Stay Tranquilo - Walking on A Dream with Artist Vic Garcia

Episode Date: April 19, 2022

On this episode of the Stay Tranquilo Podcast, powered by Johnny Cuba, we host Victor Garcia, artist and creator of Vic Garcia World. In this episode, we speak on a variety of topics: life as an artist how to grow your brand and reach celebrities + athletes why passion is more important than skills when it comes to growing your business the act of gratitude and how it brings more success in our lives This one is a must listen! One of our favorites. Make sure to follow us on social + leave us a review! @staytranquilo @vicgarciaworld @johnnycuba.us Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What is up, everybody? You're listening to another episode of the State Tranquilo podcast powered by Johnny Cuba. We're here to help you stress a little bit less and enjoy a whole lot more. I'm here with Vic Garcia. Vic, if you want to give your intro, tell the people a little bit about yourself and what you got going on. I appreciate you having me. It's an honor to be sitting here today with you guys. And my name is Vic Garcia.

I'm an artist based in Miami, Florida. I do art, obviously, and I have a clothing brand with some. of these characters that I've created within the brand as well. So I'm here to make the world a better place and now we're here together. Yeah, hell yeah. I mean, a big part of the reason why I wanted to have you on was kind of, I thought our message is definitely aligned, right? You know, like you said, leaving the world a little bit better than we found it, right? For sure.

Making it a better place. I know a lot of what you do is around like children and kids and kind of providing that message towards them. Can you tell us a little bit about like kind of the work that you do with these kids? Yeah, definitely. So one of my messages I use is to inspire the youth. It's definitely one of my greatest drives and motivation to go back and give back to these kids that might need the extra help with the art and through the form of art and expression.

It's a beautiful thing. So to be able to team up with schools and to inspire these kids and make them happy and smile and get all this positive feedback back from them is one of, I just love to do it and it's constantly, I'm looking for schools and different things to constantly make it happen and keep chasing my dreams. I love that. And I'm glad that you said that, right? Chasing your dream. So how did the whole Vic Garcia world start?

You know, how did you even get into art and then, you know, take it to where you are today? All right. So, yeah, it's definitely, it was definitely not an ordinary path. I definitely never thought I would be sitting here as an artist today. talking about these characters I've created. And so I went to school for business marketing and I actually just needed a couple things for the walls. And I picked up a pen and paper, printing paper, and I started doing these little drawings. And then I started duct taping them to make them bigger and bigger.

They just took over my room and all the walls in my apartment. So prior to you being in business school, you never were drawing or anything? Oh, I drew very, very lightly. I was never like an art. Yeah, like you weren't like an artist like growing up. I took a couple of acting classes, but that's about it in the form of art. So and actually in. Yeah, it's wild.

If I would have guessed that, I would have been like, what? Are you serious? No, so it definitely came about later on within my life. Yeah. And then I actually draw these, these thick figures in honor of like my teacher that told me not to draw stick figures. So it's cool to now. For all those guys that drew stick figures back in the day,

it makes us feel better. No, I still draw some stick figures, so it's fun. I got to show you after, but I don't think I can find it on the fly right now. Let me see if I can. But my mom sent me a picture of some shit I drew in, like, kindergarten. Bro. My artistic abilities have not evolved since then. Let me see if I get, if I.

So even, so like to go back to these schools and like teach them like, how to draw and like these characters and how you're supposed to do it is it's kind of every time i go it's still super wild because like i wasn't i definitely wasn't trying to be an artist when i was there that's wild yeah no but that's good too hey man i don't even know what it is i don't it might be a dinosaur i don't know if you guys could zoom into that but yeah i can tell you my painting hasn't gotten that much better since then but no that's it's a awesome. I love the tie to education and like inspiring the youth. So, so you start so you started that based off of business school, right? You were going doing that. You started these characters.

Yeah. What are some, I know the character that you're wearing on your shirt now. Yeah, he's one of my characters. Was he the original? Oh, I would have called him the original. He's definitely one of the ones. So from those drawings, it evolved. People started asking them. I started asking for the right papers, the right markers, and then I hung one up in someone's house, and then from there it just has taken over my life, and I'm constantly drawing and creating. So these characters, some of them have come about in my earlier work on paper. I've bought them to computer form, and then from there, I've created their stories and their messages and what they're about, and I'm constantly developing new characters and family members as well.

