he handed out free samples at target for $20 an hour. three years later he's in a coach campaign.

but this isn't a glow-up story. it's about the part nobody films — the drive home from your first taste of the dream, back to the job that pays nothing, when "none of these people know i was just walking" is the loudest thought in your head.

Adol Akuei grew up first-gen south sudanese in the suburbs of minneapolis. sheltered. burnt out on school. doing the bare minimum. he lost a brother right as high school started. then his sister put him on to modeling — and one "yes" turned into tommy hilfiger, coach, off-white, puma, timberland, and a whole life he had to convince himself he was allowed to have.

this whole episode is him showing his work: the bad winter, the brain fog, the morning he started journaling, the mindset rewire, the move to new york, the music he makes 16 tracks deep. proof that you don't have to be just one thing — and that your reality is only ever trying to catch up to your spirit.

if you've ever felt that thing in your chest that says something needs to change but you're too scared to bet on it — this one's for you.

Kids Like Us — Episode 12 with Adol Akuei

hosted by Syd Meyer

—— CHAPTERS ——

00:00 intro: doll to doll

05:27 burnt out on school (and skipping the college script)

12:47 his sister puts him on → signed at 19

16:40 back home to $20/hr free samples at target

18:07 his debut runway was tommy hilfiger

20:16 "none of these people know i was just walking"

21:33 the move to new york (why it took two years)

26:42 "telling myself i'm worthy of what i have"

34:20 the bad winter and the day he started journaling

52:44 why music is where his heart actually is

62:11 the mission: so the next sudanese kid knows he can

83:07 leaning into the weird

99:50 AI: "you can copy my face, but it's not me"

106:33 why it's the kids like us

—

if you're into self-help, psychology, and ancient wisdom — and you want to build a cool-ass life you're actually proud of — you're in the right place. subscribe + follow @syd.mmeyer.

send this to one of the kids like us.

—— FIND ADOL AKUEI ——

instagram: @adoldagreat

spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2P3xuoHEhI5g331RJXVN9E

apple music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/adol/1816183524

tracks to start with: "greater than," "solid ground"

—— FIND SYD / KIDS LIKE US ——

@syd.mmeyer

@thekidslikeus

eddie adams quit his 9-5 in business valuation to bet everything on music. since then he's headlined and sold out the green room, played the armory, crossed 100,000 streams, and landed the breakaway lineup in his hometown minneapolis.

he still folds towels at the gym to make rent.

this episode is the real math of betting on yourself: the kitchen conversation where he told his mom he was quitting and heard his dad's tv shut off, the business plan powerpoint his dad demanded before he'd get behind it, the six months eddie was too embarrassed to say what he'd done out loud, rebranding from Z to eddie adams, keeping zach separate from eddie, the myth of overnight success, rejection threshold, the real history of chicago house, and why the second best time to plant the tree is now.

if you're working a job that feels dormant and carrying a dream you've never said out loud, this one's for you.

chapters:
0:00 intro: the thing eddie does that nobody with millions of followers will
0:55 the bracelets + breakaway (seeing his own name on the lineup)
2:44 life in the 9-5: business valuation and feeling dormant
4:38 the kitchen conversation: telling mom, dad's tv shuts off
5:23 the business plan powerpoint his dad demanded
9:55 quitting + the six months he was too embarrassed to talk about it
14:49 grief of outgrowing your friend group (and how eddie handles it)
18:05 rebranding from Z to eddie adams: the turning point
20:59 building the brand: instagram as your business card
25:13 finding people who give you real feedback (you're gonna suck at first)
29:12 the vision: events, the eddie adams sound, the butterfly effect
35:42 chicago house history: where the genre actually comes from
38:29 eddie vs. zach: separating the artist from the person
44:34 folding towels at the gym: the real financial picture
48:19 overnight success is a myth + rejection threshold
51:44 the AI hot take: why he loses respect for AI flyers
57:54 commit sooner than later: the tree quote
1:04:22 where to find eddie + outro

follow eddie:
youtube + instagram: @eddieadamsmusic
spotify / soundcloud / bandcamp: eddie adams

follow @thekidslikeus for more.

