Theo Von sits down with Joe Jitsukawa. https://www.youtube.com/joejitsukawa https://www.instagram.com/joejitsukawa https://twitter.com/joejitsukawa/ This episode brought to you by… Hello Fresh https://www.hellofresh.com/theo60 Visit the link above and use code theo60 for $20 off your first three boxes, for a total of $60 off Podium https://podium.com/tpw Use this link to save 10% on your monthly subscription Grey Block Pizza 1811 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA http://bit.ly/GreyBlock Music “Shine” - Bishop Gunn http://bit.ly/Shine_BishopGunnSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Today's guest is a Japanese American entrepreneur and entertainer.
He is the host of one of the most popular shows, JK News.
I'm so happy to have him here today, Mr. Joe Lijitsukawa.
Shine that light on me.
I'll sit and tell you my stories.
We had a Joey Diaz episode that we sat on for almost two months, you know, just trying to Yeah, yeah.
That's what I like about your channel, actually, is because you've had Jordan Peterson on.
Yeah.
And it's super serious, right?
But I mean, it's never too serious because it's with you.
Right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, well, I struggle with knowing, you know, if I'm being, I don't know, I struggle sometimes if it's a guest that's like, you know, very smart or something, like Jordan Peterson, like a real, you know, or somebody like that, with, like, I guess being afraid to joke around because I feel like, I don't know, I guess, like, I feel like if I joke too much with somebody like that, that they're going, they're going to shut down.
You know, they'll think, especially since it's someone older, they'll think like, older people will feel like younger people are manipulating them sometimes just because of the difference in like language or things you like kind of say.
They'll think like, oh, is this person making fun of me even if you're not?
Yeah, yeah.
Like, oh, he, is this a troll interview?
You know, it's just like an Ollie G kind of thing.
Right.
Yeah.
I get it.
Yeah, yeah.
But anyways, man, congrats, dude.
I mean, I remember when you first got on JK News, I saw your Instagram.
You were like at 100,000.
And like, now you're like 300,000.
And then like your channel, too.
When I first saw it, I was like, dang, this is crazy.
Like, this guy is super talented.
And then you just, whoosh, like within a matter of months, man.
Thanks.
Yeah, dude, for real.
Like, and I saw you live in Minnesota when we were hanging out.
I was like, no shit, dude.
You got me, I was dying in tears.
It's been a while since I started like since I cried during the stand-up session.
Your Beetlejuice bit got me dying, bro.
Yeah.
That was a scary, that was a, I mean, I was in a scary time of my life, but it was definitely kind of a ridiculous time.
Yeah, so Joe and I saw each other at the Gary Virenerchuck show in Rochester.
What'd you think about Gary Vee after his?
Had you seen him before?
Like, what'd you know about Gary Vee before?
And then what'd you think?
Yeah, actually, one of my business partners, he's in that world.
Like, he used to work with a lot of motivational speakers and stuff like that.
And he put me on him.
Right.
And then he's like, you want to get to know this guy.
Most of these guys, I don't really like because they don't run businesses or they don't know what they're talking about.
They just sell dreams and stuff.
So they sound like a used car salesman to me.
But then this dude, when I heard him, I was like, oh, shit, this guy, he's a businessman.
He has his parents, I think it was a liquor store or wine company, and he blew it up.
Yeah, I think he had a wine company and then they tripled their sales once he got active, like pushing the business.
I mean, they had a business to begin with.
Exactly.
And then, and the stuff that he says makes sense.
And I know this because, you know, I own like a few restaurants and I have, I've been in business for a while.
So I'm like, all right, cool.
Like, I could tell that he's not bullshitting.
I like what he's saying.
He's straightforward.
And I think that's what we need right now.
We need a guy that can just be straight about everything.
Right.
Yeah.
Do you think, yeah, because I watch every, you know, like when things I watch, I'm like, oh, is this person, you know, are they just giving me information?
Are they somebody that I could look at as like an actual guide?
Are they just selling me something?
You know, those are the things that I think, you know, are my natural inclinations when I'm watching something.
Like, okay, is this just for entertainment?
Yeah.
Is this for entertainment and education?
Is this just a hidden advertisement, you know?
But yeah, I thought it was interesting.
I left out of there.
I definitely thought it was interesting.
I felt like I get this vibe, and I can be totally wrong.
It's just, you know, most of the vibes I get are wrong.
But that Gary, he's just like so into business, though, that it becomes almost like an obsession.
Yeah, that's true.
Like, that's where I don't want to be ever in my life.
I mean, I don't, you know, I woke up at probably 10.30 a.m.
today, so I don't think I'll ever get to that place.
But I know what you mean.
It's something I worry about.
You don't want to obsess to the point where your relationships suffer.
When you're just greedy, where you have like, yeah, if your family has like $100 million, what does that even mean?
I kind of get it because I have friends like him.
But do you really?
Yeah, the way they see business is like a video game.
So they're upset.
You know how some people are super obsessed with like different hobbies and video games or like some people want to surf like 10 hours a day or something like that.
Right.
And that's the way this guy.
Masturbate.
A lot of our listeners want to masturbate for half an hour.
And some of these guys have been sending me pictures and artwork.
Some guy sent me a drawing the other day, allegedly done in, you know, skeet or whatever they call it.
What did he do?
Jack off onto a piece of paper?
I didn't see him make the paint, you know what I'm saying?
But I definitely saw, you know, the final artwork.
And the art wasn't even any good.
And I felt bad for looking at it.
And then he sent me a message like, just look again and see if you like the picture.
And I was like, and I looked again because I want to be, I don't want to not be somebody that doesn't care about somebody's art.
Yeah.
You know, and it still was just horrible.
It just didn't even look like art.
It looked like somebody just honestly masturbated onto a piece of paper.
So I think I kind of got tricked.
But anyway, but yeah, some of our listeners.
But yeah, go on.
You were saying people do all kinds of stuff.
I just think the thing is, like, it could become a video game.
Yeah, I think he just, he's just passionate about it.
Right.
And, and, but you're right.
Like, I mean, sometimes obsessions and passions can go overboard and it could destroy people.
But I think he does it in a, in a more healthy way because he doesn't preach that hashtag Hustle, you need to work all day and do all this stuff.
If you really listen to what he's saying, it's really there's a bigger picture to it.
And it's about like connecting with people, being genuine, creating products and businesses that are ethical and stuff like that.
Right.
So it's not really, it's not really this like work all day, work all night, don't even sleep.
You can sleep later mentality.
Right.
I think if you love doing anything, you'll do that for farming if you're passionate about farming.
You know what I mean?
Like, so I think it's, it's just with money, there's this weird stigma around it.
Like, because there are so many, you know, shady scammers and all that stuff that's tied to that kind of world.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Do, yeah, but yeah, you're right.
I think about that.
It's like, think about that a lot, I guess.
And maybe I don't know if I even obsess sometimes on that.
Like, like, what is like enough.
Are you into business?
To be doing business.
Yeah, I'm into business.
You know, that's cool.
I'm into it.
I'm getting more into it.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, I think what happened for me was I just started getting busy.
And so it's like, okay, my time is a commodity.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, and it's really the only, it's like the only commodity that's definitely mine.
Yeah.
You know, like intrinsically, you know, or whatever.
Yeah.
So it's like, you know, that start has from there, things started to be like, okay, well, I can't do this anymore.
I can't do that.
Like, I can have a conversation that's a, you know, I can't hang out and just listen to somebody that's drunk talk for an hour because they're not going to, nothing's going to come of it.
Right.
Nothing's going to come of it for me.
Nothing's going to come up for them.
You know, just little things like that.
But it starts to, then it becomes more and more serious.
And then it's like, okay, I just need to be, I need to be a little bit more efficient.
But yeah, I mean, a friend of mine and I, a long time ago, invested in a, um, in a apartment, an apartment or a condominium down in New Orleans.
Oh, shit.
And so that's one thing that I got into slowly over the years.
It's been like 15 years now.
You know, we each had like 10 grand and we saved up and we put in and we got a place.
So then over the years, like you become like a, you know, a property manager, a landlord.
So you have real estate in that world.
So then I started to get into it a little bit, right?
Like I started then like over time, you know, was able to sell, sell, and then get two places, right?
But then also it's like I've realized in that time, like then I'll become a landlord.
There are times when I'm a landlord where I'm seeking tenants.
There are times where now part of my, you know, week I have to deal with, you know, like dealing with HOA issues and all that kind of stuff.
So it's, yeah, I've definitely learned some of it, you know, things like that that make you want to think like, okay, at first I'm like, well, maybe I'll buy an apartment building one day.
Yeah.
But do you want the responsibility?
That's another thing.
Right.
I think that's what they don't tell you is like, they don't go, oh, business is so cool owning businesses, but like they don't tell you all the bullshit you have to go through.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And if you don't, and if that's something, and I think that's a thing, you know, I think a lot of people feel, you know, we see videos like business videos online.
Yeah.
And some of them make me feel, it makes me feel inspired, but then sometimes I can also feel like, oh man, I'm not doing enough, you know?
That's true.
Like I started too late.
I did this.
I did that.
But some people, business is not for everybody.
Yeah, 100%.
And being like a man, like that kind of stuff, like, dude, the other night, like I'm in an HOA call, right?
I'm listening on it part of an HOA board.
And dude, I'm sitting there for two hours listening while some guy who I think is probably an alcoholic, like just berates everyone else on the board, you know?
Damn.
But it's like, I have to be, I have to do that because I committed.
And it's just, yes, more business gets created.
So if you don't want to be a business person and you don't really like doing those sorts of things, then just don't feel bad about yourself if you, you know, see those types of videos and you're like, fuck, I'm not a business guy.
Yeah.
I mean, that's why I like the Gary V Doo because he doesn't come off as like a lot of the other guys.
Right.
I mean, because you're in business, you know, like who's a fraud and who isn't.
Like if someone's just trying to sell you a dream and they're like, you want to be on this fucking yacht with a bunch of girls and shit.
Yeah, and then they throw one of the girls off the yacht and they're like, what did Belinda do?
Yeah.
I mean, you're better off trying to be an entertainer, an artist.
You get that shit for real, you know?
And it doesn't cost that much if you think about it.
You can rent a yacht.
You can get a bunch of girls.
You want to kill your brother with a nice gun?
And then he just kills one of his brothers.
Thankfully, the guy has like nine brothers, you know, but it's still like, but yeah, some of it's just delusional.
But then there are guys, and I did notice he seemed like, I just got to shake his hand and say, hey, we chatted for maybe six seconds.
And it was, he does seem authentic, though.
He seems authentic in his desire to like lead people into not getting stuck into bad habits.
That's one thing I noticed.
I mean, one thing I took away from what he preaches is like, you know, really give away the content.
Don't try to sell everything all the time.
And then be honest with yourself.
Like, if you want to make a million dollars, be honest about that.
Don't fucking go around and say like, yeah, I want to help the world.
I want to do this for charity or whatever.
Then get in a charity.
You know what I mean?
There's a lot of people out there that want to get into business and they think they're saving the world or they don't want to come off as greedy.
Right.
But they're not being honest with themselves.
Ah, that's interesting.
You know what I mean?
I was like, oh, that's totally right.
That's super interesting, man.
Yeah, because I think about that a lot.
I think about like, you know, if as my career starts to get bigger, you know, and the potential to make more money.
Yeah.
And then, but then also how to not get caught in the greed and also how to feel like deserving of money that you make.
Like those are some things that I even struggle with, you know, it's like, you know, like feeling like you deserve, because sometimes my brain won't see the hard work I put in.
My brain will just see this moment and my brain will be like, oh, you don't deserve this, even if I do, right?
I know what you're talking about.
It's like going on vacations and you can't really be on vacation because you feel like you didn't do enough and you don't deserve it.
Right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Is that, do all business people go through that?
I don't know.
But I don't know what that is, man.
Nick just brought this up.
