REAL AF with Andy Frisella - Creativity, Conflict, and the Art of Making Millions ft. Randall Pich, with Andy Frisella - MFCEO197

Episode Date: December 13, 2017

What’s your excuse for not making millions? My friend Randall Pich was raised by his mom in extreme poverty, in one of the most dangerous parts of the country. Now he’s the very wealthy founder of multiple brands, most notably Live Fit Apparel, a top social media influencer, and a model for how to build an enthusiastic following around an in-demand brand. In this episode, we talk about the connections between creativity and business, and how these things apply to the art of making money.

What is up guys you're listening to the MFCEO project I'm Andy I'm your host and I'm loud as fuck because I'm the motherfucking CEO Tyler's over there shaking his head I think he's feeling extra straight today because he's not wearing his short short oh wait you're wearing ripped jeans wait never mind i take that back as always i am joined by my co-host vaughn vanilla ice dj dj god if you like biggie so much why is he not one of our intros and outros our theme songs dude that's a good question yeah you're the fucking person that's in charge of that. Okay, I'll come up with it. I don't want him to sue us. How's Biggie going to sue us?

His estate. His estate. Dude. I know he's dead. I read all about it. You don't know anything about anything. I spent three hours researching. That's how committed I am to researching things you tell me about.

No, you just said, you claim to be Mr. Fucking White Hip Hop Master, and you just said that you don't know what famous rapper is from Long Beach. And did you say who it was? No, because you should fucking know this. You know, hip hop. No,

not MC Hammer. Take another guess. All right. But it's not, I know it's not Tupac. Okay. So I'm going to say, uh,

trick daddy. Get the fuck out of here. You're so fucking white. It's not even, it's not even right. All right. The answer is Snoop Dogg. Snoop. Okay.

All right. Yeah. The LBC. Yeah. We happen to have, we happen to have an awesome guest who is also from the LBC. My good buddy, Randall pitch. What's up, bro? What's going on guys?

Dude. Thanks for coming out, man. So excited to have you here. Been trying to get this together for a long time. One of the awesome young entrepreneurs that's out there doing it right now. Really, really excited to do this, man. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

So do you know Snoop? No, I don't know Snoop. I met his cousins a few times. Apparently Snoop was in the same high school class with Cameron Diaz. How do you fucking know? Actually, no, that is true.

Because I researched rap. That's true. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, they went to Polytechnic High School. Yeah. Thank you.

Yeah. Don't stick up for him. Dude. Is that really true? Yeah, it is true. No shit. Cameron Diaz has like a beach house in Sunset Beach.

Right. Is that by you? Yeah. Okay. She looked the best in the mask though, and then she went way down. Nah, dude yeah she looked the best in the mask though and then she went way down nah dude she was the hottest in something about mary she was cute yeah like dude something about mary she was fucking hot yeah she's she's nice what do you

think tyler uh it was a fast decline right after that movie yeah for sure yeah why are you guys picking on her man why i can't say nothing positive i'm just not a fan no i'm not i don't have anything against her personally, but, you know. Well, you don't know her personally, so how the fuck would you have anything against her? Jesus. Sometimes I think I should just do this on my own. Well, or get another pastor.

Yeah. Former pastor. People don't realize that you were a pastor. They think that's a joke. No. They think that's a joke. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about your pastor days. I don't even think we ever talked about this. I don't Randall's

the guest, but we'll get to that in a second. You're you're Randall's a pastor. No Randall's the guest. Oh, the guest. But no Christ. But we're going to ask you about your pastor days. Yeah. I was a pastor for 10 years and in a little college town, Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University. And I tried to be faithful, but also keep it real. So I hung out with college students two or three o'clock in the morning. Did you guys pastor bait? You had me told that whole story just so you could say that, right? No, no, we didn't. But it was great. I loved it. I decided to turn my back on God and embrace money, right?

Yeah, dude. No, no. The life of podcast and riches. That's what somebody said, Randall early on. They're like, why'd you turn your back on God?

Dude, people got mad at him for doing the podcast with me. They're like, will you turn your back on God for the life of podcasts and riches? Dude, we should make a shirt that says podcast and riches. Great. No.

So basically I was, I wanted to be a, originally I wanted to leave and become a college professor because, as Andy points out, I'm nerdy. You're nerdy, but you're cool sometimes. Yeah, thanks. I appreciate it. But then I became Catholic.

It was all kind of together. It's an amazing story that I'll write and get a New York Times bestseller. All right. Okay, all right. But it's good. Actually, we had a great – well, I guess people will not – will they have heard the – Forget it. I'm confused.

All right. Moving on. Yeah. Randall is the owner of Live Fit Apparel. He's one of the best young entrepreneurs out right now. He's killing it on the gram. He's killing it in business. And he started from nothing, which is something that I always admire. You know, a lot of people get advantages. A lot of people come from certain advantages. You are somebody who doesn't.

I also think that, and you correct me if I'm wrong here, but I also feel like, you know, in business, there's people who are more business focused and there's people who are creators. I feel like you're a creator first and then a business person. And I think that's really cool, too, because I think a lot of people forget that that's the essence and the foundation of a great business. That's very true. Yeah. I mean, you think that's accurate? Yeah, it's pretty accurate.

Yeah. You know, I was a creative person in the very, very beginning. I always wanted to dip my hands in everything I did. And just I was like a like a baby you know curious about everything and if i couldn't figure out how how it worked or whatnot i would just go and try to figure out myself and ask questions and do this you know and i think that's the spark of like something uh great as far as like business-wise later down the road you know yeah for sure for sure a lot of people are money focused right they're business focused and they're folk i don't

get that vibe from you like i interview and talk to a lot of entrepreneurs and a lot of people are money focused, right? They're business focused and they're folk. I don't get that vibe from you. Like I interview and talk to a lot of entrepreneurs and a lot of them are really like they're, they're very money focused. Um, and I'm not saying you're not, I just don't, I get that, that that's like the second thing for you. The first thing is to create really cool shit. And I think that's fucking cool because you don't meet a lot of people like that in business. Um, let's, let's get, how did you grow up, man? Like we, man? Tell us a little bit about how you grew up and where you're from and kind of give us a background. I was born on the east side of Long Beach. Born and raised there my whole life. Single parent. My parents divorced when I was three years old, raised by my mom on housing, low income, food stamps that whole that whole deal so you know growing up i didn't really have much it was just me and my uh my brother um i remember just you know growing up my mom would just go to work and i was you know during like summer days just stay home with my brother you know as we got a little older you know pick up a skateboard whatever we could find um that was one thing too i give it up for my mom she'd always buy me whatever i want you know

no matter how much fucking money we didn't have right you know i didn't realize that shit then right right but it was it was that you know that type of uh mother that supported you know her son that's just kind of give me whatever the fuck i wanted shoes and whatnot you know i realize it now like fuck you maybe i shouldn't have asked but yeah that was a type of uh uh lifestyle um i went through growing, skateboarding on the streets. And on the east side of Long Beach, it was like a melting pot at that point. So I was growing up with a lot of other kids in poverty, a lot of gang activity going on at that time, which is still going on right now. Like the shit people see on TV.

Yeah. Like a fucking Southern California gang shit. Yeah, it's funny because we were that, what was that movie that just came out straight out of compton yeah like that shit is the stuff i've seen like for real you know people like our buddy from australia reese he's like hey is that shit like like how it is i'm like yeah that's exactly how it fucking is you know so i mean like i grew up seeing that stuff and that was the normal for me you know i didn't know anything else. You know, luckily in Long Beach, there are patches of different areas where it's nice.

So I got to experience a lot of different other communities around, you know, in Long Beach as well. So, you know, growing up, I was just exposed to a lot of things. But, you know, growing up, I literally didn't have much. My mom was making what, like six, seven bucks an hour cash at that, you know. So it was, it was, it was pretty rough. Yeah. Yeah. So, so, and that's super interesting because a lot of people who grow up in a, in a, in a poverty situation, they don't have many examples of success. So growing up, did you, I'm just curious, cause it's going to lead into another

question, but did you have any people that you like saw and you're like, damn dude, I like to be like that guy or I look up to that guy or like, where did your, where does your idea that you wanted to be successful come from? Because a lot of people can't break out of that, that lower income bracket because they never see it. They never observe it, you know? Yeah. That mindset didn't come till later.

Like when I was growing up, maybe like a teenager or early teens, I didn't I didn't I wasn't like money hungry or business oriented I was just like I said earlier I wanted to be creative you seem like an artist yes so yeah anything I whatever I did like I was in a band prior to you know it's like a hardcore band um what did you play play drums oh cool yeah so in high school you know I played in a hardcore band and we made like merchandise and then you know obviously to get merchandise you go fucking do it yourself. And I learned how to start making t-shirts that way. And that was like my first experience.

How old were you when you started with that? I was like 14 years old. That's awesome. 14, 15. Yeah. So everything I did, just, you know, found out my own way and, you know, just did it myself. So, yeah. So you, the apparel business goes all the way back to 14 years old yeah way way

back so this is something that you just like okay hey i got this idea i'm gonna go ahead and make a fucking shirt right i'm gonna sell it to my classmates exactly and then people think now remember the first shirt you made dude yeah i have it framed up uh no way yeah what is it it was like old uh ruckus shirt one of my first clothing lines with like this girl with tattoos all over her face Yeah, dude, you got to send me that picture that I'd like to see that it's in my office. That's fucking badass So Randall Picasso said good artists borrow great artists steal So who are who are some of the people you've stolen from and kind of synthesized to become your own brand like who are your influences? Probably just graffiti artists. Yeah, no one of the dudes I, or brands I still look up today and that I rock a lot

is Rebel 8. And before, well it was Josh and Mike Giant. Mike Giant's a graffiti artist and tattoo artist. And he's like put the Chicano style and that type of artwork on the map, at least for like the California West Coast style, you know. So Mike giant's probably one of the ones that i've looked up to prior and then just local tattoo artists at that you know just friends and stuff because you know we didn't have like um people to to to look up to like to

search up on the internet and stuff we literally just drew our own shit that we liked and then that if it was tight then we would use it you know on a shirt and whatnot you know yeah so dude you ever looked at og able stuff no i didn't check his stuff okay it's cool okay that's awesome so what so in terms of you said you were in that particular environment so you're pulling off of the graffiti what about like is there anything about the landscape of long beach or like that physical environment that you feel like you've incorporated into your designs no not really yeah because because all that stuff is really, really harsh. Yeah. You know?

Long Beach is harsh? Yeah, I'd say. I mean, depending on what parts. You're thinking it's like a fucking Mexico. Well, I'm talking. I get it. No, you're right. I guess I'm.

No, I get it. Vaughn's going to have a pina colada out of Long Beach. I guess I think of California. I think it's all beautiful. Yeah, no, there's some very nice parts of Long Beach. I guess I think of, I think of California. I think it's all beautiful, but there's some very nice parts of Long Beach. Yeah, definitely. But in the East side where I grew up, yeah, it's still kind of a little rough. Yeah. So, so you started making shirts in high school. How did that progress? Like what was the next step after that? Well, I've first, I gained that experience. Um, I took one graphic design course in high school too,

to learn how to to burn the screen, put the emotion on the frame itself, and then from the start process to finish process. Started making shirts for my band, and then I started a clothing line. This wasn't solely to make money, it was just fuck yeah, me and my homies just wanted to make some fucking clothes.

So I made a skateboard brand called Ruckus, R-U-K-k-u-s and uh just started slinging shirts at school and you know did it that way and then that just gave me more uh experience in reordering shirts you know yeah were you even in the cut and sew at this point no no this was just like buying blanks and silk screening you know so that like that's still our bread and butter today. And that's what I still do today too as a graphic designer is still graphic design, separate colors and then burn the screens and do silk screening a lot, yeah. So you're learning the process. Okay, so you have this idea. You know that you're creative and you're coming up with cool shit.

And what I thought was cool about what you just said about Ruckus is that a lot of people start brands because they want to make money. You're starting a brand because it represents a culture. And what's cool about that is that that is what sustains a brand on a big scale nowadays. So you've already had experience in that. And I think you're doing that really well with live fit as well, but you're, so you're selling shit. Then all of a sudden you learn, okay, well, I've got to, I've got to run a business too i'm not really a business guy so you have to learn to be a business guy how was that was that i mean did it come pretty natural or was it something that you struggled with yeah i mean i had struggles here and there but it came pretty natural because i i mean i think i pick up things pretty quick but along the whole way it's kind of i knew i was

learning all these things subconsciously like business wise and whatnot you know whether it be taxes or just fucking wholesale to retail to all this kind of different business lingos and stuff I was just literally learning it on on the way just trying to get the finished product to make myself happy my homies happy yeah dude what's funny about that too though is like that's literally how everybody does that's how I did it that's how every single person I've ever talked to does it but i also feel like that's the main excuse as to why people don't get into the do the things they want to do they're like i don't know about taxes i don't know about this i don't know about that i don't know about how to reorder i don't

know i don't have the contacts we'll get on the fucking google machine and start learning some shit you know what i'm saying like right this you didn't wake up one day as a successful entrepreneur you fucking learned and you learned by doing i did the same thing it are the biggest hang-up that i have that people have especially listeners this podcast i know because i get fucking dms about it is like oh well i got this idea and i want to do it fucking do it right do it if you don't if you sit around and think about it and about all the shit you don't know, if you sat around, Randall, and thought about, well, man, I don't know how to run a business. I don't know how to screen a shirt.

I don't know how to make a design. I don't know how to use a fucking computer. Where would you be now? Exactly. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. You sure as fuck wouldn't be you. Yeah.

Right. So what were some of the first lessons early on that you learned? Maybe something that hit you hard you know i wouldn't even remember there's a million things that i can you know if we could just you know go on and go on but you know like just going back to what he was saying is literally just trial and error and that's one of the biggest things too like i get a lot of kids asking me or dms and stuff like hey how do you do this i'm like dude i don't know because people are going to take things differently as well you know you can't experience the same shit I experienced because I'm in a different part of area or whatever.

And you also learn a different way. Yeah, learn a different way. So I just tell them, just go fucking do it, you know? I mean, if you're set on something, just go do it. If you're going to fail, just fucking fail because you're going to learn that. And no one can teach you that better than you than in a fucking college curriculum or anything, you know?

Like, I've learned so much doing shit on myself and then so little with the high education system we have here, you know? Like, I've learned so much doing shit on myself and then so little with the high education system we have here, you know? And it's hard because that's the harsh reality that people need to fucking know that you have to do it and you have to fail to really know it, like, be comfortable about the business and the industry

that you're getting into, you know? Yeah. That's something Andy says all the time and I think people sometimes, well, very often misunderstand it, is that there is no plan B. Stick to your plan A. Make it work however you need to make it work.

Do you have a fucking plan B if LiveFit doesn't work out? No, I don't. Exactly. Right, right. That's why you're so fucking good at what you do. Exactly. You know what I mean? That's why your shit's good.

Dude, when you don't have a plan B, you care a whole lot about what you're doing. You know what I mean? When you have rich parents or you have money to fall back on or you have another company or you have another way to go, dude, it's really easy to not care about things as much as what you would when you have no other options. Right, exactly. And that care that you have, the attention to detail that creates is what your competitive advantage comes from. Absolutely. But people hear that and then they say, then they don't hear the other part of that, which is, Andy always says,

but not having a plan B doesn't mean that you don't adjust your plan A. You can't adjust. That's what I was just going to say. My plan A, I mean, yeah, plan B, whatever the fuck. But my plan A, I have, that shit is fucking extravagant. I can go all kinds of directions with my plan A. My plan A is laid out. Yeah.

You see what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. And dude, when shit doesn't work the way you want, you start to go a little bit of a different direction.

You say, okay, I learned this, I go over here. You know, I think the bottom line of what we're discussing here, the point is that

people put too much time into preparation and not enough time into just doing it. You know, no one's going to come around. I'm not coming, Randall's not coming, Donald Trump ain't coming, People put too much time into preparation and not enough time into just doing it. No one's going to come around. I'm not coming. Randall's not coming.

Donald Trump ain't coming. All these successful entrepreneurs are not coming to tell you, hey, it's time for you to go do it. You know what I'm saying? What's that famous Mike Tyson statement? Everybody has a plan until? They get punched in the fucking face. Right. Yeah.

I mean, it's relevant, right? Everybody has a plan to get punched. You got to recoil. You got to recoil. You got to adjust. I don't know, man. So after you started selling shirts and after you started learning real business, you opened a shop, right? That was later. I became a personal trainer because the clothing line, it wasn't gaining any traction.

It failed. I kind of just put it off to the side and eventually shut it down. And this is when I was like, all right, fuck it. I'm going to go to school, make my parents happy and see what I can get out of this. So you sort of gave up on that idea. You're like, okay, I'm going to go ahead and do what the world wants me to do. Exactly. So I became a personal trainer, got certified and started working for a corporate ballet total fitness at the time, and was going to college at the same time. And then, lucky enough, I knew the t-shirt business. So once my personal training business started getting traction, I already knew the process of how to make a shirt and how to design shirts.

So I was like, hey, fuck it, why not? I think this is going to look dope if my whole crew, all my clients, when we're doing boot camps or whether we're training and while we're filming videos, if they wear a shirt on their back that says Team RP, I think that would be a fucking cool camaraderie thing. So I ended up doing that and this is at the time where Facebook started getting big. So I started making sure for my clients then, started filming it, having a good fucking time and then people just around like the community were like, man I I wanna be a part of that shit,

because it looked fucking cool at the time. It was like, hey, I wanna have fun too while I'm working out. And for me, when people say, oh, what's your best marketing strategy? I think personally, whatever worked for me, and this is what it is, is just the guerrilla warfare type of marketing,

which is word of mouth with a client that is my client. Clients are gonna speak very, very highly of you. So when they're out there promoting the videos that we shot, they're gonna be like, yeah, this is the most fun I've ever had. It doesn't even feel like a workout. We're losing weight, I'm getting results I want by having fun.

And it was like a brand and culture just building. And I wasn't even focusing on large scale getting out of the state. I was focusing on my training business, people that I can literally physically reach. So I was doing that and it just snowballed into like this big old like nuclear bomb just ready to explode, you know. And then I was gaining a lot of traction from the designs and stuff. So I was like, hey, fuck it. Why not open up an e-commerce platform and start selling shirts for people that want the shirts that can't get it physically, you know? Because at that time, too, I was getting hit up on Facebook.

I would meet people in parking lots selling t-shirts out of my trunk. I had a little Evo 10 back then, just driving around, meeting people up and slinging t-shirts all day, dude. Now, you can ask, you know, guys from Long Beach, they'll feel like, you know. Randall the t-shirt guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The t-shirt dude and the trainer the trainer you know it was cool but um the other shop that i ended up buying into the five or ten dollar t-shirt store that was uh just a an opportunity one of my business partners my old business partner uh bruce got me into and i was like it you know i know the t-shirt game enough and then i bought into that and then um

you know ran ran that store and that was, I learned a lot at that shop too, as well. That was the, the, the store on the East side of Long Beach off of Molino and Anaheim, a pretty, pretty rough neighborhood. So we got to tell the story. He told me at dinner. So we're sitting at dinner last night and we're having a couple of drinks and we're, you know, uh, we're sitting there talking about different stuff and randall starts telling me this fucking story so apparently and i don't know this and i didn't know this because i'm fucking fat white kid from missouri to grow up on a fucking gravel road but i guess in like in like gang culture when people die they make a t-shirt an r.i.p shirt all right so he tells me about this so tell the story so he's telling me he's explaining to me and i'm like no they really fucking do that he's like yeah yeah it's explaining to me, and I'm like, no, they really fucking do that?

And he's like, yeah. Yeah, it's crazy, because over there, we know business is going to pop off. It's just unfortunate it works that way. Business is going to pop off if someone passes away during a gang shooting or whatever, during a murder. They're going to come in and make in loving memory of whoever it is.

So if this gang would retaliate, and this person gets killed, we're, you know, me and my partner, like, all right, hey, we're about to be busy, you know, and it goes to the point where, man, I seen some crazy shit, this one story I was telling him last night was, this guy comes in, and he hands us a note, and he's like, hey, I'm about to go on vacation, you know, I got the green light on me, and we're like, what the fuck, I didn't know that term yet, so I asked Bruce, hey, what was he talking about? Green light? He's like, Oh, he knows he's going to die. So he gave this note to give to his mom. The next thing, you know, the next day he gets shot about seven times, dies right then and there. And his mom comes in later,

cries. And I'm like, fuck dude, I had this note to give, to give her, you know? So he gives her a note and she's just fucking balls up crying. and then it's fucking wild man and then check this out later we see the candlelight um little ceremony thing across the street you know and the police are there and these guys that are murderers or the the victims or whatever they knew who killed them but they won't tell the police because the police will take him and just bring him to jail they want him dead so they're they won't rat him out they'll rather have their gang people go over there and cap this guy off and kill him off and i'm like dude that's just that's just how it is out here and i'm we're me and bruce are over here like fuck we're about to make a lot more other shirts we're gonna have a busy fucking season it's just a fucked up situation yeah and that's just that culture

there so if that gives you any idea where he came from yeah it's fucking crazy you know yeah dude that that story blew me the fuck away last night like i was sitting there like this like just like your fucking faces right now i was like whoa dude yeah tons of respect too for growing up in that and that that's got a i can't even conceive like i'm literally speechless yeah it's wild yeah yeah, dude, there's a lot of things that predict good business, but people getting fucking blasted isn't one of them for us. It's fucking crazy. Yeah, man. There was another story, too, when this guy came in.

And this taught me a lot how to deal with different customers face-to-face, too, as well, you know, because we dealt with regular customers, and then we dealt with these gangbangers and dealt with just different types of characters, you know. This guy comes in, this Mexican gang banger, and he tries to buy a shirt with a fake $5 bill and I was like, hey, this is fake, homie. And he's like, why you trying to, you don't want to take my $5 bill

because I'm Mexican, because I'm a donkey? I'm like, nah, dude, this has nothing to do with this. He said, I'm going to come back and fucking kill all you guys. I'm like, what the fuck, dude? I was legitimately scared because I knew this guy was a real gangbanger. So my business partner, he's like, all right, hey, we got the shotgun right here.

He puts the fucking safety on, cocks it back. He's like, all right, if this guy comes back, point and fucking shoot. You don't need to aim. This thing will spread this. Dude, I'm fucking kidding. So last night. This is not like being in the ministry. No, so I was fucking busting his balls last night.

I was just like how I am. And I'm like, yeah, you were fucking scared too. And he goes, fuck yeah, I was. I was fucking busted. So I was busting his balls last night. Like I was just, you know, like how I am. And I'm like, yeah, you're fucking scared too. And he goes, fuck yeah, I was. Yeah, I was legitimately. I was like, fuck, man. Because I, man, I've been like robbed and shit out there. But this time, for some reason, I knew this guy was going to. He wasn't fucking around.

He wasn't fucking around. I was like, ah, but you know, he didn't come back. I was like, all right, fuck it. So wait, you didn't give him the shirt? No, no, no, no. I didn't give him the shirt. He left pissed. And I was like, I don't care, dude.

That's a real businessman right there. At the time, I was like, this is my business. This is what I have to do to protect the business. I can't just let these thugs and shit come at me and fuck it over. Otherwise, you have 50 more in the next day. Yeah, exactly. I mean, that taught me a lot of shit. So, dude, you guys are running a pretty big operation now.

I mean, you're in a 33,000-square-foot building. You fucking have beautiful offices. You got a great business. You got a great crew. I don't know how many employees you have, but it looks like a lot. How many do you have? We have about 29 now. Yeah, 29 employees.

Okay, so how did you go from Randall, the fucking dude who's handing gangbangers fucking fake $5 bills and pissing your pants when dudes come in to randall fucking live fit randall like dude you're you're a you've become a cultural icon on instagram especially in terms of what young entrepreneurship is about and like um bridge that gap man like how did you do that, I mean, I did come from a rough area and, you know, a poverty stricken area, but like, I just knew growing up when I became a personal trainer, I had to carry myself a certain way. You know, I was never always like hardheaded and things like that. I've always had manners because a lot of my clients were professionals, you know,

they were doctors, lawyers, surgeons, things like that so already i always knew how to communicate right you know so um during the time when i was training it was really taken off i told my business partner uh bruce at the time like hey you know i think this lift fit brand is really taken off i i was going to school had um a personal training business had lift fit apparel at time, there was a lot going on, and I knew this was picking up. So eventually, he bought me out, and then I pursued Lifted Apparel 100%. But just learning from my clients, learning just how to carry myself, and just getting my hands into creativity and researching everything myself, when growing a business and scaling and scaling it with

hiring the next employee to the next to the next it was literally then again trial and error you know so I mean I guess yeah I guess trial and error yeah yeah but yeah so I mean I mean dude there's a million things that happen between yeah so like when you let's go to your employee let's let's take it on employees like hiring your first employee okay what was that like for you um it was um it was like that that sticky period where it was like okay a couple friends will help you out here and there and then my first first employee i would say um i think it was chu Yeah, she's still like a very supportive person now. But hiring her on, it was like, I didn't have a lot of money at the time.

But we were just both fucking up for the mission and the goal to just make fucking dope clothes and knew this thing was going to take off. So hiring her on, I think, I don't even know if i was paying her on payroll yet it was so far back yeah but it just led to the next to the next to the next you know um yeah i was literally just finding luckily enough i had a couple friends that um graduated with business degrees i mean they probably didn't use anything they learned there anyways but they

just knew how to get things done you know task, task doers, you know, things to just people that know how to create jobs out of nothing, you know, um, I hired on two of my friends, which are lucky enough still with me today, but then I hired on a couple of other friends that aren't with the company now, you know, yeah, but yeah, I mean, it was just literally, um, a learning curve, a huge learning curve that I think, I think I mastered today, but I probably did it. Oh, dude. I mean, you're, you're, yeah, you're past that, like, you're past that awkward stage of like trying to figure it out. Right, right. So, go ahead. What, what, what I was picking up on when you were talking the last couple of minutes is just, you're talking about

learning things from your, from your clients and picking up certain things from that. And, and as you've been talking, I've just been thinking like your whole approach is you're a sponge like you're just you're just actively taking in things you're learning things you're adding your and talk a little bit about that because this is something we talk about on the podcast all the time is you gotta always be committed to self-development and learning but let me say something about this because i i just from what i observe about rand, you're a very confident dude. And, like, dude, I think anybody that follows you can see that. I mean, you put off massive confidence almost to the cockiness.

