When you're 20 and broke, it's cute. You're a renaissance artist and the girls understand. When you're 30 and broke, though, it's not cute anymore.

Sure you love to rhyme, to find your rhythm, and to breakdance at Bar Mitzvahs. But does any of that pay the mortgage?

Like your mom always said, "But sweetie, can you make a living as a poet?" 

In this episode, poet and songwriter IN-Q tells his story of going platinum. His success emerged from growing up without his dad, learning to express his emotions in rhyme, and finding his way through the hard times. 

Listen in as IN-Q and Erik chat about... 

• What made IN-Q fall in love with rhyme and rhythm at 9 years old
• How his first public performance at 13 brought him to tears
• Learning to make a living as a poet during tough times (or why you're always right where you're supposed to be)
• Why "trust the river" is great advice for leading a successful life. 

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To be successful, you need drive. 

And often, the best motivation comes from hard times. 

Just ask today’s guest, the legendary Ben Baller, President at BBDTC and IF AND CO. From humble beginnings, he found the drive to succeed multiple times: whether it was finding success as a DJ or building a jewelry empire.

He joined me on the latest episode to talk about what it takes to go from broke to Ben Baller. 

What we talked about:

• How humble beginnings gave Ben the drive for success
• Lessons from Hollywood on what not to do with success
• Why slow and steady wins the race 

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The path to success is never a straight line. There are twists, turns, blind rises, steep climbs and falls that decorate the journey.

Matt Barnes, NBA Champion and Athlete-turned-Entrepreneur, is with us today, discussing his winding path to the success that he is today, and what’s yet to come.

What we talked about:

• Matt’s sporting journey and how his choice of attitude set the course for his long-term success
• Matt’s investment timing and what kinds of businesses he supports
• Defining doping and where medicating with cannabis fits in on the spectrum 

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• All The Smoke (Matt’s podcast) 

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1970s New York, the way to a boy's heart ran through a stack of baseball cards. 

The Shamus family knew that. But Mr. and Mrs. Shamus didn't just buy their sons a pack of cards. They opened a full-fledged comic and card shop.

...And they unleashed a legend.

In this episode, Gareb Shamus talks about how he went from baseball card shark on his elementary playground to founding ACE Comic Con and Wizard Entertainment. 

Listen in as Gareb and Erik chat about... 

- How Gareb's parents opened a comic and card shop using the family's personal inventory

- Gareb's first magazine and how it's popularity proved to be its downfall

- What happened that finally got the money pouring in to Comic Cons

- The scoop on live, in-person events during COVID and afterward

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing up, he was always the youngest kid on the team, fighting for a place on the field. And now he has 18,000 hours under his belt working with the most elite athletes on the planet, helping them achieve their most ambitious goals.

How did a farm boy from Alberta Canada become a consultant for clients like Real Madrid, PGA, NBA, and top leaders in entrepreneurship? 

In this episode of HawkeTalk, Erik catches up with Todd Herman, Co-Founder of upcoach.com and Author of The Alter Ego Effect, to talk about how he developed his career around helping elite performers become more resilient, creative, confident and courageous.

They also talked about:

- Why he wants more conflict in his life.

- What it was like apprenticing for Harvey Dorfman.

- Why he believes in changing identity over changing beliefs.

- What he’s creating next.For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beer is a working man's drink. Wine appeals to the posher classes, those gatherings of uptight people who (try to) speak French and show off their fancy footwear.

At least, that's how things used to be, before Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey.

Michael and Bonnie started their wine business by making friends in low places, as they like to say. They talked to forklift operators, supermarket stockers, and truck drivers.

And so the best selling wine brand in the U.S. was born — barefoot and wearing a deep blue collar.

In this episode, Michael Houlihan talks about getting your nose out of the air and your (bare) feet on the ground.

Listen in as Michael and Erik chat about... 

- Turning consulting gigs into a wine biz

- Where the name Barefoot came from

- Navigating a complex supply chain

- The advent of worthy-cause marketing

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know those stories you hear about a band that writes a song, and it immediately skyrockets? Top of the charts, instant success, radio play, the whole nine yards. Sound familiar? Not for Clarence Greenwood. 

Clarence, better known as Citizen Cope, has carved out a spot on the singer-songwriter charts, and even if you’ve never heard of him, he’s spent years grinding, shopping demos, getting cut from record deals, and even cold-calling record executives, all in pursuit of his dreams. 

On this episode of Hawke Talk, Clarence and I talk all about: 

• His relationship with his great Aunt and Uncle, and how it shaped his career
• How a teacher telling him his writing work was genius shifted the course of his life
• Signing his first demo with Capitol records, and then getting cut from the label
• Finally landing a deal with DreamWorks records that resulted in a Gold record 

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If your toilet doesn't stink, thank Suzy Batiz. She's the woman behind Poo-Pourri, a fragrant oil spray that coats your commode's water.

Suzy wasn't always a leading expert in bathroom odors, though. Nor was she always a multi-millionaire entrepreneur. Suzy grew up hard. By the time she turned 21, she had already declared bankruptcy once, lived through sexual abuse, and survived a suicide attempt.

But a tough life gave Suzy one thing she needed to succeed in business — hope.

In this episode, Suzy Batiz talks about her life from abused child to self-made entrepreneur.

Listen in as Suzy and Erik chat about... 

• Growing up in a dysfunctional family
• Plunging into depression after a second bankruptcy
• Suzy's spiritual journey
• The humble beginnings and growing pains of Poo-Pourri 

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What transformed a C-average student from the Bronx into America's most famous investor? 

Answer: His mom. An old van. A job at Red Lobster. And a passion for making music lovers feel special.

The fundamentals of business are the fundamentals of business — whether you sell clothes to hip hop fans, wait tables, or run a commuter van service. As a leader, you invest in other people's dreams.

Daymond John, founder, president, and CEO of FUBU and an investor on the ABC reality television series Shark Tank, talks about escaping the hood by doing something he loved.

In this episode, Daymond and Erik chat about... 

- Dumpster diving for bike parts as a kid

- Getting into hip hop

- Turning normal bodyguards into walking billboards

- Why Daymond isn't just a seller of oversized jeans to rap fans… and what he really is 

For more interviews like this one, subscribe to HawkeTalk on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.