Right About Now with Ryan Alford - The Real Business Behind Show Business with Jesse Palmer, Christopher Sean, Tarek El Moussa, and Marty Smith

Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to The Radcast, a top 25 worldwide business podcast. If it's radical, we cover it. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. We're talking houses today, my friend. We're talking radical flipping, radical entrepreneurs. We're talking Tarek El Moussa. What's up, brother? Not much, buddy. How you doing?

Starting point is 00:00:26 Hey, man. What's marketing to you? What's your appreciation level of marketing and the role of it in kind of what you're doing? I mean, marketing is everything. You got to get your phone to ring. For me, my first 10 years as an entrepreneur, 12 years as an entrepreneur, I never did any marketing. I was taught sales and I was taught sales on the phone. So all I did was call people. All I did was text people. All I did was network with people. And then as the short sales and those things started to dry up, I realized, well, hey, I'm building a brand now. I should try this marketing thing. So in 2000 and I think 13 is when I got into marketing. And today we're doing heavy marketing, hundreds of thousands

Starting point is 00:01:04 of dollars a month. We have TV commercials running throughout Southern California. We have heavy digital marketing campaigns running. We have print mailers going. We have driving for dollars. We have cold calling campaigns. We have texting campaigns. We have email campaigns.

Starting point is 00:01:18 So we're just always hitting everything. And I say, in order to get leads, you have to hit them from land, air, and sea. You got to hit them from every angle possible. I mean, what is it about real estate right now that's just so hot? I mean, there's so many amazing things about real estate. One is people are extremely excited about the appreciation of real estate, right? But at the same time, the last couple of years, we've seen the fastest appreciation in, I think, US history. So that's one thing to look at. But, you know, real estate is an amazing thing. You can you can depreciate against your taxes. You get appreciation, you get cash flow, you get leverage. And it's just a fun and exciting business. Yeah. Let's let's back up for a second, Tarek. And I'm sure you've done

Starting point is 00:01:58 done these in the past, but I do want our audience to know, obviously, you've been on reality TV for 10 plus years. I'm sure most have heard the name, if not. But I'd audience to know, obviously, you've been on reality TV for 10 plus years. I'm sure most have heard the name, if not. But I'd love to give a little bit of that organic story for you, just that professional journey. I'll give you the three to four minute version. I got out of high school. And at 19 years old, I was selling kitchen knives. Most people know Cutco kitchen knives because half the world has sold those knives. And I ended up losing my sales book.

Starting point is 00:02:28 And inside my sales book had all my leads, all my contacts. And back then when I was 19, that's how I made my living. So I lost my sales book. I was going broke. I didn't want to get a job. I was at a Washington Mutual Bank. And I was just standing there at the ATM machine. And I was like, I was like, shit, you know, what do I do now?

Starting point is 00:02:44 I have no money. And I swear, true story. I looked up to the machine and I was like, shit, what do I do now? I have no money. I swear, true story, I looked up to the right and there was this big crooked sign said, Wise Old Owl Real Estate School. I had a defining moment. I call defining moment a moment in your life that changes the trajectory of your life. I was like, shit, man, if I can sell knives, I can sell houses. I walked right over to that crooked sign, opened the door, walked in and I signed up for real estate classes and it was a rocky ride. So I was officially licensed, I believe, at 20 and my first six months in the business, young, hungry, motivated, excited. I completely struck out. I didn't get one sale and I wanted to quit real estate and I hated school and I was

Starting point is 00:03:27 going to go back to school. And randomly there was a seminar coming into town by the name of a guy, Mike Ferry. And it was a real estate coaching seminar. It was a free seminar. And I was 20 years old kid. You know, I just got out of high school. I didn't even know that coaching existed in the business world. You know, for me, a coach was a baseball coach, a football coach, a hockey coach, right? Like I didn't even know you can get a real estate coach. So I go to this free seminar. And by the end of this thing, like this Mike Ferry guy has me convinced I'm the smartest son of a son of a bitch alive. I'm going to be the most successful guy alive. Like he convinced me I was unstoppable. And it was like all mindset.

