Benny Blanco's Journey From Recording Music in His Bedroom to A-List Music Collaborations

Benny Blanco 0:00 I walked in and I had a hard drive filled with all of my music. He, like, took it, he listened to it. He threw my hard drive out the window, broke into a million pieces. Not good enough. Start again.

Jay Shetty 0:09 Musician, producer.

Benny Blanco 0:11 The body of work this guy has produced or written-

Speaker 0:13 Your list goes on and on and on.

Benny Blanco 0:15 Benny Blanco. If you want to try to be, like, a musician, an entrepreneur, it's [censored] scary. If you're gonna fail, who [censored] cares? The second I fail, I'm like, the next day I wake up, I'm like, "All right. Let's do it again." [laughs]

Jay Shetty 0:30 Hey, everyone. I've got some huge news to share with you. In the last 90 days, 79.4% of our audience came from viewers and listeners that are not subscribed to this channel. There's research that shows that if you want to create a habit, make it easy to access. By hitting the subscribe button, you're creating a habit of learning how to be happier, healthier, and more healed. This would also mean the absolute world to me and help us make better, bigger, brighter content for you and the world. Subscribe right now.

Speaker 1:05 The number one health and wellness podcast.

Benny Blanco 1:07 Jay Shetty.

Speaker 1:08 Jay Shetty.

Benny Blanco 1:09 The one, the only Jay Shetty.

Speaker 1:11 [laughs]

Jay Shetty 1:13 What's your earliest childhood memory of being creative? Like, do you remember the first thing you put together? You were just telling me you even had this shirt made that you're wearing today. Like, what, what was one of the first things you remember saying, "Oh, wow, I did something," as a kid?

Benny Blanco 1:27 Okay. Here, here's what I really remember.

Jay Shetty 1:28 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:29 So I, you know, I didn't have the luxury of having, like, insane musical instruments at my fingertips and recording studios, and I, I was from a, I was from the middle of nowhere. So I, my brother had a boom box, an old-school boom box, and I had a smaller old-school boom box. And I sh- I was li- I remember my earliest memories at probably, I'm probably, like, five or six, and I remember realizing that music ... You know, when I first heard music, I always thought that, the, like, the, the musician was at the radio station singing the song, and I was like, "How do they keep coming back to the station?" I didn't even understand how music was created. But somewhere very early I figured out that it was, like, a multi-track situation. And I would take, I had a boom box, and I would record, like, me, like, hitting like this into the boom box, okay? Then I would press play on that one, and then I would do the next thing on the other boom box and record into that one. And I would keep going back and forth until I created, like, a track w- I'm, I guess I was creating, like, my own, like, 8-track and multi-track of, of layering things. And I didn't even know what it was, but I was just so excited that I was doing it, and my whole career has been a version of that. Like, I, I have no training. I'm not good at anything. I'm, I'm, I'm really, like, I, like, I, like, I know people are like, "Oh, you're being humble." I, I'm really not great at anything. I have, like, a ultimate will to get things done. Like, I'm like, "This will happen."

Jay Shetty 3:13 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 3:14 Um, but no, it's just I'm always trial and error, and I always tell people, people are always just like, "Well, how did you do this? How did you..." And I'm like, "Honestly, like, just going in and I, I, I, I call it making a mess." I like to go in and throw a bunch of shit around the room, throw paint at everything, and then we worry about cleaning it up later. But maybe a few of those things just happen to land correctly, and I just keep doing that until everything fully lands where I want it to and I'm just playing cleanup

Benny Blanco 3:43 around the sides.

Jay Shetty 3:44 That's a beautiful way of describing the process. But what gave you that, where does that will or that confidence come from? Because I think a lot of people are scared of creating a mess or scared of things not sticking, so they never try, whereas it sounds like you're the opposite, where you're like, "Well, I don't care if it doesn't try. I'm willing to give it a go." Where does that inner confidence, that inner ability to say, "Hey, it's okay" come from?

Benny Blanco 4:08 I don't care about failure at all. I don't care, and I never did. I think when I was younger I didn't understand what failure was. Like, when you're, you know, when you're 6, when you're 7, when you're 12, you don't, there's not many people to let down. [laughs] You know what I mean? You let down Timmy at school. He's your friend. Sorry, Timmy.

Jay Shetty 4:25 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 4:25 But, but you, you're not thinking about that. And I always, I just remember from the beginning, like, my mom was like, I wanted to drop out of school, and, you know, my mom was raising me alone, and it was, I was probably f- 15, 16 at the time, and I was like, "Mom, I know what I want to do." She's like, "What do you want to do?" I'm like, "The music stuff." Like, "I'm so into it, and I know," and I looked at her and I go, "I know I'm gonna be the biggest in the world."

Jay Shetty 4:53 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 4:53 And she was just like, "What are you ta..." You know, and I've asked her, I've asked my mom, like, later in life, like, "How did you, like, trust me in my journey?"

Jay Shetty 5:00 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 5:01 And she always said that she had dreams that she never got to try in her life, and a lot of people are just way too scared to take the jump. You know, a lot of people may have, I'm sure everyone in this room, anyone listening has a little something where they're like, "Oh, I really like that."

Jay Shetty 5:18 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 5:18 But they're scared. They're scared. They're like, "You know, I w- you know, I want to post videos of me cooking online. Nah, nah, nah, no one will like it. My friends will make fun of me. I want to, I sing in the shower. Like, I want... No, no, no, no, no, no." Because we're taught to just follow suit and do whatever you're supposed to do. You report to your boss. But, but it doesn't have to be like that. Like, if you want to try to be, like, a musician, an entrepreneur, whatever, it's scary. And, like, I, I'm sure you've had moments like that where you're like, "Yo, what am I doing?"

Jay Shetty 5:46 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 5:47 But if you do try, I believe that if you keep pushing yourself and you keep trying, you're gonna succeed, and I always tell people this. It may not be in what you start with.

Jay Shetty 5:58 Mm, mm.

Benny Blanco 5:59 You know? Like, when I started I thought I was going to be the biggest rap artist in the world, and Am I a rapper now? No. And then I moved into producing, and then I moved into songwriting, and then it's come full circle now where I'm, like, an artist of some sorts again.

Benny Blanco 6:15 And I think you just jump in and just try something. Just try, and who cares? If you're gonna fail, who cares if you fail? I don't understand... That's the thing I don't understand. It's just, you just get up and you do it again. I, like, I have amnesia the second I fail. The second I fail, I'm like, the next day I wake up, I'm like, "All right, let's do it again."

Jay Shetty 6:36 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 6:36 You know?

Jay Shetty 6:37 That's an amazing mindset. So we, we share something in common already. We both grew up wanting to be famous rappers.

Benny Blanco 6:42 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 6:43 I mean-

Benny Blanco 6:43 Did you?

Jay Shetty 6:43 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 6:44 No.

Jay Shetty 6:44 That was, like, my passion. Like, poetry, spoken word, writing lyrics. Like, all I listened to was hip-hop and rap growing up. If you asked me at 16 years old what I wanted to be, that's what I wanted to be. And it's so interesting because today I feel I use the same skills that I wanted to use then-

Benny Blanco 7:00 Mm-hmm

Jay Shetty 7:00 ... but in a completely different way.

Benny Blanco 7:01 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 7:01 I still write. I write books instead of records.

Benny Blanco 7:04 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 7:04 I teach meditation, which includes music, it includes cadence, it includes rhyme often, but not in the way that a rapper would.

Benny Blanco 7:11 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 7:12 And I'm using spoken word constantly to get messages out into the world, but in a different way. And so I love what you just said about that idea of how you actually may succeed, but in a way completely different to what you originally dreamed of.

Benny Blanco 7:26 I hope it goes full circle for you.

Jay Shetty 7:27 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 7:27 I want to hear... I need to hear the Jay Shetty rap tape.

Jay Shetty 7:29 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 7:30 What was your rap name?

Jay Shetty 7:31 Oh, God. It... I don't know if I need to go that far.

Benny Blanco 7:34 Okay, well-

Jay Shetty 7:34 It was embarrassing, but I'll, I'll tell you later.

Benny Blanco 7:36 Okay, tell me later.

Jay Shetty 7:36 I'll tell you privately. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 7:37 Tell me later.

Jay Shetty 7:38 Yeah, I'll tell you privately.

Benny Blanco 7:38 Is Jay Shetty your real name?

Jay Shetty 7:40 Yes.

Benny Blanco 7:40 It's such a... That's the perfect rap name.

Jay Shetty 7:42 Is it?

Benny Blanco 7:43 Yeah, Jay Shetty sounds like a fire rapper.

Jay Shetty 7:45 Really?

Benny Blanco 7:46 Yeah, from like-

Jay Shetty 7:46 All right

Benny Blanco 7:46 ... East London.

Jay Shetty 7:47 Okay. I'm, I'm from North London, so not far.

Benny Blanco 7:49 All right.

Jay Shetty 7:50 Yeah, not far.

Benny Blanco 7:50 [laughs]

Jay Shetty 7:50 Okay, cool. I like it. I like it. But no, I, I, I really appreciate what you're saying there, and I think that amnesia to failure, wow, like that, that spec- I love that idea of having amnesia with failure. Can you give me a time... Was that always the case or was there a failure that, like, did kind of pierce that veil? It never has, I can see from your face.

Benny Blanco 8:12 No. No. I remember when I was gonna quit music one time. Before I ma- right before I made it, my, my mentor passed away. He, uh, he, he took his own life, and I was really young. It was one of my best friends, and I'm probably, like, 18. And I remember, like, sitting in my bed, and I was just, like, I was, like, crying. I, like, didn't understand. You know, it was one of the first times that somebody who w- wasn't supposed to die, died. You know, I've had, like, you know, I've lost my grandmother and lost my grandfather, but it was, like, the first time in my life where, like, someone that, like, I really knew and really touched me, and I talked to them the day before they died. And it's like, uh, I remember, like, that hitting me, like, so hard in a way that I didn't know was even possible. Like, you know, I'd been sad, I had... But I, I remember sitting there in bed, and I was just like, "I'm just gonna quit." I was like, "I gotta quit making music." And then in that very same moment, like, my f- head flipped, and I was just like, "No, you can't. You gotta, like, take on what this dude started," 'cause he didn't... He was also a musician, and he didn't get totally... He was, you know, he was well-known and he was a hero to me, but he didn't get where I think he deserved to. And I remember being like, "I gotta do this. Like, I gotta... Like, he would want me to be doing this. He would..." And that was, like, the only time where it wasn't even failure. It was, like, the only time where I, like, really questioned things. And, but don't get me wrong, every time I do something good in life, I'm questioning. It's not, it, but it's, like, a different feeling. I don't know if you have this, but I'll have a number one song, like a number one song. It's the biggest song in the whole world, and I s- I'll, like, look in the mirror and I'll be, "Oh, that's the last one. Like, definitely not gonna have another number one song again." Not saying I'm, like, scared of the failure. I'm just like, "Oh, that's just, like, the last one. That's what I did." Or I'll, something really good'll happen in my life and I'm like, "Oh, I, I'll never recreate that again." And, but in the same breath I'm like, "Let's go."

Jay Shetty 10:20 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 10:21 Like, I'm like, "Let's keep rolling," you know? And, and I've, I've tried to do this thing lately, uh, in the last, like, 5 or 10 years where I really, like, take in my achievements,

Benny Blanco 10:33 'cause for a while I never thought of them. I would just keep going. Like, when it was time, they'd be like, "Oh, your song's number one." I'd be like, "Okay, that's cool. What are we doing next week?"

Jay Shetty 10:41 Mm.

Benny Blanco 10:42 And I figured out, like, it's okay to do that. It's okay to, like, take a breath and be like, "Yo, we just did this shit."

Jay Shetty 10:47 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 10:47 Like, "This is tight. Like, we did this. This is great." And, and yeah, I just, I, I'm trying to do that more. And failure, like, no, I've never had one of those times because whenever I do fail, I'll sit and I'll, o- obviously, like, I'll sit there and I'll be like, "This didn't work how, out how I wanted it to." But so many times have been the opposite, where I was like, "This'll never work," and then it's big.

Jay Shetty 11:11 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 11:11 So it's like, I feel like it always evens out.

Jay Shetty 11:14 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 11:14 And you only have one other choice. It's like, your only choice is just to keep going. What are you supposed to do? Just be like, "Oh, it didn't work. I've had so many mentors. I have mentors every day. I'm a mentor to people, but sometimes my mentees are my mentor. Like, I'm always ... You always gotta be open to just listening and learning. Every day I learn something. I was in the studio yesterday with a guy who's one of my mentees. Like, the way I met... I gotta tell you that story later.

Jay Shetty 12:31 G- yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 12:31 That's, that's in- that's insane. I'll, I'll, I'll go to that. I'll tell that after. First one is I met my mentor, I was ... This is when he was, like, my second or third mentor. I, I met a lot of my re- really important mentors in my life when I was about 13. Um, I was a musician. I was traveling for music at the time. I had gotten, like, some buzz, and MySpace was a thing, okay?

