Nick Cannon: How I ACCIDENTALLY Built A $1.3 Billion Business!

Nick Cannon 0:00 I didn't think Wild 'N Out would be the billion dollar conglomerate. (cash register ka-chings) I was just creating a show because Kevin Hart needed money to pay his rent. (laughing) Please welcome Nick Cannon. Entrepreneur and- Rapper, actor, host, comedian. True superstar.

Nick Cannon 0:14 Who's Nick Cannon? I'm me.

Steven Bartlett 0:17 Nick, you've been a pioneer. I read that one of your companies has generated more than a hundred million dollars.

Nick Cannon 0:22 That was just in our headphone sales. We have a tour that makes millions, a cruise line, restaurants. As a kid, I learned that I may not be the most talented person in the room, but I'll be the hardest worker in the room. That's how you get it. Some people play basketball. Then there's the basketball players. (laughs) Don't try it. If you try it, it's not gonna work. Do it as if there's no other option. So by the time I was 17, I started writing for Kenan & Kel.

Steven Bartlett 0:45 The youngest staff writer in TV history.

Nick Cannon 0:47 Yeah. I was like Harry Potter with the pen.

Steven Bartlett 0:49 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 0:49 And then Will Smith signed me. (piano music plays) I was living my dream life, but I always felt like I had a ticking clock. The latest on the health scare from Nick Cannon. Nick Cannon... Has lupus. If you don't catch it and control it, you, you could lose your life pretty quickly.

Steven Bartlett 1:04 You said that you wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for Mariah Carey.

Nick Cannon 1:08 Yeah. It makes you question what are you gonna do with the time that you have on this planet? What impact are you gonna make? When you're not afraid of dying, you focus on living.

Steven Bartlett 1:17 And then you dealt with the loss of your son, at just five months old, due to brain cancer.

Nick Cannon 1:26 You never know how strong you are till it's the only option. (hip hop music plays)

Steven Bartlett 1:37 Nick, what do I have to understand about your earliest years to understand the man that you are today?

Nick Cannon 1:44 I'ma steal that question. (laughs) Uh, I'd have to say that, uh, optimism, youthful optimism.

Nick Cannon 1:57 You know, some call it imagination. Uh, but I, the world was just so big, but yet so tangible for me. You know, uh, I felt even as a y- I fe- I felt like I had this magic that I could just manifest anything, uh, good or bad. You know what I mean? It was, uh, I, I lived this life to where as small as the community was, as disenfranchised and maybe not as upwardly mobile as, as, uh, one would see from the outside, I had this big imagination, and in my mind this superpower that I could be, do, or whatev- whatever I wanted, I, it was all in my grasp, and I could... I don't know where I got it from, but I was just, as a kid, as a teenager, always felt like I had this ability to, to walk in a room and get whatever I wanted.

Steven Bartlett 2:56 Uh, but the environment that you were raised in wasn't one of-

Nick Cannon 2:58 Yeah. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 2:59 ... great abundance.

Nick Cannon 3:01 Yeah, that's what was so crazy about it. Like, I would, you know, even growing up in the projects, growing up in scenarios

Nick Cannon 3:07 that we didn't have a lot, but I felt like I had a lot. I felt like I was always destined for, to... And it wasn't even, like, about fame. It wasn't about, um, money. It was just about, I like my life. I'm gonna have fun. I'm gonna have a good time. I was always that, you, you know, let's, let's smile about it. You know what I mean? Uh, even in some difficult and e- uh, tumultuous times, I would still find, you know, a silver lining. I would still find a way to smile through pain, and I, it's, it's worked. You know, it's always kept me level-headed, you know, um, even in the midst of having a, uh, uh, a abnormal and extraordinary (laughs) life. It's like even the thing that humbles me is the fact that I'll just enter spaces with gratitude and optimism.

Steven Bartlett 4:11 Even in pain. What was your family home like?

Nick Cannon 4:17 See, that's the thing, like, probably looking back at it, more than would be like... It, it definitely wasn't orthodox, you know. Uh, we didn't come from much, but it was joyous. It was filled with love. You know, my parents had me, you know, as teenagers. They were young. I went to m- my dad's high school graduation. (laughs) Like, uh, but, you know, his parents helped raise me. My mom was constantly working, you know, um, school and work. My dad went off to college. Uh, and then, you know, I kind of felt like I grew up with my parents, uh, and their parents assisted in raising us all. So it, but it was households filled with love. Um, but, you know, wasn't traditional by any means. So there, there were the obstacles of, you know, trying to figure it out, and parents and grandparents putting food on the table. Uh, but that, I think that also gave me a different type of drive to say, "All right, we gonna, we gonna have to make something out of nothing."

Steven Bartlett 5:25 Your parents separated when you were very young?

Nick Cannon 5:27 I would say I feel like my parents had sex once. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 5:30 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 5:31 Just one time, and then I showed up. Uh, 'cause they were kids, man. You know, like, I don't really know the intricate details of their relationship, but I definitely know they weren't together. Um, it was, uh... But not, not enemies by any means. You know what I mean? They were, they were just teenagers. They were kids. So, uh, after, you know, I was born, they kind of went their separate ways. But my dad's parents kind of kept...... kept everyone together and it was a close-knit thing. You know, when, when my mother needed assistance, uh, uh, my grandmother would, would be there to help her out, my father's mother. And even though my father necessarily wasn't physically present for, you know, he was, you know, actually doing good things for himself where, you know, getting a college degree and trying to figure it out and have a family infrastructure elsewhere, um, his mom would help my mom kind of keep me afloat.

Steven Bartlett 6:35 He turned his life around quite significantly, didn't he?

Nick Cannon 6:37 Yeah, yeah, yeah. My dad was definitely headed down a path, uh, of destruction early on and then it clicked for him, you know, through some experiences of, you know, incarceration. You know, being able to kinda leave some of those substances out there that were, you know, kinda the downfall of, you know, the community in the 80s. He, he was, he was able to escape and put his life on the right path and, you know, dedicated his life to his ministry and helping others. It worked.

Steven Bartlett 7:11 When you were, you were a young man, you nearly went down the wrong path.

Nick Cannon 7:14 Yeah. I went down there, figured like ... made a U-turn-

Steven Bartlett 7:18 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 7:18 ... went back. You know what I mean? Like, uh, I, I think human nature, we all kind of gravitate towards the unknowing sometimes and s- that usually is the paths that are, are sometimes the darkest, sometimes like you just wanna ... you don't wanna do the responsible thing. You don't wanna do what your parents may suggest. So I, I definitely have a rebellious nature. I'm definitely a anti-authoritarian. I'm definitely the kid that has to feel that the pot is hot,

Nick Cannon 7:51 you know?

Steven Bartlett 7:52 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 7:52 And then like, okay, I'm not gonna ... I, I know what getting burned feels like. So, um, I think it's probably just my, you know, nature of exploring and wanting to understand things and ... It's cool, it's cool to be a bad boy when you're young. Uh, and, and especially when for me the mold wasn't necessarily presented that way. So I, I definitely went through a stage of I wanna prove to people that, you know, I'm, I'm not a, a goody two-shoe all the time. And that, that took some maturing to do. Um, but then it's also a lot of it is environment. When you grow up in especially southern California, you know, there was times where, uh, the life of gang violence was glorified and, you know, whether it's through music, through entertainment, through our culture, you know. Uh, when you come from the trenches, you get a certain level of respect. You get a certain level of, uh, reverence. So I, I grew up admiring a lot of that and therefore kind of took that path a few times but, you know, luckily I didn't get caught up, you know, like some of my oth- my other friends and associates did.

Steven Bartlett 9:10 What, what saved you from that path?

Nick Cannon 9:12 Creativity. Like I said, that optimism, which then obviously was transmuted into entertainment.

Steven Bartlett 9:21 When, when you were a young man, say you were like between the age of 10 and 14, if I'd asked you what you wanted to be and what you thought you'd be when you were 42-

Nick Cannon 9:35 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Steven Bartlett 9:36 ... what would you have told me?

Nick Cannon 9:38 Uh, same thing. A rapper. You know, uh, probably that ... If it was just as simple as like at 10 years old what I was focused on, I loved hip-hop. I loved ... I knew I was ... In my mind I was famous in the hood. Like I just wanted to be ... 'Cause I was already doing stuff then, you know what I mean? I already had demo tapes and I was already connected to our, to our streets and our blocks just as being in the community, somebody with a voice. Not always a positive voice. I was, you know, I was considered a, uh, uh, I'm trying to think. I wasn't a bad kid, but I was a kid that everybody knew about, (laughs) you know? But luckily my art, my creativity allowed people to appreciate me, um, even at 10 years old like within my family, within my community, like-

Steven Bartlett 10:32 What did your art and creativity look like at that stage? Uh, rap music? Or-

Nick Cannon 10:35 Yeah, it was loud. It was ADHD-ish. It was the kid who could do it all, you know, kind of also had a church background, so I was, you know, I was always ... I was a class clown at school trying to be funny, starting to just figure out, oh, there's careers in that space. I started to look up to a lot of people like the Eddie Murphys, uh, even the, you know, at the time the, the Fresh Prince as we know as Will Smith, but he was just, he was just this charismatic funny rapper at the time. So those were, you know ... But at the same time I was looking up to the Ice Cubes and Too Shorts and, you know, which was a whole different energy. Um, so that was kind of like my makeup of like, ooh, I want to be like these guys.

Steven Bartlett 11:24 And you started doing standup comedy at 11 years old I heard. You-

Nick Cannon 11:26 11. Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 11:27 Dad's TV.

