Why I Left Canada: The Dark Side of Content Creation | Matt Kiatipis DSH #1069

I will say the public's perception of it was interesting to see.

You know why?

Why?

Because people want to see the goat fall.

Yeah, people want the underdog to win.

It's just human nature.

Exactly.

Like when I'm watching random games, I'm like, oh, let me root for the team that's not favored to win.

Exactly.

So why wouldn't everyone want to see Drake lose for once?

Yeah.

Because he hasn't, in my opinion.

I don't think he has.

He's been on top for so long.

All the beefs, he's won.

I'd like to say.

All right, guys, got MK here today, and we're balling tonight.

We are balling tonight.

Let's go, baby.

I'm expecting some dunks from you.

You too.

I need some oops from you.

I'm going to be putting people on posters.

I've been in the lab, bro.

I'm ready to get back into America and start hooping.

Yeah, you've been in Greece for a year, you said.

I've been in Greece, been in Costa Rica recently.

Haven't really played ball much at all.

So I'm excited to get on the course.

You took some time off.

I took some time off.

Yeah, I was doing more of, you know, trying to be...

an organizer for it, but I realized like I really love hooping.

Yeah.

So I'm back in this shit.

You know what I mean?

I love it, man.

Are we allowed to cuss on this?

Yeah, you could cuss.

Okay, good.

We'll censor it just for YouTube.

You know how it is.

Do you censor your cuss on YouTube?

I have to.

Yes, yeah.

Yeah, because I've been getting like, I mean, in the beginning, I didn't know how it worked.

I just uploaded my videos and everything was getting flagged.

Right.

So even like blurring out a push or a little head rub or me cussing.

That was getting flagged?

Everything.

For a head rub?

Yeah.

What?

That's bullying.

No,

I think I've gotten bullying.

I've gotten maybe like borderline.

What would you call it?

It's not assault, but it's like touching someone and they're not but you know what they do it to me first so that's why right so you never make the first move on the court

you do you do bro i i have to sometimes i have to it depends who i'm dealing with if they're talking crazy i have to yeah yeah no i just meant talking wise actually not

physically talking wise you start up to talk i have to bro that's what makes the game interesting to me because if there's no talking i mean that's what fuels me if i'm just playing against a bunch of randoms if they're not good if they're not skilled i have to do something to spice it up otherwise i'll play down to their level so a lot of people think it's just me going out and talking shit it's actually me bettering myself in the game i mean i love that yeah dude if you see me just like by myself training yeah you would be scared at how badly i bully myself and talk about myself which is why i just do it on the court to other people when i'm there it spices shit up you know what i mean otherwise it's boring no that's facts though because i'm in some leagues where the comp is not good and then how do you play you play like shit exactly but you don't try as hard and and what's fun about playing basketball getting highlights having fun with it and you're not having fun when you're losing or or just playing shitty hoops.

You know what I mean?

That's fire, yeah.

So you said you might, I don't know if you announced this yet, but you might sign to a league.

I'm actually happy to announce it today, probably.

Yeah, I mean, like, I'm actively working on my Greek passport.

I am Greek.

My grandparents are Greek.

I've been working at this for about seven years now.

I was supposed to get it through my grandparents, but now I'm getting it through my father.

And we're exploring.

I mean, we've talked to many agents, many teams.

Once I get that passport, I'll be playing professionally in Greece or anywhere in Europe.

Wow.

Yeah.

And are you still going to upload those videos videos or not?

Dude, that's the cool thing about it.

I'm going to dog.

I'm going to be probably the first one to make like a legitimate YouTube documentary series vlog super like, you know, nonchalant about pro basketball and however far it takes me.

Like the goal is the NBA.

And people will laugh at that.

People will criticize it.

I don't care.

I'm going for that's the main goal.

And if I end up, you know, below here, wherever it is, it's professionally overseas and it'll be fun to document, show people what it's like.

Yeah, no one's ever seen that international hoops documented, documented, honestly and it's insane you know how exciting international overseas hoops are dude yeah like mike james that's the one i'm really familiar with he's on the heat right i thought he played so mike james i think that's his name he's a super big overseas player he played on the brooklyn nets maybe okay who got like a 10-day or something like that he did pretty well but he's like an overseas legend really yeah and he kind of brought the he brought the attention from america to the overseas kind of basketball scene and he's been killing it so that's kind kind of what I want to do, but like put that shit on film everywhere.

Yeah, that'd be lit.

How does the Greece League work?

Do you play other countries or is it within Greece?

So, if you're on a big team like Panathanikos or Olympiakos, like you're in the Euro League playing against the best of the best, right?

But if you're on, you know, the lower end teams of the first division, you're not necessarily playing against all the other countries, from what I know.

Um, you're playing within Greece.

Um, and then if you play a lower division under, which is probably where I'll start out, it's called A2.

Um, that's just national, you know, they're playing, they're They're playing.

You got some work to do.

I have some work to do, bro.

It's a little bit different.

Like, they like experienced players.

They want 28, 29, 30, even older.

Those are the guys that start.

Whereas here in the U.S., we want those young prospects, right?

So I'm going to have to prove myself at 24 right now, probably till 26.

Hopefully, I can do something crazy to get up in the ranks in the A2 league, probably.

to build up to the A1 and then Euro League and then maybe the NBA.

Wow.

Giannis was able to do it at such a young age.

Giannis is a different story.

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Giannis is a fucking like beast, bro.

That's a monster.

So it's hard to relate.

Like if you look at me and Giannis is just body type, athleticism, everything, it's different.

You're 6'4.

That's like average height these days.

6'4.

6'2 and a half.

Oh, 6'2.

I'm short, dog.

But you can still yam, though.

