The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Pinky Cole Talks 'Slutty Vegan' Bankruptcy, Bounce-back, Entrepreneurial Lessons + More

Episode Date: March 31, 2026

Today on The Breakfast Club, Pinky Cole Talks 'Slutty Vegan' Bankruptcy, Bounce-back, Entrepreneurial Lessons. Listen For More!  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee... omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. You know Roald Dahl. He thought up Willie Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, The Secret World of Roll Dahl, I'll tell you that story, and much, much more. What?
Starting point is 00:00:17 You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Listen to The Secret World of Roll Dahl, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Starting point is 00:00:32 wherever you get your podcasts. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. A shocking public murder. This is one of the most dramatic events that really ever happened in New York City politics. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots.
Starting point is 00:00:53 A tragedy that's now forgotten. End of mystery. That may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex. Listen to Roershack, murder at City Hall on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lori Siegel, and on my new podcast, Mostly Human,
Starting point is 00:01:12 I'll take you to some wild corners of the tech world. I'm about to go on a date with an AI companion at a real world cafe right here in New York City. There's no playbook for what to do when an AI model hallucinates a story about you. Mostly Human is your playbook for how tech can work for you. Anyone can now be an entrepreneur. Anyone can build an app.
Starting point is 00:01:34 And it's very empowering. Listen to mostly human on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. If you're trying to keep up with everything happening on and off the court, we've got you covered on the podcast, Plagrant and Funny. You want to start with the first special for the Big Ten Coach of the year? Oh, whatever. Would you like to?
Starting point is 00:01:55 Yeah, she's definitely. So you're a Spartan, is that what I'm getting? Exactly. So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the real talk on what's happening during the tournament, open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Plagrant and Funny with Carrie Champion and Jamel. and listen now. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
Starting point is 00:02:15 In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct? I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian, Michael Mancini. My mind was blown.
Starting point is 00:02:38 I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every day I wake. You're all finished or y'all's done. Morning, everybody.
Starting point is 00:03:02 It's DJ NV. Just hilarious. Shalameen the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lawn LaRose is here as well. We got a special guest in the building. Ladies and gentlemen, Pinky Cole. Welcome, Pinky.
Starting point is 00:03:12 Hey, girl. Good morning. How are you doing? It's real Baltimore in here. We got Pinky from slutty vegan. We know Pinky from now Real Housewives of Atlanta, which starts on the 5th of next month. So why did you jump into that craziness?
Starting point is 00:03:25 I was so surprised. I was so surprised, too. Because you're very private when it comes to your family life. I must have been drunk. I don't know. No, I'm joking. You know, I'm a cat. Okay, I've been a television producer.
Starting point is 00:03:38 I have been a restaurant tour. I've been a pageant girl. and doing reality TV was just something else to like knock off the list and when the opportunity presented stuff I said I might as well do it like you know and I'm happy that I did
Starting point is 00:03:53 it was actually a very interesting experience really yeah very interesting talk about them approaching you for the show or like how because I know you worked in casting too at one point right I did I used to be a producer for the Mori show yeah and a whole bunch of TV shows so the timing couldn't have been better you know what I'm saying This was right after, we saw it.
Starting point is 00:04:13 Like, I went through the restructure in my company, had $20 million in debt, bought my business back 43 days later. And then right when I bought my business back, it was like, the conversation was the timing couldn't have been no better. And I'm like, you know what? I'm going to try this.
Starting point is 00:04:27 I'm going to do this. And, you know, doing it really exposed a lot of things in a great way. I got to meet some new friends. And so many people like, Pinky now, why would you do that show? And I'm like, I'm a mastermind. That's why. Yeah. Were you nervous at first?
Starting point is 00:04:39 Like, I don't know if I'm trying to jump, jump out there on. I don't get nervous. Yeah, I got you. And you don't mind, because you're very a private person when it comes to you in your personal life, right? Personal life, yes.
Starting point is 00:04:51 Yes. Yourself, yes. Your open book. But you know, in Housewives, they get into personal lives. But did that bother you at all? No, to be honest, at that point, the whole world knew what happened.
Starting point is 00:05:02 I literally went publicly and said, hey, I lost my company. I don't own my company anymore. So, like, you're not just going to laugh at my story. I might as well capitalize off of it my dance up. You know what I'm saying? So when everything happened with my business, I said I might as well. Like, because I could be a testimony to entrepreneurs who are going through difficult times.
