[don't upload]

1. 0:00 – 6:23

   Intro

   1. VBVic Blends0:00

      Became Lil Baby's barber soon as I got to Atlanta, Trae Young, 21 Savage. Bro, I remember this one week I was growing a million followers a day for, like, five days straight.

   2. CJCalum Johnson0:08

      That's crazy.

   3. VBVic Blends0:09

      With anything that a person does, there is a life of extraordinary purpose waiting for you. If you gotta do anything in this life, man, I hope you make a movement out of it.

   4. CJCalum Johnson0:18

      This is Vic Blends, a barber from Fayetteville, North Carolina, that built a multimillion-dollar brand doing free haircuts. You said, "I'm blowing up. I have commercials. I'm doing brand deals. Everything is going viral. Then I'm diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder."

   5. VBVic Blends0:31

      I was so paranoid. I thought I was literally under attack and people were gonna come kill me, that I literally lost some of my greatest friends because I had this insane episode. Man, I just woke up one day so sad and so, like, I was paralyzed in my bed, yeah.

   6. CJCalum Johnson0:47

      What gets you up?

   7. VBVic Blends0:48

      I had to find hope in another person.

   8. CJCalum Johnson0:54

      You said, "In 2022, the best year of my life became the worst year of my life. At the time, I'm blowing up. I have commercials on TV, I'm doing brand deals, and everything is going viral. And then I'm diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder. I have an extreme manic episode, and I lose everything." You said, "I had dark thoughts of would I ever cut again?" And it was interesting at the time because hearing it, we see you online, like, the millions and millions of followers and the viral videos, and you're cutting Obama's hair and Tom Brady. I really didn't expect the story to go that way. And so Vic, my question for you: What makes you want to share that story and, like, everything that's happening, and then who do you imagine would resonate with it? Like, what sort of person would resonate with it?

   9. VBVic Blends1:48

      Man, yeah, that, that, that was tough 'cause you say you wouldn't expect it, but I wouldn't expect it either. You know, I never imagined that I would be a person to struggle with mental health at that level of what I did go through. Being diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder was something that was very surprising to me because I've always been this optimistic dude since I was young, always seen the light at the end of the tunnel. I always saw the positive in whatever was happening. And I spoke with Big Sean, and I remember interviewing Big Sean, and he told me that things don't happen to you, they happen for you. So that was something I had to really think about my journey and think about why it happened for me. And you always feel like a victim in a lot of cases when things happen to you because you think, "Man, why me?" Like, "Why would this happen to me?" And you don't really see the purpose behind it. But being a guy that was out on the streets giving people free haircuts, I'm out there to make everybody feel better. I'm out there for everybody to have a chance to open up to me, talk about their struggles, and for me to uplift them. And although that's something I love to do and I know is my purpose, I don't think I would've related to the people that sit in my chair now as much as I do if I didn't go through what I went through. You gotta have your own struggle. You gotta have your own story. You know, I can only speak through the things I've been through, so because I got that story and that happened for me so I could share to others that might feel the same, that might also be diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder and might also be going through a mental health crisis, and it just tied me closer to my purpose and my work. So I feel more connected to the people that I get to talk to, more connected to the people on the streets that sit in my chair.

   10. CJCalum Johnson3:26

       Yeah. You know what? Vic, it's interesting listening to you speak because it sounds like almost that you're a different person.

   11. VBVic Blends3:33

       [laughs]

   12. CJCalum Johnson3:33

       Like, the, the person that you were before that mental health, like, that period of your life, you're now fundamentally different, like something shifted. But very early on you have, like, this hustle and this drive, and I, I'm interested really from just, like, the earliest moments of your story where that began, like, this drive to be someone given where you grew up and what was around you. Like, where did that start?

   13. VBVic Blends4:03

       Man, since I was young, I could always remember wanting to be the best at whatever I did. My first love was skateboarding, and I believed I was gonna be a pro. I, I believed it in my heart. Everything in me told me that I would be a pro skateboarder. From skateboarding, I learned that there were a lot of kids a lot younger than me doing a lot crazier things, and I was like, "All right. Maybe I'm not gonna be a pro skateboarder." I started running track. I believed in my mind that I would be a D1 track runner. I would set records and, and have a full s- paid scholarship to college. There was a lot... People, a lot of people, a lot of other people faster than me, so I was like, "All right, man. Maybe it's not that." I started boxing after that. I believed in my heart, bro, that I would be a world champion. I, I, I believed it so deep down.

   14. CJCalum Johnson4:49

       Mm.

   15. VBVic Blends4:50

       And then like, "All right. There's some people in the gym that's punching a lot harder than me. They, they fighting for, for, to, to survive." I'm not fighting for those reasons. And whatever it was that I was doing, I only wanted to do it if I could do it at the highest level and if I could be the greatest at it. So when barbering stepped into my life, I approached it with that same mentality, that if I was gonna do this, I wanted to take it to places that it's never been before. And I, and I credit my mom and my dad. My mom and dad had a incredible story of their own on how, how we got here, and I owe my hustle to, to them a lot. You know, my mom's an immigrant from Russia, and my dad grew up real rough in East Boston, Section 8. So they sacrificed a lot to be able to give us the life that we have or the opportunity to create a life that we have, and I never wanted to waste that. I always wanted to make them proud. I always wanted my dad to know that what he did for this family would pay off. You know, he's the one that broke the mold. It was time for me now to go and create and, and, and fulfill our legacy and to, and to keep up pushing forward with that. So I credit my parents to that a lot. And I remember early, young, man, at 14, I write about this in the book, man, the last time I ever took a dollar from my parents, I was 14. I remember trying to bring my girl to the movie theater And I was asking my mom for extra money if I could take her, and my dad stopped me and he was like, "Hey, man, if you wanna take your girl to the movie theater, you take her on your dollar. You don't take her on your mom's. That's your girl. So a man provides for his own." And I was like, "All right, say no more." I never asked for another dollar.

   16. CJCalum Johnson6:22

       Yeah.

2. 6:23 – 18:53

   The crazy things I'd do to make money

   1. VBVic Blends6:23

      So I was like, "All right, how do I make my own money?" Man, I was finding all types of ways to hustle. I would do anything to get a dollar when I was young.

   2. CJCalum Johnson6:28

      Yeah.

   3. VBVic Blends6:28

      I never sold no drugs, but I would do anything, bro. I remember I used to go to, uh, to mow lawns, but I would go to mow lawns, and I would like, bro, I would take a jar and, and put a photo of my dog and tell people that I was raising money for my dog's surgery.

   4. CJCalum Johnson6:44

      Always hustling.

   5. VBVic Blends6:44

      And I would hustle, and I would go and try to get, like, extra donations for, like, my d- man, my dog's fake surgery just 'cause I was trying to get it so bad when I was young. So I mean, sorry to the people that, that donated for my dog's surgery. [laughs]

   6. CJCalum Johnson6:56

      [laughs]

   7. VBVic Blends6:57

      It's, you know, my, my bad, but I was young, and I was trying to get it any way that I could. You know, I started flipping shoes young, uh, flipping Jordans and, and, and J's. And, you know, I remember buying my first car in high school for myself. And yeah, man, anything I could have done to get a dollar, I had this hustle mentality. You know, started working at a restaurant real young. I just wanted to be able to build something for myself, and I, I, I credit my parents a lot for that.

   8. CJCalum Johnson7:21

      Yeah. You know, it, it, it's funny that you mention your parents. And, uh, it's interesting even the conversation of, like, is, is that hustle, is it, like, built in? Like, is that drive built in? I'm curious to understand, 'cause you mention the family influences, right? Like your mom, your dad. Are there certain stories just when you think about that, the purpose, the integrity, like, the, the morals that you think to yourself, you're like, "That really comes through," like it really established and cemented it in your mind even as a kid?

   9. VBVic Blends7:56

      Yeah, my dad was... Man, my dad is, like, the greatest man that I've ever met, and my dad would never ask for help, nor would my mom. They really raised us to figure it out, and that was a mentality that I write about in the book. And my dad, no matter what tools we had, he would make sure that I went out there and I did my best to figure it out and do it on our own. You would only call for help if you really needed it. So that's a good thing, and it also is a really bad thing, 'cause you should ask for help as a person. But I think my dad really instilled to not look around at what we don't have, but look around at what we do have. And a lot of times you feel that you don't have all the tools necessary to get to where you wanna get to. You don't have all the tool or, or the people in your life to get you where you wanna go. But if you look around and you really pay attention, I promise you God has given you everything that you need, and you just gotta figure out how to use what you have around you. So that was something I picked up from my pops, man. He would make me go out, and I remember the driveway had weeds growing through the driveway cracks. And I'm like, "Man, we need the weed wacker. Let's just go hit it." Man, he would give me a screwdriver, and he's like, "Go dig them out." I'm like, "All right, Dog."

   10. CJCalum Johnson9:08

       [laughs]

   11. VBVic Blends9:08

       Like, why can't we just get-

   12. CJCalum Johnson9:09

       Yeah

   13. VBVic Blends9:09

       ... the right- get, get the right tools? He said, "It ain't about the right tools, man. Go, go dig them out."

   14. CJCalum Johnson9:13

       It's work with what you have, yeah.

   15. VBVic Blends9:14

       I was like, "All right, bet." You know, so we would do whatever we had to with whatever we had in the, in the toolbox. So yeah, my dad really raised me on that. And man, my dad was just, and my mom, they just always treated people the right way. My, my dad always made sure that he showed me how to take care of my mom, and that was amazing. And he would get her flowers all the time, and he would always remind me, like, "Hey, get your girl flowers." Like, "But that's 12 bucks." You know, "Make her weak." You know, "Get your mom flowers." So we would do that always. And yeah, my dad was just always, like, showing me what it meant to be a man and, yeah, my mom also. 'Cause my dad was in the military, so he would be deployed for a lot of my younger years in Afghanistan, Iraq, uh, Kuwait. And my mom would, like, be the woman and man of the house. She would hold it down.

   16. CJCalum Johnson10:03

       Mm.

   17. VBVic Blends10:03

       So we would just see my mom be Superwoman all the time, bro. Never felt like we didn't have anything, you know, we were missing anything. It al- it always felt that we had it all with my mom there.

   18. CJCalum Johnson10:14

       Yeah. It feels like, uh, even just hearing your story and hearing you talk about it, of course, both your parents, but speaking about your dad specifically, in many ways he was like a, a role model, like someone that you looked at and, like, you admired what he was and what he stood for.

   19. VBVic Blends10:29

       For sure.

   20. CJCalum Johnson10:30

       And, um, it's interesting because you talk about how your, your dad kinda like broke the mold in certain ways.

   21. VBVic Blends10:37

       Yeah.

   22. CJCalum Johnson10:37

       And then you carried it forward. And it comes across very early in the book that there was a point in your life where you really had to, like, make a decision for yourself about which direction you would take. And so I wanted to read this out. You said, "I'll never forget the day I told my parents I wanted to be a barber." You then went on to say, you said, "Damn, that shit didn't go as planned." Can you, can you- I feel like in every- anyone that has, like, big dreams, like delusional ambitions, just like that hustler, there's always that point where the people around them don't really get it. Can, can you just take us back to that day and that moment and then that decision just to keep it, keep moving?

   23. VBVic Blends11:21

       Yeah. So when I, yeah, when I told my parents I wanted to be a barber, of course, that was not what they imagined that I would do with my life. Every parent wants to give their kid an opportunity to go be successful, to get a college degree. My dad didn't have that opportunity till he was in his 50s. He didn't get his degree till he was, like, 54. My mom, man, she sacrificed everything. Immigrant from Russia. First generation on that side to, to come over to America to make that sacrifice for, for, for our family. So for them, they grinded their whole life to give us the chance to go and go to college a- and get a degree. So for me not to take that, that of course hurt in a way, right? Like, man, I know how hard they worked for us to have this opportunity, and I, I'm the one that didn't wanna do it. So that's very different. And my dad, the military gave him an amazing career, and he'd tell me about stories of, of, of trying to be, you know, a plumber or an electrician back in the day, and he found his success through the military, and it's incredible, man. I like... Man, I love the Army and the military so much because of what it's done, and I think it's the highest honor in the world in America to serve your country. And so me saying I, I wanna be a barber, the first barber in my family. And when your parents f- when your parents push back on a dream that you have, it's not because they're your hater or, or they don't wanna see you shine or succeed. They just don't wanna see their kid fail.

   24. CJCalum Johnson12:47

       Mm.

   25. VBVic Blends12:47

       And that's what you have to understand when your parents initially may not be behind something that you say you wanna do.

   26. CJCalum Johnson12:53

       Mm.

   27. VBVic Blends12:54

       They're not hating on me.

   28. CJCalum Johnson12:55

       Yeah.

   29. VBVic Blends12:55

       They just don't want their kid to fail and look back and say they wish they would've did it another way. They wanna know that they gave me something that I could rely on, come back to, and give myself some sort of success if they're not here anymore.

   30. CJCalum Johnson13:08

       Yeah. Did it-
3. 18:53 – 22:57

   Cutting hair in my mom's garage until 2AM

   1. VBVic Blends18:53

      Man, I'm just overly locked in at that point on what I wanted to do. You couldn't get me to go out to dinner. You couldn't get me to go to a party. You couldn't get me to go anywhere other than school or back to my barbershop in the garage. Those are the only two places. If you wanted to see me, you gotta see me in one of those two spots. And it sounds a little obsessive wi- with my schedule and what that was, but man, that's just a place that I had to be at. And I'm really grateful because I controlled my destiny, and I controlled my world by not allowing myself to go be in the places that others wanted me to be. But if you wanted to come kick it with me, come get a haircut. I'm sane me, maybe even funnier or better. Like, you know, I'll make you feel good with a cut, but just come to my garage. And if my friends wanted to kick it, that's where you gotta come see me at, or come to my school. Come get a cut at my school. And that's important because I'm not... Sometimes you put yourself in a bad spot with others, uh, going into their environments, and you don't always have to see everybody in their environment. Some people could come into yours, and you go open your doors for them, and that's just way more safer for you.

   2. CJCalum Johnson20:01

      Mm.

   3. VBVic Blends20:01

      And to me, it was safer for me to be in my garage than to be out in Fayetteville, you know, my hometown, where bad things happen more than often, every other week. I just don't wanna be caught up in none of that. All right? My city wasn't always the greatest, and I would rather just be in my garage. Like, that's my world, and I gotta control that environment.

   4. CJCalum Johnson20:20

      I'm, I'm, I'm curious about the... Because it feels, even just from reading your story, you started to get good pretty rapidly, and at, like, a very young age. Um, and even stories of-

   5. VBVic Blends20:32

      Oh, I wasn't always that good, bro.

   6. CJCalum Johnson20:33

      Yeah.

   7. VBVic Blends20:34

      I gave out a lot of bad cuts.

   8. CJCalum Johnson20:36

      Yeah.

   9. VBVic Blends20:36

      I gave out a lot of bad cuts, bro.

   10. CJCalum Johnson20:38

       Yeah.

   11. VBVic Blends20:38

       Some people got the worst cut of their life from me, for sure. [laughs]

   12. CJCalum Johnson20:40

       And is there... Do you have vivid memories of that? Like, are there, are there almost people that you think back, and you're like, "Yeah, I know that was a-"

   13. VBVic Blends20:47

       Man, one time, one time I cut this dude, and he know exactly who he is. I cut his whole eyebrow off, one of them. But it wasn't my fault, for real.

   14. CJCalum Johnson20:54

       Yeah. [laughs]

   15. VBVic Blends20:55

       But he had to go to school the next day.

   16. CJCalum Johnson20:57

       Every... And no one's trying to hit that. Okay. [laughs]

   17. VBVic Blends20:58

       Well, that's 'cause I had March Madness on on the TV. I had Ma- I had March Madness on on the TV in the garage, and this is why I took the TV out of the garage, 'cause everybody wanna look at the TV. And if you're looking at the TV, you're not where I need you to be for the cut.

   18. CJCalum Johnson21:10

       Yeah.

   19. VBVic Blends21:10

       So I remember spinning him in the chair. TV was behind us, so if I spin him towards the ch- uh, towards the TV, he wanna look up, and he w- you know, when we was doing his eyebrows, and I was doing them with the trimmer. And I, I look, and he wanna look at March Madness. He just look up, and I just-

   20. CJCalum Johnson21:27

       Ah

   21. VBVic Blends21:27

       ... straight over the eyebrow.

   22. CJCalum Johnson21:29

       Yeah.

   23. VBVic Blends21:29

       So yeah, man, like, Ethan had no eyebrow for, like-

   24. CJCalum Johnson21:32

       [laughs]

   25. VBVic Blends21:32

       ... four weeks or a whole month.

   26. CJCalum Johnson21:34

       Yeah.

   27. VBVic Blends21:34

       And everybody at school had to know that Vic cut his whole eyebrow off.

   28. CJCalum Johnson21:38

       [laughs]

   29. VBVic Blends21:38

       And that's what would happen if you go sit in his chair.

   30. CJCalum Johnson21:40

       Yeah. You know what?
4. 22:57 – 34:12

   How I landed my first NBA client

   1. VBVic Blends22:58

      Man, well, as a barber, I think it takes you about a year and a half to two years before you start being able to give, like, a decent cut that you might get at a regular barbershop anywhere. About at that time, you can do a fade, or you can do a taper, and maybe you can't do every hairstyle, but at, at, like, a year and a half, two years, you're starting to be all right. And I got to that point when I got this chance to meet Dennis in, in, in the restaurant I was working at. I was a server still in this restaurant.

   2. CJCalum Johnson23:26

      That's, that's crazy. Yeah.

   3. VBVic Blends23:26

      I didn't even make the jump yet. I was still cutting in my mom's garage, and I was serving tables. And I remember cutting in the garage, and I used to cut this guy named Rel, and he was a trainer, and he, he trained with Dennis. And he would always tell me, he was like, "Yo, my guy Dennis about to go to the NBA, about to go to the NBA." And I'm like, "Word." I, I, I didn't know of him growing up, so I'm hearing this. And man, in Fayetteville, there's a lot of people that say they about to go do something, but I'm sitting here at the restaurant, and I look up on the TV, boom, number nine draft pick, Dennis Smith Jr. from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to the Mavericks. I'm like, "Damn, I'm... This dude's just went to the NBA from the Ville. This is crazy. Like, I'm... This is so real right now." And I'm sitting there holding food in my hand like, "Damn, Rel wasn't lying." So a week later, I'm waiting for my food to come out the window to take to this table, and out the corner of my eye, I could just see Dennis come through the restaurant, and he just, like, went through to use the bathroom. He wasn't even eating. And I just seen him, and I knew. I was like, "Man, Rel just came in to use the bathroom. There's gotta be fate of some sort." I got business cards. I always keep business cards on me 'cause I, I used to give them with your receipt at the restaurant. You would, like, pay for your food, and I would swipe a business card in there and-

   4. CJCalum Johnson24:40

      You're always hustling

   5. VBVic Blends24:41

      ... give it to you.

   6. CJCalum Johnson24:41

      Yeah.

   7. VBVic Blends24:41

      And I'd be like, "Yo, I'm actually really a barber, but take this. You know, if you want a cut, hit me." And I was like, man, I'm gonna give him my card. So I go, and I wait for him to come out, bump into him, and I'm like, "Man, ain't you Rells, homie?" He like, "Yeah. What's good?" I was like, "Bro, congrats on getting drafted. I'm a barber. If you ever need a cut, man, I'll be, you know, happy to take care of you." And the first thing he ever said was, "We from the same city, so if you help me, I'm gonna help you."

   8. CJCalum Johnson25:05

      Mm.

   9. VBVic Blends25:05

      And that was really big lesson that I learned early, especially from Fayetteville. There's only but so many people that make it to a stage that big, and Dennis was one of them. And that was the first thing he said to me. Never met him before. So to me, I was like, wow, this dude that just came from this city where a lot of people feel differently about others because of how hard it could be, and this dude was just willing to give me an opportunity. Man, that was solid.

   10. CJCalum Johnson25:27

       Yeah.

   11. VBVic Blends25:27

       As solid as it could get. So I give him my le- my business card. I promise you, bro, it was the last business card in my wallet. I always say this. I could not believe it. I was trying to show him my Instagram, but it wasn't loading. So I was like, "Let me give you my card." He takes my card. It was the last card in my wallet. And it took a couple months, but I ended up getting a chance to cut him, and, you know, one of my greatest friends. And I was able to learn so much from him early on at what it looked like to be successful at a young age, and how big the world could be outside the Ville, and what it meant to, you know, show love back to the city. So yeah, I credit Dennis for a lot of that early, you know, success that I got to see up close.

   12. CJCalum Johnson26:01

       Yeah. You know what? You, you mentioned, uh, yeah, and you even said it before, that, that learning from Dennis of, like, navigating success at a young age. And, and it feels like probably not for you experiencing it, but just looking high level at your story, it feels like you got successful at a very early point in your life. What was that first moment? 'Cause you mentioned moving to Atlanta. You mentioned getting more and more celebrity clients, and that includes, like, athletes, but also musicians. What's the first point in your life and in your memory where you're like, "Oh, this... Like, I'm actually successful at this. Like, this is starting to pick up in a way that I never expected"? Like, is that a vivid moment?

   13. VBVic Blends26:41

       Man, I mean, I remember just getting my first $20 from my dog Christian Cortazar, and my first $20 just, like, changed my mind. That was already, wow.

   14. CJCalum Johnson26:53

       Mm.

   15. VBVic Blends26:53

       I was charging $10.

   16. CJCalum Johnson26:54

       Yeah.

   17. VBVic Blends26:54

       This dude gave me 20 and said it was the best cut he ever got, and I was only a couple months into cutting. I was... It was hard for me to even take the 20. I was like, "Bro, are you sure?"

   18. CJCalum Johnson27:02

       Mm.

   19. VBVic Blends27:03

       I don't even pay 20 for my cut.

   20. CJCalum Johnson27:04

       Yeah.

   21. VBVic Blends27:05

       And he said it was the best cut he ever got. So already there, those, those were signs of s- of success.

   22. CJCalum Johnson27:10

       Yeah. It was like a confirmation of your dream, like, that it was possible.

   23. VBVic Blends27:13

       Yeah, my first 20 from Christian, and the first day I made over 200 days, uh $200 in a day cutting, were like, wow.

   24. CJCalum Johnson27:21

       Yeah.

   25. VBVic Blends27:21

       That was more than I ever expected.

   26. CJCalum Johnson27:24

       Yeah.

   27. VBVic Blends27:24

       Those were early confirmation that I was doing something good.

   28. CJCalum Johnson27:28

       Yeah.

   29. VBVic Blends27:29

       When it got to the point where I was like, man, this is way bigger than cutting hair is, is around COVID, right after COVID, when I started doing free haircuts outside. That changed at a big level. That was the one that was like, wow, I don't really know how fast or how big this is actually happening.

   30. CJCalum Johnson27:47

       Mm-hmm.
5. 34:12 – 37:03

   Cutting Lil Baby's hair while living with roaches

   1. VBVic Blends34:12

      Yeah. I, I became Lil Baby's barber as soon as I got to Atlanta. Trae Young, as soon as I got to Atlanta. 21 Savage. And those were like my big three clients.

   2. CJCalum Johnson34:22

      Yeah.

   3. VBVic Blends34:22

      I took care of those guys for years. You know, Baby's still a, a, a great friend of mine, and I've been cutting his hair for, man, I'm going on six years.

   4. CJCalum Johnson34:30

      Yeah.

   5. VBVic Blends34:31

      So to be introduced to Atlanta, as soon as you get to this new city, and mind you, I've never lived in Atlanta before. I never even ever really visited the city. I had... I just went cold, visit. I got an apartment sight unseen for $900 outside the city. It was filled with roaches. I had no window. I was in a basement. Uh, it was called a terrace floor apartment.

   6. CJCalum Johnson34:51

      Mm.

   7. VBVic Blends34:52

      I ain't know what I was expecting.

   8. CJCalum Johnson34:54

      Mm.

   9. VBVic Blends34:54

      So to be surrounded by that culture very quickly... And that's the thing about barbering. It's a, it's a vehicle to get you wherever you need to be. Everybody needs a barber, and you gotta play your part as a barber. A lot of people, as a barber, they wanna be everything but a barber. They wanna go and be all these other things. Bro, I love being a barber, and all the other things will come in your life. But man, if you a barber listening to this, man, love being a barber and love your craft. And when you show up, be the best at what you do, and you play your part till you get your opportunity. And that's what I did. I showed up. I was always on time. I was always ready to show up. Anytime, anywhere, man, you call me, I was there. I had no girl, no dog, no nothing. Always ready with the clippers, bro. You don't know how many nights I spent in that studio with Baby till 4:00 AM just waiting for my chance to give him a cut or somebody else in the studio to give him a cut. Bro, I was ready at all times. Anybody, anywhere.

   10. CJCalum Johnson35:52

       Yeah. Actually, it's, it's interesting, Vic, 'cause I can't think of that many people, figures in our generation that have, like, reinvented themselves and redefined themselves as successfully as you have, and it's, it's interesting, right? Because at that point in time, you're, like, the barber. That, that is your thing, is, like, the barber. And then you, you, uh, you kinda innovate and kinda come up with this style of video that is so popular. Can you, can you even just zoom out for a second? 'Cause I, I know that you were kinda thinking along these different lines. The origin of that style of even video and, like, that idea, because seeing the success of it- And the, the millions and the tens of millions, hundreds of millions of people that have seen those videos that you've done with the free haircuts, it feels like a no-brainer that it would work. But at that point in time, no one is doing that. Like, no one is going outside with a videographer and filming themselves, not even giving a celebrity, just anyone, just like a random person, just anyone

6. 37:03 – 46:57

   The free haircut that changed everything

   1. CJCalum Johnson37:03

      in the street, a cop.

   2. VBVic Blends37:03

      Yeah, man, there's something real interesting about it because to me it's a, it's, it's a... [smacks lips] Well, I'll, I'll tell you this. The first time I ever gave a free haircut was to this homeless guy named Gary. It was as soon as I left barber school, and I, I just had this conversation with my instructor, and I had told him that I felt stuck in my journey. And I was like, "Man, I don't know where I'm supposed to go next." And I'll never forget that he asked me this question. He said, "Did you do the last thing that God asked you to do? And if you didn't do that, then you need to go back, and you need to figure out what that is and accomplish that first. And when you finish that, he gonna show you where you need to go to next." And I was like, "Man, did I do the last thing God asked me to do?" And I realized how much of a routine, we talked about our routine earlier, school, work, school, work. Wasn't really seeing a bigger picture of life around me, and I don't know if that's exactly what God was asking me to do. So that day when I left, I was in Bojangles drive-through, and I was about to get my Cajun filet biscuit meal. And I was sitting there ready to just go back to the shop in the garage and, and get to it, and then this homeless guy stands in front of my car. And I can't act like he don't see him. He's right there in front of my car. So I pull over, and I'm like, "Man, I don't got cash, but would you like a, a meal? I'll get you some food." He's like, "Of course, I'll take some food." So I get him some food, and then I'm like, "Man, well, I got my clippers in my trunk." I was like, "Bro, you want a haircut?" And then he was like, "Yeah, I'll take a cut, too." So I get him another Cajun filet chicken biscuit meal, which is the best order from Bojangles. And we sit down, we bust down this, this biscuit, and I give him a free haircut in the Bojangles parking lot. And people would stop by and see this. People were taking videos. People from school were leaving school and seeing me, and they're like, "Yo, what the heck? Vic is out here cutting in the Bojangles parking lot." And if that would've been happening in a barbershop, nobody would've paid attention to it. Feel me? 'Cause I'm just a dude cutting in a barbershop.

   3. CJCalum Johnson39:19

      Yeah. Just any cut, yeah.

