Real Talks on the Rocks

Have you ever wondered how people can become an entrepreneur at a young age and how some of them succeed? 

On this episode of Real Talks on the Rocks, I sit down with Simon Katz, who is the founder of multiple Silicon Valley businesses and is part of some of the most exclusive social networks in the world. Hear Simon talk about his early life in the Soviet Union and how that drive carried over to the United States when he came here as a child. 

Simon spends plenty of time going into detail of how he was able to take control of his life, despite the circumstances he faced, and his personal advice for how you can take control over the income you want to have! 

Simon is also a YouTuber with over 20k subscribers and utilizes his channel to explain his thoughts on various topics in the financial, real estate and business sectors. 

You can reach out to Simon on his instagram page: https://instagram.com/simoniknow 

You can also check out his YouTube page here: https://youtube.com/c/SimonKatzShow 

Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon and allowing me to grow this channel! 

Click the link below to access this episode's bonus content:

 https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks

 For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at: 

https://realtalksontherocks.com 

There you will find links to Apple Podcasts, Spotify as well as my Patreon page. 

You can also follow me on: Facebook: https://facebook.com/realtalksontherocks 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/realtalksontherocks 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realtalksontherocks 

Chapter markers: 

00:00- Intro 

04:05-Growing up in the U.S.S.R

10:47-Making money by being “clever” 

15:10- Hustling as a kid in San Francisco 

16:34- No one taught us about money

19:10- Men’s mental health 

21:12-Simon’s obsession

23:54- YouTube is not for the money 

26:00- What you can learn on YouTube

27:17- How to have a healthy relationship 

29:53- The thrill of buying cool stuff! 

31:42- why this show exists 

32:27-the REAL reason why you want to be in the “club” 

34:32- AMEX centurion card (black card) 

36:12- Networking with the right people 

39:07- the daily life of an entrepreneur 

42:22- why does Simon work so hard 

46:07-why talking to your partner is SO important 

48:30- look at the family behind your spouse 

50:22- Balancing supporting kids vs spoiling them 

51:37- Patrick Bet-David lessons 

54:30- the “game” that billionaires play to keep their money 

57:16- Why the government spends billions to keep the economy going 

58:46- How Simon started his first official business 

1:02:32- How much capital (money) do you need to start a business 

1:07:37- How to choose the right product to sell 

1:09:49- be careful selling on Amazon (read the fine print)

1:13:17- be careful with inventory-based business 

1:15:02-Finding the right people for your business 

1:18:32-Simons hardest days as a business owner 

1:20:04- The new norm with employee loyalty 

1:23:42- the “clock in, click out” mentality 

1:25:32- money does not make you happy 

1:28:24-let’s talk about capital needed to start a business 

1:31:42- Why Simon dabbles in real estate 

1:35:07- The game of buying a home in the Bay Area 

1:41:09- How badly do you want the money? 

1:42:42-How to buy a home as an “average person” in the Bay Area 

1:48:04- What happened to the “old idea” of buying a home?

1:52:22- What Simon has up his sleeve 

1:58:00- Have a business or kids? 

2:02:00-Final thoughts

On this episode of Real Talks on the Rocks, I sit down with Kris and Kelsey, who are the founders of K+K Training in San Francisco. Kris and Kelsey are the iconic couple that shares the same passion for fitness and coaching their clients to get in the best shape of their lives. Their journey has not been easy, but Kris and Kelsey are changing lives all over San Francisco and beyond. 

You can reach out to them on their website: 

https://kktstrong.com 

You can also reach out to them on instagram:

 https://instagram.com/kris.kelsey.training_ 

Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon and allowing me to grow this channel! Click the link below to access this episode's bonus content: 

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks 

For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at:

 https://realtalksontherocks.com 

There you will find links to Apple Podcasts, Spotify as well as my Patreon page. 

You can also follow me on:

 Facebook: https://facebook.com/realtalksontherocks

 Instagram: https://instagram.com/realtalksontherocks 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realtalksontherocks 

Chapter List: 

00:00- Intro 

02:45- How Kris and Kelsey met 

05:15- Working at different Gyms 

07:19- Gym culture 

09:00- Why be a personal trainer? 

11:10- Car crash that changed Kris’s life 

13:40- “Dopesick” 20:35- From rock bottom to changing lives 

23:20- Old school workout habits 24:50- Pressure on women in the gym 

29:20- Real and Fake mainstream workout programs 

33:34- Expectations with a new client 

35:25- the biggest EXCUSE 

36:55- How Stress affects on the body 

40:30- Women afraid of “getting big” 

41:30- Is felling good enough?? 