Nice, that's cool. And your work originated from basically doing like like more like mural style right like like like pictures like they became bigger and bigger and yeah now I'm doing walls I have a clothing brand any any white wall yeah I try to hit up yeah anything that's blank I you see opportunity to go yeah yeah that's cool and then the the clothing brand you have hats T-shirts bathing suits socks hoodies sweatpants honesty a lot of of things. Yeah, big beta for me.

It's constantly evolving and hopefully with more time and more energy, I could definitely keep it growing. Yeah, for sure. That's the name of the game. So, I mean, obviously a big part of your platform, at least from, you know, something that I've seen from from the outside is a lot of these high profile athletes are wearing a lot of your merch. They're wearing shorts, t-shirts, different things.

I don't know if they're custom for them, but I know that. But they're definitely representing. How did you get in contact with these guys? Or how did these guys kind of come about your brand and kind of see, I mean, they're wearing your stuff. That's got to be pretty damn cool. No, it's definitely cool. But before we'll get into, like, how I've connected with them, I think it's important to

say that everyone, from a light to a comment to you buying a hat, from you wearing my hat, there's no level of importance to anyone. Of course. this family and big dream and helping me tell my story. So I'm honored and grateful for anyone. They just have the runway to look, I wouldn't say cool, but to just do it, you know. And people are following them and the eyes are gravitating towards them. But yeah, at the end of the day.

You're just as cool as any of those big guys too. I appreciate that. No, for real. But no, it's cool because, you know, like, you know, anyone that's aspiring to start something, like, you know, the amount of time and effort and work that you put into it to see it like reap that type of benefit. Yeah, yeah. Definitely. Definitely.

It feels good. It feels good. Yeah. Definitely got to be something cool. And it definitely helps it get your brand across to new people. Exactly. Because at the end, like, yeah, you're leveraging their platforms. We know a lot of Miami people.

But at the end, Miami's only one city within this huge world. Exactly. I'm trying to tell my story to the whole world. So they're definitely helping me tell my story. And it's important. And was there like one guy that grabbed, like, how did that, how did that, how did it, how did it, how did it, how did it? So yeah, honestly, every situation and every athlete has been different. Okay.

Um, from one athlete introducing me to another one. Right. To people in Miami connecting me with different athletes. Um, the first painting I was talking about earlier, actually Mani Machado and his wife, probably like five years ago hung the first piece on their wall. Cool. And then from there, it kind of like opened. my eyes to like, look, so I could actually hang these drawings that I'm doing and put them in people's like house and they can enjoy it and like gravitate towards these different characters.

It's so, it's very like, it still gives me chills every time I go to hang a painting for sure. I can imagine. And then just different athletes can, some from other people. Like, for example, I'm friends with Dan Solomon that he's a stylist. For a lot of these NBA players, he connected me with Jackson Hayes from the Pelicans. And from there, just spending probably like a couple days there, I got introduced to other players and other people that have led me to other players. And now they've gone to other teams.

So it's almost like a trickle effect. Yeah, it's like your network. Yeah, right. And I've been able to do paintings for other people as well. And then some of these players have come about like just, through other athletes, the power of social media and the internet is beautiful. Like, another example is the other day I got a call, I got a call from Tallahassee. I didn't know the number, so I usually just send the message after.

Like, oh, who's this? He goes, oh, it's David Ross. I'm the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Like, is it okay for, like, can I reach out to you? I'm interested, yeah, I'm interested in my new office. for my new office and obviously like I knew the name and I had seen that he had ordered some shirts through another local guy John Jay, another athlete. He's a Columbus guy as well. He's a Columbus grad too that I've known forever and just he was interested in a piece and he wanted to know more about these characters and

so now we're going to have maybe a painting hanging in Wrigley Field in his office and just we haven't met a lot of these athletes I haven't met too so just going back and forth but part of the family. It's like you're, you know, the work that you've put in is starting to blossom and really reach what you want to do. Because at the end of the day, you're promoting a message, right? Definitely promoting a message. And allowing platforms like these certain athletes, you know, coaches, whoever it may be, but high profile people to promote that message. That at the end of the day is the most powerful thing, right? Because you have a message that you want to spread. What better way to do it than that?