Starting point is 00:05:20 Because what happens in entrepreneurship is everybody got this pride. They only showed a highlight reel. Like all the things that are really good. But like, I really went through some really heavy times, some really dark times. I almost lost my mind. And I did that in private. So because I did that in private when it was time to go public about it, I'm like, somebody else life can be saved if they hear. hear my testimony and what I went through.
Starting point is 00:05:43 You know what I'm saying? Like, there were nights where I'm like, it's just me in my pillow and God. And I'm like, I don't want to do this no more. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is too much for me. Like, it might be better if I'm not here. Oh, wow.
Starting point is 00:05:54 And a lot of people don't talk about stuff like that. So if I could be the vessel, right, to show somebody else that, like, you can keep going. You don't give up. People will talk. People will have an opinion. But, like, the purpose is bigger than a circumstance. Then somebody else's life is going to be saved
Starting point is 00:06:10 because of what I went through. got you off that led you. Having the right people around you. You know how people say, like, you need the right team. Like, it is so critical. It is like an iPhone that needs a battery. Okay, like, I need to have people around me that's going to charge me up when I feel depleted.
Starting point is 00:06:27 You understand what I'm saying? Like, when they say that 10% when you ain't got nothing left in you, you need somebody that's going to take you back up again. And that's relationships, partnerships, it's friendships, it's having a good manager. We all got management, right? Yeah. It's having a good.
Starting point is 00:06:41 manager if you're around somebody all day every day and they're like that's not going to work don't do that i don't believe in a dream you're just sitting there like damn who i got on my side right so having the right team and just you know i'm a mom i got three kids four three and two so i realize now like all right this is bigger than me like i can't i cannot lose i might throw the towel in but for some reason a towel get thrown back in my face because i got so many people looking at me and expecting me to win yeah how was your husband during this time because his business is connected to your business, which is the family business.
Starting point is 00:07:13 So it's not like you can do something that doesn't affect him or he can't do anything that doesn't affect you. So how was he during that time? You know, I'm going to be honest with you. So Derek is doing incredibly well. Like he's at number 16 going on 30 franchisees. He just got named top six French restaurants in the country. He just made the cover of QSR magazine for the April issue.
Starting point is 00:07:35 So like he's popping. So can you imagine being young, married to a very successful man and also being very successful. And while my ship is crumbling, okay, he is elevating in real time. So when you're in a relationship with somebody and one is winning real big and then the other one is falling at the same time, we had to navigate that. And that was incredibly hard. So like, he wanted to be happy with me, but I'm sitting in the corner of sad.
Starting point is 00:07:59 You know what I'm saying? I'm sitting in the corner trying to strategize like, okay, congratulations, but I got this going on. And the reason why I'm being transparent about that because a lot of people, especially entrepreneurs in relationships, they don't talk about the dark side of what happens if one person is winning, any other person is not. You know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:08:16 Like, that was hard. It almost cost me my marriage. I was going to ask you a lot of times when you hear those stories, especially how dark things you saying got for you, people don't make it out of that. No, they don't. So what were those days like of trying to make sure that you didn't lose the marriage?
Starting point is 00:08:30 And what was the day like when you guys sat down and said maybe we don't need to do this right now? Well, first of all, we ain't got no pre-dubs. So I ain't going nowhere. I'm not going nowhere, okay? Sit your ass on the couch. But I realize that I'm only, how old am I? I'm 38 years old.
Starting point is 00:08:47 My husband about to be 39 years old. We live in a country club. We have a life that people have prayed for. We got a beautiful family. We do beautiful things with our family. And I'm like, it's bigger than us now. So yes, we have our days. And yes, it gets incredibly difficult.
Starting point is 00:09:04 But tell me when the last time you all seen two black entrepreneurs who both separately owned multi-million dollar companies who have both made history separately and together. What the last time you've seen that as Beyonce and Jay-Z, but in the restaurant space. You ain't never seen it. So we have the opportunity to really change the trajectory of how black entrepreneurs especially see success in business. And yes, it gets comfortable. But what I believe is that God has made us, has put us on display. And sometimes when you get put on display, being on display is uncomfortable. Okay?
Starting point is 00:09:39 It's just like a merchandiser goes into a retail spot and puts clothes on the mannequin. Okay. But when you're on display, the people who want to see you are going to walk by and say, hey, I want that. So being on display ain't never mean that it's always going to look good. Sometimes it's going to hurt. Sometimes you're going to cry. Sometimes you're going to feel isolated.