Jay Shetty 12:57 Yeah, I remember MySpace.

Benny Blanco 12:58 And I had somehow created a profile where I had a bunch of followers, okay? So I don't even remember how I did it, but I was a kid. I used to do it in the library at school. And there was this guy, he was a producer. I was obsessed with him. I DM- well, messaged him. The, the, the equivalent of DM today.

Jay Shetty 13:20 Yeah. [laughs]

Benny Blanco 13:20 And I remember messaging him, and I was like, "I love your stuff," blah, blah, blah, blah. And then no response. And I was like, "Oh, I l- I love you, like, please," blah, blah, blah. No response. Then I saw, like, a few weeks later he was advertising. He was like, "I have studio time available." It's like, you know, $500 or something. And I remember just being like, "Okay. The only way I'm gonna meet this guy is if I get the studio time." So I say, "I'm interested in the studio time." He says, "Great. Come to New York and meet me here." He had no idea where I was. I drove to New York, and I drove ... We drove, like, four hours to New York. I get to New York. I get in with him. The first thing I say is, I'm like, "I don't really need studio time. I just wanna talk to you. Please, I'll do anything. I just wanna work with you. I'll do whatever you say." But then he was just like, "F-" This was insane. He said, "I'm leaving this weekend. I need my studio booked the whole weekend. It's $850 for the, for the two days. You need to book it. If you can book it,

Benny Blanco 14:22 I'll let you work for me."

Jay Shetty 14:23 Wow.

Benny Blanco 14:24 I called every single person I know. I spent every ... You know, I had, like, a few hundred bucks. Then, like, I would, like, beg my friends for money. I had, like, a few ... knew a few rappers at the time that wanted studio time, and I, like, figured it out, and he was just like ... He got back. I did it. Like, I just did it in the nick of time, and he was just like, "All right. You can work. You start next week."

Jay Shetty 14:45 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 14:45 And I would, I would drive up every weekend from Virginia to work with him when I, from when I was, like, 16, 17. And we created this bond, and it was like he was tough on me. It was like he was, like, not an easy guy. Like, I remember, like, I, I walked in, and I had a hard drive filled with all of my music, okay? Everything I had been making. And he, like, took it. He listened to it. He ejected it, and then he threw it out the window. He threw my hard drive out the window, broke into a million pieces. No more hard drive. And he was like, "Not good enough. Start again."

Jay Shetty 15:17 What?

Benny Blanco 15:17 And it was like, yeah, he was, like, super sensei.

Jay Shetty 15:20 What?

Benny Blanco 15:20 It was like Karate Kid. And I, like, hated him in the moments for it, but so many ... He taught me so many things that, like, I learned and taught me things not to do as a mentor. And, like, and, you know, I, it w- it was a really special time, and now I just wanna jump to this. Okay.

Jay Shetty 15:38 Yeah, please.

Benny Blanco 15:38 So-

Jay Shetty 15:38 Yeah, go on. I love it. Let it flow.

Benny Blanco 15:40 So I'm ... You know, this is, I don't know, almost 10 years ago now, maybe eight years ago. And I'm playing poker at a friend's house, and my f- my friend puts me on her story, uh, her Instagram story. And the next day she comes to me and she said, "Hey, my friend's son saw you on my story, and apparently you're, like, a big deal in music." And she was just like, "You have to have him come work for you." And I was like, "What?" She's like, "Yeah, you have to have him come work for you." I was like, "I don't, I don't need anyone else. I already have assistants, interns." And they were like, "No, you have to." And this lady is, like, a very ... There isn't really ... You don't get to have a choice.

Jay Shetty 16:26 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 16:26 So I was like, "All right. I'll meet him." So this kid comes in. He's 15 years old. He's, like, "Oh, oh," like, everything. Like, he's just so excited, and he, like, was so sweet, and he reminded of me, of me when I was a kid. He was like, "I'll do anything. I'll work for you," blah, blah, blah. I was like, "All right. Come work for me." He comes and works for me. I still, like, am spending a lot of time in New York at the time, and so I don't see him. He's just, like, building a studio for me and has never even met me besides that one day.

Jay Shetty 17:00 Whoa.

Benny Blanco 17:00 But he, like, he does it for, like, a year. Then, like, I finally come back to LA, and I, I'm like, "All right. You ready to come into some recording studios?" And he was like, he was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so excited." So, like, you know, first week, first three sessions it's his first session is The Weeknd, his second session is Travis Scott, and, like, his third session was, like, Maroon 5.

Jay Shetty 17:24 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 17:24 So it's like he's getting thrown into it. So I remember we're at the first session, and I'm just like, "Be cool," blah, blah, blah. It's, uh, it's The Weeknd, and The Weeknd's in there, and we're, like, all in a room, and we're just, like, singing into microphones. Like, we're chilling, and he's like ... I, I know his mind's blown. Weeknd's his favorite artist at the time. And I remember he, when no one's looking, he, like, sneaks a picture, and he accidentally has his flash on.

Jay Shetty 17:53 Oh, no way.

Benny Blanco 17:53 So it goes, and it had the noise too. And so it was like ktsch.

Jay Shetty 17:56 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 17:56 And when it did it, he went, "Ah!" And he threw his phone.

Jay Shetty 18:00 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 18:00 And, and somehow The Weeknd didn't notice, and, like, I pulled him aside after, and I'm like, "Dude, you can't do that," blah, blah, blah. Fast-forward, he's in

Benny Blanco 18:10 high school, and I say, "Hey, I'm in the middle of ... " I was in the middle of making Ed Sheeran's Divide album, and I was producing the whole thing, and I was like I need some help on the road. If I talk to your school and get you off, will you come? And he was like, "Yeah, of course." Took him on the road for, like, two weeks. It- mine was blown. Uh, then, you know, he starts going to NYU School of- Clive Davis School of Music, and he, uh ... I have another opportunity. I talk to his teachers. I take him on the road for, like, a month. We're on tour with Halsey. Then he's coming back to work for me now, okay? We've never talked about him making music at all, and we're sitting there one day. It's late at night, and he said, "My therapist said he's gonna stop working with me if I don't play you my music." I said, "What do you mean? You make music?" And he's like, "Yeah, yeah, I make music." I was like, "Why didn't you ever play it for me?" He's like, "I was so scared. I was trying to get better," blah, blah, blah. He plays me some songs. They're terrible.

Jay Shetty 19:12 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 19:13 They're, like, they're awful. But, like, I can hear something in him.

Jay Shetty 19:18 Right.

Benny Blanco 19:18 And I know he's so ... You know, in music, so much of it is, like, getting an artist to feel comfortable, getting them to believe, getting them to ... You know, the, so much of it is your personality, and he had that. He had the it factor. I saw when he was with, like, artists, he knew how to talk to them. He knew how to make them feel good, just like getting them food, everything. And, you know, he spent years just seeing how I did it with artists. And I decided to sign him. I was like, "I'm gonna sign you." And he went on this journey, and now he's one of the biggest music producers in the world. I mean, last year he won, you know, Best Record at the Grammys.

Jay Shetty 19:55 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 19:55 He's had, like, five or 10 number one records.

Jay Shetty 19:58 Oh, that's insane.

Benny Blanco 19:58 And it's like this guy started, he was so humble. He was 15 years old. Now he's, like, probably 26, 27, and he did, he just went on the journey. He knew when his time was, and he went in and he did it. And it was just like, I always tell people, you know, "You just gotta stick through it. You gotta stick-"

Jay Shetty 20:15 Mm-hmm

Benny Blanco 20:15 ... around, you know?

Jay Shetty 20:16 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 20:16 And when I first signed him, it wasn't working for him. It took him, like, a few years for it really to, like, connect, and he's just, like, s- it's such a fun story for me to-

Jay Shetty 20:24 That's a brilliant story, yeah

Benny Blanco 20:25 ... yeah, to ... You know, and I've been fortunate enough to have that a few different times in my life with people, and it was so cool because I had that experience, and we're all ... To pay it forward is just-

Jay Shetty 20:34 Yeah. The intern applications to the Benny Blanco School of Music-

Benny Blanco 20:37 Oh, like-

Jay Shetty 20:37 ... just went through the roof.

Benny Blanco 20:38 I, like-

Jay Shetty 20:39 Like now the amount, [laughs] the amount ... Reid's gonna get hit up this whole week.

Benny Blanco 20:42 I, uh-

Jay Shetty 20:42 Going, "Dude," I love that. No, it's, it's, uh, it's, it's beautiful to hear that. And, and also what I love about that message is when your mentor throws your hard drive outside the window, like, it's so easy to be like, "Oh, I'm never going back."

Benny Blanco 20:57 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 20:57 Like, "He's crazy." Like, "I'm never going back."

Benny Blanco 20:59 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 20:59 It's like Whiplash.

Benny Blanco 21:00 Oh, yeah.

Jay Shetty 21:01 Right? Like, it's-

Benny Blanco 21:01 That was my life.

Jay Shetty 21:02 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 21:02 That was my ... I was cleaning toilets with a toothbrush. Like, that was my real life.

Jay Shetty 21:07 Yeah. That's what I was thinking of when you were describing it.

Benny Blanco 21:08 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 21:09 I was like, "Felt exactly like that." I'm thinking, you know, it's ... But how do you show up again and recognize this value? Because I think now we're in a place as well where it's like if something like that happened, we'd be like, "Oh, no, get out of there." It's the ... You know?

Benny Blanco 21:20 I know.

Jay Shetty 21:21 So-

Benny Blanco 21:21 I know. It did change a little bit. Like-

Jay Shetty 21:24 Like, you wouldn't do that. That's what I mean. You wouldn't throw someone's hard drive.

Benny Blanco 21:27 No, I would never do those type of things. I'm not, I'm just, like, not that type of per- I'm not, like, a yelling person.

Jay Shetty 21:34 Yeah, same.

Benny Blanco 21:34 I'm not, like, a ... It's just, like, not, that's not my way of communication. Like, if I was, like, sad w- about something, I'd be like, "Man." I think it's, like, probably almost worse.

Jay Shetty 21:42 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 21:42 Like, I'm like, I'd be like, "Oh, why'd you do that?" You know what I mean?

Jay Shetty 21:46 Yeah, I go quiet.

Benny Blanco 21:47 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 21:48 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 21:48 Or I'd be like, you know, you know, if you're ever, like, in a, you know, in an argument in a relationship, like, I'm not a yeller. I'm like a, I'm like a, "Oh, man," like, "I wish it was dif- ah." Like, and I, like, can't even find the words usually at the beginning.

Jay Shetty 22:05 Yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 22:05 Um, and I think that's how I am. And I think, like, I really learned that you don't have to do that stuff. You, you ... It worked for me. It got me to where I am, but it's like you can, you can be really positive. You can, you can be a good influence on someone. You don't have to, like ... You can be hard on someone. Like, I'm, I'm definitely, like, I was definitely hard on, on the guy I was talking about, Blake. I was, I was, I was tough on him, but I was never, like, I would never be mean. I would never ... Like, there's no reason to do that. Uh, and what made me keep going back, I don't know. Sheer just will and drive. Like, that, that's like ... I, I just was like, I ... What they're trying, that's what they're trying to do. They want me, they want me to quit.

Jay Shetty 22:49 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 22:50 They want me to ... You know? And, like, I don't know. I always ... I don't know why I do it. And I, I, I wonder ... You know, sometimes I sit in bed, and I'm like, "Why am I still working, like, so hard?"

Jay Shetty 23:01 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 23:01 Like, I still work like I've never done a thing in my life.

Jay Shetty 23:06 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 23:06 Like, I'm still wake up every morning, I'm like, "All right, I'm gonna do this, then I'm gonna do this, and then I swear I'm gonna get this thing." And I always ... That's why I try to do different things that I'm not necessarily great at to ... Or not that I'm not great at, but that I don't have ... You know, in music I can go in, I can work with anyone, I can do this. But like, yeah, like, making a cookbook, being in a TV show, I've never done these things, so it's, like, very interesting to me to start a- at the bottom again and just, like, try to work my way up.

Jay Shetty 23:34 Yeah. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 23:34 It's fun. I love the climb. Like, that's my favorite part about life.

Jay Shetty 23:39 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 23:39 Even everything. Like, in a relationship, when

Benny Blanco 23:42 you meet that person at the very beginning and it's like, "Oh, I gotta, like, make my way into their heart, and they have to make their way into mine," and it's just all about, I don't know, getting there is always the best. And then when you're there, I'm just like, "All right." [laughs] What else can I ... W- I wanna get, I wanna get some ... You know what I mean? Like-

Jay Shetty 24:00 Yeah

Benny Blanco 24:00 ... so when you're like, you know, you do the music stuff and you get there, and you're like ... I think the only thing where you get there and it, it just keeps getting better is in a relationship with someone.

Jay Shetty 24:11 Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 24:11 I think that's, like, the only time you get there and you're like, "Okay, this is cool." Like-

Jay Shetty 24:16 Yeah

Benny Blanco 24:17 ... but when every other time I'm just like, "Okay, cool. W- like, let's go. Let's do this."