Imposter syndrome.
What's that?
A psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.
Do you fear that?
Like, like you kind of might come off a certain way?
No, I fear like I fear like, I mean, it's a constant struggle to, I mean, I feel like I'm still learning a lot about who I am.
You know, I feel like I feel like a lot of, like, I try and be as authentic as I can.
Yeah.
I feel like it's also hard to do.
Sometimes, like, it's tough to know if your ego is running some of the even a moment or if your heart is like running the moment.
I mean, being your own worst critic is a good trait to have, though.
Right.
Because, you know, you try to hold yourself accountable.
Right.
And I think more people actually need that.
You know what I mean?
Especially now with social media and everybody with these big ass fucking egos.
Like they have no clue.
Like Lil Tay, bro.
Dude, I fucking can't stand Lil Tay, bro.
You know what I'm saying?
They say you can't be mad at children, dude.
Fuck that, bro.
You know what's sad?
I was a child.
I know what it's like.
I've already been in those trenches, dude.
I did 18 years as a child.
She's a little puppet for her brother.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
I didn't know that.
I thought she was just a crazy, you know, 17-year-old kid that looked real small and wasn't.
No, she's like an eight-year-old child, man.
And what ended up happening is her brother just really, he was the puppeteer.
I mean, I don't know if she's at fall or whatnot, but she's a kid, man.
And then I was just like, this is fucking crazy.
When all that stuff came out, because in the very beginning, I was with you.
I was like, this bitch is stupid.
Yeah.
I just didn't get it.
Like, I got some of it.
Yeah.
But there just seemed, it seemed to be too fake.
And then...
Lil Tay.
Yeah, someone leaked out like the, the, her brother coaching her.
And oh, you got to say it like this.
And she's like, I don't want to.
And you're like, no, just do it.
And I was like, oh, shit.
That's crazy.
Yeah.
And then her mom was in on it and everything.
She got like, her mom is a big real estate person out in Canada and she had her like luxury cars and houses to fake the funk.
And I was like, that's fucked up.
See, the world is coming to a weird ass place, man.
It's getting wild.
There she is.
Yeah, there it is.
Lotte's brother.
Yeah.
Do you want to hear that?
Yeah, let's hear that.
Yeah, check it out.
Again, I don't wear the same shit.
I literally wore that gap jacket because that's the shit I be wearing to sleep, bitch.
You think I'm going to be wearing a Gucci jump jumps?
Do you think I'm going to be wearing a bag?
She doesn't even speak like nah.
But bitch, since you want to say I only have $1,000 and I spent that all on my belts, look at this shit, okay?
And then start flexing that and start flexing that and be like, bitch, this one, $2,000, this one, $3,000.
$2,300, bitch.
You can't tell me shit.
I got $100 on my wrist.
Okay.
Wait, I say, um, hey, Lil Tay got $100 on her wrist.
You can't tell me shit.
Okay?
Is that Lil Tay?
Yeah, that's Lil Taylor Winona Ryder.
Oh, here she is trying to do it.
Yeah.
And she doesn't even speak like that, you know, like how she portrays herself.
She just talks like a little girl.
Can you expect me to wear a Gucci bandana?
She sounds like every eight-year-old in most neighborhoods, though, I feel like.
You say I wear this shit every day?
Because I literally recorded those videos before I went to sleep.
That's when I wear to sleep, okay?
Wow, okay, cool.
That's good.
Yeah, so that, I mean, that's just what, you know, like, but I feel like you could see that.
You could see through that when you're watching that.
You're like, there's no way this kid is like, yeah, really, like, has this much money.
Yeah, the money.
Yeah.
What do they own?
700 lemonade stands?
Like, how would you ever even make that kind of money?
But we're also a lot older than, you know, the general YouTube and Instagram viewer.
Right.
You know, so if I was 13 and I saw that shit, I thought, I think it would be real.
Wow.
Oh, that's interesting.
You're like, I wonder if I was a kid now and I saw that, would I think it could be real?
And enough people must have.
Yeah.
Because there are videos of like, you know, nephews of oil tycoons or whatever with their fucking hunting ego and driving Lambos and stuff.
Oh, yeah.
You're human.
Right, you're just like...
Damn.
So that shit is riding elephants.
By candlelight, yeah.
You know, having a little bit of Perrier with some Yuman.
Yeah, it's just, but I guess maybe, like you were saying, is that what we've come to?
You know, like, is that what's going on?
That it's just, it's all becoming a little bit to me like everything is like a WWE promo now.
It's like, you know, we consume things in short clips and short in beats almost.
A hundred percent, man.
There's so much fraudulent bullshit that's going on.
There's a lot of fraudulent shit out there.
Hell yeah.
But do you feel like people are starting to see more of the authenticity?
I mean, even going back to the Gary Vee, like I did take away some things.
I didn't feel like he was.
Here's what I didn't feel like at the thing.
I didn't feel like he was trying to sell me anything.
Like I did buy a ticket to go to the thing, right?
But I didn't feel like there was no like come and get in this line at the end and like pay for there was none of that.
Oh, yeah.
You bought a ticket even though you were paid to perform?
Yeah.
Oh shit.
But yeah, I just wanted to contribute to the vibe, you know, of it.
I think I did anyway.
That's awesome, man.
I would have never done that.
I would have done it for free, bro.
Yeah, I'm the worst free person.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah, so I, but yeah, I mean, I definitely took some stuff away from it.
I took away from it, like he said, things like, you know, that the mom and pop shop is not going to come back.
Like, you can't romanticize a lot of business.
And we want to.
And when he said that, that hit me, you know, because I romanticize a lot of business.
You know, I have this idea somewhere that lives in my head that, you know, the that the mom, you know, the mom and pop shop is going to make a comeback in small town America.
But the numbers just aren't there to support it.
Yeah.
And he was saying like, you know, that the advertising now, it's, you know, putting an ad in a paper, that sort of thing.
It just doesn't, you have to go to your phone, you know, that everything is capable right there.
Like the old door-to-door salesman and shaking hands, like a lot of that is gone.
I think it's going to be a blend of the two.
Because I mean, you know, apps like Yelp helped out a lot of struggling mom and pop shops.
You know, that hole in the wall restaurant that had really good food, yeah.
But then no one really knew about it except for the locals, and then you know, like the internet gets a hold of it, and boom, you know, they can survive.
Yeah, now passerbys heading through town can look and see, oh, this place got people love this place.
Yep, but then it's like these subordinate like technologies are created to like fluff all of that.
Like, that's the thing that gets really scary.
Yeah, it's like, how much of this is fluff, right?
Right, you know, you know, like bots leaving comments or whatever, right?
Yeah, yeah, like Dan's tacos.
You think a dude named Dan makes good tacos, bro?
I'm out, right?
It has to be like Hectors or something.
Yeah, bro.
Hectors, bro.
You know, dude, I want to see a bunch of kids in the picture.
The first picture better have nine or 11 Latino kids in it.
You know what I'm saying?
I want to see people spraying horchata on each other.
Like, I want to see that party, bro.
That's so true.
Yeah, dude.
I want to see somebody getting, you know, released from prison.
I want to see it all.
I want these tacos to have some fucking flavour.
I want to see that real shit, bro.
Via Gosa.
You're pretty entrepreneurial, though.
A lot of people might just think you're an entertainer and a comedian, but I think over time, I'm starting to recognize you have that because we have a similar thing in common is when we were kids, we would always be hustling and trying to do things.
Like you had your G-Pigs and hamsters that you're just selling.
I would sell candy at school.
You would?
Yeah, man.
Jojitsu Kawa with that fucking little backpack full of sprees, huh?
I used to sell candies.
I used pogs.
I used pogs.
Now that seems dark into the Asian underworld, bro.
Who was buying pogs?
Just my classmates.
Really?
Did you ever get into pogs?
That was like a pretty big thing in the 90s.
Maybe it's a California thing.
I think it's more...
Oh, yeah, I did.
I had some pogs.
Slammers.
Hell yeah.
And what was slammers, dude?
Slammers, where I was from, where these gay guys would meet up.
Not joking, dude.
We meet up behind the rest area.
It was like a metal pog.
It was like, it was like a, and then you slam it on top of the pog.
So the way you play is like, you know, you get five pogs, I get five or whatever.
We stack it up and then like we put it upside down and we slam them with the slammers and everything, anything that flips over, we get to keep.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
No, we didn't play any of that, dude.
We used to play this game.
I mean, everybody had headlights by us, so that's like a constant game.
Have you ever had headlights?
No, no.
Yeah, I think that's more of like a regional thing.
We had like worms.
Oh, you did?
Oh, dude, if somebody got worms, dude, you would take them outside and burn them.
No, we never had like worms that would crawl out of your butt and stuff from the thing in the sand and shit.
No?
Whoa, dude.
We're about to go going deep.
Yeah.
No, man.
Tell me about this, dude.
Let me tell you, somebody have worms come out of their butt bus, dude?
They're not allowed back at church.
No, I thought that was pretty common for us kids.
Like, we go play in a sandbox and fucking afterwards or whatever.
I remember, like, maybe this is an Asian thing, but my parents would remedy it by fucking pouring vinegar up my ass.
Oh, really?
Dang, bro.
I was like, I thought everyone went through this shit.
Uh-uh.
How did they know what that was called, dude?
I think that's how, I mean, that's freaking wormed, bro.
That's a rare vinaigrette you guys are making over there, bro.
What else would they put in there?
Anything else?
No, it was just, I just, I would just like, yeah, I would have vinegar.
That's it.
They would just.
How would they do it?
Will one of them like hold your legs open?
No, like my mom would be like, all right.
You know, like, you know, when you're a kid and they help you wipe your ass and shit, you just get in that position, right?
So, fuck, booty in the air.
And then they just pour out a cap of vinegar in my bile, dude.
Yeah.
Well, this sounds like some kind of rapper stuff, dude.
This sounds like something you would see on.
Initiation for a gang or something?
Yeah, this sounds like something you would see on some old, you know, some Lil Wayne shit.
No, that was one of the things that Lusher R. Kelly does to people.
This seems like how R. Kelly makes salad dressing.
You know what's fucked up, too?
I probably could have just went to the doctor and got like a pill or something and then dewormed myself.
And so they would just pour it in and that would kill them.
Yeah.
I mean, and then you just pass the worms, right?
I mean, I would assume.
I don't know, man.
I was like in elementary school, probably like first or second grade or something.
But did you think about just sitting around and having worms just like being inside of your body?
I mean, you're basically a bait shop at that point.
You know what I'm saying?
It freaked me out, though, because I remember I had an itchy ass butt and I kept telling my parents like, what's going on, man?
My fucking butthole's been itching for ages.
And they're like, what?
Yeah.
Making me G my C over here, dude, grab my crotch.
When people say itchy butthole, that stuff grab my crotch, brother.
It just makes me nervous.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I keep my butthole pretty clean, I feel like, overall, you know?
I think there was a couple years where I wasn't really caring about it.
But as an adult, I've really, you know, I shine up my shell shop, you know?
How did you deal with the headlights?
What was that like?
Oh, everybody had it.
I mean, you would give it to your friend.
You fucking sneak up and give it to a girl you like so that you could bring her that shampoo a couple days later.
Well, you would flake it on them?
Like, you would give it a fucking shit.
I would just sneak up behind them and just be near them for long enough.
Because, bro, they had some rare strands where I was from.
Oh, they had African-American headlights.
They had all types.
Basic white dude headlights.
Damn.
Bro, the African-American, they jump across the fucking room onto your headlights.
Damn, they do a layup while they're doing it.
That's crazy, man.
Other lights would be giving them scores.
Oh, shit.
Seven, nine, you know.
Two of them would be jumping over each other when I'm sitting in chairs, when I'm ordering a pizza while they're in the air.
All kinds of stuff.
But yeah, headlights was popular where I was from.
What other games, dude?
They had this big nude.