Starting point is 00:09:58 But in order to evolve and elevate and who you're trying to be, isolation is going to come with that. And we know that. And because we know that we're so much better off as a couple. But we got so hard because most people would think if I'm effed up, my husband got me. My husband, he's going to pad me and make sure I'm good. And vice versa. If he's effed up, I'm got him.
Starting point is 00:10:17 So what got so crazy? Like what made it seem like that you almost got a divorce? What was that bottom line? Because both of y'all in a situation where y'all got each other. So you ever heard sometimes when people come from a space of love and some people come from a space of survival? Yeah. Of course.
Starting point is 00:10:31 So when I'm in a space of survival and he's, He's navigating through his space of love. Like, that's like oil and water. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And I'm literally speaking from a place of truth here because a lot of people won't vocalize this, but like it got really incredibly hard where like, here it is. I have this $100 million brand.
Starting point is 00:10:51 But my payroll is $350,000 a week. Okay? And I'm not getting financially supported by the people on my team so that I can get out of the debt that I'm in so that I can continue to grow. And now my husband is raising money. he's doing all of the things. So you have outside noise, right, that are coming in to try to corrupt and poison the bond that we've created.
Starting point is 00:11:13 So we really had to put like a barrier over our relationship to understand like it's us against the world. Right. We got these five little kids that are looking up to us and expecting us to win. And we're not going to let the outside world win. So like whatever it takes we're going to do. And that's what we're doing in real time. How is the reality show going to help that though? because like it's not going to bring back up things for y'all,
Starting point is 00:11:36 like re-trigger situations. We are, we're so solid. We already done there, done that. How long have you been married? 24 years. You've been married. You've been married for 31 years. And I'm sure that you and your wife have had your challenges in your marriage.
Starting point is 00:11:52 But what did it do? It made your marriage stronger, right? What did it do? It really, like, put a glue within your bond. And oftentimes it takes for you to go through the difficult times in your marriage. You just got married, right? Yep, yep. So you understand.
Starting point is 00:12:05 We're newlyweds, right? So sometimes you have to go through those things. Nobody can give you a rulebook on marriage, okay? Every marriage is made differently, and you got to do yours, how you do yours. So now that we're on the show, we've already gotten through the hard part. People are already talking, let them have their opinion. So what? We locked in.
Starting point is 00:12:22 Locked in like skin, and it is what it is. Who's your friend on the show? Because usually on Real Housewives, you come in as a friend. Who is your friend on the show? Well, you know, there's a lot of peaches on the show. And you have a peach, right? You're not a friend of a peach. No, I'm not no friend.
Starting point is 00:12:36 Okay. Talk that's a talk. That's a goal. Talk that talk. I'm not an ensemble kind of girl. I'm just within an ensemble. Okay. There are some great peaches, some rind peaches in a mix.
Starting point is 00:12:45 But the peaches that I do like, I love Kay. That's my girl. That's my sorority sister. Kay Michelle, who's new on the show this year? Yeah, that's my girl. So we like. Okay. Love me like.
Starting point is 00:12:55 Who else? Yeah. Love Kelly. Love Portia. Yeah. Love Shameda. All I'm not. Listen, what I will say is every single woman on this show is dynamic for a reason,
Starting point is 00:13:08 and that's the reason why they're on the show. So I could say my personal opinions on how I feel about some of them, but at the end of the day, somebody saw something great in them. Okay, God loves you. And that's why you. So who's a rotten peach, though? Who's the rotten peach, that you? You got to watch it, April 5th.
Starting point is 00:13:22 Who else? She didn't mention Drew. You didn't mention, you mentioned, my girl, she knew. You didn't mention Angela. Uh-oh. So I love Kay. You can see it all in her facial expressions. She's in and out this season too.
Starting point is 00:13:35 Cynthia is my girl. That's my girl. So Drew and Angela Oakley are not. No, what did you say? Drew. What you said? Drew Sadorra. Who?
Starting point is 00:13:46 Okay. What are you doing? Why are you doing? Why are y'all like oil and wood? Why y'all are mixed? Drew's fine. I like Drew's really beautiful. And what about Ms. Oakley?
Starting point is 00:13:55 She called me Mr. Clean, but I'm like, thank you. Uh-uh, because you got your hair. Uh-uh. But she don't know, girl. I'm working on my. My next business, Mr. Clean, okay. My next cleaning company. No, I like Jerry Drew School.
Starting point is 00:14:08 I'm joking. Well, you talked a lot about the debt that you were in, and that being the storyline on the show. So going back to the beginning with the having to buy back your business, when you had to buy back your business, you were talking about all of the overhead. I think it was like $10 million in over. 20 million dollars in overhead that you were facing, right?