45:50- the Holistic approach to fitness 

46:50- Premium (equinox) gyms better? 

49:10- What are your fitness goals??

50:20- Do we focus on a specific gender?? 

53:10- women afraid of getting “big” 

57:45- you body type is perfect! 

1:01:00- This is a lifestyle! 

1:02:40- Their BEST client success story 

1:10:00- motivating men vs women 

1:15:00- STOP looking at the scale!! 

1:21:20- HEAL (Amazon prime) 

1:24:25- Balancing fitness with cost of living in Silicon Valley 

1:27:35- Where Kris and Kelsey train their clients 

1:30:50-How Kris and Kelsey do virtual sessions 

1:34:20- Are fitness classes all good? 

1:38:48- Recovery

1:44:50- Contacting Kris and Kelsey 

1:48:20- Peloton: At least it got you moving! 

1:54:50- How Kris and Kelsey balance work with being good partners for each other

In this episode of Real Talks on the Rocks, I sit down with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer. Pifer is a fellow at Stanford University and is an expert on Ukrainian-Russo relations. He was one of the people who negotiated with the Ukrainian government about the terms in which the United States would intervene in the event that Russia invaded the country.

Steven had a chance to speak in a different level of detail that he otherwise usually speaks during his many interviews on CNN, Fox and Nbc news networks.

You can reach out to Steven via email if you would like to pick his brain on some of the more pressing issues involving Ukraine. [email protected].

You can also watch the full video of this episode on YouTube here:

https://linktw.in/FpYkS9

Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon. 

Click the link below to access this week's bonus content: 

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks 

For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at: 

https://realtalksontherocks.com 

There you will find links to my youtube as well as my Patreon page. You can also follow me on: 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/realtalksontherocks 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/realtalksontherocks 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realtalksontherocks

On this episode of Real Talks on the Rocks, I sit down with Scott Campbell, who is an internationally traveled Disc Jockey (DJ). Scott has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Kaskade.

Scott provides great insight into the world of a DJ, from small parties to large Ibiza-style environments. Scott also provides great advice to newer DJ’s who are anxious to get into the game! 

You can also watch the full video of this episode on YouTube here:

https://linktw.in/mnwTyg

You can reach out to Scott on his Instagram with any questions you may have about becoming a successful DJ: https://instagram.com/djcams 

Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon. 

Click the link below to access this week's bonus content: 

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks 

For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at: 

https://realtalksontherocks.com 

There you will find links to my youtube as well as my Patreon page. You can also follow me on: 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/realtalksontherocks 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/realtalksontherocks 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realtalksontherocks

In this episode, I sit down with John Steven Morgan, who is a freelance pianist that specializes in playing his upright piano at various public locations in San Francisco and Oakland. John talks about starting his adult life at UC Berkeley pursing a civil engineering and later a chemical engineering degree before leaving that path to pursue his passion. Hear how John deals with the pressures of society, the value of money to him and how he works to create in-depth classical music pieces that he wants to share with the world.

You can watch the full conversation on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/LtNhjLSTOIc

You can reach out to John on Instagram at: 

https://instagram.com/johnstevenmorganpianist

Please check out his website to see samples of his latest music: 

https://johnstevenmorgan.com

Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon. Click the link below to access this week's bonus content: https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks 

For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at: https://realtalksontherocks.com

In this episode, I sit down with Christeen Rico, who is the C.E.O. of her own company- Dream Bigger Ventures. In this episode, Christeen tells her story of attending NY University, pursuing the status quo of NY City life and how she transitioned back to Silicon Valley to work for Big Tech. 

Christeen also shares why she left Big Tech to start her own company and how she was motivated to bring more opportunities for entrepreneurship back to her home country of the Phillippines. 

You can watch the full conversation on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/nmNPCwipwXI

You can reach out to Christeen on Instagram at: 

https://instagram.com/christeen.rico 

Please check out her website: 

https://dreambiggerph.com 

Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon. Click the link below to access this week's bonus content: https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks 

For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at: https://realtalksontherocks.com

In this episode of Real Talks on the Rocks, I sit down with Amanda Renteria, who is currently the C.E.O. of Code for America (a non-profit tech company designed to help government agencies). As as Stanford and Harvard graduate, she was the first Latina Chief of Staff in the history of the US Senate and is married with two children.

