0:00
Mhm.
Search this video
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But, the next two are going to be [ __ ] bad.
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[ __ ] Hey, what's going on everybody?
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From First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones.
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It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
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And today I'm joined by digital media mogul Gary Vaynerchuk.
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He's the CEO of VaynerMedia, a New York Times best-selling author four times over, venture capitalist, TV show host, and motivational speaker.
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But, how does the man handle his hot wings? We'll find out today.
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Gary Vee, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me.
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How are you with hot food? I think I'm solid.
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Amongst my small group of friends, I'm dominant, but that's only about eight people.
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So, we're about to put it into context right now.
0:56
Oh, this is like on here already? Mhm.
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This is the one all the way over here? Mhm.
1:01
So, this is going to blow my face off? Yep. Okay.
1:07
Do you know how I eat chicken wings?
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How do you eat chicken wings?
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Literally every single piece and like break the bone and eat the marrow. Like I leave nothing.
1:15
I think that's easy to say on Valentina, Gary.
1:18
We'll see if you still have that life philosophy when we get to Blair's Mega Death Sauce, which is liquid regret.
1:25
I know that you're a huge sports fan, so much so in fact that you've described owning the New York Jets as an ultimate life goal. Yes.
1:31
Why that dream specifically?
1:31
Why is that the top of the mountain for you?
1:35
So, I was born in Belarus, in the former Soviet Union. I came here as a kid.
1:37
And at first not speaking the language, when I moved to Edison, New Jersey, I went outside.
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Eric Godfrey and a couple other guys are playing with that old school Nerf football, green and white.
1:48
And they kind of accepted me in and they're like, "You play football?" I'm like, "Duh."
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You know, like and I got in there.
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And then right away, I watched the first Jets game in that '82 season, and it became my thing.
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It was my break into American culture.
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You're Americanized through the Jets.
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I was Americanized through the Jets.
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And then, you know, if that's a fairy tale that's playing in your head, I imagine that you sometimes fantasize about the ways that you'd put the Gary V fingerprints onto the franchise. Yes.
2:16
What are some things that you would do differently?
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I would draft a quarterback in the first round of every draft until I found the guy.
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I think I would rip off people in trades.
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I just think I'm shrewd like that.
2:24
I would talk [ __ ] back to my own New York Jets fans because anytime they'd complain about stuff, I'd be "Listen to me, dick.
2:30
I'm a bigger fan than you."
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So, that would be funny and different. I fasted yesterday. Mhm.
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So, I'm hungry as [ __ ] So, this is delicious.
2:44
Empty stomach hot sauce situation.
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Some real chemistry going on there. Mhm.
2:48
So, as someone who's been in the room with tech titans and made investments in Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and the like, do you think Silicon Valley gets a bad rap from the media, or are there real cultural problems that undermine the upside in your opinion?
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Yeah, I think there's some, but I'll be very honest with you.
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There's a lot on Madison Avenue, too.
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There's a lot in all sorts of sectors.
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I just think that Silicon Valley is so cultural right now.
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A bad rap of like it needs more diversity, everybody needs more diversity.
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And then, you know, I think that Mark Zuckerberg probably has the most disproportionate how much power he has to what we know about him ratio in the country. Okay.
3:25
As someone who's actually spent time with the Zucks, what do people get wrong about him?
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I think this notion of he's a tech nerd and he built it cuz of a girl, all that [ __ ] I just think he's a genuinely good guy, smart as [ __ ] and disproportionately understands human behavior.
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Besides Jeff Bezos, I think he's probably the most understanding of consumer behavior, which makes him extremely dangerous as an entrepreneur.
3:47
Is Facebook a force of good, a force of evil, does it matter?
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Facebook is a Everybody's super pumped about blaming other people for their own [ __ ] Technology's exposing who you are, not changing you. Facebook's a mirror. It's funny.
4:03
I was a little bit worried cuz the first one I'm like, "Oh, there's a little spice here."
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That's the first one, but the fact that Khaled bounced after this one, that's lame.
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I'm in good shape though.
4:16
So, I know that you're a fan of hip-hop and I've heard you say that you've listened to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony First of the Month over 8,000 times in your life.
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And you seem to be especially drawn to this new breed of superstars who made a wave on YouTube and through the power of the internet.