They had this big dude named Wayne Wayne.
He was named Wayne two times first, a middle name, because his parents couldn't decide if they wanted to name it for his first name or his middle name.
And so they fucking got in a fight about it.
And then they both out of Wayne Wayne.
No, out of anger.
Like, oh, you're not going to fucking let me name him Wayne?
Then I'm going to fucking name him Wayne.
And the other one's like, oh, you ain't going to fucking let me name him Wayne?
Then I'm naming him Wayne.
And he was Wayne Wayne.
Yeah.
That's hilarious.
Wayne Wayne.
And they're both agreeing, like, it's already Wayne.
Yeah, but they were disagree.
no, okay.
You know, you've had to agree to disagree.
This was disagree to disagree to disagree.
And fucking now, they got a double Wayne.
Oh, man.
They got Wayne squared and ironically horrible at math, dude.
This dude was on, this dude was severely uneducated.
And he was in school.
He was probably, bro, I remember him being 40 or maybe even 50 years old and probably eighth or ninth grade.
And that's going to let you stay in, dude.
Because I remember his hair started falling out in class at some point, and people started getting scared.
People thought he got bit by something.
That's why his hair was falling out, but it was because of adulthood.
You know, he'd gone on deep into adulthood.
Anyway, but the thing was, yeah, people got lysed by us.
What else did people get, man?
For some reason, when you paint those pictures of like where you went to school and all that, I remember that Adam Sandler movie, Waterboy.
Oh, yeah.
On the bayou.
And then I picture like your schoolhouse being like just made from two by fours and just local TLC.
You know what I mean?
Like, let me think.
We had a dude.
They had, I remember this man used to give me a ride to school and he and he would roll up the windows and he thought I was, he, he thought that I thought I was smart.
You know, he's like, oh, you think you're smart?
Well, if I'd missed the bus, he'd give me a ride to school and he'd blow cigarette smoke all in the fucking car.
With his elementary school.
Yeah, or middle school.
This was middle school, fifth grade, sixth grade.
And then he would make me do my spelling words with smoke in the air.
Oh, my God.
A real fucking boy could spell with smoke in the air.
He's like, how are you going to score 100 if there's a fire?
Damn.
And I'm like, I don't fucking know.
But then I would try to spell and it was hard, bro.
That Marlboro red cigarette smoke just hotbox this car.
And I'm sitting there trying to rattle through the word inconvenience.
Do you think this guy was jealous of you going to school?
I think he was jealous of something.
But I also think he was trying to parent me somehow and he didn't have a lot of proper skills.
I see.
But he figured if I could fill this car with enough smoke and that boy can still spell.
That's kind of creative, though.
Right.
And if shit gets weird, he's going to be okay.
Dude, I feel like having a kid with worms coming out of their butt seems like it almost seems like a buffet or something in the Sudan.
Because a lot of those countries, they eat worms.
Really?
Oh, yeah.
They'll eat slugs and worms and larvae.
And I've even been to one of those places.
Would you do it?
Oh, I've eaten some of them.
done it.
Yeah, I've been to South Africa and eaten a bunch of No, no, no.
Mealworms are the little ones.
I think they get some big...
Like a big-ass caterpillar or something?
Yeah, something like that, boy.
And that thing, you got to really gnaw on.
It tastes like a Twix.
I tried a silkworm before.
Did you?
Yeah, they eat that in Korea.
Yeah.
Yeah, but I mean, I didn't grow up eating silkworms and stuff.
You can shit silk if you fucking practice some of your old hobbies, dude.
It seemed like if you had a bunch of silkworms in your butt, dude, you could fucking, you know what I'm saying, put together a sweater on the wall.
People are like, what are you doing, dude?
You're like, oh, I'm just making Christmas gifts for everyone.
But no, let's talk more about entrepreneurism, man.
I like thinking about this kind of stuff.
Did you think you would be, because is it in your culture or in your nature to be like a business person?
Like, tell me it from a cultural standpoint.
No, actually, well, my parents, they came to the States.
So they're from Japan.
But out there, they were Yeah, I'm Japanese.
Oh, nice, man.
Has me must.
Do you speak Japanese?
Yes.
Oh, nice.
Yeah.
Do you?
Yeah, that's all I know.
I thought we were going to have a conversation.
No, that's all.
So the funny thing is they came to the States because they wanted to pursue a life of music.
Oh, really?
They wanted to be rappers?
Yeah, they wanted to be rappers.
No, no.
They wanted to be classical musicians.
Like my dad's an opera singer.
My mom plays piano and stuff like that.
Yeah, so I grew up not stereotypically Asian.
You know what I mean?
Did they come here with money?
Did they come here with not much money?
Or what was it?
Like, what were their, what was their no, you see, they grew up in rich like households.
Okay.
But the reason why we went broke is because they were never taught how to deal with money, how to save money, how to be responsible with any of that shit.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
And then in the 80s, when they came in, Japan's economy was real good.
So most of their music students were kids of rich Japanese executives and stuff, like from Sony and, you know, Toyota and all them.
So that was booming in America back in the 80s and 90s.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So during that time, you know, man, they were getting like $100, $200 an hour for teaching piano and singing, all that shit.
Right.
They were really highly revered.
So you had a Japanese teacher, you were really...
And then, boom, a lot of the students start going back to Japan.
They weren't doing things right.
So they didn't know how to maintain that.
And I remember the bill collectors keep calling in and like, they wanted to keep up with appearances.
So they kept buying like nice shit.
And I would, I remember being a kid, like, man, how come you pretend like you're being rich?
Like, really?
Yeah.
I'm like, I was getting mad at them.
Like, why are we buying new cars all the time?
Because you guys can't even buy me my Christmas present, but you got to look a certain way.
You know what I mean?
Like, I got fucking worms about that.
All right.
You guys are out here flexing.
And I'm going to a school that's like, like, we live in a neighborhood that was like lower middle class or whatever.
Right.
And I'm like, but the people that they hang out with were all, do you know where Palace Verdes is?
Yeah.
Rich area like that.
So I'm like, why you, why you pretend like you're rich all the time?
What I didn't know is that they, that's the world that they're used to.
They just don't understand.
Like they, when they first moved to the U.S., they didn't know the concept of a ghetto.
They didn't know what, like, cheap rent means dangerous.
They didn't understand that.
They didn't.
Because it's safe as hell in Japan.
Oh, yeah.
Japan is very safe.
You've been?
Yeah, yeah, I have been.
I've been somewhere.
I don't know.
But you don't got to worry about being robbed.
You don't have to, and there's no, there's no, like, just because something is cheap doesn't mean that it's dangerous.
Yeah.
So we first moved into like Englewood.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
So now, so, so, because why?
Because you don't, you don't think cheap dangerous.
You just think, oh, this is a good price.
That's what they thought.
Right.
So then that's interesting.
So I was born in that area and then and then and we would walk around like my grandma would took would take me on little walks And stuff.
And was it mostly black or Latino or what was it?
Majority black and Latino.
Yeah, majority black at the time.
And then, like, some guys were like doing a prank, I guess, and they threw bottles of water at her, and then she freaked out.
And then our, I guess, our family doctor was like, why are you guys in that neighborhood?
That's a rough neighborhood.
And they're like, what?
I thought it was just like little Africa.
Yeah.
Because they don't know anything about American history.
They don't know how like there's all this difference in like class.
Exactly.
Yeah, a lot of poor, oh yeah.
So a lot of the poor neighbor, the poorest neighborhoods were a lot of times black, especially in cities.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
So they don't, they didn't know that it was dangerous or whatever.
They didn't know any of that stuff.
It's just a little Africa.
That's how it works.
That's how they saw it.
They were like, oh yeah, we live in little Africa, you know?
And so, you know, people were just telling them, you got to get out of there.
So then we moved to a more like, a little bit better than that.
It's a little city called Gardena.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
It's in the South Bay.
And that's kind of where I grew up for most of my life around like Latinos and blacks.
And what's it like growing up in California, man?
I feel like growing up in California seems like everything seems to be, I don't know if it's, there doesn't seem to be a strong sense of community, I don't feel like in the LA area.
Like where I'm from, like your town means a lot.
Like your town means something and like your little neighborhood, like everything.
I don't know.
It's like people are a lot more, it seems like connected.
Yeah.
I don't know, like by core values, I don't know.
Like it just seems California.
Every time I see a young person here or here somebody grow up, I'm like, man, I couldn't imagine that.
I'm not saying it's wrong or anything, but it just seems so wild to me, you know?
100%.
I know what you're talking about because just going out of state, going to small towns, like I see it, man.
But they also, you probably have, what, like generations of history in that area.
Right.
Right.
So there's a lot of pride.
Right.
And if you look at LA in general, like there's what, like 2 million people in the city?
And it's the city's constantly changing.
You mean in the actual city?
I think it's like 14 million in like.
Is that?
I thought it was.
Okay.
Damn, that's even.
What's the population of Los Angeles Nick?
The greater LA.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yeah, great.
So you're talking about like the suburbs, not just downtown in Hollywood, right?
Oh, there you go.
Because it's 3.9.
That's still a ton of people.
Yeah.
That's like 4 million.
Yeah.
Right.
But if you think about the history of LA, holy crap, 20 million?
In the greater Los Angeles.
18.68 million.
So also you're making a very bad Asian right now because it says 18.68.
I think he might have been extrapolating to 2018 and it's probably about 20 now.
So I don't think that's a good idea.
Good call.
What is extrapolating?
I nailed it, man.
I did kind of.
Did you fluctuate for time?
Oh, and they're like, damn, fucking Joe can't even see that far.
It's only about six feet from him.
I'm sorry, Joe.
20 million people in greater Los Angeles area.
And Gardena is considered greater Los Angeles area.
Yeah.
So it's a suburb of the city.
But I think a lot changes in LA.
So just, I mean, in my grandparents' generation, like some cities didn't even exist.
Right.
So if you talk about like LA, it depends on what area too.
Because you're around entertainment.
Right.
And what I noticed is a lot of entertainment, like West Side, Hollywood, maybe the Valley, those cities are built by transplants.
Right.
And I was born and raised here.
Yeah, I was born and raised here.
So I have family that's been here since like early 1900s, you know, like, so they have a lot of history here.
Right.
But their neighborhoods change too.
Oh, wow.
That's so crazy.
Yeah.
So it's like things change here so much that, yeah, that would affect history.
Like, yeah, a lot of where I'm from, a lot of the history is based on, okay, this building has been here for this long or, you know, this family has lived in this exact place for this long.
Or there's a lot more small town lore because things don't change as much.
And when things don't change as much, it's going to be easier to have history because the history is more visible.
You can see the history.
You can see that everything is a little bit of an artifact.
Yeah.
It's kind of like, you know, people say, oh, LA is so diverse.
And it's like, nah, really, we're just a huge collection of different segregated cities.
That's what I feel like, too.
Yeah, I hate that sometimes when people are like, it's so diverse here.
And it's like, I mean, I know exactly, like in my neighborhood, it's like, I feel, you know, kind of tertiary because it's mostly Middle Eastern, right?
I feel secondary.
You know, it's not like, yeah, I don't live.
I've never lived in a black neighborhood, but I know that they have them, you know?
Like, I don't even see any black neighbors in my, you know, in my, in the blocks by me.
I don't think I've seen a black person.
I live in Westwood.
I don't think I've ever seen a black person, honestly.
Yeah.
By UCLA, I have, but when I think about it, honestly thinking right now, I don't think I've ever seen a black person in my neighborhood.
Except for if I go over to like the AA meetings and stuff, then I'll see them.
Because they come from different cities.
Right.
They come over to go to that.
So yeah, you're right.
It's like we claim diversity so much out here.
There's this claim of diversity.
Yeah.
But you don't feel like it is that way.
No, man.
I think it's just the space.
We got a lot of space here.
Right.
So, I mean, like places like New York or San Francisco, you're kind of forced because there's not that much space, right?
