Latest / Tribe and Tribulations With Julia Makowsky / Building Legacy Over Likes: Authenticity, Ambition, and Jewish Identity Online

Transcript

Building Legacy Over Likes: Authenticity, Ambition, and Jewish Identity Online · Tribe and Tribulations With Julia Makowsky

0:00
Thank you.
0:32
welcome today's a little different than we normally go we're having men in the studio
0:39
and young men not not your average entrepreneurs but hustlers digital hustlers that you guys are
0:48
using social media to get a leg up and i have to say i'm really impressed uh you guys have both
0:56
popped up on my screen all the time and we have no one in common, I don't think.
1:01
I mean, besides
1:03
for age and gender and all the things, honestly, you're building an app, you're doing comedy,
1:10
it normally wouldn't pop up.
1:12
But you guys are using social media to your advantage and I love it.
1:17
Tell me a little bit about what you guys are doing online and how you are leveraging it to
1:23
build businesses?
1:25
For sure.
1:25
I'll start.
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I mean, I'm building a company for real estate.
1:30
Before
1:30
that, I wasn't doing that.
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So thankfully, I built a smaller audience before I even started building
1:35
the app, which has helped me open up doors with real estate professionals that I probably never
1:40
would have been able to get in the room with because I only had been in real estate for
1:44
two years prior.
1:46
So utilizing that and then now I'm utilizing social media, Instagram, TikTok to
1:51
grow my presence, get in the door, and hopefully get deals for my company.
1:55
Okay.
1:56
What is the company?
1:57
The company is VerifyID.
1:58
So the idea is to streamline the leasing process for real estate
2:02
by allowing documents to be securely stored and sent and actually verifying that information so
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you know it's legit.
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Okay.
2:08
Amazing.
2:09
That really makes things faster.
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That's the idea.
2:12
Faster, more efficient, and preventing fraud.
2:14
Okay.
2:15
Amazing.
2:15
What are you doing online?
2:17
I am just showing the world who I am, just being real with people.
2:21
I think it's very important in life to just branch out and meet new people.
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Since I started posting content, just gained a ton of connections, people that I never
2:30
would have thought.
2:31
I never thought I'd be here and I'm here.
2:33
So just keep posting and just keep meeting new people and just making connections online.
2:38
Okay.
2:39
I'll be honest with you.
2:41
when I started posting online, you guys were in preschool.
2:46
Okay.
2:48
And when I was posting it,
2:50
there was such a stigma.
2:52
You couldn't be funny.
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You couldn't be serious.
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It was cringy to be
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online.
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Everyone judged you.
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There was never a minute where I wasn't second guessing what I was
3:01
posting because it wasn't done in the Jewish community.
3:05
It just wasn't.
3:06
And I started doing
3:07
skits online.
3:08
I started doing therapy stuff online, a little bit of everything.
3:11
Do you find
3:12
that it's still cringy to be posting?
3:16
Are you second guessing yourself?
3:17
I mean, before we got
3:18
started and something we always spoke about when we first got started kind of together at the same
3:22
time was that like, especially in our community, modern Orthodox community, it's closed off from
3:26
the outside world.
3:26
So anything you do is, you know, on a, under a microscope.
3:30
So everything
3:31
is judged overly.
3:33
So yeah, I mean, everyone around us thought it was cringy.
3:35
People still
3:36
try to make fun of us about it.
3:37
But you got to get over that fear factor
3:39
and kind of realize that
3:41
what everyone else says
3:43
really doesn't matter.
3:45
I'm on the same boat as him, same team.
3:46
Like there are definitely things that I post
3:48
and I don't want to be posting
3:50
those certain things.
3:51
But I think once you get over the hump
3:53
and you just block out the noise
3:54
and just stay focused
3:56
and stay in your own lane,
3:57
I think that I just don't care
4:00
about what people think.
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And that's honestly what I'm trying to show people.
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Just stop caring about what people think
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and others are saying.
4:05
I hear that.
4:06
But we also live in the world that's judgmental and we like the hawk.
4:11
I mean, like, let's be real.
4:13
He loves the hawk.
4:14
Okay.
4:15
Like we like it.
4:16
We like a little bit of Yenta action.
4:19
Correct.
4:19
So the more you post online, the more you're opening yourself up to scrutiny.
4:23
Right.
4:24
But you guys are building something.
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What is the goal you're building?
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You're going out there doing these sketches, running like social media platforms for other people.
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So you have to have a goal in mind.
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What's the goal?
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My personal goal is hopefully to transition into golf, as I said, but more just to like join something bigger than what I'm doing rather than working a nine to five every single day for something I wouldn't want to be doing.
4:52
going into a section where like I look up to people that are in barstool.
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I look up to people
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who are in Bob Doe's sorts and like they built something from the bottom and people that it's
5:01
not really normal back then.
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But nowadays it's becoming the norm of just like Instagram and
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golf and just going online and speaking.
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So hopefully joining something bigger than what I am
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if I'm not creating my own thing.
5:13
You guys are from a little bit of a different generation than
5:15
I am not not a lot but a little different when did you guys start realizing that your phone
5:23
could literally lead you to making money it's a good question powerful yeah I mean I remember
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downloading Instagram in like sixth grade when I was like 11 or 12 it was crazy um I didn't really
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start using it until I was in 10th grade for business purposes we're gonna get in trouble
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from your yeshivas exactly we couldn't use it for Instagram for other reasons um in 10th grade I
5:45
actually started reselling sneakers and I used Instagram to sell it.
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So that was when I saw the
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power of it.
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And then during COVID, when I was in 12th grade, I started buying these e-commerce
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courses to do dropshipping and was able to make money there.