Yeah, I want to ask you, what really, what is the thing? that message that you want to spread through your art and through your work, you know, whether it's the apparel, the paintings, you know, a lot of the characters. So I think all these characters are helping me tell the story to a, they all stand for different things from from flower nose standing for world unity and bringing people of all kind into a room and just welcoming good to the world and all good things are welcome. Here's another one. I use Teddy boys all about inspiring the youth.

He was born with a screw within his face. But at the end, like, we're all born different, but we all need to be accepted. And just because you're born different, like, you shouldn't be looked at a different way. Panda Man was born a little bigger than the rest of them. So for him, I'm all about striking out bullies and, like, showing that, look, you could be big, but you could still be cool and you could still be different. And look, Pandaman, he overcame all these unique differences. And he's here to tell that story. So it's definitely very positive, dreaming big, smiling always, loving awe, spreading peace.

I just, I want people when they look at my art and these characters and this clothes and these murals and these opportunities with other brands to just show that like the world needs, look, the world is, we're in a crazy place in time. And if I can make you happy. happy for five, ten minutes just looking at it, I did my job. I am. And I'm happy and I'm satisfied. I love that man. That's pretty cool. And I love the fact that you're attaching yourself to like a bigger, you know, message,

like a bigger, what's the word I'm looking for? Like, I don't know the word I'm looking for right now, but like purpose, bigger purpose. Yeah, yeah, there's a bigger purpose in life. Yeah, bigger purpose than just, it's not just a piece of art. It's not just a t-shirt, right? There's a, there's a bigger message behind what you're trying to. what you're trying to do. So to me, that's something that's inspiring, right?

And for the listeners, for anyone that's trying to start something like, something that's really important, right? Because now more than ever, there's 8,000 T-shirt brands. Everyone's an aspiring artist. Everyone's this. Everyone's an aspiring entrepreneur, right? But it's like, what are you doing to leave the world a better place than you found it, right?

And your thing is providing a message of positivity, providing a message to the youth, like, hey, you could look different, but you're still just as valuable as anybody else. else, right? And I think that is something that needs to be preached because what happens? Our youth is our future, right? So what better way to create a better world than to start with the young guys, right? For sure. Because, you know, all of us that are 20, 30s, 40s, yeah, we still have a life ahead of us, but nowhere near the life of a child that's still trying to explore and still trying to figure out what they want to do, right? So you opening that up is really powerful. How did you get in

into, or what was it that made you want to kind of like start promoting that message, right? Yeah, that's definitely a great question. I don't know, I just, I saw these characters and I, at the end, like, I live my life very happy and I'm grateful and honor to be in this world. And life is a blessing. And I felt that a lot of people take maybe coming, coming to. from adults. So I think it starts with the adults that a lot of people like don't take this life for

granted and really like just every day I see people complaining about the smallest things. Yeah. I feel that because why I started this too was around the same thing. Like people complaining about the smallest things and, you know, one of the other episodes that we just had was about perspective, right? And it's like sometimes we're here in this, in our heads complaining about these things. and then we don't really stop and look and be like, is it really worth complaining about this?

I say that all the time. Is it worth complaining about these things? Like there's people in situations way worse than you. Exactly. That are super happy to be living and they might not even have food to eat. Exactly. It's crazy that you say that. Because I've always wanted a big dream of mine is like creating kind of like a.

And then I've seen some. out there, but it's never, it's never really happened, but like creating some sort of like, I don't know, like maybe, you know, leveraging the podcast or creating some sort of like docu series kind of thing where you go to like some of like the most rural areas, right? You go to, I don't know, like a village in Costa Rica or to this random island, right? And you have a conversation with those people, right? And you say, you see them. They have the biggest freaking smiles on their faces, right?

And you're like, what is it that makes you happy, right? And what they're going to say is going to be completely different than what's kind of being idolized now. And we live in a very capitalistic country, right, where like it's always more and more and more, right? So I think a lot of suffering comes from that, right? Because we're stuck in this continuous comparison of like, okay, that person's got more. That person's here. That person's there. I want to be there.

And I'm not going to be happy until I get there. Right. Exactly. Which time and time again, you interview people. And happiness isn't driven from that, right? It doesn't come from the cool car. It may give you a sense of happiness at that moment. But guess what happened?

