8th Floor Special

Kaena, Cesar, and Jeremy reunite and chat about the nationwide heat wave causing ice cubes to be added to Tanqueray martinis, Kaena’s lingering zoo life lessons, an AppleTV red carpet premiere, Cesar brushing elbows with the esteemed Maya Rudolph, Hollywood’s glamor and inherent possibilities, Top Gun: Maverick, and Lightyear as a bona fide time- and mind-bending prequel. We extoll the triumphs of modern animation, and consider other gripping topics such as Droopy the Dog tattoos, Jessica Rabbit, Brain Pop-ItsTM, Ozzy Osbourne and The Osbournes, watching Love Island tripping balls, feeling at peace with yourself and fine tuning your presence while micro-dosing, the Colorado effect of psychedelic legalization, California vernacular and, like, speech patterns, songs that make you feel things, America’s Greatest Hits, and the continent-spanning, cerebral and emotional gravity of certain timeless tunes.

Apollo, Adonis, and Jeremy tap in from 8FS’s NYC headquarters to chat about podcast schedules, GOATing the local SBS system, our very own protein alcoholic seltzer (patent pending), the limits of protein intake, liquor-based small businesses, realizing your coworkers are real people, Dead Rabbit as a scrappy but classy mix of sawdust dive and high end cocktail bar, reality TV, the Jackass crew turning internet virality into a bona fide business, Bhad Bhabie’s Onlyfans, Adonis’s most recent date, the sensual nature of a good conversation, the serendipity of chance meetings, and acting on sparked impulses. We consider the hot messes and grimier scenes that bartenders might witness, Jeremy takes a stance on bars that rotate their drink menu, Apollo name drops “This is Water,” and round out the episode with a discourse on the awareness of death coloring your daily interactions, perspectives, and interpersonal relations. Talk to you next week, loyal 8FS listeners.

Kaena pitches a curveball, calling in from the San Diego Zoo with his lady, so this episode turns animal-centric real quick. He gives an audio tour and we chat about flamingo homicides, podcasts on-the-go, pescetarian gators, the life of Golden monkeys, monkeys (and humans) comprehending their captivity, Christopher Walken’s singing voice, hippos munching watermelons, the moral question of eating chicken tendies in a zoo, graffiti carved into bamboo shoots, Kevin James’s Zookeeper, doing psychedelics in a controlled wilderness environment, animal prison vs preservation, the sweet spot of evolution, harsh environments producing the toughest creatures, and feisty tigers.

Adonis has a hot date so Jeremy and Apollo tag team this one. We’re sippin’ the sweet nectar of frozen Cuervo margaritas and chat about being supportive friends, the struggles of Apollo’s ancestors, bamboozling border patrol, Jeremy’s job hunt pivot, the televisual excellence of Emily in Paris, Marilyn Monroe, NYC airports and the characters cruising the long cold subway lines to and fro, apps that are too good to be true,” the ~vibes~ of various east village bars (including the gems East Berlin and Wiggle Room), movies subverting clichés, the merits of drinking cheap, bars that please the masses, Double Down Saloon’s “ass juice” shot and vintage porn, down foos, and muscles being made outside the gym.

Cesar, Kaena, and Jeremy hop on a Zoom (this time avoiding any major tech issues) to chat about Crap Eyewear text message marketing, couples’ massages, an upcoming dinner at NYC’s Frenchette, and Cesar’s love of Taco Bell’s potato soft tacos. We commemorate making it to double-digit episodes, pay respects to veterans on memorial day, and talk about the importance of consistency in creative endeavors, future possibilities for the proliferation of the 8th floor special, third-degree foot burns, white house interns causing the east coast’s erratic summer weather, tales from 10,000 leagues under the sea, tripping in zero gravity, busted lips in trampoline warehouses, rationales behind social media use, Ray Liotta and the personal impact of Goodfellas, the ludicrous nature of the Depp-Heard trial, Hawaiian islands vs urban nexuses, and Kaena squashes a vicious arachnid live on air.

Tapping in from the east coast, Jeremy, Apollo, and Adonis gather round the campfire and talk about free Espolòn, the standards of a good host, the lack of shame present in a nasty bathroom, parental talent for instilling guilt along with an unflinching worldview, selling feet pics, male pampering, corporate virtue signaling, Jeremy’s job search and beefed up resumé, lucid dreaming, getting on good terms with your subconscious, the Grinch on SARMs, and other substances “not fit for human consumption.” Adonis recounts an injurious night at the NYC bar Pianos, we recommend kicks for short kings, and talk about early crushes, Drake’s “oh my gawd” goofy ass sliding into your girl’s DMs, beer sponsorships (we see you, PBR), a particularly stinky night at Beauty & Essex, the celebrity lifestyle funded by luxury brands, making friends at work, and why we work out

Cesar, Kaena, and Jeremy’s Zoom is plagued with technical issues but we persist, rally, and have a nice little chat, covering the Orville Peck show Jeremy attended at Brooklyn Steel over the weekend, Cesar’s auditions for an unnamed Netflix production, the life lessons he’s gleaned from the actor’s grind, and taking a break from smokin’ the flower. Kaena is posted up in Long Beach and we talk about nights there being interrupted by the LBPD, thrifting in socal, the cost of finding the rare purrrrfect vintage piece, Taco Bell’s Mexican pizza, Jeremy’s predilection for Del Taco, the boys’ upcoming plans for fourth of July and a Red Hot Chili Pepper’s show, Jeremy’s newest tattoo, plans for a live on-air ink sesh, and Cesar’s time working with Nelk boys industries in Las Vegas. Zander Torres, recurring character in the 8th Floor Special universe, makes a surprise appearance, and we go on about power lunches in LA and a trip to a suite at Dodger’s stadium before discussing the hurdle of seeing ourselves as adults and what we’re doing to distance ourselves from the fledgling versions of our past selves to become better dudes.

Jeremy, Apollo, and Adonis chat about Adonis and Jeremy’s all-you-can-drink outing at the Half Pint in Greenwich Village, Adonis’s Bumble endeavors and philosophies, the laziness of the simulation spitting out lookalikes, a trip to NYC’s the Nines, accidentally ordering the most expensive bottle of wine in LA, and personal development courses as borderline cults. We get caught on the cult thing for a while before moving on to Plato’s cave (not to be confused with the hottest club you’ve never heard of), comparing political memes, Jeremy’s weekend sleeping habits, breakup beards and the risk of beardfishing, and Modelo time in colonial Virginia. We pour one out for the loss of LES’s Sauce Pizzeria’s Vodka pie, and in the final moments reveal some choice intimate information you won’t want to miss.

Impromptu late-night bull-shooting sesh with Jeremy and Adonis. We’re both a little punchy and fending off sleep, artisanal 1:1 hybrid gummies working their magic. There may be intermittent background noise from the bedroom AC unit and some faraway music, but we rally into a lullaby pace and talk about evolving social lives, hangovers hitting worse than ever before, realizing the man in the mirror is the one spending all your money, ingredients for a night out, liquid IV as a bandaid (sponsor us), discovering mysterious injuries the morning after a night out, marketing yourself in crowds, and how you’re influenced by the three people closest to you. We discuss the importance of communication, the size of the black hole at the center of the universe relative to our own lives, bugging out in macro vs micro, the state of the NYC rental market (dismal), and Jeremy commiserates on losing a pre-rolled joint underneath the couch of a Harlem tattoo parlor. The night wears on, the edibles take hold, and Adonis nods off to Jeremy’s mellifluous musings. Sweet dreams, 8th floor specialists.