I can yam, and I have that

edge that makes basketball exciting.

It sells tickets and wins games, to be frank with you.

Have you played over there yet?

Is it much different than over here, the style?

It's a little bit different.

I will say that.

Like, if you play fives, if you play threes with your boys, just in a pickup run, it's very organized.

There's lots of ball screens.

There's lots of passing.

There's lots of off-ball screens.

It's a lot different.

But I'm trying to bring that flair.

It's starting to come.

I want to bring that like little American-Canadian kind of flair to Europe and try to go crazy with that.

Maybe, maybe shock the world in that sense, or shock Europe at least.

I mean, they would need that, right?

I think so.

I think it would be pretty exciting, especially if if it's like, if, especially if I'm documenting every part of it, like on YouTube and whatnot, and they're seeing that in the Euro league, that, in my opinion, that's pretty cool.

It's definitely groundbreaking.

It was like Dream on Screen podcast run during the chip.

That was legendary.

After every game, he would make a pod.

Exactly, bro.

That's what I'm trying to say.

And like every game will be documented, off court will be documented, practices, what goes into it.

And that's kind of like what I'm starting now.

I mean, any takeover I go to, any 1v1 I do, it's really just to train to get better.

That's why I'm looking for the best comp in America, Canada, going to Brazil in a few days, everywhere around the world.

Just came back from Paris,

London, Greece.

So just trying to get it everywhere, form my game into what I want it to be to be able to play at the professional level.

Nice.

What country surprised you?

Paris.

Really?

Paris.

I didn't enjoy Paris necessarily.

I like the other countries better just to be there, but the basketball, I met some of the craziest prospects you'd ever see.

Whoa.

Bro, like, I'm talking in a 1v1, shifted dude, shifted dude again, shifted him one more time down the lane through the legs dunk.

No.

Next play, same thing, windmill dunk.

Next play, off the backboard dunk.

What?

Like, electric.

His name is, what's his name?

I know his Instagram and KDJ or Calvin, his name is.

That's one guy just absolutely shocked me.

But the thing is, bro, you're going to find that everywhere around the world.

You just got to go and look.

And that's what I'm doing.

Damn, is that guy in the league out there or what?

That's the problem, bro.

He's not.

He's a nobody.

I don't want to say say he's a nobody because

he could be a legitimate pro athlete, pro basketball player and make money from it, but he just hasn't gotten the exposure.

Damn.

Yeah.

Do you think the money in the outside leagues is there yet or is it still pretty low?

I'd like to say from the numbers that I've been talking with agents and other players, I'd like to say it's there.

Obviously, it's not NBA money.

It's not like insane millions and millions of dollars, but you can make a nice little living off of it, dude.

You know, you get some sponsorships involved, you know, shoe sponsorships, anything else.

It's getting there.

Yeah.

It's getting there, but definitely enough to make a living out of it.

Was going pro always the goal for you when you were growing up?

Always, dude.

Always.

I mean, I dropped out of college during the COVID era and I was like, I want to pursue a pro contract.

I went to Brazil, tried out, wasn't good enough.

Found an opportunity in Costa Rica.

Played a year of professional there.

It was great.

And then coincidentally, like the YouTube thing hit and I found like, this is fun, right?

Now I kind of want to direct it back into pro, but pro has always been the the goal and i've done it once not at the level i want to but it is it is still the goal that's like nba bro yeah i don't care people can laugh people can talk like i will i will do my best to get there let's go and i will document it i love the confidence yeah have you always had that the confidence yeah yeah bro 100 it's it's it's self-made i mean going through all the negativity with myself training and stuff like that that's what builds the confidence right and then when an opportunity hits since i've been working so hard then i create the luck,

which I've gotten from this YouTube stuff.

I mean, shout out to all the fans and stuff that have supported me.

I mean, I met you through this stuff, right?

But that's, it's, it's pushing myself, and that's what gives me the confidence.

Absolutely.

Yeah, we've been talking for years, man.

You've really changed the game.

In a sense, I'd like to say so.

I mean, there's obviously people like Friga, before Friga, Professor.

My apologies to everyone on the pod if I'm not mentioning you.

But they like, they've paved the way.

I like to say I'm part of it and I bring a different feel to it.

And if people like that, they like it.

If they don't like it, they don't, but they watch it.

So it is essentially, like you said, changing the game in a sense.

You are polarizing.

That's the word I like to use about myself.

Yeah, I think polarizing is like the perfect word to describe it.

People will hate me, like

death threats.

I don't know if I'm allowed to say that

100%, bro.

I'm going to pull up to the court and air you out.

What?

Yeah.

Just for hooping?

I mean,

is what I do hooping?

Good point.

Good point.

But I told you before we hopped in this, I've I've been doing the exact same thing.

You can ask any one of my high school teammates, any one of my elementary school teammates, my best friends, like even in the schoolyard, like we're, I'm hooping the exact same way.

All that head rubbing, pushing, shit talking, fouling, that's how I grew up playing.

Right.

So I'm not doing this for an act.

It's not me just, you know, getting clicks and stuff like that.

That's how I enjoy playing.

So that's what makes it polarizing in a sense, I guess.

People take it personal, right?

People take it personal.

I think that's soft.

They take it personal.

I like to call it competition because off the court, I'm going to be your best friend.

I'm going to do whatever I can for you.

If I can help you with an opportunity, if I can pay for your meal, if I can get you an Uber, I'm going to be there for you regardless of how much you hate me.

But like, when we're on the fucking court, like, I'm trying to fucking cook you, bro.

Yeah.

I don't even care if it's for no money.

I want to win.

That's it.

Yeah.

Sorry, go ahead.