4:28
Besides raw talent, what do you think separates someone who has a little bit of internet buzz and a mixtape on SoundCloud from someone who say at the top of the industry like Chance the Rapper?
4:39
If you [ __ ] grind cuz you love it so much, I believe work ethic is a huge variable and this is why if you it seems like you've done your homework, A Boogie, Kyle, Russ, they're one song away. You're one song away.
4:48
Not every business is like that. Music's incredible.
4:54
Hip-hop especially like just put out more stuff to give you more chance.
4:58
As someone who spends time with artists like A Boogie, Kyle, Young Pinch, who do you see as the next Forbes list big power player in hip-hop? That's a good question.
5:08
So, I think Russ has a ridiculous chip on his shoulder that may be enough for him to pull it off.
5:14
Like he's just competitive and like [ __ ] you, I'm going to show you and I'm like that and I like that and I think that's a really interesting insight.
5:21
ASAP Ferg really is creative and really understands culture and really understands how to like hack attention.
5:27
Even though he's a little further along is interesting to me from afar.
5:29
I'm not going to like anoint because I don't know, but I know that they have a huge advantage because I do think hip-hop is the disproportionate seat in our culture and that a lot of these kids have big opportunities especially if they put in the work.
5:50
I assume the amount of hot sauces that are sent here like do you like put hot sauce on all your [ __ ] at home now? Crazy.
5:54
I mean I I'm a little bit more into it.
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I think when I'm not shooting cuz I have other food shows and stuff.
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So when I'm off the clock, I'm really into like cereal and juice and eating super light.
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Corn Pops to me are like the best.
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Frosted Flakes pretty unfuckwithable like in their position.
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I go to Whole Foods now so I'm always just ripping off their rip off versions.
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So I'm with the Panda Puffs.
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And is that because it's a little bit healthier?
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It's just because there's a Whole Foods halfway between my gym and my apartment.
6:24
I know that you're a connoisseur of wine and the wine business and it's set the foundation for everything that you've built since.
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So I do want to talk some wine.
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For the viewers out there, if you walk into a wine shop with 15 bucks Portugal.
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Portugal is the big steal in the market right now.
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You can get what I would call $40 equivalent in California, France, and Italy for 15 and under. Call it 12 to 15.
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The difference between a $9.
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99er and a $13 is significant. Huge. So don't be cheap there. That's not the place.
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Like if you're at 10 cuz you know these are all round numbers.
7:02
If you're at 10 like like like just go up to 13.
7:11
Oh, your own private label? Mhm. Respect.
7:12
I love the entrepreneurship. you'd like that Gary V. I'm excited. I'm excited. You guys sell this?
7:16
All right, let's order some.
7:19
I want to support gangster entrepreneurship. It's good.
7:26
All right Gary, we have a recurring segment on our show called Explain That Gram.
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We do a deep dive into our guest's Instagram, pull interesting pictures that need more context.
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So I'll show you the picture and then you can just tell me the bigger story. Does that sound good?
7:37
That is [ __ ] incredible.
7:39
That is That needs to be a show in itself.
7:41
You guys need to think about that.
7:43
We need to bucket that out. Mhm.
7:45
Why don't we think of that, D-Rock? Very smart. You and The Rock. Yes.
7:49
People were excited about this one.
7:51
So, I see The Rock's following me, so I DM him.
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I'm like, "Yo, like I don't know if this is your social media team or you, but cool.
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Like thanks for the love."
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I don't know, like an hour later like he DMs me back.
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He's like, "No, it's me, brother."
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And I'm like, "Holy shit."
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Like, you know, I've gotten numb a little bit. Like winners win, man. Winners win. Winners are on time. Winners are humble. Winners grind.
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Winners never get too caught up in who they are.
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Winners look at everybody and say, "What's up?" Winners win. He [ __ ] wins.
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He's going to win the whole [ __ ] thing.
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This young entrepreneur Yes.
8:22
Benny over here talk to me about Benjamin Kicks. Oh, this is me.
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Like just so everybody knows, like if I was born in a different genre You'd be Benjamin Kicks.
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I'd be selling so many [ __ ] sneakers.
8:32
I'd be destroying Benjamin Kicks.
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If I was going through the system right now, 0.
