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00:03What up, No Detroit?
00:04It is 105.1 The Bounce.
00:06Obviously, I'm your morning girl, Leisha B.
00:08And we are back with another Detroit Culture Shifters.
00:11And today, this is one that I've definitely
00:13been prepared for.
00:14Because as you know, I'm still new to the city.
00:16But one of the places that everyone
00:18told me that if I wanted to catch a good vibe was Big Pink.
00:21And baby, the show continues to be correct
00:24every time they tell me.
00:25And I've got Munch and Toby in the building.
00:28What's up, guys?
00:29What's up, what's up?
00:30Thanks so much for having us.
00:31Thank you for coming.
00:32I'm so excited.
00:33After researching you guys and the fact
00:35that y'all like dibbling, dabbling so much,
00:36I'm excited to just pick your brains a little bit.
00:38Cool, let's do it.
00:39So let's take it back to the early days
00:42when you guys were first doing everything.
00:44How did you get into the music world in general?
00:48Like what brought you into music?
00:51Amazing.
00:52Well, first of all, thank you so much for having us.
00:54We're really excited to be here.
00:55And we appreciate you giving us a platform.
00:58No problem.
00:59So I started off as a musician growing up and started doing that when I was about 15.
01:05And we've been best friends since third grade.
01:08So he was there the whole journey of my dabbling in the music industry.
01:14And time went on and we both went to college and I started throwing shows.
01:19He was doing photography for musicians.
01:22And then once we graduated, we both moved to Detroit.
01:25And that inspired us to start doing pop-up parties throughout the city in 2018.
01:31Yep.
01:32We would do a party every month and each party, we would focus on bringing different corners
01:37of the artist community together.
01:39So we would have DJs, vendors, food, live murals, and it would just create a really cool ecosystem
01:48for creatives to come together.
01:50And it also made it so we didn't have to rely just on us to bring people in.
01:54Right, right.
01:54You know, we could have a lot of people bringing, you know, as many people as they want.
01:58Right.
01:58So that kind of led us on our journey to opening Big Pink.
02:02And now Big Pink has become the most talked about venue in all of Detroit.
02:07It's crazy.
02:07Like when I tell you the first thing that everyone told me that if I wanted to be outside was
02:12to come to y'all.
02:13That's amazing.
02:13And I'm like, okay, period, 10-10s, we got to go.
02:16So what was the original vision when you said, okay, this is what we want to do?
02:21What, what did you guys even like do to make this all happen?
02:25Yeah, it was a, it was a journey.
02:26Um, we basically, uh, had been talking about taking our concept and making it, uh, more solidified.
02:35And, uh, you know, Toby, Toby could talk about that.
02:37Yeah.
02:37We had, uh, this, these shows were doing really well and, um, we didn't know about COVID yet.
02:43It was kind of like right before COVID.
02:45And so, but we were like, dude, these shows are doing so well.
02:48If we could have just our own space, because that was like, the hardest thing was finding
02:52a space to throw the shows.
02:54Um, but we knew if we had our own space, we could make it special and we could do things
02:58a lot better.
02:59Um, and so we, uh, we were looking for spaces.
03:02We found a space.
03:03We're like literally ready to sign the papers and then COVID hits.
03:07And we're like, wait, hold up.
03:09We don't want to hold on.
03:10Uh, and, uh, we thought about it and we took a huge leap of faith in literally June of 2020.
03:16We bought that building.
03:18Wow.
03:18And, uh, obviously there was no shows going on.
03:21Right.
03:21So it needed a lot of work.
03:23We knew we had like a year or two of renovations.
03:26And so we started building with the assumption that shows will be back or we'll, we'll be able
03:30to do something with this.
03:32And, um, and it worked out and it's crazy how, uh, you know, how far it's gone.
03:38And, and, um, you know, we were just trying to open and now I feel like it's, it's, it's
03:43doing pretty well.