   4. VBVic Blends39:20

      Nobody would peep what's happening right here. They wouldn't see that this is something happening where it shouldn't be or where they wouldn't expect it to be, and I think that is what grabs people's attention 'cause this is a act of kindness, but it's happening somewhere you don't expect to see it at. Man, I remember cutting Gary. Gary told me that one day you have a chicken, and the next day you could have feathers. Gary told me that he ended up being homeless in a matter of 30 days. It went from his wife passing away to them being evicted out of their house, and him losing it all in 30 days, homeless. And I was just like, man. One day you have a- he said, "One day you have a chicken, next day you wake up, all you got is feathers in the hand." And I was like, "Damn, life move fast, bro. You gotta really hold on and be grateful for what you got in this moment." And that was the first time I remember leaving, and I felt that that was what God asked me to do, was just to look around and serve my people more than I was just serving the work that I was trying to fulfill.

   5. CJCalum Johnson40:15

      Yeah.

   6. VBVic Blends40:16

      Like, am I taking care of the people that I see every day? And I talk about in the book that you could be living with this tunnel vision and, and you could be so focused on your dream with this tunnel vision, and when you look through a tunnel vision, it's like looking through a little telescope. You can only see the small circle ahead of where you wanna go, but you can't see the wide screen version of what's around you. And when you look at life through the wide screen, you can see the people along the way that might need a helping hand. And when I took a step back from life, slowed down, and looked wide screen, that to me was changing everything, and that's how I was able to see Gary because I stopped looking at, well, I need to get to the garage for these clients. Now let me take a step back. Let me pause for a moment. Let me recognize that there's somebody in my space right now that might need something, and what can I do for him? That was a moment that you had to step back and, and look at that wide screen view.

   7. CJCalum Johnson41:06

      Yeah. You know, I, I, I just think about that of, like, did you do the last thing that God asked you? And, and I think for someone that's listening, that is potentially, like, a, a life-altering question to ask yourself. And so I also think that the answer that you give to what I'm gonna say next could potentially be life altering, which is I think about that human being that feels so lost, and we're starting to see it a lot now. Like, a lot of people, whether it's because of AI or the economy or something happening with their job, they're having to, like, rethink how they even see themselves or what they do, and it's easy to feel lost, right? And I, and I think one of the most devastating things when you feel lost and in that wilderness is, like, you kind of stop hearing God's voice. It, it becomes muffled. Like, it's hard to even process what he's asking you to do. And so for you, I, I'm so curious 'cause it, it sounds, it sounds even just hearing the story that once you had that experience with Gary, you were like, "Oh, okay, this is what I'm meant to do next." But for a lot of people, it's like they can't hear the voice. I'm, I'm curious to you if there, if there are signs, if there is signals of like, "Oh, okay, this is where I'm being guided." Like, signs that someone listening could learn from.

   8. VBVic Blends42:33

      Sometimes you'll go down a road that you didn't expect to, a left turn, and you think, "Damn, I don't know where I'm at right now." But a great thing about God is that he's just like the GPS. He is always gonna reroute you.

   9. CJCalum Johnson42:47

      Mm-hmm.

   10. VBVic Blends42:48

       Even when you take the left turn, you know the GPS is always gonna say, "Rerouting your route."

   11. CJCalum Johnson42:52

       Yeah.

   12. VBVic Blends42:52

       And it's gonna get you where you wanna get to.

   13. CJCalum Johnson42:53

       Yeah.

   14. VBVic Blends42:54

       Maybe it adds a couple of minutes, maybe it adds a couple of miles. But God, just like the GPS, bro, he gonna reroute you and get you where you wanna get to. Maybe not in the timeframe that you expected but eventually if you follow that path, even if it's a left turn, it's a detour, you gonna get where you wanna get to.

   15. CJCalum Johnson43:10

       Mm.

   16. VBVic Blends43:10

       So I believe that those left turns, those things that push you in a different direction, man, you gotta trust them 'cause it might be a better direction than you ever imagined.

   17. CJCalum Johnson43:20

       Yeah. You know what, Vic, I, I wanted to, uh, I actually got the video on my iPad. I wanted to show you this.

   18. VBVic Blends43:26

       I, I love these.

   19. CJCalum Johnson43:26

       Because, um-

   20. VBVic Blends43:27

       I love when I do this to people too.

   21. CJCalum Johnson43:28

       Yeah. [laughs]

   22. VBVic Blends43:29

       I just like my, I, like, I have no idea what you're about to show me right now.

   23. CJCalum Johnson43:32

       [laughs] Well, this, so, so I found out about your journey and what you were doing around this time, and I remember the first, like, free haircuts video that I saw from you, and it was like, at the time, it was like no one was doing that.

   24. VBVic Blends43:47

       Yeah.

   25. CJCalum Johnson43:48

       So I actually, I, I went back and found it, and I just wanted you-

   26. VBVic Blends43:51

       The first one?

   27. CJCalum Johnson43:52

       The first one that I saw. You, you can let me know if this is the first one if you just click play.

   28. VBVic Blends43:59

       Yeah, this is the first. I already know it.

   29. CJCalum Johnson44:00

       Okay.

   30. VBVic Blends44:01

       I'm gonna hit play.
7. 46:57 – 1:00:26

   How I gained 5M followers in 5 days

   1. VBVic Blends46:57

      here?

   2. CJCalum Johnson46:57

      Yeah. You know, you know what, you know what's f- funny to me? Because, like, the first thing that you, we talk about, the importance of, like, walking with faith, right? And it, and it feels like in that moment, your, the, the uncomfortableness, the anxiety, the nerves of doing this video, it was actually you s- stepping out in faith of, like, doing what God asked you to do. And it's like once you did that, the impact was so immediate. So, so to give people context, you post that video. That video gets 11.2 million views on TikTok. Um, you do another one-

   3. VBVic Blends47:31

      Damn, it has that many views?

   4. CJCalum Johnson47:32

      Yeah, it has that many. [laughs] And then I think you post another one, like, a few weeks later. That one also gets a million. And so when I was looking at the numbers of your following around that time, 'cause you had a following, but you go from in September of 2021, you have 5.9 million. A few months later, you've got, like, millions more followers from doing those style of videos.

   5. VBVic Blends47:54

      Man, I remember... Bro, I remember this one week, I was growing a million followers a day for, like, five days straight.

   6. CJCalum Johnson47:59

      That's crazy.

   7. VBVic Blends48:00

      That was crazy. But I don't even, at that time, I don't even know how crazy that is.

   8. CJCalum Johnson48:06

      Yeah.

   9. VBVic Blends48:06

      Because I'm not really going outside, so I'm not seeing people. I'm not... Like, I don't know how crazy this is.

   10. CJCalum Johnson48:14

       Mm.

   11. VBVic Blends48:14

       But I remember, like, that jump from, like, one to five, bro, I was just a million. I was thanking for another mil- I was thanking everybody for another million, like, five days in a row.

   12. CJCalum Johnson48:24

       Yeah.

   13. VBVic Blends48:25

       It was ridiculous.