Starting point is 00:14:25 Because of expansions and things of that nature. Then you buy back the business. Then you file for bankruptcy. Can you talk us through because I know a lot of people were like I saw the skit that you posted on your Instagram A lot of people thought that that meant that you had nothing You were down and out
Starting point is 00:14:40 Talk about your decision to file for bankruptcy After buying your business back Okay so entrepreneurs I need y'all to hear me I don't know if y'all saw a video circulating where I said Do not put anything in your personal name Have y'all seen that clip? Find it after this interview So the reason why I said that clip is because
Starting point is 00:14:55 here it is at my peak 14 locations Sluddy Veecon it cost me between 800,000 to a million to open up each location. I raised $25 million in 2022 company got valued at $100 million. We kicking in the middle of a pandemic. In the middle of a time where inflation is through the roof, you know, right? Inflation is through the roof. Supply chain is crazy.
Starting point is 00:15:15 So there's like a 6x on everything. So we did everything that we said that we were going to do in business. The problem is that when you grow that fast, right, sometimes you put basketball players on a golf course. You understand what I'm saying? So you got people that do an incredible job in their skill set, but then you position them somewhere else, and they can't do what you need to do to take you where you need to go. So as a result, we got $20 million in debt, right?
Starting point is 00:15:44 And as a result of that debt, we were drowning. So yes, we were making money, double-digit millions, but if your payroll is high, and if you have all of these costs and everything is adding up, your bottom line is going to be read. But what I didn't know is when we were growing a company, everything I'm just signing my name on personal, guarantee it because nobody ever thinks about the business that it will fail.
Starting point is 00:16:03 Nobody thinks like, okay, this ain't going to work one day, so don't do that, especially not me. Like I have this company, lines down the block, everybody loves this brand. And then one day I look up and I got all of this debt. And I'm like, okay, cool, I can file an assignment for the benefit of creditors. Okay, do you all know what that is? No. That is bankruptcy's first cousin, okay? So it's an out-of-court procedure that you file if you need to restructure your business.
Starting point is 00:16:27 It cleans your cap table. So if you have investors, you no longer have investors. I was no longer the CEO. None of that. So I did not own a company for 43 days. And an estate that took the company, they took the assets and they took the debt so that they can sell off the assets so that they can pay off the debt. Okay? And then they sell the business to somebody who wants to buy it.
Starting point is 00:16:48 But who else going to buy a slutty vegan stuff for me? So 43 days later, I bought the company. But here's the kicker. After I bought the company, I'm like, okay, cool. Everything is good. Next thing I know, the creditors are coming after me personally because I'm the party responsible from the old co. So even though the old co is dead and I don't have to deal with the old co no more, they're coming after me because they're like, all right, she's a public figure. She got it.
Starting point is 00:17:15 She can pay for it. But smart entrepreneurs know is that you don't really hold no assets in your personal name. On paper, I ain't got nothing personally and as it should be. So, okay, all right, you have to file for bankruptcy because I got law. I'm walking in the St. Regis. I'm getting served lawsuits. All of these things from OECO. Co.
Starting point is 00:17:33 So now this becomes a part two of that restructure. But you know, the internet be internet. So now you have currently, how many active locations you have? I got seven and then I have over a dozen franchises in the pipeline. Now you said you had 14 at one time. Yeah. What was the reason that a lot of those franchises closed? Because, I mean, it seems like you said, there was lines around the corner.
Starting point is 00:17:57 during COVID, especially in the land. Experience Bruno Mars, live in Toronto. Iheart Radio wants to send you and a friend with flights from TripCentral.ca. Two nights at Sheridan Center, Toronto. Tickets to Bruno Mars and $1,000 cash. Don't believe me, just watch. Download the free IHard Radio app.
Starting point is 00:18:17 Listen to IHart new music for 10 minutes. Win your way to Bruton Mars. Will you be there? Every day you listen is another chance to win. No, Roald Doll, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been.
Starting point is 00:18:39 Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you.
Starting point is 00:18:56 I was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote.
Starting point is 00:19:23 Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. wherever you get your podcasts. If you're trying to keep up with everything happening on and off the court, we've got you covered on the podcast, flagrant and funny. You look at the top four number one seeds. What do you think UCLA is going to do? Break down that for me, my friend. Obviously, Yukon is the overwhelming favorite in this tournament.