You know what I'm saying? Like, you know you're a bad motherfucker, and I like that. I respect that, because I know I am too. But what is also great about Randall is that he's very humble, and he knows about what he knows about, but he also knows what he doesn't know. And you're willing to, you know, and we talk about that, about how humility kills so many dreams because people think that you have to be overly humble and you can't believe in yourself. And dude, you have to fucking believe in yourself, especially if you want to build a culture and a following like you have. And like I have, you have to fucking be the guy. You have to be confident. You have to show people it's okay to have a style and a brand and a vibe about you,

which you do very well. But you also have to balance that out with humility so that you can fucking learn new shit. And I think you're a very good embodiment of what I talk about a lot on the podcast about being confident to the level of cocky and then also being humble on the backside so you can pick up new shit. You feel what I'm saying? Yeah. And just back to what he was saying, like the clients that I had, I had engineers that worked for Raytheon. I had surgeons, I had doctors and lawyers. So when I was speaking to them, I was aware that I'm a lot younger,

maybe education wise or whatever in my personal training field, they look up to me because I know that field, but I knew that they were older and that they were more wiser, not necessarily more smarter, but wiser, that they can teach me a lot of shit. So when they talk to me, you know when you're personal training somebody, you get intimate, so your relationship is pretty close.

So they tell me a lot of experiences that they've been through in life, that I know it's real, so I always take that in. I'm always aware of that, because I i was 19 20 21 at the time you know i'm no i know i haven't i haven't experienced as much as these guys did you know so i was very very aware of that and i try to teach everyone now today especially these young ones soak that in whoever you're around if they're older they might not be smarter but they have been through a lot more shit than you and you learn from that everybody exactly yeah dude dude i say this i said this to my team the other night dude i know every every single guy in my company there's something that

they are better at than i am and and you know i know what i know but i also know that there's a lot of shit out there and i give people a lot of credit because i know if you're a homeless dude walking down the street there's something that dude knows that i don shit out there and I give people a lot of credit because I know if you're a homeless dude walking down the street, there's something that dude knows that I don't know. And, and even if it's what not to do, you know what I mean? I love that distinction you made between being, being smarter and being wiser. Like you might have more, more like actual IQ intelligence than somebody, but it doesn't mean that their experience, their life experience knowledge is way higher than theirs. Yeah. I love that. Dude, I don't think that's something that's ever been said on this podcast.

Yeah. Ever. That's a great point. Out of three years. That's a pretty profound way to look at things. I like that a lot. Yeah. That's awesome.

So when you started LiveFit, how did you start marketing the brand? Because you're killing on Instagram right now. Was it mainly Instagram? Yeah. Is it still mainly Instagram? Or how did you start marketing the brand because you're killing on instagram right now was it was it mainly instagram or is it still mainly instagram or how did it go it's it's instagram and it still mainly is instagram um but when we first started like i said was my personal training business but um i come from the design background right so everything i did and put out on instagram was super aesthetic you know but when i started out i shot my own videos shot my own photos and everything did all my own editing content all that stuff and it was your page is sick dude like your personal page like thanks i even tell i told tyler because like like we were joking around down

at my office like i fucking don't know how to take right a cool picture like dude i always look at randall's page and i'm like dude he always takes cool fucking pictures like i need to learn how to i need to fucking have randall teach me how to take some cool pictures i was telling him that uh just the other day because i always feel like dumb you know but dude you do it right i mean everything you do in your in your whole personally and in your brand is very cool looking like i like it a lot yeah i think i've that's just something i've noticed along the way too i'm always nit and picky about everything just you know i don't know if it's a sign of i'm being conceited or fucking cocky. I don't know.

But for me, if I've like, if things are aesthetic, I feel like I can function a lot better. If I feel good and look good, I think I can perform a lot better. You know, that's absolutely true.

Yeah. You know, so everything I do is just very clean and just has, I don't know if it's fucking OCD. So let me ask you this. So this is something that people struggle with a lot. Right. Younger entrepreneurs, when they're creating a product or creating a brand, a lot of them will try.

They will try to take what everybody else is considering cool and make it make that product. And I know that you don't do that. No, not at all. You make what you think is cool. Right. So explain that process a little bit. Yeah, that's been my philosophy since I've ever started anything. All the design work and stuff, everything I see and create is what I wear that.

You know, if I don't, if I'm not going to wear that, why, why make it, you know, because this has to be true and you have to believe in your product and I'm not going to believe in it if I don't fucking wear it. That's right. You know, so if, even if it's. But you, but you also know, cause do you also know that there's a million other people, people who go out and try to fucking make something for quote unquote, the people, fuck up their brands. Hell yeah.

People who go out and make something that they truly feel is badass, they know, and I bet you know this, if I'm wrong, say so, but you know that there's a million other people that think, that have your style that are like, say so, but you know that there's a million other people that think that have your style that are like, fuck yeah, this is cool. Yep. Right.

That's, that's absolutely correct. Yeah. That's the market, you know, and that's how you find your market. You guys just stick to what you believe in. What everybody else thought was cool.

Your brand would be fucking watered down. Yeah. It would be shitty. Yeah, exactly. You know, and I think, dude,

I think that's something, you know, I mean, there is, there is a million fucking t-shirt entrepreneurs, right? Right. Like, I want to start out as a t-shirt guy.

I'm not knocking that. I'm just saying there's a trillion of them. The biggest thing I see that separates the guys who are trying to start a clothing company or t-shirt brand or a brand who are going to build a cool brand and who aren't, 99% of them are doing shit that they think everybody else is going to build a cool brand and who aren't 99 of them are doing shit that they think everybody else think is going to think is cool like and and only one percent is doing what they think is cool like their style you know you have to realize guys that there's other people just like you and when you aren't when you haven't discovered yourself and you aren't true to yourself

and you're doing things for other people and you're creating products for quote-unquote the masses you're creating something that's average at best you're not creating something that's ever going to get traction and i i think that's a huge mistake that young people make because it's counterintuitive to how we how we think right dude i'm going to make something and everybody's going to love it and i'm going to make millions of dollars that's the wrong fucking idea it's impossible yeah it is impossible you're taking you cannot take something and make it for everybody it's it's not something that's possible the guys who succeed they're guys like you they're guys who are creators and they're guys who who are are into like they understand themselves or self-aware and they create shit that goes along with their style or what they

believe in and what they like and then other people that are like them connect with them. And then you build a culture and now your brand has power. Exactly. You know, it's not just live fit. It's not just a fucking t-shirt. It's not just a Jersey. It's not just a pair of shorts. It's something that people wear and they feel something behind the logo. It's a lot like first form. Right. Right. So like, i would say really like our two brands do that better than anybody else out there right i mean and if you think you do it better than me fucking show me but i i i think i'm telling the truth yeah i think we create labels that people fucking wear because they're proud to wear it not because just because the clothes are cool but because it means something to them you know and that's what you what you're missing when

you try to create a product that is for everybody you're never going to be able to build our first shirt that we ever made was so fucking shitty but everybody wore it everybody fucking wore it exactly it's the affiliation the emotion that's tied to that brand yeah you know right that's and dude i think i think you're doing like from outside from somebody who understands how to do that i think you're doing fucking awesome at that i love it so let me get is it can i redirect the conversations for a second okay so i'm gonna get a little intellectual on you okay but the the word passion right the root word is pasca which means suffering okay so how much has adversity created more of an artistic ability in you? How much did growing up in a rough environment and the different things that you struggled with,

how much of that has contributed to your success right now? A lot. I'd say almost a lot of it. A huge part. It made me obviously humble and it just made me really aware of everything. And that i'm pretty unfortunate you know and i don't know it's it's definitely shaped me because you know there's still guys that i i keep in touch with back home and they you know they always keep me on check and stuff and it's just like you just never forget where you come from so you always look back and like fuck dude you know you when you look back you're like fuck all right i'm unfortunate you

know i gotta i'm gonna keep going because there's people are still rooting for me you know, when you look back, you're like, fuck, all right, I'm fortunate. You know, I got, I'm gonna keep going. Cause there's people are still rooting for me, you know, back, back home. There's tons of people rooting for you, dude. A lot of the people listen to this podcast are first form people. They're first form Legionnaires. Uh, they're in business with us, with me personally. Um, dude, I see him wearing your shit all the time. There's a lot of crossover. And I know that dude, you're people recognize real shit right like like another guy who i like who's a great friend of mine who's done a good job of building a culture behind his brand rob bailey and danlyn bailey with flagner fail um great friend of mine dude one of my best friends uh and dude our our people are always either wearing your shit or his shit

and that's what they wear i still yeah i was literally i was actually just talking to rob the other day he's just showing this like black friday logistics stuff yeah just like oh you guys are in his brain yeah yeah cool yeah he's a good cool as fuck yeah those guys are cool yeah yeah dude you know he just fucking picked up his whole headquarters and moved it to montana yeah i know i was like what the fuck that's crazy i'm jealous i'm like bro that's fucking balls like i don't know he's a good dude man great good dude great friend to me i like him a lot uh and he does a good job at what we're talking about yeah he's killing it too so i don't know. He's a good dude, man. Good dude. Great friend to me. I like him a lot. And he does a good job at what we're talking about. Yeah. He's killing it too. So I don't think most people think about this when it comes to entrepreneurs, but

every entrepreneur really is a creator is a creative type, right? Cause you're creating, you're building something. So I would love to know. I want to say, I want to say this ever. If all successful entrepreneurs are creatives, they don't start out that way. I was not an artist. I was not a fucking creator. I was a guy who wanted to be rich. Okay. That's why I didn't make any money the first 10 fucking years. Cause I fucking tried to sell shit and just not, I wasn't creating something that either may solve the problem. People are like, how does lift fit solve a problem? Well, lift fit makes people feel fucking more confident.

It makes people feel cool. It makes people feel that's a problem. Okay. Clothes do that. You know, uh, when I was trying to create, uh, I was trying to create money. And so I had to learn to be creator. I had to learn that I had to solve a problem. I had to learn that I, I had to provide benefit to people. And that took me a long time to figure out yeah and so not everybody starts off as a creator am i a creator now fuck yeah i am but i was the opposite of him he started out as that way and then became a business guy that's what i was trying to say when i opened the podcast a lot of people start at different places and i think all successful entrepreneurs either start out as a business guy or they start out as a because like i was a guy who was selling fucking baseball cards and selling snow cones and selling light bulbs door to door and doing all this shit, detailing

cars so that I could make money. And I wasn't, so I was a business guy first and then I learned to create. And where Randall was a creator and then he learned the business. And both work, both end up at the same place. It's just interesting the process people go through to get there. The more you develop, you become more of a hybrid between the two yeah well you i think you become complete i bet if we sat down we're equally as creative on on in our little areas you know what i mean i bet we're equal in business too yeah you know it's hard as far as business acumen marketing we we do a lot of same

things you know what i mean yeah uh so we would sit down and we would we would we would and i know this because we sat down and talked but but we would be the whole, right? Right. You get what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. So now I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm one or the other, I'm both, and I would say that about you too. Exactly.

Yeah. So you end up at the same place, but it's just a different process to get there. Right. So what aspects of your creative process do you think could be universally applied to business? Hmm. Being able to adapt to scenarios, any situation. of your creative process do you think could be universally applied to business? Being able to adapt to scenarios, any situation. I think that's a lot of what a lot of

young entrepreneurs don't get is just the social part. Kinda learned that, how to deal with different people. Personalities, emotions, characters. Especially when you have employees. Especially when you have employees. Especially when you have employees. It sounds cheesy, but it goes a long way when you learn how to communicate with other humans, you know, because you never know how they're going to react. So you have to think as an owner or as a business person that you have X, Y, Z of how these

reactions are going to be and how are you going to react X, Y, Z to that. See, dude, we're a lot alike like that, too, because you grew up in a really rough area yeah so you know how to how to communicate with guys like that yeah and you know how to communicate with guys who are fucking multi multi multi millionaires yeah you know and i grew up in a blue collar environment i didn't grow up in a in a gang area but i mean dude i grew up around construction workers and blue collar guys electricians and warehouse type guys. You know what I'm saying? Like,

so I know, and really honestly, like I'm more like that than I am like the other way, but I know how to communicate and hang out with those guys, working class people. And I know how to communicate and hang out with the top of the top. You know what I mean? And that's a huge advantage that you have because of where you came from.

Is that something you just picked up along the way? Or did you actually, like, I know a huge, you know, bestseller in the success industry is, is how to win friends and, uh, and no, how, what is it? How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie. But there's, you know, there's all these books written about how to improve your social skills. I mean, dude, were any of those resources helpful to you or did you ever read books? I can be honest with

you guys. People ask me, what's your favorite book? I have books that have little quotes and little excerpts in there and i take a little bit from those but i honestly don't even do you do any personal development like uh listen to regular podcasts or or how do you do you do any of that dude honestly mine is just visual eye candy yeah or visual yeah yeah i just go up and just look at motivational pictures and shit yeah i'm just like fuck man that looks dope this car looks sick that house looks nice yeah your car got you dude yeah so you're a visualizer i mean yeah by far yeah for sure yeah see i'm not very smart so like i have to like i have to put a lot of shit in my brain like i was never a really smart person like i was

a fucking i was you know i guess i was smart i I just wasn't, I was, I don't know. Maybe I wasn't. I don't, I don't fucking know what I was, but I read, I've always read. It's helped me a lot. Right. But I've never been the guy who's been able to like, just figure things out. You know what I'm saying? Like I, I've had to like go learn it and like sit down and read a book and that it's helped

me a lot. Um, you know, that's one area where obviously we're different. Um, but even that looking at things that is why do that too yeah that's a process of actively seeking to educate yourself so dude so you're motivated by material shit material shit yeah 100 yeah yeah for sure yeah where do you think that comes from like dude what do you think about people who are like dude i'm not motivated by material shit like i just you know i don't really care about money then they can go fucking live on the streets because this is how our government works if they if it's not a democracy if we don't have the freedom to fucking get shit and own business to make better for ourself then you know this will be it go do whatever yeah

we might as well live in a communist country where everyone's the fucking same right i fucking hate when people say that shit well all you're into is fucking cards isn't it all right and we'll go fucking work at mcdonald's yeah hey you know what we'll fuck go drive our cars together bro because i'm like you you know but it's it's it's that's just like treats for ourselves yeah for the hard work that we fucking you know worked for and for plus dude it goes into what you said like like people don't understand this because they've never experienced it but what you said about like looking good and feeling good and feeling clean fresh and like all that shit your car plays into that yeah like there ain't nothing better than rolling up on somebody or to a meeting or to a business dinner or wherever

knowing that you got the coolest shit there and it makes an impact it helps your business yeah no for sure by the way you are a car guy tell us about what you got in the garage right now oh right now i have the an r8 a 2012 r8 i have a 2015 huracan lamborghini huracan uh range rover and an h7 2017 87 and but i and i just sold my gtr yeah a lot of my fans and stuff are disappointed dude do you get sad too do you get yeah so dude you're like uh like when i have to sell like i don't have to sell a car but when i do sell the car i literally get upset like i'm like fuck dude oh yeah dude we were out there just like taking pictures of it going on the the truck and like oh shit so i got a i got a gt2rs coming the new gt2rs and i traded in my gt3rs which is the first time i've told

anybody and i love that car and everybody loves that. It was a one of one color and all that, you know, all the good shit. And dude, when that car went away, man, I was like fucking sad. Yeah, you start thinking about all the times. Because it's such a good car, dude. It's such a good car. But a GT2 RS, man. Yeah. I'll be happy when that goes.

Yeah. It's funny because I've always been a car guy too. Everyone's like, oh, now that you have money, you get this. No, before I was like, I'm souping up Honda Civics, you know, prior. Dude, me too. When I was in fucking high school, I had a 93 Jeep Wrangler. I used to go to AutoZone and get shit to pimp it out. Yeah, see?

I'd go to get the fucking, you know what I'm saying? Headlight blackouts. For real, dude. No, dude, it's all I knew how to do, so I did it. I thought it was cool. Yeah. I think all car guys do that. Once you're a car guy, you're a car guy.

So what's next on the list, man? Like what's next? I don't know. I'm probably just going to soup up the Huracan and see how that goes. Yeah. Right now that's the baby. You need a classic, bro.

I know. I know. You need some sort of like late 60s, early 70s muscle or a fucking low and long fucking ride. It suits you. Yeah. I got to build my garage first

and suck it up. Just to keep it. But see, that plays into another issue of branding that you talk about all the time which is you guys authentically love cars yes you're not you're not like oh i need to look like a baller no we were just down in my garage and we were fucking looking at the cars i guarantee you we could have sat down there all day all day and just talked about the car yeah yeah yeah but i mean that's important right because i mean the kid who just says oh i i want to be successful so i want to i want people to think that i'm successful by just grabbing these things and making my you know it's just so authentic and i think people can well do you sense that but vaughn the problem with that

is this the problem society looks down upon people who say they want money like they like if i say hey i want to be fucking rich and i want to make a lot of fucking money most of of like, if I said that in public, most people will give me like a dirty look and be like, dude, there's something wrong with you. And so for that reason, what happens is people who truly want that and they want to make money and they want to be successful. What they do is they say shit like this. Well, I, you know, I want to, I want to open a business and I want to be successful, but I don't really care about the money. And the problem with that is this, and they say that to appease all their friends and their family and shit like that. And then the problem with that is this, is that there is quantum physical and metaphysical aspects to the universe,

like the law of attraction, God, whatever you want to call it, that produce the result of the intent that you put out there. And when you say, oh, well, I don't know if I really want money, but I want to have successful business so I can help people. Guess what's going to happen? You're not going to have any fucking money and you're not going to help any people. So if you want money, don't have any fucking shame in saying so, because I want a fucking lot of it. And I know Randall does too.