No, I'm just saying.

You can separate that friendship versus on the court.

Absolutely.

And most people can't.

Not these days.

The NBA players these days, they're making too much.

Yeah, bro.

They're making too much.

But I mean, hey, there is some fights starting.

I don't follow the NBA too much, but I do see a lot of, a lot of fights starting newer offs.

Yeah, there's a bit more.

It might be coming back.

I like it, bro.

I like it.

Draymond Green's talking about the game of Clay coming up.

Might get a little chippy there.

I'm going to be real with you.

If we do hop into any NBA content, I'm going to give you some of the worst takes of all time because I don't watch basketball.

I don't watch basketball much, bro.

I follow the highlights.

I follow my favorite players

to a degree.

Anthony Edwards, Lamello Ball, all the new school guys, but I don't really watch too much ball, dude.

Why is that?

I just love playing it.

I feel like if I'm watching a game, I mean, court side is a different thing where you're watching an NBA game.

It's an experience with friends, but I don't like watching basketball if I feel like I could compete in that setting.

Yeah.

You know, I feel like you can learn from it, though.

If you watch it, absolutely.

That's what I've started to.

I've opened up my mind and I've watched more just to try to learn a little bit more.

Before I was watching it, just from a closed eye, like, oh, I can go and hoop against these guys.

Why the fuck would I watch this?

But I do try to watch and learn, like, dude, Steph Curry in the Olympics.

How am I not supposed to want to learn from that shit that's unbelievable that was legendary he's bro he's my favorite player now just because of that wow

like what he did was insane he's back to back to back to back

they would have lost without him i think bro that's crazy and to think the guys he had on his team and they were giving him the rock to do what he did is fucking crazy dude yeah that's why i'm working on my shot so much right now is because of him i have noticed your progression man yeah because you couldn't shoot at first right yeah that's that's a crazy take and it's facts you know why why it's because i love dunking so much yeah there's something about dunking that's just so electric and amazing um it brings a crowd into things but i noticed like with steph like he generates the same excitement from a shot true so why not develop that as well so you're gonna see tonight when we hoop shots there

maybe i've taken a few days off so i gotta get gotta get us some shots you can get that shot you're gonna be unguardable that's the hope That's the hope because you can get a little Hezy, go by them and then do the dunk, right?

Hit a few shots and you're good.

That's why Hezzy got such a scorer.

He could do do both.

Hezy is one of the most fun guys I've ever played with, dude.

I love playing with Hezzy God just because he does things on the court where I'm like, how did you do that?

Not even how did you do that?

How did you come up with that?

Do you practice these things?

Yeah.

I don't understand.

And I study his game a lot.

I study his game.

I study Bone Collector's game.

And I try to bring it into the professional world because it's like, dude,

how do you do this shit?

He took off people's headphones.

He throws it on the side of the backboard.

Like, if I tried to, you know, fake someone and shoot on the side of the backboard, I'd probably miss the side of the backboard.

So that's why I asked him, like, do you practice this shit?

Yeah, he has to, right?

Dude, but is he really just in the lab throwing it off the side of the backboard?

Like, come on, bro.

You really think he practices that?

I don't know.

He's different, man.

He definitely practices that slow two-step layup he's been doing.

Yeah, that one's crazy.

And that's what I love about him, dude.

He's so like.

All his posts are controversial.

All the comments are fucking travel, this and that, this and that.

I love it, dude.

And he's such a villain.

Yeah, that travel stuff's a big deal right now

one of my favorite players to watch by far those mdw basketball videos that guy

yo that's a travel bro does he certify i haven't looked has he certified that hezzy god is in fact not traveling he has okay so it's not a travel it's not a travel but it looks like a travel bro and where do i look at to like tell people this is your camera hezzy you're not traveling you are the goat if you practice that you're you're different bro the thing is refs are gonna call it you think so i mean not the slow two-step but there's some crazy mdw videos where he'll fucking jump off yeah those ones are ridiculous bro but like refs like you need to do better come on like why are you calling this stuff that just shows me that you've never played the game or you haven't played it enough have you ever gotten into it with a ref

only time i ever got into it with a ref was when he didn't let me play like there was an instance where a team we came late my team came late and he was like yeah you're not you're not playing I said why he said you're not playing I said okay we'll pay I'll pay you your money to ref this game extra on top of what you already made, even though you didn't ref the game.

And I'll pay the other team to play this game.

He's like, nope.

So I got into it with him, bro.

Like, how are you going to stop me from playing?

Yeah.

That pissed me off.

But other than that, like, on court, no, I respect the refs call.

I mean, I get mad like everyone does, but I'll never like lay a hand on African.

Fuck no.

I'm not a hands thrower.

I avoid that.

So you'll keep it to the players.

I'll keep it.

Yeah, exactly.

Any beefs with other content creators?

There's been beefs in the past,

but like not necessarily serious beef.

I mean, I think, I'd like to think we've squashed all of it.

I'd say the main ones that come up to my mind are House of Highlights a few years ago.

We played in the 1v1, 50K on the line, Creator League, and Cash Nasty.

You know, Cash Nasty.

We got into it.

I wore a shirt that said, like, Cash is scared at an event, and then, like, Cam got robbed, which is Cam Wilder.

Yeah.

I didn't think that Cash should have won, so I voiced it with my shirt and I got a police escort.

No, not the good kind of police escort.

I got escorted by the police out of the fucking building damn because i was wearing that shirt and like everyone wanted me out so that was a beef that was like really like building up in the house of highlights um tournament and uh then we played in the championship me and him and he was like shit talking me right at the start and i'm like i didn't say nothing And he kind of was like, yo, what the fuck?

Why is this guy not talking?