Six months from then, it's gone. You're not happy, you know? You're back to the same thing. And you're not leaving with that car. Exactly. When you leave, no one cares about the car that you drove or the house that you had. It's what you were able to accomplish on this world. The legacy that you left behind.

The legacy you left behind. And look, if I could, you're doing a great job and I'm trying to plan my legacy. every single day. And I know our time here really is temporary. So to be able to stamp. And I know that today I went to this school and I made all these children happy today. And I really need an impact in their life. And like, they don't care what car I was in or what watch I was wearing.

Exactly. I think also social media is doing, yes, I do love it. But it's an issue because these kids, a lot of the. these kids, they're like, they're trying to like state, it's like almost like a competition when it shouldn't be a competition. Right, exactly. We're all different and we're all unique and we're all humans and we all just need a life. Yeah. The issue is they're painting the picture of what it should be, right? And then you lose the authenticity of what you want to be. Correct. So we're all here chasing after whatever it is that we're chasing after, but we kind of lose sight about what what makes us unique and what we

want to achieve, right? And I, and I think when you, when you tie yourself to a purpose, right, your purpose is through your art, right? My purpose may be through, through this, right? Everyone does it in a different way, but we have one overarching goal and it's to help somebody, right, whoever that person may be. Like you said, I've, I've had people that listen to my podcast and they reach out to me saying, like, dude, I was going through some really tough times and I needed to hear that message, right? So it's like those are the things that keep you going, right? Just like I'm sure the same thing with your art, right?

Someone says, hey, dude, like that art really brought a sense of joy in my life, right? Those are the things that really, and I think through your message that you're portraying to education, that's what we need to teach. It's not about, hey, kid, you know, when you're 30 years old, you want to make sure that you're making $100,000 so you can support your family. All those things are important, but, like, there's a sense of, like, are you happy? Like, are you satisfied with what you're doing? Are you enthusiastic? Are you passionate about what you're doing? Those things are things that need to be preached more, in my opinion.

Yeah, I agree. And you have, if you have the opportunity to do what you like and what drives you and motivates you, and it's not work at the end. Exactly. I'm walking on a dream. I'm living a fun, a fun everyday job, and I'm hooked. From the moment I wake up to the moment I'm, I go to sleep, I'm thinking of what I could do to better this world I'm trying to create

and the impact in life I'm trying to make a stamp on. I love that saying, walking on a dream. Definitely walking on a dream. And to see people fall in love with your dream and become fans of your dreams and talk about these characters in ways that. that I'm speaking, I'm speaking with passion and love and, and this is, this is what drives me to see them with that same talk, like, and back to the, what we were saying about these paintings, like, they look at these paintings and they see things within these paintings that I don't even see. They're talking about their life. Yeah.

I've gotten all sorts of stories and it gives me chills at a time. Yeah, you're like, damn, I never even thought that was possible out of that. Yeah, even people who have passed. the way that the painting reminds them of their song, things, just crazy stuff. It's a beautiful thing. That is awesome. So kind of to keep on what you, you know, what you were talking about, like how you say, you know, you wake up and you're ready to go. Like, you're happy about, you know, you're happy about the day.

You're excited about what's to come. You know, what would you recommend to someone, you know, that doesn't feel that way, right? That they're looking kind of for that in their life, right? Because I think at the end of the day, we maybe want the, you know, the fame, the fortune, all that stuff. Which I get. There's nothing wrong with wanting that. But at the end of the day, I think deeper than that, we all want to feel a sense of purpose in our life.

So what would you recommend to someone that's kind of like young or older? You know, I think everyone, there's no, everyone's got their divine timing. It's never too late to chase a dream, that's for sure. And how would you, you know, how would you recommend someone to start that dream? You know, how do you build that sense of motivation, feel that purpose in life? Wow. It's a tough question. But let me think, let me think.