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So from there, I saw it was powerful,
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but not until last year when I realized, and I actually closed real estate deals through social
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media that I said, okay, I can make more than just a couple hundred bucks from social media.
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What about you?
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When did you decide that, forget this, I might be cringy online.
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I might be posting
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things that other people don't like but I know it's going to get me somewhere I always knew
6:18
because I would always see influencers and content creators promoting things and just being sponsored
6:22
but I never really thought I'd be the one doing like food reviews for other restaurants getting
6:28
paid to do that um when would I have realized that probably after I started working like I was
6:37
working a job and then I just wasn't so happy and comfortable there and I was like I think I'm gonna
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start doing social media.
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People were telling me to do it my whole life.
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So I just took the leap
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and did it.
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Okay.
6:47
I'll be honest with you.
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You guys are males in a female dominated platform.
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If I'm being honest with you, mommy bloggers are marketing geniuses.
6:59
Let's be honest.
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They created
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Instagram to what it is today.
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Okay.
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You guys are men and it's not so masculine to be dancing
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around on you know instagram is it screwing you up in the dating realm or helping you um
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i haven't really started dating but i mean it has a pro you're in the modern world like i'm not
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talking about dating for shazooki i'm talking about like who's hitting you up in the dm yeah um
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i remember when kayla if you're not watching this on youtube you should know they're very
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much blushing because i remember when caleb showed me we met up in january and he's like
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i just started getting all these dms yeah i was like yo are you getting these
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oh my god by the way it's a great way it's a great way to meet people yeah 100 i set people
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up all the time and like if you can shoot your shot and not be a lame loser yeah like go for it
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you have access to hundreds of thousands of people online millions why that you never had
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access to you can talk to celebrities online you can talk to anybody so when it comes to dating i
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always say to people go do like just put yourself out there also like you could see a girl's
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personality online you can see her style if it matches your vibe don't be lame do the right thing
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for sure okay so has it given girls the ick watching you guys online probably a mix i would
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say some of them that kind of are more attracted to it and some that are like okay i don't want
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somebody who's doing that stuff online.
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I'm not into that.
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I prefer to be behind the scenes or
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I don't want people to know about my life.
8:40
So I've seen a solid mix about it.
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I'd say the same thing.
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Like there are definitely girls that probably would have been interested in
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me before I was posting content.
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And then when I started posting content, a lot of those girls
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that let's say would have gone out with me probably were like, no, but the girls that do
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want to go out with me now wouldn't have wanted to go out with me before because they didn't know
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me.
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And they also probably liked that I post content, but I think it's like, there's good
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and there's bad.
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But if there's a girl that doesn't want to be with me
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because I'm posting content,
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then that's just like not my wife.
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Agreed.
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Because that's what I want to be doing.
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I'm not going to change myself for anyone.
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Okay.
9:13
Well said.
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Thanks, bro.
9:17
If there is a yeshiva guy, okay,
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he has a great idea for a business,
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but he is so uncomfortable with the idea of coming online,
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what would you suggest for him?
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Because if we're being honest,
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this is the new era.
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If you want to sell yourself or sell a business or build a brand, you need to
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use social media or you're falling behind.
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Like we're not in the stone ages.
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What would you say
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to somebody like that?
9:41
Well, I always quote Gary Vee and he says personal brand is everything right
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now.
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If you're building a company, you got to build a personal brand first because people are
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going to buy from you.
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And if they like you, then they'll buy from where your company sells.
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So I
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would say free, it's free marketing.
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So if you're building a company, I'm bootstrapping a company
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right now.
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I don't have unlimited money to spend on marketing ads for my company, but I could
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utilize social media as a free way to make videos and post content that get people to know about it.
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So it's a no brainer if you're trying to build a company.
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Kind of agree.
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But for more yeshiva
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people aspect of it, I would probably say have someone else do it for you.
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Someone that's
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experienced, someone that's known.
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I feel like a lot of the yeshiva world aren't so familiar with
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the niches and what's going on on social media.
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But I think just take the leap and go for it,
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honestly.
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So I am going to push back a little bit on what you just said, because we see Hasidic men
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are in here all the time.
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Moshe Wigder, I did him last week.
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Right.
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Legend.
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But beyond him,
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there are Hasidic podcasts.
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There are people in every walk of life now really looking out and
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going, holy crap, this is, if you want a business, this is where you have to be.
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And I think that
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that is a totally new shift so i don't want to put people in a box necessarily and say like i
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would have somebody else do it for you i would say get your butt up and yeah i thought you were
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asking more on the sense of like if they don't want to have instagram because the thing's online
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and just all that type of stuff i'm gonna say something very racy right now they all have it
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anyway yeah okay there we go whether whether we we have a tag filter or a flip phone they're
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looking at whatever the is online you just have to be honest about it for sure so you might as
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well just do it anyways what you're saying you might as well build a business from it why why
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are we why are you hiding behind your burner account exactly so many burners oh my god
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so many burners what's the most unhinged thing someone has ever dm'd you i'm not
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okay yeah we're not gonna say 13 version of most unhinged thing
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you go first i'll go first how about that my husband and i well i got the dm but he responded
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because i thought it was more exciting they always want pictures of my feet
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your feet always they always want pictures of the feet i don't know what never understood those
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people i don't get it i don't have to feed the big fetish the big foot fetish hello there's
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feet finder so i guess people are into it that's crazy okay but he responded and that was fun what
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do you say you know he likes to like pull a little bit of craziness out he likes to have fun
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you know we don't just like let things go it can't be boring might as well okay let's go
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i want to say something but i'm so scared to cross a line you know i'm saying too much of a line my
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kids are in yeshiva yeah but and like my sister's going to seminary next year and like i don't want
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to you know okay so don't so think for a second yeah let's go to you unhinged i haven't had
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anything like too unhinged like my my biggest platform is linkedin so like it's relatively
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professional there i would say um i mean just a guy who asked me for a job like every single day
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or a girl who like DMs me like every three hours to date her.