I won and I told him at the end, I stopped everyone.

I said, I respect this guy.

He's a great player.

And we kind of squashed that beef.

But that brings me back.

Like, I don't really have beefs.

It's more just like I'm being competitive.

And if you like it, you like it.

If you don't, then you're going to feel some type of way.

The other one is Kenny Chow.

We had a beef kind of.

Honestly, I don't even remember the specifics.

So we're good now.

And then Kay Showtime, my Canadian brother, we've had some weird beefs kind of in the past.

Yeah.

But we're good now.

I can't really, I don't know.

Kind of like, you know, me leaving his team, like those kind of politics.

I left you on his five-on-five team.

Yeah, when we first blew up, like I was on his team and we we kind of blew up together we shut down canada and we brought it to the states um and i kind of just decided i want to do my own thing while staying with the team and we just had conflicting interests maybe not conflicting interests we were just you know we couldn't decide on anything together so we took our separate ways and you know we tried to come back didn't work tried to come back again didn't work um and now we're we're brothers i love that guy yeah it's tough mixing business with friendship sometimes dude huge bro i try not to do it anymore yeah everyone says don't do it and i like to just try and do it anyways but it's it's i've lost some friends because of it because you have to have difficult conversations and those difficult conversations i mean if one person is overly confident in their idea and the other person isn't there's always going to be conflicts and then it just ruins the friendship absolutely yeah damn so you won 50k in that tournament yeah that's dope i like to say unless you're having fun though back on that point unless you're having fun together with it which is why we blew up in the first place like we were having fun just playing basketball and then everything else was just fucking exploding like right drake was fucking with us.

Like, yeah, bro, it was electric.

The entire country was on our backs just because we were on the court having fun hooping.

And then the moment we started to take it to like business, like you said, and mixed it, then it's just differing opinions, and it made it difficult.

Yeah, when money gets involved, it's always going to be emotional.

Yeah, unless you're winning 50K, then it's good.

Drake, hit you up.

Did you play with him?

I, bro, oh man.

Drake, I'm sorry, bro.

I'm sorry, dog.

We're always in a different place at a different time.

I was so pissed because you sailed on Drake.

No, man.

i would have flown out bro i should have bro i was in la and showtime went to his house to play uh two-on-two yeah and i was supposed to go with them uh they went to a raptors game together and i was like

i would have flown out bro i know i was in la at the time didn't have the funds to get back there i did finally meet him in la afterwards and just meeting that guy was amazing he can hoop he can hoot bro like that that guy is

realistically the the most genuine celebrity, whatever you want to call him.

He's the man, dude.

Wow.

The most genuine guy I've ever met.

Yeah, I didn't like him and DeRosen were going at it.

Did you see that?

Yeah, bro.

Whatever it is, like I've talked to this guy personally, Drake.

He's done things for me, like just the smallest things that he doesn't have to do.

I respect him so much.

So whenever someone comes at him, like Kendrick Lamont,

just cringe, bro.

Like, get the fuck out of here.

Like, DeRosen, like, DeRosen's a weirdo.

The shit that Drake did for DeRosen is probably 10 times what he did for me.

And for him to hop in that music video, I find it's a fucking betrayal.

No matter where you're from, bro.

Like, he just, I don't know.

That's my opinion on it, but I'm riding with Drake, bro.

That's from for what he's done for me and shit like that.

I'm always riding with Drake.

No, I can see that, man, because he was supporting DeRosan for 10 years.

No shit, bro.

Like, he had DeRosan, like, he was repping DeRosan.

Imagine the shit he's probably done for DeRosen.

Like, I mean, tons.

And then to hop in a music video where the guy is saying that type of shit is crazy to me.

Yeah.

Kendrick Lamar.

We're not, we're not fucking Lamar.

So loyalty is a lot of fun.

He's a weirdo, bro.

Loyalty is very important for me, but like also just not being being a weirdo.

I find like Lamar is a weirdo.

Kendrick Lamar.

You got his bad.

Even his lyrics, bro, like fucking crazy.

I love it, bro.

You got his bad.

It's a capper.

All his shit's capped.

Like the shit he's saying.

We really want to get into this right now.

I have some great opinions on this, bro.

Fuck Kendrick Lamar.

I will say the public's perception of it was interesting to see.

You know why?

Why?

Because people want to see the goat fall.

Yeah, people want the underdog to win.

It's just human nature.

Exactly.

Like when I'm watching random games, I'm like, oh, let me root for the team that's not favored to win.

Exactly.

So why wouldn't everyone want to see Drake lose for once?

Yeah.

Because he hasn't, in my opinion.

I don't think he has.

He's been on top for so long.

All the beefs he's won.

I'd like to say.

All the beefs.

Meek, he won.

I'm actually not educated.

I think there was a lot of people.

He's the one he lost, but I can't think of it.

But no, you might be right.

He's won a majority, if not.

He's won a majority, bro.

And it's just like his talent is undeniable.

He's there.

He's the best in the game, in my opinion.

And he always has been.

I've always looked up to him.

And then after meeting him, he solidified everything.

That's totally.

So, yeah, no, he's

i'm i'm loyal to i'm loyal to canada i'm loyal to drake for sure yeah i love him man you like canada or the us

oh we're gonna get into that

i don't like canada no i'm not the biggest canada fan um

on a surface level i don't like the weather yeah in toronto it's freezing suburbs it's fucking freezing the summers are all i spent my first summer there last year it was filled with rain why the fuck am i there you know what i mean the food it is diverse i do i do like it.

Um, the people are great, but just you know, the way that country's run on a surface level, because I don't really get into the politics too much, yeah, I'm just not a big fan of it.

Um, yeah, no, I've heard that from many people.