eddie adams quit his 9-5 in business valuation to bet everything on music. since then he's headlined and sold out the green room, played the armory, crossed 100,000 streams, and landed the breakaway lineup in his hometown minneapolis.

he still folds towels at the gym to make rent.

this episode is the real math of betting on yourself: the kitchen conversation where he told his mom he was quitting and heard his dad's tv shut off, the business plan powerpoint his dad demanded before he'd get behind it, the six months eddie was too embarrassed to say what he'd done out loud, rebranding from Z to eddie adams, keeping zach separate from eddie, the myth of overnight success, rejection threshold, the real history of chicago house, and why the second best time to plant the tree is now.

if you're working a job that feels dormant and carrying a dream you've never said out loud, this one's for you.

chapters:
0:00 intro: the thing eddie does that nobody with millions of followers will
0:55 the bracelets + breakaway (seeing his own name on the lineup)
2:44 life in the 9-5: business valuation and feeling dormant
4:38 the kitchen conversation: telling mom, dad's tv shuts off
5:23 the business plan powerpoint his dad demanded
9:55 quitting + the six months he was too embarrassed to talk about it
14:49 grief of outgrowing your friend group (and how eddie handles it)
18:05 rebranding from Z to eddie adams: the turning point
20:59 building the brand: instagram as your business card
25:13 finding people who give you real feedback (you're gonna suck at first)
29:12 the vision: events, the eddie adams sound, the butterfly effect
35:42 chicago house history: where the genre actually comes from
38:29 eddie vs. zach: separating the artist from the person
44:34 folding towels at the gym: the real financial picture
48:19 overnight success is a myth + rejection threshold
51:44 the AI hot take: why he loses respect for AI flyers
57:54 commit sooner than later: the tree quote
1:04:22 where to find eddie + outro

follow eddie:
youtube + instagram: @eddieadamsmusic
spotify / soundcloud / bandcamp: eddie adams

follow @thekidslikeus for more.
full episode on youtube + spotify.

Devin Erickson got fired by his best friends. A year later he'd built something bigger than what they took from him.

Devin Erickson got fired on a Wednesday, HR in the room, severance printed, by the same guys who were supposed to stand up at his wedding. Six years of his life, gone in one meeting.
This one goes back to the floor dropping out. Dropping out of college at 19 with $600 and two bins to his name. Couch-hopping in Chicago. Driving home negative $3 in the bank feeling like a failure. And the thing his mom said that flipped it: "You're going to figure it out."


Now Devin runs a media business powered by AI...
agents that handle his inbox, ads, trading, and content while he edits with his AirPods in. We get into how to build AI agents for a small business, how to start with AI as a beginner, and why staying curious beats being smart. But the real thread isn't the tech. It's betting on yourself when it feels like it could cost you everything, and knowing that if you're broke and figuring it out right now, you're not the only one.


ABOUT DEVIN

Devin Erickson is a media production founder and AI systems builder in Chicago. After getting fired from the agency he helped start, he rebuilt from scratch — launching Run Media, building custom agents that run his operations, and growing a personal brand on LinkedIn from zero. All with a baby on the way.
IN THIS EPISODE: getting fired and starting over, building AI agents as a solopreneur, personal branding on LinkedIn, and entrepreneurship in your 20s.
TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — The worst part about getting fired
2:00 — Building physical things with AI
4:15 — How the firing actually went down
5:30 — Dropping out at 19 with $600
7:25 — Rock bottom: negative $3, back home
13:50 — What his mom said that changed everything
14:40 — Starting over: Run Media
22:50 — The 3-minute trick to get confident on camera
34:45 — The shift to AI systems and agents
39:40 — Treating every "no" like data
47:00 — How to actually start with AI
51:55 — Live demo: meet Jarvis, his AI COO
1:04:00 — Vibe coding and "if it works, leave it"
1:16:00 — You're not alone, and it's going to be okay


LINKS

[FREE] LLM council skill: https://app.notion.com/p/LLM-Council-LIVE-free-skill-f4dcbd4458f04ab0aaa659677078a2e7?source=copy_link
Devin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devinfromchicago/
Devin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devin-erickson-888ab421b/

Follow Kids Like Us: https://www.instagram.com/thekidslikeus/

everyone's consuming the same stuff, saying the same things, stuck in the same week on repeat. in a world this saturated, being genuinely interesting might be the rarest skill left.

so we broke down how to be more interesting, not the born-with-it kind, the kind you can actually build.

if you've ever sat in a room laughing on cue while something inside went quiet, this one's for you.

what we get into:

0:00 the 3 types of people (which one are you)

3:30 way 1: how to actually articulate yourself

10:00 body language, mirroring, and asking better questions 19:45 way 2: change your environment (and why your room matters)

27:00 way 3: the year of yes (the woman who learned to surf at 50)

31:30 way 4: when to say no (be the lion)

35:30 way 5: the rejection list (the bagel disaster)

41:30 the 6th nobody expects: just be honest

44:00 what to actually do tomorrow

what to actually do tomorrow

the whole life we're building started with one yes on the side of a road. that's episode 1 if you want the kiteboarding origin story → https://youtu.be/iQ30h-qNpUI?si=FS1XcY1fslABZqLB

how to be more interesting, conversation skills, feeling stuck in your 20s, social skills, gen z

Everything you were told you'd grow up into doesn't exist anymore.

AI is coming for your career. Rent doesn't math. You can't go to Thanksgiving anymore. And underneath all of it, there's this feeling you might not even say out loud... that you don't know how to build a life from here.

You're not broken. You're paying attention.

Every time a generation has felt this, the same thing has happened next. And nobody's told you about it yet.

In this episode, I break down why the collapse you're feeling isn't the end of anything, it's the start of the most wide-open opportunity window your generation will ever get. We get into the Napoleon story (yes, really), why the people who are about to win aren't who you think, and the one thing the new game rewards that the old game never did.

You are not too late. You are so, so early.

If you're 18-26 and you've been feeling like something is fundamentally wrong, this one is for you. Send it to a homie you want to be ahead of the game with.

—

If you need the episode for when shit actually hits the fan and the anxiety is taking over, go check out Episode 4: Ambition is Hard. I recorded it sitting on a toilet in front of the ocean during one of the worst days I've had building this thing. It's the other side of this conversation.

—

—

00:00 if you're in your 20s and feel like something is wrong

01:00 you're not broken, you're paying attention

02:30 ok let me tell you a story

07:00 here's who's actually about to lose this decade

10:00 delete your chatgpt (i'm not joking)

18:00 the era is forcing us to be human again

24:00 you're not late. you're so early.

—

—

Subscribe for more conversations for The Kids Like Us.

DMs are open: @sydmeyer

Everything you were told you'd grow up into doesn't exist anymore.

AI is coming for your career. Rent doesn't math. You can't go to Thanksgiving anymore. And underneath all of it, there's this feeling you might not even say out loud... that you don't know how to build a life from here.

You're not broken. You're paying attention.

Every time a generation has felt this, the same thing has happened next. And nobody's told you about it yet.

In this episode, I break down why the collapse you're feeling isn't the end of anything, it's the start of the most wide-open opportunity window your generation will ever get. We get into the Napoleon story (yes, really), why the people who are about to win aren't who you think, and the one thing the new game rewards that the old game never did.

You are not too late. You are so, so early.

If you're 18-26 and you've been feeling like something is fundamentally wrong, this one is for you. Send it to a homie you want to be ahead of the game with.

—

If you need the episode for when shit actually hits the fan and the anxiety is taking over, go check out Episode 4: Ambition is Hard. I recorded it sitting on a toilet in front of the ocean during one of the worst days I've had building this thing. It's the other side of this conversation.