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By the way, consistency is key.
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Yeah.
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Look, you say it all the time online.
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I follow you on Instagram and I like your posts,
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which most people should start doing is if you see something.
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Like and comment.
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Like and comment and subscribe.
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Come on, it's easy.
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It's free.
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Exactly.
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Okay.
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And you give somebody an ego boost.
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But you always say like, I'm going to work harder.
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And these people are working hard.
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Yeah.
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By the way, I would hire that guy.
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I respect him yeah but I've been telling him if you want a job like come to the city and then
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meet with me or get on the phone and then he goes me and then he reaches that again a week later
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so there's follow-through yeah exactly okay I would say I had some out of pocket dms that were
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not going to display publicly but I'd say the most like unhinged out-of-pocket thing was someone
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dming me also like consistently swiping up liking comment all my posts and after like two months I
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found out that the person's name wasn't even a real person and it was like a guy and i was like
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oh that's like the weirdest thing ever i mean yeah and i'm like who are you like you're my
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biggest fan after like two months and like they finally like told me and i was like yeah like
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fine god like what like people just hide behind the camera and it's honestly like so crazy it's
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so crazy people will do that but you know what it's flattering he liked you yeah and he went to
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All sorts of efforts to get in touch.
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It is what it is.
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I can appreciate that.
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Okay.
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I can appreciate that.
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At what point does wanting to build a legacy and wanting respect outweigh the need for
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attention?
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Because I think there's a balance here where as much as we say, like, we're building businesses
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and we're creating this, like, we like the likes and follows.
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Of course.
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Okay.
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That's normal and natural behavior.
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I think a lot of people want to lie to themselves and say, no, I don't care.
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Of course I care.
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How much of your value is based on numbers at this point?
15:11
Such a good question.
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Well, I mean, I think one thing about people that say they don't care is because they don't
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want to be judged when they don't get a lot of likes.
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And then it's a reason, oh, I don't actually care about it.
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You're just not getting any likes.
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That's a good question.
15:25
the more that I've gotten into social media, it kind of sucks you into that like negative desire
15:31
of it.
15:32
But I try to keep my focus on building a legacy with building a company and actually making
15:38
a positive impact on the world and then building for my future family.
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But yeah, social media sucks
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you in and gets you the desires of the likes and the fame and the attention.
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So I obsess over it.
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If I'm being brutally honest, the likes, the comments, the shares, the saves, everything.
15:50
But like, honestly, I just look at those videos and I see which ones do well and which ones don't.
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And that's why I obsess over it because I want to do better and give people what they want.
15:59
What content do you guys each think hits the hardest?
16:03
Like you're getting the most follows, you're getting the most views from it.
16:07
For me right now, I'll answer that.
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I think it's the Jewish humor, honestly, just because I'm looking at a lot of Jewish, like Dovi Neuberger, for example.
16:16
He's very tapped into like Jewish trends and all that.
16:18
But I don't think you see, like, for example, Gabe's trying to build a business.
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me in the sense is like i'm doing like jewish humor but in a modern orthodox way and the things
16:27
that i'm saying and doing i don't think anyone's doing and i think that's why people are following
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me from those videos it's because i'm just being real and i'll be like not down to hit my heart
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right now but i'm gonna do it like everyone's like yo why doesn't this kid go to marv every
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single day i'm like i'm my own person some days i go some days i don't and i don't know just
16:45
modern orthodox jewish humor i think we don't see a lot of that on the internet yeah i mean i think
16:50
i think the jewish content does pretty well especially because there's so much hate out
16:53
there for it so it gets its positive attention it probably gets probably five times as much
16:59
negative attention which still boosts your views um bad pr is still pr yeah that's what they say
17:05
right any any marketing is good marketing so rather than talk than not talk at all
17:10
i hear sometimes it's better to stay quiet i will say depends yeah depends what you say
17:16
depends on what's coming out of your mouth for sure.
17:17
Yeah.
17:18
But you're not necessarily doing Jewish content.
17:20
I don't do that, yeah.
17:22
Like you're building a brand
17:23
that's supposed to be marketed towards everybody.
17:26
Do you find most of your followers to be Jewish
17:28
or is that from the community?
17:30
Do you think that being part of the community
17:33
helps build your brand?
17:35
It definitely helps,
17:36
but it also keeps you boxed in.
17:38
So I'm happy that I branched out from it
17:40
and I've built a lot of relationships
17:41
with people that are Jewish,
17:43
but not in the community
17:44
or people that aren't even Jewish but are big in the real estate world.
17:47
So it's a mix, but I think I try to wear my kibbeh with everything I do.
17:50
I'm going to represent being a Jewish entrepreneur.
17:53
But I think a lot of the content I do around other celebrities
17:57
kind of boosts your algorithm too.
18:00
So you think that the celebrity hook for you is what gets you the views?
18:05
Yeah, I mean, especially with my street interviews,
18:07
if you're going to interview a random guy on the street,
18:09
it's not going to do as well as if you interview an NFL player.
18:12
So that's just the reality.
18:14
That's when you popped.
18:15
Yeah.
18:16
That's when I went crazy, yeah.
18:17
When I went to the Super Bowl.
18:19
Okay.