Nick Cannon 11:27 Officially doing it at 11. I had been, you know, doing stuff in church and stuff, you know, trying to make people laugh. But like first standup stage I got on was I was 11 years old.

Steven Bartlett 11:37 You strike me as someone that grew up very quickly.

Nick Cannon 11:40 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 11:41 'Cause-

Nick Cannon 11:41 I, I was always called a old soul. Uh, and I think it was because I grew up around older people b- with, uh, my grandparents kind of being, you know, patriarchs for me. Um, their children were my siblings. My father who was, you know, a teenager was-... somewhat more of, like, a, a big brother type of, uh, thing. So, like, even the way he dealt with me and even the people that I dealt with in my community, I just, I kinda had mannerisms and a jargon that was a little, little wise beyond my years.

Steven Bartlett 12:19 You were a big brother as well, right?

Nick Cannon 12:21 Yeah. And then, you know, ultimately my dad had, uh ... I'm my mother's only child, but my dad had five g- five boys in total. So, you know, I was th- and I was the oldest. And he and I's connection was different than, you know, the connection with my younger brothers 'cause I was almost somewhat, you know ... I was closer to my father than, you know ... He, his parenting style was different with me than it was with, you know, his younger children.

Steven Bartlett 12:49 I- it boggles my mind that someone at 11 years old starts doing standup comedy.

Nick Cannon 12:52 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 12:53 'Cause it takes, takes some guts and some confidence to do that. But I guess that speaks to who you were at 11 years old.

Nick Cannon 12:58 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 12:58 By 15 years old, you're at the Comedy Store where you met Jamie Foxx.

Nick Cannon 13:02 Yeah. I mean, I met so many comedians, but Jamie was definitely one of the ones that kinda ... Just 'cause he's such a giving and loving individual, kinda saw this kid and, and was like, "I love it." Like, "Come hang out." Like ... And because, you know, Hollywood was miles away from my neighborhood, so, uh, figuratively and literally, like, it was just, like, I needed a place to stay a lot of times. So, you know, catching, catching car rides or even once I had got my own vehicle, I, I had nowhere to sleep, so people would know that I was sleeping in my car or wouldn't have a place to sleep, so people like Jamie Foxx would let me sleep on their couch or brothers like Kai Torrey, if you've seen the Fat Tuesday documentary about, you know, the, the Black side of the C- Comedy Store. He had a night that, you know, he would let me open up and as people were coming in, I'd be entertaining the audience at like, as a teenager, you know, and the guys like Chris Tucker and Damon Wayans and Eddie Griffin, all these guys would be going on later on in the night, but I was the guy, I was the kid that was welcoming, you know, everybody into their seats. And it'd be like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant and Snoop Dogg and, like, all of these people in the audience, and there's this 15-year-old on stage, you know, rapping and telling jokes and, you know, everybody else saw something that I was just, I was just having a blast. I was ... I didn't think about what the future was going to, uh, to offer up. I was just like, "Yo, this is, this is a dream come true right now."

Steven Bartlett 14:37 People might hear that and go, "Oh, he, he got lucky. 15 years old." Whatever, you know?

Nick Cannon 14:41 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 14:43 What was the int- talk to me about the intentionality behind that. Like, if there's a 15-year-old listen to, listening to this right now-

Nick Cannon 14:48 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 14:49 ... what did you do to put yourself there, in hindsight? It's not always easy to know in the moment.

Nick Cannon 14:54 Well, it ... Yeah, I was definitely a hustler. Like, it wa- I don't th- you know, I don't believe in luck, I believe in alignment. You know what I mean? Like ... And you gotta put yourself in those positions. And it's like, you know, some people say luck is preparation meets opportunity. Um, I was always speaking myself into existence. I would put myself in those environments. Like, I, I met Jamie Foxx because I walked up to him and was like, "Yo, what's up Jamie Foxx? I'm Nick Cannon." Like, ever since I was four years old, I introduced myself as my full name. Like, everybody used to think it was so funny, like, as a four year old, I'm Nick Cannon.

Steven Bartlett 15:36 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 15:36 Like, I just thought my name was cool. I thought you, I, everybody else ... You know, you teach a kid to say their first name and it's funny, I teach my children the same way, like, "Nah, you got your full name. You're, you're, you're Monroe Cannon. You're, you know, you're Powerful Cannon." You know what I mean? Like ... And I think maybe I got that from ... It's such a cool ass name. Like, I think my dad probably did that, his dad probably did that. Like, it's just ... Like, they called, you know, my grandfather, they called him Cannon, or Daddy Cannon, and it was just like ... It's such a cool name, so ... And that's why I was like I believe it's so much in the name. But ... So even as ... I think those steps kinda ordered the personality, so then when I would find myself in scenarios that, I would take advantage of them. I wasn't a shy kid. I wasn't a overly outgoing kid, either. I wasn't like a ... I, I kinda, my ADD kinda maybe sh- shifted, like, made me always seeking attention or, like ... I won't say I was seeking atten- I got attention, because I was-

Steven Bartlett 16:41 Mm.

Nick Cannon 16:41 ... always doing something. I was always in some shit, because I was just trying to figure it out, therefore I got a lot of attention. And a lot of it probably wasn't positive attention, but it was just attention. Um, and then from there, you know, that shifted. You know, I, I grew up around hustlers, so I was like, "All right, we gonna try to, we gonna figure it out." If there was a, a door over there, I'ma figure out how to get in that door. Uh, and that's how I was able to rub shoulders, and, you know, I, I w- I studied rooms and I'm like, "All right, I, I, if I'mma, if I'mma maneuver in here, I gotta do it in a way that ... Not just based off of instinct." I gotta, I gotta put a plan together. And I, I've moved like that, you know, since, since a kid.

Steven Bartlett 17:25 I think this is fascinating. I looked at the backend of our YouTube channel, and it says that since this channel started, 69.9% of you that watch it frequently haven't yet hit the subscribe button. So, I have a favor to ask you. If you've ever watched this channel and enjoyed the content, if you're enjoying this episode right now, please could I ask a small favor? Please hit the subscribe button. Helps this channel more than I can explain, and I promise, if you do that, to return the favor, we will make the show better and better and better and better and better. That's a promise I'm willing to make to you if you hit the subscribe button. Do we have a deal? What did you learn from Jamie Foxx? What, what inf- lasting influence has he had on you, the way you are, your career, your perspective?

Nick Cannon 18:04 It's so interesting, man. I had so many great mentors coming up. Um, I feel like a lot of my first

Nick Cannon 18:10 part of my career ...I always acknowledge and big up Will Smith.

Steven Bartlett 18:14 Yeah.

Nick Cannon 18:14 'Cause he was so influential to me, uh, from-

Steven Bartlett 18:17 You met him from J- by- through Jamie?

Nick Cannon 18:19 Not ... Well, yeah. Yeah. I guess, yeah. (laughs) But it wasn't directly. Like, Jamie didn't introduce me to Will, but Jamie had a comedy festival called Laffapalooza that, uh, Will Smith's company, Overbrook, saw me at that comedy festival and gave me a holding deal at the time, what they were called, and kind of signed me to Will's company, which then I got to meet Will, you know, few months later after getting that opportunity in Atlanta at Laffapalooza. Um, and then that's when Will and I's relationship, uh, began, when I was about 16 years old. So it's like, I met Jamie when I was 15 and then I met Will when I was 16.

Steven Bartlett 19:05 It's hard to think of many more-

Nick Cannon 19:07 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 19:07 ... greater multifaceted entertainers than Will Smith and Jamie Foxx.

Nick Cannon 19:11 Man, that's what I'm saying, like, they, they trained me, like ... And it's, it's so crazy 'cause two of the nicest human beings you would ever wanna meet, like never seen ... Like, it's what you see on camera, that's who they are. You know what I mean? Like, like walk in a room, everyone gravitates towards them. They, they're, they're loud. They, they know how to have a good time. Like, that's just who those guys are, so ... I don't think I'm naturally like that. Like I, I, I, I talk to Kevin about that a lot. Like when I come in a room, I'm quiet. Kevin Hart. Like, like, uh, he's one of those guys that like, they, they're loud, they're like everyone loves 'em. Like, I'm more like I'm in the corner, I'm watching, I'm observing. I know how to be that. I can, you know, I can joke with the best of 'em and get as much attention and stuff, but I'm, I'm a little more reserved. Uh, and that's like to finally answer your question in a very long-winded way, like, the things I probably learned from Jamie is I observed him so much that he's such a great storyteller. I've stolen all of the tricks of when he can get everybody around a table and tell this story. He's, he's such a great impromptu type of guy, can sit down at a piano and, you know, sing a song and get everybody ... Like, I know all of those tricks and I've probably learned that from him. You know what I mean? Just watching how to, you know, captivate a room in a very jovial manner, um, no matter what's going on. But, uh, man, yeah, he's ... And just his, his, his thespian muscle is so strong. You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 20:51 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 20:51 And I think from whether he's being a silly character or he's being something that's so tuned in, uh, and understanding the subtleties and really embodying, you know, all of his characters, I, I learned a lot of that from him as well too.

Steven Bartlett 21:04 And Will? So you described Will as your ... Mentoring you from 16 years old.

Nick Cannon 21:08 Yeah. The thing I learned from him is hard work. And, and really, like obviously I- I've heard, he said this quote so many times, like, "I may not be the most talented person in the room, but I guarantee you I'll outwork the most talented person (laughs) in the room." Or, or I also heard him say, um, "You know, I may not be the most talented person in the room, but I'll be the hardest worker in the room." Uh, and he, he just ... If he wants something, he's not gonna stop until he figures it out, you know, and he, he dedicates himself in that manner. And you know, when this job is done, he's gonna stop, where everybody else is gonna go to sleep, he's gonna go work 10 more hours to either perfect that craft or on to the next thing. And I saw that at, you know, as a teenager and I'm like, "Okay, that's how you get it. That's what I'm gonna do." I'm ... If he not sleeping, I'm not sleeping, you know? And there'd be times like up in the studio all night and then be on set early in the morning and you just, you're so grateful and appreciative of the opportunity that you wanna be the best you could possibly be.

Steven Bartlett 22:15 Did he correct any of the errors in your ways when you were a young man? You're 16 years old, you've got a perspective.

Nick Cannon 22:19 Yeah. He taught, I mean, every ... I mean, before I met Will, I didn't know how to ... Even musically, I didn't know how to rap 16 bars. I didn't even know what that was. Like, I knew, I knew music counting, you know what I mean? But I didn't know a verse, uh, specifically a rap verse was supposed to be 16 bars. And I think that culture mighta had just started to happen, because everybody wasn't writing 16 bars in the '80s. You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 22:46 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 22:46 Sometimes a song would be seven verses or sometimes ... You know, like people would just w- ... But I feel like there, there ... In the '90s, there began this, uh, infrastructure of songwriting. Um, obviously most choruses and hooks are about eight bars.

Steven Bartlett 23:03 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 23:03 Uh, and then therefore you had to have a hot 16, double that, was your verse.

Steven Bartlett 23:10 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 23:10 Uh, and Will taught me how to write, 'cause I was just writing. I, he would give me a beat

Nick Cannon 23:14 or I'd get a track and I would just write and just memorize it-

Steven Bartlett 23:17 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 23:17 ... and then be like, "Oh, uh, let me spit this for you." And he's like, "You need some infrastructure around that."

Steven Bartlett 23:23 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 23:23 He's like, "You, you got some good stuff there." So even as, you know, simple as something like that is, but then he also just ... Life ways, man. I l- I learned a lot about integrity, character, um, obviously perseverance from him. And then stuff that he went through as a teenager, he passed on to me, and even I didn't listen, but I learned, you know. He went broke, you know, at 19, um, after winning a Grammy and having a platinum album, just spending it all on cars and living fast. He ga- ... I think my first check was somewhere, from him, like 150, $200,000, and I went and bought, uh, the exact same Range Rover he had. And he's

Nick Cannon 24:09 like, "I'm the biggest movie star in the world." (laughs) L- like, "I'm ..." He's got millions.I got $150,000 and I went and bought a Range Rover. He told me, "Don't do it." He's like, "Man..." I- he's like, "I... Don't do that." Like, "You gotta... There's other things to do with that money." And this is from the person who gave it to me. Um, and he was right. I, I totaled that Range Rover six months within having it and ended up having to move back to my mom's house probably a, a year later because... Thinking that, you know, all the, "I'm signed to Will Smith," the opportunities, but you don't... Like, that's money that you're supposed to survive on. Those, everything that, you know, uh... That was a time I, I had wrote, uh, and created a, a television sitcom through Will's company called Loose Cannon and it was like me in a military school, a teenager in a military school, thinking it was gonna get picked up. We got a six-episode commitment. Will Smith's the executive producer, Quincy Jones is on set, like everything... Stan Lathan is the director of the pilot, like everything... I'm like, "Oh, I'm set." The entire network at the WB makes a shift and they don't pick up the show. So I was like, "I thought I was..." I was... And it's so funny, I don't never even think about these correlations. The, one of the executive producers and writers was Bentley Kyle Evans who's the writer and creator of Jamie Foxx. I had... I... My time slot was scheduled to come on... My show was gonna air right after The Jamie Foxx Show. So it was like, it was all together and it didn't happen.

Steven Bartlett 25:45 And you were how old at that point?

Nick Cannon 25:46 19.

Steven Bartlett 25:47 19.

Nick Cannon 25:47 Same age Will was when he had to fig- re-figure it out. I think we shot it when I was 18, uh, but 19 is when they let me know that it wasn't, it wasn't gonna move forward. Probably one of the biggest heartbreaks of my life. I probably... I cried for days, uh, 'cause I didn't... You know, that's the thing when you're... You think you're, you've arrived, uh, and then it's snatched from under you and there's no plan. I had nobody there. Even the people like, "It's gonna be all right," I didn't believe them. Like, I was like, "I was just on the Warner Bros lot with..." You, you know, in my Range Rover and... (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 26:26 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 26:27 You know, like, I, I, I saw the millions. I saw me being the biggest young star in the world, everybody was rocking with me until everybody's gone like that. And it was just, uh... And it wasn't like they abandoned me. It was more like, everybody had to move on to their next thing. I had to be the one to figure it out. So that was, uh, that was probably one of my greatest life lessons that Will even taught me indirectly. I mean, 'cause he was warning me the

Nick Cannon 26:57 whole time, uh, and he held me down, you know, time and time again since then. You know what I mean? It was a, a... You know, I wouldn't have got Drumline if it wasn't for him. It was, wouldn't have... Like I said, I wouldn't have my first record deal if it wasn't for him, so... There was... I, I truly... It's funny. I am getting a little esoteric real quick, but I, I have this... When it comes to, like, akashic records and, and, you know, energy, I feel like you're placed in certain... It's, it's the Law of Synchronicity. Like, I feel like certain things just happen, uh, because they are constantly happening. There are certain energies that just are attracted to each other. And I, for whatever reason... People like Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, like they're... Throughout my career, they're always there, they're always... Even when they're not... Like, we may not speak every day, we may... But they, we always connected, like even the same thing, like, you know, I call Kevin Hart my best frenemy. Like, it's just, like, we've all since day one, even when we're not trying to be connected, we're connected. Like, we're, we're doing projects together, we're, we're thinking alike. He might, he might create a car show and I would create a car show. He has a restaurant, I have a restaurant. Like, and it's not like... It, it looks like competition-

Steven Bartlett 28:19 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 28:19 ... but it's like, oh no, like, we just... We're on the same frequency.

Steven Bartlett 28:22 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 28:22 Like, we're just, we just operate the same.

Steven Bartlett 28:25 And those people kind of attract each other.

Nick Cannon 28:26 They attract each other. Like, and I think that's... Like, when people talk about, like, secret societies and... I think it's like, it's not, it's not like this formed meaning. It's just, like, like-minded individuals, like, people who operate on the same frequency. They, they don't... There doesn't have to be this written rule book. It's just like, oh no, we... Intuitively this is... We, we move like this. We gravitate towards certain things and it's, it's unfortunate because people who operate in low frequency, that it's the same way and it's like, you know, you, you always like, "Damn, that person not, can't, can't catch a break." It's like, ah, that's 'cause they living in that frequency, that-

Steven Bartlett 29:04 What does that frequency look and feel like?

Nick Cannon 29:07 It's slow, it's thick, it's heavy.

Steven Bartlett 29:09 Blame?

Nick Cannon 29:10 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 29:11 Victimization?

Nick Cannon 29:11 Yeah. Victimization, it's anger, it's, it's, it's... You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 29:17 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 29:18 It's like one of those things where-

Steven Bartlett 29:19 Jealousy.

Nick Cannon 29:20 Yeah, all of that said-

Steven Bartlett 29:21 Yeah.

Nick Cannon 29:21 ... like it, and I... It's unfortunate because people who operate in it, they don't know that they're in it and it's almost like they, they almost desire that and they feel like they have to have angst and anger to, to get their point across. And like, man, you're, you're doing so much more damage to yourself-

Steven Bartlett 29:39 Mmm.

Nick Cannon 29:39 Uh, and y- you're digging yourself deeper by pointing fingers at people who are on a completely different frequency than you, they don't even hear you.

Steven Bartlett 29:50 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 29:51 And y- you're, you're clouding up your existence instead of just, like, stepping out of that frequency.

Steven Bartlett 30:00 You were the youngest ever staff writer, right? At 17 years old.

Nick Cannon 30:03 Yeah, I think. I mean, unless somebody's beat it before, like, I think-

Steven Bartlett 30:06 In TV history.

Nick Cannon 30:07 Yeah, I think because-

Steven Bartlett 30:10 Working on Kenan & Kel-

Nick Cannon 30:12 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 30:12 ... which, by the way, was massive in the UK.

Nick Cannon 30:13 Yeah, yeah.

Steven Bartlett 30:14 Yeah. (laughs)

Nick Cannon 30:14 I mean, again, s-... two of the most beautiful people I've ever e- experienced, uh, specifically Kenan. Kenan is like my brother, like my, our, our mothers are like best friends, like-

Steven Bartlett 30:26 Oh, really?

Nick Cannon 30:26 Yeah. Like, um, he, they, they gave me the opportunity 'cause they were kids too, and I started off doing warmup in the, you know-

Steven Bartlett 30:37 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 30:37 ... kind of entertaining the, the studio audience when, you know, they're moving the cameras around and stuff. And people were like, "Yo, that kid is sometimes more entertaining than what's going on on stage." So they're like, "He has a voice." So through my management, you know, Michael Goldman is still my manager to this day, still Kenan's manager. Like, Kenan act- I feel like, I don't know if Kenan introduced me to, 'cause Kenan would hang out in the comedy clubs, and I was in awe of him 'cause he's Kenan from Kenan & Kel, and we're in a simi- he's a few years older than me, but I'm like, "He's doing what I wanna do." So we would kinda, you know, catch each other, and I would, you know, I wou- I wouldn't jock him too much, but I'd be like ask him questions and stuff. So one night his manager came to, um, to the Improv on Melrose with, and I was doing standup, and, you know, they produced Kenan & Kel and all that and all that stuff, so they g- they allowed me to do the warmup job, and then from there I'm in. So I'm like, Kenan, I was like, "Yo, we should write something." So I went to Kenan, wrote a couple episodes and he, you know, he was like, "Yeah, let's do it." I remember we wrote one episode with, uh, Kenan had a crush on Tamia at the time. Like, like, he was like, well, w- we all had a crush on Tamia, but he really liked, you know, the singer Tamia. And I was like, "Yo, let's write a episode about your crush on Tamia. We can get Tamia on the episode." And it worked too, like, like, we got Tamia, she was in the sh- and I was like, "This is amazing. Like, you mean like I write something and it actually happens?" Like, I was literally like, I was like Harry Potter with the pen. Like, like, I couldn't, um, I couldn't believe that I could write something in my mind and it would actually come into fruition. Uh, and that beg- and so I just began writing everything, and I figured it out and they hired me as a staff writer for a bunch of different Nickelodeon shows.

Steven Bartlett 32:27 At 17, 18 years old?

Nick Cannon 32:28 Yeah, I was just 17. Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 32:29 Jesus.

Nick Cannon 32:30 Thank- 'cause I think I wrote, we wrote the Tamia thing probably when I was like 16, and then so by the time I was 17, I had like an official job, and then I started writing my own stuff and then hence I wrote my own television show that I would later than pitch to Will Smith, you know, in that same time.

Steven Bartlett 32:45 When you were 22 years old, which is the, The Nick Cannon Show, right?

Nick Cannon 32:49 Well, no, the w- remember I said The loo- The Loose Cannon Show-

Steven Bartlett 32:51 The Loose Cannon Show, right.

Nick Cannon 32:51 ... is that didn't get p- the, the big lesson I learned-

Steven Bartlett 32:54 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Fine.

Nick Cannon 32:54 ... that I was still a teenager then, so but s- the way I got back on my feet after Loose Cannon didn't get picked up, I then wrote my own show for Nickelodeon, which is interesting because I was so, I did that out of, to be honest, I wasn't even proud or even, I kinda did that out of just like, "I don't have nothing else to do, so let me create and produce my own show." Because I felt, I was at a low point. I was 19, and you know how this game, sometimes if it doesn't work, they'll spit you out. Like, that was my shot. Like, I was like, oh, I had, uh, I was signed to Will Smith. I had, I was the protege of all of these big comedians. I had, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of holding deals with networks. Usually, that, you only get that shot once.

Steven Bartlett 33:49 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 33:49 So I was like, "Damn, I blew my wad at 19."

Steven Bartlett 33:52 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 33:53 Like, "I gotta go get a regular job now?" Like, that's like, that's what I was thinking, like, I was gonna go back to hustling in the streets and, but it was, I was like, "All right, well maybe it's Nickel- i- I- I was doing Nickelodeon, so I still got the relationships, maybe I'll just write a kids show." You know, but I was thinking I was about to be the next Will Smith, the next Jamie Foxx. "All right, I gotta go do children's television." And through that I exercised these muscles as a writer, as an executive producer, and even like now, like, I didn't, I didn't have, you know, the foresight to know how powerful, you know, children's entertainment is, how it's th- one of the most dominating forces to be able to entertain families that, you know, I utilize in every aspect of my business now. I used to look at Nickelodeon as like pre-school-

Steven Bartlett 34:48 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 34:48 ... you know what I mean? But I didn't know they'd, they were the billion dollar conglomerate of, you know, Nickelodeon, Disney, like, I, I didn't understand that then because I was in it. Um, so yeah, I created, uh, The Nick Cannon Show for Nickelodeon and, you know, garnered a massive youth fan base through, through that.

Steven Bartlett 35:07 When I look at you being 22 years old writing this The Nick Cannon Show, you being 17 writing for Kenan & Kel, I go like, where did you get the, the repetitions? Like, where did you get the skill from? And if I was to, if you ha- if I had like a, a baby Nick Cannon here-

Nick Cannon 35:21 (laughs) Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 35:21 ... and I had to do something to give him the skills that you had at 17 where you're writing hilarious things, where, where did, where does that skill come from?

Nick Cannon 35:31 I think standup, to be honest. Standup, 'cause writing my own jokes from 11 years old, and then by the time I'm 12,

Nick Cannon 35:40 13, I'm seeing Def Comedy Jam, Comic View, I'm seeing all of these things happen, and I'm watching these individuals become their own intellectual properties, becoming their own business, becoming their own producers. One thing about standup, you have to write, direct, perform, promote, market all by yourself. It's a one man show. So I think by the time I had honed those skills at like 15, 16, I knew how to do it. I knew how to write a script. I knew how to write a great joke. I knew how to, you know, hours of sitting in libraries and figuring out words, hearing stories, like all of that stuff was starting to pay off.... uh, and I knew, like, I just zoned in, like you kind of like, a- again, like, when you know this is my space, this is my flow, you operate in your gift. So, I think just, you know, trial and error as well too but, like, I just figured it out. You know what I mean? Like, this is what I- is a gift that I have, so I'm gonna continue to operate in it.

Steven Bartlett 36:44 They say you gotta put in 10,000 hours to become a master at something.

Nick Cannon 36:46 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 36:47 And actually, when I run the numbers, I go, "Listen, you started at 11."

Nick Cannon 36:50 Yeah. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 36:50 And then you wrote your own show at 22.

Nick Cannon 36:52 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 36:52 That's more than a decade-

Nick Cannon 36:53 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 36:54 ... of repetitions in the gym.

Nick Cannon 36:55 Yep. And then e- and to me then, even then, I was still just getting started. You know what I mean? Like a- a- again, the beauty of, like, even Nickelodeon, like, even I... I mean, it was 'cause I think the Nick Cannon show was, I was from, I did it from like age, started at 19 and it ended right when I turned 22. Um, I was a baby. I looked like I was 15. Like, everybody thought I was much younger than I wa- I even was so, you know, that's when everything else from like Drumline and my music career began and I was a baby then too. And then so, it just, like I said, I lived so many lives and learned so many lessons early on that even as I sit here before you today I'm like, "I'm still just getting started."

Steven Bartlett 37:41 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 37:41 Like, I still got, still got so many more movies that I gotta do. I still got so much more music I gotta produce. I still got so many more television shows I gotta write so, like, um...

Steven Bartlett 37:52 If your kids come to you though and they say, "Dad, how do I become the master of my craft? How do I become the top of my industry?" Not only have you become the top of your industry in many facets, but you've been around people that have got to the top of their in- industry, so the things you point out and the similarities and the people that get there, what are those sim- similarities? If I'm your kid and I come to you and say, "Dad, I wanna, I wanna get to the top of the industry," wh- what's the advice you give to them?

Nick Cannon 38:16 Do it. (laughs) I think especially now it's a- as simple as that s- sounds, that's what it is today. Like, do it and stick to it. Like, m- don't give up. Like, do it efficiently, do it because this is... Don't try it. If you try it, it's not gonna work. If you do it, like, that's even like even when people always talk to me about acting, like, "How do you know or become a great actor?" Do it. Like, it's not like, it's not believe it.

Steven Bartlett 38:51 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 38:51 It's not, uh, act it. You gotta actually every, embody every aspect of it. Like, do it as if there's no other option. Like, if you try something, that's you sticking your foot in it, uh, if you believe it, you're kinda like, "I, I think I, yeah, like okay." (laughs) But when you do it, when you live it, when you operate in it, when there's no other option of like, like you know it's like it's some people who like, you know, they play basketball and then somebody's like, "Oh no, they, they're a basketball player." (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 39:25 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 39:25 You know what I mean? Like there's some people who, who train or try to box and like, "No, that's a boxer." (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 39:32 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 39:32 You know what I mean? Like they embody it. They live it. You gotta... And that's what my... And, uh, even with my own kids, I'm like, "All right, what do you just naturally do? Where's your swag naturally at?"

Steven Bartlett 39:43 Why naturally?

Nick Cannon 39:44 It, b- I- 'cause it's like some of my kids are just natural athletes. Their physical build, their, what they gravitate towards and then I, all right, I'ma water that. I'm s- I'ma, um, I'm gonna cultivate that seed and that's what... Because they have fun at it. Then there's some of my kids that are just like natural musicians. They just gravitate towards the piano. Like, they just, they-

Steven Bartlett 40:07 They have fun at it.

Nick Cannon 40:08 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 40:08 Why does that matter?

Nick Cannon 40:09 Yeah, and then it's like, "Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna help you with that."

Steven Bartlett 40:12 Why does the fun matter?

Nick Cannon 40:14 Well, I mean, that's, that's the, that's the battery. Like, that's... And that's what if they ever lose the fun, at least for me, like when it's no longer be fun, uh, becomes fun, then why are we doing it? You know, are you doing it for money? Are you doing it for... Like, no, you gotta do it 'cause you enjoy it.

Steven Bartlett 40:31 I find that fun part so important but a lot of the time people don't appreciate it and I love your, your ref- reference of the battery because a lot of people will be orientated because they come from tough upbringings to go what's gonna make the most money.

Nick Cannon 40:43 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 40:43 And what I love about what you said about the fun thing is ultimately, well it's my belief that the thing that'll actually make you the most money is the thing that you can master.

Nick Cannon 40:50 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 40:50 And the thing that you can master is the thing that you can do for 11 years.

Nick Cannon 40:53 Exactly.

Steven Bartlett 40:54 Which is the fun thing.

Nick Cannon 40:55 Exactly. It's like I always say, uh, "Money doesn't make you happy. Happy

Nick Cannon 41:00 makes you money." And then it goes to the concept of happy money or good money because there's s- definitely the opposite of there's bad money and there's sad money. The... And I've seen so many people live in that frequency. And it-

Steven Bartlett 41:20 Sad money.

Nick Cannon 41:21 Sad money. It's like stingy, fear that people are only want you for your money.

Steven Bartlett 41:31 Loneliness comes.

Nick Cannon 41:32 Loneliness in this big glass castle by yourself, like you got all the money in the world. Like we, we know those entertainers. You know what I mean? Like man, they, they put themselves in this, this glass tower and everybody can see them and they hate that everybody can see them and they're so lonely and it's like they got more money than they know what to do with and then everything becomes about a transaction.

Steven Bartlett 41:59 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 42:01 Like, and you can see they, they have the biggest yacht in the world, they got the most diamond-studded watch ever and they're miserable and it's like that's sad money. That's... And it becomes bad money. You know what I mean? Like they're making... And it's, it's vindictive and they're, they're not honest. They, they get it in a way and you're like, "Man, how do you sleep at night?" Like the music industry is filled with bad money.And I've, I've seen people, they take advant- like, it's literally designed in these contracts. That's why I never really wanted to be... I didn't wanna thrive in it. Once I saw it, I'm like, "Oh, it's so manipulative." It's about... It's one person robbing another, robbing another, robbing another. And it's like, that's not a fun industry to be in. Like clearly there's some people who figure it out, but even as a, as a music executive, I'm like, I don't, I don't wanna operate in dishonesty. I don't wanna operate in manipulation, and it's just like, that entire industry is designed off of that. And but, it's, it's ways to, you know, far and few between, but you can operate with happy money and good money because the crazy thing specifically about music, it brings so much joy to the world-

Steven Bartlett 43:18 Mm.

Nick Cannon 43:19 ... that the industry shouldn't be in a low frequency place. Like everybody should be able to thrive and win and provide for their families, but there's a lot of people who aren't musically inclined, who aren't musically talented, who don't know how to have happiness with music that latch on and control the artist. And then therefore, they run the industry, and they operate on a lower frequency of like, you know, I'm gonna control your, your intellectual property, and I'll make more money off of it than you did even though you made it from such a pure and happy place.

Steven Bartlett 43:59 There's a balance. It almost feels like there's a bit of a balance act or, or a, I don't know, a conflict between being selfish enough that you, you get on and you get what you deserve, but being generous and kind enough so that you can stick around and-

Nick Cannon 44:13 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 44:14 Do you think a- about that a lot?

Nick Cannon 44:15 It's the beauty of narcissism.

Steven Bartlett 44:17 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 44:18 I, I am a... Uh, that balance, I am a narcissist. I, I believe there's the balance of narcissism, um, because you can go too f- you can go to an extreme of narcissism and it becomes dangerous. It becomes, uh, maniacal. It becomes, uh, uh, where you can be a psychopath with it, or even a sociopath with it where you have no empathy. That level of narcissism is unhealthy. That's to the extreme of the, the spectrum. But, uh, the balance of confidence, of self-love, of there's no other option but me, I am the m- I'm him. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 45:02 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 45:02 You know, like LeBron James is him. You know, Kobe Bryant, him. Michael Jordan, him. Michael Jackson, him. You know, Mike Tyson, him. You know, like all the Mikes.

Steven Bartlett 45:14 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 45:14 You know, the, the, uh, Will Smith is him. Chris Rock is him. Jamie Foxx is him. You know, and e- uh, Mariah Carey is her. Mary J. Blige is her. Beyonce

Nick Cannon 45:27 is her. You know, like all of those people know that there is, there will never be another them on the planet, and that is worth its weight in gold. So you have to have a level of self-love, self-promotion, self-dedication. All... Self is the key word, the common word in all of these things. You have to love self, you have to know self. Not so much that you hurt others or you think less of others. It's not... 'Cause I have some people who are like, "Oh, you think you're better than everybody else." I don't care about everybody else. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 46:02 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 46:02 Like it's not... I don't think I'm better than y'all. I'm me, like and that to, to a point, you, it's, it's a fine line because you don't wanna disrespect anyone. You still wanna have compassion, you still wanna have empathy, you still wanna enter the space of gratitude, but this is my show. This is my party. This is my, this is my block.

Steven Bartlett 46:21 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 46:22 That you, you have to... That's where that success lies, because without these narcissists, we wouldn't have, you know, electricity.

Steven Bartlett 46:31 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 46:31 We wouldn't have iPhones. We wouldn't have great music. We wouldn't have great sh- to... Like the director of the movie is the director for the reason he's a boss. He knows he's the shit. He knows his vision is the one that everyone else has to align with to make a great film.

Steven Bartlett 46:48 Was there a point in your career where you realized that you needed to change in some way to get what you deserved and to get what you're worth?

Nick Cannon 46:54 Ah, nah, I don't think so.

Steven Bartlett 46:55 Really? Really?

Nick Cannon 46:56 I had to learn lessons.

Steven Bartlett 46:58 'Cause you're 15, I see you coming up, I go, "He's got talent."

Nick Cannon 47:01 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 47:01 Oh, I could, you know, get him to sign a bad contract.

Nick Cannon 47:03 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 47:04 And I could take his money.

Nick Cannon 47:05 Yeah. That's what it's like I've learned, I've learned all of those lessons, um, and people have tried to forewarn me and stuff like that, but, uh, the thing th- I think the beauty that, you know, the, the aura that everybody has seen is that's been consistent.

Steven Bartlett 47:20 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 47:20 It's what you do with it. You know, I've never let no one put out my flame. You know, it, it's, it's constantly burned for the type of individual that I wanna be, that I, you know, the... my purpose. Um, so, you know, we all have trials and tribulations. Uh, I, you know, you gotta learn how to bob and weave, but you're still the, the fighter in which you're s- supposed to be. You know, like the, the r- whatever made you jump in the ring from that day one, you gonna cultivate those skills. You know what I mean? You may be a d- defensive fighter, then that's how you win your fights sometimes. And you know, uh, you... But early on in your career, you know, you were a puncher, you know? Uh, then you had to be more of a thinker, you know? But at the end of the day, you're still a fighter. So I think as... Whatever I, I am the... I still have this desire in me to, to be a winner. I have this desire in me to, to beat the odds, to

Nick Cannon 48:21 some- there's something about like when someone tells me I can't do something or tells me no, um, that fuels me. And it's been that way since...... day one since, you know, my, my ADD, since my anti-authoritarian behavior. Like, it's just like, I'm gonna push through, I'm gonna persevere. I'm gonna do what I want and I'm not gonna let society or individuals tell me I can't.

Steven Bartlett 48:49 22 years old you start writing Wild 'N Out.

Nick Cannon 48:52 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 48:53 You start writing at that point at, I think it, you, you then self-fund the pilot-

Nick Cannon 48:58 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 48:58 ... at 25 years old?

Nick Cannon 48:59 Yeah. Probably w- before that because I self-funded it

Nick Cannon 49:03 in, in 2004. So, that might've been, I might've been 23. Uh, and again, I had just seen some success with film and music. And, um, I just started, I w- I was kind of one of those guys whose Drumline was out and had, you know, an album and stuff. So people ... But I was still doing standup and I was like, everybody was like, "Oh, he does so many things. He hosts." And I had a, uh, a deal with, you know, Viacom at the time. Obviously they had Nickelodeon and then you kinda like graduate from Nickelodeon and go to MTV. So I was in that stage of developing things for MTV. Uh, and they didn't understand what I wanted to do and I was saying like, "I wanna get all my comedian friends together and all my rapper friends together and we just like do improv and play games." And they're like, "We don't get it." So I was like, "All right." So I rented out one of the comedy clubs that me and my guys would normally frequent, uh, got some cameras together. Uh, I think I, man, I, I wanna say it was somewhere around like $100,000 that I had put into like that night. Uh, promoted it, had everybody come out. You know, got some beautiful people to stand around and look beautiful and-

Steven Bartlett 50:17 You put $100,000 of your own money into the pilot?

Nick Cannon 50:19 Yeah, into the pi-

Steven Bartlett 50:20 To send, to show MTV?

Nick Cannon 50:21 Yeah. And then, uh, once we put it all together, you know, edited, created logos, showed it to them and they're like, "Oh, we get it now." But, you know, I had c- by then I had created the intellectual property. Had, you know, copywritten and patented the name of Wild 'N Out, uh, the logo. So when it was time to negotiate, when I knew that they wanted the show, we, we had the, you know, the, the strong side of the table because we knew they wanted it and we had already created it. And that instantly was like, oh, this is the business model that I wanna continue to operate under.

Steven Bartlett 50:56 Most people don't figure that out until much later in life, if at all, that owning their IP (laughs) is key to getting the value that they deserve for their work.

Nick Cannon 51:05 Yeah. Well now I feel like everybody knows. The secret's out, right?

Steven Bartlett 51:09 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 51:09 You know what I mean? When you look at YouTube and-

Steven Bartlett 51:12 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 51:12 ... you know, the ability of that we could create great content, you know, for a very cost-effective amount. Like, you know, Wild 'N Out, that probably wouldn't cost me 100,000 today.

Steven Bartlett 51:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 51:25 You know, because everything e- back then they, to get a cameraman-

Steven Bartlett 51:29 Yeah.

Nick Cannon 51:30 ... that was a couple thousand dollars. You know what I mean? And, you know, just-

Steven Bartlett 51:33 Do it on the iPhone now.

Nick Cannon 51:34 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 51:34 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 51:34 Like, exactly. Um, yeah, everybody knows now to, if they create it and they'll come and then you build your fan base on your own and then you can sell it to a larger corporation. So, I feel like that motto is being, you know, kinda ... Like, like the, look at MrBeast. You know what I mean? Like, I'm s- I'm so jealous.

Steven Bartlett 51:52 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 51:52 I'm so in awe. Like, everything that he's doing at 24, 25, like, I was trying to do back then but there was no, there was no YouTube.

Steven Bartlett 52:00 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 52:00 Like, I, I was doing this, you know, on VHS, you know?

Steven Bartlett 52:04 Yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 52:05 But, uh, I love it. You know what I mean? I, I love watching what even ... I mean, the beauty of my brand now is what I started in 2004, it's still going strong and probably more popular today going into 2024.

Steven Bartlett 52:22 It's crazy.

Nick Cannon 52:23 You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 52:24 You're, you're about to film series 21? Or-

Nick Cannon 52:26 We just filmed 21 so we're going into-

Steven Bartlett 52:28 2-

Nick Cannon 52:28 ... 22 and 23.

Steven Bartlett 52:29 That's crazy.

Nick Cannon 52:30 I've figured out a model now how to do two seasons in one. So,

Nick Cannon 52:34 um-

Steven Bartlett 52:34 Most shows don't last for a season, let alone 21 seasons, 22 seasons.

Nick Cannon 52:38 Yeah. I think my goal is 25. So ...

Steven Bartlett 52:42 What happens at 25?

Nick Cannon 52:44 It'll be the 20th year. 25, like, do I gracefully bow out? It's 25. 25 seasons. Like, do I hand it off to somebody else? Do like ... I'll probably be getting close to 50 by then. Like, hmm, I can't while out forever.

Steven Bartlett 53:01 Nope.

Nick Cannon 53:02 Nah, I gotta stop at some point.

Steven Bartlett 53:04 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 53:04 I think I'm probably too long in the tooth now. I mean, that's why I even created the Old Skool, New Skool. It's funny, everybody, when I first created it, all of the Wild 'N Out girls, all of the cast members, all of the crew were older than me.

Steven Bartlett 53:18 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 53:18 And it was weird that everybody was listening to this kid tell them what to do. And like, even the, my, my OGs, like, you know, Katt Williams and, you know, a lot of the guys who are on the show and wri- Chris Spencer and Daryl Heath. Like, these guys were guys that I looked up to, uh, that were on my show. Uh, and now I'm the old head and I got all of these other young kids like the DC Young Flys and every- I'm like, it's so crazy to have the same brand and I literally grow up on-

Steven Bartlett 53:52 Yeah, it's crazy.

Nick Cannon 53:52 ... you know, like I remember being a kid trying to get these comedians to listen to me and they're like, "What do you know?" And now I'm the guy telling-

Steven Bartlett 54:01 With the platform.

Nick Cannon 54:01 Yeah. So.

Steven Bartlett 54:03 Give me a view into, into that platform that you have and that you've built. The entertainment company that sits behind it, the talent that you have, 'cause it's not so obvious to people.

Nick Cannon 54:11 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 54:11 You know, people kind of probably think, okay, Wild 'N Out, he's, he does this, whatever, he's the host, whatever. But when I did the research on the company that you've built behind it, it's a pretty, it's a huge business behind all of that.

Nick Cannon 54:22 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 54:22 You're involved in a lot of things.

Nick Cannon 54:24 Yeah. I mean, there's so many aspects of it. I mean, I, I truly look at it as a blessing. I'm, I'm so grateful for it because it was on-the-job job training. I didn't s- I didn't think Wild 'N Out would be the billion dollar conglomerate that it is because...I was just creating a show to give my friends jobs to-

Steven Bartlett 54:41 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 54:41 ... because Kevin Hart needed money to pay his rent. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 54:44 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 54:44 (laughs) Like, because he's be... Like, it's just real, you know? Like, we were trying to create something 'cause I was the only one that was, you know, seeing some success out of our, you know, our generation at the time, and I was like, "Oh, let's, let me shine a light on these dudes that are way funnier than me, that are way more talented than me." You know, like, uh... And then I built a business out of it, of incubating, of, uh, cultivating young talent, so much so that when they're ready, we, we see Pete Davidson go on to become one of the biggest stars in SNL and a movie star. We, we see same thing with, like, Mikey Day and Taran Killam and, you know, uh, the Katt Williams and Kevin's to become some of the biggest standup comedians to ever tour the world. Like, they, they got their, you know, their, their feet wet, their, their skills honed on one of the toughest stages. Like if you look at what Wild N Out is, if you, if you excel and survive there, you're gonna be a star-

Steven Bartlett 55:49 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 55:49 ... because you're in a... This is the gauntlet. This is the combine. This is the best of the best and the grimiest of, of... This, we gonna test your insecurities. We gonna test your anxiety. And then you succeed and you get the love from people that you respect. And then once the industry sees that, do whatever you want. So I, I didn't... I couldn't have designed that, but it, it happened. And I was like, "Wow, I didn't know..." I was literally... I, I didn't... We were just in the trenches. But it's like, it's so much so, like, we created an environment that most entertainers are scared to come to.

Steven Bartlett 56:28 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 56:28 They're like, "Man, I don't wanna go to Wild N Out. They gonna talk about my mama."

Steven Bartlett 56:31 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 56:31 Or, "They gonna talk about my last scandal," or, "I don't know how to rap," or, "I'm not that funny off the top of the head," and it's like, it's intimidating. So when you throw a kid in there, whoever is in there, and they excel, they, they, they've earned their stripes.

Steven Bartlett 56:46 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 56:46 So now they can walk into any room and be like, "Yeah, I was the man on Wild N Out," and now because it is a platform-

Steven Bartlett 56:53 Mm.

Nick Cannon 56:53 ... to propel, now you can go become a movie star. Now you can go become a, a rapper or a singer. Like, so, so that was really... Uh, if I could... I'd be lying if I say I designed that, but-

Steven Bartlett 57:07 It became that.

Nick Cannon 57:08 Yeah, it became that, and that's, like, the blessing of God. But then the business behind it.

Steven Bartlett 57:13 You used the word, you used the B word, billion.

Nick Cannon 57:16 Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you... And it's, I didn't... It's funny. I didn't even... That was told to me after they did all of the research and of, you know, obviously what the IP is worth because one, I mean, we're looking at 500 episodes of television.

Steven Bartlett 57:31 Mm.

Nick Cannon 57:32 That alone, when you just do the math, like how... Just charge however much you wanna charge per episode.

Steven Bartlett 57:39 Yeah.

Nick Cannon 57:39 What that, what, you know... And then the, the careers that it's launched and, you know, then go to where the money really is in the actual intellectual property. So we have a, a tour that makes millions every year. Um, now even turning into a cruise line, you know, the, the Wild and Wet. Like, we have restaurants that are being franchised, you know, all over the country, you know? We just expanded our, our South Beach location, uh, on, on Ocean Drive in Miami. Um, the, the logo in itself, the amount of T-shirts. We're the, we're probably, uh, Paramount's number one, uh, selling-

Steven Bartlett 58:28 Merchandise.

Nick Cannon 58:29 Yeah, merchand- uh, T-shirt merchandises that everybody knows that Wild N Out logo and it's, it's on everything from T-shirts to bikinis to underwears to coffee mugs, uh, to toys. Uh, it's things like that that... I was just trying to make a cool T-shirt. Like, I didn't think, you know, for 20 something years people would be buying Wild N Out T-shirts. So stuff like that that when... And then even stuff I never even thought of, you know. We created Wild N Out before there was a YouTube. It's probably, uh, one of Viacom, if not the... I think maybe The Daily Show is probably right there with it, but the biggest digital brand that Paramount has through TikTok, YouTube. You know, I feel like, I think we might... We're somewhere north of 12 million YouTube subscribers on the Wild N Out page. Uh, 12 million something subscribers on TikTok. Seven million on I- Instagram. And that's just... That's a TV show. You know what I mean? When you think about it, like, not the individuals who are on the TV show-

Steven Bartlett 59:35 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 59:35 ... have even more followers. This is just the show's page, so.

Steven Bartlett 59:38 How much do you think the brand is worth?

Nick Cannon 59:40 I've heard different things. Uh, I mean, like I said, when I initially went the research back there was like a 1.3 billion, but then that was years ago. So, like, I, I'm pretty sure it's grown because now it's even more popular now. So it's, uh, it's... You know, I, I try not to get caught up in that because then I'm... Two things happen. Like one, I get in, I start gloating.

Steven Bartlett 1:00:02 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:00:02 I'm like, "Built this billion dollar business." And then the second thing, I was like, "Hey, where's my billion dollars?"

Steven Bartlett 1:00:09 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:00:09 Like, "Somebody owes me some money." Like, so I try not to get caught up in that. So like I, I know, I just know it's very successful and I'm grateful that it's still going. I mean, I can't wait to find the next comedic superstar. Can't wait to find the next big rapper that graces the Wild N Out stage.

Steven Bartlett 1:00:25 Well, what are the other businesses or the business ventures that aren't obvious that people might not know about? So you talked about restaurants, you sign talent.

Nick Cannon 1:00:32 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:00:32 You've obviously the Wi- Wild N Out brand. Is there anything else going on that from the business side of things that aren't, isn't obvious?

Nick Cannon 1:00:39 Specifically in Wild N' Out or everything else that-

Steven Bartlett 1:00:40 Everything.

Nick Cannon 1:00:42 Well, I mean, I created N'Credible Entertainment, uh, in 2009.

Steven Bartlett 1:00:46 Mm.

Nick Cannon 1:00:47 It was more of a conglomerate where, 'cause I had always had a record label, but it was separate from my television company.

Steven Bartlett 1:00:52 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:00:52 Uh, film, film ... I would produce the films that I was in and stuff, so I was like, "I want everything i- in house."

Steven Bartlett 1:01:00 I read that N'Credible Entertainment generated over $100 million in revenue in 2009. I read that.

Nick Cannon 1:01:06 Yeah. And that wa- I think that was just in our headphone sales. Like, 'cause we did... I had y- I did a headphone brand very similar to Beats by Dre where Monster was the parent company. They did Beats for $300 and they did N'Credibles for $100. So we were the more cost-effective headphone brand, and while Beats by Dre was s- making all the noise, we were quietly making noise in Walmarts and the Radio Shacks for selling an affordable product that was pretty much the same product.

Steven Bartlett 1:01:32 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:01:33 Except for we made ours, uh, affordable. So yeah, just so ... That alone, that was just in consumer electronics that I w- never thought I was gonna be, uh, you know, selling electronics. Um, so but yeah, incredible and exce- ultimately, I created a one-stop shop that could be everything from consumer products to entertainment to ... So and it's been thriving, man. It's been, uh ... And it's kind of I, I guess my brand is somewhat known of giving people opportunities.

Steven Bartlett 1:02:04 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:02:05 Uh, and finding that next big thing, so we're, we're cultivators,

Nick Cannon 1:02:10 we're curators, we're, uh, incubators. Uh, and so a lot of the, the content that I've created, um, I found my niche.

Steven Bartlett 1:02:22 I was gonna say you're the S- Simon Cannon of the entertainment world, but you're in fact just the Nick Cannon of the entertainment world. (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:02:27 Yeah. That's right. Funny, me and Kehlani is a, um ... Me and Simon talk about that often 'cause I found her on America's Got Talent, on his show, my show, our show. But (clears throat) he wasn't paying attention. You know what I mean? And it was like-

Steven Bartlett 1:02:43 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:02:43 ... you know, he was focused on One Direction or whatever on one of his other shows and I was like, you know, Kehlani came in, um, and it was ... She was an amazing talent. She wa- ... And I, I hate to say found because she was already talented. Once you get to America's Got Talent, you're already proven, you know. Uh, and she was, uh, the, the lead singer for a group called Pop Life-

Steven Bartlett 1:03:07 Mm.

Nick Cannon 1:03:08 ... which was put together, I believe, by Dwayne Wiggins from Tony! Toni! Tones! His sons were in there too, but she was clearly the, the star of this group. And I remember Piers Morgan, uh, was being an asshole, as he does so very well (laughs) and he was, he, he was telling a 15-year-old little chubby Kehlani, uh, to that she should leave the group, and the only way that he would put her through and not buzz her off is if she left her band because she was the talent. Clearly he was right, but like how do you put a 15-year-old in that scenario? And she stuck to her guns and she said, "I'm not leaving my brothers." And everybody else on the panel was like, "We're gonna, you know ... We, we love that you stuck to your guns." So even though Piers was being an ass, they put through, they went all the way through to, um, to the finale. I think they performed with Stevie Wonder on the finale as Pop Life, and then unfortunately, you know, when you don't win, life goes on. She had to go back home to Oakland, and probably met some hard times. Uh, and I remember, it's funny, uh, the father of her, you know, as everyone know n- I knew as Gabby, uh, who also grew up in that same musical vicinity, called me and said, "Hey man, you know that girl that was on America's Got Talent? She's homeless now. She's not doing so well." And I was like, "What?" He's like, "Yeah. She's d- you know, not doing ... You know, she's being a, a teenager, but like she needs help." Like, I didn't really know her background of, you know, her father, you know, being murdered when she was a child and her mother st- you know, uh, dealing with substance abuse and a lotta ... She has a very compelling story of just the resilience of her and her family, and he, they were explaining all that and I was like, "Yo. Give me her information. Find who's her guardian," and kinda went and talked to the family and said, "Yo. I'll move you to LA, but first you gotta finish school." Like, the one promise, finish school, I'll take care of everything else. A year later, her mixtape was nominated for a Grammy. So it's just like ... Just and you know, so it's stuff like that to where, you know, I was like, I put in the work to, you know, help her out. I was, tell Simon, "Yeah, you missed that one. You, you got a lot of other ones right, but you missed y- you know, you missed that one." And uh-

Steven Bartlett 1:05:27 Did you sign her?

Nick Cannon 1:05:29 Uh, see that's the thing how I feel about signing. I don't ... I'm weird about that. I don't like signing people. Uh, and people, everybody in my life is like, "That's what you have to do." I, I would say I didn't ask for anything. I, I, I, uh, I was the, uh, impresario (laughs) you know what I mean? I, I funded scenarios because I could, so she didn't have to worry about anything. You know what I mean? She had, uh, roof over her head, food on the table, anything she wanted, studio time, you know, we, we figured it out. I, I introduced her to, you know, the good people over at Atlantic Records, uh, and the rest is history. So-

Steven Bartlett 1:06:14 Hindsight's a wonderful thing.

Nick Cannon 1:06:15 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:06:16 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:06:16 I didn't want no money from it. You know what I mean? I do, I do that for a lot of people. Uh, and it's created, you know, me and Craig Kallman over at Atlantic, d- that's my man. You know, uh, but where a lot of people would be, you know, Kehlani would be signed to them forever, w- why would ... I don't, I don't want that. You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 1:06:36 Right.

Nick Cannon 1:06:36 I want her to be able to provide and do ... Like, I always tell everybody I work with from the beginning, whether you make it or you don't make it, my life is still gonna be the same.So, I don't want anything from you but to see you win. I just wanna see, like... I-

Steven Bartlett 1:06:52 But you could've, you know-

Nick Cannon 1:06:53 I could've. There's a lotta people and that's, that is their business, to where like, "I need my percentage of every song that you write from here on out because I found you, I discovered you, I signed you." My spirit... That don't sit well with my spirit. I, uh... And that's... This Future Superstars show, m- my inner struggle when you watch it, 'cause I'm on the show as well, I struggle with

Nick Cannon 1:07:17 signing these kids. It's funny because we go from city to city and I give a local artist anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 a city and a lot of times that's what these record labels are signing these kids up for. Someone signed my publishing away when I was a teenager for $10,000. One of the biggest mistakes, one of the biggest lessons I've ever learned. So now, I'm giving that $10,000 away to these kids and I don't want nothing from you but to see you win. And that's m- me paying it forward. That's me correcting what this industry has done to people

Nick Cannon 1:08:00 so... for so long. So, I don't want... If you wanna sign with Incredible, that's your choice. That's... I'll give... You, uh, you can sign to me if you want to, but I'm good. (laughs) Like, I'm gonna still be rich so I don't need anything from you. If you wanna join the gang, let's go. Like-

Steven Bartlett 1:08:20 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:08:20 ... you know, there, there's benefits and perks to-

Steven Bartlett 1:08:23 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:08:23 ... to being incredible. But, um, I don't... I, I... It's... A lot of people even, you know, from my attorneys and people in my, my circle are like, "Man, you gotta sign these people. How you gonna, how you gonna function? How you gonna allow your business to thrive if you don't sign?" Well, it's been working thus far. So I don't, I don't wanna... I don't like signing people. I don't like having ownership in someone else's brand. Now, we can be collaborative. We can write a song together and we can split the publishing. We can, you know... Yeah, it costs money to keep the lights on. You can use my studio. Yeah. Like, and you... I'll get reimbursed, you know, down the line when it's time but I'm not gonna take something from you. I'm not gonna charge the artist. Like, that's a, that's a fucked up concept-

Steven Bartlett 1:09:13 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:09:13 ... that we just been operating in and no one's ever corrected it. Like, why should we... This is... This is an artist who's making brilliant art

Nick Cannon 1:09:23 and someone who had nothing to do with it gets to own it forever in perpetuity? The fuck does perpetuity mean? (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 1:09:31 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:09:32 (laughs) Like, like, there's these terms and these words that we just signed up for that is just... It's wrong. But it's made a lot of people a lot of money so they don't want it to change, but it has to change. Like, technology is making it change.

Steven Bartlett 1:09:46 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:09:46 These next generations of people who have more empathy and giving spirits are gonna m- allow it to change because I don't p-... I don't believe people are, are, are as animalistic or, or... They're not... They don't have a savage mentality like it once used to require.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:03 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:10:03 I believe we're more empathetic, we're more compassionate and it's starting to show even in business.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:09 I think you're right though. I think because of platforms that middle man has less power than ever.

Nick Cannon 1:10:15 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:15 So you say like, "Oh, maybe they're becoming more empathetic." Maybe they have no choice.

Nick Cannon 1:10:18 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:19 Because a Kehlani

Steven Bartlett 1:10:20 or a you or whatever now has all these platforms where if you've got art and you've got talent, that shit's gonna go viral.

Nick Cannon 1:10:25 Yep.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:25 And you're gonna have the followers-

Nick Cannon 1:10:26 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:27 ... on your account with... and you own the password.

Nick Cannon 1:10:29 Exactly.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:30 So they gotta come with a different value proposition.

Nick Cannon 1:10:32 B- before it was like, "Oh, I can introduce you to that person." I was telling people like, networking is stupid. Like-

Steven Bartlett 1:10:38 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:10:38 Like, if you're... Like, focus on being the best you, they'll come find you.

Steven Bartlett 1:10:44 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:10:45 But there are some people who've made a lot of money by networking. That concept is like, "Oh, this... I know this person, I can introduce you to them." God bless you. You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 1:10:57 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:10:58 Like, if that's how you... Like, connecting, I'll get it. But if we're really trying to get the artist or the IP or the genius to the people, now technology is doing it for us.