03:44So pretty well is an understatement because again, after researching, I realized how many
03:51places that y'all have been before the permanent space.
03:54Like y'all have done galleries, warehouses, like abandoned buildings.
03:57Like I can understand why you would want like a permanent space because you want to create
04:03that consistency.
04:04You want to make sure that you are the prime spot.
04:06So what does it take with those early experiences teaching you about building community that you
04:11now have to this day?
04:14Like, take me back.
04:15Like, what is something that you still continue to want to, for the topic of building community,
04:21what have you learned from those early experiences that you learn now?
04:24A hundred percent.
04:24That's a really great question.
04:26We, uh, we learned a lot with those early shows, you know, even just, uh, with show prep
04:31with, um, exactly what we want our space to be.
04:35You know, we needed to throw all those shows to know what we wanted big pink to become.
04:40Right.
04:40Uh, for instance, we were throwing shows in places that didn't have bathrooms.
04:44We were throwing shows in places without roofs.
04:47You know, we're like, we definitely need roofs and bathrooms.
04:49Um, I mean, all those party people ain't got nowhere to go.
04:54So, you know, those, those are great examples of, uh, you know, things we knew we needed,
04:58but also, uh, just like layout and flow of shows.
05:02And like, how are you able to get people excited to be in a room to dance together and not
05:07fill
05:08a room with egos and make it so people feel like they can be themselves.
05:11Right.
05:11Those shows allowed us to, uh, really dive into the community in Detroit and, and find
05:18something they needed, you know, and, and also take that concept and make it more consistent
05:24and give it a home.
05:25Right.
05:25So, uh, yeah, I don't know if you want to, and I feel like too, when now we are kind
05:30of
05:30on the other end, we own this venue.
05:32And so, you know, kids, I say kids, cause we're, you know, 30, 31 now and we were 22
05:38when we started, you know, now the 22 year olds are coming to us and like, Hey, we have
05:42this idea for a show.
05:43And, and I see it in their eyes, you know, I'm like, Oh my gosh, you're going to do it.
05:47All right, cool.
05:47Well, we can give you some advice cause we've done this and you know, here's how we would
05:51lay it out and here's how we would do it.
05:53So it kind of, uh, gives us a perspective cause we've, you know, it's a lot of hustle
05:58and a lot of very DIY, which I feel like is a very Detroit, uh, trait is to, you know,
06:04if you, if you can't find the thing, just do it yourself.
06:06You figure it out.
06:06Right.
06:06I feel like that's such a full circle moment too, to have those people who were at the
06:11age that you started at being like, Oh my gosh, like we're coming to you guys.
06:14Like how exciting is that now?
06:16It's super exciting.
06:17You kind of don't realize, um, how deep in it you are until you pick your head, you pick your
06:23head up and you're like, Oh my gosh, wow.
06:25We've done 300 plus shows in the last three years.
06:28You know, like we don't like, we don't realize that, um, we don't realize these numbers cause
06:32we're so focused on like today, right now, what's next.
06:37Exactly.
06:37How can we throw the best shows this weekend that make people want to come out?
06:42And you know, it's a lot of just being present in the community and like active online and,
06:48you know, following trends and seeing what people are asking for.
06:51And you know, uh, super grateful people come to us for advice because you know, we have
06:56knowledge to share and we're willing to share that knowledge.
06:59You know, we're not, we're not gatekeeping any of it.
07:01And I see that like based off of just solely off of your social media, just the fact that
07:06you're always looking for people who want to experience things and how you can also help them.
07:11I feel like that also just shows y'all's character and why you guys are doing so well is that
07:17you
07:17don't just make it about you, you make it about what other people are going to experience.
07:21And you mentioned this earlier of like everything that goes into a show and I am so naive.
07:26So I'm sitting here like, Oh my gosh.
07:27Yeah.
07:28Show prep.
07:28Like you wouldn't think of it.