18:20
So those of you that don't follow Gabe, Gabe actually took a flight to the Super Bowl and started interviewing people in hotels and all over, like really hustling, which I can admire.
18:30
And that took a lot of bravery.
18:33
It was tough.
18:34
Yeah.
18:34
I was really nervous, especially when I landed there.
18:37
And I was trying to like for three months to get a media pass so I could get into the room where all the people were.
18:42
Couldn't get one.
18:43
Landed on Tuesday and was asking around where everyone was at.
18:47
And they said they're staying at the Hyatt Hotel.
18:49
You're staying at the Hyatt?
18:50
It was the Hyatt Regency.
18:52
The NFL players were staying at the Hyatt Regency?
18:56
Yeah, that's where they put them up too.
18:57
NFL put them up at the Hyatt Regency.
19:00
And I walked in and they're all just chilling in the lobby.
19:03
It's better than a Courtyard Marriott, I guess, but still.
19:06
Yeah, it was actually pretty nice.
19:08
But the whole NFL was staying there.
19:10
So we just pulled up and just started walking up to NFL players, which was pretty nerve
19:14
wracking.
19:15
And some of them I totally flopped and like just choked in the moment where like you pull
19:19
up to like a six foot seven, like NFL, you know, big guy.
19:23
You kind of just choke under pressure.
19:25
Like, oh crap, forgot what I was going to say.
19:26
I know, but I kind of want to see the bloopers.
19:28
Like that is where the old mine is, I think.
19:31
Yeah.
19:31
I posted a couple of ones where like I got rejected.
19:33
I did pretty well too.
19:34
Okay, exactly.
19:35
You gotta, you know, you gotta find that balance.
19:38
Okay, so you find that your Jewish content goes much harder than when you're trying something else.
19:44
How do you not stay boxed in if you are focused primarily on the Jewish world?
19:49
So I wouldn't say I'm primarily focused on it.
19:51
I'd say right now it is hitting and also one transition, big transition that I do want to make, something that makes me who I am is golf.
19:59
And I just haven't been able to branch out and play golf because of where I live.
20:03
but hopefully once Passover comes around and summer,
20:07
that's all I'm going to be doing and trying to play and link up with big
20:11
golfers.
20:12
Cause I think golf is a very big thing nowadays.
20:15
And there's not a lot of golfers online that are posting personality also
20:21
rather than just like,
20:21
they're just hitting the ball.
20:23
And I don't think a lot of people care about that.
20:24
So what I'm trying to do is build up myself so that my followers know the
20:29
kids swinging the club.
20:31
You don't think that already exists?
20:33
It does, but I wouldn't say as much.
20:36
For example, there's this guy I look up to.
20:38
His name is Big
20:39
John Golf.
20:40
Bob does sports.
20:41
Great guys, great personalities, but I don't think a lot of people
20:44
are posting personality videos on the golf course.
20:50
Not on the golf course, just eating or talking or
20:53
doing reaction video.
20:54
I feel like a lot of their content is just based around golf.
20:57
Right.
20:57
Okay.
20:58
So on TikTok, there happens to be the cart girl.
21:00
I don't know if you guys follow her.
21:03
I hate golf.
21:05
I'm not a golfer either, but I like good content.
21:07
Golf is life.
21:08
And honestly, her content is amazing.
21:11
It's basically her serving the drinks to all the men.
21:14
Yeah.
21:14
And I have to tell you.
21:16
Free money.
21:18
Yeah.
21:18
I miss my calling.
21:20
I really feel like I miss my calling.
21:22
But I think that you should go for it.
21:25
Try it.
21:25
Thank you.
21:26
And also, by the way, don't lie.
21:27
You live near a golf course.
21:29
You live near multiple golf courses.
21:31
Correct.
21:31
But it's cold.
21:33
It's been cold, but now it's getting hotter, so hopefully we'll see what happens.
21:36
You've been awesome.
21:37
Yeah, why can't you play golf in the cold?
21:39
No golf courses are open in New York in the winter.
21:42
You've got to hit a goose.
21:43
Or the simulator.
21:45
There is a simulator.
21:46
We play a lot of simulators.
21:48
Okay.
21:49
Who do you admire the most that you've seen online?
21:52
That you are kind of, I wouldn't say copying, but emulating when you're putting stuff out there.
22:01
Gary Vaynerchuk.
22:02
There we go.
22:02
A hundred percent.
22:03
He's a goat.
22:04
That's it.
22:06
Okay.
22:06
Bob does sports.
22:07
Bob does sports.
22:08
He's my idol.
22:09
Look up to him.
22:10
Met him a couple times.
22:11
Sick guy and just love what he does and what he's about.
22:14
And yeah.
22:17
Robbie Burger.
22:18
That's his name.
22:19
His real name.
22:20
His real name is Robbie Burger.
22:22
Do you think that all of the content you are doing aligns with who you are as a Jew?
22:31
or do you think that sometimes you have that push and pull of I want to post something
22:38
but I also have community standards what do you do it's such a good question I have my parents
22:46
and my sister's approval a lot of times they'll say no but I'll be like I need to post it um but
22:52
it's definitely tough because we live in that hawk community where whatever you post people are
22:57
sending around people are talking about but i think it's just about ripping the band-aid off
23:01
and just you really have to not care and i honestly still do care and that's why i've held
23:05
back from posting certain things but i think the most important thing is just ripping the band-aid
23:10
off and not caring i mean it's not caring but then you have to have obviously certain boundaries
23:14
that you're going to push like i'm still jewish i try to observe as much as i can i'm not like
23:19
an ultra orthodox person but i do keep shabbat and kosher and like there's certain boundaries
23:23
that like I won't go to an event on Shabbat
23:25
even though it's a huge event
23:27
that I can get content at,
23:28
but you just can't go.