I definitely, whatever dream you're going to chase, I think you've got to give it 150%. You got to really go at it. And not every day is going to be a walk in the park. Like, you're going to hit bumps in the roads. But those bumps, I feel, definitely make you a stronger person. They open your eyes to things. if you told me

just five years ago that I would be here talking about art trying to inspire other up and coming artists like to go out there and chase your dream I would tell you you're crazy

I'm not supposed to be here the man above put me in this position to now tell my story I still got a lot of lot of work to do I'm still really early on to this game and it's not

an easy path. Not everything's going to be easy. Like, you just got to keep believing yourself, keep chasing it and see where it takes you. And if you, that's the common theme across. You know, anyone that you hear, you know, that that's self-made, that they're chasing something like you said, like their dream, right? It takes time. It takes effort. It takes being punched in the face a couple times, right? For sure. Physically and literally, right? I mean, and figuratively. So you're going to hit bumps in the road, but it doesn't really matter when you're chasing something that you care about. And I think that is more. And something you have passion and love for.

Yeah. And there is no magic recipe to figuring that out, right? Just test things out. Like you said, you had no idea that you were going to, until one day these random drawings that you were making became this. They became something. They became something. And it's the same thing when I started this, right? I'm nowhere near where I want to be, right?

but I at least know I've created something, something that I'm passionate about, something that's going to leave a legacy behind, right? I always think about this. I'm like, when the day I die, what are people going to remember me for? They're going to remember to stay tranquil. I did my job then, you know?

Yeah. I did my job. You definitely got to be tranquil vibe, but I'm not sure. I got to stay on. I got here. Johnny Cuba and you're good. But also, I think another important thing is to say,

chasing something is not for everybody. There's a lot of people in this world. Yeah, they feel like now they've got to do it. No, and then there's a lot of people in this world that are satisfied going to an eight to five job, get a home, completely check out. Yeah. I see people like that all the time. Yeah, I agree. Not everyone, oh, I'll have this idea like I'm going to go chase it.

There's people who are just chill. They want to five. They get home. They go to their family. They don't even think about it. They turn on their Netflix at 6pm and they're like, I'm fucking, it's a great day. Friday comes along. They're not thinking about work.

I've gotten to the point, and you probably too, that I'm so in love with what I'm doing that when Friday, I don't even think about Friday. I go to parties and I'm like, yo, like, can I be, should I be here? Or can I go do back home, do something that's going to benefit my crew? Yeah.

And sometimes I change that. Or I go to an art show that, look, I want to support the artist but I maybe want to meet the gallery owner to eventually maybe put my paintings there. Would I rather be maybe chilling with some friends and maybe some girls that day? Yeah, but you got to pick and choose

and you got to definitely sacrifice. 100%. Yeah, and like you said, I think it comes down to what you value, right? So if you value your time with your friends that day, then there's nothing wrong with that. And if you're happy, but you don't want to live in that constant regret, right? Because if you're living in that regret, then you probably made the wrong decision, right?

So if you realize that don't fall in the same tendencies Right? Because what happens, right? Ah damn, maybe I shouldn't have gone out that night Then what happens? The next weekend you do it again and they do it again and it's like all right dude Like you're not helping yourself if you're not if you're not listen to yourself right? If you feel the opposite like Feel listen to what you're talking what you're telling yourself, you know and try something different because What creates change is when you change what you're doing right? For sure people get stuck in the same patterns and then expect things to change and they don't change so it's like I think we got to figure

out, you know, what's working by just trying. Correct. Awesome. So, I mean, dude, I'm freaking loving this conversation. Yeah, we're going to go. We're having fun for here. We're tranquil and tropical, right? Yeah, bro.

So I think we touch pretty much on everything. One thing that I like to do before the end of all the segments is like just quick, rapid questions about the guest. First question I would like to ask you is, what's a piece of work that you've done that you think is one of your favorite? It's maybe one of the more impactful pieces of it. I'm sure you got plenty of them. But is there one to you for whatever reason may stick out to one over another?

Obviously, every piece is different and it tells its own story. And I'm honored and grateful for every opportunity I get to be able to be in homes and offices in all different settings. From you wearing my T-shirt to you wearing my hat, like, these are dream moments. And it gives me chills to see someone show. loving love and supporting you and really just giving like at the end like I always say I'm not working for myself like we're all in this together like at the end like if people don't believe in your dreams and they're not supporting you like it's just a dream and not a reality I'm definitely living a reality but I think any opportunity I get to leave my mark on a school

or charity of some sort is definitely very important. Not too long ago I did a mural at Jack Nichols Hospital. Nice. So it's actually the backdrop of a... It looks like probably one of these chairs, but these kids sit there and they're doing the IV because they're going through chemo. And a lot of these kids, like, I saw these kids come in there

and, like, they really are very low on energy at the moment. And, like, it just, just to be able to bring some sort of happiness to that mural for such a hard moment in their life. And they're there. They're fighting and they're trying to make it happen. They're living their battle. Yeah, they're living their battle. But moments like that is just no trophy or childhood trophy in the world could live up to those type of moments.