Starting point is 00:19:44 But I'll be honest, I think people are kind of sleeping on Texas. Experts are suggesting that UCLA is the number one challenger to Yukon and that right after that would be Texas. S&C is so deep and so thick and just about everything. It really is annoying. So it's UCLA, Texas, South Carolina, LSU. Only ones that could possibly upset Yukon. On Flagrant and Funny, we're giving our unfiltered takes
Starting point is 00:20:10 on the biggest moments of the conversations everyone's having. So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the latest on the tournament, we got you. Listen to Flakron and Funny with Carrie Champion and Jemail on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.
Starting point is 00:20:29 I'm Lori Siegel, a longtime tech journalist. And consider my new podcast, mostly human, your bridge to the future. Anyone can now be an entrepreneur. Anyone can build an app. And it's very empowering. Each week, I'll speak to the people building that future. And we're going to break down what all of this innovation actually means for you. What I come to realize is that when people think that they're dating these AI companion,
Starting point is 00:20:52 they're actually dating the companies that create this. We're experiencing one of the greatest tech accelerations in human history. And let's be honest, that can be messy. There's no playbook for what to do when an AI model hallucinates a story about you. But it's my belief that we should all benefit from this moment. Mostly human will show you how. My goal is to give you the playbook, so you can benefit. The reason I say agency is because if we can give power,
Starting point is 00:21:22 to people, then I think that's probably the best thing we can do for your mental health. Listen to mostly human on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. A silver 40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From IHeart podcasts and Best Case Studios. This is Rorschach, murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrived.
Starting point is 00:21:59 at New York City Hall with a guest. Both men are carrying concealed weapons. And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be dead. Now, everybody in the chamber's duct. A shocking public murder. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots.
Starting point is 00:22:20 Those are shots, get down. A charismatic politician. You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a weapon, and I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret. He alleged he was a victim of flat down. That may or may not have been political.
Starting point is 00:22:37 It may have been about sex. Listen to Rorschach, murder at City Hall on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It was packed. It was pop. It was music. I've been to a couple of events. So what happened that allowed, that made those locations closed? So as soon as we did the restructure, the estate closed majority of those locations.
Starting point is 00:23:02 Even though they were making money? Yeah, even though they were making money. and have the people to run those companies. Like, you know, I had Spellman and they closed Spellman. It was this whole big thing. I didn't close Spelman. The estate closed Spelman. You understand what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:23:14 So the estate came in and closed the locations that they just didn't want to deal with. All of my stores make money. All of them. I could, my lowest revenue stores do better than the average restaurant. But they just didn't want to deal with them. It's an estate company. They come in, fold everything over it. They just want to kind of like streamline and limit down, which is okay.
Starting point is 00:23:32 Because what that did is, it made me a smarter entrepreneur. entrepreneur, right? Like even my lowest revenue store I would hold on to because of ego, right? But I had to learn in the process. If you got a store that ain't doing at least $1.2 million, you might need to close that store up and do something different. You know what I'm saying? So, like, there's so many things that I have learned as an entrepreneur in this process.
Starting point is 00:23:52 And I'm so glad that I had the hiccups. I'm so glad that sometimes things didn't go right because it really only made me stronger and wiser. You know what I'm saying? So when I do it again, I know exactly what to do differently. Are you opening up in the Spelman again? No. Why not? Just college campuses.
Starting point is 00:24:08 Like, it's not a gear around business. So, like, you relying on them in school. It's just not lucrative enough, to be honest. Spellman was great. Shout out to Spelman, but it's just not lucrative enough. Now, we also seen something that they change your house. Oh, my gosh. They didn't want to tune in your house.
Starting point is 00:24:23 So, you know, it's funny. They said you had to sleep outside. And they're crazy. They said it was raining all on your head. Not it was raining on her head. They did. Okay. And I ain't got no hair.
Starting point is 00:24:33 No umbrella. Oh, my. Nothing going to crawl up. Nothing. I got no. The balance is going to roll off. So what happened was is you're in real estate, so you can
Starting point is 00:24:44 also speak to this. So I had a tenant. Tenet moved out. The house was abandoned. So I'm just going to assume that the creditors locked the doors because the house was abandoned. Because the house was abandoned, the grass didn't get cut. So they changed the locks. Not my mortgage
Starting point is 00:25:00 company, the creditor. Okay? So my My realtor was like, hey, Pinky, somebody changed the lots. We can't get in. I'm like, what are you talking about? We're calling everybody. So my attorney go down to court and file an emergency motion so that they can change the lots. We still, till this day, we don't even know who the company is.
Starting point is 00:25:17 They didn't show up to court at all. So they tried to force bankruptcy on that house. That's what it seems like they tried. No, no, no, no. The house wasn't delayed on payments. So why did they? It probably was the HOA. I don't know that to be true because they haven't responded.
Starting point is 00:25:29 But the HOA fees. But the house was occupied for three years and then vacant for two years. years. So because it was vacant, me and my attorneys, we're just assuming that because it was vacant, they consider it abandoned. And you could do that if you feel like a house is abandoned. So the grass wasn't cut for two years? No, no, no, no, for two months. Oh, okay, all right. Yeah, the grass. But again, my assumption. So we went to court and I won, not only did I win, I won attorney's fees. And then obviously we're taking further action because that's really some real reputational damage on somebody when you're assuming that they lost their house. You understand what I'm
Starting point is 00:26:03 saying this is an investment property. Then they put my personal house on the internet. It's crazy. But I realize that one, people on the internet don't read. Okay? Two, people take a salacious headline. No, I really realize that now. But I'm so secure within my skin
Starting point is 00:26:19 that it don't bother me. I'm like, all right, keep it moving. So now I'm going to troll y'all ass back. So when you see my little skits, that's why you see my skits. Because if I got you watching, now I'm going to give you something to watch. So a creditor can just do that. They can just change your life. Yes. I just learned that.
Starting point is 00:26:33 It was not my mortgage company. And see, I'm not like, I have almost a dozen properties. So, like, real estate is not the thing that I'm really good at, to be honest. It's not my thing. But I learn so much in real estate now. I'm like, damn, they can really do that. But they ain't even show up the court. Right.
Starting point is 00:26:48 And they can't, they don't have to, they don't get penalized for not showing up. No. It was nothing that went. They got penalized because now you got paid my legal fee. They got paid lawyer for you want. Yeah. But I'm going to take further action because the way that they did it, they disobeyed the law, basically. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:02 question. Some of the, like, the reports when that happened were saying that, like, they had, first they were saying it was guardian asset management. So it wasn't them? It was them. Okay. So those are the people that didn't show up the court. Yeah, they didn't show up the court. Okay. And then. But they didn't take the house because I owed anything. Got you. I think it was because it was abandoned. I didn't owe anything. So then I saw some reports that they were like, they were putting notices on, well, they are saying that they were putting notices and different things on the door and almost like they were trying to be in contact for whatever the reasoning was. And that was the answer. So that's why they went ahead.
Starting point is 00:27:32 I mean, they violated this day, which worked in your favor, but that's why they went ahead and ignored this day. So what were the notices or like, what was the point of communication, if any? You know what's funny? My first time ever going to that house was when I went to change the locks to get back in, ever. And I've owned that house for probably like almost four years. Yeah, I've never ever stepped foot in the house. It was my cousin's house.
Starting point is 00:27:52 I bought the house from my cousin. He wanted to get off the house and I bought it and just added it to my portfolio. I've never been to the house. You understand? So like when I finally go to that house to change the locks, I don't know how many notices they put on the door. But my realtors were also involved. But at the end of the day, it's a learning lesson for me
Starting point is 00:28:09 because I learn how this process works. But victory will prevail when I'm vindicated because like give me my stuff at. And they got to pay your fees too. And they got to pay my fees. And I'm taking further action. So you're so serious about your name, right? And that's one thing I know about Pinky.
Starting point is 00:28:23 You ever think about suing some of those people that have been going at you? Watch me work. Watch me work. I'm a silent assassin Why should I work? Because your name is all that you have Like you can have all the money in the world
Starting point is 00:28:40 But if you got a bad name, nobody will touch you Right The currency is who you are My mouthpiece is a country club I can lose it all today or tomorrow But as long as I got my mouthpiece, I'm good So I'm always use my mouthpiece To stand and represent who I am
Starting point is 00:28:55 As an individual, somebody from Baltimore, A Jamaican and an entrepreneur or somebody who has worked hard for every single thing that I've gotten in my life and I'm a flex on myself for a second. I made the cover Essence magazine, made the Times 100 list, made the Forbes list twice, okay? Ink Magazine cover, all the Bloomberg list, everything you can think of.
Starting point is 00:29:14 You think I'm a less of my plate with my name when I've worked so hard for my legacy and for my children and for everything that I've created? You're out your mind. But how much is it worth it when you know they have nothing? The money that you spend in lawyer fees is probably less than they even have. Yeah, well, I don't have. When you do it right, you ain't got to pay no lawyer fees.
Starting point is 00:29:33 You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you get the right people to represent you. You don't have to pay lawyer fees. They do it. What do you, I know in June, you go back to court for the bankruptcy and they, you have to, or you have to submit your restructuring plan to the court. So what, it seems like you've learned a lot. You know your stuff.
Starting point is 00:29:49 God. I mean, bring you up here to turn. You know what I mean? And I just feel like, too, the way that people can learn from this, that's why I'm getting into all the other side of it. But what would your restructuring plan look like? because like you said, now you have so much that you've learned. So what are you going to tell the court will be different
Starting point is 00:30:06 or how things will be paid or like how that works? Well, 99% of my debt is business debt from the old code. It's not personal debt. Most of the debt is business debt. So I'm excited about putting a plan together. And basically what that plan is is that my attorney and myself, we come up with a plan, we present it to the courts. This is how much based on how much she's making.
Starting point is 00:30:26 So now, and this is a coachable moment, I haven't been on payroll personally for the last three and a half years. I don't get a W2. I don't pay myself personally. Literally on paper, like I don't have anything personally. So now I got to put myself on payroll. You understand what I'm saying? And that's okay because now I can get a W2 and I can pay myself.
Starting point is 00:30:44 But I'm excited about the fact that the courts are willing to work with me so that I could put a plan in place so that I can dissolve all of the things from my past. You know, we as entrepreneurs don't realize how oftentimes your past can corrupt you if you don't clear the plane field. So I get the opportunity to do that. But for the entrepreneurs who are thinking about bankruptcy, it is a tool, okay? There is no shame in bankruptcy.
Starting point is 00:31:09 You're not broke because you filed bankruptcy. Think about it. Delta Airlines filed in, what, 2005? They filed Chapter 11, the same thing that I filed in 2005. And then they got out of bankruptcy in 2007, and that's the number one preferred airline in America. Okay, it's given Diamond Medallion, all right? So just because you file,
Starting point is 00:31:28 for chapter 11 or chapter 15, which is for people who have international businesses, or chapter 7, if you want to close your business, that is really a restructure. Your president then did it several times. So utilize the U.S. bankruptcy code as a tool. I am not an attorney. But what I will say is the level of relief that I've gotten in my life as an entrepreneur when I put an automatic state on everything that was coming after me, money could not buy. You feel like you have anything to prove to anybody?
Starting point is 00:31:57 No. no and and I'll tell you why because I'm going to take you back to that dark place that I was in right nobody understood that cry nobody understood when the people that you love the most turn their back on you has that ever happened to y'all absolutely yeah nobody understood how that felt when you put you entrusted yourself in people that you partner with or that you worked with and they they flip a light switch when the things don't go their way that is very difficult so that is You got to build a coat of armor so tough after that happens that, like, your guard, your third eyes always open. So now I'm clear. And I said this to my friend the other day, sometimes when it's cloudy, that's when you get clear. And in my cloudy days is the moments where God literally, like, created a path of me so that
Starting point is 00:32:46 anytime something comes my way, I ain't got to prove nothing to y'all. I know who I am. I know whose I am. And now I'm about to do this show on April 5th. And you really get the opportunity to learn about me and my family and all of the great things. just proud of that. I'm proud of the visibility. Like there's two things in your professional life as entrepreneurs. You got your money engine and you got your visibility engine. Okay, I already got the money
Starting point is 00:33:08 engine. Now it's time for the visibility engine. Okay. And guess what I'm doing? Selling more franchises. Like the negativity is really converting. That fund was converting to more people interested in my brand. I got literally over a dozen people that want to franchise right now. So I'm taking it all and I'm excited about this next season of my life, but the next season of my life is the rocket ship. And everybody can't go in that rocket ship. Period. Okay.
Starting point is 00:33:34 I was wondering how that was working, how this was all going to play out after bankruptcy ruling or whatever because of, you know, people see headlines and they see all the conversation, and then them franchising means that they're standing next to you in business, even if not directly. So you're saying it's having a positive impact. It is.
Starting point is 00:33:50 You know why? Because the people who know who I am, I'm solid as a rock. I am solid as a rock and you can smell that you understand that like you can literally identify when somebody is real authentic genuine
Starting point is 00:34:04 yeah I may have a little hiccups but if people still love my brand despite the hiccups what does that tell you slutty vegan is weatherproof slutty vegan is weatherproof so I'm excited to show what resilience look like
Starting point is 00:34:16 for people who have lost their businesses and trying to figure out the next steps and how to navigate and yeah I show the highs but I also show the lows and that's what makes you a leader I was going to ask, what do you want people to learn from this story? I want people to learn that you only get one shot, do not miss a chance to blow,
Starting point is 00:34:36 because opportunity comes once in a lifetime. All right, Eminem. A wise philosopher once said, okay? A wise philosopher once said, I want people to understand that no matter how many times you get knocked down, right? It's like we in a boxing ring, okay? And how many times you get knocked down, it's going to hurt? guess who you got in your corner? God, and God is right here with the, what is it, with the tissue, putting the ice on your face,
Starting point is 00:35:00 making sure that you're good and throwing you back in the ring. And as long as you got God in your corner, you will forever be all right, okay? Because God will always provide and prevail and make sure that you have what you need so that your business will always be successful. All of this is is a testimony. I literally, everything that I've been through now I've got color. I want to be around people that God experience. You understand what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:35:21 So that when I speak on large stages, I can say, hey, I know what it feels like. to fail. I know what it feels like to win. I know what it feels like to eat on a glass plate. And I also know what it feel like to eat on a paper plate. And I got color. So now I'm not, I'm not giving you fluff. I'm giving you real deal because I've been through it. All right. I got six kids. So it's paper plates and paper cups every night, baby. I have paid plays too. I don't know. Well, Pinky, we appreciate you for joining us. The season. Real Housewives of Atlanta starts on the 5th of next month, April 5th. Make sure you definitely check it out and check out her seven locations. I know the Jonesboro,
Starting point is 00:35:54 the Birmingham, Brooklyn, of course. Baltimore. Ran in Florida, Baltimore. Where's the other one? I missed one. You said that. I got two in Baltimore. Two in Baltimore. All right. Make sure you go check it and support. And we appreciate you for us. And we're franchising. Okay, so go to Slutty Beacon atl.com. If you want to franchise, get on winning team. How much is the franchise? $40,000 to buy in. $40,000 to buy in. And then do you guys take care of build out or they have to take care of it?
Starting point is 00:36:15 No, they have to take care of their build out. But it depends on like if you want to get a second generation location, it could be $200,000 or $500,000 to a million. and it just depends on where you want to go. Okay. What's going on with the session? Oh, we're about to go on the road. So I can't say the full announcement, but it's about to happen. Oh, the last thing that I did not say, and I have to say this. So I've partnered with Earn Your Leisure.
Starting point is 00:36:37 Hey. We are doing a online digital YouTube series teaching adults financial literacy. So did y'all see my video that I did in my Ms. Rachel Parody. Yeah. We're going to be doing more of that because I realize that sometimes people don't get it unless you put it on 80s. All right, ladies and gentlemen, it's Pinky Co. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
Starting point is 00:36:59 Hold up. Every day I wake up. You're all finished or y'all done? You know Roll Doll. He thought up Willie Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, the secret world of Roll Doll, I'll tell you that story, and much, much more. What?
Starting point is 00:37:18 You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Okay. I don't think that's true. true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl
Starting point is 00:37:30 on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. And 10 shots, 5, City Hall building. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. A shocking public murder. This is one of the most dramatic events that really ever happened in New York City politics.
Starting point is 00:37:50 I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots. A tragedy that's now forgotten. and a mystery that may or may not have been political, that may have been about sex. Listen to Roershack, murder at City Hall, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:38:10 I'm Lori Siegel, and on my new podcast, mostly human, I'll take you to some wild corners of the tech world. I'm about to go on a date with an AI companion at a real-world cafe right here in New York City. There's no playbook for what to do when an AI model hallucinates a story about you. Mostly Human is your playbook for how tech can work for you. Anyone can now be an entrepreneur.
Starting point is 00:38:35 Anyone can build an app. And it's very empowering. Listen to Mostly Human on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. If you're trying to keep up with everything happening on and off the court, we've got you covered on the podcast, flagrant and funny. You want to start with the first pleasure for the Big Ten Coach of the Year? Oh, whatever.
Starting point is 00:38:55 Would you like to? Yeah. So you're a Spartan. Is that what I'm getting? So whether your bracket is busted or you just want the real talk on what's happening during the tournament. Open your free IHart Radio app. Search Plagrin and Funny with Carrie Champion and Jamel Hill. And listen now. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports.
Starting point is 00:39:16 In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, the lesbian. Michael Mancini.
Starting point is 00:39:38 My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human

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