Milk Boys have said that I'm with basically where they stand.

Yeah, that's kind of my opinion on Canada.

You have to be as a content creator because if you can't be yourself, then why would you support it?

That's the problem, bro.

And like, when my shit's getting censored and it's not being exposed to where it needs to be exposed to, just because why?

Why?

Because of rules that they're putting in place that I don't agree with.

I don't like it, bro.

I really don't like it.

And again, I'm not educated enough to talk on the specifics as to why that stuff's happening, but like, I'm just not with it.

I don't like it.

And I'd rather be in the United States where it's so much opportunity.

Even other countries that are growing.

Like I said, I'm going to Brazil.

They want to grow.

So I'm there.

Canada almost seems like they don't want to grow.

And I don't know.

I haven't centered anything for growth there.

Entertainment-wise, have you?

Nah.

Exactly.

What show has come out of there?

What music has come out of there besides those main big guys that obviously went to the U.S.

and are huge in the U.S.?

The Weekend, Drake, Justin Bieber, the other girl artists.

I don't know.

They all leave Canada.

No shit.

Why?

Everybody does.

Yeah.

I think you'll like Greece, man.

I do think I like Greece.

I mean, I do want my goal is to build Canada up a little bit so I can try to build it up, but I just fear that they won't allow it to happen.

That's my fear.

They want control.

I want someone who wants to build or I want a country or a place or people who just want to build things.

And if you're stopping it from growing, why would I rock with that?

Yeah.

No, 100%, man.

And Greece is the perfect example, bro.

They're growing.

Basketball is fucking just going crazy right there.

There it is with the three brothers, right?

Is there three or four?

I think there's four.

Four of them, geez.

We got

Thanasi, Yannis, Alex, and Costa.

Costa.

Costas.

They're all in the NBA, right?

One of them's not.

I think the other three have been.

That's infants.

From what I know.

Maybe two of them.

I think three of them.

And they're like, just, they're going crazy.

And they perform at a high level.

Giannis obviously leading the way.

I got to meet Alex in Greece.

I got to meet Thanasi in Greece.

Great people, amazing people.

And they're good hoopers, bro.

Did they find you from your content?

Yeah, yeah.

He followed me.

Alex followed me.

I followed Alex and I was like, yo, like.

He's not going to follow me back.

And then he followed me.

I'm like, yo, what the fuck?

I'm coming to Greece.

Let's link up.

He did a video with me, super down to earth.

He's like, yo, pull up to the crib.

I was leaving that day, so I didn't get to link everybody, but eventually in due time, I'll link with them and hopefully do some stuff in the future.

That's fire, dude.

That's the power of social media, though, right?

Bro, social media is life-changing, in my opinion, and it's the way to go now in total.

And anything you want to do, you have to have some kind of social presence.

You need a brand.

Social currency.

Attention is the money.

Yep.

I mean, I've gotten so many opportunities, not even funny.

You're just an absolute beast, bro.

I look up to you so much and what you're doing, the volume aspect of it, like the consistency.

And then

the volume and quality balance that you're delivering is just unbelievable.

And that's honestly, I see it and it motivates me.

Every day I'm seeing fucking digital social hours pop up.

Right.

So I'm trying to do the same thing.

No, that's respect, dude.

That's how I felt about you when I found you years ago.

You were posting, what, like three times a week?

Yeah, I've actually gotten up to seven times a day sometimes.

Yeah.

Now I've kind of slimmed down to one time a day.

I'm building it back up.

But yeah, it's, dude, I saw this pod grow from absolutely zero.

It's been crazy.

So to be here right now on the pod with you is an honor.

I appreciate it.

I really appreciate that.

And likewise, you've only been on one other show.

So I know you turned down a ton of opportunities.

Yeah, I appreciate it, bro.

You said earlier you follow LaMelo Ball.

I do follow Lamello Ball.

I like Lamello Ball.

I've been, his journey is kind of what I want to mimic, not mimic, mirror in a sense, but in my own unique way, just because his is super untraditional.

I want like a just a crazy authentic way for me to the NBA or wherever I can land going to the NBA.

That's my goal.

And the way he did it, I mean, he had the ball show.

He went crazy at Chino Hills.

He played in like, what, maybe it was Lithuania or something.

He went crazy.

And then he played.

I don't know where he played after that.

They had their own pro league, the big baller brand league.

Yeah, bro.

It's crazy.

And now he's in the league killing it.

And I always knew he would because, number one, he's good and he used social media.

And he's just, he's him.

He's authentic.

Yeah.

And that's why I like him.

Same with the guy like Anthony Edwards.

Those are the two guys I follow the most.

Yeah, Ants.

I love his mindset.

He's himself.

He's himself.

Like you can tell, like,

he has the mindset to play hoops and be very, very good, but he's himself in terms of off court, and that's why everyone loves him.

And on the court.

Like, you see the way he's in preseason defending that one guy.

Yeah.

Like, he was, like, screaming at him.

Like, I love that, bro.

That's the same energy I would bring.

I love it.

I respect it.

So you don't watch the games, though?

You just watch highlights?

Yeah, bro.

I have a hard time tuning into games just because my attention span, unless I'm number one, going to a game, get invited, or I'm watching a championship game.

Like the Olympics was super lit.

I had to watch that.

Um, anytime when the Raptors won the chip, I was tuned in every game, feel

every playoff game.

I had to.

That's my squad, bro.

That was when Kawhi was on there.

Yeah, that was the craziest thing I've ever seen in for basketball in Canada.

Ever since that moment, it's changed.

And that probably that moment right there is what allowed me and other guys in Canada, like K-Showtime, to explode.

Really?

I'd say so, bro.