Yeah, no, for sure. Yeah. That's awesome. Dude. So what's next for you are you are you going to expand like use your creative you know your designs you're going to expand into other products or what yeah right now i mean we're we're um we make a full line of accessories right now we're um actually in the first development of our first shoe

oh that's super top secret i guess it's the first time i'm making an announcement that's awesome i want i want yeah yeah so i want time I'm making an announcement. Bro, bro. That's awesome. I want a pair. Yeah. I want a pair. I want you to sign them. I want to put them in my office. Okay. Gary Vee just sent me a pair of his new sneakers signed.

So I thought that was pretty cool. So I just put them in my office. He's like, dude, flip them on eBay. I'm like, no, dude. You're my boy. I'm going to put them in my fucking office. I like to keep cool shit for my friends. Yeah, yeah.

So keep me down for one of those. That's awesome, man. Yeah, for sure. So we're doing that. And then, obviously, this is like the five-year mark for Lift. That's awesome, man. Yeah, for sure. So we're doing that, and then obviously this is like the five-year mark for Lifted Apparel, so you know the business. Dude.

We've been through a lot. Congratulations. That is awesome. Thanks. So now we're just scaling for the next few years, and then obviously I have my other personal brands, my other streetwear brands, Top Threads and Empire Time pieces and stuff.

That's awesome. You know what you should do? We should go into business. You should make an impaler sweater vest. There's a big market in former pastors for sweater vests. Oh yeah? Yeah. Oh yeah. You can make a killing off of that. Randall doesn't even know what to think of you right now. I know. I can tell. Dude. So talk about your other brands. Like a lot of people are familiar with LiftFit, but they're not familiar with your other brands like uh a lot of people are familiar with lift it but they're not familiar with your other companies yeah so i have this other uh streetwear brand

uh top threads and that's strictly just um more of my other side that i grew up on my the other culture uh that's not fitness you know this comes from like tattoo inspired right on the culture the uh the the hardcore scene you know when i used to play in a hardcore band back then and just like that type of lifestyle the more luxurious clean side clean looking uh aesthetics pieces but you know dudes with tattoos can wear you know just something uh another another avenue where i can express myself not in a fitness sense right you know but and then like like we were talking about earlier this all comes from my roots from my history so dude so yeah this is something that i like to talk about too um you you are clearly the embodiment of your brand so you have built the brand around

you right talk about that for a minute and the importance of that yeah so it was funny at first i'm like yeah dude i'm gonna fucking blow lift it up i don't want to be the face you know people think oh you know are you happy you are the face there was a point i mean i think people wanted you to be the face yeah i didn't want it i didn't want it to be that way at first i wanted it to be like oh i'm gonna be like a nike i just wanted to be lvft you know but as the market shifts and you know with instagram and all this stuff with behind the scenes and shit people want to see who's behind this the the brand so i was like fuck it i'm gonna i'm gonna run with this so then i started putting my face back into it, started modeling the clothes.

I mean these guys, all my media guys always continue to say you should keep doing that. So I'm like all right, fuck it, let's do it. Because sometimes I'm busy, I don't have time to do this shit, but now I'm making time because it works for the business. But it's crazy now because there's this sticky situation that I feel that's around now where I have to be

a lot more careful now because people have someone to blame now if something goes wrong. And I'm sure you get this too. Like just simple customer service shit. Like oh my package got delivered wrong. Randall where the fuck is my order? You know? And I'm just like oh shit.

But that comes with your face being associated so much with the brand. Right, right, right. Because customers don't know how businesses work. Well, the reality is it's our fault regardless anyway. I mean, you're just seeing it more public. Right. People actually go on your page and say, what the fuck, Randall?

Yeah, where's my shipping confirmation? Oh, man. Dude, so what you're talking about is a really cool concept and a revolution in business. So for years and years and years, we have, you know, as we grew up, we have bought from companies that were faceless. We've bought from Under Armour. We've bought from Nike. We've bought from, you know, every company that is faceless. And that's something that social media has sort of transformed to where now people don't want to buy from faceless brands anymore they want to buy from somebody who happens to have a brand and that's something that people um you know you

learned through experience and i did too so i tried i kind of felt the same way you did but it's anytime i get involved with the brand we sell more shit dude we grow the brand you know what i mean and um we if you really break it down to how people buy people want to people don't want to buy like how many times have you heard a radio ad or tv ad and went out and just like oh i bought this we don't buy that way we buy from our friends our whole lives we have bought from you know we go to dinner with with you and i go to dinner and you're wearing a pair of shoes and I'm like, fuck, those are badass. And then the next day I go order them, right?

That's how we've always bought for the last hundred years. But now with social media has created a situation where that dynamic of how we buy on a small scale is now on a mass scale. So if you're building a brand right now, you have to realize that you either have to find somebody who is going to be the true face of the brand or and this is better you have to actually be the embodiment of your brand and i don't think anybody's doing that better than you right now yeah and this is crazy because we were pulling up a lot of analytics prior to this because we're just doing um you know looking at

our pno sheets and doing all this other stuff and um we were going through like our marketing strategies and the analytics of that with the our influencers and athletes and ambassadors because we have a full team you know they're not as big as your guys's but i wanted to run the analytics analytics and see how much they're bringing in you know and it's funny it's crazy um people always think like you know you know they're bringing a lot. And don't get me wrong, they're bringing a lot. But we did the analytics and the total of, total revenue percentage-wise from athletes and ambassadors with their code, it only accounts for eight to 10% of our total revenue.

The rest comes from just our marketing and a wholesale. It was funny because then I used, this is how much of an association of my faces with the brand or myself. I put out a code. I forget when this was probably like last year, just to see how much of an influence I would have on my own brand. I put it out within eight hours. I blew all the athletes codes they had for a month. And I was like, holy shit, this is crazy. It taught you a lesson, didn't it? Yeah. Yeah. It taught you a lesson that you, it's you. It's me. Yes. And dude, any of you guys out there trying to create a company, you, this is people are like, dude, why'd you fucking, why have you

worked so hard to get in shape? Why have you lost a hundred pounds in the last 18 months? I'll tell you why. Cause I learned a fucking lesson. You're just talking about it. And like, dude, I was not embodying what our brand was about. I was not truly reflecting and it was, it wasn't hurting the company, but it was not allowing us to grow the way that we should. And dude, and I'm going to, this is a, this is a compliment for you, dude. Like I, I aspire to be an embodiment of my brand as good as you do. You do a fucking great job at that, man. Like I don't think anybody does it better. So, uh, you know, keep doing that yeah yeah and it just keeps the brand true too you know it's like that's our mission to help people feel

better you know promote a healthy lifestyle right and it's just if if there's no better way knowing that the owner is doing that exactly like this guy's really living that shit yeah right right right and i do think you said this earlier unless i'm just imagining this but did you say you're not really a naturally outgoing person no is that what you say you're more of an introvert put that in oh did i know that was that was what's that yesterday that was yesterday okay okay jesus you're fucking senile man i know i am what the fuck are you thinking about over there i don't know i'm so deep in all this profound thought that i got lost in. I think you're still thinking about the fucking, the gang shit a little bit. Yeah.

I mean, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. Part of me is back there going, well, what if they listen to this and they just decide to knock me off as a, as like a show of power? I don't,

I mean, I'm not going to have any arguments. No love lost here. Thanks. Well, my point being is, are you more outgoing? So does this stuff come naturally to you in terms of posting stuff and interacting with

people and all that stuff? Yeah. Yeah. I'd love just, you know, doing that kind of stuff. Can I ask you a real question? Yeah. Like, this is, I'm asking for me. Okay.

And this would benefit other people. Like, how the fuck do you, like, take your pictures and look so fucking cool in all of them? Like, for real. Like, I mean, I'm not like, so fucking cool in all of them? For real. And I'm not like, they're cool. I struggle with that. I don't like taking photos.

And you seem to be very comfortable taking photos. And if you're going to build a brand, you have to become comfortable. So how does one do that? Just from experience, too. Prior, when I used to take my own photos and stuff, I didn't have a model. I would have to model myself. So if I can set the camera on timer and fucking run in front of the camera and shoot it and if it find out you know through the years and years and years you know how to stand you just know how to yeah how to look but now I have a good media team I got Miguel here we kind of just we've been working together well for so long that we just know the

angles you know yeah you kind of just speak that own language that you guys create so that's cool yeah so so so basically what you're saying is when you're when you're young and you're starting a brand and you're trying to figure out how to be the face of it you're gonna have to be comfortable looking fucking stupid for a while yes you do yeah dude i can't yeah everyone's like oh look at this boy's fucking taking pictures of himself like i don't give a fuck dude yeah make that shit happen yeah that's fucking awesome dude i love that these guys caught me last time i was fucking because he was out sick or something miguel was out sick yeah i didn't have anybody

it was late we just like restocked the product so i had to fucking um take a photo for instagram i put the fucking camera on a tripod put on a beep on the on the timer and ran in front of the camera started doing a pose and my other guys my production managers and she just started coming in and fucking snapping me like oh fuck you it's still a joke but you know you just got some shit you just have to deal with yeah dude you know i used to be like that uh i used to be like that on video like i would i would when i went to record a video uh i'd be like okay well what am i i'd ask him or i'd ask whoever was shooting it okay well what am i should i say this should i say that should i what should i do and it wasn't until i was just like fuck it i'm

just gonna do what the fuck i think I should do. That shit started working. Yeah. You know, like when I started, like when I was like, oh, is this how I should speak? Or is this how I should talk? Or is this how I should do this? I, I was terrible. Like the videos and the audio, the shit that I would produce was fucking horrible. It wasn't until I was just like, fuck this, dude.

I'm just do what the fuck I think. Yeah. And at the end of it, I'll be, and I still do this today. I'll go to him. I'll hey was that good like you know but you just got to do what you yeah what i mean it's like acting you know you got you might feel stupid here and there but you get so used to it you get comfortable with it and do it your own your own way yeah you super comfortable with and it's just going to come off more natural people just like i used to not be able to do video or audio with anybody else in the room like i couldn't like if anybody else in the room i would i couldn't do it i have to be like dude

you got to get out of here i'm doing this well you just said the keyword comforts you got to own that shit yeah you have to you got to own it you know you got it and you're very confident with the actual clothes that you're wearing because you fucking made them you know you put your heart into them so a lot of people they don't understand fashion like is this what i'm supposed to be wearing in this yeah i can speak about my clothes like, man, you know? Whatever that is is fucking badass. I like that. The other phrase you used, though, that I thought is really important is that you talked about how your team kind of knows the right angles

and you kind of have a feel for that. And I think what a lot of people don't realize is there are very few people that are so good looking that they don't have some angle that makes them look bad you know like you just everybody has to find the angles and the right and the shots dude i think everybody honestly i think everybody can look good in photos absolutely everybody because dude the reality is is like your imperfections are what makes you fucking cool like like your uniqueness is what makes you cool i used to think like oh i have a fucking look like this and be like this

and this and then i got stabbed in the fucking face. You know what I mean? And I'm like, fuck. And then for five years, I was like, fuck, dude. My face is fucked up. And then finally, I'm like, fuck it, dude. Actually, it kind of looks cool. And now I fucking own it.

It's part of my brand. And dude, just owning the imperfections is what... You find somebody who knows how to take photos and video. They can make you look fucking cool. I mean, even you, Vaughn. Oh. I got a face for radio. That's why we're doing radio.

That's right. Yeah. So your location definitely helps, too, when it comes to your brand, because it's you, you know, you take a brand like Top Threads and you bring it out to, like, the countryside, and it's just like, there's contrast, but there's way too fucking much contrast. Oh, no, his brand is authentic to his. Yeah, for sure. So, dude, so the last couple years, I've noticed, there's contrast but there's way too fucking oh no his brand is authentic to him yes yeah yeah

yeah for sure so dude so the last couple years i noticed and before you and i had even met you know we were doing a lot of the same things as developing like uh as our personal brands as entrepreneurs you know like we were we were going on the instagram pages and people were promoting us and shit like that we were both on build build your empire cover that was cool as fuck yeah uh what what's your mission with that man like like because i see you working hard to build your name as an entrepreneur what's what's the goal for that the goal for like it's similar to yours i mean correct me if i'm wrong but is to literally just let young aspiring entrepreneurs or just people in general know that there's another route you can take to success. You know, and that the blueprint that was written,

still taught today, isn't fucking correct anymore. Things are changing, the technology's changing, marketing is changing, everything is changing fast. And the only people in the forefront is people like us because we're living it day to day. And the only way people can teach it is us telling it that's right because if not then fucking who else is going to know because if we're not leaving our blueprint and leaving our our um our mark our mark no one's going to learn because it's just going to change again we live in such an awesome time because you

and i didn't have that exactly we didn't have we didn't have entrepreneurs that we could look and watch and see them how we couldn't see like dude think about this i looked i used to look up to guys in uh you know other business guys back in when i was trying to become a business guy when i was 19 years old 18 years old i was all i saw was the fucking product on the shelf i didn't see how they marketed i didn't see who they had representing it i saw their ads and I saw the product and that's all I could pull from. Now you guys actually have real entrepreneurs who are building brands in the moment that are actually willing to give you their fucking time and tell you how to do that.

Like, dude, people, they have such a huge advantage now. You know what I mean? Like, dude, the barrier to entry to business and the price to pay to success is so much smaller than it used to be. You used to have to grind out 10, 15 years. Now you're five years in, you're fucking killing it, dude. Like it's the game is just so much faster. And I just, I'm almost pissed that like I had to pay the price that I had to pay. You know what I mean? Like, I wish I was like 10 that like I had to pay the price that I had to pay you know what I mean like I wish I was like 10 years younger because I would have been where I wanted to be 10 years faster you know and uh you guys are such an advantage to have people like Randall and other

people out there who are literally doing it right now to learn from dude and by the way our missions are exactly aligned yeah yeah and it's like we're like I don't get anything out of it you know I just want to fucking let people know that this shit is this is how it is yeah because I didn't have that I was like fuck you know might as well share it yeah let people you know know what's what's real yeah dude it's going to be cool to see in the next 10 years how people who are just now starting brands, how that develops. Right. I mean, because like with the buried entry lowering, you have more competition.

So like when you started and you started doing t-shirts and stuff like that, you had some competitors, right? Now you, there's fucking 10 million people doing it. It's the same for supplements. There's 10 million brands out there. So to, to become better you have to really learn the game like you can't if you're out there just buying some t-shirts and you're going to create a fucking cool design on it and post on instagram you ain't gonna fucking

make it you've got it you've got to design this shit like it's a fucking chess match and you've got to execute on it like that you know uh we do have amazing tools we've got amazing tools to let us know uh you know let people know facebook instagram twitter we've got these things youtube but everybody else has them too and that's one of the biggest things so how do you deal with like you don't seem like a guy who confirms himself with competition at all like you just doing your thing right now i've always believed in that since day one. I'm not worried about whoever this is, you know, my competition, if there is any, you know, I'm just literally focusing on our culture, our business, making sure my guys grow, making sure our business is functioning, make sure we're scaling, make sure we're growing. If all those things are aligned,

then I'm fucking happy. I'm fucking chilling. Do you notice how, do you notice like a lot of young guys, how they get so fixated on what everybody else is doing? They always ask, well, who's your biggest competition? I'm like, I don't, I don fucking happy. I'm fucking chilling. Do you notice how, do you notice like a lot of young guys, how they get so fixated on what everybody else is doing? They always ask, well, who's your biggest competition? I'm like, I don't, I don't know. I don't know. There is no competition for what you're doing because what you're doing is unique. Right.

You know what I mean? And that's, that's the thing. If you do you like people ask me that same shit. They're like, who's your competition? Who's your biggest competition? I'm like, I really couldn't fucking tell you. Yeah. Like, I don't know yourself.

Yeah. Really? But I mean like, well like well i mean you also do say amazon i mean you go after the biggest fucking fish well obviously yes i mean we we have to do things that you know now to compete against new outlets of how things are sold technology that's just yeah but that's not amazon's not my literal competition like my literal competition would be like other companies who make supplements, but like none of them are doing it well enough for me to consider them competition. No offense guys, but that's the truth. I respect a lot of companies. I do, but I do feel like what we do is unique and nobody else can do what we do. Exactly.

So we do what we do, you know? Yeah. Are there other great companies? Yeah. Are there bigger companies? Yeah. But I think we're the best at what we do you know what i mean and when you when you focus on that you could constantly improve and constantly get better when you're focused on what everybody else is doing you know you don't have the energy at the end of the day to put into your own brain

you're worried you're stressed you're fucking you know now i do like to look at other companies. I like to look at other companies and say, okay, they're doing this well, they're doing this well, they're doing this well, they're doing this well, and pay them compliments and say, okay, well, well, they do this really well. We could do that better. And I, I, I, I gauge myself against other companies, but I certainly don't obsess over it. You just learn. Yeah. Or maybe, you know, see something that's maybe you can utilize, you know, or whatnot.

You're just looking at it and learning. So I think it's important to be aware, but just be aware, just be aware of the competitors, but don't fucking focus on them. Yeah. You know, that's a big thing that there's enough room for everybody to make a lot of

money. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's the truth. So, um, dude, what do you,

what do you think? Like if you had a young person come to you right now who, says, Randall, I'm going to start an apparel business. I want to, I want to be like you. I want to do, I want to do that. What would your advice to them be? I would mean, I would first ask him, what are you into? You know, see if they have a, a story they can tell if their life is interesting and what have they been through, you know, because I think now if you start an apparel company, you got to have a story. You got to have like a mission that backs it for real. A thousand percent. Yeah, because that's what's going to make it.

People are more tied to emotions and more tied to a story now, you know, it's not real. So, I mean, if they were going to. The product's got to be good, but it's also got to stand for something. Yeah, exactly. So if the kid's too young and they haven't experienced much got to be good, but it's also got to stand for something. Yeah, exactly. So if the kid's too young and they haven't experienced much, like, hey, man, go live life and then come back. Maybe you can start an apparel company later. But go live life. Go fuck up.