Steven Bartlett 1:11:13 I have this debate with my assistant all the time 'cause she tells me to network more and I say to her, I say like, "My networking is doing my thing."

Nick Cannon 1:11:21 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:11:21 And then you become a peacock or a magnet versus me having to small talk in a room for three hours-

Nick Cannon 1:11:25 Exactly.

Steven Bartlett 1:11:26 ... which I can't do

Narrator 1:11:27 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:11:27 I hate small talk and maybe we're just different type of individuals-

Steven Bartlett 1:11:30 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 1:11:31 ... because there are other people that be like-

Steven Bartlett 1:11:32 You get it. Yeah.

Nick Cannon 1:11:33 ... your network is your net worth.

Steven Bartlett 1:11:34 Yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 1:11:34 Um, I don't care who, who I know. It's more about who knows me.

Steven Bartlett 1:11:40 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:11:40 It's a... It's... I'm... I'm gonna go over here and figure it out and you're welcome to the party-

Steven Bartlett 1:11:47 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:11:47 ... like, but I don't wanna go to your party.

Steven Bartlett 1:11:49 Yeah.

Nick Cannon 1:11:49 Like, I don't wanna hang out with everybody dressed in white and got on billion dollar watches. That don't... That's not fun to me. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 1:11:56 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Cannon 1:11:57 Like, to each his own and-

Steven Bartlett 1:11:59 But some people can do that. I mean-

Nick Cannon 1:12:00 Yeah, and I... And like, I... Maybe 'cause I've been in it so long, I've been to the white parties before and wanted to show off and they were fun.

Steven Bartlett 1:12:11 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:12:11 But like, I'm at this point like I don't, I don't wanna do that. That feel... That feels like work to me.

Steven Bartlett 1:12:16 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:12:17 I'd rather be in a studio. I'd rather be with my children. I'd rather be writing somewhere.

Steven Bartlett 1:12:22 Mm.

Nick Cannon 1:12:22 And not to say that those people don't do that as well.

Steven Bartlett 1:12:25 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:12:25 I just like... I... That world is... I, I, I don't have a place in it. That's not where I could be my best self.

Steven Bartlett 1:12:33 I low-key though do envy the people that can do it and enjoy it and that can be that networker and connect this person to that one and just... Because it's, it's an energy that I just don't have. I think as an introvert I don't have that muscle to like-

Nick Cannon 1:12:45 Yeah.

Steven Bartlett 1:12:45 ... show up, small talk my way to a, a lunch with someone and fucking... (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:12:49 Yeah. Yeah. I'll tell, I'll tell everybody I'm an outgoing introvert. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 1:12:53 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:12:54 Like, like I am... And that's what me and Kevin Hart go back and forth about all the time because he has that gift.He walks in a room and lights it up. You know what I mean?

Steven Bartlett 1:13:05 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:13:05 And he know, he knows this person and this person and th- and I'm like, "Yo, that looks exhausting."

Steven Bartlett 1:13:10 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:13:11 And this, I'm, that's coming from a person who, like, my, my personal bandwidth is overloaded constantly but my spiritual bandwidth, I keep, l- like, I don't, I don't give everybody my energy, like, s- and that's probably why I am a little bit more subdued in rooms. That's why I may not go to every event and, and most of the time, if somebody asks me to come to something, it's like, "Nah, I'm good." And it's not because, I just like my peace. I just like being with, where I can be my authentic self, where I can be my best self. I don't like having to turn it on. But I understand when it's time to, like, all right, n- it's award season, you got, you gotta go do this.

Steven Bartlett 1:13:53 Mm-hmm.

Nick Cannon 1:13:53 So you gotta, like, all right, and I, I know how to do it with the best of 'em but that's not who I naturally am.

Steven Bartlett 1:13:59 As you guys may know, Whoop are a sponsor of this podcast and I'm a shareholder in the company. As someone that is on the go pretty much 90% of the time, I always prioritize getting my workout in, and for me, it's a non-negotiable. Working out, staying healthy and trying to optimize my body so I can achieve the results that I want. But a new addition to my lifestyle which compliments my busy work schedule and my tough workout schedule is my prioritization of my rest and my recovery. I never quite knew how important it was until I started my Whoop journey to understand exactly what's going on in my body and how to look after my body. Whoop is a wearable health and wellness coach that provides you with the feedback and actionable insights you need on your sleep, your recovery, your training, your stress, and your overall health. And seeing this data that Whoop provides has made it 10 times easier to understand what my body needs for it to reach its optimal state, helping me to conquer those long days and tough workouts without breaking down. See for yourself by searching join.whoop.com/ceo to get a three month's free Whoop membership on me. And I have a suspicion you'll stick with it because I certainly have, and I don't stick with much as it relates to wearable tech. Enjoy it and let me know how you get on. As you may know, this podcast is sponsored by Huel. If you're living under a rock, you might've missed that. And Huel has such a wide range of products now, but there is a great way to try all of them. This is the Huel best seller bundle, perfectly curated so that you can try all of their favorite products and decide which ones are your favorites. The best seller bundle has a range of meals and bars, including the iconic Huel shaker, the pot, and a free T-shirt, which if you've got the free Huel T-shirt, you'll understand how well that T-shirt fits. I'm not just saying that. It really, really is phenomenal. If you've heard me talking about Huel but haven't tried it for some reason, then this is a great option for you to get to know the range and find the product that works best for you. I've tried every single Huel product, in the boardroom, in the development laboratories, and in my home, and there's a couple of products which have just revolutionized my life because they meet the requirements that I'm looking for. So if you're looking to try Huel for the first time and to get into it and to join the Hueligan family, I highly recommend you try this out. I, I'm 30 years old, Nick, and at 32 years old, you got a diagnosis that changed your life.

Nick Cannon 1:16:06 Yeah. Threw me for a super loop, like, literally, pardon the pun, but lupus (laughs) like, it was-

Steven Bartlett 1:16:14 Lupus.

Nick Cannon 1:16:14 Yeah, man. Lupus nephritis specifically, uh, in 2012. And l- here, living my dream life, you know, married to the most gorgeous, beautiful, super talented person to ever step on the planet, literally my dream girl, we got two kids, we're in Aspen. I'd never, like, I'm from, I'm from the hood. I'm from the projects. You don't go to Aspen.

Steven Bartlett 1:16:38 Who were you married to?

Nick Cannon 1:16:39 Mariah Carey. (laughs)

Steven Bartlett 1:16:41 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:16:41 But it's like, I'm in Aspen with my, with my wife, uh, and thinking I'm in probably some of the best shape of my life. Go to the boxing three times a week, you know what I mean? Got my own home gym in Aspen, you know what I mean? Like, uh, and I had the weirdest pain in my, uh, in my right side. And I'm like, I'm thinking like a muscle cramp or like, like I'm gonna just jog through it. Here I am in high alt- uh, you know, altitude, jogging in the snow thinking I'm gonna do (laughs) like, this is my Rocky moment. I don't know what I was thinking.

Steven Bartlett 1:17:21 (laughs)

Nick Cannon 1:17:21 Uh, and by the time I got back to the house, passed out, like, and I didn't know, like, like literally Mariah came in and found me, uh, and they called the, you know, rushed me to the ER in Aspen.

Steven Bartlett 1:17:34 How did she find you?

Nick Cannon 1:17:36 I was, I don't know. I was laid out. Like, and I, I think everybody, because no one think it was that bad because I had just came from jogging in Aspen. They're like, "Oh, he probably got altitude sickness." You know what I mean? Like, I was just dehydrated. So that's what the narrative we were going with. So once I got to the hospital, they're like, "Oh, he just needs some fluid, a IV. He'll be all right." You know, 'cause you, that happens. It happens on the ski slopes, people are like, "My dumb ass was jogging in, in (laughs) u- up a mountain. I'm probably gonna pass out." Um, and I was only doing it to try to rid this cramp that I had. I thought I could like work it off. Uh, and then the longer I was in the hospital, they were like, "Oh, well, maybe you have a kidney stone, uh, 'cause there's something going on back there." And it's like, no, it wasn't a kidney stone. They:ve got the fluids. You're no longer dehydrated. All right, well, you know, maybe you got a kidney infection. And then they wanted to do a biopsy. And then through the biopsy, it w- I think at the time, it was kind of like acute kidney failure. Like, it wasn't full, like, I w- I s- I had caught it early enough to where my kidneys didn't completely fail and then they were s- then they found out the reason why is that my immune system was attacking my kidneys, therefore the ama- autoimmune condition lupus and lupus nephritis to where, you know, where your immune system can get out of whack based off of whether it's levels of stress, uh-... things that you're putting into your body, you know. A lot of times, it's not hereditary. They don't really know what the cause of it is. Uh, it's definitely related to stress, which I didn't think I was stressed out, but it's like, obviously there's various types of stress or physical stress, emotional stress. But this is, can send your immune system, uh, out of whack and therefore your immune system then starts to, you know, self-destroy. You know, it starts to attack the, whatever organs. Different people's lupus attack different things. Mine, uh, specifically were my kidneys, uh, which then created a bunch of other stuff like pulmonary embolisms. And so like the lupus started, I started having these flare-ups and it was doing a bunch of stuff to my body and that, if you don't catch it, you know, and, and control it, you, you could lose your life pretty quickly. So it was a scary time. I didn't understand it. Uh, but we got it in order, you know, and even feel like I got a good hold on it now, but every once in a while... It, it's a great reminder that health is wealth. Health is currency. Health is the most important thing, uh, next to time that we possess. And we, we don't, we can't control the time. We can control our health. You can control what you