   14. CJCalum Johnson48:26

       Yeah. Your, your, your brain, your mind at that point can't even really process what's happening.

   15. VBVic Blends48:31

       Man, I just knew whatever I was doing, people were rocking with. I'm gonna go keep doing this.

   16. CJCalum Johnson48:35

       Yeah.

   17. VBVic Blends48:35

       So I was like, man, that free haircut, again, that's not my first haircut video I ever post on the internet. That's like my 10,000th free, uh, haircut video. First free haircut, but, like, man, I've been making content as a barber for- Man, years. My whole career.

   18. CJCalum Johnson48:52

       Mm.

   19. VBVic Blends48:53

       But I, I finally got my one that like made me different and really broke it all for me. And when I saw that it was getting a reaction like that, I just knew to keep doing it.

   20. CJCalum Johnson49:05

       Yeah.

   21. VBVic Blends49:05

       I didn't know where it was going. I didn't really understand how viral it was 'cause I never been that viral. I, I was just like known to barbers. If you were a barber, you knew I was a good barber in the community, but that is a lot more than just barbers watching me.

   22. CJCalum Johnson49:18

       Yeah.

   23. VBVic Blends49:19

       That was very, like, wow.

   24. CJCalum Johnson49:21

       A million followers, a million followers a day for five days.

   25. VBVic Blends49:24

       Yeah, that was ridiculous, bro.

   26. CJCalum Johnson49:25

       Yeah. Your- brands... Like, w- at what point is a brand starting to reach out at that time? Like-

   27. VBVic Blends49:31

       I, I-

   28. CJCalum Johnson49:31

       Talk me through that quick

   29. VBVic Blends49:32

       ... Nah, but actually, no, they weren't because I didn't know... All- all right, so this is c- this is another like crazy world, right? Like there's a lot of people with a following and they got followers, but like there's no business happening. There's no brand deals. There's no cool opportunities. And I remember talking to one of my closest friends, Mez, who actually shot the front cover of my book, by the way.

   30. CJCalum Johnson49:53

       Yeah.
8. 1:00:26 – 1:11:46

   The diagnosis that took me to a dark place

   1. CJCalum Johnson1:00:26

      And, and it reminds me, because you, you say, you go, "In 2022, the best year of my life became the worst year of my life." You said, "I'm blowing up. I have commercials. I'm doing brand deals. Everything is going viral. Then I'm diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder." And you say at that time, you said, "I have an extreme manic episode. I'm going through depression for the first time. I lose everything. I have dark thoughts of would I ever cut hair again?" I'm curious, I'm curious, Vic- That moment, because it feels sudden, is it that sudden in reality or was that just a gradual bui- like, take us to that-

   2. VBVic Blends1:01:08

      Man

   3. CJCalum Johnson1:01:08

      ... moment

   4. VBVic Blends1:01:08

      What Gary, what Gary say, dog?

   5. CJCalum Johnson1:01:10

      Yeah.

   6. VBVic Blends1:01:11

      One day you got a chicken and the next day you could have feathers.

   7. CJCalum Johnson1:01:14

      Mm.

   8. VBVic Blends1:01:14

      That's exactly what it felt like to me.

   9. CJCalum Johnson1:01:16

      Yeah.

   10. VBVic Blends1:01:16

       Where I went from doing this incredible episode, having incredible success behind it, and which first of all, like, I hate that I even got to the place of putting that much pressure on myself because that comes back to the comparison of me and my journey, and I know how special that journey has been for me. But then I'm watching others and I'm seeing people level up so fast and go to new levels so quick and I'm like, "Man, what's my next level gonna be? Am I gonna be this free haircut guy forever?" And I started to be ungrateful for this, like, thing that I did because I just felt like I was gonna be put in a box. And I'm like, well, I do got dreams outside of that, and I didn't wanna be limited to that, and I hate that I thought like that. I hate it, bro. It like... I look back and I just shake my head over and over again because I love being a free haircut dude. That's me. That's, like, who I am. That's what made me unique. That's what people know me as. There's only one free haircut dude out there that everybody knows, so why would I wanna go and start doing all the stuff that other people are doing? But that's 'cause I'm looking at my phone too much. I'm watching other people start, uh, streaming and doing things and podcasts and I'm like, "Oh, I'm gonna go do a mon talk show and I'ma go cut hair and I'ma have longer format." And in reality, bro, I really just wish I would've slowed down because all that stuff will happen in your life. You just trying to force it at the wrong time, and that's what have really messed you up, is I wanted to be at this next level so bad, so fast, and I thought it all had to happen right now because I'm riding this wave of what's happening in 2022. The momentum's there for me. All right, I'ma just jump off into the next year. I'ma go into this platform and I'ma do the, the long form podcast and I put way too much pressure on myself. Maybe lose my mind.

   11. CJCalum Johnson1:03:02

       Mm.

   12. VBVic Blends1:03:03

       And the first episode, amazing opportunity from my friend, uh, NLE. Man, great friend. Like, I started cutting his hair real early on in his career and mine, and man, what a great friendship, uh, that we have and he gave me that opportunity. I had two amazing friends, Sophie and Val, uh, be down to produce this thing on New Year's Eve. We shot this thing on New Year's Eve. So already, you know, to me I'm like, "Oh, I'm gonna... I'm grinding hard. I'ma do this on New Year's." Shouldn't have been on no plane by myself trying to make a podcast. You know, that, that wasn't right. And, you know, I put so much pressure on that, that moment because it was big for NLE, it was big for me. Um, I never produced a podcast. I remember, you know, my team's in LA, Sophie and Val are in LA. They editing the episode, I'm in Atlanta, but this is like a side project that they helping me, they blessing me with they, they support for, and I'm staying up. You know, for me, for them to start working on it around like 10, 11 means I'm up at 1:00, 2:00 just trying to get them feedback, which means I'm really not going to sleep. I'm up at to like 4:00 or 5:00-

   13. CJCalum Johnson1:04:14

       Yeah

   14. VBVic Blends1:04:15

       ... before they finish so I can give feedback in real time. Then I'm stressing so bad I'm not going to sleep. I remember staying up for three days straight, 72 hours, no sleep. And I'm thinking I'm just grinding hard. This is what you gotta do to be successful.

   15. CJCalum Johnson1:04:31

       Yeah.

   16. VBVic Blends1:04:31

       You gotta give up sleep. You gotta, man, you gotta give up meals. You gotta grind harder. You gotta push yourself to your limits. That was dumb.

   17. CJCalum Johnson1:04:39

       Mm.

   18. VBVic Blends1:04:40

       That was terrible, bro.

   19. CJCalum Johnson1:04:41

       Yeah.

   20. VBVic Blends1:04:41

       It drove my mind crazy, it made me manic. And the worst thing that could've happened was that episode was so successful, it got a million views in the first day.

   21. CJCalum Johnson1:04:50

       Yeah.

   22. VBVic Blends1:04:51

       So now I'm manic. I just drove my mind to its limit. So many other crazy things happened in that time, and then it succeeds. So now-

   23. CJCalum Johnson1:05:01

       You're gonna have to go again

   24. VBVic Blends1:05:02

       ... oh, now I'm like, everything I just did paid off.