Do what you do to have fun with your friends and, you know – Learn some shit. Learn some shit, you know. And then, yeah. Yeah, and just build it around who they are. Build it around that. Build it around your fun times. Build it around, you know. Build it around that. Build it around your fun times. Build it around, you know, I don't know.

The things that mean something to you. You know, like that's one thing that people, I think with First Form, the reason we've been so successful is because people resonate with what we're about. Like, dude, we're not about posting pictures of ourselves, you know, butt naked on the internet 50 times a day. Nobody gives a fuck. We're literally about helping people get results, helping take people like my mom, who's a hundred pounds overweight and helping her feel comfortable going to the gym, helping people who have no confidence, gain confidence through fitness, you know, all the good things that fitness teach, you know, uh, dedication, uh, discipline and,

and, and, and inclusion really like, dude, I feel like the fitness industry uh had got very exclusive for a while like it wasn't like oh dude it was like if you didn't look already fit you weren't cool enough to be in it right you know what i mean and dude that's not what fitness is about man fitness is about taking people that have struggles and making them feel comfortable because like a biggest problem with fitness is that a lot of people don't feel comfortable even going to the gym you know what i mean they don't feel comfortable even going to the gym. You know what I mean? They don't feel comfortable associating with a brand because they're fat. They're out of shape.

They're unhealthy. And dude, I was that guy a fucking year ago. You know what I mean? So I know what that's like. Like I didn't want to go to the gym when I was 350 fucking pounds. It's embarrassing. Imagine owning supplement companies and having to do that. And everybody knows you own them.

Like dude, it's embarrassing. You know, but the point is, is that, you know, I think building brands around cultures and meanings, I don't think this, I know this is going to be the defining factor between the mega, who becomes the mega brands and who becomes just another company. Right. You know what I mean? I think like even Nike and Under Armour, they don't really do a good job at providing a mission. You know what I mean? And dude, there's going to be apparel brands, probably yours and other brands like yours, who are going to come through with a mission and they're going to take over that space. It's just a matter of time.

Because they're so big, they have so much cash, they have all this shit. And what you're doing is the future of where these companies are going yeah i actually got an email from one of the marketing directors of nike from the west region it was just a long message saying that he was inspired by what we were doing what our media team was doing so i thought that was pretty fucking cool yeah dude and that's another thing it's like a lot of the smaller companies like mine and yours we're doing better fucking content than the big companies yeah you know what i mean dude shit is just changing it's exciting man yeah like you don't have to be like this massive company anymore to do and when i say massive i mean both of us have big companies

but like we're we're big small companies exactly you know what i'm saying yeah like we're not fucking nike but you don't have to have a a fucking skyscraper full of a thousand people anymore to make an impact you know and dude that's what people want right they want to be impacted they want to be they want to be helped they want to be um they want to be inspired dude and they want to feel included and brands that don't do that anymore they're they're going to lose traction you know what i mean what are you going to wear you're going to wear a live fit because it means something to me and i want to be a part of that crew or you're going to wear Nike which is the same quality but it doesn't stand for anything you see what I'm saying what

do you think yeah I mean it's it's just like the whole branding part people are just going more towards something they can affiliate themselves with you know and I think our brands would do a good job with connecting with the customer face to face with like our phones you know right like Nike doesn't do that you know we're giving back you know like we're doing uh free workout tips for for the people that to use you know just on their fingertips yeah and we would go live and just talk to our our customers and our fans you know so it's something that we can offer uh that are more uh more than the big companies you know so it's uh it's it it's being fluid, right? Like, like these big companies, they have so much overhead, they have so much policy, they have so many things. They're rigid in their systems, they're rigid in their flexibility, where smaller brands like yours and mine, we can be fluid, and we can adjust quickly to what the customer wants, what they need, what they're asking for. And, you know, that gives us a big advantage is being fluid. You know, um, I've always enjoyed doing things better than the big companies, even if we're not

a big company, like I take pride in it. Even if not, everybody knows that we do it better. I like doing it better. Yeah. So dude, before we close out, man, like, you know, everybody kind of has like one big thing. Like for me, when I got stabbed and almost died, like I was, that was a big turning point in my life. Like I always like to hear, like, do you have any moments that would be like something that impacted your life in a way massively in an instant any situations like that you could talk about still be multiple i don't know yeah yeah i mean i guess on another note something that really really like made me say like i made it was when i was able to retire my mom that was fun yeah so she doesn't have to work this was like two years ago i'll tell you i was like because she's been

fucking working since you know so i was you know i was like fuck it you know i'm gonna retire you yeah and now she doesn't have to work got her a car got her a place to stay so she's chilling that's because she came from the war from the the killing fields, the Khmer genocide. With Pol Pot? Pol Pot, yeah. She survived that. She survived that, you know, running through bombs and shit, carrying my aunts and stuff. Yeah, that's some other shit.

Yeah, she's seen a lot of murders. Yeah, so you know about the killing fields. Oh, yeah. There was more people killed in the Jewish genocide. It's just not documented because a lot of history has been burned off and stuff. Yeah. No way. So she fled from that country.

Yeah, this is after the Vietnam War as well. So it's more recent. So it wasn't even that long ago It wasn't it was like in the late 70s. Yeah. Yeah, so she's Cambodia. Yeah, I mean Cambodia. Yeah, so I'm Cambodian Yeah, yeah, so she survived that and came here with fucking nothing With two and then you know was with my dad which was arranged marriage and then Now obviously divorced and raised me with fucking nothing low income all that shit so she worked her whole life up until you know two years ago and i was like hey damn fuck it you don't gotta work anymore she must have done some some shit right yeah because dude she raised some good son man that's fucking yeah that is awesome that's respect dude i like that a lot thanks yeah that's

that's that's amazing. Yeah. Like, I didn't even know that. Let's just piggyback on what he was saying. Yeah. So the reason that we have numbers for the Holocaust is because Germans are weird. They want to keep records of everything. Mm-hmm.

But the complete purging that Pol Pot did of the whole population was, they're estimating like it could be two or three times worse. Yeah, I think it was like one third of the population. people that did not conform to it, right, to his idea of communism.

All educated people were killed, all instructors, teachers, doctors, they were all killed off. They wanted everyone to live poor and the same way, which my mom did live

for three years. Same haircut, same black clothes, same amount of food every single day in the fucking farmland. You do labor. And that's a cheat. My grandma used to sneak fucking lizards and shit

and fucking eat that because that's all the food you can eat. All you can have. Yeah, it's fucking nuts, dude. You know, Angelina Jolie now, she actually has Maddox, the kid she adopted from Cambodia. Now she's just put out this movie called First He Killed My Father, which kind of gives an overview of what happened.

I was actually invited to the premiere viewing with Angelina Jolie in Long Beach. That's awesome. There's a huge community over there in Long Beach of Cambodians. So that story just gets – first of all, if you're making a fucking excuse about like, if you're bitching about America and this and that, fuck you, man. Like, dude, that's what America is about. Like America is about giving people the opportunity to, yeah, it might not happen to every single person, but your mom started a trickle down that happened to you. And dude, it's a trickle down that happened to you and

dude it's just amazing like that's the fucking american dream like that's what it's about i love that bro like i didn't know that that's amazing came here with nothing yeah literally nothing dude i'd like to meet your mom one day man definitely that'd be cool crazy that is fucking cool several times speechless during this podcast so there's wild, huh? Yeah. So let people know where they can find you. Where can everybody find you on social? They can find me on Instagram, obviously, Randall underscore pitch. And then I have my personal website,

Randall dash pitch dot com. Or look up livefitapparel dot com, top threads inc dot com. Or just Google my name. Okay, cool. Randall, people complain about this all the time, so I'm just going to spell it out. R-A-N-D-A-L-L underscore P-I-C-H.

Correct. Got it. Yep. Dude, thank you so much for coming on, man. If you guys, listen, you guys have to understand, this is someone who literally came from nothing. Like when I say I came from nothing, dude, we were like middle-class, right?

Like that's not nothing. This is somebody who's come from nothing and learned what he had to do to build something that was going to benefit himself he's very very successful and benefit his family and you guys out there who are making fucking excuses about you don't have this advantage you don't have that advantage you don't have this you don't have the money you don't have a bank you don't have this advantage and you don't have that advantage and you don't have this. You don't have the money. You don't have a bank. You don't know about this. Listen to this podcast and listen to what this man says over and over again about taking control of what he's trying to do and learning as you go. Nobody's going to come teach you the shit. Nobody's going to come tell you it's okay or it's time or you're qualified, you got to make yourself qualified. And dude, thank you for being an example of that.

And dude, I got so much respect for you. I wish you the best success, man. Just thank you for coming on the show. It means a lot. I appreciate it, man. It was an honor. Thanks for having me. Definitely, man.

Guys, follow Randall. Follow his brand. Check him out. Case study him. This is a real entrepreneur. This is somebody who's doing it this is somebody who was where you are not that long ago and is where you want to be now so guys thanks for listening we'll talk to you soon