Starting point is 00:04:05 It was wild. And at the end of that free seminar, you know, I'll never forget. I walked up to him and I handed him a piece of paper. And I said, hi, my name is Tarko Musa. You don't know who I am today, but one day you will. By the way, he knows who I am now. I bet he does. So talk about reality TV for a minute. So you've done it. Shit. I mean, most reality TV shows do not have the longevity you guys had, number one. I mean, I'd say you're probably like the top 1% if I just had to guess. Purely unscientific guess, but I would guess.

Starting point is 00:04:38 Most of them would go, what, a year, two, three years? A couple seasons. Yeah, a couple seasons. So how real was your reality TV? Yeah, I mean, it was real because, I don't know, like, here's the, like, if you watch my show, like, literally, I wore, like, sandals, black board shorts, T-shirts. I looked like I was, like, a bum half the time. Like, I didn't even think about being on TV. I was just thinking about not going bankrupt because I didn't know how to flip houses. And just, unfortunately there were cameras

Starting point is 00:05:07 there. So like, it was all real. Like at the beginning, I didn't know anything about anything and I just kind of figured it out as I went. But like how much staging is involved in kind of making the show as interesting as it was, you know, like, you know, you're following the processes of a flip, right? So you can't stage the demo you have to show the walkthrough you have to show the design you have to show the remodel right yep and then outside of that you know it would follow small parts of our personal life you know it wasn't a personal life reality show so it only it only gave a little peek inside of our personal life so toric so talk talk to me about like your net takeaway from flipperpper Flopper.

Starting point is 00:05:45 Are you like high gratitude, really appreciate it? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but like, what's, what's your net, you know? I mean, shit, you know, I'm, I'm 40 years old now. And, and I spent almost a third of my life filming that TV show. So, you know, it's a part of me. It'll always be with me. I'll always have those memories. I mean, shit, when I'm a 60, 70, 80 year old man, I can go back and watch myself as a 29 year old kid. So it's definitely something in my life I wouldn't change. And it's been an incredible experience and one hell of a ride. When I say the words personal branding to you, where does your mind go with, you know, the Tarek El Moussa brand and like

Starting point is 00:06:23 your perspective on yourself? You know, I'm a big believer in like, you know, the Tarek El Moussa brand and like your perspective on yourself? You know, I'm a big believer in like, you know, not just flipping houses. I'm a big believer in flipping your life. Like I'm talking about upgrade your wardrobe, take your goddamn vitamins, go to the stupid gym, buy nicer clothing, get your shit tailored, always be the best version of you possible. And it's always, I'm always going under a remodel. I'm always working on myself. I'm always trying to improve. I'm always trying to become the best version of me. I mean, I think it's the absolute best business in the world. But at the same time, I always say, you know, before you invest in anything, you have to invest in yourself. What does that mean? It doesn't mean the first step is to go out there and buy a house tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:07:02 It means the first step is to learn about the business, to learn how to buy a house, and then you go buy a house. So it's really important to have some knowledge. And it's not rocket science. Just get a little bit of knowledge and just start the process. And I'm a big believer in just take your time. If you don't get a deal your first month, it's OK. If you don't get a deal your first two months, it's okay. You don't get a deal your first three months, it's okay. As long as you're practicing and as long as you're learning. Because over time, no matter what, just like riding a bike, things are going to start to click. Where do you get your knowledge? So now you're kind of in the prime of your career, like knowledge and opportunities know opportunities you've you've learned a lot you've got the i don't know thicker skin maybe from the experiences of 2007 i mean like but where do you what's your

Starting point is 00:07:53 source of knowledge learning and other things now that you're kind of at your level sure i'm a guy that learns by doing yeah that's it i i learned by doing like, what does that mean? Well, how do you get off market deals? You got to talk to homeowners. So I picked up the phone. I sounded like an asshole. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was calling off market. And as time goes on, just like in sports, when I was five years old, the more you practice

Starting point is 00:08:17 at something, the better you're going to get. So for me, like I taught myself how to flip houses just through, you know, practicing and trial and error. I tried everything. Nature, nurture. Like I said earlier, I hate when people tell me I can't do something. It really pisses me off. The biggest coach in my life was my dad.

Starting point is 00:08:36 At five years old, I learned a very valuable lesson. My dad was a soccer coach. I loved playing soccer, and he was an incredible player. My dad was actually invited to be the head coach of the all-star soccer team. So as a five-year-old, so excited. And then when my dad picked the team, he didn't pick me. Oh, shit. So, yeah.