So definitely things like that for sure. Awesome. Yeah. I mean, that just gives you perspective 100%. Yeah. Um, next question. Are you a beach guy or a mountains guy? Oh, I think I'd rather go on the beach.

Yeah, I feel. I do like, I like the mountain, but I don't know, just putting all the gear, going up the hill, just to go down for five minutes to win. I'd rather be on a beach. No, I'm the same way. It's like if I could wear a t-shirt shorts and flip-flops, it's simple, it's easy, and I don't know. No, and I'd prefer to see a girl in a bikini rather than all bundled love. To the scarf.

That's fair. You got a favorite movie, favorite book. You would actually be surprised. So I'm actually not, you would think I would watch a lot of movies, but I'm actually very delayed on a lot of movies. I should use them for inspiration, but I haven't watched a lot of movies. But there's definitely like some old ones I like. Like the Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a classic.

Yeah. Weekend at Bernie's was amazing. Yeah. So movies like that from the past. Any Adam Sandler movie, I've always been a fan of Adam. Big Adam Sandler. Before this, we were just having a full-blown conversation about Adam Sandler. He's got some good ones from the longest yard to the longest yard.

Happy Gilmore. Happy Gilmore, classic. Nice. And I'm definitely a sports fan as well. Are you Finns, like straight Miami sports guy? No, I didn't grow up like golf. That's a blessing for you then. No, I didn't grow up.

Like, yeah, I know. You guys have had your ups and downs. This is the year. We say that every year, but this is the year. Maybe we're going to win the Super Bowl. But now I've connected with a couple people on the defense. So in the past couple years, I've been rooting on for my dolphins. Nice.

I would love to definitely work together to do something with the dolphins as well. Cool. But I am a heat fan. I am a U.M. fan. I follow the Marlins. Miami Marlins, no. No, but they're not Florida Marlins. But, yeah, no.

Look, I cheer for whoever's going to cheer me on and support my dream. So I'm definitely tuned into a lot of sports teams. Yeah, for sure. Different teams. I get that. I'm more of a player fan than anything, yeah. Yeah. And I follow a jump around from teams than teams.

Honestly, that's better for your mental state than being a dolphin. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah. But it's good. Anything you want to leave before, before we wrap it up? Oh, I think I'm grateful for people. like you that really go out there and chase their dreams and really make it happen. I see you're doing a lot of beautiful things. Our message is definitely lined up.

Definitely. And just keep going. Keep knocking on the door. And in life, people are going to tell you no. But you just got to take the good and bad from different situations and just keep chasing. And I feel like, yes, yes, I'm an artist, but I feel like anyone could do whatever. whatever they want. Yeah, the way I look at it is.

If they really give their 150% and really chase their dream. For sure. Like, we're here today. We're all an artist at some capacity. Or just the version of our art is different than others, right? Of course, yeah.

I always say that. From what we wear to how we carry ourselves. Exactly. I'm just painting on a canvas. Like, we're all artists in our own way for sure. Definitely. So. And wait, I got a question for you.

Oh, ask me. So what do you, where do you see? Where do you see yourself in the future, let's say five, 10, 15 years from now today? I mean, I would love this. This is what I'm passionate about, right? Leveraging my voice. I'm a really big people person. I can get along with pretty much anyone, you know?

Like, it's something that I've had from being a little kid. It's a quality that I've definitely gotten from my mom. My mom is very similar in that aspect where we can essentially have a conversation with anyone. And I just want to use my voice and my platform to kind of. kind of leave a better message, right? My main focus is really focused on mental health, you know, and not that has to be like specific to like, because people have the misconception about what mental health is, right?

