Purpose in the Youth

Episode 39: Even with being connected to the world at just a fingertip away, Matt has been able to stay grounded and have direction for where he has wanted to take his life. It hasn’t been easy for him and the path of getting him to where he is today hasn’t always been clearly laid out. What’s helped him along his journey has been spending a lot of time alone to reflect and learn without anyone distracting him. He grew up in a small town in Whately, MA where he learned how to understand people, build patience and become a caring and genuine person. Matt attended Holyoke Community College pursuing video for a year where he would stay late to learn editing software and was making use of all the available equipment the school had to offer. Freelance opportunities started to roll in steady so he dropped out of school, quit his job and went head first into editing and he became obsessed with it. 2014 seemed to be the year that everything started to click. He worked alongside singer-songwriter Sebastian Mikael and went on a radio run for several weeks with him after his big release of “Last Night ft Wale”, hopped on Huey Macks ‘Pretending Perfection’ tour which he appreciated the chance to travel a bit of the U.S. and eventually got pulled out to live in LA for sometime working with artist Bobby Grant who he had met via Twitter. Working strictly with Bobby for sometime and even doing a couple dates with him on the West Coast for a Blackbear run, LA had shown Matt it was simply just a location where he worked and that it only made sense to be there when he was fully confident in what he was producing. Chicago was his next stop where he moved in with his friend Jake Reeder, a creative with a similar mindset as him and he began operating out of the midwest with one of his new clients “Lil Bibby”. All the while living there he was still accepting business in MA and was frequently making the 16 hour drive to and from Chicago. There was no question if Matt was committed to his passion and he was making sure to jump on any opportunity that excited him and made sense for both parties. Now living back his hometown, Matt is focused on being able to visually bring feelings to his projects and is fine tuning his craft before he moves onto something else. In this podcast Matt discusses how having a ‘to do list’ and being organized helps him get things done, nothing is ever going to be perfect because it’s just an idea, having an outlet to destress in difficult situations, showing gratitude towards the people around him that make an impact, taking anything you love and treating it as something super important and not comparing yourself to anyone else because everything you do is moving you forward. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 38: It was the first time Matt had ever been invited to the X Games alongside fourteen other fortunate riders in the 2014 Shanghai, China competition. Nervous and only 19 at the time, he didn’t do so great on his first run in the contest. With some time in between before his second attempt he pictured his dream run and when the bell rang he was confident. He knew he had been working for this moment all his life. He placed 1st and won gold medal. Raised in Woburn, MA, he would ride his bike to school every morning and hit up local spots along the way, frequently marked late because of this. With a bit of convincing and setting a timeframe, his parents allowed him to leave high school in 10th grade. He got his GED and promised them if he didn’t have it figured out by 20 he would go back to school. Every move Matt has made has been calculated and strategic. He got a job at a local BMX shop, which he knew would help him pay for flights, meet people within the industry and would ultimately give him a list of contacts to hit up when the time was right. His boss at the time Ronnie Booner, told him if he started riding Subrosa and Shadow Conspiracy parts, he’d do his best to get him into major contests. Having confidence in Ronnie’s word Matt tossed his old bike and built a new one. He participated in ‘Simple Sessions’ the biggest competition in Europe, flew out to Arizona to film with the legendary filmer Bobby Kanode, traveled to every stop on Subrosa’s team New England tour and was genuine in the relationships he was building. With time he slowly worked his way from the Flow Team, to the Skeleton Crew, to finally being a Pro rider for both Subrosa Brand and Shadow Conspiracy. Riding has given Matt confidence not only in the competitions he has won or the tricks he’s been able to land, but also in himself as a person and any situation he is faced with. In this episode he elaborates on how riding is a 50/50 game of both mental and physical health, how his signature handlebars ‘Ray Bars’ came to life, how not having a lot as a kid taught him to work hard for what he wanted, living without regret especially if you enjoyed it in the moment, never dreaming too big as long as there is a plan to make it happen, making an impact on the kids that look up to him, throwing himself off rooftops doing incredible tricks and traveling the world just from riding his bike. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 37: In Long Beach, California, Andrew Morgan has transformed his living space into his workshop, out of which he runs a low volume, high quality clothing manufacturing operation. He works mainly with repeat customers that he has built relationships with and has grown with these brands along their journey. It all started back in Florence, Massachusetts, where in eighth grade he started riding scooters and fell in love with the sport because it was a mix between skateboarding and BMX, and he got good at it rather quickly. At 16, while he was in vocational high school for metal manufacturing, he launched his first business “System Scooters”. He started producing scooter parts in school at no cost because of his access to the material and therefore was making 100% profit selling scooter bars. Dropping out of high school at the beginning of his senior year, he left for California to work at the office of Fuzion Scooters, his new sponsor. He took advantage of the opportunity to get away and try something new. After just three months of being surrounded by people who didn’t actually care for the sport, and growing slightly homesick, he left back to the east. He launched his first clothing line “Exito Clothing”’ which was influenced by streetwear brands like Diamond Supply and Benny Gold. Exito sponsored local skaters to rock the gear which helped the brand gain traction and ultimately receive orders from local skate shops to sell his products in store. After another trip west for about a year, he found himself back in the house he grew up in. He transformed the basement into a working space where he began creating high quality products with a sewing machine, and continued to improve his craft over the next two years. With the money Andrew and his then girlfriend (now fiancee) were able to make from refurbishing a van into a living space and selling it, they packed their car and headed West to their new spot, where they now live. His main focus is keeping his customers happy with their products. Any spare time he has these days, he spends on the new collection for his self-titled brand ‘Andrew Morgan’. In this episode we discuss how Andrew was able to build confidence in himself because of scootering, being patient and not rushing the final product, how he started off with just a trunk full of gear and transformed it into a full manufacturing operation with high-end machinery, how being uptight about detail has made him want to make sure every piece of his product is thought through, his tattooing hustle helping him make money without having to work for someone else, why he would sit down with Will Smith if he could and not wasting your time doing something you don’t love. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 36: For only being 25 years young, Jitta has figured out a way to make a living doing what he loves everyday. It all started when he uploaded his first song to the internet for the world to hear, but if you came across him on the street and asked if he was “a recording artist” he’d politely decline and state “I’m an artist / artist.” He was born in Connecticut and raised in Florida with three siblings. His mother had them at a very young age and put them up for adoption. Even though they were adopted by separate families, they were fortunate to grow up in the same neighborhood, in houses next to one another. Jitta moved back up to CT where he went to high school and then gave a local trade school a shot. He learned computer networking and began building his social media presence. At the same time he was in school, he was working on his music and uploading it to the internet. Local radio station joc, Joey Franchize of Hot 93.7 (Hartford, CT) heard one of his songs and suggested he submit his music to a contest Drake was hosting, which was seeking young talent to be given a chance to open up for him on his 20 city 2012 ‘Club Paradise’ tour that was accompanied by J. Cole, Waka Flocka Flame, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz and French Montana. Needless to say, Jitta won and was opening up for Drake- the second time he had ever stepped on a stage, and on the first tour he had ever been on. Coming off the tour he started getting involved with the EDM/Trap scene and was working with Diplo, who grew up in the same city Jitta did in Florida. Eventually moving out to Los Angeles gave him exposure to the art scene and the idea that you could make a killing if you execute correctly. With inspiration from people like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss and style of character creation from Bob’s Burgers, this second artist within him had begun to emerge. When the sun is up you can bet that Jitt is too, whether it be skating around his home in North Hollywood looking for inspiration for his next project, working with artists from production to songwriting, or just kicking it at his crib plotting his next move, he makes sure to finds ways each and everyday to “wow” himself, be grateful for the opportunities he’s had and for those to come in the future. In this episode we discuss where the ‘Lumber Life’ branding comes from, some of his big moments such as chopping it up with DJ Premier from a mentor standpoint, the perspective that you bring everything into the world if you’re a creator, life