Starting point is 00:08:56 So he didn't like I'll never forget being at the dinner table, five years old, just like crying my eyes out. And I was like, well, why didn't you pick me? And he he said, son, I love you. You're not good enough. But he said, I'll never forget. He said, you're not good enough, but if you work really hard next year, you're going to make that team. Damn. So what, what was the lesson my dad taught me? Yeah. You don't get shit for free. No, one's going to do it for you, but you. And the only way to get success is to put in the work. So that's what I learned at five years old. If I wanted something, I had to work for it. No one's going to give it to me. 20, 30 years from now, like, will you look back? What do we

Starting point is 00:09:34 want people to think and remember about Tarek? I want people to think, remember that anything is possible. I showed the world that a guy that grew up with no money in Buena Park, California, ended up on TV with a dollar to his name. And he did something with his life while a TV camera followed him. I want to inspire as many people as humanly possible. I want to get as many people into real estate as humanly possible. And I really want to change lives because, you know, people change my life and it's my obligation to do the same for others. I love it, brother. So let's give everybody some of the places they can keep up with you, some of these projects, how they can get involved with you. Sure. If you're an accredited investor, you want to partner with me on some apartment buildings,

Starting point is 00:10:15 you got to check TEM Investments or investwithtarek.com. If you want to learn how to flip houses, which is to be active real estate investor, go out there and find, fix and sell. You got to check out homeschooled by Tariq dot com. And if you got a house to sell, you got to check out Tariq buys houses dot com. There we go. I love it. All the places to keep up. Tariq, I really appreciate your time, brother. I know there's been some enlightening things here for people get to know you a little deeper, a little better. Really appreciate your transparency and willingness to kind of open up a little bit.

Starting point is 00:10:50 Yeah, absolutely. And if you guys want to see a little bit of everything that's going on, my Instagram is therealtaricelmusa. And the reason it's the real is because someone stole my name. There's your note for people. I personally bought all of my children's names on Instagram 10 years ago,

Starting point is 00:11:09 along with mine for that very reason. You never know. That's cool, brother. I really appreciate you. All right, man. Great chatting with you. Until next time. We're talking Bachelor today.

Starting point is 00:11:23 We're talking college football. We're talking Jesse Palmer. What's up, brother? Good, brother. Good being on with you and until next time. We're talking bachelor today. We're talking college football. We're talking Jesse Palmer. What's up, brother? Good, brother. Good being on with you. How are you doing? I'm doing great, man. I think by now you're getting to be a household name, but for our audience, I definitely just want to kind of get into your journey. You can start it and tell it from whatever point you want, but I think you got a real unique perspective and a kind of a real, obviously very unique journey and winding path. So let's start down that man. Yeah. Unique journey. That's definitely a good way to put it and to tease it. It's, um, I never expected that I would, I would be in the position I am today for sure. I grew up in a, in a small town outside of Ottawa, Canada. It's called Peehan.

Starting point is 00:12:08 And my dad was a former professional football player. My mom was a model. I grew up wanting to be an NFL quarterback. And I knew that from the time that I was seven years old. And it was an awesome dream to have. But it was kind of unique and weird because I was in Canada where everybody loves hockey. Everybody just talks about hockey. Football is really not that big of a deal. And I just worked and grinded and played.

Starting point is 00:12:29 You know, I played every sport growing up. But my dad was my coach and I got really lucky. And a big turning point in my life was getting a scholarship to play for Steve Spurrier at the University of Florida. I got there right after they won a national championship in 1996. Danny Werfel had won the Heisman Trophy. So it was really just a unique time in my life. And fast forward four years from there, got drafted by the New York Giants, played in the NFL for about five or six years, and then started my career into sports broadcasting with ESPN. That essentially is sort of what kind of opened up the door for a lot of TV opportunities as well. I was so lucky to be able to avoid a lot of pitfalls, injuries, life,

Starting point is 00:13:17 whatever it is, to have had the opportunity to have those five, six years in the NFL. Dude, those were the best days of my life. And when I was starting games, I was getting the crap kicked out of me. But honestly, dude, I would do it all over again in a millisecond to be on the field again with the guys because that's the only thing I ever wanted to do since I was seven years old. So I'm internally grateful to so many people and to the experiences I had.

Starting point is 00:13:47 College football nut, myself included, goes, damn, that'd be a dream job. You know, like, I mean, and I'm like, and it's never as sexy, like you said, 2 a.m. stuff, you get tired. There's always stuff that's, it's a job. People forget that. But damn, have your passion and your work come to life. And you got to remind yourself, too. There are a lot of people out there that would slit your throat for your job. We have a job we really love. And sometimes it gets tough, like you were mentioning. And all of them do.

Starting point is 00:14:14 No such thing as the perfect job. But it's in those moments that you really do have to sort of remind yourself. Don't take it for granted because there's somebody out there who's very, very hungry that wants your job and they'll do anything to get it. And so that's, it's a good reminder, I think, for people sometimes when you sort of get in tough spots. What do you think's attributed to your longevity with ESPN? Wanting to go like this nature or nurture thing with you, man, I can't quite put my finger on it. Like, you know, both your joy and doing things, your attitude, but you know, I'm almost kind of getting at what makes you successful while also asking, you know, that longevity is not easy in the sport you just described. Yeah. I mean, for me, I mean, I just, this, this kind of goes back

Starting point is 00:14:59 to playing football. It's like, I was, I just work really, really hard at it. And I study a lot. I watch a lot of tape. I watch so much film every year. I've got just books and binders of notes that I've taken watching teams. I put a lot into it. And, um, I think a lot of people that do this job, everybody sort of has their own, their own path and their own way that they operate. Some guys are great at just not studying and just kind of showing up and watching the game and just giving it to you raw and live. I sort of look, you know, I do it the way I used to play quarterback, where you watch film, you study the opponent, you do it for a week, and then you're able to sort of take everything that you've studied and you've got in your head and you sort of kind of spit it out on game day with respect to what you're seeing.

Starting point is 00:15:42 So I hope part of my longevity has to do with the product that i'm putting out and a lot of that really is preparation um and and really real really hard work it's i'm not the guy that just kind of shows up and wings it um and i i hopefully hopefully for for the uh the fans and the viewers at home hopefully that comes across no it does again it's a compliment like robotically not because you're a robot but because i'm like the detail you know i'm like yeah yeah it's there i remember i remember like playing for sean payton with the new york giants and i remember like he would grind he was like a john gruden disciple who would grind you know all all hours of the night we'd be in our

Starting point is 00:16:21 quarterback meeting friday morning sean had the biggest eye bags he was crushing dip he had like a coffee it was like double fisting coffees and he's going through it and and he would put so much work into our game plan like our play our playbook for that week was it was huge and we would lose a game and be really disappointing and just just put up six points and just all like 160 yards and i think used to think to myself, like, man, like, how's he going to change? Like, obviously that was not a good outcome. We lost the game. That was embarrassing. How is he going to change his preparation the next time? And to his credit, he never did. He just trusted the process. He went back in the office at 4am on Sunday or on Monday

Starting point is 00:17:02 and just started the whole thing again, trusting that and believing in what he was doing was right. That really taught me you've got to find whatever it is that gets you ready and just believe in it. I have good days in the studio and I have bad days in the studio. I have good days in the booth and I have bad days in the booth. But I don't try to deviate too much from what got me here and what's allowed me to be successful these last 15 years. Yeah, it's good for people to hear that because dude man you look like you got it all together you're a good looking guy you've been on the bachelor which we're going to get to

Starting point is 00:17:33 and it's like but no this guy's busting his ass working hard preparing and it doesn't just get handed it's like hard work and i think it's good for people to hear that from you because I think there's just some, you know, I mean, you know, you deal. I'm sure you've dealt with that in your life, you know. Oh, yeah. You got it easy or something. Right. Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:17:54 Like, I mean, listen, listen, no doubt about it. And I tell people this all the time, like my career at Florida and playing in the NFL and being on The Bachelor to some extent. Did that help me land ESPN? Absolutely. Of Absolutely it did. Of course it did. Yeah. But once you get there, what do you do with it? Because we've also had a lot of, we've had NFL Hall of Famers at ESPN that got a job