—

—

00:00 if you're in your 20s and feel like something is wrong

01:00 you're not broken, you're paying attention

02:30 ok let me tell you a story

07:00 here's who's actually about to lose this decade

10:00 delete your chatgpt (i'm not joking)

18:00 the era is forcing us to be human again

24:00 you're not late. you're so early.

—

—

Subscribe for more conversations for The Kids Like Us.

DMs are open: @sydmeyer

Vlad had six months to learn English or get sent back to Russia..

No film school. No connections. A phone and pirated editing software he couldn't afford.

That's where this episode starts. With a 13-year-old kid who didn't speak a word of English, opening Google Translate while the other kids opened Snapchat.

Ten years later, Vlad Nikifarov (aka Vlad) is a 22-year-old creative director and videographer in Minneapolis. He lands brand deals with Adobe, Young LA, and Delinquents Truly.

He gets paid to travel. He lives with the same creators he used to watch on YouTube before he ever picked up a camera.

But this conversation isn't as much "stategy" as it is a story underneath the story.

The doubt. The loneliness of not having friends who speak your language. The first paid gig for $150.

Working at Marshalls with headphones in, listening to the guy who would eventually fly him to LA. The shoots where he went completely mute because he was so deep in his head. The moment it felt weird to call himself an artist and the day he claimed it anyway.

If you've ever felt like the dream is for other people, this one is deadass for you.

In this episode:

* How Vladka landed brand deals with Adobe, Red Bull & Young LA with zero connections
* The green card lottery win and the six-month ultimatum that followed
* Why calling yourself a creator feels weird when nobody in your family is one
* The spec ad strategy that got Yes Theory to DM him in 20 minutes
* How he funded his first camera, then quit the job and went full time
* Why your creative passion should be the full-time and rent money the side gig
* The biggest mistake young videographers make (and the habit that fixes it)
* How to engineer your authority before you feel qualified
* The DM that turned a Marshalls shift into a flight to LA
* The truth about being terrified on big sets, even after you've "made it"

Find Vlad on Instagram
(work) — https://www.instagram.com/vladdkkaa/
Personal — https://www.instagram.com/vladsjournal

00:00 — From pirated software to Adobe
06:20 — Six months to learn English or get sent back
09:45 — "If I can learn English, what else can I learn?"
18:42 — First gig: $150 (and what it taught him)
25:50 — How Adobe actually reached out
32:10 — The Marshalls voice memo that changed everything
41:18 — The Yes Theory spec ad that worked in 20 minutes
1:02:15 — The biggest mistake young creators make
1:14:50 — Why it felt weird to call himself an artist
1:26:40 — For the kid who feels meant for more

Kids Like Us is the podcast for ambitious 18–30 year olds who feel something needs to change but don't know where to start.

Hosted by Syd Meyer: 22-year-old agency owner, sponsored kiteboarder, filmmaker, and world traveler who built this because she needed it when it didn't exist.

Real stories. Raw conversations. Evidence that the life you picture is closer than you think.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe/follow so you don't miss the next one.

Vlad had six months to learn English or get sent back to Russia.

No film school. No connections. A phone and pirated editing software he couldn't afford.

That's where this episode starts. With a 13-year-old kid who didn't speak a word of English, opening Google Translate while the other kids opened Snapchat.

Ten years later, Vlad Nikifarov (aka Vlad) is a 22-year-old creative director and videographer in Minneapolis. He lands brand deals with Adobe, Young LA, and Delinquents Truly.

He gets paid to travel. He lives with the same creators he used to watch on YouTube before he ever picked up a camera.

But this conversation isn't as much "stategy" as it is a story underneath the story.

The doubt. The loneliness of not having friends who speak your language. The first paid gig for $150.

Working at Marshalls with headphones in, listening to the guy who would eventually fly him to LA. The shoots where he went completely mute because he was so deep in his head. The moment it felt weird to call himself an artist and the day he claimed it anyway.

If you've ever felt like the dream is for other people, this one is deadass for you.

In this episode:

• How Vladka landed brand deals with Adobe, Red Bull & Young LA with zero connections
• The green card lottery win and the six-month ultimatum that followed
• Why calling yourself a creator feels weird when nobody in your family is one
• The spec ad strategy that got Yes Theory to DM him in 20 minutes
• How he funded his first camera, then quit the job and went full time
• Why your creative passion should be the full-time and rent money the side gig
• The biggest mistake young videographers make (and the habit that fixes it)
• How to engineer your authority before you feel qualified
• The DM that turned a Marshalls shift into a flight to LA
• The truth about being terrified on big sets, even after you've "made it"

Find Vladka: Instagram

(work) — https://www.instagram.com/vladdkka/

Personal — https://www.instagram.com/vladsjournal

00:00 — From pirated software to Adobe

06:20 — Six months to learn English or get sent back

09:45 — "If I can learn English, what else can I learn?"

18:42 — First gig: $1.50 (and what it taught him)

25:50 — How Adobe actually reached out

32:10 — The Marshalls voice memo that changed everything

41:18 — The Yes Theory spec ad that worked in 20 minutes

1:02:15 — The biggest mistake young creators make

1:14:50 — Why it felt weird to call himself an artist

1:26:40 — For the kid who feels meant for more

Kids Like Us is the podcast for ambitious 18–30 year olds who feel something needs to change but don't know where to start.

Hosted by Syd Meyer: 22-year-old agency owner, sponsored kiteboarder, filmmaker, and world traveler who built this because she needed it when it didn't exist.

Real stories. Raw conversations. Evidence that the life you picture is closer than you think.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe/follow so you don't miss the next one.

Starting a business when you're scared to be seen? This one's for you. New entrepreneur. Real conversation. No filter. ft. Ella Herbert

Ella typed out a post yesterday.

Had it ready. Caption written. Video filmed.

And then she stopped herself.

Changed it from a Reel to a Story because she got scared of what people would think.

That's where this episode starts — not at the finish line, not with someone who figured it all out — but right in the middle of the fear, with someone who is Day 1, doing it anyway.

Ella Herbert is building EllaVate Wellness from scratch. Health coaching, moving to Texas, zero clients, zero blueprint. Just a dream and a whole lot of "what if nobody gets it."

And I'm right there with her — because four months ago I made a decision to stop posting and start treating my content like a scientist treats data. No more throwing things at the wall. No more hoping something lands. In the last 30 days that decision generated 3.6 million views.

This episode is the unfiltered conversation I wish someone had with me at the beginning. The stuff they don't tell you. The stuff that actually moves the needle when you're scared, broke on ideas, and building something from nothing.

If you've ever typed something out and talked yourself out of posting it — this one is deadass for you.

In this episode:

• Why the fear of being seen is a wall you built yourself
• The content funnel that takes someone from stranger to paying client
• Storytelling: why we connect through pain and how to build trust fast
• The viral format working right now on Instagram in 2026
• Why LinkedIn is 2008 YouTube and nobody in your circle knows it yet
• How to use AI without losing what makes you, you
• Why going niche feels wrong but is the only way forward
• The moment I spent two years stuck — and what finally changed

Find Ella:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellavate.wellness/

Personal: https://www.instagram.com/ellamherbert

00:00 — How we met & why this episode exists

02:00 — Ella's business: EllaVate Wellness & the health journey behind it

04:48 — Are you scared? We ball.

06:52 — The brutal grind: what building behind the scenes actually looks like

08:55 — LinkedIn in 2026: the opportunity nobody in your circle is using

12:05 — The content funnel explained (whiteboard breakdown)

16:22 — Storytelling: how you get people to love you

22:44 — The viral format working right now & why keywords matter

26:54 — Nobody is thinking about you tomorrow

28:43 — "I don't know if I should post this" — Ella's real moment

39:40 — AI, niching down & building your brand framework live

45:46 — Two years. No results. The pain of staying the same.