No one was at the courts, dog.

Whoa.

I was there before

that shit was happening.

And like, it was what?

15 people?

Now every court, bro, yes.

LA Fitness.

Outside of the courts.

Number one, it's too cold, but when it's summer, no one's fucking out there.

They're doing whatever else.

But now everyone's playing, they're playing ball.

Dude, I got to wait an hour sometimes to get in a run in Vegas.

It's America.

It's nuts.

It's America.

That's why I love America.

Yeah.

But Canada is getting there, bro.

Like, we have NBA talents.

Like, think of who's in the league right now.

That's Canadian.

There's a good starting five, right?

Jamal Murray,

RJ Barrett,

Shah, SGA.

There's two more because I remember the candidates.

Andrew Wiggins.

Yeah, Wiggins.

Tyler Ennis was there for a bit.

AJ Lawson.

Some of these guys I grew up playing with.

Andrew Nembard for the Pacers.

And those are just like smaller names.

Smaller names.

They're fucking in the league.

But the big super, even big superstars.

They're Canadian nowadays.

So it's amazing to see for the country.

Lou Dort, the OKC.

Does he play for OKC still?

He's dead.

So it's just like, it's growing, bro.

That's growing.

And you played with some of these guys, you you said?

Yeah, I grew up playing with RJ Barrett.

Wow.

Andrew Nembard and

AJ Lawson, who plays for Dallas, I believe, right now.

Yeah.

Seeing them, like, it's just so weird.

Like, I feel like it was just yesterday.

I was on the same court with them, and I'm like, these guys are good, but like, you know, I think I'm just as good.

Wow.

They're in the fucking league and they're going crazy.

It's so inspiring, bro.

And that's, I use that as motivation.

Yeah.

How nasty was RJ?

Bro, RJ was disgusting.

RJ was like a man among kids when he was young like he was doing crazy i was always trying to compete with him in the points system like always trying to get more than him but he's just a he's just a beast dude damn aj lawson was an interesting one because and andrew nembard because they kind of they really like built and worked on their game fought through everything and they made it to the league um and seeing them develop was awesome as well dudes you're right there i'd like to think so people don't understand dude they see like the entertainment and what i do and they don't understand like i hoop for real you know maybe i haven't had the opportunity to like play at D1 school or be on the best AAU team or play, you know, professionally in the best leagues.

But I think if I know, matter of fact, if I'm given those opportunities, I can perform at

those levels.

I put in enough work to do it.

I just need the opportunities.

Where do you get that work ethic from?

I'd like to say my dad for sure.

I mean, but even before my dad, it's kind of built into me.

You just, you're born with it.

But, you know, my dad's helped, you know, push it.

My host dad, who I lived with in North Carolina, I see him fucking working every day.

You know what I mean?

I'd say those two mainly, dude.

Two father figures.

Was your dad a hooper, too?

Hell no.

Yo, if you're watching this, you're not good at ball, dude.

You're not good at ball.

He's a bodybuilder.

He's fucking jacked.

He's like a life, a men's life coach.

He's super big in that.

And he's very athletic, but

he's a competitor.

So whatever sport it was that I chose, track and field, state champion, he helped me get there.

Damn, you were state champion?

Yeah, in North Carolina.

400 meter, 200 meter, 100 meter.

Let's go, bro.

I ran the 400.

What was your time?

It was ass compared to you.

No, my main event was 800.

Okay.

My 400 was 54.

That's not bad.

It's not bad, bad.

You probably ran 400.

I got into 49s when I was like 16 or 17.

So I was, yeah, I got like North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Yale,

UNCW, Brown.

Those were the interests I had to run at.

So that would have been cool, but I'm not trying to be a runner.

Yeah, it's not cool.

The money's not there.

The money's not there, but imagine some shorties come up to you and they're like, yo, what team are you on?

You're an athlete?

I see your gear.

You're like, yeah, I'm on the track.

When I was a runner, I got no respect because distance gets even less respect.

Distance is crazy, bro.

Like, imagine it's like, oh, like, you're a 100-meter sprinter.

Like, nah, I run distance.

Yeah, that's like the bottom of a total ball, bro.

That's bad.

I'd rather be a high jumper than distance runner.

For real.

The farther the distance, the least the respect got, bro.

It's crazy.

Like, you look at these marathon runners and like, it's awesome.

Like, I could admire that, but look at them physically.

They're like twigs.

It's like.

Yeah, bro.

I mean, like, to do what they do is unbelievable, but yeah, no, no one's trying to, I'm not trying to do that.

Yeah, no one's, no one's going to hit you up.

The shorties are going to squash you, bro.

You get distracted with the ladies?

Do I?

Yeah.

Be honest.

Do I get distracted?

No, I've been in long-term relationships for the past

six years of my life.

Okay.

Yeah.

But,

you know, in the past, it was definitely something I had to navigate.

I've noticed that building relationships with them is far more valuable than just the short-term, you know, satisfaction that you can get just hanging out with each other and you're benefiting that way.

I find like if you build, and this goes for anyone, a business relationship, a friendship, but obviously if you're asking about the females, like building a relationship with them outside of sex, it's the best thing you can possibly do.

And people often ignore that because it's like, what do you think of it?

It's like, oh, boy and a girl.

Okay.

You know what happens.

Yeah.

No, like men and women are the exact same.

Like, you know what I mean?

That, that's what I believe.

And from a business standpoint, I've learned a lot from girls in that aspect creativity wise you know artist wise all that stuff i i try to learn from them just as much as i would um a business owner or something else yeah that's respect yeah i've been in the relationship for seven years there you go and she's helped me a lot dude yeah dude they're they're amazing in my opinion i don't like it's just the same thing as a friend if you're not best friends with that lady or whoever your partner is, then it's, what is it?