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0 chance that I would have graduated high school. Zero. I You know what's funny?
8:41
I was about to say he's going to become a straight douchebag or winner.
8:42
I don't think he will become a straight douchebag.
8:45
I think he's being trying to be thoughtful.
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He's asking the right questions. It's hard, right? Right.
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It's hard to be around all that money and all those girls and all these real celebrities. He's so young.
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I don't know what would have happened to me if I got put on that early.
8:55
So, I root for him and I stay close to him cuz I want him to win.
8:59
You'll put up these shorts all the time on Instagram and sometimes you'll take semi-unpopular positions like when you railed against Fridays, for example.
9:08
At its basic form, if you genuinely celebrate Friday, you need to rethink your entire [ __ ] game.
9:13
To live your life where you love Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, and despise Monday through Thursday or Friday morning is devastating to me because you're wasting too much of your life.
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And I'm trying to put pressure on the conversation to say, if you love Friday that much then you need to really look at Monday through Thursday and see if you can do something about it.
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Please do not waste the next 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 years of your life and allocate 30, 40, 50, 60% of your time to something that you hear to end each and every week. I like it.
9:52
It's got a little bit of a sweetness undertone. Mhm.
9:53
So, one of my favorite things about you is your willingness to dole out free advice.
9:57
So, right now, I just need a little Gary V brand consulting.
9:59
So, let me set the table for you here.
10:01
All right, we have about 2 million YouTube subscribers. Yeah.
10:06
Decent little wave, big Reddit support audience, and then on top of that, we have these two Reddit is such an incredible part of our culture.
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It's a real It's a great part of the internet.
10:15
Yeah, and we're grateful.
10:15
We're very fortunate to have any of that because to be real with you, Gary, we have no idea what the [ __ ] we're doing around here. Yes, I understand.
10:23
So, if we handed you the reins It would be much bigger.
10:27
What's the top line game plan for Hot Ones? So, what I do well Sure. is I reverse engineer.
10:31
I start at what we need to have happen and I go backwards until I get there like a Plinko.
10:36
You know the [ __ ] Plinko spray?
10:37
Do you remember That's how I think. So, go ahead.
10:40
So, I'd say this, I'm obsessed with the show and it kind of started as a goof and then when you see it snowball, you just become obsessed with the growth.
10:48
And then I think also what drives me is sort of this chip on my shoulder thing where I see other things that are bigger and more popular.
10:54
So, I'm almost motivated it's much better because like everybody thinks their kid is cute, but a bunch of them are ugly.
11:00
Yeah, it's probably at some level like I own a house, I put it on the market and I overprice it because I'm obsessed and I'm in love with it. growth right now. Right.
11:09
Is there an audio version of this show?
11:11
No, it's just the straight I'm so [ __ ] pissed right now.
11:15
Like, this needs to be a podcast.
11:15
You literally need to transcribe this entire thing right now. Dom, get busy.
11:21
Dom, I'm sure you're not writing a blog post or a medium article or a LinkedIn post or something on Reddit that is a recap six paragraphs of this interview either, right? We upload and leave. Right.
11:33
But, it's about creating the other forms of media. Podcast yesterday. Podcast yesterday.
11:37
On the popularity of this, you're going to be a top 300 podcast in 2 seconds.
11:41
That's going to create a viral loop.
11:43
Then, people are going to watch the video.
11:44
You got to be in every format. That's 100%.
11:45
Another thing, you need to do this live at cultural events. We we we're there. We're there. god.
11:54
[ __ ] But, like everything else, too. Got it?
11:57
Don, I hope you're taking notes. Yes. Mhm.
12:11
This is cranking it up a little bit. Mhm. Mhm. But, I'm super unfazed. Look at you, Gary.
12:16
I have the tiger of myself right now.
12:18
Because what I don't think most people understand is how much life is mental.
12:20
I'm a big believer in that.
12:23
And then, Hot Ones is very mental. I think so.
12:24
Basically, I've decided that I will not lose to the sauces, and I'm a little scared, cuz that was pretty hot, and there's three more to go.
12:33
So, as we just discussed, you're very content is king.
12:34
You have a videographer today.
12:37
It seems like almost everything you do is documented.
12:39
What are the things that don't make it to the internet? 90% of my life.
