space a lot, that people do not show their personality. I say that all the time to people. Like, I'm in a sports and sports betting space, right? Dude, you could go find how many yards per carry a player gets and points per game from so many other places. But you have to have your personality show. You have to show who you are. You have to be able to put your own spin on it, and then eventually people listen to the show. For you, it's important to build your personal brand. And that was an issue that I was having for so long, and then now my personal brand is sports. Sports betting.

0:57:23 - (Nick Dais): It is what it is. And jujitsu. That's it. And like, FIFA highlights. Because I love playing FIFA. FIFA highlights, that's it. It's like, yo, that's your personal brand. And then you have your brand. That's your, you know, a big problem that I have personally is that I don't have no difference between personal and business because my business is personal. So for me, it's, oh, don't take it personally.

0:57:46 - (Nick Dais): I'm going to, bro. This is my show. When I have a guest on and they bail an hour before the show, like, oh, dude, it's not personal. It's like, yeah, it is, dude. Because now I got to make shit up and go on the fly. And it's just like, my business is personal. That's always how I viewed it. That's how it makes me feel better. And I just always think that as long as the content is good and it's fresh and it doesn't grow stale to me, because if it grows stale to you, it grows stale to your audience.

0:58:16 - (Nick Dais): I'm like, yo, don't be afraid to try new shit. It's just cool to always evolve.

0:58:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Since we're on the topic of social media, I want to kind of end on this question that it's kind of been just on my mind a lot because we're predominantly trying to build personal brand, being, like, a digital Persona. Right. But I've been asking other guests this question. It's like, if social media didn't exist, how do you see your life, and what would your legacy be?

0:58:49 - (Nick Dais): Social media didn't exist. I'd probably be a. My number one goal when I got out of high school was to be a football coach. That was like, my shit. I love football. I grew up a soccer player, and I was really good at soccer. Like, very, very good. And then I just fell in love with football. And I recently just sent text messages for the holidays to my two coaches, coach Hernandez and coach Brosnan at Brian High School in Woodside, Queens.

0:59:24 - (Nick Dais): I was just like, yo, thank, dude. Like, if I didn't have that awesome first experience meeting you guys and falling in love with football. The backbone of my show and my content is football. So if I didn't fall in love with football and you guys made me quit. My first love. My first love was football. Soccer. Excuse me, but my passion and the thing I really fucked with was football. It's because of them too.

0:59:51 - (Nick Dais): So they kind of birthed me a career and a question that I like to ask guests. And I know you just asked me something. I'm not trying to get sidetracked from that, but it's like, what's your biggest regret? And it has to be something. You can't be like, oh, I live with no regrets. Like, bullshit, bro. There's always something. Maybe you didn't talk to that girl at the bar that you found attractive and whatever it might be, right? So, for me, mine, I always say, was quitting soccer when I did because I was getting recruited by some d one schools as, like, a sophomore.

1:00:17 - (Nick Dais): And then I went to Europe, and I played, and there were some greek leagues that wanted me to maybe move out there for a summer and play. But then again, who knows if at, like, 20, I didn't blow out my knee or, like, tore an achilles and my soccer career ended, whereas I stopped playing soccer, I fell in love with football because of my two coaches. That's given me everything I have today. So is it a regret?

1:00:42 - (Nick Dais): I don't know the answer to that. Again, perspective and experience.

1:00:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's a redirection from the universe.

1:00:48 - (Nick Dais): Yeah, everyone wants to be a professional athlete, but now it's like, yo, I can actually make money talking about this, and I could have a way longer career. Like, an athlete's career ends at, like, 30, kind of where, like, for me, I'm still young in my space. Like, very young. And Joe Rogan didn't start his podcast until he was, like, 42. I have 18 years on him to get to him starting his show. You know what I mean? So, again, perspective, man. And I hope I never lose it.

1:01:18 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. Wow. I love that. Now I'm thinking about my biggest regret. I went down the.

1:01:28 - (Nick Dais): It's definitely not inspirational. It's just real shit. And I think that's why it. Yeah, we've. I've had these conversations with Lana too many times. I find a lot of people. I just.

1:01:44 - (C): At least we're not one of them.

1:01:46 - (Nick Dais): Give me someone, like, rugged and with experience. Don't tell me about your fucking all.

1:01:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): Friends for a reason.

1:01:52 - (Nick Dais): It's like, bro, come on. You're lamest shit. I've seen you interact.

1:01:56 - (Tawni Nguyen): No, bro, thanks for being here, showing up and showing us a different perspective of what a high value man is.

1:02:03 - (C): Exactly.

1:02:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): And you living in your integrity and just showing up as who you are. Because I feel like a lot of men are still kind of buried under a lot of societal expectation about what a masculine man should be. Sex culture and all of that stuff.

1:02:16 - (C): Nick's the type that you would make me want to bring you a bitch home without you ever demanding it type shit. Because he has that personality where I'm like, bruh, you're so sweet.

1:02:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): That's the biggest.

1:02:30 - (C): I just want to spoil you instead.

1:02:31 - (Tawni Nguyen): Of, like, you, Nick. Damn it.

1:02:35 - (Nick Dais): Amen.

1:02:37 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, guys, thank you for spending some time with us today. I hope you enjoyed it. Nick. Where can we find you or not?

1:02:44 - (Nick Dais): We.

1:02:44 - (C): You.

1:02:44 - (Tawni Nguyen): We know where to find you. Where can they find you at, Nick?

1:02:47 - (Nick Dais): NickDais10 on all social media, and the name of my show is Veterans Minimum. Cool.

1:02:52 - (Tawni Nguyen): And you can find me on IG at Tawnisaurus or at fit and frugal pod. See you next time. Bye.