23:30
And there's certain things you still can't do
23:32
and you just got to trust that God will,
23:34
you know, give you something else for it.
23:36
Yeah, I think that it's,
23:38
you guys are single still.
23:40
So you don't have the wife or the children
23:45
that you have to remember
23:47
are part of your package.
23:51
Because what you say online,
23:54
and what you put out in the world stays forever now.
23:57
And I think it's a learning curve for a lot of people.
24:01
I know it was a learning curve for me.
24:05
Can you tell us about that?
24:06
Sure, I can tell you about that,
24:07
except that I'm going to get in trouble.
24:12
I decided to go on to a podcast.
24:14
Most of you will probably remember.
24:17
And I spoke from a therapeutic perspective
24:23
but also with humor, which is my brand basically.
24:27
And I got backlash.
24:29
I got backlash,
24:30
not necessarily from the audience, but from real ramifications within my own ecosystem.
24:37
And sometimes you have to remember that you are part of a bigger picture and it's really hard
24:44
to find that balance.
24:45
And I think actually a lot of people on social media are struggling with that
24:49
where I know that I'm struggling finding my voice even on here, where it's like,
24:55
do I want to be super serious?
24:56
Do I want to be silly?
24:58
Who do I want to be?
24:59
Because I'm not the
25:01
same way on a couch across from my clients as I am dancing on Instagram.
25:10
So we're all multifaceted.
25:13
right?
25:13
As people, we come with so many layers.
25:16
And I think that this, that's what this podcast is,
25:19
is that people need to realize that you can be serious in one instance and in the next instance,
25:24
you can be a completely unhinged or fun person.
25:31
And we're part of a, we're, we're not,
25:39
we're not just what people see online true and i think that is the hardest part is that i think
25:48
a lot of people look at you online and probably think okay well you're just funny and you're just
25:54
business and you're just crazy but i think that that's part of it what do you want people to know
26:03
about you.
26:04
That's not necessarily what's online.
26:07
Yeah, I think it's such a common misconception,
26:09
especially since I've been starting to do these like street interviews and going outside and
26:13
doing content like that people wouldn't walk up to random strangers and do and people like,
26:17
oh, like you're just gifted that like, you're naturally, you know, fearless, and you don't
26:21
care what people think.
26:22
And you're cool with walking up to strangers.
26:23
And that's not who I
26:25
actually am.
26:25
I do prefer to be with a couple friends or family and like, hang out in private
26:30
behind the camera um but you could push a different persona online if you need to do it if you want to
26:36
grow a company if you have goals and desires so like you're not just that one person from a one
26:40
from one video you posted and it's okay to be normal too i'm gonna set it better myself honestly
26:47
like i post reaction videos and i'll make fun of certain influencers and i don't want people to
26:52
view me and be like this kid's so mean like why is he making fun of another person but like yeah i
26:58
I don't want people to think that,
26:59
but you gotta do what you gotta do.
27:01
And yeah, like Gabe said,
27:03
there are certain times where I would just rather be,
27:05
hanging out with my friends, be on the camera,
27:06
hanging out with my family.
27:08
But on the same spectrum of it,
27:11
I do post a lot of real life stuff.
27:14
And I'll video my mom and they'll be like,
27:17
why are you videoing me?
27:18
But I think that's what people love,
27:19
that I'm just real and authentic.
27:20
And I don't think we see a lot of that
27:22
on the internet these days.
27:23
I think the words you just used are serious buzzwords.
27:28
Okay.
27:29
Real and authentic.
27:30
I'm not going to lie.
27:31
I have a little bit of vomit coming up because I think everyone and their mother uses that
27:38
line.
27:38
I'm real.
27:39
I'm authentic.
27:40
And to me, I'm triggered by it.
27:44
And there's another buzzword triggered.
27:47
Like what makes you real and authentic?
27:50
What makes you real and authentic versus anybody else on the internet?
27:58
I don't know honestly it's a good question I think when I'm scrolling on my reels you'll see
28:02
like six videos in a row no one's talking in the videos and it's just like words on screen
28:07
and like with me it's like I'm singing in my car I'm going to a dance class I'm doing so many
28:11
different things I'm with my family um but yeah a lot of people are real and authentic on the
28:16
internet but I think what makes me special also is that I'm trying to be like that also and not
28:21
be fake and show people who I am.
28:24
I could answer for Caleb that, I mean, it's hard for you to
28:27
explain it in words, but it's like, if you know the person off the camera and you can tell, like
28:32
when I see him posting, like the stupid things that he says, that makes no sense.
28:36
Um, and he's
28:37
saying words that like people don't understand, but it's hilarious.
28:39
It's like, he's been doing
28:40
that forever and he's now just doing it with a video in his face.
28:43
So it's like, if you have
28:44
people around you who know what you're actually like, and they could back up what you do online
28:49
and be like, yeah, that is who he is, 100%.
28:52
You can't really say it from yourself
28:54
because the more you try to say, hey, I'm real, I'm authentic,
28:56
people are going to be like, well, you're not actually probably.
28:57
If you're trying to say it.
28:58
I'm not going to lie.
28:59
It gives me the ick when somebody says it online
29:01
that I'm real and authentic.
29:03
And even when people will say it to me, I'm like, am I?
29:07
Because the person that I put out there, I'm shy in real life.
29:13
I'm alone in a room doing skits by myself, right?
29:17
like I am not on a world stage doing this except that we are we are all on a world stage and you
29:24
get hundreds of thousands of views and you go whoa what what did I just put out there yeah
29:31
because you can't take it back never when I first started actually like Gabe said like everyone who
29:37
knows me off camera knows what I'm about knows who I am knows the way I speak and like remember
29:41
when I first started speaking first started posting like two of my friends three of my
29:44
friends came out to me and they're like, yo, like this one said this about you.
29:47
This one said that
29:48
they're like, do you know this kid, Paul?
29:49
And like, is he like that in real life?
29:50
Like he's so
29:51
funny.
29:51
And like my friends are like, yeah, like he's funny, but like we don't find him as funny
29:54
because they know me.
29:55
They're with me every single day.
29:56
So they're used to it.
29:57
But the people that
29:58
get to see me on camera, they're like, oh, nice.
30:00
They also get a different viewpoint of you.
30:03
I
30:03
think I actually think it's easier to relate to somebody who you have no real life connection
30:07
with.
30:08
I actually find myself, I'm going to inward.
30:12
I have to look inward a little bit that
30:14
I find myself not able to connect as much with influencers who I know personally
30:21
than those that are six degrees away from me because it's hard to sort of compare yourself or
30:32
feel like they're authentic when really they're doing their job.
30:36
This is exactly what they're
30:37
supposed to do.
30:38
And I really need to give more benefit of the doubt to them and go, you know what?
30:43
that's good good for you you're out there you're putting yourself out there do you think in your
30:48
world in the male dominated influencer space which is not so large do you have the same
30:57
difficulty with comparing yourself to others always 100 i think comparison is one of our
31:03
biggest like destroyers like in a person is like no matter what you do you're always going to
31:09
compare yourself with somebody else,
31:11
whether it's even a fair comparison, right?
31:13
They always say like,
31:14
you're comparing your middle to somebody else's end.
31:16
And it's like, it's not fair for you to do
31:18
because everybody has a different deck of cards.
31:20
Everybody has a different situation.
31:22
And you comparing them,
31:22
whether it's comparing the amount of likes
31:24
or the amount of money or the amount of attention,
31:25
it's never fair to do,
31:27
but it's a trap that,
31:28
especially if you're in social media world as a male,
31:31
you will compare yourself to people.
31:33
Can't compare yourself to people, honestly.
31:35
That's all I have to say.
31:36
Okay, well, that's-
31:37
You said it perfectly.
31:38
I will say at 23 and 24, you have really good attitudes.
31:42
It took me till I was in my mid 30s.
31:46
I'm only 35, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.
31:48
But it took me a long time to realize everybody feels insecure.
31:54
Every single person that is around is comparing themselves to somebody else.
31:58
We can say that we are not.
32:01
And there's a little bit of fake it till you make it kind of aspect to it.
32:04
But it takes a long time to realize your worth.
32:07
And I think it took me till I was in my 30s to go, yeah, no, F you.
32:13
I know who I am.
32:14
I know what I want.
32:16
I'm building a brand.
32:18
I'm building a family.
32:19
I am part of a community and I'm proud of all those things.
32:23
So the fact that you guys at 23 and 24 are able to have a sense of self, understand a goal, and not only just want it, you're going for it.
32:36
That's a huge deal.
32:37
And you don't realize what a big deal it is.
32:40
And it's very inspirational to younger, I would say younger guys, that you don't have to be boxed in.
32:48
For sure.
32:50
so if you were to tell somebody what would be their first step if they wanted to branch out
32:59
in social media i would say first understand what you want to get out of it what's your goal what
33:06
you want to do whether it's somebody who wants to be a professional athlete or somebody who wants
33:09
to get into real estate figure out what you want to do find the people doing it and use them as
33:15
models role models to use an example for to copy what they're going to do that's probably the first
33:22
step I would say to just realize and understand before you're taking that leap that people are
33:31
going to judge you and people are going to look at you and say it's cringy but
33:36
like everyone was put into this world to do their own thing and someone's going to do one thing that
33:40
like everyone's always going to have something to say and I think you get just got to block out the
33:44
noise is the most important thing to do because I honestly wanted to do social media for a while,
33:50
very long time, but certain things held me back.
33:53
And once I got over that hump of not caring about
33:55
what people think, I think that's what led me to do it.
33:57
So I think that's the most important
33:58
thing for me.
33:59
Honestly, it's huge.
34:00
I have to tell you, it's huge.
34:02
It took me so long to be like,
34:04
okay, I'm going to start a podcast.
34:06
I'm going to put myself out there.
34:08
At least this time around,
34:11
I'm in control and I think that that's the ultimate goal you want to be in control of your
34:16
own life you don't want other people dictating to you that you can or can't do something correct
34:23
they're going to judge you anyway so you might as well post content to show people who you are
34:26
instead of them judging you based on something that they heard from a rumor exactly and I think
34:31
the the further away you get from your teen years because that is the I really feel like the hardest
34:38
time where you're in a pressure cooker of everyone judging everything and you're under a microscope
34:45
i think this is the time where you test stuff out you figure out what works what doesn't work
34:51
exactly might as well yeah people are so boring these days because they're worried about what
34:56
people are gonna say yes 100 i think about like i was in like fields drinking and we didn't have
35:04
cameras and posting stuff on social media.
35:07
Like, I slept in the back of my friend's car when my
35:10
parents thought I was somewhere else.
35:11
Like, no one was tracking us.
35:14
Like, you guys have it so
35:15
much harder, I think, and the kids have it so much harder now trying to make something of themselves
35:21
without having their past follow them.
35:23
For sure.
35:24
Because everything you do and everything you say
35:25
is around forever.
35:26
Yeah.
35:28
So what is something you want to say on here that will be around forever
35:32
that you're proud of?
35:36
Doing something that inspires others.
35:37
I think if you're doing something
35:39
that makes an impact
35:39
and I mean, thankfully,
35:40
I've had people reach out
35:41
through Instagram or LinkedIn
35:43
and I haven't accomplished anything yet.
35:45
Like I still have a long way to go,
35:47
but for people to say,
35:48
just from the fact
35:49
that you've been pushing yourself
35:50
and taking the chance
35:52
to build a company at a young age
35:54
with your kippah on,
35:55
being proud of it,
35:56
doing all that stuff together
35:58
is an inspiration for me
35:59
to do it as well.
36:00
I think that's, you know,
36:01
one of the biggest things you could do.
36:03
Do you think your Jewish identity gets tested when you are on here, when you're on a platform where the world can see what you're doing, whether for the good or for the bad?
36:17
Yes, 100%.
36:19
I took a dance class with a bunch of girls
36:21
and people were like, what's this kid doing?
36:23
He's Jewish.
36:24
But at the same time, it was like something
36:26
that I thought would be fun,
36:27
something that I thought would be good for the people to see
36:31
and just make fun of and have a good time with it.
36:33
So yeah, it definitely gets in the way.
36:35
But the only way to do that is to just not care,
36:38
as I said before, about what people think
36:39
and just do what makes you happy, do your own thing.
36:42
It's interesting because I've been on the spectrum of,
36:47
religiosity.
36:49
What does that mean?
36:51
Meaning like I came back from seminary as yeshivish as yeshivish
36:57
came.
36:57
So did I. I think most people do.
37:01
And I think I was doing a lot of things for the public
37:05
persona or to get married or to do certain things.
37:08
Thank God I found the right person and we've been
37:12
on a journey together.
37:14
But I do think that I didn't understand what connecting to God really
37:21
was until I owned who I was and that you can be yourself and still be religious.
37:29
You can run a
37:31
business and still be religious.
37:32
You can do all of these things.
37:35
Keep kosher.
37:35
You can keep Shabbos.
37:36
You mentioned before that you don't go to events on Shabbos that could build your brand more.
37:43
For sure.
37:44
The best events are always on Shabbos.
37:45
I always say that if I did not have Shabbos, I would be done.
37:50
For sure.
37:50
I would be so burnt out.
37:52
So as much as it could build your business, you're right.
37:55
I do think there's a beauty in the fact that we have God to ground us.
38:01
Putting the phone down the break is so important.
38:04
I honestly love it.
38:05
especially in social media where you're you're attached to your phone 24 7 all day it's research
38:11
all it my my kids look at me and they're like mom put it down and i'm like okay goodbye it has to go
38:18
it's it's impossible to be present and to be on the phone so the fact that we have shabbos and
38:27
i actually think it's a gift i don't i to me it doesn't hinders even though it takes away
38:35
25 hours of client time.
38:37
For sure.
38:38
It's a recharge of the batteries every week.
38:41
That's how I look at it.
38:43
Is there something
38:43
if you could change within our
38:46
community?
38:48
Oh, get ready.
38:50
If there's something you could change within the community,
38:52
what would it be?
38:55
You know what?
38:56
Let's start with Caleb.
38:58
It's a big question.
38:58
I actually want to hear what you have to say.
39:00
One thing I would change about the community?
39:06
I really got to think about this crazy question
39:09
I don't know it's okay Gabe let's hear from you I mean I would say just the pressure especially in
39:19
the modern orthodox community that you have of kids I had friends I mean and thank god like
39:24
growing up my parents never forced me to go to shul or to you know do anything specific but
39:30
I've had friends that have been dragged out of their beds on Shabbat to go to shul at 10 years old, 12 years old.
39:35
It's like that kid ends up off the derrach for a reason.
39:38
So it's like stop putting so much pressure on kids to fit in a box when every single kid and every single situation is different.
39:46
And you have to give him the opportunity to find it on his own.
39:48
Yes, don't send him to public school, but don't force him to do anything.
39:52
It's just a kid and he's trying to find himself.
39:54
So a little less pressure on kids to be religious.
39:58
okay
39:59
it's deep
40:00
I'd say like make
40:00
five towns restaurants
40:01
a little cheaper
40:02
oh really
40:03
let's talk about tuition
40:05
tuition also needs to be cheaper
40:06
wild
40:07
tuition yeah
40:08
get ready
40:09
because by the time
40:10
you guys have kids
40:11
holy
40:13
I really hope your business
40:14
goes really well
40:15
verified
40:15
download it
40:16
please yeah
40:17
please we need it
40:18
I want to have like
40:18
three or four kids
40:19
and I got to pay for them
40:21
but I do think that
40:22
there is so much beauty
40:24
within our community
40:25
I think that
40:27
we need to
40:29
stop putting people in a box.
40:30
I think that it's really hard because we have a lot of set of,
40:35
we have so many sets of rules and it's hard to follow all of them.
40:40
And everyone is a work in
40:41
progress.
40:42
So I think like losing the judgment on ourselves and on others and going,
40:48
they're doing their best.
40:49
Everyone is doing their best to figure out their.
40:54
For sure.
40:55
And I think that that really is what I want to come across when it comes to social media and raising kids and being around other people is that everyone's just trying their best.
41:10
So every time we post online, we're just trying, you know, like for sure.
41:16
And you're putting yourself out there in such a way that's so vulnerable and you expose yourself, which is.
41:25
so difficult and people don't realize because it's easy to sit behind a screen and comment
41:31
really quickly.
41:32
Very easy.