So it's hard to make your little different neighborhoods.
Yeah.
But out here, I mean, if you look at East LA, right?
Well, the San Gabriel Valley.
Yeah.
And if you think about how many Asians there are from Monterey Park all the way down for like seven cities straight, you have a population of 60% plus Asians.
Shit.
That's why hopefully I usually choose the other on Ways.
I choose do not go through that area.
I'm just joking.
That was kind of an old school badge.
But yeah, Ways should factor that in a little bit.
But yeah, it's crazy.
I didn't know that.
Yeah.
You know, do you know the second largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan is in Brazil.
Yep.
Yeah, they tripped me out too.
I was like, dang.
That's crazy.
It's like, yeah, there's just things like there's pockets of, yeah, you don't realize it.
So yeah, I mean, it's so funny because when I think of Los Angeles culture, I think mostly of Latino culture, I think.
Yeah.
Do you or no?
When you think about it in a general sense, I guess not.
Maybe you grew up here.
Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, I feel like you can't have LA without Mexicans.
Yeah.
You know, that's it's just a part of it.
But at the same time, there's just so many different faces of LA.
Yeah.
Like Hollywood's its own thing.
Right.
You know, and I've been hearing and reading a lot of stuff from a lot of influencers talking about like, oh, LA is full of fake people and this and that.
And I'm like, nah, man, that's just your shitty circle of friends and everyone trying to be entertainers.
Yeah.
Like the most of us, you know, real LA folks are totally different from that.
Dude, it's so, man.
I love hearing you say this because this takes me to something that I noticed when I went and did you guys's show.
And Joe is one of the creators or something of JK News.
Just kidding news.
Just kidding news, right?
And they have a huge influence.
And I've run across so many people now since being on there and people will come and be like, ah, I saw you on JK News.
That's cool.
It's all the Asian kids.
It's definitely people that work in like, that are near computers.
We'll just leave it there.
I'm like, let me check your butt for worms.
Let's make sure you're a real fan.
You can use some apple cider vinegar for that.
Let me put a little bit of apple cider gas, you know.
Oh, Joe actually sent this cap full of apple cider vinegar for you.
But no, one thing I noticed was how much more like me in joking around that you guys were than the way that I feel like I'm allowed to be by the Hollywood community as opposed to being in your environment.
And what I'm just now realizing, oh, this is more of a Los Angeles community.
And that in that place, I can joke and be more like I can at home, like the same place that I'm from.
I can joke the exact same way and be myself, really, be of just a, not have to just know that I'm coming from a good place and then still joke around.
Yeah, 100%.
Whereas in Hollywood and some of these types of shows that are so produced and so outrageous, I can't do that.
That was the first thing.
I was like, holy shit.
Like, there's Asian people and Latinos and Mexican people that are joking about fucking funny real shit.
They're not all offended by everything.
Yeah, 100%.
That's why we created that show is because it was like a way to really give the LA culture that isn't on screen.
You know, like Asians and Mexicans make a huge part of LA, but we're not represented in the media that way.
So when we created the show, it was like, yo, let me show you something that's real and let me give you guys a voice of what we represent.
And I think a lot of people needed that.
They're just like, oh, shit, you know, this exists.
Dude, I needed that so much.
We're sitting there, we're talking about something.
And you guys are like, this guy's a fucking retard or something, you know?
And it's like, yeah, we don't mean the guys actually, we're not making, we're, and I'm paraphrasing 100%.
I don't remember what we're talking about.
But we say that all the time.
But you guys joke around.
No, yeah, we do.
And people know your hearts are in a good place and that you're just joking.
Yeah, because we're just trying to get to the bottom of the truth.
And, you know, like, we're trying to get that bedroom, I mean, living room friend talk out into the open.
Yes.
You know, and there's so much fake shit going around online anyway.
So why hold back?
Why be afraid?
Like, I think people, people want to hear it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I don't know.
No, no, dude.
I love exactly what you're saying, man.
And it's so funny.
I was just talking this week on the regular episode of the podcast about like, you know, trying to make sure that if and as, you know, the podcast has grown, my podcast, you know, has grown to just check in and see what's going on with my own authenticity,
you know, and not get too caught up in like, okay, trying to make, you know, put out certain stuff or like just making sure that we're appeasing a bigger audience, but also just trying to stay true to like, yeah, the things I'm that I think about and also the things that I'm afraid of.
Yeah.
Like, dude, it's like, this is probably the longest conversation I've ever had with a Japanese person.
You know?
Well, I mean, that's not your fault.
I mean, you grew up in the South.
And you know what the funny thing is, man?
So like, I actually, there's a part of me that kind of fantasizes and romanticizes living in the bayou.
Like, there was one shit.
You know what I mean?
Can you imagine me living with overalls and just because I love nature, right?
Like they, they always say people want what they can't have.
Yeah.
Right.
And I wanted to have a crawfish farm because I love eating crawfish.
Oh, yeah.
I love fishing.
Yeah.
And I just, I love lazy rivers.
I just like sitting on a inner tube and going down a lazy river.
Dude, you should go to Vietnam.
Maybe at heart you're Vietnamese.
Maybe.
You know what the funny thing is?
So my girlfriend, Jess, she's from Texas.
Right.
And then she, when she got with me, she's like, man, I wanted to get with a LA Asian guy, but I ended up getting a redneck and that's not what I wanted.
And I'm like, same for her.
You know, I didn't, I wanted this, you know, good Texas white girl, but I ended up getting a very critical Asian woman who criticizes my every step.
So we both is like, damn, man, we didn't get what we wanted.
Yeah, but we got each other.
Yeah.
Dude, that's so funny, man.
Dude, it's so, man, this is so cool.
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It's just so cool hearing you like make me think about some of this stuff because yeah, it's like, yeah, it's like this now I see a little bit more like, man, this, yeah, like we're not against Hollywood, but we, we both have a similarity of feeling like, fuck, this doesn't even represent my sense of humor.
Like, where can I even find my sense of humor anymore?
You had to go make it.
And I had to come and fucking be like, holy shit.
Yeah.
My sense of humor is so afraid because I'm trying to work in Hollywood that I can't.
These guys are fucking, they're really doing the jokes that I want to be telling.
Just fearlessly talking, you know, and knowing you're coming from a good place, but then still able to joke around.
That's how it used to be.
Right.
I think it's a little bit more dangerous, though, for white males right now.
Right.
So I think maybe in the past, it was a little bit different.
I mean, just three years ago, I remember watching your stand-up set 2015.
Yeah.
On, it was up on Netflix.
After you came on the show, they were like, everyone was like, go watch Theo stuff.
It's good.
So I watched it and I was like, oh, shit.
You know, this is a lot edgier Theo than now.
But no one, I can't even do that on JK News.
Even we had to scale back.
Some of our word choices, our gay jokes, whatever.
Like people are, it's just a sensitive time right now, man.
And I'm having a hard time adjusting because, like you said, even if we're coming from a good place, it outrages a lot of people.
Right.
You know, we recently did this one article about a dude that got raped by this hot lady.
Damn.
Yeah.
And then, but I was, it's hard not to joke.
Like every guy fantasizes that.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Oh, dude.
I have been, yeah.
And I got hated for it because they're like, you're not taking rape seriously.
And I'm like, I can't.
She's so fucking fine.
I wish I was raped by her too.
That's hilarious.
Yeah, but I just, I can't joke like that anymore because it hurts a lot of people.
And then I had to kind of take a step back and go, you know, do I want to be like the old guy that goes, back in my day, we were able to say those jokes.
I think you do, though.
You know what I mean?
I think you do want to be that guy.
Like in a way, you know, like I'm not going against what you're saying here.
Like it's making me think like, you know, like I hear what you're saying.
Like, oh, you're not taking rape seriously.
But it's like, I would take a, yes, if some man, somebody broke into somebody's house and fucking raped them.
Yeah.
I take that extremely seriously.
Right.
Like, if, but it's so funny, I'm just listening to a book right now by Dr. I think a guy's name is Michael Gardner.
It's called Out of the Shadows.
And it's all about sexual addiction and those sorts of behaviors.
And they're talking about this exact occurrence.
And he was saying in this book that if a 14-year-old or 15-year-old boy hooks up with like a 50-year-old, 40-year-old woman, a beautiful, whatever, 30, they see that as a score in their book.
They may later on in life see that as like a sexual abuse or something.
But if a seemingly normal, you know, can you look that up, Nick?
Do you find it?
It's Michael Gardner Out of the Shadows.
Yeah, is that it?
Do you see it?
I think so.
I think it's called Out of the Shadows.
It's a book.
But anyway, he was saying that kids see that as a score.
They see that.
And I think to myself, I'm 15 because that's where your favorite reference is coming from.
Yeah.
When you were 15, 16?
Like now, as an adult, I know I feel like I don't even have to say that that's wrong.
Duh, it's wrong.
You know, kids being taken advantage of.
But then why can't we play with the idea of how funny it is?
Yeah.
Because that's a dream come true for like a lot of 15-year-olds.
Yeah, Dr. Patrick Carnes.
I'm sorry.
So what's this?
That's it out of the sexual understanding sexual addiction, but it just, it's not really as much about sexual.
It's about sexual addiction, but it's also just about how we behave sexually and how we view things and how different patterns in our lives and stuff like that.
That's some deep shit, Theo.
I didn't know you were into reading textbooks like that.
Oh, dude, that book is fascinating, bro.
Nice.
Dude, it's fascinating how our behaviors and what we do, like even in like cyber sex and like how pornography affects like, you know, how we, how it affects us and like, you know, and just how things become compulsive.
So where they're not just for fun anymore, you know, and you're doing something like, you know, like, hell, I won't even jerk, I won't even start my car until I've jerked off.
Oh, that's true.
That's kind of like when, you know, a lot of us just can't go to sleep until we fucking beat it.
Yeah.
You know?
That's crazy, though.
That's true.
Because then over time, it's like you're not beat.
At one time, you were like, I can't wait to get home to fuck this imaginary girl in my room, you know?
And that was healthy.
Yeah.
You know?
Like, oh, man, this bad little vixen's going to get it, you know?
This invisible 37-year-old cafeteria worker with nice tits.
Because that's who you fantasized about.
Because that's the only person you knew.
The only woman I saw every day was fucking Miss Belinda, you know?
And her face would just fly by with this scoop of fucking steaming tots right in front of her face, dude.
Or that Sears Catalyze.
Yeah.
And I remember one year she lost a couple pounds, bro.
She lost probably only like nine pounds.
And it probably wasn't even a diet.
She just had the flu.
Damn.
But I remember one day seeing that steaming scoop come up towards my face and being like, man, I'd like to honestly bust all over that lady's front, you know?
Maybe that's why our imagination is so good.
We had to work with something, you know?
Yeah, your imagination had to come home and figure it out.
Dude, I remember my mom being like, did somebody draw circles on all your pillows?
And I'm like, those are tags.
Have some respect for the tits I drew.
But yeah, we had to imagine it.
But now it's like, yeah, like you're saying, for me, it got to be a habit where I had to jerk off before bed.
And then it was just a bad, then it's a habit.
That's true.
Like my brain isn't able to have like that influence that mainly influence inside of me while it rests at night.
And it becomes a compulsive behavior.
But that's what a lot of that book was about.
But so people got offended that you joked about a 14-year-old or whatever hooking up with an older woman.
Yeah, I mean, and it happens all the time.
Like there was this one article where there was this hot teacher that would like do it with her students.
Oh, yeah.
Her high school students were about 15 to 17. And I'm like thinking, hmm, if I was at that age, that would be like a movie, like a dream come true.
Yeah.
That would be like Rudy.
Right.
You'd be like the Japanese Rudy Roediger, the guy who like comes into and gets into the good school.
And then finally for one day, the smoking hot white teacher that's only been banging the other students, the other white boys in the class, finally lets you run out there onto her field.