Jay Shetty 24:21 What do, what do you think makes relationships different that makes you feel that way as opposed to music?

Benny Blanco 24:25 [sighs]

Jay Shetty 24:26 'Cause in a ... Or anything else, any other achievement, not music.

Benny Blanco 24:29 Well, I've never been in a relationship the way that I've been in one with music, 'cause it's been like a 30-year relationship. So I have no idea what happens 30 years from now-

Jay Shetty 24:36 Mm

Benny Blanco 24:36 ... in a relationship. But, uh, I just feel like in a re- a relationship is like all these other things I'm doing. There's so many, like, tentacles. Like, it's like you go this way, and then you guys explore that together, and you're exploring so many... It's basically anything I would explore in my life, I'm exploring with a partner. And so it's like figuring out... Like, you guys are, like, figuring out things together, and it's so cool when you have, like, a partner that, like... I don't know. Like, I, I just get the feeling like it's, it's awesome when you can have a partner that you look at and you're, and it's like the end of the day and you're like, "Oh, what did you do today?" And they tell you, and you're like, "That's so tight."

Jay Shetty 25:17 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 25:17 Like, and you're like, "I wanna do more." Like, when, when you can feed off of each other and just-

Jay Shetty 25:22 Yeah

Benny Blanco 25:22 ... keep growing together, it's like every day is a new experience, and you guys are, like, facing different things together. And it's, I don't know. It's cool. And I always tell my friend... I was just talking to my friend yesterday about this. I was like, "You always have to keep your work and life balance." And I was like, "Because you can feel it in the music and, and art if you don't have love or you don't have something." So I always tell them-

Jay Shetty 25:48 Interesting

Benny Blanco 25:49 ... I always feel that it's just like this. And I have, like, rules. Like, every day, like, I only work till, like, a certain time.

Jay Shetty 25:56 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 25:56 I make sure I... You know, like, cooking is very important to me and therapeutic, so I make sure I do that. Like, it's like Xanax to me. Like, I... And I have, like, all my things that I have to do to make that balance, because I do push myself. I'd shove my head through that wall, just that drywall, if I had to. But at the, at the same time, I try to do all the things. It's like, okay, like, every... You know, it's like every Sunday I see my mom no matter what. Every single Sunday at the exact same time. It doesn't matter if I, like, stay up all night. I'll s- I'll just go right into seeing her. And it's just like we have, like, a ritual we do. And then I have, like, my ritual where I go and get my groceries at the farmers market every weekend. And there's just all these things that help keep you on track and grounded so you can keep doing what you're doing, you know?

Jay Shetty 26:41 Mm. Mm.

Benny Blanco 26:41 I mean, I'm sure you have things like that for yourself.

Jay Shetty 26:44 Absolutely. I mean, mine's similar. I call my mom at the same time every week 'cause she's back in London-

Benny Blanco 26:48 Yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 26:48 ... where I was born and raised. And so I have the same time

Jay Shetty 26:51 I call her on the weekend. And, yeah, there's certain things that have to be done that way. And same with you and... You know, I have a certain time as well that I switch off from work and I'm not looking at my phone.

Benny Blanco 27:00 Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Jay Shetty 27:00 I have a time in the morning-

Benny Blanco 27:01 Mm-hmm

Jay Shetty 27:02 ... of, like, three hours of being awake before I'm doing any work.

Benny Blanco 27:05 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 27:05 And I have to take that time for myself. But what's interesting about what you're saying is that there's a myth, obviously, that the broken-hearted artist can pour into the music, but you're actually saying that if you have love in your life, that can also be felt through music.

Benny Blanco 27:19 Yeah. I think, I think that at times it's good to have a broken heart, but it's also good... You know, there's a time and place for everything. What time you wake up?

Jay Shetty 27:27 I wake up now at 5:30 AM.

Benny Blanco 27:30 What, what time did you wake up before?

Jay Shetty 27:31 Uh, usually it's like... I was, uh, this year has been different. This year I've been really prioritizing 5:30. But up until last year, it's probably, like, 6:00 to 6:30.

Benny Blanco 27:39 And w- w- what time do you go to bed?

Jay Shetty 27:41 I go to bed at, like, 9:00 PM now.

Benny Blanco 27:42 Really?

Jay Shetty 27:43 Yeah. I love my eight hours of sleep.

Benny Blanco 27:44 Oh, wow.

Jay Shetty 27:45 So, like, if I get into bed at 9:00, I'll be out by 9:15.

Benny Blanco 27:48 Okay.

Jay Shetty 27:49 And then if I wake up at 5:30, I've had, like, 8 hours and 15 minutes-

Benny Blanco 27:52 8-

Jay Shetty 27:52 ... of sleep. Like, it's crazy.

Benny Blanco 27:53 What are you doing, what are you doing in those first three hours?

Jay Shetty 27:55 Meditating for a lot of it. So I'll wake up at 5:30. I'll be ready to sit down for meditation by, like, 5:45. I'll meditate for an hour and a half, and then 7:15 I'll go for a hike or go to the gym or... Yeah, usually I hike or the gym from 7:15 till about 8:15, 8:30. Get ready, and then 9:00 AM I'll take my first emails, meetings, all that kind of stuff.

Benny Blanco 28:17 Hour-

Jay Shetty 28:17 So then you came at 10:00 today, so yeah.

Benny Blanco 28:19 Yeah. Hour and a half.

Jay Shetty 28:20 11:00.

Benny Blanco 28:21 Hour and a half is... That's, that's a good meditation. Hour and a half is-

Jay Shetty 28:25 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 28:25 How, how do you even stay focused?

Jay Shetty 28:27 Well, I think it's, it's a good question, and I always say to people that when I started, it wasn't one and a half hours.

Benny Blanco 28:32 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 28:32 Like, you start up with doing, like, seven minutes.

Benny Blanco 28:34 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 28:35 Then 20 minutes.

Benny Blanco 28:35 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 28:36 Then 40 minutes.

Benny Blanco 28:36 Mm-hmm.

Jay Shetty 28:36 And, and what I found was just in the same way as if you go to a trainer at the gym, you'd hope that they work out more than you.

Benny Blanco 28:45 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 28:46 So as someone who teaches meditation and helps people with mindfulness-

Benny Blanco 28:50 Yeah

Jay Shetty 28:50 ... I believe that as a trainer and as a coach-

Benny Blanco 28:52 Yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 28:52 ... I have to do it-

Benny Blanco 28:53 Yeah

Jay Shetty 28:53 ... for more time and deeper time.

Benny Blanco 28:55 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 28:55 Because otherwise, if I'm only doing it for seven minutes and I'm mentoring you and you're only doing it for seven minutes, then how will I ever have an experience to guide you deeper?

Benny Blanco 29:03 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 29:03 And so I've been doing that since I was 18 now, so it's been a long time. And when I was a monk for three years, it was longer, and that's where I got that deepest experience of practice for it. So I feel like if I didn't have those three years of going really deep into the practice, I may not have the focus I have today.

Benny Blanco 29:19 You were a monk?

Jay Shetty 29:20 For three years. Yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:21 Like, a real monk?

Jay Shetty 29:22 A real monk. [laughs] Yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:23 That's insane.

Jay Shetty 29:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:24 I, I've never met a monk.

Jay Shetty 29:25 I'd love to show you pictures. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:26 I've never even met a monk.

Jay Shetty 29:28 Yeah, I'd love to show you.

Benny Blanco 29:28 Wow.

Jay Shetty 29:29 I'm not anymore, but yeah. So-

Benny Blanco 29:30 How long, when-

Jay Shetty 29:30 So you still haven't met a monk, but

Benny Blanco 29:31 ... wait, where, where, what, when was this?

Jay Shetty 29:34 So I, this was 2010 to th- 2013, and I was a monk across India, UK, and Europe. I traveled between the three. And I had a shaved head. I wore robes. I slept on the floor. We meditate for, like, four to eight hours sometimes a day, and so it was a deeper-

Benny Blanco 29:47 Standard

Jay Shetty 29:48 ... practice. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:48 Standard.

Jay Shetty 29:49 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:49 Standard eight hours. [laughs]

Jay Shetty 29:50 Yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:50 Standard... Eight-hour meditation [laughs] is crazy.

Jay Shetty 29:52 Yeah. Sometimes, yeah.

Benny Blanco 29:53 When do you do anything else?

Jay Shetty 29:54 Well, sometimes you didn't. That

Jay Shetty 29:56 was the point. Like, sometimes-

Benny Blanco 29:56 An eight, an eight-hour meditation is wild.

Jay Shetty 29:58 Sometimes. Yeah, sometimes.

Benny Blanco 29:58 Isn't that sleeping? [laughs] To some people.

Jay Shetty 30:00 Yeah, yeah. I mean, you can count it as the same. We sleep for eight hours, so.

Benny Blanco 30:03 Yeah. I, uh... You know, my har- the hardest part for me with meditating is that I instantly fall asleep. I've, I mean, I can-

Jay Shetty 30:10 That's good

Benny Blanco 30:10 ... I can fall asleep very easily.

Jay Shetty 30:12 So I'll tell you why, though. The reason why that happens during meditation or any practice of that sort is your body and mind are finally coming into sync.

Benny Blanco 30:20 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 30:20 And so it's your body saying, "I need sleep right now."

Benny Blanco 30:23 Yeah. [laughs]

Jay Shetty 30:23 And so if, if you're falling asleep during meditation, it's not a bad thing. It's just you've literally... Because what's happening when you're not falling asleep is your mind's saying, "We gotta do more."

Benny Blanco 30:31 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 30:32 "We gotta do more." And then finally when you become present, you fall asleep because-

Benny Blanco 30:36 Yeah

Jay Shetty 30:36 ... your body's saying, "I've done enough today."

Benny Blanco 30:37 Oh. Wait, where-

Jay Shetty 30:38 So it's-

Benny Blanco 30:38 ... where do you do these medita- I want-

Jay Shetty 30:39 I have a little meditation room. I'll take you to it afterwards at my home.

Benny Blanco 30:42 I wanna-

Jay Shetty 30:42 Yeah, yeah

Benny Blanco 30:42 ... I wanna do a meditation with you.

Jay Shetty 30:44 All right. We'll do it. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 30:45 I wanna, I wanna learn. I, I... You know, I've, I've done... There was, like, a time in my life when, w- when I was going through a rough patch, and then, like-

Jay Shetty 30:53 Yeah

Benny Blanco 30:53 ... you know, I was going to therapy and I was meditating and stuff, and it actually helped me so much.

Jay Shetty 30:57 Yeah. Wow.

Benny Blanco 30:57 It helped me. It helped me a lot.

Jay Shetty 30:58 What was that during? What were you going through?

Benny Blanco 31:01 When everything first started happening for me all at once, it was, like, really overwhelming. I was, you know, for the first, like, year or two I was like, "Oh, this is awesome," and then, like, it really hit me because, you know, so many different responsibilities and people asking you for money, and, like, I just didn't grow up in a way, like, I had never ... I didn't even imagine, you know. I was, I was young when I made it, so I was like, I didn't really ... I didn't even realize about, like, money, and then I'm like, oh my God, all the, like, I have this m- what do I do with the, like ... And then it's like I have all this success and people need things from me and people want, and it was just too much and-

Jay Shetty 31:38 Mm-hmm. Mm

Benny Blanco 31:39 ... where I grew up, like, I didn't, like, I don't know, I didn't go to, like, therapy as a kid.

Jay Shetty 31:44 Mm-hmm. Mm.

Benny Blanco 31:44 I didn't, I didn't know about any of that. I didn't know what anxiety was. I thought, like, every- I was like, "Oh, everyone, the room spins for everyone when you, like, sit down and you're, like, doing something." Yeah, I, I just, there were so many things I didn't understand, and I thought it was just my body, and I never talked to anyone about it. And I was like, oh,

Benny Blanco 32:02 they were just things, like, I learned to live with. And I remember, like, I just remember exactly where I was. I was, like, walking in to get a new cellphone and I lost my mind, and I [laughs] and I was, and I, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. And I remember like a week later, I, I went home to Virginia where my mom was living at the time, and I remember I was, like, in the bathroom and I was like, I d- like, I don't, I can't do ... I was like, "I can't do this anymore." Like, I don't, I can't ... I, I had this feeling, like, this, this crazy feeling of anxiety that was, like, crippling, and it was like I couldn't do anything. And I was just like, I ... I was, like, in the bathtub and I remember, like, calling for my mom. I was crying and I was like, "I don't know. I can't do this. I don't know what to do." I, like, I can't even explain the feel. I, I didn't know how to articulate the words. I was like, "I, I can't even explain what I'm feeling to you. I feel like I'm going crazy." And, you know, in my family, you know, there's some people have some issues, and I was always scared of myself falling into some similar things that m- are in my family, that run in my family. And I, I just remember somebody was, somebody got me to go to therapy and they, and I met this guy, and he's my therapist today, still to this day. This was, he's been my therapist for almost 20 years.