Starting point is 00:18:14 because of that, but they didn't last very long because they didn't work very hard. You know, at the end of the day, your game tape, your film, and what you put out on camera at ESPN and studio and in the booth, that is your resume, and it speaks for itself. Is it nature or nurture for you, man? Is your parents just raised you well, or you just built this way? Man, not to get all Freudian. Listen, I was very, very lucky. I had two incredible role models and my, my mom and my dad, they, they definitely instilled

Starting point is 00:18:48 a lot of discipline in me, a lot of work ethic and a lot of gratitude and appreciation growing up at a very young age. And I think staying close to them throughout my entire life and having the messages reinforced over and over, um, I think has definitely helped a lot and i think trying to be around like-minded people you got to be careful who your circles are everyone's every every football player's got a kind of a tiny circle you got the team you got the offense you got you know but you have like four or five dudes different positions whatever that you kind of run with i was always trying to make sure there were positive people that, that were appreciative of what we were doing and loved what we were doing.

Starting point is 00:19:27 Jesse, I know everybody knows probably where to find you, but where do you direct people when they're wanting to keep up with you? Oh, just Instagram, Jesse Palmer on Instagram and Jesse, Jesse Palmer TV on Twitter is pretty much it. Hey,

Starting point is 00:19:40 I really enjoyed this. I hope we can do it again down the road and would love to stay in touch. Everyone that's necessarily a passion, but growing up here in South Kakalaki, going to Clemson University, following college football and NASCAR, I got someone who I truly admire, Marty Smith. What's up, brother? Ryan, hey, man, I appreciate you having me. And full disclosure to all you guys listening, I'm late and I'm very sorry.

Starting point is 00:20:08 I put Ryan in a heck of a predicament here. He's a very popular man. His schedule is packed and I have completely foobarred the whole thing. But, man, I appreciate your interest in hearing a little bit of my path and story. And I appreciate you and what you do there with your podcast. And I know it inspires a ton of people. So it's cool. Thank you, Marty.

Starting point is 00:20:32 I really appreciate that. A lot of our audience has heard of you, seen you on TV, seen the stories that you bring to life. But for anyone that has it and for those that have that don't know some, I wouldn't mind just talking a little bit about your, your journey. Well, uh, thank you. First of all, I appreciate your kind words. It is always makes me laugh. There's a substantial contingent of folks out there who watch and listen to what I do on ESPN and they think I'm faking the accent. As if a Southern accent is some sort of

Starting point is 00:21:06 substantial benefit in the world of professional broadcasting. So I'll try to give a truncated version of the path. I grew up about 20 miles or 25 miles West of Virginia Tech's campus in a little town called Parisburg. It's kind of a farming community, super blue-collar, God and country kind of vibe, and I would not trade my upbringing there for anything. The high school football Friday Night Lights vibe is 100% accurate. It is the marquee social event. The week, it is the identity of the town.

Starting point is 00:21:47 I was on some teams that were very good. And it's one of those things where if you're a kind of a starting player on a team that's that good, you don't pay for your blizzards, you don't pay for your haircuts and the whole thing. I mean, it's remarkable for me to chase that nostalgia. So I went from growing up there in Parisburg to Radford University. I had a brief stop at a school in East Tennessee called Carson Newman College. It's now Carson Newman University, played middle infield there. That wasn't right for me, so I transferred over to Radford, and it was one of the greatest blessings ever for me because I had to figure out who and what I wanted to be

Starting point is 00:22:23 when I wasn't an athlete anymore other than a greater purpose which is to be kind have great effort and great passion and everything that I get to cover and hopefully inspire somebody along the way and I'm looking in the mirror I know that I control those three things I control how nice I am to other people. I control how hard I'm willing to work and give every last ounce of everything I am to whatever that challenge is before me. And that I do that with an undeniable positive energy. That's all me. But when I think of Marty Smith, I do think there's this earnest, earnesty, this kindness that comes through in your reporting and your storytelling. It truly is the Marty Smith brand. When I first started in this, like a lot of dudes, a lot of dudes are insecure.

Starting point is 00:23:17 We pretend like we're not, but we are. So my greatest insecurity is I like to be liked. And in our business, man, that ain't a good one to have. There's a lot of people who don't like your style or don't like your haircut or don't like how you carry yourself. And that's okay. That's their prerogative to feel however they want to. And you can't force them any other way other than to live your life in a manner that gives you purpose and fulfillment. How do you feel about cancel culture?

Starting point is 00:23:47 I don't know, man. Again, I just try really hard to keep the main thing the main thing all the time. For me, it's those three pillars that I just mentioned. It's being true to stories. that I just mentioned, and it's being true to stories. And if I'm interviewing someone, it's asking them open-ended questions that let them tell me their story. Rather than trying to drive them towards a story. Anybody who's read my book knows this one story about Dale Earnhardt Jr. that really altered my entire approach to the way that I interview people. This was 2012, I think.

Starting point is 00:24:29 I had done an interview with Jeff Gordon, the NASCAR icon. My career was sort of blossoming a little bit in that moment. And I was feeling myself a little bit. And I started asking Jeff questions he would start to answer. And if he started to meander off from where I wanted it to go, he would start to answer. And if he started to meander off from where I wanted it to go, I would cut him off right there. And then I would try to drive it right back where I wanted it to go. Well, the interview didn't air for a couple of weeks.

Starting point is 00:24:55 And when it did finally air on one of the pre-race shows, I got a lot of positive feedback and I was really proud of the work we'd done. Well, after that race, it was in New Hampshire. I was charged with interviewing Dale Earnhardt Jr. Who's like a brother to me. And you talk about honesty. I mean, there's 30 people waiting to talk to him and he like kind of, kind of gives me one of these head nods, like get your ass over here.

Starting point is 00:25:22 And I go over there and he turns his back to the crowd and puts his finger in my chest. And he goes, you need to shut up. He said, you need to stop interrupting people. He said, I was watching that interview you did with Jeff. And there were some things that he was saying that I wanted to hear him finish. And you cut him off. And it was rude. And man, I was so mad at him.

Starting point is 00:25:41 But I knew he was right. And because I knew he was right in my heart, it completely altered the way I do this and what happened. I got so much better as an interviewer. Marty, man, I can't appreciate you more. Some of the stories you told has been the best we've had on the podcast. We've done 150 episodes and I was sitting here. I can't remember the time I got cold chills thinking about Eric Church inviting you fishing and you actually winning the fishing tournament, dude. I mean, you are real and I hope that we can stay connected. We can do this again.

Starting point is 00:26:12 Look, I appreciate you having me again. I'm sorry that I was late and I appreciate you giving me a platform for the message and been given the platforms that I have to try to share these stories and hopefully maybe touch a life or two or shape a thought or two. And so I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to do that. I love what y'all are doing, man. Thank you. Thank you so much. Finally, Marty, what's the best place? I know we talked about outsider.com. We talked about a lot of platforms. What is the best place for everyone to keep up with all things marty or even multiple places to keep up with marty smith twitter and

Starting point is 00:26:52 instagram are marty smith espn so please do check that out so yeah those two platforms i'm active on and uh i would appreciate if you check them out so thank you for teeing me up there my pleasure we're talking acting writing, writing, everything. Christopher Sean, welcome to the show. Thank you very much for having me, Ryan. I'm honored, dude. You are a huge, huge deal, and I am just a minnow in your big pond. Oh, come on, man.

Starting point is 00:27:20 Star Wars. We won awards. We were writing books. Come on, man. I'm just a guy over here running a podcast, getting the pleasure to talk to the stars like yourself. Let's back up a bit. I want you to tell a little bit of your story.

Starting point is 00:27:37 You've got a unique background. I love your heritage and some of the uniqueness of that. I really want to talk about. But let's give everybody a little bit of the, I don't know, the cliff notes on Christopher Sean. My father was in the Navy. He's retired now, and he became a civilian as an air traffic controller. He met my mom while he was serving, deployed in Yokosuka, Japan,

Starting point is 00:28:01 Yokosuka, Japan, and my two sisters and myself being the youngest. And we traveled kind of everywhere. Our station in Washington, Subic Bay, Japan, Mississippi, grandparents in Ohio, San Diego, and so forth, kind of travel all over. Southern California is home for me. And acting, I was always kind of wanting to be an actor because my father, being in the Navy, he would record himself, uh, on the little, the beta tapes, you know, this is predating the VCH,

Starting point is 00:28:36 VHS tapes, but he would record us on the beta tapes. And then he would send us, you know, little videos of him reading us books. And I remember being a kid and seeing my dad on TV and my dad's like, you know know reading us a little book about a bat who was playing the both sides of the animal kingdom the ones that fly and the ones that are on land and it was like this i can't remember the name of the actual book but you know he's he was kind of playing both sides i remember listening to that and my dad would be like hey christopher sit down i was like how do you know i'm standing this is crazy so um my mom would then get that camera out and then she would record us. And she was like, this is for your dad. So make sure you're having a good time.

Starting point is 00:29:10 So I always felt super comfortable and myself on camera. So in growing up, I was a very, very, very, very introverted, very shy person. I decided, you know what, I've got to overcome that fear and I've got to pursue my passion, my dream, and I just got to go for it. So I got an acting classes. And from then on, it was kind of like, I remember holding the piece of paper shaking, barely being able to read off of the paper. It was so nervous. And I remember saying to myself, it was one of the most humiliating and yet freeing experiences. And I i have to overcome that fear because i will not allow it to stop me from pursuing my passion that acting journey so it wasn't just uh immediate stardom and uh and all the riches and gold and all you know like the every gig you ever

Starting point is 00:29:56 wanted that i thought that's how it worked right isn't that the hollywood dream yeah it's strange i stepped out and immediately they put a crown on me and a robe and started to call me ryan alford i was like wait that's not me i'm not i'm not the king that's that's you no for me i i came out here and i really thought like uh okay i have to who am i what's gonna make me unique what's gonna separate me so i did a few beauty pageants and i thought if i had a title i can get an agent and secured it after i got a couple titles i secured an agent got my agent and um they only wanted to rep me commercial and so i was like no no i i'm i'm like i was like i was like yes of course absolutely yes yes and then i remember going home and thinking i i deserve more i gotta work i gotta show them that i deserve it i was just too complicit. So in that decision, I remember I called them like two weeks later after having that inner monologue being like, you're worth it.

Starting point is 00:30:51 You're valuable. Come on, man. And I called him. I was like, can I show you that I'm ready for theatrical as well? And they're like, OK, come on in. Do a monologue for us. And I did. They gave me a two year contract on the spot, signed across the board. And I did. They gave me a two year contract on the spot, signed across the board. I was like, OK, so as long as I can continue to overcome my fears and speak what I want, I can have it. Every audition room I got in, I learned something. I failed and I failed and I failed. I wasn't either. Whether it was my look, I'm not Asian enough or I'm not white enough. Whether it's my experience, my resume wasn't big enough to be able to get the larger roles. Whatever it may be, I failed time and time again, countless amount of times.

Starting point is 00:31:28 But through each failure, I learned and I grew and I adapted and I evolved. And I found that, you know, nothing was going to stop me unless I gave up, unless I chose to throw in the towel. But my goal, again, was to like always,, be ready, and stay ahead of the game. And after about nine years of struggle, and again, not having complete focus as to what I wanted, after being homeless, I cut everything out of my life that was toxic, that was bad. And I started to refine and filter out everything that wasn't helping me in my goal. And from there know right after Hawaii 5-0 I got a two-year contract on days and about three months in they call me back for Hawaii 5-0

Starting point is 00:32:10 hey we want you to be the main antagonist you know of seasons five and six and it was kind of like for three years I was flying back and forth from Hawaii 5-0 and days are a lot like you said growing up as a kid you know having an Asian background and like not seeing or having that reference point. It's like that's a big deal, you know, and like and then getting that opportunity to become, you know, a role model. I don't know. I just think that's cool. You know, I really appreciate that. And it does actually have like a psychological effect as a child because you don't ever see yourself as the hero. You never really see yourself as as the hero of your own story you always see yourself as kind of the sidekick or supporting role and it's not just you it's how society views people of color yeah um and sadly it's like well you know oh there's the asian guy when you think of asian

Starting point is 00:33:02 you immediately slap him with stereotypes. The nerd, the mathematician, the martial artist. Now, I'm great at all three of those things, believe me. You're smart, you're good looking, and you're great at karate. But other than that, I don't want to stereotype you. We'll let you have those. You're good at the theme, right? Yeah. No, but honestly, I bet you're great at those as well, plus many more.