And it's like, damn, I made it, you know?
Rudy, Rudy.
That basically...
Exactly.
And she keeps inviting me for extra credit or whatever.
And then you go back to working at the mill, you know, the Japanese silk.
It's like forbidden love, you know?
Yeah.
And you're just spraying silk out of your butt at the factory for the rest of your life.
It's like Asian roots.
Yeah, but I was like, yeah, so we could laugh about this.
We could joke about it, right?
But a lot of, you know, I thought our fans would be cool with it because they are cool with a lot of crazy shit that we say.
I felt like it was very cool over there.
Now, do you think there's a legion of people that are just want to not be cool with stuff?
Because that seems to be a persona these days.
It's like, oh, somebody who's just unhappy and doesn't like winners, doesn't like it when people are doing well.
That's true.
I mean, there's that too.
But when it's a majority of the comments that you can kind of tell.
Oh, there you go.
That's it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, it's all in execution, too.
I think sometimes we forget the fact that, you know, sometimes we have to put it out there and say, hey, I think this is wrong, but joke about it.
Because I think you do that really well.
Yeah.
Like when you had your bit about the special kid.
Yeah.
And I was like, dude, that's hilarious because, man, it's hard to go there.
Yeah.
And it's like, how do you make fun of that?
But then you did it in a way where we were laughing together instead of laughing at the special kid.
Yeah.
So I was like, dang, that's cool.
Yeah, that was my friend.
I mean, it's tough because it's like, so am I not allowed to talk about somebody that has Down syndrome because they like, so then it's almost like I have to exclude them from my life.
And I think that's even worse.
I agree.
Because you're not humanizing them anymore.
You're like making them so sacred and special that like you can't make fun of them.
Right.
Or you can't even include them without fear of making fun of them.
So then it's like, oh, there's a person with Down syndrome.
I'm not even going to talk to them because if I do, someone's going to take a picture or someone's going to say something or someone's going to, you know, if I shake their hand the wrong way, I'll give them a hug or something that then people are going to blow that out of proportion just to, yeah, it makes it like, yeah, let's make them like a Buddha.
I can go near them, but I can't interact.
Yeah, yeah.
I think that's what it is.
But I mean, I don't know, man.
I grew up around, like, my mom's a roaster.
She's a roaster rony, man.
She loves roasting people.
So funny.
She would call out.
This is so crazy.
So I was in Japan, right?
And then, so my, my grandma's at a retired, like, she's at this Alzheimer home.
Like, just, just, what do you call that?
You better stay in there.
You better stay in there, Judy.
And one of these nurses, like, he looks like a big, like, sumo wrestler, right?
And then, and then, so, um, I was babysitting my friend's kid at the time.
We went to go see my grandma.
And then he wanted to impress the kid.
And he was like, hey, hey, remember me.
I'm a ninja.
I'm a warrior.
And my mom's like, shut up, fool.
You're fat as hell.
You're a sumo wrestler.
And we were dying.
Like everyone was dying.
And then she just went in on him.
And I'm like, and I'm like, that's what life should be.
Like, just roast each other.
Have fun, you know?
Like, don't take it too serious, you know?
He was laughing too, but I don't know if it's a cultural thing.
Like, we just roast each other all day.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I just feel like people are really sensitive.
Yeah.
I feel like it's, I mean, and you may have a rare mom.
Like sometimes you just get that mom that's just wilding out, you know, and she's having fun.
Is that like a regular Japanese cultural thing at all?
Or that's just like your mom is also a rare element?
I feel like culturally, it doesn't sound as harsh as it is in English.
So it sounds cute and endearing.
Ah.
So the words sound like playground talk.
But the things that they're saying, if you said it here, it's me.
Like outside of even just Japanese culture, right?
It's like talking about weight isn't a big deal.
Like you'll go to family gatherings and then people, whether you're Filipino or Chinese or whatever, some aunt is going to make a comment about you being too fat or too skinny.
And that's just, it's just the way that they talk and joke around.
Yeah.
But out here, you know, it's kind of touchy.
You don't say things like that.
You don't get too personal.
But over there, there's no such thing as like personal.
Right.
People say whatever the hell they want.
Well, it's like we started to look, we started to put property, you know, one of the things that where we switched from being tribal to being untribal and really started claiming possession was when we made property, like property lines.
Like when a guy said, okay, we're not a group anymore.
This is my property line.
And then another guy did that.
And he's like, okay, well, then this is my property.
And then a guy's like, okay, well, this is my wife.
Like, you know, things weren't communal anymore.
You know, and who's that book that everybody reads that was on Rogue and the guy, Tribe?
No, what is it called?
Oh, that sounds familiar, man.
It was about Sebastian Younger?
Yes.
Was it about marriage?
Tribe.
That's the book, right?
And so this is a lot about, and this talks about this book by Sebastian Younger.
And it talks about when things went from being communal, where we all worked as, like when people would move in a tribe, it was like sometimes you would fall in love with a woman across the tribe, but that was okay.
And there were different kids in the tribe, but the whole tribe took care of everyone's kids.
I heard about that.
And very communal.
And sometimes you might have went for two years and been in love with one woman, and then you switched to someone else, and she found another maid in the tribe.
It was cool.
And it was cool.
It was very communal.
And you can almost feel that in our cyst.
I feel like if I think about that, when I think deep down in my soul, that seems like I could do that well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because my feelings would be hurt sometimes, but also I would have feelings of love.
And no matter what feelings I was having, I would always have my tribe to take that would always, I'm included no matter what.
Like that was the thing about a tribe.
No matter if you were the one whose heart was being broken or you lost a child or something, you always had your group.
You always had your tribe.
That's one of the goals that I want to have with my crew is we want to have a cul-de-sac of just all of us living together.
And we would help each other like in a village way where like we'll take care of each other's kids and all that stuff.
I think it's that same book, but I was watching this documentary about like the idea of love in the sense that we know today is just very new like to our society as human beings.
We didn't know it that way.
Romantic love with just one partner for the rest of our lives is a brand new concept.
And it might be that book or it might be something else.
Don't quote me on this, but I know a specific thing that I learned about it is there was one Native American group that like the rule was if you have sex with a woman that's pregnant, then any man that has sex with her during her pregnancy becomes the father of the child.
Oh, wow.
So then the kid could come out with like 10 daddies.
This might have been Sex at Dawn, that Chris Ryan book.
It sounds like it's part of that.
Or it could have been this.
Oh, I see what you're saying.
But it was a good thing for her because, you know, when the kid comes out, then there'll be 10 daddies.
And then all the 10 daddies couldn't like teach the kid how to hunt, how to, you know.
How to jump.
Like different dads would have different skills.
Yeah, yeah.
And the love is there for everyone.
Yeah.
I mean, and then the responsibility was if there's a kid crying and the closest adult is kind of responsible of picking up that kid and just like helping the kid out.
So there was more of a community.
And I think it's, there's just a spread responsibility.
So I'm like, dang, that's really cool.
Yeah, I love that.
And I think that's one thing you get in like a neighborhood, you know, or you get in.
In a small town.
Yeah, in a small town.
Like I remember feeling definitely a lot more sense of, you know, yeah, there were only so many kids on our street.
So all the parents, you know, everybody kind of knew the, you know, nine or 11 kids on our street or in a certain, you know, area or something.
Did you grow up in a big family?
Do you have a lot of brothers and sisters?
I got three brothers and sisters, but outside of that, that was it.
Yeah.
You know, both my parents, my father wasn't an only child, but all of his siblings died.
And then my mother was an only child.
So we didn't have a big family.
It's growing now with my sisters.
It's pretty cool.
It's pretty cool.
Yeah, it's almost like we're pioneers in our family.
And we also, my father, my father was 70 when I was born.
He was an old man, right?
Damn.
And so he had a family from a first marriage.
And they, I mean, one of them, like, they own, like, they were like extremely well off.
Yeah.
You know, and then we had, we just, we were not, you know?
And so it's always this crazy because they owned like things all over the city and like huge theaters and like neighborhoods.
And like there was, it was just crazy that like, you know, my dad had had this whole other family.
Yeah.
So your dad was like big man in town, but you got, you got this, you saw all the success, but you didn't get a piece of that.
Right.
We didn't get a piece of that.
Well, he gave that away to his kids or before he had us.
But once he had our family, his kids disowned him.
Oh.
From what I understood.
Yeah, yeah.
Were you like the secret family?
A little bit, but then, I mean, he, he didn't, I don't think he cheated on his wife with my mom, but I think we were like this separate family.
And at that point, like, we never interacted with his kids.
Like, I never saw his kids from his first marriage until I was at the funeral.
And then that's the first time I ever saw them.
That's crazy.
Do you consider them your siblings, though?
No.
No.
Yeah, they've never ever reached out.
I mean, I know my family's made some, my siblings have made some efforts to reach out.
I don't think that they have any interest, you know.
Damn.
And the saddest, the loss of the biggest loss of that is just that we don't get to share whatever elements that they know and whatever elements we know about our dad, you know?
So it's almost like he would be more of a complete person in our hearts if we got together to share that.
Damn.
But for some reason, you know, I don't think that seems like that's not an interest of theirs.
It's kind of like a Louisiana Game of Thrones kind of.
A little bit for me.
You know?
It's like.
Yeah, like everybody's fucking related.
Like nobody wants to share the photos.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And it's like everybody's got a, do you want to be friends?
Do you not?
Do you want to continue the family?
Do you want to team up?
Because, man, that's pretty crazy.
Genetic war.
Yeah, it's kind of crazy when people start hiding their semen in the other room.
Like he ain't getting a little bit of a girl.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, you want to make a baby?
You better fucking find something.
You know what's a trip is, So, my girlfriend's got a little brother, and she always thought he was her half-brother until he took the 23 and me.
And her mom, her mom's always-what, he's Mugsy Bugs?
No, she it turns out he's a full brother.
Oh, really?
But this whole time, her dad was like, I don't believe the, the, you know, that he's my full son.
So, so the thing is, um, she her mom ran away to Ohio from Texas with with the two kids, or she had her little brother there.
And then she got into a real bad place, got in with the wrong crowd, her mom, and then she lost custody.
In Ohio, yeah, she lost custody.
I think she got into drugs and shit.
Oh, that can happen.
Yeah, yeah.
So then when that happened, her dad's family, my girlfriend's dad's family, they got a hold of my girl Jess and brought her back to Texas, but not the little brother.
Oh, really?
So they grew up separately.
They still talked and stuff like that.
And then, and then, and then, you know, her mom kept saying, yeah, that's, that's, that's her, that's his son.
But then no one really believed it because of how crazy she was.
Yeah.
And then when he took the 23 me test, it was like, oh, by the way, you're related to these people on her dad's side.
And bam, it was like, oh, shit, he was my fool son.
So then they all decided to kind of meet in Texas and all that.
And I was there to see everything unfold.
And I was like, this is crazy.
Damn, dude.
Yeah.
That must have been a lot, huh?
It's a lot for her.
Man, I mean, like, I was like, isn't that kind of cool, though, that you find out that he's your full brother, not your half?
And then she's like, yeah, it feels like we're closer just even though we've been the same.
Oh, yeah.
Just to, just to know.
Yeah, man.
I was like, damn, that's crazy.
I was just like.
Family's wild.
Yeah.
Watching it all unfold, man.
I was like there with the popcorn just wow.
What is something?
Do Japanese people like white people or not?
Oh, yeah, man.
I mean, you know, there was bad times in World War II, but I feel like Let's be honest.
I don't know.
You see, you know what the weird thing is?
I have family on both sides.
Yeah.
So my, you know, my uncle saw Pearl Harbor happen in Hawaii.
He was a little watercress farmer boy, and he saw the planes drop.
And that's what made him join the American Army.
Yeah, yeah.
That made him join the American Army?
Yeah, because he was like, they don't think we're American, so I'm going to do the most American thing possible and join the army.