Jay Shetty 33:27 Mm.

Benny Blanco 33:28 And I remember, like, I first went there and I had, like, all these things. I was like, I used to, like, go and I'd have to, like, hold my head like this, and I was like, oh, I can't let go of my arm, 'cause if I let go of my arm, my neck's gonna fall off and I'm gonna be paraly- like, I had [laughs] like cra- like, I was so in deep, and I never thought I was gonna get out. And I remember I started, I used to go six days a week, and then it was, like, three days a week, then it was two days, then it was one, and I, and it was CBT, uh, you know, uh, cognitive behavioral therapy.

Jay Shetty 33:56 Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 33:56 And it's, like, kind of like a type of therapy where you use your words, and it's not, I was very, I didn't wanna do medicine, and I didn't, you know, 'cause I also had in my family, there's some drug abuse and stuff, and I, I, I, I was like, "I don't wanna do this with medicine. I wanna figure out how to do it the right way." And at that time I wasn't, now I'm, like, a workout fanatic.

Jay Shetty 34:18 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 34:18 That's, like, my new meditation.

Jay Shetty 34:20 Nice.

Benny Blanco 34:20 Uh, but before that I was like, "Well, how do I do this?" And I started, you know, my therapist recommended meditation to me, and he had this really easy way of doing it, and it was so easy, and it wasn't, I, it, it wasn't even, like, anything specific. He was like, just, you know, he would just, like, te- it was the most basic form of meditation. I would do it with either with a spoken word thing or just, like, he'd be like, "Find the most calming music you like" and-

Jay Shetty 34:48 Mm. Mm

Benny Blanco 34:49 ... and I would, and he would just be like, "No matter what, just every day," he was like, "for 20 to 30 minutes, just sit down, put a pillow on your head. Try not to be too comfy where you'll fall asleep."

Jay Shetty 35:03 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 35:04 "Set a timer and just do it."

Jay Shetty 35:06 Mm.

Benny Blanco 35:07 And I remember doing it, and at first it was impossible. When I was, like, in my shit, it was impossible, and then eventually I started, like, looking forward to that time-

Jay Shetty 35:18 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Benny Blanco 35:19 ... every day.

Jay Shetty 35:20 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 35:20 And it really just helped me a lot. And then, like, in 2018, I, and then I got, like ... It, it was probably, like, a year or so of, and this was probably 2009 maybe this was happening. And then, like, then I, like, got back on track and it w- everything was great. And then, uh, in 2018 I really, like, w- working out became, like, my new meditation.

Jay Shetty 35:49 Oh, wow.

Benny Blanco 35:49 Like, and it was just like, like I have to do it. And it was so funny, 'cause I went so many years without doing it, and I'm sure in your life you went years without doing meditation.

Jay Shetty 35:57 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 35:58 And now, like, what happens if you randomly mi- do you ever miss one ever? Like, just like if you're sick or-

Jay Shetty 36:02 I'll, I'll catch up. I won't, yeah, I don't meditate at 5:30 every day. Like, it's not, I, I can't keep that up because-

Benny Blanco 36:08 Yeah

Jay Shetty 36:08 ... I'm on planes, we're traveling.

Benny Blanco 36:09 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 36:09 Like, our, our lifestyles don't allow it, and so I will be meditating in the evening. I'll-

Benny Blanco 36:14 But, like, what happens?

Jay Shetty 36:14 ... so the quality ... Well, I find that for me, the quality dips. The last week was one of those weeks. I was, I had, like, three massively late nights in a row on the weekend 'cause of events and parties and things, and things that I was going to. And I couldn't wake up early, and then I still had a full day of work. Then in the evening I was catching up with it.

Benny Blanco 36:32 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 36:32 And I found that I didn't have the time and space that I need in order to feel really aligned. And what I mean by that is I can still operate. No one else will really notice the difference, but I notice the difference, where I'm like, I feel like I have less energy today. I feel like I have less clarity today.

Benny Blanco 36:49 Mm.

Jay Shetty 36:49 And I feel like I'm not as aligned, is the best word I can think of, as I like to be. And so it doesn't really affect anyone else, but it does affect me.

Benny Blanco 37:00 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 37:00 And I know what level I can-

Benny Blanco 37:02 Yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 37:02 ... raise to, which is what you're probably saying when you're-

Benny Blanco 37:04 Yeah

Jay Shetty 37:04 ... working out. Like, when you miss a day of working out-

Benny Blanco 37:06 Yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 37:06 ... how do you feel now?

Benny Blanco 37:07 Yeah. Yeah. I, I, you know, I thought of something when you were saying that.

Jay Shetty 37:10 Yeah, please.

Benny Blanco 37:11 So you're seen as, like, you know- This guy who's like mindfulness, health-

Jay Shetty 37:17 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 37:17 ... this, like, a... Isn't it, aren't you sometimes, do you feel like I have to be so perfect all the time?

Jay Shetty 37:25 You know, it's so interesting you say that, Benny. I, I used to think that when I started out that that's what I had to be, and then I've let go of that pressure personally. Like, I let go of that, and I'm just... Like I'm saying to you now, I don't wake up every day at-

Benny Blanco 37:40 Yeah

Jay Shetty 37:40 ... 5:45 to meditate. Sometimes I'm meditating on planes, in Ubers-

Benny Blanco 37:43 Yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 37:43 ... on trains. Sometimes I'm doing it while I'm falling asleep. Like, I, I'm okay with opening up about that because to me, that, A, I ho- well, A, it's the truth. B, I hope that that actually helps people realize that they-

Benny Blanco 37:56 Yeah

Jay Shetty 37:56 ... don't have to have the perfect regime-

Benny Blanco 37:58 Yeah

Jay Shetty 37:58 ... every single day.

Benny Blanco 38:00 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 38:00 Because I used to think that, and all it did was put more pressure on myself.

Benny Blanco 38:03 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 38:04 Like, I'd stress myself out. So I'm more comfortable today saying, "I believe in meditation. I value mindfulness. I value all these things-

Benny Blanco 38:13 Yeah

Jay Shetty 38:13 ... but it doesn't look perfect in my life."

Benny Blanco 38:14 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 38:15 And it won't in yours either.

Benny Blanco 38:16 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 38:16 And it doesn't in anyone's. Whoever's life we think it looks perfect in-

Benny Blanco 38:19 Yeah

Jay Shetty 38:19 ... is, is a myth.

Benny Blanco 38:21 Yeah, sometimes you get upset. Like, if you get... Like, you're like a guy who's, like, not

Benny Blanco 38:25 allowed to get upset. Like, something happens, like it's, it, you know, I find that sometimes-

Jay Shetty 38:30 What do you know, Benny? What are you trying to say? [laughs]

Benny Blanco 38:32 Yeah, exactly. No, I find sometimes in, in, in work, like, you know, when you get to the top of, like, your field, people are only expecting, like, a perfect re- Like, like, if you're, like, say you're, like, LeBron James. Like, if you don't have... If you score, like, 20 instead of, like, 40 in the game-

Jay Shetty 38:50 Yeah

Benny Blanco 38:50 ... they're like, "Oh, what's happening to LeBron?" You know? And it's this, like, it's this pressure that, that I know exists for people, and I just wanted to know how-

Jay Shetty 38:57 Yeah, no, I, I definitely have felt that pressure, and I think I've removed it from myself.

Benny Blanco 39:02 Mm-hmm.

Jay Shetty 39:02 That's what I've realized, that ultimately it was a pressure I was putting on myself. It wasn't actually from anyone else. It was me thinking, whereas if I was just honest and transparent and authentic with people, then all of a sudden the pressure's off-

Benny Blanco 39:14 Yeah

Jay Shetty 39:14 ... and, and I can also be a human because I am one.

Benny Blanco 39:18 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 39:18 Uh, and, and I think, I think there's so much more of a joy in embracing our imperfections and flaws and recognizing that. It's even with coaching people, by the way, and I'm sure you feel this with music. Like, when you, you working with a artist to produce their album is like what I do with coaching clients. So coaching clients come to me and say, "Hey, can we solve this problem?" Whatever else it may be. Someone's coming to you saying, "Hey, Benny, can you make this album with me?" And before I used to think, "God, if I don't say something profound in the first hour of meeting someone, then they're not gonna think I'm worthy or valuable."

Benny Blanco 39:50 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 39:50 And I started to realize, I was like, "That blocked me from saying something worthy."

Benny Blanco 39:55 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 39:55 It didn't allow me to be a channel or a vessel.

Benny Blanco 39:58 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 39:58 I was now forcing some manufactured version.

Benny Blanco 40:00 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 40:01 And even if I did, now I was just setting myself up for more pressure every time we met, rather than just having a flowing exchange with someone. How do you feel, like, when an artist comes and says, "Hey, Benny, I want you to produce my whole album"? Where was the time it switched from pressure to just flow?

Benny Blanco 40:17 I never had pressure because I don't care.

Jay Shetty 40:19 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 40:19 Because I treat every experience... Like, I'll, I'll be like this. You know, some people when you get in the studio or something, or you're on a TV set, or you're on here, they're just like, "Oh, we gotta get it all done. We have to get this done today. We have to..." For me, I'm just as happy if we were to come in, like, if I came into this podcast today and you were like, "Hey, I'm sorry, like, the equipment's not working," then I'd be like, "Oh, let's just, like, chill, walk around your thing," because that's what was meant to happen that day. And I'm not stressing because you know what? Eventually we'll get, like, a interview or eventually we'll get a song or... You know, I, I'm a big, like, procrastinator in work. Like, when someone comes over, I'm like, "You like to eat? What do you want to eat?

Jay Shetty 41:00 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 41:01 You want to eat something? I'll eat some." All that stuff is part of it.

Jay Shetty 41:04 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 41:04 It's part of what's gonna happen later.

Jay Shetty 41:06 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 41:06 You know what I'm saying?

Jay Shetty 41:07 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 41:07 Or you, like, let's say you have a client, someone like you're trying to get to the bottom or the root of a problem. You're gonna have to disarm them and get them to chill.

Jay Shetty 41:14 Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's not gonna happen through anything else. What's your, um, do you have, do you have a setup process for every person? Or do you really go with the flow with each individual?

Benny Blanco 41:26 This stuff got caffeine in it?

Jay Shetty 41:27 It has natural caffeine from tea.

Benny Blanco 41:29 I'll take a sip of it.

Jay Shetty 41:30 Yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 41:31 It's green tea. Green tea's really caffeinated, right?

Jay Shetty 41:34 Yeah, yeah. It's natural-

Benny Blanco 41:35 You drink caffeine?

Jay Shetty 41:36 I, only in the tea form.

Benny Blanco 41:37 Only in the tea form.

Jay Shetty 41:38 Yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 41:38 I like that.

Jay Shetty 41:39 So I don't, I don't really drink caffeine.

Benny Blanco 41:39 Only in the tea form.

Jay Shetty 41:40 As in, like, I'll, I drink herbal tea and I drink this tea, but I don't...

Benny Blanco 41:45 That's good.

Jay Shetty 41:45 Thanks, man. Appreciate it. My wife and I put it together. It's all natural.

Benny Blanco 41:48 Go buy his drink. How'd you come up with the name?

Jay Shetty 41:52 Stands for Just You and I, so it was a way of trying to bring people together through sharing a moment.

Benny Blanco 41:56 Wow.

Jay Shetty 41:56 How's the caffeine hitting? Is it all right?

Benny Blanco 41:58 I'm taking little sips.

Jay Shetty 41:59 It's like little sips, yes.

Benny Blanco 42:00 I don't drink caffeine at all.

Jay Shetty 42:01 Yeah, yeah. Neither do I, apart from tea, so-

Benny Blanco 42:04 Yeah

Jay Shetty 42:04 ... it's, uh-

Benny Blanco 42:04 I don't drink, I don't drink... I'm not, like, a caffeine person. I wake up and I'm, like, ready to rip.

Jay Shetty 42:09 Yeah, me too.

Benny Blanco 42:09 I wake up, I, like, pop out of bed.

Jay Shetty 42:11 What time do you wake up?

Benny Blanco 42:11 Early.

Jay Shetty 42:12 Yeah?

Benny Blanco 42:13 Yeah, like, uh, 6:00.

Jay Shetty 42:15 What-

Benny Blanco 42:15 Usually 6:10 to 6:30.

Jay Shetty 42:18 Yeah. What gets you in the creative zone? Like, you're always, like, cooking. Like, let's, let's talk about Open Wide for a second. Like, c- creativity, I think people look at you and they think, "Oh, he's musically creative, but then-

Benny Blanco 42:27 Yeah

Jay Shetty 42:27 ... the rest of his life must be..."

Benny Blanco 42:28 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 42:28 But no, it's like you're creative in cooking, you're creative in music. Obviously you're talking about relationships can be creative too. Like, is it just something that, was cooking always a passion?

Benny Blanco 42:37 Yeah. It's just like, do you cook at all or no?