   25. CJCalum Johnson1:05:04

       Yeah.

   26. VBVic Blends1:05:04

       It was all worth it. So now I don't even think to stop because I'm like, "Look at what I just did." I'm losing my mind now. Man, I try to go force the second one and I just complete manic episode. Bad, but yeah, I was trying to force this next step so bad, bro, and I was feeling so much pressure to keep up with, uh, what, what I should be, or what I think I should be doing and what I'm watching others do.

   27. CJCalum Johnson1:05:27

       Yeah. A lot of people that are, that are listening, 'cause you talk about mental health and you talk about it quite a bit, they won't even really be aware of what, like, a, a manic episode is. Can, can you explain that, that moment and, and what it was to you?

   28. VBVic Blends1:05:45

       Yeah, a manic episode is when you are in a very heightened state of mind. Your speech is 1,000 miles an hour. Bro, I'm rambling, like, at light speed it feels like.

   29. CJCalum Johnson1:05:58

       Mm.

   30. VBVic Blends1:05:58

       I'm going from topic to topic. It's not really making sense. Nothing's tracking. Like, you're very irritable, so, like, anything is, like, really setting me off, and I'm not a dude that gets mad easily. Like, I'm a pretty even, chill guy.
9. 1:11:46 – 1:19:06

   The call that saved my life

   1. VBVic Blends1:11:46

      at all.

   2. CJCalum Johnson1:11:47

      Yeah. What gets you out?

   3. VBVic Blends1:11:49

      Uh, my friend Scott that I opened the barber school with in the prison, man. Scott. I called Scott and I finally cried for help. Scott got on a flight straight to Atlanta, came to see me. And because Scott has worked in the prison system for over 25 years in California, and a lot of these guys do have mental health issues that they gotta work through, so Scott is aware-

   4. CJCalum Johnson1:12:10

      He kinda knew

   5. VBVic Blends1:12:11

      ... he's, uh, very aware, 'cause he saw me manic.

   6. CJCalum Johnson1:12:13

      Yeah.

   7. VBVic Blends1:12:13

      He saw me at All-Star Weekend, completely out of my mind. And he just let me be, uh, be in it. 'Cause you gotta let somebody go through the motions in a episode. And when he saw me and he saw how depressed and sad I was, he's like, "Man, you don't wanna hear this, but you may have bipolar disorder. I really want you to go see a psychiatrist."

   8. CJCalum Johnson1:12:34

      Oh, so it wasn't even diagnosed at that point?

   9. VBVic Blends1:12:35

      No, no, no. But that was the first time I ever heard that, like, term for myself.

   10. CJCalum Johnson1:12:39

       Yeah.

   11. VBVic Blends1:12:39

       'Cause people all, you know, forever always say, "Oh, you're bipolar."

   12. CJCalum Johnson1:12:43

       You're bipolar.

   13. VBVic Blends1:12:44

       But it, you know, yeah, you're going from this mood to that mood. But it's a very serious thing.

   14. CJCalum Johnson1:12:48

       Mm.

   15. VBVic Blends1:12:49

       A very, very serious thing. And Scott was the first one to mention that I may have a diagnosis, and he was like, "Would you go see a doctor?" And bro, when you feel that bad in your life, man, I'm going to see the doctor.

   16. CJCalum Johnson1:13:03

       Anything to-

   17. VBVic Blends1:13:03

       If you telling me there's a solution-

   18. CJCalum Johnson1:13:05

       Yeah

   19. VBVic Blends1:13:05

       ... to the pain I'm feeling, I'm going.

   20. CJCalum Johnson1:13:07

       Whatever it takes.

   21. VBVic Blends1:13:08

       Whatever it takes. Come on.

   22. CJCalum Johnson1:13:09

       Yeah.

   23. VBVic Blends1:13:10

       I'm willing to try anything, 'cause I'm just crying for help.

   24. CJCalum Johnson1:13:12

       Yeah. Was that, was that the most painful part of it, is not actually even just what you were experiencing, but just the effect that it had on-

   25. VBVic Blends1:13:19

       The shame is the worst feeling.

   26. CJCalum Johnson1:13:21

       Yeah.

   27. VBVic Blends1:13:22

       The shame after a manic episode is the worst feeling in the world because you act totally out of your mind.

   28. CJCalum Johnson1:13:30

       Mm.

   29. VBVic Blends1:13:30

       And you act, and you say things that you would never say before-

   30. CJCalum Johnson1:13:34

       Yeah
10. 1:19:06 – 1:22:47

    How I surprised my dad with Tom Brady

    1. VBVic Blends1:19:06

       Yeah, man, I got to get Tom-

    2. CJCalum Johnson1:19:06

       ... and like-

    3. VBVic Blends1:19:07

       Man, I got to get Tom Brady on the podcast, man, which was just unreal.

    4. CJCalum Johnson1:19:11

       How does that even come about for... Like, you get Obama, you get To- I'm like, how does that even, how do you even do that? Like, how does that even come about?

    5. VBVic Blends1:19:18

       Bro, you got a great team.

    6. CJCalum Johnson1:19:19

       Yeah.

    7. VBVic Blends1:19:20

       You know, you gotta get a great team, and- You gotta, you gotta have a great team, bro. That's, like that's the key to this life is who knows who. They always talk about the seven degrees of separation.

    8. CJCalum Johnson1:19:30

       Mm.

    9. VBVic Blends1:19:31

       Somebody you know knows somebody that knows somebody that knows who you might wanna get to.

    10. CJCalum Johnson1:19:35

        Yeah.

    11. VBVic Blends1:19:35

        Like, so we do, we do a lot of reach out. You know, my team, they get Brady to confirm for the show, and this is around the time of him, uh, becoming owner of Nobull and starting his broadcasting job. So there's always a moment where people usually like to get in front of the camera and talk about things, and we just caught lightning in a bottle.

    12. CJCalum Johnson1:19:59

        The right timing, yeah.

    13. VBVic Blends1:20:00

        You know, we caught lightning in a bottle. Tom was down to get on the show, and I knew, bro, my dad from Boston.

    14. CJCalum Johnson1:20:07

        Mm.

    15. VBVic Blends1:20:07

        Grew up poor as hell in Boston. Like, this is my moment.

    16. CJCalum Johnson1:20:10

        Yeah, that Patriots guy, like-

    17. VBVic Blends1:20:12

        This is my moment.

    18. CJCalum Johnson1:20:13

        Yeah.

    19. VBVic Blends1:20:13

        So I, like, surprised my dad, man, by telling him that he needed to be in Miami 'cause I was doing this thing with the Army, and they wanna interview my veteran dad. They wanna-

    20. CJCalum Johnson1:20:22

        Mm

    21. VBVic Blends1:20:23

        ... talk to him about his journey.

    22. CJCalum Johnson1:20:24

        Oh, so he doesn't even know. He doesn't even know.