12:45
Nothing about my family and kids and private life.
12:47
And 80% of my business world I can't share, because I'm in meetings with Chase and Budweiser, and I'm firing people, hiring people, or they're talking [ __ ] about people. Almost everything.
12:57
Do you think that it's strange at all that everything is being captured and recorded, or is this the new normal? new normal.
13:03
I think it's strange for people that are not capturing.
13:04
My my great great great great grandson, Jeremiah, is watching this right now. Hey, Jeremiah.
13:11
Like, you know, it's like that's [ __ ] amazing.
13:15
I'm a little worried about this one.
13:16
This one looks It's called [ __ ] death, you know?
13:19
Like, [ __ ] It just keeps looking at me like, uh You know, it's interesting.
13:27
I'm very observant watching the faces of the camera people because they have insights.
13:33
They've seen this dance before.
13:35
So, I went into that pretty confident.
13:37
When dude with the Hawaiian shirt, I'm like, "Fuck.
13:39
I'm walking into a buzzsaw."
13:41
So, but I'm feeling okay so far.
13:55
This is spicy as [ __ ] But, I'm too mentally strong to waver.
14:00
So, you seem to relish turning these viral sensations into viable floating stars.
14:06
So, what I want to do is have a little bit of a mock draft.
14:08
What we've done is pulled some of the most influential people in the space.
14:11
We've bucketed them out so that some of them are $5, some of them are $4, 3, 2, 1.
14:19
I'm going to give you 15 bucks to build the roster. Does that sound good? Yes. This is interesting.
14:26
By the way, the next two [ __ ] wings are going to be real trouble.
14:28
My lips are on [ __ ] fire. I'm so pissed. Okay.
14:32
Damn Daniel, that was good.
14:32
How much do I have to spend? You have $15 to spend.
14:36
Our friends over at Everyday Struggle did this with rappers.
14:40
This time around, we're doing it with viral sensations.
14:41
So, the most firepower is what you're looking for. Ooh, this is tough. $15, right? 15 bucks.
14:51
Cameron Dallas is a steal.
14:55
14, I only have a dollar. [ __ ] I really need 16. I would have been set. Okay.
15:03
It looks like, and this is interesting, you've pulled one person from each category.
15:08
You have a dollar, a $2, a $3, a $4, and a $5, which is interesting to me.
15:12
Can you talk your choices out for me and why? Yes. Damn Daniel is a dollar.
15:15
I still think there's a lot of legs there. I I feel like it's out.
15:19
Nobody gives a [ __ ] anymore.
15:20
But, I think as soon as I just said damn Daniel, everybody had a reaction, which means there's still something there, and that's super important. Uh backpack kid? Mhm, backpack kid.
15:31
I just met with him recently.
15:31
I think he's got an interesting chip, which I, you know, always like.
15:35
And at two bucks, it just seemed like a good deal.
15:37
I'm also into backpack culture.
15:38
I think it's just starting.
15:39
I don't think this goes away so quickly.
15:41
I think Cameron Dallas really knows what the [ __ ] he's doing.
15:45
He could have easily been in the four and five dollar category.
15:46
He's an entrepreneur and a model and a big audience.
15:49
Cuz he's the most obvious of this bunch that could have been five, and he's smart.
15:54
He's not just a pretty face.
15:56
I think he's going to be around.
15:58
Four dollars is Jake Paul.
15:58
I struggled this one cuz Cardi B is amazing.
15:59
King Bach, I think is super talented.
16:01
Cuz I wanted to get Bach as well, but that made it 16.
16:05
That's when I complained about that.
16:06
But Jake, uh I think is going through an interesting moment right now. He's taking some heat.
16:10
He's been a little rogue, little like MTV Jackass kind of stuff.
16:16
In 11 years, we'll be watching this.
16:17
He'll be in the world doing something, not like a child star, you know?
16:21
Uh Kylie Jenner is top 10 most culturally impactful people.
16:26
And I noticed that it was the first name that you circled, Gary. You know?
16:30
great observation by you.
16:31
And that's because she's worth 10.
16:35
But the next two are going to be [ __ ] bad.
16:38
[ __ ] Just tagging her head out.
16:55
I think I'm doing decent [ __ ] It's kicking in late. God damn it. Mhm. All right. I'll take my L.