Jay Shetty 42:39 So I'm the exact opposite. Cooking, kitchens and cooking scares me. My wife is a plant-based chef and recipe developer.

Benny Blanco 42:46 Really? Oh my God.

Jay Shetty 42:47 And so, yeah, this is all she does.

Benny Blanco 42:49 What, what, what... Has she always cooked?

Jay Shetty 42:51 Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 42:51 Oh my God.

Jay Shetty 42:52 She's loved it since she was... And she's a dietician and nutritionist as well.

Benny Blanco 42:55 What, what, what's her name?

Jay Shetty 42:56 Uh, Radhi. Radhi's her name. R-A-D-H-I, Radhi.

Benny Blanco 42:59 And, okay, okay.

Jay Shetty 43:00 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 43:01 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 43:01 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 43:01 Yeah, I gotta see it.

Jay Shetty 43:02 Yeah, yeah. I'll show you after this.

Benny Blanco 43:02 I, I'm, I'm obsessed with all that. One of my friends, uh, the person who I wrote my book with, her name's Jess. She has, like, a, she's predominantly, like, a, a plant-based chef.

Jay Shetty 43:12 Oh, cool.

Benny Blanco 43:12 And she worked for Martha Stewart for years-

Jay Shetty 43:14 Wow

Benny Blanco 43:14 ... and, and she's incredible. And I, I, uh- It's funny, like my books are always crazy. For, I eat very healthy unless I'm being like a naughty boy. Um-

Jay Shetty 43:24 [laughs] What's, what's naughty? How bad's naughty?

Benny Blanco 43:26 Oh, naughty is like you wake up and there's crumbs and glaze all over you. You don't even know what it is.

Jay Shetty 43:31 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 43:31 But mostly I'm, I'm, I'm pretty, I'm, like during, during the week, you know, 'cause I lost a lot of weight. I lost like 50 pounds.

Jay Shetty 43:39 Wow.

Benny Blanco 43:39 Um-

Jay Shetty 43:39 Consciously?

Benny Blanco 43:40 Yes. Yeah, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, you know, honestly, at the beginning I was going into a weight loss challenge because my brother had gained a bunch of weight, and then when I went and we like did the DEXA scan thing, I was 33% body fat. And I was like, "Well, am I fat?" [laughs] And I just didn't even, I didn't even know that I was being un- you know, unhealthy. And then like that's when I started working out and I got obsessed with it, and it was like I wasn't necessarily trying to lose weight. But then like once I did, I was like, "Whoa, this is cool." And I'm one of those people now, like, when I lost the first weight, it wasn't trying to lose weight, it was just like trying to be healthy. And then I felt like the feeling-

Jay Shetty 44:18 Mm

Benny Blanco 44:18 ... every time I went to the gym. I was like, "Whoa, I have no anxiety," like after, and I'm not thinking about anything else except like what's happening, and that was very rare for me.

Jay Shetty 44:27 Mm.

Benny Blanco 44:28 So I was like, "I gotta chase this feeling." And then now I like, you know, me and my friends, we do like little like weight loss challenges. We're like, "Okay, whoever can lose the most weight in like one month," or, "Whoever can do this." I just like to, I like to challenge my body and my mind.

Jay Shetty 44:41 Yeah, out of your comfort zone.

Benny Blanco 44:42 Yeah, I like to just like push myself in any way possible. But yeah, no, I eat, I eat, like I... Do you eat pretty

Benny Blanco 44:49 healthy?

Jay Shetty 44:49 Yeah, very, yeah.

Benny Blanco 44:50 Well, because of her, right?

Jay Shetty 44:51 Because of her, exactly. [laughs]

Benny Blanco 44:52 If otherwise you'd be like-

Jay Shetty 44:53 Before I met her it was like pizzas-

Benny Blanco 44:55 Yeah

Jay Shetty 44:55 ... at midnight, burgers-

Benny Blanco 44:56 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 44:56 ... fries. Like that's my favorite food.

Benny Blanco 44:58 What are you guys eating today?

Jay Shetty 44:58 Obviously.

Benny Blanco 44:59 Like what'd you eat today?

Jay Shetty 45:00 What did I have in the morning? I had like avocado mushroom toast-

Benny Blanco 45:03 Okay

Jay Shetty 45:04 ... in the morning.

Benny Blanco 45:04 And did you make it or she did?

Jay Shetty 45:05 No, no, no, she did. Yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 45:06 Okay.

Jay Shetty 45:07 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 45:07 So if, if she's not in town, do you ever cook?

Jay Shetty 45:09 Then I'm ordering. I'm ordering in, but I'm ordering healthy.

Benny Blanco 45:12 You're ordering healthy-

Jay Shetty 45:12 Yeah, yeah

Benny Blanco 45:13 ... because you're scared she might be filming you or watching. [laughs]

Jay Shetty 45:14 No, yeah, exactly. That, that's actually it. I'll say, I'll say to my team, I'll be like, "Guys, just so you know, let's order this 'cause my wife's not around." Yeah, no, it's-

Benny Blanco 45:20 Yeah, yeah, you'll be a little naughty

Jay Shetty 45:21 ... but she's been a good influence on me. 'Cause before I met her I was addicted to sugar.

Benny Blanco 45:25 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 45:25 Like I was addicted to chocolates and ice creams and-

Benny Blanco 45:28 Yeah, some people have that

Jay Shetty 45:29 ... I had a massive, 'cause of my mom.

Benny Blanco 45:30 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 45:31 It's her, yeah.

Benny Blanco 45:31 I don't have the, I don't have the sweet tooth.

Jay Shetty 45:33 That's lucky, man. That's one of the worst.

Benny Blanco 45:34 I'd much rather like a huge slice of bread or a taco.

Jay Shetty 45:37 Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benny Blanco 45:38 Like I, I, I l- I really like, uh, like one bite of a dessert. Like I always want-

Jay Shetty 45:43 You're like my wife. That's her too

Benny Blanco 45:44 ... yeah, I always want one bite. Like at the end of the day like I'll always have like a date or something-

Jay Shetty 45:49 Yeah

Benny Blanco 45:49 ... or like a piece of fruit. Like I love that, but like I don't like the, I don't know, like o- occasionally like a cookie or something if it's not too sweet. I don't like really sweet things c- they make my stomach hurt.

Jay Shetty 46:01 Right, right, right.

Benny Blanco 46:01 Like, so I like, uh, uh, there's a few. Like I like, uh, what's that thing when it's, uh, it's like meringue? Uh, uh, pavlova.

Jay Shetty 46:10 Oh, right, right, right.

Benny Blanco 46:10 Uh, pa- 'cause they're not too sweet.

Jay Shetty 46:12 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 46:12 And it's like light. Pavlova makes me-

Jay Shetty 46:14 How did you curb your cravings for things you love? Like when you're doing a challenge, how do you curb your cravings for-

Benny Blanco 46:19 I just shut it off. I love, I lo- like I love a challenge.

Jay Shetty 46:22 Right.

Benny Blanco 46:23 Just any challenge. If someone's like, "I bet you can't walk 25 miles right now." I'm like, "Yes, I can-"

Jay Shetty 46:28 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 46:29 "... and I'll do it." Like I just love, I love that feeling of doing something.

Jay Shetty 46:33 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 46:33 Um, and you-

Jay Shetty 46:33 And you have a group of people that you do it with

Benny Blanco 46:34 ... and I do it with my friends.

Jay Shetty 46:35 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 46:36 I work out with my friend. If I didn't have a trainer, I only pay, l- the only reason I see a trainer is because I'm so crazy that I was, would be like, "Oh, I can't waste the money."

Jay Shetty 46:46 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 46:46 Like, so I, I gotta go. But if I, if it was just up to me, I wouldn't do it.

Jay Shetty 46:51 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 46:51 I wouldn't do it.

Jay Shetty 46:51 Yeah, same, yeah.

Benny Blanco 46:52 I wouldn't be able to do it. It's just that someone's, you know, or my friends are like, "Let's go to the gym. We gotta go together," and we work out together. And I like, you know, coming back to food, I like anything. I love community, I love hosting.

Jay Shetty 47:05 Mm-hmm, same.

Benny Blanco 47:05 I love like, there, there's, there's nothing better to me than like creating like an experience for people. I don't care what the medium is, like creating some experience where like when someone leaves they're just like, "Whoa."

Jay Shetty 47:18 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 47:18 And they're telling all their friends. And-

Jay Shetty 47:20 Yeah

Benny Blanco 47:20 ... like for me it's-

Jay Shetty 47:21 Same

Benny Blanco 47:21 ... it's just like you're, you know, this is like, uh, looking to give someone an orgasm face at all times.

Jay Shetty 47:28 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 47:28 Like every moment like it, 'cause that's what it is. It's when you, when someone tastes your food they just like open their mouth and they put in, you just want them to be like, "Mm."

Jay Shetty 47:37 Yeah. [laughs]

Benny Blanco 47:37 Like you, you just want that feeling that, or when someone plays a song you want them to be like, "Oh my God, that thing is crazy." You know? Like after you like change someone's life-

Jay Shetty 47:47 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 47:47 ... and they can do a meditation where they can like put their leg behind their head, they're just like, "Oh, thank you. You brought me to a higher sense of being."

Jay Shetty 47:55 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 47:55 Like it's, it's, that's what we're looking for.

Jay Shetty 47:58 Yes.

Benny Blanco 47:58 And, and I'm always looking to make my friends happy. I'm always, you know, if someone comes to my house and they have like, you know, a hamburger and they're like, "I love this. This is my favorite hamburger," I know that. So then I'm thinking like the next time they come I'm like, "Oh, I'm gonna like make sure they have that for them."

Jay Shetty 48:17 That's beautiful.

Benny Blanco 48:17 And, you know, my grandma when I was a kid, one of my grandmas, she, you know, she, she was not wealthy by any means. She grew up in, it like, you know, she w- her place was in Section 8 housing, and we would go visit her, uh, and she had a lot of grandkids. And if we went over there, and one time we like had a junie and we were like, "We love this," it would be there every time-

Jay Shetty 48:41 Every time

Benny Blanco 48:41 ... we ever went. And she had so many grandkids, so everyone had every single thing and she would, she would, uh,

Benny Blanco 48:47 you know, she wouldn't eat for the week to make sure that like everyone had their things and, and because it made her so happy. The joy she would have when everyone was coming in a- and all the things were there. We'd be like, "Oh, she has this-"

Jay Shetty 49:00 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 49:00 "... and she..." And that's what I like to do, and I love to create like whether it's like the perfect napkin, the perfect like meal, the perfect music playing at the same time. Like, you know, and that's what I did with this book. I was like trying to teach people how to have like the perfect dinner party.

Jay Shetty 49:15 That's brilliant.

Benny Blanco 49:15 'Cause I was like, okay, you know, some people- They might not know what to do. Like, you're nervous in the kitchen. This book is gonna make it so, like, surefire way. You want something easy that looks good? Great. You wanna have a dinner party? Like, do you know what type of wine to serve? I don't know. Do you wanna smoke weed with your people? Does weed make you anxious? Who knows? Is it midnight and you want everyone to leave 'cause you gotta wake up at 5:30 the next day, but you still want them to love you? I'm gonna teach you how to kick them out, you know?

Jay Shetty 49:42 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 49:42 And it's just like-

Jay Shetty 49:43 I love that, yeah

Benny Blanco 49:43 ... it's, it's that whole thing, and it's just like that moment of just, like, getting a bunch of people together. And I love getting the people together that don't necessarily go together.

Jay Shetty 49:54 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 49:55 And it's like someone is, like, a musician, and they're sitting next to a man who wrote a book. And I mean, one time we were at my house, and I remember I was, uh... My mother was sitting here, and SZA was sitting here, and a man on the other side actually makes rocket ships that go to space. And to me, it was just so cool to see them all talking and not caring about, you know, what was going on. And there was no egos, and there was... E- everyone's just having a good time, and food is, like, the best social lubricant in the world.

Jay Shetty 50:31 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 50:31 Because it's like you can immediately talk about something. You're like, "Oh, you like food?" It's just like the automatic conversation starter.

Jay Shetty 50:37 Yeah, yeah. Next time you come over, we're gonna have to do food for sure because, yeah, that's... It's a big love language for my wife. She loves-

Benny Blanco 50:43 Oh, my God

Jay Shetty 50:43 ... she always says that's her love language. So-

Benny Blanco 50:45 I wanna cook with her

Jay Shetty 50:45 ... she wants to ho- yeah, you guys would have a, you guys would have a blast. She loves cooking, creating recipes, and also same with you-

Benny Blanco 50:52 Yeah

Jay Shetty 50:52 ... creating community. And it's actually funny you say that. I'm trying to think of a book that you just reminded me of that was based on a restaurant that did that, and they recently converted it. It became Eleven Madison Park in New York, and it was a restaurant that tried to give that level of-

Benny Blanco 51:06 Oh, wow

Jay Shetty 51:06 ... care-

Benny Blanco 51:07 That's so cool

Jay Shetty 51:07 ... and that you feel in a home.