    23. VBVic Blends1:20:26

        No. He think he's there to talk to the military-

    24. CJCalum Johnson1:20:27

        Mm

    25. VBVic Blends1:20:28

        ... to, to help promote recruitment. And he comes suit and tie. They sit him in the chair. They start asking him questions about his military service and his background, and then they say, "Yo, you from Boston, ain't you?" And they're like, "Yeah, man, uh, a lot of great athletes come out of Boston, man. Who's your favorite Boston athlete?"

    26. CJCalum Johnson1:20:47

        Yeah.

    27. VBVic Blends1:20:47

        And my dad says, "Tom Brady."

    28. CJCalum Johnson1:20:50

        Yeah.

    29. VBVic Blends1:20:50

        And I thank God he didn't say Kevin Garnett or-

    30. CJCalum Johnson1:20:53

        [laughs]
11. 1:22:47 – 1:38:48

    How I got to cut Barack Obama's hair (wild story)

    1. CJCalum Johnson1:22:47

       ... that's dreams. You know what? It's, um, I, I read that your, uh, your dream haircut around that time, uh, I think someone asked you actually in an interview, and, uh, you said Barack Obama.

    2. VBVic Blends1:22:58

       Yeah.

    3. CJCalum Johnson1:22:59

       T- talk to me 'cause, well, it's like after that you end up cutting Barack's hair. Talk to me even about, like, you, you're talking-

    4. VBVic Blends1:23:08

       That was the last, that was the last guest of the year.

    5. CJCalum Johnson1:23:10

       Yeah. You're talking about, you know, relationships, seven degrees of separation from... That is a, I don't even know how you get Bar- the president. Like-

    6. VBVic Blends1:23:20

       Shout out Barack, man.

    7. CJCalum Johnson1:23:21

       [laughs] And you're cutting his hair. Like-

    8. VBVic Blends1:23:24

       Shout out Barack, dog.

    9. CJCalum Johnson1:23:24

       [laughs]

    10. VBVic Blends1:23:25

        Mr. 44.

    11. CJCalum Johnson1:23:27

        Yeah. [laughs]

    12. VBVic Blends1:23:28

        Um, yeah, man, I'm on this red carpet for Variety. It's my first red carpet too. I ain't never been to nothing like this. I, I, like, I don't, I don't really like it. I don't be doing the Hollywood stuff. So Variety put me on this Power of Young Hollywood list. I'm like, "All right, we gonna go." First red carpet, first time with, like, press wi- with microphones asking you stuff.

    13. CJCalum Johnson1:23:48

        Yeah.

    14. VBVic Blends1:23:49

        I'm like, "Man, they trying to get a... They asking me this. This is crazy."

    15. CJCalum Johnson1:23:52

        [laughs]

    16. VBVic Blends1:23:52

        And-

    17. CJCalum Johnson1:23:53

        Like a celebrity basically, yeah

    18. VBVic Blends1:23:54

        ... who was it? It probably was Entertainment Tonight. I gotta see who asked me that question, but the lady was like, "Man, you had a lot of great people on your show. We seen Tom Brady. But who's your dream guest?" And I sat there, and I thought about the craziest name I could think of.

    19. CJCalum Johnson1:24:09

        Yeah.

    20. VBVic Blends1:24:10

        And I was like, "Man, Barack Obama."

    21. CJCalum Johnson1:24:11

        Yeah.

    22. VBVic Blends1:24:12

        Tryna get Barack Obama the best fade of his life, man.

    23. CJCalum Johnson1:24:14

        [laughs]

    24. VBVic Blends1:24:15

        Barack, hit me up.

    25. CJCalum Johnson1:24:16

        Yeah.

    26. VBVic Blends1:24:16

        Let's make it happen.

    27. CJCalum Johnson1:24:17

        Yeah.

    28. VBVic Blends1:24:18

        And when I woke up the next day, anytime I got a crazy idea, I sit there, and I think, "Who do I know that knows Barack Obama?"

    29. CJCalum Johnson1:24:27

        Yeah. [laughs]

    30. VBVic Blends1:24:28

        I'm like, for- that's the first thing. Do I know anybody that knows this person?
12. 1:38:48 – 1:41:15

    Do this if you're in the darkest season of your life

    1. VBVic Blends1:38:48

       These people probably say, "I gotta see it to believe it." Go look at a tree. That's it. I didn't make this up. I looked at the life around me, and I looked for an answer. Go look at that tree. Go watch it go through every season of life. Watch it never take its roots out the ground. Watch what happens over the years and years and years of that thing staying planted. Look how big it's gonna get. Look how strong it's going to be. Look how much fruit is gonna come off that tree in a couple of years. Go watch it. I promise you, God made you the same way, and if you stay planted in what you believe you're here to do, it don't matter how dark it is, it don't matter how cold it is outside, don't take your roots out the ground. Don't quit. The only way that tree dies, if it takes its roots out the ground. It don't die any other way. Keep your roots down, man. Stay down on what you think you here to do. That's it. If you wanna see it to believe it, go look outside. Every tree stands tall through all four seasons.

    2. CJCalum Johnson1:39:47

       Yeah. It reminds me of you, you mentioned, uh, Nipsey Hussle earlier, and he has something where he talks about that. He says, uh, he's like, "The only reason I success- succeeded, like, it wasn't that I was great or anything like that, it was I just stayed down. Like, I stayed true to the mission. Like, I refused to fail." You know? And so, um, Vic, I wanna thank you for this conversation, for coming on the show, but I think more than anything, with the level of success that you had, you didn't have to share your story in this depth, but you did.

    3. VBVic Blends1:40:19

       But that's 'cause you cared.

    4. CJCalum Johnson1:40:20

       Yeah.

    5. VBVic Blends1:40:21

       I'm always down to share. If somebody got ... You know, you care, I'm, I'm ready to hear the, I'm ... I don't even ... How long we been doing this for?

    6. CJCalum Johnson1:40:27

       We've been doing this for a while, for a minute, yeah.

    7. VBVic Blends1:40:29

       Yeah, man. You care about my story, you know what I'm saying? I put it in this book for everybody. Like, I hope somebody out here could learn something. They could throw this on while they eat they breakfast or whatever they do, and I hope they could just learn something. If you don't tell your story, it's gonna get lost in time. That's why podcasts are important. That's why books are important. That's why journalism is important. Because without storytelling, nobody's ever gonna learn the things that we've learned in this life.

    8. CJCalum Johnson1:40:55

       Yeah. Vic, man. Vic Fontanez.

    9. VBVic Blends1:40:58

       My dog.

    10. CJCalum Johnson1:40:58

        I appreciate you, my brother.

    11. VBVic Blends1:40:59

        Bah.

    12. CJCalum Johnson1:40:59

        This was really great.

    13. VBVic Blends1:41:00

        Thank you, bro.

    14. CJCalum Johnson1:41:01

        This was really good.

    15. VBVic Blends1:41:01

        Thanks for having me, bro.

    16. CJCalum Johnson1:41:03

        A pleasure, my friend.

    17. VBVic Blends1:41:03

        Fire.

    18. CJCalum Johnson1:41:04

        A pleasure. So if you enjoyed this conversation and you wanna hear even more stories like this, then just click here, and also my team is gonna put some more videos that you can watch here. Thank you.

Episode duration: 1:41:15