07:29Cause I mean, when people think of my job, they're just thinking, Oh, you just get in
07:33there and you yap all day.
07:34No, like I'm show prepping.
07:36I'm, I'm researching things.
07:37Like I'm trying to figure out what questions to ask, what to bring to the audience.
07:41Cause maybe they won't like that.
07:42So now I'm curious when you are curating the artists and the event lineups, how do you do
07:48that?
07:49And how are you able to balance your personal taste with also making sure that identity of
07:54Detroit is still matching?
07:56Always.
07:57Um, well, I mean, every show starts with, with an idea, you know, and I handle all of the
08:02marketing and show planning and prepping while you own it.
08:05Yeah.
08:06So, so we're, we're basically owner operators, we're owners, owner operators.
08:10So y'all are hella hands on.
08:11We're busy.
08:12Everything.
08:12No show happens without us.
08:14So I start with all like the ideas, the marketing, the branding, the curating,
08:20and basically anything day of show, you know, in the venue, that's, that's Toby's job.
08:25It's kind of like a really cool yin and yang thing where I couldn't be successful
08:30without him and his success kind of depends on me.
08:33So we, we have to hold each other accountable a lot.
08:35And, uh, since we've been friends for so long and you know, we, we work well together.
08:40And yeah, but going back to the show prep question, um, prepping shows always starts
08:45with an idea and I like to, you know, I'm super active on social media and I ask people,
08:50Hey, what do you guys, what do you guys want this month?
08:52Like, what are you interested in?
08:53So for instance, this month, a lot of people were hitting my comments with like, let's do
08:58a Latin night, bad bunny bowl, bad bunny bowl.
09:00And I'm like, all right, let's run it.
09:01So, you know, I took the idea of like, okay, we love bad bunny.
09:05We love J Balvin.
09:06We love Carol G let's take, you know, this Latin night, let's do it on the weekend of
09:11the super bowl to, you know, a little warmup party.
09:14And then I got a couple of my friends who are Latin DJs in the community.
09:17They live out in Southwest.
09:19And, uh, it's really important if I'm going to do a night like that, that I get people in
09:23that community to like, you know, play the music.
09:25And, and it's true to that community rather than just kind of getting someone that gets
09:29a Spotify playlist and runs that, you know, right.
09:33So yeah.
09:34And then, uh, you know, we work on the, on the flyer and all that, uh, you know, branding
09:39side of it.
09:40And then we announce it and then it basically, it just goes in the ecosystem and hope for the
09:45best.
09:46Yeah.
09:46And, and we do these things that allow us to, uh, you know, um, not necessarily like have
09:53a guaranteed room, but we like to make our shows accessible.
09:56Yeah.
09:56You know, we give away 1200 free tickets every weekend.
09:58Wow.
09:59And, uh, we make it so people in the community, you know, even if they don't have money that
10:03they can go out and, uh, you know, that pay cover and pay the coat check and the, all this
10:07money
10:08that they can just come and have a good time and not spend a dollar.
10:12So we'd like to make our shows accessible.
10:14And then, you know, once doors open, that's this man's job.
10:18Yeah.
10:19He, I mean, from the personal taste standpoint, I think when we opened like, and back in when
10:24we were doing pop-ups, we were very 50, 50.
10:26We're like, I would try to plan all the shows with him and we, he would try to do the
10:30operations
10:30with me and we realized our talents lie in different areas.
10:34Like he always says like, I like sad music.
10:36He's like, you know, if it was like my taste in music, it'd be a bad club, you know?
10:42So he does a very good job at that.
10:45And then, yeah, I love just hospitality.
10:47Like I love, that's like our home, you know?
10:49So when people are there, I really try my best to like, make sure they feel taken care of.
10:55Um, you know, and, and that's just, you know, that's the mentality I give to our employees
11:00and everyone.
11:00So I think that's more my strong suit, the booking stuff and creating the vibe is definitely
11:05his, his expertise.