In this conversation, Amanda focuses her story and her experiences to speak directly to Millennial Women as to how they can achieve all that they desire in the way that she did and what to expect if you try and follow your career while being a mother. 

You can reach out to Amanda on Instagram and Twitter at: 

https://instagram.com/amandapublicservice 

https://twitter.com/AmandaRenteria 

This episode is also available in its entirety on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/rCGCXv0NDDQ

In this episodes bonus content, Amanda reflects on the night of November 8th 2016 on stage with Hillary Clinton when the results came in that Trump had won the US Presidency. You will hear her honest reflection of the events of that night and the realizations that came with it. We also spend time talking about Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter and the implications of it. Thank you to all of my supporters who are supporting me on Patreon. Click the link below to access this bonus content: 

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks 

For all of the links to the other avenues to view/listen to my show, you can visit my website at:

 https://realtalksontherocks.com 

There you will find links to my YouTube Channel as well as my Patreon page. 

You can also follow me on: 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/realtalksontherocks 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/realtalksontherocks 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realtalksontherocks

In this episode of Real Talks on the Rocks, I sit down with Stephen Zunes, who is a professor of International Politics at the University of San Francisco. Topics that we discuss include the current war in Ukraine between Ukraine and Russia, the real motivations behind NATO and how NATO had re-established itself in the region and how the little-known annexation of Western Sahara by the country of Morocco had set the standard for how Russia is treating Ukraine. We also discuss the Israel/Palestine issues as they stand today and how both Israel and China are looking at what is happening in Ukraine to dictate how they proceed with their own agendas back home.

You can reach out to Stephen and read his articles on his website at:

https://stephenzunes.com

While we did not record any bonus footage for this episode, there are still hours of bonus footage available to all of my supporters on Patreon who help to keep this channel going. You can access my patron page at:

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks

You can also watch the full episode of this conversation on YouTube.

To access my youtube channel, simply search for "Real Talks on the Rocks" episode 19, or you can visit my website at 

https://realtalksontherocks.com

There you will find links to the youtube channel as well as my patreon page.

Joel Engardio studied journalism at Michigan State University and also has his masters degree from Harvard's school of government. Joel has written for the Boston Globe, NY Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Christian Science Monitoring. Joel also spent time working for the ACLU and was the first "story finder" for the organization. He recently took the dive into politics in San Francisco and calls himself a forward-thinking pragmatic democrat. While he lost the most recent election for supervisor of district 7 (despite having the most first-place votes), he continues to be a voice against the far-left progressive majority that dominates the city government of San Francisco.

We spent nearly 2 hours talking about many different issues in San Francisco and had our fair share of constructive criticism to give. For this episode's bonus content, we spent time discussing Joel's background in Journalism and what his interpretation of the mainstream media (CNN, FoxNews, NY Times) is. I was very surprised by his experiences in media and what he believes the future of the entity is. This 20+ minutes of bonus footage is available to all of my supporters on Patreon who help to keep this channel going. You can access my patron page at:

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks

You can also watch the full episode of this conversation on YouTube.

To access my youtube channel, simply search for "Real Talks on the Rocks" episode 19, or you can visit my website at 

https://realtalksontherocks.com

There you will find links to the youtube channel as well as my patreon page.

As always, I thank you in advance for "liking the video " on YouTube (as it helps the outreach of the channel) and subscribing to my channel (to be notified whenever I release a new video).

Vali Hashemian is an Iranian-born real estate agent with over 30 years of selling homes in Silicon Valley. In this episode, Vali talks about growing up in Iran and fleeing the country prior to the Iranian Revolution of 1978. He talks about his recent experience in Iran, where his US passport was confiscated and how he was able to get out of the country. Vali also humanizes everyday life in Iran today.

Vali also spends time talking about his experience selling homes in Silicon Valley and what you can do to improve your chances of purchasing your first home in this ever-changing housing climate.

Vali and myself also recorded additional footage where he shares his secrets of preparing to buy a home and how to set your expectations, especially in a high-priced area. This bonus footage is available to all of my supporters on Patreon who help to keep this channel going. You can access my patron page at:

https://patreon.com/realtalksontherocks

You can also watch the full episode of this conversation on YouTube.

To access my youtube channel, simply search for "Real Talks on the Rocks" episode 18, or you can visit my website at 

https://realtalksontherocks.com

There you will find links to the youtube channel as well as my patreon page.