41:33
Right.
41:35
I'm sure we're all guilty of it.
41:36
We're just like,
41:37
why do they do that?
41:39
Well, they're just doing their best.
41:42
I don't know about that.
41:44
Well,
41:45
we do our best and sometimes people get ahead of themselves and they say things that they
41:50
probably shouldn't for sure there's also no ramifications for you to comment on a burner
41:57
account do you think that that takes a toll on both of your self-esteems it honestly just
42:04
boosts my ego and my confidence when i'm posting my whole life out there my name my picture
42:10
everything about my life and there are people like no disrespect to anyone obviously do your thing but
42:16
people are hiding and scared that their name's going to pop up that they liked or commented on
42:21
a video when me and Gabe are out there and you just posting everything and we're just not scared
42:27
about what people think and I think that that's honestly it's just it's like it's kind of sad
42:33
to be brutally honest I hate to say it I think and I used to be that person so I get it you were a
42:40
troll I was like the person hiding behind the camera I was the kid without the profile picture
42:45
you're on Instagram.
42:45
Like I get it's like people might not date you if they see you on Instagram
42:49
or if you like Kayla Pollan's video or comment to my video they'll be like oh like that's someone
42:54
might look at that and judge you but I think the most important thing is to just not care about
42:58
how people think and just be true to who you are.
43:00
I think that that is a really great thing but I
43:04
also think that that is I'm gonna say something that's a very gender specific thing to feel
43:13
because females do not – we are totally uncomfortable
43:19
and it's easy to say that as a man, I think.
43:23
As a female, I am totally uncomfortable.
43:26
Yeah, females definitely take more judgment also than males.
43:29
Also, we take things in so drastically.
43:35
We're emotional.
43:36
And I think that when somebody hides behind something online
43:40
and says something to you and you're like,
43:43
it's jarring.
43:45
I can't move on the way you just described like that.
43:48
Yeah.
43:48
I mean, I think it depends how personal the comment is.
43:52
Like when people comment like
43:53
big Yahoo or like, you know, plus $7,000 on my posts, like, okay, you're doing that to every
43:57
single person that's Jewish.
43:58
It's not personal.
44:00
Somebody takes a personal attack on you or on
44:02
your family, like that hits a little harder.
44:05
So I think you bring up a very good point here
44:08
because you are marketing yourself
44:12
outside of the community.
44:14
So you're getting stereotypes about being Jewish.
44:21
That part doesn't hurt as much for you,
44:22
which is interesting because I think that would hurt me also.
44:27
You're attacking my people.
44:30
I'm coming for you.
44:31
No, it hurts for sure.
44:33
But it's so generic that I know that they're just commenting
44:35
think juice boxes on every single Jewish person's post.
44:38
So it's not like specific to me yet specific
44:40
to my people.
44:40
And like, I want to comment back, like, you know, screw you or whatever, get a life.
44:43
Sometimes I do.
44:45
But it's not as personal that like, if they would take the time to like,
44:48
you know, research my family and like comment something about it, that's a little bit deeper.
44:52
So I think, I don't know if you have the same type of following that I do, but
44:59
But because you're more within the community, do you find that it's more personal attacks on you?
45:08
Because I know for me, it's always something very personal.
45:14
You're saying from the non-Jews?
45:16
I'm saying from our own community.
45:19
Your own brothers and sisters.
45:20
Jealousy.
45:21
You think it's jealousy?
45:22
I think a lot of people that are either talking behind my back are people that wish they could be doing what I'm doing because, like, why do you care?
45:31
Like, I'm not running around saying, you know, why is he a lawyer?
45:34
Why is he a doctor?
45:35
I don't care what you're doing.
45:36
Don't care about my life.
45:37
Like, just be yourself because everyone else is already taken.
45:40
Like, why do you care about what I'm doing?
45:42
I don't care about what you're doing.
45:43
So I think it just comes from a place of insecurity and jealousy and that they're not comfortable with what they're doing and they wish that they could be doing what we're doing.
45:50
I think it takes a lot of bravery to do what you guys are doing.
45:53
You are going into uncharted territory.
45:57
And I'm really impressed with what you guys have been bringing to the table.
46:01
And I so enjoy your content.
46:04
So keep posting, even if people send you nasty messages.
46:09
There's also the cute girls in the DMs also.
46:11
So you got to take the good with the bad.
46:15
We hope so, yeah.
46:16
Okay.
46:16
So thank you guys so much for being here.
46:18
Is there any last thing that you want to share with the cloud?
46:23
I love my fans, honestly.
46:24
Like everyone who supports me, everyone who sees me and comes up to me, like it's something
46:29
that I've been wanting to do my whole life.
46:31
And I honestly, like I act like nonchalant about it and like, oh yeah, thanks so much.
46:35
But like, it really does mean something to me that people are out there watching me and
46:39
look forward to what I'm about to say or what I'm about to post and just makes me happy.
46:43
And I appreciate you guys for it.
46:44
So thank you.
46:46
Very nice.
46:46
Thanks, bro.
46:47
Thank you for having me on.
46:48
I appreciate it
46:49
my greatest pleasure
46:49
oh and Julia
46:50
thank you
46:50
thank you
46:51
thank you to all my fans
46:52
thank you to all my fans
46:53
by the way I'm a fan too
46:54
so you're welcome
46:56
yeah
46:56
okay
46:56
there we go
46:57
bye guys
46:57
thank you
46:58
thanks for having us
46:58
anytime
46:59
wanna get some bitches
47:02
sure
47:02
let's do it
47:02
always
47:04
oh my god
47:05
I was so scared
47:06
don't be