11:07He's a little cooler than me.
11:08He's like, you can say it.
11:11I love how intentional you, you guys are like from start to finish, even you mentioning your employees
11:16and how like intentional you are with that.
11:18It just feels like every single piece of the puzzle is so thought out and the average consumer
11:24is not sitting here thinking that you guys have worked weeks, maybe even months on a concept that
11:30they're just experiencing for what, maybe five hours a night.
11:33So just being able to say this to people, I think people are going to like be a lot more
11:39appreciative and grateful for what you guys have already given, but I think it just gives people
11:44a little bit more to chew on, to be like, wow, like this night was amazing.
11:49And it probably took them so many hours of just hard work to figure out how this is going to
11:55go.
11:56So, so obviously there's good and there's bad with any business.
12:00Has there been any challenges that you've faced running this venue that now you're looking back?
12:05This is how I would have done it so that others who are trying to be in the same arenas
12:11as you
12:11could hear that feedback and not just take it as, oh, well, I mean, they couldn't get past it.
12:17You're giving them something to think about.
12:18So what is the challenge that you faced that now you look back and you're like,
12:22I would have done this differently.
12:24Definitely. I think, um, one of the biggest things we had to overcome was like,
12:29we've been friends for so long and, uh, just being able to have like a healthy friendship,
12:35friendship along with a healthy, uh, you know, business partnership was important for us. And
12:41just being able to communicate that a lot of things can be avoided as if you communicate in life,
12:46you know, as long as you're like talking, oh, this, this is bothering me. Oh, I need help with this.
12:51Like talking in a lot of areas of our lives can change things for the better.
12:57Yeah. And, um, just makes it easier to work together. Uh, I think that was a big thing for
13:03me at least just being able to be like, you know, honest, open, vulnerable, and, uh, just willing
13:09to communicate with, with him about how I feel.
13:12Yeah.
13:12Cause I feel like a lot of people probably wouldn't be able to work with their friends.
13:16That's, that's the truth. A lot of people say when we would tell people like, Hey,
13:20I'm opening a nightclub with my best friend. Like people all immediately always like kind of,
13:24you know, like, well, I mean, historically, you know, it creates issues. It caused rifts.
13:30Like, and in the beginning, you know, there were times where it did create a rift, but we're able
13:35to work through that. And then at the end of it, it was like, okay, if we're going to have
13:38to choose
13:39this business or our friendship, we're going to choose our friendship because that was always
13:42the rule is friendship first and then the business. So yeah, that's beautiful. And that allowed us to
13:48like have a really healthy, uh, working relationship, friendship, and, you know, we still can rely on each
13:54other, always be there. And, uh, yeah, I think that, that was a really, a really big learning curve for
13:59us.
14:00I love that. Do you have one?
14:02Um, I mean, I think just first time business owners, like there's a million things that
14:07we tried out, maybe that didn't work or, um, management styles or scheduling, all sorts of stuff.
14:14Um, but I think to his point, communication is like, we'll fix everything with customers. You know,
14:20someone's all mad, my coat, I'll just communicate. I'll just be like, Hey, uh, you know, we made a
14:25mistake probably. So let me try to fix it. I guarantee you I'll fix this. Just give me like
14:29a couple minutes and then they calm down. Or, you know, uh, I can see, you know, an employee is
14:34mad
14:35at a customer or something. I'll just, I'll go talk. I'll be, Hey, are you mad about something
14:38and communicate about it? And usually it's, it can be fixed. I always tell people it's not that serious.
14:43It's a club, you know, we're supposed to be having fun. Yeah. It's not like world war three out here.
14:47It's, this is your night out. So let's just have fun. And, um, and yeah, most problems can be
14:52fixed with that heart to heart, um, you know, communication. So it's crazy. We've been through
14:57a lot. It's, it's, I look back at it and I can't even believe it, but it's like, you know,
15:02it's the
15:03forage through the fire. It's like you get through it and you're stronger. You know, he's like,
15:07we could pretty much go into any situation together and I guarantee you we'd be good.