Starting point is 00:33:31 We're multi-layered people as well as any other race, you know. And it's like the more that you showcase that on television, the more that you start to normalize other races and that we are just all bleeding the same color blood. That's right. You know, we're no different you and I I'm, I'm just, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm the thumb on the hand and you're, you can be the pointer, you can be the middle, whatever you'd like. We're all in the same hand. Yeah. So where do you get the most recognition? You know, like, and you said the most excitement might come from people recognizing you from days uh i so multi-level question here you know first talk about in general i'm curious like

Starting point is 00:34:12 the soap opera you know experience and the day's experience uh and i don't know give us some i don't know grub or insight to the soap opera world, you know, behind the scenes. Man, I'll tell you what, it is a very, very fast machine. If you can't keep up, you know, Drake Hogan always tells me, your name is on paper. And it can come off that door just as quick as it was put up. You know, you got to be ready. You got to hustle for what you want in life. And if they're telling you this is what they want, well, then get ahead of the game and start working, develop it, get on it. Like I'm posting every single day of my stories.

Starting point is 00:34:54 You know, I post every single day because that is a 24 hour window where I know that that's it. You have to come to my page to see what I'm doing within that 24 hours or you're never going to see it again. You've been in the business for a while now. You've had the peaks and valleys. You've seen a lot of different things. I think you're maybe hitting your stride maybe, like your popularity, your opportunities hopefully are growing. We'll get a little bit more into that. You've kind of come up to the business while social media has kind of taken off.

Starting point is 00:35:27 social media has kind of taken off. I'm curious from a business and marketing perspective, the impact that you have or may haven't seen as it relates to the power of social media and maybe your career and how you leverage it or all those things. I'd just be curious. I think that's a great question. Social media absolutely correlates to the entertainment industry because social media is marketing. It direct to consumer marketing so if you're not taking advantage of that if you're not seeing the value in that as a business person then you're absolutely missing the trend what's popular what is um the new means of of of marketing you know you investing time and all that you got your your fans following you, but you never know what producers watching. You never know, like you said, what audition you're going to get in. And hey, this guy's active on social media. He's a great actor. He's talented, but he's also going to bring us, you know, some awareness on top of a project. Maybe it's not as big as like some gigantic movie or something, but it's a leverage point. So it's smart of you to kind of leverage it and use it for what it can be. And that's what I coach people on is like, you know, use it.

Starting point is 00:36:30 You know, it's like it's there. Like we can, you know, bitch about it all day, but like it's an opportunity point for people. Celebrities are accessible. Yep. You can build communities. If you need spare change and you have a hobby, you have the opportunity to then make a little cash by selling it to friends rather than knocking door to door.

Starting point is 00:36:50 Again, there's so many opportunities that can be found if you just aren't afraid of change. I love it, brother, man. You've been a refreshing, pleasant interview in a lot of ways. But for real, let's keep it going i want to stay in touch and uh definitely get up when i'm out your direction hit me up man i might be able to pull some strings for uh days of our lives tour who knows man hit me up don't don't don't get me excited man don't get me excited christopher where can everybody keep up with you? Oh, Instagram, please.

Starting point is 00:37:25 I'm on TikTok, Christopher Sean, but Instagram is where I'm mostly located. I will reply to almost every DM. At Mr. Christopher Sean, one word. M-R Christopher Sean, S-E-A-N. Thank you for the love, man. I really appreciate you having me. Brother, I really appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:37:41 We're going to stay in touch. I know we will. And you got big things coming for you. I know you do you have a great day thank you hey guys you know where to find us the radcast.com search for nightwing you'll find all the highlight clips from today from christopher sean you know where i'm at at ryan offer and all the platforms go follow this guy on tiktok just get his numbers up we'll see you next time on Radcast. To listen or watch full episodes, visit us on the web at theradcast.com or follow us on social media at our Instagram account,

Starting point is 00:38:12 the.rad.cast or at Ryan Alford. Stay radical.

Right About Now with Ryan Alford - The Real Business Behind Show Business with Jesse Palmer, Christopher Sean, Tarek El Moussa, and Marty Smith

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.