17:09
So you seem to have a really unique insight on the way that the tides are changing, particularly in media, and it seems to me so odd because these bedroom vlogs and all these do-it-yourself videos with basically zero budget seem to be attracting eyeballs in a way that big TV shows with big budgets aren't anymore.
17:29
Cuz this is the television, and that's the radio. It's not odd.
17:32
It's just that people aren't accepting what the [ __ ] is actually happening.
17:36
I don't feel like the industry is totally caught up.
17:37
Like I think that there are a lot of marketers and sales people that still aren't caught in like 2010 or something.
17:44
either either financially restricted, meaning it's in their financial interest to not accept the new world, normally, or B, they suck.
17:53
Everyone's so risk-averse because they have these like corner office jobs or whatever.
17:58
And then they always just do some sort of like cost-benefit analysis that isn't about growing or making it bigger or making it the best thing in the world, but just about keeping their jobs or some [ __ ] That's exactly right. It's pure defense.
18:10
When or how do you see the tide changing?
18:12
Like in other words, I feel like this show has more eyeballs on it than most TV shows.
18:16
At like what point do you think I don't have to show explain that gram off my laptop anymore?
18:22
When [ __ ] start going out of business.
18:24
You know, when Toys "R" Us goes out of business, the toy manufacturers are like, "Wait a minute."
18:29
I just got to wait for the media apocalypse, and then it's good times for Sean, huh? Correct. 100,000%.
18:32
When people are like jumping out of windows cuz the world's collapsed, you're like, "Yeah." All right, Gary Vee. This is the last dab.
18:47
We call it the last dab because it's tradition around here you're talking about.
18:53
to pull a little extra on the last wing. Okay.
18:55
You don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm not going to stop Gary Vee. Okay. Here we go. Unbelievable, Gary Vee.
19:26
Do I have the cleanest bones in the history of the show? Yes. Yes, bones.
19:30
Cleanest bones, [ __ ] All right, Gary.
19:33
Now that you have 10 wings, the last dab coursing through your veins, it's time to hit the people with some truth.
19:40
You know, you're a man who's all about the small-scale hustle, flipping a buck, lemonade stand [ __ ] I wonder from your perspective, what do you think is the difference between a hustler, someone who actually grabs the bull by the horns, and then all these phonies who talk about it? Entitlement.
19:58
They think they deserve it without it putting in the work.
20:00
Nobody owes you [ __ ] Everybody wants to complain.
20:04
Nobody's listening to your complaints.
20:06
You would be stunned how many of the winners lack that entitlement.
20:09
Some people have it, it happens.
20:11
Some people get fancy, and they fail.
20:14
The stars that you know, they're not around anymore.
20:15
They don't [ __ ] matter because they sold the [ __ ] out, and they thought they were something.
20:20
I wake up every morning thinking that everything I've done is what I've done.
20:24
I don't deserve [ __ ] Today may be the day it all falls apart.
20:28
I'm only as good as my last at bat.
20:28
I'm not [ __ ] I think those are the people that are winning.
20:33
We're just a bunch of animals on this space rock trying to figure it all out, and Gary, you have more insight than most, I think.
20:40
Whole room, not a dry eye in the house, and now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you, Gary. Thank you.
20:48
This camera, this camera, or this camera, let the people know what you have going on in your life.
20:52
Honestly, I know that this is the plug time.
20:54
I actually have nothing to plug. Here's what I want.
20:55
I want you to [ __ ] suffocate your [ __ ] excuses and go do something.
20:59
Forget about what I'm doing. Go do something. It's time.
21:08
On a very serious note, what do you think?
21:09
Like rank me all time on this show. Top three. Who are the other two? Uh T. J. Miller I really liked. Okay. And? I don't know. There's always Top two. Top two. [ __ ] you, T. J.
21:22
Hey, what's going on Hot Ones fans? A quick heads up.
21:23
The second annual ComplexCon is coming to Long Beach, California November 4th and 5th.
21:27
And you know First We Feast and Hot Ones are going to be in the building.
21:31
There's going to be a live Hot Ones taping.
21:35
We're going to be doing a panel with my buddies Andy Milonakis and Matty Matheson.
21:38
The Last Dab will be for sale. It's a whole thing. Total circus. Hope to see you there.