And that's what a lot of Japanese did during that time that lived in America.
Because I don't know if you know about the whole internment camps and stuff, but a lot of Japanese people on the West Coast were sent away to camps because they weren't trusted.
Wow.
And then during that time.
And were y'all untrustworthy or not?
No, man.
They were super trustworthy.
I mean, they would send World War I Japanese veterans into the camps too.
And it's like, I already fought for this country, bro.
What the hell?
Yeah.
But a lot of them were like, you know what?
Maybe we weren't American enough.
So they wanted to prove their love for America.
Yeah.
And so they did the most American thing they could think of.
And they joined the military.
Yep.
And then it's actually the most decorated unit in U.S. history.
It's called the 442nd unit.
That's amazing.
And they have the most purple hearts, the most everything.
It's like, whatever we do, man, we got to get an A-plus.
You know what I mean?
Of course.
And did you guys, did they have, is there a film or documentary about that?
Yeah, there's a few things out there, but I think one of the reasons why there's so much like separation or what it looks like is because a lot of these things aren't taught in school.
So no one ever knows.
Nobody knows that.
Yeah, no one knows our contribution to the U.S. No one, and we're always looked upon as foreigners and stuff like that, right?
So I have a lot of like, you know, family members that have been here for like three, four generations and stuff.
Especially in California, man, you know, Japanese and Chinese have been coming here since the 1800s.
Oh, yeah.
You know, and if you go even further back, Hawaii, before even was a part of U.S. Well, everybody goes to Hawaii.
Right.
It's nice.
But yeah, they were out there for a long ass time.
Wow.
And then so on my on my mom's side, though, we have, there was a lot of military officers on the Japan end.
Dude, that's cool, man.
Well, you know what's interesting is, and how we get some of those ideas.
So I think about how I get some of those ideas growing up and not thinking of someone that is Japanese or someone that looks like you.
And I first thought I wouldn't know.
I think I probably, I don't know if I would go, people, do people go Latino as well?
Do they say a mix with you?
What do they say?
I don't know.
People guess.
If they've been around, I think Asians, they can tell.
Oh, yeah.
I mean, we can't even tell each other apart too.
Oh, really?
No, no, no.
We can't do it.
Oh, my God.
That's a myth.
I've got to make that announcement.
Yeah, yeah, that's a myth.
Because we think always you guys have like some insider trading there going on with it all.
We could tell if they're from Asia because they'll dress a certain way and they'll speak the language.
Filipinos, easy to guess.
Kind of, yeah.
I mean, if I hear what they're, if I hear the language, I could tell what they're speaking.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But sometimes a Laotian will sneak in and you'll be like, yeah, that's true.
The Laotians are very sly.
Yeah, back in the day, I couldn't tell the difference between a Vietnamese and a Chinese.
Wow.
It sounded the same to me.
I could see that Vietnamese, for me, would look like they have a little bit darker skin.
Yeah, yep, yep.
But there are some real light-skinned Vietnamese too because mixed with Chinese.
See, man, it's all crazy, dude.
There's like a lot of that going on.
Dude, that's wild, man.
But yeah, so we didn't have, so we just didn't have anybody that was like that.
Yeah.
So, of course, and also on television, you didn't see any characters like that.
Yeah, that was that little magic guy on that boat, little fucking Juglin Daniel, or whatever that guy's name was.
Or were always like some foreigner.
Yeah.
Or some exchange student or like a liquor store owner or something.
But, you know, I mean, I don't really, I can't say I blame the media because if you think about the brave Asians, right?
The ones that move into the rest of America, they are the foreigners.
Right.
They're the ones like that set up a nail salon in the middle Of the Midwest or something.
Right.
Because it's oversaturated out here in LA.
And, you know, communities out here that's been here for about a hundred years plus, they kind of stick to their own.
Like, they don't, they're not out there making a ton of noise.
Yeah, that's that's the difference.
So I think we're, we're kind of like the quiet Americans.
Like we've been around for a long time, but people aren't sure what to make of us, you know?
Right.
Yeah.
No, I kind of, I mean, I think, yeah, I mean, I wish that I was, I wish that where I was from was like more of a quiet American.
I think a lot of it is.
I think sometimes the media just does a lot of things, the news, and says that these places are being loud and these places are being like this.
And they're really not, you know?
It's like, I think it's really interesting when you say that, you know, so now do you get upset if you guys, like, say you guys, you know, there's a group of someone from Japan or an Asian person that goes into a smaller town in the Midwest and opens up, like you said, businesses that are pretty, like in New Orleans, there's a lot of Vietnamese fishing people like in that industry.
There's a lot of people in the service industry, right?
Like I have some friends that are wedding planners.
But do you get upset if there's a sitcom or a joke where they joke about an Asian nail shop?
You guys don't get upset, though, do you?
Well, I mean, there are people that might.
I personally don't.
I don't care.
I mean, because I don't think that they represent who I am, but there's a lot of people out there that do.
I see.
And these are, I think majority of them is because like they might be the only Asian kid in their neighborhood.
Right.
And then their friends see that and think that that's who they are.
I see.
But I mean, you're in LA and you have access to a lot of us.
Right.
So you know that there's a huge range.
Yeah.
But that's almost as if like, let's say someone, let's say you were the only white guy in Japan.
Right.
Right.
And let's say somebody from Russia comes and does something and then they look at you and then you're like, yo, we're not the same.
Right.
I'm an American white guy and that's a Russian guy.
Yeah.
That's the same thing.
Oh, I see.
So there's.
Oh, wow.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's a totally different, you know, from north to south.
I mean, Asia is a huge, huge plot of land.
Yeah.
And part of it is, you're right.
They just don't teach us enough about it.
I mean, the first time that I heard about the 42nd, did you say it was?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's just you right now, you know, telling me that.
Oh, wow.
And so it's like, you know, it just gives me a little bit of a different idea now when I think about the military.
Because all I ever thought was, you know, when I was a kid is G.I. Joe.
You know, you see on there, you know, and he's white or he was white.
And, you know, everybody in there was, well, they had a little bit of diversity, but it was, you know, you don't even know what colors they were using.
It was very vague.
It was like mostly white guys and like a purple guy that was supposed to be everybody else kind of like a light kind of a mauve or something.
And I think that's, I mean, going back to Hollywood or just mainstream media and all that stuff, I think they had a chokehold on the information for so damn long that we never were able to have this conversation.
Like a Japanese dude from California and a white guy from Louisiana, you know, like they controlled how our images were.
And I grew up thinking white people from the South were automatically just racist and ignorant and all that stuff until I started traveling and meeting people.
And I'm like, man, you guys are like the nicest people on earth, man.
Way nicer than California people, you know, like, and it changes my perspective.
And I think that's what the internet is doing now is like, it's making this possible.
Right.
And I think, I like, I like what's going on now because it's like all these possibilities where our grandparents never had the chance to do, everybody had to do it through the news or through the mainstream media and talk as well.
That was the only way, man.
Or in a small little community setting.
But I mean, traveling miles apart and meeting together, becoming friends, having fans that are like, you know, did you ever think you would have Asian fans from California, right?
Never.
And then I have fans that are just like 50-year-old Midwest moms and stuff.
Yeah.
And I'm just, this is crazy, but this is cool because we're figuring out that we're more alike than different.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dude, as you're saying some of this stuff, man, yeah, I'm thinking back to like suddenly when you're talking, I'm feeling like being a kid and like, yeah, like, I mean, I grew up in an environment where we probably were, like, yeah, if you'd have listened to some of our conversations and stuff, like, we probably, you probably probably be like, oh, these kids are fucking racist, you know?
Yeah.
But a lot of the stuff was just things we just didn't know.
Yeah.
You know, and like, and when you also, when you're at like certain levels, class levels, socioeconomic, the only thing you can differentiate, everybody's so fucking poor, the only thing you even know, like you just point out people's easiest things to see.
Yep.
And we never had any influence.
Yeah, of course.
We never had any influence outside of black and white.
So like, but hearing that when I was on your show and you guys are joking about the shit that I used to joke about and feel okay joking about it, like, dude, these, these people are more like me than I am like me, which is just crazy.
Because you changed.
Yeah.
Because you're afraid to say, right?
But I mean, that it makes sense, though.
And it goes both ways.
Like, I have this theory, right?
That whoever's in control of your area controls your mind.
So what I mean by that is like growing up in LA, having a lot of people that are controlling the education, that are super left-wing liberals.
The type of stuff that we grow up learning is white people are the enemy.
And I grew up with maybe like five white kids in all of my schools up until I went to college.
And in a lot of minorities' minds, you automatically just think white people are going to be racist.
They're not going to include you.
And it's kind of like a bad place to start.
And I don't think that's the truth, but that's the type of education that we're kind of drilled to believe.
And it already sets us up in a way where there's separation.
It doesn't come from a place of like, oh, we're all American.
And I'm sure too, like hearing from all of my friends that grew up in red states, like just like what you said, you didn't grow up hearing about all the contributions that minorities did.
So then you think you're a karate kid.
And if we, and if it wasn't yet, you'd be like, oh, you karate, you just do a karate stance.
I can see Why there's so many, you know, white guys coming out thinking, like, man, we're doing all this stuff and we got to give out handouts.
We're working so hard, and you guys get to do it.
It makes sense, you know.
I get it because I'm right in the middle and I see it all happening.
And I'm like, oh shit, we're fighting for scraps.
Right.
Like, what's really going on?
Yeah.
You know, and I think it's just the programming.
And one of the, one of the things that made me go, holy shit, this is really happening is when I was in Texas at my girlfriend's family reunion, I was just scrolling around looking at the news.
It's all red, like red state conservative stuff.
Go to Arizona, same thing on my phone.
I'm like, this is crazy.
I never clicked this stuff.
When I get back in California, all liberal news.
So I'm like, man, people aren't given a choice to look at two different things and come together and none of that stuff.
It's just, you're taught one thing.
And if you don't believe that, then you're a traitor.
Yeah.
And I'm like, that's fucked up.
Man, yeah.
You know, I was just talking to Nicola a while ago about, yeah, like something that's missed, that's been missing.
And I feel like it's been missing too, even in my own life and childhood, growing up and everything, is some of the, a lot of conversations have never been had.
I don't feel like.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, it's like a lot of conversations have never been had.
It's like, you know, I need to hear that, you know, yeah, there's like this, you know, that Hollywood is like, yeah, that's a certain neighborhood in Los Angeles, but there's still a huge predomination of people here.
Like I have a lot of Latino fans that come out to my shows and stuff.
Yeah.
And I'll have some Middle Eastern fans that come out too.
And I'm like, what the fuck?
That's true.
How the fuck are these guys out of their minds, you know?
Yeah.
But so a lot of that stuff's just like, yeah, it makes me think like, wow, like, yeah, if we can, how do we find, how do we realize that we're not our programming, you know?
Yeah, I mean, that's the hard part.
Because that comes with knowing yourself, self-control.
I mean, like, I always say comics sometimes make the best philosophers because they went through a lot of shit.
Right.
But most people, I think, I think you kind of don't understand that you have control over your thoughts, control over your actions, control over what you read.
They're just reacting to life.
Ah, yeah.
You know, I was an impulsive ass motherfucker.
So I know personally, like I just did drugs whenever I wanted to.
Wow.
And I didn't think about the next step.
Like, you know what I mean?
Like, and I think that's how most people live their lives.
So they don't know, you know, that a lot of this shit can be dealt with if they just took better care of themselves or they thought before they acted.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We've become very responsive.
Yeah.
You know, we've become very impulsive because it's almost one of the only feelings that we have left sometimes is reaction because we're not interacting, I think, as much.
Yeah.
And when you're not interacting, you're just, you don't see, you're not getting the full picture.
You're just getting this little bitty bullet, but you're not seeing the whole weapon, you know?
Yeah, I think a lot of shit started changing for me when I started traveling.
Yeah.