15:11I love it. And now that you're obviously as successful as you are, and now you've kind of
15:18had like a whole new venture. Are you guys doing that together or is that solely just you?
15:23No, I'm just a cheerleader. I'm just, I just wear, I buy the clothes.
15:26Do you want to speak on it? Because I'm trying to get to a screen printing workshop friend.
15:30Yeah. So, um, honestly, well, it, this kind of goes back to like,
15:36even before I started throwing shows. So I started off as a musician, right? And I love
15:41the process of making music, being in a studio with people creating, uh, you know, sounds,
15:48bringing them together, uh, writing, you know, hearing a song when it's finished. I love that
15:52whole process. And, uh, I wanted to do that for the rest of my life. And I would ask people
15:58who were doing it, like, how do you, how do you do this? Like, how am I able to like
16:02have a career
16:02as a musician? And a lot of people were like, man, you got to, uh, play shows and you got
16:08to sell
16:08merch. And those two, uh, ideas literally changed my life, you know, like throwing shows and making
16:17clothes. Yeah. And I started by throwing my own events, uh, performing at them, booking my friends.
16:23And I started making my own merchandise for my music and it spiraled. Like I went from,
16:30um, you know, heat pressing my own clothes to a friend gave me a screen printing press. And now
16:34I'm making merch for all my friends that are musicians and my friends that are business owners.
16:38And on the other hand, I'm throwing house parties and booking shows at local venues and
16:43still making music. And, you know, I, I always kept pushing this idea that I wanted to create this
16:50web where all the things in my life kind of are intertwined. Yeah, exactly. So, you know,
16:56oh, I make merch, I throw, uh, parties, all the musicians that play the parties, let me help them
17:01make merch. Oh, I want to do a new drop for this event, you know? So all these things kind
17:08of worked
17:08in tandem and it led to me, uh, opening up the shop in Dearborn. It's called overtime print shop.
17:14And we do screen printing for businesses. We do our own custom printing for our own brands. We have a
17:23whole curated vintage section with secondhand clothing. And then we also host screen printing
17:28workshops where we teach local creatives, business owners, hobbyists, uh, how to screen print. We teach
17:36them how to make their own shirt, hoodie, and poster. And right now it's only $75. And every class has
17:44basically selling out. So I'm super blessed. That's insane. And I love how, again, I'm just
17:51going to keep saying you guys' intentionality is just crazy because just the fact that you're even
17:55thinking, I want to create a network, essentially. I want to create an empire where essentially you can
18:00come to me about anything. And I have someone, even if I don't know it, I have someone who can
18:05do it.
18:06Like, that's so smart. Like, did you even realize that when you were young that you were
18:10essentially creating an empire, sir? Not really. I mean, I come from two immigrant parents,
18:15you know, who, who literally got it from the mud. You know, my dad was one of 12 in a
18:19one bedroom
18:20in the villages in Lebanon. You know what I'm saying? He like, shout out the immigrant mentality
18:25because they know how to work. And I saw what my dad had to do to provide for my family
18:31and his
18:31family. And I'm happy that I even got a sliver of that work ethic. So, you know, all thanks to
18:37my
18:37parents and what they gave me. Hey, if that's just a sliver, shout out to the OG.
18:41Yeah, you know it. You know it.