Yeah.

If all you're gaining from is sex, like there's nothing, I don't know.

Yeah, sex doesn't even rank top two for me.

No, dude.

You have to respect them on a massive level.

And thankfully, I've met people most of the time, most girls, have helped uplift me in my projects, been excited about them, given me some of the greatest ideas, supported me through that.

So yeah.

Yeah, they're great for support, especially emotionally, because as men, sometimes we don't know how to control emotions.

Yeah, no, we don't.

100%.

It's definitely nice to have someone to come home to and be like, yeah, you fucked up.

You didn't do what you were supposed to do.

And at least they're still there.

Obviously, you're still going to work, but the comfort is nice sometimes.

Yeah, that's for sure.

But distractions, sometimes, bro.

I used to get distracted a lot.

Now I'm more locked in.

With what?

With girls.

Oh, with girls.

Okay.

I thought you meant other things.

Other things?

Drugs, alcohol, partying.

Nah, dude.

I like, I know how to have fun, but I have a strict schedule.

Like, if X, Y, Z is not getting done, 300 makes a day.

That's my Bible.

300 shots a day.

Basketball training every day.

Working out two times a week.

I went from five down to two.

I've seen more results.

Really?

Yeah.

I've been preaching that.

But if those things aren't getting done, then I'm not going to fucking party.

I'm not going to party.

Damn.

300 shots a day.

300 makes.

300 makes.

300 makes.

You're Rudy Gobero here.

Or no, that wasn't Rudy.

That was Carl Anthony Talents with that shit.

I think he said he made a thousand days on them.

Did you see that?

Some of these guys be capping, though.

Like, come on, bro.

Come on.

I try to follow Steph when it comes to shooting.

But like I said, like, no distractions in terms of partying and going out.

I do know how to experience things and have fun, but if things aren't getting crossed off the list, not happening.

I feel that.

It's useless.

You need that, though, because there's a lot of distractions as you level up.

Yeah, I've noticed that.

I mean, when I first started to like blow up per se, like it was distractions out the wazoo.

Everything was just...

going crazy.

I was like, whoa, this, whoa, that.

Oh, my God.

That.

I was just like, right.

Some people get lost in that.

You can easily, but for me, it's, I've always been disciplined.

So I've always been able to somewhat manage it.

Got a little bit loose when I was in LA.

LA does that to you yeah sometimes you know Miami this and that but I like to say I'm locked nice you were in Vegas before was there some beef I heard about yeah

Las Vegas is crazy dude last time I was here I was so I went with my friends and

Balla's life was there at the same time coincidentally I was super tight with balla's life we're going everywhere together with Kenny Dobbs while he was there and They were like, he'll pull up to this run, he'll go crazy.

I was not, let's just say I was not fit to run in that specific hour.

I was having fun in Las Vegas.

Okay.

I went and I did not perform well at all.

I wouldn't say there was beef, but they were like blocking my shit, getting in my face.

They were like, the shit you're doing on the internet, it's not happening here.

It's not happening in Las Vegas, like rubbing my head, dropping me, even getting buckets.

It's not fucking happening.

And they basically, yeah, they humbled the fuck out of me.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So I wouldn't say it was like a beef necessarily, but.

They definitely like ran the show.

So that's why I'm here now to get my review.

Oh, are they coming back tonight?

Everyone's Everyone's coming back.

I've promoted the shit out of it because I just want to like, number one, I want good hoops.

And here it was the only place I've never like done it and had any highlights, any success.

Okay.

So that's why partly I'm here.

Obviously, it's Vegas.

I'm going to have fun.

The main reason why I'm here is to do the pod with you.

But I was like, why not?

Like you connected me with ball dogs.

Hell yeah.

Let's go.

Let's do a revenge tour, huh?

Yeah, a little revenge tour.

It starts now.

We got Vegas.

I'm going to hit LA for four days and then we're going to Brazil.

Let's go.

Yeah.

What are you doing in LA?

Same kind of shit, dude.

Hezzy God collab.

I'll do a Hezzy God.

I'm going to do a Dev in the Lab, Hezzy God.

There's a platform off the dribble.

It's kind of like

Next Chapter with Friga.

They're doing like a one-on-one kind of thing.

So I'll be playing in that most likely.

Honestly, bro, yes, it's content.

It's mainly just to like make videos, show people what I'm up to, have fun with doing it, and prepare for a professional career.

Let's go.

I have to play the best of the best.

I'm done playing scrubs.

I mean, a lot of the people I play aren't scrubs, but if you know you see the videos sometimes they are scrubs

so i have to i have to start locking in like i told them best people come to vegas today atlas we're there let's go yeah it's gonna be it's gonna be badass yeah i like devin the lab's new content the devil series yeah devin the lab is like the og genius anything he says you should follow in my opinion like that guy's been here forever if you think about it i've been following him since i was like what 12 13 maybe so just being able to just like go to his gym now it's like so cool have you trained with him before Yeah, I have.

I've done a little training session.

I did some like king of the court 1v1s with him, Hezi, and a few other guys.

Who won?

I don't know, bro.

I don't know what the king of the court happened.

I think it was a mixture of like me winning, Hezzy winning.

It was just like, it wasn't ones.

It was just like, yeah, king of the court.

Yeah, yeah.

So it was kind of just whoever's hot that day.

Yeah.

And I didn't really have that edge to win when I was here.

Like I was just doing content and enjoying it.

But now it's like, whenever I step on the court, I have to win or at least compete as best I can to train for the ultimate goal.

You got a different mindset now.

100%, dude.

100%.