Benny Blanco 51:08 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 51:09 And, and so Open Wide, your book, I love, I love that it's not just a cookbook. I love that it's-

Benny Blanco 51:14 No, it's all of that

Jay Shetty 51:14 ... about how to build community and how to-

Benny Blanco 51:15 It's all of that

Jay Shetty 51:16 ... 'cause I think that's what people miss out on, right? We think that hosting is about all the fancy stuff.

Benny Blanco 51:21 Mm-mm.

Jay Shetty 51:21 And it's like, it isn't. It's-

Benny Blanco 51:22 It's not about any of that.

Jay Shetty 51:23 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 51:23 The food... You know, my godfather always said this thing. He would always say, you know, when I was a kid, I never even understood it, but I so understand it now. He always used to say, we'd always figure out where we were going to dinner, and he goes, "It doesn't matter. It's about the wrap."

Jay Shetty 51:40 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 51:40 And now, and, and we were like, "What do you mean?" He's like, "It's just about the wrap." He's like, "The only thing... It's just to get everyone together. If the food's great, that's awesome, but it's about hanging with your friends, laughing till you cry, you know, falling in love with someone, fall..." You know, I've, I've had the opportunity to have dinners where, like, so many things have happened to people. You know, someone's found the person they date. Somebody's, you know, started a company. Somebody's laughed so hard they cry, you know? And it's-

Jay Shetty 52:07 Yeah

Benny Blanco 52:07 ... that's, that's what I'm trying to do, and I love... Do you, do you ever... You have dinners with people and so-

Jay Shetty 52:11 Well, it's one of my favorite things to host-

Benny Blanco 52:13 Yeah

Jay Shetty 52:13 ... as well. Yeah. I love-

Benny Blanco 52:14 It's my favorite thing to do.

Jay Shetty 52:15 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 52:15 I don't wanna go out to a nightclub.

Jay Shetty 52:16 No, no, no.

Benny Blanco 52:16 I wanna, like, sit at home with my friends till 2:00 in the morning. Well, for you, you can't do that.

Jay Shetty 52:21 Yeah. I can do that. I can do that.

Benny Blanco 52:22 Now, what happens-

Jay Shetty 52:23 Yeah

Benny Blanco 52:23 ... what happens if you stay up late? Do you just self-combust?

Jay Shetty 52:25 I, I stay up late.

Benny Blanco 52:25 You combust?

Jay Shetty 52:26 No, not at all, man. I can stay up late.

Benny Blanco 52:28 What, um, when you said-

Jay Shetty 52:29 I just choose not to always do it 'cause I love sleep.

Benny Blanco 52:31 Okay. When you were out, uh, late this week, and what time, what time were you out?

Jay Shetty 52:35 Yeah, probably, probably getting to bed around 1:00 or 2:00.

Benny Blanco 52:38 Okay.

Jay Shetty 52:38 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 52:38 And you, and you... Th- then what time do you sleep till?

Jay Shetty 52:41 Oh, no. That, the problem was I was still waking up 'cause my body clock's so-

Benny Blanco 52:44 Yeah

Jay Shetty 52:44 ... wired that I would-

Benny Blanco 52:44 I wake up-

Jay Shetty 52:45 ... stay up at the same time. Yeah

Benny Blanco 52:45 ... no matter what, I wake up-

Jay Shetty 52:47 Yeah

Benny Blanco 52:47 ... at, like, 6:00 in the morning.

Jay Shetty 52:48 That's what I mean. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 52:48 No matter when I go to bed.

Jay Shetty 52:50 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 52:50 I don't go to bed as early as you, though.

Jay Shetty 52:52 Yeah. Yeah.

Benny Blanco 52:52 I'm like, uh, if in my dream world, I go to bed at, like, 11:30, 12:00.

Jay Shetty 52:57 Right.

Benny Blanco 52:57 And then I wake up at, like-

Jay Shetty 52:57 In real world

Benny Blanco 52:58 ... 6:00, 6:30. And then on the weekends, I really don't sleep a lot. But I don't need a ton of sleep.

Jay Shetty 53:03 That's good, man.

Benny Blanco 53:03 But I know, I'm sure you're gonna say that's terrible for you.

Jay Shetty 53:05 No, not at all, man.

Benny Blanco 53:06 Uh-

Jay Shetty 53:06 I'm not gonna say anything's terrible.

Benny Blanco 53:07 It's not that-

Jay Shetty 53:07 If it works for you, it works for you.

Benny Blanco 53:09 But you should, I should be getting more sleep, right?

Jay Shetty 53:11 I mean, s- scientists say seven to nine hours a day. But-

Benny Blanco 53:14 What else do scientists say?

Jay Shetty 53:15 [laughs] Exactly. I don't know. But that's, I mean, that's what I'm saying.

Benny Blanco 53:17 Seven to... I, but, uh, yeah. My whole family-

Jay Shetty 53:19 I need eight. I know I need eight, and I can survive on s- I can do fine on six or five if I needed to.

Benny Blanco 53:24 I love-

Jay Shetty 53:24 But I love nine

Benny Blanco 53:24 ... like, six and a half is my, like, muah.

Jay Shetty 53:26 Is your sweet spot? Yeah.

Benny Blanco 53:27 Yeah, chef's kiss.

Jay Shetty 53:28 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 53:28 Anything over seven, I feel strange.

Jay Shetty 53:31 That's good though, but then don't follow it. Seven's, like, don't push it. I think that's a big part of it, too, right? It's like my wife talks a lot about this, this idea of being able to listen to your body. And I feel like-

Benny Blanco 53:40 Yeah

Jay Shetty 53:40 ... so many of us are like, "God, I gotta wake up at 5:30 now 'cause Jay said he wakes up at 5:30," or, "I gotta wake up at 4:00 'cause Elon Musk wakes up at 4:00."

Benny Blanco 53:47 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 53:48 Or, you know, Benny said he wakes up at 6:10, so I gotta-

Benny Blanco 53:50 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 53:50 ... you know, so whatever it is, and it's like, well, creativity is not based on those things.

Benny Blanco 53:54 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 53:54 That's just what works for your body-

Benny Blanco 53:56 Yeah, yeah

Jay Shetty 53:56 ... and your mind.

Benny Blanco 53:57 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 53:57 It's what works for my body and my mind. So-

Benny Blanco 53:59 Yeah

Jay Shetty 53:59 ... I think, you know. But you seem to have a lot of, like, not just community, but you seem to have, like, a lot of the same people around you, loyal friends.

Benny Blanco 54:05 Oh, yeah.

Jay Shetty 54:05 Like, that seems to be a big part of your-

Benny Blanco 54:07 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 54:08 How have you continued to be able to build that as you grow and make it... It sounds like all your friends love challenges and growth because a lot of people who are listening sometimes feel their friends are not wanting to grow. They're not wanting to try new things. Like-

Benny Blanco 54:20 But it's so fun. You, you do it, you... Some people I've pushed to that, and some people have pushed me in other ways. And, like, that's the, that's, that's what it's all about. You know, uh, to me, I've just had some of my friends for so long because it's hard to find people that are on your... And I, I think it's harder and harder as you get older. You know, a lot of my friends, most of my friends I

Benny Blanco 54:42 knew since I was young, and then I have, like, you know, like, a new friend for me is, like, five years. Like, I'd be like, I'd be like, "Whoa, yeah, this is, like, one of my new friends." Like, most of my friends are 8, 10, 20, you know?

Jay Shetty 54:57 And do they live in the city too or no?

Benny Blanco 54:59 All different places.

Jay Shetty 54:59 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 54:59 Some of my friends are, like, some of my friends have very regular jobs, and, and, you know, some of them I only get to see once or twice a year in person because of their job, you know? My friend was just out. Here he comes every year for, you know, like a month and a half towards the end of the year 'cause he's a therapist, and he works, you know, in Virginia, and he can't really travel that much. So then we get to see each other then. And then, you know, my other friend His wife is becoming a doctor and, and they've had to have residencies in all these other places, and he works for, like, Capital One or something, and he, uh, uh, uh, we don't get to see each other in person very often, but when we do it's like we saw each other yesterday, you know? And we talk all the time on, on... And then some of my friends are in the same world as me, so they get it. Some of them are in entertainment. And I just love bringing… My friend group is very eclectic. Like, it's, like, all different types of people, and I love putting people that wouldn't normally be in a room together in a room-

Jay Shetty 55:59 Yeah

Benny Blanco 55:59 ... to see what happens.

Jay Shetty 56:00 What's the randomness, too? Is it the person building rocket ships, and then your mom, and then SZA?

Benny Blanco 56:05 I'm ju- Uh, uh, it's just, like, people, you know, it's very common for me to go out to dinner and have, like, one person be 22, and then the next person be, like, 70.

Jay Shetty 56:17 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 56:17 Like, and, and that's not-

Jay Shetty 56:18 That's wild

Benny Blanco 56:18 ... and, and, and having it not be someone's mom or dad.

Jay Shetty 56:21 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 56:21 Like, having it just be someone that's my friend.

Jay Shetty 56:23 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 56:23 You know? And, uh, 'cause I've met so many... I'm very interested in people. I love, I love meeting creative people, whether that means they're creative professionally, whether creative in their mind, whether they, you know.

Jay Shetty 56:39 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 56:39 I just love,

Benny Blanco 56:40 I love that feeling of getting into a conversation with someone.

Jay Shetty 56:44 Yeah. I also think multi-generational friendships are so powerful. Like, I was talking to someone about that. Like, me and my wife have, uh, a couple friend of ours, and they're in their late 60s, and they're some of our favorite people to hang out with.

Benny Blanco 56:56 Mm-hmm.

Jay Shetty 56:56 Like, I feel like I learn so much, I grow so much, I gain so much perspective. They've lived 30 years more life than I have.

Benny Blanco 57:02 Yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 57:02 Like, and I think that's... It's so interesting how we may spend time with our parents, but we're not necessarily s- having friends that are in a different decade of their life.

Benny Blanco 57:12 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 57:12 But how powerful it can be to be with someone.

Benny Blanco 57:14 A lot of people don't even know their parents like that.

Jay Shetty 57:16 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 57:16 Like, even if you're, like, close with your parent, like, like how close are you with your mom?

Jay Shetty 57:21 I'm pretty close with my mom, yeah.

Benny Blanco 57:22 Okay. But, like, you don't know, there's so many things you don't know about her. Like, you don't know, like, like how she felt the first time she got her heart broken.

Jay Shetty 57:31 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 57:31 You don't know, like, if she ever cheated on someone. Like, you don't-

Jay Shetty 57:35 Yeah

Benny Blanco 57:35 ... like, sometimes I, for me, I'll sit my mom down and I just ask her, like, every... I'm like, "What drugs have you taken?"

Jay Shetty 57:41 Yeah. [laughs]

Benny Blanco 57:42 And I'm like, "How did it make you feel?" 'Cause my parents got divorced, I was like, "How did you know you wanted to get divorced? What did you feel?" And I, and I always, I try to do that because one of my friends started recording his dad when his dad got sick, and he asked him every question he ever wanted to ask him. Because it is so crazy, you're so close to this person that you really don't know. Like, you really, like, we really don't even know our parents that well-

Jay Shetty 58:10 Mm-hmm

Benny Blanco 58:10 ... because you don't, you don't ask them those type of things, and no one does. Like, a- and it, it's also that time where I remember, like, your parents' gospel is just, like, the end-all, be-all when you're a kid, and then all of a sudden you're, like, 15 or 16 and you're like, "Wait, you're just a human. You-

Jay Shetty 58:28 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 58:28 ... that was a mess-up on you. You just lied. Like, I caught you in that lie." But, like, r- until you're, like, 15 or 16 or something, you can't even fathom that, and then, like, you realize it's cool. I'm so thankful that I get to, like, you know, talk to my parents and my family now, like, as an adult and be like, "Yo, what were you feeling like, like, when you went through this?" And like, "How did you raise us like that?" And, "Is it so hard to do this?" And it's cool. I, I like that feeling.

Jay Shetty 58:57 Yeah. I, I did something similar a few years ago. I felt that way with the podcast where I was, like, learning about people I'd never met. And so we were celebrating my sister's 30th birthday, so it was me, my mom, and my sister, my younger sister.

Benny Blanco 59:09 Mm-hmm.

Jay Shetty 59:09 And I just started interviewing my mom at dinner, and there was no... We didn't record it.

Benny Blanco 59:14 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 59:14 It was just us three, and I learned so much. So my mom was studying for her exams

Jay Shetty 59:19 while, 'cause she was born and raised in Yemen, while there were Yemeni soldiers fighting British soldiers on her roof.

Benny Blanco 59:24 That's crazy.

Jay Shetty 59:25 Like, you know, so, and I was like, "I had no idea." And she just casually drops that as if it's, like, normal, and I'm like, "Mom, you realize that's not normal?"

Benny Blanco 59:32 You should interview your mo- You need to interview-

Jay Shetty 59:34 I've been thinking about it. It's been, it's been on my mind. I need to do it.