18:43Okay. So obviously with Big Pink and with overtime, there's obviously things that you're hoping for,
18:49big successful goals. I'm not going to ask you to tell me all of that, but just in general,
18:54what would you want Detroit nightlife to look like over the next few years? Is there anything
18:59that Detroit nightlife is missing that you hope is filled? And if you do want to give us a goal
19:04or
19:04two, you know, I'll help you manifest. I mean, I think for me, just generally speaking, you know,
19:11and a big thing for Big Pink of why we created the space was just having it be safer, you
19:17know,
19:17for everyone. Real. So, you know, we do a lot of hip hop nights and people come up to me
19:23all the time
19:23and say, thank you so much for creating the space because, you know, I'll go to a club maybe that
19:29is
19:29more like male dominated or that has bottle service and it's hard to feel safe. You know,
19:34I feel like people are looking at me or, and it's like, we got to get rid of all that
19:37in the club
19:38scene because, you know, Detroit is like, it's, it's the dance, it's the dance capital. Dance music
19:43started here and people just want to dance, you know, and, and that's, that's what it should be
19:48about. So I would say just keep making it safer for people. And, and yeah, I don't know, maybe more
19:55hip hop.
19:58Yeah, that's a, that was a big one for us. You know, we felt like Detroit needed a space that
20:03didn't focus on VIP booths, bottle service, a room full of ego. We wanted to put everyone
20:11on the same playing field, just, you know, a dance floor in a bar. Yeah, that was, that was the
20:17goal.
20:18So it took us a while to get there because obviously people still hit us up saying, Hey,
20:25can we get a booth for my birthday? Hey, can I do VIP? And we're like, we don't really do
20:28that.
20:29You know, we like, we'll give you free tickets for, you know, a show. Yeah. And you can pull up
20:34with your whole crew, but I'll give you a bubble gun or something. Yeah. I'm like, we'll make it fun.
20:41Yeah. But just go dance with everyone. That's the key. And a lot of people will say that to us.
20:45Like when you go to big pink, you're going to get every walk of life in there. You're going to
20:49look
20:49around and be surrounded by so many different types of people that are all there for the same
20:54reason. They just want to dance and have a good time. And that's beautiful. And I think coming
20:58from DC, I also felt like that. Like even in DC, it's like, Ooh, bottle service club. Like, Ooh,
21:04I wanted to be in that VIP. Where am I seat at? Yeah. Hold on now. My legs hurt too.
21:08Yeah. What
21:09are we talking about? Or it just felt like, Ooh, I shouldn't be here. Yeah. Like this is not for
21:14me,
21:14but I'll say when I walked into big pink, I was with someone else, but I feel like I could
21:19go there
21:20solo dolo and feel like, okay, I could leave here feeling at peace or I can leave here with meeting
21:27people. Cause I've met a few people. Oh my God. Hey friend. So I love the atmosphere that you guys
21:33are creating because it's, it's not prevalent as much as we would like. And I think that you guys are
21:38pushing the needle to get it there. Oh yeah. Thank you so much. That really means a lot.
21:42Yeah. No problem. So you guys ready for a lightning round? Let's do it. Let's do it.
21:46These are just going to be quick things. Anything that comes to the top of your head.
21:49So first one, the first show that you ever went to in Detroit that changed everything.
21:56I mean, this is a crazy answer, but it's lightning round. I went to NSYNC at Comerica
21:59Park when I was like five and I remember they were, they came out and then I thought they were
22:04up on
22:04stage, but it was like a mannequin or something. They dropped and then they were like right there in the
22:08middle of the crowd. And I was like, and I remember that was like, oh my gosh. So that's kind
22:13of an
22:13embarrassing answer, but I was fine. That's not embarrassing. Five years on it NSYNC is crazy.
22:18Yeah. Shout out NSYNC. For me it was probably, uh, it was Mute Movement Music Festival when it was
22:22damp Detroit electronic music festival. Uh, my siblings love that fest. So I would always be the,
22:28the younger brother being like, come on, take me with you. Take me with you. And eventually they did.
22:32And that opened my eyes to a whole new world. I need to get to movement real bad. This is
22:37the year.
22:37Yeah. This, this is the, cause last year was my settle year. Yeah. So I didn't really do too
22:41much during the summer. I'm outside. You're outside. I love it. Big pink on a, and it's packed.
22:47It's packed out. Is it giving floor or are you giving balcony? What's the vibe? I'm always,
22:53I'm always on the floor in the crowd. Like I'll, I'll always end up dancing for at least a little
22:58bit
22:58in the night just cause, uh, that's what it's about. You kind of like, you get caught up in
23:02the stress of the night that sometimes you need to just like let it go, be on the dance floor
23:06for
23:06a bit, vibe out, look around and have a good time. Exactly. Yeah. What about you? Oh man. I wish
23:12I could say I was on the floor, but I feel like most of the time I'm worried about like
23:15the bigger
23:15picture. And so a lot of times I'm in my office or I'm looking at cameras or I'm looking at,
23:20you know, uh, stock and stuff like that. I'm usually on the outskirts of the building. Okay. Yep.
23:26So I'm in the back room filling up the bar. I'm at the door, helping scan tickets. Yeah.
23:30He's on the dance floor getting videos and you know, he makes it. So people think that it's
23:36seamless. Yeah. He's the reason. Okay. After our moves, Kony, or are you getting gas station snacks?
23:45I'm proud. So I'm a vegetarian. So I'm always, I'm, I'm about the gas station snacks all the time.
23:51Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Me. I mean,
23:54a lot of times we have a food vendor at big pink and so I'll just hit them up mama's
23:58kitchen.
23:59Shout out mama's kitchen. And I'll just say, Hey, just like put me a few tacos to the side.
24:03That's my late night. Best night out Friday or Saturday.
24:08Saturday for me. Yeah. You gotta go Saturday.
24:11Okay. Detroit summer nights or winter nights? Oh, well, honestly, honestly, like this winter's
24:18been, this winter's been nuts. This winter's been amazing. People are outside, even though it's like
24:23negative, whatever degrees out. People are like, I still want to get out and they first. Oh yeah.
24:28Why not? Why not? Yeah. But summer in Detroit is special unmatched. Okay. Finish this. Detroit
24:34nightlife needs. Love and community always. And more venues. Beautiful club etiquette rule that you
24:45wished everyone followed. No requests. Don't, don't request music from the DJ. Just trust the DJ.
24:51Mm-hmm. I'm going to say no texting on the dance floor. Cause how lame. Yeah.
24:57Yeah. You stayed in here. You're essentially a wallflower at that point. Like what is so important
25:01that you can't bod to the kitchen auto that's happening right now? Yeah, exactly. You got it.
25:05Or just step to the side. Exactly. And then speaking of DJ, last one I got for you,
25:08DJ booth essentials, vinyl, USB, or both. I'm big on a USB. Yeah. Cause I want to be able to
25:16plug in
25:17wherever, whenever and not have to trip. That's true. Focus on the music. I'm trying to dibble and
25:21dabble my way. You know, I got a controller, you know, nothing crazy. You can teach you that too.
25:26Please. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. I'll pay you. I'll pay you, friend. Whatever we need. Okay. Obviously,
25:32this is Detroit culture shifter. So we have to end off this segment with talking about people who are
25:37pushing the culture forward. Obviously you guys were nominated. So congratulations. Thank you. But we
25:41pass the flowers on. So who is a culture shifter in Detroit that's making stuff shake?
25:47You pick one. I'll pick one. Okay. Um, well, I feel like there's, there's a few different people.
25:54Can I give you like a couple? Absolutely. Okay. I feel like I deal a lot with, uh, creatives in
25:58the
25:58community. So I think a DJ who's doing amazing stuff for the community right now, uh, his name's Mervin
26:06Montante. Yeah. And his Instagram is with love Harlow. He does. Yeah. I've been hearing about
26:14Harlow and I was so sick that I did not make it during the summertime. Yeah. Yeah. So he's,
26:20he's crushing it. That's like one of my best friends, our best friends. Yeah. You know,
26:24we've gotten really close with him over the years. And, uh, I've seen his whole progression
26:29from wanting to throw these pop-up parties throughout the city to now he's done shows at the public
26:35library. Didn't he do one at central? He's done. Uh, he did one on the rooftop on the building right
26:40next to Michigan central. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. For the fireworks. He did that one. Um, yeah, he's doing
26:46these really amazing pop-up parties that are, uh, for the community and you know, he just gives people
26:54a space to dance. So I would like to nominate him for sure. Another promoter, uh, that I want to
27:00show
27:00love to, uh, is the house party guys, uh, Nabil and, uh, J house. Uh, love those guys. They throw
27:08great parties in the city. So I want to show them some love too. Shout out to house party. I
27:11gotta
27:11check them out. What about you? Um, for me, we have one of our neighbors. Uh, he runs the downtown
27:17youth boxing gym. His name's Kali. So not as much a nightlife guy, but he does have a crazy story.
27:24We
27:24threw a show in his boxing gym. That's how we met him. Yeah. Um, and, uh, but he has an
27:29amazing story,
27:30he does so much for the community. Um, so he's awesome. I'll nominate him. He definitely,
27:35you know, he works with kids, so that's, you can't shift culture more than that. Right. Those,
27:39he, you know, he teaches them all sorts of stuff. It's an afterschool program he runs.
27:43So I'll say Kali. Um, he's a legend by the way. He is a legend. He's insane. He was one
27:48of the first
27:48people in Detroit that gave us a chance. Wow. We had an opportunity to throw a show, uh, with this,
27:55with a huge DJ. His name's Grizz and we just needed a space. And I walked into
27:59this youth boxing gym and I was like, this place is big enough. And I went up to him and
28:04I was like,
28:05after, after being rejected by every other place, I was like, Hey man, I have a party.
28:09There's going to be about 1500 people here. Uh, can we do it here? And he was like, man,
28:15I don't believe you. First of all, you're not bringing that many people. I was like, trust me,
28:18give me the space. We'll donate, you know, all the money that we make back to you guys in, in,
28:24uh,
28:24uh, you know, boxing gym, just trust me. And like, we need this. And he, uh, gave us the opportunity
28:29and you know, he always believes, you know, as long as you show him that you got the work ethic,
28:35he will like back you 110%. Yeah. I got to meet this man. He's cool. So yeah. So like full
28:41circle
28:42from that, we bought a building down the street from the gym years later, which is now big pink.
28:46So now we're his neighbor and, um, and he's still, you know, we see him all the time and, uh,
28:51he's great.
28:52So he's, he's on there. Um, DJ's K dirty, you know, she's, she's been, uh, I feel like she's always
29:01doing really cool events. Um, and she's kind of everywhere in the city. So I'll put her on there,
29:08put Donovan Glover on there. He's always been super active, uh, creatively. So it's a great list,
29:14man. Yeah. That's a good, that's a good list. That's some, some, some good people we just
29:18put on there. Well, thank you. I'm definitely going to be reaching out to them and please
29:22shout out yourselves to show the social media for being pink, your social so that they can find you
29:27and be all locked into what you guys are doing. So I'm munch. My Instagram is munch music. Uh,
29:33the venue Instagram is big pink loves you. And my print shop is overtime print shop. I'm accessible.
29:39Shoot me a message. Say what up. You know, I like making new friends. So hopefully, uh,
29:42I'll see you on the dance floor sometime soon. That's it. I mean, mine, you know,
29:46if you want to see me like play guitar or something or like my kids, yeah, maybe you do. It's
29:51I am
29:51Chester pink. Um, so that was the original, the original pink was my name is Chester pink on Instagram.
29:57So I am Chester pink. Um, but yeah, hit a munch music. He's, he's on there more. So we'll, uh,
30:04we'll leave it at that. Well, thank you guys for being here. I am honored to have met you and
30:09I can't
30:09wait to continue to do business with y'all. Amazing. Thank you so much. And hopefully we'll
30:13see you at big pink soon. Yeah. Thank you.
30:15Cool.
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