Because there is a max goal I want to achieve.

And going there, I'm going to make it the most exciting thing as like 360 dunks, dunking on people, windmill dunks on people, dropping people, fixing my shot, like defending the shit out of people, everything I can possibly do to get to that main goal.

I love it.

Have you always had that nasty vertical leap?

No, I built it myself.

I built it.

Yeah, dude.

I was like, what, 15, 16, 17, like going up for dunks, not making anything.

I trained.

I built a program, which I have, Air Vert,

which we've helped thousands of people now start dunking.

I did that, started dunking.

But even after I started dunking from the program, like not in-game, I would go in games that I'd missed dunks.

You know how embarrassing that is, dude?

Fast break dunk, game on the line, and I miss it.

Like, so then it's like a technique thing.

So I've mastered the technique.

I mastered the workouts that go into it.

And that's pretty much how I built it.

Self-speaking.

Yeah, 6'2.

That's that's not common for people to dunk at the height.

There's some, yeah, no, it's not.

With social media, you see everyone dunking at that height now, but like there's a select few that can do it, right?

And they either work for it or it's genetics.

For me, it's not genetics.

Have you measured your burt?

No, I mean, a long time ago I did, but I can't, I couldn't give you an exact answer.

I want to say it's in the 45 plus.

I'm for sure.

It's in the 45 plus, whether it's 48 or 49, 46, I don't know, but somewhere there.

That's so insane.

It's pretty good, bro.

It's pretty good.

If I can windmill, 360 windmill, East Bay, 360 through the legs everything like i'm i'm there yeah it's filthy so you're just work ethic because you were running 49 second 400s 49 seconds at like 16 maybe and was that genetic or work ethic that was the same training program that i was on oh really like my dad's a bodybuilder right so and he's a sports coach so he knows how to train these people and i basically learned everything from him wow he you know implemented this blueprint since a young age um i followed it Jumping wasn't necessarily a part of it, so we had to modify it, but the sprinting was there, bro.

Always been fast because of that.

I started training when I was like 10, dog.

Holy crap!

Yeah, dude.

They say that stunts your growth, bro.

No, he did stuff that wasn't with weights and stuff like that.

As long as we weren't like crushing our spine with squats, then I'd say it was chill.

Yeah.

But I saw this guy as a bodybuilder at like 40 years old.

I'm like, I want to be like that.

I don't want to be like other fat dads.

Like,

I don't know.

I respect my daddy's jacked.

So teach me what you're doing.

And then I implemented it.

I love it.

Your kids are going to be animals.

Yeah,

I got to find the right girl to give me those, those like connect those genes yeah they do that in china that's how they make yao ming

we gotta manufacture these yeah my kids that's not far away dude you can actually edit genes easy so i'd like to get a 6'7

shooter basketball player can dunk great iq that's kind of what i'm thinking so i gotta find the right girl for you need all that these days to make the league yeah i want my kid to go league yeah i want it to be yeah that'd be good like before you could just be a freak athlete like nate robinson to make the league or i can get like or i can just go league myself and then just like get my kid in the league through that.

Ooh, like some LeBron shit.

I mean, I didn't say anything.

I'm rooting for Bronny, though, to be honest.

I want him to succeed.

Oh, yeah, dude.

I'd like the fact that you saw him get on the court when he first checked in and when you made his first bucket.

Like imagine how LeBron feels.

Yeah.

That's probably like the craziest feeling as a dad and what he's like.

accomplished unbelievable so i am rooting for him and i would love to be in his position you know after our talk already like all odds stacked against you chip on your shoulder.

I would love to be him right now.

And I really am wishing the best for him.

Absolutely.

Does that hate ever get to you?

Because you get them on every video, right?

I love it, bro.

Like I said, you either, you said it, polarizing.

You either love me or you hate me.

And choose one side and stick with it.

And if you want to change, I'm here to welcome you with open arms, bro.

If you want to join the Discord, I do weekly calls with people.

A lot of my clients for Air Vert have become friends of mine.

So I'm a really nice guy off the court, bro.

I really just, like, I love building relationships with people, learning about people, learning about their culture, where they came from, their story.

So if you're a hater watching this right now, try to like rock with me for a little bit and understand my story, and then we can, we can go from there.

That's dope.

I didn't know you had a Discord.

Yeah, I have a Discord.

We have 12,000 something members.

Holy crap.

It's not bad.

That's for the airvert stuff?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's for our program.

Well done.

It's good, dude.

Yeah, it's fun.

You probably helped people dunk then.

I've helped thousands of people dunk worldwide.

Yeah, we've probably almost hit every country now.

Let's go.

Yeah.

Yeah, there's a lot of countries that are emerging right now.

Yeah.

Hell yeah.

I know some of the talent we see, like some of these kids, it's so cool.

They just like message you randomly from like burner accounts and then like they'll send you a video and they're like a 6-6 prospect.

I'm like, yo, you're tough.

Like you should play somewhere.

You know what I mean?

And they're dunking and shit like that in a few weeks from the program.

So it's legit.

I love it, man.

Well, shit.

Where can people keep up with you, find you, and

learn from you?

Me?

Message me, bro.

I'm like, like I said, I'm an open book.

If you want to DM me, you can DM me.

If you're talking about airing me out, probably won't answer you.

Probably won't.

But if you want to message me, you can message me there.

You can message me on Team Air Vert on Instagram.

And yeah, I answer all my DMs.

We have a 24/7 DM service on Air Vert.

So we're just answering people all the time.

Let's go.

Well, I'll see you tonight, man.

It's gonna be fun.

We gotta go crazy.

It was a pleasure.

Thank you for having me.

Yes, sir.

Peace, guys.

Appreciate you.