Seeing people face to face, meeting people, instead of like letting what I was taught about, you know, certain people are boogeymen or whatever.
Yeah.
Then you just start being afraid of everything, you know?
And if someone represents that kind of thought, then you attack them like, hey, you're one of those people.
You're racist or you're whatever.
You don't even have a conversation.
And I'm like, damn, that's crazy.
Cause I was like that.
Yeah, dude.
It's so funny, man.
I was like that too.
You know, I mean, growing up, like, even though I had black friends, I was in a group called NFL, you know, which was N-word for life, you know?
Damn.
I know.
I was in the only fucking white kid.
I definitely should not have been allowed in the group.
Oh, it was a, it was like a, it was a gang.
There was a black club.
There was a black club.
I mean, basically, people were like, are you guys, do you guys have guns?
I'm like, we don't have dads.
We have bikes.
So, but.
It was like a crew.
It was like a cat, yeah, yeah.
But I was like, but then I had a lot of anger sometimes towards black kids because, you know, I got jumped by black kids a couple times.
And it just made me, and some of them had been my friends and I didn't understand it at all.
And then at that point, like, we also kind of went our separate ways where, like, most of the black kids in my town didn't go to school after eighth grade.
They just disappeared.
You know, they just, they didn't go to school at all.
You know, they were all, they were welcome and allowed just like anybody else.
They were our classmates, but they just disappeared.
Yeah.
You know, they went off and got caught up in other stuff.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, yeah, I mean, I had a lot of, but I have to, you know, I realize now, like, I don't have anger towards like individual black people, you know, but I do have, there are probably remnants of that, you know, where it does make me angry sometimes.
But that doesn't mean that towards a general population that I feel that way.
No, no.
I think the older I become, I start treating it as a case by case.
Yeah.
You know, like, I think.
It's hard to do that when you're a kid, though.
No, I mean, I, you know, I even got into it with a neo-Nazi gang on Huntington Beach, like on the beach, got into a rumble for no reason.
And, but then does that change my view on white people as a whole?
No, like, but back then, I hated.
I was just like, well, fuck, they're all racist.
They all want to fight me.
Yeah.
But I mean, that's like a street gang.
You know, you can't, you can't grow up thinking, well, I got robbed by a crip, so I hate all blacks.
Like, it doesn't, they don't represent the general public of that group.
You know, it doesn't, it doesn't make sense.
But when you're a kid, all you see is that that dude did me wrong.
So all of them are must, they must be like that.
And some of that's a safety precaution as a child.
I think.
As a child, if you get hit by lightning, dude, the next time you see a fucking rain, feel a raindrop on your cheek, you're going to be like, fuck the sky, you know?
I bet you there's some kind of evolutionary truth to that shit.
That's kind of like if a snake bites you, then you're afraid of snakes, right?
Yeah, well, you're not, yeah, you're afraid of at least that, the amphibian area of the zoo.
So if an Asian dude like steals your shoes, then you always wash your shoes around Asians or something, right?
And it would be silly for you not to.
Right?
It would be silly for you as a child, as a young person.
It would be silly for you not to.
Yeah.
Like, it would be abnatural, I think, for you not to.
Instinctually.
But then as we age, if we're able to, if you have the blessing enough to live long enough, then you can start to see things a little bit different.
It's kind of like that, you know about that stupid ass hipster couple that went to ISIS territory and they ended up getting killed.
Jacked out.
Because they're on the other end of niceness, you know what I mean?
Like, no, everyone's cool and shit.
Everybody ain't cool.
No, man.
And a lot of places aren't cool.
Like, and America's going through a time where also like diversity is like only really been happening heavily into a lot of different cities since colleges started really bringing in a lot of different cultures.
A lot more students are moving in from different countries and going to universities, international students.
So you're starting to see a lot more cultures pop up in America, especially in the last 20, 30 years where they're becoming prolific and getting voices.
Like you guys have at JK News, like you guys have a huge audience, 4 million, 5 million people.
And it's like, and you have a voice, you know, and it's, and the crazy thing is that I realize the voice isn't that different.
Yeah, that's, I mean, that's what it's all about, right?
I think it's all about us being a real democracy, like America being able to come together and share voices of like what we really mean, like us, like real people from the community talking about how they feel and what they think, not our representatives or not what the media says.
Agreed.
So, because I mean, you know, like you're, you're, you're in Hollywood.
You know how much they control the script.
You know how much.
That's the worst.
That's why we're here.
That's why you and I are doing our own things.
Yes.
And people, I think they're tired of that shit.
That's why they're listening to people like us because that's what they want to hear.
They don't want to hear that bullshit when you turn on the news.
And then, you know, you know, it's, it's fake as hell.
And it's so sensationalized.
And they always focus on negative, negative shit to get people all riled up so they could click that and click this.
And I think what's happening now is they're so desperate that they got to look for shit that makes people go, oh my God, another guy died.
I got to click this.
I got to click that.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's definitely gotten that way.
But the blessing in that, I think, long term is that a lot of that news has jumped a shark.
You know, it's like, oh, people are like, oh, this isn't, if it costs half a million dollars to make that show today, you're like, a lot of people getting paid along those lines to have influence and have input.
Whereas, you know, things can be more grassroots at our level.
Yeah.
You know, where it's like, yeah, you don't make, you know, nearly the money you make off of advertising on a big show, but also you have the blessing of like being able to try and have a moment to be genuine.
Yeah.
And at least, you know, and recognize people are.
I mean, yeah, man, I mean, I even feel bad about probably some of the things I've said about into Asian people growing up, you know, sitting here with you.
It makes me think about that a little bit.
But you know what's cool is that humans grow.
Like we change.
Even every cell in our body, every 10 years, it's a whole different person.
And the type of people we are, it should never stick with us forever.
Like I've done some stupid shit in the past that I mean, I would never do today.
But that's what kind of sucks is like nowadays, like people will dig up some shit that you said five years ago and then kind of, you know, make that haunt you.
I fucking hate that.
I hate that too.
Yeah, because it sucks.
It's like you got to give people a chance to change.
You got to give people a chance to say, I don't think like that anymore.
This is what I believe now.
And I learned my lesson.
Because how else are we going to grow?
Yeah, that's the thing.
How do we expect America to change if we're not even willing to let an individual change?
Like you're going to hold somebody else accountable for something 10 years ago?
It's kind of some of the same group think.
It's like, or some of the same think that goes on in America.
Like, I can't do anything about somebody white that was here fucking 200 years ago.
Yeah.
Nothing I can do about it.
Yeah.
You know, I mean, my father's from Nicaragua.
My mother grew up in Chicago.
You know, like the first stop on the Underground Railroad, like the only place to get off the train.
You know, like my family wasn't involved in all that kind of shit, you know, and the racist stuff.
But it's like, yeah, you have to let people change.
You have to.
It's so true, man.
And I have to remember it.
Yeah.
And then it's all about not taking anything personally because it might be that you're just a representation of what they you know what I mean?
Like maybe some white dude did something wrong to somebody.
Yeah.
Or like, and then they look at you like, oh, yeah, you know, or you just don't know.
Like, that's what I came to realize.
It was like, man, it's not about me.
It's their image.
It's their reality.
I'm just a, I'm just a character in their show.
Yeah.
And it's like maybe they got swindled by an Asian dude and then they're like, I can't trust another Asian ever again.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
So I get.
Oh, yeah.
The Chinese finger trap that you put in all 10 fingers.
Yeah.
They steal your wallet.
That old trick, you're like, that little finger stopping you.
Oh, yeah.
Damn.
I remember a guy pulled up in our college town one time and had five fingers.
You put them in, they got trapped, and then they stole your wallet.
Oh, shit.
That's crazy, man.
Pretty awesome, though, in hindsight.
Like, damn, this is fucking great, dude.
Yeah.
I mean, but, but all I could do is be the balance.
Right.
You know, and oh, I love that, man.
Be the balance.
Yeah, because if they meet you and they realize, oh, shit, you know what?
I was wrong.
Yeah.
You know, instead of perpetuating whatever they thought, you could kind of like freaking Jedi mind trick them.
Yeah.
And then be like, no, I'm cool, man.
This is cool.
Yeah, it's like you get a chance every time you meet somebody to show them a different example.
Yeah.
And I kind of think that this is something that minorities, or specifically in my culture, we knew that it was a group thing.
Like anytime any other group encounters a Japanese person, we're representing, we have the whole race.
We have that responsibility on our shoulder.
That's beautiful.
We can't look stupid.
We can't treat people wrong because they might think all of us are that way.
But I don't think, I think this is a new concept for other people because we're a collective society.
So we think about the group all the time before ourselves.
Wow.
Versus in America, it's all about the individual, individual thought, freedom, and stuff like that.
So it's like, yo, man, that's that other white guy.
That's not me.
Like, and I'm not even the same person.
Right.
But there's got to be some type of connection that everyone's got to be responsible for because if it's not you, they're going to think that about another guy.
It might be your brother or your neighbor or something else.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And it's like, how do we find out what that is?
You know, that's tough.
But I think, yeah, it's like, you know, we just keep trying to figure out.
I don't know.
We just stay open to change, I guess.
Yeah, for sure.
And be the balance, man.
Yeah, because I think it's kind of, I mean, I'm personally like looking at individual situations, right?
And it's kind of like, well, we have poor white kids in America that grew up in shitty ass situations, but they don't get government funding when it comes to colleges.
They have to go through even more shit and they're called privileged, right?
When they're not.
And then you have, you know, maybe a guy like me that kind of fucked around and I get a second chance because I'm a minority.
Right.
And my first time going to college, I just wanted the aid so I could buy weed.
Right.
So I could buy a pound of weed and sell that shit.
So I'm taking advantage of the system when another guy could, that really worked hard at school, could have went through it.
Yeah.
I mean, fortunately, it worked out well for me because I ended up sticking with college and I graduated.
But individually, there's all these different cases where people are getting fucked and they shouldn't be because they did their job.
But then I can see where, you know, people feel like, man, that's fucked up.
Yeah, it's like we're living like the life that two generations ago, you know what I'm saying?
It's like we're living based on a previous generation all the time.
So it's like, yeah, it's just, I don't know.
And that's, it's hard to keep, it's hard to put good boundaries and good practices onto something or realistic boundaries and practices that are effective onto something that changes constantly.
And America's just changing constantly.
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
And you can't bring back old shit like this happened 50 years ago and you're going to do it again.
But I think it's just the whole resentment, people holding on to people.
People want to hold resentments.
That's another thing.
As a group, we got to realize the biggest thing you can do is say, let's move onward.
Yep.
That's the past, you know.
Because when I look at it in the positive way, man, we have so much talent.
Like, we could get the best of the best of every group.
You got the Asians doing math.
You got, you know, Swedish people playing building furniture or something.
You know what I mean?
Like, whatever.
And then you got the Louisiana people making like catfish and stuff.
Like, I don't know, sandwiches.
But yeah, I see what you're saying.
And then we got the best of the best.
And that's what we need to like put up.
Yes.
We can say, look, we're still, yeah, this is fucking America, bro.
And I think a lot of people still want to have American pride, though.
Yeah, I am.
And I love it.
And it's so weird that that's not a cool thing anymore.
I know.
The cool thing is to hate America.
And I'm like, why?
Yeah.
I'm the kind of guy that wants to clean up my house, not just move away when it gets dirty.
That's the way to do it.
Yeah, I mean, my father moved here and gave us a chance.
He came from Nicaragua?
Yeah.
And I only say Nicaragua wants certain groups of people because it's a risky word to say right now, dude.
You know what I'm saying?
Some neighborhoods, if I'm going to say it, I roll up the windows.
Oh, shit.
Because I don't want anybody hearing it.
Yeah.
You might slip it up a little bit.
Oh, dude.
It's just all it takes is just a little bit of dry air in your throat.
That's crazy how you're half Nicaraguan, but then you still kind of identify with white.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, because this is where I grew up.
And my dad was so old that he couldn't teach us a lot of Spanish and stuff like that.
He taught us some stuff.
And he took me one time to Central America.
But man, no, look, dude, it's fascinating.
I appreciate you coming in.
Tell us real quick so we can finish on this note.
Like what kind of entrepreneurial stuff did you get into?
Like now.
So right now I have a drink shop out in Westwood in Roland Heights called Sip.
It's matcha green tea.
It's really delicious.
Go check that out.
I have a few booths over at this food event called Smorgasburg every Sunday.
It's a shrimp daddy.
It's yeah, garlic butter shrimp.
You know what?
I got to take you.
We should take, we should do that.
Dude, I go over there and shrimp up with a fucking love shrimp, dude.
You guys like shrimp?
Oh, yeah, man.
Dude, what do Japanese?
What time do Japanese people go to bed at?
What?
What time?
I mean, the whole nation, I don't know, man.
Like, normal people, I don't know, bro.
7.30?
I feel like you guys get in bed early, bro.
You think I'm that disciplined?
Nowadays, yeah, I do sleep early.
Nowadays, I do.
But back in the day, though, I used to sleep at like 6 a.m.
Really?
Yeah, and go raving all night.
Nuh-uh.
Japanese people go to raves, huh?
Yeah, the whole country, bro.
What kind of game do y'all play at the house if you have a board game?
Like, was there like some traditional?
I mean, we grew up playing it.
Was it just Monopoly and stuff like that?
Oh, like, of course.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We would play, yeah, Monopoly, just regular board games.
Yeah.
I don't remember any Japanese-specific games.
It would just be video games.
Oh, yeah.
Konami.
Remember that company?
Konami.
Yeah, that sounds familiar.
Yeah, yeah.
What about Chinese checkers?
Yeah, what about that?
Oh, with the marbles?
Was that the Chinese checkers?
Yeah, I played that.
I played that.
Yep.
That's awesome.
Played chess, played dominoes, played everything.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And do you guys, like, do Japanese people have sex and stuff, huh?
Lots of it.
Really?
Whole lots.
Oh, my God, bro.
I can't even imagine that because I don't watch that kind of shit.
Yo, man.
Well, I don't like Japanese porn.
You don't?
Why?
Oh, man.
It's not the same, bro.
It's weird.
I mean, it's just a whole different world.
I mean, you just got to be in it.
Like, it's kind of weird being in both worlds because it's like the opposite of the U.S. Yeah.
Everything is just nuts.
But yeah, they embrace sex.
It's not a taboo.
Like, it's okay, but it's not like it's like breathing.
Like, everybody has to fuck.
Right.
I mean, it's accepted to the point where they have nurses there that'll help beat off dudes that can't beat off anymore.
Wow.
Like mentally disabled or whatever.
Like they make their rounds every month and they're like, this is a human need.
I'm going to beat your ass off.
Damn, that's beautiful.
And then the guys are like happy and they're like, yeah.
Yeah, I was like, oh, I'm going to go rake the yard now that I'm putting these binoculars down.
Wow, that's crazy, dude.
If they had that service in America, though, I can't even imagine.
Right.
It's kind of prudish here.
Yeah, America's pretty prudish, huh?
Even though we think we're not.
It's crazy because we are cool with violence, but we are not cool with a titty.
Yeah, and that's the weirdest thing to me.
Do you think sex would be more fun if you were a white person or if you were a different ethnicity?
Did you ever think about that?
No, I don't know.
Yeah, I don't know.
I never really, yeah, I never thought of that at all.
I think I'd be more efficient if I were Japanese having sex.
Why?
I think I should get it done quicker.
Yeah.
You picture Japanese people to be always on time.
Indefinitely.
Here for the pussy.
You know what's funny is that stereotype is not far from the truth.
If you go there, the way the public transportation runs, it's on the dot, bro.
You will never have a late train.
I don't know how they do it.
Well, I think, because to me, Japanese people seem respectful of time to the point where they're like, okay, that's when I'm supposed to be there, then that's when I will be there.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
So it's more of a, they seem to have more of an honor system in most things that they do.
Man, I used to get my ass beat if I didn't respect time.
Yeah.
Yeah, like more than grades.
Yeah.
Wow.
My mom would be like, so I remember one time I got in trouble for graffiti.
So we had a court date.
And then she was like, fuck, I can't find this court.
This is before GPS and shit.
And then so what she did was she drove to look for the court the day before.
Wow.
So she and timed herself how long it would take her to get to my hearing.
So she could take me the next day and be on time.
That son will be on time.
I was like, damn, dude, that's crazy.
But that's how she always did shit.
Like, oh, if you have a job interview, you don't know how long it's going to take.
You just go there the day before and kind of scope out the spot.
That's a lot of honor, man.
And I'm like, wow.
That's a lot of respect for the court system.
Dude, man, I would be Japanese next time.
Would you be white?
Yeah, I think it depends.
Maybe.
I just say, yeah.
Yeah, man.
Like, maybe Louisiana white.
Louisiana white.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because a crawfish farmer is something that I want to be, man.
We should do a sketch or something, a sketch that kind of shows somebody.
Like training places?
Yeah, do some funny stuff, though.
That'd be funny.
You know what?
I want to try catching catfish with my hand, man.
Oh, really?
Dude, that's crazy.
Well, now you're talking about Japanese porn again.
That's a thing they do down there, right?
I know.
They catch the catfish.
They do some things, man.
Oh, yeah, they do.
But I think also you also, again, are referencing Japanese porn the way you keep moving your arm like that.
Do we have a couple of calls?
Yeah, it's called noodling down there.
Noodling.
Did we have a couple of calls that came up for Joe?
Yeah, we got a couple.
All right.
All right.
This might be a familiar voice.
Hey, this question is for Joe.
Ryan Davis from the Tin Paul Hat Podcast.
I didn't get to ask you this when you were on our show.
Are you one of them superstitious type of Koreans?
Okay, first of all, Joe isn't Korean, dude.
Ryan.
He is Chinese.
I'm joking.
Good old Ryan.
That's the lion-hair Ryan, right?
Yeah, that's lion-haired Ryan from Some Boy.
Homeboy looks like a straight Viking.
Oh, yeah.
Doesn't he?
Oh, he could fuck in the snow, undeniably.
Do you think that, what do you think, man?
Am I superstitious?
Yeah.
Or does that start to fade away?
You know what?
I think I grew up Christian.
So my family is not a stereotypical Japanese family where I think a lot of Japanese people are a little bit, they dabble a little bit into the, as you can say, dark arts.
Yeah, yeah.
I know they're in them.
But it's an atheist country.
So they're more logical than anything because they believe in science.
But they do do a little bit of the home religion to Shintoism.
But it's kind of like how Catholicism might be for most people where they just kind of do the ritual stuff.
But they're not like devout, devout, but it's a part of the culture.
What about reincarnation?
Is that a popular belief?
Yeah, I think so because Buddhism.
Yeah, but for the most part, though, I think they kind of they're more modernized now.
Yeah, yeah.
I didn't grow up with too much superstition around me.
I mean, we would hear stuff, but everything else was the devil.
You know what I mean?
we're so Christian.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You don't play with the dark arts.
Oh, dude.
I remember when somebody came home with a bag of big league chew, dude, and I fucking put so much over my mouth I couldn't even fucking breathe.
Yeah.
And one of the neighbors had to come over and help get it out of my mouth.
And I was like, that's fucking.
Oh, shit.
That's Satan.
You almost died?
Yeah.
You choked on a Big Chew?
Dude, I'm a minor leaguer, bro, when it comes to fucking face snacks.
Can we get one more question?
I love Big Chew, by the way.
That shit was good.
Oh, yeah.
We had a couple.
When I got older, we had a couple of alcoholics.
I think they were Chinese or just really tan.
Yeah.
And actually, it could have been a Mexican guy that had been in a fire even.
So he was always squinting?
He's just real kind of bronzed and thin.
But that they would stand and eat Big League Chew by the bus stop all day.
And the bus stop was broken down.
No bus ever went there.
So they just use it as a bench just to chill on?
I think they were waiting for the bus.
They were literally there for probably about six years.
Oh, my God.
Let's check one more.
What's happening, Theo?
Gio?
What's up?
You have like a load of weapons to carry around with you.
I was just wondering, besides the guns, what is your favorite weapon?
Oh, wow.
Peace out.
Well, that's a mega fan because he knows all the stuff that I have.
Oh, that's cool.
You have a lot of weapons.
That's Sam Baber sent that question in.
Thank you, Sam.
He's from another country.
I'm not sure where.
It sounds a bit more.
Yeah, it seemed like British or maybe one of those small villages.
He's on break from Hogwarts and stuff.
Yeah, what's your favorite weapon?
Oh, man.
I'd say I just recently got this walking stick.
So it looks like an old man's cane, but it's got all these spikes and ridges and stuff.
And so when I walk around the neighborhood at night, I just use that because it looks pretty chill.
what's in it?
No, it's just a cane, but it's solid as hell.
And you can hook people with it.
You can kind of smack them around.
And it just looks like a geezer's cane.
Yeah.
But before that, I used to walk around with a big staff like I'm freaking Merlin.
Wow, dude.
So, and then the cops wouldn't even bat an eye because it was like, ah, it's just some guy in little Tokyo with the cane, man.
I just fit the stereotype.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Just fitting the stereotype.
That's all.
Big walking stick.
I mean, it's huge.
It looks like a wizard staff.
Yeah.
So I'm walking around there.
And if some crackhead wants to get too close, I just.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You'll serve him some crack.
Yeah.
We're just living out stereotypes.
Joe Jitsukawa, thank you so much for being here today.
Yo, man.
Thank you, Theo.
I love being like, man, this is, I was really looking forward to being on the show.
It's pretty awesome always talking to you, man.
Yeah, same here, man.
I really appreciate it, dude.
It's been neat to, yeah, like your buddy Bart, who works with you on JK News, just texting with him the other day.
But yeah, it's been neat, man, like, because my circle of friends and my life has been like, it's been diverse in the white world and in some other ethnicities, especially when I was younger growing up.
But, you know, mostly, like you said, here in Los Angeles, even though, like, outside of like comedy and doing comedy, like, most of my friends are kind of a little bit similar, you know, similar to me.
Yeah, yeah.
But it's neat to feel like that there's commonalities and that that could change, you know.
Yeah, man.
100%.
So we'll have to talk about stuff, more stuff in the future.
Yeah, for sure.
We'll go get some burgers and shrimps and rice and mix it all up.
This dude wants shrimp so bad, huh?
Jojo Tsukawa, thank you so much.
Peace.
I must be cornerstone.
Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found.
I can feel it in my bones.
But it's gonna take a little time for me to set that parking break and let myself on wine shine that light on me.
I'll sit and tell you my stories.
Good evening, good afternoon, and other times.
Thanks for watching that video you just saw.
I mean, it was okay.
But the next video you could watch could be way better.
What if you watch a video right now that changes your life?
Well, you could watch this one or watch this one.
Watch this one.
Ah!
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jonathan Kite and welcome to Kite Club, a podcast where I'll be sharing thoughts on things like current events, stand-up stories, and seven ways to pleasure your partner.
The answer may shock you.
Sometimes I'll interview my friends.
Sometimes I won't.
And as always, I'll be joined by the voices in my head.
You have three new voice messages.
A lot of people are talking about Kite Club.
I've been talking about Kite Club for so long.
Longer than anybody else.
So great.
Hi, Sweetheart.
Easy to do.
Anyone who doesn't listen to Kite Club is a dodgy bloody wanker.
John Main.
I'll take a quarter bottle of cheese to add a bit of glory.
I think Tom Hanks just buttiled me.
Anyway, first rule of Kite Club is tell everyone about Kai Club.
Second rule of Kite Club is tell everyone about Kai Club.
Third rule, like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts or watch us on YouTube, yeah?