Benny Blanco 59:37 Interviewing your family-

Jay Shetty 59:38 Yeah

Benny Blanco 59:38 ... is so crazy.

Jay Shetty 59:39 Yeah. 'Cause you're right. And I, and I think everyone... I would love to do it because I want everyone to do it. My wife was my first-ever guest on the show.

Benny Blanco 59:45 Really?

Jay Shetty 59:46 Yeah, yeah. Because that was a big part of it for me. It was like, I feel like you're so right. We don't really deeply know our family when... We think we know them.

Benny Blanco 59:55 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 59:55 We think we know them. We assume that we know them.

Benny Blanco 59:57 Yeah. I used to do this thing on my, uh, well, I still do it, on all of my albums where, like, the last song on my album has, like, a, a, a spoken word section of, it's, like, over instrumental, of, um, each person in my family.

Jay Shetty 1:00:13 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:00:14 And so far I did my mom and my dad, and I asked them all these questions.

Jay Shetty 1:00:21 Wow.

Benny Blanco 1:00:22 And it's crazy to know the a- and 'cause I, basically I ask them questions for, like, an hour, and then I take, like, the best, like, 30 seconds. And it was both my parents wound up talking the most about, like, their divorce, and it was, like, so interesting to see both sides of it because I have now, forever in time, I have my mom's version and my-

Jay Shetty 1:00:46 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 1:00:46 ... dad's version. And then, like, I just, a- you know, I'm putting out a new album and I interview my brother for his version of it now, and it's like, uh-

Jay Shetty 1:00:54 That's beautiful, man.

Benny Blanco 1:00:55 Yeah, it's fun.

Jay Shetty 1:00:56 That's really special.

Benny Blanco 1:00:57 It's fun. And it's like, you know, it's emotional, and it's like, whoa. It's cool to hear both sides of, everyone's side of an event.

Jay Shetty 1:01:04 What did you... Yeah, I, I think you're so right because, yeah, we often think there's only one truth and one story, and then all of-

Benny Blanco 1:01:10 Yeah

Jay Shetty 1:01:10 ... a sudden there's three. And what was the biggest thing you learned from hearing your mom and dad's version of divorce? Like, what was something that surprised you or something you were like, "Wow, I did not n- recognize that when I was growing up"?

Benny Blanco 1:01:21 I think that it made them both better people to get out of the relationship, and I think, like, uh, at first it seemed Like, my parents were not fans of each other at first. It was, like, crazy. But now they're friends.

Jay Shetty 1:01:37 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 1:01:38 I mean, they, they haven't been married for, you know, 20-something years, but, uh, but yeah, now, now we all, like, go to dinner together and, like, go on vacation. Um, but, you know, it wasn't always that way, and it's, it's cool to see, like, where it started to where it is now, and I do think, like, me and my brother, like, we're a big, uh... Like, our success was, like, a big catalyst on getting, like, everyone together 'cause it forced us to get together, and then it, it... And no, it's cool. I don't know. Yo, life is so crazy. Like, the way, you know, the way you meet people and the way people come in and out of your life, and someone you may not even, like, really know could become, like, your wife, or someone, like, that's, like, you despise could become your best friend, and it's just... It's very interesting-

Jay Shetty 1:02:28 Yeah

Benny Blanco 1:02:28 ... how, how life plays out.

Jay Shetty 1:02:32 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:02:32 And I find that more and more as I get older, and my mom always used to be like, she'd be like, "You know, when you get older, you're gonna..." And I used to be like, "What are you talk..."

Jay Shetty 1:02:40 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 1:02:40 And, and it, but it's so true. Just, like, over and over again, I'm learning something new every day.

Jay Shetty 1:02:46 Yeah. Yeah. So true, man. Benny, I could talk to you for hours, genuinely. Like, we could go on and on and on, but I wanted to make sure, is there anything that we haven't talked about before we go to the Final Five, which is the way we end any interviews? Is there anything we haven't talked about that you really wanted to touch on that's on your heart or mind, or something that-

Benny Blanco 1:03:03 What's your five thing? What's that? You-

Jay Shetty 1:03:05 That, yeah, we can do that.

Benny Blanco 1:03:05 What is that?

Jay Shetty 1:03:06 We'll start with that. It's a Final Five that we end every interview with of all time, and-

Benny Blanco 1:03:10 Oh, it's the same question?

Jay Shetty 1:03:11 It's the same... Well, same four questions. One of them I usually play with. Same three or four questions.

Benny Blanco 1:03:16 Oh, okay.

Jay Shetty 1:03:16 And one of them I usually play with for the person, and, uh, these are your Final Five. They have to be answered in one word to one sentence maximum.

Benny Blanco 1:03:23 Oh my God.

Jay Shetty 1:03:24 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:03:24 But-

Jay Shetty 1:03:24 And then I may ask you to go on because I usually break my rule, but-

Benny Blanco 1:03:27 Okay. Okay. Okay

Jay Shetty 1:03:28 ... here we go. All right. Benny Blanco, these are your Final Five. So the first question is, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received?

Benny Blanco 1:03:37 Don't be afraid to fail.

Jay Shetty 1:03:38 Who told you it, and how have you practiced it?

Benny Blanco 1:03:42 I can't remember who told me it, but I-

Jay Shetty 1:03:43 But someone

Jay Shetty 1:03:44 did tell you it.

Benny Blanco 1:03:44 Yeah, but-

Jay Shetty 1:03:44 It wasn't something that came from-

Benny Blanco 1:03:45 No, no, no. Somebody told me it, but I will tell you this. I always e- say this to someone, because people come up to me all the time and they're just like, "Oh, man, you don't miss. You did this. You did that."

Jay Shetty 1:03:59 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:03:59 Um, and I, I, I'll talk to someone. You know, one of my friends was going through a hard time recently. It was, like, his first failures, and I remember talking to him and I said, I said, "You don't think I've failed a million times?" I said, "You look at someone like Michael Jordan, okay? He's taken, like, m- so many shots. He's missed so many shots. Do you remember any of those? No. You remember him swishing it and walking back with his tongue out." Nobody's sitting there being like, "Uh, Jay, I saw that, you know, back in, like, 2008, that rap career didn't really work out for you." No. They're like, "Jay, wow, every get. You got Michelle Obama on you." So I always tell people, like, it doesn't, it doesn't matter. Don't be afraid to fail. Nobody's even gonna remember it. There's only... And if someone's literally tallying your failures, they're psycho.

Jay Shetty 1:04:48 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 1:04:49 You know?

Jay Shetty 1:04:49 Well said, man. Yeah. No one remembers the misses.

Benny Blanco 1:04:51 No.

Jay Shetty 1:04:52 No one remembers the miss- if you keep going.

Benny Blanco 1:04:54 Yeah, if you keep going.

Jay Shetty 1:04:54 But if you stop at the miss, then-

Benny Blanco 1:04:55 But you gotta keep going, baby

Jay Shetty 1:04:56 ... yeah, you gotta keep going. Uh, question number two, what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received?

Benny Blanco 1:05:01 I was going around playing my music for people, and I had just switched my style up because I used to make, I, like, originally made music that sounded like I was copying Timbaland, sounded like I was copying Pharrell, sounded like I was trying to be someone else.

Jay Shetty 1:05:18 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:05:19 And I remember I, I, I, I had just made music that didn't sound like anything.

Jay Shetty 1:05:24 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:05:24 It sounded so weird. It was so different. Wasn't like what was going on. I remember I went into a meeting and someone was like, "Nobody makes music like this." They were like, "You gotta, you gotta fit in more." Like, and that just, like, made me go the opposite way.

Jay Shetty 1:05:40 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:05:40 Then I was like, "Now I know I gotta do the crazy stuff," because at least I just want someone when I used to go in and play music for them to be like, "I've never heard anything like this. Like, this is so weird.

Benny Blanco 1:05:52 This is not gonna work," because that's wh- when everyone likes something usually, that means it's not gonna work, you know? When, when some people are unsure about something, that's when it's usually gonna work. So I, I don't know. Someone told me to fit in more, and I didn't really vibe with that. [laughs]

Jay Shetty 1:06:06 Mm. That's a, that's a great answer. I think it's so interesting when you're young everyone tells you to fit in, and when you get older everyone says stand out.

Benny Blanco 1:06:12 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 1:06:13 And it's like, well, wait a minute, I had to wear a uniform.

Benny Blanco 1:06:15 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 1:06:16 I had to come in on time, and now all of a sudden I've gotta find who I am.

Benny Blanco 1:06:18 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 1:06:19 And it's such a contradiction.

Benny Blanco 1:06:21 Of course.

Jay Shetty 1:06:21 Yeah, so great answer. All right, uh, question number three, what's something that you used to value that you no longer value?

Benny Blanco 1:06:28 Success. I used to really care about getting that number one song, getting that thing, and I feel like I, I feel like I did everything I wanted to do.

Jay Shetty 1:06:41 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:06:41 Like, and now I feel like everything's like the cherry on top of the sundae now.

Jay Shetty 1:06:47 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:06:47 So I'm just having so much fun trying new things, and of course I want them to be successful and stuff, but, like, I don't have, I, and I, and I do still, like, work and have a drive and wanna do it, but I wanna do it more for me-

Jay Shetty 1:07:01 Mm

Benny Blanco 1:07:01 ... and less for, like, other people. I used to wanna do it because I was like, "I have to be number one. I have to be the best in the world. I have to be this." I, and now I just get to wake up and I'm like, "Okay, I already did the things I wanna do." So, like, I wanna make a cookbook. I wanna do it. I wanna do this, and I, like, really want it to be the best and I want it to be awesome, but it's something that I wanna do, and I'm putting, like, that pressure on myself. It's not, like, for other people anymore. And yeah, I think- I don't know. It's, I, and, and I always had a strange feeling with success too. I was always, like, kind of, like, ashamed of it for some reason.

Jay Shetty 1:07:44 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:07:45 Or I'd be like, "Oh, I don't, I don't, I don't deserve this. I'm probably gonna get, like, cancer now because, like, I did, because I did well."

Jay Shetty 1:07:52 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:07:52 "So, like, I don't deserve this, and, like, somebody el- uh, somebody else deserves this more." And, like, I-

Jay Shetty 1:07:57 How did you overcome that doubt? 'Cause I think a lot of people feel that way.

Benny Blanco 1:08:01 Uh-

Jay Shetty 1:08:01 People who come into money, fame, even a bit of success and we start going, "Oh, crap, this wasn't meant to be," like-

Benny Blanco 1:08:06 Yeah, it's still, I still, it's still there for me, that, that part. I still have that feeling a little bit, a little bit of the imposter syndrome, but it's so funny 'cause I'm so confident at the same time. But a- a- you know, sometimes I do have that feeling where I'm just like, "Ah, like, why do I deserve this? Like, what did I do?" And, like, there's so many more people who are more talented than... And I'll, like, start questioning stuff like that in my head.

Jay Shetty 1:08:28 Yeah. And, and you're still working through that, still going?

Benny Blanco 1:08:31 Yeah, every day.

Jay Shetty 1:08:31 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:08:31 We're working through everything. And the success thing, like, it's not fully let go, but it's, like, it's something that, like, I catch myself more and more, like, just really wanting to do the things because, like, it's not a competition always anymore, and it used to be, like, such a competition with me in my head-

Jay Shetty 1:08:49 Yeah

Benny Blanco 1:08:49 ... with that. And I try to find, like, other things that are competitions and, like, competitions, like, that are, like, friendly and there's not, like, a huge thing at the end of the tunnel for it.

Jay Shetty 1:08:59 Mm. Beautiful. Question number four: What's something that you think you learned from your parents' relationship that affects your relationships moving forwards? Like, something that you'll take as a lesson on what to do or what not to do.

Benny Blanco 1:09:12 I don't think my parents listened to each other, and I think all relationships, whether it's romantic, business, friendships, you have to l- you just have to listen to each other. It's, like, the easiest thing in the world. Just be a listener, and it's okay to be wrong. I, I, w- I, like, that's im- that's also another thing that, like, I've really come to terms with. Like, it's like I always would find myself, like, wanting to be right about the thing, wanting to be this, and it almost makes you look better if you're like, "You know what? I was, I w- I was wrong," and stop trying to, like, defend a thing to the end that you know you're wrong about. So it's like, "I, I, I was wrong. I was wrong," and then, like, everyone's happy if you just say, if you're like, "I was wrong. I messed up."

Jay Shetty 1:10:06 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:10:06 "I messed up," instead of, like, trying, it's, like, putting shame around being wrong, and it's okay to be wrong. Like, it's okay to fuck up sometimes. Like-

Jay Shetty 1:10:14 Mm

Benny Blanco 1:10:14 ... you know?

Jay Shetty 1:10:16 Yeah. I think that's great. Listen and it's okay to be wrong.

Benny Blanco 1:10:18 Yeah.

Jay Shetty 1:10:19 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:10:19 It's okay to be wrong.

