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CJP #84: Brad Ruwe · Coconut Justice

• Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hey, what's good? Brad Rui is one of my buddies from when I lived in LA. He's a designer, actor, writer, director, and come to find out, he's an exotic hypnotist. He's a lot of fun to be around because he keeps his mind open to what life has to offer, and that's what makes people interesting. This is my conversation with Brad Rui. Before we get into it, Remember to go to coconutjustice dot com to get you some clothes that I think would look good on you. Let's go. You guys, Brad's here. Hi, Brad. Brad Ruwe: Hey. Hey, how's it going? Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): you, your face, your existence pops into my head every time I think of people going to LA to make things happen for themselves. You've always, you know, and before we hit record, I was telling you It's just crazy how you always get yourself into things. Your skills Yeah. Brad Ruwe: That is for sure. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Your skills are so well rounded and it encompasses a lot. So it's really cool to see you just out there hustling and getting it done. Brad Ruwe: Good I appreciate hearing that. It's yeah, it the ex the sorry, the experiences that I've they've been able to have out here have just been insane at times, for sure. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. I remember you're from Ohio, right? Brad Ruwe: a little town out near Cincinnati, Ohio, yeah. Though Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: technically I was born here. I was born down in Mission Viejo and then my family Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): okay. Brad Ruwe: my family moved when I was like one or two, so I don't even really remember it. So I always say California born, Ohio raised, and then came back out here. Nope. It drew me back. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Couldn't get away from it. It is yeah. It is so especially Mission Viejo is beautiful down there. Yeah. So what made you Brad Ruwe: my god, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, my family's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): what made you want to move to LA or back to LA? Brad Ruwe: Yeah. it was it was the i it as many people, it was the industry. I had always grown up big entertainment fan, for like a lot of different types of entertainment. Film, TV, video games, was a big amusement park junkie. So obviously the the I grew up wanting to be like a Disney imagineer back in the day kind of thing. So it I always Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: knew the entertainment world in general was something that I wanted to be a part of. And growing up in Ohio obviously it always felt like this, you know, long shot. Like there's nothing there Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: There's some there's some good productions that happen out in Ohio, but definitely nowhere near the breadth and and the the the the quality of stuff that's happening out here in LA. so I went to school at University of Cincinnati for digital design, which feel the program doesn't even exist anymore because they're like everything's everything's digital design. but that was what it was called at the time, and somehow managed to get a job. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's impressive. Were you trying Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): or was it or was it like cause there are some schools that have relationships with people out in LA? Is it one Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): of those things? Or was it like you were on the internet, your website was dope? Brad Ruwe: It was it was a kind of a mix. so the school the the school that I, you know, went to University of Cincinnati, they have what they call the co op program out there where certain majors, internships are part of the experience, part of the education. So they have periods blocked out where you're not in class. You are going out trying to get internships in your field. And the school definitely helps with helping get interviews, helping getting students connected with different companies across the country really. La let's see the companies I worked for over my it was a five year program because of the of this. I did work obviously in Cincinnati. I did one internship in Madison, Wisconsin for Land's End Clothing Company. I did another internship out in San Francisco and then the internship here in LA, which is what kind of let helped me get those those connections to bring me out here full time. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And it's important to have that because there's a lot of folks that are just like they think that they're the talented one, that they're the pretty one, that they're the good looking one, that they're the funny one, whatever. Until Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): you show up to LA and you're just Brad Ruwe: Ha ha ha. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): like maybe you are that in that small town somewhere, but in LA it's like Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): everybody like I always tell this story. I'm I'm Terrible at best at karaoke. And and that's just that normal karaoke, right? And then Brad Ruwe: That's that's your peak. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): you go to karaoke night in LA, it's like everyone should have an album. Brad Ruwe: Yeah, yeah. It's crazy. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Aren't you a bit of a singer? Brad Ruwe: Y I used to. I did musical theater back in high school, but again, it's Ohio high school musical theater. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: the the the crazy thing is that it was one of the best musical theater programs for high school age in the city, in the Cincinnati area. they did have a few major people come out the the I forget his name, but the choreographer for In the Heights in Hamilton went through that same he went to the same high school he went to and everything. one of the guys in Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Lynn Manuel Miranda guy? Brad Ruwe: Not not him, but the choreographer that he worked with. So he did all Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): okay. Okay. Brad Ruwe: the dance routines, he does all the staging of the dancing, but that was Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brad Ruwe: that was always our big thing of just like, my he's he's he was one of us and now he's on Broadway doing all these shows. And like one of the kids in my that I worked that I performed with on stage made his Broadway debut not too long ago, in he was at the company, but still he made it to Broadway and actually Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hell yeah. Brad Ruwe: Is been in productions. So it's one of those cases that, like, in high school, yes, I did singing, I did musical theater in high school and all that. But I it was never my main goal. I never it was something I did for fun. And that's kind of where Exactly. And that's kind Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It's a tool in the toolbox. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: of where a lot of my experiences have kind of come out. It's not that I'm trying to make it my primary thing because I've got the primary thing already. I've got A pretty good career. I've I've got work constantly coming in, but you still need those creative outlets. So it's just like, yeah, I'll do things for fun. And I'm just like, yeah, this sounds like a great time, and I c if I can get paid for it, hell yeah, even better. but it's because of that, because I'm not trying to make this my primary thing. I go into it with a lot of like, I'm just here to create with you guys and let's make something really interesting. Exactly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): No stress. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it has led to some crazy opportunities over the years. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I'm trying to remember. It was it wasn't America's Got Talent, but you saying something on or you tried out for like this is back when we were hanging out. I remember you're like Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I was at your place and you're like, yeah, I was just trying out for la la la. Brad Ruwe: Yeah, I think it was the voice I unauditioned for years Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: and years and years ago. Yeah, I I don't know if anybody watching Carlos and I twenty ten, twenty eleven, was that when we Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: met yeah, early twenty Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: tens was when we first met. So this is years and years and years ago. but yeah it was one of those things that like sure I had done some musical theater in high school and again it's fun. It's like I don't expect to get cast, but I might as well put myself out there, go for the experience and and who knows. But yeah. I I never got on the voice, but I did a a audition for one year. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's one of the things that always attracted me to you as a friend was that you had no fear when it came to that stuff. You're just like, all right, cool, let's go. I'm Brad Ruwe: Yeah, it's Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): like, this dude Brad Ruwe: And and I've been told repeat you're not the first time I've heard this. I've had directors be like, Yeah, we keep bringing you back because you're down. You're you're like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: hell, just this week, my next acting thing, delusion, we just dropped a trailer for this season's production, this year's production. And they brought me in for the trailer. He's just like Do you are you cool are you comfortable going shirtless? And I'm just like, I mean if you guys are comfortable with me, if Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): If that's what you wanna see. Brad Ruwe: you guys are comfortable with me being shirtless, I'll do it. But like yeah, and and it it it looks great. You can't tell it's me in the trailer, it's like back shots, it's like stomach shots, but it's one of those things that I'm just like again, I don't need to be the star. I don't need to have my face right up front. I'm just like, this sounds fun. you w you want me to to lay in bed as the gorgeous woman comes over? Like hell yeah. Like literally the scene is I'm the like this corrupt mayor kinda character and he's just like, Come here, get away yeah and I'm like, I I can I can do that, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So you look like Trump's pool guy. Brad Ruwe: Basic Yeah. It it it was funny 'cause like I knew going into it that there would not be facial like obviously trailer, the whole thing was already, you know, blocked out and everything. So I knew my face wasn't gonna be seen, but at the time I had full beard, you know, full facial hair, and I'm like If I'm playing like a 1920s corrupt mayor, let's go to Google. Let's see what what do all the like corrupt mayors of that era have? And they all had the the little stash. So I'm just like, alright, shave down, adjust the stash, and I come in there for the shoot. And my director's just like, my god, I love it. Do do that Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's what I'm talking about. Brad Ruwe: for the actual production. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's outstanding. Brad Ruwe: So much fun. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, but it doesn't even stop there. Like you guys, Brad and I used to go to like haunted houses and stuff and then you're you you you got this haunted thing that's just it's it's a part of your personality, I think. You like being scared, you like scaring. Brad Ruwe: I y it r it really is Yeah, it's it's one of those things I where I think because I grew up in Ohio there's not a lot to do in Ohio. So like haunted houses are huge out there. Like I'm sure if somebody did like a per capita haunted houses per people in a state, Ohio's at least top three. I'm like I'm sure it's like California, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Ohio, and maybe Florida or something. I don't know. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: but it's it there were tons. There were tons and tons of them out there. would go to them as audiences, guests, and I started working at like the theme park haunt out there and kind of fell in love with it because again as some Somebody who was very much a theater kid in high school who liked kind of getting into the character and the performing aspect. It was a seasonal acting job. So I could still pursue career. I could still pursue, you know, the the day job stuff, and then just know that's like, hey, there's a month or two that I'm gonna have a side gig. I'm gonna work nights. I'm gonna be exhausted by the end of the month. but it was just so much fun. and I'm trying to remember, I've done One event in Ohio I did One year at Halloween Horror Nights out here, which was very fun. Again, I got to perform on the back lot at Universal Studios. How crazy is that? Again, for for a kid in Ohio, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I did one year at Warner Brothers. They had the Horror Made Here event. Same deal. I'm performing I'm acting on the Warner Brothers lot in these like very famous sets. and then the the big one, there's Queen Mary Star Carbor down in Long Beach, that I did Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: that for many years. it got Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: to the point where, speaking of the crazy experiences that I never would have imagined in Ohio, I was on billboards all over LA for Dark Harbor, and that was Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hell yeah. Brad Ruwe: the most uncanny thing to roll up to a gas station and just look up, and I'm like, there yeah, there's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's me. Brad Ruwe: there's the billboard. There I am right there. The hell? How how? How did this happen? so I did that for many, many years. years but now like i said with delusion is kind of where i've been for the past few years and the interesting thing there is that they change location every year they they rent out these creepy houses and they do these crazy productions with like stunts there's wire work and everything people are flying around sometimes and I've been absolutely loving it it's it's it's fun to to just get into these character mindsets of you know figuring out how do you take just boring Ohio guy and and you know expand into these crazy over-the-top characters. So that's it's it's always fun. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. And this is the but like we would go to the haunted house together and you would you weren't working there, but you were still doing that creepy laugh and you're still like like you're working Brad Ruwe: I sh Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): for free. I'm like this dude Brad Ruwe: Especially especially when they don't 'cause you expect the actors to come around the corners. You don't expect the laugh Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: to be coming right behind. So I would fuck with yeah, fuck with you guys and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I worked a Halloween or a haunted house once back in Chicago and it Brad Ruwe: Mm, nice. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): was one of the funnest times I've ever had. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: It's so much fun, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Just getting there and then you know, you get the kids that think that they're all brave and stuff. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And you tell all right, cool. So you let them get through the l maze just a little bit and you jump out and get and gotcha. Brad Ruwe: Yep, yep. The best is when you get the the the adults, the tough guys who are trying to be Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: all tough. My favorite is just watching them drop like a rock. It's just like you can tell as they're coming up. They're they're trying to be all tough. They got the the the energy and then they just drop and you're just like, yes. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Get over. That stuff makes me laugh so hard. J watching people get scared and the their reaction and and the and you're like, It's not even it's not that serious, they can't touch you. Brad Ruwe: No, yeah. And that's one of the th the fun things to to again go back to delusion. They have like VIP tickets 'cause they realize like this is fun. Like it's fun Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: to go in there and be a monster for a little bit. So like they sell VIP Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: tickets where you get to go in for a scene and be like one of the the just shuffling corpses or any like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: they they figure out a way to work you know, people in there because they're like, Yeah, the more bodies in the room that like slowly turn towards you it's it it's creepy and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: they they really realize that like people have fun just being like I get to go in there and just freak the hell out of people? Hell yeah, sign me up. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. What were what was your parents' reaction when you're like listen listen, I wanna go to acting class, I wanna go to, you know, stage class, whatever you wanna call it. 'cause you know, like there's the artistically inclined kids, their parents are like, like you're gonna go hungry. Like what was that conversation like? Brad Ruwe: Yes. It it definitely was out of left field a little bit for them because early on in my high school experience, I was kinda leaning more towards the math and the science. I was very good at math and science as a kid. Those those were all of my strongest, you know, classes in school and everything. and then You know, I again just because I always loved entertainment, it was one of those things where I'm just like, I kinda wanna sign up for theater here in in high school and they're like, Where did this come from? Or our nerdy math and science kid. But but it started off I wasn't actually doing on stage to begin with. I was doing like props. I was building the props and you know, making sure making sure the actors had what they needed for for the shows. So I actually did didn't do on stage work for the first two years in high school, but I wanted to. So I signed up for some of the the theater classes that my high school offered. and then my junior year finally made the on stage debut, and by that point they're just like, okay, I can s again, this is like two years later now that I've been kind of slowly working my way towards there. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: But the the big twist was in high school. When I was originally looking to do like engineering. Again, Disney Imagineering. I wanted to be the Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: guy that figured out how to make all the Disney attractions work and all that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And I just hit a point where I realized it wasn't the how it works that I was interested in. It's the story. It was the art. It was the experience that I was wanting to do as a kid. And it kind of shifted me from what I thought was going to be my path of engineering into more art. and then I went, like I said, to digital design at Cincinnati and my parents were just like, you know they're gonna make you draw, right? You've never drawn. I'm like, I know, I I I I have the ideas. I'm gonna work at getting the putting it to paper better over the time. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: but of course all my teachers especially freshman year before we really got into the digital stuff They're like, what major 'cause all of the design classes had the same drawing, you know, color, all the the basic classes and all my teachers would always be like, Which major are you in again? digital? You're fine, you're fine for digital And I'm like, but I still wanna I still wanna get better So yeah exactly, exactly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I wanna paint, yeah. Yeah. That's that's one of the things that I try to be more efficient on the computer so I can go back to paper and pencil. Or so I Brad Ruwe: Yeah, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): can get back to, you know, newsprint and charcoal. that's the it just always comes out better that way. I don't know why, I can't tell you why. It could be just Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): a feel thing Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): but yeah, like drawing on an iPad versus a pencil. It's Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): it does it for me and from what I understand a lot of other artists too. They're they try to leverage the iPad and all that stuff and they're just like, nah, Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I'll take a picture and I'll do the inking and stuff. I won't do the actual Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): brainstorming part. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): yeah. So it's just it's For kids that think that everything is going digital, don't lose grasp of that pencil. We're a EMT we're Brad Ruwe: Exactly. Cause especially even with Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): a EMP away from not having none of this shit. Brad Ruwe: Exactly. E even without that though, like art again, you look digital media is one medium. It's gonna be Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: fine for certain things, especially like You know, things that you necessarily can't do physically. Like, especially with filmmaking, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: like there are instances where you're gonna need CGI. But every Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: film that does practical effects, every film that you can tell the thing is actually there on set, it Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: it's incredible. And you can tell, the audience can tell. They can always tell, no matter how good it is, there's gonna be some level of uncanny valley where they're like, that's not actually there. and so even though it's my job, even though I work in the digital field, I'm always just like, yeah, is there a way we can do this practically? Like, not everything needs to be done digitally. There certain media works for some things, but not for everything. So I'm always a fan of like, no, let's see if we can figure this out practically first. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, I am too. It's just way more fun. I like making messes though. I like making messes. Brad Ruwe: Yeah Yes Yes Yep The Especially with the horror stuff That gets messy That gets real messy real quick and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. I would love to I would love to be in a Quentin Tarantino movie. He makes movies like Brad Ruwe: my god. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): he he makes movies like blood is is like expiring. We gotta use all the blood before it goes bad. Brad Ruwe: Yes. Get all of it. Yep. And it's it's it's fun. Like some of my favorite characters are the ones that are just disgusting gross messy characters. Because like it's all makeup. I'm not actually like one of the characters I played was very much like disgusting gluttony demon sort of thing. So we Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: had all this gross they had this like belly prosthetic and everything with guts falling out and it was just the grossest looking thing. And it's just like i if it feels like if the I get I'm switching stories now, but it works better. The the trailer chute, they had all of this sweat spray. That there's like it we're gonna make you look like you are just sweating up this nasty S storm and as they're putting it on, the makeup artist goes, actually this is really good for your skin. Like if you just keep putting it on, your skin's really gonna and it's one of those things that's it's like it looks disgusting on camera. But hey, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's it's just it'll help your skin. It'll help clear up the pores and all of that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And you're like, Whatever, bring it. Set me on fire, it's fine. Brad Ruwe: Yep, yep. With proper safety. It's one of those things that like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brad Ruwe: like like fire performers and all of that. I'm actually like mad respect, but that also does sound kinda fun. If you got the the gel and the suit and everything, I'm like, Yes! Have the perf Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): One hundred percent. One hundred percent. Brad Ruwe: have the professional make sure I can do it for sure, but yeah, I'm down. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're only gonna burn a little bit of my hair? Yeah, that's fine. It'll grow back. Brad Ruwe: Nope. Nope. I will say that is the day. That's the day that my parents were just like, Are you fucking insane? Was in c in college I started one of my wild side gigs was a circus, like they did events for, you know, different stuff going on around town and they needed performers or whatever and one of the things that they did was fire performers fire eating and the day that I was practicing fire eating on my front yard my parents were just like what the fuck are you doing? Like no mom I I sh I promise they've trained me they've trained me for this Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): This is I'm a professional. Brad Ruwe: I'm a professional now Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): my god, that's funny. Were you were you mischievous or were you a good kid growing up? Brad Ruwe: I I like to say I like to play mischievous characters, but I have again, I'm fairly boring Ohio kid. Like I never was Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: getting I never was like getting arrested or anything. Like I I Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: never got, you know, in big trouble or anything. It was just like Yeah, I I I I like to like I said, I like to play mischievous characters. I like to come up with the ideas of like, this Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: could be this could be fun to do. But then I'm like, nah, let's not actually do it. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): was I was misunderstood as mischievous. Brad Ruwe: Mm Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I always like to take things apart just to see how it worked. Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Or or if you're like playing with clay or whatever, you know, you just let your imagination go and whatever, you know, and that get in trouble. Like, why are you taking that apart? Why are you doing that? Why Brad Ruwe: Yeah. no. man. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): are you touching that? Why are you why are you? And I spoke to Brad Ruwe: What what what I was about to say, what do you sorry. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): There's this young lady that Brad Ruwe: I just was wondering what was the like the biggest thing that you got in trouble for, for like taking apart or like what how how far did that go? And you're and you're just like, how does this work? Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): yeah yeah. I would it got to the point where I was afraid to get in trouble, but I would like I would take car parts out. I took a I took a speaker once, it was a little radio, and Brad Ruwe: Okay. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I don't know how I did it, but I turned it into a microphone and then at first Brad Ruwe: Dang. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I got in trouble. At first I got in trouble for taking it apart, but then all was forgiven because we did karaoke. Brad Ruwe: Nice hell yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. it's stuff like that. electronics, I was always I was always a geek for electronics. and then automotives is is a thing where if electronics didn't happen, I Brad Ruwe: Uh-huh. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): would love to be a mechanic. I'd love to build cars. Brad Ruwe: nice. Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): You know? So I'd take things apart and then put back together. Brad Ruwe: God. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And then and then when I was in college, like everything everything came to fruition because I was able to like do all that stuff tinkering on computers and Brad Ruwe: Mm. yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): then on three D and then in Photoshop and then you know, Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): you would just keep tinkering, tinkering, tinkering until Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): later you call that a career. You're like, All right, cool, that was fun. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Nice. that's great. But yeah, I can understand the parents being like, Carlos, step away from the car Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. I said, why do you have a blowtorch? Like I don't know. I just wanna see. And even Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): now, like when I'm hanging out with my nieces and nephews, they'll you know, they wanna do something a little bit on the on the on the verge of bad. Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): But they come get me and they're like, Hey, we wanna do this thing. And I'm like and they say, Brad Ruwe: no. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Well, what's gonna happen? I'm like, I don't know, but let's do it for science. Brad Ruwe: Nice. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And then we d you know, we set a fire or we do whatever it is whatever it is that's supposed to be done. Brad Ruwe: Hell yeah. Hey, science is important. You gotta you gotta try new things sometimes. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Who am I to keep you from your your intellectual peak? I'm here to support that. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Hell yeah. Exactly. So I was like, what if we just t t toed the line over what we should not be doing? No, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): But definitely don't tell your mom. Brad Ruwe: no, no, no. Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: man. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): When you finally made it out to LA, did you have like a scaffolding? 'Cause you know how they say you move to LA you need to give it seven years before you find your people. Brad Ruwe: Yeah, it it definitely took me a while. I don't know about seven years, but Yeah, those first few years definitely was all over the place. 'Cause I all my family is out in Ohio. I'm the one person from the at least my me immediate family that that left Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: Ohio. and I knew two people from my my graduating class who had also moved out here, but to kinda Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Okay. Brad Ruwe: different areas. So it's like I I knew a couple of people, but for the most part I was starting Fresh. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Fresh. Brad Ruwe: So yeah, especially that first year or two, I was definitely like trying to go out to places, meet people. I met some great people, but I don't think anybody ever like really stuck from Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: those initial people that I was I was, you know, meeting. but really it was when I started doing the haunt stuff. That's when I kinda started to to find my people. s I've met some just amazing. Creative people over the years through through working these events. I'll I'll never forget sitting in a bar watching the NBA finals one year as an Apple ad comes on. I'm just like, wait, hold on, did I just see you in an ad on the NBA finals? Like, it's it's so fun to to just see and just to be able to work with these amazing people. And and I think that's my favorite part with of the creative community. community is that everybody for the most part is really supportive of each other of just like shit you got to you got to do that have you you started Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: jumping out at people at a haunted house and now you're in you know this prime time major sports event you know Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Are you bragging about your sex therapy skills? Brad Ruwe: yeah yep And well that's a whole completely separate thing. That that was not though I guess that is a different group well I will say the the the overlap with the specifically the horror community and the kink community is almost Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: a circle. Because i i if you think about it, it's all about having a high energy, sometimes scary experience in a safe way. like when I always say that like the best Kink dungeon, whatever experience is just the same as a good haunted house. Everybody knows the the the house rules. There's an emergency exit if it gets to be too intense. Go. Like as long as everyone's in agreement. You might get scared at times, but everybody knows that this is just pretend. unless, well, there are there are like lifestyle and all of that, but at least in terms of like session experiences, like everybody knows that like this is the rules for this period of time. Time kind of thing. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Do you think 'cause I have to sometimes I say things about Hollywood that sounds like I hate Hollywood but I don't I actually truly do love Hollywood and Brad Ruwe: I think Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): like all of you guys that are acting and doing your thing, you know? Brad Ruwe: Yeah, I think we're probably in agreement. Tell tell me if if this is how you're how you feel. You love the artists of Hollywood, you hate the system of Hollywood. Yeah. The creatives I work with every Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. Brad Ruwe: day are great. The the producers, the management no. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. And and and and I wish artists would would understand that without you they have nothing. Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. It's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So Like treat treat the creatives accordingly. Brad Ruwe: Treat everybody accordingly. Like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's it's it it's always mind boggling to me when I hear people like looking down on like one aspect of the the production that, you know It really is everybody coming together to make one, you know, it's the the sum of the parts is greater than the individuals kinda th I think. I I know there's a saying, I'm I'm sure I'm getting it wrong, but it's it's that idea that you need everybody to come together to make something bigger than what anybody else individually could make. And it's that's everybody. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): What is that the the Some of the parts no. Anyway. Brad Ruwe: The whole is greater than the sum of the parts? Something like that, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. That sounds about right, yeah. Brad Ruwe: It's like even the freaking like caterers, like, if you're angry on set, that's not gonna be a good performance! Like everybody is important! Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): When was the first time you were as a as a actor or or whatever position, what was the first one that you were a part of when you're like, wow, this is okay. This is how it works. Brad Ruwe: The the first one was definitely Halloween horror nights out here, just because like again I had worked like the little theme park haunt out in Ohio, and that was we had a okay budget, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: but very much like I distinctly remember one year they had me in this like crazy silicone rubber mask and they tried it on me to just make sure it fit me and all of that and then they sent me out to the park and my supervisor pulls me over before the start of the night and goes just so you know that's the most expensive costume piece the whole park has Everyone's going like all the all the money all the money people Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): They handed it to the right guy. Brad Ruwe: all the money people are gonna be watching you tonight so don't screw around with it and it's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: like we had that one mask When then I get to Universal Studios and they have those masks fucking all over the pl is this I I dropped the F bomb, is this okay, gotcha. But yeah, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Everywhere. Yeah. Yeah, we're adults. We're adults. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let it go. Brad Ruwe: like I get to Universal and I see that level of quality mask and props and everything just over the whole event. Whereas Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: there it was just the one we we've got this one we can afford one really good mask Whereas Universal was just like, no we got the money. We're gonna we're gonna make you guys look good. We're gonna We're gonna the whole everybody's gonna be top Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: tier, costumes, makeup, all that kind of stuff. So I think that was the first moment where I'm just like, this is like a production, production. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. For me, back home I was in college, and I was on ER a couple times as an extra. Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. And that's when I was like, my God. This is what I've wanted to do my whole entire life. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Awww, hell yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Like w even like reflecting back as a kid, I used to have my toys and I would go and Take my sister's toys, you know, because we need a girl's. Like and I'm over there playing with their toys and setting up the scenes and doing all kinds of things. And you know, I always wondered if my mom was like, What's wrong with this kid? He's playing with all these girl Brad Ruwe: Ha ha ha. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): toys. I'm like, No, this is a scene. This is, you know. And Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I had little strings hanging from the trees and stuff, and the you know, the dude would come and swing in and do all the things. It was awesome. Brad Ruwe: Hell yeah. I love that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. So when I was on ER, I was like, this is just like that. Wow. This is cool. You Brad Ruwe: Mm. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): know? yeah, I loved it. So when I moved to LA, you know, it was kind of one of those things you I was hoping that I was hoping that I would bump into, you know, some folks and and like, yeah, fuck it, let's do something cool. You know. It kinda there was a couple of things. I'd worked on a couple of things, and I still do. Brad Ruwe: Nice. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I'll I'll go Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): down there and do some some shooting and directing and shit like that. Yeah, but it's fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. yeah. It's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): are you happy being an actor? Are you ever gonna move into directing or anything like that? Writing even? Brad Ruwe: It's it it's definitely something I've considered. I mean definitely the with COVID that was a very obviously very interesting period for everybody. But on my end, you know, like I said, so much of my time is just like, Yeah, I've got my career, I've got my day job and then suddenly I didn't, because I was working freelance at that time and of course then no more freelance gigs were rolling in for like the first time in so long and I'm just like, Well, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: what do I do now? And of course all my other actor friends We're in similar situations because obviously Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: none of the haunts opened that year. And I had a moment of like, well, let's let's just do something. A little a little thing for us to just work on creatively while everything shut down. And I got a few of my friends together and we created this at home horror experience that was like through like Instagram posts. you could get if you signed up and gave us your phone number you get phone calls from characters. We had a discords Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): well. Brad Ruwe: we had a Discord server with stuff going on. And basically I was inspired by these immers this incredible immersive horror experiences out here. The the biggest one, I don't know if you can see there's a book up Here called the tension experience. that was this fantastic experience from Darren Bowsman, who was the director of Saw 234, and then Spiral when he did his like spiral spinoff. like legit horror movie director created this Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: whole experience, same deal. You if you signed up for it, if you were participating, if you're following along online, you know, I I was. I was one. of the the diehards or these experiences and there was I'll never forget there was a phone call that I got from one of the characters. He's just like Alright, it's time for you to prove yourself. Meet meet at the the front pickup spot, the like Uber lift whatever pickup spot of the Beverly Hills Hotel at midnight, dressing all black. I'm just like what the fuck is and and I did, and I got this whole scene with one of the other diehards and just having that No! And people know that! People recognize that I'm down to play ball and just these Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Ohio's answer to Kevin Hart. Brad Ruwe: Yeah my god. But yeah, so like Darren had created this these well there was a it was like a series of of experiences and like I was just so blown away. I'm like what what kind of or what is the concept of one of these things that would just be so out of left field that people would be like what the fuck is going on? And then re the plot twists reveal and everyone's just like you motherfuckers so we created this we created this experience that started in October. So of course everyone's thinking, you know, ultra ultra horror, you know, we had this whole stalker theme, this motif of, you know, people The the participants were getting stalked by this unknown character. and it built up to Halloween night. We have, you know, we're posting videos where one of the participants, who was a friend of mine, gets kidnapped on Halloween night and all this stuff. And the twist reveal on Halloween night was that this was a Christmas horror thing. And they were elves trying to st find out. if they were naughty or nice. And it led into this whole Christmas horror thing where eventually Santa gets killed on on Christmas Eve and And it was just one of these things that were just like the world is shut down. What do we do? Alright, let's kill Santa Claus. Like And it's like I had such a blast. Yeah. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Just to really d just to really bring it home for the kids that have been damaged. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. And we we just Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Santa's real and we killed him. Brad Ruwe: And and the the crazy thing was that like when I started that, yeah, I it was just something for me and, you know, my circle of friends to do while You know, everything shut down. This was never meant to be this this big thing. I was expecting maybe twenty of my friends and people from the you know local immersive community would sign up. we had well over a hundred people signing up for the thing, including Tori Spelling is a huge huge horror junkie. She signed up for it. And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Okay. Brad Ruwe: the craziest thing was one of my actors was in Atlanta. At the time. She had since moved from LA to Atlanta. And so she was doing the phone calls. She was recording videos and stuff from Atlanta while I was out here, you know, in LA keeping it all together. And we caught word that Tori Spelling was in Atlanta to shoot something. And I'm like, my god, we can actually do this. So we Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: did the thing where it's just like, hey Tori, we've got a visitor down to your hotel. can you go down to the lobby and and meet them kind of thing. And she's just like, how did they find me out here? And again, because we had, you know, the the the the immersive horror community, especially in LA, is is pretty small. It's pretty tight. I feel like, especially now that I'm in productions, like I'll be doing a show and then I'll open the door real quick and I'm just like Mentally, I'm like, hey, I know you. We went through this other show together, but I have to like keep stone face. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: so it's like we all kind of know each other and and because of that somebody tipped off that like, yeah, I I just talked with Tori. She's in Atlanta. Don't you have one of your actors out there kind of thing. so it was just literally one of those fluke Everything the the stars aligning moments, but you Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: know, just creating that and doing that definitely did get me wondering. It's just like everything in LA, well everything in in this country basically, it's unless you have the money to put all of your time, all of your investment, all of your energy into that thing, it's so hard to actually bring it to fruition. You know, the only reason I Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: was able to do that was I didn't have work at the time. You know, I was able to just Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: write and write and and cut together weird creepy videos and and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: backwards distorted audio and all that. I had all the time in the world to do all of that. And it's it's one of those things Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: that like I would love to do stuff like that. It's just You gotta find the right people, you gotta find the right project, and you have to find the right moment in time when like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: all those stars align. Like it kinda did during COVID. That was like the one good thing, at least on my end, that came out of COVID, was just like, hey, I have time. I can actually do my own creative stuff right now. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. I know a lot of folks that are that they condemn that time and I'm like, yeah, but if you think about it, it was a really good moment for you, whoever's listening to this, for them to be like, wait, what what am I doing with my life? Brad Ruwe: Yep. And it feels like a lot of people have that I have so many friends who changed their lives in completely new ways after COVID 'cause they they realize like, I gotta get my priorities in check. Like I need to make sure I'm living the life that I actually wanna live, 'cause who the hell knows what's gonna happen next year kinda thing. Yeah. So yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Yeah, and then mixing in like w that was another time where we're looking around saying who do we have in charge? Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And that that makes it because if you think about it, if you think about it, you know, there's there's a lot of folks that I talk to. They say, they're trying to work you so you don't have enough time to work on your own stuff because they want the you know, the control and all that stuff. And COVID was one of those times where you're like, Yeah, like you can't hide that anymore. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And we're we're being led by folks that have their hands not just in your pockets, but everybody's pockets. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And we don't have the time or the energy to create our own thing. So then it no wonder they have and I keep saying this, I'm sorry, Brad Ruwe: Ha ha. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Not Pixar, but but DreamWorks. Sorry Dreamworks. But when you came out Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): when you come out with like Kung Fu Kung Fu Panda forty seven, it's like I'd I would rather take a look at what you have going on. How many Kung Fu pandas do we need? Brad Ruwe: Yep. Well that's the really interesting what are we up to now in terms of Shreks? We're we're up to like what Shrek six at this point? And that's yeah, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's the other one, yeah. Brad Ruwe: but no, it's it's That's one of the things that I'm actually really excited about in terms of the entertainment industry, specifically the horror entertainment industry right now, is that Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: you can tell that there's like a little bit of a passing of the guard right now, especially with horror. Whereas, yeah, we've got Scream 8, whatever we're up to now on in the Scream franchise. But I've been seeing no buzz from my friends in the horror community for Scream. eight. It's all backrooms, it's all obsession. It's all these new young directors that are tapping into the current modern day fears and and horrors. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: like that's been the craziest thing is it's like yeah we've Scream is such a legendary franchise in the horror Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: industry and barely a peep in terms of buzz from the actual community. And it's it's really interesting to see, especially like eight twenty-four, take a risk on backrooms of super young director that, you know, hey, you've proved yourself through YouTube, through TikTok, all of this. we're gonna take a risk and really give you Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Give you a shot. Brad Ruwe: give you what you need to succeed and it's, you know, done really well for it, for for backrooms and all that. So it's interesting to see the horror, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I'm a huge Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): and I'm a huge fan of the A twenty four, not just the company, but the approach. Where Brad Ruwe: Yes, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): they don't necessarily look at the bottom line. They want to make a good product. And that when I go to Brad Ruwe: Yeah. And it's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): when I go to spend fifty dollars for popcorn and a ticket, I need you to move my brain. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I don't want to watch the same shit over and over again. I don't mind Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): paying those prices. I mind Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): going there, sitting there and being bored out of my mind. I've already seen this. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. I I can distinctly remember over the last ten years, I wanna say, only two horror films have actually made me uncomfortable, freaked out, like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: s have actually scared me, have actually pushed you know the thing. and I believe they were both I know one of them's definitely A twenty four, was Hereditary. That movie it's just there's a certain scene, I'm sure if you've seen Hereditary, you know exactly what I'm talking about, where you just feel so physically uncomfortable by what they show. The sound design does an Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: incredible job of just making your body feel uncomfortable by you know the the tones and and the vibrations of the sound. Like they they literally Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: did things that made you feel uncomfortable as a human being, and I'm just like You don't get that in again, Scream. I'm just gonna keep using that as the example. Like they Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: they've Got the formula down, but everybody knows the formula. So you need new formulas, you need new dishes. so it's really interesting to see some of these young writers, young directors are starting to actually be given that shot to create weird fucked-up movies like obsession. It like amazing weird fucked-up movies. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Speaking of young talented directors, you remember Greg Jardin? Brad Ruwe: hell yeah. it's what's inside Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's Brad Ruwe: was so good. So good. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Wasn't it so good that Brad Ruwe: Hell yeah. I was so happy for him when one when he it came out that he was getting that and two when I finally saw it. I'm just like, hell yeah, Greg. So good. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hell yeah. Yeah, shout out to Greg 'cause Brad Ruwe: Hell, even when when we're when we're shooting Delusion, every time I'm just like, have you guys seen it's what's inside? You really need to see what's inside. That's definitely one of my like horror movies that I'm just like, I know you, I know we're we're on the same level horror wise, because we're doing this weird shit. Go watch that movie. You will love it. Yeah. So good. Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. That was a fun ride. That was a fun ride. Brad Ruwe: Hell yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And then like when 'cause it was a it was good because even really good you know how folks they try to figure out the movie as it's under you know? So it flips when the flip happens, you're like, There it is, but then there's another one, you're like, Whoa Yeah, don't let go. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Again, you there's there's a formula that everybody knows, and now there's we're getting formulas that are either playing off of that or just entirely new. And it's it's so Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: good to finally see some original really well done original content out there for for you know horrors obviously my area, but there's there's definitely been some other films as well that it's just like, damn, okay. That's something new, finally, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): No. Brad Ruwe: yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Have you gotten into these microdramas that some folks are creating? Brad Ruwe: I've seen some mainly because I have actor friends who have been in them and you know they're they're sharing that kind of stuff. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: it's it's something that I I I'm familiar with on like my periphery, but there's just too much media. It's just like too much yeah, to there there's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): know I know how am I gonna focus on this long movie when I keep watching the short movies at the same time? Brad Ruwe: Exactly, exactly. Yeah. I mean hell, I just just last night one of my friends posted like I couldn't believe that this person had never seen these two movies, so we're doing a double movie night and I message them and I'm just like, actually I've never seen those movies before. And it's just like every time somebody tells me or recommends something to me, I'm just like, It sounds great. I'm sure it's great. There's just too much. The the backlog Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I know. Brad Ruwe: is already so long. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I have on my reminders list I have a a certain list that's called What to Watch. And I just put it in there and and then just Brad Ruwe: Nice. How long? Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): keep pushing because exactly that. Like there's just so much happening all Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): at the same time. Brad Ruwe: And like, especially with other formats and media, like vi there's some great games out there. but Bouldersgate, Bouldersgate 3 is an incredible video game. I don't have a hundred hours to finish this thing. Like it's Yeah. But but but it's sheriffly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's why I had to give up my Xbox. I was putting way too much time on that thing, dude. I I was like, I have writing to do, I have shooting to do, like I have way too much to be sitting here for pulling a full time job on this thing Brad Ruwe: Seriously. And it's one of those things that like because they're like I some people get mad when the game is like ten hours. And I'm like, as long as it's not seventy dollars, I more than happy to play like a ten, twenty hour long game, as long as the Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Sure. Brad Ruwe: story's good, as long as, you know, it's got good mechanics. And it just thinks that Bouldersgate 3 is one of those games that has great story, great writing, great actors, the gameplay mechanic is fun. It's just so long. And then I'm like, I've been playing I'm sixty hours into this game. I should do something else with my life now. And then I come back to Baldur's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Gate and because there's so much that's happened I'm like, where was I? What was I doing? What's And it's it's one of those games I absolutely adore, but I've never been able to beat it because every time I get pulled away by something or another, I'm just like What what was I doing? Where do I go now? It's so so massive. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): wanted since we're both spent I'm from the Midwest, you spent a great amount of time in the Midwest. Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): When you go back to Ohio or the Midwest, wherever, and everyone is talking to you like, you live in California, that's the land of the fruits and the nuts What Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): do you like how do you come back? what's your response to that? Brad Ruwe: It's yeah, I definitely have dealt with that a lot. What's the the saying I had always heard out there was, Well, you know, the the country's at a slant, so all the fruits and nuts roll down to California. Just like literally I've been told that in my life. And I'm just like what does that even mean? Like it's so dumb. But it's it's one of those Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I was in Savannah. This guy goes, Where are you from? I said, I live in California. He's like, Why'd you do that? Brad Ruwe: It's it's it's one of those things where I honestly feel like it's suppressed jealousy to a s at least a certain extent. Some of it some of it is just they've just been told. Their their parents told them California is a weird place. Their parents told their parents that California is a Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: weird place. But also like I always laugh. Every time I I hear people on the right ragging on Hollywood specifically, California in general. It's it's always just like, But you guys are obsessed with it. You you your your poster child was Ronald Reagan, an actor from Hollywood. Like, he's your poster boy! Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. From Hollywood. And you guys and yeah, and they and they bought it. Hook line and sinker they bit. An actor from California. Not for anything. He's from Dixon, Illinois. This is just outside Chicago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Yeah. Yep. And it's it's and it happened again with Donald Trump. Yeah. Yes, yes. But yeah, like they they they rag and rant about Hollywood so much, but it's just like you know the reason you even know who Donald Trump is is because Hollywood. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Like, yeah, he did the biz business mogul, whatever, the business stuff. He did not become the Donald Trump we know today that got elected president without the apprentice, without being in home alone too as the the rich the rich New York guy. Like he is He is Hollywood. He's the bad parts of Hollywood. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: He's the the the the money and using money to get what you want part of Hollywood. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: but he is who he is because of Hollywood. And it it just drives me crazy that like y'all keep electing. Yep. Yes. And they're Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So's WWE. So's WWE. All the things that you guys go crazy for, it's that's Hollywood shit. Brad Ruwe: Yep. And it's it's hilarious because when they say I hate Hollywood, I'm like, I do too. Again, the artists I love. The system of Hollywood. I can't stand. Yes. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. The business part of it. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And it's it's that thing that every time they are like, I hate Hollywood, I'm just mentally going, I bet I hate Hollywood more than you do. when we get when we actually get down to it and what Hollywood actually is, like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I probably hate it a little bit more than you do. you th Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, I have a front row seat to this shit. Brad Ruwe: yeah, you think you hate it, but you actually love it. Yeah. You've been told to hate it, but you actually love it. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah. That's such a good point. That's such a good point. 'Cause like what Brad Ruwe: It's like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): folks don't understand is is LA is where you can go to be whomever you want and you're Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): surrounded by other people that are trying to be whomever they want. Brad Ruwe: Yep. And that's great. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And there's no judging. I mean there you might be judged. You might be judged if you go to you said Tory spelling, if you go to like nine two one no, you'll they'll judge you. They'll j Brad Ruwe: Yes, yeah. It's it's but but really like, you know to to get get real for a second here, you know, I've had talks with my therapist about, you know, what growing up with depression as a kid was like and it was honestly, so much of it got cleared up when I moved up here. 'Cause like I could be one, I could be who I was and I could find people who appreciated who I was. But also like I could eas more easily find my people. Like, you know, out out in Ohio, out in the Midwest, you know, so many things are are demonized, are vilified, and it's just like, I'm just trying to have a fun time. I'm just trying to live my life. Like why is this why is this the thing? Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Is it why are you in my business? Brad Ruwe: And like what's going on now with all of the like transgender law stuff that's going on. Like I've got fr transgender friends out in Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Same. Brad Ruwe: Ohio. I knew that them pre-transition. I'm happy to still to know the new them now. And all of them are like Yeah, I'm glad I'm here for XYZ family or or whatever. But it's getting harder. It's getting so hard to still live out here. And I've told a few of them just like if it ever gets if the shit hits the fan, like we we will welcome you with open arms here. here, you know, we'll help you as much Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): One hundred percent. Brad Ruwe: as we can because again, they're just trying to live their life. They they love Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's it. Brad Ruwe: o they love Ohio. Like they're Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's it. Brad Ruwe: again, Cincinnati, they're all bear cat pride and all of that, but Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: it's just it's just they just want to live their life and it's getting harder and harder to do that every day. So that's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: you know, again I talked with my therapist of just like it was night and day. As soon as I got out here, even though again I did not have my people. I barely knew anybody out here. The amount of happiness was drastic instant of like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I'm out of that environment. I haven't found my my god Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): out of the judgment and the weight of whatever your expectations, like fucking relax. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Yep. And it's it's crazy that they are so judgmental of the place that we're just like, no, we're you wanna have you live your life? Cool. Alright. We're like it's it's like I want these, you know, the the right wing people to live a happy life. I really do. I want what's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: best for the like that the whole, you know, socialism's the new devil. Just like, no, socialism, I I want you guys to have what you need to live. Like, I want you to have the happy life. I just want everybody to have the happy life. So it's it's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. A good life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brad Ruwe: just frustrating. It's just like we want we both want the same thing. It's just I want that for everybody. Like you won Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: one Little yeah. So it's it's so frustrating. So frustrating. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, someone's gotta do all the all the legwork. Someone's gotta you know what I mean? Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So it's kind of like you have one group of people that are saying, Yeah, we wanna live happy 'cause America and America's the greatest but then like Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): there's the majority of us are down here. We're like, bro, like Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): We want we want our kids to be exposed to the potential of whatever it is that they're supposed to be do too. I don't want Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): my kid to go to school and think that they're a machine part. Brad Ruwe: Yep, exactly. And unfortunately we are even in California getting more and more treated as machine parts with the whole AI stuff. 'Cause like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Tell Brad Ruwe: it's been it's been so frustrating 'cause like I'm not gonna s obviously I'm not gonna say, you know, company names or anything, but one of one of the the companies I was working for fairly since COVID at least, I don't remember how many Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: years ago, started having us research AI. Having the graphics design team research AI in terms Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm. Brad Ruwe: of like, hey, how can we use AI to to, you know, in our stuff? Ex Yeah, exactly. They're always Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Make things easier for you. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's like, yeah, we want it to be easier for you guys. And of course all of the artists. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So easy that we're gonna lose half the team. Brad Ruwe: And it was just like every time they would bring up AI a little bit More of me would die inside of just like, no, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: they're they're still pushing this. They're really pushing this. like I need to start maybe looking at other job opportunities. Cause even even if I'm still relatively happy here, they're they're going down a path that I won't be. Yep, yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): You can't trust You can't trust Brad Ruwe: So it's it's just one of those things that like Anytime I see a corporation, a company, whatever, that is like actively pushing back against AI, I'm like, okay, yes, you're you're on the list that I'll consider working for you guys right now. But it's you know and thankfully I have found companies that are just like, No, we love our art. You guys are what make us good, like the artists, the the talent. So thankfully I have found places like that, but it's it's you have to start figuring out the list of like who's actually gonna be on your side. as things evolve and and, you know, who's gonna leave ya out on the the curb once, you know, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's getting tough. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. And I'm I've been fighting it off. Like I'll use it from time to time f for whatever goofiness. Brad Ruwe: Mm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): sometimes there's like something really fast that needs to go out. So I just do some brainstorming real quick and then I finalize Brad Ruwe: Mm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): it and then I push it out. My what I deliver is always what I say, not what the computer says, you know? Brad Ruwe: Mm. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): But looking at it as coming from, you know, I've written scripts and I've shot movies, short movies and stuff like that. I can see where it can benefit a smaller team. Brad Ruwe: Mm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And I'm like I'm like, yeah, well, since Hollywood is doing it, I might as well do it too. I haven't. But I'm saying I can see where it turns it into a benefit for smaller teams with no money. Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): But like ultimately ultimately for me, the the folks that are creating all this stuff, they just want to track us and do Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): all the nefarious things that they have planned. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So if we could just stop right now, that'd be cool. Like stop global warming and stop this shit right now. And Brad Ruwe: Yes. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): then we, you know, use it as a tool and we can finish it up and we can do whatever. but like how are we as the creatives, how are we gonna tell folks like a writer that doesn't have if you're a writer, chances are you're not making all that much money because you're being replaced. So how Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): are we how do we tell a writer, hey, I understand it's really, really enticing. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): But like Brad Ruwe: Maybe not do that. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Maybe not do that? Yeah. Brad Ruwe: It's it's so hard. One of one of my good buddies out here, h he's written fantastic like immersive theater, not even horror, just quirky immersive theater experiences. And he's been out of work. Like he's done the the the writing for the the money and all that, but then he does the immersive stuff, you know, on his own. And he never you know, he'll if a production that he does on his own makes a profit. Any profit, that's a great show. Like he's oftentimes losing or breaking even on productions that he's doing. And but he'd required you know, he had done the the day job writing work, to that's where the income has come in. And it it's been year and a half, I think, that he's still look like he's been doing odd jobs and and that kind of stuff, but in terms of the writing stuff, nothing's come through for him. And I'm like, dude, you're Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: s you're so good and why why aren't people hiring you? And it's because we don't need writers anymore. We can just pop an idea Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: into AI and then we've got you know, what was the the Willy Wonka thing? Is the unknown in the mirror It's like this is fine. Kids won't know the difference Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: and businesses go for that. And hopefully enough of a pushback is happening that we can turn course on that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I I get it. I I I understand why someone with limited finances would look at this Yeah, I d I I don't know what the answer is. I 'cause I could I could totally like do, like you said, special effects. If you wanted to, you download a copy of Blender and Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): then you go through, you know, you go to YouTube university and you learn how to make explosions or whatever dumb shit you need. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I d I don't know. I don't know where this is going though. Brad Ruwe: It's is yeah, it is a time investment. And that's the thing, is that what's the There's a a quote that I heard somebody say in terms of AI that I'm trying to remember exactly what it was, but it just struck in terms of it AI is promising the wealthy access to skill without letting the skilled have access to wealth. It's like, you know, it's letting the Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm. Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: people that can afford the really high end, expensive AI models that don't have six fingers on people's hands. it's it is allowing them Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Ha ha Brad Ruwe: to have the access to the copied work of these other artists, these other skilled people. But then the people that are skilled, who have those talents, don't get called in. They don't get paid for doing what they're skilled at and the wealth never trickles down to them and it's it once once I heard it positioned and framed in that sense it really made Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: sense to me of just like no yeah because it's all about we live in capitalism, it's all about the money. Like you ha everybody I feel like has access to those skills. You you can put out a job listing, you can put out a casting call for those skills that you need, but you just don't want to pay them. And it's like, that's it's it's the the problem where like you said, small teams, people that don't have those finances, yes, to a certain degree I can understand what you said, like the the temptation to use it, but then of course the people that are using it the most are these big companies, are these people that have invested so much in it and those are the people that are constantly using it to keep you know, so that they can get the access to the skill without paying the people that actually have those skills. And it's just frustrating. It's like, you know, I I know Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): The more frustrating very frustrating is the people that are using it is they're making dumbass videos where they're pooping on protesters and dumb shit. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Yep. And yeah, to to go with the the the the money thing, like My to go into like political stances and fam Midwest family stuff, you know, as especially over the last six years, with all the political turmoil, I have been heavily, heavily slanting left. And that has been an area that my parents and I, specifically my dad, have disagreed on in terms of like what's best for the the country and how like being a billionaire is not great in terms of society. Like, hey if you have that much money and there's people literally starving, shouldn't you have a moral imperative to spread the wealth? and but that's some Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Well. Isn't it crazy how we let slum lords take over and we're surprised that the streets look like slums. Brad Ruwe: Yep, yep. And this is this was one of the the the things that we definitely butted heads a little bit on was, you know, I'm not a gambler, I don't you know, I Vegas does nothing for me outside of the shows and whatnot. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Me too. Brad Ruwe: But ev every once in a while I'm like, okay, Powerball or whatever, mega millions is over a billion dollars. I'll put twenty or something to that on the off chance. Like I'm like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Sure. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: chances are slim, finances are at a point where I can drop a twenty. And yes, it would be nice everybody dreams of that. Exactly, exa Exactly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. I was gonna piss away twenty dollars on something else. Might as well do it here for the little bit of excitement, yeah. Brad Ruwe: And it's one of those things that I'm just like On the monumentally slim chance I win. Alright, fine, I'll I'll I'll put a little bit towards that. And it's one of those things that like I was talking with my family about it and they're like, you wanna be a billionaire? You wanna you want a billion dollars? I thought that was bad! And I'm like, do you know what I would do if I suddenly got a billion dollars? I would be a billionaire for a day. Immediately that money would be going to all the incredibly talented artists I know. That money would be going to making sure my family schools, yeah, my gosh. Like the things Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Schools. Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: that we could do with schools with a billion dollars. Like like it's it's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Exactly, exactly. Brad Ruwe: it's Like, I don't want to be a billionaire. I want to have a billion dollars to make my world better. Like, that's the thing. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Hoarding it and being a billionaire is just so gross to me. And they they are just like, you want a billion, you want to be a billionaire? And I'm like, no, I I want to have a billion to put out into the world and actually fix some of the things. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. I want the influence that comes with being a billionaire. Brad Ruwe: Yeah not even that. Like if your if your influence comes from simply being a billionaire and just hoarding it, like that's not Look at Elon. Look at look at all the billionaires right now with all of the I keep seeing, you know, the what's the the Is it cake? It's like, man, isn't it crazy that we've s the the the French came up with a tool to see if billionaires are cake and it's a guillotine? It's just like Yeah, let's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hehehehe Brad Ruwe: May maybe now's not the time to be a billionaire in terms of influence, 'cause that's not gonna go well for you, I think, in the next however many years. But it's it's one of those things that I'm just like, y if I had a billion dollars, I would be investing in all of my friends projects, essentially. Just like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I you have such great ideas. You are so talented. Do that, please do that. I want I want more of that in the world. Yeah, exactly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. I got you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. But nope, we get we get Elon Musk making his shitty Grok Odyssey instead. Yep. That's what the world needs. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And he did didn't he come out he came out with some two D animated show just two, three years ago, wasn't it? it he it was it Brad Ruwe: I I miss this. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): was kind of like a throwback to Archie Bunker and All in the Family. And it and it Brad Ruwe: jeez. I missed that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): it yeah, it it floated like a brick, man. It was it was tough to watch. Brad Ruwe: dang. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It was tough to watch. It was it was like if you if you told people like Marjorie Taylor Green to write Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): an animated sitcom, it's exactly what you would think. You know Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. And that's going back to the whole Hollywood thing is the it's they hate California because they wanna be California. They want Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: t they want to be Hollywood. Like they Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: if they they're just upset that they I mean, what's what's the how many Fox News people have been like failed comics or writers, like they've tried other I I don't know the specific number, but I remember seeing a stat somewhere of how many Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): There's a Yeah. Brad Ruwe: of their personalities failed at some other aspect of Hollywood and they're like, Well, I can do Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: this, I'll get paid to to say awful things on TV Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Well there you know there's a saying DC is for ugly actors. Brad Ruwe: I can I can see yeah. There's some of some of some of got good looks, but not not a lot of Yeah. man. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. But they're about as they're about as deep as a dumbbell full of water. It's just not there. It's just not Brad Ruwe: No. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): there. Brad Ruwe: Ugh man. It's crazy. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): So as far as like technology and it like in the in the entertainment industry, where do you personally see things moving or maybe even hope to see it move? Brad Ruwe: Mm. I mean technology is one of those topics that it's so hard to it's y yes and no. It's so hard and so easy to predict. Like essentially You hope technology goes in the direction that makes your life easier. Like we all hearken back to you know the Jetsons of just technology's all there just to make your your life at home just the most wonderful thing. You don't have to lift a finger, you know, Rosie will do all of that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And it feels like technology is going the opposite direction with a lot of stuff. It's it's making it so that the re the creating art is being done by the machine. machines and we're the ones stuck doing all the the physical work that you know exactly Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): The shit work, yeah. Brad Ruwe: and it's like you know we it I want it to be Star Trek future and we're getting Black Mirror future. It's like can we can we just start pushing it back to Star Trek? Because they they had their Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I like that. Brad Ruwe: their vision pretty good in that, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: But yeah it's it's it's Unfortunately, I think as long as the people that have the access to the development of technology are the wealthy. The development of technology is only gonna serve that. Serve the wealth. And it's it's Ugh. I want Star Trek! I want I want the Jetsons! And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Me too, me too. Brad Ruwe: it's like, can we can we have the people that are developing this stuff not be motivated by Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): To not be douchebags. Brad Ruwe: Yes, that. But also not be d motivated simply by profit. Because it it's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's you know again, my family and I have gone into it over capitalism being the problem for l that's firmly how I believe at this point. And it's just like if the end goal is always profit and not the product Products are going to be getting crappier and crappier and crappier because it's not serving the people. That's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: what technology is supposed to be for. It's a tool for the people to use, and if the development is not for the people, it's not gonna go any better. So we're kind of stuck in this rut of hey, can we can we like Reshift the focus from profits to people a little bit. So Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Because yeah, capitalism will take a great idea and just continue to shave it down. They use cheaper materials, they use you know things that don't last as long. And Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): we all know it's there, you know. Instead of building something out of wood, we're building it out of sawdust and glue. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): to make it affordable and and at the end of the day you guys it doesn't you you spent way more money on the cheap stuff. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Just hang on for a little bit longer, save up a little bit and get something that's gonna last you. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It's it always ends up being cheaper. Buying things that are well and then, you know, moving on into the entertainment industry. Again, we keep watching these things that it's just like recycled after recycled after recycled and and there's some folks that I talk to that are from the inner city and they're like Brad Ruwe: Mm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Now that things are affordable, now you guys want to talk about like trying to keep this technology away from us? Brad Ruwe: Yep, yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Now that we get to tell our stories, now you're Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): gonna tell us that you're gonna tell us about the fucking water and the d tracking and all that stuff? Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): We don't. Brad Ruwe: Everybody has access to the talent if they have the money. If you don't have the money, you don't have the access to the talent to begin with, which is why Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: AI for certain small groups, to a certain degree, does make sense. But it's you gotta look at who's mostly using it, and it's the people that have the money. It's the people that Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: and it's just like then the the the wall is being put up. Exactly, exactly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It just compounds the problem. Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: Like I I always will well One of the things that I've been having fun seeing is the the the trend of You know, the the graphic design is my passion. Used to be the the the joke of, you know, it's a bad graphic design, but it's my passion. Now, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: like I'm seeing pushback where people are like if it's like an event poster or something, people are intentionally making it look bad because then people will know it's not AI. Because pe and Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I kinda I kinda actually love that because like The the polish isn't what makes something good or not. It's the core thing. I don't know if you've ever heard there's an ana I'm sure you have. Animator Don Herzfeld, Dropout, one of my favorite streaming platforms, just got all of his works. They worked on a deal to ha to stream and host his entire collection of of short films on this platform. And you You look at the animation and it's a teardrop, stick arms, stick legs, a little like it's not crazy character design. He's he's doing Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: simple looks, but then what he's doing is that he's doing these crazy unique, interesting things with the paper, with the materials, like The creativity that he's showing with these simple little stick figures is incredible. And he's been nominated for like, I think, an Oscar for one of his short films, not too long ago, like within the last five, ten years. And you don't need AI to make little stick figures. If the idea is there, if the idea is there, like you're able to do it. Well, like That's kinda why I like okay, let's just take things to a simpler time. Let's simplify the designs. You know, we don't need all the flashy AI, all the flashy AI, as long as the core experience, the core idea, the core story, if it's, you know, filmmaking, is good and it connects with audiences. You know, the format doesn't necessarily matter. and it's, you know, if you've never seen I think it's World of Tomorrow is his Oscar nomination. Piece. The stuff that he does with just these little stick drawings is incredible. And it's goofy and it's surrealist and it's heartbreaking. And like he did all that by hand. No computers. I don't know if that one was no computers at all, but like at least his early stuff, he would release the making ofs, essentially, and just to see the the depth of Detail and again he's like physically manipulating the paper for some of the shots. Like the things that he's doing, all by hand, and even though the drawing's not great, he realizes he's like, I'm probably not a great drawer, but I can animate. I have ideas in terms of how to try, you know, make these shapes move and all of that. and it's just some of the best animation that I've seen. without, you know, you don't need the Disney look, you don't need the Pixar DreamWorks look. Like, make your own look. And you'll never Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: you'll never get your own look from AI. So it's it's that's yeah, yeah. That's how kinda how Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Facts. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: my my my stance is. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): If you take a look at a lot of the things that AI is creating, it's kinda looks a lot alike. It looks very much alike. Brad Ruwe: Yep. It's and I'm seeing it more and more in commercials and it's like you can tell. Like even even the best AI, something's off about it. And like It just feels so soulless. The actor the actor's performance feels soulless. Just the the k the camera movements feel soulless. Like what is it? Raisin Keynes recently did an AI ad with an AI Chuck Norris for National Chinger Finger Chicken Day. And it's just the biggest like Imagine just the grossest, nastiest pile of mashed potatoes. The gravy is super expired. That is less a pile of slop than what this ad was. It was just Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: clearly, clearly catered for the hard right. There's no Like yeah, the f the food was in there, but it wasn't the focus, it was Chuck Norris. yeah. And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's just like why you're selling chicken fingers? Like, just show me show me Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Why'd you have to bring him back? Brad Ruwe: chicken fingers! Do the chicken fingers look great? I'm gonna eat it! Like, I don't need all of this. And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's just it drives me nuts that they are gonna put that this slop, this slop out there for for an ad and I'm just like just show me the chicken show me people enjoying the chicken yeah yep nope nope and that's the craziest Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Just give me the chicken. Everybody knows Chuck is gone. He doesn't need to sell me chicken. Just make me just make good fried chicken. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: thing the ad ends with I'm assuming it's Chuck Norris's kids being like happy chink finger chicken day and I'm just like how much money did they give you to let you use his likeness. Like, clearly they they don't care about the memory of his dad. They don't they don't care about his dad's memory. They're just Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Such a horseshit way. Brad Ruwe: like, ha you wanna pay us how much to have an AI thing of our dead dad? Alright, cool. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Do whatever. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. I don't know if you know this, but last year I believe it was last year. These days, you know, a year lasts about forty five minutes, but there was a a battle going between Kendrick Lamar and Drake Brad Ruwe: yeah. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): and Drake came out with a a diss track. But he had Tupac's voice on it? Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And he got roasted. He got roasted. Like how dare you how dare you? Brad Ruwe: Yes. As he should as he should have. Yeah. Yep. It's like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And you understand like California rolls deep for California. They're very passionate about California. So you're gonna Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): t especially somet someone like a Tupac. And and yeah. For the the the community was like, Get your ass the fuck outta here. No. He lost that round. Brad Ruwe: Yeah, yeah. It's like if if if the Rage Against the Machine members, if and whenever they they pass, if the right wing starts using AI rage against the machine, like it's like you guys Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Against against the left or something. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: Yeah, it's like you guys know what they were singing about, right? Like th that's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: not something they ever, ever, ever would have done. And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Hey. Brad Ruwe: yep. It's just like Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): They literally hate you. Brad Ruwe: And that's like my favorite example of that is Nirvana. It's like they have the song where it's just like, you know, they know all our pretty songs and they wanna sing along, but they don't know what it means. It's like, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: yeah, the people that right wing art the you know y you sing the songs, you don't actually stop and listen and they're they're talking it's like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, you don't listen to the words. Brad Ruwe: is this play about us? It's like is this song about us? No. They can't they can't be singing about us. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. That's it. That's your us. That's not us, us. That's your us. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Exactly. Yep. Yep. man. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It's getting weird, dude. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It's well it's gotten it's been weird, but Brad Ruwe: Yes. The last ten years has just been weird. I I love the the the meme that when David Bowie died, the world ended and we've just been slowly It's like Bo Bowie was the thing that was holding everything together, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Disintegrating it Brad Ruwe: Just like yeah, it was it was around that time that things started to get really weird. Really bad. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. He was a linchpin. Brad Ruwe: Exactly. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): is there any since you're in the heat of it, you're you got front row seats to Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): to LA and the industry and things that are coming up. Is there anything or any channel, any anything that we should be looking forward to that, you know, maybe there's Brad Ruwe: Ooh. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): like a inside scoop that you Brad Ruwe: It's it's hard to say, because again, like right now it feels like there's a changing of the guard. That the audiences are kind of driving this. again, like the the studio executives are always reactionary. They're Yes, yes. Exactly. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And this is the good part of capitalism. If you're making trash, we're not gonna buy your shit. Brad Ruwe: But the but the executives are always reactionary. They they respond Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: after things are already in motion. So Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's it's the the direction I really think is gonna start to be bigger businesses are going to start to figure out the small who who who's the independent creator right now that is going to be the next big thing. So it's hard to it's hard to say you know, this specific channel, this specific person's gonna be the next big thing because there there's so much creativity out there right now that it is Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah. Brad Ruwe: hard to see in that by the time again, you know, that I'm working I'm working with the studios. I'm not going to you know, I I do the occasional small indie thing with, you know, especially with the acting kind of stuff, but in terms of production work, you know, I'm not my finger isn't quite a on the pulse of the smaller Indy stuff right now, but it I can tell that you know there is a change, there is a shift that's happening, and I'm all for it. As you said, I'm tired of seeing the same stuff. I was I I'll admit I was a huge Marvel fan. give me something different. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Same. Brad Ruwe: Give me something new. Like, I have no I I've Got Spider-Man shirts. I did a Spider-Man cosplay at Comic-Con years ago that I think is still in my closet somewhere. I still haven't seen the new Spider-Man movie. I'm just like, I don't really, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, I haven't either. Brad Ruwe: don't really care at this point. I'll see it eventually. same. I'm I'm sure Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And I hear it's fantastic. But Brad Ruwe: it's great, but the interest is not there. It's not like I have to go see this like it used to. you know, and and the I guess I'll say this. The one thing that I hope makes a comeback is the immersive horror scene because it was really picking up steam pre-COVID. like I said, Darren Lynn Belsman, right before it hit late to th late twenty nineteen, he was in a variety article where Darren Balsman teaming up with the Russo brothers to create a year-round immersive horror experience in Las Vegas. And I'm like, that sounds incredible. And I think it kind of also prompted Disney to really, you know. When when trends are starting to happen, studios all kind of see it at the same time for the most part. And, you know, Disney then announced their Star Wars hotel at Disney World. You know, it's gonna be fully immersive. There's there's characters you can interact with, there's quests that you can go on over the course of the two, three days, however long you're in the hotel, and COVID hit. The Vegas thing with Darren Bausman got scrapped, never saw the light of day after that initial announcement. the Disney thing, clearly they hacked and slashed the budget on and To try to make up. They the prices were insane. The prices were unreasonable for anybody but the people that had money. Like tons and tons and tons of money. Your average family who love Star Wars never would have been able to go to this thing. And the concept died. Like Disney sh closed the the the the the Star forget the name of it, but the the hotel closed in like a year and a half after they opened. Very short lived project. I think they're turning it the the building into like offices now. Like they're just like, Nope, we're never we're never opening this again. And I think that's at least my hope is that stuff like that does come back. The the more intimate, the more personal kind of storytelling where, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm. Brad Ruwe: you know, you aren't just passively sitting at a screen Just watching a story unfold, like people want to feel that connection. Like that's what that's Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm. Brad Ruwe: what good storytelling is. Good storytelling is connection. You know, you're Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: connecting with the characters, you know, you're connecting with what's happening. And some of my most impactful theatrical experiences have been in these immersive shows. You know, there was one of my favorites was from a group called the Speake Easy Society here in LA. And they did a show called, I believe it was called Johnny Got Your Gun or Johnny Get Your Gun. and it was an interactive immersive play about Dalton Trumbo, who was one of the people that was blacklisted in Hollywood through the Red Scare for being a communist when he he was a socialist, but he was blacklisted from the industry. And it's like he wrote very anti-war, he was you know, v obviously very anti-capitalist, and just was completely blacklisted and removed from Hollywood for it. and they did this amazing immersive experience at not the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but a similar church with mausoleums and stuff and you know, turned it into this exploration of his work, his life, you know, his writings. And so you're you're bouncing back and forth between the fictional moments from his movies, from his books suddenly being pulled back into the courtroom where he's on trial for being a communist, like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): wow. Brad Ruwe: and it's this incredible juxtaposition of the real world stories meshing with the fictional stuff that he created. And depending on kind of what character you follow, depending on choices that you make through the space, you would get different end scenes. So you would get different moments with different characters as your final moment. obviously everybody after the show, what happened where where did you go? Who did you and I will never forget the moment I had where Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): It's so cool. Brad Ruwe: as someone who has very similar beliefs I got down the Dalton Trumbo ending which I got to end the show with the main character, with the main actor. And the fact that I broke down in tears in front of this actor and you could tell he was like also because I I I I believe I know he was one of the creators of the experience as well. I don't know if he was like the main writer or what. I wouldn't be surprised if if he was the one of the primary writers. But just to know, like 'cause I think this was my second time going through the show. It was one of those shows where again, I'm like, I gotta see that again. I wanna 'cause that's the beauty Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: of it. You get to go through it's like, that black mirror interactive episode where Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: you're like, okay, I got a ending. I wanna go through and see what else is here. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And so I went back a second time and I got on that track and just one of the most impactful moments f as a as a performer, as a creative, as a person, as a socialist, like You just everything came together into this beautiful moment between audience and creator that is so lost in a lot of the creative process today. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And obviously this was a much intimate production and corporations now have to figure out, okay, how do we make something that gets the same kind of feeling, the same kind of energy into a mass produced kind of thing? And I think Black Mirror was actually kind of onto that a little bit in terms of the the the Bandersnatch episode. But that's something that I would absolutely love to see the industry look into more now that things have mostly been recovering from COVID. Now we just have to Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: recover from capitalism, unfortunately. but Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: you know, it it's something that was really starting to build up into this new format, this new trend of truly immersive theater that kinda died off after COVID and I really hope it comes back. Because that's one of the things that with with delusion, with the show that I'm I'm in now, it is similar but not quite as intricate as those shows were. We're still mostly scripted. There are some moments where people might get split off, but you know, there are moments that we can kind of improv a little bit with the audience. But for the most part, we are this is our script, this is the scene, you know, we're it's a play that we're just taking the audience through the play. But so we're kind of like I always say delusions immersive light compared to some of these other productions that I've seen. because like Sleep No More in New York was kind of the the big originator of the format. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm. Brad Ruwe: and I've seen other other shows Then She Fell was one that I saw in New York that unfortunately again got killed by COVID. and it was this format that, you know, you could really connect audience to creative in a way I've never seen. And as a performer now in Delusion, we get a little bit of that, but again, everything, everything got dumbed down after COVID because we had to. Budget and and distance from people and all that kind of stuff. And That's the number one thing in entertainment I kind of hope we get back to is f media is one thing, connection is another. Like ultimately that's the the the end goal for good storytelling is you have that connection between creator and audience and the immersive format was just incredible. Like there there was literally no screen between the two at times. and it's hard to do that on a large scale. Like I said, sleep no more in New York. definitely figure that out to an extent. obviously you still had to come out to New York to see it, but that's that's live theater, folks. but even again, Darren Ix ix yes, yes. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Yeah. Go travel. It's good for you. Brad Ruwe: my god. but COVID kind of forced some productions to figure out how to do that digitally. Again, I'm I'm fanboying right now. Darren Bowsman during COVID created a show called One Day Die, where it was purely online. It was a Zoom show essentially, but they figured out a way to Have cameras in every room of the house focused on the actors. The actors all had monitors in their performance space in their room so that if an audience member came into the room, their picture, their video would be on the monitor in their room. So they could see all the audience people that have come into their room. And you could click on a little map of the house, like hey, I want to go into this room now. I want to see what's happening here. I want to follow this character. To this other room. And it was so ambitious. It was the solution. It was the solution to how do you create Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: an immersive experience like this digitally, remotely. But the bandwidth, all the camera equipment, all of the video feeds going in and out of this one house at the same time. They had so many production issues, just the technology of it. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And it's it's something where I guess that that is the question with technology, is I th I hope that the technology does get to the point where what they were going for will one day be possible. Because that was w during COVID, one of the shows that I'm like, it felt like I was back at one of their shows, wandering this house, stumbling into rooms and seeing things my god, what did I just walk into? kind of thing. Like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Ha ha ha. Brad Ruwe: I I guess that's the technology direction I hope it goes into is is creating a way to really bring those connective moments and those interactive between talent and audience into a truly seamless experience. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): What you said this whole story brings me back to my thought that what Leveraging technology to reconnect with each other, for example, right? Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Yep, yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): when I was a kid in the seventies, if you wanted to play a video game, you had to get up, get in the car, go to the mall, go to the arcade, right? But Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): then we got Xboxes. Now we don't now we don't leave the house anymore. Brad Ruwe: Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Same thing with movies. I Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): love going to the theater. I love getting popcorn. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I love doing all the things. and now with the lazy boys where you do like this and you shit, get out of here, dude. Brad Ruwe: Yep, yep, yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): But it seems like the people that are in charge of technology and how we're leveraging it, they're purposely trying to separate us. Social media happens and we all reconnect and now they're trying to separate us again. And and Brad Ruwe: And replace us. The whole bot thing. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): A i every place. So now we can't even now we can't even connect. Like and and I'm gonna go ahead and you know fly your kite here to the back. I loved going to work and seeing Brad's smiley face there. Hey Brad, how's it going? And we are you know what I mean? So it's always cool Brad Ruwe: Aww I love seeing you too, man. That was a fun office we were in. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): when you find you know, when you click with people. So if we can leverage technology in that way where we all reconnect and We can investigate different things. I wasn't I used to like to go to the haunted houses and stuff like that, but like seeing the passion that you have for it made it better for me. Brad Ruwe: Yep. Yep. Yep. It's it's that passion is contagious. Like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: you you see somebody getting super invested in something and it's like even if it's not your thing, you can understand why it's their thing. And you get to see the joy that they get from it. And you're like, that's that's amazing. Yep, yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. so much fun. And if you guys like haunted houses, please find Brad. Go with Brad. Brad will make it better. Brad Ruwe: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Speaking of passion, I want I wanna show people your T shirt. Back up just a little bit. Yeah, he's an erotic hypnotist, y'all. Brad Ruwe: yeah. yeah. There we go. Well here's this is the crazy thing of how this all played out. Was Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Someone said I have this weird idea, and Brad said, Great. Brad Ruwe: Let's try it! Let's try it! So I'm actually really glad I get to talk with you about this, because this is something that like years ago I kind of stumbled into, but it's been like something that I'm like, you don't just start a conversation about that topic. It's just Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Right. Brad Ruwe: like, hey, get do you wanna talk about this thing? It's like not Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: really. but but it's it's one of those things that I absolutely just stumbled into years ago because I'm a nerd. And literally and I was a skeptic. Here so this is how this this is how I got into this was Mythbusters did an episode years and years and years ago on hypnosis. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And I was firm skeptic at the time. I'm less like. It's just people playing, pretend. There's there's no truth to that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: So then when Mythbusters does an episode, I'm like, okay, here we go. They're gonna they're gonna bust this thing. And They do bust the the aspect that you can make people do things that they are not comfortable with, you know. Do things they Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: would not do normally. That was busted. But they did another test just to see if it could like improve your memory. and cause your your mental acuity to go up essentially. And they had this test where they hired an actor, or maybe it was two actors, I don't remember, to people to come in who were like delivery guys. They had a fight with the two main guys, but then the three kind of the three subset hosts or the the co-hosts weren't in on it. So they they're just doing their own thing at work. These guys These delivery guys come in, this whole altercation with the the two main hosts happen, scripted, and they're like, what the hell just happened? And they go, Okay, so yeah, that was scripted. We're now gonna hypnotize you. Well first no, first we're Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: going to have you take a quiz on like what happened. It's just like, you know, what were they delivering? What was the name tag on on the delivery guy? Just like all this information. What were they wearing? had take a quiz over all these details that would have come up in the the altercation. Not they didn't do well at all. They were like, I don't fucking know who that guy's name was. He was just some delivery guy. I was busy doing this other thing. And they hypnotized them. So they'll do the like picture a TV in your mind. And this TV you can rewind, you can fast forward, you can pause, and I want you to start playing that moment in your mind. And you can pause it, look up details, and Had them retake the test after that. They were they were getting details that weren't even on the quiz. They like somebody clocked and remembered the tattoo that one of the guys had. Like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): damn. Brad Ruwe: crazy, crazy details. Like specific things, specific phrases that were said, like, you know, word for word. And it made me go, what the f No, no, there's no way. So me being the the the skeptic guy goes online. Again, the first part of this was not at all in terms of in in the play of how I got started it. But I started going researching online. I I discovered one of my favorite hypnotist mentalists, Darren Brown, who's huge in the UK, less so here. you know, I started talking with people online who who do h hypno hypnotists online and just being like Is this a th can you hypnotize me? kind of thing and for me at the time this was again college so Ten or twenty years ago probably. The video chat was nowhere on this level. Maybe audio. Maybe audio. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Ha ha ha. Brad Ruwe: I don't know. Probably not even that. But it was it was all like text and doing nothing for me. I'm feeling nothing, reading all the the the inductions or whatever. So I'm just like, okay, this is some bullshit. There's no fucking way this is real. And the the person I had been talking with was just like, no, there's try in person. Try what you've learned. You know, I've I've been explaining to you how it works. Try it with somebody else. You know, the way the reading the words is not working for you kind of thing. And I went to a adult comedy hypnosis show on I think it was when I was in Wisconsin on one of my internships. And th this is where the the erotic is starting to come in to play. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: So it started off as like a regular hypnosis show, you know, you're feeling hot, you're feeling cold, all this stuff. And my friend in the audience, 'cause I'm like, I need somebody I need a third party witness to like t see if what I'm experiencing matches up with what's happening. And she's just like, Yeah, it took you a while to drop into that, like to f look like you were actually relaxed. But Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: once once you looked like you had finally relaxed, you were gone. You were out. And I was on stage for about an hour. I I it was about an hour show, so it was probably fifty minutes I was actually up on stage kind of deal. It felt at most twenty minutes. Like it just yeah, the I remembered parts of the night of the show. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: But like literally I was not all there, essentially. And the second half of the show, like I said, the first half was the the standard tests and and figuring out okay who's actually responding and all of that. They get to the second part where the adult comedy star stuff starts getting into play. And they're doing like I I distinct this was one of the moments I distinctly remember because it was so embarrassing. But again, I felt like I was just like along for the ride at that point. Where, you know, I'm sitting there, my eyes are closed, and I can feel the person like walking around me. They're doing like all this like touch stuff to like make sure you're focused on the moment rather than your mind wandering out. because that's really what hypnosis is. It's not mind control, it's like your mind is so focused on this one specific thing that, you know, er nothing else matters other than this one thing that you're listening to right now. And the the hypnotist is just like, when you wake, open your eyes, you're gonna see the most beautiful woman you've ever seen in your life standing in front of you. And you're just you're gonna wanna dance with them and and just you know, show them a good time. And I open my eyes and it's a blow-up inflatable sex store that they're just like propped up there. And it's one of the it's it's it was the weirdest thing. Cause like There's like the part of my brain, the conscious part of my brain is just like, this is silly, this is dumb, this is clearly Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: just a sex stall. But then the other part of my brain is just like, but it's a really good-looking sex stall, and I kinda do want to dance with it. And it's just like, what the fu like afterwards, I'm just like, How? How what just happened? And I just started exploring it more and realized that apparently I was very good at it. I don't know if anybody if there's context, but the the reason I have the shirt, crowd control on dropout was asking for people with unique, interesting stories and life experiences Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: and and I'm like, I know what will get me on the show. And so You know, I'm I'm starting to explore this and on the show they they asked me like, you know, 'cause I I had set it up as just like it's like regular hypnosis, but instead of collecting like a chicken, usually somebody orgasms by the end of it. And, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: you know, one of the one of the the c the comedians on the show is just like, Well, how many orgasms have you given through through this? And My brain goes back to a house party. Ye again, years and years and years ago. Because I don't really do this anymore. It's it's like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it was a party trick in my like mid-early twenties. Like Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I'm I'm creeping them up on 40 now. It's not something I really do any day these days. No, no Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): you're a par you're at a party, you're like, Hey, anybody wanna boss a nut? Brad Ruwe: man, I'm good, I'm good. And Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I just changed my underwear. Brad Ruwe: So they ask me, my brain goes to this house party from years ago, and I'm like, okay, I did orgasm control there, where I had a handful of volunteers. This was a this was a kinky play party. This was people went to this party knowing there's gonna be nudity. Ha ha ha ha! Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Alright, so when you say you had a handful of volunteers, we're gonna need clarification. How many Brad Ruwe: I wanna say it was three to four three to four people had volunteered to do this, to to get hypnotized, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: and we had a trigger, I basically I took them through the whole process, I I Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: made it so that in their head, whenever somebody at the party touched their forehead, they would just feel instant pleasure wash over them, they would feel this orgasm just course through them. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And it's it's a case where I'm not giving them the orgasm per se, but I'm having Again, hypnosis is all about extreme mental focus. I'm having them recall the best orgasm they've ever had in their life. I'm taking them back to that moment where they just had the best nut ever. And and having basically their brain, again, similar to the Mythbusters, replay that moment. And so the rest of the night, any time somebody touched their forehead, they would experience that moment over again. And In my head, I'm like, again, I'm on stage now at crowd control. And my brain does panic math. Because I'm on stage. Everybody is looking at me. I'm trying to recall details from years ago. I'm like, okay, there was how many people volunteered for this? How many times did they get touched on their forehead? They Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: because again, they they went off with their partners then afterwards and they had fun with their partner. And I don't know how many times they got tapped during that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Her partner kept slapping him in the forehead. Brad Ruwe: Yes, exactly. And so like in my panic brain math, I come up with fifty. Which is not I'm sure s like twenty twenty-five, probably, is probably the Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: the real number. But I'm on stage, I'm being recorded, my mouth blurts out fifty, and I immediately lose the audience. Like the comedians the the whole point of the show is that the comics are playing off of Your real life stories. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: So I succeeded in that regard. The comics had a field day with me. but The crazy thing is, if I had the sense of not panicking on stage, because for the most people, the comics like you do, they're on stage, they're talking with the people in the audience. They Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: ended they ended with a mini-game where they bring three of the audience members on stage, and I was one of the three people that the producers picked, because they're like, no, the comics are gonna have fun here. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: And as soon as they called me on stage, I'm just panicking because I'm just like, what the fuck is about to happen. What god, what what did I get myself into? And if I was not mental panic, I I have a hard number that I could give. It's not an orgasm, but Seventeen years. I looked it up recently just to be like, what is it at now? Seventeen years ago. Again, to give you an idea of how long it's been since I've really been doing this stuff. While I was trying to figure it out, while I was trying to explore it and see, am I actually good at this? I did a a a video on YouTube that it's I made it so that if you listened to it while you're like feet on the floor at a computer, your feet are going to stay there until you comment. Like, hey, release my feet. Like, I'm stuck Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): shit. Brad Ruwe: I'm stuck here, you know, okay, let me go, kind of thing. I'm Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: again, college kid, I'm think- and I'm still vaguely skeptical at this point. I'm like, okay, it's working for some people, it worked kind of worked for me, like there's no way this will be a thing. 2.8 million views on this video when I'm in college. Yeah. Yeah. Like you can still look it up. I think it's just like hypnotize yourself feet stuck and that's it. And I hate watching it now. Because like, again, this was when I was first trying to like see if this is real basically and see am I actually good at it. And so I listen to it now. My I'm just I cringe every time I hear it. you Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: know, it the it's potato quality all pixelated and all that, because I have the spiral Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: spiral going that I put together and it's it's just so bad. But it's one of those things that like it took off and I'm just like am am I good at this? 'Cause I wasn't trained. Again, I Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I I I studied video of like Darren Brown and stuff over in the UK and and I talked with people who do it and Again, the whole idea was just like, can you hypnotize me? I don't think this is a thing. And then Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I just one hundred percent stumbled into doing it. It became again, I'm sure with the first word here, I I did kink stuff back in the day. I still occasionally do it when the you know, the right partner or whatever, right time permits, but it's it's very much like It became kind of my party trick. You know, I would go Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: to to to like dungeons and whatnot and and have stuff. But I never wanted to do it professionally because one, I just anytime you start doing something professionally, it kinda sucks the joy out of it a little bit, and I'm like, I don't need that. And then two, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: I wasn't professionally trained. I never went to you know, the what's the hypnotherapy institute sign that you always see on the highway. Yeah, on on Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Technology, yeah. Brad Ruwe: LA. Anybody in L LA knows the sign that I'm talking about. like I ne didn't go there or anything. It was just literally something I stumbled into. So I never pursued it as a thing, but it was just something that I enjoy doing with, you know, people that I found were interested in it, and and I did that, you know, off and on for a good five, ten years, but then just it got to a point where I was just like, I'm kind of tired of doing this, you know, it Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: it's And actually the funny thing was I still I'll you're gonna learn something about me right here. I mean this was a lot of people learned something about me through here. but I still enjoyed the feeling of being hypnotized. I had a pro-Dom hypnotist. Like that was her specialty was HypnoKink here in LA. And we I just kinda fell into just like I'm done. I'm nobody wants the white guy that looks like this doing the hypnotist anyway. I'm gonna retire from doing that. I'm just you know I'm just gonna Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: enjoy it, you know. So we had some f you know, I went to some dungeons with her as her sub a little bit and and you know we had good time then. so I kinda just completely fell out of doing it to people. So then when they Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: call me up on stage and go make me nut, I'm just It's like, god, how do I do this? How do I do this? It's been s yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): When that when that comedian when that comedian flopped down, I looked at your face, you're like, I was like, yeah Brad Ruwe: my god. I was in pure shock of just this is not at all what I expected. Because like the whole pre-show production They're you know, they're sending us emails, like tell have two versions of your story, a one-sentence version and a three v three-sentence version. Like be short, be concise. If the comics have other questions, answer them, but you're there to give the comic material to then riff on. I had that ready. I I had the basics. I had a couple, you know, anecdotes from my life that I was ready to talk about. I was not ready. They they gave no indication that I was gonna be put on stage, and especially no indication that I was gonna be told to make me nut. Like I just yeah. Yes, yes. Nope. Nope. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): She was she was clear with her intentions too. She's like you will do nothing else Brad Ruwe: There were there was one moment where th that got cut from the episode. The the whole game concept was Alright, you're getting put on trial for whatever this thing is about you. Like the Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: girl bef the girl before me was that I've never eaten a sandwich before. So one comic is the prosecution. It's like how how dare you never eat a delicious sandwich, you know, so so on. Then the other comic defends them. And it's just like Everybody's free to eat whatever they want, kind of thing. They get to me. Now only two of them made the cut, but there was a third of these mini-games. I was the third one. In the first two, the audience basically sided with the person, so I'm like, as soon as they call me, I'm like, god, rule of three for comedy. Because the third one has to be the flip. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): The killer, yeah. Brad Ruwe: I'm gonna be the one that is guilty. They're gonna gut they're gonna come gunning for me. So I go up there immediately being like, no, what are they gonna do? What are they gonna do? And so the the the comic gets in front of me, lays down, and I'm just like, this is my defense? This feels like a prosecution move. And it's just like I had no idea what to do. Like, I I feel like, again, with delusion, we have to do a little bit of improv. I feel like it's something I'm decent at, at least. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: I can hold my own, you know, for the most part, but in that moment I was just floundering of just like, what the fuck do I do here? Like, I can't actually make her nut because Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): There's Brad Ruwe: Hypn hypnosis takes a while. It's not just three, two, one, come, like my god. No, no, yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): And everyone in the crowd is laughing, so she's not gonna be able to focus. All right, here we go. Brad Ruwe: And it was just absurd. It wa it was so much fun. I'm glad I did it. I but I knew as soon as we Finished, I knew that that was gonna be in the episode, and I knew it was gonna be clipped for all the social media. I'm like, you can't again, that's my job, is is doing Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: the video editing for socials, and as soon as it happened, I'm just like, this is this is getting clipped. This is gonna be posted to Instagram. I I've been waiting for this episode to drop for months because I knew that this was gonna happen. But yep, here we are. My my post Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Is that a Instagram show or is that a YouTube or word? Dropout. Brad Ruwe: that's on that's on Dropout. so if you've never heard if you've never heard of Dropout, it's one my favorite streamer platforms. great comedy, great improv. they've started to pick up more licensed content that isn't produced by them, like I said, with the whole Don Hel Hertzfeld collection. but it's probably the most ethical business company I know in LA. So they raised their price last year, I think like a dollar a month. And they said, Okay, if you have our subscription prior to this date, you can stay we're not gonna charge you more. Like the the the price that you were paying when you started is the price that you're gonna pay from here on out. I think I think Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): snap. That's cool. Brad Ruwe: my partner I think my partner just got home. but yeah, it's it's something where When they raised the price, they said, Okay, everybody that is before the state, you still say pay the same price. But Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Mm-hmm. Brad Ruwe: they announced the price hike ahead of time. So like, hey, if you wanna get dropout at the cheaper price, do it now. Cause Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Do it now. Yeah. Brad Ruwe: yeah, like we're giving you heads up. You can pay the cheaper price, you just gotta do it now. So definitely a great, great platform. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I love it. And are they mostly comedy centric? Brad Ruwe: Mostly comedy centric, it actually was the old college humor kind of dispersed and became this. Yeah. So it Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Okay. Brad Ruwe: kind of evolved into dr th the name is their college dropout because they were college humor. They're not anymore, so they are a dropout. Mm-hmm. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. That's cool. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Do you think your your skills as a voiceover artist helps you with your hypnotism? Yeah. A lot of the same techniques. Brad Ruwe: Yes. Yes. I yes, it is. It's it's a lot of that sort of just getting getting the voice in a way that you know you're you're always trying to elicit a certain response, emotional response. Whether you whether you're a voiceover actor, you're trying to get a certain emotion, a certain feeling out of the line, and that kind of requires the same thing, is you're trying to elicit a an emotional response through that. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Like Brad Ruwe: Alright, unfortunately I do have to be wrapping up here in a bit, I think. Yep, yep. Yep. Perfect. Yep, yep. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): That's I was about to I was about to tell you, I've I I've had you for just over two hours, so I wanted to let you go so you can go get your work did. let folks know where they can find you and where they can follow up with all of the things that you continue to get yourself into. Brad Ruwe: It's It's a it's a mad mash of a bunch of different stuff that I get into for sure. on Instagram is ki primarily where I'm at these days. not Henry Gale is the handle. It's an old Lost reference. If you watched Lost back in the day, it's one of those things that I just in the twenty years since I made that handle never updated it it's just stuck. but Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Brad Ruwe: not not Henry Gale, no spaces, no underscores, none of that. is my Instagram and And if you're interested in my motion graphics, editing, acting, voiceover work, Rui Creative is my portfolio site. So it's R-U-W-E-Creative. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): dot com. Cool. And I'm gonna again I'm gonna leave all the links to all the things. 'cause you guys, Brad is that talented guy. Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Like he's just he does everything. He does everything. Brad Ruwe: Awww. Jack of all trades, Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Thank you. Brad Ruwe: master of none. Nice. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): I d you're my kind of guy. You're my kinda guy. Thanks again for taking time, letting us tap into Brad Ruwe: Course. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): what's happening in LA. Brad Ruwe: It's good to catch up. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, yeah. R I'm telling you, when I saw when I saw that girl flop over and said, Make me come I was like, I gotta reach out to Brad dude Brad Ruwe: Yep, yep. Yep. Yep. Life has been weird this year. And that day specifically. The day they released that on Instagram was the same day the trailer dropped for delusion. So I my my phone was Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): nice. Brad Ruwe: bl my phone was blown up all day in terms of Was that you? The fuck Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah. Why did you never make me come? No, kidding. Brad Ruwe: Yeah I did have one person say that and I'm just like bro we're we we were never that close Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Ha ha. Brad Ruwe: we were never make me come close Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): my god. As always, Brad, thank you again. this has been wonderful. It's Brad Ruwe: Yeah. Thank you. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): been great catching up with you. Brad Ruwe: Yeah, well definitely I'll be in touch. Yeah. Carlos Gomez (Coconut Justice): Yeah, definitely. All right, man. And with that everybody, we're out. Brad Ruwe: Yeah.