Yeah. I think there's very. So what is mental health? So yeah, I, I, I, I, to me. Now that we got some viewers on, right? So to me, to me, it's, it's, and again, I'm no mental health expert, but it's, it's, it's something that, that's worked for me in my life. And I think it comes down to a balance in life, right?

Because what people think of mental health, it's like you got to meditate, you got to do yoga, right? You got to sit and like do a mom, right? And that's how you're going to get an aspect of mental health. Do I think those are very powerful tools? 100%. I'm a person that meditates probably not as frequently as I like to. But I've seen the power of what it does. It creates clarity in your life.

It creates a sense of peace. It creates a sense of gratitude in life. life, right? Where, I mean, when I was at my, I guess, like my best meditative self, I would be walking out and be looking at trees like they were the brightest, most colorful, vibrant trees in the world, right? And people... They are. And they are. And the thing is, we don't realize that. That's the problem. Because why? Our heads about what we're going to do for dinner, or the fight that we maybe got in with our girlfriend or the email that you didn't reply to at work, right? Because our heads everywhere else besides now, the more we've been,

become present, the less mental health really becomes an issue. So it's more of a thing of presence, in my opinion. And the way you achieve that presence, there's a variety of different ways, right? Meditation is one, but I think there's a lot of different things. When you experience something new, you want to be more present because you've never seen it before, right? So to me, travel, right? You go to a new place, a new destination. You're really present in that atmosphere right now because you've never seen that before. It's a new view to you. There's a new culture, new food. food, right? So you're a lot more in tune with that moment, right?

For sure. The other aspect is socially, right? When you meet new people, right? You're out in an environment, whether it's a happy hour or you're just going to a friend's house, you're more inclined to be aware of that situation because you're an environment that's different. You're around people that you care about. You're talking about something that maybe you're passionate about, right?

In this element, this is where I probably feel my most present, right? I'm sure with you and your art, that's one of the avenues where you feel you're most present in the classroom speaking to the kids right so to me mental health is more an aspect about being present but you have to do the work to get there right just like you you work out your if you go to the gym and you work out right you have to work out your body the same thing you got to work out your mind right you got to put in the time in the effort to take care of your health i mean from the foods that you eat um to the content that you that you consume right because we're stuck on on this thing for fucking eight hours a day and we don't even know what we're

we're looking at half of the time, right? And then all of a sudden, we're wondering why we're in a bad mood. You probably just scrolled through like six minutes of garbage on your phone. And then you were probably running through these messages in your head saying who knows what. And then all of a sudden, your body's like feeling weird. Your mental space is all fogged up. And you're like, okay, maybe it's something that I've just consumed in my, in my head, right? So there's a lot of different things to it, but we got to put in the time and in the effort to it. But I think, mental health is something that is unique to everyone and part of why I started this podcast is to interview different guests about how they choose to do that right because our stories are

all completely different maybe there's some sort of unity between that but at the end of the day how you do it how they do it how I do it is all going to be different at the end of the day so that that to me is what this platform is about and like you you know how you scale to to your your platform to athletes and stuff like that that's something that I want to do. I want to leverage high profile people and allow them to come in and use this as an avenue and a platform to kind of preach that

that same message. Because mental health is becoming a more aware, right? It wasn't something 10, 15 years ago people were really talking about. Now people are starting to understand what it is and exactly and the importance of it. But thanks for interviewing me, man.

We'll come back and I'll ask you some more questions. But honestly, I Appreciate the time. You got our support from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much for allowing me to be on this chair and sharing my story. I appreciate it. 305 to the world, right? Yes, sir.

And where can the people find you on Instagram, websites, so they can buy the merch? Yeah. So my Instagram is at Vic Garcia. I also have my other Instagram called at Vic Garcia World with my clothing brand. And then www.vig GarciaWorld.com. Nope. I love it. All right, guys.

I appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for being on here, brother. Thank you. And for tuning in. If you guys have any questions where to find them, you can always reach out to us. If you're a new listener, you can check us out pretty much across all platforms, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Apple Podcast, Spotify. And leave us a review and check us out on Instagram at Stay Tranquilo, obviously powered by Johnny Cuba. So you can find the beer at Johnnycuba.us.

Beer sold at Sedanos, Perezidante. and Win Dixie throughout the state of Florida. And that's pretty much it. So thanks again for jumping on, brother.