Jay Shetty 1:10:20 Uh, fifth and final question, Benny. We ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show. If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

Benny Blanco 1:10:29 You know, I just, I wish there was a world where just everyone could find a way to just, like, fit in and just, like, not be... It's okay to get upset sometimes. I just wish people could talk things out and, and find a way to, like, love each other and find, I don't know, find a way to, like, live together, you know?

Jay Shetty 1:10:49 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:10:49 It just, like, kills, like, anytime, it's so hard for me to wa- ever watch any of the news, and it's just like, oh, I'm like, it just, like, crushes me watching people fight and people, like, violence.

Jay Shetty 1:11:04 Mm.

Benny Blanco 1:11:04 And it's, like, crazy. Like, I don't understand. I just, like, don't even under- I don't know people, you know, to, like, for someone to do something so bad to, like, an innocent per- like, anytime I see things like that, I just don't understand, and I, you know, I, in my ideal world, there's, I don't even know if it's a law. I don't... People just be nice to each other.

Jay Shetty 1:11:25 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 1:11:26 And, and, and just be, like, caring and considerate and understand that it's okay to not be the same as somebody else, and it's okay to not have the exact same opinion as somebody else, but you guys can coexist and live and just, like, I, I, I don't know. It's like I always have these, like, idealistic thoughts in my head.

Jay Shetty 1:11:44 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:11:44 And it's very hard to create those because we're so far gone as a planet. You know? There's, like, so much greed, and there's so much... I don't know. I've always been, like, just, like, happy, whether it was, like, I had a lot of money or no money, and I've always found that when me and my friends listen to each other and work together and talk things out, like, every, like, nothing can go wrong.

Jay Shetty 1:12:07 Mm-hmm.

Benny Blanco 1:12:07 And if it can go, if it does go wrong, then you talk about it and you make it better. And I don't know. What, what's the best law you heard someone say?

Jay Shetty 1:12:14 Ooh, that's a good question. Um, I, I think a lot of people share the sentiment that you're saying. Like, I think a lot of us feel like that. Like, we wanna live in a more just-

Benny Blanco 1:12:23 Yeah

Jay Shetty 1:12:23 ... happier-

Benny Blanco 1:12:24 Yeah

Jay Shetty 1:12:24 ... loving kind of world. I think two that stand out to me, uh, Daniel Kaluuya came on. He's the guy-

Benny Blanco 1:12:30 Yeah. Yeah

Jay Shetty 1:12:31 ... you know? Yeah. So Daniel came on, and he said that for everyone that you judged or criticized, the law would be that you'd have to then, whoever you judge and criticize, you'd have to go live as them for a day or a year or something like that.

Benny Blanco 1:12:46 Ooh, I like that one.

Jay Shetty 1:12:47 It was something, it was, like, a, it was, like, a fixed thing. And then Trevor Noah had one. His one was, um, there'd be a rule that every day, someone's bank balance in the planet could go to zero. So it could be you, your friend, your family member.

Benny Blanco 1:13:01 Oh, yeah, I like that.

Jay Shetty 1:13:02 And how differently you'd behave with people knowing that that could be you one day.

Benny Blanco 1:13:06 I like that.

Jay Shetty 1:13:06 It could be your mom. It could be your dad. It could be a friend, and that way you'd be more conscious of-

Benny Blanco 1:13:10 Yeah

Jay Shetty 1:13:10 ... what it would feel like to be around people who don't have a lot.

Benny Blanco 1:13:13 Yeah. I change mine. Uh, free weed for everyone.

Jay Shetty 1:13:16 [laughs]

Benny Blanco 1:13:16 That's my, that's my-

Jay Shetty 1:13:17 That's the law?

Benny Blanco 1:13:17 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jay Shetty 1:13:18 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:13:18 That's my, that's my new one.

Jay Shetty 1:13:19 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:13:20 Um, no, that's great. That-

Jay Shetty 1:13:21 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Benny Blanco 1:13:22 ... that's a good one.

Jay Shetty 1:13:22 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:13:22 Those are good.

Jay Shetty 1:13:23 Is that, is, is weed an unlock, unlocks your creativity? Does it make you anxious, as you were mentioning for other people earlier? Like, what's-

Benny Blanco 1:13:28 I love smoking weed.

Jay Shetty 1:13:29 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:13:30 You, you, do, are you allowed to? No, you're not.

Jay Shetty 1:13:32 I don't. I don't.

Benny Blanco 1:13:32 You don't.

Jay Shetty 1:13:33 Yeah.

Benny Blanco 1:13:33 You don't do anything.

Jay Shetty 1:13:33 Not that I'm not allowed to. I'm allowed.

Benny Blanco 1:13:34 You don't do anything.

Jay Shetty 1:13:35 No.

Benny Blanco 1:13:35 You ever have a sip of alcohol?

Jay Shetty 1:13:36 No, not anymore.

Benny Blanco 1:13:38 When'd you quit?

Jay Shetty 1:13:39 Um-

Benny Blanco 1:13:39 When you were a monk?

Jay Shetty 1:13:40 15 years ago? Yeah. 15, 16 years ago.

Benny Blanco 1:13:42 What, what, what's your, what do you do? What's your wild thing?

Jay Shetty 1:13:46 Uh, my wild thing is I'm a sup- Strippers, I know, right? [laughs] No, I'm just kid- no, what is it? I'm a sup- I, I guess my wildness come- I'm super competitive, so if I'm playing a sport that I'm- Yeah ... good at- No, come on ... um, I'm, I'm competitive ... give me, like, what's, what's your vice? My vice is sugar, man. It's, like, it's taking me forever. Sugar? Yeah, literally. Sugar. I'm like, yeah. That's your vi- My vice is sugar, my vice is I like to work hard, my vice is- So, but you don't have anything, so you don't have a- Well, no, I, it's not that I don't have anything, it's I've worked on it hard- Yeah, yeah ... for years and years and years. So no drinking, no weed- No, no ... no psychedelics, no... Ooh. No, I, I, I'd be, I'd be- I saw, I saw your eye glimmer a little. [laughs] I'm always open to exploring anything that would p- I, I mean, weed was something that I did a lot in my teens- Yeah, yeah ... so it's not something I've never done. I wanna know the teen you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The teen you was wild. Yeah, the teen me was wild. I think that's what it is, like, growing up in London too, like, you start drinking very early. Of course. You start playing around with drugs and stuff very early, and so- Yeah, yeah ... we just had access to a lot of things. So I feel like it's not that I don't, it's that I've done a lot in my teens. Of course. And so it's not that I have a... Again, and I have nothing against it. I think I'm always open to things that have medicinal or healing benefits. Yeah, yeah. So I've always been open. A lot of my clients will do MDMA, do- Yeah, yeah ... Iboga, do ayahuasca. Yeah, yeah. Like, and so I'm very familiar with these things, and I'm always working alongside, uh, neur- clinical neuroscientists that I take advice from for my clients and- Yeah, yeah ... clients' own exploration. So I'm very aware and like to be educated more and- Yeah, yeah ... get more experience. But I would do it if I felt there was healing I, that that- Yeah, yeah ... could reward me with, for sure. Yeah, yeah. I'm very open to anything that has healing powers. Um- You take any supplements? I take a lot of, I take 20 [laughs] supplements a day. All right. So- Let's tell me about the supplements. Yeah, so I'm taking, I'll show you my drawer later. There's, like, literally 20 tablets a day, but it's, like, B12, magnesium, D, C, uh, K, um, probiotics, uh, gut supplements, creatine, like, a million things. Why do you take them all? Because I, I really do feel a difference. I find- Wait, why do you take creatine? That's, like, from the '80s. Yeah, but it works. It's, like, so what's really interesting is that I work with, we've had the doctor that I work with on the show. His name is Dr. Shah. He runs Next Health. Okay.

Jay Shetty 1:15:57 And Next Health basically will do the deepest blood tests and give you, like- Oh yeah, you do that thing where you have, like, a bowl of pills you gotta take. Yeah. It's like a packet every day. Yeah, and you get all your biomarkers. You get everything, and what I've found is that different body types can't digest certain things. Like, my body can't get the nutrients from certain things, so I have to eat different proteins. I'm also plant-based. Were, w- So the supplements provide me with all the missing nutrients, so- Were you feeling bad before you did this? I was feeling, when I wasn't taking all the supplements, I was feeling more tired more easily. Oh, wow. And I was like, "Why am I tired? 'Cause I work out, I sleep well, I meditate- Yeah ... like I d- why am I tired?" What type of tired? Uh, just, like, a feeling of, like, lethargy or fatigue at the end of the day. Oh, okay. But, like, a tired that I didn't like. Yeah, yeah. And I realized that, so vitamin D is meant to be at 60 is safe, 100 is ideal. I was at 10. Mm. And if, and people always say, "Well, you live in LA, you get enough vitamin D." It's not true. Like, you've got to be out in the sun n- naked, like, for four hours a day- Yeah ... to get enough vitamin D- Yeah ... especially with my color of skin. And so for me to take vitamin D is non-negotiable, and for most people are low in vitamin D. And so my doctors, my nutritionist was saying, "Jay, your vitamin D levels means you should be depressed." I was like, "I don't feel depressed. I'm just tired." And she was just like, "Well, you know, if you change that, it'll make a massive difference," and it did. Wow. And so I think a lot of people, a lot of the times we think we're struggling mentally, but a lot of it's chemical and biological- Uh-huh ... and physical. What you're saying with working out- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... right? Like, it's a physical shift that's changed your mindset. Yeah, yeah. And we can get in our head and think, "Oh, God, why am I tired? There's something wrong with me." Like, maybe I'm stressed, and it can be that. Yeah, yeah. Of course it can be that, but sometimes it's chemical and physical, so. So you take 20 supplements a day. I'll show you, yeah. I'll show you my little pill drawer. W- do you do any other things? No, no, that's it. Do you drink any other tinctures through the day that you have to- No, no. Well, creatine is, I have to

Jay Shetty 1:17:53 mix it in, and then- But why do they- Some of- ... why do they have you do creatine? That's for me to digest a particular nutrient- Ah ... for, for my digestion to be good. I also take, um- Oh, do you have trouble, do you have a bad stomach? Not a bad stomach. I think that when I went completely plant-based, which I always tell people if they're making that transition, I always tell people to do it slowly. I kind of did it overnight. When? Um, s- eight years ago when I married my wife, I was vegetarian, but I became plant-based as soon as I married her, and I think that my gut reacted poorly to that quick transition. And so whenever anyone's talking about being plant-based or eating healthier, I'm always like, "Do it slowly," because your body's just used to a habit- Mm-hmm ... whether it's good or bad. And now I feel great, but it, it was a transitionary period, for sure. Yeah. So I do that, and then I do, I, I have, um, vinegar before meals, 'cause that regulates the acid internally. So that's, like, mix a shot of vinegar with, diluted in water and- Do you take, like, a lot of protein a day? Yeah, I take a lot of protein, but a lot of protein meals, but, like, natural, natural forms of, um, as much as I can. Why? What's your natural protein? Well, like, I'm doing a lot of lentils and dals. Like, the Indian- Yeah ... the Indian diet generally leads- Yeah, yeah ... well to that kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I will do things like tofu, which of course, you know, and then not so natural supplen- uh, not so natural forms of protein as well. Yeah, yeah. Like, I, I'll found, I found these amazing bagels that are protein-filled, that are plant-based. Yeah, yeah. They're amazing. Yeah, yeah. So things like that, just to, just to stock up. But I've found that eating protein every day has made a big difference. The amount of protein that we don't have in our diets is insane. Yeah, yeah. And I'm not a pro at this. We've had doctors who've- Yeah ... come on the show and- Yeah, yeah ... really educate people. Yeah, you're, you're supposed to eat a gram of protein per a pound. Yeah, and you, you realize you're, like, nowhere close. Yeah. Like, even if you're eating meat, it's hard. Yeah, yeah. And so what to speak of anyone who's plant-based. Benny, this has been a joy, an honor. I hope we do a part two. I love it. I hope there's dinners. I hope there's so much more in the works with this, uh- I can't wait ... relationship. I appreciate you, man. Thank you so much. Like, you took us on a whole journey today, and I felt like we got a peek into your mind, which is always my favorite thing to do. Thanks, man. Uh, I want everyone to know Open Wide is available right now, so make sure you go grab it. We'll put the link in the caption, in the comments, and wherever you're viewing. Of course, if you don't follow Benny on social media c- uh, already, please go and follow him across platforms. And Benny, thank you so much for showing up for On Purpose today. So grateful and deeply appreciate it, man. Thank you, man. Yeah, thank you. If this is the year that you're trying to get creative, you're trying to build more, I need you to listen to this episode with Rick Rubin on how to break into your most creative self, how to use unconventional methods that lead to success, and the secret to genuinely loving what you do. If you're trying to find your passion and your lane, Rick Rubin's episode is the one for you.

Speaker 1:20:44 Just because I like it, that doesn't give it any value. Like, as an artist, if you like it, that's all of the value. That's, the success comes when you say, "I like this enough for other people to see it."