being a time to love, to hate and to experience different situations, being raised by his adopted father who was paralyzed from the neck down and what lessons he taught him, where he got his name ‘Jitta On The Track’ from and why he wrote, designed and created his first book “Purgatory.” — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 35: People sometimes say, “the world doesn’t revolve around you” but in Gordyland’s case, it does because he has created his own. Raised on the southside suburbs of Minneapolis, he had two passions growing up: skateboarding and playing music. In his early years he wasn’t tempted to try alcohol or drugs because he and his friends were focused, they were selling CD’s out of their lockers and packing 400-500 people at shows for their band. With a three month tour starting just four days after he graduated high school, he broke the news to his father he wouldn’t be going to college and was hitting the road to tour the country. After traveling for 2.5 years, and gaining traction with the designs he had done for not only his band but others, he found himself sitting in a classroom at Minneapolis College of Art and Design wanting to become great and was locked in. College was coming to a close and he spent a couple years dabbling with different agencies that worked alongside Target, New Balance, Red Bull, Colt 45 and more and was even a creative director at a local sneaker boutique. After a breakup with his girlfriend and wanting to move to Los Angeles, his friend Mod Sun, a musician himself, offered him a place to stay in North Hollywood. So Gordy packed his bags and headed West. Once settled, things started to turn in his direction. He went back on the road with Mod, traveling domestically and overseas to Europe. He has done work with Mike Posner & Blackbear, and most recently his new gig as a designer for Girl Skateboards. No matter what has been tossed his way, he stays consistently positive all the time- something he has cultivated into his brand “Gordyland”, the idea of creating your own universe and curating your own life. In this episode we discuss the power of staying young at heart, being open to suggestions but not being controlled by what people think, understanding people don’t care even when you think they do, the idea of stop saying yes to shit you hate, protecting your craft and knowing your limits, importance of discipline in remembering what you want at every moment and lastly becoming a master of what you love in order to do it for the rest of your life. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 34: Now the co-founder and ceo of Boston based athletic company, York Athletics Manufacturing, Mark has had quite the journey getting him to this position. Aside from trying different sports growing up, skateboarding and snowboarding gave him a chance to step away from the real world and be at one with himself and the small community of people he had became friends with. Studying at the University of Vermont gave him insight that there were unconventional ways to making a living aside from the typical 9-5 and if you followed your passion it would work itself out. After finishing school he packed a van with his buddies and headed west to Oregon where he worked at Van’s Skateboard/Snowboard camp as a seasonal help worker, then onto being a part of Nike’s second attempt launch to breaking into the skateboarding industry, Norton Motorcycles as their U.S. brand re-launch team, Puma as an International Product Line Management and then eventually to taking a leap of faith with his own venture McGarry & Sons with his wife Elizabeth. His main focus is now York Athletics and helping spread their message of “fighting spirit” to push individuals to strive in both their mental and physical health. He values his time tremendously and balances both work, family time with his two sons, fitness and anything else that is thrown his way. This episode discusses hard work and remaining humble, quitting his first job after four weeks, the value of controlling your own schedule, the keys to success in business, having a vision of where you’re going, taking a step back to understand an objective, being true to who you are and jumping head first into your interests. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 33: If you were looking for Boston’s number one sports fan in the world, it’s my father Daniel ‘Bird’ Hobert. Born and raised in Holyoke, MA, he was one of ten children in a very close and supportive family. His mother taught the children to treat people the way you wanted to be treated and to show love for the people you cared about. After having four operations on his ears by age 13- which held him back a few grades in school he moved away to Linden Hill School, an hour away from home. When he finished up an associates degree at Holyoke Community College (aka Hobert Community College), he eventually found his way to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department where he has worked since 1987 and spent the past fifteen years taking inmates out to do community service. Bird understands that everyone makes mistakes and has taken on a leadership role of being a mentor to these guys, most of whom are just kids who made mistakes or have minor drug charges. We discuss how he got the nickname ‘Bird’, running the Boston Marathon, the key to happiness being health and keeping good people around you, rushing the old Boston Garden floor after Larry Bird’s off the glass bucket to win game 7 of the 1981 semifinals, how important family is to him, when it comes to life there is no dress rehearsal and why he loves Bruce Springsteen. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 32: During his sophomore year at Boston University, Tim saw an opportunity to bridge the rest of the world with the Boston music scene. He had just seen one of his first shows, Wiz Khalifa at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA. Tim always enjoyed writing growing up, had a good taste for music and recognized he could be part of the scene and not just a fan. A year and a half later after launching his blog, The Fresh Heir, he had written over 1,500+ articles, album reviews, reviews of shows he had attended, and more- all by himself- and was creating as much content as possible. All the while he was slowly beginning to build genuine relationships with people in the industry. He booked Chance The Rapper his very first show in the city (who is now headlining Boston Calling music festival in May!), he has played a role in creative direction and management for artists like Cam Meekins, Cousin Stizz, Michael Christmas and many more. One of the main reasons he has gotten to where he is today is because he has never chased the money, he’s only chased after what his passions have been. Tim elaborates on some of the biggest moments of his career to date-achievements like selling out Paradise Rock Club two weeks before the show and waking up to a text of a video of Drake on his birthday with the OVO crew bumping “Shoutout”, a Stizz record. We talk about planning for the long-run, letting relationships build naturally and organically, being patient and letting life take its course, not burning bridges, the perspective that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and the idea of just starting something but being a student willing to study and learn. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 31: At eighteen years old, Kalie Ann isn’t your typical high school senior. She attends school for only two periods a day and takes the rest of her courses online so that she has the ability to pursue her passions for both dance and modeling. Growing up in Stratham, New Hampshire she figured out early in her life that this was what she wanted to do and has put all of her energy into building this career. The word “no” isn’t something she likes to hear but it doesn’t stop her… it only motivates her. Before working with Dynasty Models and Talent, a Boston based agency, she understood that not every opportunity would be the perfect fit for her. She would strategize by looking at what she brought to the table and what agencies were looking for. In the past, Kalie took the lead role dancing in a music video for Jeffrey Miller. Most recently she was featured in ‘Girls Magazine’ an online publication that embodies women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. She plans to attend a four year college, Elon University, which packages dancers and gets them prepared for the industry, and remains optimistic for what the future will bring her. We talk about her involvement with the Best Buddies Program, inspiration from JoJo Gomez, accepting your flaws as much as your positive attributes, importance of self love, crossing skydiving off the bucket list, wanting to visit Dubai and ignoring the rest of the world when it comes to finding what makes you happy. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm

Episode 30: Frendy would describe growing up in Haiti as a “nurturing environment”. He was raised in a household that was also home to his mother, father, grandmother, aunts and uncles. He was always happy. From this upbringing, he grew to become very empathetic and due to that, has always built a strong connection with people. While attending Brooklyn College, he found a love for acting but eventually had to leave school due to financial reasons. From there, he started chasing his dreams. On his third attempt applying to BAPE, a streetwear clothing company located in SoHo New York, he finally landed the job and turned the second floor of the store into his “office” as he created an environment for people to connect, build and bring energy. Along the path of following his passions and chasing what he felt was right for him, he created and launched his personal brand “Frndy Lmrn” along with a blog and merch that gave his fans a “feel good” vibe when rocking it. No matter what life throws at him, he continuously reminds himself of how his mother and father came to this country with absolutely nothing and made it work, which keeps him humble. We talk about being featured in Forbes Magazine, meeting new people and making them feel happy, building a personal brand in 2017, staying optimistic and ready for your opportunity at any moment, perceiving situations as a benefit versus a loss, not being able to save someone that doesn't want to be saved and staying committed to something. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm