Nov. 3, 2020

Episode 5 - The Travis Scott Breakdown

Welcome to episode 5 of Nicky and Moose the Podcast. Today Nicky Saunders and Mostafa Ghonim are breaking down Mr. Travis Scott aka La Flame!

Looking at the moves he’s been making, we HAD to figure out what Cactus Jack was as far as the Flight Assessment and breakdown the mindset and strategy behind the one of a kind artist.  

Whether you’re a fan or don’t even know his name, there is no denying that this unique artist is one that has a blueprint that could definitely help to further our brands and businesses should we adopt it. 

What you will discover

  • -The truth behind the myth that we are self-made
  • -The importance of understanding the foundation of your industry then adding to it.
  • -How to know the right time to level up.
  • -The mindset to have concerning your audience when you do level up.
  • -The amount of weight we should give to titles
  • -How to not want to be attached to a title
  • -What you should “hang your hat on”
  • -Who to collaborate with.
  • -The significance of keeping your identity in the midst of collaborating.
  • -The importance of making moves you enjoy. 
  • -The power of duplicating yourself.
  • -The question to ask yourself if you’re in a saturated industry.

Interview Clips:
Travis Scott: In Camera: SHOWstudio Live Interview
Travis Scott Tour Houston
LeBron James INterviews Travis Scott
Travis Scott On His McDonald's Meal & Michael Jordan's
Travis Scott Talks His Viral Fornite Concert | Big Boy x Fuse
Travis Scott Takes Ebro in the AM to Talk New Album, Kid Cudi and Cruel Winter

Transcript

Nicky Saunders:

What's poppin? What's poppin? What's poppin? Welcome to Nicky and Moose! I'm Nicky! That's Moose! Sup Moose?

Mostafa Ghonim:

What up y'all?

Nicky Saunders:

And today we are going to be talking about a very creative energy full of... I don't know if there's words to get to really explain him. My man has a chicken nugget, body pillow. We'll get into that. None other than Travis Scott. How we feeling about this?

Mostafa Ghonim:

A very unique sound man, like, learning about this guy's story and where he was and then how just a few small adjustments came together for him. And next thing you know, he really started having his name mentioned in a lot of big circles that gave him the opportunities that have led him to where he is today. So yeah, it's cool to see someone who you wouldn't traditionally see take the path to success, but still made it nonetheless. So much, much respect to him for making it happen.

Nicky Saunders:

Worked with Kanye, Young Thug, T.I. Like I said, a chicken nugget body pillow. Yeah, yeah, let's just get into the intro.

Jaymie Jordan:

Two kids from Queens. Cut from a different cloth. Now joining forces helping you to elevate your personal brand. Yeah, I'm talking about Nicky and Moose. Bringing you a never before seen perspective into the mindset, the mentality, the behaviors, the driving force, but more importantly, the stories behind the people and brands that you love the most.

Nicky Saunders:

So, before we get into this, Travis Scott talk, let's talk about an addiction I'm trying to get away from. Okay?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Uh oh!

Nicky Saunders:

Um, so, shout out to Wawa. You don't sponsor as yet. But I spend so much money on you that you might as well. So I don't mind talking about them. So, I'm staying far away from them. Ever since COVID, like, I think I only had them once through COVID. I think when Virginia was like, hey, you're allowed to go outside again. Hey, and I went straight to Wawa scared all get up. I ordered it from the phone, but then I never went back. Right? And the reason why is because I will eat that every single day. Every single day. I have an addictive mindset. And so if I like something, I'm going to eat it over and over and over and over again. And so I'm trying to stay away but the the little Wawa person in me is like, "Hello. I haven't had the soft pretzel or the hoagie or anything like that." Right? I'm like. I'm trying to be good, but I already have a $50 bagel addiction that's happening. Shout out to my followers who sent me bagels, but now it's time for me to buy it. And that's an expensive, um, vibe.

Mostafa Ghonim:

That's an expensive bagel. When you say you spent $50 on a dozen of bagels. I'm like, yo, hold up now.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, I get it.

Mostafa Ghonim:

They taxing you for shipping, like, like it's legit coming from New York. Wait, is it really coming from New York?

Nicky Saunders:

It is coming from New York. It's coming from H&H bagels. Right, which is my favorite spot. Um, and the shipping is actually supposedly free. So, yeah...

Mostafa Ghonim:

Nah, we gone have to look a little deeper into that. They may have just, you know, added the cost.

Nicky Saunders:

I don't know but a dozen... and then if you add cream cheese, like if you add this spread to it, it's like $65 or something like that. I'm like, okay, Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I'm still gonna go with you. Okay?

Mostafa Ghonim:

We gonna make it work.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, yeah, it's not that deep for me. Um, but yeah, I've been trying to stay away from the bagels, but it's just like, nah this is gonna be... I was gonna make it like a quarterly thing. Like treat yourself to H&H every quarter. Nah. It's, it's yeah, it was, it was straight up crackhead vibes. Like oh my God, okay. Like, no, I'm not gonna order it. No, no, I'm not gonna... Shout out to the internet who makes everything so easy.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, yeah, no, and this is probably where we became siblings because the bagel vibes. I'm like, Yo, I'm about I have minimum, minimum, four to five bagels a week. Just like that's me being generous. That's like oh, cuz I didn't have one for you know, like a quick little snack. Yeah, yeah. I'm bageled old out. Yeah. Love bagels!

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, if I was in New York, I would have a bagel every single day. But now I'm just going to have an expensive habit because when they were sending me it, I had a whole I had 30 days worth of bagels.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Wow! So you would have one every day?

Nicky Saunders:

I had, of course! Of course! Every day!

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah. Wow!

Nicky Saunders:

Every day. So every day I have a I have three eggs on something. Okay? I have either in a breakfast burrito vibes, or I'll have it on a bagel now. And when I had it on a bagel it was like I looked so forward to it, it wasn't... Anyway, we're just getting too much into my addictive ways.

Mostafa Ghonim:

I'm getting hungry just listening.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Sorry to all the listeners who just got like mad at us like Yo, I'm kinda hungry.

Nicky Saunders:

I'm sorry. Um, yeah, I don't know what else to tell you. However, let's get into these reviews. Shout out to everybody who sends us a review on the podcast if you haven't, send those reviews. Send those reviews. We see them, we read them, we appreciate them. And then today I'm going to go over who's this person? Ouuu! Say that. Say that one.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Oh it's cut off on my side. Let me see something.

Nicky Saunders:

Somebody...Chaos...Chaos the Rapper. I need to learn how to read. I promise you. Reading is not my... Yeah, last time was I'm butchered that person's name and it was...

Mostafa Ghonim:

That was hilarious.

Nicky Saunders:

So this one says, "Brilliant. Do you know how people listen to music in their headphones and do strange things? Me! I'm people doing strange things. I don't know anything about sports. But the gems y'all drop feel like I'm in the game running, quarterback down the center, field goal, whatever that means." Shout out to you Chaos, the Rapper. Appreciate the review. And everybody who sends us the reviews. We appreciate it. We're going to make sure we highlight at least one person an episode because we don't want you to think like it doesn't mean anything to us because it does. It does. Um, Moose, are you addicted to anything? Hold on before we get into that. Are you addicted anything? Or is it just me? I don't really, I really feel like I'm alone in this. All people who are addictive feel like...

Mostafa Ghonim:

Nah. You know I'm a foodie though. I do like to eat. I am. You may not see it physically. But but I love to eat. I already saw your reaction. Like...

Nicky Saunders:

Listen, listen, for those who don't know. Right? And maybe in the future we'll do like a Nicky and Moose Squad Retreat or something where Moose will be in the pool looking like a Muslim Hulk. I just want to put that out there. He eats a lot. But you will never see it. Never! I mean, my man... me and him go back and forth on desserts like we get really excited about desserts. And I'm the only chubby one because I eat all the desserts but he he I don't know where he puts them. I really don't. I just...

Mostafa Ghonim:

Oh man, aye shout out to my metabolism system. I don't know if Mom or Dad gave that. Whoever you know whoever contributed to that, we appreciate you. It's helping us continue to eat what we enjoy into the 30's and I'm loving it. Let's get it!

Nicky Saunders:

Oh my goodness. All right. Let's get into this episode. People are like Yo, what? Shout out to metabolism? What is going on? Crazy! Anyway. All right, Travis Scott, right. Um, first off, normally we go with like the older legends and people who've been doing it but I think Travis Scott lately has been doing so much amazing things that we have to talk about it. I mean, between Fortnite, the McDonald's collab, Nike collab, everything that's going on, we have to touch onthat. Especially the Fortnite. When we get to that part, I'm going to go crazy because that right there was genius. That right there was genius. But let's do what we normally do as far as let's try to figure out what my man is as far as the flight assessment. If you haven't taken the flight assessment yet flightassessment.com. This has changed both myself, Moose's life. We rock with it with E.

But in a 1:

30, Moose, can you explain what this pilot ,this flight attendant, this grounds crew, this air traffic controller? What are these things? Why are we trying to associate it with Travis? What are we doing?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Absolutely. So the whole idea behind it man is to give you an opportunity to see what are some of the traits that you might share in common with some of these greats, artists, entrepreneurs that you look up to and see what are some maybe of their strategies or ideas that you can follow or implement into your own brand and business and see similar returns. Maybe not on a similar magnitude in terms of numbers right away, but still just based off of your talents and who you match with, that can be someone that you follow more closely. So a short, it's based off of the four dominant personality types that we know exist in the world, we use the airport theme or the flight theme to really bring it together. And first, we look at the pilot, right? And when you observe a pilot in their natural habitat, typically, as soon as they get on the plane, they go straight into the cockpit. And they're focused on getting the plane from where it is to its final destination. So when we look at people who have pilot dominant personality types, they are the A-type people in the room who are extremely driven, they love problems and challenges, they're motivated to go after the thing that everyone might be afraid of. And they're always looking to get to the bottom line. Right? But next up, you have the flight attendant. Now the flight attendant has a slightly different swag. They're more about the people the experience the charisma, right? Making sure that they look good, they feel good, they want to have a great time. So this is the life of the party, the people who are great with people, they have great people skills, very charming. And they rely on their ability to connect and influence others to get their way up to the top. Right? Next up, you have the grounds crew, one of my favorite characters of the group. Now the grounds crew, when you watch them from your seat, if you're sitting by the window, they're putting bags onto the plane, they are bringing up snacks and beverages to the flight attendant, they're even helping the pilot navigate the plane from the runway to the gate or vice versa. So they have a lot of different things going on. But what we know about them is that they're extremely loyal to a specific vision. So people who are grounds crew personalities, they tend to be very supportive. They're very empathetic, they have great listening skills. So you might not necessarily hear them or see them or observe them right away. But they're usually in the back in the cut somewhere just kind of observing you and warming up to you or when they feel comfortable with you they're able to really open up and get comfortable. And then last but not least you have the air traffic control up in the tower somewhere. Again, you don't hear from them, you don't see them. But you hear of them right? Pilot will come on the intercom and say, Hey, air traffic control said that we're next up in line to take off or can leave just a couple more minutes. So air traffic control the people in that tower, they're typically thinking about the small details. They're thinking about how do our decisions today from an organization or a strategy standpoint, impact our future, right? So they care about the details, the scheduling, they want to make sure no two planes are taking off of the same runway or landing at the same time. So those are the people again, who work a little bit more with details, stats, things of that nature, but bring it all together. That is the flight assessment.

Nicky Saunders:

That's alot. That's alot. Thank you, Moose.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yep, yep, yep.

Nicky Saunders:

So, let's get into this first clip. This was an interview he did at Hot 97. And just talking about how did he get his different sound? Like a lot of people he's a very creative guy. So every creator has their own different process of how they figured it out. This is his.

Travis Scott:

When I first came in, I always made music to make it like other people. I don't know if that makes sense but like I was mimicking other like artists when I was like 13 years old, 14 years old, making beats and making music just to like get the sound. Right? And so like, you know, I think every producer any young producer like when they do that they make like they favorite rapper. They make the same beat, make the same rap. They like okay, this how they did it. To understand it completely okay to break down. So then when I grew up, I was like, okay, start now you got to translate it to and sound and... so that kind of like, you know, grew me up.

Nicky Saunders:

First off, air horns. Heeyy! Moose, start this off.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, I like this a lot, man. You know, one of the things that I I truly believe is that no one is self made, right? Like, I know that, especially for the entrepreneur, this is something that people take near and dear to their heart, like, "I didn't get no handouts, I'm self made". And I'm gonna go against the grain here and say, Look, maybe you didn't get money, you didn't get funds to help you start, but you're not self made, right? You followed the path of somebody else. You took after someone's style or information. Something contributed to where you are right now. So you can't completely throw a blanket statement out there and say, "Yo, I'm self made". So I like what he says here. He's like, you know, I started by mimicking the style of other artists, those who came up before me who kind of maybe lead the way. And we saw Kanye, you know, similar to a few other producers in the game, who kind of laid the tracks for him. So he's letting you know, that was the key to his success. For anybody starting off on the journey. Don't be afraid to mimic the style, we talked about it. But he gives you the key nugget towards the end there. And he says, once I got a little older, then I started changing it up and going into my own style. And this is definitely where I want you to talk about it a little bit too Nicks because we talk about that area where if you try to pretend to be somebody else, you know, you'd be become a 2.0 version of somebody else. It's just never really clicks. So I love that he yes, he followed that to master his craft and kind of get in the lane, but then eventually started venturing off into his own space and creating something a little bit different. I know he talked about in one of the articles that I was reading he talked about, he liked Maroon 5, Gym Class Heroes, you know, like a few other bands. But he was like, it just didn't give me the exact feel that I wanted, it was either too happy or too dark. And I wanted a nice combination between the two. So you can see where he started. As he figured out how to do it. He went out and created something that was unique to him, per se. What you got on this one?

Nicky Saunders:

So, I think for me, especially as being a creator, like we always have to start with the foundation, right? So there are people who's done it before us. So of course, we're going to try how they did it, just to get the base of things, right? We can't, though there's some things in some styles that we can just go off the bat and just go like and try it and see if it works. There's some things that in our industries and in our lanes, we have to stay true to the foundation that was built, right. So for him, he was talking about producers. And he tried to actually recreate the same exact songs, right? To see if he could get the same snares, the same drum sound, you know, when the vocals come in, and everything like that, because you need to understand how to compose certain things as a creator. And once you figure that out, then you can put your own kind of style. So I think that and it's not only just creators, it's anybody who's really creating something, whether it's a brand, content, clothes, whatever. Have you perfected the foundation first, right? And then have you tried to create your own lane now that you know the foundation? So I love that he even admitted like, "yeah, I copied". "I straight up, took their songs, and I tried to do it myself. Word by word, beat by beat, I tried to do it. And then when I got older, then I put my own mix to it." And now when you look at Travis Scott, there isn't anybody who really has that sound, and some who've tried sound like a copy. Right? And in the beginning, he probably sounded like a copy. I think there was... ah man, I forgot the the name of it. But the one that he got discovered with the video that caught the attention of Kanye and T.I. I looked at it and it was almost a straight copy of Kanye, right? It sounded like him the video the visuals, which would explain why they are as close as they are. Because the two of them the way they treat their videos, the way they treat their beats and music and everything like that. It has similar vibes, but you could see as Travis Scott matured, he became his own genre, it almost seems like. And we're gonna get into that clip where he speaks on that. But it does take you to understand the foundation. It does take for you to take, whether you're in basketball and understanding the crossover, just like how Allen Iverson did, understanding, you know, the, the hook as maybe like a T-Pain did or something like that. The people who are known for what they do, you may want to try to, even behind the scenes, not necessarily out front, like he never said, I copied, and I put it out to the world. Right? He did that in the lab. He copied verbatim, what they were doing behind the lab and, and really recreating it. I think Swiss Beats had kind of similar vibes when he started out, right? He was surrounded by a whole bunch of producers. And he was figuring out the foundation and then found his own lane. So when it comes to these greats, they all study, they all try to mimic, they all try to perfect it, and then figure out their own lane. So I think from a creator standpoint, even just business standpoint, we have to look back and see who's done it before, and what we can learn from them, and what we can add on to it. I think that's what the biggest thing that I got from that clip was.

Mostafa Ghonim:

For sure, for sure. And I think it's a great opportunity for anyone who's struggling with their purpose or where to start or how to start. That might be something you want to consider right now. You know, rather than trying to come up with something completely unique, figure out how someone got to the success that they had. And literally try and duplicate it. Like see if you can start with just that similar blueprint. I mean, listen to Nicky and Moose, shameless plug here, that's pretty much what we try and give you guys. But you get the idea, right? It's like, but definitely down that path. I wanted to ask you, though, Nicks talk about you know, like, we talked about that part where he says, but when I got older, I switched off and created my own sound. Like when do you know it's the right time to start venturing off now and get creative because I'm sure somebody out there is listening, like, "Okay, I'm feeling you on that. But I'm right there. And I'm afraid to do something different. Because what if I lose the people that that I brought with me in the beginning?" Maybe that's a thought. "Or I want to do it, but I'm just not sure which direction because I don't want to feel like I'm just hopping on the bandwagon." Like how do you know what's the right time? How do you do it?

Nicky Saunders:

When you're ready to get to the next level. I don't know if that was the answer that some people wanted. But I mean, you're always going to reach a ceiling copying somebody. Right? You're never going to be number one. You're maybe going to be number two at most, but you're never going to be number one. Now, some people feel great kind of reaching top 10. You know? That's cool. But when you create your own style there ain't no competition. For me, I don't even like competition to the fact of in a crowded area. Like I'd rather create my own style so I stand out, right? And when it comes to these legends I feel like they've done this same thing. And not calling Travis, well no I can say he is a legend in his own lane for the genre music that he's made absolutely. Him and Young Thug are in their own kind of wave over there right when it comes to the younger generation. Oh my God I sound so old! I hate that! I'm never saying that again because I'm not old! That's trash! Trash! But anyways...

Mostafa Ghonim:

The younger generation...

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, no that because no. Like really. I listen to Travis Scott. What am I talking about? But, the only reason I say that is because the clip comes from Hot 97 which is Ebro, right? And Ebro always is like "Yo you chill with Young Thug? I don't understand anything he's saying. It's not that that's not cool." Like Ebro always takes a longer time. No offense Ebro. Love you to def. Been listening to you for years, but it always takes him a minute. And I think he's gotten better with it. But it always takes him a minute to catch on because his generation was so used to the Biggies and the Tupacs and you know, just the the lyrical breakdown of what we know as New York hip hop. And so hearing anything different. He's like, "I don't get it. I understand it yet" Right? But that's what happens when you create new styles. People are not going to understand it right away. And going right back to it, because I'm circling back, right? Going right back to it. You can't worry about your existing audience because they're there, because you mimic something. But you will never understand your true identity if you stay in that lane. There's a whole other audience and there's whole other people that are waiting for what you do when you step into that. But if you stay right there, in the pocket that everybody has done, and the situation that everybody is used to, you're going to reach that barrier you're going to reach where you cannot grow any more. Because now you're waiting for the person who originated that to grow. So you can copy instead of you creating it, and you growing on your own. So you're honestly depending on a person, or an industry for your growth instead of your own.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, that's real, that's real. I like that. I like that. I put it in our I put it in our in our draft. I'm gonna tweet that out. Nicky said, "You're always gonna hit a ceiling when you're copying someone else." I'm like, yeah, that's a bar right there.

Nicky Saunders:

Just saying. I'm just saying. Um, but, uh, let's get into his next one because this also talks about his style, and how he feels he fits whether he is a rock star, or hip hop artist.

Travis Scott:

I wouldn't even put myself in neither category of they both have stereotypes, right? And I'm just like, I'm a person that go against all types of stereotypes. And I feel like, um, I just create music for a living. That's it. I don't make it for like, it's not a specific color, race, you know, you know, sex, gender. It's just for like a lifestyle. You know? Now whether you deem it as a Rockstar or Hip Hop is up to you. But to me is just like music.

Nicky Saunders:

So, first off, let me do my usual. I gotta make sure people are up. Ya mean? So, um, that clip came from Show Studio. And what I love about it, because we can't put a label on Travis. If anybody has seen his, like, performance, my man has like, mosh pits. He's, he's doing he's jumping into the crowd. He has everybody beating each other up. Hence why I never want to go to a Travis Scott thing because I don't, I don't want bumps and bruises. That's not gonna be for me. But I would love to see him live if it was like high up, sitting, chilling. That's all. I'm not. I'm not gonna, yeah, I'm not gonna get punched. I'm not, I'm not. But if anybody is going to if anybody has seen like, clips of Astro World, and any of his live performance, it looks amazing! It looks rock star kind of vibe, where Hip Hop artists may have choreographers in the back, you know? They may not even do much movement, they'll just move their hands and have the mic, and that's about it. Or they'll have a squad have like 70 people on the stage. And that's a Hip Hop concert. So how Travis is, you really can't put a title to it. And I think Moose, my question to you is do we put too much weight on titles? And trying to, to box people in into what we deem them to be?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, yeah, no, that's major. Let me say this. If you're just starting off, and you're really concerned about a title, you really need to check your insecurity, right? Because you're probably trying to find the title so that when somebody asks, "oh, so what do you do?" And you're like, "Oh, well, I am an engineer." Right? Like that's an insecurity issue. I'm gonna just have to be real Nicky because I and you know what? Let me be super honest. That was me. That was me. I was at a point when I first started my career, man stretching back to as early as my college days when I I've always worked. I've always been between work and school and baseball and things of that nature. So as early as that when I started hanging out, and people were older than me, and they would always ask the question, so what do you do for work? And I'm like, you know, I gotta find a cool title. And I realized yo deep down, some of us really struggle to find the title or stress out about titles, because we want to cover an insecurity that we have about what people will take us as when we don't say something that is so fancy, and, you know, glittered with with suave, and lights. So I would say, check your insecurities first. But then the second part of it is, man, I got the best piece of advice about about this, stop worrying about what you need to call yourself, and focus on what you need to become for your

people. (Sound effect:

First of all, you're not gonna speed passed that like you didn't just say what you just said.)

Nicky Saunders:

Repeat that!

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, yeah, I would say, Man, I know, I know, it's it's important. We need the titles, but spend less time worrying about what you're going to call yourself what title you're going to wear, and focus more about who you need to become to serve your audience or your people. That that is where it really clicks Nicks.

Nicky Saunders:

So all right, because there's people out there that, how do I put this, know a person or is the person that because of the title, it gives them the power, right? And so but you're saying, don't focus on the title. But if power to some structures is attached to a title, how do how do we not associate how do we not want to be attached to a title?

Mostafa Ghonim:

But truth be told, I don't know if power is what somebody should be focused on fighting for in the beginning of their business or their brand. You should be working on building a body of work or resume that gets people to trust you, and you deliver on the promises that you're making in the marketplace. Because I know you and I feel the same exact way. We can't stand getting sold on some phenomenal marketing and branding. And then we get the product and the service and then it will match up.

Nicky Saunders:

Right.

Mostafa Ghonim:

So So okay, you have the title, you caught me with the title, I would say spend more time in figuring out how to explain what you do. Simplifying what it is that you deliver, and how you help people. That's more important. And then just wait and listen until they start giving you a name or a nickname or a title for what you say. Like, I'm sure you have some of your nicknames. I remember it was Jorge, who started calling me Professor X.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah.

Mostafa Ghonim:

And then Val said, this doctor.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah

Mostafa Ghonim:

You know, Moose is something that I've had since I was younger playing baseball and growing up so that that's another thing that goes with it. But it was just about you serve the people for what you do well, and you focus on delivering on your promises. And then sure enough, people will start kind of giving you some ideas of what to call yourself. I mean, talk about maybe the experience for you. I mean, I hope it's different so that we can give two sides of the coin here. But yeah, I don't I don't know I have something against titles, man. But I would say just because I struggled with it so much that I'm like, man, screw these doggone titles. I just help people.

Nicky Saunders:

So you make me smile.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Hey, y'all. Hey, somebody sound bite that tweet it out.

Nicky Saunders:

No, no, nobody do that. Nobody do that. No, um, I couldn't agree with you more just because I think too many people hang their hats on titles so much. But like, I hate titles. I hate titles because it doesn't define who you are, like a man made title doesn't define that. Right? It got to the point where, like, even people were asking me, like, what's your title? And I was just like, one of one. That's not I'm like, you can't you can't box me in. And maybe that's the pilot and me you can't box me in into a title. It's crazy because even with I can say this even with ETA, right? I can say this because sometimes I gotta I gotta calm myself down. But they put like Business Development Strategists. And because they didn't know what else to call me, right? And I was like, I don't, I don't do none of that even sound like me. Now. When you read into the description, maybe, but like doesn't even sound cool. They just sound like nothing that I do. And it's weird. And like, everything from creating content, the online branding, to the strategy, to so many things from launching and all that stuff, you can't necessarily put it into a box and be like, this is who you are. I'm Nicky. That's it. Like, if you need to categorize me, that's cool. But I, I realized from years ago, I do not like titles. There's nothing about me that likes titles. Because it like, I think I've been not traumatized, what's the one lower than traumatized? Because traumatized is like, I feel scared.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Can we say mesmerized? Mesmerized is like...

Nicky Saunders:

We could try that. You follow me where I'm going with this. So, um, I think because of military and and then going into corporate, like, you could see people who are unqualified, taking certain titles, and messing up that whole situation messing up the job messing up the project, everything like that. But because they have a title, there's certain things that has to happen for them to be dethroned. And, for me, I'm more focused on the work than necessarily the title, I will respect you more, if you could back it up with your actual work, you have credentials based off the work that you've done than necessarily the title that you hold, because anybody can make up a title. These titles didn't come from anywhere, but a random person that was like, "Hmm, you know what, let's call this person the Senior Vice President, Digital Content Creator Phenomenon." What? Where did you come from? Where did that sounds amazing, but what is that? What? What in the world is that? And then they come up with this template of a description and keep it moving. So for me, I don't care for titles. It doesn't define me. My work defines me and that's what I hang my hat on. Facts.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Word.

Nicky Saunders:

But let's talk some business talk. Okay, so, um, he collaborated with video games, in fashion. Not only just music, okay? We're not talking about the 17 million features he has and has done and all the people he's worked with and not talking about that. I'm talking about a body pillow. I'm talking about extra lettuce on a quarter pounder with cheese. My man collabed with McDonald's that doesn't happen that doesn't. But let's get it let's let's see what he talks about when he's talking about McDonald's, Fortnite, and even NBA 2K.

Travis Scott:

They hit me up to do something and I was like yo, I really love it's like actually one of my things that kept me going when I was a kid. Whatever I was doing, like a Quarter Pounder is like the my favorite thing to grab late at night especially. ...love video games I really like so I think it's pretty dope man. I just encouraged every other kid too to like man just be focusing. You know this is possible for you know is to do whatever they want. And you play 2K right? Yeah I play 2K all the time. It means a lot cuz it reaches a lot of people in like different communities. So to be able to be in a game, it just inspired people which is dope.

Nicky Saunders:

So, um, and Moose I know you got stats for days with this one. I want to kind of set it up before we get into the stats of you got to you got to collab with things you honestly like love. It's only going to work if there is like a deeper meaning. Like my man with the McDonald's. Like yo this is what I honestly ordered. We really did the meal how I honestly ordered it. Barbecue on the side. Extra lettuce. Like everything about this meal. Like if he just said it was weird me going to a McDonald's and ordering it the same way I do. Oh, so you want the Travis Scott? He's like, Oh, yeah, that one. You know? Just working with brands and companies of things you honestly use on a regular basis or who have like some childhood memory. Like even when he did Astro World for his tour and his album, he was like, Yo, I grew up with Astro World, and they they tore it down. And so for Houston, I wanted to bring that back. You know? Everything is connected to a deeper meaning for that person. And when it is, it's so successful. Like I never seen McDonald's merchandise sell out. That's not the thing. Like you don't want to rock the, you know, the golden arch around you. This was who wants to rock a McDonald's, chicken nugget body. Like, that was the weirdest thing. I'm stuck. People have heard me say this like nine times. I'm cool with that, just because who rocks a chicken nugget body pillow? Like, how do you sell that? How do you sell that for more than $50? Like, it's the craziest thing and his merchandise is, is unmatched is unmatched. The shirts is almost like Supreme prices. Like hoodies are like $200. And I'm gonna give you you go with the stats. And then we're going to talk about kind of like the resale value that this man is worth, because that's when you know, you're good. When your merchandise has a resale value of two, three times more than the actual thing is crazy. Crazy.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, that's major. That's major. The thing that stood out man was this was the first celebrity that McDonald's collaborated with since Michael Jordan. That's got to be something like, Yo, what? You have waited since 1992. For like it wasn't, you know, that's that's major. That's major. So I thought it definitely represented a lot. But man, just some numbers overall behind the concept. Right? Of course, the meal that they brought together was only available with with in McDonald's stores for just under a month. Right? It was September 8 to October 4. Now, you can't really calculate specific numbers in terms of how the collaboration impacted each of them. But here's what I did. I looked at McDonald's stock price, prior to September 8, and then after October 4, and check this out, Nicky, their stock price went up by 6% during that

time period.(Sound effect:

Hold...Wait! First of all, you're not gonna speed past that like you didn't just say what you just said.) Yeah, that's major. You talk about stats, right? And remember, their share price is like $215 or so. So it went up to it went up a good bit, right. 6%, it took them to $220 something. So when you when you do your overall calculation in terms of their market cap, that brought some, some couple hundred, if not a bill, you know, like it brought in some serious numbers for them off of that. So that definitely the advantage and I'm sure you you can speak to this a little bit more from a merch standpoint, is he funnels all the traffic back to his website.

Nicky Saunders:

Yes.

Mostafa Ghonim:

When we started doing our research, when I put in Travis Scott into Google, the very first thing that came up, and I must admit that that has not been the case for a lot of the artists and business people that we have covered so far, the very first thing to come up on Google was his website. Not his wiki, you know Wikipedia page or any other YouTube video or this or that. It was his website. So it shows that he's very strategic in pushing a lot of that traffic through everything that he does back to his website. And I'm sure that's something that he goes to the negotiation table with in knowing that okay, here's what we can collaborate on. I'm sure I can help you accompany your business or your brand with such numbers through the storyline. But more importantly, here's my part of the benefit that I'm not willing to wager on. And it's that it's that merch side coming directly from his website and exposing the traffic through there. So I thought that was pretty brilliant as well.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah. His his merchandise is is crazy and like I said the resale value not only for the merch, but as well as the sneakers. Like if you could go on Stock X right now right? And I'll see if I could put it up so for my viewers on YouTube, you should see it. But his his Jordan 4s, the blue ones, like $4,000. A hoodie right now, we're looking at, like $191. What else? We have face masks $39, socks $69. Like $400 for a Travis Scott Astro World logo hoodie... $400 like insane. And these are everybody who is in the merch game knows that. It don't take that much to create merch. It doesn't. A shirt and a hoodie, the most can run you about $12 to make the most, on a high end $20 whatever. But we're looking at insane prices of resale value, which instantly brings Hypebeast. Once you have resale value, it doesn't matter what you put out. People are going to buy it because now it's limited. Right? When he did the McDonald's collab that was all like how Moose said, shop.travisscott.com. That's the only place you could buy it and you get a notification through email. Right, of the lineup. He was selling cassettes. Before the thing ,he's selling vinyl. When it came back to the McDonald's thing, he was selling the McDonald's hoodies. Um, he has his own action figure. His own action figure. Like and premium prices. So he understands his value, and even puts it within his own his own merchandise. But the biggest thing that I thought that happened this year was the Fortnite thing. The Fortnite thing, and I put it up for the YouTube viewers right now, you had a whole concert. When people couldn't go to concerts anymore due to COVID, you had a whole concert that is not necessarily his crowd. Okay? Like we said earlier, he doesn't like titles, but he is considered a hip hop artist. Right? But Fortnite does not only have hip hop audience. It has millions and millions of people playing and watching this concert. So what happened was he did a free? I think it was a couple of days of free concert. Right. And it then led people to exclusive merchandise. Yeah. Which sold out. Do you happen to have those numbers? I don't know if you have them?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Absolutely. Yeah 12 million viewers or streamers the first day. It was a three day conference. And they pulled 27 million throughout the three days. So you talk about 27 million people are all going with the primary call to action. It's like oh, we get to stream a free Travis Scott concert, right? And then the only call to action really, you talk about single focus or just a primary focus for making the buying decision easy for the audience or people that you're working with, buy some merch. Buy some merch. So like the conversion of that even if we say the average conversion 10% you got about 2.7 million people who may have possibly purchase your merchandise during that time.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, and the crazy thing is, you ain't really see any hip hop artists do this. You really haven't. Like, yeah, there's some whether it's 2K, whether what was it that Def Jam, video game when they were fighting each other or something like that. Yeah, you've seen rappers on video games like that, but nothing to a point that brings in millions of people in one spot. during a time that no one could be even around each other, right? And you could tell if you're looking at it right and and those who are listening on audio just YouTube the Travis Scott Fortnite, right? His whole theme between the Astro World is in the background. His sneakers, he's wearing them. Like it's he has full control of even the creativity of the game when he's doing the concert, right? And then on top of that there was different skins you can buy that thing generates revenue for Travis Scott. There's there's so many different ways that you could look at this overall getting millions of views of millions of people on the video game at the same time not only brings disgusting amount of brand awareness and then you have traffic to get the different features of the game you're going to want to get the this specialized merch that no one else is going to get after a certain couple days. He created scarcity for his brand in a whole new way than rappers has ever done and so after that was The Weekend did a whole concert on Tick Tock. So now you're making something of virtual reality or the gaming world now the new norm to advertise your music, stream your music, get your merch sold. Bring brand awareness to what you're doing. It is crazy how I think I've seen this this concert several times. Like he did a song with Kid Cudi that was released in Fortnite. That you don't get you don't have a special release in a video game. Especially that's not yours. But that's the great thing about collaborations he saw the benefit of being on Fortnite. Fortnite was one of the and maybe still is one of the most played games at a certain point. That's all you heard was Fortnite, Fortnite, Fortnite, right? And they were getting in trouble actually for doing some of the hip hop dances and everything. But they said, yo, we're going to collaborate with one of the biggest hip hop artists now. And it worked. It worked. Over and over again.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Smart move, man. It's a smart move across the board. I'm looking up how many Fortnite players there are around the world 350 million players. Right? So it's like you, I don't know if all 27 million of the streamers were, you know, Travis Scott fans, but I'm sure it was an equal exchange where he got an opportunity to expose himself and his brand to another generation of an audience, whether they be from a different industry, just the gaming industry, and overall, or maybe even a different age bracket. But definitely a smart move on both ends. You know, the part that I wanted to add too and I think it's important for us to talk about this because I don't think people ever make the connection as to why we say, only collaborate with brands that you genuinely enjoy the product or the service or you rock with them. It's really because of the storyline. Right? Like when you think of brand collaboration, one of the most important things that happens outside of Yes, the visuals and the sales, and all of that is important, don't get me wrong. But more importantly, there's a storyline that's told, that makes it attractive and appealing. So storytelling is not an easy concept overall, especially if you have to come up with the creative from A through Z. But if there was a natural connection that your business or your brand has with another complementing product or service growing up, especially, and you take that into the creative process, all you're telling is your story. And no matter if you mess up the script, no matter what you do, because it's your story, right you can still say it in a way that comes off authentic, that comes off real, that people can connect with it, and then all the other factors were playing afterward in terms of of course your influence and the maybe the relationship that you have with your audience already. But yeah, I just wanted to highlight that part as well because I feel like the storytelling piece of it like him just saying like man late at night I used to go, you know, McDonald's, get the extra lettuce on a Quarter Pounder, like that story is just so organic that you're like, yo, that's real. I like that. I would go to McDonald's or maybe I went to McDonald's and used to get some similar whatever it is. So yeah, I think that the storyline of it is is another reason why people, you know, need to need to take that into consideration because it just it doesn't come off the same way when you when you don't have that there.

Nicky Saunders:

Right and, and going a little back to the Fortnite thing. What concert? Are you gonna have millions of people in one spot?

Mostafa Ghonim:

No stadium holds millions of people. Let's just say that.

Nicky Saunders:

No, no, not at all. Not at all. And he didn't have to worry about security, he didn't have to worry about no health issues. Nothing like that. Parking. Nothing. You didn't have to worry.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah the execution was flawless. Because if you think of the timing, like shutdown in the US happened, let's say mid March. Yep. Keep the concert took off April 20.... I just had it up April 23 I believe. So like you talk about April 23 to the 25th were the exact dates. So like, you talk about 30 days, four or five weeks to pull the execution of that. That's still pretty flawless man. It's like that execution is is bar none, I think.

Nicky Saunders:

Listen. And even even with 2K, something that he's admitted playing countless of times they have him as a player, right, has his sneakers in there as well. You know, um, the great thing about it when these personal brands are working with, with top brands, they're, they're keeping their identity. You know, they're keeping what people know. You see the Cactus Jack logo everywhere. You know? His music is in there. So streams are still coming in, you know? Everything that is identified for him as an artist is still being represented not only with the McDonald's situation, not only with Fortnite and NBA 2K, but every single brand collaboration he's doing and is going to do is going to have his own style with it. And the biggest thing is not compromising your style, your swag, your merchandise, just for the looks. That's the biggest thing that I love about Travis because it's, he has a unique sound and look. And when you're working with a Nike, you would expect some of that to get dumbed down, when you're working with Fortnite, you would expect that to go get dumbed down and it was actually amplified a lot more. And, and he enjoyed it. It's not just about the money. He totally enjoyed it. But ,I think we're on this for a little bit. But I just wanted to make sure that people got that they not only is he just an artist, but the entrepreneurship moves that he's making is something that he enjoys. And we have to start looking at some of the moves that we're making and are we making it with enjoyment and making a bag at the same time?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, that's good.

Nicky Saunders:

It's so important. Like you could be miserable because you got exposure. You could be miserable, making a whole gwap of money. But he is enjoying every second of it. And that's kind of the goal. That's like that's a point of success. Yeah, that people should aim for.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, happiness has to be a part of the equation you know, at some point in the game. I understand maybe in the beginning there's a you probably have to sacrifice a little bit more. But man at some point you want happiness to be in it as part of your equation so you can be like okay, yep, this is worth the sacrifice. This is worth the the late nights and the early mornings. So yeah, to your point I think he's definitely doing it right right now.

Nicky Saunders:

Facts facts. So for this last clip, y'all know I try to find like a deep saying and everything like that. However, Travis has a creative way of saying I'm not gonna say deep, but the way we're about to break this down, it may be deep. I don't know Moose may feel inspired. I'm always hoping the last one he's like "That's good Nicky, that good."

Travis Scott:

If I can do it, I'm pretty sure there's like 1000 more like people who can do it. They just don't know yet. Then it's like another like hundred people who do know it but they just haven't perfected their craft. And then it's 10 people perfected their craft, know it, just don't have an outlet, you know what I mean? So we just got to do more of a better job and to make it easier.

Nicky Saunders:

So let me set it up. So let me set it up. So a typical saying, I feel like, but what I wanted to highlight is how he broke it down. Right? How it was more like, okay, so some of y'all don't know what you're doing, like you haven't really put in the time, right? And then some of y'all put in the time, but don't, you know, don't have the exposure, right? Don't have the tools and the resources and everything like that, right? And he sees it as like, yo, that's, that's our, that's our part now. You know? There's only he broke it down as like, yo, you didn't start, yo you you just haven't perfected it, yo, you perfected it and you just don't know what to do. For those people who are on that level, I need to do a better job and create opportunities and an exposure for you because maybe necessarily that wasn't done for me. Right? So for him, he did you know, the Cactus Jack record label, and clearly with how he is so close with his friends, and provides opportunity for them because of their own skill level, I think that just shows where people are at when it comes to their lane. Have you started? Or have you started just need more studying? Or have you started, perfected your craft, but now you're in in need of a network? A need of a coach or mentor or some things like that? Tools and resources that maybe you're not you don't know yet because you were never exposed to it? So I think how he noticed that and how he saw that there was a gap because of that, I think that was so dope to hear. Because some artists, and celebrities and things like that. They wouldn't ever acknowledge the gap. There's some like, and we've seen it recently, as we're doing our research that they they give back, you know? But even when we went over the Jennifer Lopez thing, she was like, yo, there's nobody who's done it. Like I've tried to help the artists, you know, who are coming up now because I've hit heights that no one else has. So if I've hit heights that no one else has, I have to help those who are getting up in the ranks, I have to because there's no one who helped me. And in the system of duplication is another way of success. You could keep it all. But if you're not passing that down, that's kind of selfish. It's kind of selfish, um, and puts more work on you. And puts more burden on you. I don't it but some people don't duplicate themselves. Why, why is that?

Mostafa Ghonim:

I'm gonna go back to the insecurity thing, man. I think you know, when when you're just...

Nicky Saunders:

Moose is saying everybody's insecure.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Nah, I'm not saying everybody's insecure. But you know, I think we all struggle with it to some degree and at some point, and some of us struggle with it differently. Right? Some of it is because it's really self inflicted, some of it is just a concern that everyone's out to come after our spot or that everyone's a threat to our position or our current success. So if I help you get to a level of success that I have, what if you were to knock me off of my throne? So like, and again, I know, that may sound crazy, and maybe no one is willing to admit it. But we know there's some people out there who have that mentality. Like it's got to be it's got to be lonely at the top. And that's just not true, at least not in in today's world, or especially when you're helping people to thrive in the areas that they're gifted in. Right? So there isn't really any competition. And I see it that way. But I love the shift that some of the younger generation, like Travis Scott, I think is 27, 28. So to see him making these adjustments at a relatively young age, you know, it's showing that the longevity of his career is going to be pretty healthy, where there there are people being positioned in opportunities that they can to grow and have their type of success. So I like that. The other area that I looked at it through was kind of the law of average, you know? Like you talk a lot about how more people are always saying, yo everyone is doing this. Yeah, everyone's doing it, but they haven't perfected it. Right? So like, even if everyone is out doing the same thing that you're doing, that's probably 1000 of them. But how many people are actually masters at it? Masters of the craft? But there's only 10 of the 1000. And even from the 10 they're not on a major platform where they're known worldwide, globally, nationally, however it is that you look at it. So I looked at it from the law of averages to like, man, if you're looking into an industry and you feel like a saturated, maybe the question you need to ask yourself is has everyone mastered that lane? That particular spotlight that I'm going after? Or is it just saturated for the sake of saturation?

Nicky Saunders:

Should have just been the final word. I should have just... Sheesh!

Mostafa Ghonim:

Shortcut the process.

Nicky Saunders:

Lucky we have to figure out what he is. That would have ended... people that would have ended it. I was done at that. That was over. But alright, let's, uh, let's figure out what Travis Scott is. I don't know who is whose turn is it? Was is it my turn?

Mostafa Ghonim:

I think it's your turn because I went first on Drake.

Nicky Saunders:

Okay, it's my turn. Alright. So, out of the flight assessment, I do not feel don't feel that he is the air traffic controller. I don't feel that he is strategic in his ways? I don't feel like he tries to process things and, you know, as cautious. Don't feel those those things. He possibly maybe in the background some things but yeah. I don't see it.

Mostafa Ghonim:

I'm going to say that he is not is not a pilot. Yeah, I know exactly what you're thinking.

Nicky Saunders:

Um, okay, so I feel like the past two episodes we've been with, like three kind of could be debatable. And I think we're back here with that just because there's a lot of things that hit with the pilot, right. Um, but I do I do agree with you, that there's two that are a bit stronger. I will say. He's higher. Maybe like a fifth like a 60. And then a pilot like 60, 70.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Because the business moves are being made. Yeah.

Nicky Saunders:

Yes. That a major major ways, right. And the whole not feeling limited, you know, not like routine as well kind of thing. Like it's a pilot and flight attendant vibes for sure. But I can't even be mad at it. I can't be mad. I can't. Yeah, the only actually, actually, the only reason I almost wanted to keep the pilot a little bit more is because of his recent moves, of not necessarily being in the public so much. I feel like there's a lot of moves being done in the background, that when it comes out it's major. Right? And that could be grounds crew, to an extent, but I feel like those certain moves and how it's executed and how even he had a situation with like a camera man years ago, and how it got him in such a rage because it messed up his creative flow. Right? I felt like the rage part was a pilot move than necessarily a feelings of "Oh my God, my creativity is messed up. This is horrible." And more in his feelings. He was like, Yo, I'm throw this camera out kind of thing. So I yeah, but I still agree. I still agree. It's high though. It's high. Um, man. Okay. So, all right. I'm going to say he is way too creative to be a grounds crew. He does have high ground crew but I really say he is a flight attendant. I would say that. What do you say?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, yeah I could see it I was I was leading honestly towards the ground crew just because of like...

Nicky Saunders:

Really?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah and I'll tell you why. It's the it's the super chill vibe. The now, again don't take don't we're gonna leave his concerts out of this for a moment because I know you said it's straight mosh pits and people getting thrown all over the place. But more so through through the free flow, okay, not not laid back, but more so free flowing is the word that I want to say. Like his creative process seems more so free flowing and looking for ways to create what's not been done without really forcing it so he's not trying to put pressure on himself to fit a certain box or like maybe wear a certain hat as it becomes to a rock star or artist or rapper right? Like he's just kind of free flowing with it. He's like, man, I just want to do like lifestyle music. I just look at it as life and I'm like, okay, I see some grounds crew in the free flow vibe. Like just peacemaker of the world kind of thing.

Nicky Saunders:

But is that a free flowing or just doesn't want to be boxed in? Because they don't like limitations?

Mostafa Ghonim:

I see what you're doing there. I see what you're doing there.

Nicky Saunders:

Just asking. I mean.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, I can see it. I can see it. That makes sense.

Nicky Saunders:

Because he said he said yo each one has stereotypes. I don't fit the box. Like I don't fit either or. I am me. I think it's just music. Right? And I create music. And the the I can agree with that he is one or the other. So either way when I don't I don't mind. Creatives actually have a grounds crew or air traffic control vibe because of what they do behind the scenes and their creative thought process. So I can understand the grounds crew especially since majority of my team is grounds crew. But how he created a whole genre, how his performances are, how big the collaborations are these are not small little bits here and there like some strategic partnering like other you know people we've gone over where we're like yo we didn't even know they had this business we didn't even know they had this investment. He's very loud with what he puts his time to. So either way I can understand.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah definitely the top two though. Like I would say these two are definitely up there. And of course the pilot if not him then there's definitely someone driving some of these deals. But yeah, I definitely can see it rockin. But aye Trav man, anytime you are wondering like man, I wonder what I am just hit us up man we'll be more than happy to give you a flight assessment. You know what I'm saying? Check out the the exact scores.

Nicky Saunders:

Facts. And if you haven't taken the flight assessment yet and you wanted to figure out what you are and and which of these celebrities and influencers you kind of connect with, go to flex flightassessment.com figure that out. Get coached by one of our great Extreme Execution coaches. Real quick before we go, right? Real quick. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Nicky and Mooose. Follow us Tuesdays at 7pm Eastern, 6pm Central time, something pm.. what is it four? Five? Four?

Mostafa Ghonim:

No, it is four!

Nicky Saunders:

See! Four West Coast time. facebook.com/Nickyand Moose go there watch our live show. We have something coming up soon on the next podcast to announce as far as the Nicky and Moose Squad. We're creating a community. It's going to be a whole vibe. I'm excited about that. And leave reviews. Tell us what you thought about this Travis Scott episode. Let us know the highs, the lows, what did you learn, what was the biggest lesson, what was the greatest quote that Moose said because he dropped like nine different bars and everything like that. Let us know. Right? But, final words Moose. What you got?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, I'm gonna go back to that rock star rapper thing man. I'm just gonna say separate who you are from what you do. Alright, separate who you are from what you do. I know we talked about titles quite a bit, but that one I know is going to free some people. So there's a difference between really what you do for a living and who you are and what you do for your work is not who you are as a person. So I'm gonna say separate who you are from what you do.

Nicky Saunders:

I don't know why we got to this view, but I'm ending it.